Eric's Plethora

A Gift on Sunday

2012-01-25T08:41:00.001-06:00

This note was handed to me on Sunday after church from one of our members. She said that this person got up to leave right after the message and handed this to her on her way out. It reminded me once again that you never know how God's Word is going to hit people. I'm humbled and amazed that God could use even me to speak to His people on His behalf. I'm also reminded that not every person that attends on a Sunday morning is saved and a part of the body of Christ. People come in every week with their stuff. We need to be more sensitive to these. And we need to pray for them, as the request here was made.

I don't know who wrote this. The lady that handed it to me said that she had never seen this person in church before (not to say they hadn't been here, just hadn't seen her). Even though "threw" is misspelled and the note is anonymous, I'll keep it as a reminder of "so that's why I keep doing this". I don't know who was more blessed on Sunday...the hearer or the preacher!

Thanks for the affirmation. God used this to encourage me.

1 Peter 4:11 "If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Faith or a Demanding Spirit?

2012-01-18T09:29:00.000-06:00

Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid that too many of us are more concerned about what He can give us than we are about getting to know who He is. It's selfish Christianity and it's becoming the norm for believers today.

But this is nothing new really—Jesus had this problem when He walked on earth. The crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. They might get to see or experience a healing. If you hung around long enough, He might feed you a free meal. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between selfishly trying to use the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Some of the issues we bring to Him are so pressing and urgent in our minds that our desire for Him to take action in the way we want becomes greater than our willingness to submit to His will. At times, what we call “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

We must remember that our needs will come to an end, but Jesus Christ will remain forever. If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, only selfish requests for "blessings", we’ve missed a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we’ll spend eternity. Let’s invest time in pursuing intimacy with Christ. Then we can enjoy the benefits of that relationship forever.

How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you spending any time getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and tells us to pray about everything, He also wants us to come to Him just because we enjoy being with Him. Growing in our faith happens best when we can focus our mind's attention and heart's affection on Him. Then it seems that the things of this world grow strangely dim.

New Year's Plan

2012-01-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

To the blogosphere and inquiring minds:

First let me say that I'm sorry for not blogging more frequently and consistently. I've had several inquiries into why I'm not posting more often. The only excuse I can muster is that time for blogging was used for other ministry endeavors. In September and October I asked the elders at Oakwood to help me prioritize my ministry tasks, to help me order what needs to be done so I am most effective in fulfilling my calling and in touching lives to the max for the Lord. I have 12 "duties" if you want to call them that, and the blog is number 7 on the list. The top 6 things are (and really the top 4) are keeping me SO busy that I just didn't have time to blog. It's not to say that I don't have any thoughts or ideas for it. I have plenty! It is literally a time factor.

So, new year, and I'm going to do my best to get to #7 more often than I have in the last several months. Hang on, I have A LOT to say and I'm about to explode!

Keep the faith! -E

Why So Many Translations?

2011-12-13T11:40:00.002-06:00

I've been asked by several in our church to address some questions on my blog that people have about the faith, the Bible, or the church in general. One of those that has surfaced recently is why we have so many different translations of the Bible. With the release of the NIV update this year, many are asking why we need another "version" of the Holy Scriptures. So, why so many translations of the Bible? That's a great question. Christian Standard had a series of great articles on this from this summer. I want to encourage you to read these articles understand the different translations of the Bible. They will answer probably better than I could write a response. Here are the links:

http://christianstandard.com/2011/08/an-embarrassment-of-riches-part-1-why-different-translations/

http://christianstandard.com/2011/08/an-embarrassment-of-riches-part-2-four-popular-translations/

http://christianstandard.com/2011/08/an-embarrassment-of-riches-part-3-the-most-popular-translations/

Hope this helps you on the journey to understanding different translations.

For translator's notes on the NIV 2011 update, see this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/niv/Translators-Notes.pdf

Hope this helps! Merry Christmas!

Effort

2011-11-29T15:32:00.000-06:00

When I was in the hospital and had surgery a couple months ago, my girls came to see me and brought me some "Get Well Soon" type of cards. They had been staying with Amanda, our Children's Minister here at Oakwood, so I'm sure Amanda planted the idea with the girls. As I was presented with these works of art and thoughtfulness, I received this one from Izzy, my then 3 year old:

This picture means a lot to me because it shows Izzy's effort to show love and comfort to her daddy. If you look closely, there are 12 colors that she used in this. Imagine the time that it took her as she picked out each color, each crayon, each marker, each ink pen, and used them to draw and color on the paper. I remember when she handed it to me as I was laying in the hospital bed and she looked with a smile and said, "I made that for you." I didn't even have to ask what it was or what it meant. It meant, I love you, in three year old ways of course. And she was very happy and excited to share it with me.

I believe that God looks at what we bring Him this same way. It might be messy and have a lot of different shades, designs, and colors to it, but He knows that we took the time to make it and bring it to Him. It's the effort that we show that means the most.

That's why you'll find this one in my "keepsakes folder". I love my girls so much. And God loves His kids too!

Wanted: Disciplemakers

2011-11-11T09:31:00.000-06:00

Some good thoughts here from my friend Greg. Ponder and do something!

Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
—Acts 9:27

Sometimes new Christians have a difficult time finding their way in their newfound faith. They need someone who will stand with them and love them.

A guy named Mark did this for me. After I came to Christ on my high school campus, no one came up to me afterward and said, "Now Greg, you are a brand-new Christian. We have this Bible here for you. You also need to start going to church." Instead, the school bell rang, and I went back to class.

I went on with my plans for that weekend, which was to go off into the mountains and smoke dope. But as I was sitting out on a rock and getting ready to do this, I felt God was speaking to my heart and telling me I didn't need to do that. Although I didn't know how to pray, I asked God to make himself real to me and to help me. And God answered that prayer.

When I returned to school on Monday, some guy named Mark, whom I had never seen before, walked up to me and introduced himself. He told me that he had seen me give my life to Christ at the Bible study on Friday. Then he invited me to church, and, in a very direct but loving way, he wouldn't take no for an answer. So I went to church with Mark. I started hearing the Word of God, and my life started to change.

I didn't need a Bible scholar. I didn't need an evangelist. But I did need a friend. And that is what Mark was for me.

So here is my question for you: Can you be a friend to someone? Because our commission is not only to preach the gospel, but to make disciples.

A Night Without the Light

2011-11-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

So last night was Halloween night. The first Halloween night that Oakwood hasn't done our Festival of Light in 10 years. As I drove by the church a couple of times I must admit that I was saddened to see the building dark, no people to see, the lines, the crowds, the hayrides, etc. I had to remind myself that we are on mission from God. We decided to put our FOL resources toward Family Palooza, an event that we did in September, because we felt that we could have more time to relate to people. At FOL, it became all about the candy and we didn't feel like we ever got to stop and really talk to the people there. We were always too busy herding people through the event. Get your candy and keep the line moving! Family Palooza was a huge success in and of itself and it definitely was more missional as we touched and actually talked to many more people than we ever could at FOL. Family Palooza is about time together with families and relationship building. FOL became just about candy. All of that being said, last night was still an adjustment for me and my family.

My girls have never been trick or treating. Festival of Light is all that they know. It was interesting to go and do that with the girls last night. So different when you are on the receiving end of these events. It really changes your perception about how most of the world relates to Halloween and all of the "events" that are offered. To put it in a word...it's about candy. Almost greed about candy! Didn't matter if you were 25 and didn't have a costume or anything. Go buy a cheap gory mask, get you a bag and get yourself some candy! Push those little ones to the side and get yours!

We went to a church thing first, then the mall (which was crazy), and then went on to try the door to door trick or treating. Overall I think that the girls had fun, made some memories, etc. It was all just kind of weird though. Strange feeling about missing FOL. When you do something like that for that long, it's hard to change. But change we must! We prayed long and hard about that decision for 2 years and after last year really felt that the Lord had laid it on our hearts to do something different and redirect those resources to an outreach event like Family Palooza. And so we did!

Hope that everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!

Some Thoughts on Anger

2011-10-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

We must make certain that we don't give the devil a foothold by hanging on to our anger. Read Ephesians 4:26-32 and pay special attention to what God is saying about this subject of anger. Pray about what God may be saying to you about this. Then take a few minutes and read these good thoughts below from Dr. Charles Stanley.

A righteous life has no room for lingering anger, whether in the form of rage or resentment. Fury that hardens in our hearts becomes a stronghold for Satan.

The fleshly method for "curing" wrath is to either let it out (rage) or suppress it (resentment). Neither is effective for solving problems or making an angry person feel better. God's way of dealing with this dangerous emotion dissolves it and sets the believer free. As today's passage reminds us, we are to "let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from [us], along with all malice" (v. 31). But to do so requires that we recognize it's there.

Whether we are annoyed at ourselves, another person, or God, we have to own that feeling. Pretending that the emotion doesn't exist or that we've somehow risen above anger is useless. If you're angry, admit it and then identify the source. Knowing who or what ignited the initial fury can prevent people from misdirecting irritation onto the innocent.
Here are some questions to help in identifying a source of anger:
• Why am I angry?
• At whom am I angry?
• What caused me to feel/act this way?
• Where or when did this feeling start?
• Have I been angry a long time?

Once we know the source of our anger, it's time to forgive, no matter what. Fury and unforgiveness often go together, and they're heavy baggage that will drag you down. God calls us to set them aside and take up love and kindness instead. Forsaking anger means walking in His will with a light step.

After we learn how to deal with lingering anger in our lives, we need to discover God's principle for preventing long-term resentment. The key is to deal with this dangerous emotion promptly.

It's important to realize that believers can have moments of anger and still remain right with God. Yet anger that is allowed to linger and fester is an opportunity for Satan. He quickly plants justifications in our mind: That person deserves to be yelled at. You shouldn't be treated that way! God understands that you're frustrated. By handing people excuses to build a defense for harboring fury, Satan creates a stronghold in their lives. It is a foolish man or woman who hides behind that wall (Eccl. 7:9).

We are not to lay even one brick for the Devil's stronghold. Instead, believers must respond to provocation by forgiving others as God forgives. His mercy is unconditional; there's no wrong that He does not pardon. Believers cannot stand before God and justify harboring long-term anger. So we must release it at once through forgiveness.

We can further protect ourselves by identifying frequent irritants. When those situations (or people) loom, we should pray that God makes us quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19). That is the spiritual fruit of self-control in action.

Anger produces only rotten fruit—sour relationships, a poor witness, etc. The wise believer takes a two-fold approach to dealing with it. First, heed the Bible's 300-plus warnings about this dangerous emotion and be vigilant against it. And second, forsake your anger in favor of forgiveness.

Maybe Churches Need a Few 80 Year Olds

2011-10-19T13:47:00.000-05:00

I received this from my wife today. It's from the blog and ministry of a minister's wife from Central Christian Church in Las Vegas. The spirit and commitment of the woman that she's talking about is a blessing for any Christian, but especially one who's 80 years old! Wow! Enjoy and be challenged!

http://leadingandlovingit.com/celebration/when-im-80/

The Night Before

2011-10-13T23:25:00.001-05:00

So by now, some of you may know that Abigail, my 6 year old daughter with the eye condition, is being fitted for and receiving an ocular prosthesis called a scleral shell tomorrow. This is all happening first thing in the morning. We have to be at the surgery center at 6:30am. Whew! The procedure starts with her going under anesthesia so they can make a mold of the eye. Then we will go and see the ocularist as she works on making Abigail a prosthetic shell to go over her little eye. If all goes well tomorrow, we will actually come home tomorrow night with her scleral shell in her eye. Pretty big and exciting deal. It's amazing how God has given doctors this knowledge about the human body. Truly amazing!

As I was praying and pondering today in my office something very strange happened to me. I got worked up over doing this procedure for her. I love my Abigail just the way she is. In fact, I love her so much the way she is, little eyeball and all, that I think I'd just like to keep her that way sometimes. It makes her special...different. I'm reminded however that this is a medical necessity for her. This will help her eyelid to open up all the way and will help fill the eye socket so the orbital bones don't atrophy. She's going to look and feel pretty normal after this as both eyes will look a lot alike.

Till the doctor sprung on us this summer that we needed to do this now, we hadn't planned on doing this till she asked for this someday. That was when we understood it to be more cosmetic. I've never known it to bother her before, except for the occasional idiot in line at the grocery store that wants to ask us right in front of her, "What's wrong with her eye?" But through this process and getting ready for it, I've been made aware from Abigail that it does bother her some. She gets tired of the questions and looks. You will just never see her react to it.

Our early childhood director relayed a story to me that happened on a Wednesday night at church a couple of weeks ago. She was teaching Abi's group and a little girl in the class, who's known Abi for more than a year, began a grand inquisition into what was "wrong" with Abi's eye and kept getting in her face to look at it. It was a little pestering. Then, the teacher said that Abigail replied rather matter of fact, "That's the way God made me."

That's right, Abigail. Don't ever forget that. That's the way God made you. There was no quiver in the Creator's hand as He formed you in your mother's womb. As I've seen you grow up from day one I've seen your smaller eye, and it's quite wonderful if you ask this daddy. There are many reasons that God gave you this special eye, and one of them might just be the journey of faith that He needed to take your parents on to draw us into total dependency on Him for ALL things.

I know that this will help her in many ways as we journey forward in life. I'm excited about those prospects. But I pray that Abigail will always know in her heart that God made her on purpose with supernatural intentions, even if some people may see her eye as flawed. Aren't we all flawed physically in some way? I think that's the way God likes us. Maybe if we could just see a glimpse of each other with His eyes.

Criticism

2011-10-06T09:10:00.002-05:00

I can write about criticism today, because today, no one is criticizing me. Okay – they probably are, but at least I don’t know about it right now. So it seems like a good day to do it so no one thinks this blog is directed at them because it's not, really. (And if you're feeling guilty after reading, repent!)

Aristotle once said: “Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”

I guess its bad that I don’t know of anyone criticizing me today, because I must not be saying, doing, or being enough. I used to be the guy that always cared about what people thought. When I took this position at Oakwood in 2008 (ya, 3 years now!) I knew from God and His Word exactly what we needed to do to turn this church around and go God's way again. I found myself being paralyzed sometimes by criticism of the changes we were making. Made me want to slow down or even stop. Bob Russell told me, "Eric, if you are one step ahead of your people, you're a leader. If you're three steps ahead, you're a target." That is so true! Leaders have to find that delicate balance. But at the same time, I see many church leaders, even locally here in Enid, that are controlled by the courts of church member opinion. When that is the case, you can't lead to where God needs you to take His church. Sometimes I think that if I was the guy who didn't give a rip about what other people thought, that might make me a more effective leader. Maybe a good barometer of your leadership is whether anyone is criticizing you or not. Criticism=movement.

The theme for Oakwood this year is "Follow Jesus to a place you've never been." That means pain. That means discomfort. That means effort. I’m so excited about the future of this place. And maybe now I can’t wait to hear people criticize it. Partially because it will help us figure out where we are wrong, and partially because it means we’re actually saying, doing, and being something significant to God and His Kingdom.

I spent a few hours with my staff every week planning ministry opportunities, discussing where people are at, where they need to be. We have a lot of good ideas that might make people a little uncomfortable. I will be criticized for these decisions, I'm sure. It’s very delicate. Some will think I’m going to lead from youthfulness and some will think I’m leading from old age. Ha! Some will think I changed too much, and some will think I didn’t change enough.

It’s okay – I’m going to lead. And when criticism comes, I’ll listen, learn, and continue to “be.”

“To be or not to be,” is not the question. I will be. And I will be criticized.

Be weird...because normal isn't working.

Eric

Deceptive or Deceived?

2011-09-27T09:14:00.001-05:00

First, take a moment and read 2 Samuel 11 & 12. Yes, 2 whole chapters of the Bible. It will take you about 6-7 minutes. Yes, it’s worth it. Then read on.

From his youth, King David was a committed follower of God. He believed in God’s ways enough that he even took out the giant, Goliath. Yet there was a time when this devoted believer gave in to temptation and committed adultery with Uriah's wife. His walk of integrity was severely compromised. What would happen next? How would David respond to God’s conviction on him?

Ethical and moral failings have set back Christians throughout the ages. We see it a lot today. I don’t know if I’m more sensitive to it today than I was a few years ago, or if it’s just striking closer to home with the people in my church and friends that I’ve had for years. There are many factors that drive people to sin. When a believer decides to do whatever it takes to obtain something he wants (ie. Stuff, a girlfriend/mate, recognition, acceptance by the world) then selfishness or greed is the root cause. At other times the desire for acceptance can tempt us to manipulate people and circumstances—or fabricate lies in order to make ourselves seem more desirable. And fear of conflict can result in compromised standards; many people try to fit in so they can avoid arguments. Compromise seems to be a common factor. Lower God’s standards to fit my life. There, now that’s better for me.

At first, even those close to us may not notice our deception in this. But God always sees. He will use our conscience to produce guilty feelings so we might confess our sin and turn from it. Self-protection will take over if we continue in unrighteousness—we will try to quiet our conscience by justifying the behavior. We begin making excuses for what we’ve done. Over time, we will draw away from certain people so they won't discover our ungodly behavior. By keeping them at a distance, we hope to avoid their scrutiny. Habitual sin may result in lost job opportunities, damaged friendships, broken families, and ultimately, a route away from God. No matter what the situation, when you veer from God’s ways, it leads nowhere good.

When confronted by Nathan, David recognized his sin, acknowledged it, and received forgiveness (2 Sam. 12:13). Here’s where the rubber meets the road now. How do you respond when the Holy Spirit convicts you of ungodliness? Do you see the reality of your behavior and repent? Or do you try to justify it and persist in your conduct? Now, think of how this applies to you personally…and to others you love. Do you need to share this with someone? It might just be the most loving thing you can do.

It's Already Happening

2011-09-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

Nothing charges me more than hearing about our church members doing amazing things for God. If you were here on Sunday, you know that I preached about Christians having greater boldness to share their faith. Acts 4:29 challenged me personally to pray and beg God for a greater boldness to share the gospel. I encourage you to listen to the message from Sunday, not because I'm some great preacher, but because I think that the story of the early church and what they faced challenges us to make a move for God. Here's the link: www.myoakwood.org/sermons Just look for September 11th called "Great Boldness".

So I get a call this morning from a guy in our church. He's excited to share with me that someone from his work is going to be joining his Bible study. Apparently God did some awesome work to have a mutual friend who goes to church here connect them and open the doors for conversations about God and His church. Now there is divine purpose for all that has happened there and God is using one of our men (or a couple of them) to possibly draw this guy into a relationship with the Lord. Amazing!

I've also had a couple of other stories and emails this week. A lady from our church called me about being bold in her faith in the hospital yesterday. Another lady emailed me about the courage she had to talk about faith and Christ with another student from her class at school. God is using our people to do some amazing things for Him! Doors are bring opened and the gospel is being shared.

At the end of the service Sunday we all prayed together this prayer: "Lord, enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness." And then we made it more personal: "Lord, enable me to speak your word with great boldness." Maybe we should all pray that everyday. And maybe through begging God to give us courage and strength and opportunities, maybe God will save many and call many back to Himself through our faithfulness.

Now I'm praying, do it again, Lord! Do it again!

No Good Excuse

2011-09-12T08:10:00.003-05:00

Received this from Greg Laurie and wanted to pass it along. I couldn't agree more. Maybe we all need to pass this along to a friend.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. —Hebrews 10:25

A reason is what we offer when we are unable to do something, while an excuse is what we offer when we don't want to do something and want to get out of it. And people offer a lot of excuses as to why they can't go to church.

Yet I look at the commitment that sports fans have—how they will go and support their team, no matter what. No matter what the circumstances or weather conditions, they will root their team on. They will dress in the team colors and even paint their faces. And when their team scores, they will yell in their excitement.

What if people were like that in church—never missing a service, never missing an opportunity to worship? And what if people offered the same reasons for not going to sporting events as they do for not going to church? Think how stupid it would sound: "Yeah, I don't go to the games anymore. The people who sat around me didn't seem all that friendly. And it is so crowded. There are just too many people." Or, "The seats were too uncomfortable." Or, "It is too hard to find a parking place." Or, "The coach never personally came and talked to me."

Or how about these excuses? "Well, I read a book on this sport, and I think I know more than the coach anyway." Or, "My parents took me to a lot of games when I was growing up, so I just don't want to go anymore."

I doubt you would ever hear these excuses for missing a sporting event, yet these are things people say about why they don't go to church. They may have a lot of excuses to offer, but none of them are reasons.

Godly by Association?

2011-09-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

There is an old English adage that says, "Still as of old, man by himself is priced. For 30 pieces Judas sold himself, not Christ." We think Judas sold Jesus, but it was in fact Judas who sold his own soul. How much is a soul worth? Judas figured that 30 pieces of silver ought to do it. And not only that, he betrayed Jesus with a kiss—a kiss from hell. Judas could have pointed Jesus out and said, "Okay, guys, that is Jesus. Take Him. Now give me my money." But no, Judas instead went up to Jesus and, in what looked like an act of affection and devotion, he kissed Jesus on the cheek. Judas wanted to appear to be spiritual.

There are people like that today. They are spiritually diseased on the inside but they want to appear godly on the outside. Judas is proof that association with godliness is no guarantee that you will be godly. Do you think that if you hang around godly people, it will make you godly? Not at all. They can be a good influence on you, and I highly recommend that you hang out with godly people. But I also recommend that you be a godly person who influences others. However, these things alone will not change your character in and of itself.

It would be like going out to a restaurant with friends, and while they order off the menu, you say, "Oh, I am not going to order anything. I will just look at the pictures in this menu. That will meet my needs and fill my stomach." You cannot grow spiritually by simply hanging around with godly people. To grow wise and develop spiritually, you must personally take in what Jesus offers.

Be God's You

2011-09-01T11:20:00.001-05:00

Have you ever said the words, "I want to be just like you!" to someone? We might find ourselves speaking these words to people we respect, love, and long to emulate. One day, you might find yourself expressing admiration to someone by speaking such a thing. But there's a problem that we must consider.

As we look up to someone and admire them in their maturity and faith we must make sure that we don't try to exactly emulate them. A little girl had once told her mother that she wanted to be just like her. Her mom, with such grace and wisdom, replied: “Oh honey, don’t ever rob the Kingdom of God of who YOU were meant to be…don’t waste your time trying to be someone else. God has a unique purpose for your life, and ONLY YOU can fulfill it.”

How many of us now at the ripe age of 26…38…52…need to hear those words? We look at others, striving to lead like them…minister like them…serve like them…be like them. But all along God is whispering in our ears for us to be who He created us to be…who He needs us to be.

Have you been robbing the Kingdom of God of who you were meant to be? Have you been trying to be someone you are not? Do you need to rest in the fact that there's a purpose that only you can fulfill for God? Or if God has already brought you through this journey, share some of the insights He taught you along the way with others. Build another up and encourage someone to be exactly what God wants them to be!

A Watered-Down Gospel

2011-08-16T09:08:00.000-05:00

Received this from Greg Laurie today. In lieu of the "prosperity gospel" that is so rampant in our world, I think that this is a timely thought. I always remember that as we follow Christ we don't ask "God, what can you do for me?" but we say, "God, you've done it all, what can I do for you?" Will you endure hardship For Christ?

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
—2 Timothy 2:3

Without question the greatest life to live is the Christian life, because God takes a life that was empty, aimless, and, worst of all, headed for a certain judgment and then turns it around and transforms it. He forgives all our sin, removes our guilt, and literally takes residence inside of us through the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, He changes our eternal address from a place called hell to a place called heaven. This all comes about as a result of the power of the gospel proclaimed and believed.

Yet some have believed what I would describe as a watered-down version of the gospel, a gospel that promises forgiveness but rarely mentions the need to repent of your sin, a gospel that promises peace but never warns of persecution, a gospel that says God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and never have any problems to speak of, a gospel that says you will so find the favor of God that a parking space always will be available for you. But that is not the gospel of the New Testament.

The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. Not only is there a God who loves you and has a plan for your life, but there is also a devil who hates you and opposes God's plan.

I am not suggesting that once you become a Christian, you will be sick, poor, and miserable. But the essence of the Christian life is knowing and walking with God. It is about sticking with Him when the sky is blue and also when it is filled with clouds. It is about pressing on. Jesus made it clear that storms will enter every life. But as we seek to know and follow Christ, we will find happiness as a fringe benefit.

Fully Surrendered?

2011-08-06T00:03:00.000-05:00

“All you have to do is ask Him into your heart today. There’s nothing more you have to do,” the preacher said. Is that really what the Bible teaches? Where is that found in the pages of Scripture? Simply ‘asking Jesus into your heart’ is a line of thinking has done indescribable damage to Christianity in America.

Americans have been exposed to this heresy for well over a century. If we go back to the late 1800s, Dwight L. Moody was one of the first to invite people, who believe in Jesus, to say “the sinner’s prayer.” Some fifty years later, evangelistic crusades popularized the practice of “believing and saying the sinner’s prayer” during altar calls. The sinner’s prayer started to be published in different pamphlets, brochures and books, making it more widespread in its use. Yet, nowhere in the New Testament does it say, “believe and say the sinner’s prayer” to be saved. In fact, the Bible "repent" & "be baptized" many more times than believe. ‘Easy-believism’ was not a known by the first century Christians (see Pagan Christianity by Viola & Barna, p. 190-191), who believed in Christ, repented of their sin, and were baptized, and often at the cost of their very own lives.

Jesus preached that we are to abandon our lives for the sake of following Him. Yet, our culture redefines Christianity to accommodate whatever form of faith the believer wants to follow. American Christianity is characterized by half-hearted, lukewarm, indifferent, uncommitted, mediocre believers. Only 17% of Americans are in church on any two Sundays a month, as revealed in an extensive 15-year study of worship attendance of over 200,000 American congregations by David Olson, Director of the American Church Research Project. Not even 2 out of 10 Americans regularly attend church! Easy-believism produces Christians who are comfortable with God, but not committed to God.

Christian authors are boldly confronting this heresy. David Platt, author of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, describes how Christians must be willing to abandon anything and everything for Christ. Craig Groeschel, in The Christian Atheist, confronts Christians who believe in God but live as if He doesn’t exist. Richard Stearns, in The Hole in our Gospel, urges Christians to leave behind worldly success for a life of significance and sacrifice for Christ. Francis Chan, in Crazy Love, says that our religious complacency must come to an end with tangible, radical solutions. It’s time to join them in confronting ‘easy believism’. (By the way, all of these aforementioned books have been or are studies at Oakwood right now!)

Simply put, we have to change the way we think. People think: “Can I get a divorce and still go to heaven? If I’m having sex with someone and we’re not married, can I go to heaven? Do I have to be baptized in order to be saved? If I commit suicide, can I still go to heaven?” These questions, and others like them, indicate a condition of the heart. They clearly indicate that we’re more concerned about getting to heaven than in loving the King. John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.” Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” We must change the way we think.

Jesus clearly said that to follow Him, we’re to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him. He said that if anyone is to save his life, he will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Him will save it. Jesus called the disciples to abandon their careers (i.e., fishing, tax collecting, etc.), and to reorient their lives completely around Him. He wanted their desires and dreams to be consumed by His. The disciples left every thing that was certain behind for what was uncertain. They sacrificed safety for risk, security for peril. Christ’s demands are no different on our lives, and it’s necessary to bring that truth into our minds as Christians. We must change the way we think.

Do American Christians live this way? No. Jesus didn’t really mean that we are to abandon all for Him. We twist His words into a more comfortable version— of a faith that brings us comfort and pleasure, while pursuing the American dream. The goal of the American dream is to make much of us, yet the goal of biblical Christianity is to make much of God. Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Will we?

I believe that all American Christians should be challenged to once and for all surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, even the ones in Enid, Oklahoma. If anyone will systematically move through the Word of God and pray and allow the Holy Spirit to transform their lives into the image of Christ, the most amazing and life-changing things will happen. They will be most like the One who was completely surrendered to the will of God, and they will do mighty things for the King. Just think what we could accomplish for the glory of God in advancing the kingdom of Christ by actually living surrendered lives! Will you pray with me for people who are more fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Will you fully surrender to Him?

Found Faithful

2011-07-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

2 Chronicles 27 says: "Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all his father Uzziah had done (although he did not enter the temple of the Lord.) But still the people acted corruptly. He built the Upper Gate of the house of the Lord, and he built extensively on the wall of Ophel. Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built fortresses and towers. He also fought with the king of the Ammonites and defeated them. And the people of Ammon gave him in that year one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand kors of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. The people of Ammon paid this to him in the second and third years also. So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. So Jotham rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Ahaz his son reigned in his place."

That's it, that's the whole chapter, 9 verses. I'm preaching on Jotham and faithfulness this weekend as a part of our "Time to Grow" series. Good stuff. Jotham was found a faithful king in a whole line of unfaithful ones. Jotham reigned sometime around 750-730 BC. He was a good example of one who held fast and persevered and these are traits that are so lacking in many people today. How many of us have started projects and never finished them? How many of us have made promises we didn’t keep? How many of us have made a commitment to the Lord and find that we are not as diligent or steadfast as we had promised, we are not faithful?

Jotham was only 25 years old when he became king of Judah and he reigned 16 years, 11 of which were apparently as co-regent with his father Uzziah who was struck with leprosy because he failed to worship God as instructed. Jotham’s mother was the daughter of a priest which gives some indication that she lived a righteous life. Jotham walked righteously before the Lord and executed true justice in Judah but seemed to have little effect of the people for many of them continued to walk in corrupt ways and to worship false gods.

While serving as king, Jotham carried out a public works program and completed several major building projects. These included the rebuilding of the upper gate of the temple that stood near the palace. This was the major gate used by the king and his royal officials. He also repaired part of the wall of Jerusalem in addition to building towns, forts, and military lookout towers. These were necessary for military defense and for storing food, supplies, and weapons.

King Jotham was blessed mightily by the Lord and grew more powerful throughout the years of his reign. God continued to bless him as he remained faithful to the Lord. He was steadfast in following the Lord, persevering throughout his entire life, unlike many people who start out well and end up forsaking the Lord or falling away. Jotham followed God though no others appeared to be doing so. He remained faithful and kept his commitments to the Lord and to his people.

James reminds us that saving faith and righteous works go hand in hand (James 2:14-24). Faith is the root of our salvation and good works are the fruit of our salvation. The works are the result not the cause. We are saved by grace through faith but saving faith, if it is real, will result in faithfulness. The evidence will be demonstrated by the changes it produces in our lives. Just as Jotham demonstrated his faith in God by remaining faithful in his working for God, so should we. As believers, we are to love the Lord, and to be faithful in following Him. We are to persevere to the end, just as Jotham did. 1 Cor. 15:58 says “Therefore, my beloved people, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain for the Lord.”

An Exciting Future

2011-07-18T13:04:00.000-05:00

Last night, the elders, staff, deacons, and myself met for our monthly meeting. It's called the board meeting, but it's truly not "bored". It is so wonderful to be a part of the healthy spiritual leadership that God can provide for a church. The meeting was long with much discussion, but we are discussing discipleship and how we can connect more people to a relationship with Jesus Christ.

If we were to identify one of our biggest obstacles as a church right now it's lay leadership. We need passionate followers to step out in faith and step up to leading others toward a deeper walk with the Lord. We need Sunday School teachers and Wednesday night class leaders. We need small group leaders and ministry team heads. I know that we are not the only church that's lacking in these areas. This is not a unique problem with the American churches. The challenge is finding the solution to the problem.

We are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. We are starting to see some of our younger members step up and volunteer for leadership. We are seeing long-time members step back into life-changing ministry roles. We are looking forward to what God will do with Oakwood in the future. I'm just glad to be a part of it as I get to share the Word and teach every week.

Remember to support the ministry of whatever church you call home. Support it with your financial giving, your time, your talents, and your testimony. There is no limit to what God can do with a life fully surrendered to Him.

A Message to the Masses

2011-07-06T09:43:00.000-05:00

My wife recently read an encouraging book written by a lead minister's wife about life being married to "the man" as she put it. This is an excerpt from the appendix in that book that she wrote to address people in the church. I think that it rings so true for us in ministry in church work. Reference is at the bottom. Please ponder and feel free to respond with a comment.

“A Message to the Masses”

Laypeople, the main thing that ministry wives want you to know is that their family loves you. Philippians 1:8 says, “God can testify how (we) long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” When God called us out to leave what was comfortable, we were able to obey because He equipped us with a supernatural affection for you-His cherished people.

We are going to mess up. We are going to fail you. We are going to turn right when we should have turned left. I am speaking for my own family, and I will presume to speak for others, when I say that it is rarely with ill intention or impure motive that we error. Luke and I take very seriously the grave responsibility we have of leading God’s flock, and we bathe our actions and decision making in prayer. However, that doesn’t make us immune to mistakes. Will you be forgiving? We may be imperfect, but we still desperately want to serve God by serving you. Will you let us?

In our defense, there are often two legitimate sides of an issue-and yet we are forced to choose one. If our choice falls on the opposite side of your own opinion, will you love us anyway? Can we agree to disagree and move on side by side even if we don’t feel like holding hands at the moment? When we can operate beyond our own desires and seek God’s agenda for our lives and churches, everyone wins. Above all, may God and His kingdom reign.

Taken from Lisa McKay "You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes"

Cohabitation for Dummies

2011-07-05T01:08:00.001-05:00

First of all, let me say that I'm sorry for not posting more lately. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me at the church and priorities have to shift sometimes to accomplish God's purpose. I'm hoping to get back in the saddle this week!

I do a ton of marriage counseling. Currently I'm working with about 5 couples who are all having marital issues. In the past 13+ years of ministry I've probably worked with 100+ couples on marriage related issues. Many of these would probably be labeled "crisis marriage counseling" situations. Many of these couples have problems that go back to the fact that they cohabitated before their wedding day. Let me share why I think that's an idiotic thing to do.

Cohabitation makes it easy for bad stuff to move into the relationship, bad stuff like sin against God and each other. Let me clarify that cohabitation in and of itself is not a sin, but it makes it easy for sin to occur.

You can try to make excuses for putting yourself in the "living together" position. We can't afford separate places (though we did before). That is so weak. I hate that one. We aren't sleeping together, he sleeps on the couch every night (really!). He didn't have any place else to go! We moved in because it's closer to work for both of us. We wanted to "try before you buy" and see if we were really compatible (that's what dating is for). Etc, etc.

Just like every prisoner is innocent, almost every cohabitating couple I have counseled is not having sex. It's like the young man whose mother came to visit her son. The mother had her doubts that the "roommate" live-in girlfriend and her son were not sleeping together. She kept her doubts to herself and left when the visit was over saying nothing. A week later her son wrote her an e-mail, "Mom, I'm not accusing you or anything, but we haven't been able to find the remote control to the TV since your visit." To which his mother replied, "Son, I'm not accusing you of anything, but if your "roommate" was sleeping in her own bed you would have found the your remote by now." I'm just saying, like good ole mom, I seriously have my doubts!

Regardless of whether they are having sex or not, I rarely meet "Christian" cohabitating couples who are proud of living together. That's good! We shouldn't be proud of sin. If we are proud of our sin, that shows are unregenerate heart toward God. I've been scared more recently because I have encountered some "Christian" couples that are quite proud of their living circumstances while their children and family members (and church members) are looking on. That's a discussion for another time, but it's concerning and disheartening that couples, even self-professing "Christian" couples, are showing approval for, if not flaunting, their bad choices.

When I meet with Christian couples who lived together before they got married, I see good people who put themselves in a bad position and are paying the price for their choices. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says that we are to "avoid every kind of evil" AND that we are to avoid things that might make our brothers and sisters in Christ "stumble" (1 Corinthians 10:32). We are definitely not supposed to be having premarital sex with someone we're not married to. You can argue that cohabitation is not sinful in itself, but it looks bad, causes Christian brothers and sisters to stumble, and--from my experience through the years--makes having a good marriage really hard to do.

The Bible teaches that marriage is a covenantal relationship in which God unites a man and woman so they become one. Behind the covenant is the special bond and unity that a healthy sexual relationship brings. Covenants serve to stabilize and secure relationships. Couples that have sex before marriage have convenient love. This "love" breeds insecurity and instability, amongst other things, because there are marital acts that are exchanged with no commitment tied to them. Convenient love and covenant love are not anything alike. Let me point out some comparisons:
Convenient love is at times irrational, while covenant live is rational. Convenient love is only feeling-based while covenant love is thought-based. What will you do when the feelings are gone? Convenient love's goal is happiness; covenant love's goal is joy, a fruit of the Spirit. Happiness will come and go but joy can be for always. Convenient love sees sex as an act of passion while covenant love sees sex as an expression of love and commitment. Convenient love is conditional while covenant love is unconditional. Convenient love avoids disagreements and suppresses them while covenant love processes disagreements and engages them. Convenient love stays...till something better comes along while covenant love stays for good. Convenient love is about me while covenant love is about you. Convenient love is insecure while covenant love is secure.

I could go on and on but I think that you get the point. Instability and insecurity kills marriages. When Amy and I got married, neither one of us had lived with someone of the opposite sex (except family, of course). It was pure adventure and so much fun when we got married and had to work through...well literally...everything. What time and how did we go to bed? What were our routines like? What household duties would we share or take on ourselves? It was wonderful figuring all of that out with the love of my life! Experiencing all of these new things together bonded us in a very powerful way.

Cohabitation (convenient love) doesn't make a marriage more secure...it has the exact opposite effect. Did you know that 40% of people who live together will end their relationships before marriage? Did you know that that couples who live together before marriage have the highest separation and divorce rates? And when there are families created before marriage (with kids), the rates only go higher. I just recently read that women who lived with their husbands before marriage have nearly 80% higher divorce rates than those who did not. That's astounding!

Let me cut to the chase, I think that cohabitation is an idiotic way to start your life with a possible mate. I've seen nothing good...nothing good, come of it. You can read statistics and talk to couples who are starting to grow up and get it and see the pain in their lives. Or you can take it from a preacher who does a ton of marriage counseling and would prefer to do much less of it!

Remember, Satan prowls like a roaring lion, seeking who he will devour. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Don't let him do it in your relationship with the one you love. Also, help a friend not make the same mistake either!

For Glenn Beck Fans

2011-06-22T15:27:00.001-05:00

This is an article I ran across on the Berean Call website written by T.A. McMahon.

Beck's Bogus Beliefs
Glenn Beck, the television and radio talk show host who is best known for his conservative political views, isn't someone whom we would normally address in our newsletter. Our concerns are usually directed at individuals, programs, or organizations that promote spiritual or theological views contrary to the Word of God. Beck, of late, seems to be making himself at home in that realm, and he's attracting many who call themselves Bible-believing Christians.

His influence among evangelicals is rather odd and may say more about the state of evangelicalism than about Beck's engaging personality. His popularity is proof that there is very little discernment that's based on testing things by the Scriptures--a consequence, in part, of the Church Growth Movement. Marketing principles have become the rule and are being used to fill churches. Biblical doctrines, which convict, have been set aside in favor of psychotherapeutic sermonettes--something to keep the folks feeling good about themselves and coming back for more. There's no doubt that this trend has dumbed down much of the church and has done away with discernment to a great extent.

Anyone who proclaims the name of Jesus--even though his understanding of who that is may be far removed from the biblical Jesus--is nevertheless accepted as a brother in Christ. Conservativism, political or otherwise, is seen to be the glue of spiritual fellowship, and its characteristics have taken on scriptural status and a basis for kinship. I've been told that "Beck must be a Christian because he's all about turning our country back to its Christian roots." That's erroneous on at least two counts.

First of all, Glenn Beck is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He may refer to himself as a Christian, but he's certainly not a biblical Christian. The distinction is as wide as hell is from heaven: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God" (2 John:9). Mormon doctrine is "another gospel" that exalts "another Jesus." Both false beliefs came out of the deceived and deceiving mind of Joseph Smith. Secondly, "our country" doesn't have "Christian roots," even though some are claiming that our founding fathers were true Christians. Many were not biblical Christians but Christians in name only, who followed the faith of Deism, Masonry, and the philosophy of the Enlightenment. Any early influence in America's history of a biblical nature very likely came from the Pilgrims and the Puritans.

Since I spend very little time watching television or listening to radio programs, I wasn't familiar with Glenn Beck, other than seeing him by chance on Fox News. I found his Catholic background and his conversion to Mormonism rather curious, given my own Catholic upbringing and, years later, my writing for the film documentary The God Makers. What I know about the overwhelming fictional nature of the Book of Mormon had me wondering why Beck's work as a conservative political analyst didn't give him the ability to discern the blatantly erroneous teachings, practices, and historical claims of Mormonism. However, it wasn't until he was invited to speak at Liberty University's Commencement in 2010 (the largest evangelical college in the U.S.) that I was first made aware of his growing influence among evangelical Christians.

The rationale, I was told, for having him speak to the graduating class was that his conservative point of view was consistent with the school's philosophy, and his message was needed at a time when the Obama administration seemed to be pushing this country down a path of socialism. The fact that he is a Mormon was not a concern because his address would be of a political nature, not spiritual. I learned after the event that he rewrote his talk just before speaking because he felt compelled to address spiritual issues. He said that his invitation to speak was not an endorsement of his religion by the university. "[But although we have] differences...we need to find those things that unite us." His speech was infused with religious terms that would appear to bring people together--except for the fact that these terms have very different meanings for Mormons and evangelicals. He frequently referred to the power of the Atonement, to faith, to the gospel, to the Holy Spirit, to personal revelations from God. Does it matter that a Mormon has a completely different understanding of the Atonement and the gospel from what is taught in the Bible?

Beck said, "Turn to God and live." What God might that be? The Mormon one, who has a physical body and lives on a planet near a star called Kolob? Or the One who is spirit and exists outside His creation?

Beck exhorted his audience to seek the truth. But which God is true? He closed his speech by challenging these mostly evangelical graduates to "question everything, including everything I have just told you" and to "read the Scriptures every day...." Would these include Latter-day Saints' scriptures such as the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price? What about "The Inspired Translation of the Bible," which Joseph Smith wrote to make sure that the Bible was "translated correctly"?

Beck's last words were greeted with a standing ovation from the faculty, the graduates, and their families and friends: "I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen." Were they cheering wildly for the biblical Jesus...or for the Jesus Christ of Mormonism? The two couldn't be more dissimilar.

For those enamored with Glenn Beck and upset with my concerns about him, let's take him up on his challenge to question his words. Many of the thoughts in his Liberty University speech can be found in his new book titled The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life, which he co-authored with psychiatrist Keith Ablow. In it, Beck sets the record straight as to his understanding of Mormonism. That's important because I have heard all kinds of explanations--from his being naïve about the faith fabricated by Joseph Smith to his being led to biblical salvation through faith alone in Jesus Christ by various evangelical leaders who have appeared on his television and radio programs. Beck, however, dispels any and all speculation:
I read everything there was to read on [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'] websites and every word of Mormon Doctrine. I treated Mormonism as if it were a hostile witness. For a while I went to the anti-Mormon literature for hints, but I found most of it to be unfair or just plain wrong. I tried every trick I could think of to find a contradiction. The problem was that I couldn't. Mormonism seemed to explain the world and my place in it better than any other faith I had looked at. It answered many spiritual questions that had gone unanswered for me for my entire life. (Beck &Ablow, The Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life, p.149)

In his Liberty University speech, which was often very emotional, he referred to the Old Testament book of Ezekiel and how he (Beck) felt that the call to be a "watchman," i.e., someone who stands guard to alert the people to the evil that could overtake them, was something God had put on his heart to do. It was his calling. If Beck's book is any indication of his "watchman" competency, he is either asleep at his post or has gone AWOL. Isaiah sets the criterion for God's watchman: "To the law and to the testimony [i.e., the Scriptures]: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). Does Beck speak according to God's Word? Even if one assumes that he is talking about the God of the Bible rather than the god of Mormonism, or what the Bible declares, it is clear by comparing his views with the teachings of the Bible that he's got them both wrong.

He and his psychiatrist co-author declare throughout their book that God is within everyone: "If God is everything and everywhere and inside everyone, then I figured He had to be inside me, too...." That is a foundational premise to most of what Beck presents. It is pantheism, a belief common to Hindus, Eastern mystics, and popular among New Agers.

The truth is that the God of the Bible is not part of His creation. He created everything out of nothing. If He were inseparable from His creation then He would be subject to the death and destruction that the universe is undergoing. That would deny His perfection.
The Word of God says that the born-again believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and that his body is the temple of God (Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 3:17). This is conditional, based upon faith in the biblical Jesus, and it involves God's taking up residence within the believer. God is not, nor does He become, a part of humanity.

If God were part of everyone and within everyone throughout all eternity (Beck &Ablow, Seven Wonders, p. 85), then He would be part of the evil makeup of every human. Of course, Beck and Ablow fervently deny that mankind is evil: "People are inherently good. Our souls are magnificent and capable of extraordinary performance" (p.165). That may make some "feel good about themselves," but it's contrary to numerous Scriptures that address the nature of man. The prophet Jeremiah tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (17:9), and Jesus said in Mark 10:18, "There is none good but one, that is, God."
That truth of the Bible poses a huge problem for psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, especially a Freudian psychotherapist like Keith Ablow. How so? He's in the business of facilitating a person's relief from the troublesome problems of living by helping him find his "true self, the really lovable and loving person you are at your core..." (Beck &Ablow, p. 185). The key to recovering the "real you," Ablow and Beck explain, involves a process of "digging up the painful parts of your life story..." (p. 107).

Nearly all psychotherapies assert that mankind's problems are caused by painful issues external to the person, such as emotional traumas, parental abuses, environmental conditions, a bad hair day, etc. Ablow tells us to "Accept that today's negative emotional and behavioral patterns are almost certainly connected to painful memories and unresolved conflicts in the past" (p. 131).
However, if it were acknowledged that the root of the problem is the innate evil within humanity (as the Bible declares, yet psychology denies), Ablow and his colleagues would be out of business. Just as a leopard can't change its spots, neither can the mental health practitioners do anything to change a person's sin nature. Only God can do that. Yet the charade in pursuit of the "higher self," "human potential," "self-discovery," and "the God-given reservoir of personal power inside you," (p. 50) continues to delude and deceive the masses.

Beck's description of his "life story," especially how he was led into Mormonism, is a reflection of what the pseudo-Christian cult is all about: it majors on the subjective and the experiential (e.g., a personal "burning in the bosom" experience from God). He believes that God guided him into the faith of Joseph Smith through a series of inexplicable events in his life. He says that God-ordained "coincidences," which he calls "bread crumbs," are available to help everyone "find their paths to embracing the truth" (p. 152). He and Ablow continually exalt the subjective and experiential through their promotion of "gut feelings," "intuition," "the third ear," and "the inner voice of truth inside us--the voice of God" (p. 265). They write, "Practice listening to your gut....In order to do this, you need to listen for inner voices inside you" (p. 274).

When discernment depends upon gut feelings and inner voices, it's a recipe for spiritual disaster: "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). The Bible tells us to put no trust in subjective experiences but rather to trust in God's written Word: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). Jesus' prayer to His Father certifies how He wants believers in Him to know Him and the truth of His teachings: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

Mormonism is rife with occult beliefs and practices, whether they be rituals taken from Masonic ceremonies to supposed communication with the deceased through baptism for the dead. This makes the Latter-day Saints extremely susceptible to demonic deception. Yet Glenn Beck seems to have added more false doctrine to an already bizarre belief system. He lauds the first-century heresy of gnosticism and gnostic books such as "The Gospel of Thomas"; he endorses communication through silent meditation ("Connect with the miracle of spirit, of God, that has lived inside you from long before you were born. You will be rewarded..." (p. 85); and he and Ablow espouse the Eastern mystical teaching of spiritual energy as an "immeasurable force that you can tap into to dramatically improve your existence....It is nothing less than your connection to God" (p. 113).

Lest someone object to one or another of the religious or psychological concepts Beck and Ablow are serving up, the two fall back on ecumenical pragmatism: "How can you begin to do this? Some people go to psychotherapists. Others go to pastoral counselors. Others begin to meditate. Still others start with twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Al-Anon. Whatever works for you is what you should do, but we've developed a four-step plan to help you get under way."
Perhaps the reason I quote the following verse more than any other in my recent articles is because I see the church and its shepherds looking more and more to the ways of man rather than to the Word of God: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12). Glenn Beck has no answers for those who are truly God's people. Nevertheless, I pray that he will come to the knowledge of the truth.

I also pray for greater discernment among those who claim to follow the biblical Jesus and the Word of God. Jesus declared to His disciples (which all true believers in Him are) that they were to "Take heed that no man deceive you" (Matthew 24:4). He was referring specifically to the last days, the time just prior to His return. It would be characterized by massive spiritual deception. For more than three decades Dave Hunt and I have been addressing the various elements the adversary of God has used to deceive the world and the church. Of late, our TBC articles have pointed out how the unifying beliefs that are common to diverse religious groups (and anti-religious groups!) are rallying them together with amazing speed. Their mission is fixed upon the earth as they unwittingly work toward building the kingdom of the Antichrist and his apostate religion.

The Way Things Ought To Be

2011-06-14T08:35:00.002-05:00

Rush Limbaugh wrote a book several years ago titled "The Way Things Ought To Be". The whole premise of the book was that this is how we should live life and operate as American citizens. These are the things that we should stop doing. These are the things that we should do, as Americans. As believers, there are some ways that things "ought to be" in our lives. We are called by Jesus to "take up our cross daily" and follow him. Take up your cross....

In Jesus' day, if you saw someone walking through the city carrying a cross, it meant one thing: that person was going to die.

So when Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24), it meant that we are to die to ourselves. We are to deny ourselves. The word "deny" means to say no to. It means to put God's will and desires above our own. Selfish people will find this outrageous, even offensive, and will find following Jesus to be too hard, the cost too high.

Maybe that is why the church is so weak and anemic today: we don't know that much about cross-bearing. Maybe if Christians stopped trying to be so much like the world, the world would start wanting to be more like us! Are we really carrying our cross today? Are we really dying to ourselves? This is precisely what Jesus is calling us to do.

To deny ourselves and take up the cross means many things. It is as simple as reading your Bible when you get up in the morning. That is taking up the cross and denying yourself. It means praying. It means bowing your head over a meal and giving God thanks, even in a public place. It means speaking up for Jesus Christ, even when it is uncomfortable or a bit awkward. It means being regularly involved in the ministry and life of the church, maybe even a deeper level of commitment. It means giving of your finances to God. It means that in your marriage, you put the needs of your mate above your own. It means putting God first and yourself second.

Jesus said, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25). That is living life as it was meant to be lived. This is the way things ought to be. Are you in?

25K

2011-06-14T08:21:00.002-05:00

Just noticed a couple days ago that my blog has crossed the 25,000 hit mark. I'm excited to share my thoughts with those who will listen and I feel that God has called me to write some things here that will hopefully edify the body of Christ. I'm humbled to think of that many hits, but it goes to show how God can use anyone, anywhere, anytime. So I say "Go God!" and thanks for the support of the blog.

Keep the faith!
Eric

What About Sunday School?

2011-06-09T16:10:00.003-05:00

A friend in ministry called me to brag that they were cancelling Sunday School for good. I asked why and he gave me a short list of mediocre reasons, centering mostly on declining attendance and a lack of interest. I know that in recent years good ole Sunday School has take some hits with many churches choosing small groups over the medium groups of Sunday School. But should we do away with Sunday School altogether? Is it an archaic model for teaching God's Word? Do churches really need to teach and educate members in the Bible? What benefits does a good Sunday School program offer us today? After observing small groups for about 15 years now, I have come to the conclusion that while they may provide a sense of belonging and community, they do not teach scripture well. I cringe when I hear what passes for biblical knowledge at most churches. I would argue to keep that medium group known as Sunday School alive and well and here's some reasons why:

1) For bible teaching. No other venue in the church other than worship services is better set up to teach the Word of God. Bibles, a white board, some curriculum (if needed), and a fervor for learning the things of God make for a growth plan that other venues can't touch when it comes to Bible learning. This is a small enough group to ask questions, but medium enough to carry rich discussion of God's Word. A good teacher and your set for raising the bar against biblical illiteracy in your church.

2) Adult Sunday School classes are consistent. They meet in the same time in the same room every week. There's no question about whose house or which night or whether the group is taking off for spring break. They'll be there, even for a person who has missed a couple of weeks and might seem out of touch.

3) They extend belonging and increase the potential for outreach. As the leader of a Sunday School class, your goal is to see irregular attendees become regular. You call an absentee and tell them you missed them on Sunday. You visit a class member in the hospital even if they haven't attended for several weeks. You invite everyone on your roll to the next class social function, including those who show up sporadically. These tactics keep you in touch with folks who might never commit to a weekly small group but have the potential to be developed as more serious followers of Jesus. What better way can you imagine for reaching and keeping the marginally committed?

4) They have enough resources for significant ministry. Dynamic Sunday School classes support missionaries, encourage widows, help new mothers, remodel classrooms, and serve funeral dinners. Because they're larger than a small group, they can more easily raise funds or get up a work crew for any Christian service project that needs accomplished.

5) They develop new leaders. Teachers of midsized groups can recruit table leaders who meet with them during the week to plan the lesson together. Each person leads a different circle of attendees for a portion of the class discussion. Dynamic classes need someone to plan socials and someone to follow-up with absentees and guests. Each of these volunteers learns to lead as the teacher encourages and trains them.

There are many other things to consider with this. So many times "Sunday School" seems old school to people. Rename it "Adult Bible Fellowships" or "Adult Bible Studies". I know that it takes leaders, but imagine the influence. Well-trained leaders, new groups, new meeting places, and hard work are requirements for a successful small group ministry too. I think that churches need both. These is no easy way to reach the lost and disciple the saved, but some methods are more effective than others. A well-executed Sunday School ministry is one of them. My vote is rename and revamp Sunday School, but educate those people in the Word. Watch what God can do when His people are students of the Word.

Confusing Allegiance

2011-06-02T09:44:00.002-05:00

This is an article that I had sent to me. The only identifier that I have for who wrote it is Tyler. He's obviously on a church staff somewhere. Interesting thoughts. We just dealt with a situation in the church recently that the staff has fondly labeled "Flag-gate". Ponder and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.

A few weeks ago a couple of concerned church members approached a minister on staff about the “shameful” state of the tattered American flag that flies near the entrance to the church building. They were kind enough to purchase a replacement, though they were not happy to see the flag in such disrepair.

Typically I would be oblivious to the whole situation, but the Senior Adults Minister asked me to help him change the flag. I am more than willing to help with chores here and there around the church, but this raised a theological dilemma. I have serious doubts that an American flag, or any nation’s flag for that matter, should be flown by a church.

The flag was going to go up anyway and the other pastor needed my help, so I consented. As we went about our work I was instructed that the flag cannot touch the ground lest it be defiled. I was also informed that the worn out flag would be given to some veterans to be “properly disposed of” – whatever that means. As we pulled down the old flag, carefully wrapping it up, I felt like I was doing something wrong.

I’ve been lambasted for opposing nationalism at a previous church so I was hesitant to say anything. With much trepidation, I casually began to talk about my issue with the flag flown by a church. It’s not that I’m anti-American. I cheer for America in the Olympics, eat apple pie and enjoy a good football game. I just don’t think the American flag has any place in the church. I would feel the same about an English, Chinese, Australian, or South African flag.

The problem is not separating Church and State. The idea of separating Church and State is an invention of the modern world. It assumes that the church does not have much to do with everyday life—a foreign concept to Jesus. My problem with flying an American flag is that it is a symbol of allegiance to a nation. The allegiance of believers belongs to God. St. John described the Roman Empire as a “beast” that blasphemes God and arrogantly demands allegiance that belongs to the Almighty (Rev 13:1-9). John reminds us that often nations compete for allegiance that belongs to God.

To my surprise the Senior’s Minister responded gracefully, “Well, I can certainly understand what you mean. I served a church that was near a military base once. They had difficulty distinguishing between God’s work and America.”

I was thankful for his response, but my dilemma is more significant. The Senior’s Minister reminded me that none of these concerned members would say that she actually worships America or that he would place his national allegiance before loyalty to God. Of course not, but sin is deceptive. I fear that we have already begun to worship America when we think the flag ought to be in a church. Why else place a symbol of allegiance in a place of worship?

Compare, for example, how we treat the American flag to the elements of the Eucharist – both symbols of allegiance to political entities. The flag cannot touch the ground and must be disposed of appropriately by its guardians. The bread of the body of Christ is thrown into the trash can in the kitchen along with dirty paper towels and rotten leftovers. The juice of his blood is poured down the drain along with soap suds and crumby remnants rinsed off plates and greasy pans. What does that say about our allegiance?

Yes, I have read Jesus’ response to the Pharisees’ loaded question about taxation (Mt 22:15-22 || Mk 12:13-17 || Lk 20.20-26). The crux of his response is the pithy statement, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and the things of God to God” (Mt 22:21). However this passage might be interpreted, it is abundantly clear that Jesus is not suggesting that Caesar needs to be represented in worship. If anything, Jesus’ response prompts reflection about the limits of what ought to be given to Caesar in a world that belongs to God.

iWorship

2011-05-18T17:08:00.004-05:00

For years now, churches have been fighting what many have deemed "worship wars". Many say that the Bible never mentions this concept, but the first homicide in the Bible was over how to approach God in worship. Perhaps that should have been a clue to us that this would be an issue!

Most debates about worship are really just indirect ways of talking about ourselves and our preferences in music, not God. Our discussions usually devolve into little more than spiritually camouflaged lists of preferences on how we'd like our worship service served up to us every week. It's worship as consumption rather than offering. It's more about human tastes than a longing to reflect the glory of the Almighty God. That's why I call it iWorship.

The iPod has forever changed the way people listen to music. No longer do you have to buy an entire CD for the one song your after. All you have to do is purchase the individual song that you like and download it in seconds. Wherever you are you can just pop in your earbuds and punch your personalized playlist, never having to hear something that is not your favorite.

I'm afraid that is how many of us approach worship today. We want to hear our personal playlist of worship tunes. It's almost like we've convinced ourselves that God likes what we like and He doesn't like what we don't like. It just so turns out that God's tastes are exactly the same as mine! Wow! How convenient!

In Revelation 4:1, John is invited to step through a "door standing open to heaven." What does he see there? A worship celebration like no other. God is clearly the object and focus of worship and He alone is receiving praise and honor.

Worship isn't about serving self. Worship is about seeing God and responding. The ultimate experience for us is being in His presence and expressing hearts of adoration, praise, allegiance, and gratitude for who He is and what He has done. And when we finally see Him in all His glory, we will gladly lay down whatever we have treasured in honor of a greater treasure...being with Him!

Love Wins Commentary

2011-05-16T16:29:00.001-05:00

Hell and Human Dignity

Do Our Choices Make a Difference? By Chuck Colson
May 16, 2011

Unless you’ve been on vacation in the Himalayas, you have no doubt heard about the controversy surrounding Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

Arguably, Bell’s tome is the first controversial Evangelical book of the Internet age: It was promoted by a “trailer” that appeared on many websites and dissected and condemned on countless more. Bell may enjoy the distinction of being the first person ever excommunicated via Twitter: one well-known writer tweeted “Farewell, Rob Bell.”
There are certainly important theological questions raised by Bell’s book, including whether anyone goes to hell forever.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat understands this well. In a recent column Douthat, a devout Catholic, writes that doing away with eternal punishment “is a natural way for pastors and theologians to make their God seem more humane.”
The impetus behind this impulse is understandable: In the wake of incalculable human suffering, talking about hell seems cruel and the idea of eternal punishment for wrong beliefs doubly so.

The problem, Douthat reminds us, is that attempts to make God seem more “humane” also “threaten to make human life less fully human.” That’s because, he writes, “to believe in God and not in hell is ultimately to disbelieve in the reality of human choices.” If we can’t say “no” to God’s offer of heaven, none of the other choices we make in life have any real meaning, either.

Douthat’s point is reminiscent of something James Schall, a professor at Georgetown, wrote in his book, On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs. Schall began by noting that C. S. Lewis once said that “we have never met a mere mortal.”

Schall continued, human “lives are not insignificant. They are risks... We like to be optimistic and suggest that no one loses his soul. But if this is so, it is hard to see how anything is of much importance. If nothing we do, say, or believe can really make any difference, what is [the source] our dignity? We may do what we want with impunity. Surely this is not the order of God for our good.”

And it’s not. And that’s the problem with efforts to dull the hard edges of the Christian message. Attempts to justify the ways of God to men often only wind up interfering with God’s plan for man.

It’s hard to square our belief in free will with the belief that, ultimately, nothing we do when we’re able to exercise it has any bearing on our eternal destiny. In some way we become like the denizens of an ant farm: no matter how much we burrow, it doesn’t change where we’re going or not going, for that matter.

It may make us feel better to believe that everyone goes to heaven. But what happens to the concept of justice? Is not God a God of justice?

Like Douthat, I understand Bell’s objection to the presumptuousness of some Christians. Instead of making declarations about the eternal destiny of people we’ve never met, we ought to be working out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
Folks, beware. This book is high on the New York Times bestseller list. Books like this are obviously appealing. But that doesn’t make them true.

Comfort in the Church

2011-05-14T00:19:00.003-05:00

I think it’s fairly evident that the society we live in is very self-centered, and this same characteristic can be present in a church. Whenever a local body of believers develops an inward focus, its fruitfulness in ministry begins to decrease, and each member’s Christian walk is hindered.

I attended my oldest daughter's piano recital this week at a local church. The church was nice, but dated. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary (some 20+ of them) each had a name at the bottom of the window. In memory of's lined the sanctuary walls. The names were actually in the stained glass. I must admit, I was saddened and totally caught off guard. I told my wife, "If you buy a stained glass window when I die, please put in loving memory of Jesus on it. That's what it should really be about."

It's not about you! And it's not about me. And it's not about personal preferences of decor, seating, music selection, or whatever makes one's church life enjoyable and easy. It's not about your memorial putting your name on some piece of God's church building.

Many believers want their church only to be cozy and comfortable. I can't stand that. They come to listen to a nice sermon, fellowship with friends, and have their needs met. But God never intended for the gathering of His people to be like a country club; He calls us to join an army that will bring the gospel into enemy territory.

An effective church—one that poses a real threat to the Enemy—is a body of discipled people who have been taught the truth of Scripture, trained for service, and helped to mature spiritually. But all this is accomplished for the purpose of going out into the world, not for becoming a self-contained sanctuary of Christian comfort.

The urgency of the Lord’s command and the desperate condition of humanity should motivate us to leave the safety of our Christian fellowships and deliver the message of salvation through Jesus. To avoid this responsibility is to miss the Father’s plan for your life and the opportunity to help build His kingdom.

None of us want to waste time or energy on trivial things and thereby miss the exciting fulfillment of God’s will. He has called us, not to a life of comfortable tradition, but to an adventure of obedience and holiness. We need to answer His call. We will be uncomfortable with the process, but the results will yield God's highest and best for our lives! And there may be many more in the Kingdom of God because someone allowed themselves to be a little uncomfortable...even in their "own" church.

Ties that Bind Real Churches

2011-05-11T15:00:00.002-05:00

Have you ever noticed how different the individual members of the same family can be? One child may be melancholy while another is a live wire. One may be especially gifted in music, and another, who has no interest in music, may excel in sports. In some cases they look nothing like each other or even their parents. Yet the members of a family share a bond stronger than their differences.

In the same way, within the Body of Christ, churches develop their own unique personalities. Some may insist on formal worship services, while others thrive in a relaxed atmosphere. But the most important thing about a church isn’t the superficial things that make it different, but what it has in common with other Christian assemblies.

There are certain truths—fundamental doctrines—that every true church is committed to. These doctrines are unalterable; they cannot be compromised in any way. They are non-negotiable. Yield on any one point, and the church ceases to be a church. Here are five foundational truths that distinguish all authentic churches.

A High View of God
It is essential that a church perceive itself as a body of believers designed for the glory of God. Unfortunately, most churches today have deviated from that priority and developed a human focus: meeting man’s felt needs. Instead of faithfully proclaiming God’s sufficient Word to direct people’s minds toward God, church leaders respond to superficial needs with temporary solutions like psychology, self-esteem, entertainment, or a myriad of other diversions.

As a result, the church is no longer an organism that emphasizes knowing and glorifying God; it is an organization that tries to help people feel good about themselves. But if you know and glorify God, you don’t need to be concerned about your needs because “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). When your relationship with God is right, your perspective on your needs will also be right. That doesn’t mean we should ignore people’s needs—we are to be concerned about people the same way God is. But there must be a balance, and it begins with a high view of God.

We must take God seriously and exalt Him. Yes, we are to reach out to people with the love of Christ, but God must be the focus of our worship and our life.

The Absolute Authority of Scripture
A second non-negotiable truth is the absolute authority of Scripture. God reveals Himself primarily through the pages of Scripture; that is why we must uphold it as our absolute authority.

Because we believe Scripture is true, we must proclaim it with conviction and without compromise or apology. The Bible makes bold claims, and Christians who believe it ought to affirm it boldly.

Anyone who faithfully and correctly proclaims the Word of God will speak with authority. It is not our own authority. Insofar as our teaching accurately reflects the truth of Scripture, it has the full weight of God’s own authority behind it. That is a staggering thought, but it is precisely how 1 Peter 4:11 instructs us to handle biblical truth: “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.”

If the Bible is true, then it is also authoritative. As divinely revealed truth, it carries the full weight of God’s own authority. If you claim to believe the Bible at all, you ultimately must bow to its authority. That means making it the final arbiter of truth—the rule by which every other opinion is evaluated.

Sound Doctrine
Another non-negotiable for the church is sound doctrine. If you have a high view of God and are committed to Him, you will obey His Word. The content of God’s Word is sound doctrine.

Countless Christians today are vague about doctrine. Many pastors offer short sermons that might excite or make their congregations feel better, but they have little to do with truths that matter. We need truths that we can hold on to—truths about God, life and death, heaven and hell, man and sin, redemption through Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit and angels, the believer’s position in Christ, and Satan and his realm. You need to be able to read a biblical text, discover what it says, and draw out divine principles. God’s people need solid doctrine to build their lives on.

Personal Holiness
We must draw lines when it comes to personal holiness and be careful what we expose ourselves and our children to. We dare not lower our standards to those of the world. Christians are called to live a pure life, and we can’t compromise that.

Second Corinthians 7:1 says, “Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” A church must enforce that standard (see Matt. 18:15-17). That’s why we implement church discipline where I pastor. If someone sins, we confront him or her for their own good and the good of the church as a whole.

Many Christians aren’t as concerned about their personal holiness as they should be. Where are you in terms of holiness and real communion with the living God? Church leaders aren’t the only ones who should live holy lives. You can’t have a half-hearted commitment to God and expect Him to work through you.

Spiritual Authority
One more component that’s true of a biblical church is spiritual authority. A church must understand that Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15) and that He mediates His rule in the church through godly elders (1 Thess. 5:13-14; Heb. 13:7,17).

Hebrews 13 says to submit to those over you in the Lord, for they watch your souls. Follow their example. Paul says to “recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (1 Thess. 5:12-13).

I am one of many leaders at our church. I happen to be the one whom God chose to preach, but I am one elder among many. While there are variations in the giftedness of spiritual leaders, there is still an equality of spiritual authority among those the Bible calls elders or overseers. Such spiritual leadership is essential to the church of Jesus Christ. That’s why the church must be committed to training and obeying godly leaders.

There is room for diversity within the Body of Christ. But every true church is united by certain non-negotiables. Make sure you and your church are committed to these ties that bind you to God.

Moments That Make or Break

2011-05-05T11:03:00.002-05:00

One of the challenges of life is that most of it happens in the mundane. You know, like today. Not much happening today. Today’s not special, spectacular, not wonderful, really no opportunities to be amazing today. Just get up and do the work.
But that is the treacherous nature of life; it’s that we fail to realize those big moments, those defining moments that come into our lives, and take advantage of them. Here are five moments that happen in the mundane. And depending on how you respond to them, they’ll make or break you.

The moment of temptation.
Temptation sneaks up on you because it starts small. It attacks your mind. You begin to think about how you’ve been slighted, unappreciated, maybe even cheated. And all of a sudden you feel justified in cheating yourself, cheating on yourself, quitting your commitments: you know, a thousand different temptations, a thousand different strokes. It’s how you respond in the moment of temptation that will determine how you can respond in the rest of your life.

The moment of testing.
Testing has to do with will. In the Scriptures it says “we get knocked down but we get up again.” That’s it, isn’t it? How strong is your resolve? It will be tested, and how you respond in that moment determines the depth and the quality of your life.

The moment of quitting.
Everyone faces a quitting moment. Think about a man and a woman standing at an altar, pledging undying love. They are married. But they fail to take into account, you don’t marry a perfect person. You aren’t perfect either and sometimes you feel unloved and unwanted, and the temptation to quit. That’s when you have to respond. You go to work and you don’t get the raise, or you’re passed over and you want to quit. You get discouraged and you want to quit. It’s pushing through those quitting moments. It’s the power to prevail, when everything inside of you wants to give up, that makes the difference.

The moment of opportunity.
Opportunity is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t come with bells and whistles. It often comes as one choice among many. It takes wisdom to know which one is the right one for you. But it also takes courage to seize the opportunity of a lifetime during the lifetime of the opportunity. Windows open; windows close. Doors open; doors close. You have to go through them or the opportunity is offered to someone else.

The moment of choice.
Each and everyday, you have ultimate power because you and you alone make your choices. If you give up those choices, your life is ruled and run by arbitrary forces. For fear of making the wrong choice, some of us get stuck in a rut. Wrong or right, a choice needs to be made. And it’s your ultimate power: the power to choose.

Education & Obedience

2011-05-04T10:35:00.003-05:00

I encounter many people today saying, "I just don't understand the Bible." Sadly, the fact is that many of those are Christians. It seems that I hear that comment more and more often. I can understand why those outside of Christ are unable to comprehend biblical concepts, but why are Christians struggling so?

I teach a couple of classes here at the church. Often I get the comment that I have a Bible College education and that you need to be a trained minister to understand this stuff. That's not the truth! I've met several trained ministers in my time who didn't really understand the word of God. They knew the facts, but there was no excitement for the Lord and His Word.

I think there is a link between education (knowledge of the Word) and obedience (doing what it says). Many today are professing Christians but not practicing Christians. When we act on what we read in the Bible we see it some to life and we begin to hear and understand the voice of truth better. If we don't obey what God has already revealed to us, then why would He give us deeper truths to deal with? "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him" (Psalm 25:14). Those who fear Him and obey His commandments are promised "a good understanding" (Psalm 111:10).

Living a fleshly & sinful lifestyle of disobedience to God clouds our judgement, diminishes our listening, and fogs our thinking. Although we have the "mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), our sin keeps us from tapping into the richness of the truth and wisdom that God wants us to find in His Word.

Do you want to know the fullness of the Word of God? Then read it and study it. Meditate on it day and night. (Joshua 1:8 "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.") But don't stop there. Do what it says. Obey and submit to God's plans and ideas for the life that He created. As you read, look for His instructions. Then rely on the Holy Spirit to lead you down that path of obedience. When you educate and obey, He'll reveal even deeper truths to you and your understanding will grow. And an exciting thing that will happen very soon...your time in the Word will become a delight instead of a duty.

May's Wallpaper

2011-05-03T16:54:00.004-05:00

Here's a link to May's Wallpaper for the church. So cool. Great job Alan, worship minister and graphic designer extraordinaire!

http://www.myoakwood.org/617663.ihtml

Keep the faith!

How to Listen to God's Word

2011-04-27T08:18:00.002-05:00

Some excellent thoughts from Charles Stanley. Wanted to pass these along. Be blessed and be a blessing.

How is it that two people can sit in the same pew, hear the same sermon about the same portion of Scripture, and walk away with two different reactions? One is joyful and the other unaffected. I think the reason is that some people do not know how to listen to the Word of God.

Nehemiah 8 is an amazing scene of God’s people coming together to hear His Word. Remember that they didn’t have individual copies of Scripture to read. For generations, the events of Genesis though Deuteronomy were passed down from parent to child. Moreover, the people had been in captivity for many years. This was the first time most of them heard the Word read. Imagine their excitement as they listened attentively for the Lord to speak to them.

The Israelites were hungry for God’s Word. Are you? Do you listen eagerly and with an expectant mind and heart? The length of a person’s attention span is directly related to the intensity of his hunger for something. If you crave to know more of God, then your mind is going to be fastened on what He’s saying through your pastor or your personal reading. And the reality is that nothing in the world matters as much as what the Lord has to say.

So many things clamor for our focus but few truly deserve it. The Lord is worthy of nothing less than our undivided attention. He has something to say to every person. So whoever listens to God’s Word with an open heart and alert mind will receive from Him.

Abide in Me

2011-04-19T13:59:00.003-05:00

John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

I preached on this passage a few weeks ago. I've had many conversations on this idea of abiding in Christ. Truly it is a key to spiritual growth in the life of a Christian. Especially since Jesus tells us straight up, "Apart from me you can do nothing."

Imagine if you planted a tree in your front yard, but after awhile, you decided it would look better in the backyard. Then after a few months, you realized it would better in the front yard. So, you dig it up and plant it again in the front yard. Not only will that tree fail to flourish, it will struggle to survive.

Yet many people are like that with God. They decide to go to church, read their Bible, and pray regularly. They do this for a month, and then they uproot themselves and disappear for a few months. Then they come back again. Then they uproot themselves and go back to the old life again. Eventually they come back and are at it again. But they never truly mature and grow spiritually that way.

Jesus calls us to abide in Him. That is the secret to spiritual growth: to abide. Abiding means staying in a given place. For believers, it means to maintain unbroken fellowship with god. It means regularity. It means consistency. And it results in producing lasting fruit in the believer's life.

Another way of abiding is walking with God daily. As 1 John 2:6 says, "He who says he abides in Him ought to himself walk just as He walked." Walking speaks of consistent motion. That means making time for the Word of God and for prayer with consistency. If you are too busy, then get up earlier. God to bed earlier. You will find time for what is important to you.

The true mark of conversion is the test of time and results in your life. So ask yourself right now and be honest...are you producing spiritual fruit?

Key verses from the N.T.

2011-04-14T09:05:00.003-05:00

Here's the scriptures from the New Testament as a follow up to my last blog. Remember that each verse acts like a North Star helping you keep on course toward the main idea and purpose of each biblical book. Hope this helps you in your study and understanding of the Word!

Matthew
5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Mark
10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Luke
19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
John
20:30-31 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Acts
1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Romans
5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians
1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
2 Corinthians
5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Galatians
5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Ephesians
4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Philippians
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Colossians
2:9-10 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
1 Thessalonians
4:14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
2 Thessalonians
3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
1 Timothy
4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
2 Timothy
2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Titus
1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Philemon
1:15-16 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.
Hebrews
1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
James
2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
1 Peter
1:7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
2 Peter
1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
1 John
5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
2 John
1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
3 John
1:5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.
Jude
1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Revelation
1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Key Verses from the O.T.

2011-04-12T16:15:00.003-05:00

If you could boil down each book of the Bible to the key verse(s) that summarized that book or identified its main purpose, what verses would you end up with? I thought I could do a simple search on the Internet and get several websites that had a list like this. But I couldn’t find one site that did. (How is it that you can find several sites dedicated to bellybutton lint, but you can’t find a site with a list of the key verse(s) in each book of the Bible?)

A list like this could be invaluable for Bible study. Each verse acts like a North Star helping you keep on course toward the main idea and purpose of each biblical book.

So I searched the world over and found this list from a guy names Brian Mavis who writes a blog and writes for Christian Standard. Thanks to Brian for putting this list of key verses together and posting it. Here is the list of the key verses from each Old Testament book. (New Testament Key verses coming soon!)

Old Testament

Genesis
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Exodus
3:7-10 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Leviticus
19:2 “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”
Numbers
14:22-23 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
Deuteronomy
7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Joshua
1:11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’ ”
Judges
17:6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Ruth
1:16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
1 Samuel
8:7-9 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”
2 Samuel
5:12 And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.
1 Kings
9:4-5 “As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
2 Kings
17:13-14 The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the LORD their God.
1 Chronicles
14:2 And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.
2 Chronicles
7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Ezra
6:21-22 So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.
Nehemiah
6:15-16 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
Esther
4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Job
2:3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Psalm
150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Proverbs
1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Ecclesiastes
12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Song of Solomon
6:3 I am my lover’s and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.
Isaiah
53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Jeremiah
2:19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
Lamentations
2:11 My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
Ezekiel
36:24-26 “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Daniel
2:22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
Hosea
3:1 The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
Joel
2:12-13 “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” 13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Amos
5:24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Obadiah
1:15 “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.
Jonah
4:11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”
Micah
6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Nahum
1:7-9 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, 8 but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness. 9 Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.
Habakkuk
3:2 LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Zephaniah
2:3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.
Haggai
1:4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Zechariah
9:9-10 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Malachi
4:1-2 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.”

Every Once in a While, You Just Need to Laugh

2011-04-06T12:02:00.002-05:00

Holding You Back

2011-04-06T09:27:00.005-05:00

Okay, so the blog is taking the back seat these days. I have good reason. Our sanctuary upgrade is long and hard, but we are making progress and will be back in by Palm Sunday. I'm excited. Here's a shot from last night's work night.

Great stuff. We are basically working every night till it's done and Saturday's all day (9-5 or longer). Monday I got to work at 8AM. Went home to change clothes at 5:10PM, had a meeting here with some people at 5:30PM, and started the work night at 6:30PM. I left at 10:05PM. Yesterday was about the same type of deal. We are all tired and ready to get this done, but at the same time there's a lot of joy and excitement every night as we work together on this. I hope that every man in the church will at some point put a little sweat equity into the God's church. Good stuff.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, and we were talking about people's resistance to change. We were sharing stories of people defending hymnals, carpet colors, wall paint, chair arrangements, you name it, people can make a "big deal" out of it. We laughed a lot. But what hit me later is how sad it really is. How much time and energy do we waste on petty things when we ought to be positive and supporting of our churches and their leaders? I find that complainers are usually sitting on the bench doing nothing. They have too much time on their hands in most cases. Servants just seem happier than sitters. (I think it's because they know they are doing something for their Lord!) Jesus put it this way, "The greatest among you will be your servant." Matthew 23:11

Do you ever feel so bound by decorum and tradition that you resist immersing yourself in God's Kingdom and His plans for this age? Have you seen churches lose their relevancy and stagnate by making caution a primary motivator--and being habitually slow to act and move forward? I pray that churches everywhere will continue to be pioneers for Jesus and not settlers. Pioneers have that spirit of moving forward and pressing on. They will not stop progressing no matter what stands in their way. Settlers just want to stay put and play it safe, a scary place for any Christian to be.

Live it forward!

A Live Catch

2011-03-30T08:30:00.003-05:00

This is a great devotion that I received from Greg Laurie today. Wanted to pass it on for your pondering. It was a good reminder to me that we will catch the good and the bad, the real believers and the false ones who are "playing" church and Christianity. We are nonetheless called to continue fishing for men.

The television series, Deadliest Catch, features fishermen on the tumultuous waters of the Bering Sea who pull in a lot of fish using massive nets. Sometimes they pull in a few other sea creatures as well, such as a shark, an octopus, or a squid. And sometimes they even pull in some junk. It becomes a mystery as to what they are going to pull in.

That is the idea behind a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13 known as the Parable of the Dragnet. The kingdom of God is like a net being pulled through the water. And with that net, all kinds of stuff will be gathered. So our job as the church, if you will, is to pull that net through the water of our communities and grab whomever we can. Will we get some bad with the good? Of course. Will we have false believers next to true believers? No question. But we are going to have the genuine as well.

Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). The phrase "fishers of men" could be better translated, "catch men alive." Not only that, but the phrase is used only one other time in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 2:26, where Paul speaks of those who have been taken captive by the devil to do his will. In other words, they are caught alive by Satan.

We have a choice before us: either God will catch people alive or the devil will catch them alive. Which will it be? So let's go fishing for men. Because these people who don't know Jesus Christ are like people who are in prison. You could even describe them as POWs. And our job is not to search and destroy, but to find and deliver.

A Live Catch

2011-03-30T08:30:00.002-05:00

Noah's Interrogation

2011-03-28T08:30:00.003-05:00

When You Find Yourself Cooling Off

2011-03-24T10:01:00.002-05:00

I read this devotion this morning from Charles Stanley. Preach it, brother!

Lighting the Fire Again
Matthew 22:36-38

Let’s continue looking at the Lord’s warning to the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:4). The Ephesians are a model of cooled-down faith. Their fervor is gone, though they’re still going through the motions of serving God and even defending the faith.
Christ’s warning to the Ephesians extends to modern-day believers whose hearts have grown cold. He looks at distracted and complacent Christians who are laboring for every reason but the right one, and He cries out, “What I want is not your empty service; I want you!”

The heart cools gradually as a person gives higher priority to other relationships and activities than to the Lord. Our enemy Satan has subtly shaped how the word “idol” is perceived. He’s limited the definition to false gods. The truth is, anything that distracts from God qualifies as an idol. For example, the god of this age is sports. So many believers know more about stats than Scripture and show more passion in the stands than in a worship service.

Returning to a life of passionate service for God begins with repentance. We must assume responsibility for drifting away from our first love. Then, we’re to put Jesus Christ back on the throne of our heart and reconnect with Him through regular prayer and Bible meditation.

God desires an intimate relationship with every believer. So let me ask you a question: Are you excited about Jesus? Our best and purest devotion will be to whatever or whomever we prioritize above all else. If that is not Jesus, repent and let Him rekindle the flame of your first love.

Answering Questions about Eternal Punishment

2011-03-23T10:53:00.005-05:00

Got this from James Lichtenberger, our new sports/outreach minister working in our activity center. Thanks James!

This is an excellent article about hell, what happens when we die, and all things eternal punishment. Mark Driscoll gives a fair and balanced view on hell by using the truth of God's Word. I love this because it's the TRUTH from the Bible! I hope that you read this and search the scriptures for yourself and get a truly biblical understanding of these issues. This may help you address what I blogged about before in regards to Rob Bell and his question, "Does God send millions of people to hell?!"

Mark Driscoll article Part 1

Mark Driscoll article Part 2

Rob Bell & "Love Wins"

2011-03-15T11:02:00.002-05:00

View this video and then you can read my response below.

I had a good friend e-mail me and ask me about all of this and what I thought. So, I typed up the response below. Understand that I could say a lot more about this, but this is the "quick" response.

He makes some good points, but he’s definitely moving toward a man-centered theology where it’s all about us, what we want to believe, what we can understand. What scripture calls “the mysteries of God” are things that are too deep for us to fathom in this life. The Ghandi question is simple. Ghandi is in hell if he did not call on Jesus as Savior. Period. End of story. When Jesus said, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life, and NO ONE comes to the Father except through me,” that’s exactly what Jesus meant. He’s the end all! He’s supreme! He’s the righteous judge!

My concerns with Rob Bell lately is that he’s slowly becoming a pluralist and a false teacher as he bends scriptures to make himself feel better about his eternity. And knowing that we all struggle with that concept, he’s gonna sell us a book about it. Rob has had some good stuff in the past. He’s also had some bad stuff. He needs to be perceived with caution, holding up his “truths” to THE truth, scripture.

We must be ever more discerning, especially as the end draws near. I leave you with this scary passage. I wonder how Rob would handle it.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Notice that it says “many…on that day”. Not a few, not a handful, but many will not enter the Kingdom. Scary. The ESV (Eric Standard Version) of this scripture would read like this: Many on that day will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not attend Sunday School and even give a little bit in the offering plate and we even served in the nursery?” And Jesus will say to them plainly, “I don’t even know you. Depart from me you who loved the world more!”

Again, Jesus brings it back to the point that it’s about a relationship with Him, not what we do. The actions and deeds show the heart and should follow the heart. But deeds cannot save. The main thing is that we know Him and accept Him as Savior and LORD and participate in the power of His resurrection.

The Story of Demas

2011-03-14T17:41:00.002-05:00

Imagine being mentioned by name in one of the epistles written by Paul. Exciting right?! Not only was Demas mentioned, but he was mentioned twice. First Paul wrote in Philemon, "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers" (1:23–24). Then Paul mentioned him a second time: "Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica" (2 Timothy 4:10).

So why would Demas leave Paul? From the text we gather that it was because he loved this present world. He loved the things of this life the scripture states. What does that mean? He made a choice. He basically chose this world over God's love. The Bible says, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world." (1 John 2:15–16).

When the Bible speaks of the world, it is speaking of a culture, a mentality that is hostile to God. Sometimes it is quite subtle in its hostility, but the world is always trying to lure us away. Thus goes the story of Demas. And thus goes the story of many Christians today who fall more in the love with what this world has to offer.

The Truth about Wealth

2011-03-09T08:32:00.004-06:00

Had to share this thought from Greg Laurie. Good insights. I think he hits the nail on the head about Jesus and the rich young ruler. Also, pay close attention to the last paragraph. The problem is the love of money. Hope this enhances your walk with Jesus as we sojourn through this world.

When Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth" (Matthew 6:19), the term "lay up" did not simply speak of having possessions, but of your possessions having you. "Lay up" could be better translated "hoard" or "stockpile."

Jesus was not saying that it is wrong to have things. He was warning against becoming materialistic—letting things become more important than God.

God created us to love people and use things, but a materialist loves things and uses people. There is nothing wrong with having possessions and a successful career. The apostle Paul wrote, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17). God can bless a person. In fact, we read in the Bible of those who had wealth, such as Abraham, Job, David, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, and Barnabas.

Jesus did not extol poverty as some great virtue. In fact, only one time did He tell someone—the rich young ruler—to sell his possessions and give to the poor. I think it was because that man was possessed by his possessions. Because when Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21), the Bible says that he went away sorrowful. It was a test to see whether God was more important to him than his things.

Money is not the root of all evil; the love of it is. The problem with wealth is not in having it. It is how we get it. It is how we guard it. And it is how we give it.

Belong, Believe, Behave

2011-03-01T09:14:00.003-06:00

I was at the Preaching/Teaching convention last week in Joplin, MO. There were over 600 lead ministers there and over 1,100 attending the convention. When you get that many ministers together, you are bound to see and hear some good teaching. I was so blessed to go and was so thankful that Oakwood believes in continuing education for its ministry staff. These conferences are such a blessing to all of us. They help sharpen the skills and keep the vision fresh.

The theme of the convention this year was "Go". How exciting. I was like, come on! Can we not come up with anything better than go? Though the theme was weak, it was focused on evangelism which isn't a weak topic at all. There were some really good workshops and speakers on all angles and facets of evangelism.

Phil Claycomb of Nexus Church Planting out of Dallas, TX gave an excellent workshop on Evangelistic DNA in Churches. One of the things that he highlighted in his class dealt with how people come to Christ today. We also dealt with church methodology but more in theory and principle than practical.

In the past, the stages went like this:
1. Receive information
2. Come to faith
3. Commitment to growth & church
4. Community & fellowship

But today it's more like this::
1. Community & fellowship
2. Come to faith
3. Commitment to growth & church
4. Receive information

In the past, the church's evangelistic message has been that you behave, then you believe, then you belong. But today's unchurched need to belong, then believe, and then behave.

So many times when people seek God by visiting His church, the church says to them, "Clean yourself up and behave." Then we invite them to believe and then they can belong to our fellowship. But what we really need to be doing is loving them and beginning a relationship with them and giving them a sense of belonging, that we have time and space and want them here. Then hopefully through our love and example we can introduce them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Then we can teach them to behave in the pattern of scripture.

Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20 The command here is "make disciples" . How? "Go" is the call to go to them and make them feel welcome and loved. "Baptizing them" happens after their belief and faith in Jesus Christ. It's the conversion part of evangelism. "Teaching them to obey" is the behave part that we often ignore or fail to put into good practice in the church.

I hope that if you are reading this you understand the implications for evangelism. We must love people and meet them where they are at first. In scripture it's recorded that Jesus had compassion on the crowds. That they were like sheep without a shepherd. There are many in our world today that are exactly the same. Sheep without the good shepherd, Jesus. What are we doing to show them love and compassion?

Because You're Drowning

2011-02-15T16:15:00.003-06:00

Have you ever been at the beach and felt the pull of the tide? A man was at a beach one time with his son. The father held his son in the water will the water was over chest high. A rip tide got a hold of the man and suddenly, he was out far enough that he couldn't touch the bottom. He was still close to the shore, but with that little riptide pulling....

It would have been really humiliating for him, a guy who grew up at the beach and had been around it his whole life, to cry out for help so close to land. So, he didn't say anything. He was holding his son above the water, getting pulled a little bit more and more into the deep. The lifeguard on duty was looking at him, probably waiting for a call for help, but the man would not call out.

He was getting pulled a little further and a little deeper. The lifeguard most likely thought, "What an idiot! I'm going to go save this man and his son!" The lifeguard came down from the chair, jumped in and starting swimming toward the man and his son. Just as he got to them, the man could get his feet on the bottom again. The man told the lifeguard, "I'm okay. We're alright." Why couldn't he cry out for help?

Pride. He was too proud.

In that same way, we don't like to say, "I need God's help." We want to say, "I am a good person. I am a strong person. I'm good on my own." Though you may be a good man or a good woman, you have sinned, just like every one of us has. One sin is enough to keep you out of heaven. That is why we need a Savior. We need a Savior because we are drowning without Him.

Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them."

Snowmegeddon

2011-02-09T16:23:00.007-06:00

As a lover of snow, I'm thrilled with the 12 or 13 inches that we received last night. Here are some pictures as I got around today. I saw some drifts 4-5 ft. Wow. School is cancelled today and tomorrow. Good times!

The 3P Challenge!!!

2011-02-02T13:33:00.001-06:00

Check out the link below. This is Jason, our youth minister here at Oakwood, outlining a challenge for students in our ministry. I wonder how different our youth group will look this fall because of this, and more so, how many students will have their eternal destinations changed! Catch a glimpse of the evangelism process for our youth. Good stuff!

Oakwood Student Ministry Blog: 3P Challenge!!!: "Wednesday, January 26th, we cast a vision for our students for the entire year of 2011. The 3P challenge is our mission and our goal.&..."

Derek Saw His Shadow

2011-02-02T11:09:00.003-06:00

Our old youth minister here at Oakwood was named Derek. He and I are still good friends and his birthday is February 2nd. I texted him this morning and wished him a happy birthday. I also asked him if he saw his shadow today (a joke through the years), to which he said that he did. What does that mean, you may ask? Even though the groundhog didn't see his shadow today, Derek saw his. That means that there's 6 more weeks of winter for Oklahoma. Yeah!!!!! Bring on the snow! And Happy Birthday, Derek!

Snooooooklahoma!

2011-02-01T11:23:00.003-06:00

Click on the picture to enlarge it and then click it again to see the detail. Fun!

Forgiveness is Hard

2011-01-26T14:05:00.003-06:00

I've had many a conversation just this week about forgiveness. So many struggle with this issue. This may be more of a tweet than a blog entry.

Corrie ten Boom said, "God has taken our sin. He has thrown it into the sea of forgetfulness, and he has posted a sign there that says, 'No fishing allowed.' "

We should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget.

Meager Offerings

2011-01-25T00:26:00.001-06:00

Great thoughts from Greg Laurie. Just had to share this with you. Be blessed in the Lord and GO BEYOND: Follow Jesus to a place you've never been!

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
— John 6:11

It was a meager offering when the young boy brought his lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus. Even Andrew said, "But what are they among so many?" (John 6:9). But Jesus took it, blessed it, and multiplied it—and thousands were impacted.

God can take your meager offering and do a lot with a little. A. W. Tozer said, "The world is waiting to hear an authentic voice, a voice from God—not an echo of what others are doing and saying, but an authentic voice." What the world needs to see today is an authentic Christian, not a perfect voice, not a flawless person (because there is no such individual), but authenticity. That is what people need to see.

John Wesley said, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth."

Imagine what would happen if just 100 believers took this to heart. What if 200 did? How about 400? How about 500? What about 800? What about 1,000? What about 2,000 or more? What would happen in our cities? What would happen in our states? What would happen in the United States? What would happen in the world? A lot.

Sure, all of us are flawed. All of us fall short. None of us are qualified in and of ourselves. But God can do His work through imperfect people. In fact, it seems as though He goes out of His way to find imperfect people to work through. What God is looking for today is not ability as much as availability. Are you willing to be someone who will shake your world?

Since We Have a Quilting Ministry

2011-01-18T15:16:00.002-06:00

A Little Sheltered

2011-01-17T15:47:00.003-06:00

After the elder's meeting last night, one of the elders stayed after to talk to me for a few minutes about a potential church member of Oakwood that I had been talking to. He told me some things that he had seen and heard about this person. I'm listening to this and he threw out a term that I was unfamiliar with. Then he explained what it meant and the intention of it and I was shocked and embarrassed that I hadn't caught on.

I realized after that conversation that I am a bit sheltered. The office that I go to everyday is filled with scripture and prayer. There is no foul language or filthy talk at the office, no innuendo of any type. And I realized after speaking with this dear brother in the Lord that he is exposed to much more worldliness on a daily basis than I am. This awareness has made me pray today and feel for my church members that deal with this kind of stuff everyday of their lives. And for some of them, it's all day every day.

I know that the world is corrupt and evil. I know that people in the last days will become even more filthy with the world. I see that progression happening today and it will probably only get worse.

The lesson here for me and all of us as Christians is to be aware what others may be dealing with in the world. There may be some that have jobs and schools where they are exposed to much more sin and evil than you and I are. I remember working in a secular job before ministry and when I laid out of ministry for a few months several years ago. I remember the foul language and coarse jokes and hearing and being exposed to those all of the time. As a Christian, it's not fun and can become downright annoying. For some it can really become a downer. We should pray for one another and pray for our witness and testimony to remain pure. This is the light that we have that penetrated the darkness of our sinful world. Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Go Francis!

2011-01-13T13:47:00.001-06:00

Great video I saw today!

Since It's Been So Cold Here

2011-01-13T13:25:00.003-06:00

It's been over 72 hours since we've been above freezing here in Enid, OK. Looks like we're going to crack it today with a balmy 34. In lieu of this information, I had to share this. Enjoy!

Temptation- Where does it come from?

2011-01-12T08:27:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been minding your own business, when boom, you are hit with a heavy-duty temptation? It might be an evil thought, a lustful one, doubt, or the plethora of self-control issues. When this happens you wonder, where in the world did that come from? The answer is: the devil.

Yes, we can play a part in our own temptation, but there is clearly an enemy who comes at us with his enticements. He knows how to "package his wares" and make bad things look good. That's because things forbidden have a secret charm. In the end, it's always bad. Sometimes, it can even get ugly.

It is important to know that temptation and attack often come after times of great blessing. We let our guards down. We begin to relax in the times of ease. We quit praying and calling on the Lord. We stop asking for his protection and guidance because...well...we feel really protected and guided at that point. Then boom, out of nowhere, the devil (who prowls like a roaring lion seeking whom he will devour the Bible says, 1 Peter 5:8) throws some temptation our way.

It was after a time of great blessing in the life of Jesus that He was tempted by Satan. Jesus had just been baptized by His cousin John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit had descended on Him in the form of a dove, and the Heavenly Father proudly said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Good times and times of ease, joy, happiness, contentment, and fulfillment.

But Luke's Gospel tells us, "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil" (Luke 4:1–2). It was after the dove that the devil came. After the blessing comes the trial. Times of attack often come after "mountaintop" experiences.

We read of when Jesus was on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah. Once again, God spoke, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" As they descended from the mountain, a man with a demon-possessed child was waiting. Whenever God speaks, the devil will be there to oppose.

So what is the solution? It is to be aware of this truth, and always keep your guard up. Then the next time those "flaming arrows" of temptation come your way, you will know to put up your shield (read Ephesians 6:10-20)!

What's Holding You Back?

2011-01-09T09:35:00.003-06:00

I received this in one of my pastoral emails that I subscribe to. It's from a pastor named Perry Noble. I think he's right on. What's holding you back from growing in the Lord?

The story of the Rich Young Ruler has always seized my attention. (You can read it in Mark 10:17-22.) Jesus told him in verse Mark 10:21 that there was basically ONE THING that was holding him back from being His follower. (And the guy was unwilling to give up that one thing!)

I’ve been in ministry for about 20 years now, and through my personal experiences and with what I’ve seen in others, I’ve basically identified four “one things” that commonly hold people back.

#1 – Money – Jesus said that money is the number one competitor for our hearts. (See Matthew 6:19-24) Paul gave specific warnings regarding money (I Timothy 6:6-19). And we know from the story that this was the rich young ruler's problem. We cannot be fully committed followers of Christ if greed is the obsession of our hearts. God is generous…His followers should be as well.

#2 – Anger/Unforgiveness – What Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15 does not get a lot of press, but the importance of His statement is VITAL and ESSENTIAL to you and me having a dynamic, victorious walk with Jesus. He flat out said that if we do not forgive, we are not forgiven. (Also see I John 2:9-11) We cannot pursue Jesus with all our hearts if bitterness and unforgiveness dominates our minds and hearts. One of the things that we miss so often in reading the book of Job is that God DID bless Job and more than restore all that he had lost…but He did so AFTER Job forgave and prayed for his legalistic friends who had done nothing but tear him down for days! (See Job 42:10) MAYBE the reason you cannot move forward in your walk with Christ is because you are not willing to extend the same forgiveness you claim that God has given to you.

#3 – Unconfessed Sin – Is there an issue that God keeps coming after that you refuse to let go of? Remember…He will RELENTLESSLY pursue your heart, not your behavior. AND…to KNOW Him intimately is to obey Him immediately!! We’ve GOT to remember that “delayed obedience” is radical disobedience. If He’s coming after something in your life, it is only because He wants to replace it with something better. (Read Mark 10:17 again and notice that the Bible specifically says that Jesus LOVED this guy…and out of that love, He came after the idol in the guy's life!) My advice here would simply be to let go of whatever He’s after…AND…if He’s clearly spoken to you about an issue, then just do what He says…He’s not changing His mind!

#4 – An Ungodly Relationship – You cannot pursue an affair and pursue Jesus. You cannot have sex with someone you are not married to and pursue Jesus. You cannot date someone that Jesus says not to date and be close to Him. Some people have their identity in who they are dating (or having sex with) rather than Christ…and this ALWAYS destroys our fellowship with Him.

I am sure there are other things that we all deal with…but these are four things that so often hold us back from being who God wants us to be!

Church Types

2010-12-29T10:12:00.003-06:00

I read a lot of books, articles, etc. In being an avid reader, it seems that my mind is always turning a churning. I chew on ideas and concepts all of the time. Some of my best ideas have been birthed out of reading something and thinking it over for a time. This blog entry is birthed out of several articles that I've read in Christian Standard and the Lookout, a book I'm reading on the "Reformissional Church" (not to be confused with the "reformation" church or churches).

Postmodernism has ushered in a new era in the life of the church. The golden years of the church no longer exist (if they ever did in the first place). In this new age of secularism and "forward thinking", relativism is king and tolerance is applauded. If everyone just let's everybody do and believe whatever they want, then we're all happy, right?! If someone wants to murder another person, that must be okay as long as it's okay with them. And most normal civilized people with any type of heart or compassion would stop me there and say, "Hey preacher, you just stepped one foot over the line." But my reply to you would be, "Who drew that line?" There's only one true answer to that question and we all know the right answer.

Today, the church finds itself as one of many options for a "belief system". Culture is throwing many options for "faith" at the people, and everyone is setting up their own belief system. This swing toward a man-centered theology versus a God-centered is alarming and the church has much to be concerned about if we wish to remain relevant to our culture of tolerance. The greatest thing we have is the truth. And most people, even the postmoderns, ultimately want to know the truth.

Through this time in church life and history it's interesting to see how the church will respond. There are several different types of churches that will respond in several different types of ways:

1) The assimilating church is the first type of church. This church tries to prevail by making itself relevant to the prevailing culture by adopting some of the culture's characteristics, using 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 as its justification. The problem with this type of church is that it tends to become so focused on relevancy that it's seduced and assimilated to the culture. The church then loses its biblical purpose for existence.

2) The protecting church goes to the other extreme of the assimilating church and wants to boycott current culture and set up its own little parallel culture. It's a form of separatism and the "holy huddle" mentality. It's a circle the wagons and protect mentality. Isn't the purpose of the church to make disciples and doesn't that mean that we have to engage culture?

3) The unchanging church just ignores the world around it. This church believes that it has nothing to do with the world or culture. Enough said on this one, you get the picture. (Amish, Anabaptist, some Mennonite sects, and other conservative extremes of denominations)

4) The battling church sees the two opposing worldviews and equates them as enemies in a battle. This church declares war on the culture and tends to pick fights with...well...just about anyone. It becomes more about the war than the result. Many times these churches try to bring about change through political means and advocacy groups or para-church organizations(the Moral Majority, Pat Robertson, etc.) This church is great at polarizing people rather than trying to bring them to the Lord into togetherness.

5) The influencing church doesn't necessarily want to be the best church in the community. It wants to be the best church for the community. It loves the people who are stuck in the culture and tries to talk about differences between truth and lies in order to influence change. It is involved in culture to facilitate change. It seeks to influence rather than battle.

Hopefully this will make a person look inside their church and ask, "what type of church are we?" And if we are all honest, it will only take a jiffy to figure out where your church really is. Perhaps for some, you may find your church somewhere in between a couple of these descriptions. Regardless, let's consider the book of Acts and see what and how church is really supposed to be. That's what I'm praying and hoping for Oakwood!

What's With the Gifts?

2010-12-23T23:03:00.002-06:00

Where did Christmas gift giving come from? If we go back to the first Christmas story when God sent Jesus to earth, we recall that Jesus was given three gifts by the wise men or Magi, which serve as the inspiration for all our Christmas gift giving today.

Tomorrow night I'm going to be sharing "The Gifts of the Magi" as my Christmas Eve devotion. The Magi presented Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were very prophetic for they spoke of our Lord's offices of King, Priest, and Savior.

GOLD: This carries obvious significance. It's a gift fit for royalty. It says to the Christ child, You will be a King. Throughout history gold has been considered the most precious of metals and the universal symbol of material value and wealth. It was used extensively in the construction of the Temple (see 1 Kings 6-7, 9; 2 Chron. 2-4). It was also a symbol of nobility and royalty (see Gen. 41:4; 1 Kings 10:1-13; etc.). Matthew continually presents Christ as the King, and here we see the King of the Jews, the King of kings, appropriately being presented with the royal gift of gold.

FRANKINCENSE: Frankincense was a costly, beautiful-smelling incense that was used only for the most special of occasions. It was used in the grain offerings at the Tabernacle and Temple (Lev. 2:2, 15-16), in certain royal processions (Song of Sol. 3:6-7), and sometimes at weddings if it could be afforded. Origen, the great church Father, suggested that frankincense was the incense of deity. In the Old Testament it was stored in a special chamber in front of the Temple and was sprinkled on certain offerings as a symbol of the people's desire to please the Lord.

MYRRH: This is perhaps the most mysterious of the gifts. It is a resin produced by a small, tough, scraggly tree that grows in semi-desert regions of North Africa and the Red Sea. Myrrh is an Arabic word for bitter, and it is considered a wound healer because of its strong antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Myrrh was also a perfume, not quite so expensive as frankincense but nevertheless valuable. Some interpreters suggest that myrrh represents the gift for a mortal, emphasizing Jesus' humanity. This perfume is mentioned often in Scripture, beginning in Genesis (37:25; 43:11). Mixed with wine it was also used as an anesthetic (Mark 15:23), and mixed with other spices it was used in preparation of bodies for burial, even Jesus' body (John 19:39).

Those were the Magi's gifts to Jesus. Gold for His royalty, frankincense for His deity, and myrrh for His humanity. Some strange gifts for God's Son, but very significant for foreshadowing His future life. Once again, seems like God thought of everything (because He did)!

Merry Christmas to all! Keep Christ at the center of your Christmas season!

Sad & Funny

2010-12-21T22:58:00.002-06:00

So, for those that didn't know, the snow didn't make it last week. The weatherman, well, missed it by a mile. (Actually about 90 miles). Anyway...time for a good laugh...in a pastoral humor kind of way.

Snow Tomorrow

2010-12-16T23:10:00.002-06:00

I guess that being an Iowa boy makes you like snow. I always look forward to it. Tomorrow it looks like we're going to get something in the way of snow, and I'm excited about that. I love winter, cold weather, and especially snow. I'm always praying that God would send us some more. I'm thankful that me and my girls will get to see some white stuff tomorrow!

Do Churches Have a Shelf Life?

2010-12-14T15:16:00.003-06:00

I just read an article from the December 5, 2010 issue of the Lookout called "Local Churches Have a Shelf Life" written by Bob Russell. I just read it a few minutes ago so I'm still pondering a bit. The title jumped out at me, so let's start there. Do churches have a shelf life? He shared a statistic that, sadly, few churches retain a vibrant ministry for more than a century. I can see that from a lot of angles. Even just the architecture and usefulness of their facility can drastically change in 100 years. (We do have electricity widely available now). Bob then went into the warnings to the churches from Revelation. As I read I began thinking that the shelf life on a church is directly related to its effectiveness in ministry. Too many times churches want to rest on the laurels of their past and the "glory days" of their context. When churches do this, it's a death sentence.

It's been said, "Death comes when memories of the past exceed vision for the future." And I believe those sections to the churches in Revelation end with, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

Take a Look at the Birds

2010-12-07T08:59:00.002-06:00

The headline on the front of today's newspaper read "State Economy May Not Recover till 2014". I'm reading that and I'm thinking, really....

It was just a few months ago that the sky was falling down, remember that? But the sky didn't really fall down after all. It's still up there. Now, I'm aware of the economy's current condition, and I know that we are not in the "glory days" of booming economic growth right now. It's obvious that there are still people struggling financially. But so many times I think that we get caught up in the doomsday talk and we begin to worry.

Worry is nothing more than saying, "God can't or won't take care of me through this circumstance. So, we worry. We worry and try to come up with our own game plan. We try to control things that ultimately God is in charge of. Jesus said to not do that. He told us to look at the birds to remind ourselves of His sovereignty and provision.

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave several illustrations as to why we should not worry, and one of the examples He chose to use was that of birds. Speaking outdoors near the Sea of Galilee, maybe Jesus even gestured toward a few birds flying by: "Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?" (Matthew 6:26).

Birds don't have the promises that we have. Birds aren't promised eternal life. Birds are not created in the image of God. Yet do birds ever look worried to you? Have you ever seen a stressed out bird wondering where they will find their next meal or if they'll have a job in the morning? Every morning, like clockwork, they are up at the break of dawn, singing away. Jesus was saying, 'You see, the birds are fine. You can be fine. If God takes care of birds, won't He take care of you?"

That doesn't mean the birds don't go out and get their food. Some eat vegetation. Others eat seeds. Some eat fish. The rest hang out at McDonalds and wait for you to drop your fries. Then there are those thieving birds, the sea gulls, which hang out at the beaches and wait for you to go into the water so they can fly off with your lunch. Birds take care of business, but they don't worry about it. As one poet wrote,

Said the robin to the sparrow, 'I would really like to know
why those anxious human beings rush around and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin, 'Friend, I think that it must be
that they have no Heavenly Father such as cares for you and me."

If God takes care of the birds, will He not take care of you as well?

Adultolescence

2010-11-29T09:43:00.003-06:00

Wanted to pass this thought-provoking subject and article along. This is a trending that I have seen myself over the last 5-7 years and it seems to be broadening and deepening. Feel free to post a comment on what you think about it all. Thanks!

What is Adultolescence?

Christian Smith, professor of sociology at Notre Dame, wrote in the most recent Books and Culture a review of six books that deal with the new phenomenon of "adultolescence"—that is, the postponement of adulthood into the thirties. I want to relate this phenomenon to the church. But first here is a summary from Smith's article of what it is and how it came about.

Smith writes,
"Teenager" and "adolescence" as representing a distinct stage of life were very much 20th-century inventions, brought into being by changes in mass education, child labor laws, urbanization and suburbanization, mass consumerism, and the media. Similarly, a new, distinct, and important stage in life, situated between the teenage years and full-fledged adulthood, has emerged in our culture in recent decades—reshaping the meaning of self, youth, relationships, and life commitments as well as a variety of behaviors and dispositions among the young.

What has emerged from this new situation has been variously labeled "extended adolescence," "youthhood," "adultolescence," "young adulthood," the "twenty-somethings," and "emerging adulthood."

One way of describing this group is to highlight the tendency to delay adulthood or stay in the youth mindset longer than we used to. Smith suggests the following causes for this delay in arriving at mature, responsible adulthood.

First is the growth of higher education. The GI Bill, changes in the American economy, and government subsidizing of community colleges and state universities led in the second half of the last century to a dramatic rise in the number of high school graduates going on to college and university. More recently, many feel pressured—in pursuit of the American dream—to add years of graduate school education on top of their bachelor's degree. As a result, a huge proportion of American youth are no longer stopping school and beginning stable careers at age 18 but are extending their formal schooling well into their twenties. And those who are aiming to join America's professional and knowledge classes—those who most powerfully shape our culture and society—are continuing in graduate and professional school programs often up until their thirties.

A second and related social change crucial to the rise of emerging adulthood is the delay of marriage by American youth over the last decades. Between 1950 and 2000, the median age of first marriage for women rose from 20 to 25 years old. For men during that same time the median age rose from 22 to 27 years old. The sharpest increase for both took place after 1970. Half a century ago, many young people were anxious to get out of high school, marry, settle down, have children, and start a long-term career. But many youth today, especially but not exclusively men, face almost a decade between high school graduation and marriage to spend exploring life's many options in unprecedented freedom.

A third major social transformation contributing to the rise of emerging adulthood as a distinct life phase concerns changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them instead with careers of lower security, more frequent job changes, and an ongoing need for new training and education. Most young people today know they need to approach their careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility, and readiness to re tool as needed. That itself pushes youth toward extended schooling, delay of marriage, and, arguably, a general psychological orientation of maximizing options and postponing commitments.
Finally, and in part as a response to all of the above, parents of today's youth, aware of the resources often required to succeed, seem increasingly willing to extend financial and other support to their children, well into their twenties and even into their early thirties.

The characteristics of the 18-30 year-olds that these four factors produce include:
(1) identity exploration, (2) instability, (3) focus on self, (4) feeling in limbo, in transition, in-between, and (5) sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These, of course, are also often accompanied by big doses of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, and disappointment.

How Should the Church Respond?

How might the church respond to this phenomenon in our culture? Here are my suggestions.
1. The church will encourage maturity, not the opposite. "Do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20).
2. The church will press the fact that maturity is not a function of being out of school but is possible to develop while in school.
3. While celebrating the call to life long singleness, the church will not encourage those who don't have the call to wait till late in their twenties or thirties to marry, even if it means marrying while in school.
4. The church will foster flexibility in life through living by faith and resist the notion that learning to be professionally flexible must happen through a decade of experimentation.
5. The church will help parents prepare their youth for independent financial living by age 22 or sooner, where disabilities do not prevent.
6. The church will provide a stability and steadiness in life for young adults who find a significant identity there.
7. The church will provide inspiring, worldview-forming teaching week in and week out that will deepen the mature mind.
8. The church will provide a web of serious, maturing relationships.
9. The church will be a corporate communion of believers with God in his word and his ordinances that provide a regular experience of universal significance.
10. The church will be a beacon of truth that helps young adults keep their bearings in the uncertainties of cultural fog and riptides.
11. The church will regularly sound the trumpet for young adults that Christ is Lord of their lives and that they are not dependent on mom and dad for ultimate guidance.
12. The church will provide leadership and service roles that call for the responsibility of maturity in the young adults who fill them.
13. The church will continually clarify and encourage a God-centered perspective on college and grad school and career development.
14. The church will lift up the incentives and values of chaste and holy singleness, as well as faithful and holy marriage.
15. The church will relentlessly extol the maturing and strengthening effects of the only infallible life charter for young adults, the Bible.

In these ways, I pray that the Lord Jesus, through his church, will nurture a provocative and compelling cultural alternative among our "emerging adults." This counter-cultural band will have more stability, clearer identity, deeper wisdom, Christ-dependent flexibility, an orientation on the good of others not just themselves, a readiness to bear responsibility and not just demand rights, an expectation that they will suffer without returning evil for evil, an awareness that life is short and after that comes judgment, and a bent to defer gratification till heaven if necessary so as to do maximum good and not forfeit final joy in God.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T00:11:00.001-06:00

It seems as though merchants really don't know what to do with Thanksgiving. They market Halloween and Christmas and make a lot of money off these holidays. But they don't really know what to do with Thanksgiving, which is really very spiritual and reflective in its origins. It was designated by President George Washington in 1789 as a national day for giving thanks to God.

In the midst of all our feasting, it is very easy to forget about the one we are celebrating. Sometimes we even forget to give thanks altogether. You might be thinking, "Well, I don't have a lot to give thanks for." Maybe you are having financial troubles or health problems. Maybe there is conflict in your family. But we need to put things into perspective. As someone wrote,
"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who won't survive the week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the world. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8 percent of the world's wealthy."

There is a lot to give thanks for. And the primary reason we were put on this earth as human beings is to glorify God and to give Him thanks.

How are you observing Thanksgiving? Hopefully it's on your knees thanking God for ALL that He's done for you.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
— Psalm 107:1

Awesome!

2010-11-23T10:06:00.002-06:00

A Weekend with Bob Russell

2010-11-11T08:38:00.006-06:00

Many of you know that Bob Russell came to speak at our church this weekend. Bob is the retired minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. Bob helped grow the church from 120 members to over 18,000 in a 40 years span. Bob has moved on to a new ministry now as he mentors Senior Ministers from around the country and visits churches to speak, encourage, and equip. Bob is a great man of God and is wise to how God can build a church.

As you can imagine, having him here this weekend was such a blessing to all of us who spent time with him. He spoke twice on Sunday (both are available online at www.myoakwood.org click teaching). Both messages were powerful. On Monday, Bob stayed and met with our church staff and elders. Again, it was equally a powerful time of being challenged and encouraged.

Anytime that you get to spend with someone like Bob Russell is a time to soak it up. That's exactly what I did the entire weekend. Bob and I were able to spend some time together just the 2 of us where I was able to ask questions and seek wisdom on some of the issues faces facing our leadership and our church. Bob had several things that he shared that I'd like to share to encourage other leaders in churches, whether lay leadership or church staff.

1) If you stay one step ahead of your people, you're a leader. If you get 3 steps ahead, you're a target. Sometimes when you sit in the seat I'm in you see things faster than other people. Sometimes this may be a supernatural gift from the Lord and sometimes it may just be the seating. In leadership, you have to lead and be out in front...but no so far that you become a target.

2) Don't be too sensitive to people's criticism. Sometimes we care too much about what people might say? We need to know and ask ourselves, #1)"What's going to be the best for this church 3 years from now?" and then #2)"What are people going to say?" When question #2 becomes more important than question #1 then you've got trouble. We must remember that we are here to do what God wants us to do for His church and we ultimately answer to Him. Remember the Israelite leaders and when they did what the people wanted (golden calf, kings). Every time bad things followed.

3) Keep the unity and harmony of the church. Titus 3:10 says, "Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them." So many times we are afraid to do what we know is right. We are afraid of someone leaving or being offended. The church has to maintain a peace and harmony as part of our testimony and witness to the world. We are also called to not allow sin in the camp and we are called to deal with it biblically. What we find is that doing the right things will bring about that desired end result of unity because we do it God's way.

There are a plethora of other lessons learned, but those are 3 big ones. I encourage everyone who reads my blog to listen to Bob's messages for AM and PM services on our website. www.myoakwood.org

Game On

2010-11-09T15:24:00.003-06:00

1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

As Christians, the Bible tells us we are to give an answer to every man who asks us. That phrase "give an answer" is from the Greek word apologia, from which we get our English word "apologetics." It means a legal defense, as in a court of law. But we are to keep in mind that as we make our case in the courtroom of public opinion with those we are speaking with, we are not there as prosecuting attorneys, but as witnesses. And witnesses simply testify to what they have seen.

Yet sometimes Christians, armed with all the information they can get, assault unbelievers with what they know and effectively blow them out of the water. They have won the argument but lost the soul, and that is not the objective. Even though we may know a great deal, we should present the information with love and humility. In 2 Timothy 2:24–25 we are reminded that "a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition...."

As you share you faith through the power and testimony of a redeemed life, be sure to not settle for winning a battle when you could help win the ultimate war for a soul. Always be ready to share your faith and give a witness to God's goodness!

Game on!

Why Worry?

2010-11-05T22:02:00.002-05:00

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
— Psalm 127:2

Daniel was a man of integrity with no weak spots, no scandals, and no sins that his enemies could identify. And when King Darius came into power during Israel's 70-year captivity, he relied on Daniel's wise, insightful counsel. Yet there were others who didn't like this Hebrew prophet.

Because Daniel had a habit of praying openly every day, his enemies convinced King Darius to foolishly sign a law that would prohibit prayer to anyone except the king. The penalty for breaking this law was being thrown into a den of lions. Sure enough, Daniel prayed as he always had, and it was reported to Darius. The frustration for the king was that as powerful as he was, he couldn't change a law that he himself had set into motion. So Daniel was sent to die in a den of lions. Yet the Bible tells us that Daniel slept while the king was up all night. I find it interesting that the child of God in the den of lions slept peacefully, while the faithless man in the palace with all its luxuries was up and worried and stressed out. As Solomon wrote, "For God gives rest to his loved ones" (Psalm 127:2).

And so it is for the person who puts his or her trust in God. When we are worrying, we are really saying that God isn't in control, that God is not paying attention. When we worry, we are not trusting in the providence of God.

And what is the providence of God? It is the belief that God is in control of the universe. And specifically as Christians, it means we believe there are no accidents in our lives. Nothing touches us that has not first passed through His hands. So trust in the providence of God.

A Good Long Weekend

2010-11-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

It started Friday with a Sunday School class party and bonfire. We were out north of Enid and the sky was really cool as you could see thousands of stars that are usually not seen in town from the city lights. Then Madalyn and I went to the Enid High football game. On Saturday we got up and decorated a door for Festival of Light (our Halloween alternative here at Oakwood) and mixed the final batches of candy that we had. On Saturday night Amy and I got to go to the Brandon Heath/Jars of Clay concert here in town. It was a great concert! We had lots of fun and a good friend gave me the tickets for my birthday. We had the "artist circle" seating and got to go backstage to meet the artists, etc. It was really cool. Jars of Clay and Brandon Heath are the real deal. Brandon Heath's new album comes out in January and it's got some really good stuff on it. Then on Sunday it was church, set up for Festival of Light, and do it that night. Wow...busy weekend, long weekend, but a good one none-the-less.

One of the things that I walked away with from the concert was the impact of Brandon Heath's new song called "Leaving Eden". Awesome song. I got the pre-release of it. The premise is that some of our worldly suffering feels like we're leaving Eden, like we feel what it must have been like to leave the garden for Adam and Eve. It's a cool concept and a very cool song. Really makes you look into yourself and think about sin and this fallen world and how it separates...but someday, we'll go home. That's what this world leaves us longing for. Good stuff. I highly recommend it.

I'm so excited about Bob Russell from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY coming to preach this weekend. I've been on Bob's minister mentoring retreat and Amy and I both got to go on the couples retreat this past summer. Great times and great growth experiences for me. Bob is a great preacher and communicator and we will be blessed to have him here sharing here at Oakwood.

Good things are happening for God's Kingdom right here in Enid. I'm just glad to be a part of it. Keep the faith!

Give Him Some Time

2010-10-28T15:34:00.002-05:00

I find that when I preach, so many times I preach to myself. God has a way with that I think. But what amazes me as a preacher is that when I have ample time (or make ample time) to spend with the Lord and hear His voice and feel the presence of His leading, how much better my messages are and how much deeper they can go. Let me put it this way...I'm realizing that just like with your children, there's no replacement for quantity time with God. Quality time is overrated (or just a cop-out).

Now if you are reading this and you don't believe me, then try it. Read a passage and pray for God to speak to you. Read it again and ask yourself what God is trying to impress on your mind and your heart. Dwell and meditate on it. Joshua 1:8 puts it this way, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

In writing sermons and messages for different occasions it's always good to be full. The fuller I am and the more time I have to spend alone with the Lord, the better. Try it for yourself and see what happens in your personal walk!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Church Funnies

2010-10-26T23:46:00.005-05:00

What We Can Learn

2010-10-21T12:09:00.002-05:00

I received this from a friend via email this week. A good read and very thought-provoking. Let me know what you think.

Barnes and Noble, USA Today and the Church

“How did Barnes and Noble fall so far so fast?”

This was the question asked by James B. Stewart of the Wall Street Journal as the giant bookstore chain put itself up for sale this month.

Simple answer? The internet. More to the point, the internet of amazon.com, kindle, the iPad, e-readers and digital books.

But here’s the real question insightfully raised by Stewart: with such market-share dominance in the book business, why didn’t Barnes and Noble, with dominant market position, do what it should have done? As Stewart observes, it could have “out-Amazoned Amazon, leveraging its brand and innovating when it began marketing and selling books online.” After all, Barnes and Noble was an innovation itself, putting many independent booksellers out of business with its deep discounts and in-store coffee bars.

Stewart’s conclusion: Barnes and Noble never really embraced the internet or e-books. In truth, it stayed tied to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores. It was unwilling to destroy its old business model, so it simply focused on managing its decline, leaving Amazon to concentrate on the new world it was creating.

A similar story is happening with USA Today. As Jeremy W. Peters of the New York Times notes, “The history of USA Today is full of firsts for the newspaper business: the first general-interest national paper of its kind, the first to use color widely in charts and photographs, and once first in the number of copies printed each day.”

Now? Its advertising revenue has collapsed and its circulation has plunged.

But unlike Barnes and Noble, USA Today is fighting back. It recently announced the most extensive reorganization in its 28-year history, shifting “its business model away from the print edition that has become ubiquitous in airports, hotels and newsstands across the country.”

Now the paper will focus on its digital operations, breaking news on its website, a stand-alone sports edition called USA Today Sports, and making content more available in digital form in order to snag a larger percentage of the tablet and mobile phone news market.

There are lessons here for all businesses.

There are also lessons here for all churches.

First lesson: You can go the way of B&N and simply manage your decline. Or you can go the way of USA Today and preserve your core while attempting to stimulate progress.

What is the core of the church that must never change? The message of the gospel; a defined new community in Christ; worship and the sacraments; the Great Commission, and the cultural commission inherent within it.

What must change? Methods, strategies and forms of communication.

I have often reflected on the demise of the railroad barons. They dominated their era until a new invention came along – the car. Instead of seeing the potential of the automobile, they fought it, working instead to preserve the railroad industry as they knew it.

Their mistake was that they thought they were in the railroad business.

They weren’t.

They were in the transportation business.

Failing to see this cost them everything.

USA Today is not in the newspaper business. It’s in the news business. They are realizing that this means they don’t have to live, and eventually die, with the newspaper.

Similarly, the church is not in the business of the hymns of Fanny Crosby, age-graded adult Sunday School, door-to-door leaflet campaigns or the King James Version of the Bible. We are in the business of worship, community/discipleship, evangelism and the Bible itself.

But there’s another, more subtle lesson to be learned. Both Barnes and Noble and USA Today were recent innovators. Very recent. Like 90’s recent.

And now? Struggling to stay current. That’s how fast things are changing.

The good news for USA Today? It is not resting on its laurels.

Unlike many churches.

I’m finding an increasing number of churches that did innovate – but then, once they “did” the innovation, firmly cemented themselves in that innovation.

So now, while they may not be mired to Fanny Crosby, they can’t seem to move beyond Darlene Zschech; while they abandoned Sunday School, they can’t think beyond small groups; while they no longer use the KJV, they don’t realize the NIV is beginning to be a bit worn in places; and while they wouldn’t dream of handing out tracts, they don’t realize that the older seeker services with a drama sketch doesn’t connect like it used to.

Cutting-edge churches have moved on to internet campuses, a multi-site approach, music by Jesus Culture and widespread use of film.

And if they’re smart, those same cutting-edge churches will hold those very things with an open hand, along with an open eye.

The goal is not to be “hip”, as a recent cover story in Christianity Today outlined. The goal is to be effectively standing, and contending, on Mars Hill (Acts 17). Paul wasn’t trying to be hip; he was trying to connect.

All to say, never before has there been such a need for leaders to be like the men of Issachar, who “understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take” (I Chronicles 12:32, NLT).

Or perhaps we should say, keep understanding the times.

James Emery White

Sources:

“Clearance Sale: Barnes and Noble Didn’t Evolve Enough,” James B. Stewart, The Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2010. Online at: http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703824304575435512550936090.html.

“USA Today to Remake Itself to Stress Digital Operations,” Jeremy W. Peters, New York Times, Saturday, August 28, 2010, p. B1.

“Hipster Faith,” Brett McCracken, Christianity Today, at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/9.24.html.

Live It or Quiet Please!

2010-10-12T11:22:00.007-05:00

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." -Matthew 5:13

It seems to be some part of every church and fellowship today: Christians who wear the name but don't live the life. I need to start by clarifying that there's a difference between a stumbler and a Christian atheist (one who believes in God but lives as if He doesn't exist). There is a difference between a believer who is seeking to live a godly life, but struggling, and the person who claims to be a believer, but blatantly disregards what the Bible says and chooses to live a lifestyle out of God's plan. My request of those in the latter category is to please do us all a favor and be quiet. Don't claim it if you are not going to live it. Your malpractice is killing the witness of Christ and the testimony of His church. It sounds surprising to hear a preacher ask someone to keep quiet their belief in Christ. But the key text of the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 6:8, when Jesus said, "Don't be like them...." Essentially, Jesus was saying, "Don't be like this world. Be different. Don't be like them."

So what are we to be like? We are to be salt. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless." In Jesus' day, salt was a bigger deal than it is now. The Romans believed that except for the sun, nothing was more valuable than salt. It actually was used as a form of currency, and Roman soldiers would sometimes be paid in salt. Hence the expression, "He is not worth his salt."

We are all going to have moments of hypocrisy. If I said I have never been a hypocrite, then I would be hypocritical for saying that. Believers have not always practiced what they preached. That is called humanity. Every Christian will fall short. The difference is that some are struggling in their sin while others are quite comfortable.

If you are a Christian and are habitually engaged in a lifestyle that is contrary to what the gospel teaches and what the Bible says, then please don't talk about Jesus. The world needs realness and authenticity today. To stay habitually in your sin with no repentance and change shows the eerie state of your heart. It might be time for an open heart procedure with the Great Physician.

D.C. Talk put it this way: "The single leading cause of atheism in the world today is Christians...who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the doors of the church and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what the unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Help the cause of Christ. Live it or shut up.

Calm In Your Chaos

2010-10-05T09:29:00.003-05:00

So this past weekend, two of my daughters turned another year older. We had birthday parties on Saturday and Sunday, and I think that we are officially partied out now. It was a fun weekend though. For Madalyn's party we went out to Daze in a Maze, the corn maze and pumpkin patch about 35 miles away. It was fun and I think that the girls really enjoyed it. We had a weenie roast, did the maze, did the "dino dig" for cow bones, climbed and played on hay bales and old farm equipment. It was a good time had by all.

The only part of that Maze experience that I didn't like was the travel there and back. It wasn't that the girls were bad or anything like that. It was just really loud and bubbly in my vehicle. If you can picture me driving with 7 third grade girls then you can catch my drift. They were just non-stop talking and loud. I felt like my head was about to explode a couple of times. So much noise, chaos, and pandemonium!

Chaos. It raises the blood pressure. It stresses you out. You can get a headache. It can even make you sick. I've noticed that there are people who struggle with chaos. They come to church tired and worn out. They come in and their kids are crazy wild and are just beating their parents down. I see parents that just want it all to stop, even for a moment, so they can gather the strength to move on in their parenting.

I don't like feeling that way, even if it was just for an hour. But I noticed how stressed and tense it made me. Just the noise, constant talking, music (turn it up) and general noisiness. I can totally see how it can wear a person down. And I think, how many people do this and live this chaotic lifestyle everyday? No wonder they're stressed, tense, and short with everyone. They've got to be miserable. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus' offer here is peace. Calm in your chaos. His "yoke" is not heavy and burdensome. Living His way will bring "rest for your soul".

If you need rest...a break from the noise and chaos of life...know that you'll never have that peace that your heart desires till you come to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Then you will find rest.

A Spiritual Person

2010-09-29T10:20:00.003-05:00

It has been said that he who has the most need of righteousness wants it least. Some would excuse that and say that maybe they are not aware of the need. But if we really cut to the chase and get real, I think that true Christians are always aware of the need for righteousness. The question is, do we pursue it? If you think, "I am really doing well, and I don't really know that I need more righteousness", then you are in greater need than you realize.

The great apostle Paul, after years of walking with the Lord, said, "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me" (Philippians 3:12).

A real mark of a spiritual person is they are always hungry and thirsty for more and more and more of God. But there are certain things that spoil our appetite. Sometimes we feed on spiritual junk food and diminish our spiritual appetites. Health, wealth, and prosperity teaching, seeking a man-centered theology that asks, "What can God do for me?" instead of "What can I do for God?" can fill you up...but it's a bad thing to feast on. It's not healthy. In the end it will leave you hungry...and hungry for more junk food (i.e. false teaching). Careful what you consume because you are what you eat spiritually (I know this because I've even in this church). Some things just take the edge off our appetite for the true things of God.

So periodically we need to ask ourselves a question: Is this thing I am engaged in—this relationship, this pursuit, this activity—making me more or less hungry for spiritual things? Does it draw me closer to God, or does it in some way keep me away from Him more? Is it a turbo booster or a weight in the race of life? Does it speed me on my way, or does it slow me down?

Hebrews 12:1 tells us, "Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." If you are really hungry and thirsty for righteousness, you will find it. Because if you really want something, then you will put yourself in that place where you will get it. Pray and ask God to help you hunger and thirst and go after what He wants for you. Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Noah's Interrogation

2010-09-24T22:21:00.001-05:00

Your Children and Cell Phones

2010-09-21T11:35:00.003-05:00

I've had a couple parents call me in the last few weeks asking me about issues that they are having with their teens. All of these issues stem from the temptations that come with technology. Pornography on the web (and on the phone), texting or "sexting" as they call it now. Parents of teens and preteens need to wake up to the temptations that we are throwing our kids into, unintentionally of course, with the technology that makes immorality easily accessible. Let's be honest, some of our kids are just not ready for it (and as parents, you are not ready either). So before you go buy your 12 year old (or 7 year old) their own cell phone and netbook, consider this article written by Russell Moore of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pray about it and talk to your spouse of what your course of action should be. Know that as a pastor, I'm praying for this whole generation of parents as they face these issues.

Does Your Child’s Cell Phone Preach Another Gospel?
I’m afraid I’m not the most popular pastor with the ten to fourteen-year-old demographic in my church right now. I took on an issue, parenthetically, yesterday that caused frenzied looks and agape mouths. I dared to question the theology of text-messaging.

Rifling through some things the other day I found some church bulletins from my home congregation from the 1980s. All over the back of them I can see my teenage handwriting, interspersed with that of my youth group friends. There’s some tic-tac-toe there, and some plans being made for after-church Capture the Flag games, and so on.

I realized that the pre-teens and teenagers in my congregation won’t ever have such things, not because they’re too holy to ever pass a note in church, but because cell-phone technology has made it as easy, and as temporal, as a text-message.

Text-messaging is easy, and can easily break the boredom of a classroom or a family dinner, and it can put one in touch with people one’s parents never know one is “talking” to. That’s easily enough remedied by Christ-following parents, but I wonder if the cellphone isn’t being used as just one more opportunity to preach a misleading gospel to our kids.

The formation and discipline of children, after all, is built on the pattern of God’s fatherly discipline of his people (Heb 12:3-11), seen in his discipline of Israel (Deut 8:1-20) and, ultimately, in his discipleship of the incarnate Christ (Luke 2:20, John 5:19-20; Heb 2:10). Our discipline of our families is rooted, then, in the Fatherhood “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph 3:14).

I wonder, then, when it comes to cell phones, how many parents do precisely what our Father never does, and never will do. James tell us, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:14). The Apostle Paul tells us that “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13).

That’s why our God, through the Law of Moses, treats his people as a tightly-governed child “under guardians and managers until the date set by his father” (Gal 4:2). He carefully works us toward maturity, seeing that we’re faithful in small things before putting us over many things. That’s what a good and loving Father does.

A pre-teen or a teenager with unrestricted cell-phone usage (or Internet or television consumption) is being placed in a very, very difficult place of temptation. The company of that young man or woman is now away from the scrutiny of parents, and is now left only to his or her discretion or conscience. Are there some young Christians who can handle such? Of course. Should you assume your child is one of them? Your Father is more careful of you than that.

First of all, pre-teens and teenagers, simply, brace yourself, don’t need cellphones. I know you’re immediately responding with safety issues, etc. Nonetheless, for thousands of years pre-teens and teenagers have safely grown to adulthood without having communication devices in their pockets. Pre-teens and teenagers all over the world do it right now, and they survive.

Second, if your child does have a cellphone, this means you have a cellphone. Your responsibility is to know about every call, and the identity of every person text-messaging your son or daughter. You don’t have time to monitor this? Then you don’t have time for your child to have a cellphone.

This doesn’t mean you have to turn your house into an Inquisition hall. It simply means your child knows that you love him or her enough to check in frequently to see what’s going on in life. It also means that you communicate clearly that the child doesn’t have a personal cellphone, autonomous of your authority. It’s your cellphone, and your child is using it.

Communicating your love to your child means communicating your involvement. The gospel message is one of Fatherhood and sonship, of a Father who knows the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), who fights for his children when they’re tested, tempted, or mistreated. Picture that kind of God to your children, even if they grumble and complain at first. So did we, and all those before us, when we were first delivered from our respective Pharaohs into a Father’s house.

Help Me Pray

2010-09-16T08:48:00.002-05:00

One of the things the Holy Spirit does in our lives is to help us with our prayers.
Why? Because if we are honest with ourselves, there are times when we don't really know what or how to pray. Maybe you are overwhelmed by a burden. You find yourself discouraged, depressed, and overwhelmed. Maybe the weight of the world is bearing you down and you are feeling like there's no hope. It is at that point that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the believer.

Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a "Counselor." In John 14:16, He said, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever." The Holy Spirit is also referenced as the "Helper" and "Comforter" in that same verse in other translations.

We have lost the meaning of the word "comforter" or "counselor", I believe. It comes from the Greek word paracletos, which means "called alongside to help," as a helper, aide, or assistant. This gives us the idea that the Holy Spirit of God is right there, pulling for us, helping guide our minds and actions in Christ Jesus. Some versions translate paracletos as the word "advocate," which is applied to Jesus in 1 John 2:1: "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous". The purpose of an advocate is to plead the cause of another—to be an intercessor. This is part of the work that the Holy Spirit has come to do in our lives.

Here's the good news: sometimes just a sigh or thought will do. Why? Because we don't always have to put words to our prayers. The Holy Spirit knows our thoughts and feelings and worries. And the Holy Spirit will do the rest for us in intercession. Trust me; I have done this many times myself. I don't know what to say, or how to say it. I just know that I am in pain or anguish, that I'm under the stress and weight of the world; so I sigh, I think, I surrender, and sometimes I might even cry. God hears and understands my plight. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in.

Romans 8:26–27 tells us, "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will."(NLT)

Having trouble praying? Quit trying to find words and just yearn for God. His Spirit will take care of the rest.

A Great Funny

2010-09-15T10:59:00.003-05:00

Think Samson here....

Whoa, 20K

2010-09-09T16:28:00.003-05:00

It was just 2 years ago that I started the blog and it just crossed 20,000 hits yesterday. Wow. Seems crazy. I appreciate all of you who read and I pray that you are challenged to move toward God in your life as you see me unpack my brain. I'm humbled by the responses I get. Thanks so much for the readership!

H.S.O.

2010-09-08T14:00:00.002-05:00

I've got an H.S.O. (hot sports opinion, I'll explain what that means someday...or ask me!) that I need to let out. Don't burn the koran. It won't help anything. It will just tick the Muslims off. I don't agree with their book or their religion-based animosity and jihadism just as much as anyone else. They are a false religion, but let's remember that Satan is the father of lies! Their deceived, people!!! I've got hurt feelings about 9/11 just like anyone else, but burning the koran isn't going to help. I just got invited on Facebook from someone to join them in the movement "burn the Koran day". I mean, come on! Really? Is that what we're called to do?! Let's do something valuable like pray for these people! Wasn't it Jesus (the Son of God) that said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." & "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you...". The good that Jesus was talking about was not burning their book. W.W.J.D.? Probably pray for them and try to talk to them about God's love for them and show them the way to life that is truly life!

Glad that I could get that off my chest. Thanks for letting me.

The Holy Spirit...a Planner?

2010-09-05T23:52:00.004-05:00

As a preacher who's in the pulpit every week, I want to express how encouraging it is when people share with me what God has done in their life. I preached a message today called Good & Angry. I shared the passage about Moses and Aaron in Numbers 20:2-13 where Moses snaps and loses the ability to enter the Promise Land. After the service today, there were many that shared how practical the message was and how it had spoken to them. Apparently there are many who are dealing with anger right now!

It never ceases to amaze me how God and His Spirit can work in the planning. I didn't just come up with the message this week. This message and the passage were planned at least 2 months ago. But God's timing on His preaching calendar for me must have been just right. I was both overwhelmed and humbled when I talked to person after person who said that they had received just what they needed from the message. Some of them needed the steps to self-control. Others were convicted. Others were just needing to own up to their anger and explosions. Still others just needed to hear the message for preventive maintenance, I guess.

Many preachers today pride themselves in "letting the Holy Spirit guide them". All spiritual leaders should strive for this. But I find more often than not, that preachers who are not planners claim that the Holy Spirit is somehow more at work in their spontaneity, if you will, than those who plan ahead. It's a cheap way to act spiritual if you ask me. Sometimes I think that preachers who are throwing together messages on Friday night and Saturday aren't waiting on the Holy Spirit to guide them. They are just procrastinating and trying to make it look as if it's something spiritual. I know this because I used to work for someone who wasn't good at planning anything ahead because they "wanted to leave room for the Holy Spirit to work." Whatever! What I am finding is that the Holy Spirit is in the planning. He was obviously in every part of the service today. I am open to God's changes at the last minute and have done that before, but more often than not I find that He's been guiding me all along, yes, even several months ago. I just pray as I plan that His will be done and that He would guide us every step of the way as we look to future service planning and teaching series.

I'm thankful for the comments and stories because they do encourage me. I feel God's accomplished what He's desired through me. I'm simply His slave. I'm committed to do what I feel that God is leading me to do regardless of how people respond, encouraging or not. But today was a special day that God orchestrated at just the right time for so many people that needed it. And to have the affirmation that God is using you...wow. I'm humbled, amazed, and so glad in my heart.

Now I'm just praying...do it again, God! Do it again! (Maybe even next Sunday!)

Strategic Thinking

2010-08-28T21:19:00.002-05:00

When you make any decision in life you usually think it through. Well...maybe ony the wise think it through. When you make a decision in haste or without weighing the pros and cons or consequences of that decision, it can always come back to haunt you. I've made those mistakes before. I don't want to be "that guy" again.

It's been bugging me this week as I think about the church today. Do we strategize? Do we think through our decisions and all of their ramifications before we act? Is our mindset on maintenance or forward motion? I feel that this is the worst of times for the church to "rest on her laurels" and not be active for the Kingdom.

Gone are the days when churches could count on the unchurched wandering into our midst based on the vague conviction that they are "supposed to". Without personal contact and repeated invitations (and I mean repeated) the church today cannot expect to see people just flying in the door to meet Jesus. To reach the lost today, church leaders need to think--at certain times and in certain circumstances--like marketing gurus hawking the latest and greatest product. After all, we have the greatest product in the world (God's grace) and people actually need it!

Similar to a missionary on foreign soil, congregations today need to know who their main demographics are and how to strategically reach them. This does not mean that we must blindly submit ourselves to every cultural whim to stay "relevant". But it does mean being more purposeful and serious about communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that are heard, understood, and impressed on the lost.

We must demand more from ourselves, Christians. The status quo church of 1998 is not reaching the lost person of 2010. The principles of the Bible will never change, but the methods for reaching and pricking the hearts of lost people should always change. Look at the example of Paul in the New Testament. He was always leveraging culture and methodolgy to his advantage. We must do the same.

Let us not forget also to do everything with excellence in our churches. Let us demand excellence from our staff, ministers, and elders. Let us strive for high standards in the programs and ministries we produce. Let us aggresively steward financial and spiritual resources. Let us think strategically about the communities we serve and how to reach them. Let us taste like salt that never loses it saltiness and work hard at the gospel. Let us think strategically about our churches and their outreach. And then...let us act!

The Big Needle

2010-08-22T23:19:00.004-05:00

So, my foot still bothers me from my sports injury this summer. (See the blog from July 2 on Plantar Facia Rupture for more info). Anyway, it's still bugging me so I went to see my real doc this time (not the coverage doctor) just to see if there was anything more that we could do. It hurts especially first thing in the morning and as the day where's on, it seems to get worse. It's just tender all of the time.

So I'm sitting with doctor and he's looking at it and presses on a spot that really tender. He gets up, sticks his head out the door to the hall and calls for Barbara (the nurse) to get a 1 on 1 for Mr. Keller. He then comes back in and tells me he's going to give me a cortisone shot but that he's going to go in from the side of my foot, not straight in from underneath because it's too tender. I'm thinking...what?!

So she brings in this huge tube of gel looking stuff with a huge needle. He immediately tells me, don't look at the needle and asks me to look away while he;s doing this and not to watch. I'm sitting here thinking, "What ever happened to a patient's choice?" But you must understand that Snyder and I go way back...he taught my Sunday School class when I was in high school. Great class too!

Anyway, he goes in from the side right away and I'm like, "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, that hurts, etc!" He keeps telling me to hold still and don't look and that he's almost done. As the injection is taking place, I'm trying not to look and to hold still and everything. But he has to keep repositioning the needle because he's try to shoot this stuff all over the injured area...that now feels even more injured. Pulls the needle back, pushes it in, shoots it up, then down, and then side to side. It was pretty painful. Afterwards he tells me to get my shoe and sock back on and asks me to step on it and asked me how it felt. I could actually feel all of the gel stuff in there. Weird (and I little painful, I must admit.

Anyway, it was painful and I've felt like I had a deep bone bruise the last couple of days, until this morning. When I got up today there was a noticeable difference in my pain and I walked around a long time today with little or no pain. That's pretty good considering I was on my feet for more than 7 hours today between preaching, Sunday School, walking the building talking to people, and our class 101 right after the service this morning. But overall, it felt much better.

He said that my injury will take 6-12 months to fully reheal itself. I can do whatever I can stand in that time and he gave me some stretching stuff that I need to be doing everyday, etc. That's a bummer, but I'm not going to complain because it could be worse, right? I just want my old normal foot back.

Can You Truly Love Jesus and Hate His Wife?

2010-08-16T12:25:00.002-05:00

The church is called the bride of Christ throughout scripture. With all of it's faults and blemishes, the church is what God has called on to spread the news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:10 says, "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." The church, with its imperfect people are to be sharing the perfect message of God's grace and mercy. After all, who has experienced this love from God more than us, right?

Sometimes we go through phases of life where we get caught up in negativity about the church. We must understand that this is Christ's bride that we are talking about. Can you love Jesus when you don't love His wife? Can you love God when you don't love the church?

These are questions that we need to wrestle with and we also need to compare ourselves against. Someone once said, "If you find a perfect church, then don't go there. You'll mess it up!" It's true, there are messy people with messy lives in the church, but we are nonetheless, even with every spot and blemish, still loved by God and married into His Son. How can we love Jesus truly if we don't love His bride?

There are some who will say that they can be a "Christian" but not go to church. If there is not some type of Christian fellowship going on, then I think that's a weak argument. How can a person practice the biblical one anothers (love one another, admonish one another, serve one another, forgive one another, bear one another's burdens, pray for one another, etc.) if you have no contact with a body of believers? How could you participate in the Lord's Supper as it states in scripture if you never meet with anyone? How can biblical koinonia (true Christian fellowship of sharing lives) happen if you never associate with brothers and sisters in Christ?

I think, actually, I know that there are many Christians who struggle with the church. Most of the time it's past woundedness from a bad experience where they were hurt or mistreated, or something along those lines. We must forgive and progress and move beyond the past and reengage with God's church. I know that there are many congregations out there that are full of God's love and grace. Every fellowship will have it's warts and blemishes, but God uses the church to accomplish His mission. We just need to be a part of it.

Something Fun

2010-08-11T13:08:00.001-05:00

So much to catch up on

2010-08-11T08:44:00.004-05:00

So, I could sit and type for a couple of hours right now, but I don't have the time. This is a short week for me because I just got back to work yesterday (Tuesday) from a trip to a family reunion in Iowa. The trip was fun and it was great to see and reconnect with ones that I hadn't seen in a long time. The girls were pretty good travelers all things considered and I think that they had a good time as well.

I read some on the trip. If you haven't picked up the book "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel, I highly recommend it. It is very convicting on many fronts and is really a good read for anyone. You need to check it out if you haven't already.

One of the highlights of Iowa trips besides seeing family is our trip to the Dutchmen's Store in Cantril. The Dutchmen's store is run by Mennonites that make their own handspun goods and candies. The candy is the best. They don't have turtles this time of year, but when they make them in the fall and winter...they are the best ever! The girls like to get their gummy stuff and it's all sod in bulk. Great place to visit. They are so reasonably priced and they have some items that you wouldn't find anywhere else. Cool deal.

So, I'm back to the church and heard how great this weekend was. We worshipped at Stockport Christian Church, our home church from long ago. Great people there and a great minister. Their congregation runs about 35-45 weekly and when Grandma Keller and her 19 showed up, we nearly doubled attendance. It was great. Sweet fellowship with the believer's there, great time of worship and communion, and a good message. I heard the same happened here at Oakwood. Tracy Morris preached (one of our elders) and I heard from many that all went well. It's great to be able to be gone a week or so and know that all is well and in good hands. We have a great team of staff and elders here at Oakwood.

So, back to reality and the 110 degree heat index. Looks like toward the beginning of next week we might get a break from all of this. That would be great. The last church league softball games are tonight. I'm planning on playing, even though the heal is still tender a bit. I'm hoping to go but not reinjure or set myself back. We'll see what happens!

There it is. Everything in my head (or at least mots of it). Hope this entry finds all readers reading the Word of God everyday and growing in understanding of who He is and what He wants from us. Blessings on all that pursue Him!

2 Peter 2

2010-08-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

This past weekend I taught about angels, demons, and spiritual warfare. I read this passage yesterday and thought it was interesting on many levels, but especially some of the comments on angels in this passage. As for the rest of it, a stiff warning about false teachers, which are many in the world today. In a future blog, I'd like to write about my theory of going astray in teaching, which I think that many will find interesting. Remember, Satan is crafty and deceptive. He is going to try everything he can to get you off base in life and with God. Be aware. Be alert. And don't get off track. Reread verses 17-22, paying close attention to 19-21. Let the Holy Spirit convict where He wills and be open to God speaking straight to your heart. Keep the faith!

Everyone Has A god

2010-07-28T10:02:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, idolatry comes naturally to all of us. Why? Because we were made to worship, we must worship, and we will worship. Even as nature abhors a vacuum, so does the human soul. The human soul always will find an object of worship, either on the shelf or on the altar or in the mirror or in heaven. But we will find something to worship, because we are all idolaters.

Maybe we don't give these gods the names they were once given, like Dagon or Baal or Zeus or Thor, but they are gods nonetheless. An idol or false god is anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our lives. And know this: everyone has a god...even atheists.

When someone comes up with their own version of God, that is worshipping a false god as well. Making statements like, "Well, I don't believe in a God who would. . . ." is creating your own god, and that is idolatry. Anytime we find or fabricate something to worship on our terms, think idol.

The Bible warns us, "Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts" (1 John 5:21). Whoa. Notice that John says "anything". John knew well the war for our worship and how many would struggle with things of this world taking the place of God in our hearts.

But why would we worship an object or a thing or something else instead of the true God? Because in our minds, it gives us control. Control...as I counsel and preach and help people, I see control issues everwhere. Why are some church members chronically negative about the "changes" in the church? Control. Why does your mother-in-law meddle and try to cause conflict in your marriage? Control. Why does your boss have to be so "bossy"? Control. Why does someone give you the silent treatment after a disagreement? Control. Why do some people stop giving to the local church when they don' like something? Control. Why is there so much conflict on the PTA board at school? Because it's all about control. Why do we worship what we want, when we want, and how we want? It's about control.

An idol or false god is whatever you get excited about, whatever you are passionate about, and whatever you choose to pour your mind's attention and your heart's affection toward. People get excited about a lot of things in this world. They may not call these things their gods, but in effect, that's exactly what they are. What is the focus of your life? That, for all practical purposes, is your god.

Idols...everywhere. Everyone has a god. My prayer is that you'd find the real thing.

A Thought From My Retreat

2010-07-22T16:24:00.004-05:00

I was sitting at breakfast one morning at the retreat I went on in June. Amy and I were always sitting at tables with other people and this morning was no different. It was a great way to get to know people, so many times you sat by people you didn't know to try to mix it up.

One morning while at breakfast a thought provoking statement was made. Now you must understand that these are all Sr. Pastors and their wives from various churches all across the U.S. Anyway, one of the other pastors at the table made this statement:

Sometimes it's easier to give birth than raise the dead.

Now what do you think he meant by that? Weigh in and leave a comment.

Funny! (preacher's humor, of course)

2010-07-20T14:18:00.001-05:00

Backsliders Anonymous

2010-07-14T09:19:00.002-05:00

Anyone can backslide. No one usually plans on doing it. But it starts with making little compromises that lead to big compromises. And next thing you know, you are not in a place you should be. You are headed the wrong direction. The Bible even tells us one of the signs of the end times is that some will depart from the faith (see 1 Timothy 4:1). It could happen to any believer if precautions are not taken.

I would even suggest there are people who are backslidden and not even aware of it because they don't understand what the term "backslide" means. It is a biblical term. In Jeremiah 3:22, God says, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." And Jeremiah 2:19 says, "Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you."

If you are thinking, well, I don't really know that I have actually backslidden, then here is something to think about: The Christian life is one of progression. It is one of growth. And it is one of constant change and betterment. Either you are moving forward as a believer, or you are moving backward. Either you are gaining ground, or you are losing ground.

I like to think of the Christian life as a climb. If you are climbing up a steep hill in your car and you stop, your tendency is to roll back, maybe even just a little bit. You know, like putting your car in park and it rolls back until it engages. But you know as well as I do that you can't just park on a steep hill. Many times you must use the emergency brake to stop the backsliding, and if you let off the brake, you'll continue the backward trend. It is best to keep moving ahead in forward motion. Just the act of stopping your progression begins to move you backward.

My fear is that this is what's happened to many Christians today. They decided to stop and not go any further. Now they are backsliding and are trying to ignore it. It's hard to ignore when you see them though! I like to make fun of people as they age sometimes. I think that everyone can look at their parents and see this. When it comes to fashion, it's like a progression. Styles change and people change with them. But is seems like as you age you are more resistent to change. Some people were riding the fashion train and they decided, I'm getting off right here and not going any further. It's funny in clothing but sad in Christianity. I believe that there are many today that decided that they are not going any further because they are comfortable where they are. And now...they are in backslide mode.

My question today is, are you moving forward? If you are not, then you are potentially backsliding. And if you are not where you once were, then you are slipping away down the hill. That is why we need to take practical precautions, because anyone can fall away. Anyone can depart from the faith. It doesn't matter how long someone has been a Christian. It doesn't matter how much of the Bible they have memorized. It doesn't matter if God has used them in ministry. Anyone could fall away. And the moment we begin to doubt that is the very moment we are taking a step toward it.

"Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you," says the Lord God of hosts."
— Jeremiah 2:19

Stir It Up

2010-07-12T09:37:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I taught on the Holy Spirit. I'm in a series called "Uncensored Truth" where we are looking at truths about the core of Christianity. Who is God? Who is Jesus? Is Jesus really the only way to heaven? Is God's grace enough? Who is the Holy Spirit? What about angels & demons? And so the list goes on etc.

I was personally blessed by the responses yesterday. It seems that the visual illustration with the milk really brought it home for many people. My goal is always to stir it up in people on Sunday's so that it provokes thinking and changing at home all week.

I used an illustration with milk, actually borrowed it from our children's lady. It really helped some people to understand what God's Spirit wants to do in their lives. The Holy Spirit is called the guide, the counselor, the helper, the aid. Most people want that in their lives, but they don't allow the Spirit's prompting and leading in their hearts.

One of the scriptures that I tackled in my teaching yesterday was Ephesians 5:18 which said, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Many people associate erratic behaviors with the Holy Spirit. They site this verse and sometimes reference to "being drunk in the Spirit" or "slain in the Spirit". Weird behavior is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. What Paul meant here is that just as you act differently when you are under the influence of alcohol, so you too should act differently when you are filled with God's Spirit. Perhaps you've seen people who get really bold when their drunk on wine and they do things that they normally wouldn't do. Paul is saying that if we allow ourselves to be "under the influence" of the Spirit of God, not wine, that the Spirit will also give us boldness and help us to do things that we would not normally do.

As we tackle thoughts of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives, Paul also gives us a list of what the "fruit" of being "under the influence" of the Spirit is like. Galatians 5:22-23 states that fruits (evidences) of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the eveidences of a life that allows the Holy Spirit to work. Is there evidence of the Holy Spirit being at work in your life?

Be blessed by study of God's Word and be a blessing to others by sharing your faith this week!

What Have We Done To Our Kids?

2010-07-07T09:31:00.003-05:00

My wife is at church camp this week with my oldest daughter. The 3rd & 4th graders on the trip have been an eye opener to my wife. She has been challenged by what she's experiencing. I have several stories that I could share, but let me tell you just one.

As they are arriving at camp, Amy is trying to be friendly and get to know some of the girls that she doesn't know very and make sure they feel secure and welcome. In the course of conversation, she encountered a little girl who stated that she lives with another family member. Amy asked about mom and dad and the little girl said that her mom was in drug court and when she got out of trouble that she was going to fight for custody of her. What struck Amy is how just matter-of-fact this 8 year old was about her situation. Dad is uninvolved. Wow...what are we doing to our kids?

I believe sincerely that normalizing sin is one of the devil's greatest tools in the war for our hearts. If he can convince the next generation that divorce, drugs, sex, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, adultery, etc. is normal, then the next generation will walk right down these paths. Their childhood memories are of courts & custody battles, drugs and rehab centers, mom or dad having "sleepovers" with the opposite sex, (or the same sex today!) just watching adults behave badly. It breaks my heart and my wife's heart that kids are all too often having to deal with the consequences of their parents behaving badly. What are we doing to our kids?!

The world needs the Savior now more than anytime before. We need to pray for this generation of kids. Pray that this generation of parents too. I'm reminded of this scripture: 1 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We need that!