Deep Riches

Daily Truth

2012-02-02T13:11:00.001-05:00

Today, be changed by Matthew 15. Lord, don't allow me to let my traditions blind me to Your will (15:3). Help my beliefs be Your truth alone, untainted by what people want (15:9). Draw my heart close so my heart will be pure and my lips will speak Your words (15:8, 18). Teach me what it means to "leave alone" those You did not plant (15:13-14). Make my faith great, even if it takes painful testing (15:24-28).

Daily Truth

2012-01-31T18:41:00.001-05:00

Today, share Matthew 14 with someone. Lord, help me speak Your truth even when it might mean my head on a platter (14:4-8). Give me compassion for the lost even in the midst of my own grief (14:14) so that I bring them to You to be satisfied (14:18). Make me trust You to walk where I have no ability to walk (14:29). Keep my eyes on You (14:30). Thank You for reaching out to save me when I get distracted (14:31). Let my life declare my worship of You, declaring that You are who You claim to be (14:33).

Daily Truth

2012-01-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

Today, share with someone what God shows you in Matthew 13. Lord, give me ears that hear You, eyes that see You, and a heart that understands You (13:15-16). Don't let me be too hard for Your Word to sink in (13:19), or too shallow for Your Word to remain in me (13:20), or so in love with the world that Your Word has no room to grow in me (13:22). Make me rich, deep soil that Your Word takes root in and produces fruit (13:23). You are worth the loss of everything to me (13:44-45). Let me share today very aware that a day is coming when the lost will have no more opportunity to choose You and Your kingdom (13:49).

Daily Truth

2012-01-28T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today's mind-changing text is Matthew 12. Lord, teach me to show mercy in applying Your Law and help me know that my religious sacrifices don't make me righteous, only Christ's sacrifice does (12:7). Help me know what it means to work "with" You and to be a gatherer (12:30). Does what I say reveal my heart to be good or evil (12:33-37)? Cause me to trust You without needing proof (12:38-39). Identify me as part of Your be family by enabling me to do nothing but the Father's will (12:50).

Daily Truth

2012-01-27T14:14:00.001-05:00

Today's mind-transforming text is Matthew 11. Lord, correct any misunderstandings I have about what it means for You to be my Savior (11:16-18). Let my life express wisdom by showing accurately what it means for You to be my savior, king, and righteousness (11:19). Thank You for showing Your thoughts and will in Jesus (11:27). Thank you for giving me rest for my soul, not having to worry about whether I am in Your favor or under Your wrath (11:28-29). Hook me up to work along side of You knowing You will lead gently and will help me plow Your field, plant Your seed, and harvest Your fruit (11:29-30).

Daily Truth

2012-01-26T15:19:00.000-05:00

Today's mind transforming text is Matthew 10. Lord, when You send me out to give evidence of the power of Your kingdom, show me: where to go (10:5-6), what to say (10:7), what to do (10:8), and how to rely exclusively on You (10:10). Let my words be the exact Words of Your Spirit (10:20). Cause me to endure all who hate me for loving You (10:22). Convince my heart that You are worth fearing, people are not (10:28). Make my life and words force people to choose what they will be loyal to (10:34-35). Help my life find worth in declaring Your worth (10:37-38).

Daily Truth

2012-01-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

Today read matthew 9 to help you think more like Jesus. Lord, thank You for having the authority to forgive my rebellion (9:6). Help me also recognize Your authority to lead me as Matthew did (9:9). Keep me trusting You when the world doubts You and laughs at me for trusting You (9:24). Help me share as persistently as those who had been healed of blindness (9:31). Let me feel Your compassion for the crowds who don't know Your salvation or leadership (9:36). Send out workers to harvest those ready to trust You even if it means I am one You want to send out (9:38).

Daily Truth

2012-01-23T17:11:00.001-05:00

Today's life altering text is Matthew 8. Lord, make my transformed life a "testimony" of Your will to the particular people who need to see it (8:4). Build my faith to be like the centurion's faith (8:10). Don't let me fail to serve You now that You have healed my twisted heart (8:15). Give me the courage to follow You even if it means no comforts, security, or family (8:19-22). In my storms, help me trust You (8:26). Transform me so radically that it draws people to meet You (8:33-34).

Teaching Our Teens to Evaluate Themselves Spiritually - 1 John 2:3-11

2012-01-23T16:37:00.002-05:00

The belief that Christ causes true believers to endure in trusting and walking in Christ is soundly biblical. This truth, however, is often misapplied. For too many Baptists, this belief produces a false sense of security and even a license to sin. This truth mixed with our sinful inclinations produces a dangerous pride.

Paul tells us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12); to “test” ourselves to “see if we are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5); and to “evaluate” ourselves (Rom. 12:3). The writer of Hebrews warns us to “pay attention to what we have heard so we won’t drift away” (Heb. 2:1) and that “we have become Christ’s companions if we hold firmly until the end what we had at the start” (Heb. 3:14). Nowhere does the Bible allow us to be complacent in Christ.

So how can we, as parents, help our teens to evaluate themselves honestly and accurately? The apostle John says that we know we have “come to know Him [Christ]” when we are “keeping His commands” (vs. 3), when we “keep His Word,” and when we "walk just as He walked” (vs. 5-6). To keep His commands is to love God above all and love others as God loves them.

When was the last time you helped your teen “test their faith” by helping them evaluate her love for God and for others? How is your teen loving the unlovable, her boyfriend, or his girlfriend? Is he loving the things of God more than the world? Are they loving their friends by helping them love God more? Your teen’s teachers test their learning. Her coaches test her athletic skills. Will you love your teen by helping him test his faith?

Daily Truth

2012-01-21T18:52:00.001-05:00

Today be shaped by Matthew 7. Lord, take every log from my eye so I can help my church family be more holy (7:3-5). Lead me to want to ask and ask for the very things that You want (7:7-9). Thank you for being the Giver of incredible gifts (7:10-11). Don't let me follow the crowd through the easy way that ends in destruction. Help me truly believe that real life will often be the difficult and lonely road (7:13-14). Produce good fruit in me (7:15-20). Don't allow me just to say You are my Lord, but drive me to follow you as my Lord today by doing Your will (7:21-23). Don't let me hear you and then disobey what I hear (7:26).

Daily Truth

2012-01-20T11:38:00.001-05:00

Today's life-changing text is Matt. 6. Our Father in heaven (6:9), make my walk with You real and consistent, not just for show (6:1-8). Help me show my friend's Your holiness (6:9). Rule me today (6:10). Don't let me think that my way will bring more fulfillment than Your way today (6:13). Help me forgive those who hurt me (6:14). Help me value what You value and be rich in things that last forever (6:19-21). Money and what it buys is not my master (6:24). Help me be content with Your provision, and help me chase after Your rule in my life, not all the stuff after which the world chases (6:25-34). Remind me that worry is worst when I am trusting you least (6:30-31).

Daily Truth

2012-01-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

Today's time aligning our lives up with God's ways is in Matt. 5:1-12. Lord, help me want to be with Your followers instead of just with the crowd (5:1-2). Remind me that: when I have nothing, I have heaven (5:3), when I grieve, You are my Comforter (5:4), power and control get me no more inheritance than what You give me (5:5), I will be most satisfied when i crave righteousness (5:6), I must show the mercy You've shown me (5:7), You won't accept being just one of the many things i love (5:8), my life must leave peace in its path, not destruction (5:9), it is better to suffer for doing what is right (5:10-11), and in all of life's situations, You command me to "be glad and rejoice" knowing my reward in heaven is awesome. . . it's You (5:12).

Daily Truth

2012-01-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

Today's time being shaped by the Word is in Matthew 4. Lord, if it is Your will that i walk through the wilderness in hunger, protect me (4:1-2). Let me hunger for Your Word alone (4:4). Let me not assume Your protection when i insist on doing what I want (4:7). Let me value nothing more than You (4:10). Let those in darkness see Your light through me (4:16). Make my repentance clear (4:17). Don't let me be a fisher of men who catches no fish (4:19). Make me ready to leave all to follow You (4:22).

Teaching Teens Why They Should Forgive - 1 John 2:2

2012-01-16T15:26:00.001-05:00

It seems that one of the hardest things to do and teach is to forgive. When a child or teen is offended, it is only natural for her to want justice. When our children are hurt, we might want justice even more because we want to protect our children from pain. I am still amazed, however, at the number of Christian parents who encourage an “eye for an eye” or a “punch for a punch” moral code.

While doing what we can to keep our children from being hurt, we must recognize that it is more important to teach them to forgive. 1 John 2:2 may not include the actual word “forgive,” but it makes the foundation for forgiveness profoundly clear. This verse says that Jesus is the “propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.”

So when your teens are hurt, take the opportunity to teach them forgiveness rather than to demand justice. Why? Because as the “propitiation” of the world, Jesus earned God’s good favor toward the hater, not just the one hated. In His death, justice was accomplished in that every sin committed by or against us was punished. When we teach our teens to get even, we are teaching them to live in a way that belittles what Christ did for the world.

Christ suffered so that the Father would look with favor at the one who hurt your child. Refusing to forgive says that Christ did not suffer enough to cover the sin that hurt your child. So protect your child. But when she is hurt, teach her that Jesus already took all the punishment that this particular offense deserves. The just sentence for this offense has already been served by Christ. All that is left to do is to offer the grace of forgiveness.

Teaching Teens How Not to Sin - 1 John 1:7-2:2

2012-01-16T15:22:00.000-05:00

The elderly John refers to his spiritual children in 2:1 as “My little children.” He
then identifies the goal for which he writes, “so that they won’t sin.” Let’s not
misunderstand what sin is. John is not merely desiring to produce nice, good
spiritual children. Instead, he is wants them to depend wholly on Christ.

The heart of sin is deeper than being a mean, immoral person. The heart of sin is
being one’s own master. Neil Anderson said that “the essence of temptation is the invitation to live independently of God.” So, teaching our teens not to sin is the same as teaching them to submit to the rule of Christ in every aspect of their lives and to walk by the Spirit’s leading. How then does John teach his spiritual children not to sin?

First, John warns his children by reminding them that one cannot walk in sin and claim to have fellowship with Christ (vs. 6-7). John establishes sin as the opposite of walking with Christ. Do we teach our teens how Christ walks? We must show our teens how to think, want, and walk in Christ’s footsteps by word and action.

Second, our teens must recognize that they are innately sinful (v. 8). Denial of our twisted nature denies the reason that Christ came, died, and was resurrected. Steve Jobs’ (the brain behind the iMac, iPhone, iPod, etc.) denied that his cancer would be fatal. As a result, his cancer took over his body and he died. The denial of sin prevents its healing by Christ. As parents, do we clearly show that we are dead in sin apart from Christ living in us? If we constantly tell our teens how good they are, will they have any sense of need for Christ’s help and healing? The cure only helps those who know they are sick. Teach your teen to be desperate for the healing of the Righteous One, our Advocate.

Daily Truth

2012-01-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Today's time being shaped by the Word is in Matthew 3. Lord, let others see your clear rule in me. Turn me 180 degrees from the path of sin (3:2). Let me not be an obstacle to jesus' path (3:3). Don't let clothes or food be my priorities (3:4). Make me love others enough to tell them of the coming wrath (3:7). Help my life bear fruit that matches my claim to have repented (3:8). Not bearing fruit is serious because it could mean I am not Yours (3:10). Thank you that by faith, I can share in the delight that you have in Your Son (3:17).

Daily Truth

2012-01-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

Today we begin the book of Matthew. Read 1:1-1:25. Father, thank you that Your salvation in Jesus is a matter of historical record (1:1). Thank You that You use doubters (Abraham), adulterers (Judah), prostitutes (Rahab), foreigners (Ruth), and murderers (David) to bring the Savior to this world (1:16). Use me too to share Jesus with the world. Thank you that Your control over history is perfect (1:17). Thank You that Mary chose to keep herself pure so that we would know w/o a doubt that Jesus is YOUR Son (1:18-25). Help me live worthy of Your gift of Jesus (1:21).

Daily Truth

2012-01-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

Today's time (last day in Nehemiah) is in chapter 13. My God, help me take Your word seriously (v. 1). Thank you for turning my curse due to sin into a blessing through Jesus (v. 2). Thank You for choosing me by grace to share in the fellowship of Your people by faith (v. 3). Let me not use Your temple (my body) for just worldly stuff when it's made to be used for holy stuff (v. 4-9). Use me to keep holy what You have declared holy (v. 19-22). Remind me that my most intimate relationships must be with those who will not pull me away from You (v. 23-29).

Teaching Teens How to Live in the Light - 1 John 1:5-6

2012-01-09T16:42:00.000-05:00

The apostle John warns his spiritual children of two common spiritual
deceptions. The first occurs in verses 5-7. It is the belief that we can
have fellowship with God and continue to live as our own masters.

John begins by affirming that God is light and in Him there is no darkness.
God is perfectly holy. There is no evil in Him. If we claim to have fellowship
with God, but continue to walk in sin, we are lying to everyone.

Not having fellowship with God means we do not have the mind of God. Without thinking like Him, we will not want what He wants. Without His wants, we will not do His works. Fellowship with God will produce wants and works of light. Our teens must not believe that they can be in fellowship with God apart from having His thoughts, wants, and works.

This truth must shape why and how parents discipline. The goal when correcting a teen’s sinful behavior must be to help the teen think more like Christ. The method of correction must reflect God’s method. Correction should be approached with a “gentle spirit” (Gal. 6:1) and done in kindness (Rom. 2:4). This does not mean that it will never be painful, but that it will produce the fruit of peace and righteousness (Heb. 12:11). What evidence of light is there in your teen’s life and in your correction? We cannot afford to maintain the naïve hope that our teens will walk righteously apart from having the thoughts and wants of Christ.

Nothing Screams Competence Like a Neck Tattoo

2012-01-05T20:46:00.000-05:00

The last time I went to the doctor’s office, I noticed how old and stodgy they all were dressed. Nearly all of them wore ties and I didn’t see any of them without coats. The nurses and receptionists all looked relaxed and comfy in their cartoon character scrubs. But the doctors were dressed… professionally.

A few months ago, my wife and I decided to take advantage of the low interest rates and refinance our home. The mortgage specialist from the bank was impeccably dressed. He was well-groomed, wearing both a sport coat and a tie. Even the tellers were dressed… professionally.

Back when I had time to do the research and no children in college, I found investing our extra money to be stimulating and fun. Now that we need that money for little things like food, gas and tuition, we decided my hobby was best left to people who actually knew what they were doing. So we went to a place that specializes in investments. The investment broker we visited was an older gentleman, well-coiffed and dressed to the nines. His cologne and cufflinks only accentuated the fact that he was dressed… professionally.

I realize the way people dress has nothing to do with their actual qualifications. A white coat does nothing more for my healthcare than cufflinks do for my money. But for some reason, we instinctively associate a person’s dress with their professionalism and competence. In other words, most of us probably wouldn’t entrust our life’s savings to a man sporting a faux-hawk and a soul patch. Graphic T-shirts and checkered Vans are authoritative for a good latte—not necessarily a gallbladder laparoscopy.

Since there is such a natural tendency to associate professionalism, competence and aptitude with the way a person is dressed, why do so many people feel they have to dress like a hipster before they can preach the Word? When people desire the answers to eternal questions, are they more inclined to trust a person dressed like someone who occupies Wall Street or who actually works there?

Don’t misunderstand me—I’m not saying that everyone who preaches and teaches the Bible should dress like Al Mohler. How preachers dress is largely cultural. While I am not saying that preachers and Bible teachers have to live in a coat and tie and wear wing-tipped footie PJs, neither do they have to don a hipster costume to try and become relevant. People are looking more for competence than relevance.

The whole world is relevant—people don’t need any more relevance. Instead, they need someone who will competently show them the Gospel. People need someone who can transcend relevance and lead them to Christ—the One who can save them from their futally relevant existence.

Bankers, brokers, doctors and a host of other professionals realize they don't have to be hip to be heard. Why do so many preachers and teachers of God’s Word fail to realize that?

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Daily Truth

2012-01-05T12:01:00.000-05:00

Today's time hearing from God is in Nehemiah 12. Lord, thank You for showing us that You know the names of the average Joe people whom You use in Your plan; use me (v. 1-26). Shape me so others can rightly refer to me as a "man of God" (v. 24). Give me a heart to celebrate what You accomplish through me (v. 27) and purify me (v. 30). Give me great joy today from serving You and let the nations hear my joy in You (v. 43).

Be Careful What You Preach!

2012-01-04T18:05:00.000-05:00

Though the fig tree does not bud

and there is no fruit on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will triumph in Yahweh;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Yahweh my Lord is my strength;

He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to walk on mountain heights!

(Habakkuk 3:17-19, HCSB)

That is the text I preached this past Sunday. Actually, that’s the text I started from—I preached the whole book of Habakkuk. I suppose it would have been more upbeat to preach a message of success and prosperity for the New Year, but that wasn’t what the Lord intended. Instead, it was a message of perseverance and endurance.

None of us knows what awaits us in the coming year—just like this time last year, none of us knew what 2011 had in store for us. Yes, there were wonderful things that happened. But there were very difficult things that happened as well. I know many people had to endure unimaginable things in 2011.

The fact is, many of us will have to endure unimaginable things this coming year. Maybe you will. Maybe I will. Habakkuk realized there might not be any enjoyable delicacies (figs) in the coming year. There might not be any dietary staples (grapes). There might not even be any necessities (olives). He said he might not even have any way to produce food for himself or his family (fields). Things might get so bad that he wouldn’t have any clothes, money or way to make a living (sheep and cattle).

However you might look at it, Habakkuk was allowing for the possibility of a rough year ahead. But what did he predetermine his response was going to be? No matter if the absolute worst year imaginable happened, he was going to praise the Lord. The only way he was going to be able to do that was because he heard the Lord when He reminded him that He is in control (Habakkuk 2:20).

In this coming year, God is still on His throne. Nothing will happen in 2012 that will surprise Him or make Him have to scramble to have to try and fix things. When, through the finished work of Christ on the cross, you trust God (Habakkuk 2:4b; Romans 1:16-17), He has promised that He’s going to work it all together for good (Romans 8:28), and He will give you the strength you need to be able to praise Him through it—no matter what happens to you.

Even though it wasn’t a New Year cheerleader, pep-rally type sermon, it preached well. The Spirit attended the preaching of His Word and people responded well. But there is an inherent danger in preaching the Word. Many times, God finds a way to verify the message through the life of the messenger. Late Sunday afternoon, with tear-filled eyes, my wife looked up at me and said, “Well, that didn’t take long.”

Even before the service that morning, I received word that a dear friend had passed away on Saturday. His memorial service was to be Monday afternoon, which meant a 1200 mile turnaround for me over the next few days. It would be difficult to see the grieving family, but they are wonderful, have a loving church family and have the assurance of their loved one’s presence with the Lord.

The real message verification would come later in the afternoon as we found out that my father-in-law’s liver disease has progressed to the point that he will probably not make it through the next several days. Over Christmas, what he thought was a stomach virus turned out to be rapid degeneration of his liver. As he is not eligible to receive a liver transplant, he has basically been told that there is nothing they can do except “make him comfortable.” Morphine is comfortable for no one.

To say the least, days 1-4 of 2012 have not been the most enjoyable start to the New Year. But they have served to confirm the message I preached on Sunday. “The Lord is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence.” Nothing surprises Him. Nothing makes Him have to scramble for a new plan. My all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving God is completely and totally in control, and is working it all together for my good and His glory. Because of that, I will triumph in Him. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. He is my strength.

Habakkuk 3:19

Double-Take 1/4

2012-01-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

Today we're going to add a new feature to Deep Riches Blog. There are far too many good blog articles for most people to keep up with, even with Google Reader and all the other RSS readers that are out there. I keep up with several blogs, so rather than keep all the good stuff to myself, I will periodically post a list of links to the most intriguing articles I've been reading.

Just because I post a link doesn't mean that I endorse everything the author is saying--but for some reason the article intrigues me and I trust it will intrigue you. By no means am I being original in this idea. The best examples are Tim Challies' A La Carte, and Trevin Wax's Worth a Look. Both of those are posted daily. I will not attain such regularity--once or twice a week will be the best that I can hope for. I will try to not duplicate their excellent efforts and I will draw from both the "big names" and the lesser-known writers. With that being said, here are some links that are worth a Double-Take:

A Forgotten Text? Why is that, I wonder?
Carl Trueman reacts to the way the pendulum has swung from legalism to license in many Reformed circles and calls his readers to reexamine Ephesians 5:12.

9Marks eJournal: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School
For years, all of the really smart people have been telling the rest of us that Sunday School is "sooo last century." Ed Stetzer uses the occasion of the latest 9 Marks eJournal to aggregate several web articles that tell a different story. Excellent discussion material for those of us who love Sunday School.

Missing Mike
Every person who has ever sat with a friend or family member and failed to share the Gospel because they were "uncomfortable" needs to read this post by Tim Challies.

Can She Ever Run Again?
With news today that Cooperative Program giving is 7% behind last year's pace, this is a very timely article by Micah Fries

Following Jesus?
With the current state of many local churches, some people are opting out of corporate worship altogether and "just" following Jesus. What does it mean to be "just" a follower of Jesus?

How to Stone People Without the Inconvenience of Picking Up Rocks
In the Southern Baptist circles in which I travel, church discipline is one of the least practiced and most misunderstood aspects of the local church. Byron Yawn makes a great argument that church discipline is a necessary part of what makes for a loving community.

Living in "Idiotville"
Cal Thomas talks about Daniel J. Flynn's book "Blue Collar Intellectuals"--a sad commentary on the state of the mind in America today.

Zero
Lane Corley sets zero as his most challenging numerical goal for 2012.

Daily Truth

2012-01-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

Today's time being reshaped by the Word is in Nehemiah 11. Lord, make me so willing to do Your kingdom work that I volunteer for the work instead of having to be asked (11:1-2). Make me willing to leave what is familiar to be used by You (11:3).

Daily Truth

2012-01-03T19:54:00.001-05:00

Today, let Nehemiah 10 transform your thinking, wanting, and doing. Loving God, I put my name on the list of those who "make a firm promise" to obey You (v. 1-29). Let my faith in You make me different than the lost around me (v. 30). I commit not to treat as common/average that which You have called holy (v. 31). I will sacrifice to keep the temple (my body) holy (v. 32). Make me faithful to do my part in Your work (v. 34-37). I commit to offer at least a tithe to You (v. 38) since all I have is from You.

Daily Truth

2012-01-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

Today we shape our thinking to be like God's from Nehemiah 9. My God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who keeps His promise and always acts in love (9:32), let me be broken over my rebellions (9:1). Help me to spend much time in Your Word, prayer, and worship (9:3). Make my speech to show Your greatness (9:5). Lead me today clearly (9:12). Don't allow me to be stiff-necked (9:16). Thank You for being quick to forgive and so patient with me (9:17). Don't let me become so content in Your gifts that I forget You (9:25-26). Send suffering into my life to turn me from sin (9:27). Help me be convinced that my ways are wrong and Your way is right (9:33). Please make me stable in obeying You.

Are Joy and Parenting Mutually Exclusive? - 1 John 1:4

2012-01-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

How many parents think that parenting is an absolute joy? Contrast that number with how many parents would settle for even a little joy. The Apostle John has just told his spiritual children that he tells them all about his firsthand knowledge of Christ so that they can think, want, and work along with him, and with God (ie, have fellowship).

What reason would you give for wanting your teen to think, want, and work like Christ, with you? Would you want it for your teen’s peace, purpose, or holiness? In verse four, John revealed his unexpected motive for wanting them to have fellowship with him and with God. John helped them have fellowship with him and with God so that his own “joy may be complete.”

Although John gave many reasons later on in his message (2:12-13; 5:13), the first reason he gave was that he wanted his own joy to be perfected. This reason implied that when his children were not thinking, wanting, and working in unison (fellowship) with him, his joy was incomplete. We all live for joy. We make decisions according to what we think will make us the happiest. John tells us clearly that, as parents, our joy will be lacking if we do not do everything we can to help our teens think, want, and work like Christ, with us. Are you lacking joy in your parenting? Are you working to make your joy full in a worldly way, or after John’s example?

Why Just One True Faith?

2012-01-02T14:24:00.002-05:00

If God is all powerful,there can only be one God since there cannot be two "most powerful" beings. Any religion that affirms multiple gods really views their gods as less than what what God is by definition, all-powerful. I choose the God who does not have to share His power with another. Why choose a lesser power or risk choosing a God who might have the potential of being defeated?

The famous athiest, Bertrand Russell, wrote in his "Why I am not a Christian," that all religions cannot be true since they affirm different things. Since two opposing truths cant both be true, there must be only one true religion and all others must be false. Christianity says that there is only one true religion. Any religion that affirms many possible true religions must be wrong.

Christianity is different from all other world religions in that all other religions require the individual to be saved by his/her own good works. In Christianity, one is saved by Christ's righteousness given as a gift when one chooses to rely on His gift by faith. If there can be only one true religion, and since all other religions are "saved by works" religions, the one that is distinct, Christianity, must be the true one.

Fellowship with God. . . Fellowship with Teens-1 John 1:3

2012-01-02T14:19:00.002-05:00

One of the most common concerns of parents is that their teens seem to be on an
entirely different page than that of the parents. Some of this problem can
be attributed to the generation gap. But Christ intended the church to be many
generations in a single unified body. So the generation gap, by itself, cannot be
an insurmountable obstacle to fellowship.

In 1 John 1:3, the aged apostle John told his spiritual children in the church all he knew of Christ “so that” they might have fellowship with him (John). The “so that” clause identifies the very source of his connection with them. What was the source? First, John had fellowship with the Father and the Son. John’s way of thinking, wanting, and living was in line with God’s. Fellowship IS this unity of mind, heart, and life.

Second, John declared to his spiritual children everything that he knew as a result of his fellowship with the Father and the Son. He declared and lived-out God’s mind and heart so that he might have enduring fellowship with his children.

So why is there such a disconnect (lack of fellowship) between parents and teens? John’s fellowship with His children was based on the unchanging reality of Christ. Parents try desperately to foster a connection with their teens based on so many temporary realities like sports, school, teen romance, driving, teen’s emotions, parents’ emotions, successes, etc.

Until parents have fellowship with God (thinking, wanting, and living in Him) and until teens see this fellowship clearly, teens will either be ignorant of it or find it unbelievable. When parents ways become God’s ways, teens are more likely to understand God’s ways, find them credible, and parents will share the most intimate of connections with their teens. . .the growth toward godliness, and God doesn’t change. While this parent/teen fellowship is not automatic, there is no hope for it apart from an ever-growing unity with God made clear to our teens.

Your Resolutions Are Lame

2012-01-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

Lose weight, get in shape, get organized, do a daily devotion, go to church more, read my Bible. Those are typical of the resolutions many Christians will make this New Year. I have heard many people opine on the futility of making New Year's resolutions, but I'm not so sure they are as useless as we might think. Jonathan Edwards certainly didn't think so. When he was just a young man, he committed to the following resolutions. Judging by the quality of his life and how he was (and is still being) used by the Lord, I would say he faithfully stuck to his committment. As we take the time to read his resolutions, maybe we need to consider that the inherent problem with resolutions is not in the making of them. Maybe the problem is with the quality of the resolutions we make. Maybe we need to quit worrying so much about the exercise bike and begin to focus on the Lord of all creation.

RESOLUTIONS OF JONATHAN EDWARDS

"Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week

1. Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved, so to do, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever.

2. Resolved, To be continually endeavouring to find out some new contrivance and invention to promote the forementioned things.

3. Resolved, If ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God, nor be, nor suffer it, if I can possibly avoid it.

5. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, To live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, To act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings, as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God. Vid. July 30.

9. Resolved, To think much, on all occasions, of my dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

10. Resolved, When I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

11. Resolved, When I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved, immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances do not hinder.

12. Resolved, If I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.

13. Resolved, To be endeavouring to find out fit objects of liberality and charity.

14. Resolved, Never to do any thing out of revenge.

15. Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.

16. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

17. Resolved, That I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

18. Resolved, To live so, at all times, as I think is best in my most devout frames, and when I have the clearest notions of the things of the gospel, and another world.

19. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour before I should hear the last trump.

20. Resolved, To maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

21. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which if I should see in another, I should count a just occasion to despise him for, or to think any way the more meanly of him.

22. Resolved, To endeavour to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigour, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.

23. Resolved, Frequently to take some deliberate action, which seems most unlikely to be done, for the glory of God, and trace it back to the original intention, designs, and ends of it; and if I find it not to be for God’s glory, to repute it as a breach of the fourth Resolution.

24. Resolved, Whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, To examine carefully and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and so direct all my forces against it.

26. Resolved, To cast away such things as I find do abate my assurance.

27. Resolved, Never wilfully to omit any thing, except the omission be for the glory of God; and frequently to examine my omissions.

28. Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

29. Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.

30. Resolved, To strive every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

31. Resolved, Never to say any thing at all against any body, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of christian honour, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said any thing against any one, to bring it to, and try it strictly by, the test of this Resolution.

32. Resolved, To be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that, in Prov. 20:6. ‘A faithful man, who can find?’ may not be partly fulfilled in me.

33. Resolved, To do always what I can towards making, maintaining, and preserving peace, when it can be done without an overbalancing detriment in other respects. Dec. 26, 1722.

34. Resolved, In narrations, never to speak any thing but the pure and simple verity.

35. Resolved, Whenever I so much question whether I have done my duty, as that my quiet and calm is thereby disturbed, to set it down, and also how the question was resolved. Dec. 18, 1722.

36. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call to it. Dec. 19, 1722.

37. Resolved, To inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,—what sin I have committed,—and wherein I have denied myself;—also, at the end of every week, month, and year. Dec. 22 and 26, 1722.

38. Resolved, Never to utter any thing that is sportive, or matter of laughter, on a Lord’s day. Sabbath evening, Dec. 23, 1722.

39. Resolved, Never to do any thing, of which I so much question the lawfulness, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or not; unless I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

40. Resolved, To inquire every night before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

41. Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

42. Resolved, Frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism, which I solemnly renewed when I was received into the communion of the church, and which I have solemnly re-made this 12th day of January, 1723.

43. Resolved, Never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s; agreeably to what is to be found in Saturday, Jan. 12th. Jan. 12, 1723.

44. Resolved, That no other end but religion shall have any influence at all on any of my actions; and that no action shall be, in the least circumstance, any otherwise than the religious end will carry it. Jan. 12, 1723.

45. Resolved, Never to allow any pleasure or grief, joy or sorrow, nor any affection at all, nor any degree of affection, nor any circumstance relating to it, but what helps religion. Jan. 12 and 13, 1723.

46. Resolved, Never to allow the least measure of any fretting or uneasiness at my father or mother. Resolved, to suffer no effects of it, so much as in the least alteration of speech, or motion of my eye; and to be especially careful of it with respect to any of our family.

47. Resolved, To endeavour, to my utmost, to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented and easy, compassionate and generous, humble and meek, submissive and obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable and even, patient, moderate, forgiving, and sincere, temper; and to do, at all times, what such a temper would lead me to; and to examine strictly, at the end of every week, whether I have so done. Sabbath morning, May 5, 1723.

48. Resolved, Constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or not; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of. May 26, 1723.

49. Resolved, That this never shall be, if I can help it.

50. Resolved, That I will act so, as I think I shall judge would have been best, and most prudent, when I come into the future world. July 5, 1723.

51. Resolved, That I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.

52. I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, That I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. July 8, 1723.

53. Resolved, To improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.

54. Resolved, Whenever I hear anything spoken in commendation of any person, if I think it would be praise-worthy in me, that I will endeavour to imitate it. July 8, 1723.

55. Resolved, To endeavour, to my utmost, so to act, as I can think I should do, if I had already seen the happiness of heaven and hell torments. July 8, 1723.

56. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

57. Resolved, When I fear misfortunes and adversity, to examine whether I have done my duty, and resolve to do it, and let the event be just as Providence orders it. I will, as far as I can, be concerned about nothing but my duty and my sin. June 9, and July 13, 1723.

58. Resolved, Not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and benignity. May 27, and July 13, 1723.

59. Resolved, When I am most conscious of provocations to ill nature and anger, that I will strive most to feel and act good-naturedly; yea, at such times, to manifest good nature, though I think that in other respects it would be disadvantageous, and so as would be imprudent at other times. May 12, July 11, and July 13.

60. Resolved, Whenever my feelings begin to appear in the least out of order, when I am conscious of the least uneasiness within, or the least irregularity without, I will then subject myself to the strictest examination. July 4 and 13, 1723.

61. Resolved, That I will not give way to that listlessness which I find unbends and relaxes my mind from being fully and fixedly set on religion, whatever excuse I may have for it—that what my listlessness inclines me to do, is best to be done, &c. May 21, and July 13, 1723.

62. Resolved, Never to do any thing but my duty, and then, according to Eph. 6:6–8. to do it willingly and cheerfully, as unto the Lord, and not to man: knowing that whatever good thing any man doth, the same shall he receive of the Lord. June 25, and July 13, 1723.

63. On the supposition, that there never was to be but one individual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always shining in its true lustre, and appearing excellent and lovely, from whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, To act just as I would do, if I strove with all my might to be that one, who should live in my time. Jan. 14, and July 13, 1723.

64. Resolved, When I find those "groanings which cannot be uttered," of which the apostle speaks, and those "breathings of soul for the longing it hath," of which the psalmist speaks, Psalm 119:20. that I will promote them to the utmost of my power; and that I will not be weary of earnestly endeavouring to vent my desires, nor of the repetitions of such earnestness. July 23, and Aug. 10, 1723.

65. Resolved, Very much to exercise myself in this, all my life long, viz. with the greatest openness of which I am capable, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul to him, all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, fears, hopes, desires, and every thing, and every circumstance, according to Dr. Manton’s Sermon on the cxix Psalm. July 26, and Aug. 10, 1723.

66. Resolved, That I will endeavour always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking, in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

67. Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them; and, what I might have got by them.

68. Resolved, To confess frankly to myself, all that which I find in myself, either infirmity or sin; and, if it be what concerns religion, also to confess the whole case to God, and implore needed help. July 23, and August 10, 1723.

69. Resolved, Always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723.

70. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak. Aug. 17, 1723."

Daily Truth

2011-12-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Today's Bible reading is in Nehemiah 8. Lord, give Your people a renewed hunger to get together just to hear the Truth of Your Word (v. 1) so much that we would sit for 6 hours to listen attentively and obey it (3). Help me allow your Word to change my life to show how much I value the Word (they stood) and its Author (they bowed) (5-6). Help Your Spokesmen make it clear (8). Grieve me concerning ways i don't keep Your Word (9). Then give me joy simply because I have understood Your Word (12). Remind me and help me celebrate that my life (like Israel's life in tents or booths in the wilderness) is only temporary and that my permanent house is in the heavenly promised land with You, my King (13-17). Help me celebrate Your Word (18).

Take Up and Read

2011-12-27T16:56:00.003-05:00

If you are like most folks, this is the time of year you take inventory of your life. We tend to think about the areas in which we are falling short of our ideal and begin to contemplate the ways we can improve. I am told that more exercise equipment is sold immediately after the New Year than the rest of the year combined. I have an elliptical in my bedroom collecting dust and laundry that was purchased as part of a New Year's resolution a few years ago.

While losing weight and committing to physical exercise is valuable, it falls far short of the commitment to spiritual exercise we need to make. As the exercise equipment flooding garage sales and eBay can attest, resolutions are easy to break. Commitments are not.

This year, I encourage you to commit to a Bible reading plan. Several good plans are available. Justin Taylor has an excellent summation of several good plans, including links to plans for your mobile phone. If you are looking for a very challenging plan that will give you variety each day and will enable you to read parts of the Bible several times in 2012, check out the plan I will be using. While this plan is attributed to Professor Grant Horner, it is very similar to the plan my Papaw Drake used for years, before he died in 1985.

Regardless of the plan you use, it is important that you have a plan. After you pick your plan, plan your time. Some will be more faithful to keep a morning time, those who cannot function in the mornings will need to plan an evening time. Early mornings work best for me, before the hectic busy-ness of the day begins. Regardless of the time you pick, you must pick a time or it will never happen.

Pick your plan, plan your time and prepare your place. May I suggest a place that is as free from distraction as possible? As a recent iPad convert, I have found that I must disable all of the "Push Notifications" in order to use it for effective Bible reading. Otherwise, I become too distracted by the interruptions. Email, texts, Twitter, telephone, television and Facebook need to be absent from the place you prepare. Every effort should be made to provide for yourself a place free from distraction. When that happens, you can immerse yourself in the Word.

Pick your plan, plan your time, prepare your place. Finally, proclaim your intentions. Part of the reason for writing this post is for accountability. I would love for you who read this to periodically post a "how goes it" comment. The threat of having to answer you should keep me going during the times when it will be much more appealing to sleep than get up and read ten chapters. But the fact is, I don't see most of you who read this blog. I need to seek accountability with those whom I see regularly--and so do you. Proclaim your intentions to them. Invite them to challenge you and hold you accountable to your plan. When you fail, seek their encouragement. In doing so, you will encourage their growth as well.

Pick, plan, prepare, proclaim--let's do those things and celebrate the joy of daily being in God's Word together this year.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

The Inevitable Reality of Death

2011-12-27T14:47:00.000-05:00

This past week, LifeWay Research released some new data on how Americans perceive and pursue spiritual realities. The statistic that most struck me is the fact that 46% of Americans NEVER wonder about whether they will go to heaven. It’s not that they don’t believe in heaven or hell. It’s just that they simply don’t think about it.

I have often lamented the impression that we live in a culture of death. Skulls and skeletons have moved from underground Goth subculture to mainstream fashion. Death, gore, murder, blood and violence fill movie screen, television programs and video games. The current generation has been desensitized to images of graphic violence.

But despite the numb, calloused reaction to IMAGES of death, many people in our culture are not confronted with the actuality of death. Death is fictional. It is a caricature. For average, comfortable suburban people, it isn’t real.

Although I am speculating, I would imagine that very few of the 46% have been personally impacted by the stark reality of death. Seeing the cold, lifeless body of one whom you have loved—not a made-up corpse or a cremation urn—inevitably raises questions of the afterlife. With our society’s comfortable embrace of the images of death, we seem to have lost touch with its reality.

Amos 6:1

Holiness Among Us

2011-12-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

God became a baby. He entered a world of problems and heartaches.
“The Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness” (John 1:14 NLT).

The operative word of the verse is among. He lived among us. He donned the costliest of robes: a human body. He made a throne out of a manger and a royal court out of some cows. He took a common name—Jesus—and made it holy. He took common people and made them the same. He could have lived over us or away from us. But he didn’t. He lived among us.

Max Lucado and Terri A. Gibbs, Grace for the Moment : Inspirational Thoughts for Each Day of the Year (Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman, 2000), 49.

Daily Truth

2011-12-23T14:29:00.002-05:00

Today's time being shaped like God is in Nehemiah 7. Lord, make me a person of integrity who fears you more than most people do (7:2). Lead me by clearly putting Your will in my heart (7:5). May others recognize by my life that my name is on the list of those who have been freed from slavery to sin (7:5-7). The average Joe israelite gave 1/4 of their annual income to Your work (7:72). Lead me to be as generous with what You have given me so that people will both be Your disciples and make disciples.

Daily Truth

2011-12-22T07:31:00.000-05:00

Today's time learning God's way of thinking is in Nehemiah 6. Lord, don't let the enemy distract me from doing Your work, even if they try repeatedly (6:3-4). Cause me to work consistently. Let me not be weakened in Your work by fear or threats (6:9). Don't let me sin or give anyone reason to accuse me (6:13). Strengthen my hands today (6:9). Make it obvious today to those against me that my work is really you working in me (6:16). Finish Your work in me and through me (6:15).

Do We Really Need Another Church?

2011-12-22T05:30:00.001-05:00

There is much talk about planting churches in Southern Baptist circles these days. Questions of methodology, strategy and means tend to dominate the conversation. But before addressing any of those issues, we must be clear on the need.

All too often it is said that we have too many churches already—what is the need to plant new ones? It is true that the many parts of our country are littered with small evangelical church buildings—especially in the southeast. The problem is that many (if not most) of them are in various stages of death and decay. If that does not describe your church, then praise God! But I can confidently make that charge about most American churches because of the vast numbers of lost people right outside their doors.

Crime, drugs, child abuse and neglect are key indicators that what we are doing isn’t working—because people who have been transformed by the Gospel don’t act like that. The only solution to the problem of our communities is the Gospel. It’s not social programs, food pantries, clothes closets or other giveaways. Those things can be helpful in the right context, but they do nothing to solve the core problem of lostness.

The only thing that will fix the problem is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But according to Romans 10:14-15, the only way the lost will hear the Gospel is if someone proclaims it to them. And the only way that someone will proclaim it to them is if they are sent. Church planting, at its core, is sending.

The church growth models of recent years—while good for what they were good for—were primarily designed to bring. Church planting is primarily designed to send. Bringing builds crowds and budgets which can be good if focused and directed properly. Sending inherently builds disciples. And disciples are what the Great Commission calls us to build.

The Great Commission is clear. We must build disciples. But disciples will not be built if they do not hear. And they will not hear if no one is sent. And sending is best done by planting churches. Therefore, we must plant churches.

Daily Truth

2011-12-21T15:57:00.001-05:00

Today's time in the Word is in Nehemiah 5. My God, Help me keep my promises to You (5:13). Make me a giver in Your body, not a taker (5:15). Make me live so that others remember the good I have done for Your people (5:19) rather than what I did for my own benefit.

Daily Truth

2011-12-20T19:58:00.001-05:00

Today's time being transformed by the Word is in Nehemiah 4. My God, let my work building Your kingdom be a threat to Your enemies (4:1-3). When they accuse me of weakness, be my strength (4:2). When they accuse me of blind ambition, be my success (4:2). Make them see that You are great and awesome and lead them to repent (4:14). Help me not do Your work half-heartedly (4:6). Make me always prepared to work for You (4:23).

Christopher Hitchens, Kim Jong Il and... Rehoboam?

2011-12-19T17:06:00.000-05:00

Sometime in the past 48 hours, the political landscape in North Korea—and possibly the world—dramatically shifted. Last night, news reports began to trickle in about the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. My first reaction was the same as when I heard of Christopher Hitchens’ death—neither of them is an atheist any longer.

But after my initial reaction, I began to think about the void that each of those influential atheists will leave behind. Those who will fill the void left by Hitchens’ passing will continue to spew the same venomous blasphemy he did, albeit with less adeptness and aplomb. People who eulogized him by saying there will never be another like him were wrong.

There have been militant atheists since Genesis 6, and there will continue to be militant atheists until the events of Revelation 20 come to pass. Men like like Sartre, Comte, Nietzsche, Mill, Marx, Hitchens and countless others were brilliant polemicists of their atheism—and countless more will fill their shoes. Christopher Hitchens—though brilliant—was not really that special. Historically speaking, you could say that men like him are, and always will be, a dime a dozen.

Although not unique, Hitchens’ intellectual influence was undeniable. On the other hand, Kim Jong Il’s power was more tangible. Unlike Hitchens, Kim Jong Il was a unique man with a unique and powerful role. As the tyrannical leader of nuclear North Korea, he had the sheer power to oppress, starve, intimidate and terrorize the people of his nation. In doing so, he nearly completely suppressed the witness of the Gospel to millions of people. While Hitchens poisoned minds with rhetoric, Kim brutalized people with starvation and force—producing one of the most oppressively atheistic nations in the world.

While countless people will fill Hitchens’ shoes, only one has been chosen to succeed Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un has been named as “the great successor” to pick up where his father left off. In the days and weeks ahead, he will be hearing advice from many of his subjects. That advice will likely look like the advice given to Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12 upon the death of his father Solomon.

Rehoboam’s first advice came in verse 7 from those who had the pulse of the nation: “And they said to him, ‘If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.’” Rehoboam was not satisfied with that advice, so he sought another opinion in verses 10-11: “And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, ‘Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,” thus shall you say to them, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ’ ” Rehoboam took the advice of his cronies and sent Israel into chaos.

Christopher Hitchens’ successors can do no more damage than he or any of his atheistic predecessors have done, but Kim Jung Il’s successor can slaughter millions and potentially plunge the world into war. Knowing this, we should pray that in the coming days Kim Jung Un will listen to the advice of more moderate voices. Pray that he will be a servant to his people and speak good words to them. Pray specifically that he will allow food to reach his people, and more importantly, pray that he will begin to allow the free spread of the gospel among his people.

In the days and weeks to come, whoever Kim Jung Un listens to, remember that God is always in control. No matter what Hitchens' successors will say or how eloquently they attempt to say it, God was in control in Rehoboam’s day and He still is today: “So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfill his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”

Proverbs 21:1

Daily Truth

2011-12-19T16:11:00.000-05:00

Today we are in Nehemiah 3. Lord, cause your people to get busy about Your work, side by side (3:1-4). Help me see that my task may not be the same as that of my co-worker, but all will be for the building of the kingdom. Don't let me be too good to do the grunt work (3:5). Let me do work that people think I am too weak to do (3:12) so You get the glory. Let me be passionate about the work You give me to do (3:20). Help me build your kingdom right around my own house (3:23, 28). Help me build up Your body to maturity. Use me to make it ready for the enemies attacks.

Know Christ. . . Parent Kids — 1 John 1:1-2

2011-12-19T10:32:00.002-05:00

John, the disciple Jesus loved, was an old man when he wrote his three letters to the church. His exile on the Island of Patmos where he penned the book of Revelation was past, and he was pastoring, likely in Ephesus.

John addressed his readers as “children” thirteen times in the five chapters of first John alone. He viewed his audience as his own spiritual children and viewed himself as their spiritual father. As a result, He offers many insights about how to parent.

We find the first bit of wisdom in 1 John 1:1-2. John’s first point is that he has had first hand
experience of Christ, the One who was “from the beginning,” “the Word of Life,” and “the eternal life that was with the Father.” John had heard this Christ, seen this Christ, observed this Christ, and touched this Christ.

Do you have firsthand knowledge of this Christ to share with your teen? Have you heard His voice today in His Word, the Bible? Have you sensed the leading of His Spirit today as you read and prayed? Do you know the touch of His encouraging and correcting hand through the Church?

It is impossible to teach your teen what you don’t know. So make it a point today to know Jesus more. . . in His Word, Spirit, and Body. If we don’t know Jesus firsthand, we cannot parent as God created us to parent. Without firsthand knowledge of Christ, parents can merely raise nice, law-abiding teens.

Parenting out of firsthand knowledge of Christ, however, leads teens to recognize Jesus when they see Him, know what it is they need to become, rightly evaluate themselves compared to Christ, and want Him with all their hearts. What firsthand knowledge have you passed on to your teen today?

Daily Truth

2011-12-16T20:31:00.001-05:00

Today's time learning how God has worked through His people is in Nehemiah 2. God of heaven, let those close to me notice my sorrow over what really matters instead of over silly selfish things (2:2). Remind me to seek You before each step I take (2:4-5). Provide all the resources needed for me to do Your will (2:7-8). Give me the faith to trust that I will live in the promised land one day even though now I live in this imperfect place (2:8). Help me know what I must do to build Your kingdom, involve others in that work, and tell those who oppose us that You, God, will give us success in the work You gave us to do (2:12-20).

Daily Truth

2011-12-15T20:30:00.000-05:00

Today we start to read a short book in the Old Testament, Nehemiah. He was an Israelite living in Susa because Jerusalem had been destroyed and the Jews had been taken into captivity. Today, read Nehemiah 1. Yahweh, God of heaven (1:5), break my heart when I hear of Your people living in the destruction of their own sin (1:4). Help your Church and remind me to pray for it day and night (1:6). Your people and I have lived as if You don't exist (1:7). You are just to punish us, and faithful to restore us (1:8-9). Hear my prayer for help (1:11). Cause me to delight in an awareness of You greatness (1:11). Make me successful in what You call me to do for Your people (1:11).

Daily Truth

2011-12-13T13:31:00.001-05:00

Today's time lining our lives up with God's Word is Romans 16:17-27. "Only wise God (16:27), keep me from causing division in Your Church or saying anything that does not agree with Your Word (16:17). Don't let me live to get what I want, but to want what You want, and let my speech, however clumsy, lead others to Your truth (16:18). Let those who have taught me to follow You be able to celebrate because of my obedience to You (16:19). Use me soon to crush the work of The devil around me (16:20). Push me to lead people from all nations to obey You simply because they trust You (16:26). Let my life display Your greatness today for all to see (16:27).

Daily Truth

2011-12-12T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today's reading is in Romans 16:1-16. Lord, make me a servant in Your Church, a giver, not a taker (16:1-2). I want to risk all for the gospel (16:4). Use my house to grow Your church (16:5). Make me a hard worker in Your kingdom (16:6,12). Help me be a friend in the Lord to everybody, especially those it's hard to like (16:8). Help me to remember my family as those to whom I minister and disciple (16:13). Thank You for seeing me as a saint, a holy one (16:15). Let Your thoughts and wants so permeate me that even my kisses are holy/godly (16:16).

The Two Things for which God Rescues Us - 2 Timothy 4:9-18

2011-12-12T13:12:00.003-05:00

Paul was at Rome in prison for the second time, likely awaiting his execution. Demas had abandoned Paul due to a love for the things of the world. Paul sent other friends away to minister and only Luke was with him. Paul was alone, facing winter’s onset with no coat, striving to minister without his dear Scriptures, and was likely suffering physically since Alexander the coppersmith “did great harm” to him. In this seemingly hopeless situation, Paul identified two things for which God rescued/will rescue him.
The first rescue followed Paul’s first hearing in court. All of Paul’s friends deserted him, but God stood near to him. God strengthened him to speak the message of Christ fully to the Gentiles present in court, and God rescued him from certain death (“from the mouth of a lion”) so that he could continue ministering from prison. Paul’s intent to make full use of this rescue from immediate execution is made clear by his request for Timothy to bring his scrolls and parchments. These “books” were likely the Scriptures that Paul would need in ministry. Every rescue by God from death is for the purpose of making Christ known.
Paul anticipated his second rescue (v. 18) which was deliverance from this life and entrance into heavenly life. The second reason God rescues us is to take us home to be with Him.
To be rescued from death is to make Christ known to all. To be rescued by death is to be present with Christ in heaven. We must use the life God has given us to make Christ known. If not, whom will we have to present mature in Christ when we are rescued from this world by Christ.

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Rio de Janeiro

2011-12-11T05:44:00.006-05:00

Sprawling along the hillsides beneath the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue, Rio de Janeiro is a city of juxtaposition. A middle-class gated community may share a wall with a gang-controlled slum. This proximity allows Eric and Ramona Reese to reach out to both extremes within the Brazilian megacity.

While Eric focuses on ministering in the favelas (slums), Ramona reaches out to the middle-class wives and mothers she encounters as she works out at the gym or takes their two daughters to school and ballet practice.

“We’re here in the city, and we try to make relationships with the people who are around us,” Ramona says.

One person Ramona has become friends with is Eliane Santos, a mother she met at the ballet studio. “We were just sitting and talking,” Eliane says. “Eventually, Ramona shared Christ and asked if I had asked Christ into my heart. I said, ‘No, I haven’t.’”

That night in her home, Eliane reflected on Ramona’s message and placed her faith in Jesus.

“I look to Ramona as a mother in the faith,” Eliane says. “She’s someone that encourages me and makes me want to go on.”

When Ramona heard about Eliane’s conversion, she was overjoyed.

“Go out and seek the lost,” Ramona says. “Relationships are what it’s all about.”

Pray God will help the Reeses be His heart, hands, and voice as they build strong relationships with Brazilians from opposite walks of life. Pray many Brazilians will accept Christ through these friendships.

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: European City

2011-12-10T05:41:00.004-05:00

Sanaz left Iran with nothing but her daughter and a will to live.

At 27 years old she had seen enough destruction. Her workplace, her family, her hopes for the future had been chewed up in a political machine determined to obliterate dissent. Not knowing whether her husband was dead or alive, she set out on an invisible passageway well trafficked by refugees fleeing oppression in North Africa, Afghanistan, and Iran.

She ended up on the crowded doorstep of a European city.

Here she found a government overrun with requests from asylum seekers. She found a society groaning under economic pressures not helped by a burgeoning immigrant community. Instead of freedom to pursue a new life, she found barriers.

Until some Afghan friends told her about a place where IMB workers are welcoming weary travelers. With food, training, and the good news, they are helping refugees find spiritual freedom—perhaps not what they left home to find, but something better.

For Sanaz, this has made all the difference. “I have hope that my future is bright because my heavenly Father is with me.”

Pray for IMB workers in this European city to have wisdom and skill in crossing cultural and language barriers with refugees who are arriving daily from places like Afghanistan and Iran.

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Dongguan

2011-12-09T05:39:00.006-05:00

Factories are the bus stops and the monuments and the landmarks. Everything exists to serve them in Dongguan, China.

The city is divided into 32 districts, each one specializing in a different kind of manufacturing with more than 3,000 factories crammed into one town.

IMB worker David Rice* believes that by reaching the factories with the Gospel, an entire generation of migrant workers will take the message back to their homes. These villages are often so remote that they are not even on a map, let alone on the radar of Christian strategists.

“People come here from all over the country looking for a job,” Rice says, noting in one year’s time he has met at least one person from all 34 provinces.

Rice and his ministry partner, Delun Kao*, see this group of 10 million 17- to 35-year-olds primed for making major changes in their lives. They are away from the strongholds of their culture back home. They are lonely and searching for meaning.

“We know they won’t stay here forever,” Kao says, noting that most return to the village by age 35. “So, the goal is to train them to be a catalyst for a new church.”

Through the years, Kao’s seen the training model work as migrants return to their villages and start new fellowships. Still others switch factories and start churches in their new workplace.

Pray that factory workers in China will open their hearts to the Gospel and take it back to the village.

Pray how you will give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to support workers like Rice who partner with national believers to be His heart, His hands, His voice.

*Names changed

Daily Truth

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000-05:00

Today's time being changed by His Word is in Romans 15:14-33. God, in addition to joy and peace, fill me with goodness, knowledge, and the ability to disciple others (15:13-14). Let me be fruitful so I can brag about You more (15:17-18). Help me to agonize in prayers for my fellow believers and give me times of refreshing with them (15:30-32).

Sent from my iPhone

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Johannesburg

2011-12-08T05:36:00.007-05:00

Lisha* was just a little girl who trusted her pastor, but he raped her. As a teenager she trusted her friend, but he raped her repeatedly. When Lisha’s mom found out she was pregnant, she kicked Lisha out, forcing her to find a home with her abusive boyfriend. He soon realized he could profit from selling Lisha to his buddies for sex. Lisha is now 33 years old and still trapped in forced prostitution.

Lisha is just one of an estimated 27 million victims of human trafficking around the world. Human trafficking is the practice of deceiving individuals or taking them against their will, selling, buying, and transporting them into slavery. Trafficking encompasses more than just sexual exploitation; men, women, and children are also trafficked for forced labor.

IMB missionary Martha Richards*, who lives in Johannesburg, met Lisha while researching trafficking in South Africa. As Lisha shared her story, Richards was eager to help girls escape from bondage.

“We need to open our eyes and take a hard look at the reality around us,” Richards says. “Many of these girls have never received genuine love. They desperately need to know the love of Jesus.”

Richards tried to help Lisha and another woman escape, but their “owner” found them and forced them back into prostitution.

Pray that God would save trafficking victims and their owners. Ask Him how He wants you to join the global fight against trafficking, whether through prayer, support, or personally rescuing victims of modern-day slavery.

*Names changed

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: London

2011-12-07T05:32:00.007-05:00

Though she has always lived in London, Fatimah grew up observing her family’s Islamic rituals, just as if she were living in her father’s homeland of Iraq. And she has faithfully passed these traditions on to her own children. Fatimah’s parents make the hajj to Mecca every year, and she has been five times herself, she says.

“We don’t drink alcohol or smoke, so we save that money to use to go to Mecca,” she explains. “It’s really lovely there, like a festival, with everyone there for the same purpose,” she says, her eyes shining as brightly as the tiny diamond piercing her nose.

Fatimah lives in an area of west London teeming with ethnic restaurants, clothing shops, mosques, and Sikh temples. To walk the streets of Southall is to encounter a very different London from what most tourists to Britain experience.

“London is an amazing place to get to relate to people from all over the world,” says Patrick Sims*, IMB missionary. This multicultural aspect of London brought Sims, strategy leader for the London team, to work here nearly a decade ago.

The world has indeed come to London: schoolchildren here speak more than 200 languages, and more than 40 percent of London schoolchildren speak a language other than English at home. As in urban settings everywhere, building relationships is a challenge for missionaries serving here.

Pray for missionaries in London to develop deep, cross-cultural relationships in this urban environment.

London is the focus of International Mission Study 2011 by Woman’s Missionary Union. Visit www.wmu.com/london.

*Name changed

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Karachi

2011-12-06T05:27:00.005-05:00

Aadam Channar* was only a boy when Baptist missionary Hu Addleton first brought the Gospel to his province in Pakistan. Today he is an evangelist trying to reach Pakistan’s largest city.

“Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan. When we arrived there [in 1956], it was 1 million population. Now it’s 17 to 18 million,” said Addleton, who retired after serving 34 years in Pakistan with his wife, Bettie. “It is a picture of the whole country, because you have every ethnic group living in Karachi.”

About 97 percent of Karachi follows Islam. Christians make up only about 2 percent of the city’s population, according to the US State Department.

Channar grew up in a tiny Hindu village very different from the bustling hub of Karachi, but that did not keep him from approaching the city with the intention of sharing the good news of Jesus among its many people groups.

“God gave me this vision: ‘Go [to] Karachi. Leave your home, area, village.’ So God sent me here,” Channar said. “That’s why I am in Karachi.”

Addleton, who discipled Channar, encourages Southern Baptists to continue giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

“We ought to continue to pray for [Pakistani Christians] and to challenge people to go,” Addleton said.

Please pray for Channar as he represents the Lord as His heart, His hands, His voice in the city of Karachi, and ask that more Pakistani Christians would respond to God’s call to do the same.

*Name changed

Teaching Teens How to Die in Order to Teach Teens How to Live - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

2011-12-05T12:59:00.003-05:00

Aware that he was about to die a martyr’s death in Rome, Paul taught
Timothy how to live by sharing with him how he (Paul) intended to die. Paul
began by referring to himself as a “drink offering.” In the Jewish Temple, a
drink offering was poured out at the base of the altar after the sacrifice and before the singing of a song of praise to God by the priests and Levites. When Paul said “I am being poured out as a drink offering,” he was telling Timothy that the sacrifice of his life for the cause of the Gospel was complete, and that he was about to begin a heavenly song of praise to His Lord in God’s presence. The anticipation of this time of praise was possible for Paul because of the way he had lived. He had fought the “good fight.” He had run hard to lead many to follow Jesus well and had trusted Jesus all the way to the end. Now he anticipated the fulfillment of his salvation, the perfection of righteousness without any more struggle with sin (cf. Rom. 7). He told Timothy that to live a life led by the Lord makes death something for which one longs. Do we lead our teens to be ready and excited to meet Christ at death? Do they see that we have fought, run, and endured for Christ? Do we teach them that being with Christ is far better than life here? What do we communicate about Christ by what we say about death? Are we willing to die daily now so that others will share in crowns of righteousness and songs of praise in heaven? When you die, will your kids be able to describe your life as a drink offering poured out to God?

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Jerusalem

2011-12-05T05:23:00.007-05:00

As Jesus approached Jerusalem for the last time, He wept. He thought about the people within its walls and said, "If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace.” He knew within hours He’d be crucified by the very people for whom He wept.

Would Jesus still look over the city and weep 2,000 years later?

Most believe He would. Jerusalem is a city where stress runs high, and the strain of so many people practicing so many religions in such a small area makes the tension palpable. They seek a blessing or a healing or some connection with God through well-meaning, but mistaken, devotion.

Bitter division resides just below the surface. Christians, Jews, Muslims—no faction would be disappointed if the other two groups would exit the city walls and disappear into the barren countryside. Many who want peace see it as something to be politically brokered.

“We work toward peace, we work toward bridging the gap between cultures and between the differences in people, but really it’s God’s grace and only God’s grace that will ever appear,” says an IMB worker.

“The situation in Jerusalem will decide what will be the situation in the rest of the world,” says a local messianic pastor. When Jesus comes, “there will be peace in Jerusalem and there will be peace in the rest of the world.”

Pray that the people of Jerusalem will begin to recognize the things that bring true peace.

Lottie Moon Week of Prayer: Tokyo

2011-12-04T05:14:00.006-05:00

In Japan’s male-dominated society, a man’s identity centers on his work. Companies reward loyalty, hard work, and long hours. But losing one’s position is a fall from grace that leads to shame. For many Japanese, losing a job means losing their identity. For some touched by the ministry of International Mission Board (IMB) workers to the homeless, it means new birth.

Hironobu Honda, Kiyoshi Sugioka, and Katsuo Yamamota are three of the nearly 1 million Japanese who lost their jobs during the global economic decline that began in 2007. As their foundation of pride and self-sufficiency crumbled, all three found themselves homeless. All three contemplated suicide.

Then they found Christ through the witness of IMB personnel helping the homeless in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park. Today these men are involved in small Bible groups throughout Tokyo.

On March 11 a crushing earthquake and tsunami dealt Japan another blow. A nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant complicated relief efforts and led to the temporary evacuation of American citizens from Tokyo, including IMB missionaries Mark and Wendy Hoshizaki who minister to the homeless.

“Even before the earthquake, the homeless were beginning to ask, ‘What is important? What is real? Isn’t there some hope?’” Mark said.

Sugioka saw opportunities in the crises.

“Japan has been too comfortable and maybe this is what Japan needs to turn to the Lord,” Sugioka said.

Pray that both the earthquake and economic crisis will lead more Japanese to turn from their pride and self-sufficiency to faith in Jesus Christ.

Pray that small groups begun among the homeless will grow into reproducing churches.

Pray the spiritual rebirth among the homeless will spread to other sectors of Japanese society as they become bold witnesses for Christ.

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

2011-12-03T10:26:00.006-05:00

Week of Prayer, Dec 4-11, 2011

2011-12-03T05:06:00.001-05:00

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are part of the task to fulfill the Great Commission.

Paul says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus has commissioned us to be His heart, His hands, His voice. Through praying, giving, and going, Southern Baptists have fulfilled this legacy for more than 160 years.

Yet billions remain lost and time may be running out for them. We must pray more intentionally and give more sacrificially than ever before. Our churches must take direct responsibility for helping reach the nearly 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups that missionaries may never be able to get to.

And, since most unreached people groups likely are represented in the world's urban centers, we have unique challenges and opportunities to reach the world through the cities, as illustrated in this year’s week of prayer features.

What can you do, individually? Start by being “Southern Baptist missions” through your prayers to be an extension of His heart, hands, and voice through unprecedented giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering®.

Taken from IMB Connecting

Forlorn Hope

2011-11-30T08:53:00.000-05:00

John Clough was called to the harvest field while working in one. He had grown up without religious inclinations, and in college seemed resistant to evangelistic efforts by friends. His roommate tried to read the Bible and pray with him each evening, but John, growing exasperated, drew a chalk line down the middle of the room, forbidding prayer or Scripture on his side of the line.

But the Holy Spirit worked on his heart, and one evening, unable to study and overwhelmed with his need, he crossed the line and knelt by his roommate. Shortly after, hearing a missionary sermon, John wondered if God would have him overseas, and he applied. He was atop a four-horse reaper breaking off grain when a farmhand approached him with a letter from Boston. Clough wiped away his sweat and tore open the news from the Baptist Foreign Mission Board. "What do you know!" he shouted. "They want me to go to India as a missionary!"

Missions officials wanted to send him to "Forlorn Hope"—Telugu, India—where 17 years of painful, plodding effort had produced no apparent results. On November 30, 1864 Clough and his wife sailed from Boston on a tiny ship, hardly seaworthy, called the James Guthrie. It rolled and pitched its way across the ocean, finally limping into India the following April. John, leaping into service, was immediately confronted with a dilemma. The higher caste of Indians refused to attend church with the lower caste and outcasts. Praying for wisdom, Clough randomly opened his Bible and read in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 of God choosing the lowly. Across the room at the same moment, his wife randomly opened her Bible to the same place. Clough, amazed, took it as divine guidance. He announced that all were welcome in his church, that he would not accept a segregated congregation.

He started preaching, and conversions multiplied. Fifteen months later two Indian preachers stood in a river and began baptizing the converts. When they grew weary, other preachers relieved them. By five o’clock 2,222 had been baptized, and the baptisms continued for two more days.

Robert J. Morgan, On This Day : 365 Amazing and Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs & Heroes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000).

Christmas Family Devotional Guide

2011-11-30T05:30:00.000-05:00

The Week of Hope

For hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, the Hebrew people believed that one day God would send a great leader to deliver them from bondage and fear. Their nation was captured, people were taken captive, and their temple was destroyed. But the saddest part was that they knew that their sin had forever separated them from God.

But they never gave up hope. They knew that they needed a redeemer and that God’s Anointed would one day come to shepherd them.

The world today is also in need of the Redeemer’s leadership and hope. Jesus Christ came and gave hope to all who would believe in Him.

(Light the first purple candle)
As the first purple candle is lit say: “I light this candle on the first Sunday of Advent to remind us of the hope we have in our Redeemer. Jesus came to give us the hope of our salvation and the hope of our future glory.

Read: Isaiah 7:14
Micah 7:7

“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! (John Mason Neale, Henry Sloane Coffin).

Have a family discussion on the hope that you have as a family because of our Emmanuel.

Loving God with the Whole Heart

2011-11-22T08:27:00.000-05:00

Matthew 22:37-38

We must not love God only with the heart, but with the whole heart. Pray mark this: perfect hatred and perfect love know no such thing as the world calls prudence. If you perfectly hate any one, all things about him displease you; whatever he says or does, though it be never so good, it seems to you to be evil: so if you perfectly love any one, all things about him please you. Some expound this totality by this distinction: We are to love God with the whole heart positively and negatively: positively, where all powers of the will are set to love God; and this we cannot perfectly do while we are travellers, till we come to our heavenly country: but, negatively, thou shalt so love God, that nothing contrary to the love of God shall be entertained in thy heart; and this we may attain to a pretty tolerable perfection of in this life.

The whole heart is opposed either to a divided and dispersed heart, or to a remiss and a sluggish heart: God doth as much abominate a partnership in our love, as a husband or wife abhors any such thing in their conjugal relation. We must love nothing but God, or that which may please God. He that loves God with his heart, and not with his whole heart, loves something else, and not God.

As the whole heart is opposed to a remiss and sluggish heart, the meaning is this,—the care of our heart should be set upon nothing so much as upon the loving and pleasing of God; we must prefer God alone before all other objects of our love, and there must be an ardency of affection: whatever we do, it must be for his sake, and according to his will. - Samuel Annesley (1620-1696)

Puritan Sermons, Volume 1 (Wheaton, IL: Richard Owen Roberts, Publishers, 1981), 576-77.

Romeo, James Dean, Twilight and Other Forbidden Fruit

2011-11-21T11:52:00.000-05:00

Here we go again. Another Christmas season, another Twilight movie. As I watched reports of people lining up for hours to earn Breaking Dawn Part One a whopping $139.5 million over its opening weekend, I thought it was probably time to repost this article. I originally posted this in 2008 as I first became aware of the popularity of the novels. At the time, I could not imagine the sustainability of the Twilight franchise. All the more reason to repost the original warning:

Ladies, meet the 21st century James Dean. His name is Edward Cullen and he’s… a vampire.

Being old and out of touch, I was late in realizing the phenomenon that is the Twilight book series. The premise of the series is simple enough—teenage girl falls in love with a boy she’s not supposed to fall in love with. Forbidden fruit is a romantic premise that is older than Romeo and Juliet. But here’s the difference—in the Shakespearean world of four centuries ago, Romeo was wrong for Juliet because of familial disputes.

Fast forward to James Dean in the 1950s. Same story, new chapter—teenage girls fawn over a boy they’re not supposed to. But by this time, society had “progressed” to the point that the forbidden fruit had nothing to do with his heritage. Instead, the illicit attraction had everything to do with the boy’s rebellion against the puritanical rules of society. James Dean was forbidden fruit because he smoked. He drove fast cars. He was disrespectful and slightly dangerous. He wore the clothes of street gangs and didn’t fit into the straight-laced structure of Mom and Dad’s world. He was sexy because he broke the rules.

That formula worked to create teen idols of young men from Dean, to Elvis, to John, Paul, George and Ringo. It moved from the anti-establishment rebellion of cigarettes and leather jackets to long hair, love beads and psychedelic drugs. It continued past the ‘60s into the ‘70s and ‘80s and blossomed into free love relationships, “friends with benefits” and even homosexuality. Each illicit attraction enticed by the sexiness of forbidden fruit.

But in today’s age of tolerance, none of that fruit is considered forbidden. Society says it is now normal to be rebellious. It is acceptable to lead an immoral lifestyle. Society says that sex is just a physical act with no consequences or even moral implications. As long it is consensual and “protection” is used, anything and everything is okay. And because everything is now okay, teenage girls have to plumb even lower depths to find their forbidden fruit.

And they have—except Romeo is no longer in the land of the living. They’ve found him in depths of the spiritual underworld. James Dean smoked cigarettes—the forbidden fruit of today drinks blood. James Dean didn’t fit into the structure of Mom and Dad’s world. Today’s forbidden fruit doesn’t fit into the realm of God’s creation. James Dean was always on the brink of breaking young girls’ hearts. Today’s forbidden fruit wants more than the girl’s heart—he wants her eternal soul. As the young girl told the interviewer on the Today Show a couple of weeks ago—he is sexy because it is wrong. James Dean was sexy because he broke the rules of society. Edward Cullen is sexy because he breaks the rules of God. The worst thing James Dean could steal was a young girl’s heart. The unseen spirits behind the vampire novels want to steal her soul.

2 Timothy 3:1-7

Introducing: MeinHerrundmeinGott

2011-11-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome James Boyd as a new contributor to Deep Riches. James holds a PhD from Southwestern Seminary and serves as Associate Pastor of First Baptist Church in Princeton, WV. He is married with two beautiful daughters and has a deep conviction that all Christians should be disciple-makers. His “handle” is MeinHerrundmeinGott, which is German for “My Lord and my God.” I know his writings will edify you.

How Parents Can Help a Teen Fulfill His/Her Ministry—2 Timothy 4:1-5

2011-11-19T13:58:00.002-05:00

In 2 Timothy 4:1-5, Paul exhorted Timothy, his spiritual child, “to fulfill” the ministry God had given him. What can parents learn from this exhortation about how to help their teens be faithful to the mission of Jesus? First, Paul established the serious basis of the exhortation by reminding Timothy that to ignore it would incur God’s judgment and trivialize the second coming and rule of Christ. Parents have no excuse for trivializing their teens’ ministries in the kingdom. Of all the ways parents expect teens to excel, excellence in following God’s will in ministry ought to be the top concern. Second, Paul described the nature of Timothy’s ministry. Timothy was to share the truth of God’s Word patiently, when easy and when difficult, allowing the Word to point out sin, direct in righteousness, and encourage its hearers unto holiness. Sharing is certainly something parents teach their children, but how have you helped your teen share the truth of God’s Word with their friends this week? Third, Paul identified the reason why Timothy needed to focus intently on sharing the Truth of God’s Word. There were many who wanted novelty rather than the true teachings of the Bible. These people gathered teachers who contradicted what Timothy taught. Paul exhorted Timothy to share the Word in order to combat these lies. Teens must understand that their ministries will be a fight for the Truth. They will be opposed and it will not be the easy path. Does your teen observe you sharing the truth in love? Equip your teen to wield the sword of the Spirit with skill to combat the lies that deceive so many. Finally, Paul told Timothy how to succeed. Timothy needed to be clear-headed, having his mind untainted by the world’s lies. He needed to be willing: 1) to suffer for the Truth, 2) to tell the good news, and 3) to endure until he was able to say that he had completed the work God had given him to do (see also John 17:4). Are you helping your teen: prioritize God’s mission most, understand what that work should look like, prepare for the battle it entails, and endure until they complete it? If not, are you really parenting like the heavenly Father parents?

Future Uncertainty

2011-11-19T11:42:00.001-05:00

In 1750, at the end of his ministry at Northampton Church, Jonathan Edwards wrote a letter to his dear friend, a Scottish minister named Reverend McCulloch. After completing over 20 years of ministry in Northampton, it was clear that Edwards did not know what the future held for him. But it is also clear that he knew Who holds the future and was determined to submit to His will. In that letter, he wrote:
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No Man's Land

2011-11-16T08:43:00.000-05:00

One of the most enduring images of World War I is the horrific innovation of trench warfare. Opposing sides of the battle would entrench themselves in parallel holes in the ground. Defensively, the trenches were brilliant. It was nearly impossible for the enemy to advance his position against a well-entrenched army. They were so defensively effective, offensive warfare was completely stifled. Every time either side would attempt an advance, it resulted in massive casualties and little success.

What resulted was stalemate. For days and weeks and months, troops would fester in filthy, rat-infested, disease-ridden pits that more closely resembled cesspools than military encampments. Despite the appalling conditions within the trenches, they were far better than the area between the trenches.

In the No Man’s Land between trenches, the ground was churned up beyond recognition from the constant futile barrage of the warring factions. Scout teams that ventured into that area were ripped to shreds—often from both sides simultaneously. Human and animal carcasses lay strewn about, unattended for days as the stench of death permeated the air.

Tragically, this is the image that often comes to mind when one is called to be a peacemaker between warring factions. When both sides of a battle are content to stay entrenched in their opposing positions, the degradation becomes obvious in their attitudes and language. Unreasoned vitriol and unjustified accusations roll off tongues resulting in a kind of bitterness that begins to eat away at those within each trench. When a peacemaker wanders unguarded into No Man’s Land, more likely than not, he will be ripped to shreds by both sides.

So if that is the case, and human nature says that it is, then how are we supposed to be the peacemakers that Jesus calls us to be? Is it Jesus’ desire for His peacemakers to be churned up like the forsaken soil of No Man’s Land? Of course not. In the same Sermon on the Mount where Jesus called peacemakers blessed sons of God (Matthew 5:9), He also said that God will take care of His children (Matthew 6:25).

Wandering into No Man’s Land is a terrifying proposition. But Jesus has called each of us to be peacemakers. When we seek to make peace between warring factions of His people, He calls us His children. He is our strength and shield and will guard and protect us as a Father guards and protects His children. When we act as the peacemakers that Jesus has called us to be, we go in His name—under His authority, with His strength and power. And as a son of God, no matter the shots you might have to take, the battle is not yours. The battle is the Lord’s—and because of the cross, He is already victorious. He will prevail and peace will come.

Psalm 28:7-9

Hearing God's Call

2011-11-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

Soren Kierkegaard once wrote in his journal, “The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wants me to do; the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die.”

Though his statement is fraught with theological pitfalls, it is completely understandable to one who is actively pursuing God’s will for his life. The call of God is a mysterious thing. A universal question of those who are serious about their relationship with Christ is, “God, what do you want me to do with my life?”

When I was 16 years old, I attended a Centrifuge camp at Glorietta. It was there that God clearly called me into pastoral ministry. At the time, I didn’t like the specificity of His call, so I diverted it—redirected it to a more personally preferable path. I thought it would be a lot more fun to be a DJ than to be a preacher. My plan was to be a DJ on a Christian radio station—that would be how I would fulfill my calling. But that was not what God called me to do, so I failed miserably.

For over 15 years, I ran from my call, to the point that I completely forgot it. It was as if my experience at Glorietta was completely wiped from my memory. It was not until I was placed in the middle of a Saudi Arabian desert that the Lord graciously regained my attention. He reminded me of His call on my life without restoring the memory of Glorietta. That memory was not restored until a protracted period of obedience, preparation, prayer and study.

At the time, His calling was vague and unspecific, but nonetheless unmistakably real. From that point, I began asking every man of God I could find, how they were able to discern God’s call on their lives. I began to seek discernment on my knees and look for examples of God’s calling in His Word. What I discovered was disconcerting for a linear thinker like me.

I like to plan. I like to know. I thrive on consistency and systems and linear progression. But God’s call is not so. God’s call is very specific and linear and consistent—but He seldom reveals it to us in that way. His plan, purpose and calling have been set since before the foundation of the world. But He has chosen to reveal them only as we trust and obey Him each step along the way.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It is a very familiar verse that we don’t often ponder the meaning of. God’s Word is a lamp—but what does the lamp illuminate? To keep us from stumbling over immediate obstacles or stepping in a hole, it lights our feet. To keep us heading in the right direction, it lights our path. It does not light up the whole field so that we can see everything that is behind, around and before us. That would be overwhelming and would seriously diminish our need for faith.

The more we see, the less we need to rely on faith, but the Lord loves us to walk by faith. Trust Him to handle the plan. Trust Him to reveal the call in His way and in His timing. In the meantime, walk in the light He gives today. Avoid the pitfalls of sin, worry and disobedience. Place one foot in front of the other in the direction His Word leads. And in time, according to His sovereign plan, God’s calling will become clear.

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Blessed Assurance

2011-11-13T07:39:00.000-05:00

Though blinded at six weeks of age through improper medical treatment, Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 gospel songs texts in her lifetime of 95 years. Her many favorites such as "Blessed Assurance" have been an important part of evangelical worship for the past century. Only eternity will disclose the host of individuals whose lives have been spiritually enriched through the texts of Fanny Crosby’s many hymns. Engraved on Fanny J. Crosby’s tombstone at Bridgeport, Connecticut, are these significant words taken from our Lord’s remarks to Mary, the sister of Lazarus, after she had anointed Him with costly perfume—"She hath done what she could" (Mark 14:8).

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, perfect delight! Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission—all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest; watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Chorus:

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.

--Taken from Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions

Faith Tested

2011-11-12T07:46:00.000-05:00

Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish so long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her: tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators.

When a calm reigns on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour; for on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves, then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, it is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven.

No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity.

Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported amid the water-floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too.

Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, Complete and unabridged; New modern edition. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006).

Quiet Heroes

2011-11-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

In June of 1942, an 18 year old young man said goodbye to his beautiful, pregnant bride in Iaeger, WV. He began a journey that, two years later, would take him to Normandy, France, as an anti-aircraft gunner.

The story is sketchy and vague to me because, like most heroes, he didn’t like to talk about himself or his role in the War. An anecdote here, a story there—but no comprehensive first-person account was passed on.

Maybe the memories were too dark and painful to recall and recount. Or maybe it was simply because personal tales of heroism and gallantry are out of character for hard working, humble, West Virginia coal miners.

I read the history books. I know what anti-aircraft crews went through on D-Day. I know that, without the efforts of men like him, the Normandy Invasion would have been lost. And I know that if the Normandy Invasion would have failed, the war would likely have been lost.

Some historians might be able to argue that point—but what no one can argue is that those men were and are heroes. Simple, humble heroes. The kind that built and preserved a nation.

On the beach at Normandy, that man was called Private. Later, he was called Corporal. I only knew him as Pawpaw. Earnest Stanley died ten days after Veteran’s Day in 2004. I have a cased American flag in my office that commemorates his service, but in reality, his service and the service of every veteran is commemorated every time we enjoy the freedoms he quietly and anonymously fought to protect.

God bless our quiet heroes and happy Veteran’s Day to all who have served.

Romans 13:1-7

Jesus, Bring the Rain

2011-11-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

When a person looks back over his life, there are certain events that come to mind almost immediately and stand out above the rest. Certainly, there are the wonderful memories. The sight of the rippling water when I was baptized at 12 years old will never leave me. The water was rippling, not because of the baptistery, but because I was so nervous the pastor thought I was having a seizure.

I will never forget the night I got down on one knee in the crowded dining room of Simms Landing to ask my bride-to-be for her hand in marriage. I don’t really need all of the pictures and videos—our wedding day is as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday, even though it was over 24 years ago.

I remember the expression on my wife’s face as I nearly passed out at the birth of our first daughter. And I remember the expression on the Security Forces Airman as I flew through the back gate of Keesler Air Force Base to get to the base hospital just in time for our second daughter to be born. I also remember the sheer terror as they took our son to neo-natal intensive care because he wasn’t breathing. And the sheer joy when the doctor told us he was okay.

The call to ministry, my ordination, finally walking across the seminary stage after over 15 years of night school and distance learning classes—each of those are wonderful memories that I will cherish forever. Just like I will cherish the day that the Lord called me to pastor Brushfork Baptist Church and the wonderful times my family and I had serving there.

But when a person looks back, he not only remembers the wonderful memories, he cannot help but recall the painful ones as well. Family deaths, broken relationships, sickness and tragedy are part of everyone’s life and we bear the emotional scars for a lifetime. Yesterday was one such moment for me.

Yesterday, I had to tell a group of people I deeply love that I will no longer be their pastor. It was my desire that the Lord would keep me there forever and we would grow into a strong, healthy, multi-generational world mission center—but for some reason, He saw things differently. I don’t know exactly where He will call us or what He will call us to do next. But I know that my family and I will bear yesterday's emotional scar for a long time.

For those who have followed this blog (despite the paucity of recent postings), this will be the last entry here. I will continue—hopefully with more regularity—posting on Deep Riches. I will also be starting a new website within the next few days. You will be able to find it at www.deepriches.com.

It amazes me how God uses everything in our lives—the good, the bad and even the ugly—to mold and grow and shape us into the people He wants us to be. As the song says,

Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there’ll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that’s what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain.

Justice Was Served

2011-07-06T10:57:00.000-04:00

I must admit, I was not one of the millions of Americans who was glued to the Casey Anthony trial on television. I didn't even really know what was going on until a few weeks before the verdict was announced. I don't typically watch much Fox News or CNN, preferring to get my news from online sources. Apparently the trial headlines did not capture my attention.

Within the past few days, however, that all changed. I had to see what all the buzz was about, so I tuned in to the news channels and sampled their coverage. From everything that I saw, Caylee Anthony was guilty of murdering her precious little daughter in cold blood. She could not have seemed more guilty if she had owned a white Ford Bronco and a black leather glove.

Then came the verdict. Once again, I was not one of the millions of Americans who tuned it to watch it live. Around 3:00 PM, my cell phone starting buzzing as I received texts, tweets, messages and various other notifications that Casey was aquitted of the murder charge. Public outrage ensued.

For those of us who remember the O.J. Simpson trial, the parallels are unmistakable. The only thing missing is the racial tension. But with the proliferation of social media, the vitriolic public cries for justice are just as loud, if not louder. The public knows that Casey Anthony is guilty. And the guilty must be punished. Justice must be served.

Whether Casey Anthony is guilty or not, I can't say. I wasn't in the courtroom to hear the evidence and I didn't keep up with the trial closely enough to offer an educated opinion. Regardless of her guilt or innocence, true justice will never be completely fulfilled until Jesus returns. I thank God that justice was poured out upon Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Jesus offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice so that He would receive the true justice that we deserve.

Between the cross and Jesus' second coming, we live in a time where true justice has been accomplished but not yet fully realized. I eagerly await the time when justice will be fully realized at His return. Until then, we will continue to see injustice played out in our lives, our courtrooms and our world. When we see horrible injustice like the murder of a precious child played out before our eyes, it should make our prayer be that of the Apostle John on the island of Patmos: Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

Romans 3:21-22

A Preacher's Plea

2011-05-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

Unconverted friends, what dead hearts you must have; all the preaching in the world cannot put life into them. What hard hearts yours must be; the heaviest hammer we can lift cannot break them. We speak the weightiest arguments into your ear, yet all will not move you. We must lift up our voice, and prophesy to the Spirit; we must bring down the Almighty Spirit before we can touch your heart. We try to convince you of sin; we show you how you have broken the law, and that “cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them;” that you must be under that curse, that you will not be able to bear that curse, that it crushed a Saviour to the earth, and will crush you to the lowest hell. You are somewhat impressed, and we hope that your heart is touched; but your impressions are like impressions on the sand when the tide is out, and the very next tide of the world effaces all. We try to convince you of righteousness. We tell you of the love of the Saviour, how it passeth knowledge; how there was an ocean of love in that bosom, which no line could fathom—love to lost sinners like you; how he served in the stead of sinners, obeying the law for us; how he suffered in the stead of sinners, bearing the curse for us. We tell you to believe in him, and be saved; you are melted, and the tear stands on your cheek; but, ah! it is like “the morning cloud and early dew—it quickly passes away.”

Ah! brethren, what hard, iron hearts you must have, when all that man can do will not melt them. Your hearts are too hard for us; and we have to, go back weeping to our Lord, saying: “Who hath believed our report?” In all other things we could persuade you by arguments. If your bodies were sick, we could persuade you to send for the physician; if your estate were entangled, we could persuade you to be diligent for your family—oh! how readily you would obey us; but when we demonstrate that you are the heirs, soul and body, of an eternal hell, you will not awake for it all. Even if we could show you the Lord Jesus Christ himself—the bleeding, beseeching Saviour—your wicked hearts would not cleave to him. You need Him that made your hearts, to break and bend your hearts. Will you not, each of you. go away, then, beating on the breast, and saying: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner?”

Robert Murray McCheyne, The Works of the Late Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, Vol. 2 (New York: Robert Carter, 1847), 380.

Clear and Unambiguous

2010-12-20T06:28:00.000-05:00

When I saw this picture on Zach Nielsen’s blog (Take Your Vitamin Z), I couldn’t take my mind off it. As you can tell, the sign serves as a warning—bluntly, succinctly and to the point. It clearly communicates its message, is free from ambiguity and is universal in its application. It does not waste space with superfluous information.

It’s awfully plain though. Its message might have been more entertaining, using contemporary illustrations from TV and movies. It might have been flashier, using the latest multimedia technology. It might have been more practical, and dealt with things like the weather, current events or politics. It certainly could have used a joke or two to lighten the mood a little bit. But that would have only been if the sign’s purpose was to call attention to itself.

As it stands, the sign’s purpose is clearly not to call attention to itself. The sign’s purpose is to call attention to what lies ahead. It is to stand as a clear and unambiguous warning to all who pass that way. The message is clear—if you continue in your present direction, in your present state, the consequences will be severe.

I wonder if the message is equally clear and unambiguous from the pulpit of the little brick church in the picture.

As I prepare for next Sunday’s messages, I pray that I remember that my purpose is the same as that sign’s. As a preacher of the Gospel, my purpose is not to entertain. My purpose is not to be flashy. My purpose is not even to give “practical” advice. My purpose is to proclaim the Word. My purpose is to point to Jesus and call attention to Him.

Lord, grant that I may be as clear and plain as that sign.

1 Timothy 4:16

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-12-18T15:25:00.000-05:00

Today is a special day. It’s not a national holiday or a religious festival. It’s not a famous anniversary or day of remembrance, but it’s still a special day. Today is special because it is my mother’s birthday. I won’t tell you which birthday, because I would like for tomorrow to be special as well.

Along with my wife, my mom is the strongest woman I know. She has allowed Christ to shine through her life in good times and bad and has served as a living testimony to the truth of James 1:2-4. Through circumstances that would destroy most people, she has stood firm and strong in the grace of her Rock and Sustainer.

Each day of her life is a living testimony of God’s grace. The grace of God in her life shines through in her devotion to Christ and her witness to others. It shines through in her care for the children she teaches in public school as the only gospel many of those children will see. It shines through in her care for her homebound mother who most of the time remembers who she is--and that's about all. It shines through in her care for her Bible Drill and Sunday School kids. And it shines through in her care for her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

“Her children [and grandchildren] arise up and call her blessed…”

Happy Birthday Mom!

Fathers, Teach Your Children

2010-12-16T12:11:00.000-05:00

I pastor a church with a vibrant children's ministry. We have age-graded Sunday School and mission classes as well as a thriving AWANA program. Vacation Bible School, Fall Festivals and block parties are the outreach highlights of our church calendar.

In addition to our children's ministries, our youth ministries are fantastic. We have an outstanding group of young people who are involved in every area of church life, from teaching, to ministry, to leading congregational worship.

Despite our focus and prayerful dedication to reaching and discipling children and students, we are fighting an uphill battle. We neither coddle nor consumerize our children--our programs are not entertainment driven--yet we still lose them at an alarming rate.

I have noticed three times of significant drop-off. We lose many as soon as they enter the "tween" years and we lose many more toward the middle of high school. Several more drop out after high school.

One pattern consistently emerges as I reflect on the children we have lost over the years. The vast majority of them have either been dropped off at church or we have brought them in on our van. Some were brought by their grandparents or even their mothers. I can recall none of the children we have lost being brought to church by their fathers. This article by Robbie Low in Touchstone Magazine highlights that fact. The points he brings out are both fascinating and terrifying and the article is well-worth reading.

Dads--do you want your children to grow up with a solid foundation? Do you want them to understand the value and purpose of hard work, family and community? Do you want them to be able to withstand temptation and not fall into the traps of drugs, alcohol, teenage pregnancy and rebellion? Do you want them to become good spouses and parents and have long and happy marriages? Then get up off of your backside and take them to church. Don't just drop them off. Don't just call the church van to come get them. Don't just send them with their mother or their grandparents. If at all possible, find a way to get up and go with them. The more effort they see you putting into taking them to church, the more value they will place on it. They will never recognize the importance of church attendance unless they see it is important to YOU.

Dads, if you are faithful to take your children to church, can I guarantee that nothing awful will ever happen to them? Of course not. Sometimes good, faithful Christians do dumb things too. But what I can guarantee you is that they will understand and learn to value what is really important. And they will truly begin to value it, not just from your words, but from your actions.

Proverbs 22:6

The Problem of Evil

2010-07-12T09:00:00.004-04:00

There are five basic approaches taken by theologians to resolve the problem of evil. The first considers God as not powerful enough to conquer or eliminate evil. This approach is expressed as one of two manifestations. Arminians see God sovereignly limiting His own powers to allow for the existence of evil while dualists see evil as eternally co-existent with God and therefore equally as powerful. Either view sees God as finite and impotent concerning evil. Both see God as incapable of holding the thread which suspended the sinner over the pit in Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.

Instead of limiting God’s power, the second approach maligns God’s knowledge. They claim that if God had known man would have chosen evil, He would have acted to prevent it. As with all Arminian views, in the quest for the unfettered free will of man, man’s freedom is lost. Following the logic of the open theists posited in Greg Boyd’s God of the Possible, God would have destroyed or not even created man had He not been surprised by the fact man would rebel against Him. According to their line of thinking, there is no way He would have made the mistake of creating Lucifer had He known then what He knows now.

A third approach for resolving the problem of evil is to limit or redefine God’s goodness. As opposed to the Arminian views espoused above, this is the view of the Hyper-Calvinist. Ironically, Hyper-Calvinist views were not even held by the namesake of the system, John Calvin. As is the case with most extreme theologies, the original beliefs were distilled and distorted by the originator’s later disciples. This view credits God as not only allowing evil, but creating it. The system destroys God’s goodness by making Him the author of sin and evil.

Another basic approach is to deny the presence of evil altogether. Whereas earlier mentioned approaches had dualistic characteristics, this one is distinctly monistic. As with many eastern religions, evil is seen as an illusion that can be overcome by inward reflection. Like the cave dweller in Plato’s Republic, what we see in the world is merely shadows or forms of the transcendent ideal.

The final approach is consistent with reality, but more importantly, the Bible. The ultimate resolution of the sin problem is eschatological. Erickson sees evil as a necessary possibility for creatures to truly be responsible. Notice he avoids making God the author of sin by using the descriptor, “possibility.” To say that evil is necessary pits God as the positive pole of a dualistic universe and removes the hope of an eternity free from evil. Man without the responsibility to choose between obedience or rebellion is less than man – he is an automaton. Man as the sole arbitrator of good and evil is more than man – he is autonomous. Neither extreme is true. God, in His sovereignty, gives man the responsibility to choose between good and evil. God's sovereign plan includes and is over all human choices from before the foundation of the world. His plan encompassed the fact that man would rebel to the point of brutally killing His Son, yet He loved man enough to create him anyway. Man’s depraved choices have warranted God placing a curse upon the earth. Briars, thorns, disease, storms, and natural disasters are a result of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Each individual sin committed from that time forward has resulted in manifold pain and suffering. The cumulative weight of the sins of mankind coupled with the curse God placed upon the earth combine to explain all forms of sin and evil in the world today. When looked at in that light, it is miraculous that there is any good and beauty in the world at all. God’s grace is amazing!

Providence

2010-07-05T09:00:00.003-04:00

One of the many facts the testimony of Scripture attests to is the sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty is manifest in His governing activity and His providential dealings with man. The fact that God providentially interacts with His creation results primarily in two things. First, history has purpose and meaning. In all other non-theistic world religions, history has no meaning. It is seen either as an endless cycle, or perfectionist vortex, or as a meaningless drone of nothingness with no beginning or ending. When God is seen as sovereign, time is part of His creation. As part of creation separate and distinct from God, it cannot be eternal as He is – it must have a beginning and ending. History can then be seen as having a purpose. It is “His story.” History teaches us who God is, who man is, the nature of sin, and the interaction between God and man. Second, God’s governing activity shows us that God is in control. As creator, God is acknowledged as the one who established things the way they originally were prior to the curse. As sustainer, God is the one who perpetually controls the actions of His creation. Solely based upon natural revelation, early philosophers termed this governing activity as the “unmoved mover.” Even our finite minds could grasp the concept of an ethereal gearbox in which an unmoved mover cranked on one end to elicit a robotic response on the other. What our minds cannot comprehend, however, is the role man’s free will and responsibility play. That is why God’s governing activity is seen as sovereignty rather than fatalism.

God accomplishes His sovereign governing activity either by performing supernatural acts or by using the laws and forces of nature. The Bible records many instances of God displaying His sovereignty supernaturally. At times, He has stepped out of the normal course of events to do an act that would otherwise be inexplicable. For example, when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding feast, there could be no logical explanation other than the performance of a miracle. It is physically impossible for H2O to transform into fermented fruit juice. Likewise, it is physically impossible for life to return to a body that has lain dead, moldering in the grave for three days. Not only does God accomplish His sovereign governing activity using supernatural acts, He uses laws and forces of nature. Examples include the plagues of locusts, flies, and frogs brought upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians prior to the Israelite Exodus. Another example is God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is possible God used some type of volcanic eruption or other seismic activity as the means to accomplish His prescribed ends.

The extent of God’s sovereign governing activity is limitless. God is sovereign over all creation. As such, there is nothing beyond God’s control. Included in God’s span of control are the good and evil acts of individuals. It is within His prerogative to restrain man from committing sin if He so desires. He also permits sin to occur. Since God is not the author of sin, and sin is an existential verity, if God is omnipotent, He must allow His creatures the freedom to sin. Though He doesn’t cause sin, He uses its results to accomplish His foreordained will and determines the result of sinful actions. Finally, He determines boundaries and sets limits to sin and sinful behavior.

Understanding the fact that God is sovereignly governing His creation is the only true ground for hope. The only hope of the humanist is progressivism, but progressivism is irrational because it is contrary to the testimony of history. Conversely, the testimony of Scripture heralds the faithfulness of God and the obvious comfort provided by His sovereignty. True peace results in the divinely bequeathed comprehension that God is in control of everything and will work all things together for good to them that love Him and are the called according to His purpose.

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-07-02T06:17:00.000-04:00

Who deserves to hear the Gospel?

A disturbing trend in some very influential circles in our convention is the attitude that no one deserves to hear the Gospel twice while there are those who have yet to hear it once. That might sound good. It is certainly emotionally moving and motivating. That mantra is being used to stir people’s hearts for the nations. But at what cost?

Jesus charged us with reaching the nations. Since our inception, Southern Baptists have always been passionate about joining together to reach the nations for Christ—it’s in our DNA. But we have also always been passionate about joining together to reach our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria for Christ. I have never seen an area that we can afford to neglect with the Gospel. Have most of our resources as Southern Baptists been concentrated in the American Southeast? Yes. Is that area so evangelized that we can now pull out and martial our resources in another area? No.

During the period of time commonly referred to as the First Great Awakening, there was no place that was more evangelized than what is now the American Northeast. In the subsequent years, evangelism efforts focused almost exclusively outside of that area. The thought was, everybody has already heard and responded to the Gospel in that area—now it’s time to move on to those who have not been evangelized. Within a generation, the area which had been so fervently on-fire for Christ was now what historians call, “The Burned-over District”. The decline continued to the point that the American Northeast is now one of the most secular regions of the Western World.

I am not arguing against our emphasis on getting the Gospel to unreached people groups. I applaud this emphasis. But Jesus has not called us to an either/or mentality. He has called us to be witnesses everywhere at all times. That includes those who have never heard the Gospel as well as those who have heard and rejected it 1,000 times. Remember that God still sent Isaiah to preach to Israel—even though He told him that they would continually reject his message. The entire history of God’s relationship with Israel is one of them rejecting Him, but God continually sending His prophets to them. I thank God that He has never had the attitude that, “No one has the right to hear the Gospel twice as long as there are those who have never heard it once.” God has never had that attitude and neither should we.

God's Gift, Given this Day

2010-07-01T09:14:00.000-04:00

On this day a few years ago (I won’t say how many), God blessed our world with one of His greatest masterpieces.

He made her beautiful
It goes beyond the physical beauty that all can see. She has a beautiful spirit that is evident in the way she cares for me, our family and our church.

He made her tender
She has the softness of skin and tenderness of heart that can only be forged in the fire of motherhood, then tempered with the trials of first being a military wife, then a pastor’s wife.

He made her wise
Her wisdom is not a worldly wisdom. It is not measured in books she has written or titles she has earned. Her wisdom is a godly wisdom. It shines in both the simplest and the most difficult circumstances. It keeps me grounded, guides our children and stabilizes our home and church.

He made her selfless
I have never seen a better example of the mind of Christ described in Philippians 2:1-11. Her wants, needs and desires always come behind the desires of others. She selflessly followed me all over the world during my 20-year Air Force career. She built and sustained our family during an 8-year period while I was gone from home 300 days per year. She eagerly serves me, her children and her church before she even thinks about herself.

He made her pure and lovely
Despite difficult circumstances in her life that have destroyed many people, she has always had a pure and lovely heart. She sees the best in people when I tend toward suspicion. When cynicism rears its ugly head in my life, her loveliness melts it away. One day, as my bride, I will confidently be able to present her to our Lord in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she is holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:27).

He made her smart
She is an accountant—keeping the books at our home. She is a teacher—at one time homeschooling three children. She is a master chef—feeding our often unappreciative, ravenous crew. She is an executive assistant—flawlessly handling calls, correspondence and scheduling. She is a beautician, physician, psychologist, counselor, transportation director, efficiency engineer, quartermaster, motivational speaker, and manager. Most people only have the brains to handle one job. She is smart enough to handle all of those and more.

And what I thank God for most of all—He made her mine
I will never fully understand God’s goodness and grace toward me. All I know is that I have a living, breathing example of it waking up beside me every morning.

Happy birthday Miranda!

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-07-01T06:39:00.000-04:00

Messengers must be allowed to vote online.

The only way for our convention to accurately reflect the will of the majority of our churches is to recognize the voice of every possible messenger. It is no secret that over 80% of our churches run less than 200 in average Sunday morning attendance. Because of the outstanding Cooperative Program giving of most small churches, we are allowed the same number of messengers as even the largest mega-churches. The problem is, most small churches and small church messengers cannot afford to send their full contingency of messengers. For example, due to our CP giving, Brushfork Baptist Church is allowed to send a full slate of messengers to the convention. Financial considerations only allowed us to send me and my wife. Even though we will only allow the church to pay for our hotel, it is a significant expense that causes a strain on our finances. Similarly, the gas, food and other expenses that my wife and I choose to pay put a tremendous strain on our personal finances. Many small churches and churches with bi-vocational pastors are simply not able to absorb that cost and send any messengers.

I believe that each messenger from each of our 40,000-plus churches needs to have every opportunity to participate in the business of our convention. Technology provides that opportunity.

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-06-30T16:34:00.000-04:00

Never depend on someone else to do the right thing.

Early on in discussions about the interim report of the GCR Task Force, several of us commented on the necessity of voting on the recommendations individually. Although I was fairly confident that the Task Force was going to presented them that way, we discussed the parliamentary possibilities if the report was presented as a whole. There were several options available that would have at least forced a vote on considering the recommendations individually. Had that happened, I think the outcome might have turned out differently. We will never know.

I sat amazed as the Task Force boldly presented their recommendations as a whole. My amazement grew to shock as no one moved to divide the question. A motion was made to table it, which would have effectively killed it. Although opposed to the recommendations, I voted against the motion to table. I thought that the diligent work of the Task Force should at least be decided upon. Another motion was made to refer the recommendations to the Executive Committee for further study and consideration. This seemed to be a fair motion, but was soundly defeated. The mood of the messengers (whether for or against) was to deal with the issue without further delay.

The right thing to do was to decide the issue that day. I still believe that the right thing also would have been to decide on each of the recommendations separately. I was not alone in feeling that way. As a matter of fact, nearly everybody that I talked to—both for and against—felt that way. So why did it not happen? It didn’t happen because no one made the motion.

A motion to divide the question is a simple motion. It requires a second (which the man in the rear-left of the convention hall would have eagerly and loudly made). It does not even allow debate, so absolutely no eloquence would have been required. After the motion and second, all it requires is a simple majority vote. I believe it would have had a good chance of passing—but we will never know. We will never know because no one made the motion. We will never know because I did not make the motion.

Sitting back and hoping someone else will do the right thing is the same as doing nothing. I did nothing, so we will never know what might have happened.

Why Creation Is Necessary

2010-06-28T09:00:00.004-04:00

The first vital aspect of the doctrine of creation in theology is ontological in nature. Creation is antithetical to dualistic ideas that have persisted for millennia. Dualism states there are two ultimate principles that are essentially real – good and evil, male and female, hot and cold, forms and ideals, yin and yang. Tied up in the dualistic worldview is the concept that matter is evil. Syncretism with ancient philosophical dualistic beliefs led the medieval church into tragic monasticism and its priests into masochistic self-effacement. The biblical doctrine of creation, on the other hand, sees God as higher than and separate from His creation. Evil is not an eternal counterbalance to God’s goodness – it is a result of the free rebellion of His independent creatures. Dualism’s only means of providing hope is by the “progressive” nature of Hegelian synthesis. In reality, hope becomes hopelessness if good (thesis) has to become bad (antithesis) to progress. The non-dualistic nature of biblical creation allows for hope because it declares that evil is not necessary. This is dealt with in more detail by the third aspect.

The second aspect of the doctrine of creation in theology is its uniqueness. It is unique in that God’s creative act was not limited by the nature of preexisting materials. Although man’s mind can conceive of a warp-factor-nine Starship Enterprise, he is unable to create such a vehicle due to the physical and mechanical limits of the materials available. God, on the other hand, spoke the universe into existence ex nihilo. He was in no way limited by the intrinsic properties of raw materials. Even when He created man from the dust of the earth, man did not become special until God uniquely breathed into him the breath of life.

To expand on the first point, the doctrine of creation means that nothing was originally made intrinsically evil. In a dualistic worldview, evil is eternal and is therefore necessary. Existence can be seen as a cosmic seesaw with good and evil in a constant struggle for balance. To the dualist, the highest form of being exists in the balance point. There are many names for this ethereal equilibrium but it is most prominently known as Utopia, harmony, or Nirvana. The Bible contradicts this notion in its opening chapter. God ended every act of creation by declaring the results good. When I previously installed antennas for the Air Force, the team’s final quality control act was to affix a metal tag to the highest point of the tower. The tag was stamped with the words: “738EIG – Installed with Pride, Worldwide.” God’s declaration of the goodness of His creation not only indicated satisfaction with a job well done, but also was God’s personal stamp of perfection on His work. Everything was created good in order to reflect God’s glory but was later marred by sin and the resultant curse.

Fourthly, the doctrine of creation places responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the human race. Once again, this is a natural outflow of a non-dualistic creation. If matter is not evil, and God is not evil, who is responsible for the obvious presence of evil in the world? Where we err many times is when we answer that question by saying, “the Devil.” While Satan is an extremely powerful evil being, it is important to remember that he was created good. The fact is, sin is responsible for the presence of evil in the world. Sin is not a “who” or a “what”, it is a volitional act of the will of God’s created beings. When sin is seen in its proper light, there is no other choice but to see man as solely responsible for the presence of evil in the world.

Another outcrop of the non-dualistic nature of the doctrine of creation is it guards against depreciating the incarnation of Christ. Those who hold to a dualistic worldview cannot reconcile the hypostatic union of God and man in the person of Jesus. The influence of dualism throughout history has led to most heresies that deny either the deity or the humanity of Christ including Gnosticism and Docetism. Immanuel, God with us, flies in the face of any attempt at dualism and could only have been accomplished in accordance with biblical creation.

The sixth aspect of the doctrine of creation in theology is the interrelationship of all creation. According to Erickson, there is a connection and an affinity among the various parts of creation. Francis Schaeffer identifies this by showing the commonalities man shares with the remainder of creation. He also points out common points shared between God and man. Finally, he shows the things that separate man and creation from God. He uses this chain of logic to define what he terms man’s “mannishness”. Erickson indicates this connection and affinity among the various parts of creation leads to responsible ecological stewardship of God’s creation.

The final aspect of the doctrine of creation in theology moves away from the dangers of dualism and tackles the equally hazardous heresy of monism. The biblical doctrine of creation makes it plainly clear that God is separate from His creation. Monism purports ultimate reality as the unknowable force that lies behind all existence. Gods, demigods, angels, spiritual beings, men, and animals all emanated from the unknowable force as light rays emanate from the Sun. Not only does the Bible specifically state that God is distinct from creation, it also shows He is knowable. He spoke creation into existence and formed man out of the dust of the ground. He personally, intimately interacted with His creation while remaining distinct from it.

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-06-25T06:17:00.000-04:00

It’s hard to see past our immediate context.

It's hard to see the forest past the immediate tree we're looking at. People automatically tend to filter methodological decisions through their immediate contextual grid. Diversity is not only important to our convention, it is essential. Achieving racial diversity, non-essential theological diversity, regional diversity and church-size diversity throughout our denomination is crucial as we move forward. A white, urban Calvinist hipster has valuable insight for the direction of our convention. So does a black, inner-city revivalist missionary. So does a mega-church, multi-staff nationally known pastor. So does a rural, traditional, bi-vocational pastor. We are not a convention of white, Southern mega-churches. We are a convention of churches of all types, styles, sizes and stripes. We have churches that need planted as well as churches that need to be renewed. As a convention, our focus must be on Jerusalem (local), Judea (regional and national), Samaria (those in our region/nation who look and act different than us) and the ends of the earth—at all times in all ways. The only way that can happen is if we diligently strive to have diversity in all areas of our convention. On the boards, committees and staffs, and even on the platform.

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-06-24T06:04:00.000-04:00

All issues are theological at their core.

The only way to figure out the best methodologies is to have your theology right. While the Southern Baptist Convention has settled the question of biblical inerrancy and authority, there are still great differences of interpretation in what the Bible actually says and its implications for how we function as a convention of churches. Our words clearly articulate the primacy of the local church. Our recent actions have not matched our words. Is the convention to try to act as one large church? Are the entities of the convention to take on roles and tasks traditionally and theologically reserved for local churches? How is our polity theologically informed and should we maintain and defend our traditional role of boards, committees and trustees made up of hundreds of members of diverse local churches scattered throughout our convention? Or should their clear will be usurped or manipulated by small ad hoc committees of influential personalities? Our ecclesiology should consistently inform those issues and prevent us from potential denominational shipwreck.

Things I learned at the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

2010-06-23T06:09:00.000-04:00

Politics are necessary, but don’t have to be ugly.

“Politics” carries a negative connotation in our culture. “Polis”, the word from which we get “politics” simply refers to a gathering of people. In other words, politics is what happens anytime a group of people gather. Despite the negative connotation, we can’t escape the fact that politics happen. Whether in the local church, or at a denominational level, politics are a necessary fact of life. Since politics are inevitable, we must focus on how we conduct ourselves during and after their processes. Will we be fair and just in trying to promote our positions and accomplish our ends? Will we be gracious and humble in defeat? In the months leading up to the convention and in the convention itself, we saw positive and negative examples of both. It is my prayer in the days to follow we will exhibit the mind of Christ as we move forward. I praise God that political differences were publically handled gracefully and peacefully from both the floor and the platform of this year’s convention.

2010 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting Follow-up

2010-06-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

It's been a few days since the conclusion of the 2010 SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando. Commentary over the past few days has ranged from utter despair to sheer ecstasy. Over the years, I have tried to cultivate a teachable spirit. Whatever circumstance I experience--whether immediately perceived as good or bad--I try to learn something from it. I have made it no secret that I oppose the recommendations made by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. I was surprised that they passed, although I suspect that there were many who did not fully understand the implications of what they were voting on. Rhetoric is a powerful tool and it was skillfully employed during the Pastors' Conference and Convention. Those decisions are now in the hands of our entity trustees. We should now pray specifically for their wisdom and discernment as they go forward.

Later on, I may post my thoughts on where I think we should go from here. I am still prayerfully sorting through my thoughts on how I will lead our church in these matters. For now, I want to share with you some of the immediate things I learned in Orlando. I will be posting these thoughts over the next several days, so continue to look for them.

Creation and Evolution

2010-06-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

When discussing contradictions between two conflicting sources of information, there are three options one can take. Either the first must be true, the second must be true, or neither can be true. So it is between the Bible and science. While this is an overly simplistic statement, it encompasses the debate between Biblical creationism and materialistic theories of origin. Too often, Christians have bent the rod of Scripture to accommodate the musings of scientists who themselves even acknowledge the theoretical nature of their work. One would think Christendom would learn from history. Every time Scripture is contorted to support the “flavor of the day” in theoretical science, empirical data later prove the theory wrong. Take for example the early geocentric view of the universe. Much is made today of the Catholic Church’s rejection of Galileo’s endorsement of the Copernican heliocentric theory. The history is presented from the bias of comparing the Church’s ignorant allegiance to geocentricity, even as scientific data opposed it, to modern Christian objections to evolution. Virtually no quarter is given to the idea that the Catholic Church was tenaciously holding to a false doctrine based on incorrect scientific theories purported years before. They saw the geocentric science of the day, then bent Scripture to proof-text and accommodate it. When the scientific theories were empirically proven wrong, the Church believed it had to protect the false theory to preserve the veracity of Scripture. We would be wise to see that it has never worked to bend Scripture to accommodate science. This brings me to consideration of Millard Erickson’s view of origins.

In his systematic theology, Christian Theology, Erickson professes belief in what is termed the “age-day theory”. Erickson wrote, “The age-day theory is based upon the fact that the Hebrew word yom, while it most frequently means a twenty-four-hour period, is not limited to that meaning. It can also mean epochs or long periods of time, and that is how it should be understood in this context. This view holds that God created in a series of acts over long periods of time. The geological and fossil records correspond to the days of his creative acts.” There are many problems with this theory, of which I will deal with two.

First, there is the Biblical problem. While it is true that yom can be rendered as “age” or “epoch”, it is only done so when there is clear contextual support for that concept. Otherwise, it is translated in its most natural sense as a 24-hour period. There is clear contextual support to insure the proper translation of yom in Genesis 1. Instead of supporting the age-day rendering, the inclusion of “the evening and the morning were the X day” adds support and therefore emphasis to the most natural translation – that of a 24-hour period. This is, in fact, a triple emphasis. The first is 24-hour period is the most natural rendering of the word. Second, the 24-hour periods are bracketed the same way that every 24-hour period man has ever experienced has been bracketed – with a morning and an evening. While a new age can be said to be dawning, I am not linguistically familiar with any reference to an age’s evening. The third emphasis is the enumeration of the days. Not one Scriptural instance of yom being used to describe an age or epoch is modified by a number. On the other hand, it is common Scriptural practice to numerically quantify 24-hour days.

The second problem with Erickson’s age-day theory is a scientific one. While accommodation theories such as this one were formulated to bend Scripture to support the latest scientific theories; once again, science pulled the rug out. The irreconcilable tension between Newtonian physics, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and quantum physics has led to strange new theories involving multiple dimensions and strings. According to string theory, creation could have happened in 7 seconds – two weeks from now. Time has no concrete meaning in the mind of modern theoretical physicists. To add to the scientific problem, astronomers can’t figure out if our universe is expanding or contracting – or both. Certain astrophysicists with one type of bias search out data that “irrefutably proves” the universe is expanding. Others, with opposing biases find different data that “irrefutably proves” the universe is contracting. One thing virtually all modern scientists agree upon – Darwinian evolutionary theory is untenable. The age-day hypothesis originated as a way for the Bible to show enough time to account for the billions of years Darwin, Dawkins, and Hawking called for. Their brand of evolutionary theory is now passé due to modern conceptions of time.

Erickson’s support of the age-day theory is untenable and unnecessary. Hopefully, one day we will learn to bend our rational and empirical studies toward the unbendable Canon of Scripture. When we do, we will find that God’s Word was right all along.

Why I Am Running for First Vice President of the SBC

2010-06-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

My name is Jim Drake. Odds are, you’ve never heard of me. Let me take a few minutes to tell you about myself. First of all, I am a child of the King—chosen, purchased and redeemed by Jesus Christ. All that I am and all that I ever will be is because of Him. My chief desire is for everything I do to bring glory and honor to His great name. Second, I am a husband to Miranda—the finest woman I know. She has graced me by joyfully serving in the two most difficult callings a person can have, military wife and pastor’s wife. She is my continual support, encouragement, council and companion. Third, I am a father to Kyla, Katelyn and CJ. Kyla (21) is married to Josh Lange and is expecting my first grandson in August. She is enrolled at Auburn University Montgomery in Montgomery, AL. Katelyn (17) just completed her junior year at Mercer Christian Academy and dreams of dancing with Bellhaven College’s Ballet Magnificat. CJ (15) just completed his freshman year of homeschooling. He thinks he is being called into some sort of ministry—possibly youth ministry. Finally, I am a pastor to the wonderful people of Brushfork Baptist church. You have probably never heard of Brushfork, but if you are like the vast majority of Southern Baptists, our church is just like yours. We are a small congregation in a dying community. For us, growth often means replacing those who have gone home to be with the Lord. Thank God we have been able to do that over the years. We will never make national news, but we are able to see people saved. We are able to see people baptized. We are able to see them grow in the Lord. We are able to disciple them and even ordain some and send them off on mission. We are able to plant churches in cooperation with other churches in our local association. We are able to accomplish the Great Commission. From our little post in Southern West Virginia, we are able to reach our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even the furthest reaches of the earth.
I believe that my situation pictures most of you. Brushfork Baptist Church is not unique. Small churches on mission for Christ are historically normative. The historical anomaly of the handfuls of mega-churches in our convention are a tremendous blessing, but they are not the backbone of our convention. The backbone of our convention are small, local community churches, linked together with a common core theology, love for the Bible as the inerrant, infallible Word of God and a passion for reaching the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thousands of local Southern Baptist preaching points are precious in the sight of the Lord and should not be overlooked or discounted as “insignificant”.

I think it is time to remind ourselves that the majority of our churches are small. The vast majority of our baptisms come from small churches. The vast majority of our giving comes from small churches. The vast majority of our leadership originated in small churches. IMB, NAMB, ERLC, EC nor our six seminaries would exist without the cooperative support of small churches. They would not exist without churches like Brushfork Baptist. And they would not exist without churches like yours.
I did not seek this office nor have I campaigned for it. I believe this is a door of opportunity that the Lord is placing before me. If it is His will that I serve Him in this way, I will serve with a whole heart. If not, I will continue to serve Him wherever He would have me. Whether or not you support me for 1st Vice President, understand this—your church is significant. It’s not significant because of its size or location. It’s significant because of Who it belongs to. It is significant because Revelation 1:12-20 tells us that Jesus is walking in its midst and holding your pastor in the palm of His hand. I have allowed myself to be nominated for this office because I think Southern Baptists need to be reminded of that.

Is This the Best of All Possible Worlds?

2010-06-14T09:00:00.003-04:00

In his book, Christian Theology, Millard Erickson has developed a unique model for reconciling the perceived problem of the sovereignty of God and the freewill of man. He agrees with the Calvinist in holding to the Biblical notion that God’s decree has predetermined all human outcomes. At the same time, he propounds the notion of human freewill. His definition of freewill is somewhat unique, but not unheard of. Freewill to him concerns man’s ability as opposed to his actual performance. “What we are saying is that God renders it certain that a person who could act (or could have acted) differently does in fact act in a particular way (the way that God wills).” In order to unite the two seemingly disparate concepts, he has brought forth the hypothesis that God, in His foreknowledge, looks at all the infinite genetic combinations possible. He then only brings into existence those people who have the chemical combinations that will desire to accomplish the ends He has predestined. His hypothesis falls mainly on two points as I see it. First, it purports a form of chemical determinism that I think is incompatible with the Scriptural concept of being created in the unique image of God. When God breathed the breath (spirit) of life into the flesh of man, He caused him to be a living soul. This union of spirit and flesh that God combined to form the soul of man is what makes him unique among all creation. It is this imago dei in man that makes him uniquely capable of relationship with God as opposed to some sort of materialistic bent. If, after all, the ability to relate to God were inexorably linked to man’s genetic structure, his relationship would be destroyed with the destruction of the body. The foremost problem with Erickson’s hypothesis is its link to chemical determinism and materialism. The second problem with the theory is the concept of “possible” beings verses beings God “brings into existence”. This is reminiscent of and is dangerously similar to the Mormon concept of “spirit babies”. There is an eschatological difference, but the concept of God placing a predetermined person (whether termed “spirit”, or “genetic combination”) into a body upon conception seems to be a violation of the Bible’s concept of anthropology.

A correct concept of anthropology is at the root of this argument. While I have not studied Erickson’s anthropology, this theory would indicate he holds to a materialistic view of man. This theory is based on the fact that man’s physical, chemical makeup determines his actions, down to, as Erickson wrote, the very choice to move his finger to the left rather than the right. James Watson and Francis Crick would agree. In Kevin Davies’ book, Cracking the Human Genome, Italian Nobel laureate Renato Dulbecco, while he was publicizing the Human Genome Project, was quoted as saying, “DNA is the reality of our species, and everything that happens in the world depends on those sequences.” No matter how Erickson tries to circumvent the problem, when man’s ontology is reduced to material combinations, he has no freedom. The Bible teaches man is much more than a programmed combination of chemicals. If that were the case then salvation would be reduced to the modern psychological concept of curing chemical imbalances through medication. As with most attempts to rationally reconcile God’s sovereignty with man’s freewill, either man is made less than he is or God is made less than He is.
As Erickson admitted, his hypothesis is, “in many ways similar to the argument of Gottfried von Leibniz in his Theodicy. Whereas Erickson posits God examining all possible chemical combinations, Leibniz saw God as knowing the “realm of essences that contained an infinite number of possibilities.” Their theories differ in God’s activity in the world once His initial choice is made. By recognizing God’s day-to-day involvement in His creation, Erickson skirted the almost inevitable conclusion of deism drawn by Leibniz. By doing this, he moved the apparent tension from sovereignty/freewill to a deistic verses Biblical view of God’s involvement in the lives of man.

While seemingly similar, the Arminian idea of foreknowledge differs from Erickson’s concept. Arminians see God as knowing all future possible actions of existing individuals. As stated above, Erickson sees God’s foreknowledge as seeing all possible genetic combinations and only bringing into existence the ones who will mechanistically accomplish His will. In the Arminian view, God is simply looking into the future at the freewill actions of his creation and declaring that to be His will. Despite the problems with Erickson’s theory, he does hold a higher view of the sovereignty of God than the Arminian. His view has God’s foreknowledge based on possibilities that He will actively bring into existence. It keeps sovereignty in God’s hands rather than transferring it to the control of man. As I indicated earlier, most attempts to rationally reconcile God’s sovereignty with man’s freewill result in the loss of who God is, or what Schaeffer calls man’s “mannishness”. The Arminian loses God – Erickson loses man.

Does Prayer Really Change Things?

2010-06-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

In his book Christian Theology, Millard Erickson puts forth the proposition that prayer really changes nothing with respect to God’s eternal purposes. He wrote, “prayer does not change what he [God] has purposed to do.” That seems to fly in the face of the contemporary Christian conception of prayer. Take for example the huge commercial success of the little book, The Prayer of Jabez. Modern Christian society has fallen for the notion that prayer is a method to talk God into doing what we want Him to do. As I read the mantra authored by Wilkenson it reminded me of Macbeth’s hags – except instead of conjuring spirits with, “double, double, toil and trouble,” he suggests we conjure God’s Spirit with “bless me Lord indeed.” The idea that man by the force of his finite will can change the eternal purposes of Almighty God elevates man to a higher plane than God. How is that different from Satan’s temptation of Eve in the Garden: “you can be like God”?

When most modern teachers attempt to show how to pray, they mishandle the Word of God and site examples where God supposedly changed His mind based on the prayer of a believer. The text where Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites for God not to destroy them after their worship of the golden calf is frequently cited. When they use this passage as a proof-text, they never consider the fact that if God had destroyed them, He would have been unfaithful to His promises. Since God cannot break His Word, it would have been impossible for Him to do anything but affirmatively answer Moses’ prayer. God was using the intercession of His servant Moses to solidify Moses’ pastoral compassion and care for his people. God was going to preserve His chosen people no matter what Moses did. God used Moses’ intercession to conform Moses to His will. Intercession doesn’t change the One being entreated, it changes the interceder.

Abraham’s apparent bidding war with the Angel of the Lord over His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is another proof-text often cited. Abraham asked the pre-incarnate Christ if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked. He then seemingly began to talk Him out of destroying the city if there were 50, then 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally 10 righteous people living there. The question is – did Abraham’s superb skills in the art of persuasion convince God of how unreasonable He was to destroy the city if there were righteous people there? Or was God longsuffering in teaching Abraham how He was just in the destruction He was about to rain down on the tremendously wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham learned a lot in that encounter – he’s the one who changed. He learned of God’s justice and he learned of His mercy. God also taught Abraham He was merciful in saving Lot and his daughters even though they had absolutely no effect on the culture in which they had steeped themselves.

A third proof-text is James 5:16b, “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” I have heard this verse used in every sense from “name it claim it” (or as a pastor once said, “gab it, grab it”), to a treatise on fervency, to how to get God to do what you want Him to do. I have never heard this verse used in the context with which it is given. Prayer is an essential part of the Christian walk, which is the subject of James’ epistle. The problem comes in interpreting what the “much” is that effective, fervent prayer avails. I would contend, and I think Erickson would agree, that prayer doesn’t avail God of His immutability. It also doesn’t avail Him of His eternal plan, His decree, or His foreknowledge. However, I would say that prayer avails man of his ineffectiveness. It also avails him of his tepidness and his unrighteousness. Prayer doesn’t change God – He doesn’t need changing. He is perfect and immutable. We, on the other hand, are depraved creatures who, although created in the image of God, are marred by sin. We are marred to the point that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We are the ones who need changing. Even after we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us we have to strive to attain the mind of Christ. We still have an old nature to battle. Prayer changes the one who needs changing, not the One who doesn’t.

God's Justice and His Love

2010-05-31T09:00:00.003-04:00

God’s attributes are the chief way He has chosen to reveal who He is to man. When His attributes are viewed from the perspective of finite man, they can seem contradictory. For years, liberal theologians have tried to drive a wedge between aspects of God’s character. The textual critics have even gone to the extreme of saying the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath and justice and is somehow different than the God of the New Testament, portrayed as a God of love, grace, and mercy. These apparent contradictions stem from the inability of man throughout history to answer the question of evil. One of the seemingly most asked questions is, “if God is a good God, how can bad things happen.” This is not a new question, as the Psalmist even struggled with its converse idea: “But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Rabbi Kushner’s book Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People has epitomized an entire generation who questions the nature and character of God. Part of the fallout from such questioning is, even in evangelical circles, the idea that somehow God’s attributes must be balanced against one another. For example, I once heard a conservative seminary-trained Southern Baptist pastor say that God’s wrath and justice are balanced by His love and goodness.

Though well meaning, statements like that are contrary to Scripture and an offense to the nature of God. God is an ontologically whole being whose attributes exist in perfect fullness and harmony within His personality. The idea that any of His attributes stand in tension to one another is absurd. Balance is an unbiblical, Eastern philosophical concept that has permeated Western thinking and even, as evidenced by the above testimony, crept into modern evangelical discourse. According to The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, of the 18 times a derivative of “balance” is used in the Bible, none refers to balancing two of God’s attributes or precepts against one another. All references speak of the literal or figurative weighing of objects using balancing scales. An analysis of the concept of balance reveals thinking not only excluded from, but completely antithetical to Scripture.

To illustrate the concept of balance, picture a child’s seesaw. When two items are balanced, they are counterposed to, and in constant tension against, one another. An increase in elevation of one item requires movement and decrease of its polar opposite. None of God’s attributes or precepts is in tension against another. The focus of the seesaw’s tension is its fulcrum. Hypothetically, if God’s attributes could be in tension against one another, logic would dictate the fulcrum would be the midpoint between the two truths. The balance point would be reminiscent of Aristotle’s Golden Mean or Hegel’s Synthesis, instead of revealed, absolute Scriptural Truth. In the Taoist worldview, the concept of balance is essential. For the dualist-minded Eastern mystic, the goal of life is to achieve equilibrium in the balance between good and evil – hence the derivation of Yin-yang. Some human characteristics are designated as “yin” while some are classified as “yang”. For example, they purport the negative emotion of wrath needs to be counterbalanced by the positive emotion of love. In their worldview, the ideal is reached when one is stoically “balanced”. It is obvious from even a cursory examination of the Bible that God is not “balanced” in this way. He is pure love, pure righteousness, pure grace, pure holiness, pure mercy, and pure justice. The God of the Bible deals with man out of the fullness of His attributes, not in a synthetic, Hegelian compromise between them. God’s attributes are 100% pure and full, 100% of the time and are in perfect harmony with one another because they flow from the perfectly harmonious relationship existing in the Trinity. God can only exercise true justice because He is love. By the same token, He can only truly love because He is just. There is no contradiction or tension, only perfect characteristics of an infinite God.

Lord Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly

2010-05-29T11:57:00.000-04:00

By Mary C. D. Hamilton

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky;
Be with them traversing the air
In darkening storms or sunshine fair.

You who support with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight,
Lord of the tempered winds, be near,
That, having you, they know no fear.

Control their minds with instinct fit
Whene’er, adventuring, they quit
The firm security of land;
Grant steadfast eye and skillful hand.

Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with your saving grace.
O God, protect the men who fly
Through lonely ways beneath the sky.

Taken from my personal copy of The Airman's Bible, pg. 1129, that was presented to me upon my retirement from the US Air Force in 2006.

June Edition of the West Virginia Southern Baptist

2010-05-28T10:12:00.000-04:00

The latest edition of The West Virginia Southern Baptist, the state paper of the WV Convention of Southern Baptists, is available here. You can also use the sidebar link throughout the month.

The Unchanging God Who Repents

2010-05-24T09:00:00.005-04:00

How can God be described as unchanging when Scripture speaks of Him as repenting, regretting and experiencing pain? This question is at the forefront of the current debate with those who refer to themselves as “open theists”. Open theists such as Clark Pinnock, John Sanders, Gregory Boyd, and others believe God does not exercise complete foreknowledge. This process theology derivative holds that God is forever changing and adapting to the free-will choices made by man. He “knows” some future events based on His complete understanding of present circumstances and psychological and sociological factors. In their view, God is in indecision until man chooses a certain path. He then reacts to man’s choice and waits to react again. The root of the open theist’s heresy is a failure to answer properly the question of evil. In their quest to absolve God of responsibility, they have reduced Him to a figure that is much less than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. While they scarcely address the root question, they proof-text Genesis 6:6 and other passages as evidence of God’s changeability.

As with most instances of proof-texting, context is the key to refuting improper hermeneutics. Some scholars attribute Scripture speaking of God as repenting and regretting as either anthropomorphisms, dispensational changes, or the fact that man in relation to God changed. I draw my analysis from Millard Erickson’s discussion of the subject in his book, What Does God Know and When Does He Know It? The question behind the open theist’s argument is, can a person know what is going to happen and at the same time experience remorse for the inevitable? It would stand to reason that if an example of this existed in our temporal world that it would be possible for it to be a part of God’s realm of existence. When a man and a woman unite in marriage, the traditional vows they affirm acknowledge the fact that one of them will die. When each partner promises, “till death do us part,” they are in a sense telling gathered friends and family they understand that nothing short of death will sever the earthly bonds of their marriage. By making that statement, the happy couple realizes that death is inevitable. The inevitability of death, however, does not remove the pain felt years later when the wife lies on the brink of death. Using the errant logic of the open theists, it would follow that the grieving husband should feel no pain because he knew it was coming all along. After all, he understood death to be the inevitable end to marriage years before at his wedding. This, of course, is completely absurd. When God spoke of His regret or repentance in Genesis 6:6, He was not taken aback at what He saw. To put it simply, He saw it coming. God, in His foreknowledge, knows the end from the beginning. Of course, “end” and “beginning” really have no meaning when one speaks of eternity, but in order for the finite mind to begin to grasp the infinite, God has “put the cookies low enough on the shelf for us to reach.” Because God knows and has foreordained the future in its entirety does not remove the pain and remorse associated with man’s rejection of Him. If one asks the mother of a handicapped child if she regrets having the child, she will say, “No,” despite the pain and hardship associated with it.

God’s experience of pain and remorse does not lie in opposition to His foreknowledge. Rather, God’s absolute foreknowledge speaks of His abundant grace. I have often asked the question, “If you knew before you had a child, that child would grow up to curse you, reject you, separate you from your own parents, beat you, and even kill you, would you still have gotten pregnant?” Virtually all couples (who are not giving the “Sunday School” answer) say they would have practiced birth control instead. If God has no foreknowledge, He can only claim to love us after the fact. He can only claim that things did not go quite as He planned and He has to come up with new and creative ways to get things to work out right. But the God of the Bible is so much more. He knew me before He created Adam. He knew I would rebel, yet He still created me – but there was even more. He knew the only way He could have a relationship with me was for His Son to be separated from Him and die. He knew that would be required before He laid the foundations of the world – from eternity past – yet He still created me. He did not need me, He existed in perfect triune relationship with the Holy Spirit and His Son – the Son He would have to forsake on the cross to atone for my willful and inherited rebellion – yet He still created me. That is the true meaning of grace. In an attempt to recuse God from the responsibility of foreknowledge, the open theists have made Him something less than God. Their god is one who only bestows mercy as an act of pitiful reaction rather than love. He only loves me based on my choices or current events – after he learns who I am. That kind of god is not the God of hope and assurance. He could not be my refuge or strength. Conversely, as the Psalmist declared in Psalm 139, the unchanging, immutable God of the Bible knew from eternity past where I will be in eternity future. It brings to mind the words of the song, “What a mighty God we serve!”

God's Attributes

2010-05-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

God is known by man as He chooses to reveal Himself. Since God is transcendently over and above man, He cannot totally reveal Himself. As God revealed through the prophet Isaiah, “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.’” The only way finite man can know who God is, is through His attributes. In the preface to Charnock’s classic work on the attributes of God, the writer describes God’s attributes as, “a grand foundation for all true divine worship, and should be the great motives to provoke men to the exercise of faith, and love, and fear, and humility, and all that holy obedience they are called to by the gospel; and this, without peradventure, is the great end of all those rich discoveries God hath in his word made of himself to us.”

While some would state that God’s attributes are synonymous to His properties, in reality, they are quite different. According to Erickson, “The attributes are qualities of the entire Godhead. They should not be confused with properties, which, technically speaking, are the distinctive characteristics of the various persons of the Trinity. Properties are functions (general), activities (more specific), or acts (most specific) of the individual members of the Godhead.” For example, Jesus has the property of having a physical, corporeal body. Even after his resurrection, Jesus bore flesh – albeit glorified – and had the properties of a physical state. He ate, walked, talked, and was able to be touched. God the Son has always had the property of a physical state. Realizing this truth makes it easy to understand all appearances of God to man have been Christophanies. After all, God told Moses that no man could see the Father and live. On the other hand, “God [the Father] is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have the properties of a non-physical state – they are incorporeal beings. The key difference between the properties of the Godhead and His attributes is that God can divest Himself of His properties and still be fully God. If God were even to temporarily lose even one of His attributes, He would no longer be God.

God’s attributes are essential to His nature. All three persons of the Trinity share in all of the attributes of God. Omniscience is an example of an attribute of God. By Pinnock and the “open theists” contending that God has limited knowledge of the future, they take away a significant portion of who God is. If God is limited in one of His attributes, since they are all inherent to His very nature and character, He is no longer God – at least as He is described in Scripture. While God’s attributes are intrinsic to who He is, it is important to recognize that the attributes themselves are not God. In contemporary society, it is common to isolate a single attribute of God and hold it up in reverence as a deity. For example, it is understood by most people that God is love. This, however, is not a reflexive statement. In other words, while it can be said that God is love, it cannot be said that love is God. Unfortunately, many people today try to make that statement. There is another implication of the essential nature of God’s attributes to who He is. Many people seek to contrapose God’s attributes and pit them one against another. A prime example of this is when people say that God’s love must be balanced against His righteousness. The concept of balance requires a point of tension midway between two competing objects. God’s attributes are not in some sort of yin-yang face-off with each other. God’s character is manifest in His attributes and He is not bi-polar. He is perfect and He makes Himself known by His perfect attributes – all of them, in all their glorious, inscrutable fullness.

The Personal Holy Spirit

2010-05-10T09:00:00.004-04:00

The Holy Spirit has been recognized as the third person of the Trinity since the earliest days of church history. While this is understood, it is also recognized that the doctrine has not been accepted without its dissenters. The Council at Nicea articulated the doctrine of the Trinity, and Constantine banished those bishops who opposed it. While Chalcedon and Constantinople further clarified the doctrine, there were still those who refused to believe it. Even today, there are those sects who deny the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity is a key watermark in determining the orthodoxy of believers. Although there are many reasons why it is important to orthodoxy to affirm the personality of the Holy Spirit, three stand out above the rest.

First, denial of the personality of the Holy Spirit is denial of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity states that God is One yet exists in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is widely accepted, yet is difficult to understand because there is no sufficient exigent analogy with which to liken it. If one were to believe the Holy Spirit was impersonal, He would stand in contradiction to the Father and the Son. Acknowledging the fact the Trinity is a mystery, it still must be understood that in order for three persons to exist as one, they must be ontologically identical. By way of illustration, the Bible declares that marriage is to be a man leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife, becoming one flesh. Is it possible for a man to cleave to an impersonal force? Can he become one flesh with gravity or quantum mechanics? In the same manner, God the Father and God the Son could not be One with an impersonal force. If one denies the personality of the Holy Spirit, one denies the fundamental truth of the existence of the Trinity.

Second, to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit is to deny the deity of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the 66 books of the Bible, God is recognized as personal. He has a mind, emotions, and will. The God of the Bible is not seen as an impersonal force that is to be conjured and manipulated by man. To say, as pagans throughout history have, that God is the unknowable chaos behind everything, or He is the vital principle that exists in everything is to say that a personal relationship with Him is impossible. This flies in the face of everything that is taught in Scripture. To avoid monistic or dualistic heresy, God must be a person to interact with man in a personal way. Either Jesus was an avatar as the Gnostics said, or He shared the traits of personality with the other members of the Godhead. Since it must be said that the God of the Bible is a personal God and, as argued above, exists in Trinity as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it automatically follows that the Holy Spirit is a personal God.

Finally, to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit is to deny the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s personality is evident in the work He is described as performing. The Bible declares the Holy Spirit teaches. John 14:26 quotes Jesus as saying, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” This speaks of personality on two fronts; first, it declares acts to be performed by an actor. Second, it speaks of a personal replacement for a personal being – namely Jesus. Romans 8:14 testifies that the Holy Spirit also guides. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” In American churches, we talk so often of being “led of the Holy Spirit,” it often takes on the connotation of “may the Force be with you.” Even in Star Wars, by making the Force a leader, the writer betrayed the non-personal, vitalistic, Eastern mystical principles he was trying to convey. Man can only be led by a personal being. Probably the most vivid display of the personal work of the Holy Spirit is shown by His intercession for us. This speaks of personality two ways. The first goes back to the Trinitarian argument brought forth earlier. The only being capable of standing in the gap between man and God is God. God is personal. The Holy Spirit stands in the gap between man and God. The Holy Spirit must be God and therefore must be personal. The second, more touching, way the Holy Spirit’s intercession speaks of His personality is in the intimacy it displays. Romans 8:26 proclaims, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” The sheer emotion carried by the weight of this passage’s words speak of compassionate personality. How can my weakness be helped by a non-personal force? How can a non-personal force translate my often incoherent, selfish, finite mutterings into Holy prayers, worthy of the Righteous Creator of the universe? The Holy Spirit is God and He is a person.

A Mother’s Work Is Never Done

2010-05-08T12:36:00.000-04:00

Have you ever noticed that we are always looking for a future time in our lives when things are supposed to get easier? The same is true with mothers. Any of us who have gone through all the cycles of raising children know that it never gets any easier. The fact is that a mother’s work is never really done.

The manuscript of this Mother’s Day sermon from Titus 2:3-5 is available here. You can listen online or download the .mp3 audio file or podcast here.

The West Virginia Southern Baptist

2010-04-26T13:19:00.000-04:00

The latest edition of the West Virginia Southern Baptist is available for download here. The latest link is always available in the sidebar of this blog. In addition to church and mission news from around the state, this edition includes an article from our Executive Director, Dr. Terry Harper, concerning the SBC Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Interim Report that was released in February. Also included is information on how to become a messenger to the Southern Baptist Convention this year in Orlando.