Mountain Railroad or Highway

What is life like?

If you are over 50, then life is probably like a “mountain railroad” and you will hear the old country gospel song playing in your mind.

If you are under 30, then likely you will say that life is a “highway” and you want to ride it all night long and you will hear a song by Rascal Flatts playing in your mind.

If you are somewhere in between... Well, I don't know what you hear.

I have become very interested in reading a fellow blogger lately. His name is Trey and he posted last week about life as a highway and it got me to thinking. If you would like to read his original post, then follow this link. I think he took the highway analogy and did a fantastic job with it. I highly recommend you check him out.

I have an uncle that claims that there is sufficient theology in the old song that you can find salvation if you follow the words in the lyrics. I am not sure about that. But I think there is more to that song about the mountain railway than there is to the highway. Especially if your highway is like Rascal Flatts describes it.

Now don't get riled up with me. I actually like Rascal Flatts. I think they are an outstanding group. So don't pound me with email and responses about Rascal Flatts! But do you know the lyrics to that song? If not, I will include them for you. How about the old country gospel song? Do you know the lyrics to that one? If not, I will include them for you as well.

Read through the lyrics. Read Trey Morgan's post and then respond back with any of your thoughts about these two analogies of life.

Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane

Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your head to the wind
There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore
We won't hesitate
Break down the garden's gate
There's not much time left today

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love you now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

Knock me down get back up again
You're in my blood
I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Gimme gimme gimme gimme yeah
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long
There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
But now we look in the eye

There ain't no load that I can't hold
Road so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway
I wanna ride it all night long
If you're going my way
I wanna drive it all night long

and

Life is Like a Mountain Railroad by Eliza R. Snow and M.E. Abbey

Life is like a mountain railroad, with an engineer that’s brave;
We must make the run successful, from the cradle to the grave;
Watch the curves, the hills, the tunnels; never falter, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

Bless'd Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.

You will roll up grades of trial; you will cross the bridge of strife;
See that Christ is your Conductor on this lightning train of life;
Always mindful of obstruction, do your duty, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

Bless'd Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.

You will often find obstructions; look for storms of wind and rain;
On a hill, or curve, or trestle, they will almost ditch your train;
Put your trust alone in Jesus; never falter, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

Bless'd Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.

As you roll across the trestle, spanning Jordan’s swelling tide,
You behold the Union Depot into which your train will glide;
There you’ll meet the Superintendent, God the Father, God the Son,
With extended hand He'll great us, “Weary pilgrim, welcome home!”

Bless'd Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.

Pentecost -- Presence, Power and Purity

There are many days that are celebrated because of their spiritual significance. Christmas - Good Friday - Easter and, in the evangelical holiness movement, Pentecost is of significance.

Consider the following:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:1-4 NIV

There are a lot of things that speak to me out of this passage. I have hinted at some of them in the title of this post.

Presence
The presence of the Holy Spirit was undeniable. The Holy Spirit came in the form of a wind from Heaven and settled on those gathered in the form of little flames of fire.

Power
The Holy Spirit was manifested in the power and ability of those Apostles to communicate to the many gathered in Jerusalem in their own native language. And to do so without the prior training or learning of that language. But there is an even more impressive display of the Holy Spirit's power. That power enabled Peter to rise above the denials and disappointing way that he had acted just a few short weeks ago on the night that Jesus was betrayed. Peter was empowered and emboldened to great things through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

So what does this mean to me?

Purity
The presence and power of the Holy Spirit make it possible for our hearts to be purified. The Bible offers several passages that apply here.

Again, consider Peter the Apostle when he defended his visit to Cornelius's house in Acts 15 7-9 in the NIV.

After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Titus 2:11-15 offers us great hope and assurance that the Holy Spirit will purify our hearts in preparation for Jesus Christ's return.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self‑controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

James 4:8 is a little more direct and commands us to purify our hearts.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double‑minded.

God would not command us to do something that His Holy Spirit will not empower us to be successful at. And that is good news! In fact, God himself wants offer the Holy Spirit to us. Jesus, in Matthew 7 and Luke 11 used parables in His teaching and He tries to describe the love of our Heavenly Father.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[fn6] a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Holiness is what I want. And holiness is what my heavenly father wants for me. Hey, that would make great lyrics!

Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, holiness is what You
want from me

Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, holiness is what You
want from me

So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord

Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for
Faithfulness is what I need
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what
You want from me

Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for
Brokenness is what I need
Brokenness, brokenness is what
You want from me

Thank you Scott Underwood for writing that worship chorus that expresses my desire and God's desire for me.

"Putting off the old man"

I remember growing up in the 60's and 70's. It was very popular to refer to your dad as "the old man." That is to say, popular in every house but ours. We were told very early in our teen years about that phrase and that it was analogous to man's sinful nature. And that was definitely far from the representation or description of our father.

But what does "putting off the old man" mean to me?

Let's first look at a passage of scripture that brings up that phrase.

Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart; they have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness. You did not so learn Christ! -- assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:17-32 RSV

Putting off the old man sounds almost benign in this passage, doesn't it? You get a somewhat different picture in Romans 6:6. That passage says this:

knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. Romans 6:6 NKJV

Crucified -- that's not quite so benign is it? That sounds downright painful in fact. And it is painful. Or rather, it was. It was painful when Christ died for our sins. It was painful when He willingly gave His life that we might live. And that brings me back to my original thought when I started writing this.

How should we then live?

I think the best way to live is to focus not so much on what we are putting off. But rather we should focus on what we are putting on. Put on a new Spirit for your mind as noted in verse 23. And put on holiness and righteousness as noted in verse 24.

Is it easy? -- Yes and No

It is easy in that we don't have to do anything in our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit to lead us, guide us and empower us to live a Holy life.

It is not easy in that we are often tempted to try to handle it on our own. We listen to the voice of the world that tells us that we need to be self-sufficient and rely on our own abilities. Self-reliance is an open invitation to letting the devil get a foothold in our lives as we are warned in verse 27.

Here are some practical words right out of our passage.

• Speak truthfully to your neighbor
• Be angry, but without letting that anger drive us to sin
  
• Work hard and do something useful for the Kingdom
• Share with those who are in need
• Watch your mouth for unwholesome talk
  
• Use our words to build each other up
• Don't grieve the Holy Spirit
• Get rid of socially unacceptable and disruptive behaviors
• Be kind and compassionate to one another
• Forgive each other as Christ forgave us

I am not sure why I wrote this today. But it came to me during the worship service this morning. Perhaps I wrote it because I needed to read it.

Mount Vernon In Spring

This past week was spent in central Ohio. Wow! It was beautiful. There were gently rolling hills, farms, small towns, and dear friends. We were in Ohio picking up our daughter from college. We also met some new friends. It doesn't get any better than this!



We will be back at the end of the summer!

Encouragement for Those Making Decisions

I was sitting in church yesterday morning (a good thing to do, I might add!) And the pastor read a passage of Scripture that went along with what he was going to preach about later in the service. But, the Holy Spirit meant it for me for a different reason.

Someone I know and love very much is facing some decisions about their future. The words in the text encouraged me. Perhaps it will encourage you, too.

So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ. After you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power is his forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:6-11 NLT

There are a couple of things that jump out at me from this passage.

1. God cares about me and about what happens to me.
   
2. Satan is prowling around looking for someone to devour.
   

So what does that say to me?

1. The very God of the universe knows me and He cares about me. He knows what I need and He wants to meet my needs.
2. Satan (the roaring lion) is opportunistic. The lion often lies in wait in the tall grass until the unsuspecting or weak prey wanders by too close.
   

So what does that mean to me?

1. I should cast all of my cares, questions, concerns and burdens about the future upon Him. He is Sovereign. He is Love. And that is a powerful combination.
2. I should stay strong and focused on the God who has brought me along thus far. Even though times may be good, do not forsake Him. Do not be proud and self-sufficient.
   

I don't know if this will help anyone this week. I know it helped me yesterday!

And now I lay me down to sleep

And now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord, my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

The little prayer that you and I may have prayed before we went to bed each night may be very similar to the one written above. It seems to me that it was somewhat self-serving, wasn't it? We prayed for ourselves. In our limited view of ourselves and of God's grace and mercy, we prayed that we would somehow make it to heaven if we died in our sleep.

But our parents went to bed later that night also. I was very fortunate to have Godly parents who prayed for me every day. And as apparent myself now, I wonder what my parents were praying? What were the things going through the minds of our mom and dad as they lay their heads on their pillows each night?

How are my kids doing in school?
How are they doing working at their jobs?
Is their job rewarding?
Are they making friends?
Are they making the right friends?
How are they getting along with their friends?
Are these friends helping them become more Christ-like?
Are they involved in a love relationship?
Is it a healthy relationship?
Does that person bring out the best in my son or daughter?
What is God's will for their future?
Are they open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in their lives?
Are they becoming young men and women of God?

That list above is a very different set of thoughts than what went through my head as a child. The thoughts and prayers are no longer quite so self-serving. In fact, it is all about someone other than ourselves. It is completely focused on those lives that God has entrusted to us to raise, to train and to live before as examples of what it is to be a mature person and, more importantly, what it is to be a mature Christian.

So what does this mean to me?

I think it means that my job as the primary prayer warrior for my children is no where near over! From the perspective of a 46 year old, I can more clearly see the impact of the things that are on the list of questions above.

But, let me say very quickly. I am very blessed. Both of my kids are growing and maturing and making great decisions. Both are actively seeking and following God's will as it is being revealed to them.

Be encouraged you parents of young children. Keep praying. God is still on the throne!

Laughter

We have been studying the book of Genesis in our Bible study class at church. And we have just crossed over from Abram to Abraham. There have been several instances of "laughing" or "laughter" that have caught my attention. Most of it revolves around Sarah and her response to hearing that she will bear a child. Or it revolves around her joy at the birth of Isaac as she acknowledges that it was God who brought forth this laughter.

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

Genesis 21:1-7 NIV

I am not sure exactly what I think about this passage. But I think that God is amazing in that He turned what was a gentle rebuke at Sarah's (and probably Abraham's as well) disbelief into an occasion for joy for the present time and for years to come.

Isn't that just like our God?

So what are we to “teach” our children? And, why should they listen?

In my last post I made a brief mention of teaching our children. And that got me to thinking. Admittedly, that may be a dangerous thing.

If your kids are anything like mine, it is entirely possible that they might have some questions. Look at verse 20 in chapter 6 of Deuteronomy.

“In the future your children will ask you, `What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the Lord our God has given us?”

Tell them this.

Everything that comes from God has a special meaning. And further, there is a specific purpose for it. Otherwise, God would not have told it to us.

Tell them that our job is to first of all obey. Then, if we have time, figure out the “Why?”.

I would also make this observation to parents. A good healthy (yet reverend) inquisitiveness is a good thing. If children are curious about such things then it is a good sign that they are concerned about the things of God. Capitalize on that teachable moment and recount some story from your own life about how you saw God's hand at work in your life or in an important situation.

Again, if your kids are like mine, there is still another “Why?” coming. Why should we even obey God's laws and commandments?

We teach them to obey them out of gratefulness to God for all that He has done for us. The people in the story in Deuteronomy were not all that far removed historically from the great exodus out of Egypt. They certainly had much to be grateful to God for. See verses 21 to 23 for more on that.

We teach them to obey so that God would sustain us and continue to grant us favor in His eyes. see verse 24. This verse seems to indicate that our very life may depend upon it.

We teach them to obey so that we may be righteous. See verse 25. Now hold on. Don't get nervous. Any of you who know me well know that I am in no way indicating a works based theology here. Far from it. But there are some things required of me by a Holy God. And obedience is just one of them.

I John 3:7 says,

“Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.”

I am blessed

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3 NLT

I am not a big fan of some of the more modern translations of the Bible. I am an old KJV kind of guy. But, the New Living Translation really expresses what my heart feels today better than any of the 13 other versions that I looked at.

Today is my birthday. That's no big deal. What is a big deal to me is that my son called me at 6:45 Am this morning as we were both in our cars on the way to our jobs. He just called to say "Happy Birthday" and to tell me that he loves me.

My daughter texted me as soon as she got up this morning and before she went off to class at college. She said that she loves me and that I am "fabulous!" Not just good or great. But, fabulous!

My kids are truly a blessing from the Lord. I see that more and more each day as they continue to mature and become the man and woman that God is calling them to become.

Another verse comes to mind...

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.

Deut. 6:7 NLT

We are charged to instruct our children in the commands of God. Not just so that they might in their young and formative years they can join us in praise and worship, but that afterwards they might also, in their day, keep up “religion” (but more importantly, Relationship!), and convey it to their own children and those that should come after them.

On a day like today, I feel that I am blessed to be seeing that being lived out in my children's hearts and lives.

Thank you God.
Thank you JR and EH.

Combining Business with Pleasure

It is not often you get to combine business with pleasure. But we got to do just that recently as I attended RFID World at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center on Lake Grapevine.

Check out the Gaylord for yourself. It was very nice. We had a few problems with our room. So, we ultimately ended up in a suite. Even it had a few minor issues. But, we decided to live with it. ;>)



I'll post something a little more "spiritual" later this week or over the week-end.

Ready to preach, pray or die at any given moment

I have used that phrase for so many years now that I don’t even remember where I picked it up first. I think I first heard it from Reuben Welch, author of the best selling book, “We Really Do Need Each Other”.

My best friend, Dave Woods’ called me on it recently when we were visiting his church in Ohio. And my friend, Billy Long called me on it last week in Bible study. So what does it mean to me?

Ready to Preach?

Paul said in Romans 1:15, “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” KJV

The NASB says, “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

For these reasons mentioned in the preceding verses, he was ready, if he had an opportunity, to preach the gospel at Rome. Though it was a public place, though it was a dangerous place, where Christianity met with a great deal of opposition, (remember, the Roman Emperor was fond of dipping Christians in tar and impaling them on pikes and then lighting them on fire to light his parties) yet Paul was ready to run the risk at Rome, if the opportunity came to him:

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the best known preachers of the late 1800’s wonders if Paul didn’t use the words “I am ready” as his motto. Almost the first words out of his mouth when he was saved were, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6)

Ready to Pray?

Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”

Mark 13:33 says, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”

Mark 14:38 says, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak.”

Luke 21:36 says, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

James 5:16 says, “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

But, I caution you. Praying is sometimes the easy part. The hard part is often the “taking our hands off and letting God deal with it in His timing” part. Or the “patiently waiting upon the Lord” part.

Ready to Die?

For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain. But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [is] more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Philippians 1:21-26 KJV

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

Philippians 1:21-26 NIV

We all have a somewhat natural fear of death and dieing. I suppose it is partly because of the reluctance of leaving our loved ones. God has given to us beautiful and loving relationships, and the thought of being separated from these relationships is difficult. We are never ready it seems to let them go. We hear the phrase “hang on for dear life”. Often we are hanging on too dearly to this life.

Part of the fear comes from the unknown. There is always a certain fear of the unknown. For the unsaved, there are many unknown factors concerning, death that if they were known, they would have an even greater fear of death. For the believer, if we only knew all of the facts, we would have no fear at all. Rather, we would be like Paul, willing to be absent from this body that we might be present with the Lord.

In Philippians 1:23 Paul speaks of his mixed emotions, he had a desire to depart from this body and be with Christ, which he said was far better, yet he felt a necessity to live a little longer because of the loving relationships and he felt that they still needed his spiritual guidance.
In his letter to the Corinthians he mentioned how that we who are in these bodies often groan, earnestly desiring to be freed, not that we would be unbodied, but we longed for our new bodies in heaven.

So what does this mean to me?

I address this post primarily to men today. And the message to us as men is this. You and I are called to be the Spiritual leaders of our homes. I can think of no better way to live before our wives and children’s eyes than like Paul writes about in the passages that we have looked at in this blog post.

Paul was ready to preach – And maybe that is just a poor choice of words. What he is saying to us that we are to be ready to proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To give a reason for the hope that lies within us. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

Paul was ready to pray – There is nothing more important that we can can do than to pray. Pray for ourselves, lest we fall into temptation. Pray for our family and loved ones. Pray for our leaders in the Church and in the government.

Paul was ready to die – He says late in his life that he has run the race. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,” 2 Tim. 4:6-7 NIV

Are you ready for whatever God will put in your path today or this week?

Are you ready to meet Him if He were to call you home right now?

Would you like to be?

You can be! By the authority of God’s Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit you can be ready to “preach, pray, or die” at any given moment.

Living in a Tent, Worshipping at an Altar

In Genesis 12, Abram goes down to Egypt for legitimate reasons. After all, there was a famine in the land. But that sort of begs the question as to whether or not God could have or would have provided for Abram back in the land that God had promised him? But, we can deal with that in another post.

So what does Abram do after his little jaunt down into Egypt? In Genesis 13, he comes back to the fertile land of the promise and he builds an altar. Abram finds himself in a situation that is very familiar to many of us. He finds himself in a location, and a spiritual condition, where he does not feel God's presence as near as he once did. So Abram does what makes sense. He goes back to the place where he last felt close tot he presence of God. And further he returns to the lifestyle that he was living prior to his sojourn in Egypt.

Abram did what he should to rekindle the fire of God's presence within him. He did not beat himself up for his recent sin. Instead he got busy by getting back on the journey and adventure that God had called him to. He went back to living in a tent as a pilgrim, back to worshipping at the altar that he had built before, and back to calling upon the name of the Lord.

Here is a model for you and I to follow when we find that we too have wandered from God's presence and found ourselves mired in sin. First, get out of the place of sin. Second, return to the place and the activities where we last felt God's presence.

This I know for sure. If we are feeling afar off from God, rest assured it is not God who has wandered from us. It is always us who have wandered from God.

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Chris Rice - Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)

God's Covenant with Abraham

This was the topic in our Sunday School Class (er, I mean, Bible Study) this morning. We studied Genesis chapter 12. The Abrahamic Covenant may offer more questions than answers. I know it certainly does for me. Here are some of the questions that I have:

• Does it promise Israel permanent existence as a nation?
  
• Does it promise Israel permanent ownership of the promised land?
  
• Is the covenant conditional or unconditional in nature?
  
• If it is conditional, then the fulfillment of its promises is dependent upon the obedience of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their physical descendants, the people of Israel.
  
• If the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, then is the fulfillment of its promises dependent upon the faithfulness of God to His word, or upon man's obedience?

Do you need a refresher on the basics of the covenant between God and Abram (Abraham)? If so, turn in your Bible to Genesis 12 and again in chapter 15.

There are three main features to the Abrahamic Covenant.

1. God promises Abram land (lots of it!). The promise of land is found in Genesis 12:1. God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to a land that He would give him. This promise is reiterated in Genesis 13:14–18 where it is confirmed by a shoe covenant; its dimensions are given in Genesis 15:18–21 along with the dead animals and the stroll through the carcasses.
   
   
2. God promises descendants (lots of them!). God promised Abram that He (God) would make a great nation out of him. Abram, who was 75 years old and childless at the time (Sarai is barren at this point), was promised many descendants. This promise is further explained in Genesis 17:6 where God promised that nations and kings would descend from the him. This promise leads to the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7:12–16 and would lead to King David's throne and ultimately with King Jesus.
   
   
3. God promises blessings (again, lots of them) and redemption (final, full and free!). God promised to bless Abram and all the families of the earth through him. This promise is further defined in the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31:31–34 as well as Hebrews 8:6–13, and has to do with “Israel’s spiritual blessing and redemption.” Jeremiah 31:34 anticipates the forgiveness of sin and points us ultimately toward the cross and Easter.

I cannot escape the "unconditional" nature of this covenant. In fact, Abram is sound asleep during the covenant ceremony. God, and God alone, in the form of fire and smoke walked among the animal carcasses. This is a divine indicator that there was really nothing Abram could have done any way. At least not at this part of the process.

Now, does that mean that Abram did not have a real and active part in living out the covenant? Absolutely, Abram had a part. His part was to walk with God and follow where He led. His part was to keep his eyes on God as God led him out of Ur of the Chaldees and into a land that Abram knew absolutely nothing about.

His part is just like our part. We are to walk with God on the same sort of "faith walk" that Abram went on. We are to walk with God daily. And daily we are to commit to upholding our part of the covenant. But, we like Abram, do not have the power and ability to do even our part on our own. Fortunately we have the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a holy life, a covenant life.

There is much more to be said about the twelfth chapter of Genesis. I particularly like the last few verses where we see pharaohs and plagues and deliverance out of Egypt. What an incredible foreshadowing of events that would take place some 430 years later. But, I will save that for another blog post.

What are your thoughts about this chapter and story of Abram's life?

What is your favorite Holiness passage?

Mine is probably I Peter 1:13-16

Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance: but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.

For me, being holy is the opposite of being “common” or “worldly.” God is holy in that He is utterly and completely different and distinct from His creation. We must also be different, distinct, and separate from the worldly attitudes and actions that are so prevalent in today's society and that characterize the unbelievers.

I also like the KJV for a passage in chapter 2 and verse 9, in that it conveys an idea of being separate:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, KJV).

I have some more favorite passages on this subject (as you might imagine.) But this will do for now.

So, what is yours? And why is it your favorite?

Life Has Settled Down

It is hard to believe that my last post was January 9th. But, that was the last one. Since then there have been many things that have happened in my life. And God deserves all the praise and glory for what He has done. And life is settling down.

I am very grateful for those of you have have stopped by my blog from time to time to see if I was still "on the air." Some of you even wrote me personal emails and I am thankful for those as well.

I have nothing profound to say on this my first post in quite some time. I will just say that I am still captured by the words of one of the songs that we sung yesterday in church.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

He has been my strength!

He has been my hope!

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Maybe the Best Christmas of ALL Time!

Christmas of 2006 may have been the best of all time for me. There are a lot of reasons for this. Some of them are too personal to share in this forum. But God really has blessed my family in recent days. I am grateful for all that He has done and all that He is doing.

Here are some photos from Christmas 2006.

Happy New Year!

I trust that you all had a great and glorious Christmas Season. And my prayer for each of you is that this year will bring you closer to God and that you will experience His good, pleasing and perfect Will. And I pray that you will be greatly blessed in this new year.

Updated Blog Layout

I updated the blog with a new layout and some new content. What do you think of the layout? For those of you who are using Blogger, what do you think of the changes from the author perspective?

Mary did you know?

That is the key question in the popular Christmas song written by Mark Lowry with music by Buddy Greene.

Luke's Gospel records the story and answers some of the questions from the song like this in chapter 1 and beginning in verse 26:

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin`s name was Mary. And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord [is] with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.

So, Mary did you know? YES! Yes, she knew! The angel told her!

Did she know all of the implications of what the angel told her? Probably not. I do not think she carried the site of the cross in her mind from the time the baby was born. I do not think she "saw" the events before they took place. But she knew who was to be born that day.

The good news is that you and I can know Jesus in all of his saving grace and majesty. This time of year we focus on the babe in the manger. But Mark Lowry reminds us that this child would:

• Some day walk on water
• Save our sons and daughters
• Come to make us new
• Deliver us
• Give sight to the blind
• Calm the storm
• Restore the hearing to the deaf
• Raise the dead
• Heal the lame
• Touch the mute
• One day rule the nations
• And is the great I AM

Mary did not know everything. But she knew enough. The rest she took by faith. You and I can learn from that. God speaks to us and He reveals to us the He is calling us to a right relationship with Him. He is offering us the best gift of all - Salvation.

Let's accept the gift. And let's take the rest of it like Mary did... by faith.

With a thankful heart

Today, and every other day, I have a great deal to be thankful for.

I am thankful that Jesus Christ saves and sanctifies me today.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for my family.
I am thankful for my friends.
I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful for my job.

I am also thankful for my blog where I can express some of the thoughts running around in my head. It has been a while since I posted something. But there have been a lot of thoughts running around up there and I haven't been able to focus on getting them down in a coherent fashion.

Nevertheless, join me in being thankful for all that God has done for you throughout your life.

Blessings on you,

Kevin

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand

Franklin Eiland penned the lyrics below. They have been sung by many southern gospel groups over the years. I suppose Russ Taff (of the Imperials, Gaither Vocal Band, and others) has done as good of a job as anyone when he recorded it several years ago.

It speaks to me about the steadfastness of God. He is steadfast and He is neverchanging. He loved me yesterday. He loves me today, And He will love me tomorrow. The Bible says that He will not leave us without a comforter. In fact, the Psalmist David cries out to God in Psalm 27:9 this way:

Hide not thy face [far] from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

And then, in John 14:16-18 it says:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

I don't know about you, but I need to hear that every now and again. There are some days when it just seems that the sun is not shining as brightly as some other days. And there are some nights that seem longer than others.

Read over the lyrics to this old song. And, if your computer supports playing midi files, then click on the link at the bottom of this post and listen to the tune. It will be familiar to some of you who are over 40!

Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

* Refrain:
Hold to God’s unchanging hand,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling.

Covet not this world’s vain riches
That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav’nly treasures,
They will never pass away.

When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view.

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Hold_to_Gods_Unchanging_Hand/midi/

Long time no blog

It has been a while since I posted anything to my blog. But, believe me, that is not because there has been nothing noteworthy going on in my life. In fact, quite the opposite. There has been a great deal of activity. Now is not the time to share it. But let me say with full assurance that God is in control. He reigns supremely in my life and I am grateful to Him every day for his provision.

Look for more updates and new posts very soon!

Thank you to each of you who has stopped by to visit even though there has been nothing new here to see.

Kevin

All I could say was "Wow!"

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:3-5

I had seen it in pictures, but I wasn't really prepared for the beauty and magnificence of God's handiwork when I stepped up to the rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time. All I could say was "Wow!"

God got that one right!

Is Bigger Necessarily Better?

I don't have all of my thoughts together on this. But, I am questioning in my own mind the drive of many mainline denominations toward the mega-church model. I belong to a denomination that places a rather significant emphasis on the "K-Church". K Churches are churches that average more than 1000 in regular worship attendance. I have a friend that is starting a new church that challenges many of the models of church planting. That activity along with some other personal experiences have me wondering about some things.

As I said at the beginning, I don't have all my thoughts together on this one. Rather I have more questions than I have answers at this point. I'll get to those in a moment. But first, I have a few observations.

I grew up in a series of churches that rarely exceeded 200 in attendance on any given Sunday. Most of the churches that I have been fortunate enough to worship in have been under 100 in regular attendance. In fact, my "favorite" church up to this point was right at 200 in regular attendance. It was my favorite for many reasons. I served on my first church board at that church. We went through a building program, a pastoral search and had many other real and exciting experiences in that church. We were part of a great group of young couples and we were heavily integrated into the life of the church through various avenues of involvement. We knew everybody. Everybody knew us.

By contrast, up until recently, we were worshipping in one of the largest churches in the metropolitan Houston area. A church with the stated goal of getting larger through acquisition of smaller churches, through satellite churches operating in theaters, and through traditional growth and influx. Their motto is "one church in three locations." I know the pastor by name only. I think I know his wife's name. I don't know his children's names. He doesn't know me. He wouldn't even know I was a member if we ran into each other in the grocery store. If I was to get sick, or be in the hospital, or have a family crisis I wouldn't have a clue who to call. The Bible study class that we attended right before we left had about 110 people who attended regularly.

So, here are some questions that are in my head:

1. Is bigger necessarily better?
   
2. What is the ideal size church?
   
3. What is the value of a large church that cannot be found in a smaller church?
4. How do you achieve a sense of "family" in a church of 6000?
5. Is "one church in three locations" a Biblical model?
6. Is the small church passé?
7. Are we doing a disservice to many pastors who work hard and labor long in churches that may never be mega churches when we glorify these mega-church pastors?
8. Do you need a certain number of folks to make a "critical mass" before you can impact your community?
9. Is the community church a dieing breed as more folks flock to the mega-church?
10. Who is driving this? Is it the denomination's leaders? Is it the pastors of these big churches? Is it the Church Boards and/or Deacons?
    

Again, I know there will be some strong opinions on this. But, let me ask you to look at this on a very practical level. For those of you who attend a mega church, who in your church would you call if you found out today that you were facing a crisis like cancer or the loss of a loved one? If that is too depressing to answer, let me put a positive spin on it. If you or your daughter was planning a wedding, would she want the pastor to officiate and hold it in the mega church, or would she prefer a more intimate setting?

I don't think there are inherently right or wrong issues here. But, I know in my heart that I do not feel as connected to the church as I have in years past. And that is a desire of my heart. To be connected. To be connected to the Lord Jesus Christ. And to be connected to his body, the church.

I would gladly give up the big projection screens, the lighting effects, the professional musicians and the slickly produced worship services for a family altar time on Sunday morning and an offertory by a young person just learning to play the piano. But maybe that is just me.

An Issue of Control

There is quite a debate raging on another blog that I frequent. It is a discussion board that is primarily focused on folks with some sort of connection to the Church of the Nazarene. The thread began when someone posed the question: "Are we scared of the Holy Spirit?" It has meandered through several sub-topics. And one of those is about control.

I won't belabor that thread here. But, it has prompted me to look deeper into my own life and look at the issue of control within my own spiritual life. And then there is the recent series that we have been involved with in both Sunday School and through Worship that has dealt with the issue of Sanctification in the life of a Believer. Again, I won't belabor that.

But I am reminded of the great evangelist and missionary to India, Dr. E. Stanley Jones. Upon being elected as a Bishop in the Methodist Church he declined the election. His reason... He felt a calling on his life and heart to go to India. Dr. Jones said that he heard, "I want you in India." Is that "control" of is it a "sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit?" I certainly prefer to think of it as the Holy Spirit leading me versus the Holy Spirit controlling me.

How easy it would have been to assume that an election to the highest office that his church could confer upon him was the leading of the Holy Spirit. But that was not God's plan for Dr. Jones. Some of us are running ahead of where God is leading us. Some of us lag behind.
My goal is to walk hand in hand with Him as we travel life's journey.

He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Joseph H. Gilmore

A Brief Hiatus

I have been on a brief hiatus from the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks. And I have really missed it. Family, business travel, and every day life have conspired to keep me busy. Too busy for blogging.

But I had lunch today with a dear friend who I respect and admire a great deal. He is about to plant a new church in a nearby area of Houston. Pray for him and his ministry. You don't have to know him personally to pray for him. But as the Holy Spirit brings this post to your mind, remember him in your prayers.

He is one of several guys that I know on both a personal and professional level. He really challenges me to think about many of the ways that I have always experienced "Church". I work with another couple of guys like that. And I have several other professional relationships that have developed into real personal friendships where there is challenge and accountability and a call to continue on the way of Holiness.

I am working on another more significant post. Perhaps I can work on it next week while I am away again on business.

I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining everyday;
Still praying as I onward bound,
"Lord plant my feet on higher ground."

A place where everybody knows your name

I have been engaged in a dialog with some folks on a blog that I have been frequenting lately. It is a blog that is primarily focused on folks like me who either, were or, are a part of the Church of the Nazarene. What began as a conversation around Stephen the Martyr and his activities that led to his death included an observation that these activities were not necessarily authorized by the early church. That developed into a discussion around the roles and authorities in the local church. Many have very strong opinions on that. I know that I certainly do!

What also developed out of that dialog was an idea or two about what it is like to serve in some ministry capacity in a local church. And further, whether or not that ministry is fulfilling on various levels. There were some clergy vs. laity battle lines drawn. I participated in that discussion vigorously. (Perhaps too vigorously at times.)

Several things can be noted from that discourse. Consider the following:

Many times neither side understands the stresses and issues that each other faces in their daily lives. Many times pastors, who have come right out of college and into seminary and then into the pastorate really don't know what it is like to work in an environment that is unfulfilling to say the least. They do not have a recent experience or understanding of what it is like to punch a time clock.

And equally, many times laymen do not understand the stresses involved in trying to grow a church and lead a group of volunteers. Again, I am not indicting pastors or laymen here. I am only pointing out there is often not a common basis of experience on which to operate. My hat is off to all those bi-vocational pastors out there who work right along side of us laymen and who also carry the load of leading a small church. Those guys may very well have a special reward in Heaven some day. At least I hope they do!

The discussion among the 6 or 8 of us participating indicated that sometimes there was not a mutual respect and acknowledgment of each others Spiritual Gifts. That led one church to create a policy directing the pastor to recognize the fact that the lay people in his church had gifts and graces also. And that sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts the most unlikely people with new ideas or directions and it is up to us (the church) and the clergy to be open to at least consider these ideas and not immediately shoot them down as irrelevant.

This brought out a posting that quoted the passage in the NT where Jesus Christ gave authority to bind in heaven what was bound on Earth.

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 RSV

One of the folks participating pointed us to an article regarding the concept of binding and loosing.

In that article, the author uses John Wesley's small groups to help see how this might work in a living context. He developed it around the last of the four questions that were asked of each of the twelve members of the “class meeting.” Those questions were the following:

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?
2. What temptations have you met with?
3. How were you delivered?
4. What have you thought, said or done of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?

Look at that last question. “What have you thought, said or done of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?”

Wow! What a question! How can you ask that of a total stranger? The answer is, you can't. You must have a fairly intimate relationship and investment into each other's lives before you can ask that kind of question and receive a meaningful answer in return.

This lead me to an observation at least, if not a conclusion about the local church.

My opinion, and it is only an opinion, is that the local church that we were all referring to should be the smallest and most basic element possible. Some may call them cells or small groups. John Wesley certainly seemed to agree with that and he called them “Class Meetings”. In fact he put a great deal of emphasis on that small group. There were specifics actions and accountability in that small group structure as demonstrated by the four questions that were asked in turn of each member of the class meeting as noted above.

However, all of this goes counter to our culture that tells us that bigger is better. Culture tells us that we need to be a big church to really meet the needs of a lost and dieing world. We need auditoriums to seat thousands and thousands. We need snow machines in Houston, TX at Christmas time so that kids can play in the snow at church.

Really? Is that what we need?

Please pardon the secular illustration, but do you remember the theme song from the sit-com "Cheers"? It went something like this:

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go.
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same.

You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

Again, my apologies for the distinctly non-Christian illustration from that sit-com. But I think it is illustrative in many ways of what many folks are looking for today from a church. They want that kind of camaraderie that you saw on “Cheers”. They want to know people like that and be known by them. They want someone to pour my heart out to when they are hurting. They want someone to laugh with them. They want to celebrate together the successes that each encounters.

That is certainly what I am looking for! That's the kind of place I would want to bring my friends to visit.

My only response to that kind of an illustration of the local church is to ask when the church, as a whole, grew the most throughout history? It was while it was being persecuted and meeting in catacombs underground. (By the way, I have been to the catacombs in Rome and the acoustics in there would rival any modern grand cathedral that you can imagine!) They were dark and dank and not exactly the most inviting place to be.

So what was it? What caused the growth? It happened long before there were praise choruses and PowerPoint. It happened without a multi-purpose gymnasium.

That thread certainly sparked a great deal of response. Albeit by a relatively small few. But hopefully those who were observing are being challenged in their own hearts and minds also.

Is there anyone else out there other than me who wants to walk in to their church and have folks warmly yell, "Norm!"?

It's Still the Cross

FFH sings a song entitled, "It's Still the Cross".

Sometimes it seems the world's unraveling around us
We fear it all may one day come undone
We can't forget the One who came before us
To forgive the past and bring hope for what's to come

When it all comes crashing down
The cross still stands alone
And on this our faith is built
And our courage is made strong

When the world falls apart
And you fear for your heart
There's a tower of peace
It's still the cross

When it all comes crashing down
The cross still stands alone
And on this my faith is built
And my courage is made strong

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day still stands alone
And on this my faith is built
And my courage is made strong

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day all will see
You in all Your majesty
And the cross will stand alone
As the place where You made known
Your love for all mankind
Til then in it we'll hide.

Words and Music by Jeromy Deibler, Scott Williamson, Donna Smith

Somehow this seems appropriate for this Easter season. No matter what the world tells us, it's still the cross that provides redemption through accepting Salvation in Jesus Christ. It's still the cross that we must run to for refuge. It's still the cross that stands as a reminder of what Jesus did for you and for me.

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day all will see
You in all Your majesty
And the cross will stand alone
As the place where You made known
Your love for all mankind
Til then in it we'll hide.

In light of all of this, how should we then live?

Hebrews 10:26 and 27 says, "For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries."

Let's look to the Cross this Easter season and anticipate our risen Lord.

He is Risen
He is risen indeed!

The Holiness Manifesto - Is There a Crisis in the Church?

It seems that there is a lot of renewed interest in the blogosphere these days around the "Holiness Manifesto." In case you are not familiar with it, it was one of the outcomes of the Wesleyan Holiness Study Project (WHSP). The third and final meeting of the group of pastors, denominational leaders and scholars from the United States and Canada was recently held and out of that meeting came the latest version of the Holiness Manifesto. I encourage all who profess a Holiness doctrine to read it and see what, if anything, speaks to you from its pages.

In short, it talks about:

• The Crisis We Face - There has never been a time in greater need of a compelling articulation of the message of holiness. We are not even keeping pace with the biological growth rate in North America. The power and zeal of churches has been drained by the incessant search for a better method, a more effective fad, a newer and bigger program to yield growth. In the process of trying to find the magic method for growing healthy vibrant churches, our people have become largely ineffective and fallen prey to a generic Christianity that results in congregations that are indistinguishable from the culture around them.
  
  
• The Message We Have - God is holy and calls us to be a holy people. God wants us to be, think, speak, and act in the world in a Christ-like manner. We invite all to embrace God's call to:
• be filled with all the fullness of God in Jesus Christ -- Holy Spirit-endowed co-workers for the reign of God;
• live lives that are devout, pure, and reconciled, thereby being Jesus Christ's agents of transformation in the world;
• live as a faithful covenant people, building accountable community, growing up into Jesus Christ, embodying the spirit of God'’s law in holy love;
• exercise for the common good an effective array of ministries and callings, according to the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit;
• practice compassionate ministries, solidarity with the poor, advocacy for equality, justice, reconciliation, and peace; and
• care for the earth, God'’s gift in trust to us, working in faith, hope, and confidence for the healing and care of all creation.

• The Action We Take -May this call impel us to rise to this biblical vision of Christian mission:
  • Preach the transforming message of holiness;
  • Teach the principles of Christ-like love and forgiveness;
  • Embody lives that reflect Jesus Christ;
  • Lead in engaging with the cultures of the world; and
  • Partner with others to multiply its effect for the reconciliation of all things.

So, I ask the questions:

Is the message contained in the Holiness Manifesto on target?
Is it too little too late?
Is the message of Holiness being diluted in order to make the church more palatable to the world?
Is there a role for me to play in spreading the message of Holiness?

I believe that much of the message of the Holiness Manifesto is completely on target. I am currently engaged in a dialog on another blog that is largely populated by folks who come out of the same denominational and theological construct that I do. And the debate is raging fast and furiously over there. Many of us know some of the folks who made up the WHSP and we are passionate about Holiness as a defining characteristic of our church.

This area of dialog has most often been the exclusive territory of the clergy. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard a pastor say that the church is a lay driven movement. Unfortunately that is usually followed by a call to come work this Saturday to repaint the nursery or mow the lawn.

It is an all too rare thing that a pastor will engage a layman in a quality dialog around the issue of holiness. Now maybe that is because not enough of us laymen have been interested in Holiness. Nevertheless that is a shame because Holiness is both somewhat academic and experiential.

Hopefully it is not so academic that only a few can understand it. The last time we had that in church history a guy vandalized the front door of a church with a hammer, nails and pieces of paper and started a reformation!

Now many of us are frustrated by the programmatic approach that many of our churches take to ministry. And, sometimes, it doesn't even seem like ministry. It seems more like entertainment. Whoever has the "best" Sunday morning entertainment gets the biggest crowds. And bigger crowds beget bigger crowds. And church leaders are often counting the size of the crowd and sending off a report to the denominational headquarters and pat themselves on the back and declare:

"We are a great church."
"Just look at the size of our sanctuary."
"Did you see all the special effects and fog machines we used in worship today?"

And then I hear the voice of Jesus saying...

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

The message of Holiness is a message of the cross. It is a message of death. Death to sin and its power over my life.

That message is not necessarily a message that can be easily packaged and tied up with a bow. It doesn't really lend itself to PowerPoint slides during announcements on Sunday morning. It is not our nature or culture to run to the foot of the cross.

But if that message rings within your heart, then there is nothing more beautiful and precious.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

Full and Free Salvation

We sang a great old song of the church today. The title is "Wonderful, Wonderful Jesus is to Me" by Haldor Lillenas. And I haven't sung that song in at least 4 years.

Read the lyrics of it. Pay particular attention to the last stanza. I'll give you a second. Go ahead and read it and I'll wait.

O, my heart sings today,
Sings with joy and gladness,
Jesus saves, satisfies,
Takes away my sadness;
Guilt is gone, peace is mine,
Peace like to a river,
Jesus is wonderful, mighty to deliver.

CHORUS
Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me,
Counselor, Prince of Peace,
Mighty God is He,
Saving me, keeping me,
From all sin and shame,
Wonderful is my Redeemer,
Praise His name!

Once a slave, now I'm free,
Free from condemnation,
Jesus gives liberty
And a full salvation,
Now the sins of the past
have been all forgiven,
And my name is inscribed
in the book of heaven.

CHORUS
Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me,
Counselor, Prince of Peace,
Mighty God is He,
Saving me, keeping me,
From all sin and shame,
Wonderful is my Redeemer,
Praise His name!

Living here with my Lord,
In a holy union, day by day, all the way,
Holding sweet communion
O what change grace hath wrought,
In my lowly station
Since my soul has received,
Full and free salvation.

Did you read it? How about that last verse?

"Living here with my Lord in a holy union" -- I have a special and intimate relationship with our Lord. In fact it is so intimate, that He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of me.

"Day by day, all the way" -- I am on a daily walk, a daily journey with Him. And that journey will end some day in Glory as I hear those words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

"Holding sweet communion" -- it is a sweet fellowship with the Lord. It is not an arduous task and something of dread. It is a sweet communion. It is like spending time on the porch swing with your sweetheart. That is not work! That is pleasure.

"O what change grace hath wrought," -- And there is a change in my life and the life of every Believer. It is visible. It cannot be contained or explained away. The only answer is that Jesus has done a miracle in our lives.

"In my lowly station" -- Who am I that God would send His only begotten Son? This I know. While I was still unloveable, Jesus Christ died for me.

"Since my soul has received full and free salvation." -- Here it is. It is a full salvation. It is complete. And it has the power to deliver me from my sins of the past while in that "lowly station" as well as it can deliver me from the awful burden of sin in my every day life. And it is free. There is nothing that I can do on my own to deserve it or earn it. It is only by accepting God's gift of salvation that obtain it.

And that we call "Holiness."

The Fellowship We Have

My family has recently gone back to attending a church in the denomination that my wife and I were both raised in. It is the denomination where our kids early formative years were spent. We are starting to enjoy some sweet fellowship again. And I am reminded of that "fellowship" that we share as Christians. That fellowship certainly extends far beyond denominational lines. It extends out there into the blogosphere where I have enjoyed the fellowship of some thought provoking bloggers and pilgrims on the journey. But, I am here to say today that I am glad to be among some fellow Believers who are of like mind and who share a common background.

It is not a step too far to point out some of the aspects of Christian fellowship that we share and, in particular, fellowship we can share with our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12:18-29 says in the RSV:

"For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."

In this passage there are several kinds of fellowship that we share as Children of God.

• We share a Heavenly Fellowship -- Verse 22 talks about the "city of the living God." We have an opportunity to fellowship in Heaven. John says in Revelation 21:10, "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,"

• We share an Immortal Fellowship -- Verse 22 also speaks about a host of "innumerable angels" and of "assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven." Over in Psalm 134:12, it says "This [is] my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it." What a great thing to know that we will live eternally in Heaven.

• We share a Universal Fellowship -- Verse 23 makes it available to all "just men" who are "made perfect." This fellowship is open to all who will repent and be justified through faith in Jesus Christ. That is a pretty simple prerequisite for entrance into this fellowship.

• We share a Divine Fellowship -- Verse 24 says that we can have fellowship through Jesus Christ with the Living God. Not a created image that represents a god or ancestor or element of nature. But, we can fellowship with God himself.

• We share a Redeeming Fellowship -- Verse 24 gives us a picture of how we were redeemed. It was through the shedding of blood. It is through the shedding of Jesus Christ's blood on the cross that we have redemption. Over in Hebrews 10:22 there is a correlating passage that says, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

So what does this all mean to me?

I think this means that I am a part of a very blessed fellowship. And as such I must be ever so diligent in how I live my life within that fellowship. From an earthly perspective, I have a responsibility before man and to the other members of the fellowship to build them up in the faith. This passage also calls me be active in reaching others outside the fellowship and bring them in.

The verses in Jude that are immediately before the ones that we often hear quoted as the benediction speak to the responsibilities of this kind of fellowship. Those verses say,

But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And convince some, who doubt; save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

From an eternal perspective I have a responsibility to be diligent in how I live my life before a Holy God. God calls me to pray, keep myself in the love of God, and to wait for His mercy. These are all action words. It doesn't seem as though I am to be passive in the fellowship.

But how?

The answer is in the rest of that benediction:

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.

And all God's people said -- "Amen."

An Early Look at the Cross

I know we have just entered the Lenten season. This is something that is more obvious than most years because of all the folks from New Orleans who are still living in the Houston area were I live. But it is never to early to take a look toward the cross and the Easter season.

(1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. (3) And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; (4) and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; (5) and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (6) For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. (8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath {of God} through Him. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (11) And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 NASB)

This passage speaks to me about the cross and Jesus Christ's death and His ultimate resurrection.

First, it tells me that the cross and His death was necessary. Verse 8 indicates that while I was still sinful and wholly unworthy, He died for me. He substituted His life for mine. He had to die for me to live. It was necessary for someone to be the ultimate and the last sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 says, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Second, it tells me that the cross and His death was costly. Romans 8:32 says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Remember in the Old Testament where God provided the ram caught in the thicket for Abraham to use as a sacrifice. The knife was in his hand and Isaac was on the altar. But God spared Abraham from having to make the ultimate sacrifice of his own son when he provided the ram. But my penalty of sin, my sacrifice was paid for with God's own Son. And that was a costly sacrifice for God to make when He allowed His Son to die on that cruel cross.

Third, it tells me that the cross and His death was victorious! Jesus Christ “Paid in Full” the debt of sin that I owed. On the cross He said, “it is finished.” John 19:30 says “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Since He paid the debt, I no longer have to live under the debt and burden of sin. An old gospel song said the the sin was “buried in the deepest sea.” It goes on to say in that old song that because of all that Jesus Christ did, “I shall live eternally. Praise God! My sins are G-O-N-E, gone!”

In light of all that Jesus Christ did for me, what else can I do but follow Him?

And there were 12 baskets left over...

I am sure we are all pretty familiar with this famous story from the New Testament. In fact, it is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all 4 Gospels. So, if that is the case, it must have something important to say to us today.

But, I'm not going to dwell on the miracle of the feeding of the crowd. Instead, my goofy brain wonders about another aspect of the miracle.

"So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten." John 6:13 NASB

So, where did the baskets come from? No one had food to eat that day except that little boy. So where did the 12 baskets come from?

I really don't know where they came from. But I do know that their existence is consistent with the God that Abraham called "Jehovah-jireh" in the 22nd chapter of Genesis -- the God who provides. God provided the ram in the thicket for the sacrifice. And that was a huge thing for God to do, for Abraham and certainly for Isaac! But that same God also provided those 12 baskets for the disciples to gather up the left-overs so that none of the food would be wasted.

We serve a great God! We serve a God who provides for our every need.

And Can It Be?

John Wesley's bother, Charles Wesley wrote over 9000 hymns. He wrote his very first hymn just three days after he was saved! And from that point forward he averaged writing one hymn every two days for the rest of his life. What a prodigious hymn writer. And what great theological depth to the lyrics of his songs. I know there are great worship choruses in the church today. But give me a Wesley hymn any day over one of the choruses that I sang this morning in church!

It has been said concerning "And Can It Be," that it was "a rousing testimony to the wonder and power of God to save helpless sinners in bondage to sin. All Calvinists sing it with gratitude to God for this brother's wonderful gift of expression and sensitivity to the reality of God's sovereignty in releasing us from the bondage to our sin nature."

That's a great quote. It is from R. K. McGregor Wright, a modern Calvinist author and theologian. Wright is the author of such books as "No Place for Soveriegnty" and "Absolute Necessity of Sound Doctrine". I have read excerpts from both of these books and I recommend them.

Here are some of the lyrics from the great hymn "And Can It Be?":

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night.
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke; the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

The imagery of "chains" and "prison" depict the bondage of sin. We cannot save ourselves. Nor in our sinful condition do we have any desire for salvation. In fact, we do not even realize that we are in bondage many times.

Then Charles Wesley describes the (prevenient) grace through which the sinful man is awakened. But even though his dungeon "flamed with light", at this point in the conversion process, although he was awakened, he was still imprisoned.

Of course the prisoner truly desires to break loose from sin, and begins to struggle with it. But though he tries his hardest and determines with all his might he cannot conquer; sin is mightier than he is. (It is important to note here that although sin is mightier than the poor prisoner, it is not mightier than our God.) The Apostle Paul understood this long before the Wesley's when he said in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

Who shall deliver us from the bondage of sin? Jesus Christ's shed blood and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! That's who!

Who is your favorite Christian author?

I have delved pretty deeply in my first month of blogging. So, I am already ready for a little bit of a break!

So, I pose the following question:

Who is your favorite Christian author?

C.S. Lewis? Oswald Chambers? Perhaps is it a lesser known author. Maybe it is an author from many years ago, or maybe it is someone relatively new like Max Lucado.

Post your comment with your favorite author and what appeals to you about their writings.

Don't worry. We will get back to some deeper stuff in a few days.

~Kevin