Ending . . . therefore:

My age and the point I find myself in my career encourages thoughts about ending.  A couple of things that have come my way in the past few days have been a catalyst to these thoughts.  Together with several guys I've been interacting with Eric Metaxas's book 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness.   The last of the seven guys is the only one I ever actually met, Chuck Colson.  Not long after the former Nixon Aid got out of jail he came to Covington VA to promote his new ministry, Prison Fellowship.  Metaxas began the chapter about his friend, Chuck Colson, by talking about his funeral.  I'm considerably younger than Colson's eighty years.  Still, it got me thinking.
My co-pastor and I are working on a passage in 1 Peter 4 for this Sunday's message.  Ramping up to verses 10-11, I read this:  

"The end of all things is near; therefore. . . ."

Therefore what?
That's the question isn't it?
I doubt that my funeral will be attended by the famous and powerful, as was Colson's, but my life is being observed by the God of the Universe.  When that end has come what will have been accomplished in my life?
God reminds me that the end is near.  I need to fill in the "therefore."  God gives opportunities and resources.  What am I doing with them?

I encourage you to look at 1 Peter 4.  If you are able I invite to join us Sunday as we consider the passage.  Let's keep the "therefore" in mind.

It's Something to Think About.

Sacrifice V

It is impossible to get closer to the absolute core of Christianity, than the Gospel--the Good News about Jesus Christ--the Euangelion, the word from which we get evangelize, or evangelical.  The Apostle Paul said he faithfully delivered the Gospel.    “I make known to you, brethren, the gospel . . . by which also you are saved. . . . I delivered to you . . . what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4, NASB95)   When he came to the great city of Corinth, Paul said,    “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)  In other words the Gospel was the heart of his message.  Today an entire movement in Christiandom is known by the description "Evangelical."  In the best sense, Evangelicals are those who believe and proclaim the Gospel.  If ever there was an Evangelical it was the Apostle Paul.  You just couldn't keep him quiet about that Good News. When we proclaim, or receive, the Good News what is really going on?  One of the present day distortions of the Good News is that it is entirely about me.  Some of us have observed that a slight change to a popular praise song is appropriate. "It's all about ME, Jesus." No, it's not. At the end of his great treatise on Christianity, the Book of Romans, he makes clear that ultimately its not about me, or even you.  It's about God.  In Romans 15:15-16 Paul says that it was God's grace that provided him the opportunity to minister this Good News to the Gentile nations.  The salvation of those people was not the final result.  Paul regarded those he reached as an offering to the Lord--dare I say, a kind of human-sacrifice?  His desire was that, "my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:16). It's one of the "spiritual sacrifices" that God's people ought to be offering to the Lord (1 Peter 2:5).  When I share the Good News and you receive it, it will change your life.  The Good News includes the message that there is forgiveness of sin, hope in life, and heaven after death, but that is not the end of the Gospel.  In the final analysis it is about the Glory of God. It's Something to Think About.

Sacrifice IV

Over my four decades of ministry I have worked with missionaries who have gone to places in the world, or to particular people groups, where, or among whom, the need is very great.  Those missionary ventures were made possible because of the generous support of others who were used of God to support those efforts. In the First Century Church the Apostle Paul was in the role of taking the Good News about Jesus "where the name of Christ has never been heard" (Romans 15:20).  His ability to do that was enhanced by churches like the the gathering of believers at Philippi who "shared with [him] in the matter of giving and receiving. . . [and] sent a gift more than once for [Paul's] needs" (Philippians 4:15-16). Is it a good thing for churches and individuals to share in helping those who go to be able to go where the need is great? Without any doubt.  In fact we probably don't know fully realize just how good a thing it is.  Here is what the Apostle Paul says about the generous giving of the Philippian church, and I think it is true about those today who support the spread of the Gospel, if they do so with a right attitude. He said that what they had sent was "a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God" (Philippians 4:18). Did you get that?  The Great Apostle says that when we support God's work of spreading the Gospel we offer a worshipful sacrifice to the Lord.  It is another way that we offer "spiritual sacrifices" to God. It's Something to Think About.

Sacrifice, III

“And do not neglect doing good and sharing,
for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” 
(Hebrews 13:16, NASB95)  

I Peter 2:5 says that part of God's purpose in drawing people to Himself and making them His children is so they can "offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

Many think that Christians are people who do good deeds in order to earn their way to heaven--sort of a celestial barter system.  The reality is, Followers-of-Jesus engage in good works because they are on their way to heaven.  They have been   “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred . . . to the kingdom of His beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:13).  Ultimately this Kingdom will overcome all the consequences of sin and death in this world.  The "whole creation," which "groans and travails" in it's current state, will one day be "be set free from its slavery to corruption" (Romans 8:21).
Clearly part of our worship of our Redeemer-God is to join with Him in doing Good works in this fallen world.  We cannot, by our human efforts, reverse the curse of sin, but we can--to use a former president's image--create points of light.  Properly done, and accompanied with appropriate Gospel witness, these points of light point to the Light of the world, Who is Jesus.

Christ-follower, find something good to do today.  Do it in the name of, and for the glory of the Lord.  It is a sacrifice with which God is pleased.

It's Something to Think About.

This STTA is part of a series inspired by Pastor Doug Williams's message from last Sunday.  In his handout he suggested that we look at these Bible verses to investigate "spiritual sacrifices": Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16, Philippians 4:18, Romans 15:15-16.  We are doing that in this week's STTAs.  You can read past STTAs here.
Here is an article that explores the relationship between what God is doing in individual hearts and what He is doing in the world.
 

God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen."

You can find directions for getting where you really want to go here.

Sacrifice II

Long before one got to the Tabernacle or the Temple of the Old Testament era, he would be aware of the sacrifices being offered.  The smoke rose up and odor filled the 

countryside. That is an image that is often used to describe the sacrifices in the Bible.   Actually there were two altars in the Old Testament system of worship.  The Altar of Incense, where sweet-smelling incense was offered, and the Brass Altar used for the sacrifice of animals.  Any of us who have left meat on the grill too long are familiar with the rather acrid smell of burning flesh, but it would appear from Ephesians 5:2 that even those animal sacrifices produced an aroma that pleases God.
Hebrews 13:15, compares our praise and thanksgiving to those sacrifices, ". . . let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."  Psalm 141:2, Revelation 5:8, & 8:3 compare the prayers of God's people to those sacrifices.
We tend to think of prayer as something we do because we want something.  When we look at the model prayer that Jesus gave us as our example for addressing God, we find it has much more to do with what God deserves than with what I desire.  It begins,
 

    “Father, may your name be kept holy.
      May your Kingdom come soon."  
(Luke 11:2, New Living Translation)

When I address my Heavenly Father in sincere praise and thanksgiving, He is pleased.  He is certainly worthy of my worship, and so much more.

"We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord."  (Maranatha  Music)  When I consider that since Jesus death, and resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, believers in Christ are the Lord's Temple, that opens-up the offering of this sacrifice to anytime, anywhere possibilities.

It's Something to Think About.

This STTA is part of a series inspired by Pastor Doug Williams's message from last Sunday.  In his handout he suggested that we look at these Bible verses to investigate "spiritual sacrifices": Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16, Philippians 4:18, Romans 15:15-16.  We are doing that in this week's STTAs.
 

God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen."

You can find directions for getting where you really want to go here.

Sacrifice, 7/21

Yesterday my co-pastor, Doug Williams, spoke from 1 Peter 2:4-8.  You can hear his message here.  Part of the passage says that God's children "are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (5)  Doug asked us to look into that matter of spiritual sacrifices and gave us some scriptures to read.*
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."
Paul, a converted Jewish Rabbi, was very familiar with the Old Testament sacrificial system.  He had, no doubt brought a number of animals to the Temple for sacrifice, before he came to realize that all those sacrifices find their fulfillment in Christ.  His burning desire became to "be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law [which included the sacrificial system], but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."  He knew that no sacrifice he could offer could secure or enhance his salvation.  He did not urge the presentation of our bodies as a sacrifice to obtain mercy, but as a worshipful response to the mercies that come to us as a result of our faith in Christ  (See Romans 3:21-31, 5:1-11, 10:9-13).  Paul had done the calculations related to life, death, sin, forgiveness, hell and heaven.  He had "concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf"  (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).  Based on that arithmetic one can easily see how the kind of sacrifice Romans 12:1 is urging makes perfet sense.
It is the kind of worship that involves the core of one's being--it is "Spiritual" as opposed to merely outward form of worship, like the rituals of Isaiah 1.  It is accompanied with a transformed life (seeRomans 12:2).

The Fisherman Apostle tells us that part of God's purpose for His people is that we offer spiritual sacrifices.  Have you, are you?

It's Something to Think About.

* Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16, Philippians 4:18, Romans 15:15-16

What does a crash in Ukraine have to do with me?

Something To Think About 777s, 7/18

A few weeks ago I spent half a day strapped right smack in the middle of a Boeing 777.  The news of the Malaysia Air jetliner, a 777, that was shot down got my attention.  On movies someone always sees the missile approaching.  I wonder if anyone did.  For many, maybe most, of the passengers the moment they were aware something was wrong was the same moment they died from what had to be a horrendous explosion.  The plane, or literally the pieces of the plane, including seats with passengers still wearing their seat-belts, "low and tight," fell about six miles to the Ukrainian countryside below.  Was anyone alive for part of that plunge? I've been on airliners. Some passengers were sleeping. Likely, someone was feeding or caring for one of the infants on board. Others--often this is me--would have been trying to get comfortable, longing for sleep, but unable to get themselves arranged in the narrow seat. Business people were getting ready for a big presentation. Many were passing the time staring at a movie, or reading. In a blinding second First Class, Business Class, Economy Plus, and the airline equivalent of steerage became absolutely equal.  The extra leg-room was irrelevant.  No one cared whether they had just eaten steak or mystery mush.  Young and old, male and female, rich and poor were ushered, in the blink of an eye, into eternity. I can hear some of you say, You won't get me in one of those things.  Consider, though, that if yesterday was average: Over 90 people died in motor vehicle crashes, just in the United States. 12 died walking. There was a 1 in 30 chance that someone in the US died from a lightning strike. It could be that someone died from electric shock; about 5 Americans die that way every month. About 150,000 people, all around the world, died in the last 24 hours. As one comic/philosopher observed, "This world is a mess; no one is going to get out alive." Generally when people get on an airplane they know where they are going.  Where am I going?  That is a question we all ought to ask, even if we aren't leaving the house. It's Something to Think About. To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find directions for getting where you really want to go here.

The reached become the reachers to the unreached:

A couple of days ago I told you about some new friends I met.  If you missed it click here.  (I know I was supposed to get back to you yesterday, but you know . . .) It was my privilege to meet representatives from GIDI, The Evangelical Church of Indonesia, while I was in Palau.  The Palauan Evengelical Church was celebrating the 85th Anniversary of the Gospel coming to their Islands.  The Evangelical Church of Indonesia is just over 50 years old.  You can read a bit of the history here.  (At left the two groups meet to sign the mission agreement.) Both groups have a commendable zeal for sharing the Good News about Jesus with others who have not heard.  Palau is a tiny nation, about 20,000 in population.  Indonesia is a Muslim country.  In both places the church is new, and still has internal issues to sort out.  Yet, these are people who take seriously the Great commission to make disciples of all nations.  The two groups are partnering to reach out to the unreached on the Island Papua, (New Guinea) Indonesia. Even newer is a church among an even smaller, younger people group.  My friends and associates Doug and Dorcas Williams have been instruments in God's hands to reach out to the Awa, a tribe that lives in the Highlands of Ecuador.  I have met Paulino and Milton, the Elders of the church there.  Both of them are first generation Christians.  In a few weeks they will be leading the Awa for the first time, ever, without any assistance from missionaries.  (At right is a group of Awa children at one of the meeting places of the Awa church.)  They have already been taking steps to reach out to Awa communities where the Gospel has not yet been taught. So, what am I doing with the opportunities God has given me? It's Something to Think About.   To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find the most relevant message of all time here.

Something To Think About Change, 7/15

From 1968-1971 I was a student at Appalachian Bible Institute.  While there I was a part of what we called "Prayer Bands."  P. B. were gatherings of students who met for the purpose of praying for missionary efforts around the world.  I was involved in group that prayed for the work of the Lord on the Island of New Guinea.  Today the Island is divided in half.  The Western half is part of Indonesia and is known as Papua.  The Eastern half is the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.    The region is incredibly rugged.  Though essentially on the equator it has mountains high enough that they are perpetually covered in snow.  The peaks and valleys have kept people isolated for centuries.  Hundreds of different tribes with hundreds of different languages populate the landscape. Some of the missionaries for whom we prayed in P. B. were the 20th Century equivalent of David Livingston.  The story of one of those pioneers is memorialized in the movie Peace Child.  I never met Richardson, but I did know another missionary who hiked into the rugged country carrying the Good News.  In fact before I came to Covington VA, the Covington Bible Church took an offering to purchase hiking boots for Austin Lockhart.  He was the first white man that many of the villagers he met had ever seen.  Two names that came up in our discussions about the needs and dangers there, were Stan Dale and Phil Masters.  The two were killed taking the word of Christ to the region. Last month it was my privilege, to meet some enthusiastic followers of Christ from Papua.  A couple of them speak English, so I was able to talk to them.  It was an awesome experience. I'll tell you more tomorrow, but here is a group of people who have gone from killing missionaries to being missionaries within my lifetime.  It is a radical transformation.  It's the kind of thing God specializes in.  I once heard a definition of a missionary.  "A missionary is someone who goes to a place where people don't want him to come, and stays until they don't want him to leave." Stay tuned. It's Something to Think About.   To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find the Good News that changed these people's lives here.

Wisdom:

. . . you can't rollerskate in buffalo herd.   Last night one of the small groups at my church sponsored an evening around the campfire.  The weather was such that except for those roasting marshmallows for s'mores everyone stayed well back from the fire.  It was a nice gathering, though.  Our purpose was to pass wisdom from the older generation to the younger. Between times when some of our seniors took opportunity to articulate some lessons learned--some learned in the school of hard-knocks, and others a day late--we had times of singing.  Old favorites like "Amazing Grace" pointed us to the fount of all wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).  Some of the songs were far less serious.  One of them, that passes on some obvious truths, is this pearl that declares you can't skate with Bison.  Even Kevin Kostner recognized this.  He danced with wolves, but never tried rolling with the tatanka. Though it is obviously not wise to recreationally covort with Bison, that reminder hardly qualifies as wisdom.  True wisdom addresses that which pertains to real life.  It takes on issues that aren't obvious at all.  It serves to "give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion."  (Proverbs 1:4) We heard that kind of counsel last night. God's word is full of true wisdom.  Here is how James describes it. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.  (James 3:17) Wisdom, don't miss it! It's Something to Think About.   To find out more about CBC at our website. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find the most relevant message of all time here.

Deciding

Good conversations lead to clearer understanding, or to put it in Biblical terms, "As iron sharpens so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).
One way that conversation brings clarity is by helping to identify common causes for seemingly different trends.
My world is full of new ways of thinking and acting that cause me much concern:

• The erosion of the recognition of the value of human life.
• The failure to clearly make a distinction between the life of a human and that of an animal.
• The changing views on sexuality and marriage.
• etc.

More and more, as I think about these trends, and talk about them with other thoughtful people, I become convinced that a lot of what is happening in my world stems from a basic tendency in the way many--dare I say most?--people in my culture think and decide. 
When I decide what to do there are three categories of information that my mind provides:

1. I seek correct information.  Especially if my decision involvessomething like arithetic, such considerations are incredibly important.  "Do I have enough money to buy this?"  "Is this bigger than I can carry?"  "How much gas will it take?"   This is the most straight-forward kind of thinking I do.  It is the kind of thinking that can most benefit from technology; rulers, calculators, and spreadsheets can be of great benefit.
2. I need to know what I should do.  This is seldom totally clear.  Someone asks me for money to buy some food.
   "Should I help?"
   "If I give money will I support a drug problem?"
   "Do I have time to go into a store with him to buy food?"
   "Should I make time?"
   Sometimes the first category of information provides help with these queries.  But most of the time I find that I don't have, and can't get enough dependable information.  Based on experience, looking to my moral compass, and trusting God, I have to decide what I should do.
3. Finally, there is what I want.
   I like my coffee black.  It's not that it makes more sense to drink it that way.  I'd be hard pressed to come up with a convincing argument that I should drink it that way.  I drink it that way because I like it that way.

As I look around at the problems in the world I see a lot of them related to too may people allowing the third kind of thinking to trump the first two.
It seems to me that some folk think they can change the time the sun will set, just because they want it to be different.
What should be is totally consumed by what I want. 
All decisions take on the character of "Cream or no cream?"
Wanting to flap my wings and fly won't save me if I jump off a cliff.
What I want often is harmful to you--sometimes to a lot of you.
If our world is going to become better more of us will have to be willing to say:
"I can't do what I want.  I just need to get over it."
"I won't do what I want.  It would be wrong."
"When I can do what I want, and there is nothing wrong with it, I'll enjoy it, but, I'll enjoy it with no illusion that the world owes me.

It's Something to Think About.

Something To Think About Fitting in, or sticking out to God's Glory, 7/10

Eric Metaxas makes a great point about ministers/ministries and relevance in today's Breakpoint.  The gist of his commentary is no matter how hard we--conservative Christians--try to fit in, we won't.  The leaders of the world scene around us will just keep moving the goalposts, and demanding more.  I encourage you to listen to or read the piece. Metaxas is in a long and honorable line in making this observation.   The Apostle Paul wasn't a very accommodating fellow when it came to compromise with the world.  He counselled making "no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."  (Romans 13:14) As we'll see in a moment the lusts within us are the receptors to the temptations in the world. In Ephesians 2:1-3 he indicates that the world lies in the realm of Satan's control.  Read and you'll see how those lusts fit in here. No argument from John. Or James. Jesus plainly stated that we ought not to expect to be treated than He.  The world hated and persecuted Him, and if we follow Him it will us (John 15:20). One will search in vain in Martin Luther's powerful hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,"  for any hint of accommodation.  The great reformer is said to have declared, “If I profess, with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ." The Church that Luther founded, floundered when it tried to compromise with the zeitgeist of the early 20th Century. And even of late, those who have tried to accommodate the clamor for the recognition of same sex marriage by their silence, have found they didn't get very far.  Just ask Lou Giglio.  (I'm not accusing him of compromise) how that worked out. A while back Os Guinness observed in, Prophetic Untimeliness, that all our efforts at relevance have done is to render us irrelevant. As a preacher I admire wryly recommended, "Why don't you preach the Bible.  No one does that anymore."  (I heard the line from Allistair Begg.) It's STTA:   To find out more about CBC at our website, or in a recent newsletter. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find the most relevant message of all time here.

TEENWEEK

For most of my 64 years I have been involved in TEENWEEK.  TEENWEEK is a several days long activity for--as the name would imply--teens.  They do all kinds of fun things like, play games, hang out with friends, slide on water-slides, get into a mud-pit, etc. etc.  Here are a couple of videos that shows some of what is going on at this week's TEENWEEK:  here and here. TEENWEEK is the largest assembly of young people between school terms here in our little Mountain community. I feel a bit like a parent watching a grown-up child succeed.  I didn't really startTEENWEEK.  What I did was shamelessly copy TEENWEEKs that others held in other places.  My brother-in-law, a youth pastor, ran a very effective program.  My boys profited greatly from attending it.  They would come home and tell me about stuff Uncle Van was doing, and I'd incorporate it into our program.  I am very pleased that this hyped-up Vacation Bible School for teens is still an effective ministry. Several years ago I got out of the TEENWEEK business.  A group of energetic adults from the sponsoring churches took over and have taken the program beyond what it ever could have been with me running it. One really, really, exiting feature of this week's TEENWEEK actually began last week.  A young man, a TEENWEEK graduate, and his wife decided it would be a great idea to get a group of high-schoolers together for Bible study and prayer in anticipation of this week's big event.  I was privileged to meet with them one evening. Wow! One of the things they decided to do is to meet early every evening, at the venue where that night's TEENWEEK activities will take place, and pray.  These are like my TEENWEEK great grandkids.  The young man I mentioned, his dad came to know the Lord as a result of TEENWEEK.  You know how we grandparents are when it comes to bragging about their grandkids and great-grandchildren.  Let me simply say, "Lead on, kids."  Here are some young people who have come to realize the truth articulated to, and through, the Old Testament prophet:  "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts."  (Zechariah 4:6) Kewl! It's STTA:

Something To Think About Loving our neighbor, 7/7

My buddies and I resumed our Monday morning listen to the audio version of Eric Metaxas's book, 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness.  Jackie Robinson is the first of the seven whose life overlaps with mine.  He was the grandson of a slave, and grew up in an era of deep racial division.  In 1945 Branch Rickey, General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, invited Robinson to the the first Black player in Major League Baseball.  Jackie Robinson not only excelled athletically, but faced the insults and taunts that were heaped on him with a divinely provided self-control.  The player and manager opened the door, and in just a short time the unfair barrier that prevented Black athletes from playing at the highest level had been eliminated. My observation, and the conversation this morning, indicate that we still don't have it right. Less than twenty years after Jackie Robinson got the break he deserved, Dr. Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  We have made progress, but we have not yet arrived. The Old Testament prophets often thundered against the injustices of their world.  Their words still carry great force when laid down next to the inequities of the 21st Century.  Amos said, “. . . let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.  (Amos 5:24) Like so many today who claim to follow God, the people of Israel were busy about external acts of worship.  Commentator Donald R. Sunukjian, helps us get a handle on the prophet's words: Instead of ritual and performance, God wanted a relentless commitment to justice and righteousness. . . . He wanted a passionate concern for the rights of the poor, a concern that would roll on like an ever-flowing river … like a never-failing stream that did not run dry. God wanted a day-to-day life of surging integrity and goodness. (Bible Knowledge Commentary) Few of us are in a position, like Branch Rickey, that affords us an opportunity to, in one fell swoop, reverse decades of injustice.  Each of us, though, can make a difference. Are we? It's STTA: Find out more about CBC at our website, or in a recent newsletter. God's Story in His Own Words. a message composed of nothing but Scripture that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find out about a relationship with Jesus that provides the kind of internal change that makes a difference in our world here.

Something To Think About Patriotism, 7/4

Most of us will just enjoy the hot-dogs, parades and fireworks.  If you are one of those folk, then maybe I should just wish a Happy Fourth and say good-bye. For some, though, the place of patriotism in the life of a Christian is one that creates considerable tension.  Trevin Wax recently blogged about this.  Since he is probably taking the day off, and might not get around to reviewing my comment, you can find ithere. You would profit from reading Wax's thoughts, but here are his "Moving Forward" thoughts, with some additions, in italics, from me: American believers should give thanks to God for the blessings of our temporary earthly citizenship, as long as we emphasize blessings of belonging to the eternal, multinational family of God. When people in our culture are celebrating the benefits of earthly citizenship, American believers should seize the opportunity to communicate solid, biblical teaching on the distinction between earthly and heavenly citizenship.  We should use the privileges we have as earthly citizens to further the Kingdom of God. As American believers express gratitude for this nation, we should be careful not to diminish the value and worth of other nations.  Even in a small congregation like Covington Bible Church there are representatives of other nations. Pastors and church leaders should make it clear that American believers have more in common with Arab believers in Iraq and Syria than they do with their unbelieving next-door neighbors. This is true not only across national borders, but concerning the various sub-cultures within our own nation. There is something beautiful about a congregation that shows respect and gratitude to people who have served their neighbors well. When we recognize veterans or law enforcement officers, we are lifting up ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things for the good of their communities.  I have been profoundly moved in this regard, as I have visited  places that US forces liberated from tyranny, Dachau, Normandy, Gettysburg.  We can, and should be thankful, for those who served our nation, and accomplished much good.  We should not allow wars that didn't turn out so well, to cause us to lose all respect for those serve, and have served. As I write on this Fourth of July morning, my American flag is hanging on my front porch.  I hope with the proper understanding, I'll wave. It's STTA:

Getting where you need to go:

Something To Think About Getting where you need to go, 7/2

When we last were together, I told you about my friends from Indonesia who ended up in Palawan, when they wanted to go to Palau.  The first is an island in the nation of Philippines.  The second is an independent nation, over 1,000 miles away. In order to protect both the innocent and guilty, I need to be careful what I share.  But let's see what we can learn about getting to the right place.   As far as I know, until sometime after my friends got off the plane in Palawan, they thought they were headed to right place.  I imagine that when they came down the jet-way, they wondered why there was no one there to meet them.  I'm not sure how long it took for them to realize that there was no one there to greet them, because they weren't really there.  I do know that that realization was an important one.  On the other end, my friends in Palau were concerned because the delegation from Indonesia hadn't arrived.  My Palauan friends--they are marvelous hosts--had gone to the airport in the middle of the night to meet their Indonesian brothers and sisters.  They stayed until the last passengers exited the aircraft.  At that point they knew something was terribly wrong.  They knew their friends weren't where they were supposed to be.  They had no idea where they were.  And, they had no way to get in touch with them.  It would have been about this time that the wandering Indonesians figured out they were in the wrong place.  On the Palauan end, someone who had passed geography realized what might have happened. Knowing you are in the wrong place and/or headed to the wrong place is an incredibly important realization.  Only when that realization comes will one be motivated to seek a solution.  As I said yesterday, I'm sure Palawan is a lovely place.  I can see how a group of weary travelers could just settle down there and say, "This is good.  We'll just stay here."  In the world of spiritual reality people do that all the time.  In Jesus metaphor about the road to life and the way to death, it is the road that leads to destruction that is most comfortable. In my friends' case, after they found out they were in the wrong place, coming to a solution was difficult.  Airlines are responsible to deliver people to the places stamped on the ticket.  From the airline's perspective, these people were in the right place.  In the spiritual realm the Bible gives ample warning that living in the default mode will deliver one to a place where no one wants to be (see the link at the bottom of this page).  People find themselves separated from God for eternity not because there is no warning, but because they ignore the warnings that are there.  Read Romans 1-3 for more on this. Finally, flying twenty-two people over a thousand miles is an expensive proposition.  I don't know who paid.  I do know that there was a lot of conversation, at the highest levels, about what could be done.  Eventually, an agreement was reached that enabled the happy result shown in the picture below, the delegation from the Evangelical Church of Indonesia in front of the Palauan Capitol.  In the spiritual realm we read about this  gracious transaction:    “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NLT)    Don't end up in the wrong place! It's STTA. You can find out about how to get where you really want to be here.

Something To Think About Knowing where your going, 7/1

Palawan looks like a lovely place.  Unfortunately it wasn't where my friends wanted to go.  One can easily see how the mistake could be made, especially when you factor in different languages, accents and long distance communication, but the fact is Palawan and Palau are over a thousand miles apart.   Palawan--where my friends didn't want to go--is an island in the nation of Philippines.  Palau is one of the smallest counties in the world, but an independent nation.  The picture on the right is of a resort in Palawan.  The one below is of the Rock Islands, a lovely marine preserve in Palau (I was privileged to visit there week ago.). The Palauan Evangelical Church celebrated its 85th anniversary last week.  In keeping with the great commission, they are working on a partnership with The Evangelical Church in Indonesia, GIDI, to reach out to one of the unreached people groups on the Island of Papua.  I was privileged to be in Palau, last week for the celebration.  Some colleagues of mine have worked very hard on this mission partnership.  The church in Palau, my friends, and all of we guests were anxiously looking forward to the arrival of the the GIDI delegates from Indonesia.  We heard that they had departed from their home on the Island of Papua.  It was reported that they were in the airport in Manila, but then, from our perspective, they just kind of vanished. It turns out that when they bought their airline tickets, through an agent in Jakarta, they said "Palau" the travel agent thought they said "Palawan."  When the agent said "Pawlawan," they thought she was saying "Palau."  Everyone thought they were going to the right place, until they got there. More tomorrow, but for now let's see what we can learn from my new friends' experience. The near disastrous experience of the GIDI delegates was the result of an innocent mistake.  Satan, with complete lack of innocence, is the master of the "bait and switch."  Because of our falleness (SeeRomans 3:23 &Ephesians 2:1-3), we are apt to fall for his false advertising.  Just consider some of these statements from the Bible: "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12) “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  (Matthew 7:13-14)  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name performmany [n]miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."  (Matthew 7:21-23) In future STTAs I'll say some more about getting to the right place, right now you find out more at the link at the bottom of this email. Almost, isn't good enough.   Make sure you end up in the right place. It's STTA. Representatives of GIDI, the Palauan Evangelical Church, and Liebenzell Mission sign the cooperative agreement. Find out more about CBC at our website, or in a recent newsletter. God's Story in His Own Words. our Easter message that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find out about how to get where you really want to be here.