Leviticus 19:26-28
26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.
Please be sure to read and get the entire context of these verses. In biblical days, tattoos and piercings were used to mark slaves. Often they were used to identify with pagan gods.
These verses clearly speak to how God’s people are to be different from surrounding culture, and especially idol worship. They prohibit cutting the hair on the side of the head or the beard and cutting the body either for the dead or with tattoo marks. These activities were practiced by pagans especially during times of mourning for the land. The Israelites were not to emulate pagan practices in this regard since they maintained a sacredness for life and for the human body.
The body is a marvelous creation of God. Its wholeness represents the beauty and perfection of holiness. Thus the body is to be kept whole. It is not to be intentionally harmed or marred in any way.
However, we must be careful that we do not fall to the fault of applying part of the Scripture if we do not follow all of it. We DO trim our beards, and we Do trim our sideburns. If you notice the Orthodox Jews and the curls that flow down the sides from the sideburns, that is what it refers to. So, if we enforce one, why do we not enforce both.
While I do not like tattoos, the biblical prohibition was because it was an outward show of pagan belief and God’s people were not to be identified as being “conformed to that lifestyle” but different—set apart. It is probably a stretch to make the same application today. Our problem is that often we look at the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. Many other areas of lifestyle identify us with the “world” rather than with God, from places we go, things we do, etc.
The bottom line for me is the question, “Does it honor Christ?” The Scripture is very clear, “Whatever you do, do all the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).” If God cannot be glorified in it, we should not do it.
Both of my boys have chosen not to listen to their Dad. Their tattoos do not blaspheme or mark them to idols, but they do in my mind disfigure their bodies and I personally believe they will one day regret them. Their tattoos honor their Country, but I am not sure they honor their God. But I don’t think religious tattoos would either. It is not what is on the outside in profession. It is what is on the inside as possession that causes the outside to be what it ought to be. It is from the inside out—not outside in.
jkp
Tommy
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Understanding Islam (Pt. 2)
A study of Islam reveals that there are hardly any Islamic democracies. That's because the very nature of Islam calls for submission and submission for people in the nation. The state and the religion are joined together so that being loyal to your government is the same as being loyal to Allah. You must obey the king, who is the regent of Allah. So, Muslims believe that Allah is the only true god and that the Quran is the perfect holy book that teaches the correct way of belief and practice.
Now, if they can find passages in the Quran that tell them to attack and kill the infidels, or the non-believers, those who will not submit to Allah, then they know that in their interpretation that's exactly what they are to do.
More moderate Muslims look at those passages in a cultural context and historical context and would say, "Well, that's not what Allah wants us to do now." But for radical Islam that is exactly how they justify what they do. So classical Islam divides the world into two areas:
• the world of peace where Islam is practiced and the Quran is observed,
• and the world of warfare and ignorance that is dominated by non Muslims.
So if you're not a Muslim you are in darkness, you are in ignorance and you are in rebellion to the one true God. The mission of radical Islam is to bring the second world, the world of warfare and ignorance under the submission to Allah.
Islam is energized by a theocratic world vision and mission. Islam believes there is one true God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. So they believe that Christians are far off the mark. They say that Christians believe in three Gods, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They reject that. They say the Jews falsely worship Jehovah who was not the true God. They would say to pagans they falsely worship all kinds of idols whether they be made of wood and stone or whether they be made of fiberglass and metal. Therefore, it is our job to convert you. This is a missionary religion.
One of the ways this figures into Bible prophecy is that in Matthew 24 Jesus warned again and again that in the last days false prophets will come in my name and they will deceive many. That's exactly what's happened. The Bible also predicts as we're going to see that the Muslim countries will figure greatly into the war of Armageddon and into the last days' conquest of the world. The Bible predicts a time when the descendants of Ishmael are going to be very, very powerful and very numerous.
Islam can be found in great numbers on every continent. Many think Islam must be confined to the Middle East. It must be confined to the Bedouins and the desert dwellers, but this is not the case. Indonesia has a great Muslim population. Africa has a huge Muslim population. Europe and America have a sizeable Muslim population. So, Islam is a mobile religion. It has been carried by followers of Islam to every continent. It's surprising to find in every culture and in every continent strong numbers of Islam. So if we put our heads in the sand and we say, "We don't want to study it. We're afraid of it." Then we're not going to understand what's going to happen in the last days.
The concept of Jihad has two aspects, the Islamic requirements that the individual must practice to be a worthy Muslim. (While there are five tenets of Islam, there are other certain requirements that are made especially by the extremists. This is a part of Jihad.) So the Islamic person that's on a Jihad has to submit himself to rigorous training. He has to be fit mentally. He has to be fit morally. He has to be fit in his skills because he is a warrior for Allah.
We are seeing in almost every major population center a Muslim Mosque or house of Islamic worship. That was not the case twenty years ago. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America today. With the migration of so many Muslims into this country Islam has become a larger part of our multi-culture society. It is imperative that believers know what they believe, why, and how to reach them for Jesus. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to heaven and if we really love all men, we do not want them to be deceived and follow false gods, but to come to faith in Jesus Christ. And so, the importance of understanding Islam. It has extremely important implications.
Now, if they can find passages in the Quran that tell them to attack and kill the infidels, or the non-believers, those who will not submit to Allah, then they know that in their interpretation that's exactly what they are to do.
More moderate Muslims look at those passages in a cultural context and historical context and would say, "Well, that's not what Allah wants us to do now." But for radical Islam that is exactly how they justify what they do. So classical Islam divides the world into two areas:
• the world of peace where Islam is practiced and the Quran is observed,
• and the world of warfare and ignorance that is dominated by non Muslims.
So if you're not a Muslim you are in darkness, you are in ignorance and you are in rebellion to the one true God. The mission of radical Islam is to bring the second world, the world of warfare and ignorance under the submission to Allah.
Islam is energized by a theocratic world vision and mission. Islam believes there is one true God, Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. So they believe that Christians are far off the mark. They say that Christians believe in three Gods, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They reject that. They say the Jews falsely worship Jehovah who was not the true God. They would say to pagans they falsely worship all kinds of idols whether they be made of wood and stone or whether they be made of fiberglass and metal. Therefore, it is our job to convert you. This is a missionary religion.
One of the ways this figures into Bible prophecy is that in Matthew 24 Jesus warned again and again that in the last days false prophets will come in my name and they will deceive many. That's exactly what's happened. The Bible also predicts as we're going to see that the Muslim countries will figure greatly into the war of Armageddon and into the last days' conquest of the world. The Bible predicts a time when the descendants of Ishmael are going to be very, very powerful and very numerous.
Islam can be found in great numbers on every continent. Many think Islam must be confined to the Middle East. It must be confined to the Bedouins and the desert dwellers, but this is not the case. Indonesia has a great Muslim population. Africa has a huge Muslim population. Europe and America have a sizeable Muslim population. So, Islam is a mobile religion. It has been carried by followers of Islam to every continent. It's surprising to find in every culture and in every continent strong numbers of Islam. So if we put our heads in the sand and we say, "We don't want to study it. We're afraid of it." Then we're not going to understand what's going to happen in the last days.
The concept of Jihad has two aspects, the Islamic requirements that the individual must practice to be a worthy Muslim. (While there are five tenets of Islam, there are other certain requirements that are made especially by the extremists. This is a part of Jihad.) So the Islamic person that's on a Jihad has to submit himself to rigorous training. He has to be fit mentally. He has to be fit morally. He has to be fit in his skills because he is a warrior for Allah.
We are seeing in almost every major population center a Muslim Mosque or house of Islamic worship. That was not the case twenty years ago. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America today. With the migration of so many Muslims into this country Islam has become a larger part of our multi-culture society. It is imperative that believers know what they believe, why, and how to reach them for Jesus. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only way to heaven and if we really love all men, we do not want them to be deceived and follow false gods, but to come to faith in Jesus Christ. And so, the importance of understanding Islam. It has extremely important implications.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
IS TERRORISM REALLLY POLITICALLY MOTIVATED ? (Pt. 1)
On the anniversary of the 911 attacks, it amazes me that with 9 years to reflect, there is so much that has not been learned. Listening to Mayor Bloombergs’s interview, he still doesn’t get it. Brian Kilmead on Fox came closest when he said, “All Islamist are not terrorist, but all terrorist seem to be Islamist.” (that may not be an exact quote, but it is close.) There are those who continue to try to escape the obvious, this was is rooted in radical religion.
There is an Islamic connection that cannot be overlooked. The terrorists that attacked America didn't just happen to be Islamic. The fact that they were Islamic had everything to do with why they attacked America. Questions that should be asked include:
• What are the beliefs and origins of Islam?
• What do the six million Muslims living in America believe?
• Islam and terrorism; why and how are they connected?
• Why do Muslims around the world, and even in America, have such a hatred for Israel, a democracy that actively supports the United States?
• Why do so many Muslims hate the United States?
• Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
• What is a Jihad? What does it really mean?
• Why is Islam important?
• How did Islam begin?
All you have to do is listen, to know that radical Islam has not only social, economic, and political goals, but religious goals as well. Radical Islam believes that any means are justified if it achieves its end of bringing the world under submission to Allah.
One of the first rules of warfare is to know your enemy. In World War II England’s Montgomery said that his defeat of Germany’s Rommel was because he had studied his enemy and knew what he would do next. If the United States’ leadership would study our enemy and their “sacred Scriptures” they would know that September 11, was just the beginning. The religious fanatics of Islam will not rest until Sharia law rules every land they occupy.
In addition, the Muslim nations are galvanized against Israel and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes no bones about wanting to annihilate Israel. As long as the United States supports Israel (and the Bible says that God will bless those who do and curse those who don’t) the radicals of this religion will target us.
September 11, 2001; this was the worst terrorist attack on America in the history of our nation. More people died on September 11th in the attack on the Pentagon and the attack on the World Trade Center than died at Pearl Harbor. Almost as many died on that day as died in the American Revolution of Independence. It was a very significant day that has forever changed our country.
Larry King on the Tuesday evening just after the attack, said to one of the rescue workers, “I guess you had to resort to prayer.” I wanted to say, “Larry, Larry, Larry--Prayer is not the last resort, it is the first choice.
--jkp3
“Sometimes something useless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.” Ecclesiastes 8:14 (NCV)
There is an Islamic connection that cannot be overlooked. The terrorists that attacked America didn't just happen to be Islamic. The fact that they were Islamic had everything to do with why they attacked America. Questions that should be asked include:
• What are the beliefs and origins of Islam?
• What do the six million Muslims living in America believe?
• Islam and terrorism; why and how are they connected?
• Why do Muslims around the world, and even in America, have such a hatred for Israel, a democracy that actively supports the United States?
• Why do so many Muslims hate the United States?
• Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
• What is a Jihad? What does it really mean?
• Why is Islam important?
• How did Islam begin?
All you have to do is listen, to know that radical Islam has not only social, economic, and political goals, but religious goals as well. Radical Islam believes that any means are justified if it achieves its end of bringing the world under submission to Allah.
One of the first rules of warfare is to know your enemy. In World War II England’s Montgomery said that his defeat of Germany’s Rommel was because he had studied his enemy and knew what he would do next. If the United States’ leadership would study our enemy and their “sacred Scriptures” they would know that September 11, was just the beginning. The religious fanatics of Islam will not rest until Sharia law rules every land they occupy.
In addition, the Muslim nations are galvanized against Israel and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes no bones about wanting to annihilate Israel. As long as the United States supports Israel (and the Bible says that God will bless those who do and curse those who don’t) the radicals of this religion will target us.
September 11, 2001; this was the worst terrorist attack on America in the history of our nation. More people died on September 11th in the attack on the Pentagon and the attack on the World Trade Center than died at Pearl Harbor. Almost as many died on that day as died in the American Revolution of Independence. It was a very significant day that has forever changed our country.
Larry King on the Tuesday evening just after the attack, said to one of the rescue workers, “I guess you had to resort to prayer.” I wanted to say, “Larry, Larry, Larry--Prayer is not the last resort, it is the first choice.
--jkp3
“Sometimes something useless happens on earth. Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.” Ecclesiastes 8:14 (NCV)
Friday, September 10, 2010
HELL--Yes
Hell is a subject rarely discussed, but when it is it is either hotly debated or lightly dismissed. All kinds of arguments are given against it, both by laymen and theologians alike, as if denying the concept of hell, therefore destroys the reality of hell.
The world scoffs at the idea of hell. Men of God who dare to preach the truth of the Bible concerning this terrible place, are sarcastically labeled "hell fire and damnation preachers." Even many church members squirm in their seats and get a little embarrassed when the pastor preaches on hell.
Sometimes people say, "I think all the hell you are going to get is in this world." That is only partially true. If you are saved, the only hell you will ever know is in this world. But when you die you are going to go to heaven and be with Jesus forever and ever. No more sorrow. No more heartache. No more grief. No more pain. All the hell saved people ever experience is what they experience on this earth. But if you do not know Christ as your Savior and you die in that lost condition, whatever misery you have experienced on the earth will be just the beginning and then in hell forever and forever. No rest day or night.
Someone dies and they say he's out of his misery. Is he? Is he really out of his misery? No. If you die without Christ you are not out of your misery, your misery is just beginning. Tormented. No rest day and night.
I have people tell me, “I don't like everlasting punishment." Then take your scissors and cut it out of the Bible. The Bible teaches it. The same Bible which teaches everlasting life and a place of everlasting bliss in heaven is the Bible that teaches there is an everlasting place of wrath-forever and forever. It says they have no rest day or night. No rest.
Do I believe that there is fire in hell? Jesus talked in terms of fire in hell. Either the fire in hell is literal or it is something so more serious, something more drastic that fire is the only thing that can even begin to describe it. Whatever it is-you don't want to go to hell. Whatever it is-you don't want to face this torment of fire and brimstone.
An Indiana Cemetery, I am told, has a tombstone over 100 years old that bears this epitaph:
Pause, stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death, and follow me.
Well some unknown passerby read those words and scratched this reply below them:
To follow you, I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went.
---JKP3
The world scoffs at the idea of hell. Men of God who dare to preach the truth of the Bible concerning this terrible place, are sarcastically labeled "hell fire and damnation preachers." Even many church members squirm in their seats and get a little embarrassed when the pastor preaches on hell.
Sometimes people say, "I think all the hell you are going to get is in this world." That is only partially true. If you are saved, the only hell you will ever know is in this world. But when you die you are going to go to heaven and be with Jesus forever and ever. No more sorrow. No more heartache. No more grief. No more pain. All the hell saved people ever experience is what they experience on this earth. But if you do not know Christ as your Savior and you die in that lost condition, whatever misery you have experienced on the earth will be just the beginning and then in hell forever and forever. No rest day or night.
Someone dies and they say he's out of his misery. Is he? Is he really out of his misery? No. If you die without Christ you are not out of your misery, your misery is just beginning. Tormented. No rest day and night.
I have people tell me, “I don't like everlasting punishment." Then take your scissors and cut it out of the Bible. The Bible teaches it. The same Bible which teaches everlasting life and a place of everlasting bliss in heaven is the Bible that teaches there is an everlasting place of wrath-forever and forever. It says they have no rest day or night. No rest.
Do I believe that there is fire in hell? Jesus talked in terms of fire in hell. Either the fire in hell is literal or it is something so more serious, something more drastic that fire is the only thing that can even begin to describe it. Whatever it is-you don't want to go to hell. Whatever it is-you don't want to face this torment of fire and brimstone.
An Indiana Cemetery, I am told, has a tombstone over 100 years old that bears this epitaph:
Pause, stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death, and follow me.
Well some unknown passerby read those words and scratched this reply below them:
To follow you, I'm not content,
Until I know which way you went.
---JKP3
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Koran burning
Okay, most of us agree that the buring of the Koran planned by the pastor in Florida is NOT what Jesus would do. It is okay for others to burn our flag, bibles, etc, and that be a statement of freedom of speech.... and I haven't heard anyone say that this pastor does not have the freedom to do what he plans.... but it just isn't wise. Of course we don't do things just because we can. Which leads me to my point.
How much responsibility in this whole thing does the MEDIA bear? If the media had ignored this guy and his church of 50,it would be a NON-ISSUE both nationally and internationally. The media has made it what it is and to a large degree is responsible if bad things happen to American troops, or violence here in our homeland. The media chooses what to cover and what not to cover. A good question is why did they choose to cover this misguided theolog who wishes to turn his faith into a political incendiary.
Just asking. What do you think?
How much responsibility in this whole thing does the MEDIA bear? If the media had ignored this guy and his church of 50,it would be a NON-ISSUE both nationally and internationally. The media has made it what it is and to a large degree is responsible if bad things happen to American troops, or violence here in our homeland. The media chooses what to cover and what not to cover. A good question is why did they choose to cover this misguided theolog who wishes to turn his faith into a political incendiary.
Just asking. What do you think?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Coming back soon
A few weeks ago I signed off all social media for a break. I will return soon with regular blogs. Thank you for checking while I was away. I will facebook when I have a new entry.
jkp3
jkp3
Monday, August 2, 2010
Check this out from 9Marks
How can I grow my church?
1.The short answer is, you can’t.
2.You can faithfully scatter the seed of the Word, but only God can make it grow (1 Cor. 3:6).
3.You can faithfully call people to turn from their sin and trust in Christ, but only God grants faith and repentance (Phil. 1:29; Acts 11:18).
4.You can alert people to the danger of their state, but only God can raise them from spiritual death (Eph. 2:1, 5).
5.That’s not to say that your efforts to faithfully preach and pray and lead don’t matter. It’s just to say that you cannot create any spiritual fruit. You cannot convert a sinner. You cannot cause a Christian to overcome a sin. You cannot cause your church to grow in the ways that matter most. That all finally depends on God’s sovereign and omnipotent grace alone.
6.Numerical growth is not always equal to, or the best indicator of, spiritual growth. The bare fact that more people show up on Sunday morning does not mean a church is growing spiritually.
7.Therefore, any strategy for growing a church that promises success based on what you do, without taking into account that only God can bring genuine spiritual fruit, is fundamentally misguided because it is aiming at numerical growth to the exclusion of genuine spiritual growth.
8.On the other hand, if you’re a pastor, you have the responsibility to faithfully preach the Word, pray, shepherd the people, live a holy life, and trust that God will bring fruit in his own time. Not only that, but as you faithfully preach, pray, and lead, you should expect God to bless his appointed means for saving sinners and sanctifying saints. You should expect your church to grow, both numerically and spiritually. So preach, pray, lead, and expect God to bless your efforts.
www.9marks.org
How can I grow my church?
1.The short answer is, you can’t.
2.You can faithfully scatter the seed of the Word, but only God can make it grow (1 Cor. 3:6).
3.You can faithfully call people to turn from their sin and trust in Christ, but only God grants faith and repentance (Phil. 1:29; Acts 11:18).
4.You can alert people to the danger of their state, but only God can raise them from spiritual death (Eph. 2:1, 5).
5.That’s not to say that your efforts to faithfully preach and pray and lead don’t matter. It’s just to say that you cannot create any spiritual fruit. You cannot convert a sinner. You cannot cause a Christian to overcome a sin. You cannot cause your church to grow in the ways that matter most. That all finally depends on God’s sovereign and omnipotent grace alone.
6.Numerical growth is not always equal to, or the best indicator of, spiritual growth. The bare fact that more people show up on Sunday morning does not mean a church is growing spiritually.
7.Therefore, any strategy for growing a church that promises success based on what you do, without taking into account that only God can bring genuine spiritual fruit, is fundamentally misguided because it is aiming at numerical growth to the exclusion of genuine spiritual growth.
8.On the other hand, if you’re a pastor, you have the responsibility to faithfully preach the Word, pray, shepherd the people, live a holy life, and trust that God will bring fruit in his own time. Not only that, but as you faithfully preach, pray, and lead, you should expect God to bless his appointed means for saving sinners and sanctifying saints. You should expect your church to grow, both numerically and spiritually. So preach, pray, lead, and expect God to bless your efforts.
www.9marks.org
Saturday, July 17, 2010
How I Make Decisions
How I Make Decisions
Dr. James K. Pierce, III (1997)
This is from an article on CEO’s and their approaches to major decisions.
I tell my plans, listen to reactions, then decide 5%
I listen to recommendations, then I decide. 32%
I develop a consensus with which I can agree. 20%
I go with the consensus, even if I disagree. 3%
I support the decision of the most competent person. 2%
Regardless of the forum or participation, I approve or veto. 13%
A combination of two or more of the above approaches 20%
Other 5%
Did you notice the highest two were “listening to recommendations and then deciding,” or “developing a consensus with which I can agree” Only 3% say, “I go with the consensus, even if I disagree.” That’s the difference between a leader and a manager. The leaders says, “You may all think that’s the way to go, but I don’t agree with it, so I’m not going that way.”
A lot of people will write me letters or come and say to me, “Pastor, I want to share with you…” And I know they want to change my mind. What I need to say, is that there is a major difference between me listening to you and making a decision you are going to agree with. Now, if you want me to listen and hear your side, I’m ready. If your agenda is for me to change my decision, we are in a different ballgame. It doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind, but I may not. If I don’t change my mind that doesn’t mean I didn’t listen to you.
Some people think that if you listen to them, if you truly listen you are going to change your decision. That doesn’t mean that at all. A leader understands the difference between listening to advice with an open mind and changing the decision. It is interesting to me that only 3% of CEOs changed their minds even if there was a consensus if they didn’t feel it was right.
I read an article one time on how good leaders are intuitive as far as what is right. The good leader and a not so good leader is the intuition between what is right. There is a difference in listening to others and being led by others. As a leader, when you are fairly sure about your decision, you should listen and accept input, but stay focused.
As your pastor, I am always more than happy to listen, and many times I have changed my mind on the advice of others. Other times I have listened and not changed my mind. One man came to me at one time and said that there was no use in talking to me because it didn’t help. What he was saying was that I did not change my decision to satisfy what he thought I needed to do.
Our world today is sports oriented. With that in mind, an excellent illustration of the job of the “pastor” is that of “spiritual football.” God is the owner of the team, the pastor is the coach, and the laity are the players. Each part of the team is crucial.
The Bible gives guidelines about the Pastor, his role as a leader and to whom he is accountable.
1 Peter 5:1-5
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Ephesians 4:11-12
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
1 Timothy 5:17-21
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
Titus 2:15
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
These passages all deal with the role and responsibilities of the pastor. Further study into leadership in Scripture will reveal that God always gives vision to one man rather than to a whole. There is always a head, always one person who has responsibility. The same must be true for the local church. Because leaders and pastors are human and will make mistakes and wrong decisions at times, it is imperative that we pray for our pastors and leaders. We should try to build them up and support them rather than criticize and make their work difficult. That is the message of Paul in First Timothy.
1 Timothy 2:1-3
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
My desire is that these words and Scriptures will help you better understand how I make decisions as your pastor.
I love being your pastor,
Dr. James K. Pierce, III (1997)
This is from an article on CEO’s and their approaches to major decisions.
I tell my plans, listen to reactions, then decide 5%
I listen to recommendations, then I decide. 32%
I develop a consensus with which I can agree. 20%
I go with the consensus, even if I disagree. 3%
I support the decision of the most competent person. 2%
Regardless of the forum or participation, I approve or veto. 13%
A combination of two or more of the above approaches 20%
Other 5%
Did you notice the highest two were “listening to recommendations and then deciding,” or “developing a consensus with which I can agree” Only 3% say, “I go with the consensus, even if I disagree.” That’s the difference between a leader and a manager. The leaders says, “You may all think that’s the way to go, but I don’t agree with it, so I’m not going that way.”
A lot of people will write me letters or come and say to me, “Pastor, I want to share with you…” And I know they want to change my mind. What I need to say, is that there is a major difference between me listening to you and making a decision you are going to agree with. Now, if you want me to listen and hear your side, I’m ready. If your agenda is for me to change my decision, we are in a different ballgame. It doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind, but I may not. If I don’t change my mind that doesn’t mean I didn’t listen to you.
Some people think that if you listen to them, if you truly listen you are going to change your decision. That doesn’t mean that at all. A leader understands the difference between listening to advice with an open mind and changing the decision. It is interesting to me that only 3% of CEOs changed their minds even if there was a consensus if they didn’t feel it was right.
I read an article one time on how good leaders are intuitive as far as what is right. The good leader and a not so good leader is the intuition between what is right. There is a difference in listening to others and being led by others. As a leader, when you are fairly sure about your decision, you should listen and accept input, but stay focused.
As your pastor, I am always more than happy to listen, and many times I have changed my mind on the advice of others. Other times I have listened and not changed my mind. One man came to me at one time and said that there was no use in talking to me because it didn’t help. What he was saying was that I did not change my decision to satisfy what he thought I needed to do.
Our world today is sports oriented. With that in mind, an excellent illustration of the job of the “pastor” is that of “spiritual football.” God is the owner of the team, the pastor is the coach, and the laity are the players. Each part of the team is crucial.
The Bible gives guidelines about the Pastor, his role as a leader and to whom he is accountable.
1 Peter 5:1-5
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Ephesians 4:11-12
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
1 Timothy 5:17-21
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
Titus 2:15
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Hebrews 13:17
17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
These passages all deal with the role and responsibilities of the pastor. Further study into leadership in Scripture will reveal that God always gives vision to one man rather than to a whole. There is always a head, always one person who has responsibility. The same must be true for the local church. Because leaders and pastors are human and will make mistakes and wrong decisions at times, it is imperative that we pray for our pastors and leaders. We should try to build them up and support them rather than criticize and make their work difficult. That is the message of Paul in First Timothy.
1 Timothy 2:1-3
1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
My desire is that these words and Scriptures will help you better understand how I make decisions as your pastor.
I love being your pastor,
Friday, July 9, 2010
Growing Deeper
If I could go back and chart the greatest episodes of growth and spiritual depth in my life, they ALWAYS occurred during times of adversity and pain I mean without exception. None of us will ever truly grow closer or go deeper with God apart from pain.
The fact of the matter is, grass grows thicker and greener in the valley than it does on the mountain top. And so it is with us. We grow more in character and spirituality in the valleys of life, than we do on the mountain tops of life. That's just the way it is, just as fire purifies gold, just as abrasion polishes metal, just as heat strengthens and tempers steel, just as boiling water brings out the flavor of tea. We, too, must enter times of adversity, fire, pain and suffering if we are going to ever be fully refined in our character, and drawn to a deep abiding relationship with Christ, apart from the brokenness and pain, that comes through suffering and adversity.
Hard to read, harder to believe, nontheless true...
The fact of the matter is, grass grows thicker and greener in the valley than it does on the mountain top. And so it is with us. We grow more in character and spirituality in the valleys of life, than we do on the mountain tops of life. That's just the way it is, just as fire purifies gold, just as abrasion polishes metal, just as heat strengthens and tempers steel, just as boiling water brings out the flavor of tea. We, too, must enter times of adversity, fire, pain and suffering if we are going to ever be fully refined in our character, and drawn to a deep abiding relationship with Christ, apart from the brokenness and pain, that comes through suffering and adversity.
Hard to read, harder to believe, nontheless true...
Monday, July 5, 2010
GCR--it is personal!
Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
We plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of people who hear it, and we seek to cultivate that seed by our love and prayers. In due time, that seed may bear fruit to the glory of God.
At this moment more people on planet earth are lost and without Christ than ever before in human history. This world is ripe for the taking. The opportunity for missions, evangelism, soul-winning, and kingdom growing, is unprecedented. There are more open doors to share the gospel than ever before.
Crime, drugs, abortion, homosexuality, the breakup of the family, have all combined to give us the most depressed, discouraged, disillusioned culture in our nation’s history. The question is not “is there an opportunity?” but “will we seize the opportunity?”
We must SEE the opportunity, and we must SIEZE the opportunity.
Remember:
Psalm 126:5-6, Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. 6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
Galatians 6:9, 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 9:6, 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
We plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of people who hear it, and we seek to cultivate that seed by our love and prayers. In due time, that seed may bear fruit to the glory of God.
At this moment more people on planet earth are lost and without Christ than ever before in human history. This world is ripe for the taking. The opportunity for missions, evangelism, soul-winning, and kingdom growing, is unprecedented. There are more open doors to share the gospel than ever before.
Crime, drugs, abortion, homosexuality, the breakup of the family, have all combined to give us the most depressed, discouraged, disillusioned culture in our nation’s history. The question is not “is there an opportunity?” but “will we seize the opportunity?”
We must SEE the opportunity, and we must SIEZE the opportunity.
Remember:
Psalm 126:5-6, Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. 6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.
Galatians 6:9, 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 9:6, 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Great Commission Resurgence
June 28, 2010
Since I have returned from Orlando, several people have asked me about the GCR report/resolutions. I will attempt to reduce my thoughts.
I am Southern Baptist through and through. I have been a pastor in a Southern Baptist Church since shortly after my 19th birthday. My Dad is a Southern Baptist Pastor. My maternal Grandfather was a Southern Baptist Pastor. There are other denominational workers (pastors, musicians, etc.) in my family, so I qualify as Southern Baptist through and through.
My first Southern Baptist Convention was Atlantic City, New Jersey back in the 60s as a kid. My brother and sisters and I climbed into the upper arena and played “Old Maids” during the debates. I was present at most if not all of the conventions through the decades of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I missed few if any conventions until the mid-2000s. I say all of this to establish that I am familiar with the convention atmosphere. I have seen emphases and themes come and go. I have seen the crowds wax and wane with the interest in the elections or the topic. Many times debate seemed to be over semantics, or over “words” more than over substantive actions. So, as we approached the latest “issue” in Southern Baptist life, I was skeptical as to whether this would be anything more than words. Is this really the biggest thing since the “Battle for the Bible?”
I think that Dr. Hunt got it right when he said that “programs and plans do not work, people do.” I remember my Dad saying that many times throughout his ministry. I have found that to be true in my own ministry. The issue is not on whether we call it “Great Commission Giving” or “Cooperative Program Giving,” the real issue is not the program but the people. Do we change the name of our giving because we have become bored with the name, or because we have disagreed with the way the funding was allocated to the agencies and missions in the past? Would not a re-allocation of Cooperative Program funds do the same thing?
The real issue is whether the Holy Spirit grabs the hearts and souls of those who profess Christ, and motivates them to obedience all areas of living, holiness and evangelism. I personally don’t want to strain on the nomenclature, but get to the substance. The substance is the ordinary Southern Baptist is not doing Great Commission Work on a day in, day out basis.
I appreciate the Cooperative Program. I benefited from it as a young pastor in a language missions church in South Louisiana. I always led the churches I serve as pastor to give at least a tithe to the CP---that is until I became more aware of how our state was using the portion of monies it kept in state. Some of the institutions that were supported with CP dollars did not even teach the infallibility of the Scriptures. Even though we had won that battle on the national front, it seemed that we were unable to get the upper hand on the state level. Therefore, over 15 years ago, I led our congregation to begin to designate a percentage of our CP dollars to the IMB and NAMB. Even then our church leadership felt that not enough funding was making its way from the local church to the “Great Commission” agencies. As a church in the early to mid-90s, we began to take mission trips from our congregation to Mexico, Canada, etc. In the early 2000s we became one of the first Global Priority Churches and regularly have members of our church family participate in “unreached people group” work. We purchased and established a “Mission House” for furloughing missionaries that is regularly used. In many respects our church began to do what GCR proposed at the SBC this year, 10-15 years ago. Therefore, I was in favor of the resolution.
The question remains, is this just talk? Or, will the denominational agencies, state conventions, and local churches get on board and “GO.” Our talk on the convention level certainly has not been cheap, but many times ineffective. Will this be an emphasis that causes everyone to want to get on board?
I plan to suggest significant changes in the way the church I pastor operates, especially in the area of community and local missions--to become better stewards not only of our financial resources, but of our opportunity. I want to strengthen our Great Commission efforts locally. That means making changes. Nobody seems to be in favor of change until the change is less painful than the status quo. Maybe that is what has prodded the SBC to act; if we do not change, we will continue to drift into insignificance.
Since I have returned from Orlando, several people have asked me about the GCR report/resolutions. I will attempt to reduce my thoughts.
I am Southern Baptist through and through. I have been a pastor in a Southern Baptist Church since shortly after my 19th birthday. My Dad is a Southern Baptist Pastor. My maternal Grandfather was a Southern Baptist Pastor. There are other denominational workers (pastors, musicians, etc.) in my family, so I qualify as Southern Baptist through and through.
My first Southern Baptist Convention was Atlantic City, New Jersey back in the 60s as a kid. My brother and sisters and I climbed into the upper arena and played “Old Maids” during the debates. I was present at most if not all of the conventions through the decades of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I missed few if any conventions until the mid-2000s. I say all of this to establish that I am familiar with the convention atmosphere. I have seen emphases and themes come and go. I have seen the crowds wax and wane with the interest in the elections or the topic. Many times debate seemed to be over semantics, or over “words” more than over substantive actions. So, as we approached the latest “issue” in Southern Baptist life, I was skeptical as to whether this would be anything more than words. Is this really the biggest thing since the “Battle for the Bible?”
I think that Dr. Hunt got it right when he said that “programs and plans do not work, people do.” I remember my Dad saying that many times throughout his ministry. I have found that to be true in my own ministry. The issue is not on whether we call it “Great Commission Giving” or “Cooperative Program Giving,” the real issue is not the program but the people. Do we change the name of our giving because we have become bored with the name, or because we have disagreed with the way the funding was allocated to the agencies and missions in the past? Would not a re-allocation of Cooperative Program funds do the same thing?
The real issue is whether the Holy Spirit grabs the hearts and souls of those who profess Christ, and motivates them to obedience all areas of living, holiness and evangelism. I personally don’t want to strain on the nomenclature, but get to the substance. The substance is the ordinary Southern Baptist is not doing Great Commission Work on a day in, day out basis.
I appreciate the Cooperative Program. I benefited from it as a young pastor in a language missions church in South Louisiana. I always led the churches I serve as pastor to give at least a tithe to the CP---that is until I became more aware of how our state was using the portion of monies it kept in state. Some of the institutions that were supported with CP dollars did not even teach the infallibility of the Scriptures. Even though we had won that battle on the national front, it seemed that we were unable to get the upper hand on the state level. Therefore, over 15 years ago, I led our congregation to begin to designate a percentage of our CP dollars to the IMB and NAMB. Even then our church leadership felt that not enough funding was making its way from the local church to the “Great Commission” agencies. As a church in the early to mid-90s, we began to take mission trips from our congregation to Mexico, Canada, etc. In the early 2000s we became one of the first Global Priority Churches and regularly have members of our church family participate in “unreached people group” work. We purchased and established a “Mission House” for furloughing missionaries that is regularly used. In many respects our church began to do what GCR proposed at the SBC this year, 10-15 years ago. Therefore, I was in favor of the resolution.
The question remains, is this just talk? Or, will the denominational agencies, state conventions, and local churches get on board and “GO.” Our talk on the convention level certainly has not been cheap, but many times ineffective. Will this be an emphasis that causes everyone to want to get on board?
I plan to suggest significant changes in the way the church I pastor operates, especially in the area of community and local missions--to become better stewards not only of our financial resources, but of our opportunity. I want to strengthen our Great Commission efforts locally. That means making changes. Nobody seems to be in favor of change until the change is less painful than the status quo. Maybe that is what has prodded the SBC to act; if we do not change, we will continue to drift into insignificance.
Friday, June 18, 2010
“The Gospel Commandments of Leadership”
Can't Remember Where I picked these up, but they are good.
The following “Ten Commandments” by an unknown author, have been adapted and supplemented with Scripture passages to further enhance their great truths.
1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love and trust them anyway. “Father forgive them. They know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. “And Jesus told them, ‘you are like children who don’t know what they want. John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking, and you said he had a demon. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say I am a glutton, a friend of sinners.’” (Matthew 11:16-19)
3. If you are successful you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The crowds who cheered Him on Sunday and called Him King were the same who on Friday cried, “Crucify Him.” Even the priests said, “We have no king but Caesar.” (Luke 19:36-40; John 10:1-6)
4. The service you render today will be forgotten tomorrow. Serve people anyway. “Were not ten lepers cleansed, and only one returned to give thanks? My words will bring division.” (Luke 17:11-19)
5. Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. “And Jesus said, ‘Do not think I’ve come to bring peace to the world.’” (Luke 12:51; 13:5)
6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest ideas. Think big anyway. “During the supper the Lord Jesus foretold that one of them would betray Him . . . .the disciples questioned which one it might be, and a dispute rose among them as to which was the greatest.” (Luke 22:22-24)
7. People pretend to love the “little” people, but sell their souls to the “big” people. Fight for the “little” people anyway. “Let little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:13-14)
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. “Judas came, kissed Him, and they took hold of Him . . . then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” (Matthew 26:36-56)
9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help. Help people anyway. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. . . to preach’ .. . but all who heard Him thrust Him out.” (Luke 4:16-30)
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. “Pilate said, ‘Who shall I give unto you . . . the murderer and robber, Barabbus, or Jesus, who is called the Christ?’ And they all cried, ‘Give us Barabbus!’” (Matthew 27:15-27)
The following “Ten Commandments” by an unknown author, have been adapted and supplemented with Scripture passages to further enhance their great truths.
1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love and trust them anyway. “Father forgive them. They know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. “And Jesus told them, ‘you are like children who don’t know what they want. John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking, and you said he had a demon. The Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and you say I am a glutton, a friend of sinners.’” (Matthew 11:16-19)
3. If you are successful you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The crowds who cheered Him on Sunday and called Him King were the same who on Friday cried, “Crucify Him.” Even the priests said, “We have no king but Caesar.” (Luke 19:36-40; John 10:1-6)
4. The service you render today will be forgotten tomorrow. Serve people anyway. “Were not ten lepers cleansed, and only one returned to give thanks? My words will bring division.” (Luke 17:11-19)
5. Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. “And Jesus said, ‘Do not think I’ve come to bring peace to the world.’” (Luke 12:51; 13:5)
6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest ideas. Think big anyway. “During the supper the Lord Jesus foretold that one of them would betray Him . . . .the disciples questioned which one it might be, and a dispute rose among them as to which was the greatest.” (Luke 22:22-24)
7. People pretend to love the “little” people, but sell their souls to the “big” people. Fight for the “little” people anyway. “Let little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:13-14)
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. “Judas came, kissed Him, and they took hold of Him . . . then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” (Matthew 26:36-56)
9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help. Help people anyway. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. . . to preach’ .. . but all who heard Him thrust Him out.” (Luke 4:16-30)
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. “Pilate said, ‘Who shall I give unto you . . . the murderer and robber, Barabbus, or Jesus, who is called the Christ?’ And they all cried, ‘Give us Barabbus!’” (Matthew 27:15-27)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
John Quincy Adams at 80
John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, was walking down a street one afternoon, and a friend walked up to him and said, "How is John Quincy Adams today?" Now at this moment, John Quincy Adams was 80 years old, long in the tooth, feeble in body, but this is the way he answered.
He said, "Thank you for asking. John Quincy Adams is quite well, but the house in which he is living is becoming rather dilapidated. In fact, it will soon be quite unlivable and I shall have to move out any day now. But John Quincy Adams is doing quite well, thank you."
Now John Quincy Adams had learned a very valuable lesson, and that is, there was a difference between him and the house that he lived in.
How are you? Not the house you live in, but your Spirit? How is your relationship with the Lord?
He said, "Thank you for asking. John Quincy Adams is quite well, but the house in which he is living is becoming rather dilapidated. In fact, it will soon be quite unlivable and I shall have to move out any day now. But John Quincy Adams is doing quite well, thank you."
Now John Quincy Adams had learned a very valuable lesson, and that is, there was a difference between him and the house that he lived in.
How are you? Not the house you live in, but your Spirit? How is your relationship with the Lord?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
I Love My Church
"Satan's Beatitudes." If the devil were to write his Beatitudes they would probably go something like this:
- Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians--they are my best workers.
- Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked, and expect to be thanked--I can use them.
- Blessed are the touchy. With a bit of luck they may stop going to church--they are my missionaries.
- Blessed are the troublemakers--they shall be called my children.
- Blessed are the complainers--I'm all ears to them.
- Blessed are they who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes--for they get nothing out of his sermons.
- Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church--for he is part of the problem instead of the solution.
- Blessed are they who gossip--for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.
- Blessed are they who are easily offended--for they will soon get angry and quit.
- Blessed are they who do not give their offering to carry on God's work--for they are my helpers.
- Blessed is he who professes to love God, but hates his brother and sister--for he shall be with me forever.
- Blessed are you when you hear this and think it is about other people and not yourself--I've got you.
As I thought about that list, two things immediately hit me.
• Number one: I can honestly say I have been pastor of every one of those types of church members.
• Number two: What the church desperately needs is more members who simply love their church.
But not only love their church, but love their church the way God loves the church. You see, God loves the church sacrificially. He gave His Son for it. God loves the church unconditionally-- when He's pleased with it and when He is not pleased with it. God loves His church eternally.
- Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians--they are my best workers.
- Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked, and expect to be thanked--I can use them.
- Blessed are the touchy. With a bit of luck they may stop going to church--they are my missionaries.
- Blessed are the troublemakers--they shall be called my children.
- Blessed are the complainers--I'm all ears to them.
- Blessed are they who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes--for they get nothing out of his sermons.
- Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church--for he is part of the problem instead of the solution.
- Blessed are they who gossip--for they shall cause strife and divisions that please me.
- Blessed are they who are easily offended--for they will soon get angry and quit.
- Blessed are they who do not give their offering to carry on God's work--for they are my helpers.
- Blessed is he who professes to love God, but hates his brother and sister--for he shall be with me forever.
- Blessed are you when you hear this and think it is about other people and not yourself--I've got you.
As I thought about that list, two things immediately hit me.
• Number one: I can honestly say I have been pastor of every one of those types of church members.
• Number two: What the church desperately needs is more members who simply love their church.
But not only love their church, but love their church the way God loves the church. You see, God loves the church sacrificially. He gave His Son for it. God loves the church unconditionally-- when He's pleased with it and when He is not pleased with it. God loves His church eternally.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Just One More Word on Friendship
The late Erma Bombeck said, “A friend is somebody who won’t go on a diet when you’re fat.”
Someone else said, “A friend is someone who multiplies your joys and divides your grief.”
But the best definition I have ever read is this one, “A friend is someone who will walk into your house when the whole world has just walked out.”
Ben Franklin said, "Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing a friend."
Someone else wrote this: "I love you not only for what you are, but what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you are making yourself, but what you are making me." A friend is someone who will make you a better person. It is someone who will draw you closer to the Lord.
All of us have relationships, and with few exceptions, success in life depends on the ability to establish and maintain proper relationships with the right people. Relationships can make your child or break your child (and you for that matter). Proverbs 12: 26 tells us, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Be friendly to everyone, but don’t have everyone as a friend. I think it is fair to say that there are people in hell today because they chose the wrong friends.
Someone else said, “A friend is someone who multiplies your joys and divides your grief.”
But the best definition I have ever read is this one, “A friend is someone who will walk into your house when the whole world has just walked out.”
Ben Franklin said, "Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing a friend."
Someone else wrote this: "I love you not only for what you are, but what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you are making yourself, but what you are making me." A friend is someone who will make you a better person. It is someone who will draw you closer to the Lord.
All of us have relationships, and with few exceptions, success in life depends on the ability to establish and maintain proper relationships with the right people. Relationships can make your child or break your child (and you for that matter). Proverbs 12: 26 tells us, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Be friendly to everyone, but don’t have everyone as a friend. I think it is fair to say that there are people in hell today because they chose the wrong friends.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Practical steps on being a BFF
First of all, a real friend is willing to tell you the truth. Prov. 27:9 says, "Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man's friend does so by hearty counsel." You see, a real friend will tell you the truth no matter what you ask him. He may not always tell you what you want to hear, but he will always tell you what you need to hear, and he will tell you not to hurt you, but will tell you to help you.
When I go to the doctor and he examines me. If there is something wrong with me, I want to know the truth. If he is my friend, he will tell me the truth, not to hurt me but to help me.
Furthermore, a real friend is willing to confront you when you are wrong. Now a genuine friend will never criticize you behind your back, but if necessary, he will confront you to your face. He will never condemn you when you are wrong, but he will confront you so that he might correct you and help make you right.
Prov. 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." You see, Judas kissed Jesus, but Judas was not his friend.
You need to remember that one of the reasons why God brings a friend into your life, is to sharpen off rough edges that you might have so that you can be all that you can be for His glory and honor. Prov. 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." Now you don't sharpen an axe on a pound of butter, and a real friend will have a sharpening correcting influence on your life.
I will be forever convinced that Richard Nixon lost his presidency because he didn't have one true friend around him. He did not have one person who early on could have said, would have said, and should have said, "Mr. President, this is wrong. You cannot do this. You must do what is right and uphold the law and the Constitution no matter what." One friend could have saved his presidency.
Also, a true friend is willing to bring comfort when you're hurting. It is amazing how many people are willing to be around when you're laughing, but few people come around when you're crying. Did you know that the Indian word for friend translated into English means, "One who carries my sorrows on his back."
Finally, a real friend is someone who is willing to bring light to the dark. That is, a real friend is someone who will talk to you about Jesus if you're lost, and if you need to be saved. You see, the best friend you will ever have is a friend who loves Jesus and who wants you to love Jesus too.
You think about this. If heaven is real, and if hell is real, then no person can possibly be your friend who does not care whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. If you are truly a friend of a sinner, you cannot rest until you have at least given that person an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and as his Savior.
Rosalie Carter wrote a poem once entitled, Only God Gives a Friend, and it goes like this:
I think that God will never send
a gift so precious as a friend;
A friend who always understands
and fills each need as it demands.
Whose loyalty will stand the test
when skies are bright or overcast;
Who sees the faults that merit blame
but keeps on loving just the same.
Who does far more than creeds could do
to make us good, to make us true;
Earth's gifts a sweet contentment lend
but only God can give a friend.
Only God can give a friend, and the greatest friend God will ever give you is the Lord Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." What a friend we have in Jesus, because Jesus laid down His life when we were His enemies, so that we through faith in Him could become His friend. There is nothing like a friend, and there is no friend like Jesus and those who love Him.
When I go to the doctor and he examines me. If there is something wrong with me, I want to know the truth. If he is my friend, he will tell me the truth, not to hurt me but to help me.
Furthermore, a real friend is willing to confront you when you are wrong. Now a genuine friend will never criticize you behind your back, but if necessary, he will confront you to your face. He will never condemn you when you are wrong, but he will confront you so that he might correct you and help make you right.
Prov. 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." You see, Judas kissed Jesus, but Judas was not his friend.
You need to remember that one of the reasons why God brings a friend into your life, is to sharpen off rough edges that you might have so that you can be all that you can be for His glory and honor. Prov. 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." Now you don't sharpen an axe on a pound of butter, and a real friend will have a sharpening correcting influence on your life.
I will be forever convinced that Richard Nixon lost his presidency because he didn't have one true friend around him. He did not have one person who early on could have said, would have said, and should have said, "Mr. President, this is wrong. You cannot do this. You must do what is right and uphold the law and the Constitution no matter what." One friend could have saved his presidency.
Also, a true friend is willing to bring comfort when you're hurting. It is amazing how many people are willing to be around when you're laughing, but few people come around when you're crying. Did you know that the Indian word for friend translated into English means, "One who carries my sorrows on his back."
Finally, a real friend is someone who is willing to bring light to the dark. That is, a real friend is someone who will talk to you about Jesus if you're lost, and if you need to be saved. You see, the best friend you will ever have is a friend who loves Jesus and who wants you to love Jesus too.
You think about this. If heaven is real, and if hell is real, then no person can possibly be your friend who does not care whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. If you are truly a friend of a sinner, you cannot rest until you have at least given that person an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and as his Savior.
Rosalie Carter wrote a poem once entitled, Only God Gives a Friend, and it goes like this:
I think that God will never send
a gift so precious as a friend;
A friend who always understands
and fills each need as it demands.
Whose loyalty will stand the test
when skies are bright or overcast;
Who sees the faults that merit blame
but keeps on loving just the same.
Who does far more than creeds could do
to make us good, to make us true;
Earth's gifts a sweet contentment lend
but only God can give a friend.
Only God can give a friend, and the greatest friend God will ever give you is the Lord Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." What a friend we have in Jesus, because Jesus laid down His life when we were His enemies, so that we through faith in Him could become His friend. There is nothing like a friend, and there is no friend like Jesus and those who love Him.
A True Friend (Part 3)
A true friendship is a loving relationship. You see, a real friend is not only someone who likes you, it's someone who loves you. Prov. 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." A real friend is someone who wants to be a friend to you, not because of what you can do for them, but for what they can do for you. There are some people who are your friends as long as it is convenient.
I heard about a little boy who walked into the dentist's office with a friend of his, and he said, "Doc, I've got a tooth that's got to come out right now and I don't want any gas, I don't want any Novocain, I don't want any shots to deaden the pain. My friend and I have got a lot of things we want to do today and I just want to get down to business and get this tooth out right now."
The doctor said, "Son, I have never seen a young man with courage like yours. Which tooth is it? The little boy turned to his friend and said, "Show him your tooth, Tommy."
Well, in a real friendship, your friend will always want what is best for you, not what is best for himself.
I heard about a little boy who walked into the dentist's office with a friend of his, and he said, "Doc, I've got a tooth that's got to come out right now and I don't want any gas, I don't want any Novocain, I don't want any shots to deaden the pain. My friend and I have got a lot of things we want to do today and I just want to get down to business and get this tooth out right now."
The doctor said, "Son, I have never seen a young man with courage like yours. Which tooth is it? The little boy turned to his friend and said, "Show him your tooth, Tommy."
Well, in a real friendship, your friend will always want what is best for you, not what is best for himself.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A True Friend (Part 2)
"But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I want to tell you, there is not enough gold in Fort Knox, nor enough oil in Saudi Arabia to buy that type of friendship. When I think about a real friend, a true friend, a friend that really deserves to be a friend, I realize from this scripture what kind of a relationship it should be.
A true friendship will be a loyal relationship. The word "stick" refers to how the skin sticks to the bone, and this is a picture of how a real friend will stick closer to you through thick and thin than your skin will stick to your own bone. One thing you will never have to question about a friend is his loyalty.
A true friend will always be your defense attorney before he will become your judge.
You see, one of the marks of a friend is that though he may point out your faults from time to time, he will overlook them and never let them come between you. Henry Ward Beecher once said, "You ought to keep a big cemetery in your backyard where you can bury the faults of your friends." I've got news for you. You cannot eat your friends and have them too.
Somebody has said that the reason why a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue. If a person is truly your friend, you will never have to worry about what they will say behind your back.
Diana Craik put it so well when she said these words:
Oh the comfort--
The inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person;
Having neither to weigh thoughts
Nor measure words--but pouring them
all right out--just as they are--
Chaff and grain together--
Certain that a faithful friend will
take them and sift them--
Keeping what is worth keeping--
and with a breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.
Somebody has said that if everybody knew what everybody else said about them behind their back, nobody would have more than four friends in all the world. That is probably true. Prov. 16:28 says, "A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends."
A true friendship will be a loyal relationship. The word "stick" refers to how the skin sticks to the bone, and this is a picture of how a real friend will stick closer to you through thick and thin than your skin will stick to your own bone. One thing you will never have to question about a friend is his loyalty.
A true friend will always be your defense attorney before he will become your judge.
You see, one of the marks of a friend is that though he may point out your faults from time to time, he will overlook them and never let them come between you. Henry Ward Beecher once said, "You ought to keep a big cemetery in your backyard where you can bury the faults of your friends." I've got news for you. You cannot eat your friends and have them too.
Somebody has said that the reason why a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue. If a person is truly your friend, you will never have to worry about what they will say behind your back.
Diana Craik put it so well when she said these words:
Oh the comfort--
The inexpressible comfort
of feeling safe with a person;
Having neither to weigh thoughts
Nor measure words--but pouring them
all right out--just as they are--
Chaff and grain together--
Certain that a faithful friend will
take them and sift them--
Keeping what is worth keeping--
and with a breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.
Somebody has said that if everybody knew what everybody else said about them behind their back, nobody would have more than four friends in all the world. That is probably true. Prov. 16:28 says, "A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends."
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A True Friend (Part 1)
A true friendship will stand the test of time, trials, and troubles. There's no such thing as a "fair-weather friend." As a matter of fact, you know what I have learned? I don't need friends in fair weather, I need friends in foul weather. A fair-weather friend is truly no friend at all.
A false friend is just like your shadow. As long as the sun is shining, he sticks right by you. But the minute you step into the shade, he disappears.
I was thinking about what a real friend really is, and I came across several that are worth noting:
• A friend is someone who multiplies your joys and divides your grief.
• A friend is a watch which beat true for all time, and never runs down.
• Irma Bombeck said, "A friend is some-body who won't go on a diet when you're fat."
• But this is my favorite definition: A friend is someone who will walk into your house when the whole world has just walked out.
• That is my favorite definition. Friendship lasts through thick, through thin, through hot, through cold, through good, through bad. There is a friend who "sticks" closer than a brother.
Charles Colson tells the story of how soon after being released from prison, he was the guest speaker at George Washington University. He was speaking to a very hostile crowd there in Washington, DC. Questions were being thrown at him rapid-fire, and the crowd was becoming increasingly angry.
One student stood up and referred to a vicious criticism that Henry Kissinger had leveled at Richard Nixon. Then he asked Chuck Colson this question: "Do you agree with this criticism?" Chuck Colson said as he scanned the room, he could tell every ear was listening and every eye was watching to see what he would say.
He took a deep breath, set his jaw, looked straight into the crowd and said, "We all know Mr. Nixon's negative qualities. He's been dissected in the press like nobody in history. I could tell you his good points, but I don't believe I could persuade you to accept them. But what it comes down to is, "No, I don't go along with Henry Kissinger's comments. Mr. Nixon is my friend, and I don't turn my back on my friends."
Colson said for an instant he thought the roof would cave in, and it did, but not like he expected. After a moment of silence, the students stood up and gave him a prolonged standing ovation. Because even they could appreciate loyalty to a friend.
If you want to find out who your friends really are, I can tell you very easily how to do it - just make a mistake. Somebody has said, "In prosperity our friends know us, but in adversity we know our friends."
A true friend doesn't allow others to put us down, but defends us.
A false friend is just like your shadow. As long as the sun is shining, he sticks right by you. But the minute you step into the shade, he disappears.
I was thinking about what a real friend really is, and I came across several that are worth noting:
• A friend is someone who multiplies your joys and divides your grief.
• A friend is a watch which beat true for all time, and never runs down.
• Irma Bombeck said, "A friend is some-body who won't go on a diet when you're fat."
• But this is my favorite definition: A friend is someone who will walk into your house when the whole world has just walked out.
• That is my favorite definition. Friendship lasts through thick, through thin, through hot, through cold, through good, through bad. There is a friend who "sticks" closer than a brother.
Charles Colson tells the story of how soon after being released from prison, he was the guest speaker at George Washington University. He was speaking to a very hostile crowd there in Washington, DC. Questions were being thrown at him rapid-fire, and the crowd was becoming increasingly angry.
One student stood up and referred to a vicious criticism that Henry Kissinger had leveled at Richard Nixon. Then he asked Chuck Colson this question: "Do you agree with this criticism?" Chuck Colson said as he scanned the room, he could tell every ear was listening and every eye was watching to see what he would say.
He took a deep breath, set his jaw, looked straight into the crowd and said, "We all know Mr. Nixon's negative qualities. He's been dissected in the press like nobody in history. I could tell you his good points, but I don't believe I could persuade you to accept them. But what it comes down to is, "No, I don't go along with Henry Kissinger's comments. Mr. Nixon is my friend, and I don't turn my back on my friends."
Colson said for an instant he thought the roof would cave in, and it did, but not like he expected. After a moment of silence, the students stood up and gave him a prolonged standing ovation. Because even they could appreciate loyalty to a friend.
If you want to find out who your friends really are, I can tell you very easily how to do it - just make a mistake. Somebody has said, "In prosperity our friends know us, but in adversity we know our friends."
A true friend doesn't allow others to put us down, but defends us.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Moths, Lions, and Silence
In Hosea 5, we read of the consequences of spiritual adultery, spiritual immorality. When God’s people put other things ahead of Him, when they go after other gods instead of being faithful to the one true God, the God their Savior, there is a series of consequences--unbelievable pictures.
Look at verse 12. This is God talking. "There will I be unto Ephraim as a moth… Have you ever sat outside on a warm summer night. You have the porch light on and a moth comes around that light. Just flittering and fluttering. Nothing big, just a moth tormenting, staying at him, working with him. Has God been to you like a moth? Have things come into your life that just sort of bug you? It may be God's moth to wake you up.
Look at the second picture in verse 14. "For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion….” There is a big difference between a moth and a lion, wouldn’t you say? The moth is pesky, but the lion is ferocious. The lion comes swiftly, suddenly. The lion comes reeking havoc. Has God tried to get your attention through some pretty traumatic things in your life? But some still get away from the lion.
Here's the most terrible of all in verse 15. God says, "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense….” If you get away from the lion, God says, “I’ll go away.” Why? Because you have neglected the relationship—you have pushed him out. If you are no longer feeling the “moth of God” bothering you when you are not being faithful to Him in things; or when the stuff of life is “roaring like a lion” in your life because you are not where you know you should be, at least you know God’s presence. But what about when He goes away?
How long does He go away? Verse 15, “’til they seek my face...” God says—then I'll go back where I came from until they come to their senses. When they finally hit rock bottom, maybe they'll come looking for me.
Believers in America, how long until you return?
Look at verse 12. This is God talking. "There will I be unto Ephraim as a moth… Have you ever sat outside on a warm summer night. You have the porch light on and a moth comes around that light. Just flittering and fluttering. Nothing big, just a moth tormenting, staying at him, working with him. Has God been to you like a moth? Have things come into your life that just sort of bug you? It may be God's moth to wake you up.
Look at the second picture in verse 14. "For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion….” There is a big difference between a moth and a lion, wouldn’t you say? The moth is pesky, but the lion is ferocious. The lion comes swiftly, suddenly. The lion comes reeking havoc. Has God tried to get your attention through some pretty traumatic things in your life? But some still get away from the lion.
Here's the most terrible of all in verse 15. God says, "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense….” If you get away from the lion, God says, “I’ll go away.” Why? Because you have neglected the relationship—you have pushed him out. If you are no longer feeling the “moth of God” bothering you when you are not being faithful to Him in things; or when the stuff of life is “roaring like a lion” in your life because you are not where you know you should be, at least you know God’s presence. But what about when He goes away?
How long does He go away? Verse 15, “’til they seek my face...” God says—then I'll go back where I came from until they come to their senses. When they finally hit rock bottom, maybe they'll come looking for me.
Believers in America, how long until you return?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
God Sees our Motive
For His Eyes Only
Matthew 6:1-4
If you have ever gone for a job interview, one of the questions that you will be asked is something like this: "Tell me what you have done in the past that would qualify you for this job?" Or, they may ask you something like this: "What character qualities do you have that would make me want to hire you?"
But if you will think back to any job interview you have ever had you were never asked this question: "Why do you do what you do?" When people try to size us up and find out what kind of persons we are, they go to our methods, but never to our motives.
I heard about a young lady who wrote this sweet note to her ex-fiancée, whose heart she had broken a year before. It said:
Dear John,
I have been unable to sleep since we broke off our engagement. It has shattered me. I just cannot live any longer without you. Won't you forgive and forget? Your absence is breaking my heart. I was a fool to leave you. Nobody can take your place. I love you so much. Please call soon. I wait anxiously by the telephone to hear your voice.
Love Always,
Donna
Then she added this:
P.S. Congratulations on winning the $6 million lottery!
Now when we judge people, or even judge ourselves, we tend to look at the body of the letter and don't pay much attention to the P.S. That is how we are so different from God because we look at the "what" where God looks at the "why." We look at "how much" God looks at "how." We judge a person by "their methods" God judges a person by "their motive."
Remember the Sermon on the Mount is telling us, truth by truth, "the only way to live." The Lord Jesus is going to spend almost the entire chapter before us, teaching us that the only way to live is to live without hypocrisy. Here He deals with the area of giving to the poor; doing things for other people. He makes three simple statements to remind us that when we give to others, or do for others, it is to be "for His eyes only."
Matthew 6:1-4
If you have ever gone for a job interview, one of the questions that you will be asked is something like this: "Tell me what you have done in the past that would qualify you for this job?" Or, they may ask you something like this: "What character qualities do you have that would make me want to hire you?"
But if you will think back to any job interview you have ever had you were never asked this question: "Why do you do what you do?" When people try to size us up and find out what kind of persons we are, they go to our methods, but never to our motives.
I heard about a young lady who wrote this sweet note to her ex-fiancée, whose heart she had broken a year before. It said:
Dear John,
I have been unable to sleep since we broke off our engagement. It has shattered me. I just cannot live any longer without you. Won't you forgive and forget? Your absence is breaking my heart. I was a fool to leave you. Nobody can take your place. I love you so much. Please call soon. I wait anxiously by the telephone to hear your voice.
Love Always,
Donna
Then she added this:
P.S. Congratulations on winning the $6 million lottery!
Now when we judge people, or even judge ourselves, we tend to look at the body of the letter and don't pay much attention to the P.S. That is how we are so different from God because we look at the "what" where God looks at the "why." We look at "how much" God looks at "how." We judge a person by "their methods" God judges a person by "their motive."
Remember the Sermon on the Mount is telling us, truth by truth, "the only way to live." The Lord Jesus is going to spend almost the entire chapter before us, teaching us that the only way to live is to live without hypocrisy. Here He deals with the area of giving to the poor; doing things for other people. He makes three simple statements to remind us that when we give to others, or do for others, it is to be "for His eyes only."
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Purity of character
I found this in a sermon from several years ago. . .
Proverbs 11:20, "The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless."
Sometimes people get excited and they let charisma, popularity, crowds, and peer pressure take the place of seeking a man who is faultless.
See if you can identify this world leader. Times were never better. The national economy was strong during his tenure. Inflation, which had plagued the country for twenty years, was under control. Peace and prosperity characterized the nation. Many consider him to be one of the most gifted politicians to come on the national stage. One journalist wrote of him, although there was uneasiness about his character and the allegations of corruption and immorality swirled around him, none of his political opponents could touch him. He was too slick for his accusations to stick. So charming and personable was this leader that the religious leaders overlooked his lack of integrity.
Do you think you know whom I am talking about? Well, if you think it is Bill Clinton you are wrong! It is Adolph Hitler. These words were written about Adolph Hitler in 1940, just a few centuries before Hitler came to power, Germany was the bastion of spiritual faith. It was the place where Protestantism was born. It was the sight of the Great Reformation and Great Revival in Europe. What was it that brought this nation from being such a great spiritual power to being a nation who committed the Holocaust? Well, the people began to overlook the flaws in their leader's character and began to overlook the obvious immorality and lack of integrity and instead they were charmed by a fanatic's deceitful words. And a whole nation bought it, hook, line, and sinker.
Proverbs 11:20, "The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless."
Sometimes people get excited and they let charisma, popularity, crowds, and peer pressure take the place of seeking a man who is faultless.
See if you can identify this world leader. Times were never better. The national economy was strong during his tenure. Inflation, which had plagued the country for twenty years, was under control. Peace and prosperity characterized the nation. Many consider him to be one of the most gifted politicians to come on the national stage. One journalist wrote of him, although there was uneasiness about his character and the allegations of corruption and immorality swirled around him, none of his political opponents could touch him. He was too slick for his accusations to stick. So charming and personable was this leader that the religious leaders overlooked his lack of integrity.
Do you think you know whom I am talking about? Well, if you think it is Bill Clinton you are wrong! It is Adolph Hitler. These words were written about Adolph Hitler in 1940, just a few centuries before Hitler came to power, Germany was the bastion of spiritual faith. It was the place where Protestantism was born. It was the sight of the Great Reformation and Great Revival in Europe. What was it that brought this nation from being such a great spiritual power to being a nation who committed the Holocaust? Well, the people began to overlook the flaws in their leader's character and began to overlook the obvious immorality and lack of integrity and instead they were charmed by a fanatic's deceitful words. And a whole nation bought it, hook, line, and sinker.
Monday, May 31, 2010
What We Need
For years I have heard the claim of those who want to tailor the church to fit the prevailing culture. The claim is that this would attract more people to the message. Now we are more than twenty years into a post modern culture that says, nothing is right, nothing is wrong, and our churches are emptying. Southern Baptist, of which we are a cooperating church, comprise the largest segment of protestant churches in America. Church membership and attendance was on the rise in the 1980s, plateaued in the 1990s and through the first ten years of the 2000s I have read and heard that over 90% of Southern Baptist Churches are declining.
Our seminaries are theologically sound for the first generation in years. Our denomination is standing for the right things, but our churches are not going forward. Something is drastically wrong. The culture no longer fears God or respects His Word. And we seem to have lost the power and in some cases, the will to communicate it.
It is not what is wrong with America; it is what is wrong with God's people--each and every one of us. That is where it has to begin. We must have people who come back to that obedience to God and His Word and His commands. We have been secularized by society. We have become so much like the world that we think like the world and act like the world. Many in the church today think they don't have time for the things of God. We don't have time for worship, but we have time for just about anything else. That is the way the world thinks.
The Bible teaches that believers are not to be of the world. The Bible says we have been washed, we have been cleansed, we have been changed, we have been born again, and we have been transformed.
The church today needs revival. We need an old-fashioned, fire from heaven, sin convicting, life transforming, Christ honoring, soul saving, Holy Ghost revival. I wonder will oceans of blood and rivers of tears and seas of sweat be the price that a Holy God will demand of this nation?
Our seminaries are theologically sound for the first generation in years. Our denomination is standing for the right things, but our churches are not going forward. Something is drastically wrong. The culture no longer fears God or respects His Word. And we seem to have lost the power and in some cases, the will to communicate it.
It is not what is wrong with America; it is what is wrong with God's people--each and every one of us. That is where it has to begin. We must have people who come back to that obedience to God and His Word and His commands. We have been secularized by society. We have become so much like the world that we think like the world and act like the world. Many in the church today think they don't have time for the things of God. We don't have time for worship, but we have time for just about anything else. That is the way the world thinks.
The Bible teaches that believers are not to be of the world. The Bible says we have been washed, we have been cleansed, we have been changed, we have been born again, and we have been transformed.
The church today needs revival. We need an old-fashioned, fire from heaven, sin convicting, life transforming, Christ honoring, soul saving, Holy Ghost revival. I wonder will oceans of blood and rivers of tears and seas of sweat be the price that a Holy God will demand of this nation?
Elections and Character
Local elections are taking place around the county. Our mid-term elections for U. S. Congress are soon upon us. Once again I find myself asking, where are the people of character, the people who through the years have risen to the occasion, locally and nationally (even world-wide).
In our present elections beliefs do matter. I am reminded that God says, “What a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) Those people who believe the politicians who say “elect me. It doesn’t make any difference how I live or what I believe, because I can work in office,” are finding out that what a person thinks is exactly what he will do. What he thinks in private is what he will do in public. It is essential we know as much as possible about a candidate.
We are seeing a tremendous breakdown in leadership because those who are being offered for political office are to often people lacking in character.
How do we describe character?
• Someone has said character is what we are when nobody is looking.
• Someone else has said character is there when the charm goes away.
It is not the same as reputation. Reputation is what people may think of us; character is what we know that we are. As you approach the election this year remember, you know what a man really believes by how he behaves. Don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does.
In our present elections beliefs do matter. I am reminded that God says, “What a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) Those people who believe the politicians who say “elect me. It doesn’t make any difference how I live or what I believe, because I can work in office,” are finding out that what a person thinks is exactly what he will do. What he thinks in private is what he will do in public. It is essential we know as much as possible about a candidate.
We are seeing a tremendous breakdown in leadership because those who are being offered for political office are to often people lacking in character.
How do we describe character?
• Someone has said character is what we are when nobody is looking.
• Someone else has said character is there when the charm goes away.
It is not the same as reputation. Reputation is what people may think of us; character is what we know that we are. As you approach the election this year remember, you know what a man really believes by how he behaves. Don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A. W. Tozer
One of my favorite authors is A.W. Tozer. Though he died in 1963, his words always demand thinking on the reader's part. Consider. . .
"The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world. In their effort to achieve restful "adjustment" to unregenearate society they ahve lost their pilgrim character adn become an essential part of the very moral order against which theya re sent to protest. The world recognizes them and accepts them for what they are. And this is the saddest ting that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints."
BTW I asked myself, Do I meditate on God's Word as often as I do the words of men---even men like Tozer?
"The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world. In their effort to achieve restful "adjustment" to unregenearate society they ahve lost their pilgrim character adn become an essential part of the very moral order against which theya re sent to protest. The world recognizes them and accepts them for what they are. And this is the saddest ting that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints."
BTW I asked myself, Do I meditate on God's Word as often as I do the words of men---even men like Tozer?
Friday, January 1, 2010
Coming in Second
This last week many of my family were caught up in the Ladies’ Classic Basketball tournament. Several times each day I would ask about the games and how things were going. I made the statement one day, “well second place isn’t that bad.” Then my younger son said, “Second place is first loser.”
We talk a lot about sportsmanship and being a good loser, and I certainly do not agree with the “win at any cost” philosophy of sports, but my son’s statement happened to ring a bell with me as I was preparing a sermon from Revelation 2:1-7. In many ways it was a great church, but in this letter we find that it was a church where Jesus comes in second. That is tragic because we know from the sports world that nobody really cares who comes in second, that is why there is such an emphasis on winning. It is no longer how you play the game, it is who wins and comes in first that really matters.
That is why coaches and teams work so hard, because they want to win each contest. While I do not believe that is the way it should be in the world of sports, I do believe that is exactly the way it should be in the spirit world. Who and what comes in first will determine whether your life really counts for God. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So I ask, “Are we a church where Jesus comes in second? If He comes in second in my life and your life, there is no way he will be first in the life of the church. What is more important to you:
*a new television or your tithe to the LORD?
*Watching a football game, or being in church on Sunday night?
Are you as faithful to church as you are to your club, or to the sports team for which you play?
Make sure He finishes first in your life and church this new year.
We talk a lot about sportsmanship and being a good loser, and I certainly do not agree with the “win at any cost” philosophy of sports, but my son’s statement happened to ring a bell with me as I was preparing a sermon from Revelation 2:1-7. In many ways it was a great church, but in this letter we find that it was a church where Jesus comes in second. That is tragic because we know from the sports world that nobody really cares who comes in second, that is why there is such an emphasis on winning. It is no longer how you play the game, it is who wins and comes in first that really matters.
That is why coaches and teams work so hard, because they want to win each contest. While I do not believe that is the way it should be in the world of sports, I do believe that is exactly the way it should be in the spirit world. Who and what comes in first will determine whether your life really counts for God. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So I ask, “Are we a church where Jesus comes in second? If He comes in second in my life and your life, there is no way he will be first in the life of the church. What is more important to you:
*a new television or your tithe to the LORD?
*Watching a football game, or being in church on Sunday night?
Are you as faithful to church as you are to your club, or to the sports team for which you play?
Make sure He finishes first in your life and church this new year.
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