“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
I would give everything I have if I could answer that question.
As I was leaving for the office this morning, I got a call from a lady that Vicki and I are friends with. Vicki has worked with Linda for the last couple of years. She was in perfect panic. They had rushed her husband to the hospital. He was unable to breathe and unresponsive, and as the paramedics worked on him, it was abundantly obvious that something was very seriously wrong. By the time they were able to get him to the hospital, he was gone. Rod Gregg, age 60, passed away this morning of a heart attack in Independence, MO.
I performed the wedding of Rod and his new wife Linda just 2 weeks ago.
Can you answer the question “Why?” Don’t try, because I know no one can.
Can you just join me as we grieve with the family today? I know that no one at Crest besides Vicki and I know these people. But this hurts. Our Bible tells us to weep with those who weep, and to remember those that are in adversity since we are all made of the same lump of clay. I did not know Rod very well. I had only met him in preparation for their wedding a couple of weeks ahead of the event. But the few times we did spend together were very good. He was a prince of a gentleman and a joy to be around. I know Linda from a distance, and Vicki knows her simply from a professional level from work. From what we know, they don’t have much if any of a relationship with God, and they surely have no church home. We know that God is not willing that any should perish, and we know that in 60 years, there is a very good chance that Rod had been exposed to the gospel more than once. We just hope that at some time he had given his heart to the Lord.
Things like this make it abundantly clear to us how urgent the gospel message is. We can never be so busy or distracted to give out the good news, because we never know when things like this will happen. We also cannot run through the crowd with our hair on fire screaming “repent!” because that will work against us. How to navigate those incredibly perilous waters is the next big question we cannot answer. But we have to give out the message. I am sure we will have the chance to spend some time with Linda and the rest of the family in the coming weeks. Pray for them that God would open their hearts, and that he would give Vicki and I the words to say. I have no clue right now what those words would be, and neither do you. Just ask God to allow us the chance to share his love and truth as opportunity presents itself.
I hurt. Deeply.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Habla Español?
Our annual trip to Belize is in a couple of weeks, and I am down to “crunch time”. We host a Bible Conference in Belize every year and part of the process is to prepare a booklet for everyone to follow the study. It usually runs about 20-25 pages, and we provide it for them in both English and Spanish. English is the “official” language of Belize, so most people speak it at least a little. But many people have migrated from Mexico and other Latin American countries and only speak their native Spanish. Even those who can speak some English still have Spanish as their heart language and prefer their notes in Spanish. So after I get my notes put together, I send them out to the on-line translation system. Then I have to take their work and make a lot of adjustments with it. Whoever designed that system does not know much about the Bible. The Holy Spirit is “Holy Alcohol” in their mind. I am not sure we are drinking from the same spirit!
I have gotten to the point where I can read Spanish fairly well. I still need a lot of help, and I have the fine work of Juan and Esther Rios whose first language is Spanish, and after I do all of my work on the outline, I send it to them for their final editing. Then we can print and bind and provide for our friends in Belize a study booklet that can speak to each heart from God’s word.
It will be so nice when we get to heaven and can all speak the same language. It is very difficult to communicate with someone when all you know is a few words in their tongue. I know a lot of Spanish words, but I know nothing of the grammar and structure of communication. Things are not the same. Idioms and figures of speech do not translate. I made reference to “crunch time” a minute ago. We all understand that, but they would probably be looking for one of those great chocolate bars with the crispy rice. Getting this outline prepared in both English and Spanish is incredibly tedious and time consuming. Communicating to others who do not hear things the same way you do is one of life’s most difficult challenges.
Consider that in the light of God trying to communicate to man. Not only is there a “language” barrier, but the gap in “culture” between a holy and all-knowing God and sinful ignorant men is infinitely wider than any gap between human beings. Yet God is the master communicator. He does so in so many ways that no one is exempt from the knowledge of his truth. Psalm 19 shows us how he communicates through creation. God cuts through every speech and language on earth to proclaim his truth to his creatures. John 1:9 says Jesus is, “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Romans 1:20 tells us, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Many skeptics of the word of God try to hide behind the excuse of “those who have not heard” or “those who don’t speak English” when the testimony of the truth of God is abundantly available on every square inch of the planet. Those who don’t see it or don’t hear it don’t want to.
The challenge for the believer in Christ is how to take the things of God and communicate them to a lost world that lives in that darkness. It is hard enough from English to Spanish. Now we have to find a way to bridge the “God – Man” gap as well. The only way to do that is to walk in the Spirit. If I could live in Belize for a couple of years and immerse myself in the culture and language, I would be able to communicate much easier to our brethren there. If you will immerse yourself in the culture of God and his word and learn his “language”, you efforts to share his truth with a lost world will improve.
I have gotten to the point where I can read Spanish fairly well. I still need a lot of help, and I have the fine work of Juan and Esther Rios whose first language is Spanish, and after I do all of my work on the outline, I send it to them for their final editing. Then we can print and bind and provide for our friends in Belize a study booklet that can speak to each heart from God’s word.
It will be so nice when we get to heaven and can all speak the same language. It is very difficult to communicate with someone when all you know is a few words in their tongue. I know a lot of Spanish words, but I know nothing of the grammar and structure of communication. Things are not the same. Idioms and figures of speech do not translate. I made reference to “crunch time” a minute ago. We all understand that, but they would probably be looking for one of those great chocolate bars with the crispy rice. Getting this outline prepared in both English and Spanish is incredibly tedious and time consuming. Communicating to others who do not hear things the same way you do is one of life’s most difficult challenges.
Consider that in the light of God trying to communicate to man. Not only is there a “language” barrier, but the gap in “culture” between a holy and all-knowing God and sinful ignorant men is infinitely wider than any gap between human beings. Yet God is the master communicator. He does so in so many ways that no one is exempt from the knowledge of his truth. Psalm 19 shows us how he communicates through creation. God cuts through every speech and language on earth to proclaim his truth to his creatures. John 1:9 says Jesus is, “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Romans 1:20 tells us, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” Many skeptics of the word of God try to hide behind the excuse of “those who have not heard” or “those who don’t speak English” when the testimony of the truth of God is abundantly available on every square inch of the planet. Those who don’t see it or don’t hear it don’t want to.
The challenge for the believer in Christ is how to take the things of God and communicate them to a lost world that lives in that darkness. It is hard enough from English to Spanish. Now we have to find a way to bridge the “God – Man” gap as well. The only way to do that is to walk in the Spirit. If I could live in Belize for a couple of years and immerse myself in the culture and language, I would be able to communicate much easier to our brethren there. If you will immerse yourself in the culture of God and his word and learn his “language”, you efforts to share his truth with a lost world will improve.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The "Discovery" Channel
“But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.” (Romans 10:20)
Tuesday of this week was “Columbus Day”, although we now observe it on the Monday nearest to October 12th instead of the exact day. I guess it is nice to give certain people an extra day to make a nice long weekend rather than random days off in the middle of weeks. We all know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety two, and landed on the North American Continent on October 12th of that year. When he did, he “discovered” America, right?
No he did not. The Viking Leif Erickson landed on this continent centuries earlier – and he still plays quarterback for them today. There were already people here when Columbus landed. If Christopher Columbus “discovered” this continent, why aren’t we called Columbia? Mankind is so incredibly conceited and arrogant. He continues to claim “discoveries” of things that God put in place long before he was even on this planet. God asked Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4) That is a rather penetrating question. Man cannot discover anything. Every time we unlock another “secret” of the Universe or find another species or chart another land mass or tap into a new technology, we only find something that was already there from Genesis chapter one. Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, right? Did it not exist before the apple bonked him on the head?
Paul quoted a prophecy of Isaiah related to New Testament salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said that Jesus is “found” (discovered) by those who did not seek him. How can that be? How can you find something you are not looking for? Columbus did not “discover” America by sitting in his Lazy-Boy watching Brett “Leif Erickson” Favre throw touchdown passes. Thomas Edison did not invent the phonograph and the light bulb by shopping for them at WalMart. They diligently searched for those things and invested their lives in pursuit of their discoveries. But Jesus is found by those who are not looking for him.
Romans 3:10-11 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” We have the “seeker” movement now in our churches, when the Bible says there are none that seek after God. Man in his natural state wants nothing to do with God. That is why God has to seek us out first.
Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) No man has ever discovered anything on this earth or in this Universe that God did not have there already waiting for him to find it. No man ever “found God” until Jesus had already searched him out before. Jesus also said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) Now don’t go all Hyper-Calvinist on me. If you don’t know what I am talking about, good. God draws ALL men to his Son and the cross. Anyone who is not “found of God” has rejected the draw of the Spirit of the Father. But we have to understand that everything begins and ends with God. He is the “author and finisher” (Hebrews 12:2). He created the world and placed the continents where it pleased him. He set the laws of physics and science in place, and left them there for us to find them and use them for his purposes. He chose his Son “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) to be the only sacrifice for sin and the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He sent him to the cross for your sins, and he is on a “seek and save” rescue mission for the souls of lost men and women. He has every one of those souls in his “crosshairs” including yours if you are not saved. Those who respond to his call can say they have “found God” just like Columbus could say he discovered a land mass that was already there. But you will not find him until you trust the Son of God to save you. Have you? If not, will you?
Tuesday of this week was “Columbus Day”, although we now observe it on the Monday nearest to October 12th instead of the exact day. I guess it is nice to give certain people an extra day to make a nice long weekend rather than random days off in the middle of weeks. We all know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety two, and landed on the North American Continent on October 12th of that year. When he did, he “discovered” America, right?
No he did not. The Viking Leif Erickson landed on this continent centuries earlier – and he still plays quarterback for them today. There were already people here when Columbus landed. If Christopher Columbus “discovered” this continent, why aren’t we called Columbia? Mankind is so incredibly conceited and arrogant. He continues to claim “discoveries” of things that God put in place long before he was even on this planet. God asked Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4) That is a rather penetrating question. Man cannot discover anything. Every time we unlock another “secret” of the Universe or find another species or chart another land mass or tap into a new technology, we only find something that was already there from Genesis chapter one. Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, right? Did it not exist before the apple bonked him on the head?
Paul quoted a prophecy of Isaiah related to New Testament salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said that Jesus is “found” (discovered) by those who did not seek him. How can that be? How can you find something you are not looking for? Columbus did not “discover” America by sitting in his Lazy-Boy watching Brett “Leif Erickson” Favre throw touchdown passes. Thomas Edison did not invent the phonograph and the light bulb by shopping for them at WalMart. They diligently searched for those things and invested their lives in pursuit of their discoveries. But Jesus is found by those who are not looking for him.
Romans 3:10-11 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” We have the “seeker” movement now in our churches, when the Bible says there are none that seek after God. Man in his natural state wants nothing to do with God. That is why God has to seek us out first.
Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) No man has ever discovered anything on this earth or in this Universe that God did not have there already waiting for him to find it. No man ever “found God” until Jesus had already searched him out before. Jesus also said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) Now don’t go all Hyper-Calvinist on me. If you don’t know what I am talking about, good. God draws ALL men to his Son and the cross. Anyone who is not “found of God” has rejected the draw of the Spirit of the Father. But we have to understand that everything begins and ends with God. He is the “author and finisher” (Hebrews 12:2). He created the world and placed the continents where it pleased him. He set the laws of physics and science in place, and left them there for us to find them and use them for his purposes. He chose his Son “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) to be the only sacrifice for sin and the only way to the Father (John 14:6). He sent him to the cross for your sins, and he is on a “seek and save” rescue mission for the souls of lost men and women. He has every one of those souls in his “crosshairs” including yours if you are not saved. Those who respond to his call can say they have “found God” just like Columbus could say he discovered a land mass that was already there. But you will not find him until you trust the Son of God to save you. Have you? If not, will you?
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Your Fifteen Minutes Of Fame
“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men.” (II Corinthians 3:2)
King David was one of the most famous men in history, and certainly in the “top ten” of all Bible characters. We are preparing for our annual missions trip to Belize, and the theme of this year’s Bible Conference is the life of David. As I have been working on the notes on the life of this great man of God, some things have intrigued me about him.
The life of David takes up a major section of the Old Testament. David is the main character of the Bible from I Samuel chapter 16 through the end of the book of II Samuel, and up to I Kings chapter 1, as well as I Chronicles chapters 11-29. That is a total of 60 chapters, and when you add all the other times in the Bible he is mentioned, David takes up close to 10% of the ink in the Bible. That is a lot of emphasis placed on one man out of billions over 6,000 years. Everyone is familiar with David, but for most, that familiarity extends to only a couple of stories. David’s life is well chronicled in the Bible, but beyond Goliath and Bathsheba, the rest of it could easily be the subject of a Jay Leno “Jaywalking” episode and make for some rather humorous responses.
Why is it that these are the only stories of David’s life that we all know? We know about his battle with Goliath because of the Sunday School lessons we heard many times as a child. It is such a famous story that it has become a slogan or catch phrase for every person on earth who faces a challenge too big to handle. We know that story because it is an encouragement to be persistent and faithful no matter what the circumstances. We admire the courage of a young man who could look defeat in the face and laugh at it as David did. David motivates us to take on the world and accomplish something genuinely remarkable, and many such things have been done by men – saved and lost – with that determination and courage.
Then we all know about his fling with Bathsheba. This story is famous because of sex, power, and corruption. This is the one Hellywood would make a movie about. (Yes, I know I spelled it wrong – I did so on purpose.) Sadly, it is these types of stories about Christians that makes the world pay attention to us. Anytime one of the servants of the Lord has a moral failure, it makes front page headlines. The media might be able to allude to some of the good accomplishments of such a man, but most of his 15 minutes of fame will be spent dragging his name and his family through the sewage of his sin. Granted, he deserves it. I understand temptation and the power of the flesh. But I have never understood how a man of God who holds in his hands the precious words of life called the Bible, and has in the power of his hands the issues of eternal destinies of the souls of human beings cannot keep those hands off of another woman besides his wife. Where is the fear of God, pastor? I tire of hearing about it, and this world will make absolutely 100% double-dog certain that every indiscretion will make national news. By the grace of God and by the power of his word and Spirit, I pray earnestly that we never hear of another.
When the prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba, he said, “…by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” (II Samuel 12:14) It takes years to establish a credible testimony, and a simple momentary lapse to destroy it. An incident like this negates everything the man of God has built. When a leader falls, his entire ministry is questioned. All the “60 chapters” of good he has accomplished gets shoved to the ash heap of history. Satan knows that. It is the reason he launches such vicious assaults against the men who minister the word to the flock of the Lord. We are all subject to such temptations, and the consequences for you are no different than for the nationally known pastors. Do not let your fifteen minutes be of this sort. Do not let Bathsheba negate your Goliath. God’s Spirit and God’s word are sufficient and powerful enough to preserve you if you access them daily.
King David was one of the most famous men in history, and certainly in the “top ten” of all Bible characters. We are preparing for our annual missions trip to Belize, and the theme of this year’s Bible Conference is the life of David. As I have been working on the notes on the life of this great man of God, some things have intrigued me about him.
The life of David takes up a major section of the Old Testament. David is the main character of the Bible from I Samuel chapter 16 through the end of the book of II Samuel, and up to I Kings chapter 1, as well as I Chronicles chapters 11-29. That is a total of 60 chapters, and when you add all the other times in the Bible he is mentioned, David takes up close to 10% of the ink in the Bible. That is a lot of emphasis placed on one man out of billions over 6,000 years. Everyone is familiar with David, but for most, that familiarity extends to only a couple of stories. David’s life is well chronicled in the Bible, but beyond Goliath and Bathsheba, the rest of it could easily be the subject of a Jay Leno “Jaywalking” episode and make for some rather humorous responses.
Why is it that these are the only stories of David’s life that we all know? We know about his battle with Goliath because of the Sunday School lessons we heard many times as a child. It is such a famous story that it has become a slogan or catch phrase for every person on earth who faces a challenge too big to handle. We know that story because it is an encouragement to be persistent and faithful no matter what the circumstances. We admire the courage of a young man who could look defeat in the face and laugh at it as David did. David motivates us to take on the world and accomplish something genuinely remarkable, and many such things have been done by men – saved and lost – with that determination and courage.
Then we all know about his fling with Bathsheba. This story is famous because of sex, power, and corruption. This is the one Hellywood would make a movie about. (Yes, I know I spelled it wrong – I did so on purpose.) Sadly, it is these types of stories about Christians that makes the world pay attention to us. Anytime one of the servants of the Lord has a moral failure, it makes front page headlines. The media might be able to allude to some of the good accomplishments of such a man, but most of his 15 minutes of fame will be spent dragging his name and his family through the sewage of his sin. Granted, he deserves it. I understand temptation and the power of the flesh. But I have never understood how a man of God who holds in his hands the precious words of life called the Bible, and has in the power of his hands the issues of eternal destinies of the souls of human beings cannot keep those hands off of another woman besides his wife. Where is the fear of God, pastor? I tire of hearing about it, and this world will make absolutely 100% double-dog certain that every indiscretion will make national news. By the grace of God and by the power of his word and Spirit, I pray earnestly that we never hear of another.
When the prophet Nathan confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba, he said, “…by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” (II Samuel 12:14) It takes years to establish a credible testimony, and a simple momentary lapse to destroy it. An incident like this negates everything the man of God has built. When a leader falls, his entire ministry is questioned. All the “60 chapters” of good he has accomplished gets shoved to the ash heap of history. Satan knows that. It is the reason he launches such vicious assaults against the men who minister the word to the flock of the Lord. We are all subject to such temptations, and the consequences for you are no different than for the nationally known pastors. Do not let your fifteen minutes be of this sort. Do not let Bathsheba negate your Goliath. God’s Spirit and God’s word are sufficient and powerful enough to preserve you if you access them daily.
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