It was a hot July afternoon when Dalton arrived at Mrs. Smith’s house. Mrs. Smith’s yard was out of hand, and it was obvious she needed help tending this small jungle. After two full hours of work, Dalton finally finished and started loading his mower back into the truck. Mrs. Smith came out to express her appreciation with a tall glass of lemonade and a big hug. “You really didn’t have to do all this.” she said, her face beaming with gratitude. “Oh, it’s no trouble,” Dalton replied, “I did it for my reputation, not for you.”

Admittedly, this is an unlikely story...but it may be closer to the truth than you think. “Good” deeds are often done for the wrong reasons, but rarely accompanied with such honesty. There are many times when we are guilty of having the wrong motives but fail to admit it—even to ourselves. We may do something simply “to be seen by men” without even realizing that our motives are skewed.

A Christ-like life means that good deeds are done out of love—not selfish motives. In Matthew 6, Jesus urges, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.”

When Jesus says not to sound a trumpet for attention, he’s not just talking about going to extremes. With practice, you can become quite adept at subtly drawing the praise of others. Even if you fool everyone around you though, God knows if that’s all you care about. We may be skilled at camouflaging self-centered actions, but ultimately we cannot hide them from our Lord.

If you’re not sure if this is a problem for you, there’s a good way to test: Sometime today, do something kind for someone else without them knowing. The more effort you have to put in to this action, the better! The second part is where it might get difficult: make sure nobody EVER finds out. Don’t talk about it. Don’t bring it up if nobody notices what you did, or take credit if someone else points it out. Let this act of kindness be a secret that only you and God share.

Seem easy? Hopefully it will be… but I challenge you to try it.

We were married Saturday, and are now having a FANTASTIC TIME in Park City, Utah!!!

Are you living well enough to earn a place in Heaven? Have your deeds been upright enough to justify you before God? Let me save you the trouble—the answer is no! Being “justified” means to be pronounced free from guilt, yet Paul says decisively, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” You will never deserve God’s grace, or your own salvation. Nobody does. Salvation is not a payment for good deeds—it is an unmerited gift from God. That’s why Paul says we are justified by “his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Praise God for His grace! No other way to heaven is possible.

Nevertheless, some will still try to earn it. The resulting person is a dangerous substitute, a Christian “look-alike”, an imposter! These imposters will still say the right words, and do the right deeds. They may wear all the right clothes, and enjoy all the right activities. They may even have lots of scripture memorized. Yes, the outside will sparkle. But upon closer inspection, the symptoms of death are present: The inside is a tomb. The pulse is weak—because the heart of Christ does not live in this body. Joy in salvation is replaced by the fear of never being “good enough”. In place of thankful humility, there is arrogance and pride. The imposter will desire to justify himself, rather than admit his own sin. To this legalist, powerful words like “love” and “grace” seem weak, and deserve little attention.

Such who endeavor to stand on their own merit must remember the words of Jesus in Luke 17:10, “you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”

Or Paul’s words to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Paul wasn’t denying the need for obedience—but obedience alone will never justify you. We are saved by grace!

To the true follower of Christ, there is nothing more powerful than God’s grace. Acknowledge your need for it, and you will find new joy in your life. Let it inspire you to love and good works. If you’ve been trying to make it on your own, stop now. You’ll never earn your salvation. Pray to God for His mercy. Obey Him out of love, because He first loved you. His blood will cleanse you—but never think that you’ve earned it.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” –Romans 5:6-8

We're ENGAGED!!!

This update comes to you from Northern Peru, right next to the equator! Here are some highlights from our work this past week:

Last Tuesday we were lucky enough to visit the local village of Santa Cruz. The people who live there do hard manual labor—all day, every day—they have no running water, and their houses have only one or two rooms and a dirt floor. It feels like you’re visiting another century. At the same time, these modest people will offer you anything they have, even if they can’t afford it, and they are always looking for a way to make you feel more comfortable. Its impossible to not feel grateful and humbled all at once.

Even more impressive about the people of Santa Cruz is their excitement to learn about God!!! I was blown away by growth of the church there in only a few months! We had a wonderful time, and Carlos and I were both able to present some lessons that I think were helpful.

Now I want to tell all of you about a guy named Edgar. He's a 15 year-old Christian in Santa Cruz, and during our visit he showed us his new flock of sheep and goats. After having to drop out of school in the 9th grade (probably to help support his family), Edgar started herding animals for a next-door neighbor. The neighbor paid him with one goat to help him start his own flock, and through six months of hard work he now has his own flock of 15 sheep and 5 goats! By American standards, Edgar still doesn’t have much, but I’ve never had more respect for a fifteen-year-old.

The church in Piura is still meeting together, and I am continually impressed by the initiative of several people. One man, Manuel, has taken off several days of work to help us with daily Bible studies. The preacher in this area, Israel Yarleque, teaches in two cities every Sunday despite having to battle glaucoma, throat, and back problems. All of these people are our family in Christ. Please pray for them, their struggles, and their work!

Also, this is a BIG day in my adopted family! Emilio Jr. has returned to the United States, and as of this morning, he and his fiancé Becky Davis were married! Congrats to them!

“Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.” -Psalm 37:16

Hope all of you back home have a great week!

Hasta Luego
Your brother in Christ,
Kellen