Most of you know that I’ve been away visiting my parents – celebrating a significant birthday in my mom’s life. Mom and Dad have a “winter place” here in Largo, Florida in what is called a “manufactured home community”. In their recent newsletter, a columnist used the following words: our very lifestyle is being threatened.
Lifestyle. People have lifestyles – and most of them are more consistent with the sins of man than with the Gospel of Jesus. The task of Wellborn Baptist Church will be to help those who come our direction to evaluate their lifestyles with the biblical lifestyle, the Christian lifestyle.
Problem is, our own lifestyles require the same evaluation. The message of hope is both life giving and a threat. When we come to Jesus, He changes us. At the very same moment, we have a new life with Christ and at the same instant “our very lifestyle is being threatened”. Threatened because it is more consistent with the sins of man than with the Gospel. Maturity in Christ is the ever-changing movement away from our “lifestyle” and into conformity to His character; His love and His direction for our lives.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Feeling Pain
Florida State was knocked out of the NIT last night, falling at the hands of South Carolina’s Gamecocks. That’s right. Those same upstarts from the Palmetto State that took down the mighty Gators two out of three times this year! Do I expect Gator fans to “feel the pain” of FSU partisans? Yeah, right…
All teasing aside, God has called us to share the pain of those around us. Every pain we endure makes us more sensitive to the suffering of others. Within the church, God calls us to takes those painful experiences of life and “bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Outside the church, we have been called to “love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27)”. This lesson is brought home by the example of a man -- a man whose whole life has seen him despised by another race. Going about his business, he encounters a man from that group – beaten and left for dead. He has the choice to just pass by. After all, a priest and a religious worker from the other group have already done so. But, this Good Samaritan stops and treats the man well.
The power of the gospel is the ability to see the whole world as we see ourselves. The old song says, “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; the light of the world is Jesus.” We know that we shared the darkness with every person. Our desire is that they now come to the light. God grant that every negative experience He allows in our lives might become fuel for impacting others.
All teasing aside, God has called us to share the pain of those around us. Every pain we endure makes us more sensitive to the suffering of others. Within the church, God calls us to takes those painful experiences of life and “bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Outside the church, we have been called to “love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27)”. This lesson is brought home by the example of a man -- a man whose whole life has seen him despised by another race. Going about his business, he encounters a man from that group – beaten and left for dead. He has the choice to just pass by. After all, a priest and a religious worker from the other group have already done so. But, this Good Samaritan stops and treats the man well.
The power of the gospel is the ability to see the whole world as we see ourselves. The old song says, “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; the light of the world is Jesus.” We know that we shared the darkness with every person. Our desire is that they now come to the light. God grant that every negative experience He allows in our lives might become fuel for impacting others.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
How’s your water level?
Every day as I come to the office I pass by Lake Lona. I recently heard Dr. Fritz Fountain, who lives on the lakefront, talk about the eccentricities of this particular lake. It seems that Lake Lona is emptying again. There seems to be some flow into the Ichetucknee Basin so that, unless there is a constant flow of rainfall into Lake Lona, its level begins dropping. When it gets really dry, the level shrinks almost to nothing. Since we’ve had little rain lately, the level of Lake Lona is dropping.
Believers in Christ follow the same pattern as Lake Lona. We have been refreshed by the “fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 2). We were thirsty and we came to him and drank. As a result, He promises that streams of living water will flow from deep within us (John 7:37, Holman). To have that flow of life, however, we must continue to drink deeply from the fountain. Committed to His Word, we allow the inflow of truth to remain constant – even as we allow truth to flow out of us to a world parched by sin.
How’s your water level?
Believers in Christ follow the same pattern as Lake Lona. We have been refreshed by the “fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 2). We were thirsty and we came to him and drank. As a result, He promises that streams of living water will flow from deep within us (John 7:37, Holman). To have that flow of life, however, we must continue to drink deeply from the fountain. Committed to His Word, we allow the inflow of truth to remain constant – even as we allow truth to flow out of us to a world parched by sin.
How’s your water level?
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Get into the game
Consider the plight of the PK (preacher’s kid). Always around; constantly providing illustrations about life – positively and negatively. Wise preachers learn what this can do to his kids, if he talks about them too much and learn to back off. That said, there are times when the lesson is just too powerful….
Dennis is a pretty fair basketball player, for his age. Saturday was his last game of the season. Near the end of the second period, an opposing player crashed over the top of Dennis, hitting him pretty forcefully in the head. Dennis crashed to the floor and reacted to the pain. I went and got him at the appropriate time and let him sit with me until he was a little better. Then, I sent him back into the game – still hurting.
Later he came down on someone’s foot during a rebound and turned his ankle. This was real pain. One of the coaches brought some ice, we kept him iced until halftime and the coach carried him off to be with the team. I joined them and put his shoe back on, laced it tight and told him to get back in the game when he thought he could. He just sat on the bench. I went over to him shortly before the last period and asked him to run to the door for me. He didn’t really want to…but he did it for me and saw that he wasn’t hurting nearly as much as he had been. He played the last period with reckless abandon and ended this year having a great time.
What’s the lesson? When we get hurt in this game of life, the time to get back into the game – into serving the Lord – is not when we quit hurting. The time to get back into the game is as soon as we can get up and limp back down the court. When we play through the pain, we get back into the joy – and find that the joy was worth the pain. Are you in the game?
Dennis is a pretty fair basketball player, for his age. Saturday was his last game of the season. Near the end of the second period, an opposing player crashed over the top of Dennis, hitting him pretty forcefully in the head. Dennis crashed to the floor and reacted to the pain. I went and got him at the appropriate time and let him sit with me until he was a little better. Then, I sent him back into the game – still hurting.
Later he came down on someone’s foot during a rebound and turned his ankle. This was real pain. One of the coaches brought some ice, we kept him iced until halftime and the coach carried him off to be with the team. I joined them and put his shoe back on, laced it tight and told him to get back in the game when he thought he could. He just sat on the bench. I went over to him shortly before the last period and asked him to run to the door for me. He didn’t really want to…but he did it for me and saw that he wasn’t hurting nearly as much as he had been. He played the last period with reckless abandon and ended this year having a great time.
What’s the lesson? When we get hurt in this game of life, the time to get back into the game – into serving the Lord – is not when we quit hurting. The time to get back into the game is as soon as we can get up and limp back down the court. When we play through the pain, we get back into the joy – and find that the joy was worth the pain. Are you in the game?
Thursday, February 02, 2006
On Brokeback Mountain
The New Testament was written to a moral environment that parallels our own. Paul would not have been surprised to hear that Brokeback Mountain leads the Oscar nominations, for example. Brokeback Mountain, is, according to politically correct publications, “the story of doomed love between two men poised to become the first gay-themed film to lasso the top prize.” No, Paul would not have been surprised since homosexuality is a perversion – common to his time – that reflects both a culture that has abandoned God and a culture that God is abandoning.
What might have surprised Paul is the extent of lesbian perversion among us. He noted in Romans 1: “For even their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural”. Women tend to have a greater heart for God than do men. They have a stronger moral center. When the women of a culture begin to abandon their men, it is clear that judgment has begun to fall.
What can we do in the midst of such change? Two things will make a difference. First, we pray that God will change our culture. The problem is not that people of our culture practice homosexuality. The problem is that they do not have a relationship with Christ. Our prayer is that the convicting power of the Spirit of God that is able to make a person wise to salvation will fall over our land. Secondly, we live correctly in front of them. Roman culture did not prevail! Christian values prevailed because Christians lived the values that they proclaimed.
What might have surprised Paul is the extent of lesbian perversion among us. He noted in Romans 1: “For even their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural”. Women tend to have a greater heart for God than do men. They have a stronger moral center. When the women of a culture begin to abandon their men, it is clear that judgment has begun to fall.
What can we do in the midst of such change? Two things will make a difference. First, we pray that God will change our culture. The problem is not that people of our culture practice homosexuality. The problem is that they do not have a relationship with Christ. Our prayer is that the convicting power of the Spirit of God that is able to make a person wise to salvation will fall over our land. Secondly, we live correctly in front of them. Roman culture did not prevail! Christian values prevailed because Christians lived the values that they proclaimed.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Shining like stars
Yesterday’s Lake City Reporter carried a letter from a Gerald Witt of Lake City. If you haven’t read it, you might catch it in the online version. I don’t recommend reading it because you will be edified, but rather because his opinion is (a) totally contrary to biblical Christianity and (b) representative of the people we live among and have responsibility to reach.
One quote from his letter serves to introduce the message I will preach a week from Sunday night. Mr. Witt declares, “Religion conceived as a total way of life will never be seriously affected by advance of knowledge because the convictions aren't validated until after death.”
His quote is completely true – if, and only if, our faith is simply meant for “the sweet bye and bye when we meet on that beautiful shore.” Fire insurance. But, that is not biblical Christianity.
We are called to renew the meaning of the word “Christian” in this generation. Remember that disciples were called “Christian” for the first time in Antioch. Their lifestyles were radical. Their conversations were so full of Christ that the local population nicknamed them “Christians”, meaning “little Christs”. We are called to reflect the message of Philippians 2:14-16: 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life… (NIV).
The saddest part of Mr. Witt’s letter is not that he doesn’t have a clue about what life is all about. The saddest part is that he lives in Lake City and hasn’t yet been affected by a life so dominated by Jesus that he recognizes it as more than “religion”.
One quote from his letter serves to introduce the message I will preach a week from Sunday night. Mr. Witt declares, “Religion conceived as a total way of life will never be seriously affected by advance of knowledge because the convictions aren't validated until after death.”
His quote is completely true – if, and only if, our faith is simply meant for “the sweet bye and bye when we meet on that beautiful shore.” Fire insurance. But, that is not biblical Christianity.
We are called to renew the meaning of the word “Christian” in this generation. Remember that disciples were called “Christian” for the first time in Antioch. Their lifestyles were radical. Their conversations were so full of Christ that the local population nicknamed them “Christians”, meaning “little Christs”. We are called to reflect the message of Philippians 2:14-16: 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life… (NIV).
The saddest part of Mr. Witt’s letter is not that he doesn’t have a clue about what life is all about. The saddest part is that he lives in Lake City and hasn’t yet been affected by a life so dominated by Jesus that he recognizes it as more than “religion”.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
When there is no God
Sunday is designated for emphasis of the sanctity of human life. Central in this observation is the question of abortion. No other practice in contemporary society reflects the impact of evolutionary though more than does abortion.
Before the influence of evolutionary thought, we believed in a tier of importance where God was on top; man in the middle; and, the animals at the bottom. Since evolutionary thought, the tier has radically changed. God has disappeared. Man is at the top – but with the animals inching their way closer and closer to equality. There is no one above man to tell us what is right and what is wrong. Instead, we are free to make our own decisions.
During Old Testament times, the Canaanites sacrificed their children to their god, Molech – hoping that he would give them the desires of their hearts. Now that man finds himself at the top of the tier, we have a repeat of Canaanite worship. These days, our generation sacrifices its children on an altar to itself in an effort to please itself.
God forgive us. Oh, that’s right – they did away with Him.
Before the influence of evolutionary thought, we believed in a tier of importance where God was on top; man in the middle; and, the animals at the bottom. Since evolutionary thought, the tier has radically changed. God has disappeared. Man is at the top – but with the animals inching their way closer and closer to equality. There is no one above man to tell us what is right and what is wrong. Instead, we are free to make our own decisions.
During Old Testament times, the Canaanites sacrificed their children to their god, Molech – hoping that he would give them the desires of their hearts. Now that man finds himself at the top of the tier, we have a repeat of Canaanite worship. These days, our generation sacrifices its children on an altar to itself in an effort to please itself.
God forgive us. Oh, that’s right – they did away with Him.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
2006
So we enter 2006! More than mid-way thru the first decade of the 21st century! What does that mean for Christians?
One thing is clear: The church must be more intent than ever before to teach the truth. Years ago, much of Christian truth was caught, rather than taught. A child was around Christian parents and grandparents in critical life settings and caught the gist of what we believe and the pattern of how we live. Outside influence was minimal.
How life has changed! Thought infiltrates our homes via television, radio, newspaper magazine and Internet that is definitely not Christian. Everywhere our kids go, they are confronted with image, symbol and philosophy of life that runs counter to what we believe. If we do not intentionally engage them in discussion about what God teaches, the increasing decline in Christian influence will be the result! Isn’t it funny that with so many ways of communicating today – phone, cell phone, email, snail mail, ipod, etc. – that we do so little actual communication? Let’s take more time this year to actually engage in dialogue with people, especially young people, about the things that matter.
One thing is clear: The church must be more intent than ever before to teach the truth. Years ago, much of Christian truth was caught, rather than taught. A child was around Christian parents and grandparents in critical life settings and caught the gist of what we believe and the pattern of how we live. Outside influence was minimal.
How life has changed! Thought infiltrates our homes via television, radio, newspaper magazine and Internet that is definitely not Christian. Everywhere our kids go, they are confronted with image, symbol and philosophy of life that runs counter to what we believe. If we do not intentionally engage them in discussion about what God teaches, the increasing decline in Christian influence will be the result! Isn’t it funny that with so many ways of communicating today – phone, cell phone, email, snail mail, ipod, etc. – that we do so little actual communication? Let’s take more time this year to actually engage in dialogue with people, especially young people, about the things that matter.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The Stable
The Lord Jesus was not born in a stable due to poverty. No, Joseph was a worker. All evidence points to a man who provided well for his family.
Jesus was born in a stable due to circumstances. A Bethlehem swollen beyond its capacity to provide lodging – an arrival slowed by a near term pregnancy – no room anywhere, except a stable.
For Jesus to have entered anywhere else in Bethlehem that night would have meant displacing somebody. That is not Jesus’ style – not then; not now. His desire is to enter the hearts of a cold world. That is his desire, but He will not move someone aside and just enter their lives. He will never enter without a welcome, but when he is welcomed, those people receive the right to be known as the children of God.
The joy of Christmas is not that a baby came to a manger. The joy of Christmas is that a Savior comes into a heart. Feliz Natal! Merry Christmas!
Jesus was born in a stable due to circumstances. A Bethlehem swollen beyond its capacity to provide lodging – an arrival slowed by a near term pregnancy – no room anywhere, except a stable.
For Jesus to have entered anywhere else in Bethlehem that night would have meant displacing somebody. That is not Jesus’ style – not then; not now. His desire is to enter the hearts of a cold world. That is his desire, but He will not move someone aside and just enter their lives. He will never enter without a welcome, but when he is welcomed, those people receive the right to be known as the children of God.
The joy of Christmas is not that a baby came to a manger. The joy of Christmas is that a Savior comes into a heart. Feliz Natal! Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
On Political Correctness
There was once a time, not too long ago, when there was no debate about Christmas. TV talk shows did not interview people about why they don’t want to use “Merry Christmas” as a greeting. Merchants did not feel that they needed to be innocuous or generic. That has apparently changed – though Target, Sears and Lowe’s have recently changed their minds (commercial though they may be) and have begun to use the word “Christmas” again.
What is more intriguing to me is the reaction of the Christian community. Some are angry; others plan boycotts of merchants who aren’t using the word “Christmas”. Isn’t there a larger truth underlying all of this? That truth is that we are failing to reach our own country with the life-changing message that began in a stable – a message that Immanuel has come – a message that began with angels singing but must be proclaimed today by those who believe in Jesus, the one who came to save His people from their sins. It is hypocritical to be angry with Wal-Mart because they don’t use the word “Christmas” when God did not commit responsibility to preach this good news to Wal-Mart. He gave it to us. As we enjoy this holiday season, let’s look for opportunity after opportunity to explain the message of the manger.
There was once a time, not too long ago, when there was no debate about Christmas. TV talk shows did not interview people about why they don’t want to use “Merry Christmas” as a greeting. Merchants did not feel that they needed to be innocuous or generic. That has apparently changed – though Target, Sears and Lowe’s have recently changed their minds (commercial though they may be) and have begun to use the word “Christmas” again.
What is more intriguing to me is the reaction of the Christian community. Some are angry; others plan boycotts of merchants who aren’t using the word “Christmas”. Isn’t there a larger truth underlying all of this? That truth is that we are failing to reach our own country with the life-changing message that began in a stable – a message that Immanuel has come – a message that began with angels singing but must be proclaimed today by those who believe in Jesus, the one who came to save His people from their sins. It is hypocritical to be angry with Wal-Mart because they don’t use the word “Christmas” when God did not commit responsibility to preach this good news to Wal-Mart. He gave it to us. As we enjoy this holiday season, let’s look for opportunity after opportunity to explain the message of the manger.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Carol and Dennis were away for several days last week to celebrate Thanksgiving with her parents. I had a good Thanksgiving celebration with my parents and brother, but that doesn’t mitigate the circumstances that my house was empty (save for the dog and cat). The Lord said it best: “it is not good for man to be alone”. My aloneness was temporary. Wife, child, dog and cat are all back where they should be.
We are entering the season of year where loneliness becomes more pronounced for many people. It was for those kinds of people that the Lord came and it is for those kinds of people that we need to watch during these days. The season of giving should be the season of sharing the Reason with those who are lonely. And what a gift we have to give: The only true gift that keeps on giving…. eternally.
We are entering the season of year where loneliness becomes more pronounced for many people. It was for those kinds of people that the Lord came and it is for those kinds of people that we need to watch during these days. The season of giving should be the season of sharing the Reason with those who are lonely. And what a gift we have to give: The only true gift that keeps on giving…. eternally.
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