Blog Archives

HERE WE STAND

10/30/2017

Protestant Christians worldwide are spending Tuesday of this week commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. For it was on this day in history, October 31, 2017, that a young man named Martin Luther nailed his famous “95 Theses” to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, challenging the false teachings that abounded in the church of his day, and in the process igniting the history shattering Reformation of the sixteenth century.

And he wasn’t done yet! Any way you look at it, Martin Luther himself was a very prolific individual. In his 40 or so years of ministry, he went on to preach over 4000 sermons, to translate the entire Bible into German, and to write 68 addito0nal volumes worth of other materials. He also found the time to write 38 hymns, the most famous of which is titled “A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD”.

Perhaps you are familiar with the first verse to this well-known hymn…

“A mighty Fortress is our God, A Bulwark never failing; Our Helper He amid the flood, Of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe, Doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, And, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.”

Bearing these words in mind, I want to relate a story recounted by The Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz on The Lutheran Hour on October 29, 2017:

There's a story that came out of World War II about this transforming power amidst the world's evil and chaos. The story was about a small village in Poland, and the fateful day was when the Nazis came to town. It was a day where the phrase "the just will live by faith" was better today "the just will die in faith."

The people were gathered in their church. They were there worshiping when the troops of the Third Reich swarmed into the village. They entered the church. They escorted everyone outside, and they set fire to the structure. As the soldiers then trained their weapons on the congregation, these people began to sing. Now what song did they sing? What verse could matter now?

They began to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." In the midst of the madness of the modern world - a world of Third Reichs and master races and military madness and arrogant humanistic pride - another message rang out: a mighty fortress is our God. And strangely, these German soldiers - many of them just children themselves, doing what they were told-they realized that these were words and this was the music of a hymn that they themselves had heard. It was written by a famous German long ago, Martin Luther.

It was a song that many of them sang growing up, though long since drowned out by the new promise of the so-called modern world. Now, here, it was being sung amidst violence, amidst fire, amidst danger, at the end of the barrel of a gun, but the people kept singing. They sang verse after verse, waiting for the bullets they expected to rip into their bodies and stop their song, but the bullets never came.

Finally, looking around at the German soldiers surrounding them, they were astonished to see the guns lowered and every hardened Nazi face streaming with tears. The soldiers, one by one, two by two, slowly turned and climbed back into their trucks, as they pulled away from the little town, leaving behind a congregation of the faithful standing outside of their burning church, singing. No doubt these words still echoed in their ears…

Dr. Seltz then concludes by quoting the second verse of Luther’s immortal hymn…

"Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing? Dost ask who this may be? Christ Jesus, it is He. Lord Sabaoth His Name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle."

For my part, I am thankful for the example of Martin Luther. Like the Prophet Daniel of the Old Testament, and like the Apostles Peter, James, and John, as well as the Apostle Paul later on, of the New Testament, Martin Luther was willing to take his stand for God irrespective of the consequences!

For by his own testimony, when given the chance to recant while at his trial for heresy by the agents of the infamous inquisition, Martin Luther said: “I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”

God went on to deliver Luther, just as He had earlier delivered Daniel, and Peter, James, John, and Paul all before him! And I believe the story related by Dr. Seltz above illustrates that God still rewards all who remain faithful to Him!

I pray that I too will be found faithful when I am called upon to take a stand! And I pray the same for all who profess the name of Jesus! May we, like all who were faithful before us, faithfully embrace the challenge of the Apostle Paul, who shared this challenge with the Galatian Christians (in chapter 5, verse 1) of the New Testament era: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

STORY SOURCE: https://www.lutheranhour.org/sermon.asp?articleid=30450.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/galatians/5-1.htm.

A LIFE THAT MATTERS

10/26/2017

Today is my 56th birthday. Perhaps it is a normal consequence of such a day for me to have spent a fair amount of time reflecting on whether or not and to what extent my life has made a difference. I can only hope that my life has had genuine significance, and that what all I have chosen to devote my time to here in this world will have eternal consequence out there in the hereafter.

John Piper has written a book titled Don’t Waste Your Life. I highly recommend it, especially when one turns 56 and approaches the autumn of one's life. His contention is that in order not to have wasted our God-given lives, we must all have some passion or passions for which we choose to live. And then we must sell out to that passion or passions, for it is better, in the end, to lose one’s life to some greater cause or set of causes than simply to waste it in trivial pursuits!

In this work, he tells the life story of famed Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson. Here is a paraphrased version…

The son of a pastor, Adoniram Judson was a brilliant boy. His mother taught him to read in one week when he was three to surprise his father when he came home from a trip. When he was sixteen he entered Rhode Island College (later Brown University) as a sophomore and graduated at the top of his class three years later in 1807.

What his godly parents did not know was that Adoniram was being lured away from the faith by a fellow student named Jacob Eames who was a Deist. By the time Judson’s college career was finished, he had no Christian faith. He kept this concealed from his parents until his twentieth birthday, August 9, 1808, when he broke their hearts with his announcement that he had no faith and that he wanted to write for the theater and intended to go to New York, which he did six days later on a horse his father gave him as part of his inheritance.

It did not prove to be the life of his dreams. He attached himself to some strolling players and, as he said later, lived “a reckless, vagabond life, finding lodgings where he could, and bilking the landlord where he found opportunity.” The disgust with what he found there was the beginning of several remarkable providences. God was closing in on Adoniram Judson.

He went to visit his Uncle Ephraim in Sheffield but found there instead “a pious young man” who amazed him by being firm in his Christian convictions without being “austere and dictatorial.” Strange that he should find this young man there instead of the uncle he sought.

The next night he stayed in a small village inn where he had never been before. The innkeeper apologized that his sleep might be interrupted because there was a man critically ill in the next room. Through the night Judson heard comings and goings and low voices and groans and gasps. It bothered him to think that the man next to him may not be prepared to die. He wondered about himself and had terrible thoughts of his own dying. He felt foolish because good Deists weren’t supposed to have these struggles.

When he was leaving in the morning he asked if the man next door was better. “He is dead,” said the innkeeper. Judson was struck with the finality of it all. On his way out he asked, “Do you know who he was?” “Oh yes. Young man from the college in Providence. Name was Eames, Jacob Eames.”

Judson could hardly move. He stayed there for hours pondering death and eternity. If his friend Eames were right, then this was a meaningless event. But Judson could not believe it: “That hell should open in that country inn and snatch Jacob Eames, his dearest friend and guide, from the next bed—this could not, simply could not, be pure coincidence.” God was real. And he was pursuing Adoniram Judson. God knew the man he wanted to reach the Burmese people.

Judson’s conversion was not immediate. But now it was sure. God was on his trail, like the apostle Paul on the Damascus road, and there was no escape. There were months of struggle. He entered Andover Seminary in October 1808 and in December made solemn dedication of himself to God. On June 28, 1809, Judson presented himself to the Congregationalists for missionary service in the East.

On February 17, 1812, after only twelve days of marriage, Judson and his wife Ann set out from Massachusetts. Their missionary journeys, taking them first to India and later to Burma (present-day Myanmar), would prove to be wrought with suffering and tragedy.

They underwent economic challenges, losing the financial backing of their supporters only a few months after leaving the United States. Their plans unexpectedly changed when problems with their visas in India forced them to reluctantly settle in Burma. They faced a severe language barrier that required them to learn the Burmese tongue in a country where no English was spoken.

Once they could communicate, their message still met with great resistance from the Burmese citizens. In fact, the Judson’s did not see anyone come to Christ for the first six years of their work.

And there were no converts. It was to be six, long, soul-crushing, heart-breaking years before the date of the first decision for Christ. Then, on June 27, 1819, Judson baptized the first Burmese believer, Moung Nau. Judson jotted in his journal: “Oh, may it prove to be the beginning of a series of baptisms in the Burmese empire which shall continue in uninterrupted success to the end of the age.” Converts were added slowly — a second, then three, then six, and on to eighteen.

But opposition also came. Finally Judson was imprisoned as a British spy — an imprisonment of twenty-one months. Judson was condemned to die, but in answer to prayers to God and the incessant pleadings of his wife to officials (one of the most emotional-packed, soul-stirring stories in evangelism), Judson’s life was spared and finally British intervention freed him from imprisonment.

The few who remained faithful were rewarded with intense government persecution. Judson, himself, was also in danger. Suspected of being a spy during Burma’s civil war, he was sent to a death prison where he was hung upside down in leg irons every night and forced on a death march that almost killed him.

In addition, Judson faced the pain of loss some two dozen times, burying both his first and second wife. In fact, from 1812 to 1850, twenty-four of Judson’s relatives or close associates died, including several of his children. As a husband, father, missionary, and friend, Judson truly knew what it was to suffer.

Nevertheless, enduring all of this, he steadfastly pursued his goal of translating the Bible into Burmese. In 1850 he died in obscurity, leaving a Burmese church with only a handful of believers, and some of these so-called believers had openly denied Christ.

By earthly standards, Judson’s life was an utter failure. He jeopardized the lives of his family; he moved far away from the comforts of his North American roots; he endured the pain of rejection, hunger, torture, and loss; and he did all of this to bring the gospel to a generally unreceptive, antagonistic audience. He gave his all, only to die seeing relatively meager results.

In looking back, of course, we see that Judson’s efforts were not in vain. In fact, his translation of the Bible is still used in Myanmar today. In 1993, the head of the Myanmar Evangelical Fellowship stated, “Today, there are 6 million Christians in Myanmar, and every one of us trace our spiritual heritage to one man—the Reverend Adoniram Judson”

May God help me to make my life to matter! May I not waste this precious gift He has given me! And may the same be true for you!

PRIMARY SOURCE: Piper, John. Don’t Waste Your Life (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Publishing, 1993), pp. 155 ff.

ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET: https://books.google.com/books?id=6C7mAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=john+piper+don't+waste+your+life+judson&source=bl&ots=X48bu31JjF&sig=H2rXjKBA725ybTQZw7M0bevKo1g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiux_vy7ovXAhWKy4MKHeuLCDMQ6AEIOTAC#v=onepage&q=john%20piper%20don't%20waste%20your%20life%20judson&f=false.

SEE ALSO: http://thecripplegate.com/a-life-not-wasted-adoniram-judson/ as well as https://www.desiringgod.org/books/adoniram-judson.

ALBERT KANG'S PARAPHRASED VERSION OF JUDSON'S LIFE IS AVAILABLE AT: http://aksermonillustrations.blogspot.com/search?q=judson.

ANOTHER EXCELLENT SOURCE ON JUDSON’S LIFE IS AVAIALBLE ONLINE: See Borthwick, Paul. Adoniram Judson: Endurance Personified (https://sites.google.com/site/gloryofhiscross/judson).

SEE ALSO: http://wordtruth.org/PDF/Adoniram%20Judson.pdf.

HAND IN HAND

10/23/2017

I love the often told story about what is purported to have happened in a certain Vacation Bible School a few years ago. It seems that a class was interrupted one day about an hour before dismissal when a new student was brought in.

This new student was a little boy who had one arm missing. Since the class was almost over, the teacher had no opportunity to learn any details about the cause or his state of adjustment. She was very nervous, afraid that one of the children might at any time blurt out some hurtful comment or question about the little boy’s handicap and embarrass him.

Since there was no opportunity to caution them, the teacher proceeded as carefully as possible. But as the class time drew to a close, she herself began to relax. Preparing to close, she asked the class to join her in their customary closing ceremony.

“Let’s make our churches, boys and girls,” she said. Folding her hands, she said, “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open it up and there’s….” The awful truth of her own actions suddenly struck her! The very thing she had feared that the children would do, she had just done!

She stood there utterly speechless, desperately trying to decide what to do next. All of a sudden, a little girl sitting next to the boy reached over with her left hand and placed it up to his right hand and said, “Here, Davey, let’s make the church together!”

This past Sunday, our church family celebrated ten years in our worship center together. As we did, we reflected on the faith of all those who came before us who were willing to have a vision and to step out in faith, both purchasing property and building facilities.

No single one of them did this alone. But, by bonding together in faithful cooperation, they were able to make a church together!

What is more, before them, even earlier generations had also bonded together to make a church. Literally, prior generations came together and founded a church family within our community.

And each successive generation has continued to come together and, building upon the foundations of those who came before, make a church together!

I trust that we will continue to be found faithful in our own generation; and that also we will one day be remembered as a group of Christians who came together to make a church possible! If so, then perhaps we will also inspire future generations to do much the same.

SOURCE: This piece is available widely online. See, for instance: http://www.wikipreacher.org/home/the-old-chestnut-tree/boy-with-one-arm-her
e-is-the-church.
And also here : https://www.ststephenpresbyterian.com/lets-make-the-church-together/.

SAVING FACE

10/19/2017

In his book, The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll tells a story about Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions who were travelling across country on horseback. They came to a river which had left its banks because of a recent downpour. The swollen river had washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents.

The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveler who was not part of their group to step aside and watch. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river. The president agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side.

As the stranger slid off the saddle onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, “Tell me, why did you select the president to ask this favor of?” The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. “All I know,” he said, “is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No,’ and on some of them was written the answer ‘yes’. His was a ‘yes’ face.

As I read this, I could not help but ask myself whether I display a “yes” face or a “no face”. I can only hope that when people who are hurting or otherwise in need look to me, I reflect the Spirit of Jesus Christ. For surely the face of Jesus was a “yes” face!

After all, it was He Who said “yes” to those who needing His touch, His assistance, His compassion, and especially His forgiveness! And all around me (and you) are such people today. May those in need always find in us a face that says “yes” in the name of Jesus Christ!

SOURCE: Charles Swindoll The Grace Awakening (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), p. 4.

ALSO AVAILABLE WIDELY ONLINE. See, for instance: https://ronniemcbrayer.org/2013/11/07/a-yes-face/.

WATCH ME!

10/16/2017

When he was still an under-graduate student, famed Christian theologian and communicator D. A. Carson co-led an evangelistic Bible study on campus. He confessed that whenever he felt out of his depths, he would take skeptics and doubters to a bold witness on campus named Dave, who was himself a graduate student at the time.

In his book titled From the Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days, he recounts the following experience:

As a chemistry undergraduate at McGill University, with another chap I started a Bible study for unbelievers. That fellow was godly but very quiet and a bit withdrawn.

I had the mouth, I fear, so by default it fell on me to lead the study. The two of us did not want to be outnumbered, so initially we invited only three people, hoping that not more than two would come. Unfortunately, the first night all three showed up, so we were outnumbered from the beginning.

By week five we had sixteen people attending, and still only the initial two of us were Christians. I soon found myself out of my depth in trying to work through John's Gospel with this nest of students. On many occasions the participants asked questions I had no idea how to answer.

But in the grace of God there was a graduate student on campus called Dave Ward. He had been converted quite spectacularly as a young man. He was, I suppose, what you might call a rough jewel. He was slapdash, in your face, with no tact and little polish, but he was aggressively evangelistic, powerful in his apologetics, and winningly bold. He allowed people like me to bring people to him every once in a while so that he could answer their questions. Get them there and Dave would sort them out!

So it was that one night I brought two from my Bible study down to Dave. He bulldozed his way around the room, as he always did. He gave us instant coffee then, turning to the first student, asked, 'Why have you come?' The student replied, 'Well, you know, I think that university is a great time for finding out about different points of view, including different religions. So I've been reading some material on Buddhism, I've got a Hindu friend I want to question, and I should also study some Islam. When this Bible study started I thought I'd get to know a little more about Christianity - that's why I've come.'

Dave looked at him for a few moments and then said, 'Sorry, but I don't have time for you.'

'I beg your pardon?' said the student.

'Look,' Dave replied, 'I'll loan you some books on world religions; I can show you how I understand Christianity to fit into all of this, and why I think biblical Christianity is true - but you're just playing around. You're a dilettante. You don't really care about these things; you're just goofing off. I'm a graduate student myself, and I don't have time - I do not have the hours at my disposal to engage in endless discussions with people who are just playing around.'

He turned to the second student: 'Why did you come?'

'I come from a home that you people call liberal,' he said. 'We go to the United Church and we don't believe in things like the literal resurrection of Jesus--I mean, give me a break. The deity of Christ, that's a bit much. But my home is a good home. My parents love my sister and me, we are a really close family, we worship God, we do good in the community. What do you think you've got that we don't have?'

For what seemed like two or three minutes, Dave looked at him.
Then he said, 'Watch me.'

As it happened, this student's name was also Dave. This Dave said, 'I beg your pardon?'

Dave Ward repeated what he had just said, and then expanded: 'Watch me. I've got an extra bed; move in with me, be my guest - I'll pay for the food. You go to your classes, do whatever you have to do, but watch me. You watch me when I get up, when I interact with people, what I say, what moves me, what I live for, what I want in life. You watch me for the rest of the semester, and then you tell me at the end of it whether or not there's a difference.'

The young man didn't take Dave up on that offer, but he did keep coming back to watch how Dave lived his Christian life. Eventually the young man came to Christ and went on to become a medical missionary.

Dr. Carson concluded what he learned from Dave's challenge:

A Christian is saying in effect: "I'm one poor beggar telling another poor beggar where there's bread. I drank deeply from the wellsprings of grace. God knows I need more of it. If you watch me you'll see some glimmerings of the Savior, and ultimately you'll want to fasten on him. Watch me."

(Big) Dave was right! There is a very real sense in all who follow Jesus Christ have emblazoned on their back a big sign that reads: “WATCH ME!” And indeed, the world does watch us. And it draws conclusions as to the authenticity of our faith by what they observe!

SOURCE: D. A. Carson, From The Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days (Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2010).

ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE IN VARIOUS PLACES: See, for instance, https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2010/07/12/imitate-me/.

D. A. Carson himself is a Research Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Bannockburn, Illinois, with a long and distinguished career in Christian communication, having written scores of books and articles, a great many of which are in print.

More information on Dr. Carson himself is available here: https://divinity.tiu.edu/academics/faculty/d-a-carson-phd/.

TO LISTEN TO A 2008 SERMON CONTAINING THE STORY REFERENCED ABOVE, GO TO: http://resources.thegospelcoalition.org/library/biblical-authority-the-exclusive-authority-of-scripture-for-faith-and-practice-2-timothy-3-10-17.

LASTLY, AN ADAPTED VIDEO VERSION IS AVAILABLE AT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH6_5-bn4Jw. Be sure to watch to the very end.

NOT QUITE THERE YET…

10/12/2017

I love the story related by Ray Stedman, long-time Pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, in his book titled Talking To My Father.

It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Henry Morrison had been serving in Africa as missionaries for over forty years, and they were returning to New York City to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid.

They soon discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions in Africa. No one paid much attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President’s entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man.

As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, "Something is wrong. Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us."

"Dear, you shouldn’t feel that way," his wife said. "I can’t help it; it doesn’t seem right."

When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President’s arrival, but no one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city.

That night, the man’s spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can’t take this; God is not treating us fairly." His wife replied, "Why don’t you go into the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?" A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"

"The Lord settled it with me," he said. "I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘But you’re not home yet!’"

Discouragement is a part of life. None of us are immune; and sooner or later, we will all face it. What is more, Satan loves to get us discouraged. He knows when we get discouraged because he knows that we are less likely to be productive for God’s kingdom.

But when those times come, we must all be reminded that God has promised us an eternal reward. One day, when our work on earth is finally finished, we will receive our reward. Until then, we must remain faithful, believing that our work for the Lord is not in vain.

As the Apostle Paul admonishes us (in chapter 15, verse 58 of his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians): “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Clearly, the Apostle Paul must have had in mind the words of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in His famed “Sermon on the Mount” (in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 12): “Great is your reward in heaven.”

Until that time, may we all remain faithful in our service to the Lord!

SOURCE: Ray Stedman Talking To My Father: Jesus Teaches on Prayer (Grand Rapids: Harbour House, 1997).

SEE ALSO: http://www.tonycooke.org/stories-and-illustrations/not_home_yet/.

AS WELL AS: http://www.addeigloriam.org/stories/morrison.htm.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/niv/1_corinthians/15.htm and http://biblehub.com/matthew/5-12.htm.

SEE ALSO: https://www.raystedman.org/ and https://www.pbc.org/our-history.

TESTING ONE, TWO, THREE…

10/9/2017

I love the story, often related, of a young man who was applying to go to the mission field. He took the interview process seriously and prepared for it by studying diligently for the subjects he thought might be included. He especially brushed up on his knowledge of the Bible and on his understanding of theology.

The phone call finally came telling him to show up at the missionary society for the interview at 5 a.m. on a certain date. He thought this time of the day a bit strange, but nonetheless dragged himself out of bed on the cold and snowy morning and showed up promptly as requested. Nevertheless, 5 a.m. came and went, and he was left waiting all alone for three whole hours, until 8 a.m., when the interviewer at last arrived.

After brief introductions, the interviewer asked him to take a seat, and began the interview process with this question, “Can you spell?” Although mystified, the candidate replied, “Yes, sir.” The interviewer then said, “Spell ‘baker’.” In response, the candidate spelled, “B-A-K-E-R.” Next, the interviewer inquired, “Can you tell me what 2 plus 2 is?” The candidate answered, “4.”

With this, the interviewer abruptly ended the interview and dismissed the young man.

At the Board meeting of the missionary society the following day, the interviewer gave his report:

“I would like to report that this young man showed up for the 5 a.m. interview, on a snowy morning, without complaint. Clearly, he can deny himself. Moreover, he was on time. This shows him to be someone who is prompt and who keeps his word. I also tested his patience by making him wait three full hours for the interview. Lastly, I tested his humility and temper, asking questions that any seven year old child could answer. Ladies and Gentlemen, he passed all the tests. We have the makings of a fine young missionary here!”

As this story illustrates, displaying spiritual fruit serves us better than advertising our spiritual gifts!

The Apostle Paul (in the New Testament Book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22 through 25), reminds us that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit within us, and we should display certain characteristics as a result:

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Always remember that no matter who you are and what your gift set may be, displaying a Christ-like spirit will very often do more to advance the kingdom of God and our place within it than anything else we can do!

STORY SOURCE: Available widely on the internet. See, for instance, http://www.illustrationsforsermons.com/DB/search-illustrations.php?alpha=
Character.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE: http://biblehub.com/niv/galatians/5.htm.

EVERYBODY UP!

10/5/2017

This past month, an article appeared on Newser asserting that upwards of 430,000 people die every year for no other reason than that they sat for too long.

The article makes reference to a study published the previous month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that found that sitting for more than three hours per day is responsible for 3.8%—or approximately 433,000—of all deaths worldwide every year. This study was based on data collected from fifty-four countries between 2002 and 2011.

Specifically, indications are that sixty percent of the world's population sits for more than three hours per day, with the average time spent sitting each day being approximately 4.7 hours. The highest amounts of sitting-related deaths were found to be in the Western Pacific and in parts of Europe.

Among those places topping the list were Lebanon and the Netherlands. Conversely, Mexico and Myanmar had the fewest sitting-related deaths.

The conclusion of the study by researchers was that eliminating sitting could increase overall life expectancy by 0.2 years, while reducing daily sitting time by just two hours could decrease an individual's mortality by 2.4%.

In simple words, this means that even sitting for thirty minutes less per day can have a reasonably significant impact on longevity. To quote the study's lead author: "It is important to minimize sedentary behavior in order to prevent premature deaths around the world."

As I read these statistics, I could not help but be reminded of an old hymn that many of us who are believers have sung down through the years titled “Standing on the Promises”.

Perhaps you are familiar with the words:

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,

Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I shall not fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Including the repetition of the refrain, the singing of this hymn affirms one’s commitment to standing on the promises of God an astounding forty-one times! Yet, as I once heard famed evangelist, Freddie Gage, say, a far more accurate affirmation for most Christians might well be: “Sitting on the Premises”!

A number of years ago, picking up on this theme, Rev. James W. Moore actually wrote a book titled “Standing on the Promises or Sitting on the Premises?”

In the introduction to this wonderful work on the promises of God in the Bible, he states:

Let me begin with a question: "Are you standing on the promises, or just sitting on the premises?" That is, do you claim and embrace and celebrate the great promises of God, underscored again and again in the Bible? Or do you just sit listlessly on the remote edges of the church and respond halfheartedly to its message?

Do God's promises inspire you, invigorate you, and strengthen you for the living of these days? Or do you forget those promises or ignore them, and consequently trudge sluggishly through life, with no zest, no fire, no heart, no excitement, no mission, and no purpose?

The folks at the American Journal of Preventive Medicine are right. Most all of us sit far too much. Dr. Moore is right as well. Spiritually, there is just far too much sitting on the sidelines and far too little active standing and participation!

By the way, Freddie Gage also was fond of saying that the average church was much like a football game, in that hundreds of people desperately in need of exercise often sit comfortably in the bleachers contentedly watching twenty-two individuals desperately in need of rest running up and down the field!

How are you spending your spiritual life? Are you using up your time just sitting by or are you actually standing up and joining in? Be careful! Too much of the former is deadly!

I leave you with this admonishment contained in the words from another beloved old hymn: “Stand up, stand up for Jesus!”

NEWS STORY SOURCE:
http://www.newser.com/story/231492/4-of-deaths-worldwide-due-to-sitting-for-too-long.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=foxnews&utm_campaign=rss
_health_syn

SEE ALSO:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160921095237.htm.

HYMN SOURCES:
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/340 and
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/870.

BOOK SOURCE: Moore, James W. Standing on the Promises or sitting on the Premises? Nashville, TN: Dimensions for Living, 1995. Dr. Moore is the author of over 40 best-selling books, most all of which are available for purchase online. You can read more about him and his publications here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Moore_(author).

RUNNING ON EMPTY!

10/2/2017

In his commentary on the Old Testament Book of Judges, famed Christian communicator J. Vernon McGee shares the following first-hand experience:

Right before World War II, the city of Pasadena was having its annual Rose Parade. The float that was entered by the Standard Oil Company was covered with American Beauty roses. It was a sight to behold. The theme of the parade was, “Be prepared.” Right in the middle of the parade the Standard Oil Company’s float ran out of gas. It stopped right where I was viewing the parade.

I couldn’t help but laugh. If there was one float that should not have run out of gas, it was that one. Standard Oil Company should have had plenty of gas! As I looked at the float, I saw a picture of many Christians today. They are beautiful, but they have no power in their lives. They have beauty and prestige, but no power.

How right Dr. McGee was! And how sad that he was right! For it need not be this way.

In some of His last words to His followers before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus Christ gave this promise (in the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 8):

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Koine (or Common) Greek term used here in the ancient texts for the word translated as “power” is the term “dynamai”. Our modern English derivative is the word “dynamite”. In the original language, the word meant “power to achieve something, specifically by applying divine abilities to the endeavor.”

What God is telling us is that there is much we can do in His power that we cannot do in our own strength. I can only imagine the chagrin of the Standard Oil Company employees when they found themselves with a large an impressive float that they simply could not budge one inch. And yet, with the application of a mere gallon of gasoline, it could easily have been moved forward for quite some distance!

In a similar way, the Lord has promised us His power. And yet, while this power is available, it is not automatic. The Bible (in the Apostle Paul’s First New Testament Letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 19) makes plain that we can indeed “quench” the Spirit of God in our lives. Ways in which this can be done include deliberate sinfulness and/or self-reliance in the lives of believers.

And so, my friend, before you set off on the busy parade route of life, make certain that you have followed the Biblical admonition to be filled with the Spirit (as the Apostle Paul says in his New Testament Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 18). For without God's empowerment, you’re just not likely to get very far in life!

STORY SOURCE: J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee (Nashville: Thomas Nelson; 1984).

ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AT:
https://books.google.com/books?=CeHUIpZMtQ0C&pg=PT1520&lpg=PT1520
&dq=standard+oil+float+runs+out+of+gas+J+Vernon+McGee&source=bl&ots=
qVge0zkgPt&sig=0p6AUfBOLdlyb5IS140PDuSrirQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUK
Ewiyvd6y6NDWAhWIiVQKHeTpDeMQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=standard%20oil%20float%20runs%20out%20of%20gas%20J%20Vernon%20McGee&f=
false.

SEE ALSO:

http://www.ttb.org/.

https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/thru-the-bible-with-j-vernon-mcgee/.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Vernon_McGee.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

www.biblehub.com/.