PastorTim

Detour Signs

Now most would agree with me that God’s ways are best right? But there’s a BIG difference between "saying" and "doing". Most of us have good intentions about serving God. When it comes to sin and the subject of obedience, good intentions just don’t cut it. It has been said, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

There’s an Old Testament story about a semi-religious man named Balaam who had some good intentions but poor follow-through. He had one foot in religion and one foot in the world. He reminds me of Paul’s description of those who will be living in the last days, "…having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."

A little background info on Balaam is crucial to our understanding of the story. Balaam was not a Jew. He was a foreigner from Mesopotamia. I used to think Balaam was a righteous man. That isn’t true. Many people in his day considered him a prophet, but he was not. At least not in the Biblical sense. He was a sorcerer. A sort of Far Eastern "witch doctor." Someone called upon to place curses on people. Religion was his business, not his lifestyle. Sorcerers were thought to have power with the gods.

The king of Moab wanted Balaam to use his powers with the God of Israel to place a curse on Israel hoping that, by magic, God would turn against His people. Obviously, neither Balaam nor Balak had any idea who they were dealing with! Balaam was willing to acknowledge that Jehovah (the God of the Israelites) was indeed a powerful God. But he did not believe He was the only true God. His story exposes the deception of maintaining an outward facade of spirituality over a corrupt inward life. Balaam was ready to obey God’s command if he could profit from doing so. Although he realized the awesome power of Israel’s God, his heart was occupied with the wealth he could gain in Moab.

Reading this story by itself might lead us to believe he turned completely to God, but later passages in the Bible show that Balaam couldn’t resist the tempting pull of money and idolatry. This mixture of motives - obedience and profit - eventually led to Balaam’s death. Balaam had a direct encounter with God himself. An incredible opportunity to get his life on track. But he blew it. God had a plan, and he was in it, but Balaam had his own plan.

So, what does a story about a man and his talking mule have to do with God’s Will? God used a Donkey and a Detour to teach Balaam a lesson in divine direction and I believe as we look in on their story, those same lessons can help us to be sensitive to the Lord’s leading in our lives.

Notice first, when God asks you to do something, he is looking for absolute obedience. God gave Balaam a clear directive: "Don’t go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed." God did not stutter. He gave his instruction in a way that Balaam could easily understand. There was no question about what God meant/wanted.

Secondly, when we get out of God’s will, he will often put roadblocks in the way to get our attention.God let Balaam go with Balak’s messengers, but he was angry about Balaam’s greedy attitude. Balaam claimed that he would not go against God just for money, but his resolve was beginning to slip. Though we may know what God wants us to do, we can become blinded by the desire for money, possessions, or prestige. How many of you get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan? There’s nothing worse than being in a hurry to get somewhere and you make a wrong turn...get lost...or you have car trouble. Balaam is about to experience transportation problems, and for a supposedly spiritual guy, he doesn’t handle it too well. In fact, he’s about to make a real donkey of himself.

Next, we observe that when God puts a roadblock in your path, it’s good advice to pay attention!Often, God tries to get our attention, and we just won’t listen. Donkeys were usually highly dependable, which explains why Balaam became so angry when his donkey refused to move. Three time’s Balaam beats up his reliable old donkey because he was too wrapped up in himself to see the roadblock God put right in front of him. When his counseling session was concluded, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes so he could see what he’d been missing. Wonder who felt like a donkey then?

Lastly, once you recognize your mistake: humble yourself, ask forgiveness, and next time around - don’t be mule-headed! Don’t just feel bad. Do what’s right. "Obedience is better than sacrifice..." Repentance isn’t just a temporary right turn...it’s a permanent 180, a turning away from. Going in the opposite direction in attitude and obedience. Give your heart fully to the Lord. Obey the God sized signs and experience the destination God has in store for you!

 

Are we there yet?

Every parent and grandparent have heard the timeless phrase from the back seat of a car from an anxious child… are we there yet? It may be that you have yourself uttered those words traveling to an eagerly anticipated destination. As GK Chesterton remarked, “One of the great disadvantages of hurry is that it takes such a long time.” It sure does!

In our walk with the Lord however, it is very important that we patiently wait on him for his timing is always perfect. The bible is filled with stories of men and women who have failed miserably in their faith. You can believe that God, not man inspired the Bible. If man would have written it, he would have no doubt glossed over his faults, but when God paints a picture of us, he paints us warts and all!

Commenting on our need for the virtue of patience, M.H. Lount writes, "God's best gifts come slowly. We could not use them if they did not. Many a man, called of God to...a work in which he is pouring out his life, is convinced that the Lord means to bring his efforts to a successful conclusion. Nevertheless, even such a confident worker grows discouraged at times and worries because results do not come as rapidly as he would desire. But growth and strength in waiting are results often greater than the end so impatiently longed for.” We often grow strongest in our faith as we endure hardships and wait on the Lord.

Paul had time to realize this as he lay in prison. Moses must have asked, 'Why?' many times during the delays in Midian and in the wilderness. Jesus Himself experienced the discipline of delay in His silent years before His great public ministry began." God wants us to see results as we work for Him, but His first concern is our growth. That's why He often withholds success until we have learned patience. The Lord teaches us this needed lesson through the blessed discipline of delay.

Oswald Chambers wrote: “Patience is more than endurance. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says – ‘I cannot stand anymore.’ – God does not heed. He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight… then He lets fly. – Trust yourself in God’s hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. Job wrote: “Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him.” (Job 13:15.)… You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him… Faith is the heroic effort of your life; fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.”

As the Olympic games are on the minds of many, there is a verse in Hebrews 12:1 that tells us to "run with endurance" the race set before us. George Matheson wrote, "We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder -- the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks. It is a Christ-like thing! The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in the sickbed but in the street." To wait is hard, to do it with "good courage" is harder! 

God does a strong work in us as we wait on him! As G. Campbell Morgan observed, “Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort.  Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.”

An old Scottish man had a sign over the door of his house for his son to gaze upon as he left for the day. It said, “Do not say anything you don’t want to be saying when Jesus comes back. Do not do anything you don’t want to be doing when Jesus comes back. And do not go anywhere you don’t want to be found when Jesus comes back.” Are we there yet? No but I want to be found ready when we get there don’t you?

 

Future Focused

Not long ago I was midway through a morning of errands trying to get caught up when I found myself in the bank drive through. Having traveled most of the week there were deposits to be made, there were suits to pick up at the dry cleaners and a gas tank to fill. Stopping at the bank, I retrieved the drive through container, inserted my signed check and deposit slip and after returning it to the holder I waited, and I waited and I waited... “come on folks” I said under my breath, while checking my email on my phone so I wasn’t wasting all my time. That’s when I looked to the left and noticed the aforementioned “drive through container” with the checks and deposit slip inside still sitting where I placed them many minutes before. I forgot to hit send!

It’s kind of funny when we forget to hit send at a bank drive through. It’s a little more concerning when we think of how our electronic devices command our attention and focus. It’s a bit scary when we consider how our focus, attention or lack thereof could affect our relationship with our creator and our eternity. Coming to faith in Christ is one thing. Staying focused and on track as a believer is another.

Missing the obvious takes its toll on the sharpest minds and the most productive of souls. Not that I am either, however I am very busy, and sometimes easily distracted. I read recently that your cognitive capacity is significantly reduced when your smartphone is within reach, even if it's off. That's the takeaway finding from a new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. The findings suggest that the mere presence of one's smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they're giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand. "It's not that participants were distracted because they were getting notifications on their phones," the report said, "The mere presence of their smartphone was enough to reduce their cognitive capacity."

Have we become so wed to our personal devices that we’ve forgotten how to look around and use external cues? Technology provides us with great information but so do our own eyes and brain. The human brain, which has been called the most complex object in the known universe. In many ways it's the final frontier of science. A hundred billion neurons, close to a quadrillion connections between them, and we don't even fully understand a single cell... and yet, we can still miss a simple obvious opportunity to... well, you fill in the blank.

Eugene Peterson writes, “It is not difficult in such a world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest.  In our kind of culture anything, even news about God can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap.  There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for the long apprenticeship in what earlier generations called holiness.” Staying focused matters much not only in the here and now, but to those who follow in our footsteps.

I remember hearing Ryan Dobson, James Dobson’s son, share this story... “The timeline for my father, James Dobson, goes back four generations to his great-grandfather. My great-great-grandfather was on his way to kill a man when he was diverted to a tent revival in a small Texas town. Instead of taking a life that night, M.V. Billingham gave his life to God. He left his gun on the altar. M.V. was unarmed, but after that he habitually deployed a secret weapon. For most of his adult life, he routinely prayed for his son, for his son’s children, and for their children to the fourth generation . . . all the way to my dad. Whatever a “selfie” says about a person, this man was the opposite. With a strong sense of “more than me, more than now,” more than a century ago, he prayed for people he’d never meet. Did it make a difference? My family says yes. Among other things, my dad grew up aware of his place in a bigger story. He knew the next leg of the race was his to run; the baton was his to hand off… Who’s going to drop out of a relay like that? Not me. Once I grew up—I mean, once I matured enough to be humbled by his unselfishness—I committed to the intergenerational prayers too.” Our children and grandchildren will be affected by our commitment or lack thereof.

The scriptures admonish us... “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”Pray it, live it and whatever you do, don’t allow your life to get so blurred by busyness that you forget to hit send! 

 

 

 

Future Focused

Not long ago I was midway through a morning of errands trying to get caught up when I found myself in the bank drive through. Having traveled most of the week there were deposits to be made, there were suits to pick up at the dry cleaners and a gas tank to fill. Stopping at the bank, I retrieved the drive through container, inserted my signed check and deposit slip and after returning it to the holder I waited, and I waited and I waited... “come on folks” I said under my breath, while checking my email on my phone so I wasn’t wasting all my time. That’s when I looked to the left and noticed the aforementioned “drive through container” with the checks and deposit slip inside still sitting where I placed them many minutes before. I forgot to hit send!

It’s kind of funny when we forget to hit send at a bank drive through. It’s a little more concerning when we think of how our electronic devices command our attention and focus. It’s a bit scary when we consider how our focus, attention or lack thereof could affect our relationship with our creator and our eternity. Coming to faith in Christ is one thing. Staying focused and on track as a believer is another.

Missing the obvious takes its toll on the sharpest minds and the most productive of souls. Not that I am either, however I am very busy, and sometimes easily distracted. I read recently that your cognitive capacity is significantly reduced when your smartphone is within reach, even if it's off. That's the takeaway finding from a new study from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. The findings suggest that the mere presence of one's smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they're giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand. "It's not that participants were distracted because they were getting notifications on their phones," the report said, "The mere presence of their smartphone was enough to reduce their cognitive capacity."

Have we become so wed to our personal devices that we’ve forgotten how to look around and use external cues? Technology provides us with great information but so do our own eyes and brain. The human brain, which has been called the most complex object in the known universe. In many ways it's the final frontier of science. A hundred billion neurons, close to a quadrillion connections between them, and we don't even fully understand a single cell... and yet, we can still miss a simple obvious opportunity to... well, you fill in the blank.

Eugene Peterson writes, “It is not difficult in such a world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest.  In our kind of culture anything, even news about God can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap.  There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for the long apprenticeship in what earlier generations called holiness.” Staying focused matters much not only in the here and now, but to those who follow in our footsteps.

I remember hearing Ryan Dobson, James Dobson’s son, share this story... “The timeline for my father, James Dobson, goes back four generations to his great-grandfather. My great-great-grandfather was on his way to kill a man when he was diverted to a tent revival in a small Texas town. Instead of taking a life that night, M.V. Billingham gave his life to God. He left his gun on the altar. M.V. was unarmed, but after that he habitually deployed a secret weapon. For most of his adult life, he routinely prayed for his son, for his son’s children, and for their children to the fourth generation . . . all the way to my dad. Whatever a “selfie” says about a person, this man was the opposite. With a strong sense of “more than me, more than now,” more than a century ago, he prayed for people he’d never meet. Did it make a difference? My family says yes. Among other things, my dad grew up aware of his place in a bigger story. He knew the next leg of the race was his to run; the baton was his to hand off… Who’s going to drop out of a relay like that? Not me. Once I grew up—I mean, once I matured enough to be humbled by his unselfishness—I committed to the intergenerational prayers too.” Our children and grandchildren will be affected by our commitment or lack thereof.

The scriptures admonish us... “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”Pray it, live it and whatever you do, don’t allow your life to get so blurred by busyness that you forget to hit send! 

 

 

 

The Greatest Treasure

It was comedy writer Gene Perrett who observed, "What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure." The treasure of being a grandfather settled in on me 13 years ago when sweet little Kairi was born, then just three years later, Spencer strode into our lives bringing the joyful experience of grandparenting to a new level…which allows me from time to time the greatest of joys as they fight over who gets to sit on my lap! They truly are a grand treasure to Terri and me each and every day.

In Matthew chapter 13 Jesus tells of a man who found a great treasure. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46. Here’s a man who was a merchant. The Greek word is "emporos", from which we get the English word "emporium". The merchant was a man who would buy things wholesale and sell them to a retailer.

In the parable, he is looking specifically for beautiful pearls. And there was a good reason for it. Pearl hunting involved immense danger. The fine quality pearls are obtained from the pearl oyster. Since that oyster thrives at an average depth of 40 feet, a pearl isn’t a treasure you just stumble across as you walk along a beach. Pearls aren’t found like that.

In biblical times they were obtained at great cost in human terms -- many people died while pearl hunting. They didn’t have the equipment that’s available today. But, in those days, your equipment didn’t go out of date because your equipment consisted of a rope and a rock. A pearl diver would tie a large rock to his body and jump over the side of a little boat, allowing the weight of the rock to carry him down to the oyster beds. He risked danger from sharks, moray eels and other creatures to scour the mud below for oysters. An average of only one oyster in a thousand contains a pearl. 

This parable then describes a man who goes around looking for beautiful pearls and then sells them to retailers for a profit. But when he finds the most beautiful pearl, he has ever seen he sells everything that he has to obtain it for himself. There are some people who aren’t looking for the treasure, yet they stumble across it. On the other hand, the merchantman knew what he was searching for. He wanted something of genuine value, and day by day he searched diligently for it. The important thing is not how we find the treasure of God’s kingdom; the important thing is simply that we do find it.

Along with the importance of finding true treasure, lasting spiritual truths and promises of God’s kingdom, it is that we faithfully and effectively share this treasure with those we know and love. Billy Graham once said, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” In what ways are you sharing the treasure of God’s truth and love to your children and grandchildren?

It was reported that eleven millionaires went down on the Titanic. One who survived, Major A. H. Peuchen, left $300,000.00 in money, jewelry and securities in a box in his cabin. "The money seemed a mockery at that time," he later said. "I picked up three oranges instead." Funny how priorities can quickly change isn’t it? A wise question or two to ask ourselves might be, where is your treasure today?  Or what is of the most importance to you in this moment? I trust that whatever it is that it revolves around a close personal relationship with Christ.

Just yesterday as I enjoyed being with Kairi and Spencer I was reminded. The greatest thing that I can share with them and model for them, is the clear testimony that my treasure is beyond this life. It is stored up where neither moth or rust can corrupt, or thieves can break through and steal. I want them to experience and embrace that same treasure as well. May what is worth great value to God, be worth great value to us! Seek Jesus first, and you will have treasure in this life, and more importantly, the treasures of eternity!

 

 

 

 

 

Divine Providence

It was G.K. Chesterton who observed, “the most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen!” If you were watching online or live on television Saturday July the 13^th late in the afternoon as President Donald Trump spoke in Butler Pennsylvania, you can say that you witnessed a miracle.

Interestingly, it was another president to be, a young Col. George Washington in a ferocious battle in 1755 during the French and Indian War in what is now Pennsylvania, not far from Butler PA, where he was the only officer not shot off his horse and he found numerous bullet holes in his jacket, yet he was unscathed. He found bullet fragments in his hair, yet he was not harmed.

Suzanne Bowdy, in a Washington Stand article quotes Speaker Mike Johnson as saying, “God spared his life. I mean, it was a miracle. We all saw it. Everyone saw it. It’s hard to deny.” Ironically, Johnson made these statements after very nearly losing his own sons last year after a visit to Mar-a-Lago… “In Johnson’s telling, Will, who was 13, was drowning; 18-year-old Jack, prepared to give up his own life, tried to push his brother back to the surface. A parasailer happened to spot Will’s head from above. He hurried back to shore and alerted the lifeguards, who went out on jet skis to bring the boys in. Johnson arrived at the beach to find medical personnel hovering over his sons, pumping their chests…” The Atlantic wrote this spring in the first public telling of the near-loss.

“‘President Trump heard about it somehow, miraculously, this never made the news,’ Johnson recalled. The two got on the phone. ‘He was just so moved by the idea that we almost lost them, and we talked about it at great length. And we talked about the faith aspect of that, because he knows that I believe that, you know — that God spared the lives of my sons. That’s how I understand those events, and we talked about that.” Johnson continued: “And he said, he repeated back to me and said, ‘God — God saved your sons’ lives.’”

Eight months later, the former president has experienced the touch of divine providence for himself, and the young speaker who wondered where those conversations about God would go has a very poignant answer. “He said … ‘God has given me a chance here — and that is to unify the country.’ [Those are] his words, not mine. So, I’m really excited to see how he articulates that and how we meet it out.” God’s hand is still seen in the lives of men.

Charles Coffin, early writer of history textbooks on our national history before the early 1900’s. “Notice that while the oppressors have carried out their plans in history there were other forces silently at work which in time undermined their plans as if a divine hand were directing the counter plan, whoever peruses the story of liberty without recognizing this feature will fail to fully understand the meaning of history” If you don’t understand what God has been up to you won’t get the truth of history.

We in America used to study and teach history with careful attention to the overarching hand of God at work on behalf of men.  For example, during the struggle with Great Britian, the colonies had virtually no chance of winning a war against England short of God’s miraculous intervention. And that intervention seems to have happened. In fact, both American & British observers of that time recorded their conviction that God had sided with the colonies against the British Empire.

This event which took place at the end of the war is but one instance… the French had become our allies & an opportunity arose to trap British General Cornwallis in Virginia. But to do so meant that Washington had to march an army of 7,000 men all the way from New York to Virginia; a French army had to land somewhere along the coast & find its way to meet Washington; & the French fleet had to keep the English from sending any reinforcements. All of this had to be done in complete secrecy, without the English suspecting a thing.

According to one historian, "The junction in Virginia had to be coordinated by two different national commands separated across an ocean without benefit of telephone, telegraph or wireless. That this was carried out without a fault seems accountable only by a series of miracles." In fact, the ending of the war at the Battle of Yorktown, in 1781 is actually referred to by some historians as the "Miraculous Convergence." Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our children and grandchildren could learn these truths today?

Remember David’s words, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side— let Israel now say— if it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive… Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Miracles still happen, and we can Thank God for that!

Results may vary

Every schoolyard scuffle, every backstreet battle and every destructive disagreement comes down to the question… says who? Who’s in control, the boss? Who calls the shots? It’s the age-old quandary, do I live to please myself, or do I serve the Lord?  You can live your life your way, or you can live it God’s way. The choice is yours, however the results may vary.

Luke, in his account of the early church in the book of Acts records this memorable moment. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.  Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So, he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The saying, "to kick against the goads" was a common expression found in both Greek and Latin literature. It was a rural word picture, which rose from the practice of farmers goading their oxen in the fields. Though unfamiliar to us, everyone in that day understood its meaning.

Goads were typically made from slender pieces of timber, blunt on one end and pointed on the other. Farmers used the pointed end to urge a stubborn ox into motion. Occasionally, the beast would kick at the goad. The more the ox kicked, the more likely the goad would stab into its leg, causing greater pain.

Chuck Swindoll in his book Great Days with Great Lives writes, “Saul’s conversion could appear to us as having been a sudden encounter with Christ. But based on the Lord's expression regarding his kicking back, I believe He’d been working on him for years, prodding and goading him. Quite likely, Saul had heard Jesus teach and preach in public places. Similar in age, they would have been contemporaries in a city Saul knew well and Jesus frequently visited. Imagine Saul (the name Paul means “small,” suggesting he may have been shorter than average), standing on tiptoe, straining to watch Jesus, all the while grudgingly wondering how this false prophet could be gaining popularity. Nevertheless, Jesus’s ministry stuck in Saul’s mind. The more it goaded him, the more he resisted God’s prodding. Once you've seriously encountered Jesus, as Saul did, there's no escaping Him. His words and works follow you deep within your conscience.”

If Saul, aka Paul could say a few words at this point, and since birds can’t talk, I think he would give us some great advice here. First, he might share with us don’t mix it up with someone you can’t take out…. Don’t fight God. As William Barclay observes, “An ox who kicks against the goad only invites more goading. The only way for the ox to avoid the irritant is to go forward, to do the master’s bidding.” The Risen Christ told Paul that it was hard for him to kick against the spikes. When a young ox was first yoked, it tried to kick its way out. If it was yoked to a one-handed plough, the ploughman worked with a sharpened end which he held close to the ox's heels so every time it kicked it was jagged with the spike. In other words, this isn’t gonna end well.

In 1875 a British poet William Ernest Henley published a short poem that expressed one way to cope with life's circumstances. The poem, "Invictus," ended with these famous lines: "I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul." Sixteen years after Henley first published "Invictus," the British preacher Charles Spurgeon offered another philosophy of life. On June 7, 1891, in the closing words of his final sermon, Spurgeon urged people to submit to a better "Captain" for our soul. Spurgeon said: Every [person] must serve somebody: we have no choice as to that fact. Those who have no master are slaves to themselves. Depend upon it, you will either serve Satan or Christ. Either self or the Savior. You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters; but if you wear the uniform of Christ, you will find him so meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your souls …. If you could see our Captain, you would go down on your knees and beg him to let you enter the ranks of those who follow him. The choice is yours, but never forget based on your decision, results may vary. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Freedom!

On the very symbol of freedom in America, the Liberty Bell are inscribed the words of Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof.” Our nation this very week celebrates this liberty!

In 1843, a 21-year-old Dartmouth student named Mellen Chamberlain was doing research on the American War for Independence. He had the opportunity to interview a survivor of the initial battles of Lexington and Concord, 91-year-old Captain Levi Preston of Danvers. The young scholar wanted to know the cause behind his involvement with the war. The interview… “Captain Preston,” he asked, “what made you go to the Concord fight?” “What did I go for?” the old man replied, subtly rephrasing the historian’s question to drain away its determinism. The interviewer tried again, “. . . Were you oppressed by the Stamp Act?” “I never saw any stamps,” Preston answered, “and I always understood that none were sold.” “Well, what about the tea tax?” “Tea tax? I never drank a drop of the stuff. The boys threw it all overboard.” “I suppose you had been reading Harrington, Sidney, and Locke about the eternal principle of liberty?” “I never heard of these men. The only books we had were the Bible, the Catechism, Watts’s Psalms, and hymns and the almanacs.” “Well, then, what was the matter?” “Young man, what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we always had been free, and we meant to be free always. They didn’t mean we should.”

I have personally watched people of all nationalities stand in line to enter the doors of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. They were all happily waiting to see—not a competition or a performance or a famous work of art—but simply a room with wooden tables and chairs. As physically unremarkable as the room was, visitors reaching the end of the line were not disappointed. Many wore expressions of joy and wonder because they knew what had happened in that room in a brick building on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Independence Hall is the place where America’s founding document was created 248 years ago. Eleven years later, delegates meeting in the same room created the U.S. Constitution.

In 1926 President Calvin Coolidge came to Philadelphia to celebrate its 150th anniversary and said: “It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history.” I believe this to be true because our story as Americans is about Liberty and Self Governance. Either men and Kings Rule or God principles of governance are applied.

Here in the colonies… In 1636, the Rev. Thomas Hooker (along with the Revs. Samuel Stone, John Davenport, and Theophilus Eaton) founded Connecticut. They not only established an elective form of government but in a 1638 sermon based on Deuteronomy 1:13 and Exodus 18:21, the Rev. Hooker explained the three Biblical principles that had guided the plan of government in Connecticut: I. [T]he choice of public magistrates belongs unto the people by God's own allowance. II. The privilege of election . . . belongs to the people . . . III. They who have power to appoint officers and magistrates [i.e., the people], it is in their power also to set the bounds and limitations of the power and place. From the Rev. Hooker's teachings and leadership sprang the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut" - America's first written constitution. As the first successful declaration of independence in history, it helped to inspire countless movements for independence, self-determination, and revolution after 1776 and to this very day.

Now, let’s remember the events of the week we celebrate… July 1, 1776, After John Dickenson’s lengthy speech against declaring independence John Adams rose to speak. Thomas Jefferson would later say “His power of thought and expression moved us from our seats!” Among John Adams’remarks... “The object is great which we have in view, and we must expect a great expense of blood to obtain it. But we should always remember that a free constitution of civil government cannot be purchased at too dear a rate, as there is nothing on this side of Jerusalem of equal importance to mankind... objects of the most stupendous magnitude, measures in which the lives and liberties of millions, born and unborn are most essentially interested, are now before us. We are in the very midst of revolution, the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of the world...” It was said that it was the most powerful and important speech heard in the Congress since it first convened, and the greatest speech of Adam’s life, there is no question! What followed was the adoption of the Lee resolution… which declared the thirteen colonies free from Great Britain.

Bathed in prayer and Godly counsel from the beginning and followed by the miraculous events of the revolutionary war, America would become a nation and freedom would ring out in the land. And the world would never be the same!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling a chill

It is summertime in the Midwest, and it is hot! So what if anything could possibly give one a chill on a 90 degree-in-the-sun kind of day? I’m not referring to the temperature outside, but the disturbing and frightening observances in culture. This kind of chill is felt in the heart and soul as I see the vast efforts of the anti-Christian ideologies making inroads into the hearts and minds of innocent children in America and around the globe.

Sarah Holliday in the Washington Stand writes, “It’s simple. When someone is exposed to a lie, they need to be more clearly exposed to truth, not more lies. But unfortunately, leftist ideologues seem to prefer the paradoxical approach, namely, to capitalize on the vulnerable people caught up in a stew of falsehoods by spoon-feeding them more delusions. In a recent example of this, concerned Americans are sounding the alarm on Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s book publishing company, for releasing the 2024 guide to their “Read With Pride” initiative. The guide considers itself to be a “resource” for K-12 students, as well as teachers and other figures of authority, “for supporting LGBTQIA+ youth and books.” 

In that great article my friend and colleague in ministry David Closson added, “gender ideology has already proven to be a social contagion,” which makes it “absolutely crucial for Christians and all people of goodwill and common sense to oppose the indoctrination of our children and the full court effort to sow confusion about basic categories of sexuality.”

Closson concluded, “I would especially argue that Christian parents have a discipleship responsibility to protect their children from these dangerous ideologies. If left unopposed, these ideologies will reap irreparable harm on younger generations and confuse them about some of the most basic concepts of human existence.” This advice is not only timeless, but important to act on now. As mentioned before, children exposed to lies need to be wrangled in with the truth, not allowed to drift further into a vast ocean of deception.

My good friend George Barna has often said, “It’s important to understand what people believe, because you do what you believe!” In fact, a nation is best understood by examining the content of its beliefs because those beliefs determine the nation’s behavior. The sum of those beliefs is known as a worldview. A worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual filter through which you see and respond to the world. A biblical worldview is a means of experiencing, interpreting, and responding to reality consistent with biblical perspectives, to be a disciple of Jesus, imitate Him; a biblical worldview is your best effort to think like Jesus so you can act like Jesus!

Consider that a child’s worldview is formed between the ages of 2 and 13. According to Barna, “Everyone has a worldview. Your worldview is the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual filter through which you see and respond to the world. Because your worldview enables you to make sense of the world, you need a worldview to survive. Every decision you make is shaped by your worldview.”

To further expose the threat to shaping the worldview of innocent lives, Rebecca Friedrichs is the founder of For Kids and Country, the author of “Standing Up to Goliath” and Roger Ruvolo, a longtime news- paper editor and a contributor to For Kids & Country wrote in a recent Washington Times article revealing yet another threat to parental rights and influence through a bill in California called AB 1955. If passed, AB 1955 would prohibit anyone involved with the public schools from giving any truthful information to parents asking about a child’s transgender status, thus fully undermining local policies.”

In addition, they point out, “In 1963, the 45 Goals of the Communist Party were read into the Congressional Record. Two of those goals are key to understanding the true intentions of those who keep secrets from parents. Goal 40: “Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity.” And Goal 41: “Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents.” … the zeal to usurp families and silence American values was just taking root in 1963, so most Americans ignored the warnings. And like today, those who blew the whistle on the communists were marked with vicious, deceitful labels, just like those labeled “bigots” and “homophobes” today.” You may think, oh that’s in California. Trust me, if successful, it will not stay there!

We have before us a critical and chilling moment. A moment that will possibly decide the future of those we love and cherish. What we do with this moment will set the course for the future of millions yet unborn. The good news as I see it, is that God has always used a remnant of believers to change the course of history. May the warmth, reason and truth of God’s truth confound, overwhelm and defeat the schemes of the enemy. Greater is HE that in in us, then he that is in the world!

 

 

Courageous Living

Journeying through the life of the early church in the book of Acts I recently came upon the amazing life of a church leader in Damascus named Ananias. A lesser known of the first century church perhaps, but a hero of faith and courage, nonetheless. He was willing to stand and obey the voice of God in the face of fear and potential danger.

We are navigating through rough waters as a culture and in many ways, we are woefully unprepared. We are information rich, and we have more amazing technology at our fingertips than our forefathers could have dreamed of. And yet we are often lacking something far more important… character.

The building blocks of character are many. The four classic Greek virtues include prudence, justice, temperance and courage and the three Christian virtues faith, hope and love come quickly to mind. The fourth of the seven I mention is courage. Understand that courage is not a lack of fear. It is the courage to do what’s right in the face of fear.

Jerry Root & Stan Guthrie in Sacrament of Evangelism writes, “it’s the habit of saying yes to the right action even at the risk of pain or loss.” Courage never gives up; courage sticks with the task until it’s done. Courage faces one’s fears and does the right thing in spite of it.

Dietrich Bonhoffer was just such an example of this virtue called courage. On his last day on earth, Bonhoffer held a brief service for his fellow prisoners. A contemporary who was there describes the scene. “He hardly finished his last prayer when the door was opened and two evil-looking men in civilian clothes came in and said, ‘Prisoner Bonhoffer, get ready to come with us.’ Those words, ‘come with us,’ for all prisoners had come to mean only one thing the scaffold. We bade him good-bye. ... ‘This is the end,’ he said, ‘For me the beginning of life ...’ Next day, at Flossenburg: he was hanged!”Bonhoffer and others like him throughout the ages had the courage to stand up to evil in the name of Christ and pay the ultimate price.

Do we have the courage to lay it all on the line? Do we have the courage to speak up for the biblical model of masculinity, marriage, and human sexuality when we know that we’ll be called bigots, homophobes and maybe worse? Do we have the courage to say aloud that abortion is the taking of innocent life when we risk being called antiquated in our views?  It takes courage to take a stand and risk unpopularity and ridicule. Remember this however, if we lose our religious freedoms to stand for and teach a biblical worldview then we will lose all other freedoms as well.

If the church is courageous, then the nation will reflect the biblical values on which it was built. I believe there was a moment in the conversation that Ananias knew for sure; The Lord has me covered here. Of all the things for God to ask of me, to minister to Saul of Tarsus! Yet if God calls, I will answer knowing I can stand. Courage and strength come from the Lord!

Years back in the Los Angeles Times Paul Harvey shared this incredible story, “One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road and then emptied into the main culvert. Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Blankenship surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something, possibly a rock protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. "If I can just hang on until help comes," he thought. He did better than that. By the time fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. On April 12, 1989, Ray Blankenship was awarded the Coast Guard's Silver Lifesaving Medal. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew. Ray Blankenship can't swim.”

May I suggest that in our culture today not only little girls, but entire families are being swept away by the current of casual Christianity, a secular worldview and a watered-down notion of what it is to stand for truth and righteousness. May the God of heaven raise up a new courageous generation of heroes of the faith who will in the words of Paul, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”