“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.”
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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.
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