I always want to do the perfect sermon. I want to study enough and polish enough. I want to find the right words and the perfect story. I want God to be proud of my work. Or actually, I don’t want God to be mad at me. I don’t want to get in trouble with God for what I say to you.

And that freezes my thinking so much sometimes that I can’t do anything.

You know what I mean? I’m guessing that you might.

Because when I go from room to room, I hear things like, “I’m not praying like I should.” “I’m not reading the Bible like I should.” “I’d love to be more helpful.”

How should you be praying?

“You know. All the time. Every day. Every morning. More than just when things are going bad. More than when I’m desperate.”

How should you be reading the Bible?

“You know, all the time. Every day. Every morning. More than just when things are going bad.”

We are always looking over our shoulder, concerned that we are doing it right.

Sometimes I ask a question: “Why do you think you should?”

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Paul would argue with us. After Paul said that he understood.

When I’m talking about Paul, I’m talking about the apostle Paul, the writer of a lot of letters in the Bible, Saint Paul. Paul was an amazing scholar. Paul was a remarkably religious person. Paul was passionate about his devotion to protecting the true obedience to God.

He was so devoted that he arrested people who were disobedient.

He was working so hard to make God happy, to satisfy God’s expectations, God’s obligations. To defend God’s dignity and reputation. Until it became clear to him that he was the one who was disobedient. Jesus appeared to him and said, “Why are you persecuting me.?”

I sometimes talk with people who say, “God couldn’t forgive what I’ve done.”

I say, “Have you killed Christians?”
That usually stops them.
“No,” they say. “I haven’t.”
“Paul did,” I tell them, “And he was forgiven and embraced by God and lived a life of service and devotion.”