A Terrible Year

It happened again today...  it's been happening for over a month now.  Every time I go out in public, someone has to remark on what a terrible year it's been.   Today at the grocery store, I overheard two customers that had high hopes that 2010 would be a better year than this year.   "What a terrible year it's been."    I understand that some people have had difficulty.   But if you listened to everyone that complained about 2009, you'd think we lived in a third world country.  You'd think we had nothing to eat. You'd think we had no place to live.  You'd think that it was a....  well, a terrible year.

Every time I hear someone say that 2009 was a terrible year, I think of the Christian's in the underground churches in communist countries being tortured for their faith.  It may have been a bad year for them, although many of them consider it a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ.   When someone tells me it's been a terrible year, I think of all the freedoms I have enjoyed by living in this land.  When someone says it's been a terrible year, I wonder if every year is terrible for them.   Maybe they just like to complain... or perhaps 2009 really was a terrible year for some people - maybe a loved one died, maybe they lost a job, maybe their marriage isn't right.   And maybe their hopes had been dashed.  And if so, I wish for 2010 to be better.  

I do wonder though, if the people with a bad 2009 had put their hope in their 401K, or put their hope in the value of their house or other material things.  Maybe part of the reason 2009 was so bad for some people is that they had put their hope in a new president who didn't quite deliver what they expected.   Mortal men, even presidents, do not bring the hope that people are looking for.  Health problems, conflict in relationships, money issues... all have the potential to destroy our outlook if we do not handle them correctly.   Despite the many things that come our way, there is still hope for a better year to come.

It can be a better year for all of us if our hope is in the right place.    In 2010, lets look to the real hope, Jesus Christ.

May your new year be full of happiness and hope,
Mark

Local Church Commitment

I've been thinking and praying alot lately about 'the local church'.  What is my role in the local church?  And what happens to the local church when I don't fulfill my role?

It is imperative that this generation renew its commitment to the local church.   When I look around at my own church, for the most part it is the 'older' people that financially support the church;  it is the 'older' people that make up the sound leadership;  it is the 'older' people that are present at Wednesday night prayer meetings;  and the list goes on.   In other words, the 'older' people are the pillars of the church.  The younger generations appear to be just along for the ride.     And as the oldest of the older people graduate to heaven, no one is filling in the gaps.   I've been a part of several churches over the years and I'd bet this not unique to one or two churches.

If this younger crowd (myself included) doesn't fully commit itself to the local church... then the doors will close, the ministries will cease, and she will die.   It will be a slow and painful death, but when she has died we will all look around and wonder what happened.  It will be too late then.  We need to rise up now and show ourselves faithful.  If my community is going to be reached 20-30 years from now, my local church needs not only to exist, but to be thriving.   The only way it will have vitality in those future years is for the Facebook and iPod generation to log off the computer and pull out the earplugs and get busy in our local churches.  We need to pick up our Bibles and fall on our knees and see where God would have us to serve in our local churches.   We need to break open our wallets and get generous.   If we don't do these things, disaster awaits our churches in the future.

The Best Bible Reading Program

Every December, I start thinking of ways to improve on my Bible reading.  It's hard to be consistent in our daily intake of scripture.   To get into a consistent groove requires discipline.  For some people, a 'Bible Reading Program' is just what the doctor ordered to help their oft-ailing study of God's Word.   I've looked at some of these programs year after year, and they certainly have their merit.   One program has you reading three or four chapters a day to get you through the whole Bible in a year.  Another program has you reading the same seven or eight chapters every day for a month, and then move on to a different seven or eight chapters the next month.  You don't get through the whole Bible in a year, but those chapters you read and re-read are cemented into your memory.   There are even websites that guide you daily through your assigned reading schedule.   Those kinds of Bible reading programs are good and vital for some people.  

I am a different kind of individual though.   Every time I ever tried a Bible reading program at the beginning of a new year, I end up failing by about the third week in January.   The reasons are varied, but more often than not, it ends up becoming a mechanical exercise.  This may not be true for everyone, but I have found the secret to the best Bible reading program for me:  TIME.  Spend TIME reading it.  As I mentioned in my previous post - if I simply dedicate more TIME to Jesus (part of that is Bible reading), then I will make it through the passages that He wants me to study.  If I open the Word on a regular basis, even a half-hour a day, I will read a significant portion of the Bible and be fed by the Holy Spirit's teaching.   For me, it doesn't have to be some elaborate system of checking off chapters.   Elaborate systems aren't for me.  Simple devotion to Christ through the daily reading of his Word is what works best for me.    If that means meditation on three short verses on one day, then great.  If I happen to make it through three short New Testament books the next day, then that is great too.

Christmas is Over?

The lights and decorations have been put away... the Christmas tree is already down at our house.  We usually put things up in early December and take them down right after the 25th...  and this year was no exception.   Christmas is over.   Christmas is over?!  No, Christmas is not over!  It is just starting!  In fact, we should be celebrating the birth of Christ year round.  I look at the day after Christmas as the 'beginning'.  While the Christmas hymns are still being sung in my head; while the accounts of the wise men and shepherds still fill my imagination; while visions of the Christ child lying in the manger still bring warmth to my heart - that is when we take our Christmas decorations down.  Not because we are scrooges, but because we like to get back to the 'routine' while all of those thing are consuming our thoughts.

It all may sound a bit odd.  But today as I looked around the house with barely a wreath or ornament, I pondered the gifts that the wise men brought to the newborn Savior.   Without pieces of wrapping paper or sparkling tinsel, I was able to clearly imagine in my mind what must have been going through the wise men's minds as they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh.  These were expensive gifts.  These gifts were no left-over boxes of chocolate.  The wise men assuredly thought about what would be the most appropriate gifts to give to the babe that would grow up to save mankind from their sin-sick condition.  

What would I give MY Savior if I were to give him a gift, I thought?  Without staring at a Christmas tree dressed in twinkling lights, it dawned on me what to give...  I need to give my Savior the same thing that the wise men gave:  that which costs much.    With the nativity scene and the pine garland back in the boxes, I realized that TIME and TALENT is very costly.  When time is wrongly spent, it is gone.  When talents are wrongly spent, they are wasted.   Maybe I could start using my TIME for Jesus!  It could be more Bible study and prayer, or time invested at our church or sharing the gospel.   What about my TALENTS?  What am I good at?  I am good at different things than my wife, my sons, my daughter and probably everyone else around me... so I should be a better steward of those talents that God has given to me.  Since we are all unique, we have different gifts given to us by our Creator - gifts we can offer back to Him!   What a great Christmas gift for us to give!   There is no Christmas letdown in our house, Christmas has only just begun.

Joyous Christmas

For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.   - Luke 2:11


Joyous Christmas!!

The Nativity

At this time of year, our family spends part of our weekend evenings watching our favorite classic Christmas movies... ones like 'White Christmas' and 'Miracle on 34th Street'.   Last night we saw what is now my favorite Christmas movie, 'The Nativity'.   It was very well done and very moving.   Like all movies or dramas based on the Bible, there is some poetic and artistic license, but it seemed the writers and producers of the film stayed on course.   For instance, there was great detail in the film regarding the pilgrimage from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  In Luke chapter 2, you have the decree from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken in verse 1; Joseph and Mary leave for their trip in verses 4 and 5;  and by verse 6 they are already in Bethlehem.   For some reason, God did not tell us much about the journey.  Those details are not necessary for our faith.   But the movie spent a great deal of time on the journey.   I had never thought much about the journey itself - the dangers, the grueling walking and hiking through rugged terrain, finding food and drinkable water, etc.   And while the movie has no Biblical basis for what it depicted on the trip to Bethlehem, there probably is no harm in using sanctified imagination in piecing together geographic and cultural facts with what we do know to be true in history - as long as there is nothing contrary to the scriptures.  It is useful in forcing us to think through the account of the Savior's birth and the events leading up to it.  In that way, it's good for our faith... and for that reason, this movie has jumped to the top of my favorite Christmas movie list!

End of Year Reflection on Thankfulness

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, thoughts abound as we contemplate 2009.  Among those thoughts, even though it was a rough year for many, is thankfulness.  As I finish a most excellent work by Thomas Watson on the Lord's Supper, he reminds us at the end of the book that we can show thankfulness in these ways:
1).  Courage - Christ suffered God's wrath for me - most certainly I can suffer man's wrath for Christ's sake.
2).  Fruitfulness - "let us present Christ with the best fruits of our garden; let us give Him our love, that flower of delight".
3).  Zeal - Zeal is an intense degree of pure devotion.  Be zealous for Christ's name and zealous for worship.
4).  Universal subjection to Christ - head to study; hands to work; heart to adore; tongue to praise!

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

This is a great Christmas hymn, written by Charles Wesley long ago, full of truth and hope.


Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Whiter Than Snow

We woke up this morning to a fresh coat of snow this morning.  God opened up His storehouses and gave us our first snow to blanket the ground this season.   It was bright. It was pure.  It covered all the deadness of the leafless trees and thistles left over from autumn.  It was beautiful.

My son, not realizing the allegory in his words, said 'Dad, I love the snow, God must love us alot to give us snow'.

My mind immediately raced to Isaiah chapter 1 and Psalm 51.  "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow" and "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow".  What could be whiter than snow?!  It's pretty white!  And yet God promises to wash us until we are whiter than snow.

I love snow for that very reason... it reminds us of the cleansing we received from the blood of Jesus Christ.  The thistles of sin are covered by the atonement made possible by what Jesus did on that bloody cross.  

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas?  No need to dream about that.  It's already a reality for those who put their faith and trust in the soul cleansing blood of the Savior whose birth we celebrate next week!

Depart From Me...

Back in 1987, Oral Roberts conned a whole bunch of people into sending him money by boldly stating that God was going to 'call him home' unless he raised 8 million dollars.  Well, yesterday God called Oral Roberts 'somewhere' - and only He and Roberts know where that is.  Was it 'home'?   One of the Pittsburgh newspapers mentioned that he was known as the 'patriarch of the prosperity gospel'.  You know... the health, wealth and prosperity... name it and claim it... blab it and grab it...

If the Bible is true, then Oral Roberts did more in his storied career for the kingdom of Satan than we'd care to imagine.   How many unsuspecting and undiscerning people got suckered into his damnable heresies?  How many people went unwittingly to hell because the true gospel of Jesus Christ was trampled underfoot and confused by slick talk of healing, profit, worldly gain, position and materialism.    How many hurting people ended up rejecting Jesus Christ, because Roberts' fatally flawed theology left them disappointed because 'God didn't come through for them' as advertised.   Unfortunately, the passing of Oral Roberts isn't the end of his influence.  There are untold thousands - maybe millions - who will in the future embrace his skewed thought process and ultimately his false gospel.

Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in Your name... and in Your name do this... and in your name do that...?
"Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness".
What a legacy.

Photo Op

I had my picture on the front page of several national newspapers!  

It all started when a quick trip to the mall turned into a photo op with the President and First Lady.   I didn't even know they were supposed to be around here.   An art show was being staged in the middle of the mall and the Secret Service grabbed me by the arm and told me I was going to be in a photo with the President.    Not me!  I didn't want to be in this picture.  No way!  And the First Lady was rather annoyed about me being there as well.  But no one had a choice.   So rather reluctantly, I stood there and played the part - all of us posing for the camera as if it were a candid shot of us all looking and pointing at the hideous artwork hanging on the wall in the mall corridor.   When it was all over my face was plastered all over the internet news sites and on the front of several national newspapers.  I was getting phone calls from everyone ranging from 'congratulations' to 'threats'.   "Why does this have to happen to me", I thought.  

Then I was suddenly jolted out of my sleep by the welcomed alarm clock.   What a dream!  Or should I say, nightmare...

Goodbye Larry

Yesterday, my family attended a memorial service for  a man we knew who went to heaven a week earlier.  It was an awesome event.  It sounds weird to say that a memorial service could be awesome.  But I will share with you some of the reasons why I thought that.    This friend of ours was a regular guy - a simple man - who loved Jesus Christ.  Many people stood up to give testimony that there was no doubt that this man loved the Lord.   It wasn't a fake service where everyone built him up to be some perfect individual who never wronged anybody.  No, people talked about his rough edges, his flaws, his funny side, his compassion, his hurts, his health problems.   See, he was a normal, average guy... in one sense.   But in another sense this man left us all wanting to be like him.   He had gained the respect of every life he touched.   And in that regard, he is a hero in my mind.    He loved his family.  He loved his Bible.  He loved his God.  And now he is in the presence of his Savior.   And that is what we celebrated yesterday.   Awesome.

Merry CHRISSmas??

Merry Chrissmas?!  Who is Chriss?  Are we celebrating Chriss's birthday this year?  Is this some kind of a practical joke?  Is this some subtle attempt at political correctness?

There are any number of websites out there that allow you to upload your own pictures and put them on a greeting card.   They are just simply templates designed by someone hired by the website.  I found what I thought was an attractive design and color that matched what I was looking for in a family Christmas card.

But imagine my horror and embarrassment when I received them in the mail with the word 'Christmas' misspelled!   When I picked the design on the website, the picture was very small and it was tough to see the cursive script, but it appeared to be what I was looking for.   I don't go for 'Happy Holidays' or 'Seasons Greetings', even though those are nice enough to say...  but we say 'Merry Christmas' around here.   And so I picked the artwork you see in the picture above.   My blood boiled and my anger reached a fevered pitch when I opened up my package to see my 'Chrissmas' cards.    If someone doesn't want to use the radical 'Merry Christmas' greeting, then OK, use something else, BUT DON'T CHANGE THE SPELLING OF CHRISTMAS in a subtle manner!   I sent the company a note telling them that they need to either correct the spelling or at least change the design to make it more clear.   And... to any of you who receive our family's card, this blog posting is my disclaimer that this was not my design!
Merry ChrisTmas!
Mark

The Only Way Out of the Woods

There's no end in sight to the coverage of Tiger Woods.  He seemingly had everything he ever wanted.  Fame and riches go far in some people's mind.   How could he do these despicable things, we ask.   The fact is, you and I have much in common with Woods in that we're in desperate need of Christ every minute of every day.  Sure, Woods needs help getting house in order, his marriage back together and gaining back his reputation, but his greatest need is a relationship with Jesus Christ.   That billion dollars of his will one day be squandered by his heirs (if he doesn't squander it first), but none of it will amount to a hill of beans when he stands before the Judge some day.    How easy it would be for me to sit in judgment of him myself... how easy it might be to just turn off the TV and try to forget about all the media sensationalization of the man's sin problem...  maybe I could spend some time in prayer for the man.    Maybe we all could... and maybe his eyes may be opened to the truth someday.    We could all pray that maybe these events will bring him to his knees in ways that a billion dollars never could.

Fear Not

What are the fears that grip us?  What kind of things paralyze us?  And what is the antidote to those fears?
As we learned this past week in a great Sunday School class conducted by a guest speaker, the answer can be found in Isaiah 41:10 - "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

In this verse we find five pillars of truth regarding fear:
1).  God is with you
2).  God is your God
3).  God will strengthen you
4).  God will help you
5).  God will uphold you

To put it in a more personal way, you could say:

1).  God is with ME!

2).  God is MY God!

3).  God will strengthen ME!

4).  God will help ME!

5).  God will uphold ME!

Is there any more effective way of handling fear?

Admission of Wrong

Genuine remorse goes a long way.  Asking forgiveness is not the easiest thing for someone to do.    A couple weeks ago, someone lied to me.  They were slick in their deception, but it wasn't slick enough.  I saw through the weave of lies.   I haven't fallen off the turnip truck yet.  I was angry and hurt, but I moved on... hoping that this person would be convicted in their hearts after I had questioned them on the truthfulness of their 'story'.

Well, today that person approached me and told me that they were sorry for their actions.  They admitted that they hadn't been entirely truthful and they asked... begged... for my forgiveness.  I was ready to extend that forgiveness to them because it was the right thing to do.   I have been forgiven much in my life.   It wasn't necessarily ME that was wronged anyway... it was a sin against God.   I was happy to hear this person be man-enough to admit a transgression.  It made me have an enormous amount of respect for him...  it goes a long way in restoring the trust that was breached.    A very short time after he had asked for and received my forgiveness, he approached me again and said, 'I feel SOOOO much better now!'    Of course he did!  When someone lies, if they have any conscience left, they will be eaten up with guilt.   Making things right lifts a heavy burden that our souls are not meant to bear.     Had I not forgiven this person, then BOTH of us would have been carrying around that load.   And now both of us are free from that brutal heaviness.

Truth and a Christian Worldview

There are several reasons why I write things on this blog.  One reason is completely selfish:  when I write out things I am learning, it helps me to remember.  I can put my random thoughts together about what I am learning, hopefully in a meaningful manner.  In most cases, it doesn't even really matter if anyone else ever reads it.   I really don't know who all reads the things on this blog.  Hopefully, if there is anyone reading it, that it's helpful or encouraging... but even if there isn't, it's helpful for me to transfer the thoughts out of my head and onto the computer via the keypad.    In some cases it's to get things off my chest.    This blog posting is just for that purpose.   It is usually never my intent to have a critical spirit.   When I sound critical, it just may be that it is myself I am criticizing...  but today, I need to criticize someone else - without mentioning any names.  This involves contending for the truth as we are instructed to do in the book of Jude.  

My wife and I considered sending our homeschooled son to a different Christian school than he'd gone to in the past.  It appeared their academics were outstanding... languages, science labs, technology.   Their claimed goal was to train up leaders by teaching them from a 'Christian Worldview'.   Christian Worldview is a term that sounds nice, but it needs to be precisely defined.    Their claim was that they were committed to the 'truth'.   It all sounded so good.

So I decided to find out exactly what the Christian Worldview and precisely how committed they were to the 'truth' by asking one simple question:   "What do you teach regarding the literal six-day creation?"
The response was astounding but very indicative of the sad condition of Christianity today:  "Well we don't go into controversial topics like that... some people believe in literal days, some people believe a day could be a thousand years... so we just skim over it and if there are any questions we let the parents teach their children so there is no divisiveness...".    

To have a proper Christian worldview and to have a correct grasp of the truth, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth from the very beginning.   The belief in a literal six-day creation is the cornerstone to understanding the rest of scripture, including the gospel message.    When we allow all kinds of interpretations about what a 'day' really is, we are really asking the same thing the serpent asked Eve, 'Did God really say...'    God has told us in His Word how long it took to make everything.  This has been made into a controversy needlessly - especially in Christian circles among professing Bible-believing people.   A plain reading of the creation passages, with no presuppositions, clearly tells us of the six-day creative process.  Even other passages support the literal interpretion of a 'day', including Exodus 20 when we read of the fourth commandment.    The passage 'one day is as a thousand years', is often used to support the day-age theory, but that is a misuse of the intent of that verse.  That verse is simply using language to explain the timeless nature of God... not to explain what a 'day' means.   There are many things to say in defense of the six-day literal creation, but the one verse that clearly dismisses any possibility of a day being 'ages' is found in Romans 5:12.   "Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin".  If the days were long periods of time, thousands or millions of years, then there would be death before sin... which would make Romans 5:12 false.

So a proper Christian worldview means that we teach our children the TRUTH about creation.  Instead of leaving them out on a limb to discover this truth on their own, we should be heralding the creation account as it is told to us in the Bible.   If we want to create effective Christian leaders, the Bible must be made clear to them starting from Genesis chapter one.


We cannot say we are committed to the truth and then waffle on something as foundational as creation.    Labeling the creation truths as controversial, and then glossing over this part of the Bible is a weak, watered-down and ultimately damaging position.   It sets the stage for the questioning of other fundamental truths of the Bible.  Was Mary really a virgin?  Did Jesus really die?  Is He really the only way?  Am I really secure in my salvation?   Did God really say...

This issue is much more than 'is a day really a day'.  It comes down to what our view of scripture is.   We have a Bible where God has communicated to us certain things in language that we can understand.
Granted, there are tough theological concepts to grasp, but creation is not one of them.   It couldn't be any more crystal clear than it is stated in the first chapters of the Bible.   If a day isn't a day, then maybe Adam is figurative.  If the first Adam is figurative, maybe the second Adam is too? And so there is this slippery slope that began when we tried to explain that a 'day' is something other than a 'day'. 


It is vitally important for Christians to develop positions on the issues that define our faith through careful and proper study of God's Word.   And while parents are the primary molders of a child's faith, certainly a Christian school has a hearty influence.   So a wrong position or lack of a position runs contrary to what we are trying to do with our children.    Shame on any school, pastor, teacher or any self-professing Bible-believing person for not teaching the truth about creation.  

In the end, our son went back to the Christian school that he'd been a part of since kindergarten.  They, like other schools, are not without their own set of weaknesses or problems.  But one thing they do not equivocate on - the TRUTH about creation as we learn it in the scriptures.  And so they have our highest degree of respect.

Looking Forward

Today is the first day of December.  It marks the beginning of my annual month-long reflection on the year that has been.   It also is the time where I look to the coming year by setting a few goals.  I am not one to make New Year's Resolutions, but I don't like to stumble aimlessly into another year either.    I thought a little about what I'd like to accomplish spiritually.  They are subject to change of course, but these are the items that I hope to focus on in 2010...  these will probably show up in some form on this blog from time to time:

1).  An intensive book study of Proverbs.   Continue on with the Charles Bridges commentary.
2).  Memorize the first four chapters of Proverbs.
3).  Create a commentary on various themes from Proverbs.
4).  Study the religion of Islam so I can better understand the challenges that we face as a nation and as Christians.  Having had contact with Muslims in the past leave me with no doubt that I will encounter them again.  It would be nice to be able to know where they're coming from, using that as a springboard for sharing the soul-saving truth with them.
5).  Study a hero of the faith.  Possibly John Calvin or George Whitefield.

What Can We Learn from Corrie?

Corrie ten Boom was a woman of God.   The daughter of a watchmaker in Holland, she spent some awful times in the concentration camps during the terrible World War II era.   She knew what it was to exercise her faith.   She learned things in the fire of trials that many of us struggle our whole lifetime to learn.   Here are some quotes from her book, 'The Hiding Place':

Dear Jesus... how foolish of me to have called for human help when You are here.

My job was simply to follow His leading one step at a time, holding every decision up to Him in prayer.

In the Bible I learn that God values us not for our strength or our brains, but simply because He has made us.

If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love.

Our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope.

In darkness, God's truth shines most clear.

I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in.

This was the great ploy of Satan in that kingdom of his: to display such blatant evil that one could almost believe one's own secret sins didn't matter.

There are no "ifs" in God's kingdom.  His timing is perfect. His will is our hiding place.

When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

Casual Worship

On a Thanksgiving weekend visit with family, I noticed a church sign advertising their 'casual worship' service.   I assumed that they meant more laid back kind of environment, no suits, no ties, etc...  While I kinda laughed out loud when I first saw the sign, the term 'casual worship' conjured up other things in my mind after I thought about it for a moment or two.

Isn't that what ails us?  We have a  'worship deficit disorder'.  We are too casual in our approach.  I am not referring to wearing jeans or singing contemporary music.   The heart of the issue is the issue of the heart.   I have been in many 'church services' where we have entered into worship in a casual manner, forgetting who we've supposedly come to worship.  We (me included) think at times that we are coming to hang out with 'our buddy Jesus'.  We come to sing a couple of catchy tunes, we feel good with our plastic smile and we are unaware of our great sin of thinking more of ourselves than we ought to think.   Instead of falling flat on our faces in reverential adoration to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, we stumble into the pew unprepared to offer acceptable worship to the King of kings.   I was convicted by seeing this 'casual worship' sign.  How much of my future worship will be casual?  How much of it will be unacceptable?  How much heart preparation will there be?   How much prayer will I have invested beforehand and how much confession of sin will there be?   Will there be any thought of the glory, majesty, loftiness and beauty of the Lord as I enter the room for corporate worship?   Or should I just go ahead with my all-too-often 'casual worship'.....

Black Friday

Black Friday is a phenomenon that I am still trying to figure out.  Wake up before dawn, stand in line for hours for the store doors to open up, risk being stampeded by a bunch of self-absorbed people... all to get half price on a $20 toaster or to get an electronic gadget that will be obsolete in a year.  The Friday following Thanksgiving is quite appropriately named though.   Black Friday.   Maybe it's named that because it is an outward manifestation of the blackness of our worldly and materialistic hearts...  Maybe Empty Friday would be a good name.  Or Rude Friday.  Or Impatient Friday.   Or.... Black Friday. 

Answered Prayer

God is still answering prayer.  Sometimes abrupt and immediate.  Yesterday, when my wife and I were clearly going down one road of life, thinking we were following a perceived answer to prayer, we were suddenly re-directed.  The doors were shut, the road was blocked, the path was changed... we were taking a detour.  It was an obvious intervention by God, the controller of all events.  He is not a God who has stepped away from His creation to let it run by itself.  Not at all.  He is actively involved with His people, clear down to the smallest detail.

And what did we learn from this experience?  When we are in prayer - seeking out what God wants for us - and then we somehow discern His will wrongly and head down a road that we really had believed was His will, He will intervene and throw down the roadblock and turn you right around.  That is His protective nature.    The converse of that is also true, at least it has been for me experientially:  that if we are NOT in prayer and NOT seeking what He really wants, then we may end up on the path that we never really wanted to be on... and He may not step in until we've learned the lesson He wanted us to learn.    Well, I think I know which side I want to be on.   Answered prayer like this should and does increase my faith... and makes me all the more eager to continue in prayer.  What other kind of exciting answers await us?!

It is Good to Give Thanks...

It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High - Psalm 92:1.


Thanksgiving Day is just a couple days away.  A simple search on any Bible software or a glance in a Bible concordance for the word 'thanks' instantly reveals how many passages deal with giving thanks.   And yet we live in a culture of ungrateful people.  Even amid the recession, our country is still blessed beyond what we ever deserved.  But the woe-is-me crybaby mentality abounds.   The giving of thanks is a tough thing for us poor Americans.  Complaining is the path of least resistance - and so that is the path we often take.  It is quite revealing about ourselves.  This year at Thanksgiving, I want to get over my sin of ingratitude and begin to be conscious about being thankful.  It is, after all, God's will for our lives... "in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" - 1 Thessalonians 5:18.


Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark 

The Worst Trade... EVER!

In 1987, my favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, traded popular catcher Tony Pena to the St. Louis Cardinals for Andy Van Slyke.  Van Slyke turned out to be a pretty good player for the Buccos, but at the time I thought it was the worst trade in history.  I am sure there have been other ‘worst trades’ in professional sports. 

The real worst trade in history is found in Romans 1:25 - “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie...”   According to commentators R.C.H. Lenski and William Hendriksen, the literal rendering of that phrase could be, “They traded THE true God for THE lie”.   What could be a worse trade than that? THE lie in view here is the idols, or image-likenesses that people often make to replace THE true God.  Oh, they recognize who God is.  The Apostle Paul says they know that much, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God, or give thanks” (Romans 1:21).  Not only do they know God but they are familiar with his law.   Verse 32 of the same chapter says, “...although they knew the ordinance of God”.    But even so, these people refuse truth.   They exchange it for THE lie.   The imagery of the lie comes from Isaiah 44.  Hendriksen says this “describes a sculptor, who has made for himself a god.  He reaches out to take ahold of it, but fails to ask himself, ‘Is there not a LIE in my right hand?’  The idol is a LIE because (in the imagination of the worshiper) it promises much; however it provides nothing!”

And so here we have the worst trade, the worst exchange in human history:  one who would exchange the true God for the lie.   Why?  Because men love darkness rather than light.   Does this not show how stupid, depraved, sin-sick, twisted and needful mankind really is?   Thank God he reveals his truth to those who have ears to hear and are willing to listen. 

Amazing Grace

A Prayer from the Valley of Vision - Puritan Prayers and Devotions

My heart is drawn out in thankfulness to Thee,
For Thy amazing grace and condescension to me
In influences and assistances of Thy Spirit
For special help in prayer.

No poor creature stands in need of divine grace more than I do,
And yet none abuses it more than I have done, and still do.
How heartless and dull I am!
Humble me in the dust for not loving Thee more.
Every time I exercise any grace renewedly,
I am renewedly indebted to Thee, the God of all grace.

I cannot boast when I think how dependent I am upon Thee
For the being and every act of grace.

What If...

What if I don't want government health care?
What if I go to jail someday for professing my faith openly?
What if we lose the will to win the war in Afghanistan?
What if abortion is really murder, what will happen to us?
What if God really controls the climate?
What if congress actually did something of value?
What if people wouldn't drink and drive?
What if parents spent time with their children?
What if the United States is attacked by terrorists again?
What if we end up plunging into another Great Depression?
What if people really understood what the Bible says?
What if the Bible is right?
What if life is really a vapor?
What if hell is an eternal conscious punishment for rejecting Jesus Christ?

Why Parables?

I am just 'thinking out loud' today.  This morning I read the parable of the sower - you know, the hard soil by the road, the rocky ground, the thorny soil and of course the good soil.  I started wondering the same thing I always wonder when I read a parable:  why did Jesus choose to use parables?   Maybe that's an easy answer to someone else, but I've always had trouble with it.   Why didn't Jesus just directly say the lesson he wanted to convey to the hearers?   While he is direct in many portions of scripture, sometimes the parables are hard sayings.    Then it struck me... the answer isn't as hard as I was making it.   Every time I read a parable, I have to 'think'.  I have to really ponder what it is that he is saying.  I have to actually engage my mind!   Was this his reason for speaking in parables?  To get the hearers to 'think'?  For those who heard the parables and thought through them, Jesus had some profound lesson for them to learn... and for those who didn't have 'ears to hear', the message was concealed from them.

The Christian faith is a 'thoughtful' faith.  We have our Bibles and our minds, and so the Lord expects us to 'hear' and to think.   The Christian faith is a 'reasoning' faith.  "Come let us reason together", the Lord says in Isaiah.  Reasoning, thinking, pondering engaging.   We don't have a baseless faith; there is no blind faith in Christianity.  No, it is reasonable.  It is thoughtful.  And so as we read the scriptures, we sink deep into them and think through the words and phrases.   If we immerse ourselves in the Word, rely on the Holy Spirit as our teacher and helper, then the passages will become more clear to us than if we simply gloss over them in an effort to get our 15-minute or 3-chapter-a-day quota.

Just Enough

How much money do we want?  How much do we need?  Finances seem to be the endless topic of discussion in these days of economic uncertainty.  As I study through Proverbs, there are many passages that deal with money.  Most of them are common sense instructions, like being generous (11:24-24), avoiding dishonest gain (13:11), not being greedy (15:27)... and others like them.

The Christian life is often characterized by balance.  Too much of something in one direction can have a bad effect.  Too little of something also can have a bad effect.  Extremes in either direction can be devastating!  And so it is with money or possessions.  Check out what the writer of Proverbs says in chapter 30:8-9:  "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say 'Who is the Lord?'  Or lest I be in want and steal and profane the name of my God".   That's balance!

How much money do we want?  How much do we need?  Just enough.

A Great Sound

This morning in church we were studying various passages in the book of Nehemiah.   One did not have to listen very long before hearing a great sound.  "Turn to Nehemiah 2:1... now turn to chapter 4... look in chapter 6... now back to chapter 2... go to verse such and such... now keep your hand there and turn to the New Testament and look in 1 Timothy chapter 6".    We were turning pages at breakneck speed, keeping pace with the pastor as we got our exercise in our morning Bible drills.   The great sound?   A couple hundred people turning their Bible pages simultaneously.  All those crisp, thin Bible pages turning at the same time sounded like an orchestra to me.  It meant that people were engaging in a hearty study of God's Word, and not just being lazy spectators.  We were all participating in the same kind of activity that the noble Berean's had been noted for in the book of Acts - not taking someone's word for something, but rather checking out God's Word to see if these things were really so.   What a great sound!

Fervent Prayer

Fervency in prayer - what does that mean?  In my Puritan Paperback series, I am still reading 'The Secret Key to Heaven' (subtitled 'The Vital importance of Private Prayer') by Thomas Brooks.  In this morning's reading, Brooks effectively used scripture to convict me of my lack of fervency in my conversations with God.   While scripture is capable of standing alone, I find it helpful in understanding the Word when a man of God gives commentary on certain passages, bringing out the fuller and more robust meaning that the original writers intended.  Ponder the following passages and the accompanying words from Brooks:

James 5:16 - “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” .  The ‘working’ prayer; that is, such working prayer as sets the whole man to work, as sets all the faculties of the soul, and all the graces in the soul, to work. The word [fervent] signifies such a working as shows the liveliest activity that can be. 

Acts 12:5 - “...but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God”.   While Peter was in prison, prayer was being made by the church.  The Greek word [for fervent] signifies instant prayer, earnest prayer, stretched out prayer.  These gracious souls did in prayer strain and stretch themselves; they prayed with all the strength of their souls, and with all the fervency of their spirits. 

Romans 12:11-12  - “Not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer”.  The Greek word here for ‘fervent’ signifies seething hot; boiling hot; God loves to see his people zealous and warm in his service.  Without fervency of spirit, no service finds acceptance in heaven.   In verse 12, the word ‘devoted’ means continuing with all your might.  It is a metaphor from hunting dogs, that will never give over the game until they have got it. 

Romans 15:30 - “...strive together with me in your prayers to God for me”.  Strive mightily, strive as champions strive, even to an agony.  It is a military word, and notes such fervent wresting or striving, as is for life and death. 

Colossians 4:12 - “...always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers”.  Laboring signifies to strive or wrestle, as those do that strive for mastery.  As the wrestlers do bend, and writhe, and stretch, and strain every joint of their bodies, that they may be victorious, so Epaphras did bend, and writhe, and stretch, and strain every joint of his soul that he might be victorious with God on the Colossians’ account. 

Friday the Thirteenth

I remember watching Hee-Haw when I was a kid and one line of one of the songs they sang every week went something like: "if it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all... gloom, despair and agony on me".  Today's another Friday the 13th, the third one of the year... and all the superstitious people are out in force.     You'd think that Friday the 13th was the blame for all that ails us.  I even read that Franklin Roosevelt wouldn't travel on that day.   As if the number on a calendar has anything to do with whether the events of the day have a positive or negative result in our lives.  Does luck have anything to do with anything?   Buildings with no floors numbered 13.  Athletes that won't wear number 13 on their jerseys.  There's even an official word for this fear of 13:  Triskaidekaphobia.   Can you believe it?!

I'm thinkin' there's a little more to life than good luck outweighing the bad luck.  Triskaidekaphobia should be non-existent in the life of a Christian.  In fact, any condition with a long name that ends in phobia should not characterize a Christian.  Amen?  When Paul wrote to Timothy, he stated emphatically that 'God has not given us a spirit of fear... but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).   If we're exhibiting a spirit of fear, we didn't get that from God.  If we're afraid of 13, even when it coincides with Friday, that is not something that came from God.  How in the world did we ever let the enemy hijack a simple number to paralyze us?!  How did that prime number between 12 and 14 end up in the hands of the deceiver to terrorize us?!  Let's take back our number 13!

Forgive Hasan? Not so fast...

In a letter to the editor of our local paper, one man today thought that we should all 'forgive' the shooter in the Fort Hood rampage.  He said that this "would do more good to advance God's kingdom than a predator drone flying over Afghanistan."

While forgiveness is certainly an admirable quality and a mark of a true Christian, do we just forgive indiscriminately?  Is that what God did for us?  Did He forgive us just because he's a nice guy and we're really not all that bad?  Absurd.  Forgiveness came from God when we realized our hopelessness; when we realized our spiritual bankruptcy; when we turned away from our sin; when we turned to His one and only Son Jesus as the only remedy for our sorry condition.

When Hasan comes crawling in the dirt on his penitent hands and knees; when he comes crying and begging for the collective forgiveness of America; when he shows us how genuinely sorry he is for his terroristic acts against our brave men and women; when he takes full responsibility for crimes he perpetrated on our soil... then I'll do what the Bible says and 'forgive'.  But not until then.  Why would I do what God wouldn't do?   God will never forgive him unless he repents of his great sin.    And regardless of how many times he may ask for forgiveness, and how many people are willing to grant it to him, God has granted the state the right to wield the sword... and the state had better live up to its responsibility and make him pay with his life.

Veteran's Day 2009

Thank you....

Jury Duty

Today I had jury duty.  It was the first time in my 45 years that I had ever been involved in the experience.  There were ninety people in the room.  First there were six trials for which to find jurors.  Then by the time we signed in and sat down, four cases had been resolved.  Then by the time the judge came into the room, another case had been resolved, leaving only one case for which to find jurors.  The clock ticked away.  My stomach growled as we approached lunchtime.  I was running out of bottled water.  But I was thoroughly enjoying my 'alone' time amid the eighty-nine other patient and obviously excited, happy people.  The reason for my enjoyment?  I had some time to just sit and read.  Time is at a premium for all of us, but for me to be able to sit and read for over four straight hours was like getting a Christmas gift. 


Of course, there I am - sitting in the courthouse awaiting the selection process for either a civil or criminal trial... and my mind starts to wander in between chapters of my book.  All around me are all things 'legal', and so I start thinking about all the legal terminology in the Bible.   Guilt.  Innocence.  Freedom. Justification.  


Justification... Justification?!    Now there's a word we don't use very often, but we should!  This is a legal term – a legal declaration by God – a VERDICT - an instantaneous legal act of God in which He (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in His sight - we are completely forgiven and no longer liable to punishment.

Colossians 2:13-14 says, "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

What was the certificate of debt (or handwriting of ordinances) against us? This certificate of indebtedness referred to a handwritten note by the debtor acknowledging his debt. The decrees mentioned in this passage refers to the Mosaic Law – all people have violated God’s law and therefore we owe God a debt. This is enough to condemn us to judgement and hell because "cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the law, to perform them" – Galatians 3:10. The 'canceled out' phrase is one I like. The Greek term for this phrase means "to wipe off, like erasing a blackboard". This certificate of debt has been nailed to the cross! Not a trace of it remains to be held against us. Forgiveness is complete.   John Piper comments on this passage from Colossians: "there is no salvation by BALANCING THE RECORDS, it must be wiped out, cancelled, blotted out".


By 1:30 in the afternoon, the news came that the last case had been settled and we were all free to go home.  I wondered if those involved in the lawsuit, whatever it was about, had ever experienced this kind of 'verdict', the kind made by the supreme Judge, God?   Would God use their experience with the legal system to reveal to those involved in the case of their ultimate crime, namely their own involvement in putting to death the Son of God?  THAT is the most heinous crime of all, and sadly most people never recognize the indictment (or the certificate of debt) against them.   The judge is ready and waiting to announce the punishment... and severe it will be... because the crime is not against a small Sovereign. 

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

1. We sang this song this morning in church.  It is a great reminder of the solid stability found in the name of Jesus Christ... and also a reminder of the shifting, sinking sand of anything else we may mistakenly put our hope and trust in. 
2. 
   
3. My hope is built on nothing less
   Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
   I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
   But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
   
   • Refrain:
     On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
     All other ground is sinking sand,
     All other ground is sinking sand.
   
   
4. When darkness veils His lovely face,
   I rest on His unchanging grace;
   In every high and stormy gale,
   My anchor holds within the veil.
5. His oath, His covenant, His blood
   Support me in the whelming flood;
   When all around my soul gives way,
   He then is all my hope and stay.
6. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
   Oh, may I then in Him be found;
   Dressed in His righteousness alone,
   Faultless to stand before the throne.

A Friend of the World?

I think we all know what adultery is and the consequences it brings.  Conflict, alienation, shame, consternation, division... just to name a couple.  James uses the term 'adulteresses' as a word picture in James chapter 4.  He says, 'You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

He equates adultery with being a friend of the world.  So one must ask the question, 'what is it to be a friend of the world'?   It's a good question to ask, because I don't think we want to be guilty of spiritual adultery.    We could start with defining what 'world' is.  It can't be the physical earth... the dirt, ground, mountains, rocks, etc... that wouldn't make any sense.   It can't be the people in the world, because we know in that famous verse in John 3:16, that 'God so loved the world', meaning he loved the people in the world.  So the only thing world can mean here in this context is the 'evil system' that we call the world.   And so I ask myself, 'what then would be considered being a friend of the 'evil system'?

Is it enjoying the trivial, empty humor we find on television?
Is it listening to music that does not glorify God?
Is it reading books and magazines that are full of warped thinking?
Is it participation in sports and other busy activities instead of spending time in prayer?
Is it pushing ourselves so far in our careers to get ahead?
Is it spending money on lavish living instead of supporting missionaries and local ministries?
Is it exercising so much in order to have the perfect body?
Is it relying on our government to fix every problem and provide our every need?
Is it going out every weekend with our friends?

What does it really mean to be a friend of the world?  Am I committing adultery against my real friend, Jesus?

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Last weekend we turned the clocks back an hour.  Some people get excited because of the extra hour of sleep.  I never quite figured out the excitement.  If I want an extra hour of sleep, I just go to bed an hour earlier.   But that excitement over the hour of sleep soon turns into depression and anxiety for some.  

In Western Pennsylvania at this time of year, we wake up when it's dark, we drive to work in the dark, then we come home in the late afternoon - and its dark!   I often jokingly call November through February the 'dark ages'.   But for some people this is no joke.  I read online about the depression and anxiety that people suffer at this time of year.  There is a term used for this called 'seasonal affective disorder'.   The claim in a nutshell is that people are lacking basic sunlight.   People's biological clocks may be disrupted by the shortened days and even some hormone levels are out of whack due to the seasonal changes.   There are companies out there that manufacture special lights that simulate the rays that come from the sun and they effectively market these expensive gadgets to people who hope their disorder will be cured.

I am no doctor and I am not doubting that there may be some valid science behind this 'condition'.  And my heart goes out to those suffering from depression.  Who of us hasn't suffered from some level of the blues?  But, I'd be willing to bet that in many cases, it's not so much the lack of SUN light that is the cause of depression as it is the lack of SON light.  If you'll pardon the play on words for a moment and go to the scriptures:   John 8:12 - "I am the light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life".  Could depression be classified as walking in darkness?  Following Christ is walking in the light.

And again, in 1 John 1:7 - "If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin".   How is that for our much needed Son light?  These are quite encouraging verses from God's Word, and there are many more like these if we search through the scriptures.

When we're looking for a cure for 'cabin fever' or being 'down in the dumps', instead of shopping for an expensive contraption to begin our light therapy or getting a prescription for an anti-depressant, may we first go to the Son?  May we go to His Word first?   I have tried counting my blessings when I get the blues... it should make sense to the Christian that if we are busy counting our blessings, we won't have time to be depressed.    As a good friend of mine often says, "we're too blessed to be depressed".

Love's Fire

This may sound odd, but I like reading books by authors that have already died.  The main reason for that is that they can't do or say anything now that disappoints me.   Sure, there are contemporary writers that are solidly Christian who speak the truth, but once in a while even the best of them says or does something that makes me shake my head.   But that's because we're all sinners.

One of my favorite dead authors is William Gurnall.   He went to heaven more than 300 years ago.  Even so, his words are just as relevant today as they were in his day.   In his classic work, 'The Christian in Complete Armour', Gurnall makes this statement on the fire of love:

"Love is the great conqueror of the world.  Thus if you are inflamed with love for Christ, you will toss all your worldly attractions to the four winds rather than tarnish His honor.  Love is like a fire in that it consumes everything near it.  It turns all into fire or ashes.  Nothing foreign to the nature of fire can dwell very long with fire's own simple and pure nature.  Thus love for Christ will not allow the existence of anything in the heart which is unlike Him."

"Love for Christ will not let you agree with anything which is against Him but, on the contrary, will take His part against every one of His enemies."

As long as dead authors keep making statements like that, I'll keep listening!

Multiplication

May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure...  grace and peace be multiplied to you.  Those two phrases are found in verse two of chapter one in both books of Peter.   They struck me as interesting this morning as I asked myself 'how do you multiply grace and peace'?  

Remember the kid with the the loaves and fish?   Jesus took a couple loaves of bread and a couple fish and thousands of people ate a meal.  And there were even leftovers.  Now that is 'multiplication'!   If he can do that with bread and fish, could he not also do that with grace and peace?  In fact, we can have grace and peace up to the brim... and maybe even so much that some might spill over.   Wouldn't that be nice if I had so much grace and peace that I shared the surplus with those around me.

Hearing Test

We are dull of hearing.  At least that's the indictment on us from the writer of the book of Hebrews.  In chapter 5 verse 11, he says "Concerning Him (Jesus, of course) we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, because you have become dull of hearing".    We actually looked at this passage yesterday in Sunday school, but what exactly does that mean?

Ironically, today my son was being tested for his hearing.  He was having trouble hearing at times, and so the pediatrician had us take him to a specialist.   We were relieved to find out there was nothing structurally wrong.  There really was nothing internally wrong to cause any type of hearing loss, other than some very minor high frequency issues.   The recommendation from the doctor was simple.   Remove any background noises that could be a distraction to him.  Also, if he looks at and focuses upon the person speaking, there would likely be no issues with him hearing what he needs to hear.

As I sat there watching the hearing test and listening to the diagnosis and plan of action, I couldn't help but think of all the spiritual parallels.   We are dull of hearing.  We don't understand.  We don't get what God is telling us at times...  but the plan of action to remedy our dullness is the same as it is for my son's physical hearing difficulties:  remove the distractions that pull us away from 'hearing' what God is telling us in His Word and fixing our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith (focusing on Him).

It's an amazing and yet curious thing to me that God would teach us these kinds of clear object lessons... IF we can 'hear' what He's saying.

The Importance of Private Prayer

Secret prayer.  This is a spiritual discipline that I need much work in, and I venture to say that most Christians would say the same.  Who of us is ready to claim in pride that we have arrived at a satisfactory level of prayer and communion with God ?   When speaking of the faithful servant and praying Christian, Thomas Brooks makes some profound statements regarding this in his book ‘The Secret Key to Heaven, the Vital Importance of Private Prayer’.   Listen to these words that fall from the pen of this Puritan writer:

“God may very well expect better and greater things from [gracious servants] than from all other servants in the world.  God may very well expect that they should do singular things for his glory, who has done such singular things for their good.  Certainly, God expects that gracious servants should be blessing him, when other servants are blaspheming him;  that they should be magnifying him when other servants are debasing him;  that they should be redeeming precious time when other servants are trifling, fooling, playing or sinning away precious time;  that they should be weeping in a corner when other servants are playing sports and making themselves merry among their jovial companions; that they should be mourning in secret when other servants are sinning in secret; and that they should be at their private devotion when other servants are sleeping and snoring.”    Can't I just hit the snooze button on the alarm just one more time?

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.  - Matthew 6:6

Love One Another

I can show the world that I am a disciple of Christ by keeping my hair short, carrying a KJV Bible tucked neatly under my arm, wearing a blue blazer and khaki's, not smoking, not drinking and not swearing... right?


My Bible tells me something entirely different.  I show the world that I am disciple of Christ a much different way...  in John chapter 13, Jesus states,  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."


So, you mean I can wear my jeans??

It's Easy to be Pro-Choice

I am not much of a bumper sticker person, but I saw a great one the other day.   It said, "It's easy to be pro-choice when you're not the one being killed".  Interestingly, at about the same time I heard one of my favorite conservative talk show hosts saying that he believes that abortion is wrong, except for incest, rape, and the life of the mother in jeopardy.  

I wondered at that point the following: Why are we pro-life anyway?  Is it that we are against the murder of innocent babies?  That sounds like too easy of an answer.   So, are we against SOME of the murders of the pre-born, or are we against ALL of them.   Are we FOR these unborn children, or aren't we?  Yes, we grieve over rape and incest... and yes, we struggle over the life issues with the mother...  but how convenient for us to to say that these children are more expendable than other children.  That makes us sound like we're... uuhhh... pro-choice, doesn't it.    It's easy to be pro-choice... when you're not the one being killed.

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

A very common passage in Proverbs - quoted very often - is Proverbs 3:5-6.  Say it with me class: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight".   Most Christians know it.  Most Christians have it memorized.  Most of us can say it without thinking.  But maybe that is a problem - saying it without thinking.   I was convicted pretty harshly when I read what Charles Bridges had to say about this passage.

Listen to what this great man of God says:  "It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the most ordinary matters of the day without [God's] counsel.  He loves to be consulted.  Therefore take all thy difficulties to be resolved by Him.  Be in the habit of going to Him in the first place - before self-will, self-pleasing, self-wisdom, human friends, convenience, expediency.  Before any of these have been consulted, go to God at once.  Consider no circumstance to clear to need His direction".    Wow.   That gives a fresh new meaning to 'in all your ways acknowledge Him'.

Is Wisdom Obtainable?

"A penny saved is a penny earned".   Now there's some wisdom we can all live by, especially in these rough economic days.   I am studying the book of Proverbs, and the writer of the book has some other bits of wisdom we could certainly use, whether the economy is booming or not.   Wisdom for young people, wisdom for 'seasoned' people.   Wisdom for decisions in money, relationships and parenting.  But how do we obtain this wisdom?

1).   Seek wisdom.    Proverbs 2:3 tells us to seek after wisdom as we would seek after silver and hidden treasures.  If I had a valuable coin and I lost it, I would look high and low for it. I would be on a non-stop mission to find it.  I wouldn't stop until it was found.  So should we search for wisdom.   Asking God for wisdom (James 1:5) is part of that seeking.
2).  Give attention to wisdom.   Proverbs 2:2 and 4:1 indicates that we need to 'make our ears attentive' and 'give attention to' the words of wisdom.  That means listening, hearing, understanding, watching.
3).  Love wisdom.  Proverbs 4:6.  Would we give attention to wisdom... would we seek wisdom... if we did not develop and cultivate a love for it?  It makes sense if we love wisdom, we will pursue hard after it.
4).  Prize wisdom.  Treasure it.  Proverbs 4:8. Similar to loving wisdom, those who highly esteem wisdom will most certainly obtain it.  

The God of wisdom is ready and willing to grant wisdom to those who incline their ears to understanding, to those who are diligent in their seeking, to those who love, prize and treasure this unspeakable gift.

My Country 'Tis of Thee

One of the first patriotic songs I ever learned was this one. It was in first grade, and we always sang the first verse after we had pledged our allegiance to the flag. Now my sons have learned this song and sing it in their elementary school. Many thanks to the veterans and uncounted soldiers who gave me and my sons the right to stand in those classroom and sing this song.

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims' pride,

From every mountainside

Let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love;

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills,

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from all the trees

Sweet freedom's song;

Let mortal tongues awake;

Let all that breathe partake;

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.

Our father's God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King.

No, Mr. President...

Taking Care of Business

Finding time to write on the blog has become increasingly difficult these days. On top of my work schedule, kids baseball practices, Bible study and home maintenance, I have become involved in a very time-consuming endeavor. I am in the midst of developing an official website for my photography business that I do on the side. It all began a few years ago when people asked me to take pictures at their weddings. And now with several weddings per year and a few senior pictures scheduled and some other fun events, it appears that I might actually be able to make some extra money doing something that I absolutely love doing. And so in the progression of things, the timing seemed right to create a website that showcases my work. I hope to unveil the site sometime in mid-May. I hope to continue writing here, but it will be limited... once or twice a week as time permits.

Mark

Moral Compass

The president said the other day that 'we had lost our moral compass', referring to how the Americans had allegedly tortured captured enemy combatants. May I dare to ask how anyone who advocates the slaughter of 4,000 babies per day has the audacity to say those responsible for the treatment of those prisoners had lost their moral compass??? How would he know? That's like saying that Adolf Hitler was a mean guy because he punched the bully from down the street. Do you think his comments about our fellow Americans are a little misdirected?

The Body of Christ In Action

Not too long ago some friends of ours found out their oldest son has muscular dystrophy. What heartbreaking news to be laid on a parent. This young boy is the same age as our oldest boy. We felt helpless... what could we do? They have another son who is the same age as our youngest son. Lightning doesn't strike twice does it? Could it?

A short time after this news hit their family, they had their second son tested and he also was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. I couldn't sleep. It bothered me real bad. I had breakfast with their dad to see how things were going and I was real encouraged with his attitude. He didn't want people to feel sorry for them. He only wanted people to pray and to be there as friends. After the shock of it all, he said he was trying to come to terms with it... and he knows that he and his family is in the hand of a sovereign God, even when its time to get wheel chairs and ramps.

The boys are still able to walk and run although with some difficulty at times. But as the disease begins to do more damage they will likely deteriorate in the coming months and years. It's sad to think about. It makes you know how helpless you really are.

A group of people from our church who are close friends of theirs hatched a plan. One thing we can do as friends is support and encourage them. Unknown to this struggling family, a collection was taken up to send them to Disney World while the boys are still mobile. In just over a month, they had enough money to purchase full accommodations, food, transportation and Disney tickets. And not only that, the money collected amounted to more than double what it cost for the trip, which means they will have some left over to buy medicine and other supplies that they will need. They were presented this gift on Sunday at church. It was a very touching and emotional scene. The response of the people was overwhelming. When Christ is at the 'head' of the church, there is no 'dystrophy' in the body. This is the body of Christ in action.

The Exaltation of Christ

We're studying the book of Philippians in Sunday School. We have been on that wonderful, theologically rich passage in chapter two that details the humiliation of Christ and then His subsequent exaltation by God. I looked up some cross referencing passages that I'll list below. They are by no means an exhaustive list of passages that show God's exaltation of His one and only Son, but these are worthy of long reflection. The cumulative effect they have when taken together are staggering.

Philippians 2:9-11 - For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 45:23 - I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Matthew 28:18 – And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Ephesians 1:18-22 - I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church

Colossians 2:9-10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Daniel 7:13-14 – “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.

John 3:35 - The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand

Revelation 5:12 - “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

But...

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. - I Cor. 16:17

But...

He has risen, just as He said. - Matthew 28:6!!

For the Joy Set Before Him...

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. - Matthew 27:27-31

On Establishing Friendships

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will have dinner with my college roommate. Along with my family and his family, we will sit together and share stories of years ago. It's been over ten years since we've seen each other, so we have alot of catching up to do. I am reminded the importance of establishing and maintaining friendships as I see the years so quickly slip into the past. I dug through my journal and found this entry from a few years ago on 'Establishing Friendships':

A couple of things immediately come to mind, whether we are establishing new friendships or cultivating old ones:
1). As Christians, our friendships are built on the solid foundation of Christ, and when we get together to 'fellowship' with others, that time is spent around our common ground, i.e. our relationship/friendship with Him. Talking of God's work in our lives, sharing scriptures, etc.
2). Because of who we belong to, we have confidence to be ourselves, but yet always striving to improve our character and be the right kind of friend - which may require genuine changes of the heart in certain areas. One who is not overbearing or judgmental, willing to forgive and overlook perceived faults, but yet also willing to confront sin if necessary, speaking the truth in love.
3). Friendship is all about giving. What can I put into the relationship, rather than what gain will I receive. The strongest friendships have 2 people that try to out-do the other person in kindness, giving, etc. The weak friendships are the ones where one or both people are nothing but a drain on the other person. They literally suck them dry of all emotion.
4). I must cultivate my friendship with my most precious friend, the One who saved my sorry soul. Certainly we were created to be in relationships with others (it is not good for man to be alone!), but even if all other relationships fall away, I rest in the fact that I could go the rest of my life without one solitary earthly friend and all would be well - because of my friend and brother Christ.

Not a Christian Nation

This is not your father's country anymore. Your president said earlier today, that America did not consider itself "a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values." As much as we'd like to nostalgically think we live in a Christian nation, the reality is that we do not. We continue to deceive ourselves into thinking we are a nation of God-fearing, church-going, Bible-believing people when the facts state otherwise. And what these 'ideals and values' are that Obama speaks of is anybody's guess.

This statement of his should cause every real Christian to get busy about sharing the gospel. We've fallen asleep in our comfort and style raising a generation of disrespectful and clueless kids with iPods growing out of their ears. To them, George W. Bush is a villain and Britney Spears is a role model. Pre-maritial sex and killing babies is normal to them. Myspace and facebook are cool, but church and the Bible are just for grandma and grandpa. Things of eternal implication mean absolutely nothing in our time in our country. These are 'values and ideals'? To whom? But yes, Barack, you are at least half right. We've rejected Jesus Christ in America. I shudder to think what Jesus Christ's response will be.

A Real Three-Ring Circus

I took my family to a three-circus today. Not the one in Washington DC - a REAL circus. This one had REAL clowns, not like those fake ones who make our laws and spend our money. And this circus we went to was very entertaining. Quite the stark contrast to the other circus that has a tendency to provoke people to anger and frustration. The juggling act we saw was spectacular. This juggler made the US Treasury Secretary look like an amateur... We even saw a bear - a REAL BEAR riding a motorcycle. He had better driving skills than some of our senators. We saw alot of elephants at the circus today, but no donkeys. I guess all the donkeys must be busy running the country.

We had a great time. What made it even greater was that we had the tickets given to us, free of charge. Hmmm. Maybe those other circus guys running the country do have the right idea. Having fun on someone else's dime is... well, kinda fun. I am part Irish, so I'd like our newest ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, to stimulate my own economy and send me some Steeler tickets. I'm starting to like the handouts...

The Right Attitude

It's easy to get side-tracked. There are numerous distractions that cause me to let my guard down in the 'attitude' department. Financial pressures, arguing children, discussions about politics at work that take an ugly turn... you name it. Having the right 'attitude' is half the battle.

The Apostle Paul gives us the right words for the right attitude in Philippians 2:3-11 -
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We could certainly never be like Jesus in the manner in which He was able to reconcile us to the Father... but the the believer is obligated to have the same ATTITUDE that Jesus had. That is, the humility, the self-sacrifice, the self-denial and love.

I am going to try something different today: I am going to open my eyes and look out (for the interests of others). I wonder what will happen?

Mark