Living the Eternal Life

The End

2009-10-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

We all go through different periods in our lives. One of the things that I had wanted to do for quite awhile was to start a blog. I'm not really sure why, I guess I just had a lot of stuff bottled up inside of me that I wanted to say and I thought this was a good way to say it. So on August 30th of last year I did it - I created a blog and started writing. It's been a lot of fun and today is my 75th blog. However, it will also be my last one.

The fact is that demands on my time have changed over the last year. Between a full-time job and my responsibilities at church, I just don't have time to blog like I would like to. So I'm going to retire from blogging. I wanted to say 'Thank You' to everyone that dropped by and took the time to read what I wrote. For those of you that took the time to comment on my blogs, I just wanted to say how much I appreciated that. Knowing that someone was reading it and taking the time to comment really made me feel good. I probably enjoyed reading the comments as much or more than you enjoyed reading my blogs.

If I can, I want to leave one final thought with you.

I have a wonderful marriage. Kathy and I have been married for 26 years and I can truly say that I enjoy being a husband and I find fulfillment in that role. I have wonderful children. I have two great sons who have enriched my life tremendously. I enjoy being a father and I find fulfillment in that role. I have some unbelievable friendships in my life - so much so that I can't even express how much those friendships mean to me. I find fulfillment in those relationships as well.

However, I have become convinced through personal experience that you will never be truly fulfilled as a Christian until you are fulfilling your role in the Body of Christ. There is just something about being a living, breathing, working and contributing member of the Body that completes you as a Christian. Why? Because it is what we are called to. If you are not doing that there will always be an emptiness, a sense of unfulfillment in your life. So I want to encourage each of you to find your gift and begin to use it to edify the Body. Does is take more time? Sure. Does it take more discipline? Of course. Does it take more commitment? Absolutely. But I can assure you, you will never regret it. The effort is temporal, but the rewards are eternal.

So thanks for reading - now go Live the Eternal Life.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

26 Years in the Crucible

2009-10-15T17:59:00.002-04:00

Crucible - A heat-resistant container in which materials can be heated to very high temperatures.

I've been thinking a lot this week about marriage. One of the reasons is that Kathy and I have been married 26 years today. I have learned so much over these 26 years. As those of us that are married know, marriage tends to bring out the good in us - but it also brings out the bad. Of all our relationships, marriage is truly the 'crucible' where we walk out our faith. Where else are two people thrown into a situation where every attitude, opinion and feeling is tested on a daily basis?

Just last week Kathy made the following statement to me:

"You need to practice what you teach".

She's right. I try and try to do the right things, and I can even do pretty good for periods at a time. But then a day comes when I am grouchy or frustrated or just having a bad day and things come out of me that I thought were dead and buried. When that happens, I usually take it out on her. I hate that. I hate the fact that I can't completely kill those things, and I hate the fact that she bears the brunt of it.

But this crucible continues to teach. And this past week I've learned again two lessons that it has taught me before, but it seems I need to learn again.

It teaches me just how much I need a Savior.

I am a changed man - I know that. I'm not like I used to be. But as long as I'm clothed in this earthly vessel there will never be a time that I can do it on my own. There will never be a time that I don't need Him. There's an old song by DC Talk that says it pretty well.

The disease of self runs through my blood
It's a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control

Tell me, what's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

It teaches me - through Kathy - what Love really is.

As always, I apologize and she forgives. That's what love is and that is how love acts. Through her I see love not just spoken, love not just explained on the pages of the Scripture, but love actually lived out.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. - Proverbs 10:12

Happy Anniversary, Kat. I love you.

They're Watching

2009-10-08T07:29:00.012-04:00

I was recently sent via email a link to a website that provides resources for teaching students. One of the links on the site took me to a video called "An Uphill Battle". The video shows a student walking down a typical school hallway. Every other student is going one way while he is walking the other, literally walking against the tide. The other students are bumping and jostling him and he has a look of dejection - a look that says he's tired of going it alone. As this is going on, the voice-over on the video talks about how we can and do get tired of going against the flow. How that sometime we come to a point where we feel that it would be easier to just give up, turn around and start walking the same direction as everyone else. As one student finally jostles him hard enough to knock his books out of his hand, he finally stops in his tracks. You can tell that he's had enough.

But then he turns his head around and looks back down the hallway. And there behind him are several other students who have been following him the entire time. He was never alone. There were always other people watching him, looking up to him and following in his footsteps. It's a powerful video with a powerful message. The funny thing is though that even though it's geared toward encouraging students not to give up on the Christian life, it spoke to me as a man.

When I watched that video, I didn't see a teenager walking down a hallway - I saw a man, a husband, a father. When he looked behind him I didn't see other students, I saw a family - a wife and children. We as men need to understand that our families are looking to us to be the spiritual leaders in our homes. They are looking to follow behind us as we navigate through the turbulent waters of this world. They are looking to us to be the leaders that God has called us to be.

Lately I'm around a lot of teenagers, both through time spent with my son's friends and through working with the youth at church. The damage done to these kids through divorce or through the actions of an absent father is a terrible thing, something that they will have to carry through their entire lives. Kids at that age shouldn't have to deal with bitterness and unforgiveness, but they are. They hide it well, but if you get them to open up you see the turmoil that lies just underneath the surface.

I'm sure the damage is done to both boys and girls, but maybe because I deal more with boys it seems the damage done there is more profound. They should have had a guide that they could walk behind until they were able to lead a family for themselves, but not only have they lost their leader but they've lost the one who was to teach them how to lead. These kids thought they had someone to follow, but have been left in a sea of turbulence to fend for themselves.

Men, when you are thinking about quitting - on Christ, on your marriage, on your family - please look behind you! Understand that your decisions don't just affect you. The decisions we make as men have long lasting effects on our children, so much so that those decisions will carry down to even our grandchildren and subsequent generations. We have a calling on our lives, to love our wives and children even as Christ loves the Church. It's not about why I want, what I need, what I desire. I am to give my life for my family.

Let us be like Paul, in that we can say to our wives and children ...

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1

The Church (cont.)

2009-10-03T09:17:00.012-04:00

Over the many years that I've attended church I've seen people come and go. The Parable of the Sower describes many of these - they spring up for a little while but then fade away. I understand that - I wish it were different but I understand it. However, I've also seen many true Christians leave a church over what seems like petty disagreements. That I've never understood. Why is that? Why do so many Christians seem to have the attitude of "I'll take my ball and go play elsewhere if you don't want to do it my way"? I believe the answer lies in the fact that a lot of us have a misconception of what church is all about.

Before going any further, I need to make something clear. When I speak of the church, I'm speaking of a local body of believers who congregate together. I am NOT speaking of a building - the building is where the church congregrates, but it is not the church.

Why do we attend a church? Before we answer that question let's look at what a true church really is. The purpose of a true church is five-fold:

Worship - This is our first responsibility. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

Instruction - We are to preach, teach and disciple one another in order to grow in the knowledge of the Lord.

Fellowship - We are to fellowship and break bread with one another. We are instructed in Hebrews 10:25 to NOT forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

Evangelism - We are to spread the Gospel, fulfilling the Great Commission.

Outreach - We are to reach out to and love our neighbors by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and visiting the sick and imprisoned.

Seems pretty basic, right? I'm sure if we thought it about it long enough we could possibly fine-tune the list and add or modify a couple of things, but for the sake of discussion let's agree on those five as basically covering the purpose of the local church.

I mentioned earlier that it seems a lot of people have a misconception of what church is all about. I believe this misconception lies in the fact that people think that church is about meeting their needs. So when disagreements arise in the body they leave because their 'needs' are not being met. But that's not what it's about at all.

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." - 1 Corinthians 12:7

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God - 1 Peter 4:10

The Scriptures are clear - each one of us have been given spiritual gifts that are to be used for the benefit of others in the church. Let me repeat that - not some of us, not a few of us, but ALL of us have received gifts that are to be used for the benefit of others. Through these gifts the Holy Spirit manifests Himself and ministers to the body to strengthen and build it up. So in effect it's not about me and my needs at all - it's about me doing my part in the body.

Are you using your gift? Let me ask a tougher question - do you know what your gift is? If you don't, let me encourage you to find out. There is nothing more fulfilling in this life than to know what your gift is and to use it for the benefit of the body.

The Church

2009-09-26T21:06:00.004-04:00

In our Sunday School class we have been going through the book of Acts. I like history, so the book of Acts has always held a particular interest for me. It just so happens that I've also been listening to some theology classes on Ecclisiology - the branch of theology that is concerned with the nature, constitution and functions of a church. So naturally these two have intersected and gotten me thinking about the church.

I've always gone to church. I was taken to church from the time I was born and to me it's just a natural thing to do. In fact, I've never even considered not going to church. But as I've been thinking about the church and it's role and purpose I've had to stop and ask myself a rather simple question - Why do I go to church? It seemed like such a simple question, but the answer didn't come quite as easily as I thought it would.

Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you would, I'd like you to ask yourself that same question and then comment. I'm really interested to see what types of answers we get.

Our Daily Bread

2009-09-20T07:27:00.002-04:00

Some of you may have noticed that I have not blogged much lately. In fact, I've only written once since August 26th (I went back and checked). I would like to blame this on being too busy, but I can't. The real reason is that I just haven't had anything on my mind to write about, and for me that is not normal. For whatever reason, I've always got several things going on that I could write about. Some I choose to put down in words and others I choose not to, but there is normally no shortage of material. As I thought about it, I just realized that I was very 'dry' spiritually. But how did I get that way? I'm in the Scriptures every day - how did that happen?

It just so happened that I went to a short men's retreat over the weekend at St. George's Island. One of the things that was mentioned by the speaker was a man's "daily communion". Once he said that, I immediately knew what my problem was. Although I read my Bible every day, I haven't been having my 'Daily Bread'. Let me explain what I mean.

I teach a Sunday School class on Sunday morning, the church Youth Group on Sunday night and a Middle School class on Wednesday night. In order to do that, I have to organize my time. So here's what I do.

Monday morning - Sunday School preparation

Tuesday morning - Sunday School preparation

Wednesday morning - Middle School class preparation

Thursday morning - Sunday School preparation

Friday morning - Youth Group preparation

Sunday morning - Sunday School review

Sunday afternoon - Youth Group review

Most of that time is spent in the Word, so I should have a million things going on in my mind and heart that the Lord is working on. But I don't. How can that be?

What I realized is this - all of that time is for someone else. I'm digging in the Word to prepare Bread for others, not to feed myself. You see, there is no replacement for our Daily Communion with the Lord. We need that quiet time with Him . Without it, we become dry and empty on the inside. So this morning I got up and read my Bible - not to prepare a message or a lesson , but just to spend time with Him and His Word.

My Struggle with Suffering

2009-09-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Periodically - usually about once a year - I read through the book of Job. Like most people, I struggle with the reality of suffering in this world. I try to placate my struggles with the idea that suffering is good for a person. I think we all know and believe that going through hard times can make you a better person. There is a wonderful scripture in Ecclesiastes that teaches this:

"Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." - Ecclesiastes 7:3-4

I know that the suffering that I've gone through in my life has made me a better person - more mature, wiser and more trusting in God. But there are other types of suffering in this world that have no explanation, like the suffering of children for example. Try as I might, I just cannot come up with any good reason or explanation for it. So back I go to the book of Job.

Job was able to put a voice to the very question that I have - Why? And God answered him in three of the most amazing chapters in the Scriptures, chapters 38-41. And in those chapters I realize that if I were able to voice my questions to Almighty God even today, that He would answer me the same as he did to Job those many ages ago:

"Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me."

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined it's measurements? Surely you know!"

"Would you indeed annul My judgement? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?"

And Job's reply says it all for me:

"I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

And in those chapters my soul is satisfied - satisfied in the magnificent wisdom of God. Satisfied that He is good and just and merciful. Satisfied for another year or so - until the struggle builds up again and I return again to the book of Job.

Has Judgement Come?

2009-08-26T21:56:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I was in Omaha on a business trip. I was meeting two colleagues for breakfast downstairs at the hotel. One man I have worked with for years but the other was a woman that works in another state and I had never met her before. She came downstairs for breakfast with another woman, walked up to the table where my male colleague and I were sitting and proceeded to introduce us to her 'wife'. This wasn't a woman who was ashamed or trying to hide anything. It was a person who was proud of her perversion.

This really got me thinking over the next couple of days about Romans 1.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. - Romans 1:24-31

You'll notice that 3 times it says that God 'gave them up' or 'gave them over'. The Greek word used here is 'paradidomi' - which means to 'commit' or 'cast in prison'. I've heard a couple of messages on this over the last year or so stating the fact that the verses here carry the idea of judgement - that when a person, people or nation engage in the sin of homosexuality that judgement has already come.

So what do you think - has judgement come? Is there still hope for this nation to repent and turn back to God or do you believe the acceptance of our nation of the sin of homosexuality is a sign that judgement has already come?

I look forward to your comments.

Leaving the Nest

2009-08-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

I just passed another milestone in life - my oldest son just recently moved to Virginia to go to school. That reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend a couple of years ago. I had heard that his son had moved out so I asked him about it to see how he was doing. He said "the two saddest days of my life were when my son moved out and then when he moved back in". I don't think he was serious :)

A lot of people have been asking my wife and I the same question: "How are you doing?". The funny thing is that we really haven't been that sad about it. Do we miss him? Terribly. But we're proud of the young man that he's become. We have enjoyed seeing him grow and mature and now it's time for him to make his own life. That shouldn't be a time of sadness, but of celebration. Obviously I'd like him to be right next door where I could just pick him up and go fishing anytime I want - but it's more important to me that God works His plan in Joshua's life. And I believe with all my heart that is exactly what He is doing.

His moving out has caused me to think about our Heavenly Father and what He expects from us, His children. C.S. Lewis has a wonderful quote concerning this subject in "Mere Christianity".

“Every father is pleased at the baby’s first attempt to walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son. In the same way, God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.”

Just like we expect our children to grow and mature, God expects the same thing from His children. He is pleased with our feeblest attempts to serve Him and to keep His commandments. But He is never satisfied. He expects us to continue to grow and mature in Him and in His Word - to continue to be conformed to the image of His Son.

---------------------------------------

So Joshua - this last part is for you.

I love you and I am proud to be your Dad. Whatever life brings for you, please always remember that there is one thing that matters, and you have to keep that one thing primary in your life. That one thing I want for you is this - that you will one day hear these words:

‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Now go make your Heavenly Father proud.

Acts 17:11

2009-08-19T07:10:00.002-04:00

I'm sure that many of you who have been around the church for any length of time at all have heard the song "Thank You". It's a great song. When you hear it you cannot help but be moved emotionally. You know the one I'm talking about - the chorus goes like this:

Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am a life that was changed.
Thank you for giving to the Lord.
I am so glad you gave.

The author of the song, Ray Boltz, was a Christian musician who sold about 4.5 million records before retiring several years ago. And one more thing - he came out last September and declared he was a homosexual. If you want all the details, you can Google his name and you can read all about it, but I've got another point to make here.

Discernment takes work. You can't just flip on the Christian radio station and say "I'm safe. I know this is good teaching because it's on Christian radio." You can't just pick up the book in the Christian bookstore and assume that it contains sound doctrine because it's sold in a Christian bookstore. You can't assume that just because a person is a skilled song writer or author that they are going to lead you down the right path.

Many influential Christian artists and authors are very good at writing songs and books that speak directly to our emotions. They are very good at describing problems in our lives and in the church. It seems that they can write in such a way that your heart really resonates with what they are saying because they are describing your life, your exact feelings and emotions and even the questions that you have.

But just because they describe all that so well does not mean that the solution that they give you is going to be a right one. Just because they can seemingly walk through your life and describe all that you've been through does not mean that you can turn off your discernment and just blindly accept what they say. You can't assume that the prescription that they give you will be true to God's Word.

We must be like the Bereans in Acts 17. We are told that they searched the Scriptures daily to make sure that what Paul said was true. If they would verify the words spoken by Paul, how much more should we verify the things we hear?

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. - Acts 17:11.

Walk it Out

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

How do you become what you really want to be? Is it a matter of faith or a matter of action? If you listen to the Word of Faith peddlers they will tell you that you just need to believe it and speak it.

No matter what you need today, find a promise from God’s Word and believe it. Put it in your heart and in your mouth, and it will begin to work for you—that’s faith. There’s no getting around that process. Why? Because faith is a law. Jesus said, “According to your faith be it unto you”. So start calling things that be not as though they were. What are you calling your body? Your family? Your bank account? Say what God says about those things. Speak the answer you desire. - Gloria Copeland

In fact, this is nothing but New Age confession and visualization techniques. Kenneth Copeland has even admitted as much, although stating that the New Age is copying the Bible and not the other way around.

"Words create pictures, and pictures in your mind create words. And then the words come back out your mouth ... And when that spiritual force comes out it is going to give substance to the image that's on the inside of you. Aw, that's that visualization stuff! Aw, that's that New Age! No, New Age is trying to do this; and they'd get somewhat results out of it because this is spiritual law, brother." - Kenneth Copeland

So let's take a look at what the Bible says. We know from Galatians 5:22-23 that the 'fruit' of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self control. These are attributes that a Christian should exhibit. So how do we obtain these? The Bible tells us what to do in the next verses.

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. - Galatians 5:24-25

So exactly what does it mean to 'walk in the Spirit'? You'll notice that those three words shown in bold above are verbs. They denote action on the part of the believer. Let me give you an example.

Let's say you want to be a more generous person. So what do you do? The first thing you do is you pray and ask God to change your heart and make you a generous person. The next thing you do is believe - believe that God is going to do it. Then do you just sit back and wait for it to happen? Of course not! You begin to live and walk like you are a generous person. You can start simply by tipping your waiters and waitresses more than the recommended 15%. It won't be easy at first and you'll have to think about it every time you do it. But after awhile an amazing thing will happen. As you 'walk it out', the Holy Spirit begins to produce the real thing inside of you. It becomes more than an action on your part - it becomes part of you.

My point is this - obviously faith is extremely important. Without faith it's impossible to please God. We should believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him. We should speak positive words, because the Bible teaches that life and death is in the power of the tongue. But what we have to understand is that to place all the responsibility on faith and the power of the spoken word is bad doctrine - it negates the responsibility of the believer to walk out their faith which is clearly taught in Scripture.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. - James 1:22

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." - Matthew 7:21

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock." - Matthew 7:24

What do you need in your life?

Do you need to be a person of the Word? Walk it out. Start reading your Bible daily and asking God to make you a student of His Word. You'll be amazed what will happen.

Do you need to forgive? Ask God to help you and then start living like you are a forgiver. You know what I mean. You can't say you've forgiven and then get up everyday and talk and walk as though you haven't forgiven. You have to walk it out.

Do you need self-control? Ask God for strength and then start practicing it. If you struggle with lust and pornography it's not going to magically disappear if you keep going to those same website on that same computer late at night. Get rid of it! Do what you have to do to walk it out!

Let us have faith, of course. But if it stops there our faith is dead, no matter how much we 'speak' it out. We have to walk it out.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - James 2:17

Lovers of Pleasure

2009-08-08T10:30:00.002-04:00

Just recently I was asked to take on some additional responsibilities in my local church. I hesitated to accept, because I knew these responsibilities would take up a lot of my time and would also be a long term commitment. I would venture to guess that most people would completely understand that hesitation. However, as I thought and prayed about whether I should do it something odd happened. I began to focus not on the time and effort and commitment required, but I began to focus on something else - what was the real reason behind my hesitation?

We all say that we want to make a difference in other people's lives. In theory, we all agree that we should give of ourselves and our time in order to make that difference, but most of us never really do it. Sure, we're ok with a short commitment here or there - but don't ask us to do anything long term. Why is that? What is it that prevents us from doing what we know we should? What is it that prevents us from giving our time - our free time - to do His work? For me, the answer was found in this verse:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. - 2 Timothy 3:1-5

We live in a society that loves it pleasure. We love to vacation, read books, watch TV, hunt and fish, play sports, shop and just hang out doing nothing. Don't get me wrong - there is nothing inherently wrong in any of those activities. But when we hesitate to do His work because of a love of our own pleasures then we have a problem. We work - not so that we have to give to others (as the Bible commands) - but to give more to ourselves. I hear people (myself included) saying "I just don't have time right now". Is that really true? Is every hour and minute of our day literally packed with activities that we just have to do? Of course not. What we are really saying when we make those statements is "I've got other things I'd rather do".

So I repented of my hesitation (or I should probably say I repented of my reason for hesitating). I decided to go ahead and make that commitment. I find myself pretty busy these days, but I find myself pretty fulfilled as well. As I write this, I hope I'm not putting any condemnation on anyone. That is certainly not my reason for writing. But as I get older I just realize more and more that our time is limited. We only have a short season to labor - to live our lives for the One that gave His life for us. Let's not waste it.

A True Christian

2009-07-28T12:10:00.006-04:00

I was listening to a teaching last week and came across this quote from Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Now I normally don't really care too much about Gandhi's opinions, but in this case I'm afraid many people today would agree with him. What was it about Christ that seems to draw people to Him? Even those who, like Gandhi, don't believe in Him as a Savior still seem drawn to Him and His teachings. What are we as Christians missing? What does it mean to be a 'true' Christian?

As I was doing some reading on this subject, I ran across a blog that discussed the subject "What is a true Christian?". The author said it a lot better than I could.

What, then, are the Scriptural indicators that a genuine work of grace has taken place in the heart of a sinner?

One of them is a principled pursuit of godliness with an increasing attainment in holiness (1Jn 2.3-8, 15-16, 19, 29; 3.3, 6, 10, 24; 4.13; 5.2-5, 21). The hypocrite likes the reputation of holiness, but the true child of God is satisfied only with the substance. He considers his ways, and turns his feet back to God’s testimonies (Ps 119.59). The world no longer sparkles as it did – or, at least, his attraction to it and affection for it have been fundamentally altered – and now he lives for God, called to be holy as God himself is holy (1Pt 1.16). The bonds to sin have been broken, and the persistent habit of unmortified sinning has been shattered because of his union with Christ. The new root brings forth new fruit (Mt 7.20; 12.33-35). His obedience – though not yet perfect – is universal (throughout the whole man), habitual, voluntary and persevering. He has taken up his cross, and continues to do so daily, as a disciple of a crucified Christ (Mt 16.24-25). He pursues Christlikeness – it is the burden of his private and public prayers. He increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5.22-23); he has no love for the world (Jas 4.4); the previous pattern of conformity to, company with and compromise for the sake of the world is over (2Tim 3.4; 1Cor 16.33). This is not sinless perfection, but laborious progress. It does not mean that a Christian faces no battles but rather than he fights great battles, opposed as he now is to a raging and committed enemy of malice and power (Rom 7.13-25). Sometimes he wanders; sometimes he is on the back foot; sometimes, grievously, he backslides. However, the tone and tenor of his life is one of advance. The trajectory of his life over time is upward. The points plotted on his spiritual graph are not a seamless upward curve, and there are painful plateaus, but the line of best fit indicates persevering progress over time as sin dies and godliness is cultivated.

http://eardstapa.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/what-is-a-true-christian/

How many 'true' Christians do you know? How many people do you know that not only profess a faith in Jesus Christ but are actively and sincerely seeking to emulate Christ in every area of their life? I want you to think hard about this and make yourself a list.

Then ask yourself one more question - am I on someone else's list?

Integrity

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I have been extremely busy with some different things so I just haven't had much time. However, over the last week or so some different situations have come up that have got me thinking about the subject of 'integrity'. If you look up 'integrity' you'll find a couple of interesting definitions:

Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral values.

Integrity: is consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcome.

What I've realized is how 'personal' integrity is in our culture today. In other words, it's not something that is defined for us by an objective moral standard - each person seems to define it for themselves. For example, to save money on taxes a person buys a car and then lies to the tag office and tells them they only paid $2000 when they actually paid $10,000. They justify this to themselves for any number of reasons - but if you ask them they would probably consider themselves a 'person of integrity'.

So here's my question to you - What does integrity mean to you and how important is it to you to be a person of integrity? I appreciate your comments.

Temporal vs. Eternal

2009-07-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

In doing some reading over the last few weeks, I ran across a couple of names that really brought into focus for me the difference between a temporal and an eternal viewpoint.

Keith Green was a Christian singer. He had a wife and 3 kids, with another child on the way. On July 28, 1982, Keith climbed into a plane along with two of his children, three year old Josiah and two year old Bethany. Also on the plane was the pilot along with visiting missionaries John and Dede Smalley and their six children. The plane crashed upon takeoff and all 12 people were killed. Keith Green was 28 years old.

Bertrand Russell was a philosopher, mathematician and historian. He was born in 1872 and died in 1970 at the ripe old age of 98 years old. Just think about that for a minute. He was born in the age of horse and buggies and died having seen a man walk on the moon. He lived a long and full life. And one more thing - he was an athiest.

Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. [...] A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men.

—Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian

From a temporal viewpoint I look at these two men, their ages and the manner of their deaths, I can't help but say "that's not fair". The man who serves the Lord, who tries to do the right thing dies a violent death before the age of 30 along with innocent children. While the athiest, the man who not only doesn't believe in God but actually publishes works trying to convince others not to believe in God - that man lives to be 98 years old.

But then I see if from another viewpoint - the eternal one. And from that viewpoint I see a God that is so merciful that he gave Bertrand Russell 98 years to change his mind - 98 years to repent and turn to Him. I don't know why Keith Green, John and Dede Smalley and those 8 innocent children died that day. But I do know they lived their lives from an eternal viewpoint, and because of that they are enjoying eternal life. While Bertrand Russell lived his entire life - a long life by human standards - based totally upon a temporal viewpoint. And because of that he is suffering eternal death, an eternal separation from God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Vacation

2009-07-03T16:33:00.006-04:00

I'm heading to the beach for a week's vacation with the family. We're heading to Cape San Blas for scallops, fishing, sand and naps - not to mention at least a couple of good books. I just got the book "Love Your God With All Your Mind" and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'm not sure I'll have any Internet access so I'll be out of the blogosphere (so to speak) for awhile. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend and I'll post again when I get back.

What's Your Testimony?

2009-06-29T23:38:00.000-04:00

The other day we were in church and the pastor asked for testimonies. So naturally my mind began to think 'OK, what can I testify about?'. The funny thing is that I didn't or couldn't think about any particular 'thing' that God had done for me. All I could think about was the following verse.

To be honest, at first it suprised me because I don't normally think about Scripture when I think of a testimony. But after thinking about it for awhile I was thrilled - although it may be hard to put into words why. I just know that right now in my life it's not about things - it's about Him. It's not about victories or miracles or even answered prayers - it's about dying to self so that He can live in me.

So that verse literally is my testimony. So here's my question to you - what verse of Scripture would you choose to be your testimony?

Restoration? Not for Me.

2009-06-23T23:30:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine gave me a CD a few weeks ago and asked me to listen to it. It contained a message from a preacher and she said that there were some things in it that just didn't sound right and she wanted me to listen to it. I only got about 5 minutes into the message when the word "Restoration" started to come up. Now anytime I hear that word my ears prick up and I listen very carefully. Why? Because that is a favorite word of the false teachers. They all want to pass along some nugget of truth that is going to "restore" some blessing that you've either lost or never knew you had.

Go search the New Testament for that word. You'll see if a few times regarding things such as restoring a brother who has sinned, a withered hand restored, sight being restored or Zaccheus restoring what he had stolen. But you never see it mentioned - at all - with regard to the restoration of spiritual blessings. There is a reason for that - there is nothing to restore.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ - Ephesians 1:3

Christ is sufficient! In Him we are blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing. We have everything we need and lack nothing.

"... in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - Colossians 2:3

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." - Colossians 2:9

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" - 1 Corinthians 1:30

Restoration? Not for me. I'm complete in Him. I have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, all joy, all peace, all value, all meaning, all truth, all purpose, all hope, all fulfillment - all in Christ.

Afraid to Ask

2009-06-22T19:15:00.001-04:00

When we read the Bible, I think that we sometimes forget that the people involved were men and women just like us. Even as I wrote that sentence, I started to refer to them as "characters" instead of people - but I realized that calling them that lends itself to the idea that they are players in a drama, or participants in a story. But they were real, breathing human beings with all the flaws and faults that we ourselves have. For example, notice the following scripture:

For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. - Mark 9:31-32

You see, I can identify with the disciples. There have been many times in my life where I did not understand certain spiritual things, but I was afraid to ask. Lately I've asked myself why that was. What makes us afraid to delve further into things that we don't understand? Don't we want to know the truth? In my case, I think there are a couple of reasons:

The first reason, unfortunately, is spiritual pride. Spiritual pride can make a person afraid to ask questions because they don't want other people to think less about them. Think about the disciples for a minute. Don't you think that people looked at them differently as they walked with Jesus? Thought that they were more knowledgeable, more spiritual than other people because they were close to Him? Do you think they struggled with spiritual pride? Of course they struggled with it. In fact, if you go back and read Mark 9 in its entirety you'll see that while they were on the road to Capernaum they were disputing amongst themselves who was the greatest.

The second reason is lack of faith. I have been afraid to delve further into things because I was afraid of what I might find - afraid that the answer I uncovered might not fit into my nice little structured view of Christianity. I was more comfortable just going with what I'd always been taught as opposed to digging into the Word of God to find out if my tradition lined up with the Scripture.

What was in the disciples minds that day on the road through Galilee? I don't know. Was it spiritual pride - were they all afraid to be the first one to speak up and say "I don't understand what you are saying"? Or was it lack of faith? They were looking for a King to restore the glory of Israel, not a suffering Messiah. Would delving further into His statement of death and resurrection somehow shatter their views and beliefs? Were they afraid to ask because they were afraid of what the answer might be?

What about you? Have you ever been afraid to ask?

A Social Gospel? (Part 2)

2009-06-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

Over the last 25 years, there has been a movement among American Christians to get involved in calling our nation to a higher level of morality. We are encouraged to engage our energy, our resources, our time and our money in an effort to politically change the moral climate of our country. And let me state that this desire for morality and virtue is a noble one. We should desire virtue, integrity, honesty and morality. These traits are God's will for our lives. We all support Biblical morality - what Christian could do less? It is our responsibility to address sin, to confront sin, to call it what it is, to expose it and to attack it. But that's really not the issue. It's not about whether we're against immorality - of course we're against immorality, of course we desire righteousness rather than unrighteousness. But how we get there, how we produce that morality - that is the issue.

We have to ask ourselves - is this the Christian mandate? Is this our ministry? As always, we must turn to the Scriptures to see what is said there.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

There it is, clear as a bell. Herein lies the mandate and ministry for the Christian in the world - the ministry of reconciliation to God through Christ which brings about righteousness, transformation and a new creation. God is pleading with the world through us to be reconciled to Him, and in this reconciliation - this new creation - there alone lies the ability to practice the morality, virtue and righteousness that we all long for. We can add to this the great commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel." If we are not fulfilling our commission then we're doing something that we have not been mandated by God to do. Anything other than this, no matter how noble, is off target.

Are we to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick? Absolutely! Can we volunteer in hospitals, pregnancy centers, schools and homeless shelters? Yes, yes and yes! But notice in all these cases that we are only helping, fulfilling our purpose to be the salt and light of the world - not trying to enforce morality. Moralism has never been the message of the Scriptures. Isaiah said, "All your righteousness is as filthy rags." Romans says "There is none righteous, not even one. There's none that understands. There's none who seeks after God." So whatever imaginary righteousness men have, whatever superficial morality they may exhibit - in the end it gains them absolutely nothing. Men can come through some crisis and decide to clean up their life. They can turn away from living an immoral life and begin to live a cleaner, better life - and it has no bearing on their relationship to God. Whatever somebody's external degree of morality might be, all are condemned sinners headed to hell. You might be the most moral Pharisee in Israel, you might be the most moral rabbi, you might be the most moral cleric, the most moral Mormon - unless you are reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ it will make no difference whatsoever.

So we can see how dangerous it is for us to be diverted from the singular ministry and mandate that we've been given. This effort at cultural morality has many issues -here are a few notes and comments to think about:

It wastes tremendous amounts of precious resources, time, money and energy. It doesn't matter whether you go to hell as a prostitute or a preacher, it only matters that you go to hell. We spend all this effort to clean up America through political and legislative means - but as Jeremiah asked "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or can the leopard change his spots"? Ephesians 5:16 says, "Make the most of your time because the days are evil and understand what the will of the Lord is and don't be foolish." The will of the Lord is to preach the message of reconciliation. To do something else is to be foolish and to waste time.

It is bound for inevitable failure because you can't do it. No one can be truly righteous and moral before God apart from the transformation of his soul by the Holy Spirit through the gospel. If you don't change the heart, all you do is redirect the sin. If some sins become illegal, then people will just commit other sins or they'll commit the illegal ones in secret.

It fails to understand the nature of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said "My Kingdom is not of this world." There's no connection between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. To spend all your time and energy and effort fighting for some element of human society is asanine and fails to understand the nature of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is the realm of salvation where God rules over and blesses those who are in Christ. Why is it that somehow we've gotten this idea that we have to position America politically for the advancement of the Kingdom of God? They have absolutely no connection. I've heard people say, "If America keeps going the way it's going then we'll lose our freedom to preach and practice the Gospel". Let me state this clearly - there is nothing that can be done on the face of the earth by men politically or socially that has any impact whatsoever on the purposes of God in redemption.

It fails to understand the spiritual significance of the salt and light as indicated in Matthew 5. People that promote a political and cultural solution to the problems in America today say "Well, we have to be the salt and the light". That is true. But the salt and light that Jesus is talking about are not moral influence, they are the gospel witness and the power of holy living. It is the imagery of us shining forth the truth (light) and the preservative of godly living and the manifestation of good works (salt).

It has no New Testament model or pattern to follow except the Pharisees. They were the moral ones. Jesus said about them "When you're through making somebody a convert to your morality, you have made him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." I don't think I would be rejoicing to live in a Pharisaic dominated society - dominated by the mandates of self-righteous, cruel, merciless legalists who laid heavy burdens on people and gave them no help to bear them. There is no New Testament model for political action - absolutely none.

It creates unholy unions in which the unbelieving and enemies of the gospel are joined together. You can find a lot of non-Christians - Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. - to agree that we ought to have a more moral country. Political alliances are then created in order to work for certain moral causes. When you create these unions you do exactly what 2 Corinthians 6 says not to do, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has light with darkness, what agreement has Christ with Satan? Come out from among them and be separated." But this is exactly what you get when you're trying to achieve something through the legal system, the court system, through lobbying or through the media - you embrace other people who agree on the issue regardless of their spiritual status. The gospel is eclipsed and takes a back seat to the aims of the organization. Once that happens, it starts to stretch the boundaries of the Kingdom of God to embrace these people who are not in Christ, and before you know it we are accepting a Gospel of Inclusivism.

It is very selective as to the sins it attacks. You don't find people fighting against a sin like pride. You don't see a great effort against materialism, divorce or adultery. It's a fight against homosexuality, pedophilia, abortion and pornography. Those are all "big" sins that we can all agree on. But let me tell you - it does not deal with the biggest sin in the world. The greatest commandment is "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Therefore doesn't if follow that to break that commandment is the greatest sin - to have failed to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? If you want to go after America's immorality, then let's indict the whole nation for not loving God. If we're going to call America to morality, then let's indict them where they need to be indicted and let's indict our own hearts where we need to be indicted and say we've broken the first and great commandment and we do it all the time and therefore we are all condemned to hell in desperate need of grace and forgiveness and salvation. That's the message.

It fails to understand the true nature of spiritual warfare. To engage in human political efforts is not spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is smashing down all human ideologies with the truth of God. You have a whole world of people who think wrong. They think wrong about themselves. They think wrong about God. They think wrong about Christ if they think about Him at all. They need to think differently. They need to know the truth. They need to know the gospel. They need to know the truth about themselves, the truth about God, the truth about Christ, the truth about His work, the truth about salvation, grace, forgiveness. And it's when you bring that truth to the person and you engage in the war with their mind so that you can bring the truth to bear upon wrong thinking, that's the real spiritual war. So what is the church to be doing? To be preaching the glorious, extensive, complete and whole message of redemption in Jesus Christ and to take that great message to these people who are fortified in these ideological fortresses in which literally they're going to die unless somebody smashes the walls of those lying fortifications with the truth. It's a spiritual war - not a political one.

It makes those we are commanded to lovingly reach with the gospel into the enemy rather than the mission field. The unbelievers, the immoral, the pornographers, the homosexuals and the abortionists all become vilified and hated within the Christian community. They become the enemies. But they aren't the enemies - they are the mission field. We need to make sure that the sinners in the world know that we love them enough to offer them forgiveness. The old adage of "hate the sin but love the sinner" still stands true.

It reverses the divine order. That is, it makes morality the power for salvation. The idea is if we could get a more moral America, then it gives more opportunity to deliver the gospel and more people are going to believe the gospel. And that's really a reverse of the divine order. Morality is not the power for salvation, salvation is the power for morality.

So there are the problems - the reasons why I believe that it is wrong to try and enforce a cultural morality on this nation and any other. So what are we to do? Well, I could tell you what I believe we should do, but Sherry said it much better in her comment than I ever could.

Sherry's Comment:

I think it is right to vote according to the values of the Bible, not our wallets or our political party. I am not against campaigning for a Christian Candidate. I have done it. However, I know that my blessings do not come from Washington D.C., they come from the Creator of the Universe! My hope is in Jesus Christ and my life is in His hands, not the President, Congress, or anyone else for that matter.

When I read this blog this morning and the comments, all I could think about were weeds. Sounds crazy doesn't it? Let me explain:

There was a time that I had a huge yard. I desperately wanted to have a lawn that was just eye catching and felt like carpet when you walked on it (weird, I know). However, when I looked out over the yard all I could see were weeds! Have you ever tried pulling the "endless weed"? I would pull one, and it seemed like it would not only reappear in a few days, but it would bring company! I felt hopeless. I had children who played in the yard, pets whom made our yard their haven, so no chemicals were going to be used on the weeds. But how on earth would I get rid of them? One day I finally figured it out! Plant more GRASS! And so I did. I bought a huge bag of centipede grass seeds and got busy! Those grass seeds sprouted and grew and before I knew it, the grass choked out the weeds! If I planted more of the very thing I wanted and spent less time trying to pull out the very thing I didn’t want, I got better results. Go figure!

Our country is full of weeds, better known as sin. I look at our society, I see weeds of depravity, weeds of moral decline, weeds of political corruption, weeds of violence, weeds of abuse and weeds of crimes against other human beings, weeds of hate, weeds of pride, and I see the weeds that entangle the lost and keep them prisoners of the enemy. It does make you want to just jump up, run out and start snatching up weeds. But what if we planted grass instead? (1 Corinthians 3:6)

Picketing abortion clinics are like trying to pull weeds that are scattered out in a million acres, but supporting homes for unwed mothers or mentoring teens and pouring Christian values into their lives are like planting the grass.

Instead of spending time getting signatures against gay marriages (pulling weeds), why don't Christians spend more time with their spouses, have good marriages and be godly role models for their families and communities (that's planting grass).

We need to be planters. And who knows if each Christian would plant grass in their community, in their area of influence, could it be we wouldn’t have to worry so much about the weeds?

We need to take a stand in America alright, but it needs to be on our knees praying for this lost and dying world. Instead of looking at people with disgust, can we see the weeds that entangle them and mourn for their condition? Could we drop our TV remotes, movie theatre tickets, shopping trip plans, or endless hours on Facebook, or whatever seems to steal our time, and get on our faces and weep for souls? This is the watering.

A Social Gospel? (Part 1)

2009-06-17T18:15:00.001-04:00

I'm going to try something a little different with this blog. I normally tell you what I think and then let you comment, but this time I'm going to turn it around. I have some questions to ask and then I'd like to see your comments and answers. I'll then come back in a few days with 'Part 2' and let you know what I think. I'll tell you up front that the questions - and probably the answers - may not be simple.

Several weeks ago our Sunday School class was going through the C.S. Lewis book Mere Christianity. In one of the chapters he asked the question "Should Christians try and force their morality on unbelievers?". That is a great question and it really got me thinking. We live in an age today where the Evangelical Church in general is significantly involved in trying to influence the culture in which we live. Is that right or wrong?

If that's too general a question then let's get more specific:

Should Christians involve themselves in politics and political campaigns to try and elect officials who hold their same values?
Should Christians involve themselves in the anti-abortion movement and activities such as picketing clinics?

Should Christians campaign politically against same-sex marriage and go door-to-door to collect signatures against it?

Those are just a few of the issues, but there are many others. Like I said, the answers are not always simple and easy, but I want to encourage you to think about this. I look forward to your comments.

When Did I Get Saved?

2009-06-14T23:30:00.001-04:00

I have thought about writing this blog for awhile, but I put it off for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was afraid that some might misunderstand what I'm trying to say. Secondly, I'm not that proud of what I'm going to tell you. The road I've traveled to the faith I have today is not a story of faithfulness and steadfastness on my part. However, after much thought I decided to go ahead, because I think the point I'm trying to make is worth the risk.

12 Years Old - I attended a "Royal Ambassadors" summer camp with other boys in a local Baptist church. The days were filled with activities, but every evening they held a church service with different speakers. One evening an old missionary was speaking and at the end of the service he gave an invitation. Although that was 34 years ago, I still have that 'picture' in my mind. Conviction came upon me and I knew I needed to be saved, so that evening I accepted the invitation and walked down the aisle.

I don't remember much about that experience - it was a long time ago. I don't remember what the missionary said and I don't remember what I said. I do remember that afterward they took us to an area for additional counseling and I distinctly remember crying like a baby. What I do know is that at 12 years old I didn't have much of a grasp of theology. I didn't know about repentance or atonement, justification or sanctification. I just knew if you wanted to get saved you 'walked down the aisle'. So that is what I did - I walked down that aisle and asked Christ to be Lord of my life.

18 Years Old - As a teenager I did my own thing. I attended church with my family, but my heart was far away from God. But after graduation from high school things began to change. I knew it was time to put away childish things. An older lady came to visit our family and we sat down to talk one Saturday evening. Even though she was an older woman and on the outside we had nothing in common, she had Christ in her in a way that I've seen few other people have. The next day I walked the aisle again to ask Christ to be Lord of my life.

33 Years Old - Over the past few years I've married and started a family. I have a good job so that my wife is able to stay home and raise the children. We attend church regularly, but God is not my priority. He is important in my life, but He is not the most important part of my life.

Then my daughter dies and my faith falls apart. I won't go into all the details of those years, but suffice it to say it was a hard, hard time. Not just because of the natural grief you experience, but because of the loss of faith. When the entire world view that you held of God is questioned - His goodness, His compassion, His mercy - in some ways that is even worse than the grief.

I questioned everything about God, even His very existence. But somewhere down deep in my soul I knew He was real. All the 'junk' got stripped away and all that was left was a miniscule faith that said, like Peter, "Where else can I go? You alone have the words of life". So again, I asked Christ to be Lord of my life.

Today - I am saved - there is absolutely no doubt in my mind. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. How do I know? Because I have examined and tested myself in the light of the truth of Scripture.

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

Here's my point that I want to drive home: I cannot look back and base my salvation on an event that occurred when I was 12 or 18 or 33. Even now I'm not exactly sure when and where it occurred. But the important thing is that it has occurred. I have to base my salvation on 'today'. How many people are out there today that would say they are saved because they walked down an aisle or signed a card 20 years ago - yet there is no evidence of a living faith in their life today? That is a very dangerous thing to do. It is so important that we continually examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

John Macarthur gives the following illustration:

"A family sent their child to a high school camp. At camp, this kid broke down and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The youth director told the parents that the kid had made a genuine commitment to Christ, and confessed sin and was so thrilled with a new faith. And the parents were irate because, they said, we were with him when he made his childhood decision. How dare you question the reality of that decision? And they yanked the kid out of the youth group."

Do you see how ridiculous and dangerous that is - to base your salvation on an event that occurred years ago as opposed to a current and living faith?

I hope that no one has misunderstood me. It's not my intention to belittle someone's salvation experience. Many people can pinpoint an exact place, date and time that they invited Christ into their lives, and I think that is a wonderful thing and should be cherished. However, others may find that they cannot do that. I would think that we can all agree that what is important in either case - what is vital - is the genuineness of our faith today.

For He says: “ In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2

Truth Hurts

2009-06-12T08:39:00.022-04:00

There is an old adage that says 'the truth hurts'. Just recently this was brought home to me in my life when I found out that something I had thought to be true about myself was, in fact, not true. Now some will say that finding out the truth is always a good thing. But if we're honest with ourselves, I think we will admit that sometimes we find out things we'd just as soon have never known. That is true in my case - finding out the truth hurt.

I learned a real lesson in this. I had an idea about myself of who I thought I really was - but it turned out I wasn't that person. With that reality comes disappointment. But truth is like that - it is not discriminating. What I mean by that is that truth really doesn't regard the results. It just shines the light on the darkness and what is there is there. We have to deal with what the truth uncovers, and many times that can hurt.

So we all have a choice to make - do we let the light of the truth uncover the darkness in our lives and then deal with it? Or do we do like Pontius Pilate?

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all. - John 18:37-38

Now what really jumps out at me from this passage is the following line:

"And when he had said this, he went out ..."

You see, Pilate asked the question and then just walked away - not waiting for the answer because he wasn't interested in the truth. He had 'the Truth' right in front of him, but he wasn't willing to address it. Many of us do the same thing - we are unwilling to let the truth in because we know it will hurt. It will not only show us things about ourselves that we don't like, but it will demand that we address those issues.

I mentioned earlier that truth shines the light into the darkness. One of the things you see in Scripture is that 'truth' and 'light' go hand in hand. One does not exist or work without the other.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” - John 3:20-21

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. - 1 John 1:6

Is it hard to let the truth and light into every area of our life - to uncover hidden sins and corruption we don't want to admit are really there? Of course it's hard. But look at the next verse.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7

This is an amazing verse of scripture. Do you see how it works? As we walk in light and truth, sin will naturally be uncovered in our life. As a result, we are able to confess that sin and be cleansed through His blood. So in effect, the very fact that sin is being brought into the light and disposed of is a direct consequence of walking in the light and truth - it is a direct consequence of being His child!

In fact, John drives home the point in the next verse:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. - 1 John 1:8

Wow. He's saying the ability to recognize and confess your sin is a test of being a child of God, while those who do not or cannot recognize their sin show evidence that they are not His.

Does the truth hurt sometimes? Sure it does. It hurts when we think we are one thing and the truth of God shows us that we are something else. But we need to understand the process - that He is uncovering things that need to be cleansed so that we can be purified and become a vessel of honor for Him.

Staying In Our Lane

2009-06-08T19:40:00.001-04:00

In the world today there is an all out war being waged - an assault on the Truth. One of the things that frustrates me sometimes is that I feel my part in this war is so small. This may not be true of all of us, but I think that many of us from time to time just want our voices to be heard. The Truth can seem so clear to us that we just want to shout it from the housetops so the whole world can hear it - but I don't have that ability. We look at others and see what they are doing in their lives and in their ministries and in comparison our contributions can seem so small. That's why the following scripture is so encouraging to me. Paul says that we have all been given a 'sphere' of influence - in other words, a lane to run in.

2 Corinthians 10:12-18

12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you.

14 For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; 15 not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, 16 to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

17 But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

Recognize your lane

Look around you and make sure that you are aware of your lane. Many a person has run off chasing spheres of influence and forgotten their most immediate area of importance - their family. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters; be the person God has called you to be within your family and make sure to encourage, exhort and be a help to those around you.

If you are called to a ministry within your local body of believers - secretary, usher, mentor, teacher, etc. - then that is the lane you are called to run in. At some point in the future God may choose to expand your lane or even give you another one - but while you are where you are fight the battle there. You are called to hold that one place in the line - don't let the enemy through!

Be content in your lane

Your lane may not be as big as someone else's, but it's yours and it's been given to you by God. Don't get caught up in comparing yourselves to others and what they may or may not be doing(in fact, Paul says he "wouldn't dare" compare himself to others). That is not your business. Do what God has called you to do and be content with it. If you are doing good and great things are happening for you - give the glory to God and don't take it for yourself. Even if it seems that 'little' is getting done - give the glory to God and thank him for the opportunity that you've been given. If you are giving everything you have in your lane then God will do the commending at the proper time.

Give your all in your lane

Most importantly - give it your all. Don't look back at the end of the race and say to yourself 'I could have given more'. Life is so short - run the race with everything you have.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31

Did She Know?

2009-06-04T23:05:00.004-04:00

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” - John 2:1-5

We are all probably very familiar with the story of Jesus turning the water into wine. But it's a story that has always perplexed me. We are told in the Scriptures that "this beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee". So we know that this was His first miracle. He had never performed one previously.

So why would His mother tell the servants "Whatever He says to you, do it"? Did she expect Him to perform a miracle? Did she expect Him to make wine appear in some way? If your answer to that is "yes", then I would have to ask you another question - Why? If he had never peformed a miracle before - why in the world would she even expect one? Did she somehow know that this was going to be the site of the first miracle of His ministry?

What do you think? I'd like to hear your comments.

The Amazing Bible

2009-06-04T00:01:00.017-04:00

The more I learn about the Bible, the more I come to understand what an amazing book it really is. The Bible was written thousands of years before we had all the scientific knowledge that we have today, and yet there is not one single statement in the Bible that contradicts known scientific facts. Contrast that with other 'holy' books like the Hindu Bible. In the sacred writings of the Hindus you find such nonsense as this:

"The moon is 50,000 leagues higher than the sun, and shines by its own light.”

“Night is caused by the sun setting behind a huge mountain several thousand feet high located in the center of the earth.”

Keep in mind that if the skeptics could find even one single statement like that in the Scriptures then the Bible would be discredited completely - but they can't. In fact, we find just the opposite. The Scriptures reveal a source of knowledge far ahead of its time - a source that could only be divine.

“He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.” - Job 26:7

For thousands of years people thought the earth had to be somehow supported by something. Yet Job - without the benefit of a telescope of modern science - said that the earth was hung on nothing. How did he know that?

“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers - Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” - Isaiah 40:22

For thousands of years people thought the earth was flat, even into the middle ages. But Isaiah somehow knew that the earth was a circle. How did he know that?

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away … I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.” Luke 17:31-34

I don't know if you've ever noticed this scripture before - but note that in the first part Jesus says "in that day" but later he says "in that night". Now he's only talking about a single event - one that would have to occur in the day and the night. He could only say that if he knew it was day on one side of the earth and night on the other side.

“Have you entered the treasury of snow,or have you seen the treasury of hail?” Job 38:22

When Job made this statement no one had yet looked at a snowflake under a microscope and discovered the wonders of it. How did he know that?

“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen - Even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.” - Psalms 8:6-8

It would be thousands of years before scientist discovered that there are actually 'rivers' or 'channels' that run throughout the seas and oceans. How did the psalmist know that already?

“A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.” - Number 19:18

Did you know? In the Old Testament hyssop was used as a purifying agent. Science has shown that hyssop oil has been shown to contain 50% anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agents. How would they have known that then?

“He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.” - Genesis 17:12

Did you know? Medical researchers recently discovered that the two main blood clotting factors, Vitamin K and Prothrombim, reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal, on the 8th day after birth. These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection. Any circumcision done earlier requires an injection of Vitamin K supplement. How would they know that?

I've recently been studying the 'history' of the Bible, including how it was accumulated and how it was transmitted down to us. Throughout history it has been attacked again and again by unbelievers, attempting to discredit and destroy it. But it has withstood them all and continues to be the only source of truth. The evidence for its divine authorship is simply amazing.

Sick

2009-05-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

I was sick a couple of weeks ago with a headache and a sore throat. Even when I'm sick, I'm not one to just lay up in the bed and do nothing. I tend to try to go ahead and work or do whatever and just push through it (not because I'm any kind of a trooper or anything, it's just that laying up in the bed is incredibly boring). Anyway, I was trying to do some work with the headache - and it just wasn't happening. I couldn't think straight. I was able to do some simple stuff, but anything that took some intelligent thinking I had to put off for another day.

It just so happened that at the time I was doing some research into other religions and what they believe for a class that I'm teaching. There is so much information out there on the Internet, but it takes a lot of compiling and organizing to get it into a presentable and understandable format. Anyway, let's just say that when your head and throat hurt and your head is all cloudy, compiling and organizing facts into a understandable format doesn't seem to work to well.

One of the things that has really astounded me about these other religions is their ability to believe things that are so far-fetched. Now I realize that I believe things that some would consider far-fetched (e.g. the Virgin Birth), but I believe them because the Bible tells me they are so. But they believe things that are far-fetched and have absolutely no scripture to back them up. So I ask myself, 'How can they be so deceived? How can they not understand the truth when it is right in front of them?" Even as I ask that question I realize it is not limited to other religions, but is true of all unbelievers.

But it's like me being sick. Everything I needed was right in front of me - but I just couldn't put my head around it. The knowledge was there but I couldn't compile it into an understandable format. It was like trying to see through a fog - you know that something is there but you just can't quite see it clearly.

That's what it's like being an unbeliever. The truth can be right in front of you, so close that it is staring you in the face - but you just can't quite understand it. Your mind can't compile the Scriptures into something understandable. The reason? You are spiritually sick - in fact, you are so spiritually sick that you are dead. You are trying to understand spiritual things with a natural mind - and that will never work.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. - Romans 8:6-7

I'm not sure if I am supposed to learn a lesson from this or not. I just know that for one brief moment I got an understanding of how difficult it may be for someone to come to the Truth. For one moment I realized that without the Holy Spirit drawing us and illuminating the truth for us - we would be 'ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth'.

Love without Need

2009-05-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

In the book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis has a quote. I won't take the time to look it up and quote it exactly, but the gist of it is as follows:

"Christians can love you more than anyone else, but they need you less".

When I first read that I wasn't sure what he meant. But the more I studied on it the more I understood what he was saying. As Christians, we are commanded to love everyone - not only our friends but our enemies as well. Now this is hard to do to begin with, but as we put on the Lord Jesus Christ we begin to find that it becomes easier. As we grow and mature we find that our capacity to love expands more and more. So I do believe it's true that Christians can love others more (and better) then anyone else can.

But what about the 2nd part of that statement - they need you less? Let's examine that more closely. Each of us has 3 areas of our lives in which we have needs and desires: physical, emotional and spiritual. In our society today, we are encouraged to fulfill these needs through relationships. In the moral parts of society, we are encouraged to fulfill them through marriage. In the immoral parts of society, we are encouraged to fulfill them through any relationship we so choose.

Now obviously I would encourage marriage over the other, but even in marriage there is a danger of putting marriage up as the answer that will meet all our needs. Anyone that has been married will tell you that is not true. Marriage is a wonderful thing, but if you are relying on your spouse to meet your emotional and spiritual needs, you are going to be sadly disappointed.

I'm not a marriage counselor, so I'm not an expert on the subject. But don't you think one of the main reasons that marriages fail is that one spouse doesn't feel that the other spouse is "meeting their needs"?

"Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." - Psalm 37:4

That is the truth: only in Christ can those needs be met. He is the only one that can truly fulfil those inward desires.

"But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." -Phillipians 4:19

My whole life I've heard that scripture quoted about material things, but it is so much more than that. "All your needs" are supplied by God - material, emotional and spiritual!

So now can you see what Lewis meant by his statement - "Christians can love you more than anyone else, but they need you less"? When Christ is first and foremost in our lives, we then have the ability to love our spouse - our family member - our friends - more than we ever could before. But we don't need them to make us content. We don't need them to fulfill those emotional and spiritual needs. They are fulfilled in Christ. And now we can really love, unencumbered.

Preach the Word!

2009-05-04T19:58:00.002-04:00

We sometimes think that immorality couldn't be worse than it is in our day, but if you study history you'll see that there was a time when it was much worse than it is today. Homosexuality and sexual perversions were rife in the Roman Empire during the days of the Apostle Paul. In cities like Corinth and Ephesus immorality was not only rampant but was considered normal behavior by society in general. But that was just one form of wickedness that was being practiced - there were many others.

Paul described it this way in his 2nd letter to to Timothy:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. - 2 Timothy 3:1-4

That's a pretty good list and I think most would agree that it pretty well describes our current society. A few verses later he adds one more ominous note - it won't get better.

But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. - 2 Timothy 3:13

Paul was in prison and this would be his last letter to Timothy - his beloved son in the faith. What advice would he give him? What piece of wisdom would he impart to him to enable him to battle the forces of the enemy?

Work with the Roman Senate to pass laws to legislate moral behavior?

Open counseling centers to work with troubled people?

Open faith-based ministries with the Roman government's money?

Protest the bathhouses and other dens of iniquity?

No, he didn't say any of that. This is what he said:

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. - 2 Timothy 4:1-2

The Bible clearly teaches that the Word - the Truth - changes people. It alone is able to convince, rebuke and exhort. But for some reason we've lost our focus. Preaching doesn't seem to be good enough anymore. Even though you won't hear people admit it, it seems that there is a reliance on programs and buildings and ministries and stories and technology more than on the the simple preaching of the Word of God. Why? I'm not sure. For many, preaching seems "old fashioned". They feel like that in order to minister to today's culture, you have to be "culturally relevant" - not preach a message that sounds foolish to the world. But the Apostle Paul makes an amazing statement in his letter to the church at Corinth.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 1:18

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. - 1Corinthians 1:21

Preaching is God's plan. It may sound like foolishness to the flesh - but it is God's way. No matter what we try, we cannot improve upon it. John the Baptist preached, Jesus preached, the Apostles preached. There is no other way. In season and out of season - in good times and bad times - in a Christian society and in a pagan society - all the time and anytime - Preach the Word!

For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? - Rom 10:13-14

Teach Us To Pray

2009-04-27T08:16:00.004-04:00

One of the things that we are commanded to do in Scripture is to pray. We all know that prayer is important, but I think that probably many of us struggle with how to pray. One of Christ's own disciples struggled with this as well. In fact, he asked Jesus to teach him to pray.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” - Luke 11:1-4

Now I'm sure that Jesus gave this teaching many times throughout his ministry travels as He taught from village to village. In fact, we find a separate instance in the book of Matthew when Jesus gave this same teaching during the Sermon on the Mount.

"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" - Matthew 6:9-13

I grew up playing sports. And I can't tell you how many times we would kneel before a game and say the Lord's Prayer. We all knew it but I doubt any of us could explain what it meant. I've heard this prayer repeated over and over at different functions and gatherings throughout my life. It's sad that the very thing we were told not to do - to use vain repetitions - we have somehow taken the Lord's Prayer and made it into exactly that.

This prayer was never meant to be a mantra - it was meant to be a model. That's why it's important that we really look at it and see what we should be praying for. When I look at it, this is what I see (in my own words):

Holy Father,
I want your will to be done in my life.
Meet my daily needs.
Forgive my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me.
Lead me away from temptation, and deliver me from the evil one when I fall into it.
For it's all about You, not me.

The other morning in Sunday School we were discussing our lives and how we tend to really pray only when we get in trouble. We pray that God would eliminate things that cause us discomfort like sickness, money troubles, family troubles, etc.. Now don't get me wrong; if I get in trouble in anyway I'm going to pray. The Apostle James put it this way:

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. - James 5:13

But the funny thing is that I don't see anything in the Lord's prayer about health, wealth, prosperity, a good job or a trouble-free life. In fact It's a pretty simple prayer when you really look at it. The only thing in there about "material" things is asking God to meet our daily needs.
The Apostle James tells us that the problem with our prayers is that we are asking for the wrong things.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. - James 4:3

When I investigate my own prayer life, I find that it revolves around me. What we need to understand is that prayer - true prayer - is about His kingdom, His power and His glory.

If You Love Me

2009-04-20T19:50:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a long day. We had our baseball fundraiser at the Rec Park and we were out there all day long. Sunday we went to church and then out to eat afterward. I had to be back at the church at 6:00 pm so as you can imagine, afterwards all I wanted to was get to the house and take a nap. I was only about 4 or 5 miles from the house. That's when I saw them. Two women on the side of road holding up a sign: "Need gas - trying to get home."

I'm sure you've all been there. You've got other things on your mind, things to do and places to go. You really don't want to stop. You know you should - but you don't want to. And that's when the internal struggle begins.

"Somebody else will help them."

"They'll probably do something else with the money."

"How could they let themselves get in that position, anyway?"

I drove at least 2 or 3 miles past them, arguing with myself before I decided to turn around. I went back and offered to fill their tank up if they drove just up the road to the gas station. As it turned out, they were completely out of gas and someone had already left to go and get a gas tank to bring them some gas. I gave them some money and left.

Now before you think I did anything worthwhile, let me just tell you that even when I went back - I didn't want to. Everything in me wanted to just go home. So what made me turn around and go back? With all that arguing with myself, one thing kept coming to my mind.

"If you love me, keep my commandments."

Why did I go back? I went back because I love Him. Did I feel "loving"? No, I didn't. Did I feel compassion for them? No, I'm sorry to say that I didn't. I want to be more compassionate. I want to be more loving. And I believe that if I continue to "put on Christ Jesus", continue to obey His commandments, continue to "walk as He walked", that in time I will become more and more like Him. But until then I'll still try and obey even when I don't feel like it. Because that's what love is.

For I was hungry, and you gave me meat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me. - Matthew 25:35-36

P.S. I almost didn't write this blog because I thought it might come off as self-serving - a kind of "look what I did". I hope it didn't come across that way. In fact, I didn't feel good about myself at all. What kind of person goes by two women on the road and then has to drive miles past them before turning around and then coming back? I'm reminded of the lyrics of a song by D.C. Talk.

"What's going on inside me,

I despise my own behavior.

It only serves to confirm my suspicions

That I'm still a man in need of a Savior."

It Is Written

2009-04-14T22:12:00.000-04:00

Awhile back I was reading in the Gospels about the temptation of Jesus. As I read, I was once again struck by the fact of how Jesus used the Scriptures to defend Himself against that attack. He didn't answer Satan with His own thoughts or His own beliefs or His own ideas - He only quoted the pure and undefiled Word of God. For Him, the Scripture was sufficient.

And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” *

* Quoting Deuteronomy 8:3

And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” *

* Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you', and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” *

Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16.

A few weeks ago I was listening to a sermon on the teachings of the Catholic Mass. This was a subject I had always been interested in because I wasn't really clear on the differences in beliefs between Catholics and Protestants regarding the Lord's Supper. As I studied, I also looked into other belief systems as well such as Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses. What became clear to me as I delved deeper was that they all had something in common with each other - they all believed in revelation beyond Scripture. They say they believe in the Bible, but they all have teachings or writings that they consider equal to the Bible or in some cases, revere even above the Bible. Or to put it another way - the Scriptures are not sufficient for them.

It seems to me that the biggest temptation of every generation is to veer away from Scripture - to add a little bit to it or take a little bit away from it. That is a dangerous game to play. One generation may add a little here, while another generation takes a little from there. After awhile, Scripture becomes unrecognizable. We like to think that this only occurs in cults and other religions, but turn on your Christian television station any night and watch a few of the health and wealth teachers. It is a travesty what is being done to Scripture in the name of Christ.

Even when people are well meaning, it still cannot be allowed to happen. Not too long ago I was having an email exchange with a friend of mine who is a Christian. My disagreement with him had nothing to do with his actions - the things he is doing are good things and are to be applauded. My disagreement was with the fact that I felt he was misusing Scripture in order to validate those good things he was doing. That can't be allowed to happen.

Scripture is not like Play-Doh. I can't mold it to fit my beliefs. It's the other way around - I have to mold my beliefs to fit Scripture. Scripture is like a diamond that's been passed down and it's each generation's responsibility to keep it pure and clean. It is our guide and our standard. It is the absolute truth by which we direct our lives. If it gets corrupted then we are lost. Trying to live with a corrupted standard as your guide is like trying to put something together with the wrong instructions.

Here's my point. It is easy for us to look at others - other religions or cults or even other Christians - and say 'Look how they are twisting the Scripture'. But if we are not careful, we'll do the same thing in our own life. We'll try and make Scripture fit our traditions by adding to it or twisting it or reading something into it that it doesn't really say. I know - I've done it.

Do we really believe that Scripture is sufficient? Most of us would probably answer in the affirmative. So here's a little food for thought.

- If your marriage is in trouble, where would you go? To the Bible or the latest best-seller in the Christian bookstore?

- If your finances are out of order, where would you go? To the Bible or the latest seminar?

- If your addiction is killing you, where would you go? To the Bible or the latest self-help group?

- If you need guidance, where would you go? To the Bible or to the world famous evangelist on the Christian television program?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not necessarily saying that books or seminars or group meetings are bad. I am saying they don't have the answers. The truth is found in the Word and only in the Word.

Do you believe that? Do you believe that the Word and It alone is sufficient for everything we need? I do. I believe that everything I need for guidance and direction is there. I believe that everything I need to know of how to be a godly man, a good husband and father is there. I believe the ability to love others is there. I believe that the way to eternal life is found there. I believe it is all sufficient - I believe perfection can be found there and only there.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

My Purpose

2009-04-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

What is my purpose? That is a question I'm sure we all - Christians and non-Christians alike - ask ourselves from time to time. We want to make sure the lives we live are worthwhile, and part of that is knowing what our purpose here on earth really is.

As Christians, the question is even more important for us. We want to do the will of the Father, to walk in obedience to Him. As such, many of us worry and agonize over figuring out what the will of God is for our lives - what our purpose is in His plan.

I like things simple, so here's what I think stated as simply as possible - our purpose is to be like Christ. That's it. That is the sum and total of Christianity. To walk like Him, talk like Him and act like Him. In every way, in every aspect of our lives, to put on His character.

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:6

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. - Romans 13:14

I was speaking with a friend of mine a week or so ago. He was saved several years ago and was told by some that he was destined to be a preacher, while others told him he was destined to be a teacher or a prophet. You name it and it was probably laid on his shoulders. I know that he struggled with those expectations. As we were discussing this subject - that our only purpose is to be like Christ - he said to me " I wish someone had told me that six years ago".

As I was speaking with him I was reminded of the story in the Scriptures (John 6) where the people asked Jesus a question:

Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

That's just like us, isn't it? We always seem to focus on the results - the works. If we're not careful, we'll get so caught up in our own and others expectations for our life that we'll miss what's really important. We'll put pressure on ourselves to fulfill those expectations and miss what it is that Christ really wants us to do. That's why I like this story so much, because Jesus' answer takes the pressure off.

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Just believe. Just focus on Him. Everything else will come as a result of that in His good time.

Are There Few Who Are Saved?

2009-04-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

I've always been fascinated by the questions that people asked Jesus. What an opportunity - to be able to ask the Creator of the Universe any question that you want! Some tried to trick Him, others didn't understand Him, but there were some very sincere questions as well. One such question that was asked of Jesus has especially fascinated me.

According to Luke, it happened early in the week of His passion, as he was journeying on His way to Jerusalem. As He went through the cities and villages teaching, a certain man asked Him a question.

"Lord, are there few who are saved?”

Who was this man who asked the question and what were his reasons? The Scriptures don't give us this information, but what an astute question it was. What is fascinating to me is the answer. To put it bluntly, the answer is shocking.

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

The Greek word for "strive" is agonizomai, which is where we get our English word "agonize". It implies an agonizing, intense, purposeful struggle. It is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 9:25 of an athlete battling to win a victory. It is also used in Colossians 4:12 of Epaphras laboring fervently, and in 1 Timothy 6:12, of the Christian who "fights the good fight of faith."

We are told many times in the Gospels that Jesus taught everywhere He went, but obviously every teaching and every conversation is not recorded. However, we know He taught this same thing in the sermon on the mount as recorded by Matthew.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

If we look at these two passages together, we find the following:

The way to eternal life is narrow, hard to find and difficult

Only a few will find it

Once found, we must strive or 'fight' to get in

Many will try to get in and will not be able

If you're like me, when you read those items above you almost don't recognize that as the Gospel. We surely don't hear that preached by the majority of the well known preachers today. Most of what is taught today is an 'easy believism' - but that is a subject for another blog.

First of all, let me state unequivocally that I believe salvation is by grace and faith alone. There is absolutely nothing you can do to earn it or qualify for it. It is a gift from God. So how do we square that with the fact that we have to 'fight' to enter in? Let me make a couple of points.

First, for those of us that have been raised with the truth, the statement that the way to eternal life is hard to find seems a little odd. But that is only because it has been shown to us from the beginning - even from our childhood. But most are not as blessed. For those raised outside the truth, the truth is hard to find. Imagine yourself growing up a Buddhist or a Muslim or even an atheist. It would not be easy to find the truth.

Secondly, once it's been found we still must fight to enter in. This is true for all who find the narrow gate. There are people who sit in churches across America every Sunday and hear the truth. The way to eternal life is shown them again and again and again. And yet they do not enter in. What are they fighting? What is preventing them from making it in?

Self.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." - Jesus Christ

C.S. Lewis puts it this way:

“The natural life is each of us is something self-centered, something that wants to be petted and admired, to take advantage of others, to exploit the whole universe. And especially it wants to be left to itself: to keep well away from anything better or stronger or higher than it, anything that might make it feel small. It is afraid of the light and air of the spiritual world, just as people who have been brought up to be dirty are afraid of a bath. And in a sense it is quite right. It knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, its self centeredness and self will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that.”

So it is a fight - a fight with your self - to even yield yourself to the grace and mercy extended to you by God. And even if you win that fight and decide to follow Jesus, self will show itself again the next day and the fight will be on - and the day after that, and the day after that and the day after that. That's why Jesus said to take up your cross 'daily' - we must crucify the flesh - the old nature on a daily basis.

The Apostle Paul put it this way:

Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Are there few that are saved? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Jesus clearly stated that as we discussed above. But here is an interesting thing. Remember the guy that asked the question? Here is the text in its entirety.

Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ - Luke 13:23-27

Here's what's interesting to me - notice that Jesus did not answer him - not directly. He said to them - to everyone - 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate'. His point was this: Don't worry about how many are saved - worry about whether YOU are saved.

What's In a Name?

2009-03-30T22:34:00.001-04:00

Several people have asked me why I started this blog. The easy answer is that I've always had a lot to say, and this blog just gives me another way to say it. That is part of the reason, but another reason was born out of a Sunday School class that I was teaching. At the time I started the blog, I was teaching a class on discernment. As part of preparing for the class I was doing a lot of research on different movements and theologies. My idea was that I would come across information that I wanted to share with people through the blog - so I titled the blog "Truth Seekers".

What I didn't realize was that while teaching that class, God would begin to deal with me about "living the eternal life" (I blogged on that subject back on 12/11/08, so you can go back and read that if you want). For the first time in my life, I began to try and truly live the following scripture:

I realized that even though I was a Christian and had been born again, I was not letting Christ completely run my life - in other words, I was still living my life and not letting Christ live in me. I wanted Him to change me - to make me into a better person - but in my inner being my personal happiness was still the driving force in my life. So I decided to yield to Him like never before - to truly let the 'eternal' life be the driving force behind my actions and decisions. As part of that, this blog took on a decidedly different flavor and began to be a way for me to exhort and encourage others to also take on the challenge of living the eternal life.

With that in mind, you may have noticed that I've changed the name of the blog. Don't get me wrong, I'm still seeking truth. But what I discovered is there is not much good in finding truth if you don't live it. And there are far too many of us out there who sit and learn truth but never get around to applying it the way we should to our lives. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't know how much time I have left here, but I want to spend it doing my best to yield my members to Him - to allow the Holy Spirit to make me into a Christian - a little Christ.

So let me encourage you - live the 'eternal life'. Take to heart our Savior's call to deny yourself and crucify the flesh. Only is this can we truly find our life.

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." - Jesus Christ

Where are the Christians?

2009-03-24T22:01:00.000-04:00

Many of you may have heard about the Barna Research Group's survey. The survey was conducted just recently and then compared with the results of the same survey conducted in 1995, 2000 and then again in 2005. The purpose of the survey was to explore how many Americans have what might be considered a “biblical worldview.”

For the purposes of the survey, a "biblical worldview" was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

Now if you are like me, those items listed above aren't even controversial. Those statements are basic to Christian doctrine. In fact, let me just get this off my chest and go ahead and state here for the record that I believe the following:

1. Absolute moral truth DOES exist
2. The Bible IS totally accurate in everything it teaches
3. Satan IS a real being
4. A person CANNOT earn their way into Heaven
5. Jesus Christ DID live a sinless life
6. God IS the all-knowing and all-powerful creator and still rules today

Overall, the current research revealed that only 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview. Now that is bad enough, but it just gets worse from there. Out of the total group surveyed, a sub-group was defined by those who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior. This sub-group was labeled “born again Christians". The study discovered that among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19%) had such an outlook on life.

So 19% of people who said they were born-again Christians believe those six statements? How can that be? Although the numbers for the overall group are disheartening, the numbers for those who say they are born-gain are downright staggering to me. Here are some more findings for those who said they are born-again:

46% of born again adults believe in absolute moral truth.

79% of born again adults believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches.

40% of born again adults are convinced that Satan is a real force.

47% of born again Christians strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds (this means that 53% believe you CAN earn salvation through your works!).

62% of born again adults believe that Jesus lived a sinless life.

93% of born again adults say that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today.

One other thing that is really frightening is what they found in young people. As I was writing this blog I texted my older son Joshua who is 21. I asked him if he believed in those six things. He said 'Yes'. I texted back that he could consider himself in the minority. The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent (1/2%!) of young adults (those aged 18 to 23) have a biblical worldview.

Why is this important? A person's worldview has a powerful impact on their life. A worldview serves as a filter through which a person makes decisions and choices with lasting impacts. By helping to clarify what a person believes to be important, a worldview has a dramatic influence on a person’s choices in any given situation. A person's worldview has a dramatic effect in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices. When your worldview is corrupt, the conscience is defiled.

Where are the Christians - the true Christians? How have we come to a point in this society where a person can call themselves 'born-again' and not believe that their Savior lived a sinless life? Can call themselves Christians and still believe that salvation can be earned through works?

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Jesus Christ

Informing the Conscience

2009-03-17T21:40:00.016-04:00

Most airplanes have a radar system built into them. This radar system warns the pilot of danger. He could be flying too low or there could be another plane within range, but whatever the danger he relies upon the radar system to warn him. As humans, we have two types of radar systems, so to speak, built into us. One is for our body and the other for our spirit.

The radar system for our body is called pain. Pain warns us that something is not right. For a young child, it serves as a great teacher. As parents we can warn them again and again, but they only have to touch a hot stove or a burning match one time and pain will teach them a lesson they won't soon forget. Now most people consider pain a bad thing, but it's really not. In fact, it's a wonderful gift from God. Just think for a moment what a life without pain would be like - not knowing when something is too hot, not knowing when something hurts. The results would be disastrous.

Just as pain functions as a warning system for our body, the conscience performs the same function for our our inner man. How does it work? First of all, it has an innate ability to sense between what is right and what is wrong. The conscience urges you to do what you believe is right and restrains you from doing what you believe is wrong. When you violate your conscience, it condemns you and triggers feelings of shame, regret and anxiety. Conversely, when you follow your conscience, it commends you and brings self-respect, well-being and gladness. Conscience is at the heart of what distinguishes a human being from other creatures. People, unlike animals, can contemplate their own actions and make moral self-evaluations. That is the very function of conscience.

But don't equate the conscience with the voice of God or the law of God. Everyone has a conscience, both Christians and non-believers. It is a human faculty that judges your actions and thoughts by the light of the highest standard you perceive. And herein lies the problem. Because it is only a human faculty it is not perfect. Teaching, tradition and truth all inform the conscience, so the standards it holds you to are not necessarily biblical ones. For example, since teaching informs the conscience, false or wrong teaching can "program" the conscience incorrectly and give the person invalid information regarding right and wrong. Other things that can cripple the conscience are human wisdom and wrong moral influences.

The Scriptures tell us clearly that the conscience can become defiled so that it can no longer distinguish between pure and impure.

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. - Titus 1:15

The Apostle Paul tells us that the conscience can be cauterized - seared with a hot iron.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. - 1 Timothy 4:2

Once a conscience is no longer working correctly so that it cannot tell right from wrong - or has been seared so that it is not working at all - at that point we are like an airplane flying in the dark with no radar and no instruments. We are flying blind.

As Christians, it is important to keep our conscience in good working order. Since it reacts to the convictions and beliefs of our mind, it can be sharpened so that it works in accordance with truth. We need to fill up our mind and our hearts with God's Word so that our conscience can be correctly informed and able to judge rightly.

A New Heart

2009-03-11T22:40:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about my skin. Now I'll admit I don't normally think about my skin that often - OK, never - but I've been thinking about how much our skin changes over our lifetime. A baby's skin is so soft and smooth and perfect. No scars or bumps or wrinkles or blemishes. It hasn't been affected by the wind and sun or the rough and tumble of life. And then I look at mine. Like most people over 40, our skin just isn't what it used to be. It's full of lines and scars and blemishes. And the thing is, there is nothing I can do to go back and restore it to the way it was. I can try different creams and lotions and even surgery if I get desperate, but it is what it is. Maybe I can make some minor improvements, but I can't change it. The skin I was born with started to decay and die the minute I came into the world.

Our life is a like that, too. The prophet Jeremiah put it this way:

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil." - Jeremiah 13:23

We've all sinned, and that sin has created scars and blemishes on the inside. And no matter what we do we can't change it. We can even want desperately to change. We can read all the self-help books we can find to try and improve ourselves. We can make lifestyle changes like going to church or quitting smoking. Maybe I can make some minor improvements, but I can't change who I am on the inside. The person I am was born dead in sin - accustomed to doing evil. As Jeremiah said, the same way a man can't change his skin, neither can he change his nature from evil to good.

But the good news is that God isn't interested in just changing or improving me. He wants something far different. He wants to create me again. He wants a new man.

Jesus tried to explain this to Nicodemus.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - John 3:3-6

With my new birth I get everything new, not just re-furbished. But greater than that is the fact that this new life isn't like my old one. Paul said it this way:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2Corinthians 5:17

I have a new mind. (1 Corinthians 2:16).

I have a new spirit. (Ezekiel 36:27)

I have a new life. (John 14:6)

I have a new heart. (Ezekiel 11:19)

The reality of this new heart really came home to me over the last few days. My father-in-law had open heart surgery. They did two bypasses and a valve replacement and he is doing great. But no matter how good a job they did - it is not a new heart. And eventually over time it will decay and run down just like all other human hearts always have. But with my new birth I've been given a different type of heart.

"Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." - Jeremiah 24:7

I have been given a new heart - but this new heart is not like my old one. It is not a heart that is born to sin. It is a heart that is set apart to God - a heart born to holiness.

Humility

2009-03-02T07:30:00.000-05:00

In our class we are going through the book 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis. We were covering the chapter on Pride, and since Humility is the opposite of Pride I asked my class what they first thought of when they think of a 'humble' man. Some of the responses included 'meek', 'weak' and 'low self-esteem'. I must admit I think the same way. When I think of a humble man I think of a man with his head down, unwilling to accept praise or congratulations. It just goes to show what a distorted view of 'humility' we really have.

For us to understand what true Humility really is, we first have to understand Pride. Pride is all about self. I can do it, I'm better than you, I deserve it, I'm a good person. As C.S. Lewis says, it's the complete 'anti-God' state of mind. God absolutely hates and opposes Pride.

I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. - Proverbs 8:13

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. - James 4:6

Why does He hate it so? Because as long as 'self' is on the throne of our lives we cannot know Him. It is the greatest barrier to a relationship with Him. So how do we overcome Pride and find Humility within ourselves? Well, first we have to realize our own bankruptcy. We have to truly understand that I can't do it, I'm not better than you, I don't deserve it and I'm not a good person. The scriptures call this a "broken and contrite heart". We have to see ourselves for who we really are, which then allows us to see God for who He truly is. We have to depose 'self' as the ruler of our hearts and replace it with God. Then and only then can we practice true Humility.

What will that humility look like?

Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.” - C.S. Lewis

Do we know what true humility really is - or do we only know how to "act" humble? A truly humble person will not be thinking about acting humble - he will not be thinking about himself or humility at all. He will only be thinking about his Savior, and his glory will be in Him.

But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. - 2Corinthians 10:17-18

Embracing the Trial

2009-02-26T07:23:00.024-05:00

Two houses. They both look alike. They both are built from the same materials. Which one is well built and which one is not? Which one has a good foundation and which one does not? Which builder was wise and which one was not? By just looking at them from the outside, there is no way to tell. Months and years go by and they both persist. As far as anyone from the outside can tell they are both the same.

But eventually the test comes in the form of a storm, and the test reveals the truth.

Two men. They both look alike. They are both built from the same materials. Which one is well built and which one is not? Which one has a good foundation and which one does not. Which builder was wise and which one was not? By just looking at them from the outside, there is no way to tell. Months and years go by and they both persist. As far as anyone from the outside can tell they are both the same.

But eventually the test comes in the form of a storm - a trial. And the test reveals the truth.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” - Matthew 7:24-27

How do we know our faith is real? Testing and trials prove our faith. Look at the following well known verse:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." - James 1:2-3

The word 'testing' used here is the Greek work 'dokimion', which means "a test by which anything is proven". This test James is talking about is specifically for the purpose of proving our faith is real and true.

So who does it prove it to? Not to God. He already knows whether our faith is true or not. It proves it to us - to ourselves. When we experience a test of our faith and come through to the other side with that faith intact, it is a proof to us that our faith is real. That is why James can say "consider it pure joy" - because pure joy can only come from 'knowing' that you are truly a child of God. In fact, the word 'knowing' used in that same verse is the Greek word 'ginosko', which carries the idea of having a full understanding of something beyond just having the facts, an understanding or knowledge which comes from experience.

It's in our nature to abhor suffering and trials. We want to be comfortable. If we have a headache, we take an aspirin. If we have a pain, we go to the doctor. If we experience a trial, we want to get out of it as quickly and as easily as we can. That's just who we are. But trials and tests also have another side. When we only look at testing from a worldly view, they are bad and to be avoided at all costs. But when we look at them from an eternal viewpoint, we can see them for what they are - a proof of true faith in Christ.

"That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." - 1Peter 1:7

A Martyr's Life

2009-02-21T23:02:00.004-05:00

Most of us are very familiar with the Bible, its teachings and its stories. We know the great work that men like Peter, James, John and Paul did in starting the Church. But what happened after they died? We may forget that there were men that came "after", men who were taught and schooled by the Apostles and were left to carry on after their deaths. These were great men, men who protected the truths that had been passed on to them by the Apostles and fought heresy at every turn.

I want to introduce you to one of those men. If you are not a student of church history, you may have never heard of a man named Polycarp. He lived from approximately 70 A.D. to 155 A.D. and was a direct pupil of the Apostle John. Polycarp became bishop over the church at Smyrna. He lived during a time of intense persecution of the Christians by the Roman state. To give you an idea of what went on during that time, here is an excerpt from an actual letter written by a Roman governor to the Emperor Trajan circa A.D. 112.

"In the meantime, the method I have observed towards those who have been denounced toward me as Christians is this: I interrogated them whether they were in fact Christians; if they confessed it, I repeated the question twice, adding the threat of capital punishment; if they still persevered, I ordered them to be executed. Those who denied they were, or ever had been, Christians, and who repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered formal worship with libation and frankincense before your statue, which I had ordered to be brought into Court for that purpose, and who finally cursed Christ - none of which acts, it is said, those who are really Christians can be forced into performing - these I thought it proper to discharge." - Pliny Secundus, A.D. 112

As you can see from the letter, Christians were given a chance to go free if they would worship the Roman Emperor and curse Christ. Note that during this time 'atheists' were those who did not believe in the Roman gods and in particular the deity of the current Roman emperor, so the Christians were considered 'atheists'. Untold multitudes refused to do this and were executed in the most heinous ways imaginable. Which brings us back to the story of Polycarp. We know his story because the church at Smyrna wrote a letter to the church at Philomelium detailing the circumstances of his death. We have this letter in its entirety and you can read it here.

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0102.htm

He was captured by the authorities and led into the stadium. The crowds were said to be in great tumult, hearing that is was "the atheist" Polycarp. Then, the proconsul urged him and said, "Swear by Caesar, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ."

Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

After further threats, Polycarp responded, "You threaten that fire which burns for a season and after a while is quenched: for you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgement and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you will." At that point Polycarp was burned at the stake and thrust through with the sword."

Our only surviving work of Polycarp is a letter. At one point in the letter he states:

"Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnestness of our righteousness., which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him. Let us therefore become imitators of His endurance; and if we should suffer for His name's sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this." - Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians, A.D. 110.

When I read about men like Polycarp who gave their lives for the cause of Christ, I must admit that I have mixed feelings. One side of me is glad that we don't live in an age where we must suffer the persecutions and the threats of death that the early church had to deal with. On the other hand there is a feeling that I can't quite explain. I wonder within myself "what would I do?" if I were to be confronted with that choice. Would I suffer and die for my Lord and Savior with the same bravery shown by Polycarp?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I doubt that any of us will ever have to endure that situation. We'll never be asked to deny Christ - or be torn apart by wild beasts. To deny Christ - or be burned at the stake. To deny Christ - or be crucified. I may not be asked in this life to die a physical death, but I've been commanded by Christ to surrender to another type of death. We must daily to die to self.

Jesus said it this way, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

Paul expounded on that in his letter to the Galatians by stating, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:24

When I think about Polycarp, what I realized is that he had experienced death thousands of times over his eighty-six years. He had already killed the part of him that would seek his own comfort and his own gain. What was left in him was Christ. To die that physical death wasn't a great thing to him - just the final step - the final death. He had lived a martyr's life, so he was able to die a martyr's death.

For those of us that wonder "What would I do if I had face martyrdom?", let me ask this:

Are you dying daily now? Are you crucifying the flesh? Are you living a martyr's life?

If you are, then don't worry. I have the utmost confidence that if you or I were faced with that choice, we would gladly die for the Him that died for us. But if you are not dying daily, if you are not experiencing death now - how in the world could you die then?

A Blind Skier

2009-02-16T20:47:00.009-05:00

My family and I went skiing this past weekend in North Carolina. It's a trip we take every year with our family and friends (I think this year we had about 24 people in 3 houses). Anyway, Friday night we were on the slopes and some of the kids said they had seen a blind skier on the slopes. Of course we all discussed the situation and how she was able to ski with no sight, but after awhile the subject turned to other matters and the blind skier was forgotten.

The next evening as I walked outside, I noticed 4 of the teenagers in our group were talking to this blind skier. Well, I should say the blind skier was talking to them. I wasn't sure what she was saying, but looking at those kids faces I could tell that they were listening intently to whatever it was she had to say. Afterward, I found one of the kids and asked them what they were talking about. I just assumed that she was explaining how she was able to ski even without sight - but that wasn't it at all.

She told them that she had lost her sight when her car was hit by a drunk driver. She then went on to explain how she had gotten angry with God, but over time God had changed her heart. She was now involved in full-time Christian ministry to other people with rehabilitation issues. God had taken a bad thing in her life and made it good.

You know, I wish I could tell you that bad things are not going to happen in your life and mine, but I can't. Life happens, and in that life sometimes we endure trials and suffer. Those trials may seem unfair, and in many cases by our own measuring standards they are. But God is always in control. If we'll just let him, he can take any situation - even a bad one - and turn it to His glory.When bad things happen to us, we can raise our fists to heaven and give Him a piece of our mind - or we can raise our hands to heaven and give him a piece of our heart, that same piece that's been hurt, abused and trampled on. When we do that, He can bind up the broken-hearted.

I wanted to find that lady and tell her how much I appreciated her sharing her testimony with those kids, but I was unable to find her the next day. Who knows what fruit one little testimony on a ski slope can bring forth.

Well Done

2009-02-05T22:37:00.000-05:00

I went to a funeral the other day and as we gathered in the fellowship hall prior to the service a woman came up to me. "You probably don't remember me", she said, "but my mother was Mrs. Causey". To be honest I didn't really remember her, but her mother I could not forget.

When I was a kid, we were at church every time the doors were opened - or so it seemed to me. We attended a Baptist church, so that meant Sunday School on Sunday mornings and "Training Union" (whatever that is) on Sunday nights. And there was a little red-haired lady that taught kid's classes at that church - her name was Mrs. Causey.

My memory tends to be sketchy sometime about things that happened in my childhood, so I don't remember how long she taught the class or even how old I was at the time. I can tell you with pretty good certainty that I did not appreciate at the time what she was doing. I'm sure we came week after week, a bunch of brats who were just tolerating her and the class because our parents made us come.

Today? I'm a Sunday School teacher. I appreciate so much what she did. Week after week studying and preparing and never knowing if the time and effort that you are putting in will really pay off in the lives of those you teach. But it paid off in my life and I'm sure it did as well in the lives of others. Because I can tell you that when I left that church I knew the Bible. And those verses and the lessons I learned stayed with me through the years - even when I did not stay with Him.

If you are serving the Lord in any capacity, let me encourage you to remain steadfast in your work and in your efforts. Just like Mrs. Causey, your investment in other's lives will bring forth fruit. You may never see it or even know about it - but do it for the Glory of God. Whatever talent or service the Lord has given you, cherish and guard it and be faithful to it.

She died last year one month short of 88 years. Her daughter told me that she had taught an adult Sunday School class for 47 years - let me repeat that - 47 years.

Well done, Mrs. Causey. Well done.

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His Lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ " - Jesus Christ

Fight

2009-02-01T22:29:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was reading in 1 John and ran across this familiar scripture:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:3-5

I can truly say at this point in my life that I really want to walk just as He walked - but that means keeping His commandments. So what are His commandments? If you are like me and someone asked me that question, I could probably name seven or eight things He wants me to do. But I realized I had never really looked at a comprehensive list. So the next thing I know I'm going through the book of Matthew with a sheet of notebook paper and writing down every command that I could find.

- Repent

- Let your light shine

- Be reconciled with your brother

- Agree with your adversary

- Do not lust

- Do not divorce

- Do not swear

- Do not resist an evil person

- Turn the other cheek

- Give extra

- Go the extra mile

- Give and do not turn away

- Love your enemies

- Bless those who curse you

- Do good to those who hate you

- Pray for those who use you

- Be perfect

- Do your charity in secret

- Pray in secret

- Do not pray with vain repetitions

- Forgive

- Lay up treasures in Heaven

- Do not worry

- Seek first the Kingdom of God

- Don't judge improperly

- Judge yourself

- Do unto others as you would have them do to you

- Do the will of God

- Keep His commandments

- Pray

- Confess Christ before men

- Love Jesus more than family

- Take up your cross

- Follow Him

- Take on His yoke

- Deny yourself

- Lose your life

- Humble yourself

- Serve

- Be ready for His coming

- Feed the hungry

- Take in the stranger

- Clothe the naked

- Visit the sick

- Visit the prisoners

- Make disciples

- Teach others

That is not even a comprehensive list - it's just from the Gospel of Matthew. That doesn't take into account commands given in the other Gospels as well as the rest of the New Testament. But still, you have to admit - that is a daunting list. When you look at it and think about trying to follow them, you realize how difficult the task really is.

Now around the same time I was studying on this we had a guest speaker at church. In his sermon, he brought up the following scripture

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. - Matthew 11:12

Now it may seem that I've veered off the subject of obedience and started discussing another scripture, but in my mind that day these two subjects really came together. I don't confess to understand that scripture fully, but what I do understand from it is this: You can't just back into the kingdom or ease into the kingdom by accident. It's a purposeful decision and purposeful walk. When I look at that list of commandments I realize how difficult a walk it is. Did you notice how many of those commands force me to put someone else (even my enemies and those I may not like) ahead of myself? My flesh doesn't like it and doesn't want to live that way. But yet I'm commanded to walk as He walked. When I understand this conflict between spirit and flesh, between new creation and old nature, I can understand better when Jesus says the following:

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” - Jesus Christ

That word "strive" means "to struggle, to make a great effort, to fight", and I think we can all attest to the fact that trying to keep His commandments on a daily basis is a constant battle between flesh and spirit - between the new man and the old man. That's why it is so important to keep our eyes on the prize. So that we can say as the Apostle Paul did:

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."

What is Your Name?

2009-01-29T07:51:00.008-05:00

We all remember the story of Jacob. After he had deceived his brother and father and stolen his brother's rightful blessing, he had to flee. After many years had passed, he returned with obvious fear, afraid of his brother who had become a powerful man. The night before he was to meet his brother, he sent his family across a brook to the other side and he remained alone - and that night he wrestled with God. When Jacob said "I will not let you go unless you bless me", God said the oddest thing; "What is your name?". Now there are a lot of things I'm not sure about, but I'm pretty sure that God knew what his name was. So why did He ask that? Because He wanted Jacob to confess who he really was - "My name is Deceiver".

Names don't mean as much today, but back then your name defined you. I'm sure it was not easy being tagged as "Deceiver" your whole life. Most people live up to what is expected of them, and that's probably what Jacob did. He lived up to that name and became a deceiver. But because Jacob was honest and confessed who he was, God not only blessed him but He also gave him a new name - Israel. God conferred upon him not just a new name, but a new identity. He was no longer a deceiver, but he was now Israel, a Prince with God.

What does God want from me, from us? Yes, He wants my love and my obedience, but he also wants me to be honest with myself and with Him. To confess who we really are. The psalmist put it like this:

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, Psalms 51:6

If we'll do that, really be honest with ourselves and Him, then He is able to confer upon us a new identity. It's called repentance, and without it we cannot be forgiven.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” - Jesus Christ

A Box of Chocolates

2009-01-21T22:26:00.003-05:00

As the great philosopher Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates". I think he meant that you never know what you are going to get. But the other thing about a box of chocolates is there are always going to be some that you like and others (the ones with the squishy stuff in the middle) that you don't like. So you eat the ones you like and leave the ones you don't like alone.

There have been times in my life where I've looked at Christianity the same way. I've read the commandments of Jesus and then treated them like a box of chocolates. I obeyed the easier ones, the ones I liked, the ones I agreed with. But there were always those that I didn't like. You know the ones I'm talking about. The commands that make us a little uncomfortable. The ones that just seem too hard to obey.

"When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." - Jesus Christ

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. - Jesus Christ

"Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." - Apostle Paul

"If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift."- Jesus Christ

Those commands I left alone. I didn't choose to disobey them, but at the same time I did not strive to obey them either. But I don't want to do that anymore. The commandments of Christ are not a box of chocolates or a buffet lunch. I don't have the option of choosing which ones to obey. I'm required to do my best to obey all of them.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote the blog "Run to Win". I don't want to run this race anymore just being content with finishing. I want to win - to obtain the prize. In order to do that I've got to change some things. One of those things I need to change is my obedience to His commands. It won't be easy, but anything worthwhile never is.

"If you love me, keep my commands." - Jesus Christ

"We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Those who say, 'I know him,' but do not do what he commands are liars, and the truth is not in them. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." - Apostle John

Death is Dead

2009-01-15T23:59:00.003-05:00

I got an Ipod for Christmas - 45 years old and I finally got on board. I wanted it so that I could download and listen to sermons and audio books and that's what I've been doing. Recently I downloaded a "Sermon Jam" by Ravi Zacharias. Now, if you don't know what a sermon jam is don't feel bad - I didn't either. But I really like Ravi Zacharias so I tried it. If you'd like to listen, you can download it free here (just right-click on the link below and select "Save Target As"). Trust me - you won't be disappointed.

http://www.relevantrevolution.com/mp3/ravi-lord.mp3

In it, he shares the following:

“Have you ever wondered what you would do to frighten Lazarus after he’d been raised from the dead? What would you do to threaten him? Lazarus, I’m gonna’ kill you? Caligula says, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ Lazarus says, ‘Ha, ha, ha.’ Caligula says ‘stop ha, ha, ha-ing. I’m going to kill you as I’m killing all the Christians.’ Lazarus doubles over in uncontrollable laughter, comes up for air and says, ‘Caligula haven’t you heard? Death is dead! Death is dead!!'

How do you frighten somebody who has already been there and knows the one who’s going to let him out?

But just think, of stepping on shore and finding perfection - of touching a hand, and finding it God's hand - of breathing new air and finding it celestial - of waking up in Glory, and finding it home.

Ladies and gentlemen, your hope and mine in Christ, is that one day we will be with God - one day, we will be with Him."

I was listening to this on the airplane on the way home from the funeral last week. Obviously, death was on my mind - I was sorrowful and death seemed the enemy. But as I listened to this, my perspective changed. Death is not the end - it's just the beginning. In fact, it's the beginning of our real life - our eternal life. Our time here on earth is just a prelude to eternity. I love how C.S. Lewis put it in his children's book The Last Battle:

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

Death's hold on us is its fear, but as Christians that fear is gone. So just remember - our life here is just the cover and the title page. When we see Him, every chapter will be better than the one before.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1Corinthians 15:54

"Thanks for Loving Me"

2009-01-07T21:40:00.022-05:00

I just returned today from a funeral. My uncle (Dave Edmondson - 69) and his grandson (Noah Pell - 9) were both drowned in a boating accident in McKinney, Texas this past Saturday. My uncle loved to fish and he also loved spending time with his grandkids. This past weekend he was doing the two things he loved the most when their canoe capsized on Lake Lavon. They found them both with their life vests still on. It was a quick trip out to Dallas to attend the funeral and spend time with the family, but during the last few days I have had so much running through my mind that I just wanted to get some things in writing.

Please pray for the Edmondson and Pell families. They are Christians, but there is a hard road to walk ahead of them.

Family is so important. Sometime we take them for granted, thinking that they will always be there. But each of us could be gone in an instant. So take time today to tell your family how much you love them. Spend as much time with them as you can. Love them with all your heart. And when you do fight, don't let the sun go down on your anger. Make up and move on. If a part of your family lives far away, make sure you see them when you can. Stay in touch as best you can via phone calls and emails. When they are gone, there won't be another chance.

During times of grief and mourning, having your family there is irreplaceable. Friends are great, we need them and we love them. But there is something about family that you just can't replace. There is a bond there that is different than other relationships, and you really see it during a time like this. So be there for your family.
They held a double funeral on Tuesday. As you can imagine, it was not easy for the families. But the pastor, I believe his name was Jim Lewis, just did a wonderful job. It was probably one of the best sermons I've ever heard. Noah was in the fourth grade, and his entire class came to the funeral. There was standing room only so they had the kids sit on the floor up front. The pastor took his podium, moved it over to where the kids were sitting and spoke directly to them. His message? There are mysteries in life, things we can't and don't understand. But in times like this we hang on to to what we do know - and what we know is that God is good and we can trust Him. That is a good message for all of us.
Noah was only 9 and loved baseball. They buried him in his uniform, and some of his teammates wore their uniforms to the service. They signed a baseball and put it in the casket with him. They buried him with those and others of his favorite things. As you looked at that you couldn't help thinking how unfair it is for a life like that to get cut so short. But Pastor Lewis said something that I'll never forget - that God is sovereign, and Noah had fulfilled his purpose. I believe that. I don't understand it, but I believe it.
The pastor preached the funeral using Uncle Dave's bible, which was worn out from use. I was going to add some more here - but what else needs to be said?
In Uncle Dave's casket they placed several of his favorite things, including a fishing rod and some cartoon characters that he collected. As I stood there looking at the different items, I noticed a yellow post-it note that someone had scribbled on and placed in the casket. There was no name, and it only held a simple message - only 4 words. As I went back to the hotel room that night, I was watching the news. There was a man on there - a politician - who had already built himself a huge marble mausoleum with his name engraved in large letters. On the mausoleum he had engraved all of his political accomplishments - a lasting monument to himself. And as I watched that I had to laugh out loud at the absurdity of it, because that monument with it's list of accomplishments could not hold a candle to a simple yellow post-it note that summed up a life lived well:

" Thanks for Loving Me"

One final thought. I'm so glad that we are Christians. I'm so thankful that Jesus rose from that grave. Because of that we know we will see Dave and Noah again. Even in a time like this, a time so full of sorrow and hurt - we don't have to sorrow as those who have no hope. As the pastor said at the graveside, there will be a resurrection one day on that very spot - and what a day that will be!

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

Run to Win

2008-12-31T09:30:00.001-05:00

The Apostle Paul compares the Christian life to a "race", and when I think about this race I think about four different types of people:

1. Spectators

These people are not running the race at all. They are just on the sidelines. Some are thinking about getting in the race while others seem to not care at all.

2. Pretenders

These are the people who pretend to be runners. They wear the right clothes and the right shoes so they will look like a runner. They can talk the talk, discussing times and distances just like a runner. But in fact they never enter the race.

3. Finishers

These are the people who are running the race, but they are only running to "finish". What I mean by that is that their goal is not to win the race, just to finish it. Because of this, they do not put in the required time and effort to make them winners. They do "just enough".

4. Winners

These are the people who work and train themselves. For them, just finishing the race is not enough. Their goal is to win, to obtain the prize. They put in not only the time required to meet their goal, they even go over and beyond that because they don't want to leave anything to chance. They spend countless hours training alone, doing whatever it takes to build up their endurance in order that they will have what it takes when the day arrives.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 1 Corinthians 9:24

On this last day of 2008, as I look into a new year, I have to ask myself "Which one am I?". I'm afraid that for much of my life as a Christian I've been just a 'Finisher', putting in just enough time and effort to enable me to finish the race. One of those people that say "just give me a cabin in the corner of heaven". But that is not what Paul says we should do.

"Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize."

I can't help but think about Michael Phelps and his Olympic gold medals. I think about all the work and effort he put in when no one was watching. The training day after day with no glory, no pats on the back, no TV appearances. Four long years of training. The Christian race is the same. We all want to be victorious Christians, but we must put in the effort, the training, the discipline.

Don't run the race just to finish - Run to Win!

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do You Know?

2008-12-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Do you know that you are saved?

Do you know that you have eternal life?

Now be honest - do those two questions make you uncomfortable? We normally only hear questions like these in a church service, usually when the preacher is giving an invitation for non-believers to come forward and accept Christ. But shouldn't we as believers be asking ourselves these questions as well? The greatest and most horrific deception in the world is that of being deceived into believing you are a Christian when you are not.

I've heard many say that you should not question your salvation, but I believe that we should examine ourselves to make sure that we are in the faith. In fact, the scriptures command that we do it.

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

I think the reason that most people are uncomfortable with those questions is that they may not know how to answer them. They may refer back to a decision they made years ago as a child or young adult. They may rely on how they "feel" at a particular time. But we should never rely on our memory or our feelings (even the most ardent believers will tell you that sometimes they "feel" like a Christian and sometimes they don't). We should rely on the truth, the Word of God. If the Bible tells us to examine ourselves, then it should also tell us how to do it, and I believe the book of 1 John does exactly that. In fact, John says that is one of the reasons that he wrote the book.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. - 1 John 5:13

As you read through the book of 1 John (something that I would suggest doing fairly often), you'll see several "tests" that can determine whether a person is in the faith.

1. Obedience to His Commandments

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. - 1 John 2:3-5

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. 1 John 3:24

2. Brotherly Love

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 1 John 3:14

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 1 John 3:18-19

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. 1 John 20-21

3. Practice Righteousness

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. 1 John 2:29

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

4. Holy Spirit

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1 John 3:24

By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 1 John 4:13

As we move into a new year, many people will be examining their life in order to make a new year's resolution. But I want to encourage each one of us to go far beyond the temporal and look to the eternal. We need to examine ourselves - to ask ourselves once again life's most important questions:

Do you know that you are saved?

Do you know that you have eternal life?

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23

We're Not Alone

2008-12-22T07:30:00.003-05:00

I was out of town last week on business so I had to spend some undesirable time in airports and airplanes. As I was sitting in the airport waiting on my plane to leave, a young mother with 3 young children came and sat down across from me. It was fairly early in the morning, so she had evidently bought them some biscuits for breakfast. As she unwrapped them, she stopped and had them all bow their heads and pray.

I'm not sure why seeing one small family in an airport stop and bless their food would have such an affect on me, but it did. I think it's because with all the junk going on in the world around us, it seems sometimes that we're the only ones serving the Lord. Sure, we know there are others out there, but because we don't know them they can become invisible to us. The world can be so bad that it begins to drown out the good, and if we're not careful we'll begin to feel sorry for ourselves.

The same thing happened to Elijah. It seemed to him that the entire nation of Israel was given over to Baal.

So he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” - 1 Kings 19:10

But God reminded him that he was not alone.

Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” - 1 Kings 19:18

So just as that small family in an airport reminded me last week, I want to pass on the favor and remind you that you are not alone. In every city and town, every airport and mall, God has those who belong to Him.

Mere Christianity

2008-12-16T20:00:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite books is Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend that you take the time to do so. It's not the easiest read for sure. Lewis was very intelligent and he brings that intelligence to all his writings. However, it does what a good Christian book should do - it enhances scripture instead of trying to replace it. In fact, when you read some of the stuff that passes for Christian literature in today's market, it makes you appreciate the giants of the recent past such as Lewis and A.W. Tozer.

I picked out a few of my favorite quotes from the book to share with you.

Comfort and Terror

“God is the only comfort; He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from.”

Enemy Territory

"Enemy occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.”

A Poached Egg

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

More Than We Can Spare

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them.”

Understanding Evil

“When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less.”

A Lovely Idea

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”

Being Made Human Again

“I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man's actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. For a long time I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life-namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently, Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again.”

A Humble Man

“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about his is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.”

One of the Great Secrets

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more.”

Aim at Heaven

“Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”

Laying Eggs

“There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of "Heaven" ridiculous by saying they do not want "to spend eternity playing harps." The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them. All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because for many people (not all) music is the thing known in the present life which most strongly suggests ecstasy and infinity. Crowns are mentioned to suggest the fact that those who are united with God in eternity share His splendor and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of Heaven (gold does not rust) and the preciousness of it People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs.”

Everything For Nothing

“Christ offers something for nothing: He even offers everything for nothing. In a sense, the whole Christian life consists in accepting that very remarkable offer.”

Beyond Time

“God is not hurried along in the time-stream of this universe any more than an author is hurried along in the imaginary time of his own novel He has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man in the world.”

Give Me All

“Christ says "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You.”

Everything Else Thrown In

“Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”

Living an Eternal Life

2008-12-11T13:30:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago I was just casually browsing through some different blogs that I follow. One of the blogs was talking about Bible reading and was encouraging readers to pick one of the four Gospels and read it through in one sitting. In this day and age when it seems like we are always in a hurry, the blog's author realized that challenge might be hard for some people to accept. So he made the following statement:

"You are an eternal being - start living like it."

Let's think about what that really means. I am two different people in a manner of speaking, an inner man and an outer man. For the sake of this conversation, let's refer to these two people as the Inner Life and the Outer Life.

Now the Outer Life is temporary and is going to end at some point. This life is lived in a body that is dying. But while it's alive, this life is interested in things that can make its existence more enjoyable - it loves good food, spending time with family and friends, playing sports, going fishing - a multitude of activities that seem to make this life fulfilling. But in the end, it's all temporary and will fade away. Nothing we can do or attain or accomplish with this Outer Life is permanent. A hundred years from now I doubt anyone will even know this life existed. The Scriptures describe this Outer Life this way:

You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. - James 4:14

But the Inner Life is different. It is not a body but an eternal spirit that will never die. The Scriptures refer to the Inner Life this way:

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

What's different about this Inner Life is this - everything you do to it, everything you do for it and everything you accomplish with it does not fade away. When you feed it or exercise it, those changes are permanent and eternal. So here's the question:

Which life are you living?

Do you make your plans and decisions based on the Outer Life, the one that is a vapor and here but for a moment? Or is the direction of your life guided by the Inner Life, the one that is permanent and eternal? When the blog's author challenges us to "live like an eternal being", he is asking us to realize that not only do we have all the time in the world, we have all the time in this world and beyond! In that light, shouldn't we be putting our time and resources into the Inner Life? Shouldn't we be living the eternal life?

It Is Enough

2008-12-09T07:43:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't noticed lately, the world is obsessed with sex. It's everywhere - movies, TV shows, billboards and magazines. In advertising, it's used to sell everything. It used to be that you could shield your children from it by filtering what shows they were allowed to watch. But now the advertisements are as bad if not worse than the shows themselves. As bad as that is, that's the world and I really shouldn't expect anything better from it.

What really bothers me is that lately it seems the church is trying to use this obsession with sex for it's own purposes. Let me just give you a couple of quick examples:

1. The Revered Ed Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/us/24sex.html

2. Sexually themed billboards have shocked some drivers traveling on Blanding Boulevard in Clay County. They show four bare feet sticking out from the end of a bed in what is clearly a reference to sexual relations. But more surprising than the billboards themselves is what they're advertising -- a church. The pastor of New Life Fellowship, Bob Morro, said the billboards promote a series of sermons at the church concerning the role of sex in Christian life.

http://www.local6.com/news/15109415/detail.html

Trust me, that's just a couple of examples, but there are plenty more out there. What bothers me is that these churches are using sex to titillate and intrigue in order to draw people in. Just because the actual sermons may not be graphic in nature does not mean that the churches are not knowingly using sex to sell themselves. What's the difference between what they are doing and any other company or business using similar imagery to sell their wares?

Now some people may say "Well, you have to use new methods to reach the young people of today". Really? Well, pardon me while I disagree. Why is it that churches feel like the truth of the Word of God is not enough anymore? Why are we reduced to cheap gimmicks like putting a bed on the stage or using a billboard with four bare feet sticking out from the end of the bed?

Let me state something as emphatically as I know how:

The Message of the Cross is Enough!

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

A cross. Wood and nails. Torture device. Blood. Thorns. Broken Legs. A spear. Soldiers. Casting lots. Place of the Skull. King. Mocking. Sour wine. Criminals. Paradise. Darkness. Earthquake. Veil. Tomb. Three days. Angels. Resurrection.

God knows men's hearts. He knows the message that we need to hear and he put His Word together with the express purpose of revealing Himself to us. We may think other methods are more exciting and more marketable, but God promises His Word will not return void. It will accomplish its purpose. We need to preach "Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2)".

Foolishness? No, power!

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

The Marriage Secret

2008-12-04T07:45:00.002-05:00

A friend of ours sent us a note the other day. Her daughter is getting married and she asked us to write down a few things that we had learned in our 25 years of marriage. She was going to gather these lessons from several couples and then give them to her daughter as a wedding gift. This got me to thinking about marriage and what it really takes for it to be successful.

Now in 25 years I've learned a lot, but the more I thought about it the more I realized how difficult it was to encapsulate the lessons I've learned over the years into nice little cliches. Marriage is a lot like life in that it's something that you grow into and grow with. The years go by and you realize that you've become a different person. But with everything that I've learned, there is one special piece of knowledge - a secret - that I learned years ago. It's guaranteed to make a marriage work.

We all know that marriage is a complicated thing - so I've decided to let everyone in on this secret. Now before I tell you what it is, I want you to understand how big a secret this really is. You don't have to attend a seminar - you don't have to buy the DVD's for $39.95 - you don't have to read a book - and you don't even have to sit in a room full of people and talk about your feelings. But this little piece of knowledge will absolutely revolutionize every aspect of your marriage.

So now that I've built this up, are you ready?

Here it is:

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself - Philippians 2:3

Disappointed? You shouldn't be. Why is it that we will read the next book, go to the next seminar or buy the next DVD - but we will not apply the simple truths of God's Word? What you've just read is a foundational truth in the Scriptures. If you will apply that truth, it will change not only your marriage but every relationship that you have. Feel free to pass it on.

Offended Faith

2008-11-18T20:21:00.000-05:00

For many of us, there will come a time in our lives when offense will come. It may occur as a result of a catastrophic event in our lives, such as the death of a loved one. It may occur because of a divorce, an unanswered prayer, or the desertion of a friend. Whatever it is, it will be a situation or a circumstance that doesn't "fit" with our perception of who God is or should be. Regardless, when the offense comes we will be confronted with the question:

Will you walk away or will you have faith?

John 6:53-66 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

The reality of the Bible is that it is not a "watered down feel good" story. There are many things in the Bible that are "hard sayings". In the passage above, the disciples and followers of Jesus have just been confronted with one. Many went back because the teaching was not only hard to understand, it did not conform to their image of the Messiah. The offense had come and now a decision had to be made.

John 6:67-68 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Man, I love that scripture. It just clarifies everything for me. There was a time in my life when I was offended - not at man, but at God. I questioned everything I knew or had ever known about Him. But in the end, it all came down to the exact same statement as the one made by Peter.

"Where else can I go, You alone have the words of eternal life".

If your faith is based upon experiences, then what happens when God doesn't show up?

If your faith is in prayer, then what happens when the prayer is not answered?

If your faith is in other Christians, what happens when they fail you or desert you?

You see, faith - lasting, enduring faith - cannot be based upon anything other than the person of Jesus Christ. During times of trials and testing, all of these other things can be taken or pulled away from you. But Jesus made a promise that He would never leave us or forsake us. When all else fails, He will always be there.

James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

I Don't Belong Here

2008-11-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

Have you felt it? It's a feeling that passes as quickly as it appears. It comes at different times and in different situations, a feeling that you can't quite put your finger on. It can happen while you're looking into the face of your child or glancing at the night sky. It sometimes appears while watching television or reading a book. It's a feeling that you were made for something different -a feeling that where you are at the moment is not your true destiny, your true calling, your true home. Have you felt it?

I don't belong here.

I'm at a conference on business. One evening I have to attend a hospitality at a restaurant for our clients. The talk is of politics and sports and work. Who's divorcing who, who's in line for a promotion, who's moving on to another job. People are drinking and smoking and having a good time. I try to fit in, to talk the small talk along with them. But I just can't shake the feeling.

I don't belong here.

I walk outside to my truck one summer night to get something. On the way back into the house I look up in sky and notice how beautiful it is. It's one of those nights where everything is so clear that you can literally see millions of stars. Your life seems so small and the universe so big. The feeling is fleeting, just there for a second.

I don't belong here.

You're with some people and everyone is talking about the election. Some are excited that their candidate has won, sure that everything is going to change. Others are dejected because their candidate has lost and they are sure this is the end of America as we know it. In the midst of the conversation, you realize something. It's not that you don't care, but the things that are so important to everyone else at that moment are just not that important to you. There it is again.

I don't belong here.

I'm watching a television show where they pick families to build a house for. In this one episode, they've built a house for a deaf family, and someone has donated college scholarships to the children. It's just people helping people - one person showing mercy and compassion to another. As my eyes fill with tears, that feeling comes again.

I don't belong here.

Romans 8: 22-23 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

There's something in us that knows we don't belong here, that we were made for so much more. And every once in a while we catch a glimpse of it and that feeling rushes in for just a second and then it's gone. This is not our home, not this earth and not this body. One day we'll see clearly, and what an unbelievable day that will be.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Appendix

2008-11-06T23:00:00.006-05:00

The appendix is a puzzling thing. It seemingly serves no function in human body. All other body parts, no matter how small or insignificant, seem to have a purpose. But not the appendix. Doctors are just now in the past couple of years beginning to venture some theories on it, but the fact remains that you can remove the appendix from the body and the body doesn't even miss it.

Paul said that we are all members of the body of Christ. We are all to serve a purpose in the body. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, helpers, administrators, givers and encouragers. We are to exhort one another, pray for one another, rejoice and mourn with one another, care for one another and suffer with one another.

1Corinthians 12:12-27 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

As part of the body, we should all ask ourselves this question: What is my purpose in the body? For the body to be strong and function the way that God intends, we must all do our part. We can't all be pastors or evangelists or teachers ... but we can all help, we can all serve, we can all give.

If you were removed from the body, would the body miss you?

Rooted and Grounded

2008-11-05T00:03:00.002-05:00

A couple of months back, I was reading the book The Best of A.W. Tozer and in it I ran across the following paragraph:

"The heart of a man is like a musical instrument and may be played upon by the Holy Spirit, by an evil spirit or by the spirit of man himself. Religious emotions are very much the same, no matter who the player may be. Many enjoyable feelings may be aroused within the soul by low or even idolatrous worship. The nun who kneels 'breathless with adoration' before an image of the Virgin is having a genuine religious experience. She feels love, awe and reverence, all enjoyable emotions, as certainly as if she were adoring God. The mystical experiences of Hindus and Sufis cannot be brushed aside as mere pretense. Neither dare we dismiss the high religious flights of spiritists and other occultists as imagination. These may have and sometimes do have genuine encounters with something or someone beyond themselves. In the same manner Christians are sometimes led into emotional experiences that are beyond their power to comprehend. I have met such and they have inquired eagerly as to whether or not their experience was of God."

I have really thought a lot about that. Can Christians have experiences that they believe are from God, experiences that included feelings of awe and reverence, but that experience not be of God? As I was thinking this through, I happened to be on the internet one night and ran across this blurb while doing some research on the 'Bridal Paradigm' teaching.

"The Bridegroom message is a call to active intimacy with God. The Bridal message speaks of God’s invitation for us to experience the deep things of His heart (emotions, affections). To enjoy active intimacy with Jesus includes feeling His heart for us. The Bridal message speaks of experiencing Jesus’ emotions (desire, affections)."

What really jumped out to me here was the references to "experiencing" and "feeling". Now I don't necessarily have anything against experiences. However, I do think there is a real danger in putting your focus on experiences and feelings. Too many people today are chasing after emotions - looking for the next experience that will give them goosebumps. But when I read the Bible, the vast majority of experiences I see referred to are bad ones - or at least 'bad' in the sense that they don't appeal to the flesh.

Look at what Paul says:

Romans 8:38 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You see, Paul was convinced that Jesus loved him. Not convinced by feelings or emotions - in fact looking at the things he went through he was convinced even in the absence of them. He realized that true love is not about feelings - true love is an agape love - a sacrificial love.

This love is explained best in the following statement:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Doesn't our relationships in life itself teach us this very lesson? Love starts out all full of emotions and feelings, but over time you realize that real love - true love - is not about that at all. True love is so much deeper. And if you continue to chase after those first feelings and emotions, you'll be sorely disappointed over time. In fact you'll just move from one relationship to another - one experience to another - forever chasing that elusive satisfaction.

It's the same in our relationship with Christ. We should be rooted and grounded in His love, confident of His love whether we feel it or not. He has already told us that we will experience tribulations, trials and sufferings. But He also said that he would never leave us. He will always be there, whether I feel it or not. If we continue to chase after the emotional highs, we may find ourselves allowing our heart strings to be 'played' - experiencing feelings that may not be from God at all.

Ephesians 3:17-19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Hell (Part 2)

2008-10-27T07:46:00.013-04:00

If I may, just a few more thoughts on Hell and then I'll let the subject go.

I must admit that I don't like the doctrine of Hell. I don't think anyone does. If I had an option to remove any doctrine from the Scriptures, this would be the one I would take out. But we can't. It has the full support of the Word and Jesus taught on it several times.

For the many people out there that say "I can't believe that a loving God would send anyone to Hell", I would ask the following question: "What are you asking God to do?" Would they have Him wipe out all all their past sins and give them a fresh start? He's already done that on Calvary. All they have to do is repent. Would they have Him forgive them? All they have to do is ask. Do they just want to be left alone? If they don't repent and ask for forgiveness, that is exactly what He will do ... leave them completely and utterly alone.

For those that are cast into outer darkness, they will forever endure the freedom that they have always demanded for themselves.

Whenever we talk about Hell, there is for most people (I know it is true for myself) the inclination to think about the possible damnation of my family, friends and acquaintances. I think that is why the thought of Hell can be so disturbing to us, especially when we see these people as "good people". That may be why so many people have problems reconciling the idea of a just God with the concept of Hell. However, keep in mind that we really only know others from the "outside". But the odd thing is that when we look at ourselves, we know (if we will just admit it) that "in us dwells no good thing". In the light of our own sins and failures, we know that God is just.

If we really believe that we are living in the last days and if we really believe that there is a Hell ... then we need to re-double our efforts to save the lost. Tell someone about Jesus that you've never told before. That person who you gave up on because they just would not listen - give it one more try.

Lastly, we need to re-commit ourselves - to our local church, to the Word and to prayer, but especially to Christ Himself. Those TV shows that we just can't miss, those hobbies that take up so much of our time - do they really matter in the light of the day we are living in? Even more so today than ever before, we should strive to keep ourselves pure, blameless and unspotted from the world.

2 Peter 3:10-14 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

Hell

2008-10-24T18:10:00.008-04:00

Do you think it possible that a person would choose Hell over Heaven? Even as I type that sentence, I must admit that the question itself seems almost ludicrous. How in the world would any sane person choose the torments of Hell over the blessings of Heaven?

Jesus speaks of Hell using several different analogies or symbols. One of the symbols He uses to describe Hell is "outer darkness". In fact, he does this three times in the book of Matthew:

Matthew 8:12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 22: 13 "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.'"

Matthew 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I don't pretend to understand exactly what "outer darkness" is, but by definition darkness is the absence of light. Think about your house at night - while you are inside or on the porch it is lit up with the different sources of light. But as you go outside and move further and further from the house lights the darkness gets blacker and blacker. So "outer darkness" is describing a place so far away from a source of light that the blackness is complete. Now I don't believe that Jesus is talking about a physical darkness but a spiritual darkness. Since He is the Light, "outer darkness" would be a place void of the presence of God.

John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

Even as I write this, I'm trying to imagine a place without Him and I can't. I'm not sure the words to describe a place like that even exist. Everything that is good comes from Him - without Him, I just can't even get it in my mind how horrible that would be. As opposed to Heaven, which is prepared for God's people, Hell is a place that was never prepared for us but for the devil and his angels. In fact, compare the "outer darkness" description of Hell to this description of Heaven found in Revelation:

Revelation 22:5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

So back to my original question - would people choose Hell (darkness) over Heaven? Although it seems beyond belief that they would, look at what the Scriptures say:

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

As a child, we hear stories or sermons about Hell and we get a visual image of what it is. Whether that image is right or wrong, we tend to carry it with us throughout our lives. The image I've always carried has been of a sinner being cast kicking and screaming into the the hell fire, an image of being 'sent' to hell. Although out of chances, if they could just get one more chance they would choose right. Maybe it is as simple as that, but I'm not so sure. Someone who spends their whole lives loving darkness rather than light has had multiple chances to make the right choice - to choose light over darkness - to choose God over self - to choose heaven over hell.

When I read the parable of the king's marriage supper, I find something very revealing hidden in just a few words:

Matthew 22:11-12 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.

Speechless. No arguing, no protesting, nothing. Just like he knew his choice had been made.

Hope

2008-10-21T00:15:00.000-04:00

There is a car in the parking lot where I work that has an Obama bumper sticker on it that reads "got hope?". Now I could take off right now and blog about putting your hope in God and not a man, but that's too easy. I've been seeing that car every day for weeks and I've really been thinking about the word "hope" and what it means. I've come to the conclusion that the modern concept of hope is not consistent with the biblical concept.

In the modern context, when someone says they are hoping for something there is always an element of doubt. For example, "I hope she comes tonight" really means "I want her to come tonight, but there's a chance she won't". Or if someone says "I hope that isn't true", they are saying "I don't want it to be true, but there is a chance it is true". Now contrast that with what we find in Romans:

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

This scripture has always sort of thrown me for a loop and here's why. I can understand that suffering produces perseverance (i.e. endurance) for it most certainly does - I can understand that perseverance produces character, which it also most certainly does - but why is the end result that character produces hope? But maybe the reason I didn't understand it was that I was looking at "hope" in the modern context.

The Greek word used in these verses is "Elpis". Look at what it means:

joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation

Do you see the difference? We tend to use the word hope today precisely because there is an element of doubt in the outcome of what we desire. But in the New Testament, the word hope carries no hint of doubt, but a confident expectation of what the outcome will be. With that definition, the following phrase makes much more sense.

... suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

That is why we can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. Or to put in another way, the more we suffer the more confident we are in the outcome. Now that's a blog for another day.

A Vote for Holiness

2008-10-16T22:26:00.000-04:00

With the election almost upon us, we are being inundated with commercials on television and radio. Even the phone is ringing with recorded statements from this or that candidate telling me how much they need my vote. But does my vote really count - does it really change anything?

I went into a barber shop the other day. While I was sitting in one chair getting a haircut, a man entered and sat in the chair beside me and began to get his hair cut by another barber. They began to make conversation and with nothing else to do, I listened in:

Barber: Are you going to the game this weekend?

Client: No, my daughter is getting married at our house and I've got to get the yard cleaned.

Barber: Is this her first marriage?

Client: Yes, this is her first.

Barber: Does she have any kids?

Client: Yes, she has two boys.

Barber: Is she marrying their daddy?

Client: No, he's not the daddy, but he's been living with her for a couple of years.

Needless to say, that conversation would not have taken place 25 years ago. First of all, once you found out it was going to be someone's first marriage, the assumption would have been that there were no kids to be found. And to ask a father after that if there were kids would probably have gotten your teeth knocked out. But these two men had this conversation as though it was the most normal thing in the world. As I sat there and listened, I just felt really sad - sad that my children and grandchildren will have to grow up in this kind of society - sad that my country has fallen so far from the biblical principles that it was founded on.

It seems to me that most of us want to take the easy way out, to vote for a man and then hope that man will change the direction of our country. I will vote in this election and I encourage you to do the same. But let's never think that a vote will change what is wrong in this land. Some believe that they can change this country one vote at a time, but America can only be changed one heart at a time.

What I'm talking about is holiness. It's not something we talk a lot about, but it's something that is desperately needed in our homes and in our society if we really want to see a change. If I can live a holy life I can affect others - in turn they can affect others andit goes on and on. There were only 120 people in the upper room, but they turned the world upside down.

It starts with you and I.

2Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Amazing Grace

2008-10-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

At our men's Bible study the other night, we studied the parable of the prodigal son. It's a story that we're all familiar with, a story of forgiveness and unconditional love. But as we discussed what it meant to each one of us around the table, it got me to thinking about grace.

Phillip Yancey wrote a book entitled What's So Amazing About Grace (if you've never read it I'd recommend it highly). In the book he tells a true story, one which I'll paraphrase here for the sake of brevity:

"Not long ago I sat in a restaurant and listened to a good friend tell me that, after 15 years of marriage and 3 children, he had met a younger woman. He was thinking about leaving his wife and family for this other woman, and as a Christian he knew full well the personal and moral consequences of what he was about to do. I listened to his story with sadness and grief, but then he dropped the bombshell, asking me the question 'Do you think God can forgive something as awful as what I'm about to do?'".

It just so happens this week that I'm reading through the book of Romans, which reveals a grace so unlimited that Paul says "where sin increased, grace increased all the more". I wonder if Paul struggled with questions like those in the story above? What's to keep a person from exploiting God's wonderful promise of forgiveness? More than once, Paul returns to this predicament: "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?".

So what about it? Will God forgive the man who leaves his family, knowing ahead of time that it is wrong? This is how Phillip Yancey answered his friend:

"Can God forgive you? Of course He can. But because of Christ, forgiveness is now our problem, not God's. What we have to go through to commit sin distances us from God - we change in the very act of rebellion - and there is no guarantee we will come back to Him - no guarantee we will ever ask for forgiveness. You ask me about forgiveness now, but will you want it later, especially if it involves repentance?".

I've always thought there was a lot of wisdom in that answer. There's something in us that makes us think that we can just step off the path and then step back on whenever we want to. But playing with sin is a dangerous game and Phillip Yancey is right - sin changes us. Coming back to God always involves repentance, and as long as the flesh is involved that will never be an easy thing to do.

Although it seems that God took a great risk by announcing forgiveness in advance, the reality is that because of Christ the risk has been transferred to us. As we sat around the table reading the parable, I couldn't help visualizing the father in the story. He was always there, day after day, night after night, always watching and waiting, always ready to forgive. But the responsibility was on the son. He had to make the decision to repent and return.

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Trust in the Lord (Part 2)

2008-10-07T23:42:00.003-04:00

As I wrote in last week's post, we are to trust in God. I believe that with all my heart. Sometimes trusting him seems so easy ... other times it can seem so hard. In fact, there have been times in my life where it seemed to me that God was even deliberately making it hard. So let me share with you a lesson I learned a couple of years ago about trust and faith.

I was reading through the book of Genesis and came to the story of Abraham. As I was reading a story that was very familiar to me, I came across something that struck me as odd. When we first meet the man named Abram, God promises him that He will make of him a great nation. At the time of this promise, Abram was 75 years old.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

But as soon as this promise is made, 10 years go by without any sign of the promise being fulfilled. At this point, Abram gets antsy and tries to fulfill the promise himself through his wife's maidservant Hagar.

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

Abram is 86 years old when Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. After that, the Bible is strangely silent. As far as we know, the next 13 years go by with nothing ... no sign .. no voice ... nothing. God finally shows up when Abram is 99 years old and fulfills the promise within a year.

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

So if you do the math, Abraham had to wait 25 years for the word that God had given him to come to pass. But at least now the promise is fulfilled and Isaac his son is born. Now God can really start to work and build up this family. But here's where the oddest thing occurs. Look what happens to Isaac:

And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to be his wife. And Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was 60 years old when she bare them.

As you read this story you can't help but be struck by the irony. God promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, then his wife is barren. After waiting 25 years for the son they've always wanted, now that very same son has to wait another 20 years for his own barren wife to conceive. And here's what we forget ... the bible says that Abraham lived to be 175 years old ... so he was still alive while his son Isaac was going through this. He was 140 when Isaac got married and 160 when the twins were finally born.

Now as if it wasn't enough that both Abraham and Isaac had barren wives, the same thing happens to Isaac's son, Jacob. He marries Rachel and she is barren.

Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."

Three generations ... three barren women. What kind of game was God playing? What exactly did he want? What God wanted was faith, and that is the lesson that Abraham learned through all the years of waiting. He learned to believe when there was no reason left to believe. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel ... they all experienced the promise of God followed by dark and lonely times of just waiting. Empty time that only faith can fill. The Bible uses the phrase "by faith" to describe what they went through.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country: therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he has prepared for them a city.

So what lesson did I learn? When I had read that story before, I always focused on the high points ... the times when God was talking, moving or acting. But this time I really saw the "silent" years and what those years really meant in the lives of these great men and women of God. I've experienced those same times in my life, times when He seemed a million miles away. But as I look back over those periods I can see now that those are the times when I really learned to trust in Him, to believe when there didn't seem to be a reason to believe. Those are the times when real, enduring faith is born.

Trust in the Lord

2008-09-30T07:42:00.014-04:00

It seems everyone I talk to is concerned about money. There is no doubt we are in perilous times with regards to our economy and the stock market. Like millions of other Americans, I have a 401K that seems to be going down instead of going up. So it seemed like a good time for me to step back, take an account and ask myself the question "Where does my hope lie?".

For anyone that's ever been on a mission trip to another country, you may have seen what poverty is really like. But even in their poverty, the poorest people seem to be the most victorious Christians that I've ever met. In fact, there seems to be a correlation between how much "stuff" you have and how much you trust God. Unfortunately, the correlation seems to be the opposite of what we'd expect. It seems the more we have the less we trust in Him.

So where am I to put my trust?

We are not to put our trust in riches.

Mark 10:24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, and said to them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

Paul told Timothy to "charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17).

We are not to put our trust in man.

Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

We are not to put our trust in governments.

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek help from the LORD.

Psalms 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

We are to trust in the Lord alone.

Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalms 71:5 For you are my hope, O Lord GOD: in you I have trusted from my youth.

Psalms 91:2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.

Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in Him.

So I'm giving myself some advice.

First, remember what real treasure is.

Matthew 6: 19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Secondly, don't worry.

Matthew 6:25-33 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

And last, be satisfied with the good stuff, the simple things.

Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.

Proverbs 15:17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with strife.

Proverbs 16:8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.

What's Your Sign?

2008-09-23T07:30:00.002-04:00

When I started writing this blog, what I was hoping for was to stimulate comments from the readers. Not just comments like "I enjoyed this" (although believe me, I really appreciate it when people tell me they enjoy what I wrote), but I wanted to start discussions - people commenting on other people's comments. So this blog is a little different from the others - it is designed to give you the stimulus to comment.

Last Sunday in church, there was a drama. People walked across stage holding up a cardboard sign. They didn't say anything, just walked to the center of the stage and held up their sign. On one side of the sign was a statement about their past. Then they flipped the sign over to show a statement about their present - what God had done for them.

God is a redeemer. He takes lives that are messed up, full of hurt and pain and He redeems them and makes them into something beautiful. I've seen it in my own life and in the lives of so many others. Those two words, "but now", carry so much meaning. We don't have to be defined by our past.

If I could make a sign and display it for the world to see, what would it say? These would be mine:

I was blind, but now I see.

I was dead, but now I'm alive.

I was bound, but now I'm free.

I was a slave, but now I'm a child.

I was angry, but now I'm at peace.

I was unsatisfied, but now I'm content.

I was full of self, but now I'm full of the Holy Spirit.

What has God done for you? Or to put it another way, what would your sign say? I look forward to hearing from you.

He Knows

2008-09-15T23:09:00.005-04:00

He knows me.

Psalms 139:1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

He knew me before I was born.

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"

He knows my name.

Revelation 3:5 "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."

He knows His plan for me.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. "

He knows how many hairs are on my head.

Matthew 10:30 "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

He knows my heart and my thoughts.

Psalms 139:23 "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts."

He knows my comings and my goings.

Psalms 139:3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

He knows the words I'm going to speak before I even speak them.

Psalms 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

He knows the day I'm going to die.

Psalms 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Don't every forget that He knows you better than you know yourself.

He knows exactly what you are going through.

He knows the worry, the fear, the anxiety and the anxiousness.

He knows the thoughts you think in the night hours. The thoughts that you can't confide to another person.

He knows the unforgiveness that you so desperately want to let go of.

He knows the hurt that you can't even put into words. The hurt that other people can't understand.

He knows ... and He loves you so much.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

Living in Enemy Territory

2008-09-12T07:40:00.010-04:00

I saw a movie once called "The Matrix". The plot is kind of complicated, so I won't try to explain it all in detail here. Suffice it to say that in the movie the human race is enslaved and each person is kept in a comatose state in a kind of 'cocoon'. But even though their body is in a vegetative state their minds are alive and well. The trick is that each person thinks they are living a normal life. In their minds they get up and go to work, they eat, they sleep, they play with their kids, etc.. But it's all just an illusion in their minds. There is no real job, no real family, no real food. They have no idea that they are enslaved.

However, there are a few people that have broken free and live in the real world. But the real world is enemy territory. Civilization has been destroyed - there are no jobs, the food is terrible, danger around every corner - a pretty miserable existence and as far from a normal life as you can get. But at least their eyes are open to reality and they are free. To me the allegory regarding this world is obvious. We get up and go to work, make and spend money, love and are loved. We think that we are alive and free. But it's all just an illusion. The Bible says those without Christ in this world are dead and in bondage.

As a Christian, I have been set free. I was blind but now I can see. However, I now realize that I'm living in enemy occupied territory. The longer I'm here and I see the results of the enemy's tactics the more I just want God to put an end to it. Like all of us, I frequently wonder when is God going to invade? But just like you, I have friends and relatives who haven't come over to this side yet. So I feel this pull within me; one side of me looking for His coming, the other hoping He will delay for awhile longer.

C.S. Lewis said it best in his book Mere Christianity.

"God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to invade openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right; but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else - something it never entered your head to conceive - comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistable love or irrestistable horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it."

2Peter 3:8-12 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

I'd Rather You Be Cold or Hot

2008-09-10T19:03:00.000-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me how little thought people really give to the existence of God. I mean, if you really believe that God exists and that He created you ... don't you think you just might want to see if there is anything He wants from you? In fact, of all the subjects we could debate or discuss, isn't this the only one that really matters? Yet it seems to me that although people say they believe in God, they don't really give the subject of God the attention it rightly deserves.

Let me give you an example. Last Sunday, in front of 300+ people, I made the statement that "God spoke to me". I stated this very clearly, even enunciating where I was when He spoke and exactly what He said to me. There were people sitting in the audience with whom I'm acquainted that I know are not Christians. Now I'm sure if you asked them they would say they believe in God, but their life doesn't exhibit any fruit of being a Christian. So for the sake of the discussion let's just agree that they are unbelievers. Later in the week I ran across these same people. The odd thing to me is that they treated me exactly like they had treated me before I made this statement. We talked about the weather, our families and other mundane stuff. But they made no mention of my "speaking with God".

Now let's think about this for a second. Either what I said was true, God Himself really did speak to me ... or I'm a raving lunatic who thinks he talks to God. Either way, there should have been some reaction from them. If they had believed what I said was true, then I would have thought they would have wanted to discuss it. Did I really hear from God? Do I really know Him? If they thought I was a raving lunatic, then I would have expected them to run the other way as fast as they could. But they did neither of these things. They just went on about life just as if they'd never heard me make the statement in the first place.

If you really think about it though, isn't this what the majority of people do? There is a group of people in this world that don't believe in God at all. And on the other end of the spectrum there is a group of people that not only believe but have surrendered themselves to Him and serve Him with all their heart. But in the middle is the majority ... people who more than likely say that they believe in God but really never give God or even the subject of God the attention they both deserve. Jesus calls this state "lukewarm" and said He'd much rather us be cold or hot. I can understand that. As odd as it sounds, I can respect a person that has at least given the subject of God their attention and then made a decision not to believe. I can't understand it, but I can respect it. But there is no excuse to be so emotionally or intellectually lazy that you don't even address it. That I can't understand.

Luke 17:26-30 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed."

The Helper

2008-09-08T06:08:00.000-04:00

As I write this, it's 2:15 in the morning. I woke up thinking about the Holy Spirit and His role as our Helper. I've got this analogy that I can't get out of my mind of a man trying to navigate an obstacle course blind-folded. Obviously, this would be impossible without someone helping him, calling out voice commands or giving a gentle nudge on the shoulder here or there. Just as most analogies aren't perfect, this one isn't either. But for some reason on this night this is how I envision His role as our Helper.

We are going through this life trying to navigate it's twists and turns with no idea what lies next around the corner. For some of us, it does seem like we are running blind-folded and the idea of the unknown scares us to death. For most of us this journey will take us through places that we don't want to go. But we can take comfort in the fact that we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is described as our Counselor and our Helper. It's His job to not only help us navigate through the treacherous places, but to prepare us beforehand for what we will encounter as we go through them. Why do we have to go through these places? Why can't the journey just be nice and smooth and avoid the rough areas? I'm not sure. I just know that if I trust Him that He's promised to direct my paths.

I know some people right now who are going through places they don't want to be. They are good Christians and I have the upmost confidence that they'll be OK as they navigate these waters with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As I thought about these friends of mine, my mind couldn't help but wander to other people I know, people who are not Christians but yet it seems they never experience the heart-ache or personal trials that Christians do.

But then I realized, they are running on the wrong course. You see, what does it matter if the is journey is smooth and straight, if when you cross the finish line the judge tells you that you were never in the race.

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Tozer's Rules of Discernment

2008-09-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago my family and I were going to the beach for a week. I needed something to read, so I stopped by the bookstore before heading out of town. In reading several of the Christian blogs that I peruse every now and then, I had seen some good quotes from A.W. Tozer. So I ended up buying a book "The Best of A.W. Tozer - Book One". In the book, there is a chapter entitled "How to try the Spirits". Now is just so happened that during this time frame I was preparing to teach a class on discernment, so you can imagine that the title of the chapter whetted my interest.

In the chapter, Tozer puts forth his method by which he would "test the spirits". Now I had been studying a lot in this area and had been attempting to come up with my own "methods" of discernment, but as I read his method I was impressed with not only how simple it was but how easy it was to apply it pretty much anything.

In short, his method is this: This new doctrine, this new view of truth, this new religious habit, this new spiritual experience, whatever it is - how has it affected my attitude toward and my relation to God, Christ, the Word of God, self, other Christians, the world and sin.

His contention is that by these sevenfold tests we can "prove all things" and determine if something is from God or not. Now Tozer wrote an entire chapter on this method, taking the time to explain each test, so I would encourage you to buy the book and read it for yourself in detail. For brevity's sake I'll just touch briefly on each one.

1. God.

What has this done to my relationship with Him? If it has made me love Him more, if it has magnified Him in my eyes, if it has purified my concept of Him and caused Him to appear greater and more wonderful than before ... then I can conclude that it is probably from Him and will not lead me into error.

2. Christ

How does this affect my attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ? Christ must stand at the center of any true doctrine, all acceptable religious practices and any genuine Christian experience. Whatever makes Christ indispensable to us is pretty sure to be from God.

3. The Word of God

Does this experience or new view of truth spring out of the Word of God or was it the result of some stimulus that lay outside of the Bible? Whatever originates outside of the scriptures should be suspect until it can be shown to be in accord with them. "To the law and to the testimony" (Isaiah 8:20) should always be the last and final proof.

4. self

A good rule is this: If this experience has served to humble me and make me 'small' in my own eyes, it has a good chance to be from God; but if it has given me a feeling of pride in myself it probably is not from Him. He must increase while we must decrease.

5. other Christians

Whatever tends to separate us in person or in heart from our fellow Christians is not of God. Conversely, whatever causes us to love the children of God is likely to be from Him.

6. the world

Any real work of God will tend to make us uncomfortable with the world's fellowship, its pleasures or its riches. Any spirit that permits compromise with the world is unequivocally a false spirit. Any religious movement or experience that imitates the world has to be suspect.

7. sin

Is your heart turned away from sin and toward holiness? Anything that weakens the hatred of sin can be immediately identified as false. Whatever makes holiness more attractive and sin more intolerable can be identified as genuine.

As I read these tests and began to think on them, I realized that they can be applied to just about anything. They are good for testing religious things like teachings, prophecies and experiences. But they are also good for testing more mundane things like books, songs, movies ... even blogs.

Remember, these tests are not 'absolutes' but should serve as a warning flags. They have really helped me in my practice of discernment and I hope they can help you as well.

God Lives in Me

2008-09-03T13:00:00.001-04:00

I've heard people state from time to time that it is foolish of Christians to believe that God actually 'lives' inside of them. "Is there a hole or something down in there where He stays?" is how I believe I've heard it phrased.

Granted, this is an odd thing. While the Bible clearly states that the Spirit of God lives or dwells inside us ....

John 14:16-18 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

1Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

... it is obvious to us that there isn't a specific place or location within us where He resides. So how do we explain the biblical statement that God can actually reside within us?

Let's look at it from a different viewpoint (for readers of C.S. Lewis, you'll recognize this analogy from his book "Mere Christianity"). Let's say that we were scientists and we came to this planet to observe life here. We would observe a various assortment of things like electricity, lettuce and dogs. Now as scientists, we can only learn from what we observe. We can't get 'inside' of the lettuce or the dog to know what is going on. Whether they have a mind, whether they can think or reason, whether they have morals ... we can only infer those things from watching their actions.

But when it comes to humans, it's a entirely different story. We can learn not only from observing their actions, we also get an entirely different viewpoint because we are human! And when I look inside myself, I see something that I absolutely cannot explain. I see that I have a spirit. That spirit feels emotions and it thinks and it plans and a million other things. But where does it live? Where does it dwell? How can it even exist inside of me when I'm only made up of blood and tissue and fluids?

So can I explain how the Spirit of God lives inside of me? No, I can't. But I also can't explain how my own spirit lives inside of me, either. And when I look at it from that perspective, it doesn't seem that odd at all that His Spirit can dwell with my spirit .. wherever that may be.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Worship

2008-08-30T09:40:00.000-04:00

I had my son create a CD for the me the other day of worship songs. When I asked him to put it together for me, I didn't ask for any particular songs or any particular artists. So as I began to listen to it on my way to and from work I had no pre-conceived notions of songs I liked or songs I didn't like. He did a good job of putting it together and I really like the songs. This may be hard for some to understand while others will understand exactly what I'm saying .. but most of the songs would just send your heart soaring as you listened to them.

However, one song on the CD just didn't do it for me. It was a beautiful song, but I just didn't feel the same as I listened to it. As I thought on the reasons for this, I realized the difference between this song and others. While the other songs were all about Jesus, this one was more about the person doing the singing. Now I don't mean that the song was "doctrinally" incorrect or anything like that, just that the artist was singing about their own feelings and emotions.

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit came he would "glorify Me", and when I listen to worship that glorifies God, the Spirit inside of me just says "Yes!". Real worship is never about us ... it's always about Him.

John 16:13-14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Welcome to my Blog!

2008-08-30T08:37:00.000-04:00

I've wanted to create a blog for a couple of years now, so I've finally done it. Not sure why ... I guess it's just because I have things I want to say from time to time and maybe this is a good way to do it. I can't promise I'll post on a regular basis ... sometimes life just doesn't allow that. But my intention is to post at least once a week, so we'll see how it goes. Anyway, for those of you reading thanks for stopping by!