Bible Teaching
On Worship
Culture Warning
Good Listen
Worshipping Self
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Quotes
"Everyday in a thousand different ways I am tempted to make myself the center of the universe." -Alistair Begg
"Reality is what you run into when you're wrong" - Dallas Willard
“My Christian life, then, depends altogether upon the truth of the New Testament record. Christian experience is rightly used when it confirms the documentary evidence. But it can never possibly provide a substitute for the documentary evidence” -J. Gresham Machen
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Quotes
"Baptists are safe on the question of belief. The trouble with us is that we are the most believing and about the least doing people in the world. If we would practice only half we believe, we would lead hosts of willing captives into our Master's kingdom." -- J.B. Graham, First Session of Baptist Sunday School Convention held at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Talladega, AL in 1898.
"In the end, we love people into belief. We do not argue them into belief." - Timothy Keller
The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. @EDLitton
Bigotry has many angles. One is to jump to conclusions that make us feel better about ourselves. Self is the central motivator, not truth! - Dr. Sonny Holmes
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Links 8.18.16
Privatizing the internet
Science and God
How God saved me from the prosperity gospel
White Christian America is dying
Should we have children in big church? --
You may or may not agree, but it has many good points for all.
Science and God
How God saved me from the prosperity gospel
White Christian America is dying
Should we have children in big church? --
You may or may not agree, but it has many good points for all.
Say Goodbye to a Double Mind
James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The New King James Version. (1982). (Jas 1:5–8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
The New King James Version. (1982). (Jas 1:5–8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
This week I have been thinking a lot on the issue of double mindedness. I am convinced that this is a huge reason people don't grow in their faith and why many never see God's active answering hand in their life. James 1 challenges believers to TRUST God and not to be double minded. Double mindedness is different from doubt. Double mindedness shows up as you ask or respond to God with:
"maybe"
"I need more information"
"I don't think that is what you REALLY mean."
"I might if...."
"Tell me first and then I'll decide."
"You can't be serious"
"I know you won't tell me to stop this ministry because it is so great."
All of these and more indicate that the heart still desires to self govern and not have Christ govern it. Until you and I become single minded, we can't expect God to answer anything. So if you want more of God in your life, more wisdom in decision making, more confidence in your faith walk. Start trusting what God shows you in the word and DO IT!
Quotes and Musings
"You can impress from a distance, but you can only impact up close." - Howard Hendricks
"Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it." - Mark Batterson
"Something is distorted when we get enraged with statements made on the Internet but barely feel the pains of our own neighborhood." - Dan White Jr.
“The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are at opposite sides of the same coin.” - A. W. Tozer
Correct Greek translation of Matthew 28:19a: "Being as how y'all are going somewhere anyway, make disciples out of all ethnicities." - Buck Burch
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Quotes and Musings
“If I had never joined a Church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all! And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect Church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us.” - Charles Spurgeon
“Faith is when you act like God is telling the truth.” - Priscilla Shirer
In the original language, "Fear the Lord" doesn't mean be afraid. It means sustaining a joyful, astonished awe, and wonder before Him- Timothy Keller
"If your memories of the past are greater than your vision for the future, your church will die." Larry Wynn
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Quotes and Musings
Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor. 10:12
"Angels fell in Heaven, Adam in paradise, Peter in Christ’s presence." - Theophilus Polwheile
One does not surrender his life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a life time. - Elizabeth Elliot
When our primary motive becomes trusting God, however, we suddenly discover there is nothing in the world that pleases Him more! Until you trust God, nothing you do will please God. --Lynch, John; McNicol, Bruce; Thrall, Bill (2011-11-17). The Cure: What If God Isn't Who You Think He Is And Neither Are You (Kindle Locations 414-415). Cross Section Ventures, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Guilt wants to lead us to forgiveness, to be cleaned. Shame drives us to hide, convinced we cannot truly be forgiven or made clean. -- Lynch, John; McNicol, Bruce; Thrall, Bill (2011-11-17). The Cure: What If God Isn't Who You Think He Is And Neither Are You (Kindle Locations 414-415). Cross Section Ventures, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
I have noticed that those who demand heaven on earth here and now— instant health, wealth, happiness, or holiness— often become the most embittered, hostile, and disillusioned critics of Christianity.-- Horton, Michael (2010-07-27). A Place for Weakness: Preparing Yourself for Suffering (p. 48). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
There is no theology-free experience. -- Michael Horton
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Quotes and Musings 7.27.16
“If we emphasize only the legal aspect of salvation, then we leave people with only one thing. Rather, we should say that because of the legal, there’s all these other benefits. You need to know that you aren’t poor before God, that you have Christ’s merit. You’re not disgusting and filthy, but you are robed in the righteousness of Christ and that you’re not outside of the family of God...
“There’s three big images for shame in the Bible and they match up with the things we’re talking about, naked, defiled and outside the camp. And it’s a joy to tell people, Jesus was all three of those. He was made naked and he was defiled and he was crucified outside the camp so you are robed, you are clean and you are now adopted, the beauty of adoption and J.I. Packer said, justification is the blessing on which adoption is founded. It’s the crown blessing to which justification clears the way.” Justin Holcombhttps://goo.gl/uD3aYD
What is the gospel? The Great Exchange: "There are three imputations in Scripture: Adam's sin to us, our sin to Christ, and Christ's righteousness to us. And if any one of them goes, the gospel goes with it..." ~ Kim Riddlebarger https://goo.gl/uD3aYD
"We sometimes imagine that God is just like us, only bigger, smarter, and more powerful. God, however, is not just more than we are. He is in a class all by himself." - CCC Discover
Monday, July 25, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good." C.S. Lewis
"When we ignore the beauty of our cultural distinctions within the body of Christ, we insult the Christ who is the head of the body." - Philip Nation
"When you think spiritual maturity = knowledge, you wind up with people who can win a game of bible trivia but who don't look much like Jesus. "-- Trevin Wax
"You may find hundreds of faultfinders among professed Christians; but their criticisms will not lead one solitary soul to Christ." -- DL Moody
"We are to be nonconformists to the world, distinguished from the rest of mankind by our likeness to our Master." -CH Spurgeon
Monday, July 18, 2016
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Quotes and musings 7.14.15
Some good quotes from "How People Change" by Timothy S. Lane & Paul David Tripp.
Christian joy is not about avoiding life while dreaming about heaven. It is about taking an utterly honest look at all earthly life through heaven’s lens. There we find hope.
Christian friendships do not simply help us bask in the sunshine of God’s grace; they also help us to roll up our sleeves and strive after holiness.
Christianity’s change process does not revolve around a system of redemption but around a person who redeems.
Living in community pushes us to die to ourselves.
Trial can come in the difficulty of blessing. Riches can be as much a trial as poverty!
Trials do not cause us to be what we have not been; rather, they reveal what we have been all along. The harvest the trial produces is the result of the roots already in our hearts.
The Christian life is a state of thankful discontent or joyful dissatisfaction. That is, I live every day thankful for the grace that has changed my life, but I am not satisfied… It is a fight for me to want nothing less than all that is mine in Christ.
To define grace as acceptance without acknowledging irresistible change is to deny the dna of grace. #lovewinssouls - Buck Burch
Monday, July 11, 2016
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Quotes and Musings 7.7.16
"The final problem is not to prove men wrong but to win them back to Christ. Therefore, the only ultimately successful apologetic is, first, a clear, intellectual statement of what is wrong with the false doctrine, plus a clear, intellectual return to the proper Scriptural emphasis, in all its vitality and in its relation to the total Christian Faith, plus a demonstration in the life that this correct and vital Scriptural emphasis meets the genuine needs and aspirations of men in a way that Satan’s counterfeit does not." ~ Francis Schaeffer
Here's Baptist theologian E. Y. Mullins - 92 years ago, in 1924, on the crossroads Christians were facing. We're still there!
"On the one hand, man is held to be in bondage to sin and in need of a divine redemptive power working within to emancipate him. On the other, it is held that no such bondage exists. All man needs is education.
With one group, something new is needed by sinful men; with the other, merely a recognition of one’s likeness to God is sufficient.
With one group a power from without, with the other an unfolding from within is required.
With one group, man accepts a saving grace to which by reason of sin he can make no just claim. With the other, he merely claims what is already his own.
With one group, Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, and our Lord and Savior. With the other, he is the son of Joseph and Mary and an inspiring example of filial devotion to God.
With one group, conversion as the result of evangelistic preaching is one of the permanent aims of Christianity. With the other, education and training, or ethical culture, are the only needs.
With one group is a great missionary passion based on the conviction that the world needs a saving Christ. With the other, altruism in the form of schools, hospitals and social reorganization is the chief need.
With the evangelical group, there is no denial of the ethical and social needs and results. Indeed they are held to be implicit in the whole Christian movement. The causes carry the effects in themselves at every stage. But the effects are impossible without the causes. The radical group insist much upon the ethical and social effects, but sever them from the causes, as those are conceived by the evangelical group."
God Answers Prayers
1st Thessalonians 5: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The New King James Version. (1982). (1 Th 5:16–18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
I had 3 prayers answered in the last week. One was a month long issue related to finances. Another was 6 month issue related to relationships. Finally, there was one that was almost 2 years related to strategic planning.
Now I'm certain I had many more answered, but the timing of the three caused me to ponder the power of answered prayer. God's timing is not ours. To be honest, too often you and I are really impatient. I read of Abraham's prayer and faith and recognize that God took 25 years to answer one and I am prone to give up way too soon. But God is gracious and He does answer prayers. I needed t be reminded of this. God answered in a single day 3 different prayers of three different time spans. I was blown away and blessed amazingly and reminded once again to keep depending on God, keep leaning into him and to praying until He answers.
So be encouraged, the same God who answered my prayers, will answer yours. Rejoice, pray, endure, give thanks.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Quotes and Musings
Everyone wants forgiveness or peace with God without cost or commitment. That want peace as a commodity(earned) or property (controlled) but not as a gift that one must respond to and have relational responsibility toward.- Chris Gilliam
Counteracting Moralistic Therapeutic Deism:
"Imagine for a moment an area of a city that is of historical interest. There are two very different ways of getting to know that area. The first is the sort of knowledge that a new tour guide possesses, which he passes on to other outsiders. He gathers this information from maps, books, and other external sources, which gave him important functional information that enables him to navigate the area. He may also pick up another level of detail that goes beyond purely functional information, such as interesting history, famous residents, and notorious events. Yet as vast as the guide’s knowledge may become, there is still a yawning gap in the amount of information as well as the depth of knowledge he acquires compared with someone who grew up in that area. Rather than the flat, functional knowledge of the tour guide, the ‘local’ possesses a deep and complex intuitive understanding …
"Some Christian leaders and pastors are tempted to become spiritual ‘tour guides.’ At one level, this is a satisfying role. Our knowledge is clean, clear-cut, and well presented. Our responsibilities are clearly defined and fit within scheduled time frames - our Sunday tours! Yet, at the more fundamental level, tour guides create tourists rather than residents - consumers of knowledge rather than participants in actual communities. We may introduce people to the basic contours and city limits of the gospel - ‘map knowledge’ - but how do we fundamentally reorient them within the new neighborhood of the gospel? Given the significant influence of the modern social imaginary, discipleship must be embedded within a Christian social imaginary in order to be an effective journey of counterformation. This will require a new vision of life, a new story to live within, a new community to be part of, and new practices to live by.” ~ Jonathan Grant
Weaponized Tolerance
It's time to stop letting covert-aggressive rhetoric win the day. Tolerance as used in our public discourse is a rouse. The first one to throw the, "I'm offended" flag is the default winner. Christianity, define broadly is the determined bain of society by the controllers of conversation and when you get to the specific of faith, it is considered abominable. To share painful truth in genuine love is considered to be insensitive on another feeling.
We should never back down from declaring and describing truth.
Even and atheist must admit from their go to guide for life "Science" that gender is assigned biologically in the DNA. No surgery, therapy, hormonal infusion will change that. As such they are hypocrites trying to persuade others that this is a real issue, when there own "science" screams truth to them.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"The reason why the Christians in this day are at such a loss as to some things is that they are contented with what comes from man's mouth, without searching and kneeling before God to know of Him the truth of things."
- John Bunyan
We know that the new creation is going to replace everything, like in Daniel 2, the kingdom which God is bringing to this earth is not the kingdoms that are already here. It’s replacing those kingdoms. And so in light of that, we can hold this world loosely as followers of Jesus and we can lay hold of the hope that is far greater than what we see around us in the present landscape. We know that we have a king, a ruler who’s actually going to replace all the mess that we experienced in our everyday life with his eternal kingdom. As we’re living in the time in between Jesus’ comings, we’re living these lives of faithful presence, holiness, and godliness like Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3, waiting for the day of the Lord.”
- Justin Holcomb
Revival starts when someone makes a decision to abandon everything to God, to deal ruthlessly with all known sin, to be found daily in the presence of the King, to adopt a submissive and obedient heart, to live unashamed and honored to be known as a follower of Jesus and to pray, 'Not my will but your's be done.'
-Unknown
Legalism, License or Grace?
Originally written in December of 2011.
In a few months I will be teaching at the 10th Annual Pastor's Conference in Lugoj Romania. The theme this year is Living in Grace. As I have been preparing the talks, one statement I have used over and over is this:
"It is easier to walk in rules than it is to live in grace."
It is my prayer and hope that we all not only learn to live in grace but teach others to do so also. Here are a few questions to get us started.
1. What will walking in grace demand of you that legalism forbids?
2. What will walking in grace demand of you that license permits?
Rather than give you the answers, I challenge you to look at the gospels and Jesus' life carefully to answer these questions for yourself.
Post comments as to what you are learning.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Three T's
TREASURE GOD
God by choice started it all, man by sin stained it all, God through Christ offers redemption to all. Man redeemed knows the treasure God is. If God is growing lack-luster in your life or you have not experienced redemption. Go back to the good news and apply: Christ came! Christ died! Christ rose again! Christ is returning!
Psalm 37: 4 -4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.NKJV
TRUST GOD
Though the light may grow dim, though the day appear grim. Though heaven feels shut, though evil looms large. Though His hand seems absent, though presence unfelt, TRUST Him by faith! From Abraham, Joseph, Job, John the Baptist and Paul we see those who were tried by the silence of God, even to the point of death, yet faith remained and their hope is now realized. Ours will be too...Trust God.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses set around us, every weight having put off, and the closely besetting sin, through endurance may we run the contest that is set before us, 2 looking to the author and perfecter of faith--Jesus, who, over-against the joy set before him--did endure a cross, shame having despised, on the right hand also of the throne of God did sit down; 3 for consider again him who endured such gainsaying from the sinners to himself, that ye may not be wearied in your souls--being faint. Young's literal.
THANK GOD
Ingratitude reveals so much selfishness and self focus. Ouch! Remember, God did not have to sustain the world or even save men, but he did. Though He allow, at time and for season, your mistreatment by the world, your misalignment through the malignancy of sin, the misunderstanding of others and the stomp of the evil one. Better is here! Christ in ME the hope of glory. He redeemed ME...and YOU. that alone is enough to thank Him. One day we will reside where sin is no more!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks ; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. NKJV
1 Corinthians 15: 57 But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. NKJV
Quotes and musings
"I don't mean to be cruel, but I'm compelled to be honest: If all those involved in Christian teaching had to become salesmen and saleswomen to make a living, most of them would starve to death. We're teaching the most exciting truth in all the world-eternal truth-and doing it as if it were cold mashed potatoes."
- Howard Hendricks
“I’m religious but I don’t believe in institutional Christianity” is often another Docetic way to say, “I want to be spiritual without any of the ambiguities, frustrations, and responsibilities that embody spiritual commitment.”
Institutions are embodiments and substantiations of ideals, aims, and values. Docetism is a special abnegation of any responsibility to incarnate ideals, values, or love.
It is altogether too easy to love and care in the abstract. Concrete situations of diapers, debts, divorce, or listening to and being with someone in depression and despair, is the test of real love.
Docetism is the religious way to escape having love tested in the flesh. All of us are tempted to audit life rather than to participate fully and be tested by it.
– C. FitzSimons Allison, The Cruelty of Heresy, 37-8.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"On the twenty-ninth of November, 1685, our pastor, Brother Fownes, died in Gloucester jail, having been kept there for two years and nine months a prisoner, unjustly and maliciously, for the testimony of Jesus and preaching the gospel." --Broadmead Baptist Church, Bristol -- And we think we Christians are really persecuted in America.
Open-Book Christian One reason life is so difficult, says C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), is that we try to be Christians without giving our whole self to Christ (Mere Christianity, 1952):
"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self— all your wishes and precautions— to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call ‘ourselves’, to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be ‘good’. We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way-- centered on money or pleasure or ambition— and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be plowed up and re-sown."
“I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“I'm still discovering, right up to this moment, that it is only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures, experiences and perplexities. In so doing, we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"The religion of liberalism demands there are no rivals. It isn't that liberals do not believe in God; they believe themselves to be gods over men."
- Dr. Emir Caner
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
- Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
- Albert Einstein
"It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually."
- Oswald Chambers
We need to quit acting like OT prophets and start acting like NT evangelists.
“Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness.”
- Darlene N. Bocek
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Truth
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the Lord?
There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
Psalm 14:1-5
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the Lord?
There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
Psalm 14:1-5
The New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
In our day, the predominate American worldview is: synaptic firings and neurological road paths are verity. Simply put, Truth originates in OUR own mind.
This observation can be made in the halls of elite colleges, federal court rulings, Hollywood films, newspaper headlines, major corporations' announcements and actions and talking-head media moguls. The most recent evidence is the transgender bathroom debacle. Our society holds fast to 'we can be whatever we want and think and feel, and that is real, so it is truth.' The money-makers, educators, and legislators have now determined that this will be the way we move forward in America.
Remove God, as Nietzsche suggested, and Society will become whole. Well, we are removing God and any vestige of Him, and we will reap the rewards of such foolishness. "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'." In our world, people are now making the heart confession an act of cultural expression. Chaos and competing individual expressions are rampant.
As Christians, we need not ever endorse such foolishness. Rather, we ought to persuade them to draw near to God while He might be found. People are far more than misguided electro-chemical impulses; they are image-bearers. As such, they cannot and will not find their own way. We must share with them the only way and pray that God would turn on the light to this truth, lest they meander straight to judgement. Let us make this our goal: Vocally and Truthfully sharing Jesus.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Chris's Links
Quotes and Musings
"The only places where Socialism is believed to be successful are filled with large numbers of imprisoned, dumbed-down, robotic slaves: North Korea and American Universities."
- Dr. David Lanier
"The first thing that interrupts real revival in the church is a whole slate of false professions of faith sitting in the pews."
- Dr. Herb Reavis
"People want the fruit of faith without having faith."
- Richard Blackaby
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence the good."
- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
"When I understand that everything that's happening to me is to make me more Christlike, it resolves a great deal of anxiety."
- A.W. Tozer
"The proof that we are rightly related to God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not."
- Oswald Chambers
Question posted to Nine Marks Ministry: Isn’t the idea of church membership just a modern American idea?
Answer: Hardly. Here are 5 reasons why:
- The ancient Romans understood each citizen to be a member of their society in the same way that our hands, eyes, feet, and so on are all members of our body.
- The New Testament asserts that Christians are members of one another because we are all members of the body of Christ (Romans 12:5).
- The New Testament church was composed of people who had publicly joined themselves to the church such that Paul can assume that the Corinthian church will know who is “inside” and who is “outside” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
- The church in Corinth excluded an unrepentant sinner “by the will of the majority” (2 Corinthians 2:6), which presupposes a defined group of people, all of whom together had the right to act as a church.
- Even the idea of excluding someone from the church because of unrepentant sin (see Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, and 2 Corinthians 2:6) presupposes that there is some defined body to which a person belongs. If there were no formal membership in the New Testament, then Jesus and Paul’s teaching about church discipline would be meaningless. If someone doesn’t formally belong, how can they be kicked out?
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living."
- Albert Mohler
"Too many church services start at eleven sharp and end at twelve dull."
- Vance Havner
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
- Thomas Edison
"Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future."
- Ulysses S. Grant
"If you judge your church's worship on how well you're 'fed' you've made yourself the object of your worship."
- Micah Fries
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Insecurity vs. Confidence
The following is from
Kris Vallotton.
Insecurity relegates you to a small, insignificant place, with other scared people.
But confidence in your identity will help you to attract other champions around you, so you can collaboratively conquer promised lands.
Insecure people:
- spend a lot of their time comparing themselves to others.
- fear strong, gifted people.
- are only comfortable around people who need them.
- need to control everyone in their world.
- build cases against people in their minds to feel better about themselves.
- take people's compliments to others as an insult to themselves.
- think "me" instead of "us."
- are overly self-conscious.
- live in conflict all the time.
Confident people:
- celebrate others.
- are comfortable around gifted, powerful people.
- love empowering people.
- spend a lot of time thinking about the destiny of others.
- see themselves as a catalyst to the destiny of others.
- love themselves and are comfortable with who they are.
- are vulnerable about their weaknesses, flaws, and constraints.
- enjoy seeing others honored.
- live in peace.
If you see yourself among the insecure, here are a few things you should do:
- Take a 30 minute vacation and ask Jesus what He thinks about you.
- Record His insights into your life and meditate on them.
- Search the Scriptures for verses about your identity in Christ and write them on your bathroom mirror. Repeat them as you are getting ready in the morning.
- Take a 40-day journey through the life of the people around you. Record at least 3 strengths of everyone who is regularly in your world. This will help change the WAY you think about others. You will get in the habit of looking for gold.
- Tell a few close friends about your flaws and your fears. Practice being transparent; it will deliver you from shame.
- Take time to consciously imagine the best about two people who intimidate you.
- Forgive yourself for any past failure. Re-MIND yourself that you may have failed, but you are not a failure.
- Invest in anyone you are jealous of. Then their victory will be your victory.
- Write down 50 things you are thankful for.
- Write a short note to 5 people you appreciate in your life.
If you do these things for 40 straight days, it will deliver you from the land of insecurity.
Quotes and Musings
"Don't fear failure. Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today."
- Unknown
"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Sir Winston Churchill
"Nearly every Church has one or more 'cranks' — men whose heads are not well balanced. It often happens that these brethren are kind and loving when you touch their hearts, but no argument can reach their brains."
- Williams Rutherford, Church Members' Guide for Baptist Churches, 1885
"Why should I apologize for keeping women and children safe from transvestites in public restrooms? 'Woe to those who call good evil and evil good'."
- Dr. David Lanier
"If we have no interest in God now, why would we want to spend eternity with him?"
- Kevin DeYoung
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
- ML King, Jr.
"Sin makes you stupid. When the heart is not right, the mind goes astray as well."
- Dr. Danny Akin
I've been thinking about how to become better at giving encouraging words. I know that those closest to me don't get a big enough diet of these things, because they get the diet of living in the mess we're in called life. Perhaps even those in my bigger concentric circle don't get enough, either. I desire to be a person whose words, even when couched in the frustrations and discouragements of life, can offer the beautiful smile of God with hopefulness, despite sinfulness.
Baptists believe in religious liberty for themselves. But they believe
in it equally for all.
- E.Y. Mullins
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"The church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren."
-Bonhoeffer, in Life Together
I have been thinking on the meaning and implications of "believe/belief." I am convinced that we act on what we believe and that when we fail to act, we demonstrate our unbelief. So I have been asking God to help me believe and to help others believe, too. The problem with looking intently at this subject is that you can see so many who don't believe...
"I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount."
- Harry S Truman
"Be Decisive! Right or wrong, the road of life is paved with flat squirrels who could not make a decision."
- Unknown
"But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
- Psalm 115:3 (NKJV)
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Thoughts on Easter
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith .... And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-22)
The Holy Bible: NIV. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984.
Liberal theologians of the early 19th century really did more to create doubt in Christ than to share the historical legitimacy of the biblical text. They exalted their own minds and their cognitive reasoning ability as lord over sacred scripture. Somehow, they were able to do this and delude themselves into thinking that they were still Christians and God-fearers.
Paul addressed this old philosophy in new packaging when he shared with the church at Corinth, some 30 years removed from the event of Christ's resurrection. He gave many realities, such as the eyewitnesses. He also stated the necessity and the consequences of the resurrection. He clearly stated that Christianity itself rises and falls on the resurrection. If it is real, you must place your hope there. If it is false, you'd better look for another venue.
He had banked his life and message on it, and he shared the reasons why. Reasons that, in any court of law with objectivity (as opposed to pre-suppositional subjectivity), would validate as true.
Harvard professor of law Simon Greenleaf wrote in a book in 1965 these words:
"All that Christianity asks of men is that they would be consistent with themselves, that they would treat the resurrection evidences as they treat the evidence of other things, and that they would try and judge its actors and witnesses as they deal with their fellow men when testifying in human courts or human tribunals. The result will be an undoubting conviction of their integrity, ability, and truth."
If reasonable men would submit their reason to revelation, they too would see the hope of life, the resurrected Christ.
Quotes and Musings
"You cannot slander human nature; it is worse than words can paint it."
- Charles H. Spurgeon
"The language we use creates the reality we experience."
- Michael Hyatt
"You will never meet a pessimist who regularly spends time with God ... because connecting with our Creator always changes our perspective."
- Ben Wallis
Thursday, March 17, 2016
The Key to Discipleship
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
The New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
Jesus said, "Follow ME ..." and he said, "I will send Another Who will guide you into all truth ..."
Both require walking and being lead. Too often, our focus in discipleship is on the "discipline of the flesh" or "the denial of the flesh." These miss the main thing and actually hinder our progress. We focus on "THE FLESH." Our focus should be on "THE SPIRIT"!
When we learn Who He is, How He walks, Where He walks, When He walks, and Why He walks and then get IN sync, THEN we will no longer have to worry over our flesh. Walking will take care of that. The verse says that "you will not fulfill ..."
So what are you focused on? Walking, or your failing flesh? Start walking!
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Quotes and Musings
We all share our faith; we tell and show people what we trust. The question we must ask ourselves is what does my telling and showing others represent? Faith in God through Christ, or faith in me?
"True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their own."
― Nikos Kazantzakis
(I love this, and it is a real key to how I personally disciple.)
"People who cannot restrain their own baser instincts, who cannot treat one another with civility, are not capable of self-government ... without virtue, a society can be ruled only by fear, a truth that tyrants understand all too well."
- Chuck Colson
"It is not our business to make the message acceptable, but to make it available. We are not to see that they like it, but that they get it."
- Vance Havner
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Do I Trust God?
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him ... (Job 13:15)
The New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
The man Job went though the refiner's fire like no other in recorded history. Just a cursory reading of the first few chapters of the book of Job can cause great empathy for this man. What I find intriguing is his simple statement "though HE slay me, yet will I trust Him." This implicit faith is an enigma to me in many ways, yet it draws me, inspires me, and calls me to come pursue this type of real trust.
In 2003, I asked God to show me this depth of pure faith. He answered my prayer with trails - many of them. Today, 13 years later, I can say that my trust for God has grown and that my confidence in His goodness has multiplied time and again. I have seen several dark nights of the soul … I have also seen the Lord!
God's unfailing love, His many mercies, His amazing grace, and His active hand have caused me to delight even more in Who HE IS! I am more captivated by Him today than merely by the faith of Job. Indeed, He alone deserves my absolute trust.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"Joy not only results from a holy life, but there is also a sense in which joy helps produce a holy life."
- Jerry Bridges
"Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you."
- Stephen Covey
"The word 'listen' has the same letters as 'silent'."
- Anonymous
"Reformation is simply turning from sin; regeneration is turning from sin unto Christ. To reform is to remain deformed; to be born again by faith in the uplifted Jesus is to take into our hearts the life that will sooner or later make us absolutely like Him."
- Baptist Pastor A.C. Dixon (1854 - 1925)
"If your life is messy and hard that's not a failure of the plan; it is the plan. It's God working to complete what He's begun in you!"
- Paul Tripp
"Do what God wants and leave it alone."
- Emerson Eggerichs
"... [we] are not endorsing sin, we are enduring sin."
- Emerson Eggerichs
Thursday, March 3, 2016
What’s at the Heart of JOB
This edition was written by my lovely wife, Alicia, and shared with her permission.
Anyone with a hint of biblical literacy knows that the God of the Bible has His reasons for what He does and allows, but His actions in the book of Job have certainly raised some eyebrows. Why would God point his finger at Job and brag on him before Satan? God has no need to prove anything to His already defeated enemy, so why does He single out this dear servant, almost as if to dare Satan to make his ugly move? Though we can never know the full mind and motives of our God, we can find evidence that He allowed these trials in order to purge Job of some mixed motives in his worship.
Satan himself has a keen knowledge of man’s weaknesses, not to mention a biblical record of speaking in half-truths - so his estimation of Job’s character, though flawed and ill-motivated, is still useful: “Job fears God - but not without good reason . . . [he] blesses You only because You bless him.” Job never curses God for his lost blessings, as Satan predicted, but the poor man does become increasingly agitated when he cannot recover what those blessings represented - his right standing with God. The face-saving tactics used by Job are symptomatic of a man who has lost his confidence in God’s approval. It is not his treasure he demands throughout the book but rather God’s attention. Satan had it half-right, it seems: when external evidences of God’s justification vanish and God remains silent, Job’s worship vanishes, too.
Nevertheless, Job’s trials eventually lead him back to worship – and this time to a more God-centered version. Although early in the story God commends Job’s integrity, which we see demonstrated in a systematic worship filled with sacrifice and concern for his children's purity, his worship seems to be based primarily on his fear of offending the Almighty (“perhaps my children have sinned”) and bearing His judgment (“What I always feared has happened to me.”) This stage of worship is essential to our growth, but after Yahweh thunders His true glory (“things far to wonderful for me,”) Job sits in awe and silence – not worried about his own sinfulness but convinced of it, and in full, bowed submission to his Creator. “I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Before verbally intervening, God was the Divine-at-a-Distance; we never read of Job having conversations with God like we do with Noah, Abraham, or Moses. Job isn’t even described as walking with God as He did with Enoch. Nevertheless, Job describes the change brought about by the end of the book: “I had heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my eyes.” God now has a personal voice and a personal message for Job which he will surely never forget, and, like anyone who’s heard God speak, Job will strain his ears again and again to hear from heaven.
Job willingly worshiped God based on the truths he understood about Him – and for that, God was pleased. God’s loving response was to give Job more truth – a deeper understanding of his own depravity and God’s glory. The trials Job endured were intended by Satan to prove his worship as insincere and thus put an end to it and any future relationship between him and God. We can have confidence that whatever schemes Satan means for evil, God intends for good; God used Job’s trials to purge him of an underlying self-focus and to release him to worship with true biblical humility focused on God’s great glory.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Quotes and Musings
Perception overshadows reality.... You ARE in Jesus! (Colossians 2:10) Do you believe? I am convinced if every believer really believed this FACT it would RADICALLY change how they lived.
“God does not give us what we can handle. God helps us handle what we are given.”
- Anonymous
I will always suffer disappointment when I find my identity in anything but Jesus.
God loves me and is THRILLED when I share that He loves you too!
“Pride always refuses to repent.”
- Bruce Hebel
“As Christians, we salute forgiveness, but don't do it.”
- Bruce Hebel
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Quotes and Musings
"Humility is the only soil in which virtue takes root; a lack of humility is the explanation of every defect and failure."
- AW Tozer
"I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me against the Rock of Ages."
- Spurgeon
What do you choose?
But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 7:11-12)
The New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
The events that had just unfolded were that the people claimed to do what God said and then complained that nothing seemed to change. The attitude was "what's the use." God then answered with a list of remedies that he expected the people to do, and then we arrive at the above text.
Choices have both opportunities and consequences attached to them. The immediate opportunity, however, might not be easily recognizable. The opportunity God had presented them with was one where relationship would be built and flourish - both upward to God though obedience and outward to others - and bring blessings. Upward and outward both involve relationship, and relationships can be messy.
Those people in that day made choices that had consequences. Let's look at their choices:
- Refused to Heed.
- Shrugged (or bowed up) their shoulders.
- Stopped up their ears.
- Became hard-hearted.
- Refused to listen to God.
Now let's see the consequences: GREAT WRATH FROM THE LORD.
God is never excited at our reluctance to do as He invites. Which leads me to a few questions:
- At what relationship in my life am I refusing God?
- Where am I in the five areas listed above?
- Am I willing to heed, bow, open, be tender and listen?
We all make choices. What is yours?
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