“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” (John 15:1-2)
Is it just me, or do we all seem to accumulate stuff at a dizzying pace? For example, every year we buy several rolls of wrapping paper for our Christmas presents, and we always have some left after the season. Then after Christmas, wrapping paper goes on sale for 90% off, so we pick up a few more rolls for next year at such a great price. Then during the year, there are special events such as birthdays where more wrapping paper is purchased to fit the theme of the event. We store all the extra paper we don’t use in the basement closet, and the supply just keeps growing. I have enough wrapping paper to open a small boutique. You have probably heard the line that some guys give to a girl about promising her she would be dripping in jewels and furs and all sorts of lavish riches if she will just be his girl. “Honey, if you marry me, I promise I will buy you the moon!” If you ever actually do buy the moon for her, bring it to me. I can wrap it for you.
Shoestrings are another item that multiplies. You cannot buy just one pair of shoestrings. They package them in sets of two pairs because selling one is too cheap and makes no economic sense for the company. So you use one pair and put the other one away for later, but by the time you need the second pair, you have completely forgotten where you put it, so you buy two more pairs. There are actually twice as many pairs of shoestrings in the Universe as there are pairs of shoes.
Sometimes we need a good purging of the stuff we accumulate. Unfortunately, it usually occurs when we least expect it and outside our control. A good spring cleaning often results in a garage sale or a huge pile at the curb for the trash man, but we have to be prompted to do that, and it is often difficult to motivate ourselves to part with our treasured belongings. I am sure most of us have seen episodes of the “Hoarders” program on TV. I hope no one is that bad, but I would say that virtually everyone reading this would not miss most of the stuff they have, myself toward the top of the list. Look at my office and you will see a mountain of papers and other items that mean something to me but not to anyone else. When I finally go home to the Lord, virtually everything I have will be set out at the curb and find its true meaning as it bio-degrades into dirt.
We can see an object lesson of this in nature. In this part of the country, we get hit at times with ice storms in the winter. It is one thing to get dumped on with a foot of snow, but an inch of ice is far worse. The snow just falls through the trees and lands on the ground. But ice clings to the branches and covers every square inch. The weight of the ice on the branches will then bring them crashing to the ground. It is almost surreal to sit at home at night and listen to the neighborhood creak and groan under the weight of the ice. The slightest wind rocks the limbs and you hear the continual crack and thud of branches hitting the ground. You only hope the bigger ones don’t fall on the house. When the weather finally clears, the sound of chainsaws fills the air as the clean up takes place. The result is not pretty at the time, but a couple of years later, it reaps a reward. The older weaker branches have given way to stronger fruit bearing ones.
Sometimes God has to send a storm in our lives to get us to bear more fruit. Our mission and purpose in life is to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our things are a very important part of that process. You cannot reach this culture if you are homeless and destitute. No one will believe that your God can care for them if he is not caring for you. But don’t let your stuff get in the way of your fruit. When the next “storm of life” purges some of the things you think are so indispensable, stop for a moment and thank God for it. The fruit of the next season will make it all worthwhile.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Black Friday
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)
This year’s mad-house day of shopping was filled with more crazy events perpetrated by people who have way more dollars than they have sense (pun intended). I am sure most of you heard about the lady who pepper sprayed her fellow shoppers arguing over some item they were all trying to buy. Then there were the fights in the parking lots over those who were cutting the line at 3am trying to get ahead of the others. Of course, the worst one was a couple of years ago at a WalMart in New York when an employee was trampled to death, and yet the shoppers all went about their business as if nothing happened, and then actually got mad when the Police closed the store temporarily to deal with the tragedy. It just makes you wonder sometimes what is going on in the hearts and minds of the populace.
I know they call it “Black Friday” because it is the time of the year when the retailers finally get “in the black” for their yearly budgets. But I am beginning to think there is another undertone of the name to signify the “darkness” that befalls some of our fellow humanoids on this dirt ball on that day. Maybe they should call it “Green Friday” in honor of the cash. But the name has been around long enough now that it has stuck. But every time I hear the term “Black Friday”, I can’t help but think of the spiritual darkness that is often connected to the pursuit of things. Of course, whenever a preacher starts on one of his rants about materialism, it often results in the hearers tuning him out. They think he is advocating that we all live in a tent and eat dirt just so we can all be right with God. Christianity is not a vow of poverty. God takes care of his children. The Bible tells us that God “…giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (I Timothy 6:17) Jesus said he came to give us life (eternal) and abundant life (temporal) in John 10:10. There are many exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, a believer in Christ can expect a life filled with blessings and provisions from his benevolent Father in heaven. The problem is that we expect them in the temporal realm first, with no thought for the “spiritual blessings in heavenly places” that are far more valuable (Ephesians 1:3).
As we approach yet another holiday season, we will see another attempt by man to satisfy himself with the stuff of this world. Within reason, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is a sin not to enjoy the things God gives you. We go out of our way to provide for our children during this time of the year, and that is important. They need to know that we love them. You cannot buy your children’s love, and they need you more than they need your things. At the same time, just saying you love them at Christmas without backing it up with a couple of toys would ring rather hollow in their ears. It is a difficult balance. But think about the gifts you received 10 years ago. At the time, you thought they were just perfect. You said, “Oh, thank you! It is just what I needed!” Today, virtually every one of those gifts rests in a landfill.
You have certainly heard the line, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That statement should be modified to say, “He who dies with the most toys is still dead.” Where will he be in eternity? Do your loved ones know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and not just as the little baby in the manger? It is their decision, and you cannot force it on anyone, but have you told them? Have you lived your life as close to the book as possible so that they do not have justification for rejecting Christ based on your testimony? This year’s Christmas gifts will not last. God, the Bible, and the souls of men are the only things that will last for eternity. Go ahead and invest in the things that this season moves us to do, but make your real investments in the things that will outlast all of them. Give the gift of life to a lost world through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This year’s mad-house day of shopping was filled with more crazy events perpetrated by people who have way more dollars than they have sense (pun intended). I am sure most of you heard about the lady who pepper sprayed her fellow shoppers arguing over some item they were all trying to buy. Then there were the fights in the parking lots over those who were cutting the line at 3am trying to get ahead of the others. Of course, the worst one was a couple of years ago at a WalMart in New York when an employee was trampled to death, and yet the shoppers all went about their business as if nothing happened, and then actually got mad when the Police closed the store temporarily to deal with the tragedy. It just makes you wonder sometimes what is going on in the hearts and minds of the populace.
I know they call it “Black Friday” because it is the time of the year when the retailers finally get “in the black” for their yearly budgets. But I am beginning to think there is another undertone of the name to signify the “darkness” that befalls some of our fellow humanoids on this dirt ball on that day. Maybe they should call it “Green Friday” in honor of the cash. But the name has been around long enough now that it has stuck. But every time I hear the term “Black Friday”, I can’t help but think of the spiritual darkness that is often connected to the pursuit of things. Of course, whenever a preacher starts on one of his rants about materialism, it often results in the hearers tuning him out. They think he is advocating that we all live in a tent and eat dirt just so we can all be right with God. Christianity is not a vow of poverty. God takes care of his children. The Bible tells us that God “…giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (I Timothy 6:17) Jesus said he came to give us life (eternal) and abundant life (temporal) in John 10:10. There are many exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, a believer in Christ can expect a life filled with blessings and provisions from his benevolent Father in heaven. The problem is that we expect them in the temporal realm first, with no thought for the “spiritual blessings in heavenly places” that are far more valuable (Ephesians 1:3).
As we approach yet another holiday season, we will see another attempt by man to satisfy himself with the stuff of this world. Within reason, there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is a sin not to enjoy the things God gives you. We go out of our way to provide for our children during this time of the year, and that is important. They need to know that we love them. You cannot buy your children’s love, and they need you more than they need your things. At the same time, just saying you love them at Christmas without backing it up with a couple of toys would ring rather hollow in their ears. It is a difficult balance. But think about the gifts you received 10 years ago. At the time, you thought they were just perfect. You said, “Oh, thank you! It is just what I needed!” Today, virtually every one of those gifts rests in a landfill.
You have certainly heard the line, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That statement should be modified to say, “He who dies with the most toys is still dead.” Where will he be in eternity? Do your loved ones know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, and not just as the little baby in the manger? It is their decision, and you cannot force it on anyone, but have you told them? Have you lived your life as close to the book as possible so that they do not have justification for rejecting Christ based on your testimony? This year’s Christmas gifts will not last. God, the Bible, and the souls of men are the only things that will last for eternity. Go ahead and invest in the things that this season moves us to do, but make your real investments in the things that will outlast all of them. Give the gift of life to a lost world through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Raking Leaves
“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.” (Romans 15:1-3)
We have reached that time of the year when our yard work chore consists of picking up all the dead stuff that the trees decided to bequeath upon us. Mine always hits me just after coming home fromBelize. Our annual trip is usually during that stretch when the bulk of the leaves fall. So I leave for the tropics with about 6 leaves on the ground and experience 95 degree weather, and return home to an immediate blast of 30 degree days and 6 billion leaves to deal with. It is such a shock to the system and such a huge load that I usually have to tackle it in tiny segments of an hour at a time. The biggest problem is that of the 6 billion leaves I have to deal with every year, no more than about 50 of them are actually mine. We have a small redbud in the front yard that produces a few, then the rest of them are from the neighbors. Across the street and on both sides are huge trees, and for whatever reason, it seems the leaves all gravitate to my yard. I guess the position of my house and the fall wind currents work together to create massive mounds of dead rotting decaying foliage on our property. I sometimes feel like gathering them all up and sorting them into their various “tree DNA” piles, then knocking on their doors and delivering them back to their rightful owners. But that would be a lot more work than what I have to do now, and a whole lot less neighborly.
Quite often we get “dumped on” with things in life that are not our fault and not our doing, yet we still have to deal with it. In these moments, we all cry out, “Not fair!” Life is never fair. In fact, the word “fair” is never used one time in the Bible in the context of “just or equitable”. Our first parents saw to it that we would be continually plagued with injustices when they chose to rebel against God and sin. Since then, the rest of us live in a world full of sin, and you contribute your fair share to the cause just like everyone else does. Sometimes, the “leaves” of your sin fall on your neighbor’s lawn, and they have to clean them up. Other times, you reap the consequences of the actions of those around you. And you can’t fall back on the old adage that “it will all even out in the end”, because it really won’t on this side of eternity. There will never be an “evening out” of the fall leaves at our house. Our one puny little tree will never produce enough to offset the many monster trees of our neighbors. Even if we cut all of theirs down and planted a forest in our own yard, we have 18 autumn seasons in the books at this house, and we could never catch up. It is just part of life. God told us in Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” When you think of it, the “inequity” of life actually has a bit of a benefit because it forces us to rely on each other at times. God made us as social creatures. He said it is not good for us to dwell alone. The fact that I have to clean up after others and they have to clean up after me can serve to draw us closer together. You learn some great qualities of life like longsuffering and grace that cannot be learned from books. They have to be learned from the experiences of life that work together to mold our character in the image of our Lord.
Speaking of being dumped on, there is no greater example than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) My yard gets dumped with too many leaves, but at least a few of them are actually mine. Jesus “knew no sin”. Yet he “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Peter 2:24) so that we could have eternal life. The next time we are tempted to complain about something that is “not fair”, remember what he did for you. Then go tell someone about it so they can experience his grace and forgiveness as well.
We have reached that time of the year when our yard work chore consists of picking up all the dead stuff that the trees decided to bequeath upon us. Mine always hits me just after coming home fromBelize. Our annual trip is usually during that stretch when the bulk of the leaves fall. So I leave for the tropics with about 6 leaves on the ground and experience 95 degree weather, and return home to an immediate blast of 30 degree days and 6 billion leaves to deal with. It is such a shock to the system and such a huge load that I usually have to tackle it in tiny segments of an hour at a time. The biggest problem is that of the 6 billion leaves I have to deal with every year, no more than about 50 of them are actually mine. We have a small redbud in the front yard that produces a few, then the rest of them are from the neighbors. Across the street and on both sides are huge trees, and for whatever reason, it seems the leaves all gravitate to my yard. I guess the position of my house and the fall wind currents work together to create massive mounds of dead rotting decaying foliage on our property. I sometimes feel like gathering them all up and sorting them into their various “tree DNA” piles, then knocking on their doors and delivering them back to their rightful owners. But that would be a lot more work than what I have to do now, and a whole lot less neighborly.
Quite often we get “dumped on” with things in life that are not our fault and not our doing, yet we still have to deal with it. In these moments, we all cry out, “Not fair!” Life is never fair. In fact, the word “fair” is never used one time in the Bible in the context of “just or equitable”. Our first parents saw to it that we would be continually plagued with injustices when they chose to rebel against God and sin. Since then, the rest of us live in a world full of sin, and you contribute your fair share to the cause just like everyone else does. Sometimes, the “leaves” of your sin fall on your neighbor’s lawn, and they have to clean them up. Other times, you reap the consequences of the actions of those around you. And you can’t fall back on the old adage that “it will all even out in the end”, because it really won’t on this side of eternity. There will never be an “evening out” of the fall leaves at our house. Our one puny little tree will never produce enough to offset the many monster trees of our neighbors. Even if we cut all of theirs down and planted a forest in our own yard, we have 18 autumn seasons in the books at this house, and we could never catch up. It is just part of life. God told us in Galatians 6:2, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” When you think of it, the “inequity” of life actually has a bit of a benefit because it forces us to rely on each other at times. God made us as social creatures. He said it is not good for us to dwell alone. The fact that I have to clean up after others and they have to clean up after me can serve to draw us closer together. You learn some great qualities of life like longsuffering and grace that cannot be learned from books. They have to be learned from the experiences of life that work together to mold our character in the image of our Lord.
Speaking of being dumped on, there is no greater example than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) My yard gets dumped with too many leaves, but at least a few of them are actually mine. Jesus “knew no sin”. Yet he “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (I Peter 2:24) so that we could have eternal life. The next time we are tempted to complain about something that is “not fair”, remember what he did for you. Then go tell someone about it so they can experience his grace and forgiveness as well.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Giving Thanks
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (II Corinthians 9:15)
We all recently held our annual Pilgrim’s Feast where we tie on the feedbag and stuffed ourselves silly more than the turkeys we devoured. By Thanksgiving afternoon the tryptophan kicks in and most of us are fast asleep in front of the football game. I have it even worse. Every year on this day, I actually have to eat two dinners. That has been a ritual I have had to endure for the last 27 years that I have been married. We do dinner in the early afternoon with my side of the family, then I have to follow that up with another one with Vicki’s side of the family later that evening. It is real suffering for Jesus. Although I do the cooking at home and can quite humbly??? say that I am good at it, I have never cooked a whole turkey in my life. That has always been covered for me by others in the family (both sides). Both dinners have their own unique tastes. On top of the turkey, my mom’s Cole slaw is awesome, and the candied sweet potatoes are to die for. This year my dad made me a tub of chicken liver paté as well. I could eat that stuff 3 times a day and then dream about it at night. Then for the evening course, there is nothing quite like the stuffing and turkey gravy at the in-laws along with the fresh homemade rolls, the broccoli cheese casserole, and the best pumpkin pie west of theMississippi. It is one of my favorite days of the year. I even have a special plate used only on a couple of special occasions every year like Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a huge rectangular divided plate like you would find in a cafeteria with about 6 or 7 different sections so I can pile it on without any of the various items touching each other. I like my food portions separate. That way I can enjoy each uniquely distinct and wonderful taste experience without having it all jumbled together. It is truly a palette pleasing extravaganza of epic proportions. My mouth is drooling again just thinking about it.
Most families will stop right before the dinner to say a quick prayer of “Thanksgiving” just before diving in to the feast, which is all fine and wonderful. Even those who really don’t spend much time with God at any other time of the year will at least try to acknowledge his blessings on that day. As the “pastor” in the family, I am always called upon to say the blessing. But most of us thank God for our stuff instead of for the things that really matter. We have become such a self-indulgent society that we complain over every little “issue” that does not suit our fancy. Paul discusses in II Timothy chapter 3 the “perilous times” that will come upon the earth in the “last days”. We certainly live in them right now. This is one of the prophetic passages in the Bible dealing with our times, and it cites “unthankful” as a key component of the apostasy we live in today. We can see it manifest in our society. Those on the receiving end of society’s care are camped out complaining, protesting, and demanding even more. Unruly children whine and throw temper tantrums to get what they want, and parents feed that spirit by giving in to it. An endless parade of so-called “reality” television shows us just how “little” we think we have, when the true “reality” is that we are blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Our airwaves are filled with personalities who are famous because they are famous, and they feed our unthankful spirit worse than almost anything else in our society. We now have “reality” shows that portray the most extravagant and ridiculous pampering of children I have ever witnessed. Our childhood should be one with fond memories and blessings, but when spoiled rotten brats spend over $100,000 on a birthday party for their spoiled rotten brat children, and then pollute our airwaves with the incessant whining about how every little detail wasn’t perfect, it is all I can do to not throw a brick through the set. All that would do is make me have to buy another one.
Be thankful that the only begotten Son of God chose to shed his blood for your sins. With a home in heaven guaranteed because of that, you have nothing to really complain about. The worst thing that could ever happen to you is to die and go to heaven. A heart that gives gratitude to the Saviour makes life worthwhile.
We all recently held our annual Pilgrim’s Feast where we tie on the feedbag and stuffed ourselves silly more than the turkeys we devoured. By Thanksgiving afternoon the tryptophan kicks in and most of us are fast asleep in front of the football game. I have it even worse. Every year on this day, I actually have to eat two dinners. That has been a ritual I have had to endure for the last 27 years that I have been married. We do dinner in the early afternoon with my side of the family, then I have to follow that up with another one with Vicki’s side of the family later that evening. It is real suffering for Jesus. Although I do the cooking at home and can quite humbly??? say that I am good at it, I have never cooked a whole turkey in my life. That has always been covered for me by others in the family (both sides). Both dinners have their own unique tastes. On top of the turkey, my mom’s Cole slaw is awesome, and the candied sweet potatoes are to die for. This year my dad made me a tub of chicken liver paté as well. I could eat that stuff 3 times a day and then dream about it at night. Then for the evening course, there is nothing quite like the stuffing and turkey gravy at the in-laws along with the fresh homemade rolls, the broccoli cheese casserole, and the best pumpkin pie west of theMississippi. It is one of my favorite days of the year. I even have a special plate used only on a couple of special occasions every year like Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a huge rectangular divided plate like you would find in a cafeteria with about 6 or 7 different sections so I can pile it on without any of the various items touching each other. I like my food portions separate. That way I can enjoy each uniquely distinct and wonderful taste experience without having it all jumbled together. It is truly a palette pleasing extravaganza of epic proportions. My mouth is drooling again just thinking about it.
Most families will stop right before the dinner to say a quick prayer of “Thanksgiving” just before diving in to the feast, which is all fine and wonderful. Even those who really don’t spend much time with God at any other time of the year will at least try to acknowledge his blessings on that day. As the “pastor” in the family, I am always called upon to say the blessing. But most of us thank God for our stuff instead of for the things that really matter. We have become such a self-indulgent society that we complain over every little “issue” that does not suit our fancy. Paul discusses in II Timothy chapter 3 the “perilous times” that will come upon the earth in the “last days”. We certainly live in them right now. This is one of the prophetic passages in the Bible dealing with our times, and it cites “unthankful” as a key component of the apostasy we live in today. We can see it manifest in our society. Those on the receiving end of society’s care are camped out complaining, protesting, and demanding even more. Unruly children whine and throw temper tantrums to get what they want, and parents feed that spirit by giving in to it. An endless parade of so-called “reality” television shows us just how “little” we think we have, when the true “reality” is that we are blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Our airwaves are filled with personalities who are famous because they are famous, and they feed our unthankful spirit worse than almost anything else in our society. We now have “reality” shows that portray the most extravagant and ridiculous pampering of children I have ever witnessed. Our childhood should be one with fond memories and blessings, but when spoiled rotten brats spend over $100,000 on a birthday party for their spoiled rotten brat children, and then pollute our airwaves with the incessant whining about how every little detail wasn’t perfect, it is all I can do to not throw a brick through the set. All that would do is make me have to buy another one.
Be thankful that the only begotten Son of God chose to shed his blood for your sins. With a home in heaven guaranteed because of that, you have nothing to really complain about. The worst thing that could ever happen to you is to die and go to heaven. A heart that gives gratitude to the Saviour makes life worthwhile.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A Sucker Born Every Minute
“For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Romans 3:3-4)
I just got back from our annual missions trip to Belize. For 11 glorious days, I did not speak on the phone one time, log on to the internet, or watch television for even a nano-second. Yet the world continued to spin without me. It is amazing what can be accomplished without Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Don’t misunderstand. People in Belize have cell phones and internet. We even saw someone texting while riding a bicycle. They might even have life a little better if they had more technology, but we would have it a lot better with less. When I got home, one of my first tasks was to clean out my inbox of my emails. I had 153 new emails. After deleting all the junk, I only opened and read 17 of them. 136 of the new emails were deleted without even considering their content. Most of them were attempts to separate me from my hard earned money, including over 20 of them from an overseas banker promising me several million dollars from a Nigerian prince if I would only give them my bank account number and pay a nominal fee. I even had an offer to move to England and be a nanny for a couple of fine well behaved young children ages 5 and 7. (That is one of the 17 emails that I read. I was way too curious as to who would offer me a job like that.) It is amazing to me how these scam emails keep coming. I am sure I have deleted thousands of them in the last few years, yet they still hit me. Someone out there must be falling for it, or they would not keep trying.
People believe all kinds of stupid junk. It is amazing what some people will fall for. How many of our fellow travellers on this giant dirt ball believe we actually descended from monkeys? Still yet, how many of them believe that they just might be good enough to gain heaven based on what they have done in this life? The Bible clearly spells out how to be saved by trusting in the blood of Jesus alone, yet man comes up with a “scam” a minute to deny that truth and lead people astray. Our enemy is constantly bombarding humanity with endless “emails” offering a way of salvation that is not genuine or valid. Despite that almost universal knowledge that the Nigerian banker emails are a scam, they keep coming, and not just in a trickle, but a tsunami. The simple plan of salvation by grace in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross has been published and proclaimed for generations. The apostle Paul committed its truths to writing 2,000 years ago. God confirms its truth daily as the gospel is preached in every corner of the world to this day. Yet the scams continue and proliferate.
It always amazes me when someone tries to spout out the atheist / agnostic position that “I just don’t believe in God…” They think that makes him go away. It is as if God sits in heaven saying, “Well, since these people don’t believe I exist, I will just give up.” I was there many years ago myself. Being raised in a religious home, I did what many young people do in that stage of life, I rebelled. Our religion was not New Testament fundamental Bible believing Christianity, it was Catholicism. I rebelled against the dry institutional “form of godliness” that did not proclaim the simplicity of the gospel or speak to the heart. So in rebelling, I took it way too far and rebelled against God. I thought God was manifest in the institution of the structure of the Catholic Church rather than God being seen through the pages of his book. So I became “atheist” to a point; more practically than theologically. Deep down inside, I always knew there had to be a God, but I just had no use for him. I guess I really did believe that one day, some Nigerian prince would make my life worthwhile. How wrong I was.
Be not deceived. God is still on the throne and ready to return any day. Anchor your life to the truth and then send it out to those who need it. The time is short.
I just got back from our annual missions trip to Belize. For 11 glorious days, I did not speak on the phone one time, log on to the internet, or watch television for even a nano-second. Yet the world continued to spin without me. It is amazing what can be accomplished without Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Don’t misunderstand. People in Belize have cell phones and internet. We even saw someone texting while riding a bicycle. They might even have life a little better if they had more technology, but we would have it a lot better with less. When I got home, one of my first tasks was to clean out my inbox of my emails. I had 153 new emails. After deleting all the junk, I only opened and read 17 of them. 136 of the new emails were deleted without even considering their content. Most of them were attempts to separate me from my hard earned money, including over 20 of them from an overseas banker promising me several million dollars from a Nigerian prince if I would only give them my bank account number and pay a nominal fee. I even had an offer to move to England and be a nanny for a couple of fine well behaved young children ages 5 and 7. (That is one of the 17 emails that I read. I was way too curious as to who would offer me a job like that.) It is amazing to me how these scam emails keep coming. I am sure I have deleted thousands of them in the last few years, yet they still hit me. Someone out there must be falling for it, or they would not keep trying.
People believe all kinds of stupid junk. It is amazing what some people will fall for. How many of our fellow travellers on this giant dirt ball believe we actually descended from monkeys? Still yet, how many of them believe that they just might be good enough to gain heaven based on what they have done in this life? The Bible clearly spells out how to be saved by trusting in the blood of Jesus alone, yet man comes up with a “scam” a minute to deny that truth and lead people astray. Our enemy is constantly bombarding humanity with endless “emails” offering a way of salvation that is not genuine or valid. Despite that almost universal knowledge that the Nigerian banker emails are a scam, they keep coming, and not just in a trickle, but a tsunami. The simple plan of salvation by grace in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross has been published and proclaimed for generations. The apostle Paul committed its truths to writing 2,000 years ago. God confirms its truth daily as the gospel is preached in every corner of the world to this day. Yet the scams continue and proliferate.
It always amazes me when someone tries to spout out the atheist / agnostic position that “I just don’t believe in God…” They think that makes him go away. It is as if God sits in heaven saying, “Well, since these people don’t believe I exist, I will just give up.” I was there many years ago myself. Being raised in a religious home, I did what many young people do in that stage of life, I rebelled. Our religion was not New Testament fundamental Bible believing Christianity, it was Catholicism. I rebelled against the dry institutional “form of godliness” that did not proclaim the simplicity of the gospel or speak to the heart. So in rebelling, I took it way too far and rebelled against God. I thought God was manifest in the institution of the structure of the Catholic Church rather than God being seen through the pages of his book. So I became “atheist” to a point; more practically than theologically. Deep down inside, I always knew there had to be a God, but I just had no use for him. I guess I really did believe that one day, some Nigerian prince would make my life worthwhile. How wrong I was.
Be not deceived. God is still on the throne and ready to return any day. Anchor your life to the truth and then send it out to those who need it. The time is short.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Stop the World!
“Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth?” (Job 7:1)
I am sure that everyone reading this has expressed this same concern many times over. The world we live in has provided us with so many modern “conveniences” that are supposed to make our lives easier, but the reverse is actually true. We are so busy that it overwhelms even the most “organized” among us. Then there are those like me who are about as organized as a tornado. I get so far behind sometimes that I feel like I am just being driven from one event to the next. About all I can do most of the time is say, “What’s next?” Usually it is something that is due in the next 10 minutes, and I feel like I am scrambling to get to it.
We leave Friday for our annual missions trip to the tiny Caribbean nation of Belize. There is a ton of stuff to do in preparation for the trip, and with just a couple of days to go, I am in that stage of overwhelming frustration. But just like every time, God will come through with a couple of things, and I will burn the midnight oil, and it will all get done somehow. Then something really awesome will kick in for the 11 days we will be in Belize. Life here will go on without me, and there won’t be a blasted thing I can do about any of it. I think sometimes the reason why we get so busy is really rooted in the idea of our own importance rather than just the “to do list”. Most all of us think we are indispensable, and that life as we know it would collapse if we were not involved in every decision and every detail. Then I go out of the country. When we are in Belize, there is basically only one thing per day that we do. It might be a trip to a Mayan ruin or a day spent ministering to the youth at the Christian High School. But that is it. There is no “list” to be tackled. The “list” that I left behind in Kansas City just sits there. It is like I get to hit the “reset” button on life, because most of what is on the list that I left behind goes away while I am gone. After 11 days, what was urgently needed to be done either is handled by someone else or else it is determined that it really wasn’t as urgent as I thought. By the time I get back, things will be ready for me to just start over on the madness.
Time management is a big issue for our society, so much so that we spend billions of dollars on planners and iPhone apps. But God never has a time management issue. The legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi was famous for a lot of things, including his bulldog insistence on his team being on time for everything. It led to what is called “Lombardi Time”. When a meeting was scheduled, everyone was expected to be there at least 15 minutes before the posted time. If you are on time for a meeting, you are late, and if you are late, you are cut from the team. The reason he required everyone to be there 15 minutes beforehand is to guard against the unexpected. A flat tire was no excuse. If you had left the house in time to plan for such contingencies, you would not be late. I would never have lasted a day as a Green Bay Packer in the Vince Lombardi era, even if I was the greatest football player in the league.
God is never late and seldom early. He does not have to worry about arriving 15 minutes early to plan for the unexpected. Nothing takes God by surprise. His appointment calendar and planning list never has any missing or unfulfilled items. As the verse above says, we all have a scheduled meeting with him someday. No matter what is on your to-do list, you will keep that appointment. On that day, it won’t matter if you picked up the laundry or cleaned the gutters. The world will stop that day for you – whether it is at the rapture of the church for all of us, or your final day. We will face him and give account of our lives. Those who do not know Jesus as their Saviour will have to give account of their sins. It will be a fearful thing for them on that day to “fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Since Jesus paid for my sins, I won’t worry about that. We will give account of our service after we are saved. I trust it will be “with joy and not with grief” (Hebrews 13:17), but that depends on you.
I am sure that everyone reading this has expressed this same concern many times over. The world we live in has provided us with so many modern “conveniences” that are supposed to make our lives easier, but the reverse is actually true. We are so busy that it overwhelms even the most “organized” among us. Then there are those like me who are about as organized as a tornado. I get so far behind sometimes that I feel like I am just being driven from one event to the next. About all I can do most of the time is say, “What’s next?” Usually it is something that is due in the next 10 minutes, and I feel like I am scrambling to get to it.
We leave Friday for our annual missions trip to the tiny Caribbean nation of Belize. There is a ton of stuff to do in preparation for the trip, and with just a couple of days to go, I am in that stage of overwhelming frustration. But just like every time, God will come through with a couple of things, and I will burn the midnight oil, and it will all get done somehow. Then something really awesome will kick in for the 11 days we will be in Belize. Life here will go on without me, and there won’t be a blasted thing I can do about any of it. I think sometimes the reason why we get so busy is really rooted in the idea of our own importance rather than just the “to do list”. Most all of us think we are indispensable, and that life as we know it would collapse if we were not involved in every decision and every detail. Then I go out of the country. When we are in Belize, there is basically only one thing per day that we do. It might be a trip to a Mayan ruin or a day spent ministering to the youth at the Christian High School. But that is it. There is no “list” to be tackled. The “list” that I left behind in Kansas City just sits there. It is like I get to hit the “reset” button on life, because most of what is on the list that I left behind goes away while I am gone. After 11 days, what was urgently needed to be done either is handled by someone else or else it is determined that it really wasn’t as urgent as I thought. By the time I get back, things will be ready for me to just start over on the madness.
Time management is a big issue for our society, so much so that we spend billions of dollars on planners and iPhone apps. But God never has a time management issue. The legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi was famous for a lot of things, including his bulldog insistence on his team being on time for everything. It led to what is called “Lombardi Time”. When a meeting was scheduled, everyone was expected to be there at least 15 minutes before the posted time. If you are on time for a meeting, you are late, and if you are late, you are cut from the team. The reason he required everyone to be there 15 minutes beforehand is to guard against the unexpected. A flat tire was no excuse. If you had left the house in time to plan for such contingencies, you would not be late. I would never have lasted a day as a Green Bay Packer in the Vince Lombardi era, even if I was the greatest football player in the league.
God is never late and seldom early. He does not have to worry about arriving 15 minutes early to plan for the unexpected. Nothing takes God by surprise. His appointment calendar and planning list never has any missing or unfulfilled items. As the verse above says, we all have a scheduled meeting with him someday. No matter what is on your to-do list, you will keep that appointment. On that day, it won’t matter if you picked up the laundry or cleaned the gutters. The world will stop that day for you – whether it is at the rapture of the church for all of us, or your final day. We will face him and give account of our lives. Those who do not know Jesus as their Saviour will have to give account of their sins. It will be a fearful thing for them on that day to “fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). Since Jesus paid for my sins, I won’t worry about that. We will give account of our service after we are saved. I trust it will be “with joy and not with grief” (Hebrews 13:17), but that depends on you.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Let Freedom Ring!
“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)
Last week we saw the demise of yet another brutal dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. By the way, how many ways did this guy spell his name? Besides the most common form “Gadhafi”, I have seen Qadaffi, Kaddafy, Gaddafi, and probably a few others. How can anyone follow a man who can’t even spell his own name? An entire nation has been liberated from the yoke of this strange and evil man, and he has gone on to meet his maker and receive his eternal reward. By the way, it is NOT 72 virgins! It has been the plight of mankind to be under the yoke of bondage of dictators like this since the time that there were enough people to form governments. The old adage fits. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Man can never get enough. It doesn’t matter how much sex, drugs, money, or power we get, we think we need more. It reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons of all time: “Pinky and the Brain”. It was created by Stephen Spielberg, and it was brilliant in its simplicity. It was the story of two laboratory mice who had a plan to “take over the world” every night, yet they failed miserably every time. Each episode always ended the same way, with them heading back to their cages after yet another failed attempt. Pinky would ask, “What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?” Brain would answer, “The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try and take over the world.” It was animated so the children would enjoy it, but it was deeply profound in its sarcasm and wit as Spielberg would relate it to current events and historical figures. Google “Pinky and the Brain”. It is no longer being produced, but I am sure you can catch old episodes on line. It is insanely hilarious, and a great commentary on the folly of human nature and our lust for power.
Whenever we see a man like Gadhafi fall, we sort of breathe a sigh of relief and think, “It’s about time. Good enough for him.” The people of Libya are celebrating profusely, and rightfully so to a point. But God’s word has a little different take on these matters. Why did God let this man stay in power for over 40 years? There are a whole host of answers to that question, but one of them is that he is not willing that any should perish (II Peter 3:9). He loved Gadhafi as much as he loved you. He sent his Son to die for his sins as well as yours. His rejection of Jesus Christ sealed his eternal fate, but it does not lessen the desire God had to see him come to repentance and faith and gain his home in heaven as well. Libyans are rejoicing at the demise of Gadhafi, but God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. One soul is worth the entire world, and God grieves when one of them is lost. 42 years in absolute control of a nation was not enough to satisfy this man. Judgment and justice were finally served, but God gave him every opportunity and every grace to come to the knowledge of the truth.
No one reading this blog will ever get to the status of a world leader and dictator like Gadhafi. Thank God for that. But every one of us knows people who have been given 40 or more years of grace, yet have still not come to the knowledge of the truth. They “reign” over their own little domain, as puny as it may be, and make every effort to “try and take over the world” on a daily basis – at least the world they live in. They need to come to the one who owns it all. Those of us who have received him as Saviour are “joint heirs” with him (Romans 8:16-17). I don’t need to worry about becoming a supreme ruler over a country. I own the Universe.
Share the truth with the lost. What they think they want and need is not what they really need. Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin, and he is coming soon to “take over the world”. Only those who have trusted him will be the “Pinky” to rule with the “Brain”.
Last week we saw the demise of yet another brutal dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. By the way, how many ways did this guy spell his name? Besides the most common form “Gadhafi”, I have seen Qadaffi, Kaddafy, Gaddafi, and probably a few others. How can anyone follow a man who can’t even spell his own name? An entire nation has been liberated from the yoke of this strange and evil man, and he has gone on to meet his maker and receive his eternal reward. By the way, it is NOT 72 virgins! It has been the plight of mankind to be under the yoke of bondage of dictators like this since the time that there were enough people to form governments. The old adage fits. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Man can never get enough. It doesn’t matter how much sex, drugs, money, or power we get, we think we need more. It reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons of all time: “Pinky and the Brain”. It was created by Stephen Spielberg, and it was brilliant in its simplicity. It was the story of two laboratory mice who had a plan to “take over the world” every night, yet they failed miserably every time. Each episode always ended the same way, with them heading back to their cages after yet another failed attempt. Pinky would ask, “What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain?” Brain would answer, “The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try and take over the world.” It was animated so the children would enjoy it, but it was deeply profound in its sarcasm and wit as Spielberg would relate it to current events and historical figures. Google “Pinky and the Brain”. It is no longer being produced, but I am sure you can catch old episodes on line. It is insanely hilarious, and a great commentary on the folly of human nature and our lust for power.
Whenever we see a man like Gadhafi fall, we sort of breathe a sigh of relief and think, “It’s about time. Good enough for him.” The people of Libya are celebrating profusely, and rightfully so to a point. But God’s word has a little different take on these matters. Why did God let this man stay in power for over 40 years? There are a whole host of answers to that question, but one of them is that he is not willing that any should perish (II Peter 3:9). He loved Gadhafi as much as he loved you. He sent his Son to die for his sins as well as yours. His rejection of Jesus Christ sealed his eternal fate, but it does not lessen the desire God had to see him come to repentance and faith and gain his home in heaven as well. Libyans are rejoicing at the demise of Gadhafi, but God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. One soul is worth the entire world, and God grieves when one of them is lost. 42 years in absolute control of a nation was not enough to satisfy this man. Judgment and justice were finally served, but God gave him every opportunity and every grace to come to the knowledge of the truth.
No one reading this blog will ever get to the status of a world leader and dictator like Gadhafi. Thank God for that. But every one of us knows people who have been given 40 or more years of grace, yet have still not come to the knowledge of the truth. They “reign” over their own little domain, as puny as it may be, and make every effort to “try and take over the world” on a daily basis – at least the world they live in. They need to come to the one who owns it all. Those of us who have received him as Saviour are “joint heirs” with him (Romans 8:16-17). I don’t need to worry about becoming a supreme ruler over a country. I own the Universe.
Share the truth with the lost. What they think they want and need is not what they really need. Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin, and he is coming soon to “take over the world”. Only those who have trusted him will be the “Pinky” to rule with the “Brain”.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Here We Go Again
“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
Well, this Friday, October 21, is the “end of the world” (again) according to Harold Camping. You might remember that he is the nut-job who said that the world would end on May 21 of this year, but he was obviously proven wrong. Yet instead of giving up, he has “doubled down”. He has somewhat “admitted” that he was wrong in his initial prophecy, but only by changing his prediction from physical to spiritual. He said that the world really did end on May 21, but none of us could see it because it was “spiritual”, and that we are currently living in a time of judgment where God has withdrawn from earth. According to this false prophet (see above), there will be an actual physical judgment of the world on Friday and God will overthrow mankind and Jesus will set up his kingdom. Of course, I am eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I know my Bible a little better than that. The passage above says that when a false prophet is proven to be false by an unfulfilled prediction, that he is to be taken out. Obviously, I would never suggest doing that. That command was for Israel in the Old Testament to keep their prophetic ministry pure. But why on God’s green earth does anyone pay attention to this man? What is worse – why on God’s green earth does anyone pay money to this man? He is not a pastor, he has no church, yet he has a multi-million dollar empire and thousands of devoted followers based on his false prophecies. Why can’t anyone see this? Who are these people who continue to prop him up with support?
All this just adds to the demonstration that this world is stark raving mad. We live in some of the most exciting times in the history of humanity, yet it is bizzaro-land at the same time. One of the best ways to sort out the craziness is to look at a bigger perspective. We know from the Bible that the world is against God and his word. I John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Virtually everything perpetrated by the institutions and establishments of this world will be in opposition to God. Why does this guy get press time? They want to discredit true Bible Christianity by parading this goof ball in front of the whole world. Those who know nothing of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ view us through the eyes of people like this. It makes our job of sharing the gospel that much harder. Most of us have heard of the idiots in Topeka Kansas who picket the funerals of servicemen because there are gay people in the country. (Isn’t that a weird connection?) When Phelps and his crowd were taken to court recently, the ACLU supported them. Stop and think for a minute. That makes absolutely no sense. When did the ACLU ever support anything even remotely connected to religion, God, or the Bible? They are the most anti-Christian organization on the face of the earth. Pray or post anything Biblical in public, and watch those cockroaches come out of the woodwork. They exist for one purpose – to remove God from our society in any form. Then they support Fred Phelps. It makes perfect sense. The best way to get rid of a genuine witness of Jesus Christ is to keep those people in the public eye and make everyone think that they represent true Christianity.
Our job gets tougher every day. Yet God’s grace is as powerful as ever. Paul said, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:57-58). Stay at it. One soul is worth the world. Keep serving Jesus until he comes, even if it is after this Friday.
Well, this Friday, October 21, is the “end of the world” (again) according to Harold Camping. You might remember that he is the nut-job who said that the world would end on May 21 of this year, but he was obviously proven wrong. Yet instead of giving up, he has “doubled down”. He has somewhat “admitted” that he was wrong in his initial prophecy, but only by changing his prediction from physical to spiritual. He said that the world really did end on May 21, but none of us could see it because it was “spiritual”, and that we are currently living in a time of judgment where God has withdrawn from earth. According to this false prophet (see above), there will be an actual physical judgment of the world on Friday and God will overthrow mankind and Jesus will set up his kingdom. Of course, I am eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I know my Bible a little better than that. The passage above says that when a false prophet is proven to be false by an unfulfilled prediction, that he is to be taken out. Obviously, I would never suggest doing that. That command was for Israel in the Old Testament to keep their prophetic ministry pure. But why on God’s green earth does anyone pay attention to this man? What is worse – why on God’s green earth does anyone pay money to this man? He is not a pastor, he has no church, yet he has a multi-million dollar empire and thousands of devoted followers based on his false prophecies. Why can’t anyone see this? Who are these people who continue to prop him up with support?
All this just adds to the demonstration that this world is stark raving mad. We live in some of the most exciting times in the history of humanity, yet it is bizzaro-land at the same time. One of the best ways to sort out the craziness is to look at a bigger perspective. We know from the Bible that the world is against God and his word. I John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Virtually everything perpetrated by the institutions and establishments of this world will be in opposition to God. Why does this guy get press time? They want to discredit true Bible Christianity by parading this goof ball in front of the whole world. Those who know nothing of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ view us through the eyes of people like this. It makes our job of sharing the gospel that much harder. Most of us have heard of the idiots in Topeka Kansas who picket the funerals of servicemen because there are gay people in the country. (Isn’t that a weird connection?) When Phelps and his crowd were taken to court recently, the ACLU supported them. Stop and think for a minute. That makes absolutely no sense. When did the ACLU ever support anything even remotely connected to religion, God, or the Bible? They are the most anti-Christian organization on the face of the earth. Pray or post anything Biblical in public, and watch those cockroaches come out of the woodwork. They exist for one purpose – to remove God from our society in any form. Then they support Fred Phelps. It makes perfect sense. The best way to get rid of a genuine witness of Jesus Christ is to keep those people in the public eye and make everyone think that they represent true Christianity.
Our job gets tougher every day. Yet God’s grace is as powerful as ever. Paul said, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:57-58). Stay at it. One soul is worth the world. Keep serving Jesus until he comes, even if it is after this Friday.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
There Is No Short Cut
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
People like to run marathons these days; why, I have no idea. I know some “runners”, and in every other area of their lives, they are normally well adjusted people. But I have no idea what possesses them to spend a day torturing themselves to run 26.3 miles. I can hardly drive that far without taking a break. I know they are in a lot better shape than I am, but hey, “pear” is a shape also. Yes, there is the satisfaction of accomplishment for tackling a challenge like running a marathon. But it seems to me like there would be better ways to get that fulfillment. Maria my daughter ran a half marathon a while back, and she was a mess for days afterward, and she is young! I know that the “runners” out there feel sorry for my ignorance. I realize that I cannot understand their experience, just like many of them cannot understand my life. But I do not care to “understand” the thrill of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, or climbing a treacherous mountain, or subjecting my body to such grueling punishment. So pray for me.
Just recently, a marathon runner in England tried to pull a fast one on everyone. A couple of miles into the race, he ducked out of the crowd and jumped on a city bus. He got off a mile or so before the finish line, and snuck back on to the track and “finished” the marathon in third place. A woman tried that a while back in either the Boston or New York marathon and actually “won” the race in “record setting time”, until they found out what she had done. Nice try, but those things don’t result in gaining the prize of completing a marathon.
Our life is a race for the glory of God. The average marathon takes a few hours to run, but life is a marathon that takes years. I am already 58 years into mine, and I still have a long way to go. Unfortunately, the vast majority of believers in Christ are like the “cheaters” in the marathon races I mentioned. They are “running” their race by jumping on the first bus they can find, content to let someone else drive them to the finish line. They will come to church on Sunday and do God the favor of listening to the preacher pour his guts out through the word. But to actually get in the race and give out the word themselves? Why? Isn’t that the pastor’s job? They have the same attitude toward the work of Christ that I do toward running 26.3 miles. No way, Jose. Their spiritual “Lazy Boy” is far more appealing.
Paul used sports analogies often enough in the Bible that he must have been a “sports geek” like the rest of us guys. In I Corinthians 9:24, he said, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” Play to win. There is something about the competitive juices that brings out the best in people (and granted, sometimes the worst). In the same passage, he talks about the incorruptible crown of the Judgment Seat of Christ. God does not care who wins a stupid game with a ball and a stick, or who crosses the finish line first in a marathon. But he will reward his children for a “life race” run for his honor. Just remember that it is a marathon. Don’t go running out there with your hair on fire in a dead sprint. No one will pay any attention to you. A marathon is run in consistency. The runner sets a pace and runs almost “automatically” in a steady gait. The Bible says to run “with patience”. Develop some consistent spiritual practices in prayer, giving, study, and witness. Then keep up the pace. There are no short cuts. Stay at it regularly, even when – and especially when – it seems as if your legs are going to fall off and your heart is going to jump right out of your chest. Paul rejoiced that he had “finished his course” (II Timothy 4:7). May you have the same confidence.
People like to run marathons these days; why, I have no idea. I know some “runners”, and in every other area of their lives, they are normally well adjusted people. But I have no idea what possesses them to spend a day torturing themselves to run 26.3 miles. I can hardly drive that far without taking a break. I know they are in a lot better shape than I am, but hey, “pear” is a shape also. Yes, there is the satisfaction of accomplishment for tackling a challenge like running a marathon. But it seems to me like there would be better ways to get that fulfillment. Maria my daughter ran a half marathon a while back, and she was a mess for days afterward, and she is young! I know that the “runners” out there feel sorry for my ignorance. I realize that I cannot understand their experience, just like many of them cannot understand my life. But I do not care to “understand” the thrill of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, or climbing a treacherous mountain, or subjecting my body to such grueling punishment. So pray for me.
Just recently, a marathon runner in England tried to pull a fast one on everyone. A couple of miles into the race, he ducked out of the crowd and jumped on a city bus. He got off a mile or so before the finish line, and snuck back on to the track and “finished” the marathon in third place. A woman tried that a while back in either the Boston or New York marathon and actually “won” the race in “record setting time”, until they found out what she had done. Nice try, but those things don’t result in gaining the prize of completing a marathon.
Our life is a race for the glory of God. The average marathon takes a few hours to run, but life is a marathon that takes years. I am already 58 years into mine, and I still have a long way to go. Unfortunately, the vast majority of believers in Christ are like the “cheaters” in the marathon races I mentioned. They are “running” their race by jumping on the first bus they can find, content to let someone else drive them to the finish line. They will come to church on Sunday and do God the favor of listening to the preacher pour his guts out through the word. But to actually get in the race and give out the word themselves? Why? Isn’t that the pastor’s job? They have the same attitude toward the work of Christ that I do toward running 26.3 miles. No way, Jose. Their spiritual “Lazy Boy” is far more appealing.
Paul used sports analogies often enough in the Bible that he must have been a “sports geek” like the rest of us guys. In I Corinthians 9:24, he said, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” Play to win. There is something about the competitive juices that brings out the best in people (and granted, sometimes the worst). In the same passage, he talks about the incorruptible crown of the Judgment Seat of Christ. God does not care who wins a stupid game with a ball and a stick, or who crosses the finish line first in a marathon. But he will reward his children for a “life race” run for his honor. Just remember that it is a marathon. Don’t go running out there with your hair on fire in a dead sprint. No one will pay any attention to you. A marathon is run in consistency. The runner sets a pace and runs almost “automatically” in a steady gait. The Bible says to run “with patience”. Develop some consistent spiritual practices in prayer, giving, study, and witness. Then keep up the pace. There are no short cuts. Stay at it regularly, even when – and especially when – it seems as if your legs are going to fall off and your heart is going to jump right out of your chest. Paul rejoiced that he had “finished his course” (II Timothy 4:7). May you have the same confidence.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Kidnapping
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (II Timothy 2:26)
Earlier this week, the big news item in Kansas City has been the kidnapping of a 10 month old baby right out of the house where she lived. It wasn’t one of those typical “estranged parent” kidnappings where one of them decided they wanted the child. Both parents live in the house, and the baby turned up missing in the middle of the night. So far, a couple of days in to the ordeal, no good news is available. I cannot imagine the depth of the heartbreak, and I cannot imagine the depths of depravity that would cause some filthy disgusting waste of human flesh to perpetrate such a horrible act. Sometimes these things work out OK, so pray for the child and the family that God’s will be done.
While I in no way want to minimize the pending tragedy of this ordeal, a far greater abduction took place about 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were happily minding their own business when a stranger appeared, tempting them with a forbidden fruit that God had withheld. He promised them something he could not deliver, and had no intention of giving them. He told Eve, “Go ahead, a little bit won’t hurt. It won’t kill you.” (All of our expressions come straight from the Bible. I have collected about 300 of them over the years). She was promised that if she partook of the forbidden fruit, that she would, “Be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Go ahead, Eve. You can be one of us. You can be on my team. Unfortunately for all of us, she fell to the temptation and took of the tree. When she did, Satan kidnapped her and the entire human race, and has held us in the bondage of sin and death ever since.
True story: One day many years ago I was sitting at my desk at work when my phone rang, and I heard the voice of my lovely wife on the other end. She said in a very hurried and excited tone, “Oh good, you’re there! Call you back!” Click. I thought, “That was strange. Has she been hitting the cooking sherry again?” The phone rang again a couple of minutes later and she explained the previous call. Some guy had called the home number apparently at random and said, “I have your husband. Do as I say and he won’t get hurt.” Well, my wife is no dummy. She said, “Hold on just a minute.” Then she ran next door and called me at the office to find out if I was there. By the time she got back home, the creep had hung up. Obviously, if it had been true, there would have been some form of ransom required.
When Satan took the human family captive at his will, a ransom was required. The Bible says of Jesus, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (I Timothy 2:5-6) Our enemy is a coward and a bully. He is a creep who does not play fair, and he hides behind every rock trying to get men and women to buy in to his dastardly plans. Unfortunately, he is successful about 99% of the time. Most of the abductees are oblivious to their plight. They think life is just merrily flowing along and “it will all work out OK in the end.” Deuteronomy 32:29 says, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” But men do not. The little girl abducted last week is only 10 months old. She is probably oblivious to most of what is happening to her. She has no concept of the danger she faces. Lost men and women charge ahead in life with no thought of the pending judgment of God against sin.
But the ransom was paid for our soul by Jesus. Job 33:24 says, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” His name is Jesus. Those who reject him are held in captivity because they refuse to accept the ransom payment. Don’t let this be you.
Earlier this week, the big news item in Kansas City has been the kidnapping of a 10 month old baby right out of the house where she lived. It wasn’t one of those typical “estranged parent” kidnappings where one of them decided they wanted the child. Both parents live in the house, and the baby turned up missing in the middle of the night. So far, a couple of days in to the ordeal, no good news is available. I cannot imagine the depth of the heartbreak, and I cannot imagine the depths of depravity that would cause some filthy disgusting waste of human flesh to perpetrate such a horrible act. Sometimes these things work out OK, so pray for the child and the family that God’s will be done.
While I in no way want to minimize the pending tragedy of this ordeal, a far greater abduction took place about 6,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were happily minding their own business when a stranger appeared, tempting them with a forbidden fruit that God had withheld. He promised them something he could not deliver, and had no intention of giving them. He told Eve, “Go ahead, a little bit won’t hurt. It won’t kill you.” (All of our expressions come straight from the Bible. I have collected about 300 of them over the years). She was promised that if she partook of the forbidden fruit, that she would, “Be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Go ahead, Eve. You can be one of us. You can be on my team. Unfortunately for all of us, she fell to the temptation and took of the tree. When she did, Satan kidnapped her and the entire human race, and has held us in the bondage of sin and death ever since.
True story: One day many years ago I was sitting at my desk at work when my phone rang, and I heard the voice of my lovely wife on the other end. She said in a very hurried and excited tone, “Oh good, you’re there! Call you back!” Click. I thought, “That was strange. Has she been hitting the cooking sherry again?” The phone rang again a couple of minutes later and she explained the previous call. Some guy had called the home number apparently at random and said, “I have your husband. Do as I say and he won’t get hurt.” Well, my wife is no dummy. She said, “Hold on just a minute.” Then she ran next door and called me at the office to find out if I was there. By the time she got back home, the creep had hung up. Obviously, if it had been true, there would have been some form of ransom required.
When Satan took the human family captive at his will, a ransom was required. The Bible says of Jesus, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (I Timothy 2:5-6) Our enemy is a coward and a bully. He is a creep who does not play fair, and he hides behind every rock trying to get men and women to buy in to his dastardly plans. Unfortunately, he is successful about 99% of the time. Most of the abductees are oblivious to their plight. They think life is just merrily flowing along and “it will all work out OK in the end.” Deuteronomy 32:29 says, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” But men do not. The little girl abducted last week is only 10 months old. She is probably oblivious to most of what is happening to her. She has no concept of the danger she faces. Lost men and women charge ahead in life with no thought of the pending judgment of God against sin.
But the ransom was paid for our soul by Jesus. Job 33:24 says, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” His name is Jesus. Those who reject him are held in captivity because they refuse to accept the ransom payment. Don’t let this be you.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
You Can't Make This Stuff Up!
“Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:24)
A few weeks back, I shared with you about a class action lawsuit I had been drug into, and how silly it was. That one is mild compared to this fiasco. I read in the paper the other day about a class action lawsuit filed against the Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation. Buckle your seat belt, hang on to your hat, put your tray table in its upright and locked position, and remove all sharp objects from your pockets. This one will fry your gizzards (and KFC doesn’t even sell gizzards).
KFC had offered an internet special. “For a limited time”, you could download a coupon for a discounted meal of their new “Kentucky Grilled Chicken”. I’ve tried their grilled chicken, and for fast food, it’s pretty good. Some guy had one of the coupons, and for whatever reason, could not get the advertised deal. Maybe they ran out of chicken, or the local KFC refused to honor the coupon, or some “fine print” prevented the deal. Who knows, and who cares. So the jack-wagon sued KFC on behalf of all those “similarly situated”. As is the case with most of these insane lawsuits, it is cheaper and easier for the company to settle out of court. So KFC set aside a few million dollars so that anyone who suffered “mental pain and anguish” for not getting something for nothing can get a free meal from KFC for up to a whopping grand total of $3.99 each. The lawyers ride off with half a million dollars, but by God, I can get 4 bucks of free food! On top of the free $3.99 meal, another part of the lawsuit is based on the man’s complaint that KFC did not disclose that the seasonings on their Kentucky Grilled Chicken contain meat by-products. Yes, you read that right. He is upset that the seasonings have some meat-based ingredients. Hello, Einstein. The whole “ding-dong” piece of chicken is MEAT!
So instead of opening new restaurants and providing construction and food service jobs, KFC has to pony up millions of dollars to appease some sick, twisted, depraved, whiny a--, cry baby moron to the tune of a free meal for 4 stinking dollars. I would say how I really feel, but God cleaned up my language. In the meantime, KFC will raise prices to cover this, their liability insurer will do the same and pass on their costs to other companies, and businesses will be less likely to expand and hire people because the added costs for stupidity like this will choke their ability to grow. Maybe Congress should look here for a way to stimulate the economy and provide jobs.
America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.
Jesus vented a similar frustration with the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23. It is one of the most brutal chapters in the Bible, where he launched against a group of spiritually abusive leaders who were only interested in maintaining their own kingdom and power base. He used the expression of the gnat and the camel to illustrate their absurdity. These are people who “strain at a gnat”. They are worried about the tiniest little things, while the “elephant in the room” (a “camel” is more familiar to Middle Eastern culture) ends up choking them to death. The world is filled with these people, and the church has an even greater share of them. If some little nit-picking “jot and tittle” does not suit their personal fancy, they will make sure everyone in the church hears all about it, and they will stop at nothing until “justice” is served. In the meantime, the “elephant in the room” is ignored. The lost are alone in the world without hope and without God. They look to the church for answers, and we have our head in an anatomically impossible location over silly things that don’t matter a hill of beans. Do you think anyone in hell is concerned about a free meal of KFC Grilled Chicken? As a Christian, you have a “coupon” for heaven paid for by the most valuable asset in the Universe – the blood of Jesus Christ. You can run as many copies as you like. Share the good news of the Saviour with the lost, then take them to KFC and buy them lunch. Try the Grilled Chicken.
A few weeks back, I shared with you about a class action lawsuit I had been drug into, and how silly it was. That one is mild compared to this fiasco. I read in the paper the other day about a class action lawsuit filed against the Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation. Buckle your seat belt, hang on to your hat, put your tray table in its upright and locked position, and remove all sharp objects from your pockets. This one will fry your gizzards (and KFC doesn’t even sell gizzards).
KFC had offered an internet special. “For a limited time”, you could download a coupon for a discounted meal of their new “Kentucky Grilled Chicken”. I’ve tried their grilled chicken, and for fast food, it’s pretty good. Some guy had one of the coupons, and for whatever reason, could not get the advertised deal. Maybe they ran out of chicken, or the local KFC refused to honor the coupon, or some “fine print” prevented the deal. Who knows, and who cares. So the jack-wagon sued KFC on behalf of all those “similarly situated”. As is the case with most of these insane lawsuits, it is cheaper and easier for the company to settle out of court. So KFC set aside a few million dollars so that anyone who suffered “mental pain and anguish” for not getting something for nothing can get a free meal from KFC for up to a whopping grand total of $3.99 each. The lawyers ride off with half a million dollars, but by God, I can get 4 bucks of free food! On top of the free $3.99 meal, another part of the lawsuit is based on the man’s complaint that KFC did not disclose that the seasonings on their Kentucky Grilled Chicken contain meat by-products. Yes, you read that right. He is upset that the seasonings have some meat-based ingredients. Hello, Einstein. The whole “ding-dong” piece of chicken is MEAT!
So instead of opening new restaurants and providing construction and food service jobs, KFC has to pony up millions of dollars to appease some sick, twisted, depraved, whiny a--, cry baby moron to the tune of a free meal for 4 stinking dollars. I would say how I really feel, but God cleaned up my language. In the meantime, KFC will raise prices to cover this, their liability insurer will do the same and pass on their costs to other companies, and businesses will be less likely to expand and hire people because the added costs for stupidity like this will choke their ability to grow. Maybe Congress should look here for a way to stimulate the economy and provide jobs.
America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.
Jesus vented a similar frustration with the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23. It is one of the most brutal chapters in the Bible, where he launched against a group of spiritually abusive leaders who were only interested in maintaining their own kingdom and power base. He used the expression of the gnat and the camel to illustrate their absurdity. These are people who “strain at a gnat”. They are worried about the tiniest little things, while the “elephant in the room” (a “camel” is more familiar to Middle Eastern culture) ends up choking them to death. The world is filled with these people, and the church has an even greater share of them. If some little nit-picking “jot and tittle” does not suit their personal fancy, they will make sure everyone in the church hears all about it, and they will stop at nothing until “justice” is served. In the meantime, the “elephant in the room” is ignored. The lost are alone in the world without hope and without God. They look to the church for answers, and we have our head in an anatomically impossible location over silly things that don’t matter a hill of beans. Do you think anyone in hell is concerned about a free meal of KFC Grilled Chicken? As a Christian, you have a “coupon” for heaven paid for by the most valuable asset in the Universe – the blood of Jesus Christ. You can run as many copies as you like. Share the good news of the Saviour with the lost, then take them to KFC and buy them lunch. Try the Grilled Chicken.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Like a Good Neighbor...
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29)
This is the famous story of the “Good Samaritan” about a man who cared for a total stranger who had fallen among thieves and been left for dead. It has great lessons about caring for our fellow man, whether it benefits us or not, and even if we are inconvenienced. In our society, most of us don’t even know our neighbors. It is a shame to live next door to someone and never actually meet them or know their names, but you cannot compare today’s world to several generations ago. Many of us drive 20 miles to work every day. The “community” in my youth consisted of the households within walking distance of our house. A person’s “community” today spans the globe, and his “neighbors” can live hundreds of miles away. The point of the story is to help people out when the opportunity presents itself and you have the means to do so.
I say all of that because it is a blessing when you get the benefits of a neighbor who is also a real neighbor. We bought a house in Shawnee 17 years ago this month. Our next door neighbors to the south, Carl and Donna Phillips, immediately made themselves friendly to us. We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors. Our son Jeff was 9 years old at the time. There were a couple of other kids in the neighborhood his age, but he really didn’t have “neighborhood” friends. Instead, he made friends with Carl and Donna, who are a generation older than his parents. He hung out at their place often, and they loved it. Sometimes we would look up and ask, “Where’s Jeff?” Carl and Donna had a wooden ginger bread boy that they would put in the window when Jeff was over there, and all we had to do was look at that window, and sure enough, Jeff would be at their house. He drew them a “map” to his “fort” in our back yard. They still have that map 17 years later. We have shared a raspberry patch between our houses for years. Whenever we are both out in the yard at the same time, we stop for a while and stand at the fence at chat about life and stuff, just like they did in Mayberry. Carl has some great stories. He was one of the very first soldiers to enter the Dachau concentration camp at the end of WWII. Carl and two of his fellow soldiers were the first three men to step foot on the property that had been abandoned by the Nazi troops as Germany fell. He saw firsthand the suffering and plight of those who lived in that hell on earth. Carl retired a while back from Merriam Sign Co., a local sign business he owned for many years. Even after that, he would still make signs for people, and you would see him out in the back yard many nights sanding and painting. He made a couple of signs for our church and refused to take money for them. He screen printed 200 cloth children’s “backpacks” for one of our missions trips to Belize, and again would not hear of being paid for it. He was happy to be able to participate in the work of bringing the light of Jesus to others. Carl and Donna are faithful believers in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we often share the bond of life in Christ that God gives to those who have placed their faith in the risen Saviour. When we talk about “life and stuff”, it often includes real life; the eternal kind in Christ Jesus. They have their own home church, but the last year or so they have come to our Wednesday night Bible studies to fellowship with the great folks of Crest Bible Church and learn more about our Lord. It took less than a nano-second for the gracious loving personalities of Carl and Donna to endear them to the people of our church. A kinder and more “classy” gentleman and lady I have never met.
Early Thursday morning, September 15, 2011, Carl Phillips went home to enter into the joy of his Lord and Saviour. Working around paint and chemicals all his life finally took its toll, and lung cancer ended the life of this dear man at age 88. His obituary was in the paper, but other than friends and family, no one will notice. Men like Carl Phillips are the true definition of “salt of the earth”. You will be greatly missed, my friend, but it will only be temporary. I hope our mansions in heaven are next to each other so we can pick raspberries and stand at the fence and praise our Lord. Someday soon, we will join together around the throne of God to praise him forever.
This is the famous story of the “Good Samaritan” about a man who cared for a total stranger who had fallen among thieves and been left for dead. It has great lessons about caring for our fellow man, whether it benefits us or not, and even if we are inconvenienced. In our society, most of us don’t even know our neighbors. It is a shame to live next door to someone and never actually meet them or know their names, but you cannot compare today’s world to several generations ago. Many of us drive 20 miles to work every day. The “community” in my youth consisted of the households within walking distance of our house. A person’s “community” today spans the globe, and his “neighbors” can live hundreds of miles away. The point of the story is to help people out when the opportunity presents itself and you have the means to do so.
I say all of that because it is a blessing when you get the benefits of a neighbor who is also a real neighbor. We bought a house in Shawnee 17 years ago this month. Our next door neighbors to the south, Carl and Donna Phillips, immediately made themselves friendly to us. We couldn’t have asked for better neighbors. Our son Jeff was 9 years old at the time. There were a couple of other kids in the neighborhood his age, but he really didn’t have “neighborhood” friends. Instead, he made friends with Carl and Donna, who are a generation older than his parents. He hung out at their place often, and they loved it. Sometimes we would look up and ask, “Where’s Jeff?” Carl and Donna had a wooden ginger bread boy that they would put in the window when Jeff was over there, and all we had to do was look at that window, and sure enough, Jeff would be at their house. He drew them a “map” to his “fort” in our back yard. They still have that map 17 years later. We have shared a raspberry patch between our houses for years. Whenever we are both out in the yard at the same time, we stop for a while and stand at the fence at chat about life and stuff, just like they did in Mayberry. Carl has some great stories. He was one of the very first soldiers to enter the Dachau concentration camp at the end of WWII. Carl and two of his fellow soldiers were the first three men to step foot on the property that had been abandoned by the Nazi troops as Germany fell. He saw firsthand the suffering and plight of those who lived in that hell on earth. Carl retired a while back from Merriam Sign Co., a local sign business he owned for many years. Even after that, he would still make signs for people, and you would see him out in the back yard many nights sanding and painting. He made a couple of signs for our church and refused to take money for them. He screen printed 200 cloth children’s “backpacks” for one of our missions trips to Belize, and again would not hear of being paid for it. He was happy to be able to participate in the work of bringing the light of Jesus to others. Carl and Donna are faithful believers in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we often share the bond of life in Christ that God gives to those who have placed their faith in the risen Saviour. When we talk about “life and stuff”, it often includes real life; the eternal kind in Christ Jesus. They have their own home church, but the last year or so they have come to our Wednesday night Bible studies to fellowship with the great folks of Crest Bible Church and learn more about our Lord. It took less than a nano-second for the gracious loving personalities of Carl and Donna to endear them to the people of our church. A kinder and more “classy” gentleman and lady I have never met.
Early Thursday morning, September 15, 2011, Carl Phillips went home to enter into the joy of his Lord and Saviour. Working around paint and chemicals all his life finally took its toll, and lung cancer ended the life of this dear man at age 88. His obituary was in the paper, but other than friends and family, no one will notice. Men like Carl Phillips are the true definition of “salt of the earth”. You will be greatly missed, my friend, but it will only be temporary. I hope our mansions in heaven are next to each other so we can pick raspberries and stand at the fence and praise our Lord. Someday soon, we will join together around the throne of God to praise him forever.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Final End of Social Media
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)
Once again, I am going to spout off about technology, while I am using it to write this blog. We all have fallen in love with social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, and texting is all the rage. At last count, I have 321 friends on Facebook, and this blog is posted there, so I guess it is a good way to stay in touch with a lot of people at one time. But I just prefer the personal contact more than the mass media method. It amazes me how people can be sitting right next to each other and sending texts. I am not even a big fan of chatting it up on the telephone. I have so many irons in the fire and studies and “projects” going on at the same time that my mind tends to wander unless I am sitting face to face with the subject at hand. Of course, there is no telling what is going on between my ears. It races 190 miles per hour nonstop whether I want it to or not. They say you can sometimes ask a man, “What are you thinking about?” and he will say, “Oh, nothing” and he will actually be right. The only time I ever can honestly respond that way is when there is so much running around up there that I can’t sort it out enough to tell you.
Social media is a good thing because it keeps up connected to friends and family on a much larger scale than we could ever do without it. But it also has a downside. We get so enthralled with our “one eyed square headed friend” that social media often produces the exact opposite and actually makes people anti-social. Many people in the technology generation have gotten to the point where their entire lives are lived in a dark and dank basement sitting in their jammies staring at a computer screen, either with endless video games or in cyber relationships. What is presented on those sites is almost never what is real. People can make themselves to be anything they want in cyberspace, and by the time it gets verified, it is often too late.
Our relationship with the Lord is somewhat like that now. As the passage above says, right now, we see through a glass darkly. We have the truth of the word of God to tell us about our Lord, but we are confined to our tangible world and cannot see him. It is almost like we are stuck in the basement, viewing our relationship with our Lord through the lens of a “text message” called the Bible. Not only that, we feel as if we are often “standing in line” with thousands upon millions of others trying to get in to the throne of grace. I have 321 friends on Facebook. Imagine how many Jesus would have! John 15:13 says he laid down his life for his friends. Revelation 5:11 numbers the church age saints at “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” and many passages describe it as a multitude no man can number. If he tried to set up Facebook with that many friends, it would blow the system.
But the verse above continues with the truth that someday I will see him “face to face”. WOW! The notion of getting one-on-one “face time” with the God of the Universe is staggering, but then to think that it will be eternal and individual for each of us is even more impressive. What Jesus presents to us in his word is real. His “Facebook profile” contains 66 books that tell us all we could ever want to know about him. Yet we still can only scratch the surface. Revelation 22:4 says someday I will “see his face”. I John 3 says we will “see him as he is.” Unlike cyber profiles we have today that are “fluffed and puffed” with all sorts of untruth, God’s word tells us exactly like it is. In fact, when we finally do see him, the reality will so far exceed our finite understanding that we will fall on our face before him. I can’t wait!
Spend face time with those you love. Use technology as much as you can; it is a great tool even though I spit about it all the time. But always remember that one day very soon, our Lord will return, and our personal relationship with him will find its ultimate fulfillment.
Once again, I am going to spout off about technology, while I am using it to write this blog. We all have fallen in love with social media like Facebook and LinkedIn, and texting is all the rage. At last count, I have 321 friends on Facebook, and this blog is posted there, so I guess it is a good way to stay in touch with a lot of people at one time. But I just prefer the personal contact more than the mass media method. It amazes me how people can be sitting right next to each other and sending texts. I am not even a big fan of chatting it up on the telephone. I have so many irons in the fire and studies and “projects” going on at the same time that my mind tends to wander unless I am sitting face to face with the subject at hand. Of course, there is no telling what is going on between my ears. It races 190 miles per hour nonstop whether I want it to or not. They say you can sometimes ask a man, “What are you thinking about?” and he will say, “Oh, nothing” and he will actually be right. The only time I ever can honestly respond that way is when there is so much running around up there that I can’t sort it out enough to tell you.
Social media is a good thing because it keeps up connected to friends and family on a much larger scale than we could ever do without it. But it also has a downside. We get so enthralled with our “one eyed square headed friend” that social media often produces the exact opposite and actually makes people anti-social. Many people in the technology generation have gotten to the point where their entire lives are lived in a dark and dank basement sitting in their jammies staring at a computer screen, either with endless video games or in cyber relationships. What is presented on those sites is almost never what is real. People can make themselves to be anything they want in cyberspace, and by the time it gets verified, it is often too late.
Our relationship with the Lord is somewhat like that now. As the passage above says, right now, we see through a glass darkly. We have the truth of the word of God to tell us about our Lord, but we are confined to our tangible world and cannot see him. It is almost like we are stuck in the basement, viewing our relationship with our Lord through the lens of a “text message” called the Bible. Not only that, we feel as if we are often “standing in line” with thousands upon millions of others trying to get in to the throne of grace. I have 321 friends on Facebook. Imagine how many Jesus would have! John 15:13 says he laid down his life for his friends. Revelation 5:11 numbers the church age saints at “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” and many passages describe it as a multitude no man can number. If he tried to set up Facebook with that many friends, it would blow the system.
But the verse above continues with the truth that someday I will see him “face to face”. WOW! The notion of getting one-on-one “face time” with the God of the Universe is staggering, but then to think that it will be eternal and individual for each of us is even more impressive. What Jesus presents to us in his word is real. His “Facebook profile” contains 66 books that tell us all we could ever want to know about him. Yet we still can only scratch the surface. Revelation 22:4 says someday I will “see his face”. I John 3 says we will “see him as he is.” Unlike cyber profiles we have today that are “fluffed and puffed” with all sorts of untruth, God’s word tells us exactly like it is. In fact, when we finally do see him, the reality will so far exceed our finite understanding that we will fall on our face before him. I can’t wait!
Spend face time with those you love. Use technology as much as you can; it is a great tool even though I spit about it all the time. But always remember that one day very soon, our Lord will return, and our personal relationship with him will find its ultimate fulfillment.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Change of Seasons
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:1-3)
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. Of course, those who know me well know what an odd statement that is. ALL of the Bible is my favorite. Someone once asked me what my favorite cookie is. The answer: whichever one is on front of me at the time. There is no such thing as a bad cookie. If I am eating a cookie, it is my favorite. It is the same with the Bible. The list of genealogies in I Chronicles is my favorite passage when I am reading it. Exodus 16:36 says, “Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.” Isn’t that awesome? That’s my favorite verse in the Bible right now (because I just read it). But truly, Psalm 1:1-3 stands out as a great challenge and blessing to those who walk with Christ and not with the world.
This time of the year, the seasons begin to change. We see the days getting shorter and the sun is not scorching us with 100 degree heat. We are approaching harvest time for the farmers, and the NFL season begins Thursday night. Living in this part of the country enables us to experience all the seasons of the year, and although we curse the heat and the snow, there is a benefit and an object lesson to each. Probably the most important lesson is to realize that seasons come and go. Each one has its own unique challenges and blessings, and fruit is borne in any season of life.
The passage above says that a man who walks with the Lord, “bringeth forth fruit in his season.” God has given each of us the privilege and the responsibility to do something for him that will yield a crop of eternal fruit. We have a “season” to accomplish that. In the larger context, that season is our life. From the womb to the tomb, we get one shot to serve our Creator and put down a footprint on this earth for him. Then within that larger season, our lives get broken down into segments. When we are young, it is like the spring. Everything is fresh and new. The idealism and enthusiasm of youth is refreshing. They have all the energy in the world, but not always a lot of wisdom. Then summer comes. It is the time when the fruit grows the most because there is no chance of a freeze that can kill the entire crop. This would be like the “young adult” time of our lives from about 25-40, when we are at the peak of our physical and mental health. People in this stage have lived long enough to have figured a few things out, and they are still plenty strong enough to do something about it. Then the fall begins to approach. The colors change. Your hair starts to turn a different color. This is harvest time in the natural world, when the bumper crop comes in. People in this stage of life have the best chance at peak production. They have experienced a full “cycle of life”. They have raised children and are working on the next round of grandchildren. They have the wisdom of life, yet they are still young enough that their walker does not get in the way of their ministry. Finally, there is winter. The real wisdom of age of the elderly is still an abundant source of rich blessings if used wisely for God.
But most Christians never take their seasons of fruit bearing seriously. They will “get around to it” someday, but that day never comes. As Jesus said, the cares of this life enter in and choke the word, and the man becomes unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). Proverbs 20:4 says, “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.” Harvest time in our lives is the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is where we will reap our rewards and bring in our crop. If you refuse to plow now because of the “cold” world you live in, you will have nothing then. Get in the game. Put your hand to the plow and serve your Lord. The fruit is sweet now, and the rewards will be worth it when we stand before him.
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. Of course, those who know me well know what an odd statement that is. ALL of the Bible is my favorite. Someone once asked me what my favorite cookie is. The answer: whichever one is on front of me at the time. There is no such thing as a bad cookie. If I am eating a cookie, it is my favorite. It is the same with the Bible. The list of genealogies in I Chronicles is my favorite passage when I am reading it. Exodus 16:36 says, “Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.” Isn’t that awesome? That’s my favorite verse in the Bible right now (because I just read it). But truly, Psalm 1:1-3 stands out as a great challenge and blessing to those who walk with Christ and not with the world.
This time of the year, the seasons begin to change. We see the days getting shorter and the sun is not scorching us with 100 degree heat. We are approaching harvest time for the farmers, and the NFL season begins Thursday night. Living in this part of the country enables us to experience all the seasons of the year, and although we curse the heat and the snow, there is a benefit and an object lesson to each. Probably the most important lesson is to realize that seasons come and go. Each one has its own unique challenges and blessings, and fruit is borne in any season of life.
The passage above says that a man who walks with the Lord, “bringeth forth fruit in his season.” God has given each of us the privilege and the responsibility to do something for him that will yield a crop of eternal fruit. We have a “season” to accomplish that. In the larger context, that season is our life. From the womb to the tomb, we get one shot to serve our Creator and put down a footprint on this earth for him. Then within that larger season, our lives get broken down into segments. When we are young, it is like the spring. Everything is fresh and new. The idealism and enthusiasm of youth is refreshing. They have all the energy in the world, but not always a lot of wisdom. Then summer comes. It is the time when the fruit grows the most because there is no chance of a freeze that can kill the entire crop. This would be like the “young adult” time of our lives from about 25-40, when we are at the peak of our physical and mental health. People in this stage have lived long enough to have figured a few things out, and they are still plenty strong enough to do something about it. Then the fall begins to approach. The colors change. Your hair starts to turn a different color. This is harvest time in the natural world, when the bumper crop comes in. People in this stage of life have the best chance at peak production. They have experienced a full “cycle of life”. They have raised children and are working on the next round of grandchildren. They have the wisdom of life, yet they are still young enough that their walker does not get in the way of their ministry. Finally, there is winter. The real wisdom of age of the elderly is still an abundant source of rich blessings if used wisely for God.
But most Christians never take their seasons of fruit bearing seriously. They will “get around to it” someday, but that day never comes. As Jesus said, the cares of this life enter in and choke the word, and the man becomes unfruitful (Matthew 13:22). Proverbs 20:4 says, “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.” Harvest time in our lives is the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is where we will reap our rewards and bring in our crop. If you refuse to plow now because of the “cold” world you live in, you will have nothing then. Get in the game. Put your hand to the plow and serve your Lord. The fruit is sweet now, and the rewards will be worth it when we stand before him.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Fire Safety Week
“But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” (Luke 12:5)
We are literally inches from the finish line on our Day Care start-up project. I guess it really isn’t the “finish line” though, because once we get all of our approvals in place, we actually start, and the hard work begins. We had an even larger start-up project a year ago in getting in to the new building, but this one has had its own unique challenges. With both projects, by far and away the largest expense and biggest headaches have been in the area of fire safety for the building. The school was originally built in 1947 and added on to a couple of times, with the final addition in 1965. Those were different days. You could build just about anything you wanted and no one cared much, even when housing several hundred children every day. But the new codes have required us to add the latest in fire protection equipment. All of the other renovations and updates we have made combined add up to the expense of fire safety issues. We have spent enough money to purchase a small country on sprinklers, exit and emergency lighting, smoke detectors, emergency exits, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, duct dampers, and God only knows what else so that in case of fire, people can safely exit the building. Never mind that it is made of brick and concrete. Let’s not argue the issue of fire safety. First, it is the law, and we are happy to do as the Bible says and, “submit to every ordinance of man” (I Peter 2:13). Second, in the event we ever do have a fire, we will profusely thank God and the fire regulators for requiring these things rather than suffer the tragedy of lost lives.
I have always been amazed at how man spends so much time, money, and energy worrying about things like burning buildings, but so little on a larger and more destructive fire – hell. I know that word and topic is scoffed at these days. But Jesus spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. He never one time referred to it as figurative or symbolic. Every time he mentioned hell, he spoke of a literal eternal fire that would punish the lost for eternity and never go out. Three times at the end of Mark chapter 9 he said hell was a place, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” When he spoke of the rich man in hell in Luke chapter 16, he said he was tormented in the flames. Those who do not believe the Bible think that “hell fire and damnation” preachers like myself are fresh out of the loony bin, and that we get some sort of sick twisted pleasure in talking about hell. Quite to the contrary. I have friends and family that are probably there right now, and many more friends and family headed there. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I speak about it because it is real. I care enough about people to warn them of it.
You have insurance for every possible calamity of life. Why not soul insurance? After all, that is the most important possession you have. You have homeowners insurance, but do you have a home in heaven? You have health insurance, but what about your spiritual health? You have car insurance, but do you have a clue in the world where you are going? You have life insurance, but what about eternal life? You might even be one of the more exotic insurance customers and have long term care insurance, but what about insuring the only thing that will last forever: your soul? People in our society have every contingency covered except the one that matters the most. The lost are rolling the dice; counting on their goodness or their religion to insure them against an eternal hell. Neither of those things can assure you. How can you ever know when you have done enough good? Jesus has the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18). He picked them up when he came out of the grave, and he can unlock your fears if you will simply trust him.
To borrow the old line from Smokey the Bear – Only you can prevent the ultimate tragedy of eternal fire – not by how good you are, but by securing the only insurance there is against hell, a personal faith in the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We are literally inches from the finish line on our Day Care start-up project. I guess it really isn’t the “finish line” though, because once we get all of our approvals in place, we actually start, and the hard work begins. We had an even larger start-up project a year ago in getting in to the new building, but this one has had its own unique challenges. With both projects, by far and away the largest expense and biggest headaches have been in the area of fire safety for the building. The school was originally built in 1947 and added on to a couple of times, with the final addition in 1965. Those were different days. You could build just about anything you wanted and no one cared much, even when housing several hundred children every day. But the new codes have required us to add the latest in fire protection equipment. All of the other renovations and updates we have made combined add up to the expense of fire safety issues. We have spent enough money to purchase a small country on sprinklers, exit and emergency lighting, smoke detectors, emergency exits, fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, duct dampers, and God only knows what else so that in case of fire, people can safely exit the building. Never mind that it is made of brick and concrete. Let’s not argue the issue of fire safety. First, it is the law, and we are happy to do as the Bible says and, “submit to every ordinance of man” (I Peter 2:13). Second, in the event we ever do have a fire, we will profusely thank God and the fire regulators for requiring these things rather than suffer the tragedy of lost lives.
I have always been amazed at how man spends so much time, money, and energy worrying about things like burning buildings, but so little on a larger and more destructive fire – hell. I know that word and topic is scoffed at these days. But Jesus spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. He never one time referred to it as figurative or symbolic. Every time he mentioned hell, he spoke of a literal eternal fire that would punish the lost for eternity and never go out. Three times at the end of Mark chapter 9 he said hell was a place, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” When he spoke of the rich man in hell in Luke chapter 16, he said he was tormented in the flames. Those who do not believe the Bible think that “hell fire and damnation” preachers like myself are fresh out of the loony bin, and that we get some sort of sick twisted pleasure in talking about hell. Quite to the contrary. I have friends and family that are probably there right now, and many more friends and family headed there. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I speak about it because it is real. I care enough about people to warn them of it.
You have insurance for every possible calamity of life. Why not soul insurance? After all, that is the most important possession you have. You have homeowners insurance, but do you have a home in heaven? You have health insurance, but what about your spiritual health? You have car insurance, but do you have a clue in the world where you are going? You have life insurance, but what about eternal life? You might even be one of the more exotic insurance customers and have long term care insurance, but what about insuring the only thing that will last forever: your soul? People in our society have every contingency covered except the one that matters the most. The lost are rolling the dice; counting on their goodness or their religion to insure them against an eternal hell. Neither of those things can assure you. How can you ever know when you have done enough good? Jesus has the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18). He picked them up when he came out of the grave, and he can unlock your fears if you will simply trust him.
To borrow the old line from Smokey the Bear – Only you can prevent the ultimate tragedy of eternal fire – not by how good you are, but by securing the only insurance there is against hell, a personal faith in the risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Advance
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
About this time next week, we will be toolin’ down the highway on the way to our annual Men’s Retreat at Camp Windermere in the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. It is a great time to get away from the daily grind and spend a couple of days with some awesome fellowship and preaching of the word of God. Jesus took his disciples “apart” a few times because he knew they needed it. Times like this can refresh the soul and provide a “jump start” for further ministry.
We call this a “Retreat”. But sometimes, I wonder why we would use that term. Wouldn’t it be better to say “Charge!” or “Advance!”? It shows us yet another example of the basically negative mindset of humanity. Intersections are controlled by stop lights, not go lights. Murphy’s law is based on what can go wrong, not right. We program ourselves to think it can’t be done, and to shy away from success. Many people will even go so far as to purposely sabotage success because they are afraid of it. I know that sounds strange, but it is a documented fact and the subject of studies done by many professionals in the field of human behaviour.
The Christian life is a race. Paul used that analogy in I Corinthians 9 when he said, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” If you are going to play, play to win. Hebrews 12 says to run with patience, so our lives are indeed a marathon. But that does not mean we run lazy. Now is not the time to let off the gas. I know your lungs are about to explode out of your chest, your legs feel like boiled linguini, and every muscle in your body is screaming. But the finish line gets closer every day. Maybe Jesus won’t return in our lifetime, I don’t know. Every day I wonder more why we are still here. But we can see the end in sight. We have at least rounded the final curve and the tape is visible. Whether you are caught out in the rapture or live out your full “threescore and ten” (or more), there is never a reason to give up and “retreat”. There may be times when we need to pull back a little on certain areas to “consolidate gains” or to regroup for further service. That is one of the main reasons for “retreat” weekends like these. There are also times when we need to cut certain things out of our lives, and not just sinful things. Life is a continual adjustment. John 15:2 says that the Lord will purge our lives so that we can bring forth more fruit. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “…lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” We understand laying aside sin to please our Lord, but the verse also mentions “every weight.” Those are the things in our lives that are not sinful, but weigh us down and keep us from running the race of the Christian life in full victory. Have you ever held a pair of real running shoes? I am not talking about the ones you get at WalMart or Foot Locker; I mean real professional shoes that real professional runners wear. It’s like holding a helium balloon. No runner in his right mind would carry a bunch of stuff in his pockets while trying to win a race. Then why do we as believers load ourselves down with so many things that make it impossible to run for our Lord?
We will never reach the point when we have done all that we need to do for our Lord while we are still in this race. Jesus went all the way up the hill of Calvary. Even when he physically could go no further, and got some help from Simon the Cyrene, he kept going. He could have called 12 legions of angels to deliver him, but he did not. He was badgered by the crowd to “come down from the cross”, yet he stayed. He was begged by the dying thief to “save thyself and us”, and he remained on the cross for our sins. He saw his mission through to completion with the words, “It is finished”. We need the same persistence. Advance; never retreat. One day soon, he will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.”
About this time next week, we will be toolin’ down the highway on the way to our annual Men’s Retreat at Camp Windermere in the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. It is a great time to get away from the daily grind and spend a couple of days with some awesome fellowship and preaching of the word of God. Jesus took his disciples “apart” a few times because he knew they needed it. Times like this can refresh the soul and provide a “jump start” for further ministry.
We call this a “Retreat”. But sometimes, I wonder why we would use that term. Wouldn’t it be better to say “Charge!” or “Advance!”? It shows us yet another example of the basically negative mindset of humanity. Intersections are controlled by stop lights, not go lights. Murphy’s law is based on what can go wrong, not right. We program ourselves to think it can’t be done, and to shy away from success. Many people will even go so far as to purposely sabotage success because they are afraid of it. I know that sounds strange, but it is a documented fact and the subject of studies done by many professionals in the field of human behaviour.
The Christian life is a race. Paul used that analogy in I Corinthians 9 when he said, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” If you are going to play, play to win. Hebrews 12 says to run with patience, so our lives are indeed a marathon. But that does not mean we run lazy. Now is not the time to let off the gas. I know your lungs are about to explode out of your chest, your legs feel like boiled linguini, and every muscle in your body is screaming. But the finish line gets closer every day. Maybe Jesus won’t return in our lifetime, I don’t know. Every day I wonder more why we are still here. But we can see the end in sight. We have at least rounded the final curve and the tape is visible. Whether you are caught out in the rapture or live out your full “threescore and ten” (or more), there is never a reason to give up and “retreat”. There may be times when we need to pull back a little on certain areas to “consolidate gains” or to regroup for further service. That is one of the main reasons for “retreat” weekends like these. There are also times when we need to cut certain things out of our lives, and not just sinful things. Life is a continual adjustment. John 15:2 says that the Lord will purge our lives so that we can bring forth more fruit. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “…lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” We understand laying aside sin to please our Lord, but the verse also mentions “every weight.” Those are the things in our lives that are not sinful, but weigh us down and keep us from running the race of the Christian life in full victory. Have you ever held a pair of real running shoes? I am not talking about the ones you get at WalMart or Foot Locker; I mean real professional shoes that real professional runners wear. It’s like holding a helium balloon. No runner in his right mind would carry a bunch of stuff in his pockets while trying to win a race. Then why do we as believers load ourselves down with so many things that make it impossible to run for our Lord?
We will never reach the point when we have done all that we need to do for our Lord while we are still in this race. Jesus went all the way up the hill of Calvary. Even when he physically could go no further, and got some help from Simon the Cyrene, he kept going. He could have called 12 legions of angels to deliver him, but he did not. He was badgered by the crowd to “come down from the cross”, yet he stayed. He was begged by the dying thief to “save thyself and us”, and he remained on the cross for our sins. He saw his mission through to completion with the words, “It is finished”. We need the same persistence. Advance; never retreat. One day soon, he will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy Lord.”
Friday, August 12, 2011
Crashing Your Hard Drive
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (II Corinthians 6:17-18)
I am a technophobe. Me and computers do not get along very well. We live in peaceful co-existence and “détente”, but it is a very tenuous peace. I could lose it at any time and launch an offensive that would de-commission my system. It’s not that I am dumb, in fact it is the opposite. I tested out at a 140 IQ in school. That is part of my problem with computers – I can’t just accept stuff as is, I want to tear it apart and know why. I think it through too much. I got behind the power curve on computers when the technology exploded, and now I can’t catch up. I have too many other things going on to invest the time in really learning how to handle this stuff, so I muddle along using just the bare minimums to get by. Most people are like that in life. They do only what is absolutely necessary to survive. That is why they never get ahead at work, why their family lives are hanging by a thread, why their finances are in disarray, and most importantly, why they never accomplish anything of eternal value in service to Jesus Christ.
I have two computers – one at home, and one at the office at church. Vicki has a laptop, a home computer, and she just recently got an I-Pad. All of those computers are hooked up “on-line” except my home computer. I refuse to use it for anything on the internet. I will transfer things via flash drive or get on line with Vicki’s home computer or at the office. But my personal unit at home will not ever see the light of Al Gore’s invention, and that is by design. With all the viruses and other nonsense we get exposed to on line, I want my computer at home to be used for my documents – period. You might think that is weird, and you are probably right. Weird is a good description of me on virtually every plane of life. But I bought that computer in 2004. It is now 7 years old, which is 49 in dog years, and about 490 in computer years. It still works just as good as the day I unpacked it. I learned the word processing package and I am very comfortable in how it operates. The new systems have all sorts of “re-design” issues – some good, but some of them not necessary. I know Word 2003 on my home system. The new programs are compatible and I can work in that format on any of them. Someday my home system might shoot craps and I will have to get a new one. But for the last 7 years, it has worked just fine specifically because I have kept it separated from the world of computer viruses and “new” stuff the world has to offer it. I am trusting God for at least another 7 years with it.
Our lives need to be separated from the world like my computer is. Now when I say that, there is a very delicate balance involved. Too many believers get so separated that they lose all possible influence for Christ. I still use my computer to get the gospel out. I prepare messages using it, I post video and audio from my teaching and preaching, and I am using it right now to write this blog. I will get on line with my office computer, and transfer files from each using a flash drive. But my home computer is protected because it is “off line”. Most of you can probably be fine trusting Norton or some other protection. If you did catch a little “bug”, you are adept enough to de-bug. But I am not. My solution is to reboot with a .44 Magnum. Many Christians cannot function properly for Christ in this evil world because they cannot handle the “bugs”. I can walk into a bar and not be affected, but a recent alcoholic would be. Each person needs to know what areas of life they need to have shielded, and take appropriate steps to do so.
If you have areas of your life that are susceptible to the virus of sin, guard them. Solomon said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) This world will chew you up and spit you out. Guard your heart. If you need to go “off line”, do so. But don’t ever stop using your life to preach the gospel.
I am a technophobe. Me and computers do not get along very well. We live in peaceful co-existence and “détente”, but it is a very tenuous peace. I could lose it at any time and launch an offensive that would de-commission my system. It’s not that I am dumb, in fact it is the opposite. I tested out at a 140 IQ in school. That is part of my problem with computers – I can’t just accept stuff as is, I want to tear it apart and know why. I think it through too much. I got behind the power curve on computers when the technology exploded, and now I can’t catch up. I have too many other things going on to invest the time in really learning how to handle this stuff, so I muddle along using just the bare minimums to get by. Most people are like that in life. They do only what is absolutely necessary to survive. That is why they never get ahead at work, why their family lives are hanging by a thread, why their finances are in disarray, and most importantly, why they never accomplish anything of eternal value in service to Jesus Christ.
I have two computers – one at home, and one at the office at church. Vicki has a laptop, a home computer, and she just recently got an I-Pad. All of those computers are hooked up “on-line” except my home computer. I refuse to use it for anything on the internet. I will transfer things via flash drive or get on line with Vicki’s home computer or at the office. But my personal unit at home will not ever see the light of Al Gore’s invention, and that is by design. With all the viruses and other nonsense we get exposed to on line, I want my computer at home to be used for my documents – period. You might think that is weird, and you are probably right. Weird is a good description of me on virtually every plane of life. But I bought that computer in 2004. It is now 7 years old, which is 49 in dog years, and about 490 in computer years. It still works just as good as the day I unpacked it. I learned the word processing package and I am very comfortable in how it operates. The new systems have all sorts of “re-design” issues – some good, but some of them not necessary. I know Word 2003 on my home system. The new programs are compatible and I can work in that format on any of them. Someday my home system might shoot craps and I will have to get a new one. But for the last 7 years, it has worked just fine specifically because I have kept it separated from the world of computer viruses and “new” stuff the world has to offer it. I am trusting God for at least another 7 years with it.
Our lives need to be separated from the world like my computer is. Now when I say that, there is a very delicate balance involved. Too many believers get so separated that they lose all possible influence for Christ. I still use my computer to get the gospel out. I prepare messages using it, I post video and audio from my teaching and preaching, and I am using it right now to write this blog. I will get on line with my office computer, and transfer files from each using a flash drive. But my home computer is protected because it is “off line”. Most of you can probably be fine trusting Norton or some other protection. If you did catch a little “bug”, you are adept enough to de-bug. But I am not. My solution is to reboot with a .44 Magnum. Many Christians cannot function properly for Christ in this evil world because they cannot handle the “bugs”. I can walk into a bar and not be affected, but a recent alcoholic would be. Each person needs to know what areas of life they need to have shielded, and take appropriate steps to do so.
If you have areas of your life that are susceptible to the virus of sin, guard them. Solomon said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) This world will chew you up and spit you out. Guard your heart. If you need to go “off line”, do so. But don’t ever stop using your life to preach the gospel.
Monday, August 8, 2011
I Don't Know, and I Don't Care
“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Mark 13:31)
Well, here we are again at youth camp. It is our annual event once a year when the youth groups from our sister churches get together for a week of fun (depending upon your definition of fun). This is our 15th year in a row of this camp, and the impact made in young lives is fruitful and life changing. There are usually a number of great decisions for the Lord during this week. Last year we had 9 kids get saved, and we already have one this year (it’s Tuesday afternoon). The bonds of friendship that have been created at these camps continue to grow. Some of these kids have been coming to camp for many years. Even after they graduate from High School, they keep coming back to be counselors and workers. God keeps working in their lives in times like these.
One of the best things about camp is getting away for a few days. I am typing these words on Tuesday evening with absolutely no idea what is happening with the debt crisis in Washington that was supposed to mark the end of the world today. I have no idea how my fantasy baseball team is doing this week, or what the latest news is coming from the Chiefs training camp. I guess I should care, but somehow, I really don’t. It is amazing how much passion, time, and interest we invest in things that we really can’t do all that much about. It’s not so much that things don’t “matter”, because they do. The debt crisis is important to all of us. But what can one person do about 14 trillion dollars? What contribution can I possibly make to the outcome of a Royals’ game? It’s not like they take the field and then say, “Hey, how are we supposed to win if Greg isn’t watching?” These things are a part of the fabric of life, and as such, there is at least some meaning to them, even if it is only minor. But our focus should be on things that have eternal significance, even as we partake of the daily grind of life. The best part of camp and missions trips and such things is the strong reminder of that truth.
The reality of this week is that life on this planet will pass without my knowledge and without my involvement. It almost makes me depressed to think about how insignificant I really am in the grand scope of things, until I remember that the God of the Universe thought enough of me to die on the cross for my sins and give me a home in heaven with him. I am totally insignificant to this world, but not to the one who created it. Isn’t that a cool thought? No one outside of my family and maybe a few hundred friends would even notice or care if I died, and I am one of the lucky ones. I am “famous” because of my position. The vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet can’t even count on the “few hundred” friends. Yet God knows the very hairs of all of our heads.
Our significance in life comes not from the news or from our own personal accomplishments, but from the God who made us and loves us. While the world goes on and on without us, God’s word and his plan for us works in us and through us. Paul said in Philippians 2:13 that God works in us to accomplish his will through our lives, and in Philippians 1:6 he says that God will perform his will and work in our lives until he comes to take us home. So regardless of what they do in Washington or at Kauffman Stadium, our lives have eternal meaning. The world can just go right ahead and pass us by. In the process, we are passing the world by on our way home.
I Corinthians 7:31 says, “The fashion of this world passeth away.” Isn’t it interesting how the world uses Bible terminology even as they profess not to believe it. When someone dies, we use the euphemism “pass away” to try to lighten the seriousness of death. This world is dying a slow and agonizing death because of the rejection of the “way, truth and life”, our Lord Jesus Christ. Someday it will melt with a fervent heat, and God will bring forth a “new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:10-13). Until that time, let’s rescue as many of the perishing as we can with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, here we are again at youth camp. It is our annual event once a year when the youth groups from our sister churches get together for a week of fun (depending upon your definition of fun). This is our 15th year in a row of this camp, and the impact made in young lives is fruitful and life changing. There are usually a number of great decisions for the Lord during this week. Last year we had 9 kids get saved, and we already have one this year (it’s Tuesday afternoon). The bonds of friendship that have been created at these camps continue to grow. Some of these kids have been coming to camp for many years. Even after they graduate from High School, they keep coming back to be counselors and workers. God keeps working in their lives in times like these.
One of the best things about camp is getting away for a few days. I am typing these words on Tuesday evening with absolutely no idea what is happening with the debt crisis in Washington that was supposed to mark the end of the world today. I have no idea how my fantasy baseball team is doing this week, or what the latest news is coming from the Chiefs training camp. I guess I should care, but somehow, I really don’t. It is amazing how much passion, time, and interest we invest in things that we really can’t do all that much about. It’s not so much that things don’t “matter”, because they do. The debt crisis is important to all of us. But what can one person do about 14 trillion dollars? What contribution can I possibly make to the outcome of a Royals’ game? It’s not like they take the field and then say, “Hey, how are we supposed to win if Greg isn’t watching?” These things are a part of the fabric of life, and as such, there is at least some meaning to them, even if it is only minor. But our focus should be on things that have eternal significance, even as we partake of the daily grind of life. The best part of camp and missions trips and such things is the strong reminder of that truth.
The reality of this week is that life on this planet will pass without my knowledge and without my involvement. It almost makes me depressed to think about how insignificant I really am in the grand scope of things, until I remember that the God of the Universe thought enough of me to die on the cross for my sins and give me a home in heaven with him. I am totally insignificant to this world, but not to the one who created it. Isn’t that a cool thought? No one outside of my family and maybe a few hundred friends would even notice or care if I died, and I am one of the lucky ones. I am “famous” because of my position. The vast majority of the inhabitants of this planet can’t even count on the “few hundred” friends. Yet God knows the very hairs of all of our heads.
Our significance in life comes not from the news or from our own personal accomplishments, but from the God who made us and loves us. While the world goes on and on without us, God’s word and his plan for us works in us and through us. Paul said in Philippians 2:13 that God works in us to accomplish his will through our lives, and in Philippians 1:6 he says that God will perform his will and work in our lives until he comes to take us home. So regardless of what they do in Washington or at Kauffman Stadium, our lives have eternal meaning. The world can just go right ahead and pass us by. In the process, we are passing the world by on our way home.
I Corinthians 7:31 says, “The fashion of this world passeth away.” Isn’t it interesting how the world uses Bible terminology even as they profess not to believe it. When someone dies, we use the euphemism “pass away” to try to lighten the seriousness of death. This world is dying a slow and agonizing death because of the rejection of the “way, truth and life”, our Lord Jesus Christ. Someday it will melt with a fervent heat, and God will bring forth a “new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (II Peter 3:10-13). Until that time, let’s rescue as many of the perishing as we can with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Point of No Return
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
We are “on final approach” for getting our Day Care venture started here at Crest Bible Church. It has always been my goal to have a ministry to impact young families and children during the most critical time of their lives called the “formative years” of ages 2-5. It is a lot of work, but well worth the effort when you consider what can be accomplished in little lives.
Any business venture requires a start-up period where you are investing time and money but getting nothing in return. This is no different. We went into this with a budget and a plan that included a time period where we knew nothing would happen on the positive side of the ledger. Now that we are firmly into it, it is getting a little scary. As anyone who has done things like this knows, a construction project or a business plan always takes longer and costs more than you planned, even with the best projections and planning you can do. We are now sitting at the place we would call “the point of no return”. We are too far in to quit, but not yet in business. Pilots know what this point is like. As the airplane is taking off, there reaches a point on the runway where it is too late to hit the brakes. There is not enough runway to stop, but the plane is not yet off the ground. You just have to close your eyes, put the hammer down, and trust your equipment and the laws of aerodynamics to get you in the air.
The concept of “living by faith” includes hitting this point on a regular basis. God often wants us out on the end of the limb, while he is sitting back at the trunk with a saw in his hand and a grin on his face. In a life of faith, we are to trust our equipment (the Bible), and know that God’s laws will always work to get us off the ground. This is the life God designed man to live. Adam had it, but he blew it by eating of the forbidden fruit and plunging his children into a fallen state. But man can still walk with God even in his fallen state. Noah and Enoch both did. David was the man after God’s own heart. Abraham was called the friend of God. All of these men did this in their fallen state. What is even more significant is that they did it in the Old Testament, without a completed Bible, without the perfect sacrifice for their sins, and without an indwelling Holy Spirit to guide them. Surely, if these men could do that, why can’t we?
We have a number of new Christians in our midst at Crest Bible Church. When you first start out on your new journey in Christ, there is an ideal in mind of what the Christian life might offer. No matter what you thought, the process always takes longer and costs more than you think. I have been at this non-stop for nearly 33 years – as long as Jesus lived on this earth. I am scratching the surface. The costs incurred for walking with Christ have been far more severe than I could have ever imagined at the outset. If I had known half of what I would go through it would have scared me off. But I can assuredly affirm with a full resounding certainty that it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. It has been worth it in this life. Despite the costs, and regardless of how much time and effort I have had to put in, the journey of the last 33 years has been awesome. I wouldn’t mind another 33, and it would not ruin any plans I have if Jesus returned to take us all home 33 minutes from now.
Regardless of the costs, keep the hammer down. God said he would never leave us or forsake us in Hebrews 13:5. You can walk with God, even in the flesh, and even though you will still sin. The old gospel hymn says, “His word will not fail you, he promised. Believe him, and all will be well. Then go to a world that is dying, his perfect salvation to tell.” That comes from the song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” When you feel like you have reached the point of no return, just remember his promise of eternal life and rewards for service, and keep the hammer down.
We are “on final approach” for getting our Day Care venture started here at Crest Bible Church. It has always been my goal to have a ministry to impact young families and children during the most critical time of their lives called the “formative years” of ages 2-5. It is a lot of work, but well worth the effort when you consider what can be accomplished in little lives.
Any business venture requires a start-up period where you are investing time and money but getting nothing in return. This is no different. We went into this with a budget and a plan that included a time period where we knew nothing would happen on the positive side of the ledger. Now that we are firmly into it, it is getting a little scary. As anyone who has done things like this knows, a construction project or a business plan always takes longer and costs more than you planned, even with the best projections and planning you can do. We are now sitting at the place we would call “the point of no return”. We are too far in to quit, but not yet in business. Pilots know what this point is like. As the airplane is taking off, there reaches a point on the runway where it is too late to hit the brakes. There is not enough runway to stop, but the plane is not yet off the ground. You just have to close your eyes, put the hammer down, and trust your equipment and the laws of aerodynamics to get you in the air.
The concept of “living by faith” includes hitting this point on a regular basis. God often wants us out on the end of the limb, while he is sitting back at the trunk with a saw in his hand and a grin on his face. In a life of faith, we are to trust our equipment (the Bible), and know that God’s laws will always work to get us off the ground. This is the life God designed man to live. Adam had it, but he blew it by eating of the forbidden fruit and plunging his children into a fallen state. But man can still walk with God even in his fallen state. Noah and Enoch both did. David was the man after God’s own heart. Abraham was called the friend of God. All of these men did this in their fallen state. What is even more significant is that they did it in the Old Testament, without a completed Bible, without the perfect sacrifice for their sins, and without an indwelling Holy Spirit to guide them. Surely, if these men could do that, why can’t we?
We have a number of new Christians in our midst at Crest Bible Church. When you first start out on your new journey in Christ, there is an ideal in mind of what the Christian life might offer. No matter what you thought, the process always takes longer and costs more than you think. I have been at this non-stop for nearly 33 years – as long as Jesus lived on this earth. I am scratching the surface. The costs incurred for walking with Christ have been far more severe than I could have ever imagined at the outset. If I had known half of what I would go through it would have scared me off. But I can assuredly affirm with a full resounding certainty that it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. It has been worth it in this life. Despite the costs, and regardless of how much time and effort I have had to put in, the journey of the last 33 years has been awesome. I wouldn’t mind another 33, and it would not ruin any plans I have if Jesus returned to take us all home 33 minutes from now.
Regardless of the costs, keep the hammer down. God said he would never leave us or forsake us in Hebrews 13:5. You can walk with God, even in the flesh, and even though you will still sin. The old gospel hymn says, “His word will not fail you, he promised. Believe him, and all will be well. Then go to a world that is dying, his perfect salvation to tell.” That comes from the song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” When you feel like you have reached the point of no return, just remember his promise of eternal life and rewards for service, and keep the hammer down.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Rock and Roll
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 40:1-3)
I like almost any kind of music. We joke at church about my ineptitude in music, but that is just because I can’t carry a tune in a bucket; in fact, I’m not even sure I could carry the bucket even if it was empty. The last musical instrument I tried to play was in grade school. It was a required class. We had to learn to play the “flutophone” – how many of you remember that thing? It was a cheap plastic flute-like gizmo that you blew into and tried to make various musical notes by covering the holes with your fingers. I never could get the hang of that stupid thing, and I really never wanted to, so I never practiced. When it came time for the big class “recital” in front of our parents, I just stood there with the flutophone in the proper position and wiggled my fingers the best I could to try to fake it. I didn’t blow into the thing because I knew I would hit all the wrong notes. The teacher spotted me and could see that my hand movements had absolutely nothing to do with the actual music we were playing. I flunked that part of the course, but hey, at least I didn’t have to actually play a musical instrument.
But my total lack of any musical skill does not extend to the ear. I can enjoy listening to great music even when I can’t participate in it – at least not publicly. Alone in my car with all the windows rolled up tight flying down the freeway at 70 mph is another story. The best part of music is how it affects the heart of man. They call music the “universal language” because of how it moves us and speaks to our core spirit, whether the words are in our native tongue or not. Music is transcendent. It is about so much more than just harmony, melody, and rhythm. There is a spiritual component to music that comes from the original creation. Lucifer was the first music director in the Bible, and history culminates in a “new song” in the hearts of the redeemed as they worship the Lamb at the throne of God (Revelation 5:9).
We humans argue all the time about music styles, especially between generations. My parents thought our music was weird, and I think the same about some of today’s stuff. Music in the church has become one of the biggest battlegrounds of today’s Christianity. Drums and up-tempo contemporary music is the benchmark for whether your church is “legalistic” or “modernistic”, and both camps criticize each other for it. Several places in the Bible, God speaks of us singing a “new song”. That is never a reference to a style of music, but a response of the heart to God’s love and truth. David said in Psalm 40 above that God put a new song in his heart because he had set his feet upon the rock. Throughout the Bible, the rock is Jesus (not Peter). When our lives are anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ, it produces something on the inside. Knowing that Jesus redeemed me from a horrible pit makes my heart soar and burst forth into praise for his grace.
But there is another aspect of the verse I want to point out. The words of the Bible mean things. They are chosen specifically to reveal God’s truth to mankind. It says that the new song in our mouth has a testimony to others. “Many shall see it…” Wait a minute. I thought we heard music. What is this, the first music video in history? No, it is a reference to the transformed life that occurs when we give our lives to Jesus Christ and walk in his grace. Others should be able to see the difference. Paul said we are to reflect the life of Jesus, so that it “might be made manifest in our mortal flesh”. (II Corinthians 4:10-11) One time, some people came up to Philip and said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” (John 12:21). That is a great request. Lost people don’t need to see us, they need to see Jesus in us. When his grace transforms our hearts, the new song is seen, and our purpose in life is fulfilled to draw others to the Saviour.
I like almost any kind of music. We joke at church about my ineptitude in music, but that is just because I can’t carry a tune in a bucket; in fact, I’m not even sure I could carry the bucket even if it was empty. The last musical instrument I tried to play was in grade school. It was a required class. We had to learn to play the “flutophone” – how many of you remember that thing? It was a cheap plastic flute-like gizmo that you blew into and tried to make various musical notes by covering the holes with your fingers. I never could get the hang of that stupid thing, and I really never wanted to, so I never practiced. When it came time for the big class “recital” in front of our parents, I just stood there with the flutophone in the proper position and wiggled my fingers the best I could to try to fake it. I didn’t blow into the thing because I knew I would hit all the wrong notes. The teacher spotted me and could see that my hand movements had absolutely nothing to do with the actual music we were playing. I flunked that part of the course, but hey, at least I didn’t have to actually play a musical instrument.
But my total lack of any musical skill does not extend to the ear. I can enjoy listening to great music even when I can’t participate in it – at least not publicly. Alone in my car with all the windows rolled up tight flying down the freeway at 70 mph is another story. The best part of music is how it affects the heart of man. They call music the “universal language” because of how it moves us and speaks to our core spirit, whether the words are in our native tongue or not. Music is transcendent. It is about so much more than just harmony, melody, and rhythm. There is a spiritual component to music that comes from the original creation. Lucifer was the first music director in the Bible, and history culminates in a “new song” in the hearts of the redeemed as they worship the Lamb at the throne of God (Revelation 5:9).
We humans argue all the time about music styles, especially between generations. My parents thought our music was weird, and I think the same about some of today’s stuff. Music in the church has become one of the biggest battlegrounds of today’s Christianity. Drums and up-tempo contemporary music is the benchmark for whether your church is “legalistic” or “modernistic”, and both camps criticize each other for it. Several places in the Bible, God speaks of us singing a “new song”. That is never a reference to a style of music, but a response of the heart to God’s love and truth. David said in Psalm 40 above that God put a new song in his heart because he had set his feet upon the rock. Throughout the Bible, the rock is Jesus (not Peter). When our lives are anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ, it produces something on the inside. Knowing that Jesus redeemed me from a horrible pit makes my heart soar and burst forth into praise for his grace.
But there is another aspect of the verse I want to point out. The words of the Bible mean things. They are chosen specifically to reveal God’s truth to mankind. It says that the new song in our mouth has a testimony to others. “Many shall see it…” Wait a minute. I thought we heard music. What is this, the first music video in history? No, it is a reference to the transformed life that occurs when we give our lives to Jesus Christ and walk in his grace. Others should be able to see the difference. Paul said we are to reflect the life of Jesus, so that it “might be made manifest in our mortal flesh”. (II Corinthians 4:10-11) One time, some people came up to Philip and said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” (John 12:21). That is a great request. Lost people don’t need to see us, they need to see Jesus in us. When his grace transforms our hearts, the new song is seen, and our purpose in life is fulfilled to draw others to the Saviour.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
The Craziness Continues
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (II Peter 3:13)
I got a notice in the mail the other day about a class action lawsuit that I guess I am a part of. One of the major insurance companies is the defendant. I won’t mention which company, but anyone who has not lived under a rock for the last century would know the name. This illustrates the absolute absurdity this world operates by. Without trying to go into a lot of detail, let me try my best to explain the verdict. Some guy got upset over some added fees the company charged. He thought they were “making too much profit” (an actual quote). So he got a team of buzzards and sued the company on all of our “behalf”. The company claimed it was a legitimate business practice, and it probably was, especially since millions of people paid it without a fuss. The company could have fought it, but rather than spend the money, they agreed to settle out of court. It would be much cheaper than fighting it for years and possibly losing anyway to a sympathetic judge or jury. So they set aside a fund of $455 million dollars. This fund will be distributed to everyone who had policies with this company over a ten year period, based on the premiums they paid. My rebate totals $7.60. Yes, that is right. I get a grand total of 7 bucks. I don’t know how much the idiot who sued gets. Maybe he had a lot more policies with this company, but he can’t be getting any more than $100 at the most. None of the other millions of policy holders will get more than $100 each either. The lawyers in the case get a lump sum settlement of $90 million dollars. You know for a fact that the company will not just lose that $455 million. They will just raise the rates of their millions of customers by a small amount to recover it – let’s say, oh, about $7.60 for me. So all of us will actually pay more for our insurance (and our gasoline and food as other companies pass on their rate hikes) while we get a tiny rebate check in the mail and beat our chests and pride ourselves in “sticking it to the man”. In the meantime, a bunch of lawyers ride off in the sunset with a cool $90 million. Makes us all proud to be an American, huh?
Corporate greed and abuse is very real, and we certainly need to be protected from it. But this is lunacy. If you feel a company is “making too much profit”, buy their stock. Don’t waste the time and energy of the rest of us just so you can make a bunch of lawyers rich at our expense.
The real solution for this insanity – and all other problems of mankind – is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth. Jeremiah says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (Jeremiah 23:5) The world thinks that Bible believers are crazy, then they pull stunts like this. But there is coming a time very soon when God will have had enough of man’s sin, and will pull the plug on society and man’s dominion of the earth. At that time, true justice and judgment will be served. As Peter said above, righteousness will reign in the earth. Greed and fraud will be unknown. Jesus will rule with a rod of iron (Rev 19:15), and show mankind how it is supposed to be done. Until that time comes, just count on abuse, ignorance, greed, oppression, and sin ruling the day.
People see injustice and they try to find answers in lawsuits, causes, and government actions. Real justice is found in Jesus Christ and him alone. Speaking of justice, we all deserve a bed in hell because of our sin. The greatest injustice ever perpetrated in the history of the world took place in a crooked trial in the city of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. A sinless man was arrested out of pure envy, and tried on trumped up charges. He was brutally murdered for no other reason than he loved people, did good, and preached the word of his Father in heaven. His sacrifice paid the debt for my sin, and yours also. Receive him today if you have never done so. If you have, tell others about his love for them. One day soon, he will return to administer true justice.
I got a notice in the mail the other day about a class action lawsuit that I guess I am a part of. One of the major insurance companies is the defendant. I won’t mention which company, but anyone who has not lived under a rock for the last century would know the name. This illustrates the absolute absurdity this world operates by. Without trying to go into a lot of detail, let me try my best to explain the verdict. Some guy got upset over some added fees the company charged. He thought they were “making too much profit” (an actual quote). So he got a team of buzzards and sued the company on all of our “behalf”. The company claimed it was a legitimate business practice, and it probably was, especially since millions of people paid it without a fuss. The company could have fought it, but rather than spend the money, they agreed to settle out of court. It would be much cheaper than fighting it for years and possibly losing anyway to a sympathetic judge or jury. So they set aside a fund of $455 million dollars. This fund will be distributed to everyone who had policies with this company over a ten year period, based on the premiums they paid. My rebate totals $7.60. Yes, that is right. I get a grand total of 7 bucks. I don’t know how much the idiot who sued gets. Maybe he had a lot more policies with this company, but he can’t be getting any more than $100 at the most. None of the other millions of policy holders will get more than $100 each either. The lawyers in the case get a lump sum settlement of $90 million dollars. You know for a fact that the company will not just lose that $455 million. They will just raise the rates of their millions of customers by a small amount to recover it – let’s say, oh, about $7.60 for me. So all of us will actually pay more for our insurance (and our gasoline and food as other companies pass on their rate hikes) while we get a tiny rebate check in the mail and beat our chests and pride ourselves in “sticking it to the man”. In the meantime, a bunch of lawyers ride off in the sunset with a cool $90 million. Makes us all proud to be an American, huh?
Corporate greed and abuse is very real, and we certainly need to be protected from it. But this is lunacy. If you feel a company is “making too much profit”, buy their stock. Don’t waste the time and energy of the rest of us just so you can make a bunch of lawyers rich at our expense.
The real solution for this insanity – and all other problems of mankind – is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth. Jeremiah says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” (Jeremiah 23:5) The world thinks that Bible believers are crazy, then they pull stunts like this. But there is coming a time very soon when God will have had enough of man’s sin, and will pull the plug on society and man’s dominion of the earth. At that time, true justice and judgment will be served. As Peter said above, righteousness will reign in the earth. Greed and fraud will be unknown. Jesus will rule with a rod of iron (Rev 19:15), and show mankind how it is supposed to be done. Until that time comes, just count on abuse, ignorance, greed, oppression, and sin ruling the day.
People see injustice and they try to find answers in lawsuits, causes, and government actions. Real justice is found in Jesus Christ and him alone. Speaking of justice, we all deserve a bed in hell because of our sin. The greatest injustice ever perpetrated in the history of the world took place in a crooked trial in the city of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. A sinless man was arrested out of pure envy, and tried on trumped up charges. He was brutally murdered for no other reason than he loved people, did good, and preached the word of his Father in heaven. His sacrifice paid the debt for my sin, and yours also. Receive him today if you have never done so. If you have, tell others about his love for them. One day soon, he will return to administer true justice.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
It Makes No Sense
“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 that your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
We are getting closer to being able to open our Pre-School here at Crest Bible Church. As most anyone knows, when you take on a venture like this, there are all sorts of regulations and issues to concern yourself with imposed upon us by our government. Most of it is very understandable, especially when little children are involved. They are helpless and vulnerable, and we have seen far too many instances in the past where tragedies could have been easily prevented with a little common sense and foresight. In the grand scheme of things, it is better to be a little over cautious in safety and security issues than to live in an environment when anything can happen, and often does. The costs and hassles are well worth the effort when little lives are affected.
But some of this stuff is just plain stupid. For example, we are installing a playground area for the children, and we have to put down a 4-6 inch bed of mulch to cushion the blow if one of them happens to fall off of one of the climbing toys. I understand that. The ground is pretty hard, I can attest to that myself. We submitted a sample of the mulch we were going to use. The State of Kansas Health Department said the mulch was “too dirty”. I am not kidding. Mulch is ground up trees. It bio-degrades into dirt. It was ground up sufficiently so that there were not any huge chunks and sticks to give kids splinters, but the dirt was too dirty. And the air is too airy, and the water is too wet. So we have to contract with another supplier who uses only a special type of wood and runs it through a “cleaning” process that drives the price up significantly. When we got into this building at the first, we had to install “occupancy” number signs for each room, mainly for the benefit of the Fire Marshall so they would know about how many people could potentially be in a room in case of fire. We had to add braille to the signs per ADA code. First, if a blind person walks into a room and “reads” in braille that the maximum allowable occupancy is 50, how is he supposed to know if he is the 51st person? He is blind. It is like the sign I saw on a door once, “No pets allowed, except seeing eye dogs.” How is the blind person supposed to read that? Or is the dog supposed to read it? What if the dog reads only Spanish? The other problem with the braille occupancy signs is who they are primarily intended for. The Fire Department needs to have a “head count”. How many blind firemen are there?
All of that type of stuff and more can drive a sane person to drink. This is the world we live in, and they think those of us who believe the Bible are crazy!
But there is a sense in which the same principle holds for the word of God. The regulators think these rules make perfect sense, and since they live in that world all the time, they do – to them. They speak the language. They see things the rest of us don’t. Many of the things that those of us on the “outside” think are goofy probably are not, if we could see it in light of accidents and law suits that have happened in the past. I Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” The reason the world can’t see the truths of the Bible is because they don’t look at it in light of its author. They don’t see it from the vantage point of someone who lives in its pages 24-7. God sees things we don’t see. He communicates to us his word so we can live in his world. His gospel is simple: Jesus died for sinners. His commandments for his children are “not grievous” (I John 5:3). They make perfect sense to those of us who have seen the results of life lived in its pages. I don’t understand the city codes because I don’t make it my life. But life in God’s word is far more important. Codes protect us from accidents. God’s word saves us from hell and gives us an abundant life now. Get in on the “inside” of its pages. Your life will make sense when you do.
We are getting closer to being able to open our Pre-School here at Crest Bible Church. As most anyone knows, when you take on a venture like this, there are all sorts of regulations and issues to concern yourself with imposed upon us by our government. Most of it is very understandable, especially when little children are involved. They are helpless and vulnerable, and we have seen far too many instances in the past where tragedies could have been easily prevented with a little common sense and foresight. In the grand scheme of things, it is better to be a little over cautious in safety and security issues than to live in an environment when anything can happen, and often does. The costs and hassles are well worth the effort when little lives are affected.
But some of this stuff is just plain stupid. For example, we are installing a playground area for the children, and we have to put down a 4-6 inch bed of mulch to cushion the blow if one of them happens to fall off of one of the climbing toys. I understand that. The ground is pretty hard, I can attest to that myself. We submitted a sample of the mulch we were going to use. The State of Kansas Health Department said the mulch was “too dirty”. I am not kidding. Mulch is ground up trees. It bio-degrades into dirt. It was ground up sufficiently so that there were not any huge chunks and sticks to give kids splinters, but the dirt was too dirty. And the air is too airy, and the water is too wet. So we have to contract with another supplier who uses only a special type of wood and runs it through a “cleaning” process that drives the price up significantly. When we got into this building at the first, we had to install “occupancy” number signs for each room, mainly for the benefit of the Fire Marshall so they would know about how many people could potentially be in a room in case of fire. We had to add braille to the signs per ADA code. First, if a blind person walks into a room and “reads” in braille that the maximum allowable occupancy is 50, how is he supposed to know if he is the 51st person? He is blind. It is like the sign I saw on a door once, “No pets allowed, except seeing eye dogs.” How is the blind person supposed to read that? Or is the dog supposed to read it? What if the dog reads only Spanish? The other problem with the braille occupancy signs is who they are primarily intended for. The Fire Department needs to have a “head count”. How many blind firemen are there?
All of that type of stuff and more can drive a sane person to drink. This is the world we live in, and they think those of us who believe the Bible are crazy!
But there is a sense in which the same principle holds for the word of God. The regulators think these rules make perfect sense, and since they live in that world all the time, they do – to them. They speak the language. They see things the rest of us don’t. Many of the things that those of us on the “outside” think are goofy probably are not, if we could see it in light of accidents and law suits that have happened in the past. I Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” The reason the world can’t see the truths of the Bible is because they don’t look at it in light of its author. They don’t see it from the vantage point of someone who lives in its pages 24-7. God sees things we don’t see. He communicates to us his word so we can live in his world. His gospel is simple: Jesus died for sinners. His commandments for his children are “not grievous” (I John 5:3). They make perfect sense to those of us who have seen the results of life lived in its pages. I don’t understand the city codes because I don’t make it my life. But life in God’s word is far more important. Codes protect us from accidents. God’s word saves us from hell and gives us an abundant life now. Get in on the “inside” of its pages. Your life will make sense when you do.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Navigating the Raging Sea
“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” (Matthew 8:26)
The famous story of Jesus walking on the water is one of my favorites. There are so many rich lessons found in the story, especially when you put all four gospel accounts together. That is one of the most important aspects of the study of the life of Jesus. His life is so full that one account is not enough. The only way to see the full picture of his amazing life and ministry is to put all four gospel accounts together and see how the details all complement each other so beautifully.
We know the main elements of the story. Jesus sent the apostles away in a ship on the Sea of Galilee. A storm arose, and the apostles feared for their lives, when Jesus appeared to them walking on the water. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water also, but began to sink. He called to the Lord who pulled him out, and the story ends there with the gallant prince riding off into the sunset with his special girl at his side and living happily ever after.
But there are a number of “side” details to the story that add incredible “spice” to the lessons of Jesus walking on the water. First of all, Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and he would meet them on the other side. They obviously forgot those words when the storm arose. The trip across the Sea of Galilee pictures our “journey of life” as we navigate the “three score and ten” God gives us. If you know Jesus as your Saviour, he put you in the ship of life to sail to the other side. He will meet you there. Despite the adversity, Jesus is right there on the shore eagerly anticipating your arrival. Peter’s “lack of faith” is seen when he began to sink, but his seeds of doubt were sown earlier. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Peter responded with one of the most dangerous words in the Bible. He said, “Lord, IF it be thou…” He doubted the words of Jesus while he was still in the boat. An old hymn says, “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me.” Don’t forget his promises in his word when those storms come.
Then in Matthew 14:32, it says, “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” Get the picture. Peter has been called out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus, and he did that. Many people criticize Peter for his lack of faith, and rightfully so, but none of the other disciples had the guts to get out of the boat and get to Jesus. The safest place in a storm is next to Jesus, even when, and especially when it doesn’t make any “sense” to our natural understanding. But Peter’s walk on the water did not end when he got to Jesus and began to sink. Peter walked on the water twice – once to Jesus, and once back to the boat. We do not know how far that was, but it was at least enough paces to make it miraculous in both directions. But notice that the wind did not cease until they both got back into the ship. Peter began to sink because he took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the winds. Their trip back to the boat was just as boisterous. The difference is that Peter was walking arm in arm with Jesus. No matter how tough life gets, when you walk with Jesus, you can skip right over the obstacles in the most miraculous ways.
Finally, John 6:21 says when Jesus and Peter made it back to the boat and got in, “Immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” In the same account, John tells us they were about half way across. The Sea of Galilee is about 8 miles wide at that point, so they were about 4 miles from the shore when Jesus entered the boat. They traveled those 4 miles immediately. One day soon, Jesus will call his people home. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all “stand on the beautiful shore” of heaven. God may give you your full three score and ten. He may come back today. Either way, your problems and storms in this life will finally be over when Jesus returns. Don’t doubt his word when the trials are here. Grab his hand and walk over the waves of the raging sea, “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).
The famous story of Jesus walking on the water is one of my favorites. There are so many rich lessons found in the story, especially when you put all four gospel accounts together. That is one of the most important aspects of the study of the life of Jesus. His life is so full that one account is not enough. The only way to see the full picture of his amazing life and ministry is to put all four gospel accounts together and see how the details all complement each other so beautifully.
We know the main elements of the story. Jesus sent the apostles away in a ship on the Sea of Galilee. A storm arose, and the apostles feared for their lives, when Jesus appeared to them walking on the water. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water also, but began to sink. He called to the Lord who pulled him out, and the story ends there with the gallant prince riding off into the sunset with his special girl at his side and living happily ever after.
But there are a number of “side” details to the story that add incredible “spice” to the lessons of Jesus walking on the water. First of all, Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and he would meet them on the other side. They obviously forgot those words when the storm arose. The trip across the Sea of Galilee pictures our “journey of life” as we navigate the “three score and ten” God gives us. If you know Jesus as your Saviour, he put you in the ship of life to sail to the other side. He will meet you there. Despite the adversity, Jesus is right there on the shore eagerly anticipating your arrival. Peter’s “lack of faith” is seen when he began to sink, but his seeds of doubt were sown earlier. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” Peter responded with one of the most dangerous words in the Bible. He said, “Lord, IF it be thou…” He doubted the words of Jesus while he was still in the boat. An old hymn says, “When the storms of life are raging, stand by me.” Don’t forget his promises in his word when those storms come.
Then in Matthew 14:32, it says, “And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.” Get the picture. Peter has been called out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus, and he did that. Many people criticize Peter for his lack of faith, and rightfully so, but none of the other disciples had the guts to get out of the boat and get to Jesus. The safest place in a storm is next to Jesus, even when, and especially when it doesn’t make any “sense” to our natural understanding. But Peter’s walk on the water did not end when he got to Jesus and began to sink. Peter walked on the water twice – once to Jesus, and once back to the boat. We do not know how far that was, but it was at least enough paces to make it miraculous in both directions. But notice that the wind did not cease until they both got back into the ship. Peter began to sink because he took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the winds. Their trip back to the boat was just as boisterous. The difference is that Peter was walking arm in arm with Jesus. No matter how tough life gets, when you walk with Jesus, you can skip right over the obstacles in the most miraculous ways.
Finally, John 6:21 says when Jesus and Peter made it back to the boat and got in, “Immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” In the same account, John tells us they were about half way across. The Sea of Galilee is about 8 miles wide at that point, so they were about 4 miles from the shore when Jesus entered the boat. They traveled those 4 miles immediately. One day soon, Jesus will call his people home. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all “stand on the beautiful shore” of heaven. God may give you your full three score and ten. He may come back today. Either way, your problems and storms in this life will finally be over when Jesus returns. Don’t doubt his word when the trials are here. Grab his hand and walk over the waves of the raging sea, “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Book of Revelation
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
As promised, we kick off our study in the book of Revelation this Wednesday night. I have gotten more interest in this study than anything else we have done in many years. With world events as they are, the fascination with end times and Bible prophecy is at a fever pitch. All of us want to know what the future holds. The passion for knowledge is inbred in human nature from the Garden of Eden. Eve fell into sin through the temptation to “…be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:6) Prophecy students and seminar gurus fall into the same temptation with the book of Revelation because they are desperately trying to gain some secret insight into the events of the future. If they can know something that no one else does, it gives them a thrill and rush. That is where the Harold Campings of the world live and breed.
One of the downsides of a study like this is trying to position yourself properly as a teacher of prophetic events. I do claim to know a few things about the future, but only as I find them in the Bible. But much of the prophetic structure of the Bible is vague and ambiguous. God did it that way on purpose; primarily to keep man from getting “too big for his britches”. I don’t care how much you know, God has you trumped by a wide margin. Job 5:13 says, “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” When some prophecy “expert” claims a special revelation, God pulls the rug out and lets him know who is still running the Universe. I will have much speculation in my study of the book of Revelation, and I will be right up front with it throughout. I reserve the right to be proven wrong. I have changed some things that I used to teach – not the basic truths and structures, but the details as we see life and history unfold. If I teach Revelation again in a few years, I will probably have to change a few more details. I will try to give everyone the best I have on it right now, but since these events are all future, we won’t be able to see every detail until it happens. The basic principles are factual. There will be a rapture (I Corinthians 15:50-52, I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Jesus will come to earth and reign in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 23:5). Israel will be the “head of the nations” as it was told them in Deuteronomy 28:13. A period of tribulation will overtake this world and be unlike any time this world has ever seen or ever will see (Matthew 24:21). The antichrist will dominate the world through his 666 mark and system (Revelation 13:16-18). But the specific details are yet to be revealed.
People are making fun of the rapture now because of idiots like Harold Camping. The event he is talking about will happen. The unintended consequence of his blathering is that people are now ignoring the event because it didn’t happen on May 21 as he said it would. First of all, the moron should never have set a date. Why is it we can’t learn from the failures of so many before us who have tried the same thing and become laughingstocks? But then instead of admitting that he is a fallible human with limited knowledge, he tried to justify his prophecy and explain away his failure. Now he says that the rapture really did happen, but it was spiritual and none of us could see it. Then why is he still sucking God’s air? Now he claims it will happen on October 21. When he is proven wrong again, why would anyone believe him or give him money?
It is interesting to study what the Bible says about the end times and the course of the history of humanity as God has revealed in his word. But one of the main issues in the book of Revelation is found in the first phrase in the very first verse. This is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rather than trying to gain some secret knowledge about future events that will happen to other people, keep your focus on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Far more important than what tomorrow holds is knowing the one who holds tomorrow.
As promised, we kick off our study in the book of Revelation this Wednesday night. I have gotten more interest in this study than anything else we have done in many years. With world events as they are, the fascination with end times and Bible prophecy is at a fever pitch. All of us want to know what the future holds. The passion for knowledge is inbred in human nature from the Garden of Eden. Eve fell into sin through the temptation to “…be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:6) Prophecy students and seminar gurus fall into the same temptation with the book of Revelation because they are desperately trying to gain some secret insight into the events of the future. If they can know something that no one else does, it gives them a thrill and rush. That is where the Harold Campings of the world live and breed.
One of the downsides of a study like this is trying to position yourself properly as a teacher of prophetic events. I do claim to know a few things about the future, but only as I find them in the Bible. But much of the prophetic structure of the Bible is vague and ambiguous. God did it that way on purpose; primarily to keep man from getting “too big for his britches”. I don’t care how much you know, God has you trumped by a wide margin. Job 5:13 says, “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” When some prophecy “expert” claims a special revelation, God pulls the rug out and lets him know who is still running the Universe. I will have much speculation in my study of the book of Revelation, and I will be right up front with it throughout. I reserve the right to be proven wrong. I have changed some things that I used to teach – not the basic truths and structures, but the details as we see life and history unfold. If I teach Revelation again in a few years, I will probably have to change a few more details. I will try to give everyone the best I have on it right now, but since these events are all future, we won’t be able to see every detail until it happens. The basic principles are factual. There will be a rapture (I Corinthians 15:50-52, I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Jesus will come to earth and reign in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 23:5). Israel will be the “head of the nations” as it was told them in Deuteronomy 28:13. A period of tribulation will overtake this world and be unlike any time this world has ever seen or ever will see (Matthew 24:21). The antichrist will dominate the world through his 666 mark and system (Revelation 13:16-18). But the specific details are yet to be revealed.
People are making fun of the rapture now because of idiots like Harold Camping. The event he is talking about will happen. The unintended consequence of his blathering is that people are now ignoring the event because it didn’t happen on May 21 as he said it would. First of all, the moron should never have set a date. Why is it we can’t learn from the failures of so many before us who have tried the same thing and become laughingstocks? But then instead of admitting that he is a fallible human with limited knowledge, he tried to justify his prophecy and explain away his failure. Now he says that the rapture really did happen, but it was spiritual and none of us could see it. Then why is he still sucking God’s air? Now he claims it will happen on October 21. When he is proven wrong again, why would anyone believe him or give him money?
It is interesting to study what the Bible says about the end times and the course of the history of humanity as God has revealed in his word. But one of the main issues in the book of Revelation is found in the first phrase in the very first verse. This is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rather than trying to gain some secret knowledge about future events that will happen to other people, keep your focus on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Far more important than what tomorrow holds is knowing the one who holds tomorrow.
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