Blog Archives

NO MORE EXCUSES!

8/31/2017

Well, the long awaited weekend is almost here. You see, the southeastern United States is passionate about football; and opening weekend for SEC (Southeastern Conference) football is almost upon us. I literally have an app on my smart device that is counting the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the very first kickoff!

For the next three to four months, stadiums, parking lots (for tailgate partying as well as parking), living rooms, and the like will be packed with adoring fans. And if a given group of fans’ favorite team happens to keep winning, then the fever within them will only rise!

Of course, as the fever rises, church attendance and participation will likely be impacted as well. Only these don’t always go up. Sometimes, they go down instead!

You see, whether we wish to admit it or not, for some here in the southeast, the plain and simple truth is that loyalty to football will likely eclipse loyalty to church – at least for the next few months.

In light of these things, I thought I would share a humorous piece that has been around for a while. It is often titled “12 Reasons Why A Pastor Quit Attending Sports Events”. While it is not new, I do think it bears repeating here.

1. The coach never came to visit me.
2. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
3. The people sitting in my row didn’t seem very friendly.
4. The seats were very hard.
5. The referees made a decision I didn’t agree with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites—they only came to see what others were wearing!
7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band played some songs I had never heard before.
9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches, anyway.
12. I don’t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

Despite the humor intended, more than one person has observed that this list tends to raise some interesting issues worth some degree of thought and/or discussion.

Given this, I would simply ask two questions. The first is “Which of the above twelve items may have pricked your conscience?” The second is “Why?”

Oh, and a third question might also be: “What do you intend to do about any of this?”

You see, it is entirely okay to be present in both the stadium on Saturday and the church on Sunday! That is to say, it is entirely okay to cheer “Go team! Win! Win! Win!” on Saturday as long as you also shout “Go church! Advance! Advance! Advance!” on Sunday!

SOURCE: Various versions of this particular piece are available widely on the internet. See, for instance, Scot McKnight’s blog post from back in 2013 at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/10/15/12-reasons-rjs/.

SEE YOU SOON!

8/28/2017

It is with a heavy heart that I pen this particular blog post. Last Thursday morning, I visited a widow whose husband had been a Deacon in our church and whom I had recently helped to bury. He was the second member of the Pastor Search Team who had called me to my present place of service some seventeen years ago to pass away in recent weeks.

On Saturday, we said good-bye to a 97 year old saint – the second oldest member of our church family. Then on Sunday afternoon, I attended the funeral of the mother of the wife of our Deacon Chairman.

By themselves, these things weighed heavily enough on my heart as a Pastor. But then, when I got home Sunday evening, my sister called with the sad news that my own aunt had just passed away in a neighboring state. I will now head there to pay my respects for this lost loved one.

To make matters worse, while I am there, I will also visit her brother, and my only surviving uncle, who has himself now had a stroke and is in a nearby hospital in intensive care.

As one might imagine, these events have all combined to focus my thoughts on Heaven. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I find myself sustained through times such as this by the wonderful promise of another world, a far better one, which will follow our lives in this world.

I have been reminded of a story once told by Dr. W. A. Criswell, famed Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. On one occasion, he shared about a conversation that had unfolded on an airplane flight when he found himself seated beside a well-known theologian.

Dr. Criswell related that he desperately wanted to start a conversation with this man; and they did eventually got to talk. Over the course of the ensuing conversation, the man told Dr. Criswell about how he had recently lost his little boy through death.

With a Pastor’s heart, Dr. Criswell listened intently as he told his story. The man said his son had come home from school with a fever; and that everyone had initially thought it was just one of those childhood things. But it turned out to be a very virulent form of meningitis. The doctor said that he could not save the little boy and that he was going to die.

And so this seminary professor, loving his son as he did, sat by the bedside to watch this death vigil.

It was the middle of the day and the little boy, whose strength was going from him and whose vision and brain was getting clouded, said, "Daddy, it's getting dark isn't it?" The professor said to his son, "Yes, son, it is getting dark, very dark."

Of course it was very dark for the little boy. In due course, he said, "Daddy, I guess it's time for me to go to sleep, isn't it?" He said, "Yes, son, it's time for you to go to sleep."

The professor said the little fellow had a way of fixing his pillow just so, and putting his head on his hands when he slept; and that he fixed his pillow like that, and then laid his head on his hands and said, "Good night Daddy. I will see you in the morning."

The little boy then closed his eyes in death and stepped over into heaven.

Dr. Criswell said the professor didn't say anymore after that. He just looked out the window of that airplane for a long, long time.

Finally, he turned back and looked at Dr Criswell, and with scalding tears coming down his cheeks, he said, "Dr. Criswell, I can hardly wait till the morning."

On behalf of all those who have lost loved ones, I simply affirm the promise of God’s Holy Word (in the Old Testament Book of Psalms, chapter 30, verse 5): “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

What a day, glorious day, that will be, when our loved ones we shall see!

STORY SOURCE: Available widely on the internet. See, for instance, http://www.actsweb.org/articles/article.php?i=739&d=2&c=1.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/psalms/30-5.htm.

THE NAME GIVER

8/24/2017

My dad was always fond of saying that nothing was ever as over as Christmas. By that he obviously meant the celebration of Christmas. His point was that usually weeks (and sometimes even months) went into planning for a week’s worth of activities. And then along came the day after Christmas wherein people quickly put away their decorations and reminders of this one special day, reflecting the fact that they now had an entirely different set of priorities.

I discovered earlier this week that that this principle can also apply to other special days. For instance, it now seems evident that few things are ever as over as an eclipse as well! After months of planning (and in some cases, years), the big moment came, was celebrated by millions, and then passed, all but forgotten, into oblivion. Society, it seems, now has other agendas.

And yet, the recent eclipse certainly left an impression on me! When the moon completely blocked out the sun, in a brief two minutes known as totality, I was amazed to see that lots of planets and other heavenly bodies were present up in the darkness of the sky. Apparently, they had been there all along; only now, without the overpowering brightness of the son, they were suddenly visible to the naked eye.

Obviously, I had known the nighttime sky was full of stars, planets, and the like. But somehow, I had failed to consider that the daytime sky is also just as full of heavenly bodies!

I once read that, assuming human eyes could see that far out, if someone was to hold out a dime at arm's length, then the coin would block out 15 million stars from his or her view! That is how full the heavens are! In every single direction that we look, there are millions upon millions of stars!

Our sun, with its attendant solar system, is apparently only one such star. Imagine, therefore, just how many total heavenly bodies there must be! Billions and billions of stars, surrounded by tens of billions of planets, and scores of billions of moons around them! Not to mention, comets, asteroids, and the like. And as staggering as these numbers are, they are still only minimal assumptions! There could be many, many, many more such heavenly bodies.

Now, here is what is truly mindboggling! Shakespeare, the greatest writer in the English language, only used 33,000 words. 400 years later, the average vocabulary of a modern college educated human might rarely range as high as perhaps 80,000 total words. Indeed, the entire English language only has about 750,000 words.

And yet, the Holy Bible (in the Old Testament Book of Psalms, chapter 147, verse 4) tells us that our God “determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name”. Apparently, therefore, God’s own vocabulary contains untold billions, if not trillions, of words. Little wonder, then, that the same Bible (in Psalm 19, verses 1-4) also declares:

1The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

The heavens were certainly speaking to me this past Monday afternoon! And what they were saying was something like this:

“Consider just how vast we are! And then ponder the majesty of the One Who created us! For He is also the One Who created you. And He made you in His image! And more than this, when you found yourself separated from him by the rebellion of sin, He gave His Son to redeem you in order that you might be restored to a proper relationship with Him! And now, you too have been given a new name – that of Christian. And that name entitles you to an eternity of happiness with Him. Now, that is truly a great God!”

You may quickly forget the great total solar eclipse of 2017. We all may. But I hope none of us will ever forget the awesome power of God on display in nature. Nor the declaration of His majesty by His creation!

VOCABULARY INFORMATION SOURCE:
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0073123587/student_view0/chapter3/ho
w_much_do_you_know_about_vocabulary_.html. Sadly, this article reveals that our average vocabulary size is now decreasing, owing largely to the fact that we increasingly live in a pictographic society in which reading is fast becoming a lost art.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
http://biblehub.com/psalms/147-4.htm and
http://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/19.htm.

SHINE JESUS SHINE!

8/21/2017

Today, one of the rarest events in all of nature unfolded: the first total solar eclipse to transit the continental United States in over 99 years. If you have been online or, like me, had downloaded one or more smart phone apps, then you knew in advance the path it was to take, traversing in the North American continent from Oregon to South Carolina.

One had to be within the approximately 75 mile swath of its passing to see the total eclipse of the sun. For our part her in east Tennessee, we were blessed to be inside that band. But even those outside of it still got to experience a partial eclipse of the sun.

Given our location, we had family from out of state come up to join us. And I must say that it was quite a blessing to have family and friends gather with us and experience this once in a lifetime event together.

Exactly as projected, the sky began to darken at exactly 1:04:11pm, the total eclipse began at 2:32:55pm, the maximum eclipse occurred at 2:33:56pm, the total eclipse ended at 2:35:56 pm, and the darkness had fully dissipated by 3:58:27pm.

As I stood there with my family observing this breathtaking event, I reflected on what all this day had entailed.

Think about it… Early this morning, the darkness of the night was shattered as the sun came up and climbed into the sky, shining in all of its brilliance. Due to this single fact, a light shining in the darkness, we who inhabit this planet were suddenly all able to see – as opposed to before, in the darkness of the night, when we could not.

But, then, after only a few short hours, forces came into play that sought to obliterate the sun and its illuminating light. A little later, those forces prevailed; and the brilliance of the sun was extinguished. We were plunged back into the uncertainty of darkness once again.

But this lasted for only a short period of time - a little under three minutes at most. And then, those forces notwithstanding, the sun was no longer able to be contained! In short order, it had burst forth once again in all its glory! And suddenly, we who were in utter darkness found ourselves once again bathed in its splendid life-giving light! And all this because the sun had returned to its proper place of glory in the heavens!

As I observed these things, I could not help but draw several spiritual parallels.

You see, some two thousand years ago, the son of God came into this world, in the words of the Apostle John, as a light shining in the darkness! He brought the true light of God into this dark world.

But the, after a brief period of thirty three and a half years of life, the forces of darkness conspired to put an end to Him and His glory. Accordingly, they nailed Him to a cross, put Him to death, and then threw Him into a borrowed tomb. And then, they celebrated their victory over the Light of the world!

But, oh, my friend, it was only a supposed victory over the light of the world. For it was destined to be short-lived. It lasted just three short days! And then, suddenly, on that first Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and the darkness was cast aside as the Son of God burst forth once again in all His brilliance!

For my part, I have been to that very spot in Jerusalem celebrated as the place where the Light of men burst forth again in His full glory! I have seen with my own eyes the empty tomb; and also the sign that hangs there stating, “He is not here, for He is risen!”

In that sense, my friend, I have seen the light! I am one of those being referred in the Bible when it says (in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, chapter nine, verse two), “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned!”

I can only hope you are one as well. I hope you too have the true Light that gives light to all people! I leave you with these wonderful words from the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter one)…

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God… the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… in him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness… the true light that gives light to every man… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…”

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: http://biblehub.com/isaiah/9-2.htm and http://biblehub.com/niv/john/1.htm.

BIG JOB!

8/17/2017

One of the truly unsung heroes of the White House in the twentieth century was Harry S. Truman. Perhaps this is due to the fact that he sits between, and is largely overshadowed by, his immediate predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his immediate successor, Dwight David Eisenhower, two of America’s most beloved Presidents.

Truman himself is largely remembered for just two things. The first is the election victory he miraculously pulled out in 1948 over his Republican opponent, Thomas E. Dewey. Who among us has not seen the famed picture of Truman’s smiling face as he waves the Chicago Tribune’s headline erroneously declaring “Dewey Defeats Truman”?

The second thing for which Truman is most remembered, of course, is the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in order to hasten the end of World War Two. Historians are divided over this action. Some see it as unnecessary given the inevitable defeat of Japan.

Others point to the immense carnage anticipated (with estimates as high as 1.5 to 2 million deaths) if the allies would have had to invade the Japanese home islands with the same conventional methods they had applied while taking back the numerous Pacific islands Japan had conquered at the beginning of the war.

Whether one agrees with Truman’s actions or not, this much is certain: Truman himself accepted the responsibility for his own actions as president. He kept a sign on his desk that read: “The Buck Stops Here!”

The meaning of this sign is found in the old adage: “passing the buck”. Truman wanted people to understand that he would not pass the proverbial buck. If something was his job as president, then he would accept that responsibility, do his job, and accept the consequences, whatever they may prove to be.

And yet, it seems that Truman was not always this way. He apparently had to grow into the position where he embraced and accepted the responsibilities of leadership. A good example of this can be seen in the much cited April 27, 1992 article from Moody’s Today in the Word magazine:

Franklin Roosevelt had to work hard to persuade Harry Truman to be his running mate in the 1944 presidential election.

Truman wanted to go to the Senate, but incumbent vice-president Henry Wallace was unpopular with many Democratic leaders. So Truman was approached, and accepted the job with extreme reluctance.

On April 12, 1945 he was summoned to the White House. There he was shown into Eleanor Roosevelt's sitting room, where she told him that President Roosevelt was dead.

After a moment of stunned silence Truman asked her, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

She shook her head. "Is there anything we can do for you?" she said. "For you're the one in trouble now."

Perhaps this is the seminal moment when Truman decided to accept the awesome responsibility of the Presidency. If not, it was certainly the beginning of such a process. Either way, the point is that Truman quickly had to embrace his destiny. And to his credit, he did so.

The Bible gives us numerous examples of people who were suddenly thrust into positions of leadership. Some of them embraced that role and acted decisively; while others waivered and acted indecisively. In both situations, there were tremendous consequences.

Take, for instance, the differences on display between Israel’s first King, Saul, and her second king, David.

From the start, Saul seems reticent to accept the responsibilities of kingship. He hem haws around, never quite embracing the leadership role he was assigned. The result is a nation that was both divided and beleaguered. By comparison, young David eagerly accepted the mantle of leadership, stepping out in faith, confronting the enemy, uniting the people of God, and inspiring them to victory and its resultant reward.

Not many of us are called to be Presidents, and even fewer of us to be kings. Nonetheless, we are all called upon to exert influential leadership from time to time. This is true whoever you are and whatever role God has assigned to you. So, whenever your positon calls upon you to make decisions, to act decisively, and to influence others in the process, make the most of it. You never know how God might intend to use your leadership!

SOURCE: Today in the Word, April 27, 1992. In attempting to track this original resource down, I came to this site: https://www.todayintheword.org/archives/?searchPhrase=April+27%2C+1992&type=&date. Apparently the print edition itself is not archived on the Today in the Word website.

Nonetheless, numerous websites cite the above referenced article. See, for instance: http://www.jeremyhouck.com/looking-for-a-leader.html as well as
http://taiwoodukoya.org/desiring-leadership/.

SEE ALSO: Several good biographies of President Truman are available. The one I had to read in college, Plain Speaking by Merle Miller, is among the best. Others include David McCullough’s Truman and the appropriately titled Where the Buck Stops: The Personal and Private Writings of Harry S. Truman by President Truman’s own daughter, Margaret Truman.

MAKING THE MOST OF LIFE

8/14/2017

In a message titled “One Busy Week” that I preached on Palm Sunday of this year, I addressed what all the Bible tells us that Jesus did in the last week of His earthly life. This was truly one busy week, for each day was filled to the brim with activity.

In fact, nearly half of the New Testament Gospel of Mark’s sixteen total chapters (chapters 10-16) are devoted to the final week of Jesus’ earthly life!

I also pointed out in that message that it was not only the last week of Jesus’ earthly life that was filled with activity. Indeed, His entire three-and-a-half year public ministry was busy. At that time, I noted the following list of things that the Gospels tell us specifically that Jesus did:

-He Visited At Least 30 Different Places
-He Performed At Least 35 Different Miracles
-He Taught At Least 40 Different Parables
-He Preached At Least 10 Different Sermons
-He Prayed At Least 19 Different Prayers

I further noted that these were not the only things Jesus did. They are only the things specifically recorded by the Gospel writers. Indeed, the Apostle John concludes his New Testament Gospel (chapter 21, verse 25) with these words:

“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

We see an example of this in chapter 7, verse 21 of Luke’s New Testament Gospel, which tells us that:

“At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.”

Here, we obviously see examples of what John was alluding to in the conclusion of his gospel. We know that Jesus did these things. We just do not have the specifics.

I share these things here today in light of my message this past Sunday (part of a series titled Meet the Savior) on the earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly made the most of His time in this world. He took advantage of every opportunity that came His way to make a difference in the lives of people.

As His followers, it behooves us to do the same. We who have been called to minister in His name must also make the most of our time in this world. To accomplish this, we must learn to treat every single opportunity that God gives us to minister in His name as a divine appointment, trusting that every such occasion also gives us the means to make an eternal difference in the life of some person or persons.

For as Jesus Himself reminded us (also in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 9, verse 4, NLT) :

“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the One who sent us. For the night is coming, and then no one can work!”

BIBLE SOURCES: http://biblehub.com/.

NOTE: An excellent summary of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus Christ can be found in H.L. Willmington’s The Life of Christ (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale house Publishers, 1991). This book is part of a six volume set titled “The Complete Guide to Bible Knowledge”, which includes the following titles: Old Testament Survey, Old Testament People, New Testament Survey, New Testament People, The Life of Christ, and Introduction to Theology.

This set is an expansion of his very popular earlier book: Willmington’s Guide to the Bible (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale house Publishers, 1981). At 1009 pages, this exhaustive book is lovingly referred to by the author as his “five pounder”.

Dr. Harold L. Willmington is one of my favorite authors. His published books, vast in scope, began as material he prepared as an instructor decades ago in what was then known as the Liberty Home Bible Institute (now known as the Willmington School of the Bible). Later, this material evolved into Liberty’s School of Lifelong Learning, before being eventually absorbed into the curriculum of Liberty University itself, where Dr. Willmington finished his long and distinguished ministry career as Vice-President and Board member.

Cf: http://www.liberty.edu/academics/catalogs/index.cfm?PID=27529.

See also: https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2012/04/eighty-years-dedicated-to-god/.

FINALLY, HERE IS THE "TO DO LIST" FOR THE LAST WEEK OF JESUS' BUSY EARTHLY LIFE…

DAY ONE (SUNDAY):
1. Make triumphal entry into Jerusalem
2. Make brief visit to Temple Complex
3. Return to Bethany
DAY TWO (MONDAY):
1. Depart Bethany for Jerusalem
2. Curse fig tree on way into city
3. Weep over Jerusalem
4. Cleanse the Temple
5. Return to Bethany for the night
DAY THREE (TUESDAY):
1. Depart Bethany for Jerusalem
2. Use withered fig tree to teach on faith
3. Return to Temple; confound and pronounce woes upon enemies
4. Leave city; stop and deliver Olivet Discourse on way back to Bethany
5. Do all above without revealing knowledge of Judas’ plans for betrayal
6. Return to Bethany for the night
DAY FOUR (WEDNESDAY):
1. Remain in Bethany throughout the day
2. Spend time silently preparing for unfolding agony coming during remainder of week
DAY FIVE (THURSDAY):
1. Send Peter and John sent to make preparations for Passover meal
2. After sunset, eat meal with the twelve disciples
3. Wash disciples’ feet
4. See Judas depart, setting in motion the events of the rest of the night and following day
5. Institute the Lord's Supper
6. Visit Garden of Gethsemane to agonize in prayer
7. Experience disappointment from disciples
8. Experience betrayal by Judas
9. Heal servant’s ear
10. Be arrested by Sanhedrin
11. Undergo imprisonment in house of High Priest
12. Experience successive denials of Simon Peter
13. Experience abandonment by all remaining disciples
DAY SIX (FRIDAY):
1. Undergo first (illegal) trial, before Annas [nighttime hours]
2. Undergo second (illegal) trial before Sanhedrin, experience condemnation and abuse
3. Undergo third (illegal) trial, immediately at dawn with further condemnation and abuse
4. Be taken to Romans
5. Undergo fourth trial before Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate
6. Undergo fifth trial before Herod
7. Undergo sixth trial before Pilate
8. Undergo scourging with cat of nine tails
9. Undergo seventh and final trial before Jewish people of Jerusalem
10. Carry cross outside city to Golgotha
11. Be mocked by Roman soldiers
12. Have crown of thorns pressed into head13. Undergo horror of crucifixion
14. Utter seven carefully chosen last statements from the cross
• "Father, forgive them..."
• "Today...with me in paradise"
• "Woman, behold thy son..."
• "My God, My God..."
• "I thirst"
• "It is finished"
• "Into Thy hands..."
15. Hang on the cross, suffering for six full hours
16. Experience death for the vicarious sacrifice on behalf of the sins of all mankind
17. Be taken from cross to be buried in a borrowed tomb by sundown
DAY SEVEN (SATURDAY):
-Descend to “lowest parts of the earth” (Eph. 4:9)
-Preach to “spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19)
DAY EIGHT (SUNDAY):
1. Rise from the dead well before dawn
2. Make first of five total appearances this day (to Mary Magdalene for her to give a message to the disciples)
3. Make second of five total appearances this day to the other women who come to the tomb, intending to complete the burial preparation of body
4. Make third of five total appearances this day to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus, setting their hearts on fire by expounding scriptures to them.
5. Make fourth of five total appearances this day to Simon Peter (as later alluded to in Luke 24:33 and 1 Corinthians 1:5)
6. Make fifth and final of five appearances this day to the astonished disciples
7. Contemplate timing of and agenda for remaining appearances over next forty days

-Whew! Now, any way you look at it, that is one busy week!

ALL TOGETHER NOW

8/10/2017

I love the old story about an out-of-towner who inadvertently drove his fancy new car into a ditch out in a desolated area. Fortunately, for him, a local farmer was soon there to help with his big strong horse named Buddy.

The farmer hitched Buddy up to the car and then yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't move. Not one muscle. Next, the farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull!" Buddy still didn't respond. Once more the farmer commanded, "Pull, Custer, pull!" Again, nothing. Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" Thereupon, the horse easily dragged the car right up out of the ditch.

The motorist was most appreciative. But he was also quite curious. He asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three different times. The farmer said, "Oh, that? Well, you see, Ol’ Buddy is blind; and if he thought for one minute that he was the only one pullin’, he wouldn't even try!"

It is easy to get discouraged in life if we are made to feel like we are laboring all alone in a given task. No one wants to carry a burden all by themselves.

The great thing about being a part of God’s kingdom is that we are not alone. We have others who labor with us. We do not shoulder the work of the kingdom all by ourselves.

To begin with, we have fellow believers laboring with us. And as the Bible reminds us in the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes (chapter 4, verses 9-12):

9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Having others united with us in our purpose is important as we seek to live for our Lord. But even more important than this is the presence of the Lord Himself. We also have Him with us. We have his Word on that, for He gave us this promise (in Hebrews 13:5): “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So, remember this, my friend, wherever you are, whoever you are, and whatever you have been called to do for the Lord, you are not alone! God will always give us the support we need, either through others who come along beside us or through his enduring presence.

I hope that thought inspires and encourages you as you serve Him! Hang in there! Keep on pulling your share! In due time, the victory will be yours! God will see to that.

STORY SOURCE:
https://www.cybersalt.org/inspiration/illustrations/.
BIBLICAL SOURCES:
http://biblehub.com/niv/ecclesiastes/4.htm.
http://biblehub.com/kjv/hebrews/13-5.htm.

TURN THAT CORNER AND LET IT GO!

8/7/2017

It has been an agonizing last couple of weeks in the Jackson household. My wife, my daughter, and my two daughters-in-law all got together and conspired to hold the world’s biggest garage sale. Which, of course, is fine with me; or at least it was until I discovered the extent to which this actually involved me.

To begin with, I quickly realized that the gathering of much of this material necessitated my own participation. I was increasingly finding that my back and arms were needed to carry items forth from the attic or basement to the garage – particularly those of any substantial size or bulk.

And yet, after this initial realization, I soon decided that this was not all that bad. After all, we do need to lose some clutter; and I certainly do not mind lending a helping hand getting stuff gathered and sorted.

The problem, however, was that I soon discovered that a fair portion of what had been targeted for sale were items for which I myself had some affinity. Ouch! Now, granted, not everything being gathered for sale was technically something belonging to me. But after four decades together, I sort of assumed that if something was in our house and that I myself had developed a personal affinity for it, then it was not ever supposed to be disposed of. Never!

Alas, it appears this is not to be the case! These days, it seems, if it is not nailed down or otherwise physically attached to real estate at the Jackson residence, it now has a price tag affixed to it. Witness the following conversation between my wife and me…

“Should we not also sell this stuff while we are at it?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, we do not need it!”
“But this is our pantry and these items are our groceries.”
“Precisely. And as perishables, they will eventually all go bad. So, let’s sell them now and at least salvage some value here!”

Of course, I am being facetious here. Even so, I have found myself sleeping with one eye open, lest I awaken to find a price tag attached to my own wrist! (Just kidding!)

I know my precious wife is right. We simply cannot keep everything. I suppose I am just a sentimentalist at heart. I tend to hold on to things far too long.

To begin with, as one who communicates for a living, my nature is to accumulate and organize source material. This is why, like most pastors, I have garnered a substantial library over the years. I need an ample pool of resources from which to draw on a regular basis.

Add to this the fact that I am a great lover of history. Few things are as powerful as some item from the past that has a story attached to it. And when such items have a personal history, they are all the more meaningful. What person has not held some article that once belonged to his or her own grandparent or great grandparent and marveled at it?

For these reasons, I have de facto become somewhat of the family historian. On second thought, curator might be the better word. Members of my extended family have passed on to me photographs and other assorted items from our collective history together. These items, with little or no value to the world, are nonetheless treasured by me. And I have gingerly collected and organized them with the hope that, one day, my children and grandchildren will value them as I do.

Still, these things notwithstanding, I have to admit that the last couple of weeks have been good for me. My wife is right. We simply cannot keep everything. There comes a time in life when we need to let go of stuff and move on. With each passing day, she has worn down my resistance. The result is that more and more things have made their way to the garage in the process.

And if that is true of life’s physical baggage, how much more true is it of emotional and psychological baggage? There is a popular internet meme that pictures these words wrapped around the brick corner of a building: “Turn the corner and let it go!”

There is much wisdom in that. It can be burdensome to carry an abundance of stuff all throughout life. This is especially true of bad memories and/or painful episodes. The quicker we realize that doing so is neither necessary nor productive, the sooner we can let go of such things and move on.

As the writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews (chapter 12, verse 1) puts it, “Let us throw off everything that hinders … and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…”

If you find relevancy in any of this, then by all means, feel free to turn the corner and let some things go. I can now testify to just how freeing this is!

SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/hebrews/12-1.htm.

LARGE AND IN CHARGE?

8/3/2017

I love the old story about the lion that was so proud of his supposed mastery of the animal kingdom. One day he decided to make sure all the other animals knew he was the king of the jungle.

Brimming with confidence, he bypassed the smaller animals and went straight to the second largest predator, the leopard. “Who is the mightiest creature in the jungle?” the lion asked. The leopard replied, “Why you are, of course.” The lion gave a mighty roar of approval as he glared at the smaller cat.

Next he confronted the cheetah, “Who is the mightiest creature in the jungle?” The cheetah quickly responded, “Everyone knows that you are, mighty lion.” “Do not forget it!” Bellowed the lion in return.

Next on the list was the elephant. The lion proudly bounded up to the elephant and addressed the same question to him: “Who is the mightiest creature in the jungle?”

The elephant, however, did not respond in quite the same fashion as the previous animals.. Instead, he calmly reached out with his trunk and grabbed the lion, whirled him around in the air six or seven times, and then slammed him headlong into a tree!

Thereafter, he pounded the lion onto the ground several times, dunked him underwater in a nearby river, and finally dumped him out unceremoniously on the shore.

The lion, beaten, bruised, and battered, barely managed to struggle to his feet. As he did, he looked up at the elephant through bloody eyes and said, “Look, just because you don’t know the answer is no reason to get nasty about it!”

On a serious note, there are those who would contend that even the mighty elephant is not the king of the jungle! Albert Kang writes:

I am thrilled to learn from the BBC that elephants are afraid of ants. In my limited knowledge of these giants, I always thought that elephants were afraid of mice. However, the truth is far from what is fable.

Elephants are very destructive and tend to destroy many trees whenever they feed on them. With the increase in elephant population, forests have been greatly affected by their extensive feeding. They strip off their barks and even uproot them.

In East Africa, there is a species of acacia tree that protects itself by having a symbiotic relationship with ants. This tree provides its branches that serve as homes and shelters for these acacia ants. Apart from that, the plant also produces nectar that helps feed these ants. Thus, when any part of the tree is disturbed, the ants will swarm to protect that part.

The researchers from American universities notice that elephants are very wary about being bitten on the soft undersides of their trunks. When they smell the ants, they will just move away from the tree. In other studies, the researchers also discovered that elephants are afraid of bees too. Whenever they hear the buzzing sound of bees, they will move away to avoid being stung.

Apart from using ants as natural allies to protect farm crops, what can we learn from this research?

To me, this is a good illusion for church unity. A single ant can do nothing. However, when united, the ants can stop elephants from invading their homes and source of food. No matter how small we are, when we are united, we can stand even against giants.

Unity is most important to the modern Church. We are thus encouraged to "make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3)."

Paul the Apostle is clear about how unity can be achieved, "Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity (Colossians 3:14)."

Finally, let us be reminded by another of Paul's admonitions - "Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27).

Let's stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together, by so doing, we can stand against and even chase giants!

Well said, dear brother. Wise old King Solomon would agree. For it was he (in Ecclesiastes 4:12) who reminded us that: “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

SOURCES: http://aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com/search?q=ants. Those who communicate the Gospel regularly should be aware of Rev. Kang’s website. His massive collection of illustrations, mixed in with his own insightful commentary, is a wonderful tool for sharing God’s message.

NOTE: The king of the jungle story is available widely on the internet in many different forms. See, for instance: https://www.cybersalt.org/clean-jokes/king-of-the-jungle. Rev. Kang’s website has two versions of it as well.