FullyPersuadedBaptist

Not A Slave But A Child

2012-01-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

Having just last night composed a blog entry entitled What Does It Mean To Be Under Grace I found this interesting this morning.

The following is from C. H. Spurgeon's evening devotional:

"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law."-Romans 3:31 When the believer is adopted into the Lord's family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule, and a new covenant. Believer, you are God's child; it is your first duty to obey your heavenly Father. A servile spirit you have nothing to do with: you are not a slave, but a child; and now, inasmuch as you are a beloved child, you are bound to obey your Father's faintest wish, the least intimation of His will. Does He bid you fulfil a sacred ordinance? It is at your peril that you neglect it, for you will be disobeying your Father. Does He command you to seek the image of Jesus? It is not your joy to do so? Does Jesus tell you, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"? Then not because the law commands, but because your Saviour enjoins, you will labour to be perfect in holiness. Does He bid his saints love one another? Do it, not because the law says, "Love thy neighbour," but because Jesus says, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments;" and this is the commandment that He has given unto you, "that ye love one another." Are you told to distribute to the poor? Do it, not because charity is a burden which you dare not shirk, but because Jesus teaches, "Give to him that asketh of thee." Does the Word say, "Love God with all your heart"? Look at the commandment and reply, "Ah! commandment, Christ hath fulfilled thee already-I have no need, therefore, to fulfill thee for my salvation, but I rejoice to yield obedience to thee because God is my Father now and He has a claim upon me, which I would not dispute." May the Holy Ghost make your heart obedient to the constraining power of Christ's love, that your prayer may be, "Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight." Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin.

What Does It Mean To Be Under Grace?

2012-01-24T19:28:00.000-06:00

Often times error is simply the embracing one aspect of truth while failing to recognize another aspect. For example, it has become commonplace to find fault with those who have standards by arguing that they are simply trying to put us back under the law. I suppose that in a few rare cases that is probably true. The minute anyone seeks to define modesty from the bible instead of the culture they are considered a legalist. If anyone insist on gender distinctive clothing they are trying to put us back under the law. How long is long, how short is short?? We are told over and over again that those who arrive at convictions concerning such things are trying to rob us of a life of grace and bring us back into the bondage of the law?

Is this really what is happening? Well, there are probably a few isolated cases where this is true. Just like there are a few isolated cases where people will claim grace as a license to do practically anything.

There is a verse of scripture that is often brought to the table the minute any one develops a standard of behavior to contrast what is holy with what is worldly.

Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

I would like to give you my simple, and I believe biblical, logic concerning this verse. It is the last part of the verse that is held up as the standard, but it really does not tell us much. Ye are not under the law, but under grace. This is a true statement and I thank God for it. If this were not true we would have no hope of going to heaven.

The first part of the verse says something also: For sin shall not have dominion over you. What is sin? We can look it up in the Greek and Hebrew. We can look it up in an English dictionary. We can look it up in a thesaurus. We can also look it up in 1John 3:4 - Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. I suppose it is here where the Holy Ghost defines sin. Sin is a transgression of the law. Therefore when the bible says, for ye are not under the law, but under grace, it is giving us the reason that sin does not have dominion over us. It seems the verse is saying because we are under grace we will not be dominated by transgressions of the law. Personally I like the thought of that kind of grace!

The very next verse seems to support my conclusion: Romans 6:15 - What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. In other words shall we transgress the law because we are not under the law but under grace. The answer is a resounding "God forbid".

In fact grace is not a passive influence in our lives. It is a very active influence in our lives. Grace teaches. The Bible says so! Titus 3:11,12a - For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us . . . . What kind of grace teaches us? The same kind that brought us salvation. So it doesn't seem that far off base to say, saving grace teaches us.

The question then becomes what does it teach us? This is not left to speculation. Once again the Bible comes through with great clarity. Titus 3:12 - Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; . . . . So the grace that saves us also teaches us some things. It teaches us that we SHOULD live soberly, righteously, and godly. It even teaches us how we are to do this, by denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. It even teaches us where we are to do this, in this present world.

So, we are not under the law but under grace. And that grace teaches us that we are to live:

Soberly
Righteously
Godly

I'm guessing the bible probably has quite a bit to say about all three of these characteristics. It would be helpful if we filled our minds with the Scripture related to these virtues rather than defining these virtues through the lens of the culture. This can only result in a distorted view of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness.

We do this by denying:

Ungodliness
Worldly lusts

Again, I am thinking the bible probably has a lot to say about ungodliness and worldly lusts. And, again, it would be helpful if we filled our minds with the Scripture related to these characteristics rather than defining them according to the world who the scriptures warns us has had their "understanding darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

What kind of grace are you under? Saving grace? Saving grace teaches us some very important principles about holy living. Turns out grace is even more amazing than we give it credit for sometimes!

A Holy Man

2012-01-23T09:40:00.000-06:00

The following is from J. C. Ryle's Holiness It's Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots

"A holy man willremember . . .

that Christ would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others;
that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults;
that He thought more of godly poor men, than of kings;
that He was full of love and compassion to sinners;
that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin;
that He sought not the praise of men, when He might have had it;
that He went about doing good;
that He was separate from worldly people;
that He continued instant in prayer;
that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way, when God'swork was to be done.

All these things, a holy man will try to remember. By them, he will endeavor toshape his course in life."

For What Purpose Do You Inquire?

2012-01-17T11:22:00.001-06:00

Why do we read our bibles? Why do we go to church? Why do we hope to attend church where a prophet (preacher) occupies the pulpit each service? Is it simply for the satisfaction of saying we sought a word from God? Is it so we can have our conscience soothed just by being mature enough to take the truth? Is it so our lives can be transformed? Our motives in respect to these issues are important and will ultimately be reflected in the fruit that is borne in our lives. Are those that hear the word of God and dismiss it more noble than those who have no interest in hearing the word of God?

Consider Ahab and Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22. Ahab was of course the notoriously wicked king of Israel, he was and is infamous for his idolatry and wickedness. Jehoshaphat on the other hand was the good and mostly godly king of Judah.

Ahab requested Jehoshapat's help in reclaiming Ramoth-gilead from Syria. Jehoshaphat unwisely argued that there was no difference between Israel and Judah. (1 Kings 22:4) Jehoshaphat being a lover of Jehovah and not a worshiper of Baal asked Ahab to inquire at the word of the LORD. (1 Kings 22:5) Ahab called together 400 false prophets to seek their counsel about going to war with Syria. The false prophets encouraged the action claiming Syria would be delivered into their hand. Jehoshaphat was not satisfied. He wanted to inquire of a prophet of the LORD. (1 Kings 22:7) Jehoshaphat was right to be concerned.

Ahab indicated there was a prophet, Micaiah by whom they could inquire of the LORD; but Ahab hated him. Why? Because he never prophesied good concerning him but evil. (1 Kings 22:8) At Jeshoshaphat's insistence Micaiah was summoned. Micaiah was informed that the other (false) prophets had prophesied favorably concerning the potential venture and he was instructed to fall in line. (1 Kings 22:13) When Micaiah arrived he too prophesied that they should go up. Ahab must have sensed the sarcasim in his voice and rebuked him for his obvious patronizing. (1 Kings 22:15,16) Micaiah therefore prophesied that it would be unwise to war against the Syrians (1 Kings 22:17) and he even prophesied concerning the events that unfolded in heaven that brought about the lying prophets for the ultimate destruction of Ahab. (1 Kings 22:19-22) How was the prophet of the LORD treated for speaking the truth. He was imprisoned and fed with the bread and water of affliction. (1 Kings 22:26,27)

Jehoshaphat was present and heard and watched all of this unfold. On one hand we have Ahab who did not want to hear a prophet of the LORD because he always prophesied evil concerning him. On the other hand we have Jehoshaphat who insisted on hearing from a prophet of the LORD. He wanted to hear what God had to say about it. They both heard the word of the LORD through the prophet of God. Jehoshaphat heard Micaiah prophesy defeat. He heard Micaiah explain the chain of events that led to the inaccurate prophesy of the false prophets. He saw Micaiah imprisoned and ill-treated for giving them a word of God. But.....at least he had sought and heard the word of God.

So what happens? 1 Kings 22:29, So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. The end result was the same for both of the men. Ahab who did not want to hear what the prophet of the LORD had to say went up to Ramoth-gilead anyway. Jehoshaphat who did want to hear what the prophet of the LORD had to say went up to Ramoth-gilead anyway. They both went up to war against the Syrian in spite of the prophet warning against doing so. One went not wanting to hear the prophet. The other went having desired to hear the prophet. But they both went.

It very nearly cost Jehoshaphat his life. (1 Kings 22:31-33) It did cost Ahab his life. (1 Kings 22:34-38)

We must be careful about delighting to hear the word of God but ultimately dismissing the word of God!

James 1:22 - But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Have Your Eyes Checked

2012-01-07T13:24:00.001-06:00

Saul was a big man with a little heart! He was head and shoulders above the rest of his countrymen in relation to his stature but he was petty and petulant in his treatment of others, especially David!

There was a natural tension that would exist between these two men! Before we get to 1 Samuel 18 several things had already been divinely decided. Saul had been rejected as King over Israel and David had been anointed as the next king of Israel. One was leaving the throne and one was assuming the throne. It was a long process wherein their paths would cross. They would meet each other; one on the way down, the other on the way up.

Their divinely appointed end was known to each of them respectively. God had told Saul the kingdom was to be taken from him. David had already been anointed the next King of Israel. The question becomes how do each of these men manage the information? They should both accept the will of God with humility.

Saul would continue on the throne as long as God intended with the humble realization that because of his own disobedience God would be preparing another to take his place. He would not take offence at indications that God was grooming another for his place.

David would not press the issue but realize that God would give him the throne in his time. He could wait because he had the promise and anointing of God. He would feel no need to raise a rebellion to supplant the present king. He would in fact honor the present king knowing that one day he would be king.

One man rose to the occasion and acted as he should under trying circumstances. The other man sunk to new lows as he sought to circumvent God's decree. This of course brought them into conflict. David conducting himself with dignity and honor in spite of the ill treatment he received at the hand of Saul. Saul conducting himself with malice and bitterness in spite of the honorable treatment he received at the hand of David.

The growth of the contagion that seized Saul's heart toward David has for years been a point of reference for me to guard my own heart.

1 Samuel 18:9 - Saul eyed David
I actually like to call this "the evil eye". Having heard the women sing Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands had served to remind Saul of his divinely decreed decline. David suddenly became suspect. This in spite of the fact that David had been nothing but faithful to Saul and Israel. Yet, his elevated prominence in the nation caused Saul to perceive him as a threat. He allowed his suspicion to rule his heart. Now it mattered little what David did, it would never be right in King Saul's eyes. His failures would be highlighted. His successes would be scrutinized. If he did the wrong thing Saul was not surprised. If he did the right thing he had sinister motives. David was corrupt in Saul's eyes. But the real problem was Saul's eyes, not David's behavior. David was not doing anything wrong, Saul was simply seeing everything wrong.

1 Samuel 18:12 - Saul was afraid of David
Because David was suspect he was to be feared. He was a threat. He had to be addressed. Remember Saul actually attempted to kill David on several occasions. On the other hand David had at least a couple of opportunities to kill Saul and refrained leaving vengeance to God. But from Saul's perspective the threat had to be eliminated. David was such a bad man that he needed to be dealt with in the harshest terms. There was only one problem. David was not a bad man it was Saul that had bad eyes. It became so bad that anyone that even appeared to aid or defend David became a fit object of Saul's scorn. Saul had a whole family of Priest killed for innocently helping David. But Saul was sure they were in on a conspiracy that did not exist. Saul even threw a spear at his own son! He spent the last years of his life hating David. He was preoccupied with bringing David down. And all of this toward a man that till the end saw him as the anointed of God and even lamented his death on the battlefield as a great loss to Israel.

1 Samuel 18:29 - Saul became David's enemy
Saul was not David's enemy because David had declared war on him, but because he had declared war on David. All David could do was run and keep space between him and he who had chosen to be his enemy. Saul had an enemy of his own making! He became enemies with one who wanted to do him the most honor. He had made an enemy out of one who would not even engage him on those terms. In Saul's eyes David was the enemy. In David's eyes Saul was the Lord's anointed.

Saul had a vision problem that was precipitated by his own sin and disobedience. Because he was not right he began to see others around him as not right. Even he who was most right, a man after God's own heart, was suspect, was to be feared, and was ultimately counted as an enemy.

The arrangement kept David on the run for fifteen years hiding from Saul, waiting on God and it kept Saul in a constant state of agitation knowing that David lived and that he was a better man than he (which he admitted at one point) and that he would likely one day assume the throne.

Step It Up A Notch

2012-01-03T11:54:00.001-06:00

Well, here we are January 3rd 2012. I was beginning to think the day would never get here, but alas it always does. It is that first real day after the holidays. Don't get me wrong I like the holidays as much as the next guy. From the end of November till the very first of January everything is different.

The food is different
The schedule is different
The weather is different
The spirit is different
The whole world just seems different

It is probably this phenomena that heightens the yearning of a new year. We finish Christmas and find a New Year staring us in the face and we find ourselves thinking, "You know this year I want to be different." Because somehow "different" takes on a very pleasant quality in December.

Some people make a list every year outlining the way they intend to be different, the way they know they ought to be, a better way.

Some people claim they don't make lists. I don't completely trust those people. Do they really exist? Oh, they may not write their list down, but do they really not have a list; even mentally? Do they somehow manage to escape the common lot of man and the yearning that accompanies each new year to do better? to be better? OK, they probably exist somewhere, somehow. I think they are the minority. I can't prove it I just feel it......strongly!

There is something about a new year that fills us full of hope and just a good ole' fashion "can do" attitude.

But then today comes!

It is usually on the 2nd of January, unless like this year New Year's day falls on Sunday then the day gets pushed back a day to the 3rd. It is the day when things get back to normal. We go back to work, school, pay the bills, start thinking about having the valve cover gaskets replaced on the car and the tires replaced on the truck and thinking too bad I don't have all that money I spent on Christmas. We have to start dealing with the boss again and it seems his or her festive mood must have accidentally got put on Santa's sleigh and ended up in the North Pole (I've been there, such a place exist). After a month of feasting I'm not too excited about a year of self-imposed famine, more commonly known as a diet. Already we are feeling like, can I really keep the list? Have I over committed myself? I have probably been too hard on myself! The "can do" attitude is already slipping in the direction of the "who cares" attitude.

I don't really have to read my bible though in a year.
I'm not that overweight.
I get exercise going to and from the car.
Why read about it when I can watch a documentary about it.

Funny what a difference a week can make. From I need some work to I pretty much have it all together.

I like list. I like a challenge. I don't want to adopt the attitude I fail therefore I will not challenge myself. I do fail, sometimes miserably. Even in failure I learn some valuable lessons. 1. I am weak and frail. 2. I need to have patience with others weakness and frailty. After all we are all basically the same. Our weakness and frailty may reveal itself differently, but it is what it is and we all battle it.

I challenged myself to read the bible through last year, and I did! I finished a month early. I would have read my bible a lot last year and most every day but it is not likely I would have read it through without the commitment to do so. I enjoyed it. This year I'm going to read my bible through twice. A year ago I would not have believed that was likely. This year I know it is possible. Only the passing days will determine if it happens. If it doesn't I'm pretty sure I will at least read it through once. I want to as Spurgeon said, "bleed bible".

My lists of years gone by probably mark more failures than successes. That's OK. Not that I am OK with failure, I despise it in myself as much as in anyone. But even failure means you tried! Trying is better than not trying. Success never came in the absence of a challenge. There have been some success over the years. Successes that would not have happened had it not been for the self-imposed challenge.

I have a list this year too. I'm not telling you what it is. It's really none of your business ;-) And you won't help me reach the goal. You will just see me fail and secretly delight that you are not the only one that fails.

I have shared my goals with three people. My wife and two of the men in my church. My wife can be brutally honest.....ouch that hurts kind of honest! Is it possible to be brutal and loving at the same time? She is! But at least she is my wife and she already knows that I am a frail, weak creature, so my failures do not surprise her in the least. Two of the men in my church know. I don't want them to see me fail, but they probably will on some level. But really they already know I am just mortal flesh anyway. I need to quit fooling myself.... I have told others my goals before in hopes that they would help hold me accountable. They haven't. I'm pretty sure they didn't because they were struggling with their own goals. Sometimes we don't ask people questions because we don't want them asking us questions. So incorporated into my objectives for this year is the commitment to volunteer an update every couple of weeks. That way they don't have to ask me about something specific but just mention that it has been a while since they have seen an update. Update, what update? Oh, that update! Now I either have to fudge the truth or be honest and do better. I hope I never opt for the former.

This year at the church I pastor we are going to emphasis a Determined Discipleship. I encouraged my people on Sunday to "step it up a notch". I told them I was not asking them to sell all they have and give to the poor, but just to step it up a notch.

That is what I hope to do! That is what I must do! And if I fail, I will fail trying!

Philippians 3:14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Growing Oaks Or Ears Of Popcorn

2011-12-22T19:47:00.002-06:00

"The church must claim again her ancient dowry of everlastingness. She must begin again to deal with ages and millenniums rather then with days and years. She must not count numbers but test foundations. She must work for permanence rather than for appearance. Her children must seek those enduring things that have been touched with immortality. The shallow brook of popular religion chatters on its nervous way and thinks the ocean too quiet and dull because it lies deep in its mighty bed and is unaffected by the latest shower. Faith in one of its aspects moves mountains; in another it gives patience to see the promises afar off and to wait quietly for their fulfillment. Insistence upon an immediate answer to every request of the soul is an evidence of religious infantilism. It takes God longer to grow an oak than to grow an ear of popcorn. It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages while excited men of time rush about confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run--and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of that."

A. W. Tozer

Winds of Change and the Changeless God

2011-11-24T06:58:00.001-06:00

Note: While I do not believe Baptists are Protestant Tozer's larger point is worth considering.

"The contemporary world is a result of radical changes down the generations amounting to revolution: the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the communications revolution, the philosophical revolution and the social revolution. Are we going to accept the belief that the Bible must be interpreted anew in the light of these developments? Are we going to allow ourselves to accept the doctrine that the prophets and apostles were mistaken about God? Are we going to allow society to tell us that the Bible is outmoded and largely irrelevant and must therefore be reassessed in the light of modern advancements? Has God changed? Are we going to accept it? Is there a change in the purpose of God? Have the changes in human society startled or shocked God? Must we, in order to remain intellectually respectable and have good standing with these who doubt the Word, humbly say, "Well, I do not believe in miracles"? Or have we got enough of our Protestant protest and courage to stand up and say, "I believe in miracles whenever God Almighty wants to perform them. I believe that whenever God wants to do anything that is out of the ordinary and contrary to or at least above the common processes of nature, He is able to do it. I believe the miracles of Jesus Christ were real miracles. I believe the miracles of the Old Testament were real miracles." Are we going to allow ourselves to be brainwashed along with all the rest? Or are we going to dare to stand and protest and be known over the country as being Protestant indeed? We would be people who refuse to adjust but who make the world adjust to us. When you adjust, you are dead. The same is true if a church adjusts to these ideas. If you adjust, you are done. But if you dare to stand, the world will adjust to you. I can promise you that. Not all will adjust to you, but at least some will."

A. W. Tozer

Blessed Maladjustment

2011-11-23T08:21:00.001-06:00

"The second prominent tragedy is that the gospel churches are confused and intimidated by numbers. They accept the belief that there has been change and that Christians must adjust to the change. The word used is adjustment. We must get adjusted, forgetting that the world has always been blessed by the people who were not adjusted. The poor people who get adjusted cannot do much anyhow. They are not worth having around. In every field of human endeavor progress has been made by those who stood up and said, "I will not adjust to the world." The classical composers, poets and architects were people who would not adjust. Today society insists that if you do not adjust you will get a complex. If you do not get adjusted, you will have to go to a psychiatrist. Jesus was among the most maladjusted people in His generation. He never pretended to adjust to the world. He came to die for the world and to call the world to Himself, and the adjustment had to be on the other side."

A. W. Tozer

The Virtue Of Giving Thanks

2011-11-21T10:23:00.001-06:00

Psalms 100:4

With our national holiday we callThanksgiving approaching this Thursday it is hard to pass up the opportunity toaddress the virtue of giving thanks. Genuine thanksgiving is the result of a heart that has been renewed tosee things differently. Anyone can makea list of things they like in their lives and call them blessings and say theyare thankful. It is not that I amagainst listing the things for which we are thankful but I am saying thatthanksgiving, the giving of thanks, is a much deeper concept than the ability tocompile a list.

While we all consider the thingswe are thankful for this year let us carefully consider whether we are thankfulpeople.

It is almost like thanksgiving takesplace in a vacuum. I am thankful degenerates into it makes me happy to have this or that or to have experiencedthis or that. To be truly thankfulnecessitates recognition of a benefactor. It is not so much about what we are thankful for as it is to whom we arethankful. If we are not careful we canbe thankful to no one for a lot of things, which really defies the essence ofthanksgiving.

Our text even addresses thisissue when it says:

“Enterinto his gates with thanksgiving”

“bethankful unto him”

There is the recognition of boththe blessing and the benefactor. Only inthis context can true thanksgiving be experienced. It is not simply a matter of being thankfulfor things but being thankful to someone. Giving of thanks without an eye to the provider seems shallow at bestand selfish at worst.

So this week let us not onlyconsider for what we have to be thankful but to whom we have to bethankful. In other words, “be thankfulunto him”

I began, this week, to wonder if we start in thewrong place related to thanksgiving. Having started in the wrong place it is easy toend up on the wrong place. We start out thinking about what we have and endup being thankful for what we have. The focus starts on what we have and ends onwhat we have. Consequently we find it difficult to ever getfocused on the one who gave us richly all things to enjoy.

Maybe we should start out thinking about what wedeserve. What do I deserve? Temporally or spiritually what do I deserve? The Bible tells me what I deserve. Let me set the stage by first asking a question. Have you ever committed on single sin?

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death . . . .

Romans 5:12 - . . . .so death passed upon all men, for thatall have sinned:

Revelation 21:8 - . . . . and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire andbrimstone: which is the second death.

Because we have all sinned what we deserve is to die and burn in the lake of fire for all of eternity. We don't deserve our last breath. We did not deserve to ever see the light of day.

When I realize what I deserve and compare thatto what I have it is only then when I begin to realize that I should be thankful! Not disaffected comparing what I have to whatothers have. But thankful comparing what I have to what Ideserve! I should bless his name every day that I am notgetting what I deserve! (mercy) I should bless his name ever day that I am inpossession of so much that I don’t deserve! (grace)

Genuine thanksgiving is not about a day. Don’t misunderstand I am thankful to God that Ilive in a country that celebrates a day of Thanksgiving. But, celebrating a day of thanksgiving does not makeus a thankful people. The sad reality is that the day of Thanksgivinghas mutated into a day of indulgence. Instead of the focus being on God it is on foodand football. Somehow as a nation we have come to believe thatwe can indulge the flesh make a show of bounty and at the end of the dayconsider our self a thankful people??? Is it really that noble to make a pretense ofbeing thankful by feeding the flesh, both literally and figuratively and everyother day of the year we have a murmur or complaint on our tongue. I am not against food or football but we should be careful about spending a day pursuing those things and then believing because we called it Thanksgiving Day that we are thankful.

Genuine thanksgiving is about a lifestyle. It really starts by learning to say “thank you”for kindnesses that people show us. Not simply being thankful for what they gave usor did for us but being thankful to them! Not a “thank you” that is required by etiquette but a thank you that comes from a heart that feels undeserving. So often times we never take our eye off the gift and place it on the giver. We love the thing but are not truly thankful to the benefactor. We are thankful for things but we are not thankful to anyone. Maybe this week we can find two, or three, orfour people that we can communicate to in some manner and say to them, “I wantto thank you for ________________!

I am talking about cultivating the virtue ofgiving thanks.

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks always.

Psalms 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times.

Just learning to be truly thankful not just for things but to God and others remembering how undeserving we are. Or, to put it another way, remember what we deserve!

We should be thankful to God for all that you judge to begood in your life.

James 1:17 - Every good gift . . . cometh down from the Father of lights . . . .

1Timothy 6:17 - . . . . theliving God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; . . . .

Are there some good things in your life today? Remember they come from God. God gave them to you to enjoy. But they came from him. Remember what you deserve and then consider what he has given you. And we have trouble being thankful to him???

Acts 17:25 - . . . . he (the true God) giveth to all life, and breath,and all things;

God has given you everything. He has given you life. He has given you breath. He has given you all things. While you are being thankful for the all things you might want to be thankful to Him! Be careful about developing a sense of entitlementthat God owes. He owes nothing, we oweeverything!

We should be thankful to God for all that you judge to be badin your life.

Are there some things you have judged to be bad in your life? Probably. Things don't always go right. There are disappointments and trials, and tribulations. It is important to remember though that we judge them to be bad. We are not always good judges of such matters. What we deem to be bad may in fact be good. We certainly know that he intends to use it for good.

1 Peter 1:6,7 - Wherein ye greatly rejoice though . . . ye are in heaviness through manifoldtemptations: . . . .

James 1:2,3 - . . . . count it all joy whenye fall into divers temptations . . . .

Be careful about becoming embittered because ofthe difficulties, disappointments and discouragements of life! Our minds must be brought into subjection toChrist so that everything that happens we can be found giving thanks.

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks . . . for all thingsunto God . . . .

Notice giving thanks for (the gift) and unto (the benefactor).

Job is the prime example of giving thanks for everything one judges to be bad in their lives. The rose on a prosperous godly man. It set that same day on a destitute godly man. His fortune and his family (children) lost.

Job 1:20-22 – The Lord gave, the Lord takethaway.

We always want a Lord who gives but do not tend to be thrilled with a Lord that takes away. We are thankful when he is giving, but what about when he is taking away? At the end of the day when Job had lost everything we are told that he worshipped!

Job 2:9,10 – Shall we receive good at the handof God and shall we not receive evil? Great question posed by a great man!

Murmuring is a symptom that suggest the absence of giving thanks. A couple of important things to note

about murmuring.

The Lord hears our murmuring. Exodus 16:9 - . . . . Come near before the LORD: forhe hath heard your

murmurings. Don't think he does not hear it. Just because you are talking or typing to someone else does

not mean he does not hear it.

All murmuring is against the Lord. Exodus 16:8 - . . . . your murmurings are not against us, but against the

LORD. We think we are murmuring against the situation, the difficulty, the weather, the health problem, the

other person. The Bible says we are murmuring against God. It only makes sense. Who do you think

allowed the situation, or the difficulty, or the weather, or the health problem, or the other person? You don't

like what happening or what this or that person is doing? Before you begin to murmur remember what you

deserve! There is a reason why the Bible says in Philippians 2:14 - Do all things without murmurings and

disputings: . . . .

Complaining which is closely related to murmuring is a symptom that also suggest the absence of giving

thanks. A couple of important things to note about complainers.

Complainers are people who walk after their ownlusts. Jude 16 - These aremurmurers, complainers,

walking after their own lusts; . . . .

Complaining displeases the LORD. Numbers 11:1 - And when the people complained, itdispleased the

LORD: . . . .

Complaining can become chronic. Psalms 77:1-3 – Refused to be comforted and Icomplained and was

overwhelmed. Those who cultivate the virtue of giving thanks hardly ever refuse to be comforted,

complaining is kept to a minimum and they hardly ever feel overwhelmed.

Lamentations 3:39 - Wherefore doth a living man complain,a man for the punishment of his sins? We might

want to think about this and in doing so we might find ourselves being more thankful to God and others.

And it is just a few verses earlier where we find these sobering words in Lamentations 3:22 - It is of the

LORD’S mercies that weare not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Which brings us back to the

starting point and avital question if we are to be genuinely thankful not just for things but toGod. What do I

deserve? When you ask yourself this question be sure toremember that it is of the LORD’S mercies that

we are not consumed, because hiscompassions fail not!

In conclusion maybe this week we can preface everything that we are thankful for with the words, "I am

thankful to God for ___________" Thereby shifting some of the focus from the blessing to the benefactor.

And, maybe we can also communicate to one or two people every day by saying, "Thank you for

___________."

I Met Him

2011-11-05T14:47:00.001-05:00

It was forty-one years ago today that I met a man who I am certain passed my way on several occasions for he was know well by so many that my life revolved around at that early age. For whatever reason I had never really paid him much attention, till that night. Oh, I had seen him in passing and we had probably greeted one another but I moved on never stopping to consider him. That night I did.

It probably had something to do with the fact that when I saw him that night he was bleeding and suffering on a tree. It was a horrible sight. I had known for some time that this event was part of his history I simply did not rightly regard it. That night I did. I think in part it was because I realized that he bled and died because of me. When I saw his suffering in that context my sin appeared more horrible than it ever had. Even at the "innocent" age of seven if my sin required that sacrifice then of necessity my sin must have been a horrible affront to God. I felt bad because of what my sin had occasioned.

I now was truly afraid of going to hell. I now realized for the first time that I can remember that not only was I going to hell but fully deserved to go to hell. Yes, it was a frightening thought. But if my sin required such suffering from one who was by his own testimony the sinless Son of God, then truly I deserved everything terrible I had coming to me. I feared for my life and my eternity. Hell was more real than it had ever been, because I had seen this man dying on a cross for my sin.

Yet, the marvel of it all is that very night when I met him at that frightful cross-roads called Calvary within a moment I met him again but this time he was standing outside an empty tomb. He was alive. He who had died was now alive. There must be hope! The tragedy of his death was followed by the triumph of his resurrection. Here was a man who had died because of sin and now was alive. What must this mean for sin?

Before I left my knees I knew the answer. Forgiveness and eternal life. If I would trust his death, burial, and resurrection I would be given a pardon, I would be forgiven. I did and he did! I claimed the promise, he kept the promise. I'm glad I met him that evening!

In the last forty-one years of life he has been constantly by my side, if I chose to walk with him. If I chose not to I have always found him right where I left him. I have never been able to leave him for very long. I think this bears testimony to the fact that I really do belong to him. I must be with him. I cannot stand it when we are not walking together. Never once when walking apart have I found him to be wrong and me to be right. It has always, without fail, been the other way around.

What a friend he has been! I have had forty-one years to learn of him and get to know him. He has never disappointed me though I have often disappointed him. It is some comfort to me that I cannot disappoint him without disappointing myself.

When I have been lonely his presence was real.
When I have been forsaken he has been true.
When I have been fearful he was my refuge.
When I have been sad he was there to cheer.
When I have been laid low he was there to pick me up.
When I have been confused he was there to straighten me out.
When I have been disobedient he was there to rebuke.
When I have been frustrated he was there to calm my heart.
When I have been tried he has been their to strengthen.
When I have been pressed beyond measure he has been there to offer relief.
When I have been brokenhearted he has been there to pick up the pieces.
When I have had joy he has been their to see that they were multiplied.
When I have been ready to give up he has been there encouraging to press on.

Simply put he has been there! More than any other person. More than wife, mother or father, brother or sister, son or daughter, friend or acquaintance he has been there.

So I thank God that forty-one years ago I met Jesus! I met him for myself! I really know him. We walk together and talk together. He is always there challenging, encouraging, rebuking and comforting and I love him for it. I love him more than I ever have but not near as much as he deserves!

If you do not know Jesus, if your life has not been turned from unrighteousness to righteousness through the repentance of sin and trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ may I suggest that you open your bible and meet him at Calvary and face the horrible consequences of your sin and that you deserve hell a thousand times over. If you will meet him there and follow his path to see him standing by an empty tomb you too can know him as I have. If you will claim the promise through repentance and faith he will be sure to keep the promise to you as he has to me.

Turned The World Upside Down

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

The phrase comes from the book of Acts. It was during Paul's second missionary journey in the ancient city of Thessalonica. Already, the message of Christ was having a profound impact everywhere it was preached. It did in a lot of ways cause an upheaval. By the time this statement was made in Acts 17 the news of Christianity usually preceded it formal messengers, thus we come to verse 6 where Luke records:

And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; . . . .

We read these words and stand in awe and admiration as we consider a ministry so powerful that the testimony of the unbelieving world is that they have turned the world upside down. When have we really seen such a thing? Oh, we live in a day of christian fads, flash in the pan Christianity. It does not matter whether it is the Moral Majority, Promise Keepers, Left Behind, WWJD, The Passion, Fire Proof, Purpose Driven Life, and memory fails me......but there have been others.

These movements or movies or books were destined to change the world or at least Christianity. In some cases the world came by to watch for a bit and then moved on to whatever they were doing before. In at least a few cases a few people made a lot of money. Yet, the world remains right side up!

The problem is not the world. The world is what it is. The Scripture tells us the "whole world lieth in wickedness". We should not be surprised that the world has no long term interest in Christianities hottest new novelty. They don't even keep our attention???

Why is it that we don't seem to be able to produce a Christianity of which it could be said, they that have turned the world upside down are come hither also? I think the answer is that we have not embraced a Christianity that has turned our world upside down.

It is hard to read Acts with an honest heart and not realize that first century Christianity was propelled forward by some people who had their lives turned upside down. Therefore wherever they went they tended to have that effect. Theirs was a simple policy of holy living married to a very direct style of preaching men must repent and trust the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to escape hell and have the promise of heaven. It was not palatable in their day either. They suffered immeasurably at the hands of nearly everyone because of their total abandon for Christ. Yet they persevered and managed to turn the world upside down because their own lives had been turned upside down.

Instead we have a Christianity that:

Goes to church when it feels like it
Tithes when it can afford to
Gives to missions when they can find no other way to squelch the guilt
Preaches the gospel......well......hardly ever
Never passes out a tract
Prays only when things are really bad
Struggles to find time to read the Bible
Has redefined holiness as legalism
Defined discipleship as having an extra bible study

In short, too many, myself included have not sufficiently had our lives turned upside down for the cause of Christ!

I Don't Understand

2011-09-21T11:33:00.001-05:00

It is easy to be the kind of person that reads something in the Bible and to dismiss it in an off-handed way because it just does not make sense. I don't understand why I should not be permitted to do a certain thing; or, I don't know why I must do a certain thing. I don't understand why this or that is important.

There are lots of reason why we may not understand something. Our prejudices, our personal experiences, our ancestry, our lack of knowledge can all contribute to a lack of understanding. Sometimes it is as simple as we do not want to understand. Understanding brings responsibility. Responsibility creates accountability. Accountability brings us face to face with a day of reckoning!

Refusing to understand does not diminish accountability. What we should know we will be responsible for knowing. When it comes to Bible truth and especially how we should live it is important to understand one of the primary components of understanding: Obedience. That's right, if we hope to understand we have to be willing to obey!

Psalms 111:10 provides us with this foundational principle of understanding.

". . . . a good understanding have all they that do his commandments."

Human nature wants to understand what it is to do. God want us to do what we may not understand. Having obeyed we will be blessed with the understanding. The fact is some things in the spiritual world only make sense after we do them.

As long as we insist on understanding before we obey we can never have any real hope of understanding. This is the reason so many Christians find themselves in a vicious cycle of mediocre living. They have no passion, or sense of daring. Their only commitment is to be different from their fathers before them but not different from the world around them!

We have raised a generation of practical atheist. They say they believe the bible but they live like the world around them??? The decline was commenced when we began to insist on understanding before we obey. Because we elevated understanding above obedience we will never understand and we will likely continue to more closely reflect the world around us than the bible we profess to believe.

We have robbed ourselves of the adventure of being a follower of Christ.

We have exchanged the scripture admonition of "the just shall live by faith" for the human philosophy of "the smart believe only what they can understand". Which, by the way, tends to be very little!

It is time to raise a tribe of people who will not be afraid to march around Jericho, not because they understand but because they are committed to obeying.

Remembering What God Remembers

2011-09-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

Psalm 103:14 reminds us of a sobering truth. It is a truth that is easily side-stepped and often does not impact our self-assessment. Yet it is foundational and we are told that God remembers it, even if we don't!

The verse actually tells us something God knows and something he remembers.

He knows our frame. That is he knows how we are put together. He knows because he did it.

Knowing our frame he remembers that we are dust. This is a deflating reality! We like to think we are a lot of things but dust does not often rank at the top of the list. We forget we are dust, God remembers that we are dust!

One of the most amazing verses in the bible addresses this very truth. We read it and go past it because we don't want to remember our humble origins because we don't want to be humble.

Genesis 2:7 - And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, . . . .

He knoweth our frame because he formed us. In fact these two words "formed" and "framed" are very similar in nature. God did not make man of gold, or diamonds, or silver, but dirt! I never think of this event without remembering as a little boy taking the gumbo clay of the Texas Gulf Coast and making little clay men. When they sat in the sun for a few hours they would become hard like rock. God made clay men. He made man of the dust of the ground.

The verse goes on to say in Genesis 2:7 - . . . . and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

So God took the clay man and breathed into his nostrils the "breath of life". When God did so the clay man shudder and came to life. The breath of God, the life of God animated the clay figure. The eyes popped open, the heart came to life. God imparted to his clay man what I could never impart to my little clay men.

The animation did not change the little detail that it was still the dust of the ground that had been formed by the hand of God into a man. It was, we are animated dirt.

We wash it, and dress it, and comb it's hair, and adorn it with gold, silver, and precious stones. We educate it, we refine it, and we cherish it and we forget that it is dust. Forgetting it does not change it. Remembering it might change us! We might not have such a tendency to parade around if we remembered what God does!

Genesis 3:23 - Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

How The Apostates Do It

2011-09-07T13:35:00.000-05:00

The following is from a message by C. H. Spurgeon entitled, Judas: The Betrayal

"Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. That is how most apostates do it; it is always with a kiss. Did you ever read an infidel book in your life which did not begin with a profound respect for the truth? I never have. Even modern ones, when bishops write them, always begin like that. They betray the Son of man with a kiss. Did you ever read a book of bitter controversy which did not begin with such a sickly lot of humility, such sugar, such butter, such golden syrup, such everything sweet and soft, that you said, 'There is sure to be something bad here, for when people begin so softly and sweetly, so humbly and so smoothly - depend upon it - they have rank hatred in their hearts.' The most devout-looking people are often the most hypocritical in the world."

What Will You Give Me?

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

The following is from a message by C. H. Spurgeon entitled, Judas: The Betrayer.

"Let us notice the act itself. He (Judas) sought out his own temptation. He did not wait for the devil to come to him; he went after the devil. He went to the chief priests and said, "What will ye give me? Anything you like. The Lord of life and glory sold at the buyer's own price. What will ye give me?" And another very prettily puts it, "What could they give him? What did the man want? He did not want food and raiment; he fared as well as his Master and the other disciples; he had enough; he had all that his needs could crave, and yet he said, What will ye give me? What will ye give me? What will ye give me? Some people's religion is grounded on that one question - "What will you give me?" Yes, they would go to church if there are any charities given away there, but if there were more to be got by not going they would do that. "What will you give me?" Some of these people are not even so wise as Judas. There is a man over yonder who would sell the Lord for a crown, much more for ten pounds, as Judas did! Why, there are some who will sell Christ for the smallest piece of sliver in our currency. They are tempted to deny their Lord, tempted to act in an unhallowed way, though the gains are so paltry that a year's worth of them would not come to much. No subject could be more dreadful than this, if we really would but look at it carefully. This temptation happens to each of us. Do not deny it. We all like to gain it is but natural that we should; the propensity to acquire is in every mind, and under lawful restrictions it is not an improper propensity but when it comes into conflict with our allegiance to our Master, and in a world like this it often will, we must overcome it or perish. There will arise occasions with some of you many times in a week in which it is "God - or gain"; Christ, or the thirty pieces of sliver"; and therefore I am the more urgent in pressing this on you."

Self-love = Perilous Times

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

It has become popular even in Christian circles to propose that we need to have a healthy self-image. We are informed that many of the problems today are the direct result of low self-esteem. Our problem is that we do not love ourselves enough! I am familiar with the arguments for such a position. Twenty years ago I was moving in the direction of accepting that premise. I was doing so because of the books that I was reading not because of what I was reading in the Bible. It was something with which I was never completely comfortable. It was a teaching that seemed destined to uproot my whole theological foundation. It just seemed like all the intellectuals and "christian" authors and radio hosts were saying these kinds of things. How could all these smart people be wrong.

When my whole theological outlook was on the verge of being influenced by this human philosophy I came across a book by Jay Adams. He helped set everything aright in this area. The things he wrote about this and other issues, while different from so much of what I was hearing seemed much more solidly rooted in Scripture. I ended up reading about three of his books and several others that were written by people coming from a similar perspective. Once again I was convinced I was on firm footing if not popular footing.

Our problem is not that we love ourselves too little or have a low self-esteem. No! Our problem is that we love ourselves too much. This premise can be often and plainly substantiated from the pages of Holy Scripture. We really ought to be more concerned about self-control than self-image.

This morning in my Bible reading I was in 2 Timothy 3. The first verse and first phrase of the second verse puts things in perspective. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, . . . ." This should be a disturbing reality for proponents of self-love/healthy self-image. Men loving themselves is put in a very disparaging light. It is one, if not the first thing, that characterizes the perilous times of the last days.

In this passage loving one self is not presented as a virtue but a vice. Consider its neighbors in the passage: coveteous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

What is interesting is how many of these expressions of wickedness can be traced right back to men being lovers of themselves.

What is true is that the last days are going to be perilous days and one of the main characteristics of these days it that men will be lovers of themselves. What is tragic is that Christianity is a major catalyst of this destructive teaching.

Self-love = Perilous times! Why would it not?

Sameness

2011-08-31T11:09:00.000-05:00

In a world that is ever changing and in the midst of a people who clamour for change and in meeting the challenges of chaos and confusion that accompanies change the Scripture unashamedly declares in Psalms 102: 27 concerning God, "But thou art the same, . . . ."

The Bible is a treasure trove of comforting words but surely, at least for me, these five words "But thou art the same" serve as a beacon of hope and lighthouse of safety when we are tossed on a sea of uncertainty and change.

This timeless truth is expressed several times in Scripture.

Malachi 3:6 - For I am the LORD, I change not; . . . .
Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Our circumstances change he does not!
Our relationships change he does not!
Our health changes he does not!
Our fortunes change he does not!
Our plans change he does not!
Our minds change he does not!
Our families change he does not!
Our friends change he does not!

He is the same! For him to change would mean one of two things. 1. He was getting better which would call into question his divinity. 2. He was getting worse which would call into question his divinity. As God he is perfect in all his ways. He can not get better! He cannot get worse! He is the same!

Our views of him may change but he is the same.
The way we relate to him may change but he is the same.
Our understanding of him may change but he is the same.
Our fellowship with him may change but he is the same.

To hear some people talk you would think God is as morally confused and uncertain and undecided and unsure and unsettled and unstable as the passing fashions of this world. All these things may be true of us but let us be careful not to impute our frailty upon God. He is the same!

God is not morally confused, or uncertain or undecided or unsure or unsettled or unstable. He is the same!

Quite frankly I love to have it so. Being the same He is faithful and trustworthy. If there is uncertainty it is in my own mind. If there is confusion it is with my own understanding.

In a world where "change" is promoted as the test of intellectual acumen and true advanced thought it would do us well to remember the Bible says, "But thou art the same".

Actually I am not against all change. We are not God and thus need to change. The change that we need is a return to the old paths and to walk in the ways of our Fathers. The change that is most proposed today is in the direction of accommodation of the flesh. A change that mirrors the world instead of reflects Jesus and holiness is change in the wrong direction.

It is important that if we are going to change that it be in the direction of him of whom it is said, "Thou art the same".

The Revelation Of JesusChrist

2011-08-22T12:18:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we began an expositional study through the book of Revelation. I am as excited about this study as I have been any that I can remember. There is excitement in moving in a new direction. There is excitement in having an opportunity to restudy a book in the context of a greater foundation of knowledge. Most of all there is excitement about the new perspective I am bringing to Revelation. It is a perspective that I gained by reading through the book five or six times over about a month and a half (once out loud) and listening to it once on CD.

There seems to be a tendency to read the first line of the book (The revelation of Jesus Christ) and then immediately forget that premise. While there is undoubtedly a lot going on in Revelation the purpose of the book is to unveil Jesus Christ. In fact chapter one begins the process of doing just that.

Christ is the central figure. Chapter one really introduces us to the focus and point of the Revelation. Our tendency is to look at Revelation and see prophecy, to think about the content of the book in the context of its human impact. During my study I hope to change that. Such a view is, at its root, at odds with the book's stated purpose. I do not mean to completely dismiss the human impact of the events that unfold in the pages before us but I do intend to shift the focus. It is not so much about man as it is about Him. It is not so much about man and his suffering in the midst of tribulation as it is about Christ and the unveiling of his glory, for He is worthy!

No sooner do we get past the personal messages to the seven churches of Asia before we are ushered into a heavenly scene that defies the imagination. The song writer got it wrong. You cannot only imagine! Our imaginations are fallen and depraved! The glories of that place and the one who rules there is beyond imagination. Revelation is about his worthiness.

Consider the emphasis of chapters four and five:

Revelation 4:11 - Thou art worthy O, Lord
Revelation 5:2 - Who is worthy to open the book
Revelation 5:4 - No man was found worthy
Revelation 5:9 - Thou (the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world) are worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof
Revelation 5:12 - Worth is the Lamb that was slain

While we certainly see great suffering over the course of this book, we should not miss the great glory, the unveiled glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter one point us in that direction. Chapter one does not introduce us to the anti-christ, the different beasts that appear, the great whore, the false prophet, the two witnesses, the 144,000, tribulation saints, or angels. Chapter one of the Revelation of Jesus Christ introduces us to a glorified Christ.

Throughout the text we should keep our eyes on him. If we will all the unfolding drama will simply be on the periphery of our vision and will serve to glorify He who is worthy.

It is in Revelation where we see Jesus like we have never seen him before.

In the Old Testament we see him concealed in the folds of prophecy and we anticipate him.

During the course of the gospels we see him as one of us, we see what we were intended to be and we admire him.

At the end of the gospels we see him dying for us and being resurrected and we love him.

In the Acts we see him as the message for the world, and we preach him

In the epistles we see him explained and we study him.

But.....in Revelation we see him revealed in glory and we worship Him!

Maybe this is why we are told in Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Enslaving Our Own Snare

2011-08-10T08:00:00.010-05:00

Judges 2:1-5 almost seems to be ill placed on the hills of chapter one. Judges one recounts for us the efforts of the Jewish people against the Canaanites after the death of Joshua. It is, what appears at first glance, a remarkable record of conquest. But the Lord's rebuke at the very beginning of chapter two forces us to go back and reevaluate what we have read.

It is a chapter that opens with the tribes of Judah and Simeon slaying 10,000 Canaanites. It is a chapter that ends with Amorites forcing the tribe of Dan into the mountains. A chapter that begins with the Israelites dictating to the Canaanites and ends with the Canaanites dictating to the Israelites reveals a problem somewhere.

There is a pattern that emerges as we follow the events a little more closely.

Judges 1:19 - Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley. (says who)
Judges 1:21 - The tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem
Judges 1:27 - Manasseh did not drive out the Canaanites but allowed them to dwell in the land
Judges 1:29 - Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites but allowed them to dwell among them
Judges 1:30 - Zebulun did not drive out the Canaanites but allowed them to dwell among them
Judges 1:31,32 - Asher did not drive out the Canaanites but dwelt among the Canaanites
Judges 1:33 - Naphtali did not drive out the Canaanites but dwelt among the Canaanites
Judges 1:34 - The Amorites (Canaanites) forced the tribe of Dan into the mountains and would not allow them to come down to the valley.

Judah, could not drive the Canaanites out. Benjamin did not drive the Canaanites out. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Zebulun did not drive them out but let the Canaanites dwell among them. Asher and Naphtali did not drive out the Canaanites but dwelt among the Canaanites. The Danites were driven into the mountains by the Canaanites.

We read of each of these tribes putting the Canaanites under tribute, that is they enslaved them. A great arrangement, right? The Israelites were in possession of most of the land, they were prospering at the expense of the Canaanites. This was a good idea. Wrong! It was a bad idea. Again Judges 2:1-5 make this clear. God was not happy with their foreign policy.

He reminds them in Judges 2:1 of his faithfulness to them.

He reminds them in the first part of Judges 2:2 of his instruction to them.

He calls them to account in the last part of verse 2.

"Ye have not obeyed my voice." They were to drive out the inhabitants of the land, in fact they were to have no pity upon them.

"Why have ye done this." It is as though God is saying to them after all I have done FOR you why are you doing this TO me?

No doubt their disobedience had seemed a small thing to them. Disobedience to God is never a small thing. In their seemingly small disobedience they had sown the seeds that would seal the fate of their theocracy.

Even a small step down is still decline.
Even a small departure is still departure.
Even a small apostasy is still apostasy.
Even a little disobedience is still disobedience.
Even a little backsliding is still backsliding.

What was the response of the people?

Judges 2:4 - They wept. Were they weeping because of their disobedience? Were they weeping because of the consequences of their disobediecne? One is a godly sorrow that works repentance. The other is a worldly sorrow that laments getting caught.

Judges 2:5 - They sacrificed. Sacrifice is a good thing, but it does not take the place of obedience. "To obey is better than to sacrifice."

Instead of weeping and sacrificing they should have been on the field of battle driving out the Canaanites!

Of course the judgment for their disobedience according to Judges 2:3 is that the Canaanites would be as thorns in their sides and their gods would be a snare unto them.

So they found themselves in the awkward position of having enslaved their own snare!

Have you, through some small disobedience, enslaved your own snare?

The Heritage Of Herod

2011-08-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

The following is from a sermon preached by C. H. Spurgeon about Herod entitled, That Fox.

"I conclude by showing you very sorrowful what became of Herod. With all his good points he ended most wretchedly. First, he slew the preacher whom he once respected. It was he who did it, though the executioner was the instrument. He said, "Go and fetch John the Baptist's head in a charger." So it has happened with many hopeful hearers; they have become slanderers and persecutors of the very preachers before whom they once trembled, and far as they could they have taken off their heads. After a time men dislike being rebuked, and they proceed in their dislike till they scoff at the things they once reverenced, and make the name of Christ a football for their jests. Beware! I pray you, beware! for the way of sin is downhill. Herod feared John, and yet he beheaded him. A person may be evangelical . . . and yet, if he is placed under certain conditions, he may become a hater and a persecutor of the truth he once avowed."

It Came To Pass

2011-07-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

Judges 1:1 opens the book of Judges on a very somber note. It is no doubt a day of national mourning for the people of Israel.

Joshua, their leader in battle, is dead. Joshua is an interesting character. He is one of those second tier Bible characters that is more well known than most but not as well known as some. Joshua was a great man. He is one of only two men, the other being Caleb, who actually lived in Egypt. Their whole generation died in the wilderness because of unbelief that resulted in disobedience. This is always the case. It was Joshua and Caleb of the twelve spies that brought back a good report. They did not underestimate the challenges before them but they highlighted the promise of God before them. They were, Joshua was, a man of faith.

Joshua had been Moses' right-hand man. He was his assistant. The bible says he was Moses' minister. His skills for leadership had been nurtured in service to another man. Joshua is always lurking in the background. After the death of Moses, Joshua receives a call from God. Joshua 5:13-15 It was a personal visitation from God on a par with a burning bush experience.

Joshua led the people over the Jordan river and to victory over Jericho. There were many other victories after that initial one. Joshua had taken to heart the admonition of the LORD to, "be strong and of a good courage." Joshua was a great man who probably does not get his due for one simple fact. He followed Moses. I suppose it could be argued concerning Moses that a greater man has never lived. Moses is clearly hovering around the top of the first tier of bible characters. So Joshua lives out his days of service in the shadow of Moses. Wouldn't it be nice if we all were afforded such an opportunity!

Yet we get to Judges 1:1 and we are told, "Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, . . . ." I read that and I can only think, it always does. It always comes to pass. We should be thankful that is always comes to pass. What we learn is God's work is not dependent upon one man. It is God's work and he uses men. It is always good for us to remember that we are instruments in his hand. Our desire should be to be "fit for the master's use."

Men die and God continues his work. Great men die but God's work does not!

Abraham died and God's program moved forward.
Jacob died and God's program moved forward.
Joseph died and God's program moved forward.
Moses died and God's program moved forward.
Joshua died but God still lives and thus it can be written "and it came to pass."

Therefore, let us soberly contemplate:
When those before us died, "it came to pass."
When we die it will, "come to pass."

Turn??

2011-07-20T14:41:00.001-05:00

If my people, which are called by my name, shall . . . turn from their wicked ways . . . .
2 Chronicles 7:14

This is one of four things that God indicated the children of Israel would have to do should they find themselves in a backslidden condition and consequently forfeiting the promises of God.

The other three are: humble themselves, pray, and seek my face. Turning from their wicked ways is last not because it is least important but because it is impossible without the prerequisites of humility, prayer, and seeking his face. We are a long way from turning and thus we turn to redefining.

Wickedness tends to get redefined in every generation. Churches over the last few decades have been far too willing to strike a deal with the world. We don't want to offend, or be a bigot, or seem radical, or be uncharitable, or be guilty of legalism or isolate ourselves, oooorrrr be a disciple of Jesus Christ! We too often would rather have the world happy with us than Jesus!

If we simply redefine wickedness we discover we never have anything from which to turn! How handy! All those wicked people out there need to stop their sinning, but we are not wicked. Women and young ladies paint themselves up like Jezebel but we are not wicked. We dress like the cocktail crowd and go to the dance but we are not wicked. We go to movies and support the Hollywood crowd but we are not wicked. We watch movies and programs on TV that would embarrass our grandparents but we are not wicked. Women dress like men and men act like women but we are not wicked. We spend hours a week doing what we want but have no time to pray and seek his face but we are not wicked. We take our clothes off and go the beach or swimming pool but we are not wicked. We add Christian to our music labels and call it good but we are not wicked.

Isaiah 5:20 says woe unto them that call evil good. We never do that?!

If we really want the country to turn then we must turn. We are waiting on the politics to turn. We are waiting on the economy to turn. We are waiting on the morality to turn. We are waiting on the courts to turn. We are waiting on the preacher to turn. We are waiting on church members to turn. We are waiting on something or someone else to turn.

God is waiting on us to turn. He is waiting on me to turn. He is waiting on you to turn. We all should find something from which to turn, some wickedness. Just admit it for what it is and turn from it.

Have a good and holy day!

Theocracy In Decline

2011-07-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

A week ago Sunday evening I began a series through the book of Judges entitled Theocracy In Decline. I had been thinking, reading, and preparing for the start of the series for at least a couple of months. I am excited to be started. I love to preach from the OT narratives. There are so many practical lessons to be learned.

Judges chronicles the fits and starts of the only true theocracy the world has ever known. The people being governed were God’s chosen people the Israelites. The very ones, whom he had delivered from Egypt with an outstretched hand, led through and provided for in the wilderness, and promised them the land. Their King was the true God, creator of heaven and earth. They had a perfect law. They had an established religion. It was all right, except their hearts.

It was a theocracy in which the king (God himself) raised up men to lead them, or in the case of Judges men to deliver them. But, there were no monarchs, no ruling families. The tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron is about the closest we get to that. The people were to be devoted to God and their leaders were to direct their devotion to God. The problem is the people struggled with being devoted to God. As such we have the familiar declaration beginning to occur in Judges 17:6, “There was no king in Israel.” It was a phrase which ended several times with the statement that, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

It is not technically that there was no king, but the King was not being sought and obeyed, so effectively it was as though there was no king in Israel. It devolved into anarchy. The last several chapters of the book bear out this reality when the religious and moral decay of the people is paraded before our eyes.

I found myself asking after reading the book several times, why Judges?? The question became pronounced and I realized before I started the series I would need to answer that question in a way that I could be confident of my conclusion. Certainly it was not given just to unfold the exploits of a few men. Of course it was not given for its entertainment value although it is certainly entertaining. Judges as much as any book of the Bible is a book of war, intrigue deception, seduction, murder, civil unrest, pride and self-promotion. It lacks nothing on that front.

The book covers a time period of approximately 400 years. But it cannot be for the purpose of just filling up the space of 400 years. There was 400 years between Malachi and Matthew when nothing is said. There is about 400 years between Genesis and Exodus. My point is it would not have been unheard of to allow 400 years slip by with little notice.

There is a lot going on in Judges. It is not all bad. There are some good things that happen here, as you well know. Even some great things. Some great men, men of faith are presented to us here. There are some great acts recorded here. I intend to give these men and women their due. There were also some foolish things done by some great men. Why Judges?? The answer is found in two passages one in Joshua and the other in 1 Samuel.

Joshua 24:14-18 – Therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.

1 Samuel 2:12-22 – Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.

Judges explains how we get from the people saying we will serve the LORD for he is our God to the sons of the High Priest being sons of Belial and not knowing the LORD.

Judges explains how we get from the state of things at the end of Joshua to the state of things when we get to the beginning of 1 Samuel. It teaches us about the downward spiral. It gives us a 400 year overview.

A 400 year overview that begins with the death of a great man.

Authority!

2011-07-18T11:16:00.000-05:00

Luke 20:1-8

In this passage a question rises about authority. Who has authority? What is the origin of the authority?

The chief priests and scribes wanted to know from whence Jesus received the authority to do "these things". At the end of the previous chapter he had for the second time in about three years cleansed the temple. Then in the first verse of the present chapter he assumed the place of a teacher in the Temple.

The chief priests and scribes obviously believed they had authority to question Jesus' authority. Jesus, instead of answering them outright, put another question on the table. It was a question that also addressed the issue of authority. It was a question about the baptism of John. " . . . was it from heaven, or of men?" Did John's baptism have divine authority or merely human authority. It mattered! It was a question that put the religious leaders on the horns of a dilemma. To answer one way was to condemn themselves. To answer another way was to be condemned by the people. Answer: We cannot tell whence it was.

Jesus seizes on their indecision and trumps their perceived authority by refusing to answer from whence he derived his authority. The fact that Jesus engages the religious leaders concerning the issue of authority indicates that he understood the importance of establishing authority. In this case it was not Jesus who exceeded his authority by acting but the religious leaders by asking. In an attempt to call Jesus on the carpet they had the rug pulled out from under them.

Issues of authority are a relevant part of our every day life.

Clan life
Civic life
Church life
Craft life

Who has authority?
From whence is the authority derived?
What, if any, are the limits on authority?
Are there competing authorities?
Are there over-lapping authorities?
What are the boundaries of jurisdiction?
Is there a higher authority?

How we answer these questions concerning the different areas of life will determine our decisions. The choices we make will ultimately be judged by He who has all authority and whose rule has unlimited jurisdiction.

As I Was Commanded

2011-07-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

Ezekiel 24:15-18 - Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

If we slow down and read the book of Ezekiel carefully we will find a number of things God told Ezekiel to do that leaves the 21st century Christian a tad troubled. Before us is one of those places. It is easy to read past it and fail to grasp the gravity of what Ezekiel has been instructed to do.

It can be summarized in short order. God was going to take Ezekiel's wife and he was instructed to show no sign of mourning. This is incomprehensible to our minds and we find ourselves on the verge of questioning God. But to do so would not be productive and assumes that we could possibly know better than God. This is not a conclusion with which I am comfortable. He is in heaven and I upon earth. He is eternal and I have been around 48 years.

While it may not be productive to question God's reason for the seeming madness the Scriptures answers the purpose for which God had Ezekiel do this.

Verse 24 - Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the LORD GOD.

This explanation may not do much to comfort our hearts but it does inform our intellect. We at least know the purpose even if we don't understand the reason.

Ezekiel in so many cases became God's living object lesson! Ezekiel, even though we are far removed from the intent of this prophecy concerning the nation of Israel, still leaves a lesson for us in his behaviour.

Verse 18 is striking. So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.

Ezekiel had been commanded to do something that was very unnatural. He was called upon to suppress the mourning for his wife. He was in effect to go about his day as though nothing had happened. He was not to weep, cry, or mourn. He was to get dressed and go about his business. This is a remarkable thing that he is being called upon to do.

What is Ezekiel's response. . . . . I did in the morning as I was commanded.

Lord help me this morning and every morning to do as I am commanded.

The Prodigal Son - The Response Of Grace

2011-04-08T12:49:00.002-05:00

The demand, need, and desire for grace is for nought unless we have some confidence about the response of grace. It is here in Luke 15:20-24 we make note of the response of grace, and it is glorious!

Verse 20 brings to our attention the reception of grace. It begins with the son acting upon what he had determined to do. "And he arose and came to his Father."  He didn’t just think about taking action, he did take action.  He returned to the very place where it had all went wrong.

While he headed in that direction he was not able to make it all the way before grace restores. "But when he was yet a great way off."  He did not make it all the way back to the house. "His father saw him."  It makes one think he was looking for him.  Grace is always looking and hoping for restoration.  Grace anticipates restoration.

The response of the Father is grand and glorious, "And had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."  He assumed by his return that it was for restoration.  If he had been returning for more he likely would have been disappointed.  He was returning for less.  He had come home!

He smelled worse than ever.
He was humiliated.
He was in rags.
He was a physical shell of what he had once been.

He returned and grace received.

In verse 21 we are afforded the opportunity to marvel at the recognition of grace.  The son stated his understanding of the situation just as he had rehearsed.  The gracious reception by his father probably made him realize even more how unworthy he was.  He was not returning as a son, but as a supplicant seeking employment as a servant.  As you will note he does not have a chance to speak the latter part of his resolve, “make me as one of thy hired servants.”

Then in verse 22 we see grace doing what it does best: Restoring!
"But" What an important word in Scripture! It is this very word that allows us to pivot from the desire for grace to the response of grace.  Not being worthy is the perfect opportunity for grace.  He did not return to be a son, but a servant.  His father cut him off in mid sentence.

"The father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him."
The best robe for the worst of sons!  Grace!
Cover his shame and destitute state!  Grace!

"And put a ring on his hand."
Ornamenting the hand that had been lifted up in rebellion against God and his Father!  Grace!
Adorning the hand that had held the wine glass and embraced the harlot!  Grace!
Beautifying the hand that had fed the swine!  Grace!

"And shoes on his feet."
Restore his dignity.  Grace

Then finally in verses 23 and 24 we relish in the rejoicing of grace.

"And bring hither the fatted calf and kill it: and let us eat it, and be merry."
Remove his remorse!  Grace!
Restore his joy!  Grace!
Supply his need!  Grace!

"For this my son was dead."  This tells us how the father viewed him.  The alienation because of the boy’s rebellion was thorough.

"And is alive again."  This tells us how the father viewed him.  The restoration because of the boy’s repentance was thorough.

"He was lost, and is found."  We always rejoice when we find lost things.  Was lost, past tense.  Is found, present tense.  He is not what he was!  Grace!

"And they began to be merry." This is a good and proper expression at the response of GRACE!

The Prodigal Son - The Desire For Grace

2011-04-06T12:28:00.001-05:00

In verses 14-16 we had considered the need for grace. Fortunately for the prodigal son the need for grace resulted in the desire for grace in verses 17-19.
Verse 17 we discover the return of reason. "And when he came to himself."  He repented.  He had been wrong.  It has cost him immensely. "He said, how many hired servants of my Father’s have bread enough and to spare."  The servants were now living better than the son.

"And I perish with hunger!" He realizes his utter desperation and the destitute condition to which he had fallen.  It need not be this way.  Having come to himself he believed his father would have mercy and extend grace!

The return of reason prompted a determined action in verse 18.  "I will arise and go to my father."  He determined to go to his Father because he heard the voice of his father.  I will return.  I will move in the other direction.

He rehearsed his words, "And will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." This is quite a contrast to his last recorded words to his Father in verse 12, "Father give me the portion of goods that falleth unto me."  His sin was against heaven and before his father.  His father had seen him disobey God.

A humble spirit develops in this arrogant, rebellious son in verse 19. His words reflect the sincerity and depth of his humility, "And am no more worthy to be called thy son."  This is so true!  He was no longer worthy.  He had troubled his father.  He had disrespected his father.  He had anguished his father.  He had discounted his father.  It is precisely because he was no longer worthy that the stage has been set for an expression of GRACE!

The humility is complete, "Make me as one of thy hired servants" he would say to his father.  He would not request to be restored to full honor.  He simply wanted to be numbered among the servants.  True repentance is willing to bear the consequences of sin.  Repentance does not demand it implores.

Here was a young man who, having been cast down from the high status that accompanies much money to the low station of feeding and feasting with pigs has finally brought his heart in line with his reality! He is low, he now recognizes it and he starts to ponder GRACE!

The Prodigal Son - The Need For Grace

2011-04-04T12:06:00.003-05:00

In the previous post we considered the demand for grace as the younger of two sons demanded his inheritance and we learned that he departed into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living. In Luke 15:14-16 we discover in the parable of the prodigal son, the need for grace.

It begins in verse 14 with a worsening condition. Jesus relates his circumstances by saying, "When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land."  What he could no longer buy he could also no longer cultivate! This left the young man in dire straits. The scripture characterizes it as, "and he began to be in want."  His circumstances had become critical.

It is likely that his Father had some awareness of his condition.  They knew he had spent his substance on harlots.  While he did not likely know the details he likely realized the direction.  He did not send him money.  He did not send him food.  His greatest kindness was to let him suffer the consequences of his wickedness that he might be turned to God.  Even this was an act of principled grace because it was not with an eye to destroy him but to deliver him.  It simply would not have been an act of grace to support him in his prodigal state thus certainly prolonging if not completely ruining any tendency to repentance.

His rebellion has left him reeling!

In verse 15 he was confronted with a religious reminder.  He was sent to feed swine. Animals considered unclean by the Jews.  Every day forced to think about what he had come to.  Here he was feeding pigs.

Verse 16 reveals the darkness of his desperation. The Bible says, "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat."  Now not just feeding the swine but feasting with them!  We ought not be surprised how low arrogant, stubborn rebellion will take a person.  I would rather eat pig slop than admit wrong!  Young people certainly do not relish the thought of having to acknowledge Dad was right.  After all, he had been so wrong!

His dark hour becomes even darker as the Bible explains, "and no man gave unto him."  He was feeding and eating with pigs.  He had lost all esteem among men.   No one wanted anything to do with him now.  Where were his drinking buddies?  Where were the women that once fawned over him?  His fellow creatures looked on him with disgust.

He stunk.
He was physically decimated.
His clothes were tattered and torn.
His expression was forlorn.

He had managed to work himself all the way to the bottom! He found himself in need of GRACE!

The Prodigal Son - The Demand For Grace

2011-04-01T12:02:00.000-05:00

We have before us (Luke 15:11-32) one of the more moving parables presented by Jesus to illustrate a point and teach a lesson. It is important to begin by noting the object of the parable. It is the third in a trio of parables all relating to something that was lost. In the parable before us it was a lost son. The middle parable is the story of a lost coin and in the first parable is the story of a lost sheep.

The reason for these parables is to be found in the first two verses of the chapter. Jesus came under scrutiny for receiving sinners and eating with them. Of course what the Pharisees and Scribes failed to realize is that if Jesus had eaten with them he would have been receiving sinners and eating with them. Nevertheless it is because of the murmuring which arose around Jesus’ interaction with sinners that the three parables are presented. There are three to make a strong impression. They are framed so as to generate an emotional response.

Verses 7 and 10 strike at the heart of why Jesus was receiving and eating with sinners. It was the joy that results in heaven over a repenting sinner. Of the three parables the third one, the one before us reveals the dynamics, the interaction between repentance and grace. It does so because the concept is taken out of the animal world (lost sheep) and the world of the inanimate (lost coin) and placed before us in the context of a human relationship.

We all know what it feels like to one degree or another, what it means to be a prodigal. All parents know, to one degree or another, what it feels like to deal with prodigal tendencies in our children. So we read the story and we see ourselves. We read the story and we see others. We read the story and the pathos wrenches our own heart! We bristle at the arrogance and rebellion of a son. We ache with a forsaken Father. We lament the desperation of a life wasting away in a pig sty. We marvel that at the low point reason returns. Our heart yearns at the image of an aging father expecting the return of the prodigal and we trace the steps as he races down the road to meet the returning son. We then find ourselves aligned with an older brother who seems to make reasonable arguments only to realize the wise and aged Father is right in his defense of Grace!

In verses 11-13 we see the demand for grace!

Verse 11 introduces the parable by relating to us there was a certain man with two sons.

Verse 12 records the younger son’s request, "Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me." It also records the Father's response, "He divided unto them his living."  This is not something that typically would have been done until the Father determined it was time.  Most often it would be after his death when the inheritance would have been divided among the heirs.  The younger son disrespected his father by asking for his portion while he lived.  It could be argued that he was implying that his Father had lived too long and at bare minimum he had no interest in waiting for his Father’s demise.

In verse 13 we learn what the younger son did upon receiving his inheritance.  "Not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country."  He left the Father.  He put distance between he and his Father.  He cut his ties.  He burned his bridges.  He took what was his and went his way.

Based upon subsequent events we gain insight as to why he made these decisions.  He wanted to do his own thing.  He did not want to be subject to his Father.  He obviously was of an age where his subjection was to be voluntary.  He wanted to live a life of which his father did not approve.

The Father gave him his portion and let him go!  Separation ensued.  It was not a separation the Father desired but was forced upon him by the Son.

We also learn from this verse what his course of action was having left his father. "And there wasted his substance with riotous living."  In verse 30 we learn the extent of his riotous living when his brother reminds the Father that he "Hath devoured thy living with harlots."

He was free from his Father’s dominion but immediately become a slave to his passions.  He lived a wicked, ungodly life.  Those who most think they do not need anyone telling them what to do are usually in the greatest need of someone telling them what to do.

Here was a young man that took the heritage and inheritance of his Father and lightly esteemed it.  He failed to recognize the blood, sweat, and tears that had provided the wealth he was squandering!

He had positioned himself in life at a place where when his decisions had run their course his restoration would demand GRACE!

Hannah's Honor

2011-03-15T06:51:00.000-05:00

Life often times presses upon us. We find ourselves carrying burdens, some for a day or so others seem to always be there lurking under the surface seeking to rob us of joy and peace. It bubbles up and we have a bad day or week. The burdens capture our attention and they grow in size and weight until they have reached such huge proportions that faith fails and even God seems inadequate for the scope of our burden. It is important to note that just because faith fails this does not mean that God has failed. A weak or shrinking faith does not indicate a weak or shrinking God!

God is ever the same. His power is never diminished. His ability is never compromised. His control is never relinquished. This is why we are exhorted in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. This is a learning process. We learn over the course of our Christian life how to do this. It was Paul who reminded us that "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content". He learned it and we can too. It is a matter of learning to cast care upon a God who cares!

Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 sets the example.

Vs: 2 - Hannah had no children
Vs: 5 - Hannah was loved by her husband
Vs: 5 - The LORD had shut up Hannah's womb
Vs: 6 - Hannah was provoked by an adversary, which was her husband's other wife who had borne children
Vs: 6 - Hannah was caused to fret because of her situation
Vs: 7 - Hannah was provoked to such a degree that she wept and did not eat
Vs: 8 - Hannah had become inconsolable
Vs: 10 - Hannah was in bitterness of soul, she prayed, and she wept sore
Vs: 15 - Hannah was sorrowful of spirit and poured out her soul before the LORD
Vs: 16 - Hannah was a woman full of grief and had a complaint
Vs: 17 - The man of God told Hannah to go in peace and the LORD grant your petition.

Then a remarkable thing is recorded in the next verse (18). And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

Having encouragement from the man of God that the LORD would answer her petition her outlook changed completely. Her problem was not gone, but her faith had been restored. Her burden was just as real, but someone else was now bearing it. This resulted in her going her way, eating (appetite restored), and her countenance being no more sad.

This is the honor of Hannah! She teaches us what it means to cast all our care upon him. We learn from her example what it looks like when we successfully take our burden to the LORD and leave it there.

Is your heart heavy today? Pour out your heart before Him. Give the burden, every last ounce of it, to Him. He is able!

The Management Of Disappointment

2011-03-04T18:36:00.000-06:00

Disappointment must be properly managed. When we consider the fact that disobedience in the culmination of improperly managed disappointment it becomes critical that we learn to effectively deal with disappointment. Disappointment that is allowed to grow to unbelief is harder to get a grip on.  By its very nature it is pervasive. Every thought is held captive by the spirit of unbelief.  Deliverance at this point is possible but considerably more difficult to achieve.

I have spoken to far too many Christians who are beyond reasoning. Why? Their entire soul has been tainted by unbelief.  Often at the point of unbelief it must be allowed to run the course to disobedience and ultimately chastisement and then hopefully repentance.  Discouragement is more easily addressed than unbelief, but not as easily addressed as disappointment.

The discouraged can still be reasoned with.  Their soul is hindered but it is not yet hardened.  It is at this stage where we can still ask ourselves the pertinent question of the Psalmist, “Why art thou cast down, O, My soul.”  It is at this stage where we can still command ourselves with the exhortation of the Psalmist, “Bless the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.”

Disappointment is the place to deal with it.  It is the most manageable stage because it is the least invasive stage.  At this point is it about temporal things.  Circumstances or people.  It has not yet become a fixture of the soul.  Expectations have been unmet in this world but God is still good and worthy to be believed.  Disappointment has to do with my view of the world and the events that unfold here.  Discouragement and unbelief are attributes that characterize the soul.  It is always best and easiest to guard my outlook than to have to cleanse my heart.

Proverbs 4:23 reminds us of all the all important point; Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

It is important to balance our expectations with God’s sovereignty.  It begins with recognizing that God has a will.

Matthew 6:10 - Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
James 4:15 - For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

We must condition ourselves to appreciate the will of God.

Psalms 103:19 - The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Psalms 115:3 - But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

We then teach ourselves the will of God.

Romans 8:29 - For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God is not about making me happy and successful but Christ like.

Ephesians. 1:11,12 - In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Revelation 4:11 - Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Proverbs 16:4 - The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Romans 11:36 - For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

We then prepare our hearts to accept the will of God.

Luke 22:42 - Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Proverbs 3:5,6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Jeremiah. 18:1-6 – Clay in the hand of the potter.

We must also learn to view our expectations in the context of God’s faithfulness.  God is faithful to us in the context of his sovereign will.  God does not alter his will because the execution of it will be unpleasant for us.  Consequently God’s faithfulness should not be judged on the basis of our comfort level.  Just because our expectations go unmet does not mean God is not faithful.  He is not obligated to our expectations but to his will.

Our tendency is to look at the good times and say God has been faithful, and to stand silent in the face of unfulfilled expectations and disappointments.

Lamentations is a record of Jeremiah's distress at the destruction of Jerusalem. He records with great melancholy the fate that fell the beloved city. Having outlined the destruction and bemoaned it he comes to Lamentations 3:21-26 where we find these words. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

In the midst of such great destruction and personal disappointment God was still good, faithful, merciful, therefore Jeremiah had hope. Hope in the midst of very disappointing circumstances.
There are other verses that remind us that God is faithful even in times of trouble.

Psalms 119:75 - I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
Genesis 18:25 - That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Lastly we must weigh our expectations in the scales of God’s goodness.  We must free ourselves of the idea that things that make us feel bad are not good.  If it were not ultimately for our good and the fulfillment of his will in our lives he would have intervened on our behalf.  There will be many things that do not feel good that are ultimately for our good.

This is the essence of Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Again consider the example of Israel.

Deuteronomy 8:2,3 – And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

The Bible says God suffered or allowed the children of Israel to hunger. We believe we have a right to never hunger.  We cannot allow our disappointments to cause us to doubt God’s goodness.

The Danger Of Disappointment

2011-03-02T11:30:00.002-06:00

The danger of disappointment is that it mutates into discouragement.

Discouragement is defined as to extinguish the courage, to dishearten, deprive of confidence.  Failure to address disappointment eventually lead to a deprivation of confidence, to have courage extinguished.

There are a couple of different ways this digression develops.  When expectations are disappointed in a big way, or when expectations are disappointed in a consistent way.

The temporal has now begun to affect us at a spiritual level.  What was someone else’s failure is now setting the stage for failure in our own lives.  Circumstances that were beyond our control are now exerting influence where we do have control.  Our disappointment with circumstances or men is now being used of Satan to create discouragement which is a spiritual issue at its root.

Disappointment is relatively harmless but it gives birth to a spiritual cancer, discouragement.

Numbers 21:4 - And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

I would venture to say that they were disappointed about the way. It proved to be more difficult than what they had expected.  Their expectations were not realized, thus they were disappointed and ultimately discouraged.  We should be careful about the kind of expectations that we have concerning our way.  It is not that we need be pessimistic, not at all.  But we need to be trusting that God is leading us in the way that is best for us.

But it gets worse for if unresolved discouragement mutates into unbelief.  We lose the courage needed to believe God.  When we fail to believe God we are guilty of unbelief.  As bad as discouragement is, unbelief is worse.  It affords the opportunity for carnal, fleshly, worldly rationalization.  When disappointment is stretched into unbelief we are facing a crisis in our lives.  Sometimes we may know it.  Other times we may not, such is the nature and power of discouragement rooted in disappointment.

There is a striking example of this transition from disappointment to discouragement to unbelief in the book of Numbers.

In Numbers 13:1 Moses is instructed to send men to examine the land which the Lord had given them.

Numbers 13:23-27 records the fact that the land was just as God promised it would be.

Numbers 13:28-14:11 introduces the issues of disappointment, discouragement and unbelief.

Verses 28,29 describe the source of their disappointment. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.  The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

Nevertheless”, this is a term denoting their disappointment.  They are about to spread it among the people.

In verse 30 there is an attempt at answering the disappointment. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

Then in verses 31-33 their disappointment is transformed into discouragement. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

They intend to spread that among the people as well.

Moving into the next chapter we see the disappointment and discouragement of the people. It is recorded in the first four verses. And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.  And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!  And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?  And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

In verses 6-10 Joshua and Caleb make an attempt at restoring faith. And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:  And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.  If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.  Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

Then notice verse 11 – And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

How long will it be ere they believe me?  They were guilty of unbelief.  It was unbelief that migrated out of the dark regions of discouragement, which was birthed by the disappointment of 10 men.

Unfortunately the downward spiral does not end there for unbelief mutates into disobedience.  If we do not believe God we will not obey God.

Hebrews 11:6 reminds us clearly of the importance of believing God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

When we lapse into unbelief a lot of crazy things can start happening. Hebrews even gives insight into this reality.  Hebews 3:12,13 – Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  How many have departed as a result of what began as simply disappointment?

Once we have lapsed into unbelief we then become subject to a wide range of the devil’s devices.

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We lose the ability to discern the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.  Thus we become destined to live a life that is less than what he desired for us.  All because of disappointment about some circumstance we found ourselves in or the actions of someone else.  The disappointment was nurtured and it turned into discouragement, and then produced unbelief, which inevitably lead to disobedience.

The Modern Christian (Baptist) Pulpit

2011-03-01T05:51:00.000-06:00

The following is from J. C. Ryle:

"Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Luke 3:7,8

Well would it be for the Church of Christ, if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers like John the Baptist.

A morbid dislike to strong language;
An excessive fear of giving offence;
A constant flinching from directness and plain speaking--
are, unhappily, too much the characteristics of the modern Christian pulpit!

Uncharitable language is no doubt always to be deprecated. But there is no 'charity' in flattering unconverted people--by abstaining from any mention of their vices, or in applying smooth names to their damnable sins!

There are two texts which are too much forgotten by Christian preachers. In one it is written, Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26

In the other it is written, For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10"

The Sources Of Disappointment

2011-02-28T10:47:00.004-06:00

In the broadest of contexts all disappointments, it seems to me, can be placed in a couple of different catagories: circumstances or people. It seems that all of our disappointments in life will involve our circumstances or people. It is important to think about these two areas so that we might be better equipped to face the disappointments of life.

You will remember from our last post that we concluded that disappointments are directly tied to expecations. We are disappointed because we have certain expectations. Disappointments are kept at a minimum if our expectation is focused on eternal things and not temporal. That being said we all have certain expectations concerning our circumstances.

Circumstances relating to our relationships
Circumstances relating to our families
Circumstances relating to our work
Circumstances relating to our health
Circumstances relating to our finances
Circumstances relating to our church

All of these circumstances are subject to change.  If for the better we are happy.  If for the worse we are disappointed.  Of course “better” or “worse” is a judgment we pass as frail, finite beings.  We do not always know what is “better” or “worse”.

Not only are they subject to change, they most certainly will be changed.

Our relationships at times will disappoint
Our families at time will disappoint
Our work at times will be disappointing
Our health at times will be disappointing
Our finances at times will be disappointing
Our church at times will be disappointing

The reason is because we have expectations related to all of these circumstances.  When the expectations are not met disappointment is sure to be experienced.  There is plenty of opportunity in life to be disappointed with our circumstances.

Job identified the reality we all face with great brevity in chapter 14 and verse 1, Man born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

Ecclesiastes is a book that vividly portrays the disappointment of life. In dealing with the issues of life from an "under the sun" perspective we are vividly reminded by Solomon of the disappointments that affect us all.

1:2 – All things temporal ultimately disappoint
2:1 – Pleasure disappoints
2:9-11 – Wealth disappoints

Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 – is probably one of the better known passages of of the book. This is not so much a list of things we should do in life as much as it summarizes the things of which life consist. It basically comes down to this; there will be a time of expectation, and a time of disappointment.  Life is a cycle of expectations followed by disappointments when lived with an under the sun perspective.  The more temporal our perspective the more intense our disappointment.

People also disappoint. This is because we have expectations concerning men.  We may rightly expect certain things out of certain people.  We may come to expect certain things out of certain people.  There is no man living who will always live up to our expectations.  No man perfectly fulfills his duty.  No man lives absolutely consistent.  It might do us well to be satisfied with he who mostly fulfills his duty.  It might do us well to be satisfied with he who mostly lives consistently.

Because we have expectations concerning men, men are sure to disappoint.

Proverbs 26:6 - He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
Proverbs 10:26 - As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

In 2 Tim. 4:16 Paul informs us that all men forsook him.  The fact that he mentions this is an indication that he had expected different.

Paul, at times, even became very specific about his disappointments with people. For example:

2 Timothy 4:10 - For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
2 Timothy 1:15 - This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

Men are destined to disappoint. The reason is that men are weak and frail. The best of us are not really all that far removed from the worst of us.

Paul assessed the problem aright when he wrote in Romans 7:18 – For I know that in me, that is in my flesh.

Men are destined to disappoint because nothing good comes of the flesh.

Jesus marked the conflict when he told the Apostles in Mark 14:38 - Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Men are destined to disappoint because the flesh is weak to do what it should do.

Again Paul identifies our struggle in Romans 13:14 - But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Men are destined to disappoint because the flesh is strong to do what it shouldn’t.

Again, it helps to recognize the source of our disappointments. Circumstances and people often do not rise to our expectations and disappointment fills the heart. While it is important to recognize the sources of disappointment it is also important to recognize the danger of disappointment.

Until next time.....

The Devil's Old Favorite Doctrine

2011-02-27T05:28:00.000-06:00

The following is from J. C. Ryle

"There is such a place as Hell. Let no one deceive you with vain words. What people do not like--they try hard not to believe. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the world, He will punish all who are not His disciples with a fearful punishment!

All who are found unrepentant and unbelieving;

all who have clung to sin;

all who have set their affections on worldly things;

all who are without Christ--

all such shall come to a dreadful end! "Anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life--was thrown into the Lake of Fire!" Revelation 20:15

1) I know that some people do not believe that there is any Hell at all. They think it impossible, that there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say that it is too awful an idea to be really true. The devil of course, rejoices in the views of such people. They help his kingdom mightily. They are preaching up the devil's old, favorite doctrine, "You shall not surely die!" Genesis 3:4

2) I know furthermore, that some do not believe that Hell is eternal! They tell us it is incredible, that a compassionate God will punish people forever. They imagine that He will surely open the prison doors of Hell at last. This also is a mighty help to the devil's cause.

3) I know also that some believe that there is a Hell--but never allow that anybody is going there! They imagine that . . .

all people are good,

all are sincere,

all mean well, and

all, they hope, will go to Heaven when they die!

Alas! what a common delusion is this!

If I never spoke of Hell--I would think I had kept back something that was profitable, and would look on myself as an accomplice of the devil.

Reader, I beseech you, in all tender affection--beware of false views of the subject on which I have been dwelling. Beware of new and strange doctrines about Hell and the eternity of punishment. Beware of manufacturing a god of your own:

a god who is all mercy--but not just;

a god who is all love--but not holy;

a god who has a Heaven for everybody--but a Hell for none;

a god who will make no distinction between godly and the ungodly in eternity.

Such a god is an idol of your own imagination! It is as truly an idol--as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple! The hands of your own imagination and sentimentality have made it! It is not the God of the Bible--and beside the God of the Bible, there is no God at all."

The Root Of Disappointment

2011-02-24T10:25:00.000-06:00

Proverbs 15:22 - Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Disappoint is a word that is not used that often in the Scripture.

Psalms 17:13 - Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Job 5:12 - He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

The word "disappointed" in our text is translated from a Hebrew word that is used 50 times. It is translated thusly: break 25, make void 5, defeat 2, disannul 2, disappoint 2, frustrate 2, come to nought 2, break asunder 1, cause to cease 1, clean 1, dissolved 1, divide 1, misc 5.

Most all of these translations of the Hebrew word are concepts we would associate with disappointment. We experience disappointment when things break, are made void, we experience defeat, something is disannulled, expectations are frustrated, plans come to nought, something is caused to cease, or is dissolved or divided.  Disappointment is a very real part of life. We experience it early and often in this life. We experience it slightly and strongly in this life. We experience it unexpectedly, which is one of the reasons it is disappointment. What we expect to happen cannot disappoint us nearly as much as what we don’t expect.

Disappointment is ultimately rooted in expectation.  There can be no disappointment in the absence of expectation.  Webster’s defines disappointment as defeat or failure of expectation or hope.  Our lives are subject to so much disappointment because we have so much expectation.  In fact we might say it is a law that, “Our level of disappointment will be in direct proportion to our level of expectation.”

When I started thinking about this I realized how much the average person expects:

He expects to be healthy
Children expect parents to trust them
Children expect brothers and sisters to respect them and their belongings
Children expect to get something for their birthday and Christmas
Children expect to start driving when they are 15
Young adults expect to get married
Young adults expect their spouses to respond in certain ways
Young adults expect to have children
Young adults expect to have what their parents have
Parents expect their children to obey
Parents expect their children not to lie and deceive
Parents expect their children to love each other
Parents expect to raise kids with no hang-ups
We expect to make good money
We expect to drive dependable and comfortable automobiles
We expect to live in nice roomy homes
We expect to eat well
We expect to have cooling in the summer and heating in the winter

And this is just a few off the top of my head.  I think, WOW, with all of our expectations the one thing we do not expect is what we are sure to get, disappointment!

Could this be why we are discouraged from anticipating in relation to the temporal?

Proverbs 27:1 - Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Expectation always has reference to what is to come.  We should limit our expectation.  We do not know what a day may bring forth.  It often will not bring what we are expecting and thus disappointment.

Jam. 4:13-16 – Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Thus if we have expectation we are likely to be disappointed.

Luke 12:16-21 – And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Think about all that this man was expecting!  He was expecting life. He was expecting health to enjoy his life. He was expecting no evil to deprive him of his prosperity. He was expecting to "take it easy".

The reality is that with every expectation there is the potential for disappointment.  I do not mean to say that we can or should live life without expectations of any kind.  I simply mean to say that where we have expectation we have the potential for disappointment.

The real danger is to embrace an expectation rooted in the temporary.  Our tendency, my tendency, is to have much more expectation in the temporal than in the eternal.  The eternal never disappoints, the temporal is more than likely to do so at some level.  By its very nature if it is temporary it is transient.  It shifts and changes and thus likely to disappoint at some point.

In 2 Cor. 4:16-18 we discover that Paul had a heightened immunity to disappointment.

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

In verse 16 Paul indicates we faint not because our expectation is not rooted in the outward man.  He expected the outward man to perish and was thus not disappointed when it did.

In verse 17 we see that rather than momentary affliction Paul was focused on eternal glory.  Expecting affliction for the moment he was not disappointed when it came.  Had he been expecting a life of ease and earthly glory he would have been very disappointed.

In verse 18 Paul reminds us that rather than considering temporal things we should consider eternal things.  The temporal is sure to bring disappointment.  The eternal never can.

Again, in 1 John 2:15-17 we are reminded of the foolishness of seeking after the world and the things of this world.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Verses 15 reminds us of our tendency to expect so much from the world by censuring that tendency. In fact it could not be much clearer, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world."

In verse 16 we have indentified the driving forces behind much of our expectation.  The lust of the flesh.  The lust of the eyes.  The pride of life.

According to verse 17 we lay the foundation for disappointment when our expectation is rooted in the lusts of the world.  That which changes, the temporal, is unpredictable and therefore subject to disappoint.  Nothing in this world can truly be counted on.

Our situation tomorrow could be completely different and there not be a thing we can do about it.  If our situation ends up being different than what we expect we very well could be disappointed about that.

Our relationships could be altered tomorrow and we have no control over it.  If our relationships are altered we could very well end up being disappointed about that.

Proverbs 19:21 - There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Devices is translated from a word that encompasses the idea of intentions, plan, and/or imagination.  All plans are based upon expectation.  Expectation produces intentions.  There are many of these in a man’s heart.  Lots of devices, expectations.

Nevertheless the counsel of the LORD that shall stand.  Man’s expectations do not change the LORD’S counsels.  Man’s devices will not necessarily stand, and in fact often times do not, thus disappointment.

Proverbs 16:9 - A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

When a man deviseth his way, he naturally embraces a set of expectations.  Which naturally sets the stage for potential disappointment.

But the Lord directeth his steps.  The Lord is sovereign.  The Lord is not obligated to work in a man’s life so as to leave him without disappointment.  The disappointment is not the result of the lord directing the steps but of the man devising his ways.  Again, I am not arguing for the abandonment of devising our way, I am saying we need to make room for the Lord directing our steps.  Failure to do so is to invite certain disappointment.

The Tangle Of The Tongue

2011-02-21T11:30:00.000-06:00

James 3:9,10 - Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

James in his continuing discourse on the tongue reminds us of the inconsistency of blessing God on one hand and cursing men on the other. James' conclusion is simple and straightforward.

"therewith bless we God, even the Father;"
The word "bless" here means to speak well of. God is worthy of being blessed. He of right lays claim to our blessing him. It is often with the tongue that we do this and that is a good, a very good thing. It is a good use of the tongue.

With the tongue we bless God.  With the tongue we praise him.  With the tongue we exalt him.  With the tongue we extol him.  With the tongue we worship him.

"and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God."

The word "curse" means to execrate or to declare to be evil or detestable, denounce, to detest utterly.  With the tongue we rail against men.  With the tongue we slander men.  With the tongue we tear down men.  With the tongue we accentuate the faults of men.

So with the same tongue we bless God and curse men????

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing.
It is inconsistent.  It is hypocritical. This goes right back to when this topic was first introduced at the end of the first chapter;

James 1:26 – If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

The use of our tongue in religious exercises should influence the use of our tongues in common exercises.  As is always the case the eternal should impact the temporal.

We are taught to think of the use we make of our tongues in religion and in the service of God, and by such a consideration to keep it from cursing, censuring, and every thing that is evil on other occasions: . . . How absurd is it that those who use their tongues in prayer and praise should ever use them in cursing, slandering, and the like! If we bless God as our Father, it should teach us to speak well of, and kindly to, all who bear his image. That tongue which addresses with reverence the divine Being cannot, without the greatest inconsistency, turn upon fellow-creatures with reviling brawling language. It is said of the seraphim that praise God, they dare not bring a railing accusation. And for men to reproach those who have not only the image of God in their natural faculties, but are renewed after the image of God by the grace of the gospel: this is a most shameful contradiction to all their pretensions of honouring the great Original. Matthew Henry

"my brethren"
He is speaking to brethren.  We are susceptible to such inconsistencies.

"these things ought not so to be"
It is not right.  There are no grounds for railing outburst against others.  This is not to dismiss the reasoned, necessary, and humble rebuking of those who have sinned in the heaven sanctioned context of church discipline.

One of the sure evidences of the cursing of men is the refusal to channel the complaint through the proper structure. (Matthew 18:15-18) Relationship problems are to be dealt with in private with an eye to reconciliation. When a party is being implacable the private dispute is to be moved to a wider circle of witnesses (two or three) and if reconciliation still cannot be achieved then and only then is it publicly addressed before the church.  This is a Biblically mandated structure.  It is designed to protect everyone from the ad hominem (appealing to a person’s feelings rather than the intellect) attacks of those who digress to denounce the brethren. Refusal to address issues in this context and by this pattern is a sure sign of one who desires to bless God out of one side of their mouth and curse men out of the other.

May our blessing God with our tongue result in a charitable spirit toward the brethren lest our religion be found vain.

Taming The Tongue

2011-02-17T11:00:00.001-06:00

James 3:7,8 - For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

"For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed"
Consider all of our domesticated animals.  Dogs, cats, cows, horses, donkeys, camels, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, etc…. Then there are the wild animals of every kind that have been tamed and trained by men.

Bears, lions, tigers, monkeys, etc . . . .

Parrots, ravens, owls, cormorants, vultures, osprey, falcons, eagles, etc . . . .

Snakes

Killer whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, walruses, penguins, etc . . . .

"and hath been tamed of mankind"
It really is a fairly remarkable record of dominion over the beasts of the earth, fowl of the air, and fish of the sea.  We have taken all kinds of wildlife and controlled it, conditioned it, tamed it, and trained it.

"but the tongue can no man tame"
I could tame a bear but not my tongue.

I could tame a killer whale but not my tongue.

I could tame a lion but not my tongue.

I could tame a walrus but not my tongue.

I could tame a falcon or owl but not my tongue.

The first step to victory here seems to be a recognition that I cannot control my tongue. If I cannot tame it then it requires I look for one who can. Committing my tongue to the Lord Jesus Christ and submitting its use to the Holy Spirit of God speaking only those things that please the Father.

Psalms 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

"it is an unruly evil"
The word "unruly" is a word that embraces the idea of something that cannot be restrained.

The tongue is more unpredictable than an unbroken stallion.

The tongue is more vicious than a wild boar.

The tongue is quicker than and eagle swooping upon its prey.

The tongue is more venomous than the most deadly serpent.

The tongue is more ferocious than a lion.

The tongue is more aggressive than a bear.

The tongue is more intimidating than a killer whale.

"full of deadly poison"
This phrase seems to be going back and picking up the reference to having tamed the serpents. There are a couple of things to note about this. First, the tongue being full of deadly poison cannot be allowed to strike, again it comes back to control.  Once the poison is injected there is no getting it back. Now it is only the person who has been bitten that can take steps to limit the effect of the bite.  To follow through with the analogy, having been struck by the tongue of another and the deadly poison begins coursing through our veins an antivenin could and should be administered. The scripture is loaded with doses of antivenin. Just a couple of examples should suffice.

Ephesians 4:2 - With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; . . . .

Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

It is important to realize that it may take multiple doses.  It needs to be administered as quickly as possible.  Time is of the essence.  If allowed to go untreated it festers and becomes spiritually infected and produces a condition known as bitterness which in severe cases actually mutates into hatred.

Someone says, "I can’t believe they said that??  Oh really, remember “in many things we offend all”. If we believe what the Bible says about the tongue in James three we really should not be surprised at what anyone says. Rather than bemoan the fact that it was said it is more productive to deal with the deadly poison constructively and administer the antivenin.

This is not meant to excuse the wicked use of the tongue but rather to prepare ourselves for its certainty. We should be careful to keep our tongue bridled by the Holy Spirit of God.  We should also be diligent to always be carrying antivenin (for the times we become the victim of the deadly poison) and no matter how painful administer repeated doses until the symptoms subside. Administering the antivenin may be unpleasant but not near as unpleasant as allowing the "strike" to go unattended.

I guess it comes down to two things. I must submit my tongue to the Holy Spirit of God and always be carrying doses of antivenin for the times when others are struggling to control their own tongues After all it is a lot that is common to man. "but the tongue can no man tame".

Twenty Plus One

2011-02-16T09:58:00.003-06:00

Today is the day that I add a year to the twenty year mark achieved last year. Twenty-one years pastoring. The same church, my first church. I am a bit heavier, my beard much grayer and my hair much thinner. My skin has been toughened and my heart softened. Which is probably a good combination! I know more and feel like I know less! My weaknesses (some real and some fabricated) have been chronicled and "crowed" about, my strengths have been admired and emulated. My goals have been simplified. My voice has deteriorated and my stamina has somewhat decreased. (My dad always says, "A man that says he can do at forty what he did at twenty, didn't do much at twenty.) I have a little harder time keeping track of everything and most of the time can't even remember to write down what I am suppose to remember. I am not as easily dissapointed but am more easily saddened. I have some people who don't like me and others who do. I don't fully understand either. I am more appreciative of good times and thankful for those who help create them. I have been liberated by the understanding that ultimately, when all is said and done, I am responsible for me. That accounting will not be given before friend or foe but a just God who will reward the faithful labors of his servants. I can only hope to be deserving of a few of those rewards by His grace! When I consider that I am but a weak and needy man who has only pastored a weak and needy people I have learned to rejoice in the smallest of victories. For the smallest of victories is a testimony to the grandure of His grace.

The Tongue Is A Fire

2011-02-15T10:39:00.000-06:00

James 3:6 - And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

"the tongue is a fire"
Fire is either good or bad depending on its control.  When we light the fire on the stove it is good.  When we light the fire in a furnace it is good.  When we light the fire in a water heater it is good.  When the fire escapes its boundaries it suddenly becomes a very destructive force.  Most of us have probably seen a house fire.  We have seen images of forest fires.  The tongue can either be used for good or bad.  The principle is that it must be controlled.  A controlled tongue produces good.  An uncontrolled tongue wreaks havoc and destruction.

"the tongue is a world of iniquity"
This provides a clue as to what side of the coin is being considered in this passage. James is considering the tongue as a force for evil and not good.  This is quite a statement, "a world of iniquity".  Surely the tongue has been the occasion of changing the course of world events.  The tongue has been the occasion of turning someone’s world upside down?  Think of all the sins of the tongue.

• Lying
• Blasphemy
• Backbiting
• Sowing discord
• Cultivating discontent
• Fomenting rebellion
• Disrespect
• Slander
• Hypocrisy
• Boasting
• Promoting error
• Opposing truth
• Occasion of offence
• Fountain of bitterness
• Cursing & swearing

It truly is a world of iniquity!

"So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body"
Among our members it is a fire.  Among our members it is a world of iniquity.  The tongue has the ability to get the rest of our being in deep trouble.  Being among the smallest members it has potential to create some of the biggest problems.  How often has the tongue dragged the whole body into sin and trouble?  The tongue will take us places our feet would never go.  The tongue will promote things we would never do.  The tongue will promise things we can never perform.  The tongue will diminish our stature while trying to increase it by attacking others.

"and setteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell"
Nothing inflames like words.  They are often more inflammatory than if one was to be actually struck.  The tongue often just has to ignite a fire and the destruction takes care of itself.

"Observe hence, Hell has more to do in promoting of fire of the tongue than men are generally aware of. It is from some diabolical designs, that men’s tongues are inflamed. The devil is expressly called a liar, a murderer, an accuser of the brethren; and, whenever men’s tongues are employed in any of these ways, they are set on fire of hell. . . . But when it is set on fire of hell, as in all undue heats it is, there it is mischievous, producing rage and hatred, and those things which serve the purposes of the devil. As therefore you would dread fires and flames, you should dread contentions, revilings, slanders, lies, and every thing that would kindle the fire of wrath in your own spirit or in the spirits of others.” Matthew Henry

The tongue is always better used to warm others rather than scorch them.

The Apostle And His List (Convictions)

2011-02-09T08:00:00.005-06:00

The Apostle Paul had lists. Most of them referenced in the previous post were given by the Holy Ghost but penned by him.

Romans 7:15 - For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

Paul obviously had a list of things he believed he should do and a list of things he believed he should not do. Of course when Paul struggled to live up to his list (convictions) he did not complain against the law. In fact he clearly states that his struggle brought him to the conclusion that the law is good. Many people seem to come to a different conclusion.

A couple of things become clear about Paul's list. It was a list he struggled to attain and he felt bad when he failed. People who have a list they don't struggle with do not have a list of God's making. It is not about making ourselves the standard but accepting God's standard which is clearly more lofty than any of us can attain in our own power. Nevertheless we strive bemoaning the failure. We strive not as a defendant seeking to appease the judge (this we can never do)but as a child seeking to please a loving Father (here we can have a measure of success as we believe God and seek his power to please). In doing so he gets all the glory and we get all the blessing.

There are a couple of other things to note about Paul's struggle to live consistently within the context of his convictions.

Romans 7:24 - O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? It caused him to anticipate the day when he would be perfect, delivered from his sin nature and that which hindered his desire to please God in everything and every way.

Romans 7:25 - I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. He also obviously rejoiced in the areas where God had given him victory.

The Usefulness Of Lists

2011-02-08T09:00:00.008-06:00

I think it is important to recognize that no one is really against lists. To be against them is to be against a divinely recognized method of organizing truth. God is a God of lists again the most famous being the Ten Commandments. Allow me to make a brief list of some of God's lists:

Exodus 20:3-17
Romans 1:29-32
Romans 12:9-19
Romans 13:13,14
1 Corinthians 5:11
1 Corinthians 6:9,10
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Galatians 5:19-23
Ephesians 4:25-32
Ephesians 5:11-21
Ephesians 6:13-18
Philippians 4:5-8
Colossians 3:5,8
Colossians 3:12-22
Colossians 4:5,6
1 Thessalonians 5:11-22
1 Timothy 2:9
1 Timothy 3:1-13
1 Timothy 4:12
1 Timothy 6:11
2 Timothy 2:22,24
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Titus 1:6-9
Titus 3:1-3
Hebrews 13:1-7
1 Peter 2:1,17
2 Peter 1:5-7

Here is a list of 28 passages where God himself lists things that please him and things that don't. All of these passages are lists that God made. They range in length from just a few to many. None of the lists are exhaustive. An exhaustive list is likely impossible and probably unnecessary.

Forget the lists, our focus should be Jesus and just striving to be like Him. OK, that's great. I want to be like Jesus. How do I know what Jesus was like? I guess I would have to read the Gospels. No sooner do I start reading than I begin to see things that Jesus did and some things he didn't do. I begin to see the way he dealt with different people in different circumstances. I begin to realize that Jesus is this way and he is not that way. I think we are going to find it a rare person who does not find themselves reverting back to a list. If I want to be like Jesus then I will behave this way, and I will not behave that way.

The Bible tells us what pleases God - that could be a list.
The Bible tells us what displeases God - that could be a list.

I want to please God. I may be too simple minded for my own good. But I figure if the Bible says something pleases God and I do that thing then I am pleasing God when I do it. If the Bible says something displeases God and I do that thing then I am displeasing God when I do it.

I am just one of those old-fashioned preachers that believe once we are saved we can and should please God and that the Bible tells us how.

Romans 8:8 - So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 - Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
2 Timothy 2:4 - No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Part of the difficulty is the blurring of lines between justification and sanctification.  We can keep no list, no matter how short, for the purposes of justification.  Adam and Eve had one item on their list and failed.  This is our story.  If one thinks he is going to be justified and declared not guilty because he has kept any kind of a list he is sadly and tragically mistaken. This is the essence of legalism!

But, being born again and justified through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ we are set by God on a path of sanctification.   It is a path that is intended to make us more like his Son, and consequently more pleasing to him and more useful.

Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth".  Paul made mention of the “washing of the water by the word.”  Why??  Because in the Holy Scripture we discover what it is that pleases and displeases God.  The more we commit ourselves to living by faith which results in obeying his word we will do more of the things that please him and fewer of the things that displease him, and in the process we become more like his Son.

The Psalmist stated it simply: Psalms 119:9 - Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

I have it on my list to add a few concluding thoughts.

The Legitimacy Of Lists

2011-02-07T10:56:00.000-06:00

Lists are helpful and useful in practically every area of life. Civil law is built around the concept of a list both of prohibitions and requirements. Practically every organization of people have a handbook of some type which is at its foundation a list of things that are expected and things that are forbidden. Recipes are built around lists (both a list of ingredients and instructions) Chemical processes are built around lists. The reality is that we all live by lists, some written down some we just carry around in our head.

I have a list when it comes to pre-tripping the school bus. I have a mental list when I mow the yard. There are things I believe are right and things I believe are wrong. I suppose if someone asked me to make a list of things I believe are right I could do so. If someone asked me to make a list of things I believe are wrong I could do so. Whether such a list is written on paper, engraved in stone or just carried around in my head there is a sense in which it is a list. I am thinking that most people have such lists. God gave many lists the most famous of which is the Ten Commandments.

Churches have lists. If you have a doctrinal statement you have a list. If you have bi-laws you have a list. If you have an order of service you have a list (whether written or unwritten).

I understand that lists can be abused and misused and at times are by all of us. But everyone has them. Lists are often called into question when they cover areas of behaviour, for example what is considered appropriate attire for a Christian. But even here I would be a little surprised to find someone who had no list. Is it morally OK to go without any clothes? If not then you have a list. Our lists may begin and end at different places. If we were to write them down they may be different lengths, but it is a list. I am perfectly content with the proposition that we will all give account for our own lists (convictions) in every area. We will give account for what we believe and for how we behave.

Really what we are talking about is convictions. What we believe about different things. If we can change the terminology from convictions to a list then the whole concept of holding convictions is trivialized. Of course the hypocrisy is that I have convictions and others have lists.

It is at times suggested that those who have lists have a tendency to be graceless. If this is so then we all have a tendency at times to be graceless, and this is in fact probably much closer to the truth.

Those who say you shouldn’t have a list have started one! And, in many cases the lists of others are judged by their list composed of, “Thou shalt not have a list”. Often times their lists can become quite extensive in listing all the areas where you should not maintain a list! Of course making a list of areas where you should not make a list is perfectly acceptable???? It is the spiritual equivalent of the philosophy that there are no absolutes. But to make such a statement one has just established an absolute. It is not whether absolutes exists but who establishes them. Just so it is not whether we have lists but how we determine what is on them.

I'll finish this later. I need to get to the next thing on my list. ;-)

The Road Of Life

2011-01-26T12:26:00.000-06:00

I came across this some years back and then forgot about it. I rediscovered it looking for something else. I still think it has a great message. I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give them credit, but I don't.

THE ROAD OF LIFE

At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know Him. But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don't know just when it was that He suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since.

When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable it was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds. It was all I could do to hang on!

Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal!" I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are you taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure, and when I'd say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand. I gained love, peace, acceptance and joy; gifts to take on my journey, My Lord's and mine. And we were off again.

He said, "Give the gifts away. They're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He'd wreck it; but he knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten, scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do it anymore, He just smiles and says... "Pedal."

A Complainer Or A Conqueror

2011-01-25T05:13:00.000-06:00

In the last part of Joshua when the land is being divided among the tribes of Israel there is an interesting contrasts that comes into view. Two tribes that have a similar issue but a different response.

Joshua 17:14,15 - And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.

Joshua 19:47 - And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.

Joseph said I am a great people, Dan saw that there coast was too little for them.
Joseph asked why, Dan went up to fight.
Those whose focus is on themselves ask why. Those whose focus is on the task at hand go out and fight.

Joshua questioned the greatness of Joseph, Dan went out and gave evidence of their greatness.

Who are we like? Do we, like Joseph, complain about our lot just knowing we deserve more because we are a great people. Or, do we like Dan, take the initiative, fight the battle and gain the victory.

We Offend All

2011-01-24T08:00:00.003-06:00

James 3:2 - For in many things we offend all.

This is a simple sentence at the beginning of a well-know discourse on the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue. The whole discussion is introduced by seeking to discourage a critical spirit in the brethren and thus making a subtle argument for the maintenance of a charitable spirit. This simple sentence should stir the embers of personal conscience.

Recognition and remembering of this one principle would do wonders for establishing, maintaining, and restoring peace. It is very easy to see the human frailty in others while completely ignoring it in ourselves. When we are offended it would do us well before we do or say anything to remember that in many things we offend all.

It is not in some things we offend some.

It is not in some things we offended all.

It is not in many things we offend some.

It is not in a few things we offend a few.

It is not in a few things we offend all.

It is not in many things we offend a few.

It is “in many things we offend all”

You say, “Well, they should tell me when I offend them.” Does anyone really want to be in a community of people where every offence is raised and litigated? Those who wish for such an environment do not realize how many things they would be confronted with by all!

This is not the right standard for a congregation of believers.

1Peter 4:8 - And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Proverbs 10:12 - Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Proverbs 17:9 - He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.

1Corinthians 13:7 - Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Were we to think more of our own mistakes and offenses, we should be less apt to judge other people. While we are severe against what we count offensive in others, we do not consider how much there is in us which is justly offensive to them. Self-justifiers are commonly self-deceivers. We are all guilty before God; and those who vaunt it over the frailties and infirmities of others little think how many things they offend in themselves. Nay, perhaps their magisterial deportment, and censorious tongues, may prove worse than any faults they condemn in others. Let us learn to be severe in judging ourselves, but charitable in our judgments of other people. Matthew Henry

That Chip On Your Shoulder

2011-01-22T07:22:00.000-06:00

You'll learn when you're older that chip on you shoulder
Which you dare other boys to upset,
And stand up and fight for and struggle and smite for,
Has caused you much shame and regret.
When Time, life's adviser, has made you much wiser,
You won't be so quick with the blow;
You won't be so willing to fight for a shilling,
And change a good friend to a foe.

You won't be a stickler for trifles and bicker
And quarrel for nothing at all;
You'll grow to be kinder, more thoughtful and blinder
To faults which are petty and small.
You won't take the trouble your two fists to double
When somone your pride may offend;
When with rage now you bristle you'll smile our you'll whistle,
And keep the good will of a friend.

You'll learn when you're older that chip on your shoulder
Which proudly you battle to guard,
Has frequently shamed you and often defamed you
And left you a record that's marred!
When you've grown calm and steady, you won't be so ready
To fight for a difference that's small,
For you'll know, when you're older that chip on your shoulder
Is only a chip after all.

Edgar A. Guest

The Separation Of Seeking

2011-01-21T10:40:00.001-06:00

Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. Proverbs 18:1

One of the true tests of genuine desire is the willingness to separate ourselves. The topic under consideration here is wisdom. A man desires wisdom. His desire causes him to seek wisdom. Can we really claim to desire something we do not seek?

Intermeddleth seems to be a word that denotes the intensity level of the seeking. The word is used two other times both in Proverbs.

Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.

Proverbs 20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

Intermeddle: to meddle impertinently and officiously and usually so as to interfere. (Merriam/Webster Online Dictionary)

Clearly it is a word that implies persistence. A persistent seeking of wisdom rooted in desire.

It is a level of seeking that compels one to separation. Separation is not a one-dimensional concept. Separation is always from something to something. When we think about this reality in the context of wisdom it is easy enough to see what one is separated to, wisdom. But being separated to wisdom necessitates being separated from other things. A person who is separated unto wisdom will be separated from foolishness, fools, and folly.

When we are intensely seeking we will be separating ourselves. It is a principle that is here applied directly to seeking wisdom but has application to practically every area of the believer's life.

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all holiness from what will we be separated?

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all truth from what will we be separated?

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all charity from what will we be be separated?

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all faith from what will we be separated?

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all joy from what will we be separated?

If we desire, seek, and intermeddleth with all sincerity from what will we be separated?

Remember, the Scripture declares "Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all" _______________??

Tragedy In Arizonza

2011-01-12T13:16:00.004-06:00

There were six people gunned down and killed this past Saturday in Arizona. The loss of life was tragic. Among the six who lost their lives was a nine year old girl and a Federal Judge. The carnage apparently was the result of Jared Loughner's intent to assassinate a United States Congresswoman. Thankfully she lives and hopefully she will be able to return to some kind of normalcy and the House of Representatives.

I have listened to and read some of the commentary related to this tragedy and it has caused me to realize just how far our nation is removed from a Biblical worldview. There are two issues I would like to address, a lesser and a greater issue.

The lesser: There are many, particularly on the "right", that bemoan the fact that others are seeking to assign blame. This is not the proper issue to bemoan. It is the willingness to rightly assign blame that ensures justice is done on behalf of the innocent victims of this violent crime. Seeking to assign blame is the result of seeking answer the question, why? Why did this happen? This is a question that is naturally and rightly asked. In the process of seeking the "why" blame is generally assigned. Along with "why" we automatically ask "who". Again this is an appropriate question. Who is responsible for this mayhem and death of innocent people?

This leads me to the greater issue and it is answered quite simply. Jared Loughner is presumably responsible. (He is due his day in court before a jury of his peers). Sara Palin is not responsible. (I'm not as big a fan of her as a lot of conservatives) Rush Limbaugh is not responsible. (I hardly ever listen to Rush Limbaugh) Fox News is not responsible. Neither the "right" nor the "left" is responsible. The political rhetoric is not responsible. Campaign adds are not responsible. President Obama is not responsible. There is only one man responsible and that is Mr. Loughner.

His parents are not responsible. The University he attended (nor any of the staff) is not responsible. His friends/acquaintances are not responsible. The store that sold him the ammunition that morning is not responsible. I just saw an article indicating he had been stopped for running a red light three hours before the shooting. Why is this news? Is the Officer responsible? No the office is not responsible. There is only one man responsible and that is Mr. Loghner himself.

Of course there is great energy being spent to show he is not responsible. He was mentally unstable therefore not responsible, so then who is? Thus, the search begins to find a responsible party when the guilty is right before your eyes. Was he mentally retarded? Did he have a verifiable organic problem that could be detected through a series of blood test, etc? All behavioural problems have been reclassified as mental illness. Now when people don't act right they are sick not sinners. Since they are sick they are not responsible, but it leaves us longing to assign blame so the search is on for someone else to find guilty for the actions of a third party.

This is where departure from a Biblical framework introduces confusion into a society. In the face of evil we grasp for answers "why" and "who". A Biblical understanding answers the questions quite simply. Why? Because men are depraved sinners who have a desperately wicked heart that needs to be changed by the Holy Spirit of God through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Who? The individual that committed the evil. That's it, end of search, end of blaming. Mr. Loughner does not need a diagnosis, the Bible has already done that he is a sinner. He does not need a drug, he needs the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he still does, there is still hope!

Romans 14:12 - So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Four Hundred Years And Counting!

2011-01-10T07:30:00.019-06:00

Psalms 138:2 - I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

If we could step back in time 400 years we would find ourselves in a world completely different than what we find today in every way imaginable. To go back to the world of 1611 would almost be like visiting another completely different planet. The religious landscape was a barren wilderness made so by a millennia of religious intolerance that had desecrated the concept of soul-liberty. It was a world ruled by mostly ruthless, licentious potentates who until recently had trembled in the shadow of the church of Rome!

Religious persecution made the air heavy with fear and superstition. Men were vassels in a world where cleric and king ruled supreme. Unless you were fortunate enough to be born among the aristocracy you were likely to be resigned to a subsistent existence. Although there was a burgeoning merchant class we were still years away from a true middle-class to which all could aspire. It was a world where religious ceremony was most often conducted in Latin, a language that had long since vanished from popular use. It was a world where, in most places, it was a crime to have a bible. It was an ugly, harsh, and cruel world.

There were small groups of people who often assembled in secret dotted across the landscape from Turkey to England. They often had very little bible if any at all and what they did have would have to be guarded and held secretly. Consequently they memorized vast portions of Scripture. They were noted for having a verse of scripture on their tongue when called upon to give account of themselves. They were called Paulicians, Albigenses, Waldenses, Petrobrusians, the Cathari, and they were all known as Anabaptist, re-baptizers.

The Bible that I hold in my hands comes to us from that world, the world of 1611 England and Europe. It was not the first Bible in English. Wycliffe had translated the New Testament into English from the Latin Vulgate 250 years earlier. Tyndale translated from the original tongues some 80 years earlier. There had been the Bishop’s Bible, the Great Bible, the Matthew's Bible and, in popular use at the time, the Geneva Bible. Yet, in 1611 a Bible was published that had been authorized by the British Crown. None of the other translations had been authorized and the earliest translations were unlawful. The King James was translated out of the original tongues with the former translations diligently compared and revised. It was a Bible that was appointed to be read in all the churches.

It is a Bible that has proven its merits time and time again. It has been blessed with the visitation of the Spirit of God in its preaching and teaching for 400 years now. It is not a “Johnny-come-lately”. It is a tried and true standard. It is a Bible that was received by the people of God within just a few decades of its publishing, displacing the Geneva Bible. For over 200 years it alone stood as the Word of God in English. It was preached and taught as such. Even after 100 years of seeking to displace its time honored and God blessed text it remains the standard by which all others are judged and in whose light their blemishes are revealed! It is the Word of God in English. The King James Bible of 1611!

This is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible so it seems appropriate to “magnify thy word” this year. I do so unashamedly and without inhibition. I am a King James Bible preacher and I pastor a King James Bible church! I’m going to spend this year reminding our church why!

I am not one who believes that some issues are only good for the college classroom when it comes to theology and doctrine. I am a firm believer that God’s people should not just be told what to believe but why! Just knowing the “what” our beliefs can dissipate under the blistering attack of unbelief and textual criticism. Knowing the “why” our beliefs are tempered in the forge heated by the scoffing and doubt of those who oppose the truth.

Consequently our preaching/teaching will take us through a maze of personalities and papers, names such as Origen, Constantine, Pamphyllius, Erasmus, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Westcott, Hort, and Dean Burgeon. We will consider manuscripts, papyri, uncials, and minscules. Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, received text, textus receptus, and vulgate will become at least a point of recognition for all of us.

This year we are going to “magnify thy word”! We are going to celebrate the history of the King James Bible and glory in its heritage. We are going to promote its premminence among the translations, we are going to celebrate this 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

Little could the men that worked on translating the King James Bible realize that they had by God’s providence produced a translation in a language that would in a short time impact the world. The King James Bible almost single-handedly elevated the English language, the English people and watered and fertilized the seed that resulted in the liberating of the human soul both religiously and politically. This book has altered our language, our culture, our morals, our lives. It has altered my life, and I thank God for the King James Bible!

The Exhibition Of His Grace

2011-01-07T10:34:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 2:7 - That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Grace: A veritable staple in the Christian lexicon. It is a much used word and consequently it is undervalued. It has, over the years, become the subject of simplification.

Getting what you don’t deserve
God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
Unmerited favor

It is not that these are wrong ideas but they are inadequate expressions of the full range of grace. The problem is that these attempts to simply grace to one statement allows people to memorize the definition and promptly turn their attention to other interest believing they now know what grace is. Grace is a concept that if rightly appreciated and duly considered would cause us at times to be awe-struck at the magnitude of what we were trying to get our minds around. We would shudder in amazement as we pondered the riches of His grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus!

The desire to have concepts of infinite breadth and depth reduced to a sound bite has taken its toll on the concept of grace. Grace is a far-reaching idea that originates in the heart and soul of God. This fact alone would cause us to acknowledge that it is infinite in its scope and reach. It eludes pithy sayings put together in order to pacify a generation of believers who do not want to think deeply, and have lost the art of pondering, reflecting. To fully appreciate grace demands that we abandon pursuit of the simple in favor of the profound; to not just know about grace, or be able to define it, or to even experience it, but to feel it. To be like Moses of old when he cried out, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory!” While the glory of God glistens in an array of words and deed no manifestation of his glory outshines grace!

Grace is a word that is irresistibly connected to mercy and love! Although, mercy cannot do what grace does and grace is love in its most refined form!

It could be that grace is not a concept that should be defined as much as just presented! I think having presented it we will find it somewhat difficult to find words to define it, at least produce a definition that would do it justice. Rather than define it maybe we should just examine it, appreciate it, enjoy it, and practice it!

We should all desire to become better acquainted with the riches of his grace through Christ Jesus!

In the first part of Ephesians 2 is a breath-taking presentation of GRACE!

The first three verses speak with clarity to our natural condition and the extent of our depravity.

Vs: 1 - We were dead in trespasses and sin. Can there be a more forlorn condition?

Vs: 2 - We were engaged in a wayward walk. We were living according to the dictates of the world and the devil, and were content to have it so. We were not children of God but rather children of disobedience!

Vs: 3 - We were possessed of a fatal flaw. We were not free but were held captive by the lusts of the flesh, we were by nature the children of wrath, again not the children of God.

There is a clear digression here and it is ominous in its implications. We were dead in trespasses and sins, consequently were were children of disobedience, which in turn qualified us as children of wrath! Our condition was not bad, it was hopeless! The only answer for our desperate condition is grace!

The first two words of verse four identifies the turning point, "But God"!

Vs: 4 - A God who interposes on our behalf. Our need is beyond human help, divine intervention is required. He is a God of mercy and love. But even that is not enough to completely rectify our depraved and degraded condition. The demand is for grace. Love and mercy are great but not great enough. They are good as far as they go but they don't go far enough. Grace is the cry of my helpless and hopeless heart!

The next three verses extol the grace of God.

Vs: 5,6 - Here we are given an expression of grace. "Even" as it is used at the beginning of verse five is a powerful word. It is a word that denotes the extent of which something is being done. It is right here where love and mercy are fused together and mutate into grace! "Even when we were dead in sins" In our most hopeless state God expresses his grace by quickening us in Christ Jesus. He raises us up together with Christ. He hath made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. There can be no greater expression of grace than taking us from where we were and making us to sit in heavenly places.

Vs: 7 - This is all about providing an exhibition of his grace. There is too much theology today that has made it all about man. It is about God and his glory. It always has been and always will be. Verse seven tells us why he gave us an expression of his grace. It was to provide an exhibition of his grace. That . . . he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace. Salvation is not about exhibiting the glories of man, but the grace of God. It is not about exalting man but about exalting God. It is not about man's faith but God's grace. It is about his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, not our kindness toward him. We love him because he first love us.

Vs: 8,9 - It is here where we have the expounding of grace. The argument is laid to rest once for all. Salvation is not of man but of the Lord! It is by grace, through faith. Grace is the movement of God toward man, faith is the human response to grace.

"Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." John Newton

Worship In The Worst Of Times

2011-01-06T10:03:00.000-06:00

Job, in chapter one of the book by the same name, stands out in my mind as an excellent example of the proper response in the face of overwhelming and unbelievable adversity. While the story of Job and his adversity takes a number of twists and turns over the course of the next forty-two chapters the New Testament itself bears inspired testimony to the patience of Job when in James 5:11 we find these words, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."

The major points of the chapter are worth highlighting.

Vs: 1 - Job was a godly man.
Vs: 3 - Job was a very wealthy man.
Vs: 5 - Job was a family man.

Everything we learn of Job in the opening verses commend him to our consideration. He is the kind of man we should all hope to be; faithful, fruitful, and familial. Job was good and everything was good in his life.

Yet, unknown to Job, a storm was brewing. According to verses 6-12 Job became a topic of conversation between God and Satan.

Vs: 8 - God bears testimony to the greatness of Job.

Vs: 9-11 - Satan questions Job's integrity. He argues that Job is good because he has it so good. Satan argues that Job only blesses God because God had blessed him. Satan argued that should Job be made destitute he would come to despise the God whom it now appears he loves. If God would crush Job; Job would curse God!

Vs: 12 - Permission is granted to severely try Job in order to see if he was a man of integrity. This thought is both comforting and disconcerting Comforting in that permission must be granted to Satan to afflict God's people. Disconcerting in that the permission is at times granted. Solace is to be had in accepting all things as having been permitted by God. Where he allows trouble he provides grace!

The next seven verses reveal the intention of Satan to maximize the impact of what had befallen Job on this day. In each catastrophe one servant had been allowed to survive in order to bring word to Job. Three consecutive verses (16-18) begin with the same words. "While he was yet speaking, there came also another." Four bearers of bad new arrive within minutes of each other. Before Job even has a chance to assimilate and assess one tragedy news of another is thrust upon him. In a matter of minutes his entire world is altered. He will go to bed that night a different man than when he got up that morning. While the sun rose on a prosperous and honorable man it will set on a destitute and suffering man. The question is will he be as honorable in his suffering as he was in his prosperity? Was Satan right when he said Job only feared God because God removed all the fear from his life?

Job's response is legendary, as it ought to be!

Vs: 20-22 - Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

He did mourn as signified by the renting of his mantle and shaving his head. He was in the depths of sorrow. He was brought low. Yet, in his sorrow he did not curse God but he worshipped Him! Job did not bless God only because God had blessed him. He blessed God because he was God. Therefore when his circumstances were made hard his heart was not! He did not, as we may be tempted to do at times, charge God foolishly.

Let us stand in awe of a God that can produce this kind of integrity and godliness in a mortal man!

Perplexity

2011-01-03T07:10:00.000-06:00

The following is from the message Perplexity, by James Smith preached in 1865.

"God will do just as He pleases with His own children. He has the right--and He will exercise it. He will often . . .

cross our wills,
hedge up our paths,
cut off our expectations, and
give us wormwood and gall to drink!

And why? Because He loves to cause us pain--or takes pleasure in our sighs and sorrows? No! Oh, no! But because He consults our welfare. Because He is wiser than we are!

Why am I poor--and my brother rich?
Why am I sick--and my sister healthy?
Why are my efforts crossed--and my neighbor's crowned with success?

How difficult to say sometimes, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him! How difficult to believe that this rough road is the right road, which leads to the celestial city.

Our Father wisely appoints the circumstances and lot of every one of His children. He has mapped out the path in which they are to travel. He has appointed their bounds, which they cannot pass. He does whatever He pleases. He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me.

We must not murmur, we must not complain--but patiently follow wherever the Lord leads, and quietly bear whatever He lays on us. Patience must calm the spirit, quiet the heart, and close the mouth. Then shall we say with the Psalmist, I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it!

Had it been man--it might have been wrong.
Had it been chance--it might have been injurious.
But it was You--and, therefore, it must be wise, holy, and kind.

We are required quietly to persevere--though the way is rugged, though the thorns pierce our feet, though we cannot see one step before us! We must walk by faith, not by sight, believing . . .

that we are safe--in the midst of danger;
that we are right--though everything is perplexing;
and that all will end well--for we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28"

The Sacrifice Of A Servant

2010-11-29T06:00:00.002-06:00

Mark ten opens with the Pharisees seeking to create controversy. They do so with the issue of divorce and remarriage, a sad and all too often tragic reality of the human condition. The Pharisees desired to mire Jesus in controversy but as usual Jesus responded with clear declarations, What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

There is then the brief encounter between the disciples and those that were seeking to bring children to Jesus. Jesus’ response was, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: . . . .

Then we move quickly to the rich young ruler's time with Jesus from which he went away grieved and unrepentant, and unforgiven. Jesus then uses the response of the rich young ruler to point out to his disciples that it is hard for rich men to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

It is from this exchange that we are launched into the passage under consideration. We see once again, as in John 13, the stark contrast between the Apostles and Jesus. They were seeking a throne, he was embracing a cross. They desired to rule, he desired to serve. They were marked by jealousy and envy; he had sacrifice engraved on his heart and soul. They were willing to sacrifice others to achieve greatness; he was willing to sacrifice himself so others could achieve greatness.

These realities bring us to the focus of attention in the passage this morning, The Sacrifice Of A Servant.

We begin in verses 28-31 with the solace of sacrifice.

In verse 28 Peter points out that they had, left all, and followed Christ. It is a significant claim that is not challenged. In fact the inspired record makes it clear these men left all and followed Christ. This, of course, is in contrast to the rich young ruler. Of course in leaving all they had not left what Christ had left. They could not. No one will ever sacrifice to follow Christ what Christ sacrificed to follow the will of God. They had followed him however imperfectly to this point and the rich young ruler had been unwilling to do so.

Peter's claim is followed up by a promise from Christ in verses 29 and 30. Jesus reminds his men that no one has forsaken anything for which they will not be abundantly compensated. It seems to be clear that Jesus does not intend to provide one hundred houses for every one forsaken for his cause and the gospel's. Such an arrangement would cultivate a spirit that Jesus was attempting to correct, a covetous spirit that is unwilling to sacrifice. Of course the promise of compensation is attached to the promise of persecutions and most importantly in the world to come eternal life. Knowing that the issues of the next life are settled provides an unwavering peace for this life.

Then Jesus in verse 31 lays down a spiritual law. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. It is statements like these that give a glimpse into the infinite mind of God. A whole life of observation is turned on its head with these two statements. What appears to be the head of the line is actually the end of the line! What appears to be the back of the line is actually the head of the line! There is little competition for last place! Christianity truly requires the renewing of our minds. We are conditioned by everything around us to be first, acknowledged, applauded, honored, noticed, advanced, etc….. But God says, many that are first shall be last, and the last first.

Do we believe it? And then do we not immediately fight over being last so that we can be first? If we are settling for last so we can be first that is just another method of struggling for the first place. There is a demand here for purity of heart, genuineness of soul, integrity of motive. It is not sacrificing for what we can get out of it. It is not being a servant because of the opportunity for advancement. It is really not caring who gets the credit.

Then in verses 32-34 we are reminded of the supreme sacrifice.

In verse 32 it was a place of appointment: Jerusalem. Jesus had an appointment of sacrifice there. He was not going there to be honored but to be executed. He was not going there to be extolled but to be ridiculed. He was not going there to be exalted but to be reviled. And, he went anyway. It is the sacrifice of a servant.

In verse 33 it was the place of judgment. Three things are mentioned:

delivered to the chief priests and unto the scribes
they shall condemn him to death
they shall deliver him to the Gentiles

Knowing all of this he continued walking toward Jerusalem!

In verse 34 it was the place of sacrifice. Jesus had a clear understanding of what was before him.

they shall mock him
they shall scourge him
they shall spit upon him
they shall kill him

Knowing the certainty of his destiny he continues to walk toward Jerusalem. Every step brought him closer to mockery. Every step brought him closer to the dreaded Roman scourge. Every step brought him closer to the humiliation of spitting. Every step brought him closer to Calvary. Yet, he took each successive step, making his way to the place of sacrifice.

With his sacrifice there was an accompanying promise, and the third day he shall rise again. No man sacrifices without receiving recompense. He gave himself in death. He would be raised from the dead, a resurrection that was only made possible by his death. He took the last place of a felon's cross; he became the firstfruits of the resurrection!

Then a remarkable thing happens in verses 35-41. James and John the sons of thunder approach and have the audacity to seek a place at his right and left hand. They are seeking a place of prominence, they are lobbying to be first. The truth is they did not even realize what it was they were seeking. Their vision of grandeur had clouded their judgment.

What would you think would be the response of the other ten Apostles? Verse 41 records, And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

Why? Because they wanted to sit on his right hand or left hand! James and John's bold lobbying for the position created envy and contempt for the two sons of thunder. The other ten also wanted to be first. Would they have been as jealous had they asked to sit at the feet of Jesus? I think not! It was not the nearness to Jesus but the relation of their position to Jesus.

As long as no one is making an overt play for the head of the line we can feign indifference. But let someone with the audacity of a James and John appear and we easily become incensed at their impropriety, and at the possibility they might actually get the position, honor, advancement, or place we want.

Then in verses 42-45 Jesus sets forth the standard of sacrifice.

He begins by reminding them of the world's standard in verse 42. Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. This is the way of the world. This is the "dog eat dog" mentality. It is vicious and ferocious. It despises humility, meekness, and service.

Then in verse 43 Jesus tears down the old standard to erect a new one. He dismantles the world's standard in one statement, But so shall it not be among you. You must abandon this way of thinking. You must embrace another paradigm, another model. God's kingdom is intended to function on different terms.

Having dismissed the world's standard at the end of verse 43 and moving into verse 44 he erects a new standard. He does so by presenting the standard in two ways.

Whosoever shall be great among you shall be your minster. I love what Gill writes concerning this and its application to the Apostles, " This was just the reverse of what the two disciples were seeking for; they were indeed for being ministers but then they were for being prime ministers of state; and would have had all the rest subject to them and attendants on them to be sent out and employed as they should think fit: . . . .”

Whosoever of you shall be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. Jesus is saying that in my kingdom it is being a servant that renders one glorious. We are set apart by our service rendered on the behalf of others.

Lastly, in verse 45, Jesus steps to the front as the standard bearer! For even the Son of Man, Jesus says. "Even" - if him then certainly you. He who had every reason to expect to be served.

. . .came not to be ministered unto . . . He left a place where he was constantly ministered to by angels. They were at his beckon call. They worshipped him unceasingly. They adored him. He was seated on the right hand of the Father, the place of honor and authority. Yet, he did not come to earth to be served.

. . . but to minster. Do you see the sacrifice of a servant? He left the place of being served by holy angels to serve fallen man! He was not here so men could serve him but so the he could serve men. The creator serving the creature!

We must be looking for ways to use our role to serve God and others. Rather than grasping for a throne let us be seeking a place of service. Let us serve not worrying about whether we are first or last, just serve. When others are honored rejoice in their accomplishments. When we believe we are overlooked let us remember we have a God who does not overlook. Let us be great servants and then we will be truly great!

Beyond The Scope Of Human Language

2010-11-24T10:41:00.000-06:00

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8,9

His unspeakable gift causes me to rejoice with joy unspeakable. Both the gift and the joy no tongue can truly tell. No master of words can expound the greatness of the gift or the heights of the joy. It is beyond the scope of human language and expression.

When all effort has been exhausted and our tongues fall silent and our pens run dry we will realize the inadequacy of words to describe the glory of the gift and the exuberance of the joy! In hushed silence our hearts will overflow with gratitude for the grace of God in sending his only Son to die in the place and stead of sinners, to die for me.

At that moment all other blessings will evaporate into nothingness and our whole being will know an unspeakable joy that is rooted only in his unspeakable gift. In that moment of silence in the secret place of our heart we will feel His presence and know that we know him and the fullness of our heart will be reduced to two simple words: THANK YOU!

The Practice Of A Servant

2010-11-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

In this post I want to consider what the humility of a servant looks like in a practical situation. How did the mind of Christ respond when he walked the dusty trails of this earth? I want to think about The Practice of a Servant. No one so dramatically demonstrates the essence of service like Christ himself.

Let us quietly slip into the upper room where Jesus is gathered with his church and behold as the son of man condescends to the lowest task of the household and washes the feet of the disciples. Let us look and learn!

I think it is important to consider the awareness of a servant. Verse 3 notes an important element of this narrative. It sets forth the basis on which Christ could move forward to serve these men the way he did that evening. Verse 3 says, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; . . . .

This verse tells us what Jesus knew. There were basically three things that he knew that liberated him to be a servant.

1. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all into his hands. Jesus understood his authority. Jesus understood his standing. He knew who he was and was confident about his relationship to the Father. He had nothing to prove. He knew that washing feet would not change the fact that the Father had given all into his hands. Knowing what he had been given allowed him to freely serve others.

2. Jesus knew that he was come from God. He knew this. He was confident in relation to his origin. Jesus knew from whence he came. He knew that he was sent by the Father. He knew he was commissioned by the Father. He knew he was authorized by the Father. He knew that washing feet would not change the fact that he was come from God. Knowing from whence he came allowed him to freely serve others.

3. Jesus knew he went to God. He knew this. He was confident in relation to his end. He knew he would be returning to the Father to be seated on his right hand. He knew he would be received by the Father. He knew that washing feet would not change the fact that he went to God. Knowing where he was going allowed him to freely serve others.

An unwillingness to humble ourselves and serve others is likely an indication that we lack confidence about what we have been given, from whence we came, and where we are going. If we knew these things, truly knew them, we would know that washing feet would not change these realities.

If I am a son of God washing feet will not change that. If we know we have been made kings and priests unto God we would surely know that washing feet will not change this. An unwillingness to serve reveals an uncertainty about our relation to God. Consequently we are not free to humble ourselves and serve others. We will be too afraid that someone might actually think we are a servant! When I know these things I am liberated to serve. I can practice the life of a servant.

Next it is important to note the focus of a servant. Jesus knowing what he did about himself and his relation to God embraced a lowly place of service among these men. The next few verses are remarkable and riveting as they unfold a simple series of events that stand out, in many ways, among all the things that Jesus did.

Verses 4 and 5 give us the brief series of events, He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

He riseth from supper. From the reclining position and probably not much noticed by the disciples.

He laid aside his garment. Probably the very one that the Romans soldiers would be casting lots for in less than 24 hours. This probably caught the eye of some of the disciples.

And took a towel and girded himself. The Apostles had no doubt seen the servant of a house do this on many occasions. Those who were paying attention must of thought it a little strange that Jesus was girding himself like a servant.

After that he poured water into a basin. Again the disciples had no doubt seen this scene unfold on numerous occasions. Had it been any other person they would have no doubt known the purpose for which this was being done. Because it was Jesus they likely were wondering what he had in mind.

And began to wash the disciples feet. I feel quite certain the disciples were taken back by this act of service on Jesus' part. If the words of Peter in the following verses are any indication they were all uncomfortable with Jesus washing their feet.

And to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. So, here was Jesus, the Lord of glory kneeling at the dusty, weary feet of these 12 rugged men performing the task of a common servant!

There are some interesting things to to take into account about this scene. This was a role usually assumed by the servant of the house. It was also a task that was normally performed shortly after the guest arrived in the home. The fact that Jesus was now washing their feet seems to indicate that there had been no servant present to perform this menial task. Remember they were meeting in a borrowed room.

There were 13 men present in the room and only one servant and that being the one who actually was worthy of being served. The Apostles, rather than take the role of a servant, were content to let the task go undone. They were not inclined to wash each other's feet. They were willing for their own feet to go unwashed. And, most importantly, Jesus' feet were going unwashed. He was doing for others what no one had attempted to do for him!

Remember, why was he able to do this? Because of what he knew! Jesus knowing . . . riseth from supper and began to wash the disciples' feet. He knew who he was, where he was from, and where he was going. He was not worried what people would think about him assuming the role of a servant. A servant's heart is rooted in a knowing heart. His exercise of humility did not change the reality of what he had been given, where he was from, or where he was going. Let me remind you, An unwillingness to serve is a manifestation of insecurity.

It is also memorable that Jesus did not say anything, he just did. He did not say, "OK, I am going to wash your feet." He simply got up and did it. There was no announcement or fanfare.

When we drop down to verses 12-17 we see the lesson of a servant.  So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?  Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Having returned to his place at the table he begins with a question, Know ye what I have done to you? The concrete aspect of what he had done was easy enough to know. The abstract aspect of what he had done was the point of the question. There was more here than meets the eye.

He follows up the question with a statement of fact.  Ye call me master and Lord.  He points out that they were right to do so for it was true. He was their master and Lord.

He then highlights an absurdity. It is basically this. If I am your Lord and master and have washed your feet, you should be willing to wash one another's feet. They were equals and it should have been even easier for any one of them to assume the role Jesus did although none of them had been inclined to do so.

Jesus moves from the absurdity to an exhortation. He claims to have given them an example. It does not seem likely that the example was to be understood in the narrow confines of foot-washing. The example is broader than the washing of feet. In fact one could wash the brethren's feet on a regular basis and still not necessarily be properly applying the example. He tells them to follow the example. It is clear, at least to me, that Jesus does not have in mind here the physical act of washing feet for in verse 7 he said, What I do thou knowest not now; and in verse 12 he asked, Knowest ye what I have done to you?

What had he done to them? He had assumed a place of humility before them. He assumed the place of a servant. It seems these were the two primary lessons Jesus was seeking to impart. He was seeking to teach them humility and service. What better way to do that than assume the most menial task of the household? A role none of them had been inclined to embark upon. They would rather have their feet unwashed than humble themselves and wash the feet of their fellow disciples.

Jesus concludes with encouragement. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. If we humble ourselves we are happy. If we serve others we are happy. If we are unhappy, sour, dissatisfied, and filled with self-pity we should first start by examining the presence of pride and the absence of service in our own lives. Jesus clearly said, Happy are ye if ye do them. Can we do them and not be happy?

The reason for the happiness would seem to be obvious on the face of it. If we are humbling serving others several things will be true. We will be focused on others and not ourselves. We will be occupied with serving others and not ourselves. We will be less concerned about ourselves and our needs and more concerned about others and their needs.

These twelve men were willing to endure the indecency of coming to the table with feet that had not been washed rather than to wash each other's feet. It was their master and Lord who had humbled himself and served them. How happy could they have been about that??

The next time we find ourselves tiring of the role of a servant and its demands on our lives let us remember Jesus. Let us see him there in the upper room, laying aside his garment, girding himself with a towel, taking a basin of water and washing the feet of the disciples everyone of whom would abandon him that very night and one of whom would betray him with a kiss into the hand of sinners. He washed their feet not in ignorance of these facts but in the face of them!

Mature Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T10:23:00.000-06:00

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Ephesians 5:20 - Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Philippians 4:6 - Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

These few verses expand the parameters of thanksgiving into sobering places.

1 Thessalonians uses the two words “every thing”
Ephesians uses the three words, “always”, and “all things”
Philippians uses the two words “every thing”

A child is thankful for candy but not medicine
A child is thankful for a toy but not a tool
A child is thankful for a trip to the park but not a trip to the woodshed
A child is thankful for ice cream but not for green peas

It requires some maturity to be thankful for medicine, tools, the woodshed, and our vegetables.

When we begin to think about all for which we have to be thankful does not our minds immediately gravitate toward the pleasant and the things that have made life easy, happy, and enjoyable? Our tendency is to be thankful for the good things in life. The spiritual blessings that we have received in Jesus Christ, the temporal blessing that we have received at the hand of a benevolent God; these are the things that move our tongues to thanksgiving. This is not a bad thing. In fact we should be thankful for the good things of life; spiritual and temporal.

When a child matures to the point of becoming thankful for medicine, tools, the woodshed and vegetables that does not mean the child ceases to be thankful for candy, toys, a trip to the park and ice cream. What it does mean is that he has matured enough to realize that he should be thankful for things that he may not especially like.

All who have lived a little while and been saved for a few years know that there is plenty that takes place in life that is unpleasant, distasteful, hurtful, and just not very fun; things that don’t make us happy or add to our enjoyment of life. Such is the nature of life.

Job 14:1 - Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

A mature believer is one who is learning to give thanks for the trouble of life. One who develops an appreciation for the difficulties that occur and can still have their tongue moved to thanksgiving not in spite of the difficulty but because of them!

Philippians 4:11-13 - Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Paul had learned contentment. He had learned how to be abased and how to abound. He had learned to do this through Christ.

Christ is the great equalizer of life’s up and downs. He never changes. Life ebbs and flows, Christ remains constant. Troubles come and go, Christ promises never to leave us or forsake us. He is there in the good times; he is there in the bad times. I need to learn to be thankful just because He is there.

Psalms 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

When sickness strikes either in our own lives or the life of a loved one do we fret or give thanks?
When we have a financial setback do we grumble or give thanks?
When people disappoint us do we murmur or give thanks?
When the whether is not favorable do we complain or give thanks?
When plans fall through do we stress out or do we give thanks?
When we are humbled do we cringe or do we give thanks?
When we are rebuked do we flare up or do we give thanks?
When we have family trouble do we despair or do we give thanks?
When we have trouble do we sulk or do we give thanks?

Have we matured, have we learned to give thanks for all things, always in everything?

Job 1:20-22 -Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job 2:9,10 - Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Christ: The Humility Of A Servant

2010-11-22T07:00:00.002-06:00

C. H. Spurgeon said, "Startle not when I say it, I fear many men proudly ask to be humble: they desire to be humble in order that they may be admired for it."

Herein lies one of the difficulties of humility. The danger of being proud of our humility. Humility seems to be rooted in a complete forgetting of self. Of course in our modern world of mental illness we are encourage to love ourselves, to make sure we have a healthy self-image. The conflict with humility seems to be readily apparent. In a generation that is focused on "self" we should not be surprised that genuine humility is a rare virtue.

Philippians 2 provides a wealth of insight concerning humility particularly in the context of being a servant. In fact Philippians 2 may be to the life of a servant what 1 Corinthians 13 is to charity and 1 Corinthians 15 is to the resurrection.

The chapter easily speaks to us concerning:

1. Vs: 1-4 - The demand of a servant: Our christian responsibilities to one another
2. Vs: 5-11 - The mind of a servant: The example of Christ
3. Vs: 19-24 - The service of a servant: The example of Timothy
4. Vs: 25-30 - The sacrifice of a servant: the example of Epaphroditus

Let us focus our attention on Christ because of the three noble and glorious examples provided in the chapter of a servant Christ excels the others in glory like the sun excels the moon. When we see Christ in Philippians 2 a couple of things demand our immediate attention.

1. He took upon him the form of a servant.
2. He humbled himself.

These two statements are dependent upon each other for their veracity. If he truly took upon himself the form of a servant then he must needs have humbled himself. If he indeed humbled himself he would necessarily be made a servant. It is for these reasons that Philippians 2 helps us consider the Humility of a Servant.

The first thing we note is the heighteth of Christ in verses 5 and 6, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
At the outset we are exhorted to have the mind of Christ. We are to be like him in our thinking, we are to think as he thought. This is to be our goal. It is far too easy to think like the world around us, to revert back to our default settings rooted in the flesh.

We can never appreciate the humility of Christ if we do not first appreciate his eternal glory. Verse 6 takes us right to the heart of this issue. Jesus is God, no truth of the Scripture is more clearly presented. Christ is the only one of whom it has not been robbery to claim equality with God. It was not robbery because he was equal. It is important in order to feel the full of force of the coming example that we embrace completely the significance of the deity of Christ.

Holy angels adored him!
Cherubim and seraphim made him the focus of their perpetual worship!
Arc-angels were at his beckon call!
He had spent eternity robed in light!
He was spotless, pure and infinitely holy!
He was in perfect fellowship with the Father!

None of us come even remotely close to his eternal glory as God the Son!

It is then in verses 7 and 8 that we are caused to behold the humility of Christ, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

"But", what an important word. It is being used here in the sense of "although this is true". It is setting the stage to draw a contrast between who he was and what he became.

He made himself of no reputation. Consider the implications.

He was born to a peasant family of royal lineage!
He went from a heavenly throne to a crude manger!
He was reduced from speaking the worlds into existence to working in a common carpenter's shop!
He went from the worship of angels to the scoffing of men!
He changed his robe of light for the robe of flesh!

He who had been held in highest regard in heaven was now held is lowest regard among men.

He took upon him the form of a servant. Do you see the contrast?

From the form of God in verse 6 to the form of a servant in verse 7. Do you see the infinite gulf between what he was and what he made himself?

Matthew 20:28 - Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

He was made in the likeness of men. He took upon himself the likeness of that which he had created. This he did for the purpose of serving the sinner.

Hebrews 2:9,10 - But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Hebrews 14,15 - Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

None of us can humble ourselves to the same degree that Jesus did. We are already so close to the bottom that we do not have room to descend in humility to a comparable degree. It would do us well to remember this when we are striving to humble ourselves or when God uses others to humble us.

Yet he goes lower still!

And having been found in fashion as a man. Having been humbled to that degree. Having embrace humility in an almost infinite measure, there remains more.

He humbled himself.

Again he did so! "Well", we say, "I've already humbled myself." Sometimes we have to do it again.....and again......and again........and again. And if we be called upon to do it a hundred fold may we remember that after the King of Heaven was made a man, he humbled himself!

There is another noteworthy point to be made here. Vs: 7 - He made himself of no reputation. Vs: 8 - He humbled himself. These are things he did to himself. If I make myself of no reputation, then no one can take it from me. If I humble myself then no one can humble me. I don't feel near as threatened by those who attempt to humble me whether justly or unjustly. No one can do to me what I have already done to myself!

The thing is Jesus knew he was God and therefore he could humble himself. It did not create an identity crisis on his part. The more confidence we have in who we are and what we are (in Christ), the more comfortable we will be humbling ourselves and depriving others of circumstances of doing it for us.

And became obedient unto death.

He experienced what sinners experience. He took upon himself the wages of sin although he had committed no sin. Having committed no sin he died like sinners die. He humbled himself to do that. As a servant he did not cringe at obedience even unto death.

Even the death of the cross.

He not only died like sinners die, he died like felons die. He was executed by the State for crimes against the State. Falsely accused he hung on a felon's cross, not just a common criminal but an abominable criminal. He descended to the very lowest place of humanity and drank the dregs of humility.

The Lord of glory, see him humbled there. Hanging on a tree. Condemned, forsaken by God and man! In full view of the cross claim you have humbled yourself too much???!

Lastly in verse 9-11 we see the honor of Christ, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God exalted him. Christ made himself of no reputation. Christ humbled himself. God exalted him.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

God gave him a name which is above every name. God will see to it that he receives homage from every tongue.

John 12:26 - . . . . him will my Father honor.

C. H. Spurgeon, "If you, Christian people, must dispute about precedence, always fight for the lowest place. If you aspire to be last and least, you will not have many competitors: there will be no need to demand a poll, for the lowest seat is undisputed."

In other words be a servant and you will be free from the bondage and toil of self-promotion.

The Resentful Heart

2010-11-20T07:49:00.000-06:00

The following is from A W Tozer's Renewed Day By Day, a daily devotional. I went through it several years ago. This devotion is from August 19 and is entitled: The Example of Jesus: Hold No Grudges

Then said Jesus, Father, Forgive them; for they know not what they do . . . . Luke 23:34

Jesus Christ left us an example for our daily conduct and from it there can be no appeal. He felt no bitter resentment and he held no grudge against anyone!

Even those who crucified Him were forgiven while they were in the act. Not a word did He utter against them nor against the ones who stirred them up to destroy him.

How evil they all were He knew better than any other man, but He maintained a charitable attitude toward them. They were only doing their duty, and even those who ordered them to their grisly task were unaware of the meaning of their act.

To Pilate, Jesus said, "Thou couldest have not power at all against me, except it were given thee from above." So he referred everything back to the will of God and rose above the swampland of personalities.

The person with the resentful heart takes just the opposite course, however. He grows every day harder and more acrimonious as he defends his reputation, his rights, his ministry, against his imagined foes!

The worst feature about this whole thing is that it does no good to call attention to it. The bitter heart is not likely to recognizes its own condition. The resentful man in the meantime will grow smaller and smaller trying to get bigger, and he will become more and more obscure trying to become known. As he pushes on toward his selfish goal his very prayers will be surly accusations against the Almighty and his whole relationship toward other Christians will be one of suspicion and distrust!

The Life Of A Servant

2010-11-18T11:36:00.000-06:00

John 12:26 - If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Being a servant is not something that is characteristic of the human condition. Our fallen nature keeps us seeking prominence, promotion, and prestige. Our clamoring for new heights bears subtle testimony to the depth of our fall. It is so much a part of our natural condition that if we are not careful we can even serve for purposes of self-promotion.

The fact is we are not born little servants but little tyrants. We are born expecting that the world will lay prostrate at our feet and move heaven and earth to meet our slightest need. From our earliest moments we raise the sharpest cry when the meeting of our needs is postponed for any reason. While we may become slightly more refined as the months turn into years the basic problem is still deeply rooted in the human heart. I do not want to serve, I want to be served.

Our tendency is to suspect everyone of trying to get the upper-hand, because we know we are trying to get the upper-hand. We despise those who callously step on and over others in order to advance themselves and thus look for every opportunity to step on or over them having convinced ourselves that they are not near as worthy as we are to assume the throne! We thus live in a world of tension where each is trying to promote self and all service is rendered to that ultimate objective.

There is no liberty like the liberty that comes to grips with it is not about me! It is first and foremost about God and then about others. This frees us from the pressure of advancing our own cause. It liberates us from the quest of conquering the throne. It gives us the opportunity to live for the advancement of God’s kingdom and Christ’s church and for the genuine good of others.

It frees us to live the life of a servant!

"if any man serve me, let him follow me"

This is the essence of a servant. To serve is to follow. A man who would serve must be willing to follow and where there is an unwillingness to follow there can be no true service rendered. This is no doubt why the Lord raised the issue of following him over and over again.

• Mt 4:19 - And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

• Mt 8:22 - But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

• Mt 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

• John 10:27 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

• John 21:18-22 – What is that to thee follow thou me.

What are the implications of this truth?

1. To follow means we do not lead. We do not set the agenda. We do not tell the Lord what we are going to do for him, we ask him what he wants us to do for him.

2. This narrows my responsibility to one. Follow Him!

3. I must eschew my own way. I can't follow if I insist on going my own way. I must be willing to surrender that prerogative. I must choose his way over my own.

"and where I am, there shall also my servant be"

This is the commitment of a servant. This statement presents a logical progression of thought. If we serve him it is because we follow him and if we are in the same way with him we will be where he is. It is a fundamental principle that the servant is with his master. It is all ultimately about being where Jesus is. It is interesting to note where we find Jesus in the gospels.

1. We find him in poverty (Luke 2:24; Luke 9:58)
2. We find him in conflict (John 9:58)
3. We find him being hated (John 15:17-21)
4. We find him being forsaken by all (Mark 14:50)
5. We find him being falsely accused (Mark 14:56)
6. We find him hanging on the cross (Mark 15:25)

"if any man serve me, him will my Father honour"

This is the honor of a servant. Jesus said if any man serve me. According to the text to serve him means to follow him, to be where he is. If we are following him the Father will honor us. Sometimes it is interesting to note what the Bible does not say.

It does not say the world will honor him. But the servant is OK with that. He has long since lost any desire for the honor of the world. He has been too busy serving to worry about who is being honored and who is not. It does not say his contemporaries will honor him. It does not say history will honor him.

It does say the Father will honor him.

Matthew 25:21 - His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Four Decades Of Knowing Him!

2010-11-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

2 Timothy 3:15 - And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

It was forty years ago today that God reached down in grace and touched the heart of a seven year old boy. That seven year old boy was me. I had the opportunity recently to take my mentor in the ministry to the very place where I got on my knees with a Baptist preacher, a King James Bible, and the Holy Spirit of God. I went to my knees a condemned sinner I stood up a justified saint. It seems like it was yesterday. That building is no longer occupied by a Baptist church but I know the spot even though there has been some slight remodeling over the years. I remember the burden of sin and judgment pressing upon me and the relief in realizing what Jesus had done for me. Little did I realize that day what a great Saviour I had just recieved. Oh, don't misunderstand he seemed great that day, but he has become greater in my estimation over the four decades that I have been privledged to know him and learn of him.

I still remember the burden and fear being carried away by the blood that washed my soul that evening. There has not been a day since that day that he has not been real to me and though I have often been unfaithful to him I have found him to be ever faithful to me.

I was blessed to have been raised in a home where we were taught the Bible is the word of God. Our parents took us to church, they did not send us. We memorized verses and sang the "children's" songs. We said the "children's" prayers. All of this allowed me the opportunity to come to know him at an early age. "That from a child I had known the holy Scriptures" I will be eternally grateful that they were able to make me wise unto salvation.

I praise God that I came to know him when I did. It has made all the difference in my life. I have been able to spend a life time getting to know him and see him work in my life. I have been able to live almost my entire life with an eye to eternity. When I trusted him that night I never dreamed that he would stir my heart to preach His truth. But a mere seven years later at the age of fourteen the Spirit of God was stirring my heart again for ministry, a call by God to preach his word. I said yes, and have never looked back. It has been the greatest life a person could be privledged to live and it all started forty years ago today.

When I have sinned I have known his displeasure.
When I have confessed I have know his restoration.
When I have erred I have known his correction.
When I have been tested I have known his strength.
When I have been disappointed I have known his encouragment.
When I have been faithful I have known his blessings.
When I have been courageous I have known his support.
When I have been fearful I have known his comfort.

I have found him to be everything I could ever need. I have never found him to be wanting. I have never discovered him to be unfaithful. I have found him completely trustworthy. I have found his wisdom to be true. I have found his presence to be real.

Now, here I am forty years later, rejoicing in him and finding that my meditation of him is always sweet and getting sweeter every day. I have found comfort in realzing I only need to worry that he is pleased with me. I have focus in only needing to worry that I please him.

"Thank you Lord for saving my soul.
Thank you Lord for making me whole.
Thank you Lord for giving to me thy great salvation so rich and free!"

The Whole World?

2010-10-18T10:50:00.001-05:00

Reading the Scripture is a spiritual exercise. When we come to it in the flesh and read it with a carnal mind we lower it's demands, question it's assessments, and gloss over it's precepts.

1 John 5:19 is a place where it is easy to do that. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

The carnal minds reasons, well not the "whole" world. The carnal mind refuses to consider the connection between two opposing realities. 1. We are of God. 2. The whole world lieth in wickedness. The carnal mind goes right past the truth here thinking it is irrelevant for my life.

On the other hand the spiritual mind is caused to stop and ponder. It sees the footprint of a timeless truth left upon this verse. There is good and evil and they stand eternally opposed to each other. The spiritual mind is left uneasy and uncomfortable by the truth it sees here because it knows it is still bound in a body that is characterized by fleshly desires. It is the anguish expressed in Romans 7, For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

As believers we are of God and therefore delight in the law of God after the inward man. On the other hand the whole word lieth in wickedness and our presence in this wicked world continually provides an environment in which we can be drawn away of our own lusts and enticed.

So what practical lesson do we glean from these sobering realities. It can be summed up in one word. Separation! I know it is not a popular word and a word over which there has been much debate, but personal separation is an essential aspect of the Christian experience. Because we are of God and have been made partakers of the divine nature there should be a desire to separate ourselves from a world of which the scripture declares the "whole" lies in wickedness.

I find it interesting that I often hear the brethren justifying present compromises on the basis of the compromises of previous generations. It is a sophisticated form of the childish argument, "Well, they did it." Well, so they did. There is something commonly human about wanting to turn the attention toward the failures of others (even in previous generations) rather than addressing the more pressing needs of our own lives, families and churches.

Let us embrace the truth and lesson of 1 John 5:19

We are of God.
The whole world lieth in wickedness.
Being of God we should separate ourselves from this world.

Choose ye this day whom you will serve!

The Labor Of Self Love

2010-10-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

"The Labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have inward peace? The heart's fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honor from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest. Continue this fight through the years and the burden will become intolerable. Yet the sons of earth are carrying this burden continually, challenging every word spoken against them, cringing under every criticism, smarting under each fancied slight, tossing sleepless if another is preferred before them.

Such a burden as this is not necessary to bear. Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, ' Oh, so you have been overlooked? They had placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all? And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of the dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself and cease to care what men think.'

The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather, he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and as strong as Samson, but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God's estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is, in the sight of God, more important than angels. In himself nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. He rests perfectly content to allow God to place His own values. He will be patient to wait for the day when everything will get its own price tag and real worth will come into its own. Then the righteous shall shine forth in the kingdom of their Father. He is willing to wait for that day."

A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit Of God

He Will Save Us

2010-09-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Isaiah 33:22

I came across this verse in my morning reading today. What first caught my attention is the presence of three divisions (branches) of government.

Judge - Judicial
Lawgiver - Legislative
King - Executive

When I saw that I paused and reflected on the genius of our form of Government. It is worthy of note that our government is composed of these same three divisions.

Judge - Federal courts
Lawgiver - Congress
King - President

We call this the separation of powers, a system of checks and balances. Of course each of the branches are to be governed by the document that brought them into existence, The Constitution of the United States of America. It is this reality that causes us to use the phrase, "the rule of law". We are a nation of laws. We have the division of powers because no man or group of men can be entrusted with too much power. The corrupt nature of man demands that a system of "checks and balances" be in place. Therefore we have a system in place that was designed to create tension between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government each being jealous of its own power and watching with a wary eye the decisions of the other two.

This concept is clearly present in Isaiah 33:22. What is strikingly different about our form of government and the statement made in Isaiah is there is no separation of power, no checks and balances. The divisions exist but they converge in one person, the LORD! All governing power is united in the LORD! There are no checks on his power. There are no balances to his power. There is no separation of his power.

The Judicial power is the LORD's.
The Legislative power is the LORD's.
The Executive power is the LORD's.

The LORD makes the laws, he executes the laws, and he adjudicates the laws. All power is invested in him!

Why? Because he is holy, sovereign, righteous, just, merciful, gracious, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent. He is the one person in whom all power can be vested and it not result in a miscarriage of justice.

Thus the Prophet declares, "he will save us." And so he will. The Democrats will not save us, the Republicans will not save us, the Independents will not save us, the Tea Parties will not save us, the Libertarians will not save us. He will save us.

In this intense political season it would do us good to remember that He will save us. Let us be serious as Christian patriots to cast our ballots in the will of God but always looking to him who needs no balancing of his power and in whom all governing power converges!

Ps 22:28 - For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.

Ps 75:7 - But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Da 2:21 - And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

Da 4:17 - This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

The Joy Of Divers Temptations

2010-09-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; . . . . James 1:2

In these few words we have the reality and the responsibility of the Christian life set forth.

Reality - Christians are subject to divers temptations

Responsibility - The sober reality should be counted as all joy

The reality being wedded to the responsibility produces a challenge that only those who have the Spirit of God living in them can achieve. They have the potential to achieve. Potential does not necessarily translate into reality. When I read this verse two things come to mind. I want to live this way. It is hard to live this way.

What are the temptations of which James is speaking? The word temptation is being used in a broader sense than what we typically use it. I think what the Holy Spirit had in mind flows from the pen of James in the following verse:

". . . the trying of your faith . . . . "

That is the essence of all temptation. It is having our faith tried. It is being put to the proof, being tested. Temptation can be anything that tests our allegiance and commitment to Christ. It is, in essence, the same concept Jesus was addressing when he said in Matthew 6:24,

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

When James writes "divers temptations" he is reminding us that the trying of our faith comes in all shapes and sizes, numerous levels of difficulty. In fact the word temptations itself is in the plural.

Even the word "fall" is meant to direct our attention to the varied temptation we face. The word suggests we fall into something that is all around, to be surrounded with. The reality is, we are daily faced with a barrage of choosing Christ or the other thing, whatever it is. Everyday, all day we are surrounded with challenges to our commitment to Christ. It can in fact become wearisome.

Lets face it we really do not know if we are committed and/or how committed until the commitment is challenged.

The trying of our faith is an opportunity. We are being provided with the opportunity to prove our love and devotion to Christ. We are be given the opportunity to put our actions where our Amen is. Circumstances develop throughout life wherein Christ is basically asking will you serve me or self.

If I want to do more than just talk about my love for Christ then I must have my faith tried. And when my faith is tried I should count it all joy that I have an opportunity to show that I choose Christ and I am committed to him. If we are walking in the Spirit these opportunities will produce joy. Remember, joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore we are not speaking of something generated by the flesh, but rather something produced by the Spirit of the living God!

We step into the midst of the challenges every day, whether great or small, counting it all joy that we have been given these opportunities to trust Him, obey Him, love Him, believe Him, serve Him, and choose Him!

Thirteen Reasons Why I Love Baptist Churches

2010-08-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

Acts 15:3 - And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

The scripture tells us that Paul and Barnabas were “brought on their way” by the church. This clearly has reference to their physical needs and helping them in their journey. In my own life I can honestly say that the church of Jesus Christ has been the instrument of God to “bring me on my way”.

When I speak of the church I am not speaking of some universal (visible or invisible) entity that has never assembled violating the very essence of a church. A concept that was born in the mind of Augustine the father of corrupt theology and whose talons seized the Protestant churches in their infancy and whose influence has corrupted the ecclesiology of many Baptists.

I am speaking of the church as an institution whose only existence is to be found in the local, visible assemblies of baptized believers who are covenanted together to carry on the work of Jesus Christ. I make no pretense about loving Baptist churches. While I would readily admit that some have given way to apostasy and others seem to be in the initial stages of deterioration I love Baptist churches and consider them to be the only churches holding to the faith once delivered to the saints and having the authority of heaven.

My earliest spiritual memories are connected to a Baptist church.

I have sat under the ministry of six Baptist pastors.

I have heard hundreds of Baptist preachers.

I have been in dozens of Baptist churches.

I have had the opportunity to preach in dozens of Baptist churches in four countries and seven states.

I was saved in a Baptist church.

I was baptized in a Baptist church by a Baptist preacher.

I surrendered to preach in a Baptist church.

I have attended Sunday school in Baptist churches.

I have taught Sunday school in Baptist churches.

I have worked with young people in a Baptist church.

I have led singing in Baptist churches.

I was trained for the Baptist ministry in the context of a Baptist church by a Baptist Pastor.

I have had the opportunity to lead others to repent and believe the gospel in the context of a Baptist church.

I have had the opportunity to disciple others in the context of a Baptist church.

I have had the glorious privilege of pastoring Baptist people in a Baptist church for the last 20 years.

When all is said and done I will have lived and died a Baptist.

I will enter heaven as a born-again Baptist.

My whole life, as long as I can remember, has been wrapped up in Baptist churches. I want to share with you thirteen reasons why I love Baptist churches.

1. Matthew 16:18 – I love Baptist churches because they are the kind that was established by Jesus.

2. Matthew 28:16-20 – I love Baptist churches because they brought the gospel to me.

3. Acts 8:1 – I love the Baptist churches because they have been persecuted throughout history.

4. Acts 12:5 – I love Baptist churches because they provide a community of support.

5. Acts 20:28 – I love Baptist churches because they are the authorized place for the feeding of God’s people.

6. Acts 20:28 – I love Baptist churches because they are the kind that were purchased by the blood of Christ.

7. Eph. 1:22 – I love Baptist churches because the head over all things is head of those churches.

8. Eph. 3:21 – I love Baptist churches because God gets glory through those churches.

9. Eph. 5:25 – I love Baptist churches because Christ loves Baptist churches.

10. Eph. 5:27 – I love Baptist churches because Christ sanctifies Baptist churches.

11. Eph. 5:29 – I love Baptist churches because Christ nourishes and cherishes Baptist churches.

12. Col. 1:24 – I love Baptist churches because those churches are the bodies of Christ.

13. 1 Timothy 3:15 – I love Baptist churches because those churches are the pillar and ground of the truth.

A couple of years ago I went on a field trip with a retired teacher who was continuing to drive a bus. As we talked he leaned that I was a Baptist pastor and I learned that he was a Methodist. He told me that he understood that a Methodist was a Baptist that could read. I told him that I had heard that a Baptist was a Methodist who had had his eyes opened. He said he would tell me the difference between the Baptist and the Methodist if I would not get offended. A Baptist preaches like he's preaching to 3 saints and 300 sinners while a Methodist preaches like he is preaching to 300 saints and 3 sinners. He said he did not like his preacher to yell. I told him that the Methodist had some pretty fiery preaches in their history.

As I have thought about that I determined if I was a Methodist I would not have anything to get excited about either. So Baptist have a reputation of preaching hell hot, Christ glorious, man completely sinful, heaven well, heavenly, and the cross man’s only hope; and they tend to get a bit passionate about it. I happen to love them for it and may I ever be numbered in their midst.

Reconciling What God Has Put Asunder

2010-08-19T08:13:00.001-05:00

The following is from Horatius Bonar's (1808-1889) message, The Evils Within The Church

"Jude, 'the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,' speak to us in the tone of an ancient prophet. His voice is that of Elijah or John the Baptist. It is 'the voice of crying in the wilderness.' He speaks to the declining churches of his day. He speaks to the Church of the last days. It is against the evils within the Church that he specially warns. What a picture does he draw of error, licentiousness, worldliness, spiritual decay, and ecclesiastical apostasy! Who could recognize the image of the primitive Church in the description he gives of prevailing iniquity? The world had absorbed the Church, and the Church was content that it should be so . . .

It is a picture for the Church in our day to study, for we are rapidly becoming part of the world and falling into the snares of the 'god of this world' (2 Corinthians 4:4). Nay, and we glory in this as 'progress,' 'culture,' and 'enlightenment,' as freedom from the bigotry of other centuries and the narrowness of our half-enlightened ancestors, who did not know how to reconcile contraries and to join what God has put asunder; how to believe everything alike; how to combine earth's pleasures and gaieties with the joy of God; how both to pray and to dance; how to revel and to weep for sin; how to wear both the 'white raiment' and the jeweled ball dress; how to maintain friendship both with God and with His enemies; how both to pamper and to starve the flesh; how to lay up treasure both on earth and heaven; how to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils; how to be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of devils."

(emphasis mine)

It is interesting how we have figured out a way to join together what God had clearly distinguished:

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 - Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Psalms 1:1 - 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.

Romans 13:12 - The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Ephesians 5:8 - For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Swallowed Up In A Worldly Church!

2010-08-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

The following is from James Smith's, "Man's Treatment of Gods People" 1859:

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19

Such is the testimony of the Lord Jesus.

Real Christians have never been favorites of the world--and while it continues what it is, they never can be.

Nor can the pure and simple gospel be pleasant to the world, because it lays the sinner in the dust, and exalts God as supreme and sovereign. Let us not be surprised then, if we hear worldlings speak against the gospel, and traduce the Lord's people; for what the Romans told Paul, is in a good measure true in the present day, . . . . for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against. Acts 28:22

This 'sect' originated with Jesus, the hated Nazarene, who came into the world for its good, and to save His people from their sins. He gathered around Him many--but they were principally the poor and unlearned. There was nothing in them, or about them, to recommend them to the proud and sensual world.

They were begotten of God, and made new creatures in Christ.

They embraced the truth that He taught.

They observed the precepts that He gave.

They copied the example that He set.

Their creed consisted pretty much in these facts:

that man is a lost sinner, that salvation by works is impossible, and therefore it must be all of grace--or not at all; that the Lord Jesus came into the world to take the sinner's place, fulfill the law in the sinner's stead, and die as the sinner's substitute.

By such hopes, they were animated, by such rules, they walked, and at such objects, they aimed.

And yet, they were spoken against and despised, because they poured contempt on the luxuries, pride, and honors of this world. They were treated as the offscouring of all things, unfit for society, unfit to live.

Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 1 John 3:13

And yet, like Israel in Egypt, the more they were persecuted, the more they multiplied and grew; until at length they spread not only over the Roman empire--but nearly over the world. And, had they retained . . .

the simplicity of their lives, the spirituality of their minds, and the correctness of their creed--they would no doubt have encircled the globe!

But at length they were . . .

courted by royalty, loaded with wealth, became intoxicated with worldly honors, and then their glory departed!

They drank into the spirit of the world, conformed to its maxims and customs, sought its approbation and applause--and so fell from their exalted station, and lost their real dignity. The 'sect' that had been spoken against everywhere, with the exception of a few--was swallowed up in a worldly church!

There are still some, who, like the ancient sect of the Nazarenes, are spoken against everywhere. They will not swim with the stream. They will not compromise their Master's honor, or give up their Master's truth. According to the light they have--they walk; and they rejoice to exalt the Savior, humble the sinner, and proclaim salvation, all of grace. They rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame, for His dear name.

Reader! Do you belong to this sect? Is there anything in your religion that is distasteful to the world, anything that draws forth its opposition, or excites its contempt? The carnal mind is still enmity against God, and if we are godlike--that enmity will manifest itself against us!

If we copy Christ's example, as set before us in the gospel; if we testify against the world, that its works are evil, and call upon it to repent, as Christ did--we shall soon be hated by the world!"

(emphasis mine)

O Blessed Rest

2010-08-16T15:44:00.000-05:00

Having finished Richard Baxter's book, The Saint's Everlasting Rest I hope you will indulge me one more quote. I found his last chapter to be his best.

"Rest! How sweet the sound! It is melody to my ears! It lies as a reviving cordial to my heart, and from thence sends forth lively spirits, which beat through all the pulses of my soul! Rest! not as the stone that rests on the earth, nor as this flesh shall rest in the grave, nor such a rest as the carnal world desires. O blessed rest! when we 'rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!' when we shall rest from sin, but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, but not from joy! O blessed day! when I shall rest with God! when I shall rest in the bosom of my Lord! when I shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing and praising! when my perfect soul and body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect God! when God, who is love itself, shall perfectly love me, and rest in his love to me, as I shall rest in my love to him; and rejoice over me with joy, and joy over me with singing as I shall rejoice in him!"

From A Clod To A Flame

2010-08-16T13:20:00.000-05:00

The following is from Richard Baxter's, The Saint's Everlasting Rest:

"And now, reader, according to the above directions, make conscience of daily exercising thy graces in meditation as well as prayer. Retire into some secret place, at a time the most convenient to thyself, and laying aside all worldly thoughts, with all possible seriousness and reverence look up towards heaven; remember there is thine everlasting rest; study its excellency and reality; and rise from sense to faith, by comparing heavenly with earthly joys. Then mix ejaculations with thy soliloquies; till having pleaded the case reverently with God, and seriously with thy own heart, thou has pleaded thyself from a clod to a flame; from a forgetful sinner, and a lover of the world, to an ardent lover of God; from a fearful coward to a resolved Christian; from an unfruitful sadness to a joyful life; in a word, till thou has pleaded thy heart from earth to heaven; from conversing below, to walking with God; and till thou canst lay thy heart to rest, as in the bosom of Christ, by some such meditation of thy everlasting rest as is here added for thy assistance."

Making The Most Of Every Day

2010-08-14T20:02:00.000-05:00

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 8:22

Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
Psalms 74:17

I have weather alerts sent to my blackberry. For over a week now I have been getting advisories warning that the heat index would be registering between 106 and 112. They usually last till about eight PM. Today I received a heat advisory that is in effect till nine PM tomorrow evening. They obviously are not anticipating much of a cool down during the night, not that uncommon at this time of year.

I found myself looking at the average mean temperatures and noted that they begin to creep down at the end of this month and drop several degrees in October. I am tempted to long for the end of Summer and cooler weather. How can this be? It was just a few months ago I was longing for warmer weather. Do I really want the Summer to end? Do I ever really want the warmer weather to blow off the Gulf and bring an end to the cooler temperatures of Winter and Spring?

I suppose I am simply wanting to be comfortable. Whether I am sitting in my home, my car, walking between the two, mowing the grass, driving a school bus, sitting in church, or whatever. Do I really want the Summer to end, to be over?? Once it is over it will be gone forever. This is a Summer that will never be replayed. When it is over I will have one less Summer than I did just a few months ago when I was longing for warmer weather.

Is my comfort so important that I would desire to expedite a Summer or Winter that leaves me with one less? Should not I rather relish the searing heat of summer and the cold winds of winter? Why is it so hard to praise God for the days when the sun shines in its strength in a noon day sky, or the days when the wind howls it arrival and sends me scurrying for a coat? Will I not learn, before it is too late, to appreciate the hot days and the cold days in their proper season?

While I am wiping the profuse sweat from my brow and soaking my pants, shirt, and hat can I not worship the God who set the heavens as a "tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

When I step out into the dark, cold wind of winter having bundled myself against its frigid blast can I not rejoice in the one of whom it is said, "He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?"

O, Lord, this Summer is almost over, help me to number my days, the hot and the cold ones that I might apply my heart unto wisdom and rejoice in thee. Help me Lord to be thankful for another hot day to love you and serve you. And when the time comes help my heart to be warmed in thinking of a God before whose cold I cannot stand. And Lord, last of all, help me to remember that a hot day or a cold day is better than no day at all!

Holy, Holy, Holy

2010-08-12T16:40:00.003-05:00

Revelation 4:6-8 - And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

A couple of weeks ago a missionary friend of mine came by and preached for us on a Wednesday evening. He preached a wonderful message from Revelation four and five. It was a message that really exalted the Lord Jesus Christ.

I listened intently as he opened up the Scripture for us and I was seized by a renewed awareness of the four beast that were before the throne. I am inclined to believe according to Isaiah six that the four beasts were seraphims, angelic beings that promote, guard, and sustain the worship of God at His throne.

Revelation informs us that they "rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." I have always stood in awe as my feeble mind has sought to take in this glorious sight, to comprehend the perpetual praise of these four beasts. I have noted on many occasions the attribute of God which maintains their vigilant attention is Holiness!

That evening I began to think about not so much what they were crying as what they were not crying. They could have cried anything. I am compelled to accept that they were crying "Holy, holy, holy" at the Lord's direction. This is what the Lord wanted cried at his throne day and night without rest.

Think with me for a minute what they were not crying:

Love, love, love, Lord God Almighty
Righteousness, righteousness, righteousness, Lord God Almighty
Merciful, merciful, merciful, Lord God Almighty
Faithful, faithful, faithful, Lord God Almighty
Immutable, immutable, immutable, Lord God Almighty
Sovereign, sovereign, sovereign, Lord God Almighty

No, it was none of these! It was "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. This they cried day and night without rest, it was their perpetual refrain. The seraphim are one note creatures, there is no medley extolling the many attributes of God; just this single verse over and over and over again.

His undiluted purity revealed in infinite holiness drowns out all other voices at the throne. It seems likely that if we spent more time at the throne the same verse would be on our lips. We would not tire of it. We would not become weary with the monotony. We would not dread days without number declaring his holiness without distraction!

We move from his holiness and we cannot rightly understand the true beauty of the lesser attributes of God. We supplant the heavenly verse with the attribute of our own choosing and we diminish his glory!

Isaiah 6:1-3 - In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had sic wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! tho the darkness hide thee,

Tho the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see;

Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,

Perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All they works shall praise they name, in earth, and sky, and sea;

Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!

God in three Persons blessed Trinity!

When A Man's Tongue Is Extensively Wrong

2010-08-12T08:07:00.000-05:00

"Let it be a settled principle again in our religion, that when a man's general conversation is ungodly--his heart is graceless and unconverted. Let us not give way to the foolish notion, that no one can know anything of the state of another's heart, and that although men are living wickedly--they have good hearts at the bottom. Such notions are flatly contradictory to our Lord's teaching. Is the general tone of a man's speech carnal, worldly, godless or profane? Then let us understand, that this is the state of his heart! When a man's tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that his heart is right!"

J. C. Ryle

The Coming Glory!

2010-08-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from a book I have been reading in for over a year, The Saint's Everlasting Rest by Richard Baxter.

"How wonderful was the Son of God in the form of a servant! When he is born, a new star must appear, and conduct the strangers to worship him in a manger, heavenly hosts with their songs must celebrate his nativity; while a child, he must dispute with doctors; when he enters upon his office, he turns water into wine, feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes, cleanses the lepers, heals the sick, restores the lame, gives sight to the blind, and raises the dead. How wonderful, then, is his celestial glory! If there be such cutting down of boughs, and spreading of garments, and crying Hosanna, for one that comes into Jerusalem riding on an ass; what will there be when he comes with his angles in his glory! If they that heard him 'preach the Gospel of the kingdom,' confess, 'Never man spake like this man;' they then, that behold his majesty in the his kingdom will say, 'There was never glory like this glory.' If, when his enemies came to apprehend him, they fell to the ground; if, when he is dying the earth quakes, the veil of the temple is rent, the sun is eclipsed, the dead bodies of the saints arise, and the standers-by acknowledge, 'Truly this was the Son of God;' O what a day will it be when the dead must all arise and stand before him! When he 'will once shake, not the earth only, but the heavens also!' When this sun shall be taken out of the firmament, and be everlastingly darkened with his glory! And when every tongue shall confess him to be the Lord and King! If, when he rose again, death and the grave lost their power: if angels must 'roll away the stone,' terrify the keepers till they are 'as dead men,' and send the tiding to his disciples; if he ascend to heaven in their sight; of what power, dominion and glory is he now possessed, and which we must for ever possess with him! When he is gone, can a few poor fisherman and tent-makers cure the lame, blind and sick, open prisons, destroy the disobedient, raise the dead, and astonish their adversaries? What a world will that be, where every one can do greater works than these! If the preaching of the Gospel be accompanied with such power as to discover the secrets of the heart, humble the proud sinner, and make the most obdurate tremble; if it can make men burn their books, sell their lands, and bring in the price and lay it down at the preacher's feet; if it can convert thousands, and turn the world upside down; if its doctrine, from the prisoner at the bar, can make the judge on the bench tremble; if Christ and his saints have this power and honor in the day of their abasement, and in the time appointed for their suffering and disgrace, what then will they have in their absolute dominion and full advancement in their kingdom of glory!"

Romans 8:18 - For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Shadows In The Sacrifices

2010-08-11T13:14:00.001-05:00

I began a series this past Sunday morning entitled Shadows In The Sacrifices. We will be preaching through the first ten chapter of Leviticus. The following is my slightly edited introduction from Sunday morning's message.

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Hebrews 10:1

By the time we get to chapter 10 of Hebrews we have been through an extensive discussion of the Old Testament ceremonial law in chapter 8 and 9. In fact much of the book of Hebrews places in a New Testament context the content of the book of Leviticus. It culminates in Hebrews 10:1 where we are informed that the law had a shadow of good things to come. Those Old Testament sacrifices and priests were a shadow of the very image that was yet to come. Therefore it is appropriate to look for Shadows In The Sacrifices, as we step inside the ancient Tabernacle of Israel and watch the principles of redemption, atonement, and forgiveness played out before our very eyes.

While the setting may be foreign to our experience the themes presented are timeless: sin, priesthood, sacrifice, death, and blood atonement. There is an abundance of Gospel preaching in the first 10 chapters of Leviticus.

Shadows by their very nature present only a form and outline of the image the produces the shadow. Shadows do not provide details or texture. But you can follow the shadow to the very image that produces the shadow. Shadows give clues. Shadows indicate the presence of something real and substantive. If there are shadows in the sacrifices then we at least know there is something real and substantive in our presence. If we faithfully follow the shadows to the place where they intersect with the “very image” we shall find ourselves beholding the Saviour! It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ casting his shadow through the sacrifices.

Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 9:1-12

The Tabernacle, it was the place of sacrifice. The place where sin was dealt with. It was a bloody place. It was a place of suffering where the one who was offering saw the consequences of his sin and the offering suffered the consequences of the sin. It was here that sinners cried and sacrifices cried out. It was here that substitution was made, the innocent dying in the place of the guilty.

The Tabernacle, it was the place of priests. The place where they ministered before God for the people. The place where they ministered to the people for God. The Priests were daily reminded of the unending plague of sin and transgression. It was seen in the streams of blood that ran at their feet. It was seen in the blood that stained their hands. It was seen in the carcasses of a thousand sacrifices. It was seen in the expressions of a multitude of sinners. It was seen as the sinner laid his trembling hand on the head of his offering.

The Tabernacle, it was the place of restoration. The sweet smell of incense. The provocative aroma of fat burning on the fire. The offering to which the sin had been imputed dying in the sinner’s place. The sense of relief that flooded the guilty countenance. The heavy heart of the sinner having come to the altar with a sacrifice made quiet and easy in the promise of forgiveness.

We want to enter the sanctuary where these shadows of Jesus fall. We want to set our little stool in the corner facing the altar of burnt offering and watch the priest go about their work. We want to watch the sinners come with the shame of guilt and leave with the promise of forgiveness. We want to watch the savagery, brutality, and blood flow from the sacrifices. We want to see the shadow of Jesus. We come to this sacred place looking for Jesus. We surely will not be disappointed.

In the first ten chapters of Leviticus we will see the presence of sin, the necessity of sacrifice, and the sweetness of salvation. It is here in type and shadow. And in seeing the shadow may we appreciate the reality which cast the shadow back all those years.