BE ENCOURAGED AND BE AN ENCOURAGER

There are a lot of good people serving in our churches that are struggling.  They are just ground down.  I want to be someone to encourage them--a lifter of leaders!

We need to be people who are putting courage into people, rather than sucking it out!  AND I WANT TO PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH!  All of us get weary in the work, but let us not grow weary of the work.  We may not always get it perfect, but we can surely make progress!  Remember, that the bottom line is about loving God and loving people.  Let us ask ourselves, “Am I applying 1 Cor.13 prayerfully and persistently?”  

Thanks for your efforts and may each of us embrace our responsibility to be a load lifter today--and especially of those in leadership who are on the front lines and under the hottest fire!  For our church volunteers, may we inspire rather than tire, so they don’t just retire. J  With that in mind, here is a neat link if you haven’t had a chance to read it.

Please let me know what you think of these ideas.

http://toddrhoades.com/how-to-lead-an-exhausted-team/

"Out in the highways and byways of life,

  Many are weary and sad;

Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,

  Making the sorrowing glad.

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,

Out of my life may Jesus shine;

Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,

  Make me a blessing to someone today."

Great song!  Do you know it?  That’s what I want to be.

Grace and Peace,

Dennis

HOW TO GET YOUR WEEK OFF TO A GREAT START

[This is a re-post from last year.  On a Monday morning, it may be a special encouragement to you!]


"It is good to praise Yahweh, to sing praise to Your name, Most High, to declare Your faithful love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night..." (Psalm 92:1, 2 HCSB)

Some will start their day by saying, "Good morning, Lord!" Others will say, "Good Lord--morning!" The former hear the clock alarm as the dinner bell summoning them to come and feast on heavenly manna, while the latter hear it as a church bell summoning them to trudge to a funeral. We can throw off the blankets, seize the day and secure our opportunity, or pull the covers over our heads, let the day grip us around the throat and shun the responsibility.

It's a choice.

We may not have a choice about all that happens to us as our week unfolds, but we do have a choice about the attitude we have as our week begins. Psalm 92 tells us how to get our week off to a great start.

LOOK UP AND WORSHIP!

The psalm begins,

"It is good to praise Yahweh, to sing praise to Your name, Most High, to declare Your faithful love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night, with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre." (Psalm 92:1-3 HCSB)

I can't think of a better way to begin the week! The alarm awakens us and our eyes open--look up! Transform your bedroom into a tabernacle and begin to praise the Lord. I would caution you that if others are asleep in the house, you might want to make melody in your heart, rather than sing in the shower! God knows our thoughts and delights when those first thoughts are directed toward Him.

It is hard to restrain the song. It wells up in our soul, and the next thing we know, it overflows from our lips. God is so good! He faithfully watched over us as we slept--our eyes closed, but His were ever open toward us. He will be faithful to lavish his love on us as the new day dawns. No circumstance we face can change that! Listen to Paul's song of praise:

"Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

As it is written:

Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, [hostile] powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Romans 8:35-39 HCSB)

Hallelujah!

If you want to get your week off to a great start look up and worship! Then, LOOK BACK AND WONDER!

"For You have made me rejoice, Lord, by what You have done; I will shout for joy
because of the works of Your hands.

How magnificent are Your works, Lord, how profound Your thoughts!

A stupid person does not know, a fool does not understand this: though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be eternally destroyed.

But You, Lord, are exalted forever.

For indeed, Lord, Your enemies--indeed, Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.

You have lifted up my horn like that of a wild ox; I have been anointed with oil.

My eyes look down on my enemies; my ears hear evildoers when they attack me." (Psalm 92:4-11 HCSB)

The inspired author cannot contain his gratitude over the goodness of God! As he looks back at what the Lord has done, he finds his vocabulary strained to encompass the majesty of God's glory and multiplicity of His grace. These verses call to mind the Messianic title Isaiah expressed, "Wonderful Counselor," when the psalmist shouts joyfully, "how profound Your thoughts!"

We can face the week ahead with delight rather than dread, if we will look back with discernment at the week that is past. As the old song exhorts:

"Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
Count your many blessings,
See what God hath done."

That isn't to say that we may not have faced gut-wrenching problems and heart-breaking pain. The psalmist acknowledges he has enemies that have attacked him and that he lives in world filled with evil. Life can be tough. Many weeks may be hard. What did you go through last week? I dare not minimize the difficulty as though it is trivial. But, the wonder is, whatever we went through--we got through last week! The Lord brought us through it.

You get your week off to a great start when you look up and worship, look back and wonder, plus LOOK AROUND AND WITNESS!

"The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare: 'The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.' " (Psalm 92:12-15 HCSB)

There is a permanency about the child of God. The palm and the cedar are evergreen; they are particularly impervious to the attack of the elements and insects. The righteous are that way. This is in contrast to the wicked, who "sprout like grass" (v.7) but are soon cut down.

This permanency is connected to the believer's planting--their roots are in the powerful presence of God. This gives stability in the storms that howl around us. Battered, buffeted, bent, but not broken because our roots have wrapped around solid rock--the Rock of Ages!

Our permanency and planting lead to our productivity--even in old age, still bearing fruit! I will confess that the older one gets, the greater the challenge is to rise from the bed. Joints creak and pop, bones are stiff and pain can plague every step across the bedroom floor as we stumble toward the bathroom. But, what recharges the batteries and rekindles the fire is the decision to declare, "The Lord is just; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

The secret to fruitfulness is abiding in Christ (read John 15). Today we can bear witness to Him and have an opportunity to make an eternal difference in somebody. That's exciting! Not all the difficulties of humanity, nor even the demons of hell can stop us, if we decide to do this.

Have a great week!

BOSTON: BOMBS AND BELLS

After the events of yesterday, the haunting words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow emerged from the shadows of my thoughts.  Longfellow had settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the greater Boston area, not far from the scene of the Marathon carnage. The Civil War was still raging, and the poet had received word that his son, serving in the Union Army, was gravely wounded.  His mind was plagued by the horror of explosions, shrapnel, smoke, screams and death—even as Americans faced yesterday.  Those morbid musings were invaded by the peals of church bells ringing for Christmas.  It was a time to celebrate, but it felt more like a time to cry.  How quickly the tide can turn!  You may have runners crossing a finish line to cheers and then a flash—fire and fury—and chaos reigns.  Families frantically search for missing loved ones, victims see missing limbs, and even one so young as eight will be missing from the table for the rest of his parents’ days as a casket and funeral will mark a young bud killed by an unexpected frost.

Where is God in this? 

Longfellow wondered the same thing.  Though the season is different, the lyrics penned in such close proximity to that Boston brutality ring just as clear.

“Christmas Bells”

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,

and mild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Indeed, God is alive and at work despite what we see about us, and in the end death will be swallowed up by life.

CAVE MEN AND WOMEN

I posted this exactly one year ago.  After the suicide of a fellow pastor, I re-post it in hope it might help someone who is in the darkness of a cave experience, perhaps contemplating this irreversible act. 

"Free me from prison so that I can praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because You deal generously with me." (Psalm 142:7 HCSB)

Perhaps you have begun reading this, expecting a story about knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, grunting as they kill a mammoth. Maybe you are anticipating a diatribe against evolution or an announcement that I have accepted Darwinism. You would be wrong on all counts. This is actually a story about you and me. All of us are cave men and cave women!

David was a cave man. The superscription, which sets the context, for understanding Psalm 142 reads, "A Davidic Maskil. When he was in the cave. A prayer." David was a man on the run, like some desperado hiding out in the wild West, holed up in a cave. That was how King Saul was treating him, although David had done no wrong. That was what made his experience almost unbearable. The worst part was that in the darkness of that dungeon-like dwelling, it felt at times as if God had abandoned him.

Haven't you been in that cave before? At some point in life, we all become cave men or cave women. You may be in such a black hole right now.

What do we do? Is there a word from God to light a torch of hope in this dark den? There most assuredly is!

There is a STRUGGLE TO ADMIT.

"I cry aloud to the Lord; I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him. Although my spirit is weak within me, You know my way. Along this path I travel they have hidden a trap for me." (Psalm 142:1-3 HCSB)

One of the reasons we find the Psalms so helpful is their blunt portrayal of raw human emotions. They enable us to identify with the heights of joy and depths of feeling in the breadth of life experience. Even, when David is hurt, disappointed--sometimes even angry--his lyrics give voice to our thoughts.

Sometimes we struggle to admit our struggles! We need to vent, but instead put on a happy face, and speak "Christianese" as we reply to the question, "How are you?" with, "I'm doing wonderful, dear brother! God is so good!" Of course He is...but sometimes haven't we wondered just a little? Can we have such thoughts? Dare we admit them? Surely that would be wrong.

Who are we fooling? We may fool others most of the time, we might succeed in fooling ourselves some of the time, but you can never fool God any of the time. If you are discouraged, disappointed, disillusioned and distressed, God knows, and you may as well admit it, for admitting it is a vital step for finding hope and getting help.

Where are you God? Don't you see? Don't you care? I can't handle this! Ever felt like that? David did when he was in a cave. Distress will drive us to seek God intensely. When the cave walls close in on us and we have nowhere to turn, we turn to the Lord--and that turns a bad circumstance to good.

There is not only a struggle to admit, but a SOLITUDE TO ACKNOWLEDGE.

"Look to the right and see: no one stands up for me; there is no refuge for me; no one cares about me." (Psalm 142:4 HCSB)

David may have really been all by himself at the moment that gave rise to this Psalm. His men may have been on patrol or foraging for food while he rested in the cave, alone with his troubling thoughts. It is also possible that there were others with him, but he didn't think they were "with him"--that is, he questioned whether he could count on them to stand by him when the chips were down. David had reason to doubt their loyalty. They were not men of great character. In fact, the Scripture describes these soldiers of fortune as, "desperate, in debt, or discontented" (1 Sam.22:2). They would later turn on him and discuss killing him (see 1 Sam.30:6). These were not the best of people, but the reality is that even the best of people cannot unequivocally be counted on, for they still have this problem--they are still people! We are not always on the top of our game. Even if our intent is to help, we are not omnipotent. Should we desire to stand by a friend, we are not omnipresent. The inadequacy of humanity means that sometimes we will be in a cave--all alone.

Nobody cares. What an awful place to be in! But, when all you have is God then you will discover that God is all you need! How often we hear the still, small whisper of God when we are in the quiet place of seclusion. Jesus frequently went away, alone, to pray and exhorts us, "But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret." (Matt.6:6) Admit your struggle and acknowledge your solitude.

Then we find a SHELTER TO ATTAIN.

"I cry to You, LORD; I say, 'You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.' Listen to my cry, for I am very weak. Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Free me from prison so that I can praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because You deal generously with me." (Psalm 142:5-7 HCSB)

The cave that David thought to be a prison actually had been transformed into a refuge. Ultimately, he found that irrespective of circumstances, he was not confined by them for God was his shelter. No matter that he had nothing to lean on or nobody to count on--God was his portion. He might as well have sung, "Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong."

He closes with an expression of confidence--a word of faith. God will send people to encourage him. God will supply provision to edify him. A light ignites to dispel the shadows that haunt the dark corners of the cave. The truth comes to drown out the sinister taunt of the demonic Serpent in the cave. It's better to be in a cave with God, than in a castle without Him! It's better to be in a prison in God's will, than in a palace outside His will.

THE SHEPHERD’S STANDARD: The Call of God

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV)

One commentator aptly notes concerning this verse:

A needful preface to what follows: for the office of a bishop or overseer in Paul’s day, attended as it was with hardship and often persecution, would not seem to the world generally a desirable and “good work.”^[1]

I will never forget walking into a homiletics class at Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute and on my first day being confronted by Dr. Kenneth Ridings with these arresting words, “If you can do anything other than preach, do it!  If you do not know God has called you, leave the class.”  There was a lot of nervous shifting in the seats and indeed some would not make it beyond the week.  Others would fall by the wayside and about half the number who started finished.  Years later, only a handful are still in ministry.

It is a good work, but nobody said it was an easy work!  For me, however, there really is nothing else I can do, or want to do—for it is a faithful God who has called me to this good work and I am honored to serve.

Should anyone be considering whether God is calling them and they have an idea that it is a job laden with perks and privileges, they are bound for disappointment.  That is not to say that being a pastor is unattended by blessings—there are many—but the reality is that there are also many burdens, buffetings and bruises. 

The critical matter is the call of God.  If this is thrust upon a man he has been invited into the highest of honors to shepherd the flock of God.

A PRAYER

Almighty God,

You never call us to rigor without providing resources.  Thank you that your grace is available for each demand placed upon Your servants.  This is a faithful word.  Your word always is and we rejoice that You have called us to faithfully proclaim it!  You have given us a good work and we want to do it well.  Fill us with gratitude for the opportunity to make an eternal difference through the church.

In the Name of the Living Word, Jesus,

Amen. 

---

^[1] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1 Ti 3:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

TIME FOR SCHOOL

(This is a re-post from last year.  Hope it moves you to get up and go to Sunday School tomorrow!)


"when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel. Gather the people-men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates-so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law." (Deuteronomy 31:11, 12 HCSB)

Three of the most dreaded words, a teenager ever hears, were just spoken to my son mere minutes ago: "Time for school!" I felt the same way. Now, of course, my perspective has changed. There is a recognition on my part of the necessity of education--the benefits that come to those who learn.

I suppose that's the way we feel sometimes when the clock goes off on Sunday mornings. Did you hear the story about a fellow who refused to get up, despite his wife's persistent pleas? "Get ready for church!" He rolled over and put the pillow over his head. She continued to yell up the steps, "Time for church!" Her voice was like fingernails raked across a chalkboard at that early hour. His grouchy response was, "I don't want to!" His wife said, "You have to!" He yelled, "Tell me one good reason!" She replied, "Because you are the pastor!"

Been there, done that! But, not often. Most of the time, I am eager to get to the house of God. I realize the blessings and the joys that come when I go to the house of the Lord. It is true that I have a job to do--the one day when some people think I have to work. But, I was going with eagerness to Sunday School before I became a pastor. It wasn't a job, but a joy. I had been born again--and I was like a baby craving for the milk of God's Word. His saving grace put a hunger in me that remains to this day. I must feed on the Word, and now I have matured to the place that I am privileged to feed others!

Sunday School, small groups, cell groups--whatever terminology you use and whenever or wherever you meet, this education in the Word of God is indispensable. One of the last things Moses did was to underscore this fact. When people know they are about to die, they dispense with the trivial and stress the essential. Listen up!

We need to ASSEMBLE. All Israel was to gather to be instructed in the Scripture. They gathered in the presence of the Lord. While it is true that God is everywhere, there is a particular expression of His presence that we can know when we meet with His people in anticipation of hearing from Him. Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20 HCSB) God reveals Himself in His Word. All ages were to gather for instruction. From the youngest child to the oldest member, we always need, and never outgrow, the instruction of Scripture. Fundamental truths are like seed sown in a youngster's heart, which will later bear fruit. It is cultivated as we grow, and there is constant weeding and pruning as long as we live. In later years, we may start to droop and need to be "staked up" with God's promises. What I have found is that in every season of life, there is a relevant message from the Bible. Even the foreigners were to come and learn. We might equate this to the evangelistic thrust of Sunday School and the need for invitation and assimilation of the lost into our Bible studies, prayerfully trusting the Holy Spirit to use the powerful Gospel to dispel spiritual darkness and bring conviction of sin.

We must be ATTENTIVE. Moses told the Jews to listen and learn. One may be physically present in the church building and yet be mentally "out to lunch." Listening is not an easy task. Learning is not automatic. It requires effort. There is the additional barrier in that our sinful hearts are resistant to the truth, our exposure to the world's deception clouds our thinking and Satan is like an evil bird ready to swoop in and devour the seed before it can germinate. So, we are trying to hear commands from the Captain of our Salvation, while surrounded by "the fog of war." Jesus exhorted us, "Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him." (Luke 8:18 HCSB) Be prayerful, asking God to open your eyes, and be prepared by expecting the Holy Spirit to speak. Have your Bible open, pen and paper in hand, with an open mind and heart. It should be added that the teacher and preacher have a responsibility in this also. We must be engaging and enthusiastic to be effective. If the communicator isn't excited about his or her subject, then we can hardly expect the audience to be. Moses prayed what every teacher needs to seek, "Let my teaching fall like rain and my word settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants." (Deuteronomy 32:2 HCSB)

We respond with AWE. Moses said the result of hearing the Word of God would be to learn to fear the Lord. This has to do with inward transformation and is a matter of attitude. The more we hear God's Word, the closer we are drawn to Him and in the light of His holiness we see the depth of our sinfulness. We are gripped by the majesty of God's nature, are captivated by the wonder of His person and are brought to brokenness before Him. If we do not learn to fear the Lord, then we may rest assured we have not encountered Him in the Word.

We respond with ACTION. This is the true test. We are not mere hearers of the Word, but become doers of it. Moses warned, "be careful to follow all the words of this law." This means that true inward transformation has occurred, for it yields outward application. You have not learned to drive by simply studying a driver's education manual, as important as that is. You have learned to drive when you can put that knowledge to work by getting behind the wheel and operating the vehicle. Some think that to have a head full of Bible facts is the sum total of Christianity (and we do want heads full of truth). It is hearts full of love and hands full of righteous deeds that are the product of real learning.

So, get ready teacher. Be prepared student. Study preacher! Plan to attend church member. In a few hours, the alarm will signal, "Time for school!"

THE BIG DECISION

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Choose life so that you and your descendants may live... (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Every day, and throughout each day, we make a myriad of decisions.  Some of these are of small importance and a few of great significance—decisions that are trivial, such as what will I eat for lunch and what color shirt will I wear; decisions that are monumental—what career path will I choose and whom shall I marry. 

Ultimately, there is a big decision.  It involves blessing or cursing.  The implications issue in life or death. What will our decision be?

That is the choice God presented to Israel.  They should have known He meant business; they had seen their parents die in the desert for their foolish disobedience.  God allows these spiritual shipwrecks to remain visible to us on our journey that we would not crash upon the reef of unbelief and sink in the sea of sin.  God doesn't fool around.  But, Israel did.

The people of God chose a curse instead of a blessing.  While there have been periods of obedience to God's principles that have brought down showers of blessing on the Jews, their history is filled with disobedience and the resulting horrors that have come to the nation.  We reap what we sow.

America's fate will be no different.  This good land God has given us—the privileges we have enjoyed—have been due to His grace and the choice of our founders to establish our country on the truths of Scripture.  No nation has known such Divine favor as the United States.  We became, in rather short order, the most powerful and prosperous people ever to walk this planet.  So God promised and we have experienced.

Now, that is changing.  There is a certain grim foreboding that we feel as we see what looms in the future.  A storm is about to break.  We have watched the dark clouds gathering.  We have seen intermittent flashes of lightning and heard occasional distant rumbles of thunder.  Faithful preachers of the Word of God have been sounding a warning for decades, like the prophets of old—and like those prophets, their warnings are mocked and their pleas ignored.

Blessing or cursing; life or death?  God—this God so patient, merciful and kind—longs for us to choose life!  He finds no pleasure in bringing down wrath.  It does not have to be.  We can repent and return to God!  If we do, then once more America will be crowned with good from sea to shining sea.  But, if we don't seek Him urgently, out of those seas, tsunamis of terror are going to flood the land.  It's our decision.

THE SHEPHERD’S STANDARD: The Man of God

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV)

The office of elder in the church is reserved for a God-called man.  God has established roles and responsibilities for human institutions—and some of these are gender specific.  Men are to be leaders in their family and among God’s flock.

It must be stated emphatically that this has nothing to do with one sex being superior to the other—that is a misguided notion of subordination.  The Spirit is subject to the Father and the Son and the Son is eternally submissive to the Father.  Yet, each Person of the Godhead is fully divine and equal in their standing, although having a different role and being a distinct Person.  There is perfect harmony and equality.

Note these verses:

Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.  ‎For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.  ‎ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.  ‎For “He has put all things under His feet.”  But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.  Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.  (1 Cor.15:24-28)

Women may serve in many capacities in the church—and thankfully so many do!  As they serve in submission to their husbands and/or elders their gifts are incredibly useful in building up and extending the Kingdom.

We are equal, as men and women, but different.  That is by God’s design and extends to the Garden of Eden—before the fall.  However, since the fall and because of the curse of sin, the battle between the sexes still exists.  Yet, Christ came to redeem us from the curse and part of that extends to redeeming sexuality.  It is vital that the church portray a redeemed community and proper exercise of authority is a facet of that.

Men are hard-wired to the side of objective thinking, as a general rule; likewise, women are instinctively more subjective in their thoughts and feelings.  Both aspects are essential, yet better suited for particular roles, both in the home and in the church.  Because of this, men are better fitted to teach Scripture authoritatively and guard doctrine against heresy.  This is crucial for the church and therefore the elders who are to insure this are to be holy men of God.

Just before Paul gave these qualifications for the pastors and deacons in chapter three, he wrote the following words and this helps us understand the context,

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.  ‎And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.  ‎For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  ‎And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.  Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.  (1 Timothy 2:11-15)

I know such thinking is not politically correct, but our aim is to be theologically correct.   The purpose of this brief post is not to discuss all the dimensions of this complex and, in the present day, controversial nature of gender roles.  My heart is to charge men—and young men in particular—to be open to the call of God and if the Lord is dealing with them about Gospel ministry to devote their lives to His church.

A PRAYER

Lord, You are Sovereign over the Church.  You appointed Your Son as Head, and the Church is His Bride.  May we submit to the Spirit’s order for how the church is to be led as given in the Word.  Thrust out men into the fields that are ripe and ready for harvest.  Oh, Lord of the Harvest, the laborers are few!  Give us men of God.  Father, make me a holy man of God.  Thank you for the inexpressible privilege of serving You and Your flock.  In the name of the Your Son, Jesus, Amen.

ARE YOU READY FOR WORSHIP?

[I am re-posting this article from last year.  I believe it is as TIMELY for today as it was then.  Read it and see!]

You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings, and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.  You will eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.  (Deuteronomy 12:6-7)

The psalmist said, "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”  But, he never had to face a "time-change Sunday"!  While it is a wonderful thing on the first night of Daylight Savings Time to gain that extra hour of daylight, it is tough to lose the hour of sleep the night before.

Will you be on time?  Will you turn in early, so you show up gladly rather than grouchy?  It is important.

The commands given to Israel underscore this.  At the center of their camp was the tabernacle. Wherever they traveled in their pilgrimage, they pitched their tents around the house of God.  As Moses instructed them in anticipation of entering the Promised Land, where a temple would be built, he reminded them that worship would still be at the core of their experience.  They were being readied to cross into Canaan, and that demanded they be ready for worship.  Will we be ready for worship?

There are several requirements if we are to be ready.  We must go to the place of worship.  We must know the pattern of worship.  We must show the preparation for worship.  We must bestow the provision through worship.

WE MUST GO TO THE PLACE OF WORSHIP (Deuteronomy 12:1-14). You can worship God anywhere. You should. But, most often you won't. I hear that excuse sometimes for why people don't attend worship. They say, "When I'm in nature, I feel so much closer to God." Really? How much time do you spend focusing on the Father while fishing? How much singing to the Lord do you do while splashing in the lake? While you are hunting is heaven on your mind? The creation ought to inspire us with awe and is meant to direct us to the Creator. Our problem is that our minds, darkened by sin, begin to worship the creation itself (see Romans 1:18-25). This is why Moses forbids the Jews from going out to the hills, and under the stars, then constructing their own altars. If we spend time with the saints at the house of God engaged in corporate worship, it affords the needful corrective to our wandering hearts which tend to devise a god of our own imagination instead of the God of revelation. Father God may give way to Mother Nature, if we aren't cautious. The first commandment tells us to have no other God.

WE MUST KNOW THE PATTERN OF WORSHIP (Deuteronomy 12:15-13:18).  You can't worship God anyway you want.  The second commandment prohibits images in worship—not just the correct Person to worship, but the correct pattern is important.  Particularly note 12:30, "Do not inquire about their gods, asking, 'How did these nations worship their gods? I'll do the same.'"  God said, "You must not do the same to the LORD your God..." (v.31).  Jesus taught us that the only acceptable worship is in spirit and truth (see John 4:23-24).  Let us bring that kind of worship to God—nothing superficial, no sham—not ritual, but reality.  The congregation has the responsibility to safeguard that only the truth of God is proclaimed.  In Israel, false prophets were dealt with severely (13:1-5).  It isn't a matter of one man's opinion—one can be mistaken or just have an ax to grind—but a body of believers led of the Spirit can insure truth is spoken in worship.

WE MUST SHOW THE PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP (Deuteronomy 14:1-21).  The dietary restrictions on the Jews doubtless had health reasons, but those were secondary to the main purpose—to remind them that they were to be different from the pagans.  They belonged to the Lord—and that extended to every dimension of life—from outward expression (v.1-2) to inward digestion!  They were not to be governed by their passions but God's precepts.   To eat to live is one thing, to live to eat another.  Only a people whose hands were clean could lift them to God in praise.  Only those whose lips were pure could open them in prayer.  One must not come to a holy God in worship carelessly, casually—but reverently.  It is when we are spiritually prepared for worship that we encounter God in powerful ways.  You cannot ignore Him all week, doing as you desire, and then flip a switch and expect something transformative on Sunday.  Are you ready for worship?  By all means adjust your clock, but also adjust your soul—orient it to God in submission.

WE MUST BESTOW THE PROVISION THROUGH WORSHIP (Deuteronomy 14:22-15:23).  Have you ever heard someone say, "I didn't get anything out of worship today."  But a better perspective would be, "What can I give today?"  I have found that the best way to receive a blessing is to be one.

This has to do with liberty (15:1-3; 12-18).  God wants to set the captives free.  He might well use you to proclaim that liberty.

This has to do with generosity (14:22-29; 15:4-11).  Whether providing for those in ministry or for those in poverty—a liberal hand is an indicator of a loving heart.

This has to do with priority (15:19-23).  God demanded the first and the finest.  Worship that is content to give God the leftovers of our time, treasure and talent is a pious fraud.

So, are you ready for worship?  The clock is ticking.  Don't keep God waiting!

THE SHEPHERD’S STANDARD

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV)

Occasionally some young man will approach me and say, “I believe the Lord is calling me into the ministry.”  Why does he think that?  How does he know?  For that matter, how can I be sure God has called me?  I don’t want this to be a case of the blind leading the blind!

Periodically, it is good to return to the Word of God and examine the standard God has set for those who would shepherd His flock.  This is serious business for the sheep are His—and bought at such a high price—the blood of His dear Son!

Paul, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 sets forth the shepherd’s standard.  Even today, as I read them, I am challenged by these impeccable qualities and called to elevate my lifestyle—to see if I have let any matter slip and take corrective action.

These are not optional, but essential qualities.  Though there may be some times of struggle and shortcoming to fully exhibit them all, these characteristics must mark the pastor’s lifestyle.

Paul begins with, “This is a faithful saying.”  Five times Paul uses this expression in the Pastoral Epistles to highlight a particular truth.  All truth is, of course, important, but these matters seem to be underscored by the Apostle in terms of their strategic significance to the church.  In this case, the priority of having a man of sterling character to mount the pulpit each Lord’s Day is given emphasis.  If the man who leads is not a man of God, then the church is in trouble!

A PRAYER

Lord, You are my Shepherd—and in Your Son, we see the Perfect expression of the Shepherd—and now by Your Spirit generate those qualities in me and in all Your pastors as we look intently into the mirror of Your Word.  At times I struggle to attain them in the measure You demand.  I repent and seek Your grace to keep my vision clear and my steps steady in this course You have established for men of God.  In the name of the Good Shepherd, Amen.

WHAT IS THE GREAT CONTROVERSY?

I opened my mailbox recently to find a paperback stuffed inside with the title, “The Great Controversy” and this teaser question on the cover, “How Will It End?”  Perhaps you received a copy, or might soon.

This is a mass-mailing of the Seventh-day Adventists.  The book was authored by E. G. White—Ellen G. White—their prophetess.  If the writing style seems antiquated, it is because she wrote the book about the time of the Civil War.

It came out of a “vision” she had.  Although the SDA Church does not place it on the same level of inspiration as Scripture in their statements, in practical effect they treat it and her other writings virtually so—and they are woven into their theology.

Had Ellen White read Galatians instead of writing visions it would have been more helpful.  She and others in the SDA movement follow the same error Paul refuted—mixing law and grace—and thus promoting a different Gospel.  That is not something to take lightly.

Here is what Paul said, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”(Galatians 1:6–9)

If White is the “mother” of this movement, William Miller is the “father.”  Miller was a Baptist pastor who became convinced that he knew the relative date for Christ’s return.  He said, “My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844."  It didn’t happen, so he recalculated and came up with October 22, 1844—and once more his prophecy proved false.  Had he been living under the Old Testament law which Adventists advocate so strongly, the head of their movement would have been stoned to death for the false prophecy!

Even White, in the aforementioned book tried to make excuses and stated, “William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore.  Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct interpretation…” (Great Controversy, p.185).  The name Adventists is drawn from this prime focus of the movement on the end time events—which they misinterpret still.

The explanation for what happened on that date which SDA promotes is that Christ rather than return to earth, entered into the Heavenly Sanctuary to carry out, “an investigative judgment” to determine who is truly saved.  Only in keeping the law—dietary regulations, Sabbath observance, etc.—will one become fit for heaven, along with trusting in Christ.  Failure to do so may mean our names are blotted out of God’s Book.

Other errors they promote are:

1)      Satan has a part in bearing our sins.

2)      When people die, the soul sleeps until the Judgment Day—they are in a state of unconsciousness until the resurrection.

3)      Those judged to be wicked will be annihilated—they do not suffer torment forever in hell.

4)      Failure to keep the Sabbath and choosing to worship on Sunday is in the end to take the Mark of the Beast.

All of these false teachings are easily corrected by the Scripture.

Harold J. Berry wrote this, “Because of their deviation from the Scriptures, the Seventh-day Adventists cannot be called evangelicals.  This does not mean that every person in the Seventh-day Adventist movement is unsaved.  Any person who trusts Christ alone for salvation has eternal life, regardless of his religious affiliation.  However, it is regrettable that most of those in this movement are blind to the Galatianism which their church teaches and which has never been renounced by its leaders.” (Examining the Cults, pp.111-112).

I wanted to warn you, lest you be troubled by SDA teaching.

AMEN!

“He who testifies about these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.”  (Revelation 22:20-21 HCSB)

We punctuate our prayers with it.  When the congregation says it during the sermon, it is like saying “Sic ‘em!” to a bulldog, and I preach all the more fervently.  It is a word that signifies we have understood the message and now promise to apply the truth.  It is the word, “Amen!”  Literally it means, “so be it,” and it is how God concludes His Word, and so, I can think of no more fitting way to end these devotionals.

Amen!  God has revealed His will for us, and now we are to submit to it moment by moment, day by day.  Some day, the “Amen” of consummation will be pronounced—and all we read in this final section of Revelation will occur—God will make it so.

We got on board the Bible bus in January with creation and now after a year’s journey through the Bible, in chronological sequence, arrive at the new creation.  The original heavens and earth were made, “Good,” but then marred by sin.  Yet, the promise is of the reverse of the curse, and the fashioning of new heavens and earth.  Amen!

I heard of a fellow who overslept, and came rushing into worship service near the conclusion, asking the usher, “Is the sermon done?”  The wise old usher replied, “No—it’s got to be done.”  We aren’t done with what we have learned this year until we are done living it out day by day—and that is a lifetime.

Maybe you have never read through the Bible before, and this has been your inaugural trip.  Don’t let it be your last!  I have read through the Bible many times, and never fail to profit from it, and discover fresh insight, as well as continually being challenged to a new level of faith and obedience.

Perhaps you have read your Bible through several times, but have not read it chronologically.  I had never done that, and I must say it gave a new perspective that was helpful.

Some of you tried, and didn’t quite get it all read, but wouldn’t you agree that the portions you did process have been beneficial to your walk with God?  I commend you for the effort.  Try again!  Other have done it; you can too.

For six days a week, fifty two weeks straight, I have spent hours each day getting out these daily devotionals.  I will not say that has been easy—in fact, some days it was exhausting, but I found that each time I came to the spring, there was always abundant water to draw from.  To God be the glory!

I would like to thank my wife and family also.  Even on vacation, “days off” or holidays, they have been good to allow me the time to sit at my computer and churn out these messages.  Thanks for your patience!

I am also grateful to our church family for I am sure there were some areas of ministry that might not have gotten as thorough attention as they deserved, while I focused on this effort.  It is my prayer that you reaped spiritual benefit from these truths, and that even though I might not have spent as much time with you personally, that each day I came to you through this medium with a word to enrich you.

Then, I should say a special word of thanks to my Administrative Assistant Sharon Brown.  Along with occasional help from other church secretaries, Debbie Rogers and Monica Young—whom I appreciate also—Sharon has sent these out to you via our church email system as regularly as I have prepared them, plus provided some paper copies for those without email.  So give them thanks, and I want Sharon and the others to know that I couldn’t have done it without you!  They deserve a pat on the back—so please commend them if you have benefited from this.

Let me add appreciation to the Sunday School teachers who moved out of their comfort zone to lead their class in a follow-up discussion on the Scripture reading for the week.  This required you to prepare for teaching every day as you read through the Scripture and then to direct your class on Sunday morning.  Your cooperative spirit and commitment has not gone unnoticed!

Although this will be the last installment in this series, I trust that in other ways and times, I will share God’s Word with you—like tomorrow’s sermon for example!  Plan on being there!

I plan to be—but, the reality is I might not be.  I am not trying to be morbid, but the reality is that sooner or later the last words I share with you will be my final words to you.  I am looking for Jesus to come—praying it’s soon!  If He delays, it is only a matter of time before I go to meet Him when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and into the light of eternity.

So, what better way to conclude these devotional meditations than the way the Bible does?  These last chapters set before us the end of all of our journeys—a destination eternally to the horror of hell or the happiness of heaven.  Each one reading these words will spend the endless ages in the lake of fire or the city of God.  Our company will be sinners and fallen angels or saints and holy angels.  We will never know the presence of God or bask in His presence forever.  Every human who has ever lived will be in a place of torment without even a drop of water to soothe us or in a place of triumph where a crystal clear river flows from the throne of God and satisfies us fully.  In the end, we will be in an environment of weeping or where God wipes away all tears and crying is no more.  Howls of anguish or hallelujahs of adoration will fill the air.

How is it with your soul?  Have your met Jesus personally?  Is the grace of the Lord Jesus with you?  Can you look forward to seeing Jesus?

I pray that we all have heard the Gospel invitation that I have given repeatedly this years, as I have for thirty five years of ministry, and which I share once again.  “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’  Anyone who hears should say, ‘Come! ‘ And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.”

Take it. Drink it.  As Jesus offered it to a sinful woman at Jacob’s well, so He offers living water to all sinners.  The invitation is to you: “Come!”

Amen?

Amen!

REVIVAL AND REMOVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

“As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief, for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief.’

For this reason her plagues will come in one day —death and grief and famine.  She will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”  (Revelation 18:7-8 HCSB)

The blood of kings flows in my veins. 

My mother wanted me to trace the Thurman ancestry, which I did, and put it together in a book as a present for my father and mother for Christmas.  How surprised I was to find where the roots of that tree would take me! 

Rhoda Allen was my great, great grandmother—my grandfather, Paul Thurman’s grandmother.  Her line runs back to England and to the first king I encountered in my bloodline, Henry III, King of England—my 20^th great grandfather.  Of course, those royal families intermarried and were intertwined, so further digging has unearthed these roots: King Louis VI of France, 24^th great grandfather; Erik the Victorious, 29^th great grandfather and King of Sweden; 30^th great grandfathers King Heinrich of Germany, and Prince Robert (Rollo the Viking), and more. 

I must also admit there are a number of rogues as well as royals—and sometimes those are one and the same!  Some of the tree roots are pretty rotten.  When I teased my wife concerning her privilege to be married to royalty, she did not take it well.  If I keep on she will crown me—with an iron skillet on the side of the head!

This is a curiosity—a conversation piece at family gatherings—but of no enduring significance.  There is another family connection, however, that is of utmost importance—I am connected by the Blood to the King of kings—Jesus Christ!  I am an heir to His kingdom and so are you if you have had a new birth into the family of God.  Whereas, the kingdoms of this world all crumble, swept away into the dustbin of time, the rulers dead and buried—now mere footnotes in history’s pages—the Kingdom of God is eternal, unshakeable and available to all who by faith will trust in the blood of Jesus.  King Jesus is the Only King—conqueror of death, hell and the grave!  He lives!

The clash and contrast between these two kingdoms is a prominent thread running through Revelation, as it is throughout the Word of God.  Like the Euphrates River that cut a channel in Eden (Gen.2:10-14), the cradle of civilization, where Babel would be built (Gen.11:1-9), the river flows until we find it in Revelation, and Babylon is rebuilt (Rev.16:12-16).  Even as ancient Babel was judged by God, so the restored Babylon will by utterly ruined in God’s wrath.

No wonder, the plea is made,

“Then I heard another voice from heaven:

Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues.” (Rev.18:4)

The world system is going to be judged.  Those who align themselves with it and take the mark of the Beast for temporary gain will experience eternal loss.  Those who separate from it may suffer martyrdom but they will be ushered through gates of splendor into the City of God.

This meant something to the readers John was addressing in the first century.  Persecution had come to the church and was growing.  It was seated in Rome, and the empire sought to eradicate Christianity; the fires would only intensify.  We must never forget that in interpreting a text, we must consider the context.  We cannot make a proper application in our day without a correct interpretation of what it meant in the day it was written.

So, Revelation was a great encouragement to suffering saints.  Ultimately, the Kingdom of God prevails.  Rome seemed invincible in that era, but the Holy Spirit reminded those readers through John’s writing that the kingdoms of this world would perish.  Rome had risen, but would fall.  How precious that must have been to the old, battle-scarred soldier, John, as he was isolated on Patmos—an exile because of his faith in Christ.  Caesar would not get the last word. It was also an evangelistic appeal to seeking sinners that repentance means taking up the cross, but it is the way of the cross that leads to glory.

That world empire is not finally and fully destroyed by the way.  Babylon lurks in the shadows—an empire fragmented, but one that will someday, and I think soon, be restored.  It appears these world powers are consolidating even now—rapidly advancing to a global religious and economic system, such as John describes in Revelation 13-18.  Apart from its impending revival as a world empire, the spirit of the world system as a principle of demonic evil has been present throughout the centuries and permeates our contemporary climate.

Moses faced it and had to make a choice,

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.  For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.  By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible.”  (Heb.11:24-27)

Four courageous young men had to make a choice in ancient Babylon and Persia.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow to imperial power, even if it meant being cast into a blazing furnace.  Daniel would not cease praying to God, even if it meant being thrown into a pit of ravenous lions.  You can read about it in Daniel 3 and 6.

It is the choice that John the Baptist, Stephen, Peter and Paul all made.  It has been the bloody trail that marks the path of the saints across the centuries.  Sometimes the pressure is subtle and sometimes the persecution is overt—but the call of God remains, “Come out!  Do not share in Babylon’s sins, lest you share her fate.”

It is an intoxicating liquor.  “For all the nations have drunk the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath. The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury.” (Rev.18:3)

John shared the spiritual principle before he wrote the literal prophecy.  Here is what we warned,

“Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.  For everything that belongs to the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle — is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

That is the choice before us now.

Following the rapture of the church, those who enter the time of tribulation will face the same choice.  It will not be an easy one—really, it never has been.

The Roman Empire will be restored in a future day.  It will be a United States of Europe, if you will.  The Antichrist will lead the global government and harness military and monetary power to dominate.  This is economic Babylon and its destruction is portrayed in Revelation Eighteen.  The False Prophet will lead the worldwide religion and use miracles and media to promote the worship of the Beast.  This is ecclesiastical Babylon and its destruction is pictured in Revelation Seventeen.  It is interesting to note that the Antichrist and his government ride religion for all its worth—and then when finished with it, turns on it and destroys it.  The Great Whore of Babel’s mystery religion is used to seduce the world, and when she no longer serves the Antichrist’s purposes, she is thrown away like the trash she always was.

There is a question that remains.  I have used Rome and Babylon interchangeably, for they are one and the same spiritually.  The Babylonian mystery religion eventually ran to Rome and flourished there—then integrated into Roman Catholicism with its pagan symbols and rituals that persist to this day and will end in the apostate church of the last days.  Rome and Babylon are one.  But, this is the question: Will the Antichrist and his revived Roman Empire actually rule from the city of Rome, or will Babylon be literally rebuilt?  Prophetic scholars still debate it.  I tend to lean more toward the actual city of Babylon being restored and becoming the capital of the Antichrist in the Middle East.

The Europeans are already there.  The location of ancient Babylon is in modern day Iraq.  The Allied forces of the West, predominately from the United States, are in Iraq now—and despite promises to pull out, the kinds of massive facilities that have been constructed and strategic significance of that area make it likely troops will remain.  They might draw down to only special forces units, but that could be beefed-up quickly.

I will not be dogmatic that Babylon will be rebuilt on that piece of real estate.  It may be only a symbolic name for Rome.  Time will tell.  My hope for you is that you are watching it from heaven.  That is the vantage point you want as these events unfold.  This world will be a veritable hell, a living nightmare, the epic disaster movie that isn’t just on a reel but is real.  You don’t want to be here.  “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues.” (Rev.18:4)  You don’t have to be here.  If left behind, I doubt you will be able to perceive what is happening.  Why take the risk?  Even if, as some believe, you might know, why would you think you would follow Christ then when you will not now?  Some—I think those who have never heard—will follow Him, but it leads to a choice to die for Christ and reject the pleasures of sin for a season.

“Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth — to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7He spoke with a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’

A second angel followed, saying: ‘It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.’

And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.  This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.’

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write: The dead who die in the Lord from now on are blessed.’

‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!’”  (Rev.14:6-13)

Today is the day of salvation.  The door stands open.  The Spirit pleads, “Come!”