A Steady Diet of Jesus
June 29, 2008
This past week Jamie and I went to a pastor’s conference in Pensacoloa Florida where we had the privilege to hear H.B.London speak. One of the issues he spoke about was pastors trying to do ministry under their own steam. It is impossible for the church to build a God honoring ministry based on talent, financial resources, or administrative ability alone. This is where it gets tricky. All of these things are usually factors in a Christ honoring ministry, but they must never be the driving factor. Without the Holy Spirit we have no power to do the impossible. When the Holy Spirit blesses the work nothing can stop it. I hope that makes your soul pant for God.
It is probably easier to put Christ on a back burner in he ministry than any secular vocation. God is honored in your work when you make it your goal to honor Him in it. Found this to be the case when I worked at Warrington Middle School. Galatians 5:16 states, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We walk in the Spirit when we walk with a continual awareness of who we are in Christ intent on applying the truth we have learned about Christ in our daily lives. Our lives and church must literally become the fragrance of Christ.
The goal of every believer is not merely to act like our concept of what we believe a Christian ought to be but to allow Christ to live through us by way of the Holy Spirit. If you enter a church full of cookie cutter Christians it is usually proof that the Lord is not in it. The men and women of the Bible were very different. Grace, dependent on the Holy Spirit is vital to us serving Christ. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of host” (Zechariah 4:6) is as true today as it has always been. If we are to please Christ we must make our relationship with Him a part of our daily diet. Learn something new about Jesus and make it part of your life today.
That Seems a Little Out of Place
June 15, 2008
One morning this week I opened the refrigerator door to get a glass of milk and there was a clothes hanger neatly laid between the eggs and the orange juice. There is nothing strange about a clothes hanger until you see one in the refrigerator. I immediately knew that my two year old daughter had put it there. She meant well but simply did not know that it was out of place. There are two obvious lessons in this.
First, even the most common place truths must be taught. As parents we often take for granted that what is obvious to us should be obvious to our children. Ephesians 6:4 states, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Let me expound upon that verse. Parents don’t react harshly to a child for doing something wrong if we have never taught them the right way. If anyone has ever assigned you a difficult job without any training and criticized you when you didn’t get it right then you know how it feels.
Secondly, although the clothes hanger was not bad within and of itself, it took up space where something else was intended to go. Like a refrigerator a Christian’s life should be a source of preservation for a lot of things that would otherwise spoil. When the world opens the door to our lives and looks inside what crosses their minds? I am not saying that what they see is wrong within and of itself, but is it out of place? If it makes the world question our spiritual priorities, then it is wrong for us. What would be blessings have we not made room for them in our lives? Does our society decay because we have filled our lives with things that never should have been there in the first place? Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned; it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13). Dads, if our children are ever to know these things it will be up to us to teach them.
Living in the Gnat Zone
June 8, 2008
It certainly will not be the first question I ask God when I get to heaven, but I want to know why God created gnats. I used to think gnats lived everywhere. This is not so. There is an imaginary line of demarcation called the gnat line. The northern line runs through central Georgia and Alabama while the southern line runs parallel to the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle. It is wonderful to live below the gnat line but it is also wonderful to live in the gnat zone. It would not make much sense if people left this section of country because they did not want to put up with the inconvenience of a few gnats.
People miss out on so many blessings because they refuse to learn to ignore simple little things. We often start the day full of hope for relaxation, only to have it spoiled by a presence of something that could easily be ignored. Let me tell you about a few gnats that are in my face everyday. Rising gas prices keep swarming around my head daily. Now that I think about it the price of everything is rising. The political landscape certainly isn’t shaping up the way I want it to. Think about this. Gnats only bother you when you are standing still. Many of the things that bother us in life will take care of themselves if we learn to count our blessings and enjoy the many things God has given us the opportunity to enjoy. The reality is that problems like gnats won’t go away. We have all been richly blessed by God. Are you enjoying the day God has given you or fretting over the cloud of gnats that are following you around?
What Did They Die For?
May 25, 2008
Ask any man on a battlefield why he is fighting and he will say for the man next to him. Ask him again and he will say for freedom. We live in a generation that takes our freedom for granted as if it is a right and not a responsibility. For every day of freedom we enjoy in America roughly fourteen men gave their lives. This number does not include the millions who are wounded. These men thought this was a worthy price to pay for our freedom.
True freedom has its basis in God. True tyranny has its basis in man. Today as a nation we reject God. We have so swallowed the concept of separation of church and state that we now consider belief in Jesus Christ makes one unfit to hold public office. What will step into the vacuum when God is gone? Man will! Our founding fathers never used the word democracy in the constitution. Democracy means “rule by the common people.” In 1787 at the constitutional convention John Adams argued, “The proposition that the people are the best keepers of their liberties is not true. They are the worst conceivable; they are no keepers at all. They can neither act, judge, think, or will.” We live in a Republic that was born “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence.” Today as we oust God we seek to exalt man. Our population is easily swayed by a fine speech. All a man must do is boldly promise the benefits of freedom without the price tag. History teaches there is more to the story. The price of democracy, or rule by the common people without God will be far greater than the price of freedom. Democracy always leads to anarchy and then totalitarian rule.
We Are Battling for the High Ground
May 18, 2008
Some day’s life can be an uphill battle. When fighting an uphill battle we don’t advance in yards but inches, often paying a high price fro each inch of ground we take. During World War II the Americans at Iwo Jima were sickened by the high price they were paying for a seemingly worthless piece of real estate. Iwo Jima’s high value was of a strategic nature and the enemy knew it.
Christians often experience an uphill battle for goals or areas of our lives that seem unimportant but these are often the areas with immense strategic value. If we disregard the high ground then we lose the war. Those who posses the high ground control their lives and are not easily dislodged. Romans 8:37-39 states, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The next time you want to quit the battle for the high ground stop what you are doing and assess its strategic value. You will find the strength you need to stay in the battle.
The Golden Years
May 11, 2008
When my daughter was born she had black hair and blue eyes. She turned two this past week with brown eyes and golden hair. Many see her hair and ask us where it came from. My hair was blonde when I was a child. When the flames of defiance scorch the treetops, those who are not intimately acquainted with Jamie or I often ask us where our daughter’s temper came from. Alas, she is our beloved daughter. The essence of who we are apart from the grace of Almighty God explains her belligerent actions.
It would be easy to lock horns in a battle of the wills. Many people do this destroying the fragile hearts they were intended to shepherd. When God created her, He gave her a strong personality for difficult times. People need a lot of spunk to live for God today. One thing is needed! Like the whole of humanity she needs a new nature in Christ Jesus. In a generation when talk is cheap she needs to see Christ exemplified in my life. Being a living example of Christ is far more than preaching, church attendance, and a good moral life, though it should include those things. A man will not go far in any athletic competition if he does not have heart. You can’t teach heart but you can model it. Christianity is about heartily obeying God so that all of our actions honor Him. This means having a submissive heart laying every area of our lives on the altar before God. This means submissively honoring our families by reserving no special rights for ourselves. My goal for my children should be the same as Christ’s for His, righteousness at any price. Do you dictate the laws of God or live as an example of Christ. The way we answer that question will likely determine our children’s future.
The Opossum and the Penthouse
April 27, 2008
Earlier this week we had a work day at Camp Mount Pleasant. We demolished a dilapidated cabin that was being used to store a bunch of useless junk. It also held several valuable pieces of material that were consequently of no use because no one knew they were there. When we removed the floor a mama opossum and two babies made a break for a nearby patch of woods. They had built a massive nest underneath the building, a opossum penthouse if you will.
Needless to say they were deeply upset when progress erased their little nest. A lot of Christians are like that opossum. We often snuggle into a church quiet content to do nothing more than make ourselves comfortable. Church becomes a depository for memories. Like that shed, items or ideas often become permanent fixtures in our churches. People are afraid to change anything for fear of upsetting a opossum that resides under all the clutter in a penthouse. When we live in fear of offending someone, the Spirit of God will not work. We must learn to let things go. We will never be able to reach for that which is ahead as long as we are holding on to that which has seen its time of usefulness come and go. I am not saying that we should forget the past simply that we should not live in it.
Christian, heed the apostle John’s words, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. So let it be” (1 John 5:21). Idols may not be made of gold, have four tires on it, or cost us a dime to keep it. An idol is anything that stands in the way of our obedience to Jesus Christ.
We Have a Rock
April 20, 2008
We do not yet have a building but we have a rock. Not only is it a rock, but it is a costly rock. It is a rock that has but one purpose; to support a building that will honor God. The floor plan of this building has been predetermined. The outer structure of this building has been predetermined. Today all we have is a rock but we may stand on that rock and envision the finished product full of people honoring God. It will take more than a vision to see the finished product realized. It will take hard work, sacrifice, and unity.
Paul states, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). We may build on another foundation, but not one that is secure. “All other ground is shifting sand.” The greatest battle we as Christians face is to build on the foundation within the bounds that honor God. These are
the bounds: “and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Simply put, God is never honored by a life in which He is not preeminent. Simply put, God is not honored by a selfish life. Love always leads to selflessness. Selfishness is never from God and always destroys unity. If our lives do not honor God then we need to do a little demolition and rebuild on the proper foundation.
Theistic Realism
April 13, 2008
Realism has been defined as: An inclination toward objective truth that tends to express an awareness of things as they are. Reality without God is usually a negative experience. Here is a dose of reality. We are on the verge of an economic recession and the baby boomers are about to retire straining our current tax system so that we must pay more taxes or reap less benefits. We are engaged in a vital war that most people deem unnecessary. Our government is becoming increasingly secular while the American church continues to grow weaker. America as we know it is never more than one day from ceasing to exist. Had enough reality yet?
Postmodern Americans cope with this reality by becoming optimistic realist (a.k.a. blind faith). Theistic faith and realism are diametrically opposed. Theistic faith has a basis unlike optimistic realism. Theo means God. Theistic realism means God is sovereign in my life. Do you cope with life by sticking your head in the sand or by sticking your head in the word of God. If your head is not in the word of God I think you know the answer. Does your vision include getting to know the only one who offers any basis for hope. We are admonished to look on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Sometimes as Christians our lives seem impossible. Remember what Jesus said in Mark 10:27: “But Jesus looked at them and said, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” Life is Good when you know Jesus.
The Stray That No One Wanted
April 6, 2008
Earlier this week a stray dog walked up to the church and dared to seek mercy from the people of God. He is a pure bred sooner. He would just as soon be a beagle as a basset hound. It is obvious that his best days are behind him. His collar has a telephone number on it. When I called the number no one knew anything about the dejected dog. We fed him a meal, sent him on his way with all our love, and warned him never to come back. He will make someone a good dog, just not me.
This dog’s story is similar to that of many Christians. It doesn’t matter if we are born with a silver spoon in our mouth or on the wrong side of the tracks, we are all worthless strays. Let this thought soak in: God loves us as we are not as we should be. We all have hundreds of traits that make us undesirable. What does Jesus think about people? “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Mathew 9:36). We are not moved with compassion as we should be for the lost sheep of America. Does a stray soul dare to crawl before the church. Will they simply find another ton of dejection to carry around on their back, or will they find a people of God who love God, and consequently love them. We must learn to love people for the same reason we would love a fallen son or daughter. We love people because no matter how mangled their lives are Jesus loves them because they are made in the image of God. Do we reach out to those who cross our path or simply send them on their way hoping someone else will have compassion on them? By the way, I found the stray dead 2 hours after I wrote this.