Seeking the Mind of Christ

Naughty Newt Wins South Carolina

2012-01-27T20:16:00.002-05:00

"Naughty Newt." In a recent article, that's the name Doug Giles used of the former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. He was commenting on the fact that his admitted marital infractions were old news - fifteen years old to be precise. He also made comment that the rant by wife number two just before the South Carolina Primary (That Newt won handily, by the way)appeared to be more politically timed than because of some fresh passion for morality. It was her, after all, who was Newt's partner in sin as he cheated on wife number one as she lay in a hospital bed. Obviously, this second wife was not a paragon of moral virtue any more than Newt was.

But that's not the point of my article. Neither is it the fact that moral indiscretion is viewed as a campaign killer for a Republican, but no big deal for a Democrat. The point I want to examine is this: Does character matter when picking a leader? And then I want to ask: If it does, how can we vote for those with great character flaws?

Before I start, however, let me state my bias. I am an Evangelical Christian. A candidate's position on the moral issues ranks at the top of my consideration. I will always vote for the candidate that is the strongest pro-life and pro-family candidate. That's why I could not bring myself to vote for President Obama even though he seems to be a nice man with a solid marriage and a good family. His radical promotion of abortion and the homosexual agenda precludes me from ever voting for him.

Does that mean I would support Newt? Not necessarily - I'm not sure he is the one most committed to family and moral issues - and nothing I say here should be viewed as an endorsement. I do want people to be fair in how they evaluate him and all the candidates, however.

But it does beg the question: How can evangelicals who condemned Bill Clinton's dithering support Newt? The answer is Newt's repentance. I remember listening to a Focus on the Family radio broadcast as Dr. James Dobson interviewed Newt. Newt freely admitted his sin, freely admitted he had been a scallywag; but he also stated that he had now had a religious conversion, and he humbly begged for forgiveness.

Was it genuine, or just for political convenience? Only God can see inside a heart. But the Scriptures are clear. We are to forgive and restore those who have fallen, being aware how easy it is for any of us to fall. The Scriptures are also clear on what takes place after a person comes to Christ for forgiveness. Second Corinthians 5:17 says,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new."

If Newt was indeed born-again, and we have to take him at his word, the old sins are erased.

That is why the drunk driving charges against George W. Bush shouldn't have mattered to his election. That he would drive drunk was certainly foolish and irresponsible - not the qualities we would want in a President; but they took place when he was much younger and much more foolish, and they took place before he came to faith in Jesus Christ. They were a part of his past, but we all have some skeletons in our closet. And as Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

What kind of moral character does the man have now? That is the question to ask. Can we trust his word? Does he live by what he proclaims? Rick Santorum, for instance, has demonstrated a solid family life and a solid stand on the family issues for decades. That is why a group of 150 evangelical leaders who met in Texas earlier this month chose Santorum as the candidate that best reflected their views. He was their preferred candidate both for his impeccable lifestyles and for his stands on the moral issues.

So, no, old sins don't necessarily disqualify a candidate. Yet, moral character does matter greatly. How can we expect a candidate to make a vow to support and uphold the Constitution when he has violated his sacred vow to love, honor, and cherish his wife till death do them part? How can we support a candidate that switches positions as often as the political winds switch? These are not unrelated issues. Character does matter.

When is it OK to Kill a Baby?

2012-01-19T13:34:00.002-05:00

On January 22nd, our country commemorates the 39th anniversary of the infamous Roe v Wade decision, the case in which the Supreme Court legalized abortion. It should be a time of reflection for our nation. To help you reflect, let me ask a question. Ponder this for awhile: When is it OK to kill a baby? Can you kill a baby from six minutes to six months old? How about six minutes before birth? How about the third month of pregnancy? Is there a moral difference? When is it OK to kill a baby?

What about the national media attention a couple of years back over the student at Lincoln Memorial University who delivered a baby, ripped the umbilical cord off, wrapped the baby in a sweatshirt, and threw the baby into the trash? She went to jail. Had she aborted that same baby the moments before birth, she would have been within the law. Does this make any sense? Is there really a moral difference? When is it ever OK to kill a baby?

Does it matter when human life begins? All the genetic information we possess existed at the moment of conception. When our mother's egg and our father's sperm united, our body size, hair color, eye color, basic intellect, and personality were all laid out.

A baby's brain begins functioning enough to generate measurable brain waves at 40 days. The baby appears to smile as early as 12 weeks. At 22 days, the baby's heart begins to beat. When is it OK to kill that baby? What would you say?

A number of years ago, a group of 60 prominent physicians, which included former presidents of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American College of Neurology, met in Cambridge, MA and presented a declaration that said,

"The fetus is not a sub-human species . . . the embryo is alive, human, and unique in the special environmental support required for that stage of human development."

When is it OK to kill a baby?

Addressing God, Psalm 139:13-15 claims,

"You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth."

God personally forms every child in the womb. We are all a product of His handiwork. We each bear the image of our maker. When is it OK to kill that baby?

Legally America has determined that babies can be killed in the womb at any age up to the moment of birth. Innocent babies, some old enough to leave the womb, are killed at the rate of 3,000 per day. That's around 1.2 million babies a year. Since Roe v Wade, some 54 million babies have been killed in the womb. That equals the number of people that populate California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington combined. That is the scope of the American Holocaust. Under the banner of Pro-Choice, we have chosen death.

But shouldn't we choose life? In Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses set forth this choice,

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."

America, choose life.

What Child is This?

2011-12-22T16:25:00.003-05:00

In our church, we often sing a Christmas Carol written by William C. Dix entitled, "What Child is This?" It's nice to sing, and it has a familiar tune written to the old English folksong, Greensleeves. But more than being simply a nice song, it asks an important question.

"What Child is this, who laid to rest, on Mary's lap was sleeping? Who angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherd's watch are keeping."

What a good question. What child is this? Who is this child born 2,000 years ago in an obscure village in a forgotten part of the world? Who is this baby whose birth we celebrate each year with parties and gifts and Christmas trees, who almost gets lost in the tinsel and wrapping paper? That might be the greatest question of the ages.

But even in Jesus day, the multitudes got it wrong. In Luke 9:18, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" The answer given in the next verse was, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." They knew that Jesus was someone special, but they didn't have a clue who He really was.

Then, Jesus asked His closest disciples, His apostles, in Luke 9:20, "But who do you say that I am?" Their answer was right on. Peter, answering on behalf of them all, said, "The Christ of God."

Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah. Wrapped up in this title are all the meanings from Scripture. Peter is saying You are the One we've been waiting for. You are the One the prophets have proclaimed. You are the One God anointed to bring salvation. Peter got it right, while the multitudes got it wrong.

The multitudes still get it wrong. They say all kinds of things about Jesus, but few get it right. some call Him just a good teacher, but good teachers don't claim to be God. Others call Him just a good moral example, but good examples don't hang around prostitutes and sinners, and they don't get executed as a common criminal. Some call Him a madman, but madmen don't speak with the penetrating clarity of the Sermon on the Mount. Others call Him a fake, but people don't die for a lie. Some call Him a phantom, but phantoms don;t have flesh to crucify or blood to spill. Some call Him a myth, but we don't set our calendars by a myth. This is 2011 A.D. - anno domini in Latin - translated the year of our Lord. All those answers are wrong, even though all of Scripture gives us the correct answer.

Even at Christmas time, if the masses give any thought at all to the reason for the season, they think only of a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying on a manger with angels, shepherds, and wise men gathered around. The un-churched can't be blamed too much for this. All they ever see in the midst of the Santa Clauses at every mall is an occasional nativity scene set up in front of a church or somebody's house. And the baby Jesus is forever a baby, forever a cute little cherub that lies so peacefully.

But to end the story there is a colossal tragedy, because a baby Jesus could do nothing for anyone. Not like an adult Jesus can. So to leave Jesus in the manger is a greater tragedy, say, than to leave George Washington in a crib, and never have him lead our country to independence from Britain. Or to leave Abraham Lincoln in the cradle, and never have him sign the emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.

Leaving Jesus in the manger is infinitely worse. We celebrate Christmas precisely because Jesus grew up, proved He was the Son of God by His miracles and teaching, and precisely because He went to the cross as the sacrifice for our sins. Had He remained in the manger, we would remain in our sins awaiting the wrath of God and our eventual judgment. Praise God, Jesus didn't stay in the manger.

But I believe the real reason people get the question wrong is they don't like the answer - they don't like Jesus' answer. That can be the only explanation for the animosity so many people have for the baby Jesus at Christmas time. It is because Jesus said this of Himself: John 14:6, "Jesus said. . . 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" That is a claim to exclusivity. No other way to God, claims Jesus, will get you there. That claim is offensive to the broad minded and to anyone that concocts a different way, but it is exactly what Jesus said.

But what if Jesus is right? What if His claim is true? Truth is not broadminded. This Christmas season, I urge you to look beyond the babe in the manger, and take a good look at the man Jesus became. Examine His many answers in Scripture to that question, "What child is this?" See if His claims are true. Do so because the answers are eternally critical.

Feminism's Great Success - Feminism's Greater Failure

2011-12-16T17:57:00.002-05:00

It's been fifty years since Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, considered the magnum opus of modern day feminism. Since then, women have come a long way.

Feminists had a lot of legitimate beefs that needed to be rectified. I would have been furious if I was a woman working alongside a man, but receiving less money for doing the same work. I too would have been furious if I had been passed over for promotion simply because of my sex. I can understand their desire to fight for equality, and they have succeeded.

The Feminist Movement has made great strides in setting this right. As of 2010, women held 51.4% of all managerial and professional positions, compared with 26% in 1980. Women now earn the lion's share of bachelor and master degrees, and women outnumber men on college campuses 57% to 43%. In this regard, feminism has been a huge success.

But like many good causes, when the pendulum swings, it usually swings too far in the other direction. This has been true with the feminist movement as well. Along with their great success in achieving equality in the workplace and academia, they have also made great strides in destroying the underpinnings of marriage and the family.

Betty Friedan described the life of a housewife as a comfortable concentration camp, and feminists would sit around in their consciousness-raising parties sharing horror stories about their husband's bad behavior. As a result, women went off in droves looking for a good divorce lawyer. Now, about 70% of divorces are started by women.

As a result, marriage is on the rocks. This was evident in the cover story of The Atlantic magazine a month ago. The November issue carried the headline, "What, Me Marry?" The story featured Kate Bolick, the daughter of a renowned feminist, who claimed she marched off to third grade "in tiny green or blue T-shirts declaring: A WOMAN WITHOUT A MAN IS LIKE A FISH WITHOUT A BICYCLE." Now, in mid-life, she laments not being able to find a man to marry; and she is terribly unhappy.

But that was part of the feminist's plan. They were out to destroy men, to free women from the bondage of marriage, to make sex recreational and totally detached from commitment, to make abortion commonplace so women could avoid the consequences of their choices - and in this, they have also succeeded greatly. Now, according to the Pew Research Center, 44% of Millennials and 43% of Gen Xers think marriage is becoming obsolete. Fully 50% of the adult population is single, compared to 33% in 1950. Co-habitation has increased 15-fold since 1960. Feminist Gloria Steinman and Mrs. Bolick's Mother convinced the culture that the old sexual mores were, along with marriage and children, oppressive to women. So the old ways were jettisoned.

Men, too, found great freedom in the Feminist Movement. No longer were they expected to make commitments to marriage and to raising of children. They could follow their Peter Pan dreams of extended adolescence, getting the fringe sexual benefits of marriage without any of the troubling demands to love, care for, and protect a family.

The only problem is this goes totally against the fabric of who we are as a people, of who we were created to be. The change of attitudes has left a wake of destruction in its path - it has been a disaster for children, and heartbreaking for the adults who have to live with the their choices.

The good news is that those trends are changing. Research from the University of Virginia's Marriage Project shows this. The divorce rate is declining since hitting its all time high in the 1980s. One of the reasons is that Gen Xers don't want to put their kids through the trauma they experienced watching their homes disintegrate as mom and pop split up. As a matter of fact, they "would rather put chocolate syrup in the baby bottles than put the children through a family breakup," according to Susan Reimer of the Baltimore Sun.

Citing the Pew Research Study, Glenn Stanton, author of The Ring Makes All the Difference: The Hidden Consequences of Co-habitation and the Strong Benefits of Marriage, writes, "Young adults have the strongest desire to marry of any generation alive today . . . . and the unmarried folks in other generations alive today are not, nor ever have been, disinterested in marriage."

Brad Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project, concluded, "I think there are more couples out there who have been married and who realize, 'Hey, we may not be experiencing the life of bliss that we were hoping for, but it's the best thing for our kids for us to stay together and try to make this marriage work.'"

More and more, people are realizing that the destruction of marriage by the Feminist Movement was a colossal mistake. More and more, people are realizing that marriage as God designed it, as God intended it, is the best way for people to live. It brings people the most satisfaction with life. It is still the best way to raise our children. We need to again develop a family friendly culture that promotes, not destroys marriage.

The Grinch Still Wants to Steal Christmas

2011-12-09T08:49:00.003-05:00

When I was a kid, my very favorite perennial Christmas TV show was Dr. Seuss', "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Oh, the Grinch hated Christmas, everything about it, and he was determined to eradicate it from the face of the earth. The show chronicled his evil, diabolical attempts to steal Christmas from the tiny village of Whoville.

By the end of the movie, the Grinch had reformed and returned Christmas, but those following his philosophical heritage are still at work, still trying to sanitize the world of this supposed evil of they hate so much. And they are doing a pretty good job of it - well, at least doing a good job of sanitizing Christmas of its true meaning, which, by the way, involves a baby lying in a manger.

So we are told, "Happy Holidays," at the stores instead of, "Merry Christmas," and the celebration is all about shopping and tinsel and lights and sometimes a jolly fat man in a red suit that prefers chimneys to doors and likes hot chocolate. But mention of the baby Jesus is all but forgotten, at least in the major media.

The Culture and Media Institute of the Media Research Center reported on the coverage of Christmas over a two year period. They spent two years watching the coverage on ABC's World News, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News. They found that of the 527 stories on Christmas,

"98.7% of the Christmas references highlighted the holiday's impact on the economy, weather, travel, retail sales, the passage of the Senate Health Care Bill, and other less religious connotations."

Just seven of the stories, 1.3%, referenced Jesus or God. In fact, only 312 words were given to the miracle birth of Christ. That's the message that can't be spoken.

Nor can you do good in the name of the Christ of Christmas. The U.S. Air Force apologized for their academy encouraging cadets to participate in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse. This is a project our church participates in each year. People pack shoe boxes with toys, toiletries, school supplies, and other gifts to be distributed worldwide to children in need. It sounds like a great way to spread a little Christmas joy. Ah, but alas, Samaritan's Purse also adds a little cartoon booklet in the native tongue of the recipient that tells the story of Jesus. The shoe boxes could no longer be allowed at the Air Force Academy. I guess the Grinch wasn't just a made up character. The spirit of Grinch won another battle.

This past week, a Rhode Island lawmaker, Rep. Doreen Costa called her Governor Lincoln Chafee "Governor Grinch." Why? He defied lawmakers and decided that the state should have a "Holiday Tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." In announcing the decision, the governor pointed back to the founding of Rhode Island by Baptist Pastor Roger Williams, who fled Puritan domination in Massachusetts and their oppression of other denominations to open a haven of religious tolerance. But what Pastor Williams was looking for was religious freedom, a cornerstone of this country, not freedom from religion. "Governor Grinch," I mean Chafee, seems to have it backwards. In arguing against the governor, Rep. Costa stated,

"He tries to be politically correct 24/7. . . I'm sick of being politically correct. Nobody's been offended by calling a Christmas tree a Christmas tree. If we have a Menorah in the State House, what are we going to call it - a candle with sticks?"

Indeed, the Grinch people are political correctness run amuck, and I too am sick of it.

But Governor Lincoln Chafee is not alone. All across this land Christmas must be banned from public gatherings. Liberty Counsel, a non-profit legal group that seeks to protect religious freedom around the country, lists 44 lawsuits they are involved in. Here is a partial list:

In Plano, Texas, students were told not to wear red or green because these are Christmas colors. In Wisconsin, a school's winter program contained songs like "Silent Night" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem," but with the words changed. "Silent Night" was changed to "Cold in the Night," and contained phrases like,

"There is no one in sight, the winter winds are blowing, I wish I were happy and warm, safe with my family out of the storm."

Not quite the same meaning, is it?

In Houston, Texas, a school a school changed the words to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to ""We Wish You a Swinging Holiday." What holiday? Isn't it Christmas we are celebrating? Why can't they say so?

In Birmingham, Alabama, elementary students were to make "Holiday bags" for their class mates with the following rules: nothing religious as in angels, Noels, crosses, etc., no candy canes because of the obvious religious connotations, no red or green colors. Can you imagine how catastrophic it would be for these children to see stuff like that? They might be scarred for life by being exposed to Christmas, like we were. Imagine.

Why does the world hate Christmas so much? Why are they so intent on sanitizing the culture of the reason for the season? Perhaps they are like the Grinch, who Dr. Seuss described this way:

"The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one knew the reason. It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small."

Could that be the reason? Could their hearts be too small?

Yes, this is a heart issue. But fortunately, the Grinch finally saw the Christmas spirit in the eyes of a small child and the celebration of that small town. These modern day followers of Grinch need to look into the eyes of the Christ child who came because of hearts too small. This Christ child gave up all the glory and grandeur of heaven to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, all for the purpose of eventually ending up on a cruel wooden cross to be executed for the sins of the world. Without that sacrifice, Jesus knew there could be no hope for any of our too small hearts.

Won't you find the real reason for the season? Won't you look into the eyes of the Christ child and find love and forgiveness?

Transgender - The New Politically Correct Chick

2011-12-05T16:23:00.002-05:00

The media always want to decide what we think and believe. They do so by the news stories they choose to publish, by the slant they report in their broadcasts, or by the cast and story line they feature in their sit-coms. They are the gurus of political correctness, and we follow along like blind sheep.

Lately, the new darlings of the media have been those calling themselves transgenders. It is the new politically correct chick. Chaz Bono was the token transgender on "Dancing With the Stars." Twice in the past couple of months, the Bangor Daily News has run front page articles on the Maines family that were the focus of the school bathroom use lawsuit in Orono - the latest reporting that they had received the 2011 ACLU of Maine Roger Baldwin Award "for their courage and perseverance in helping defeat the recent trans-gender legislation in the Maine State House." Now, we read that a boy named Bobby, who thinks he's a girl, requests and is allowed to join a Girl Scout troop in Colorado.

What's next? "Just when you think you've heard it all, something even more bizarre and disturbing occurs, and you and you can only scratch your head and wonder," writes Michael Brown. Yet, the Girl Scouts, who have been homosexual friendly for years, issued the statement, "Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization, and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a girl scout." It doesn't matter if the supposed girl has all the plumbing of a boy.

Kathryn Lopez writes, "My heart goes out to Bobby as the Girl Scout cookie continues to crumble. Being a Girl Scout may only contribute to his confusion." Indeed, it will. Bobby's parents and the Girl Scouts are all confused.

Whatever happened to common sense? Why do we let our kids continue to live lives so confused? Why have we not instead become the mature parents who guide our children to accept who God made them?

Recently, I read an article entitled, "The Girl Who Thought She Was a Werewolf Vampire," by Michael Brown. It put this into perspective with bold clarity. Let me relate Michael's main points to you. He presented the following scenarios:

Scenario #1 - A troubled teenage girl says to you, "Since I was twelve. . . I know this is going to sound crazy, but I believe that I'm a vampire, part of a vampire and part of a werewolf." What would you tell her? Would you tell her that werewolves and vampires don't exist? What if she was diagnosed with lycanthropy, a mental illness that involves a strong delusional belief that you have been transformed into an animal? Would you tell her she needs help? This confession was made by 18 year old Stephanie Pistey at her arrest in the aftermath of the grisly murder of a 16 year old boy. She acted on her belief in what she thought she was.

Scenario #2 - A man is convinced that there is something terribly wrong with his body, and he wants to amputate one of his perfectly good limbs. What do you tell him? What if the person was diagnosed with Body Identity Integrity Disorder, a condition that is commonly manifested by a desire to have an amputation of a specific body part. Wouldn't you tell him something like this? "Regardless what your mind tells you, you shouldn't do it. You have a psychiatric condition, and you need help." Wouldn't there be widespread outrage if a surgeon performed the amputation on a perfectly good leg?

Now for Scenario #3 - A man comes to you and says, "I'm convinced that I'm a woman trapped in a man's body, and I want to have a sex-change surgery and go on female hormones for the rest of my life." What would you tell him? "Look, biologically and anatomically you are a man. That is reality, and you can't change that fact."

Oh, but that answer would be considered insensitive, intolerant, and bigoted. Don't we know that God makes mistakes like that all the time, putting girls inside boy's bodies? But why is this third scenario any different than the first two? Why don't we treat this delusion with the same compassion and common sense as we do the other delusions? Why don't parents simply say, "You may feel like a girl, but you are really a boy." Why don't parents help their children learn to accept who God made them?

Unfortunately, liberal elites try to accommodate that delusion. The Los Angeles United School District Reference Guide, for example, says this, "Gender identity refers to one's understanding, interests, and feelings about whether one is female or male, or both, or neither, regardless of one's biological sex." In other words, it doesn't matter what body you were born inside, you are what you think. So, if you think you're a girl, even though you live in a boy's body, go ahead and use the girl's bathroom, and the school district will support your delusion.

The fact is, our minds don't always tell us the truth. Maybe we ought to work on changing the mind. Dr. Paul McHugh, University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman of the John Hopkins Psychiatric Department, stated, "We psychiatrists . . . would do better to concentrate on trying to fix the minds and not their genitals." Yet, instead of fixing their minds, we accommodate their delusions.

Unfortunately for them, there is also a moral aspect to this. Even though the Bible clearly states equality of value and worth of both sexes, it also clearly states a difference in the sexes. God intended it to be that way, and He designed it into our bodies and minds. He doesn't take kindly to blurring sex identities. Deuteronomy 22:5 says, "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God."

This verse doesn't dictate particular styles of clothing, but it shows the need for difference. Boys are boys, and girls are girls; and people should be able to tell the difference by looking. We shouldn't have to wonder who is in the next bathroom stall. Don't let the media dictate how you think, use some common sense. Better yet, let God dictate how you think.

Arab Spring Leads to Christian Winter

2011-11-05T10:25:00.002-04:00

When the Arab Spring began, excitement was in the air. We cheered when the dictators toppled. Democracy was coming we were told. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton talked of a new and hopeful "Arab Spring" as Islamic revolutions began arising across the Middle East and North Africa. Again this past week, there was joy that the terrorist and Libyan Dictator Maummar al-Qaddafi was killed.

But the biggest question is, what comes next? What comes next for Libya? What comes next for the the other countries taking part in the Islamic uprising? Well, now we know. The leader of Libya's transitional government says that Sharia Law will be the basic source of legislation. So much for freedom and equality. So much for women being treated with respect and dignity. So much for any hope of tolerance for Christians.

Egypt can be used as a case study. Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's dictator, was one of the first to fall last February, to the glee of the media. Sure, the masses were being led by the Muslim Brotherhood, but they are a peace loving bunch, we were told (never mind their history of using terror to advance their political agenda). The Egyptian army, we were told, showed great restraint by not using force in dealing with the Muslim protesters. But what is it like now?

Now, there is evidence that "something is rotten in Cairo." The plight of the Coptic Christians prove it. On Sunday, October 9th, the Egyptian military attacked Christian protesters using armored personnel carriers, shooting randomly into the crowd and running over and crushing the protesters underneath their vehicles. According to Al Ahram, an Egyptian newspaper, 36 Coptic Christians were killed. According to the paper, they were run over by military vehicles, beaten, shot, and dragged through the streets.

The peaceful Christian protesters were marching to the headquarters of the state TV network to protest the burning of St. George's Church in Upper Egypt Village of El-Marinab. The broadcasters called on the "honorable Egyptians" to help the army put down the protest. "Soon afterward, bands of young men armed with sticks, rocks, swords, and firebombs began to roam central Cairo, attacking Christians," reports the Associated Press, and "troops and riot police did not intervene."

According to the international news channel, France 24, there has been "an explosion of violence against the Coptic Christian community." According to Jeff Jacoby,

"Copts, who represent a tenth of Egypt's population, are subjected to appalling humiliations. The mob that destroyed St. George's had first demanded that the church be stripped of crosses and bells; after the Christians yielded to that demand, local Muslims demanded that the dome be removed as well. For several weeks, Copts in El-Marinab were literally besieged, forbidden to leave their homes or buy food unless they agreed to mutilate their nearly century old house of worship. On September 30, Muslim thugs set fire to the church and demolished its dome, pillars and walls. For good measure, they also burned a Coptic-owned shop and four houses."

The Egyptian Union of Human Rights organization calculated that more than 90,000 Christians have fled the country since March of 2011.

For Christians, the Arab Spring has led to a Christian Winter. What took place in Iraq is now happening everywhere else where the "Religion of Peace" gains power. As reported by Caroline Glick,

"In Iraq, the Iranian and Syrian sponsored insurgency that followed the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein's Baathist Regine in 2003 fomented a bloody jihad against Iraq's Christian population. This month marks the anniversary of last year's massacre of 58 Christian worshippers in a Catholic church in Baghdad. A decade ago there were 800,000 Christians in Iraq. Today there are 150,000."

The press and our government should have seen it coming.

Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai visited Paris and warned French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria could be a disaster for Christians throughout the region. When Rai arrived in the United States, our administration cancelled all his scheduled meetings with them. According to Glick,

"Rather than consider the dangers that Rai warned about and use US influence to increase the power of Christians and Kurds and other minorities in any post-Assad Syrian government, the Obama administration decided to blackball Rai for pointing out the dangers."

See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil.

What has happened in Egypt and other places in Muslim dominated countries should cause us to ask some questions. Why is the United States continuing to underwrite the Egyptian military regime? Why is there silence from the main stream media and our politicians? Why can Christians be slaughtered without a great moral outrage on the part of our leaders?

According to Michael Youssef, an Egyptian-born, American Christian,

"There's an American tragedy in this. Namely, that our tax dollars are funding the bottomless pit of the Egyptian Army's industrial establishment. . . . Therefore, we are partially responsible for the shedding of the blood of innocent civilians."

Yes, we have blood on our hands when we turn a blind eye to the systematic persecution of Christians by the "Religion of Peace" Islam.

The Appeal of the Small Country Church

2011-10-27T14:37:00.002-04:00

Many people love to go to big churches. That's why they are big. They usually feature the best of everything - top notch musicians and preaching, programs for everyone, and the excitement of being part of a big crowd.

But that can sometimes be a problem. Not everyone likes being in a big crowd. Alan Patterson and his wife Wyona attend the Orrington Center Church (located in the center of Orrington) because it isn't big. When they moved to Orrington from Stockton Springs, they tried out a couple of the bigger churches. "We tried out a number of churches, but people would look right at you and never say, 'Hi.'" said Paterson, "They were too impersonal. You go and you say you've been, then you leave and nobody knows. Sometimes you might not show up for a month and nobody knows."

But when they came to Orrington Center Church, things were different. According to Patterson, "People met us at the door and welcomed us. They made us feel right at home. Why would you want to go to a great big church where you are a nobody?" His wife Wyona added, "When they don't even know your name."

This is why there will always be a place for the small country church. It seems like family. It seems like you belong. When you miss a Sunday, people call to see what's wrong, or they send you a note telling you that you were missed. "If I miss church," added Patterson, "the Pastor always sends me a note and tells me I've been missed."

When the Davis family moved into the area from Deer Isle, they missed their old church. Sherry Davis explained, "Although we were loath to give up our old church, we wanted to join a fellowship where we could fit in as part of a new family and be part of a local body of believers. Orrington Center Church gave us such a warm welcome that we have been blessed."

Carolyn Howard agrees that the church has a family atmosphere. She is 93 years old and has attended the church since she was six. She raised her children and watched her grandchildren be raised in the church. In reflecting over her lifetime in the church, she says, "I've seen a lot of changes. We didn't even meet here in the winter when I was a child because we didn't have heat. Then we got a wood furnace, and the janitor came and stayed all night to tend the fire so we could have heat on Sunday."

Small country churches develop this kind of loyalty in their members. "Everybody supported the church in the area," Mrs. Howard said. "It was their church. They didn't always come, but it was their church." The small country church becomes a place of belonging.

It is also a place you can feel ownership and take responsibility. In the 1980s, when the church was loosely affiliated with the United Methodist denomination, there was an attempt by the denomination to consolidate the churches in Orrington. The Orrington Center Church was marked for shut-down and demolition. Eunice Baldwin, whose husband was one of the trustees who placed his own personal assets at risk by entering into a lawsuit to keep the building from being torn down, remembers. "It was awful," said Mrs. Baldwin. "I can't imagine they were going to tear this beautiful building down." Having gone through the battles together gives the congregation a sense of solidarity - a feeling that "this is my church" - a sense of ownership.

Being in a small church also gives you a place to minister. You don't have to have near professional quality talent to sing in the choir or play an instrument, and you don't have to have a seminary degree to teach Sunday School. According to Deacon Mark Chellis, "In a small country church, we all know each other and minister to one another. Everybody has an important ministry to fulfill, and no one has to feel left out or unused by the Lord."

Jody Lowery agrees. "Our small church encourages everyone, members or not, to use their gifts to minister to our church family and to those in the community," she said. "We are a family. If one is happy, we all rejoice. If one is down, we encourage each other."

Debbie Lockman concurs. "It's true," she said. "You feel like family. You can count on these people like family." Those who are ill or who have been shut-in have meals brought to them; or if they have home projects they can't complete, people come by to help.

Hebrews 10:25 says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another." At a small church with a family atmosphere, it is easy to do that. Most people come, not for what they can get, but for what they can give. You see the same people week after week and get to know them. You know them well enough to know their needs. You know when they are hurting or depressed. You know when they are struggling with sin. You can offer the words of encouragement or correction, just like they were family.

These are the reasons there will always be a place for the small country church. It is the kind of place people crave to be a part of. The Orrington Center Church is still small enough to seem like family.

The Orrington Center Church at 468 Dow Road in Orrington is an Independent Bible Church that has sered the community for 175 years. They worship every Sunday at 9:00 A.M. For more information on the church, check out their web site at http://www.orringtoncenterchurch.net/.

A Contest of Values

2011-10-21T15:53:00.003-04:00

My father is a World War II vet and a patriot who complains about high taxes and government waste. He thinks abortion is murder and can't imagine two men getting married. He lived through the Great Depression, so he always pays his bills on time and doesn't go into debt. He stands proudly at Fourth of July parades, and he always sings the National Anthem. My dad is also a lifelong Democrat.

There are a lot of other older Americans I know who are just like my dad, and they are also lifelong Democrats. Except now, the Democratic Party no longer reflects their core values. As a matter of fact, their political party is diametrically opposed to their core values. It's a far cry from the party they remember. Many remain in it only out of loyalty or inertia.

But this is why so many people holding beliefs like my dad have joined the Tea Party movement. It is a small government, patriotic movement that believes what they believe. It is, indeed, what Mark Potok, Huffington Post columnist and spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, sneeringly refers to as the "Patriot Movement." Yes, they are patriots and proud of it. They love their country.

Which is why it didn't surprise me very much to read the results of a Harvard University study recently showing that those who attend fourth of July parades are more likely to become "right wingers." The actual title of the research paper is, Shaping the Nation: Estimating the Impact of Fourth of July Using Natural Experiment. Imagine, for a moment, someone actually doing such a study.

The research paper concludes,

"There is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on the Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican Party."

The paper further stated,

"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation primarily in favor of the Republican Party."

Really? The Republicans own love of country? What do the Democrats own?

In commenting on the study, Matt Barber wrote,

"This, of course, begs the question: If Fourth of July parades churn out little GOPers and embody the values of conservatism, what type of parade might spawn young Democrats? What event best represents liberalism? If Old Glory is the banner behind which conservatives do battle,what pennon do you suppose guides the proud left into combat? Rainbow flag, anyone?"

Barber goes on to explain,

"Indeed the 'gay pride' parade perhaps more than any other best encapsulates the values embraced by today's secular-progressive left. Think about it. It's got it all."

Then Barber lists the following:gay pride parades are obscenely expensive; they celebrate a caution-to-the-wind, enjoy-now-pay-later lifestyle; they have men who act like women and women men; they have flamboyant narcissism, moral relativism, and plenty of gyrating nude bodies; they have colorful public sex displays to confuse, desensitize, and sexualize the kiddos; they have lots of anti-Americanism; and they are devoid of God. I think he's on to something. And our President is leading the charge.

President Obama is the one who spearheaded the the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He is the one who refuses to do his job as chief law enforcement officer and defend the Defense of Marriage Act. He is the Commander in Chief that allows military chaplains to marry same-sex couples on military bases, and gives them benefits reserved for married couples. Our President seems embarrassed, and feels the need to continually apologize, for the nation we once were. The list goes on and on.

When speaking at a fundraiser for the homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign recently, President Obama said of the 2012 election,

"This is a contest of Values. That's what is at stake here. this is a fundamental debate about who we are as a nation."

He is absolutely right - I couldn't agree more. This is a contest of values. This is a moral issue. Are we going to be the land that celebrates God and patriotism, or are we going to be the land that celebrates tolerance and diversity of everything except God and morality?

My dad continues to be a democrat, along with many other good men and women that I admire; and they continue to vote democrat. But they either have to ignore the direction of their party, or they have to hold their nose while voting. Perhaps it is time for the Democrats who love truth, morality, and America to take back their party from the radicals.

Chasing the Wrong Europe

2011-10-15T08:46:00.002-04:00

I've been preaching through the book of Habakkuk in my church, and the plight of this Old Testament prophet has a lot of parallels with our nation. The prophet looked around his nation of ancient Israel, and what he saw sickened him. There was sin and idolatry all around - yes, in this nation that had once been built on the law of God. The prophet asked God why he put up with it, and God responded that He already had it all under control. God had prepared the mighty Babylonian army to sweep down from the north and take them captive. We too, as a nation established on godly principles, have fled far from our origins.

As we looked at that scenario, we talked about the steps leading up to the death of a nation. There are always three: The first is religious apostasy. The second is moral awfulness. And the third is political anarchy.

Are we at stage three? Who knows? Some point to gridlock in congress as proof. Others point to the protests on Wall Street, similar to the protests in Greece and other European countries, which are decidedly anti-capitalist and anarchist. Now protests have spread across the country and have even come to Portland, and other cities of Maine. According to Ann Coulter, the anti-capitalist rhetoric comig from the participants of Occupy Wall Street mirrors the beginning of "totalitarianism." Coulter writes,

"All those quotes could have been said in 1789 in France before the French Revolution, or with only slight modification when the Nazis were coming to power, in Cuba under Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. . . . This is always the beginning of totalitarianism."

More and more, people are fleeing personal responsibility and demanding to be taken care of by the government.

We may debate whether our economic crisis and Occupy Wall Street are the beginning of anarchy, but there is little doubt about the first two stages. How can we deny moral awfulness when our country allows the killing of our babies in the womb, makes pornography available on the internet, and promotes same-sex marriage? But none of this would happen if we had not first abandoned our faith in a good and just God. We are even now actively rewriting our history to repudiate the Christian heritage of our nation. We are definitely in the midst of religious apostasy.

Once, the United States was a beacon of freedom and goodness for the world to emulate. Unfortunately, that is no longer true. Donald Wildman, founder of the American Family Association, wrote,

"A dark cloud has ascended on America. Once the land of freedom and responsibility, once a culture guided by a Judeo-Christian heritage, once a land where responsibilities were exalted, America has been shrouded by a dark cloud. This cloud has left us unable to tell right from wrong. Indeed, it has caused us to call wrong, right."

Much of our problem is our mad pursuit of the failed policies of Western Europe. Western Europe is a land of social (socialist) democracies that run huge government debts (like Greece). It is a land of sexual promiscuity, and they have paved the way for same-sex marriage. But most telling, Western Europe is a land where Christianity has all but died. Their great cathedrals are now mostly empty, or they have been turned into boutiques or Muslim mosques.

Rather than chase after the Western Europe, which has paved the way for failure, we should emulate an Eastern European country - Hungary. Coming out from under the iron heel of communism, they are turning back to their Christian roots. Recently, they passed a new constitution that has some fascinating articles. Let me quote some passages from it:

The first paragraph applauds their Christian past. It is entitled, The National Avowal of Faith. It states,

"At the dawn of a new millennium, we members of the Hungarian nation declare the following, with a bond of duty to all Hungarians: We are proud that one thousand years ago our king, Saint Stephen, based the Hungarian State on solid foundations and made our country a part of Christian Europe."

We have been running from our Christian past and libeling the faith of our Founding Fathers, denying that their Christian faith guided their pursuit of building a nation based on the laws of God. We are traveling in the opposite direction of Hungary.

The same section of their constitution also says,

"We acknowledge the role Christianity has played in preserving our nation. We respect all our countries religious traditions. We solemnly promise to preserve the intellectual and spiritual unity of our nation, torn apart by the storms of the past century."

Those storms came in the form of subjugation to the atheistic, communist Soviet Union. We are now trying to do what the communists did in banning Christianity from public life.

But, because of their Christian roots, they also uphold marriage. Their constitution also adds these lines in Article K, a section called, Fundamentals:

"Hungary shall protect the institution of marriage, understood to be the conjugal union of a man and a woman based on their voluntary decision. Hungary shall also protect the institution of the family, which it recognizes as the basis for the survival of the nation. Hungary shall promote the commitment to have and raise children."

We once upheld the family unit as the basis of society. We need to again.

One more noteworthy section is entitled, Freedom and Responsibility. It contains the line,

"Human dignity shall be inviolable. Everyone shall have the right to life and human dignity: the life of the fetus shall be protected from the moment of conception."

That once was universally understood. here too; the right to life even being included in our Declaration of Independence and and Bill of Rights as a core value. But as I said earlier, we are now trying to be more like Western Europe than Hungary.

I applaud the stand taken by Hungary on these fundamental issues. I can't help but believe that God will bless them for this. When will we, as a nation, return to the original experiment of our Founding Fathers, which worked gloriously, and discard the new experiments of the social engineers, which have failed Western Europe? We are following the path to destruction as a nation. The way is all too clear. But the path back from the brink is just as clear. We must return to our roots - our Christian roots. Then the rest will fall into place.

Christians Have Nothing to Lose

2011-10-08T07:41:00.002-04:00

The world is a dangerous place for Christians. When Jesus sent out His disciples in Matthew 10:16, He warned them, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves." Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani would agree. The wolves are circling around him waiting for the kill.

This past week, this Iranian pastor faced execution rather than recant his Christian faith. Pastor Nadarkhani, who claims he was never a Muslim, was found guilty of converting to Christianity by the 11th Branch of the Gilan Provincial Court because he has an Islamic ancestry.

When asked to repent, Nadarkhani stated, "Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?"

"To the religion of your ancestors, Islam." the judge replied.

"I cannot." Nadarkhani answered.

Thus the verdict - the sheep was found guilty. Since the public outcry, the Iranian officials, after the fact, claim his case is about rape and extortion. How convenient. The truth is he gained notice of the Iranian officials because his house church had grown to 400 people, and he questioned the indoctrination of his children by Iranian schools.

Nadarkhani isn't alone. Elam Ministries of England reports that during the six months from June 2010 until January 2011, a total of 202 such arrests occurred in Iran. The sheep were rounded up. But even though stories like this aren't reported often, stories like this are extremely common. As a matter of fact, each year about 100,000 Christians are martyred world wide. Romans 8:36 says, "We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter;" and world wide, the slaughter of Christians takes place.

The number of "silent killings" of Christians in Nigeria over the past few months failed to make the news. International Christian Concern reports that radical Muslim leader, Boko Haran, has killed at least ten Christians in Maiduguri, Nigeria, for violations of Sharia Law.

In 2009 in Pakistan, Asa Bibi, a mother of five, working with other women in a field picking berries, went to the well for a bucket of drinking water. When she returned, the other women refused to drink from it saying it was contaminated having been touched by a Christian. There was an altercation, and the Muslim women went to a cleric to accuse Bibi of blasphemy.

Bibi was tried for violating Pakistani Penal Code, section 295c, which says, "Whoever . . . defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable for fine." According to the London Telegraph, she was "convicted on the evidence of two witnesses who were not present in the fields where the exchange is supposed to have taken place." Bibi still remains in prison, and her family hides in fear for their lives.

Why would these Christians refuse to recant in the face of this intense persecution? Reading the Scriptures makes it clear. In Luke 12:4-5. Jesus told us,

"My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell: yes, I say to you, fear Him."

The answer is simple. All men can do is kill you. But, God holds your eternal soul in His hands. Fear God more.

But the next verses show how much God cares. In Luke 12:6-7, Jesus says,

"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not fear, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

The good news for believers is that God has already taken the eternal risk out of death. In John 11:25, Jesus assures us, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live." In Romans 8:35, Paul asks a rhetorical question, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Then he lists as many things that he can think of that might. But none of them can. Paul's conclusion, in Romans 8:38-39 states,

"For I am persuaded that neither life nor death . . . nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We all die. Why shouldn't we die for something worthwhile? And what is more worthwhile than serving the King of kings and Lord of lords who loves us and rewards us? God is great at rewarding us. Jesus assured us, in Matthew 5:11-12,

"Blessed are you when the revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven."

We have nothing to lose by serving God and everything to gain.

In his History of Christian Missions, Stephen Neil wrote that every early Christian "knew that sooner or later he might have to testify to his faith at the cost of his life." More and more, that is becoming true again today. We, as Christians, must be prepared for it.

Even here in America, we see the bubble of protection afforded to us by our First Amendment being eroded. Whether it's the firing of Frank Turek by Cisco for comments in favor of traditional marriage, the intimidation against those in California who favored Proposition 8, or the resignation of Laura L. Fortusky, town clerk in Barker, New York, rather than be forced to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the threat is real. Even the Bangotr Daily News reported death threats against Marc Mutty and Michael Heath for their work turning back same-sex marriages in Maine in 2009.

Quoting Alan Sears,

"From high school and college textbooks that ridicule or try to expunge our historical Judeo-Christian roots, to shameless lawsuits against the public display of symbols identifiable with Christianity, to the hampering of the religious speech of public officials, and of course, the ongoing governmental limitations on the First Amendment protected rights of pastors in the pulpits, Christians (and Christianity) are forced to fight for the freedom so many others readily enjoy."

In the words of John Piper, "In America and around the world, the price of being a real Christian is rising. Things are getting back to normal."

Shoulder to Shoulder with Our Friend Israel

2011-09-30T10:45:00.003-04:00

Since modern Israel's birth as a nation in 1948, the United States has been Israel's best and sometimes only friend. But in return, Israel has been our only true friend in the Middle East. As a result, we have promised to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and defend them. That is why, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected direct negotiations and showed up last week at the U.N. to demand that the United Nations vote to recognize Palestinian statehood, the United States had to say, "NO!"

Not that anyone objects to a Palestinian state. Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "If we have their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and the security requirements, there's no reason that" we not recognize a Palestinian state.

But that's just the point. According to Netanyahu, "They're trying to set up a state to continue the conflict with Israel rather than to end it." Indeed, the stated goal of the Palestinian Authority is to drive Israel into the sea. This little country of Israel, occupying an area about the size of Rhode Island, has seen some 12,000 rocket attacks by their neighbors. Israeli children live in constant fear of suicide bombers targeting their school buses. And if they retaliate, they are called the aggressors by the world. The prophet Jeremiah said it well in Jeremiah 6:14, "Peace,peace, when there is no peace." Until there is, we must stand with Israel.

Why should we stand with Israel? We share a common heritage. Jesus Christ was a Jew. The prophets were Jews, as was Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, etc. The apostles were all Jews. It was through the Jews that we got our Bible. It was on the Law of Moses that we based our laws. Our Judeo-Christian heritage shaped our morals. We are what we are because of the Jews.

We share common ideals. Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East. In the past few decades, Israel changed leadership at least a dozen times through peacefully contested elections. As we watch the Arab spring unfold, we see that changing leadership in the rest of the Middle East is a matter of bloodletting and people are kept under the iron fist of Sharia Law and women live in subjugation.

Yet, the United States and Israel both respect individual freedom and honor the rights of the individual. We tolerate dissent, and we practice religious freedom. Pat Robertson writes,

"Of course we, like all right thinking people, support Israel because Israel is an island of democracy, an island of individual freedom, an island of the rule of law, an island of modernity in a sea of dictatorial regimes, the suppression of individual liberty, and fanatical religion intent on returning to the feudalism of eighth century Arabia."

We share a common enemy. On September 11th, as we were in shock and horror watching the images on TV of planes crashing into the twin towers, we also saw images on TV of people throughout the Middle East dancing in the street in celebration. But not in Israel. In Israel, the Jewish people cried with us. They flew their flag at half mast. Quoting Gary Bauer, "They shared our grief." Then he adds, "On September 11th, many Americans came to understand what it is like to be an Israeli and to face barbaric terrorism that targets innocent civilians."

The great conflict of our time is between the west and radical Islam. Israel is the front line ally in the war. Israel is surrounded on all sides by Muslim nations and daily faces Muslim terror. Bauer writes,

"It is the same philosophy that motivates the government of Sudan to kill 5 million Christians in the last decade. It inspires the gunmen with AK47's who run into churches in Pakistan and open fire on women and children. It inspires the kidnappers of Daniel Pearl who tormented him on video tape, forcing him to say over and over again, 'I am a Jew,' before they decapitated him and sent pictures of his severed head throughout the Middle East as a recruiting tool. This philosophy causes the Palestinian mother to leap for joy at the news her teenage son has blown himself up as long as it assured that he killed Jews in the process."

That philosophy targets both the "Little Satan" Israel and the "Big Satan" United States for destruction.

Finally, we share a common blessing. From the day when God first made His irrevocable covenant with Abraham giving him the land of Israel, God included all who bless Israel in His blessing. In Genesis 12:3, we read God's promise, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you." God restored Israel to the land of promise. God will preserve them. But if we expect to continue receiving the blessings of God, we must continue to stand with Israel.

History bears this out. Egypt prospered as long as their Pharaoh blessed the Jews through Joseph. When they refused, their armies were drowned in the Red Sea.
Spain thrived and ruled the world until the Spanish Inquisition expelled the Jews from the land. Hitler was well on his way to building his thousand year Third Reich, but he ended as a suicide in a lonely bunker.

Quoting John Hagee,

"Where are the Babylonians? Where are the Romans? Where are the Greeks? Where are the Persians? Where is the Ottoman Empire? Where is that lunatic Adolph Hitler and his Nazi hordes? They are historical footnotes in the bone-yard of human history. Where is Israel? Where are the Jewish people? They are alive and well in the only democratic society in the Middle East. The Jewish people have survived pogroms and persecution. They have outlasted Pharaoh's slavery and Hitler's final solution. They are living testimony that there is a God in heaven who keeps His word."

Amen!

As I close, let me leave you with a question asked by Tom DeLay,

"We need to ask ourselves: Do we want the Middle East to look more like Israel, or do we want Israel to look more like the rest of the Middle East? In a lands largely barren of freedom, we must preserve the lone fountain of freedom."

Yes! We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our friend Israel.

Is Rick Perry a Knuckle Dragger?

2011-09-23T16:36:00.002-04:00

In my last article, I looked at Rick Perry's big problem with the secular media - he takes his Christian faith too seriously. In this article, I look at why the media considers him deficient in natural intelligence. It goes way beyond being dumber than George W. Bush because Perry attended Texas A&M while Bush attended Yale. Perry is dumb, according to the media, because he believes in creation - proof enough that he is a knuckle dragging Neanderthal right out of the backwoods.

The media had a "gotcha" moment when Perry expressed doubts about evolution to a young boy, and it was caught on tape. He had the nerve to call evolution a "theory," not a fact, and he claimed there were "gaps" in it. Now, mind you, Perry isn't a young earth Biblical creationist as I am, but he does believe God had a hand in shaping this earth. That was enough to cause the famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, to call Perry an "uneducated fool."

Michele Bachmann received that same kind of treatment because she supported a Louisiana law allowing teachers to introduce supplemental textbooks to help students critique and review the scientific theory of evolution. No! Critiquing evolution is off limits, we are told. And how could she support such a thing? But isn't that what scientists are supposed to do?

That kind of intimidation has caused many in the church to dig a hole and crawl in. Or it has caused them to abandon their faith in the Bible as they try to reconcile the Bible to the most recent scientific theory. Shame on them.

Dr. Karl Giberson, a Nazarene author and theistic evolutionist, is an example of a "Christian" who drank the cool aid. In his HuffPost rebuttal to Bachmann, he as much as said scientists are not to be questioned. In other words, have blind faith in evolution or be a heretic. Giberson further stated that it is "disastrous" to allow high school students in Louisiana or elsewhere to critically analyze evolution. Really?

Isn't that what scientists are supposed to do - question and test their theories? Apparently not any more, at least not with evolution. We must meekly accept what we are told by these high priests of the religion called science. Funny, isn't it, that while scientists restrict inquiry, the Bible calls for it. First Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Test all things, hold fast to what is good."

There's a good reason the evolution "cult" refuses to tolerate argument. They can't win - the evidence is stacked against them. Their theory is a house of cards. Even Charles Darwin knew this. Recognizing that the fossil record showed no evidence for his theory, he faulted the "extreme imperfection of the geological record." The fossil record should contain vast numbers of intermediate species (missing links) if this theory of slow change over time were true. What we do find in the fossil record is vast numbers of species appearing complete and fully formed, but we find no intermediaries.

Darwin's excuse was that paleontologists would eventually find the intermediaries in abundance, and he encouraged them to get looking. But they never found any. According to David Raup, geologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, since the time of Darwin, "the situation hasn't changed much." Of course not. The evidence for evolution would have been found, if it were true. But there's no evidence for this false theory.

There are no transitional fossils showing animals in the process of evolution - NONE! ZIP! ZERO! This is why the late Stephen Jay Gould of Harvard, the nation's preeminent evolutionist, called the absence of transitional fossils the "trade secret" of paleontology. Indeed, it wasn't the theologians who first opposed Darwin, it was the paleontologists.

I was once a fervent evolutionist myself, totally indoctrinated by the educational system. I majored in zoology as an undergraduate and did post graduate work in the sciences. But it took a bright young girl, whom I later married, and her common sense questions to get me to think critically.

What I discovered from the evidence totally convinced me - evolution is a sham, a farce, a fraud built on theories totally misrepresenting the data. There is no way that the intricacies of even a simple single cell, or even part of a single cell, could ever have happened by chance no matter how many billions of years you give it to try. Even Antony Flew, the most prominent atheist apologist of all, announced that DNA research showed "almost unbelievable complexity," convincing him that "intelligence must have been involved." That intelligence was God. No thinking person could believe otherwise. The awesome design of life must have had a designer.

I became frustrated and angry at the hoaxes and frauds perpetuated as fact and taught in our schools, many of which are still in our children's textbooks - things like "embryology recapitulates phylogeny," or the horse evolution charts, or moths changing color from light to dark because of the amount of soot in the air in England, the Piltdown Man, Nebraska Man, and Java Man. All hoaxes. Who can believe liars and frauds to present the unvarnished truth? Rather, evolutionists are religious fanatics that will go to any extreme to explain their existence apart from God. They might have to admit their accountability to God if they did. Blind chance and billio0ns of years is the only answer they can come up, as totally impossible as that is.

The only answer that makes sense is the one presented in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." I take my stand on the Word of the One who was there and gave us his eyewitness account - God.

So, no, it is not the closed minded scientist who have it right. Rick Perry makes immensely more sense by questioning evolution than they do with their blind faith. It won't hurt Perry or Bachmann with the Republican voters either. A Gallup poll showed that "just 8% of Republicans . . . said they believed in evolution without any other intervention." Most Americans can see through this theory of evolution.

Now certainly these articles have not meant to be an endorsement of Rick Perry's candidacy, but a way to point out the folly of the media that have attacked him and the other Christians running for public office. I hope you will see the foolishness of their attacks. If you too want to be opened minded and take a critical look at the evidence, I would recommend checking out the Answers in Genesis website at www.answersingenesis.org or the Institue for Creation Research web site at www.icr.org.

Rick Perry's Problem - He's a Christian!

2011-09-10T09:44:00.003-04:00

First, let me set the record straight. I'm not the one who said that. Rather, it is the recurring theme the media continues to publish as they attack Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and even Sarah Palin. These politicians take their Christian faith too seriously. How horrid, say the pundits.

An example would be the editorial by Dana Milbank in the Bangor Daily News this past week. Milbank made the direct accusation,

"Rick Perry is a theocrat. By his own account, he is a cultural warrior, seeking to save marriage, Christmas, and the Boy Scouts from liberals, gay people, and moral relativism."

That's supposed to be a bad thing? It is if you are a Dana Milbank, who goes on to chronicle Rick Perry's own statements of his Christian faith - statements, by the way, that I find refreshing - as proof that Perry is unfit to be President.

But this is just one example of the multitude of attacks on people of faith who dare enter public life. Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, argues it is time to stop being "squeamish" about "aggressively" digging into politician's religious convictions. He urges reporters to "get over" any "scruples" about the "privacy of faith in public life." That's why he can worry that Perry and Bachmann are "afflicted with fervid subsets of evangelical Christianity."

That kind of rabid, anti-Christian rhetoric is heard from coast to coast in the media. Collins English Dictionary defines a bigot as "a person who is intolerant of any ideas other his or her own, especially on religion, politics, or race." And they have the nerve to call us bigots after these kinds of diatribes?

Commenting on people like Keller, Jeff Jacoby writes,

"When they see Christian conservatives on the campaign trail, they envision inquisitions and witch hunts and the suppression of liberty. They dread the prospect of a President respecting 'any higher authority than the Constitution,' and regard ardent religious faith as the equivalent of space aliens."

But God and His Word is higher than our Constitution.

Oh, religion is OK with them if you don't take it too seriously or let it affect your life. President Obama claims to be a Christian, and that's perfectly OK; yet, he hardly ever attends church. He favors the destruction of unborn babies in the womb. He refuses to defend DOMA. He forgets Easter proclamations, but never forgets a Ramadan proclamation. He mocks Biblical passages and seldom quotes the Bible, but quotes instead from the "holy Qur'am."

In a 2008 interview with George Stephanopolos, candidate Obama spoke passionately about his Muslim faith. After a few moments, Stephanopolos corrected him, "Your Christian faith." Just a mistake, right? Just a slip of the tongue? How many other "Christians" would make that kind of a silly error. But Obama's kind of faith is OK.

And we aren't supposed to be concerned that Obama sat for twenty years under the teaching of rabid anti-Semite and racist Rev. Jeremiah wright and his hate filed "G__D__ America" rants. Shouldn't that be a concern to us? No. After all, Obama wasn't paying attention.

As David Limbaugh writes,

"Bill Keller's concern isn't with the religious beliefs of all candidates, only Christians; and not all Christians, only those who take the Bible seriously. He doesn't seem to have a problem with the religious beliefs of non-Christians or about the charlatans who opportunistically pass themselves off as Christians. Wouldn't an objective reporter have as much interest in someone fraudulently proclaiming a certain faith as he does in one who sincerely professes a faith he finds repugnant?"

So, it is perfectly legitimate, Keller thinks, to ask Michele Bachmann about her following the Biblical mandate of submission to her husband as found in Ephesians 5:22, or to ask them about their belief in Creation over evolution as they asked Perry, all so they can gloat over their back woods answers.

The goal, of course, is to get them to back down and slink away in shame. And so many of the "Christian-in-name-only" types do just that. Ah, but Christians who truly believe, what can you do with them? You have to discredit them as mind dead hicks from the sticks.

Since when did being a genuine Christian become a disqualification for public office? What they don't understand is that our founding fathers, most of whom took their Christian faith very seriously, were champions of individual rights. But they based those rights in the context of moral responsibility. George Washington in his farewell address stated,

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."

I guess Washington would be as unacceptable now as a Perry, Bachmann, or a Palin are. In the early days of this country, faith in God was necessary to get elected. Now, according to Bill Murchison,

"It's kind of fascinating, in a carnivalesque sort of way, the notion of religion as a force alien and dangerous to the American polity, hence to be regarded as fear."

The truth is, according to David Limbaugh, "Liberty has no greater ally than believing Christians of all stripes." Certainly, there would be no liberty under Sharia law. Limbaugh says,

"Ironically, it is the left who are far likelier to use the power of government to selectively suppress political and religious liberties."

Yes, we Christians are narrow minded. Yes, we Christians do think we have the truth. But that is only bad if we don't. Let me give you an illustration. When I go out at night when I am camping, I take my flashlight. As I shine the light, the beam spreads out and diffuses as it goes out along the path, getting weaker and weaker the further from the source. But the closer to the source, the narrower and more intense the beam becomes. Likewise, the closer one gets to the truth, the less room there is for deviation and the more narrow minded one becomes. Truth is very narrow, while error is broad and diffuse. Give me a genuine Christian candidate any time who believe in absolute truth.

But let them realize they will pay the price for their belief. Jesus told us in John 15:20,

"Remember the word that I said to you. 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours."

It is not you they hate, but the truth and the one who spoke that truth.

Let me close with this challenge from Perry Himself,

"We are close to a tipping point in American society, If we believe there is right and wrong, that there are acceptable standards of behavior . . . then you have a stake in this war. If the attackers win many more victories . . . the culture war may be lost before we kinow it. If that happens, we will find ourselves living isn a world where moral relativism reigns and individualism runs amok. Now is the time to enlist in this effort to stand up and be counted."

Amen!

The Case of the Missing Girls, and Joe Biden's Bungles

2011-09-03T10:01:00.002-04:00

There is an amazing phenomena happening worldwide. There is a shortage of girls. According to a Fox News article by Debra Saunders,

"In China, the sex ratio is 121 boys to 100 girls. In India, it is 112 to 100. Sex selection is a force in the Balkans, Armenia, and Georgia."

How can this be happening? It happens through selective abortions.

In her book, Unnatural Selections: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men, journalist Mara Hvistendahl writes that ultrasound has allowed women to determine which child should be kept and which to abort. The result? She writes, abortion has "claimed over 160 million potential women and girls - in Asia alone." By the way, that is more than the entire population of females in the USA.

Recently, a mother told me her daughter couldn't find a decent, godly man to marry, claiming there weren't enough out there. But apparently worldwide it is the other way around, and it is the men who can't find wives. One would think it would make girls more valuable, and it does, but not in the way one might think. Saunders remarked,

"As surplus men have trouble finding mates, young girls are forced into prostitution. Others are forced into arranged marriages."

Hvistendahl writes that on Taiwan's eBay three Vietnamese women were on sale for $5,400.

But I thought abortion was a good thing for women? Isn't that what we've always been told? It looks like we've been sold a bill of goods. The truth is the feminist agenda has always done more damage to women than it has ever helped them, and abortion is one of the biggest culprits. Abortion has backfired on women.

Which brings us to Joe Biden, our less than eloquent vice-president, and his remarks concerning China's one child per family policy. On Sunday, August 21st, at the Sichuan University in Chengdu, Biden told his Chinese audience,

"Your policy has been one which I fully understand - I'm not second guessing - of one child per family."

He understands? Our own State Department in their latest human rights report has affirmed that China's one child policy "in some cases resulted in forced abortion or forced sterilization." The report also said,

"Female infanticide, sex-selective abortions, and the abandonment and neglect of baby girls remained problems due to the traditional preference for sons and the coercive birth control policies."

Didn't Joe Biden know that?

The London Sunday Times reported the trauma of Zhang Linla, the mother of a four year old daughter, who happened to get pregnant again. The paper quoted her account as follows:

"Six days before the due date, 10 strong strangers came to my house, forced me into a truck, then took me to the family planning clinic, where the doctor gave me the injection (a drug to induce labor). The child began to struggle in my womb and one of the scum kicked me in the abdomen. Then the baby came out and they threw it in the rubbish bin. I could even see it was still moving."

Didn't Biden know that over and over that kind of barbarism is repeated on woman after woman - on baby after baby? Even as a U.S. Senator, rather than vote present as he usually did, Barack Obama voted against a law that would have given protection to U.S. babies born alive from botched abortions. Obviously Obama would approve of China's policy too.

But wasn't the whole abortion issue about choice? No! It never was. Just take a few minutes some time to read the words or Margaret Sanger. She was the founder of Planned Parenthood and a prominent abortion advocate. On blacks and immigrants, she wrote, ". . . human weeds, reckless breeders, spewing . . . human beings who never should have been born." In her plan for peace, she argued that couples should be required to submit applications before being allowed to have a child. She wrote that the purpose of birth control was "to create a race of thoroughbreds." She wrote, "Eugenics is the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political, and social problems." Page after page the quotes could could go on and on. Adolf Hitler was a big follower of her ideas, with predictable results.

Thank you, Joe Biden, for showing us the true color of abortion advocates like you. Abortion has nothing to do with choice. It has everything to do with getting rid of unwanted human beings. It is a population control device first and foremost. And the ones who suffer most are the women.

God's Job Approval Rating

2011-08-21T17:35:00.002-04:00

The glaring headline on Fox News is that President Obama's job approval rating hit the lowest level ever. Only 39% of those polled believe he is doing a good job. But what else I saw recently was a little more astonishing.

The same folks who brought us the Obama job approval rating decided to take the same poll for God. They felt it wouldn't be fair to God to take into account the answers of the atheists. They don't believe in God anyway. Nor did they take into account the answers of the agnostics who admit they don't have a clue. So they only tabulated the answers from those who who claim to believe that God exists.

What were the results? Fewer that 50% felt God was doing a good job. The most common reason listed for His bad grade was the abundance of terrible tragedies that take place - tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, terrorist attacks, murders, rapes, robberies, etc. People felt that either God could have prevented them and didn't, meaning He didn't care; or that God was incapable of doing anything about it, meaning He isn't up to the job.

Politicians live or die based on their job approval ratings, and I'm sure our President is pretty nervous about his. But I doubt that God is up in heaven wringing His hands over this. Yet, the reasons given by people need to be explained. The truth is the ratings show a complete lack of understanding about the way the world operates.

The truth is it isn't God's fault the world is messed up. It is ours. Starting with Adam and Eve, we've lived in rebellion against God and His rules. We've ignored The warnings of God. Then we complain when we get the outcome.

Adam started it off. Adam disobeyed the one and only restriction God placed on him in paradise by eating the forbidden fruit, and he suffered the promised punishment. He died - spiritually at first and eventually physically.

Beyond that, this entire world was cursed. Genesis 3:17-19 gave the details as God addressed Adam,

"Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

We bear the burden of living in this cursed world - a world cursed because of man's sin.

Throughout history, men knew their sinfulness, and they knew who to blame for the curse. The Puritans used to say, "Life is brutish and short, and then you die." But they never lost their faith because of it. Why? Because their pulpits thundered against sin. They never thought to blame God when they were so obviously sinful. They were simply grateful for the opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness.

Now it seems like lots of God's spokesmen are embarrassed by the God of the Bible and by the Bible itself. They have eradicated any mention of sin, judgment, punishment, or hell. Rather God is presented as a jovial Santa Claus like figure who doles out goodies and winks at our failings.

Bob Burney wrote that these pastors have done to God what they used to do to criminals and mentally ill patients in the 40s and 50s. They lobotomized God to make His behavior acceptable to society (A lobotomy being a surgery to remove part of the brain to alter behavior). He writes,

"His holiness makes us uncomfortable. His justice seems a little harsh. His righteousness seems totally out of touch with our culture as a whole. So what do we do with a God who makes us feel uncomfortable and inferior? It's easy. We perform a lobotomy. We simply perform an operation to remove the offending attributes."

Jeromy Johnson tells why:

"Cause if God behaves and thinks like that, that is not a God worthy of my - nor anyone else's worship or even respect. This god would be deemed as evil, hating, unjust, and demented."

Really? And this from His so-called spokesmen?

So instead of preaching the God of the Bible, we hear of a kinder and gentler God. Quoting Burney,

"It's not hard to find this gentler, kinder God. Turn on the TV or radio and you're likely to hear from Rev. Johnny Glitter-teeth smiling broadly and telling the congregation that God only wants to do good things for them. Think happy thoughts and God will give you all you want whenever you want it. You will hear wonderful platitudes like 'Turn your scars into stars' and other wonderful possibilities."

No wonder people blame God when it doesn't come true. They have been offered a false god, not the God of the Bible. The God who allows tragedies doesn't fit that modern template.

What you won't hear from their pulpits are the words of Scripture, words like these from Hebrews 10:28-31,

"Anyone who has rejected Moses' Law dies without mercy on the testimonies of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

But no one is warned about that from most pulpits.

Rather than be surprised by tragedy, pain, or suffering, we should wonder why any of us are ever spared. Yet we are. Praise God that He sent His Son to die on the cross to bear the penalty of our sins.

But as to the job rating of God, the blame should never be laid at the feet of God. Rather, it should be laid at the feet of the church, and more specifically the pulpits. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?"

Salt was the preserving agent that was rubbed into meat to keep bacteria from growing. Symbolically, the salt is the church (the individual believers making up the church) rubbed into the world, permeating it and providing a preserving influence on society by teaching and modeling Biblical truth. If our world has gone rotten to the core, who is to blame? Is it the meat's fault of the salt? Obviously, the church has lost her saltiness.

Chuck Baldwin wrote.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the biggest reason America is in the mess that it is in today is directly due to the apathy and indifference of the American pulpit."

Isn't it time the American pulpits thundered again?

Cheating Scandals - No Longer Confined to Students

2011-08-15T14:40:00.002-04:00

Cheating is probably as old as tests. Considering the sin nature that dwells within each of us, it's not surprising it pops up from time to time. But usually cheating is done by the students, not the teachers and the administrators. That is why the cheating scandal that enveloped the Atlanta Public Schools is so shocking to us.

Now the scandal has reached Maine. On Saturday, August 6th, the Bangor Daily News ran a front page article on a Newport teacher who resigned after a state probe into cheating on standardized tests. The resigning teacher is alleged to have reviewed MEA Science Test answers with his students before the test, which in turn allowed the students to score better. This is only the latest shocker.

The widespread scandal on standardized tests from the Atlanta Public Schools (and Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, and other cities) shows the failure of the system. Rather than simply teach the test, these educators changed answers to cover up their academic failure. Cheating took place in 44 of the 56 schools examined in Atlanta. Apparently some 178 educators, including 38 principals, were involved. What incredible widespread corruption. It's understandable that families would flee from that kind of system.

What was to blame for this scandal? Why, the standards, of course. That's what we were told. It put undue pressure on the schools to perform better. It was, "No Child Left Behind," which tied federal subsidies to performance. This is the reason given by Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University.

Seems to me this is the same reason kids give for cheating. The test is too hard. It must be too hard to teach competency in reading, writing, math, science, and history. So rather than work to improve performance of the students, many of the educators cheated to raise test scores.

If we looked at performance, indeed the standards do seem too high, until one examines the facts. Education Secretary Anne Duncan states that by next year as many as 82% of all public schools could be failing. She writes,

"When a child is meeting the state standards, they are in fact barely able to graduate from high school. And they are absolutely inadequately prepared to go to a competitive university, let alone graduate."

Apparently the standards aren't really that high. Yet, turning out an educated student is too much to expect. That's why some educators had to cheat.

As I've written before, the focus of public education is wrong. Our President's friend Bill Ayers, Weather Underground founder and former professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was an influential thinker formulating the modern philosophy of education. Mr. Ayers has written that subject mastery isn't necessary for teaching. In other words, your child's math teacher doesn't have to know math. Rather, Ayers and his cohorts who have hijacked education advocate that teacher colleges train teachers to engage in "social justice," and even teach subjects like math and science in the context of social consciousness. Little Johnny can't read, but he can learn to be a leftist activist.

Quoting Marybeth Hicks,

"When teachers don't view their role as imparting information, knowledge, and skills, but rather as preparing students to be 'agents of social change' through 'critical; thinking,' it's no wonder that the kids aren't capable of passing standardized tests."

She concludes,

"It must be said: we aren't training our teachers to do the job we say we want done in our classrooms."

What is the answer? Parents need to reclaim their right to determine the education of their children, not bureaucrats. Part of the answer has to be competition. Charter Schools are a start, but just a start. Give parents vouchers that they can use in whatever way they deem best to educate their children - public, charter, private, Christian, or home school. It should be a parent's choice where the money is spent to educate their child. Unfortunately, this is the one answer that the educational establishment resists with a passion.

Why We Home School

2011-08-08T14:16:00.002-04:00

Every parent has the right and responsibility to determine the education of their children. I don't intend to denigrate anyone else's decision, but my children are among the 2 million k-12 home school students in this country (the figure is provided by the National Home Education research Institute). We would not consider any other method of educating our children because it works.

A recent poll showed that more and more parents are leaving public education, fleeing a system that undermines their values yet fails to educate. That's understandable. In spite of well meaning educators, the system itself is the problem.

We have a system that crams up to thirty kids in one room and treats them as if they were all the same. It doesn't recognize that boys and girls are different, and doesn't accommodate the difference. These children spend most of their waking hours for five days a week within four walls where every aspect of their day is programmed. Students are expected to do and learn the same things and at the same pace. It's a place where dreamers like Thomas Edison, who was labeled addled by the school he attended, don't fit. Anthony Esolen has called the schools human warehouses where any act of imagination is dangerous.

No wonder they turn out bland uniformity. Like at McDonalds, anywhere you go in this country, every Big Mac is the same. Shopping malls all look the same. The same brands are in every grocery store. And we mass produce mediocre students. Now there is a push for a nationwide standardized curriculum to assure even more uniformity. but children are not all the same. That's why for many of us, we home school out of a simple desire for a better education for our children.

This desires includes wanting my children to be good citizens. The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported a couple of weeks ago that only one in four high school seniors scored at least "proficient" in knowledge of U.
S. citizenship. History is just as bad, and the older the student the worse the results. It showed 20% of sixth graders, but only 12% of high school seniors could demonstrate a grasp of our nation's history. That is scary to think about these kids getting old enough to vote. I want my children to know why our country is the greatest on earth.

I want my children to have a rigorous and broad liberal education. Bruce S. Thompson, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and professor of classics and humanities at Cal State, surveyed the educational offerings of colleges. His bleak conclusion,

"No longer do they provide students with a grounding in the best that has been said and thought, as (Mathew) Arnold put it. What they do provide is a poor substitute: vocational training and unexamined left-wing orthodoxy."

According to Thomas Sowell,

"Unfortunately, an increasing proportion of American education, whether in the schools or in the colleges and universities, is closer to the baton twirling end of the spectrum than toward the nuclear physics end. Even reputable colleges are increasingly teaching things that students should have learned in high school."

Sowell continues,

"Too many of the people coming out of even the most prestigious academic institutions graduate with neither the academic skills to be economically productive nor the intellectual development to make them discerning citizens and voters."

That's not good enough. We want better for our children.

What is an educated person? Robert Heinlein, the noted sci-fi author, defined it like this:

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

I couldn't agree more. As home school parents, we try to give our kids a wide variety of experience. Our children have helped butcher pigs and chickens. They have written poetry. They have followed the Oregon Trail and explored Civil War battlefields. They have taken boards and nails and made elaborate tree houses. They have taken years of Latin. They have compared the Code of Hammurabi with the Law of Moses. They have read Eusebius and Plutarch's Lives - not snippets, but the whole books. They have practiced fencing with home-made swords. And they are thoroughly grounded in the Bible.

Someday, I want my children to be the leaders in their communities, not followers. I want them to be able to think and use their reservoir of learned knowledge, not follow blindly anywhere the so-called elites take them. And above all, I want them to be grounded in their faith. That is why we home school.

The Moral Decline of America - Part Two

2011-08-02T09:08:00.003-04:00

Last time, I discussed the moral decline of America. I said we were already over the edge morally and in a free fall. I gave examples of that free fall, and I gave a Biblical reason - America has kicked God out of public life.

To prove it, I quoted Romans 1:18, which said,

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

I pointed back to the turning point, when the Supreme Court decision of Abington versus Schemp in 1963 forbid Bible reading in schools.

Since then, there has been an ongoing assault on the public knowledge of God. We cannot post the Ten Commandments for fear someone might read them and actually obey them. We cannot allow prayer at graduation ceremonies or football games. The list goes on and on.

But if we are in moral decline, this presupposes we were once a moral nation. Some claim we were even a Christian nation, a claim President Obama denies. Certainly nations can't be Christian, only people can. But there is clear evidence that was the intent of the founders. Many of the earliest came to America to escape repression and to seek religious freedom. They desired to build a nation on the laws of God.

We were forged to be "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We were to protect certain "inalienable rights" endowed to us by our Creator - rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - and yes, freedom of religion. We were to be a nation ruled by people who were ruled by God's Law.

James Madison, Principal author of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, who was often called the Father of our Constitution, wrote:

"This duty [homage to God] is precedent, both in order of time and degree of obligation,to the claims of civil society. Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the universe."

What makes a good citizen, and in turn, a good country? That her citizens have faith in Jesus Christ.

George Washington said,

"Of all the dispositions and habits which leads to public prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."

The founders built this country on the twin supports of religion and morality. When Washington said religion and morality, he understood that to be Christianity and the morals taught in the Bible.

John Adams, our second president, eloquently concurs,

"We have no government, armed in power, capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion [same two supports]. . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other."

Aren't we finding that true?

What makes the current state of affairs seem so dark and dismal is because we've experienced a righteous nation. Perfect? Oh, no! It never was. But at least it tried. But not anymore.

As Ron Blue writes,

"The nation's moral fiber is being eaten away by a playboy philosophy that makes personal pleasure the supreme rule of life. Hedonism catches fire while homes crumble. Crime soars while churches sour. Drugs, divorce, and debauchery prevail and decency dies. Frivolity dances in the streets. Faith is buried. 'In God We Trust' has become a meaningless slogan stamped on corroding coins."

We've lost what we once had, and the blame falls squarely on the church. We, who were called to be salt and light, to preserve and to show the way, have failed our mission. But we are the only hope for the future.

In 2nd Chronicles 7:14, God says,

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will forgive their sin and heal their land."

That is a conditional promise.

We who are God's people, who bear the name of Christ as Christians, must put aside our arrogance and fall on our knees in fervent prayer for this land. We must seek God's face where it is revealed - in the Bible. We must diligently study, teach, and obey God's Word.

Plus, we must turn from our wicked ways. This is talking to God's people. We must stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. We must get over our love-affair with the world and fall in love with God all over again. Then God will hear and heal our land. But it is up to us. If we do, I believe revival will sweep this country once again. Yes, we can regain what we have lost.

The Moral Decline of America - Are We Already Over the Edge?

2011-07-25T09:19:00.002-04:00

Awhile back, Glenn Beck made a statement that offended conservatives. He said that same-sex marriage would never destroy America. How could this unrelenting attack on marriage not be the final nail in the coffin of the family? How could it not bring down God's wrath on us? Yet, Beck is right. Same-sex marriage isn't the reason for God's wrtath, but the result. Let me explain.

Same-sex marriage will not bring down God's wrath on America, because it is already upon us. In Romans 1:18, Paul writes chilling words, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Paul further explains that God Himself placed within each of us a God-consciousness, a conscience perhaps; plus God has revealed Himself abundantly in nature. So no man has an excuse for not recognizing God.

If this knowledge of God is suppressed, God's wrath comes upon us. Oh, not in the Sodom and Gomorrah way, but God simply lets us destroy ourselves. As the old saying goes, God gives us enough rope to hang ourselves, and we do. There's enough evidence to lead anyone to God, but men reject Him and suppress that knowledge. Therefore, God gives them over to their own sinful passions to reap the awful consequences of thier sin.

The rest of the chapter in Romonas elaborates the consequences, and they might not be what you would expect. Romans 1:24-29 says, "Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies amongst themselves. . . for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men, committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

The point is these evils manifest the wrath of God. Is is Galatians 6:7, "God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." George Mason, Virginia delegate to the Constitutional Convention, said, "As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be punished in this. By the inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence [God] punishes national sin by national clamaities."

As a society, have we suppressed knowledge of God? Absolutely, and with predictable consequences. We officially did as a nation in 1963 in Abbington versus Schempp when the Supreme Court first repudiated the Bible and its teaching in public affairs by banning Bible reading in public schools (then banning prayer the following year). Since then, there have been scores of cases overturning long standing practices stemming from God's law.

It is so prevalent now, that Arleen Ocasio, director of the Houston National Cemetary, tried to ban using the names of "God" or Jesus" at funerals, or saying "God bless you" to grieving families. She thought the ban was consistent with national policies.

There is a self imposed absence of God in public America. The results? Quoting historian David Barton, "As a result of the reversals, the United States is now number one in the world in violent crime, divorce, ilegal drug use; number one in the industrial world in teenage pregnancies; and number one in the industrial world in illiteracy. We have always been a world leader; however, since 1962-63, we have begun to lead the world in many of the wrong categories."

Back in the 80s, William Bennett, former Secretary of Education and Drug Czar, chronicled the decline by listing the changes since 1963 in "The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators." Violent crime increased 560%. Illigitimate births increased 419%. Divorces were up 400%. Child abuse increased 340%. Teenage suicide was up 200%. S.A.T. scores dropped 80% in spite of massive funding. These trends are frightening. Our country went over a cliff morally. The destruction of the traditiional family continues with disatrous consequences.

This is the wrath of God upon us. Truly we live in a decadent society, but as Cal Thomas noted, "Our major social problems are not the cause of our decadence. They are the reflection of it." Our decadence reflects our attitude about God and His Word. We have repudiated His Word as a nation, so God has given us up to do whatever we please. This is destroying us!

Let's reverse this. Rebecca Hagelin writes, "Unless we are willing to stand. . . our children may grow up in a society slowly crumbling under the weight of its own pervrrsity."

TIME TO DEFEND MARRIAGE - AGAIN!

2011-07-08T08:02:00.004-04:00

Credit where credit is due, I say. So today, even before challenging the church, I give credit to those who again push same-sex marriage. Even though I oppose your agenda with every fiber of my being, I take my hat off to you for a number of reasons.

I do so first for the way you stick to it. Your unwillingness to give up in the face of repeated defeats is impressive. Ann Coulter says that there is never a permanent victory over a liberal. She's right. You keep trying and trying, and you've even won some victories, especially through the courts imposing your "new morality" on a few states.

That's why, following your legislative victory in New York allowing same-sex marriage, I expected you to begin the petition drive here in Maine again within the week. No matter that the voters in 2009 rejected same-sex marriage by a hefty 53 to 47 percent margin, or the fact that every time people get to vote you lose, I knew you would try again. Sure enough, last Thursday, June 7Th, you began your petition drive to get the issue on the ballot again in 2012.

Now on Wednesday,August 17th, the Maine Secretary of State approved language for your citizen's initiative. You are off and running. The political battle is on again.

We in the church can learn from you. We finish a battle then get back to our normal lives, usually exhausted. I doubt that Bishop Malone or Pastor Bob Emrich feel up to spearheading another protracted political fight. Nor are the people of Maine. Marc Mutty of the Portland diocese of the Roman Catholic Church said,

"The people of this state rejected same-sex marriage in November of 2009 and should not be put through what will likely be another diivisive, drawn out campaign."

You know that. Yet, as the church, WE MUST AGAIN MOBILIZE to defend Biblical marriage. We need your ability to stick-to-it.

My hat is also off to your public relations campaign. Almost daily your cheerleaders in the Bangor Daily News make absurd claims with no references to sources. Claims that 10 to 15% of the population are homosexual when any legitimate survey can find only about 2%. Claims there is a gay gene in the DNA code predetermining homosexuality, when no gene can ever be identified. Claims that children are just as well off with two aprents of the same sex in spite of many studies to the contrary.

And, of course, equating your behavioral choice to the racial struggle for equality was a stroke of genius. Who can be against equality, right? Even your name, Equality Maine, makes it hard to resist. And that allows you to tell us we are on the wrong side of the moral issue, and call us homophobes and hate-mongers if we oppose your so-called equality. Yet, the real issue isn't equality, but morality, and same-sex marriage is simply, morally wrong. Michael Youssef claims, "Every issue is a moral issue." This one certainly is.

You've claimed your cause is similar to the court case of Loving versus Virginia. Virginia law made it a crime for Mildred and Richard Loving to marry because they were an interracial couple. However, they were fighting for the right to become a traditional marriage between one man and one woman, not trying to redefine the very definition of marriage. When the Supreme Court upheld their right in June of 1967, they ruled in favor of traditional marriage, not against it. I'm surproised that the black community isn't up in arms over the way you try to make your case equilivilent to thiers.

The Supreme Court understood then that the essential public purpose of marriage was to bind one male and one female together and to the children their sexual activity might produce, knowing that children do better in a home with a mother and a father. That is still true and the reason traditional, Biblical marriage is worth defending.

Same-sex marriage disconnects marriage from its most basic purpose. Quoting Jeff Jacoby,

"Marriage - male female marriage - is indispensable to human welfare. That is why it has existed in virtually every known human society. And why it cannot, and will not, be permanently redefined."

Thousands of years of collected wisdom shouldn't be thrown overboard, and no society until now has ever established same-sex marriage.

I also take my hat off to you for your effective use of questionable polling data. As they say, figures don't lie, but liars figure. Polling data can be fertile ground for liars. We repeatedly hear nowadays that a majority of people approve same-sex marriage. Really? If you say something over and over and over again, it doesn't make it so. When the Alliance Defense Fund and Public Opinion Strategies conducted a scientific national poll from May 16Th through 19Th of this year, they got entirely different results. They found that 62%, a solid majority in any body's reckoning, believed that, "marriage should be defined as a union between one man and one woman." These findings line up well with the actual results when voters go to the polls.

People, we need to think right. Proverbs 1:7 says,

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge , but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Without beginning with the fear of the Lord, it's amazing where our human reasoning will take us - yes, even to calling thoise standing for Biblical morality bigoted hate-mongers while demanding a complete remaking of the definition of marriage. Now we see Isaiah 5:20 lived out before our eyes. It says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." We cannot stand by and allow them to stand moralitiy on its head.

Now to address the church (and all who believe traditional marriage is worth defending), I quote the hymn of William P. Merrill,

"Rise up, O church of God! Have done with lesser things. Give heart and mind and soul and strength to serve the King of Kings."

We can win this battle again. Thirty two states have put marriage protection on the ballot, and all thirty two have won. In the ten states of the south where people have voted, traditional marriage won by an average of 71.44%. Even in Ohio, in 2004 they passed a state constituional amendment by 62% protecting marriage. We've alredy won once in Maine.

Back in 1973, when the Supreme Court ruled in Roe versus Wade that unborn babies could be deprived of their right to life and be killed in the womb, the church mostly remained silent. In their generation, they abdicated the fight over the biggest moral issue of their day. Same-sex marriage is the biggest moral issue of our day. Don't let our children and grandchildren have to ask us why we sat out the fight, if we lose anther great battle. This battle can be won. It will be, if we rise up and get to work.

What Should We Think About Gambling?

2011-07-02T13:18:00.003-04:00

Gambling was back in the news this week making the front page of the Bangor Daily News on Thursday. Governor LePage is reported as threatening to veto a bill (L.D. 1418) allowing blackjack, poker, and other table games at Hollywood Slots in Bangor.

In 2003, voters approved Hollywood Slots to operate about 1,500 slot machines.
The new bill would allow them to compete with the voter approved casino being built in Oxford County. This bill along with others proposing new racinos in Calais, Biddeford, and Lewiston are making their way through the process in Augusta.

What should we think about this issue? Since these bills require voter referendum, it is a political issue up for debate. Since it is also a moral issue, I urge the churches to actively enter this debate.

Surprisingly, the church is relatively silent on the issue. The church was not always silent. An unknown preacher in second century North Africa preached, "Gambling is like the devil's hunting sphere and those who play the dice are wounded with an irresistible allurement. . . The gambling board is the devil's snare and the enemy's trap which indices greed but in actuality brings utter ruin."

St. Augustine said, "The devil invented gambling." John Calvin caused gambling to be outlawed in Geneva. Martin Luther said, "Money won by gambling is not won without self-seeking and sin."

In the early years of our country, gambling was widespread. However, when the evangelical church raised her voice, the blight was rolled back. By 1884, legal gambling had disappeared from America. It wasn't until 1964 that New Hampshire discovered the lottery as a cash cow, and government sponsored gambling came back into favor. Now 37 states prey on the poorest if their citizens with lotteries, and there are some 500 casinos across the the land. It's time the church raised her voice again.

There are Biblical reasons to oppose gambling. I won't take time to make a full case, but here is a sampling of reasons. George Washington stated, "Gambling is the child of avarice, or greed, the brother of iniquity and the father of mischief." That's Biblical. Jesus said in Luke 12:15, "Take heed and beware of every form of greed, for one's life doesn not consist of the things he possesses."

Furthermore, since gambling seeks to make a killing at the expense of someone else, it violates the second great commandment. Jesus told us that,second only to loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Quoting Pastor John MacArthur,

"The success of gambling is based on certain sins. If these sins didn't exist, gambling wouldn't either. The sins that support gambling are materialism, greed, discontent, expoitaion, laziness, distrust of God's provision, disdain for the virtues of labor, irresponsible stewardship, and indifference to those in need."

The devastation that gambling does to society should also be a reason for the church to raise her voice. 500 billion dolalrs is legally wagered every year in America. If you add in illegal gambling, the total raises to an estimated one trillion dollars. There are approximately ten million compulsive gamblers, more than the number of alcoholics. With that much money involved and that many compulsive gamblers, trouble is surely brewing. And it is.

By 1995, studies indicated that 95% of Americans gambled, 82% played the lottery, 75% played slot machines, 50% bet on dogs or horses, 44% bet on cards, 34% played bingo, and 74% frequented casinos. We spend more on gambling that on music, movies, and all other entertainment combined, and more than we spend on all professional sports combined. That's only what is spent legally. People earning less than $10,000 annually buy more lottery tickets than any other income groupo.

Atlantic City shows what happens to a city that allows gambling. It's population shrank 20% since 1976. Crime is up 380%. The police force has doubled. Half of the 2,100 businesses have closed. Four of the past six mayors have been indicted for corruption. According to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, casino gambling is a magnet for street crime. 40% of white collar crime is caused by compulsive gambling. We haven't even talked about the devastation that gambling causes in the homes of compulsive gamblers.

God said in Genesis 3:19. "By the seat of your brow you shall eat bread." Proverbs 12:11 says, "He who till his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding." God has ordained a method of gaining wealth. It is called work. Gambling offers the fantasy of getting rich without work. It is just that - a fantasy.

Gambling is not good for our community. With gambling, no new wealth is created. Wealth is simply transferred from the hands of the many to the hands of the few. Gambling produces nothing. It adds nothing to the larger economy. Instead, it harms most those who can least afford it. Quoting MacArthur, "It is a plague on our culture (and every culture where it has been legalized), and Christians should not be silent or neutral about it."

God Isn't Divided, Why Are His Spokesmen?

2011-06-24T18:53:00.004-04:00

In the debate about same-sex marriage, I am constantly amazed by the number of articles I read about clergy who promote it. On Monday, for instance, another article appeared in the Bangor Daily News with the title, "Some Methodist Clergy Defy Ban on Gay Marriage." The opening line read,

"A growing number of pastors in the United Methodist Church say they are no longer willing to obey a church rule that prohibits them from officiating at same-sex marriages, despite the potential threat of being disciplined or dismissed from the church."

Even if they are willing to defy their denomination, my question is, why are they willing to defy God?

The final line of the article reads,

"Hundreds of pastors from areas including Illinois, Minnesota, New York, and the northeastern New England states have signed statements in recent weeks asserting their willingness to defy the rule."

It is obvious from reading the many articles that have appeared that there are many clergy on both sides of the "homosexual Rights" movement, including the debate about same-sex marriage.

The liberal media love to quote favorably those clergy who promote same-sex marriage, while they cast doubt on those clergy who stick with the traditional viewpoint. But can both sides truly be speaking for God? If both sides are representing God's viewpoint, God must be awfully confused and not all-knowing and all-wise as we believe.

No! The truth is, God has spoken, and He has spoken clearly through His word. God's word is the Bible, the source document for our Christian faith. Those who proclaim the Bible speak for God. Those who deny the clear teaching of the Bible speak for themselves.

In Jeremiah 23:16, God said, "They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord." God is warning the Israelites not to listen to those false prophets who proclaim their own ideas. They are liars if they claim to speak for Him. Only those who proclaim the revelation of God are legitimate spokesmen.

The same warning is valid for us today. Don't listen to false prophets who proclaim their own human reasoning rather than the truth of God's word. We should never consider them spokesmen for God any more than we would consider someone a spokesman for Islam who denied the Koran. Could we even consider them Muslim if they denied the Koran? Can we even consider those Christian who deny the Bible? Yet they are precisely the ones the liberal media go to for the Christian position. I deny they can possibly speak for God.

God's word is clear. God created men and women with uniquely different bodies, which allows sexual reproduction, and with different temperaments, which allows them to fulfill their different roles as fathers and mothers. God Himself brought that first man and woman together and joined them in the first marriage.

Adam didn't need just a companion, or God could have given him a dog. Adam didn't need just an economic partner, or God could have given him another man. But in order for them to obey God's command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, Adam needed a woman. This is why the first marriage was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

God further stated His purpose for marriage in Malachi 2:15, "But did He not make them one. . .and why one? He seeks godly offspring." Obviously, this refers back to the creation account of Adam and Eve, and by implication, to us as well. And the question asked is the very one we are debating today. Why is there marriage? The answer is simple. God wants to see the birth and nurture of godly offspring. This takes a father and a mother. God's commentary of that first marriage is found in Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

God intended marriage to be a safe place where a loving couple, a man and a woman, could bear and raise children. This has provided the definition of marriage from the beginning, and remains the definition today. Any other arrangement is not marriage - not according to God. Anyone, including any clergy, who says otherwise is speaking on their own behalf, not God's, and he is doing so in clear defiance of the word of God. They are not the voice of God. They do not speak for God. They are false prophets and shouldn't be listened to.

There's No Adult Conversations With Political Correctness

2011-06-20T11:36:00.004-04:00

When I was a kid, when someone was losing and argument he would often resort to name calling and intimidation. It usually worked when logic wasn't on your side because few people could stand up under verbal intimidation. In logic, this is called an ad hominum argument, one that doesn't rebut the issue but attacks the person making the issue. It is effective.

That tactic is common nowadays. Anyone who would stray from the politically correct line is demonized. More and more, those attacked simply remain quiet or go along. As a result, columnist, John Hawkins has said,

"It has become almost impossible to have adult conversations about certain subjects. The moment you try to do so, legions of grievance mongers, ideologues, and bottom feeders start belting out scripted responses that have nothing to do with the topic at hand and everything to do with what they imagine your motivation to be and how ugly, stupid, and flawed they think you are as a human being."

Evan Hurst, of the homosexual advocacy group Truth Wins Out, is a good example. Hurst says of those who oppose same-sex marriage,

"They are certainly entitled to cling to backwoods, uneducated, reality-rejecting views. . . But their 'religious freedom' doesn't call for the rest of us to pretend their views aren't disgusting and hateful."

Wow! And we're called homophobes? It sounds more like he's a heterophobe. So the schoolhouse taunts of, "You Dummy," turn into taunts of "bigot, hatemonger, and homophobe."

Anyone opposing same-sex marriage, or the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), or Don't Ask, Don't Tell, is demonized. This could explain why the opinion polls show a majority of people now favor same-sex marriage; yet, every time it comes up for a vote and people can express their view in the privacy of a voting booth, it loses. Nobody wants to reveal their political uncorrectness out-loud and face that kind of scorn.

That's why, we are told, certain topics are off limits, because they show us to be bigoted and brain dead. For instance, we can never talk about what homosexuals actually do, or whether homosexuality is an unhealthy lifestyle. We can never talk about the reason God created marriage between one man and one woman. We can never talk about how being pro same-sex marriage is incompatible with being a Biblical Christian. We can never talk about what open homosexuals in the military will do to combat readiness. That would be hateful to talk about,we are told. Those issues must be avoided.

Those who do speak are made to pay. Anyone who follows the news has heard the stories. Olympic Gold Medal gymnast Peter Vidmir was pressured to resign as chief of mission for the 2012 Olympic Team because he publically supported California's Proposition 8. Under pressure, Atlanta law firm King & Spalding pulled out of the case representing the U.S. House of Representatives defending DOMA. Pro athletes and comedians are made to grovel publically over gay slurs. Military officers have had their careers ended because they publically opposed the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The list goes on and on.

Quoting Richard Barnes of the New York Catholic Conference,

"We are unjustly called 'haters' and 'bigots' by those who have carefully framed their advocacy strategy. The entire campaign to enact same-sex marriage is conducted under a banner of acceptance. . . Yet, behind that banner of tolerance is another campaign - of intimidation, threats and ugliness."

Because of this, too many Christians have backed off, preferring to accommodate and appease those who would destroy the moral fabric of our country. They have acquiesced to the political corrctness forced on them by the liberal elite.

But we don't have to. Robert George, Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and co founder of the National Organization for Marriage, says,

"The power to intimidate people, to make them fear they'll be called a bigot or be denied opportunities for jobs, only works if people allow themselves to be bullied."

Proverbs 28:1 says,

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

We stand for truth. We should not be ashamed of it. But in doing so, we must also obey the command from Jesus in Matthew 5:44,

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."

We must always speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

It is not the Christian who is a homophobe or a hate monger, not if he is a genuine Christian. Real love doesn't look the other way when someone is about to hurt himself. Real love desires the best for the other person.

We may not win every argument, but we need to stay part of the conversation. Why can't we return to civility and discuss issues as adults?

Leaving Our National Debt to Our Grandkids

2011-06-02T19:22:00.002-04:00

In my writing, I've always tried to stay away from politics considering myself, as a pastor, more qualified to address moral issues. But House Speaker John Boehner argued that the debt crisis our country faces is indeed a moral problem. It got me thinking.

In Proverbs 13:22, Solomon writes, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children." If that is true, what does it imply about the man who doesn't leave his descendants anything? Obviously, he's not a good man. Let's take that one step further. What would this imply about the man who, instead of leaving his grandchildren an inheritance, leaves them a whole slew of debt - more debt than they could ever repay? That man must be downright evil.

But isn't that exactly what we are doing as a country? We've once again reached our legal debt limit at over $14.3 trillion, and the battle rages to raise the limit to accommodate another $1.65 trillion deficit this year with trillion dollar deficits predicted every year into the future. I can't even get my mind around numbers that big.

What I can understand is when our National Debt is divided by the number of citizens. Now I can see my share. By the way, that share is $46,224.58 for every citizen. That is how much of the National Debt my six year-old son owes, and my twelve year-old son owes, and my fifteen year-old daughter owes. Don't forget about my wife and I, we each owe a share as well. My family share is well over $230,000, and it only keeps going up.

That makes me pretty nervous. I don't make very much as a poor preacher. I will never be able to pay back my family's share, not this side of the grave. All that debt will be transferred to my children and grandchildren. That is immoral. As a country, we are willing to do it to our grand kids so we can have the benefit of more government than we can afford.

Everyone seems to know we can't keep on going on this way, but few seem to want it changed. Yes, we all want the benefits of cheap atomic power, but don't put the reactor in my backyard. Yes, we want the budget cut, but not if it involves cutting any of my benefits. But, don't worry. Our grand kids can figure it all out.

President Obama formed the National Commission of Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to study the issue, but both he and congress ignored their recommendations. Yet the commission did bring attention to the crisis. Erskine Bowles, chairman of the commission and former Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, told congress in March,

"I'm really concerned. I think we face the most predictable economic crisis in history. . . The fiscal path we are on today is simply not sustainable. This debt and these deficits that we are incurring on an annual basis are like a cancer, and they are truly going to destroy this country from within unless we have the common sense to do something about it."

That's just the problem. Quoting Tim Wildman of the American Family Association,

"Liberal politicians are absolute tax and spend addicts. They cannot control themselves. They are checked only by conservatives, and when there are not enough conservatives to stop them, they act like children in a candy store with no adult around."

Following Obama's State of the Union Address in January, the liberal Washington Post wrote,

"The White House may have decided that debt reduction is so tough it has to await what officials, speaking not for attribution, have termed 'a forcing event.'"

Who knows what that could be, but it sounds like a financial meltdown.

Tim Wildman further states,

"It could be that a lot of liberal politicians know that what Erskine Bowles is saying is true. But these politicians figure that they are not going to be around anyway when America's financial system comes tumbling down so why go through the pain of telling people they can't have what they've always had, compliments of the American taxpayer."

That is dereliction of duty. That is immoral. We must stop voting for the very ones who got us into this mess.

Why Supprt Israel

2011-05-26T19:09:00.003-04:00

In the midst of the Arab Spring last Thursday, President Obama reversed decades of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East by taking the Palestinian side against Israel. Among other things, Obama called for a return to Israel's pre-1967 borders, which would leave the country eight miles wide and totally indefensible. This would jeopardize the very existence of Israel.

The next day, Obama got a dressing down by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "It's not going to happen," Netanyahu said Friday. "Everybody knows it's not going to happen." Land for peace has been tried and doesn't work. Paul Greenberg called this, "the oldest established permanent mirage in the Middle East. . . the Israelis may have finally seen through this game."

By Sunday, Obama was back peddling fast, claiming his remarks were misrepresented. Perhaps polls showing that 67% of Americans disapproved changed his mind. Perhaps addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee did. Wisely, he reversed course. Obama stated,

"Even while we may sometimes disagree, as friends sometimes will, the bonds between the United States and Israel are unbreakable, and the commitment of the United States to the security of Israel is ironclad."

Those are the words he needed to say, and the words he needs to mean.

After 2,000 years, God kept His promise calling His chosen people back to their land. Ezekiel 34:12-13 says: "As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among the scattered sheep, so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they are scattered. . . . .And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from among the countries, and I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places." That happened as the modern state of Israel was created in 1948.

The borders of Israel were expanded in 1967 after Syria, Egypt, and Jordan attacked without provocation. Since its inception, the state of Israel has been under almost continuous attack by rocket and suicide bomber. Hamas, in Gaza, and Hezbollah, in Lebanon, have both stated goals of driving Israel into the sea. Now Hamas has joined a unity government with Fatah, the party that controls the West Bank. Israel should trust them? They have vowed Israel's total destruction.

Repeatedly Israel has given land for peace. They gave back the Sinai and Gaza, but the terrorism didn't end. Greenberg stated,

"American policymakers still talk about the conflict between Israel and her neighbors as if it were a territorial dispute - just a matter of drawing lines on a map. . . [but] this has never been about the creation of another Arab state, but the elimination of a Jewish one."

Why should we continue to support Israel? There is a mutual friendship and shared Judeo-Christian heritage, but there are better reasons. We need to be on Israel's side because God is.

God gave them the land as a perpetual heritage. God made the original covenant with Abraham and repeated it often. The prophet Isaiah wrote to Israel in Isaiah 54:5,10,

"For your maker is your husband. . . . For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed."

Paul, in Romans 11:29. writes, "For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." God keeps His promises.

More importantly, God told Abraham in Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you." Since they became a nation, we have been Israel's primary defender and protector. Could this be the reason that we have experienced unparalleled blessing and prosperity? With all the bad news in the world facing us, what more can we expect if we abandon our friend?

Don't Nibble Around the Edges of Abortion, End It!

2011-05-19T12:11:00.002-04:00

A Public hearing was held on yet another bill that nibbles around the edges of the abortion debate. This bill is L.D. 1463, which would assign a degree of legal standing to unborn babies so that those who injure them could be charged with a crime. Many states already give unborn babies this legal standing. Maine is just now considering getting on board, and it would join other bills under consideration that would require informed consent.

The opponents, as usual, argue that this is yet another attempt to erode constitutionally protected abortion rights. Alysia Melnick of the Maine Civil Liberties Union stated, "This bill would clearly separate a woman from her fetus in the eyes of the law." Her argument is that to consider the baby as more than a blob of tissue attached to the mother would get people to thinking this blob of tissue with a beating heart and a unique genetic code was a person. If people began to think that way, they might get the idea that the person had a right to live.

Horrors! Thus they accuse the sponsors of the bill of wanting to erode abortion rights. Oh, no, they were told, implying that we would never do something as stupid as challenge a woman's right to choose. This bill's sponsor, Senator Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, assured them, "At no point is this intended to affect a woman's right to choose [abortion]." Apparently she doesn't want to be accused of that. But, why wouldn't we want to? Do you really believe, Senator Plowman, that our Constitution guarantees a woman's right to an abortion? I've read the Constitution a number of times, and I can't find it. It's not there!

What I do find in the Constitution is that the fourteenth Amendment reiterates the Fifth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence by saying, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Our Constitution guarantees the right to life, not the right of a woman to choose death for her baby. Now the right to privacy has trumped that right to life, and abortion is the law of the land. As a result, 50,000,000 precious babies have been denied the right to be born.

Why would we not want to affect a woman's right to choose abortion? Why are we such cowards to say so? Are we afraid they will ridicule us? Why should we give up the debate over Roe versus Wade? Why do we accept the argument that Roe versus Wade is established, settled law? As established, settled law, they claim, it has somehow become sacred and untouchable. Hogwash!

Unfortunately, that was the same argument that was used to preserve slavery. The Dred Scott Decision by the Supreme Court was established law, and it allowed property rights of slave owners to trump the rights of the slaves to be free. It should have been the moral imperative of every decent citizen to oppose that wrong headed decision. It should be the moral imperative of every decent citizen to fight for the right to life for unborn children. To not argue for a total end to abortion is cowardice.

Can you imagine William Wilberforce standing before parliament arguing, "No, sir, we do not want to end the slave trade. We understand that it is established law. We merely want to pass some bills to make sure the slave traders are informed and can make an intelligent choice about whether to traffic in human lives." How ridiculous! does anyone actually think that would work? No!

Wilberforce had to attack the trade itself as evil. Yes, it was evil to trade in human lives, and the practice needed to be ended. There wasn't room for compromise. Yes, abortion is evil in that it destroys innocent human life, and the practice needs to be ended. Yes, Roe verses Wade needs to be reversed. Let's say it.

Let's have the guts to say, "Yes, we will do everything we can to overturn Roe versus Wade because it is bad law and was made through faulty reasoning." Yes, because of the currently political situation, we can work toward partial measures that will limit it, but we will not rest until it is overturned.

Time to Shut Planned Parenthood's Cash Spigot

2011-05-05T13:26:00.002-04:00

This Saturday, I plan to participate in the "Walk for Life" sponsored by First Step Pregnancy Center in Bangor. This is one of the many ways that they raise funds to help in their effort to save innocent, unborn babies from death. They are doing a good work, and they have to raise their own funds to do it. Planned Parenthood doesn't have to do that. They receive $300 million in subsidies from the Federal Government, plus additional funding from many state governments, to carry out their agenda of ending the life of unborn babies through abortion. Something is wrong with this picture. It's time Planned Parenthood's government funding spigot is shut.

Why shouldn't Planned Parenthood have to hold their own fundraising events? Maybe they could have their own walk too. They could call it the "Walk for Death." But why should all of us be forced through our tax dollars to fund an organization that practices what many of us consider a great evil? Actually, since our Federal Government is broke, why should we borrow to fund their efforts so they can continue to end the life of future taxpayers?

There are those who disagree with shutting off the spigot. Our President and the Democrats in the Senate have drawn a line in the sand. They and other Planned Parenthood allies always want to trot out the "good things" that Planned Parenthood does to justify continued funding. But the problem is, those things don't change the fact that Planned Parenthood is the nation's number one provider of abortion.

One of our children's newest favorite movies is "Tangled." There is one scene in the movie where the heroine is lured into a tavern with a benign sounding name but filled with an assortment of thugs, toughs, and criminals. Fearing for her life, she explains her dream to them. Touched by the beauty of it, they all begin telling their own dreams. Deep inside they are really wonderful people with admirable dreams. One wants to be a concert pianist. Another wants to be a mime. Still another collects miniatures. Ah, but alas, they really are all thugs, toughs, and criminals who make their living through crime. None of their dreams change that fact.

Everyone wants to be thought well of. that's human nature. Everyone will always present their best side - even Planned Parenthood. But it is kind of hard to hide reality. That's the situation with Planned Parenthood. For all of its "good intentions," they remain the nation's number one provider of abortion. As such, they do not deserve one cent of public support. Please do not use our tax dollars to fund them. Shut off the cash spigot.

Transgender Restrooms - The Loss of Common Sense

2011-04-28T09:46:00.002-04:00

This past week, I have read articles on hearings being held for L.D. 1046, the so called "Bathroom Bill," and articles on the lawsuit going forward against the Orono Elementary School for violating the "rights" of a transgender student who was refused use of the girl's bathroom. As a society, have we gone insane?

The simple fact that we have hearings on "The Bathroom Bill" shows that we have totally lost common sense as a society. The bill would clarify who could use which bathrooms. The reason the bill is necessary is that the Maine Civil Rights Commission has left the situation in limbo, not issuing common sense guidelines for schools and businesses, but indicating that people need to be allowed to use whatever bathroom fits their perceived sexuality, rather than their biological sex. Can they be serious?

My wife and I are the old fashioned sort that never had ultrasounds before our babies were born. Every time my wife gave birth, it was always a surprise. the midwife would take a look between the babies legs and, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" Not once did she ever say, "Well now, we'll just have to wait and see till the baby is older and can decide for itself." Of course not! Biology has already decided.

Actually, the Bible tells us that God already decided. Genesis 1:27 teaches, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He create him; male and female He created them." Psalm 139:23-24 also teaches that God "formed my inward parts, [He] covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise [Him], for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." That doesn't leave much room for choice. We are what we are born. We are what God made us. Why have we stopped encouraging people to be what they were meant to be? Why have we stopped expecting people to take responsibility for who they are?

A young woman we know, pregnant for her second child, recently had her husband come to her and say he wanted to be a woman. Hello? He left her to pursue the homosexual lifestyle. He had already done what a man does. He had impregnated his wife twice. Now he needs to be the man he was meant to be and protect and provide for his family. Rather than do the right thing, he chose to abandon his family all because he decided to choose a different sex.

We hear that transgender people feel embarrassed to use bathrooms designed for their biological sex - that they are more comfortable in the bathroom of the opposite sex. To my mind, it would be more embarrassing to go into a bathroom where everyone had different plumbing; although I can imagine some of the guys I went to high school with who would pretend to transgender just to get a peek. If the issue is self-consciousness, the answer would be to transition to single occupancy restrooms, or place a few alongside the communal restrooms, as some stores are doing now with family restrooms. But don't open the door to making every little girl embarrassed by a biological boy in their restroom, or open the door to pedophiles and sex-perverts to prey on little girls.

Our restrooms should not be open and inclusive. Especially, the restrooms our children use should not be open and inclusive. When will we stop worrying so much about the supposed rights of people's choices and start worrying about protecting our children? When will parents rise up and finally say, ENOUGH! STOP THE MADNESS! When will we make our stand?

Beyond Wisconsin - The Real Crisis in Education

2011-03-23T15:26:00.003-04:00

Now that the standoff between the teacher's union and the governor of Wisconsin has faded from our front pages, it might be time to consider the greater scandal in education - that is the failure of our public educational system to produce well educated adults.

I shouldn't have to prove the statement. Anyone interested can find the statistics easily enough. recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a reputable organization of 34 of the world's most advanced countries placed U.S. fifteen year olds in the middle of the thirty-four nations educationally. Education Secretary, Anne Duncan, states that by next year 82% of all public schools could be failing. She writes,

"When a child is meeting the state standards, they are in fact barely able to graduate from high school. And they are absolutely inadequately prepared to go to a competitive university, let alone graduate."

That is the bigger scandal.

What is the problem? We have a multitude of dedicated, hard working teachers. We spend more money for education every year. As we have read, the teachers in Wisconsin are well paid with lots of benefits. All more money will accomplish is more of the same. Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Educationally, if we expect different results, we will have to look for different solutions.

Business guru W. Edward Deming stated, "Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you are getting." This is true in every situation. Public education is accomplishing exactly what it is designed to accomplish. Unfortunately, the results for which they are designed aren't the same results most Americans want. This is because, instead of concentrating on teaching the skills needed to thrive in society, our schools are becoming more and more indoctrination centers for tolerance.

Kevin Jennings, our nation's "Safe Schools" Czar, is a good example. He has stated, "every public school, private school, or parochial school has an obligation" to teach a pro-homosexual curriculum. Even if your parochial school believes that homosexuality is a sin condemned by God? "Lord forbid a Baptist or Mormon school," he added, as he denounced private schools and school choice/voucher programs as "very dangerous" because they oppose his agenda. Very dangerous? They are the ones that have produced real educational results, they and home schools. Oh, but that isn't the agenda, indoctrination is. Do we really need pro-homosexual curriculum in, as he has stated, "kindergarten, and first grade, and second grade, every grade," especially when Little Johnny can't read?

These attitudes are not unique to Kevin Jennings. Check out these real headlines from our nation's newspapers over the past several weeks: "U.S. Teachers Tell U.N. Sex is a Spectrum - Advocate Mandatory Classes to Free Students From Religion." Principal Orders (Ten Commandments) Yanked From School Lockers." "University Defines Christians as Oppressors." "District Taking Money But Censoring Christians." "No Opting Out of Pro-Gay School Participation." These are but a sampling. It seems as though tolerance of everything is good except tolerance of traditional or Christian values.

Catherine Ross, a law professor at George Washington University, expressed their opinion well. She wrote,

"I am not primarily concerned here with the quality of academic achievement in the core curriculum areas of homeschoolers, which has been the subject of much heated debate. Instead, my comments focus on civic education in the broadest sense, which I define primarily as exposure to the constitutional norm of tolerance."

She continues,

"In order for the norm of tolerance to survive across generations, society need not and should not tolerate the indoctrination of absolutist views that undermine toleration of difference."

In other words, she doesn't think that homeschooling Christian parents should be allowed to teach their beliefs to their children,no matter how well they are doing academically. Indoctrination of their views is more important than achievement of core curriculum areas.

Parents should teach values to their children, while public schools should concentrate on teaching core curriculum. But as Mike Farris said,

"The 'It takes a village to raise a child' crowd believe that all children are the children of the village."

No! Parents are the ones responsible for their children. Perhaps it is time the schools again get serious about education and worry less about indoctrination. Maybe then they will have time to teach core curriculum, and maybe then we'll regain our place as the top educationally.

Three Cheers for the House

2011-03-17T09:42:00.002-04:00

In the last blog entry, I asked where the outrage was in Congress over our President's decision to neglect his duty as Chief Executive to enforce and defend the law. I was specifically referring to his announcement that the Attorney General Eric Holder, and the Justice Department, would no longer defend DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act). They also won't prosecute child pornographers or investigate Planned Parenthood among other things.

Well, imagine how pleased I was to read that on March 9th, John Boehner, our Speaker of the House, organized and led a five-member Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) which will hire its own lawyers to fight for DOMA in court. Three cheers for them. The Republicans involved all signed the Pledge to America, and they are sticking to their pledge. They are committed to fight for marriage.

DOMA is now being challenged in the First District Court of Appeals. Pray for the right decision, and pray for these bold, principled congressmen. Let these congressmen know you appreciate their effort.

Defending D.O.M.A.

2011-03-11T09:36:00.005-05:00

President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have announced that they will no longer defend DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) in court. Perhaps they have forgotten what their jobs entail. They represent the Executive Branch of government. This means they are not responsible to make law (the job of the Legislative Branch) nor interpret law (the job of the Judicial Branch), but enforce law. Nowhere do they have the authority to forget about those laws they don't like or don't think appropriate. The President and the Executive Branch is charged with the task of executing the laws passed by congress. Article II of our Constitution requires the President to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." His job is not to re-interpret it.

The Defense of Marriage act was passed by congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. The house voted 342-67 to pass and the senate voted 85-14. Clearly, they reflected the mandate of overwhelming public opinion. In every state where homosexual marriage has been on the ballot, it has lost. Once again, he is trying to bypass the will of the people and allow the liberal judges to remake the law and the morality of this country. Clearly, President Obama is out of step with the American people.

But more importantly, President Obama is out of step with God. It was God who instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden by creating one man for one woman and uniting them for life. Throughout the Bible, we see God's anger at the distortion of His plan, and homosexuality is a distortion of God's plan for sexual intimacy and marriage. Homosexuality turns God's plan for the family on its head. It was never meant to be two guys playing house, but it was the institution for the procreation and protection of children so that they could be raised to productive maturity. God designed it best. He knew that not only would it take a male and a female to procreate, but He knew that children need both a mother and a father in the home to provide the best conditions to raise them. Society has always understood this definition of family.

I would urge President Obama and Attorney General Holder to do your job. Defend the law. Live up to your campaign rhetoric when you declared that you believed marriage was between one man and one woman. President Obama, do the right thing, not the politically expedient thing that panders to your base. I would urge our Republican Congress to stop playing the wimps. House Speaker John Boehner stated,

"While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversy that sharply divides the nation."

Real tough, John. Where is the outrage at this abrogation of duty on the part of the president? Where are the elected leaders who will step up to the plate and defend marriage?

The Culture War Won't End

2011-03-02T13:48:00.002-05:00

I recently received a picture from a family friend showing her beautiful baby boy. The picture showed a perfect baby with an adorable face. My wife and daughter "cooed" over him. Oh, I forget to tell you, the pictures were by ultrasound, and her baby is still two months from birth. This beautiful little baby could still be killed should his mother "choose" and should a doctor be paid to take his life. Beautiful babies like this are killed everyday in this country up to the moment of birth, most of them for the convenience of the parents. That is why the issue of abortion remains such a volatile and intensely fought battle in our country.

Not long after the Roe v Wade decision was handed down by the Supreme court on January 22, 1973, Carl Sagan, the popular TV astronomer, wrote an article in Parade Magazine, a magazine inserted in most Sunday papers. The headline over the article read, Abortion, Finding the Middle Ground. I read on to see if there could be such a thing. Sagan wrote, "One would have thought that the controversy was over when the Supreme Court took the middle ground." The middle ground? How could Roe v Wade, a decision that virtually allows abortion for any reason up to the moment of birth, be called the middle ground? No, that is the most extreme position, not anywhere near middle ground.

One would have thought the controversy was over when the Fourteenth Amendment to our Constitution reiterated the Fifth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence by saying, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." Our Constitution guaranteed the right to life. Now the right to privacy has trumped that right, and abortion is the law of the land. As a result, 50,000,000 precious babies have been denied the right to live.

For those of us who believe that every life is a gift from God and that we are created in the image of God, this is an atrocity. That we have legalized the killing of our own children, mothers hiring their death in the womb at the hands of those committed to saving lives, is barbaric. Add in the fact that decent human beings should protect innocent life, and it is obvious why we can never give up the pro-life fight.

That's why I find it encouraging that bills have been drafted and sent to the Judiciary Committee in Augusta calling for a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion and to require parental notification before a minor can get an abortion. These are logical first steps, but only first steps, in the effort to overturn Roe v Wade.

Some would argue that Roe v Wade is established law as our local paper has said. As established law, they claim, it has somehow become sacred and untouchable. Unfortunately, that was the same argument that was used to preserve slavery. The Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court was established law, and it allowed property rights of slave owners to trump the right of the slave for freedom. It should have been the moral imperative of every decent citizen to oppose that wrong headed decision. It should be the moral imperative of every decent citizen to fight for the right to life of the unborn children.

When laws are made by man regardless of the transcendent laws of God, those laws are not sacred. They should be changed. As long as wrong laws are in force, people of character like William Wilberforce, who spent a lifetime fighting the slave trade, will be around. As long as abortion continues to take the lives of innocent, unborn babies, there will be people who oppose it.

Should we expect an end to the culture war? No! the war will continue. Those who would destroy the moral culture of this country have been winning battles over the past few decades, but the war of values isn't over. In the same issue of the Bangor Daily News on February 28Th that told of the bills to curtail abortion, you could also read articles on transgender bathroom use in schools and the decision by our President, who is our chief law enforcement officer, who announced he would not defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Can anyone say that we are better off as a country with these and other of the new social experiments? The culture war must continue because the stakes are simply too high.

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part V

2011-02-15T10:49:00.002-05:00

In light of what we've been saying about spiritual gifts, the job of the pastor is to teach his congregation how to use their spiritual gifts in ministry. He is charged to equip the saints who are responsible to get the work done. For a pastor to neglect equipping his congregation and try to do all the work himself is to abandon his primary call. It is also a pretty ineffective way to build a church. Larry Gilbert writes:

"A pastor who cannot get his people to do the work and tries to do it all by himself is like a mother who says, 'Well, I can't get the kids to clean their rooms, so I will let them go out and play so they will be out of my way while I do it.' She is wrong. If her job is to train her children so they will one day be responsible adults, then she cannot clean their rooms for them and let them play."

By doing all the work, a pastor is developing an irresponsible congregation.

By doing all the work, a pastor is building a spectator church - one that has to be entertained all the time, and one that has to have all their needs met all the time. He is not building a spiritually mature church that actively ministers. As a result, the work is stymied, and that church won't grow. It puts too much of a burden on one man. There's no greater way of limiting church growth than for only one, or just a few, trying to do all the work of ministry.

Just how much can one man do? Even if you throw a few deacons into the equation, it's still too much work. It could never accomplish what all of us working together could accomplish. So, which makes more sense? Training your kids to clean their own room, or cleaning it for them? Teaching your congregation to use thier gifts in ministery, or doing all the ministry yourself? God's way sounds so much better. If God has given you a calling and a gift to do it, what will God think if you don't do it?

First Peter 4:10 says, "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." You are a steward of the gifts God has given you. God expects you to use those gifts in ministry. This is the whole purpose for which God saved you. Will you get to work?

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part IV

2011-02-08T11:24:00.002-05:00

Our premise has been simple. God equips us for the job He give us. What God does to equip us is to give us a gift tailor made to allow us to do the job. OK, if that is true, why are so many churches dying on the vine? Could it be, at least in part, that believers in those churches don't know about their spiritual gifts, or that they are not using their spiritual gifts? Could that be it?

Why have 80% of the churches in this country either plateaued or gone into decline? Could it be that the majority of thoe congregations aren't engaged in ministry? Could it be they aren't using the spiritual gifts that God gave them? And why are some churches bursting at the seams with explosive growth? Could it be in those churches that a good share of the membership is actively engaged in ministry? Could it be that they are actively using the gifts God gave them?

Obviously, little churches stay Little for a reason. This could be one of the reasons: too few people are doing the work that God prepared for them. There is an old 80/20 rule of thumb that says that in a typical church 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people. That it is true explains why 80% of the churches aren't growing. How can they grow if so many of their people are doing so little work? God never intended it to be that way.

A good place to look at God's plan is Ephesians 4:11-12, which says:

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

Historically as Jesus built the church, He gave apostles to lay the groundwork, along with the prophets. He sent out evangelists to plant churches. And He called pastors to teach.

But what was the purpose? The pastor-teacher was to equip or train the saints, the congregation, so that they could do the work of ministry. In other words, he was to teach peole to recognize and use their spiritual gifts in ministry. Why? So those people could use their gifts for the edifying of the body of Christ, the church. Edify means to build up. That's God's master plan for building His church.

What is the pastor's job? It is not to do all the work, or even most of the work. It is to train his people how to do the work so they can get busy. it is to tain them to be a more effective work force. The pastor is the coach. We are all a team. And we have all been given gifts to use in ministry. What we need is to be trained how to use them. We need to be equipped through teaching. Teaching is the most important job of the pastor. Doing the work? That's your job. That's what you have been gifted to do.

The apostles recognized this. In Acts 6, when a complaint arose that the Greek widows weren't getting as much charity as the Hebrew widows, the apostles called a big congregational meeting. They asked the congregation to pick seven men who could help them because it wasn't a good use of resources for them to do it all themselves. This is what it says in Acts 6:2-4:

"Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out form among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.'"

The disciples were to find some qualified people to do it. Let them administer the charity. That wasn't what God had called the apostles for.

Why, those slackers! How could they be so lazy? No! No! Not at all. God hadn't called them to wait tables, but to minister the Word of God. It would be a violation of their call to neglect it. They wisely chose to keep first things first. They were needed to teach. Other people could administer the charity. The pastor has a job that God has specifically called him to do - to teach the Word of God so you can be equipped to do the work. What work has God called you to do? Are you doing it?

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part III

2011-02-01T10:03:00.002-05:00

Jesus made a promise in Matthew 16:18. He said, "And on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The way Jesus builds His church is through us, His followers. We are the tools He uses. We are His body left on earth - the church.

Our Mandate is the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20,

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

This is the way Jesus builds His church, through us, His disciples. He does so using our hands, our feet, our voices, our resources.

Let em tell you a story to illustrate this: In the courtyard of a quaint little church in a small village in France stood a beautiful marble statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched. It wasn't very big, and it wasn't made by a famous artist, but it held a special place in the heart of the village people. They loved that statue of Jesus.

But, one day during World War II, a bomb struck too close. the statue was mutilated. It was broken into lots of pieces. After the battle had passed, the townspeople decided to find the pieces of their beloved statue and reconstruct it. They patiently got to work gathering and piecing the statue back together. The cracks and scars left by the disaster almost seemed to give it more beauty.

But there was one major problem. They could never find the hands. "A Christ without hands is not Christ at all," someone said with sorrow. "Hands with scars, yes! But what is a Lord without hands? We need a new statue."

But someone else came up with another idea, and everyone liked it. A brqass plaque was attached to the base of the statue which said, "I have no hands but your hands." That's exactly the point I'm making. Christ uses our hands to do His work building His church.

years later, someone else was touched by the statue and wrote these lines:

"I have no hands but your hands to do my work today.
I have no feet but your feet to lead men on the way.
I have no tongue but your tongue to tell men how I died.
I have no help but your help to bring men to God's side."

That's not just flowery talk, it's good theology. The church is the body of Christ left on earth. Ephesians 1:22-23 says:

"And He (God the Father) put all things under His (Christ's) feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

That is us, the church. We are the body of Christ on earth. Jesus is the head directing the action, but we are the body carrying out the actions. We are His hands and feet and tongue. What gets done on earth is done through us. And what Christ is doing is building His church. He's given us the Great Commission to carry it out.

As Larry Gilbert wrote, "The Great Commission is the greatest command, given by the greatest general, to the greatest army, for the greatest task ever." We are that army commissioned for this greatest task. We are Christ's church commissioned to make disciples to build the church.

But, what so many of us have forgotten is that God who assigned us this task also assigned us the means of fulfilling this task. He gave us spiritual gifts - tools that the Holy Spirit uses to accomplish His work through us. He gives us the divine ability to do the task. He leaves us with no excuse for not getting the job done.

Don't Squander Your Gift - Part II

2011-01-28T10:42:00.002-05:00

Last time, we stressed that every born-again believer has been given a spiritual gift, and we stressed that the purpose of spiritual gifts was for the profit, or benefit, of all. today, let's try to define what a spiritual gift is. Lewis Sperry Chafer gives a really good definition. He was the founder of the Dallas Theological Seminary and author of a massive eight volume systematic theology. The way he defined a spiritual gift was as follows:

"A gift in the spiritual sense means the Holy Spirit doing a particular service through the believer, and using the believer to do it."

Did you understand that? God gives every believer a spiritual gift, sometimes several, and this gift is a supernatural endowment of God's Holy Spirit used as a divine means of ministering to one another. When the Holy Spirit wants to work through you, He does so by giving you a spiritual gift, or an ability to do something, and then He empowers your effort at using your gift.

I think I'm trying to make this too complicated. It really shouldn't be. It's not some unfathomable secret doctrine or anything. All a spiritual gift is, is a special ability to do ministry. God gives that ability to us so we can do the work He asks us to do. It really is that simple.

I often use Ephesians 2:8-10 as the best illustration of the relationship between faith and work. Verses 8-9 say,

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, least anyone should boast."

Amen! We're saved by God's grace alone - Thank You, Jesus! It is all about what Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross of Calvary to pay the judicial penalty for our sins. Nothing we could have done, no amount of good works or keeping the law, could have ever saved a one of us. But God's grace did! That's what He did for us. But what can we do for Him? We can work for Him.

The Gospel Herald once published a story about a man who made it to the top of his profession. As he was looking back over his long and successful life, he thought about all the things that helped shape him and make him the man he became. He remembered the one single event that most impacted his life - an event that left him changed forever - and it was this:

One day as a young boy he went swimming alone, and he got in trouble. He was out too far, and he was at the point where he was too exhausted to swim any longer. He struggled to keep his head above water, knowing that drowning was inevitable without help. He was in a panic, thrashing about and at the point of giving up. It was then that a total stranger passed by, saw his predicament, and swam out to rescue him.

After the man had deposited him safe on shore, he turned to leave. The boy cried out, "Thank you for saving me." The man turned back and replied, "You're welcome, son. See to it that you are worth saving." That line stuck with him. "See to it that you are worth saving." That's the whole point.

God saved us by grace when we were without hope. Now, what are we going to do to make ourselves worth saving? Don't take this too far, or ever think we can repay God for His grace. Don't ever make salvation about merit. That's not it at all. But what can we do for God? How can we ever say, "Thank You?"

That's what Ephesians 2:10 is about. It says,

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

That's what we can do for God. We can work for Him.

But imagine that! God created us for, not just any good works, but works that He planned and laid out "before hand," - before He ever gave us eternal life or even life in our mother's womb. God prepared specific work for us to do. God picked out tasks for you to do, and nobody else.

But that's a scary thought. How can we accomplish what God has asked us to do? The cry of most Christians is similar to the cry of Winston Churchill in World War II, "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job." Well, God has! And those tools are our spiritual gifts.

When God calls you to do a certain task, He always gives you the ability to accomplish it. Your spiritual gift is tailor made for your special assignment. God won't give you one task and then give you a spiritual gift to do something else. God isn't stupid. He knows how to administer. And He has given you just the right gift for the job. First Corinthians 7:7 says, "But every man hath his proper gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that." God perfectly equips you to do exactly what He asks you to do. That's the beauty of this.

Don't Squander Your Gift

2011-01-27T13:55:00.005-05:00

Today, were going to take up the topic of spiritual gifts. But before we do that, we need a little encouragement from the Scriptures. In Ephesians 3:20-21, we read:

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Did that first phrase really make that great a promise? Yes! And the simple truth is, God does these exceedingly abundantly great things through us. God uses His awesome, infinite power to accomplish His program through us, for His glory. We become the tools He uses to accomplish these great things.

But, How does God direct that power in and through us? he works through our spiritual gifts - gifts that He has personally given to each of us who are His children. God gives us these gifts and He expects us to use them.

But unfortunately, spiritual gifts are little known and little used within the church. When people think about them, if at all, it is usually with confusion. We see that in the passage from 1st Corinthians 12:1, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant." People are often ignorant of spiritual gifts. Paul said that to the church in Corinth because, quite frankly, they were ignorant, as are most people in the typical church today. The topic of spiritual gifts either is not taught or not taught with clarity.

Just to test this out, Do a quick survey: Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Do you actively use your gift in ministry? Do you even know the definition of a spiritual gift? Very few people can answer, yes, to any of those questions. As a result, spiritual gifts remain a mystery and become divisive in many churches. But God meant for them to be the tools He routinely uses to accomplish His plans.

Satan has effectively confused the issue because spiritual gifts are so effective. They are the key element in God's program. According to Elmer Towns, a Dean at Liberty University and a church growth expert,

"I believe one of the key ingredients to building an effective, growing church is spiritual gifts. the key phrase is 'using people where they are usable.' If every Christian were involved according to his spiritual gifts, he would be used in ministering where he is most usable."

Do you hear that? Your spiritual gift allows you to be used where you are most usable. That means where you are most effective. You will never be able to minister the way God wants you to minister unless you minister through using your particular spiritual gift or gifts.

And, yes, as a born-again believer you have a gift, maybe more than one. You do if you are a believer because look at what it says in 1st Corinthians 12:7, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." The manifestation of the spirit is your spiritual gift, given to you at your salvation by the Holy Spirit. It is given to each one - to every born again believer. None are left out. But why? For the profit of all. It is so that you can use your gift to edify and build up the church.

If you are a born again believer, you have a gift. It has been given to you so that you can use it to minister effectively in the church. The only question is this, do you know what it is and are you using it? If not, that's what these next few blog posts will cover.

Why Study the Ten Commandments - Conclusion:

2010-10-04T10:21:00.002-04:00

When it comes to sin and the Ten Commandments, people all the time say something like this:

"I know what I'm doing. I'm a big boy! I can handle this. It won't cause me any problem. It won't have any impact on my future."

But those sound like famous last words, don't they? Those are the same things our kids say to us when they don't want to obey our rules. So, men think they can watch pornography without it ever affecting their marriage, or take lightly their responsibilities. They think they can get away with doing whatever they want without consequences. They are fools! And many a life has been devastated by it.

How many of us can say we have no regrets and no shame about some of the things we have done? But God knows all the things that will hurt us and cause our destruction, and He sets up rules to spare us from them. And He warns us about them. Yet, we speed right through the warnings thinking we are smarter than God. Oh, how we need help! Oh, how we need wisdom beyond ourselves. We need the rules of God. So, the next time you think of the Ten Commandments as a ball and chain, just remember what we've talked about in all these posts. Give obedience a chance.

Fist John 5:3-4 says,

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith."

Then Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Loving God means we do what He tells us. And that really should not be hard, because God doesn't ask us to anything that isn't good for us. Every child of God can obey. Oh, not ever perfectly, but we can obey. We can defeat sin and the lust of the flesh simply by trusting Christ to help us. As Jesus said in John 8, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more."

Why Study the Ten Commandments - Part Six

2010-09-24T20:48:00.004-04:00

Last time, we made the point that the Ten Commandments were given to us by a God who was setting us free, not enslaving us. Most unregenerate men won't ever realize this. They will scoff at the idea. What the world always says about Christianity is this,

"Oh, you are all so straight-laced. You Christians Can't ever have any fun."

And they think that we are enslaved by the Law given by God.

"Your God is always saying, 'Don't, don't, don't! And you can't ever do anything fun. All the Bible is is a book filled with 'Dos' and Don'ts.'"

Instead of free men, they think we are the slaves.

Interestingly, Doug Wilson comments that all the freedom the world wants could be done in a six by eight foot prison cell. You can read pornography is a prison cell. You can smoke dope in a prison cell. You can be immoral in a prison cell. So, who is the slave here? It's not us in bondage, but them; because Christ has set us free. What they are doing is enslaving people in their own lusts - enslaving them in sin - all the while calling us slaves. And too many Christians buy that lie. They envy the world its sin.

We are the free ones. God freed us from the bondage of sin. That's what Romans chapter Six is all about. Romans 6:6 says,

"Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

We used to be slaves. Now we are emancipated.

Then Romans 6:16-18 says:

"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that ones slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."

God's law frees us. It frees us to live righteously. James even calls it the law of liberty in James 1:25,

"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

Don't get hung up that New Testament repeatedly says we are not under law but under grace. That doesn't mean we are lawless. On the contrary, As Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 9:21, we are "not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ." We aren't bound by the Old Testament ceremonial or sacrificial law. Christ came to fulfill the law and be our once and final sacrifice. But God certainly expects us to keep the moral commands of God that, yes, were repeated in the New Testament.

Why Study the Ten Commandments - Part Five

2010-09-21T11:36:00.002-04:00

Why would God give us rules like the Ten commandments? Well, doesn't every good father do that? We, as dads, are a lot wiser than our children. We've been around the block a time or two more. We know that there are some things in this sin-damaged and cursed world that are dangerous. There are things so devastatingly dangerous, so devastatingly shattering to our lives, that we want to protect our children from them. So we set rules.

What kind of rules do parents set? "Don' play in the road. Don't talk to strangers. Eat your vegetables. Don't wander out of sight. Stay out of the medicine cabinet." Do you see what I'm saying? We want to protect our kids.

God feels the same way, so He sets down rules - rules that, if we follow them, will give us a better life and protect us from the dangers that are out there. And who can doubt that, if we keep the Ten Commandments faithfully, our lives will be better? And like any good father, God will also set punishments if His kids disobey. That provides the incentive to stay on the straight and narrow way. This is why God gave us the Ten Commandments. They are God's loving rules to us as for protection - given to us because we are God's special children.

Israel was, according to the preamble of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-2, a special treasure to God. The verses say, "And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." God did something special for Israel. He personally rescued them out of miserable bondage in Egypt, and He is now establishing a personal relationship with them as His special people.

He has now chosen us in the church to be Christ's special people, Christ's very bride. Israel and the church are God's special people. We are His because of something He did. With Israel, it was bringing them out of slavery in the land of Egypt by the passover event where the lamb was slain and the blood applied so that the death angel would pass over them as it took the firstborn in every Egyptian household. With the church, it was when God redeemed us out of slavery to sin by the death of His own dear Son, Jesus, on the cross of Calvary where He shed His blood for us to pay the penalty for our sin. We too, therefore, have a special relationship with God, and a special obligation to Him as His redeemed people.

Do you see? The Ten Commandments are set in the context of God bringing His people out of slavery, not leading them into slavery. God is leading them to freedom. The same is true for us. Jesus said in John 8:36, "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Paul adds in Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death." We are free people whom God has given rules to live by, not to mnake us slaves, but to protect us.

Why Study the Ten Commandments - Part Four

2010-09-17T07:59:00.002-04:00

The Ten Commandments were not punishment given to the people of Israel, but
God's love letter to them. That's been our point over the past few blogs. We ended the last blog by quoting the chapter just before God gave the Ten Commandments. We read from Exodus 19:3-6. In particular, I want to point out this thought: God said, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Myself." Whereas, God dealt harshly and in anger with the Egyptians, God acted in love toward the Israelites. Like an eagle, He swooped down and carried them away from their oppressors.

But what does God mean when He says, "I bore you on eagle's wings?" If you were a regular reader of Ranger Rick magazine, you'd understand. The mother eagle would make a huge nest high in the top of a tree - sometimes all of eight feet across. She would fill the nest with leaves and animal fur, and even her own down, so it would be nice and cozy for the little eagle - for awhile anyway. But when the time was right, she would make things very uncomfortable for little eagle.

The mother eagle would pick up her fledgling and carry him into the sky to dizzying heights. We're talking about nose-bleed elevation. Then she would drop him. Down, down, down he plummets. He's never flown before. Life has been comfortable, with every care met. But now there is nothing to keep him from smashing on the ground far below except his own two little untried wings, and he's never been to flight school. Surely this story is going to have a tragic ending, the little eagle thinks.

Well, not so fast. Mother eagle has been watching, and what does she do? Just before that little eagle crashes into the ground, she swoops down under him and catches him. "Oh, Thank God!" he shouts. Then his mother flies him back up to the stratosphere only to drop him all over again, and again, and again, until finally he gets it and takes off flying.

We too were headed for a crash. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Then Christ swooped down to rescue us and give us new life and sustain us every day. Israel was the Old Testament example of that. They were dead as a nation, without hope in bondage in Egypt, when God rescued them, cared for them, and sustained them. And now, He has a plan to direct their steps, their conduct, as they learn to try out their new wings and live as His special people. So God gives them these rules.

Doesn't every good father do that? We, as dads, are a lot wiser than our children. We know there are some things in this sin damaged and cursed world that are so dangerous, so devastatingly shattering to our lives, that we want to protect our children from them. So we set rules. "Don't play in the road. Don't talk to strangers. Eat your vegetables. Stay out of the medicine cabinet." Do you see what I'm saying?

God feels the same way. He sets down rules that, if we follow them, will give us a better life and protect us from the dangers that are out there. And who can doubt that if we keep the Ten Commandments faithfully that our life would be better?

Why We Study the Ten Commandments - Part Three

2010-09-16T09:56:00.003-04:00

We've been stressing that we really need to know what God expects and what God demands of us. We as a nation need to know this if we are ever going to turn the faucet off again on the broken sewer line that is modern America. Think of what this country could be again if we only began to live by the Ten Commandments - if every day we would say,

"I will honor God and obey Him. I will be in church on Sunday to worship. I will honor god given authority. I will not murder or hate. I will not commit adultery or lust. I will not steal, lie, or cheat. I will not envy and covet."

Can you imagine what kind of a nation this would be if we all did that?

Do you see why we need the Ten Commandments? Can you see why we need to obey them? Can you see how that would transform our nation? We wouldn't need locks on our doors any more. We wouldn't need to worry about getting lost in our cities at night out of fear for our lives. Taxes would drop because we wouldn't have to keep our prisons open. Could you imagine if people really got serious and obeyed the Ten Commandments? But we need to know them in order to obey them.

But, why don't we? Is it because we look at them as this big, old list of horrendously restrictive rules written by some distant God out in heaven somewhere in space who is miserable and unhappy within Himself who wants to take it out on us and make sure we never have any fun either? Unfortunately, people look at God as just that. They think of Him as this cosmic killjoy who wants to keep us in a straight jacket and never wants to let us do any of the things that are fun and exciting. And if we step out of line, they think He's promised to zap us like a bug flying into one of those bug zappers.

How totally, totally wrong they are, and you are if you think that way. God is not a harsh old grandfather with a long white beard who doesn't want us to have any fun. That's not our God at all. On the contrary, the law was given to us by a God who loves us immensely. The commandments were given to us because keeping them is good for us. You really need to understand this. The commandments are almost a love letter from God to His people. They are a tender, heartfelt expression of God's love for us.

You can see this if you look at the chapter in Exodus before God gives the commandments. In Exodus 19:3-6, we can see exactly what God told Moses to say to the Israelites before He gave them the law. We read:

"And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain saying, 'Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you shall speak."

How's that for a statement? This was their first stop on their wilderness wanderings. The memory of recent events were vivid in their minds. Oh, they remembered being trapped in Egypt and worked to the bone. They remembered the crack of the whip and the sting on their backs. they remembered their baby boys being fed to the crocodiles. And they remembered God bringing them out of that. It was God who heard their cries of distress. It was God who came and rescued them in might and power - sending the ten plagues, parting the red sea, feeding them and watering them daily, leading them with a pillar of fire. "I swooped down like an eagle and rescued you," says God. "I did that for you."

So would the God who was moved to compassion after watching their misery for four hundred years now subject them to more misery by bullying and browbeating them with Draconian rules and regulations? NO! God continues to love them by giving them these rules. We'll talk more about that next time.

Why Study the Ten Commandments - Part Two

2010-09-15T10:58:00.002-04:00

The trouble with mankind is that, on the one hand, we don't know who gets to set the rules; but, on the other, we all want to set our own rules. We all want to be able to do our own thing. We all want to be able to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong.

The other way people respond is to rely on the shifting sands of public opinion to determine moraltiy. Whatever the majority decides is right must be right. Except that kind of thinking by the majority in Nazi Germany led to the attempt to exterminate the Jewish race in the Holocost. Who could honestly think that was right? A majority can be very, very wrong, and yet we want them to decide moraltiy? How foolish!

When I was little, I knew exactly what was right and wrong. It was whatever my dad said. If I didn't follow his rules, I'd get clobbered; but I knew exactly what was expected of me. Shouldn't we want to know what God expects? Shouldn't we want to know what God's rules are?

When I go for a drive, I really like it when they put those helpful signs along the road that tell me what the speed limit is. I know that if I disobey those signs, the nice policeman may come along and give me a ticket and my insurance will go up. What I hate is when I am on a stretch of roaad where there are no signs, and I have no idea how fast I can get away with going (If you know what I mean). I really want to know what the rules are and who the authority is.

Well, in this universe, God is the authority. He created us, so He can decide. He can set the rules. His rules are summarized in the Ten Commandments. In these commandments we find an all encompassing statement touching virtually every part of our lives. They give us the parameters by which we are to live. They don't cover every detail, rather they summarize God's requirements for life. The first four deal with our relationship with God, and the last six deal with our relationship to our fellow man.

Even these were summarized by Jesus in Matthew 22: 35-40, when one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourswelf. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets."
The first commandment, loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, is a summation of the first four commandments; and loving your neighbor as yourself is a summation of the last six. And they are tied together. You will never be able to love your neighbor as yourself until you first love God with all your heart. So these two summarize the Big Ten, But they themselves are a summary of a Bible full of rules. The Old Testament has a total of 660 separate commands. Combined, they are called the Law.

It's not like you have a Bible full of rules and regulations and the Ten Commandments are another ten added to the others. They are a summary that contain all the commandments. The others explain the Ten, the Ten explain the Two. If you want to know how you can love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you can look at the first four commands. If you want to know how you can love your neighbor as yourself, you can look at the last six commands. Do you see? If you really loved God most, you wouldn't make any idols to other gods. You wouldn't blaspheme His name. You would take time each week to devote to Him. Do you see? That's what loving God looks like. This is why we need the Ten Commandments.

Why Study the Ten Commandments

2010-09-14T10:32:00.002-04:00

We've begun a new series of sermons in our church on the Ten Commandments, but a lot of people ask, "Why study them? Why should we take the time to study something so outdated?" After all, everyone knows the Ten commandments, right? There is something about lying, and stealing, and . . .um, oh, yeah, thou shalt not kill. Let's see, that's three . . . Ah?

The Ten Commandments seem to be something we would assume most everyone would know - that everyone would want to know. Wouldn't people want to know what God expects from them? But sadly, that is not the case.

Our society has become so secularized, that we've believed the lie about our constitution (or should I say, misrepresentation) that there is a wall of separation between church and state. By that, they mean that the wall of separation was built to keep religion from messing around in people's lives and in governmental structures, not the other way around. As a result, we've pretty much banned the Ten Commandments from public life. They can no longer be posted in public buildings or school houses because somebody might (gasp!) actually be influenced by them and follow them.

As a result, although 97% of Americans claim to believe in the Ten Commandments, only 5% can name three or more of the commandments. Try it and see how you do. Sadly, they are not a part of most people's lives. We as a society are woefully ignorant of what God demands of us.

And that reflects in our behavior. How evident that is if we only read the daily newspapers or tune in to the news on our radios or TVs. We have become a society that is morally bankrupt, throwing off all moral restraint. We have a national epidemic of crime, AIDs, abortion, divorce, drugs, and pornography in this country - a country that was given birth on Christian principles. And people wonder why.

Yet, we as a people don't want anyone telling us what to do. We say,

"So what how we live our lives! What difference does it make if we don't keep our word? People will get over it. So what if we get our passion in someone else's bed. Our spouse needs to be more broadminded. We're entitled to some pleasure. So what if we're too focused on our work. No one has a right to tell us what to do."

And we can go on and on making our rationalizations. but we forget that God does have a right to tell us what to do because He made us. And God did tell us in the Ten commandments.

Sacrifice

2010-03-16T14:25:00.003-04:00

Last time, by way of illustrating Paul's statement, "For me to live is Christ," in Philippians 1:21, I told the story of St. Francis of Assisi. After he was converted, he began to love those things he once loathed, even lepers, and went out of his way to show them love for Christ's sake. What would cause him to do that? Christ living through him.

What else could explain the heroic acts of service and sacrifice that characterize Christians? What else can explain the myriad of martyrs for Christ down through history? In our flesh, how could we face the excruciating pain and degradation that this world's hatred piles upon us? We can't. We're too weak and sinful. But Christ can through us. Christ can empower us through His Holy spirit living within us so that we can do "all things through Christ who strengthens me"(Philippians 4:13).

Listen to the story of Perpetua. She was a noble woman, wealthy, well born, and a young mother in North Africa; but her Christian faith was outlawed in the third century Roman Empire. Emperor Septimus Severus had forbidden conversion to Christianity and required all citizens to offer sacrifices to him as a god. But she refused. Perpetua's father argued with her to abandon her Christian faith. He begged her not to throw away her life.

"Was it really such a bid deal," he asked, "to make such a small ceremonial sacrifice to the emperor?"

Perpetua pointed to a ceramic pitcher and asked, "Father, do you see this pitcher?"

"Yes, of course I see it," he replied.

"Can it really be called by any other name than what it is?" she asked.

"No," he answered.

"So I also cannot be called anything else than what I am, which is a Christian."

In her own diary, she wrote, "Enraged by my words, my father came at me as though to tear my eyes out."

On March 7, 203 AD, Perpetua and her servant were stripped naked and led into the amphitheater to face gruesome death. But even the bloodthirsty crowds couldn't stomach the sight. A medieval source book records the crowd's reaction:

"The people shuddered seeing one a tender girl, the other her breasts yet dropping from her late childbearing. So they were called back and clothed with loose robes."

The officials chose a bull for the execution. A bear kills too quickly, but a bull would gore repeatedly. Yet after a bloody mauling, the young women were torn, but not dead. The crowds cried, "Enough!"

The officials then sent the gladiators in to behead the women. But as they approached, these hard-hearted killers began to tremble. The first strike again did not kill, and it again sickened the crowds. Perpetua showed all of them mercy by clutching the gladiator's hand and guiding the sword to her neck for a killing blow.

What could give her and so many others such courage? What would allow them to make such a costly stand? It certainly isn't our own strength. But we can show that kind of courage if Christ lives through us. Those who simply play at their faith would never do that. For those Christian's who are content to simply go through some rituals.....they would never take a stand. For those who are content with tame religion, this kind of faith and sacrifice seem beyond imagining. For them almost any sacrifice is too much.

Way too many people see Christianity as no more than having to give up listening to certain music they like or having to wear ugly clothes. And they rebel at those sacrifices. But that isn't the Christianity that fired the heart of a Francis of Assisi or a Perpetua. A Christianity that worries about giving up a few sins isn't the Christianity that will sacrifice their lives for Christ. Only Christians who are transformed by Christ's indwelling presence do.

To Live is Christ

2010-02-27T09:23:00.002-05:00

Last time, I mentioned the verse in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." That verse is divided into two parts - living and dying. Today, we'll look at the first part of that verse, "to live is Christ." What does it mean? Obviously it means to live differently than if life was all about us. It means living with Christ at the center of our lives where everything we do is for Him.

But this means more than simply that Christ is the center of our lives, it means Christ is our life. Look at what Paul said in Galatians 2:20,

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

When Paul says that to live is Christ, he's not just saying that he lives for Christ, but literally that he lives Christ's life - that it is Christ that lives in and through him. As Christ lived through him, Paul's body became Christ's eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet - so Paul became the instrument by which Christ acted out His will. Even our wills become His, our minds become His. We are transformed more and more into the image of Christ. We become Christlike.

How else do you suppose God can transform our lives like He does? How else can he take us who are reprobate sinners and make us like Jesus? He does it as Christ lives through us. Christ comes to live within us, and He energizes us with His power and love. He literally lives through us.

St. Francis of Assisi is an example of a man transformed by Christ. Shortly after he trusted Christ, he sensed God telling him,

"Francis, all those things that you loved in the flesh you must now despise, and from those things that you formerly loathed you will drink great sweetness and immeasurable delight."

Later, as Francis rode his horse out of town, he saw what he once despised - a leper. "During my life of sin," Francis wrote, "Nothing disgusted me like seeing victims of leprosy." What would Francis do? Exuberant in his new found faith and with joy flooding his soul, and remembering that he was now in love with and even treasured those things he once loathed; Francis leaped from his horse, knelt before the leper, and proceeded to kiss those deformed, diseased hands that had probably not felt human touch in years. Then he pressed money into those hands.

But he didn't stop there. He jumped back on his horse and rode to the nearest leper colony, and, as he recounts it, "begged their pardon for so often having despised them." then he gave them each money. He wouldn't leave until he had kissed each one of them. Francis was a transformed man. He was no longer the same. Christ now lived in and through Francis.

To Live or Die? It Doesn't Matter.

2010-02-23T10:30:00.002-05:00

This week, one of the dear men of our church lingers at the point of death. It has caused me to ponder what happens when a person dies. But it isn't enough to ponder the imponderable from our own human perspective, we need to find the truth. That truth only comes from the one who is the author of life, but also the one who conquered death - Jesus Christ. So to find the truth, we look into the Word.

An obvious question is, "Is death a tragedy for a believer? Is it a gain or a loss?" In the book of Philippians, Paul argued that question with himself. He was under arrest for preaching the Gospel, and he faced the possibility of death by execution. Would he prefer to live? Would dying not actually be better? He didn't know. If he lived, he could go on serving God and preaching the Gospel. But if he died, he would be in heaven with the Savior he loved. The answer he found is in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." That's his final conclusion. As long as he lives, he will serve Christ. When he dies, Hallelujah! He will see Christ face to face in heaven forever. And that will be gain, he says. It will be so much better.

Remember Paul's situation? He is awaiting trial. He expects to be vindicated, but he isn't sure. Never-the-less, he trusts God. In Philippians 1:20, he says, "According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." Paul knew God would get him out of his situation. It might be by life. He might be released from arrest. But, it might be by death. He might be executed. Either way, he is out of his trouble. But death for a believer is the ultimate release - the ultimate healing - and that is what Paul concludes is better.

Certainly, with Paul, we too can have confidence in God. Not that we can count on Him always doing things the way we would want. We would never choose to be executed. But God will always be there for us - always go through troubles with us. He will get us through somehow. Paul's confidence is in the fact that God is in control. The decision isn't in the hand of the Roman judge, the decision is in the hand of our sovereign God.

So Paul concludes that to live is Christ, and to die is better. Living is all about Christ. Dying only gives us more Christ. Therefore, dying must be better. Dr. William L. Pettingill used to say that the word translated as gain in the Greek language always mean more of the same thing. So if to live is Christ, to die means more Christ if it is gain. To die means, as a believer, we will never live apart from hHim again. To live in His presence is the ultimate gain.

I Don't Believe in Science

2010-02-12T10:55:00.004-05:00

A couple of days ago, Howard Dean, head of the Democratic National Committee, made a statement that Republicans don't believe in science any more because they weren't buying into the Global Warming hype. I don't know about Republicans, but I for one don't. I don't believe in science. There, I've said it. And I speak as one who has a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology and post graduate work in Biological Sciences. I once believed everything they said. I swallowed it hook, line, and sinker (much to my embarrassment). But not any more. The truth is, I believe in "real" science. What I don't believe in is the way much of science is practiced today.

Why have I changed my mind about science? Because science has changed. Like much of our modern world, science has bought into the postmodern mindset. That is a mindset that has declared war on truth.

"Truth is whatever you believe."
"There is no absolute truth."
"If there were such a thing as absolute truth, how could we know what it is?"
"People who believe in absolute truth are dangerous."

These are the kinds of assertions that are made by postmodernists, even scientists who have a postmodern mindset. Postmodernists believe that truth is created, not discovered. They think that things like reason, rationality, and confidence in science are cultural biases. Therefore truth isn't the purpose of scientific study any more, the agenda is. Righting the wrongs becomes the goal of science even if it means manipulating the data to bolster the agenda.

The latest example of this is the "Global Warming" hysteria. When the pilfered e-mails were published, it showed our respected scientific community was guilty of hiding conflicting data, secrecy, and the intimidation of any opposing views or research. Now that they have been exposed for their hoax, rather than causing them to slink off into a corner in shame (as they would in any rational world); they become ever more shrill in their insistence that "Global Warming" is definitely real in spite of the evidence we can see and feel around us, and that immediate action must be taken to "save the world."

Anyone familiar with the creation-evolution debate has seen the similarity of the tactics since the days of Darwin- the evolutionists ignore or hide contrary evidence and intimidate the opposition. The movie by Ben Stein, "Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed," humorously documented the outrageous efforts to stifle free debate about the scientific evidence. For years, the evolutionists have presented pure fabrications and hoaxes as evidence for their "theory," and have been reluctant to pull the evidence even when the evidence has been proven false or proven a fabrication. This is why I don't believe in science.

When I look at the evidence, It cries out that this world was shaped by the global flood of Noah's day. You laugh? Think about it. If the global flood actually occurred, what evidence would it leave? Quoting Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, the evidence would be "billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water." Isn't that what you would expect from a global flood that is reported to have destroyed all that has breath not on the ark? Amazing, that is exactly what we see all around this globe. Yet this obvious explanation for the massive rocks layers laid down by water filled with the fossil record is thrown out.

Why? Because it doesn't fit their atheistic presuppositions. The truth is, it is never a lack of proof that explains why men don't believe. They don't believe because of their wills. To acknowledge a creator God would force them to acknowledge that their creator has the right to demand certain behavior from them, and to judge them for their transgressions. Yet the evidence of God's creative hand is all around us (For documentation, see www.answersingenesis.org). I haven't taken the time to provide that evidence to you, but you can easily find it if you are interested. But be warned, the evidence leads us to God. And the evidence will force you to make a decision about Him. The eternal consequences for that decision you will bear.

Disgust and Outrage

2010-01-15T09:13:00.005-05:00

On Thursday, January 14th, the Bangor Daily News reported the conviction of a Maine man on manslaughter charges. He was convicted of shooting his partner during a homosexual orgy while they were playing Russian Roulette to increase their excitement. All three of the men involved in this incident had AIDS. My disgust and outrage is not at them, even though I find their behaviour to be disgusting. My disgust and outrage is with the Bangor Daily News who suppressed this story for months.

The Bangor Daily News seems to take great delight in splashing every horrid crime across its front page; and it supports every liberal agenda there is, not just in the editorials but the news articles with their biased slant. Yet this story, with all its bizarre and shocking details, went missing from the paper for months. Why?

Why did they suppress this story? It would have hurt one of their pet causes - homosexual rights - and especially the same-sex marriage debate going on in Maine. It seems, according to the Bangor Daily News, that the man found guilty of shooting his partner had testified before the state legislature at their hearings on the same-sex marriage bill the legislature was forcing upon the state. And this testimony was given just four days after the crime had been committed. That's right, after the crime had been committed. Apparently the Bangor Daily News didn't think that was relevant information in the debate, at least not relevant enough to tell us until now, long after the bill was passed and the the people's referendum overturned the bill.

All through the trial, according to the reports in the Bangor Daily News, the sexual practices of these men should not be considered. The issue was entirely a gun issue. Hogwash. They are right in the sense that no matter what their other activity, the use of a gun to play Russian Roulette was negligent. But, it is precisely their sexual practices that is the issue with homosexual rights.

Society has deemed that behaviour to be wrong. God has condemned it. Should we legalize it? Should we make discussion of this aberrant behavior off limits when we debate their "rights?" If the Bangor Daily News kept all the sensational crimes off its front page, I would applaud them. But for selectively suppressing this story for months because it would hurt their pet cause, I condemn them.

Going in Strength

2010-01-05T09:02:00.002-05:00

The next verse I want to cover in Psalm 84 is verse 7, which says, "They go from strength to strength; every one of them appears before God in Zion." The question is, whose strength? The answer is found back in verse 5 where we are told that it is the strength of the Lord. Last time in this Psalm we were on a pilgrimage walking through a valley of weeping and desolation, only to find that God met us there and turned that valley into an oasis. Now we find that we can walk that valley in strength - but it is in the strength of the Lord. We don't have to do it on our own. And while our strength fails, His only increases.

Do you ever wonder if you are going to make it through the valley? I mean, living the Christian life is so tough. There are disappointments and difficulties aplenty. There is pain, sorrow, and hardship. Do you ever wonder if you can hang on and make it to heaven? This verse says there is no doubt about it. You will! You will, if your strength is in the Lord.

See how verse 7 ends? "Every one of them appears before God in Zion." This isn't talking about the Zion in Israel, but the heavenly Zion - the abode of God. This is the assurance, not that every human makes it heaven, but that every born again believer appears in heaven. This isn't talking some universalism drivel; that God will save everyone no matter how reprobate and blasphemous or whether they believe or not. This is perseverance of the Saints by the power of God. It is only believers that walk in the strength of the Lord.

"Well, I don't know, pastor," you might say. "I'm just not that strong." That's just the point. None of us are. We could never make it to heaven in our own strength. But we couldn't save ourselves either. We needed a savior. In the same way, we need the savior to keep us saved. Jesus can and Jesus will. We can trust that.

Do you remember what Jesus said in John 10:27-30?

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

What does Jesus give us? Eternal life; not some temporary respite to see if we can hold on. And whose strength is it anyway that keeps us? It is the combined strength of both Jesus and God the Father. And just how strong do you think God's hand is?

They both have their hands on you, clutching you tightly. Now how could you ever get out of there? How can anything pluck you out from between their hands? Nothing can! So what are you worried about? It is the strength of the Lord that saved us, and it is the strength of the Lord that keep us. It is God's strength that gets us through the valleys of weeping and desolation, and God's strength that keeps on getting us through all the way to that heavenly Zion.

A Heart Set on Pilgrimage

2009-12-31T10:31:00.002-05:00

Psalm 84:5 says, "Blessed is the man . . . whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Let's think about that word, pilgrimage, for a moment. The Old King James translates that same phrase as, "In whose heart are the ways of them." The word for ways, or pilgrimage, is usually translated as highways. Therefore, this makes it sounds like, "Happy is the fellow who has a highway in his heart."

I've been accused of having wanderlust a time or two because I like to travel and have moved around a lot following God's call in our lives. This verse seems to say, that's good! That is probably taking the verse of out context though. The real meaning is this: We need to be on a constant pilgrimage to draw closer and closer to God.

Think about Abraham. His life was one of constant pilgrimage. He wandered from Ur down to Canaan, then to Egypt and back again. He was always on a pilgrimage. Why? Hebrews 11:9-10 says:

"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise,for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Abraham wasn't content with an earthly city. He wanted to be where God was at. He longed for heaven. He was on a pilgrimage to God. There is never real contentment in our hearts until we get there. Shouldn't we all be on that pilgrimage?

Do you long to draw ever closer to God? Do you do whatever you can to improve your fellowship with Him? Is your heart set on pilgrimage? That pilgrimage is the path to blessing. And by that, I'm not talking about salvation. A lot of Christians who have trusted Christ for salvation live lives with little real blessing in them. But maybe this is why. They aren't on a pilgrimage. They aren't constantly on a journey to get to the heart of God. Are you?

But where will our pilgrimage take us? Psalm 84:6 shows us the pathway. It says: "As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools." Where is the Valley of Baca? Nobody knows - not geographically. This may have simply been a symbolic term, because the Valley of Baca means the Valley of Weeping. That makes perfect sense. Baca means to weep. Think about it. Don't people usually find God most often during times of personal tragedy; during some crisis in their lives?

When things are going great, when we are healthy, when or bank account is full, we act like we don't need God. We tend to function in our own strength and live our lives on our own. But when tragedy strikes, and the tears start to flow, and we come to the end of our rope with our energy and resources all used up; that is when we turn to God. Isn't it true? When we are most vulnerable and most in need of comfort and love, we find God there waiting for us. He's not hard to find once our heart begins to look. As God says in Isaiah 45:19, "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place on the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, seek Me in vain."

God is findable, but there is a catch. Deuteronomy 4:29 asserts, "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." What is the catch? You have to make a good faith effort. This has to be a whole heart pilgrimage. God wants to be wanted.

The word, Baca, can also refer to a place of desolation - a waterless valley. Traveling through would be an ordeal. You would get hot, thirsty, and tired. But after camping out, the next morning you find that the rain had come and had filled up the waterholes with cool, refreshing water. Remember? Verse 6 says, "They make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools." God turns our desolate places into oasis.

When we seek God traveling through our valleys of desolation, God meets us and brings blessings from barrenness. This is why 1st Peter 1:6-7 says what it does:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious that gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Are you on a pilgrimage to find God? It is on this pilgrimage that you will find blessing.

A Heart Set on Pilgrimage

2009-12-08T11:40:00.004-05:00

Psalm 84:5 says, "Blessed is the man . . . whose heart is set on pilgrimage." What on earth does that mean? Obviously, this refers to life under the Old Testament economy. So what was a pilgrimage for an Old Testament saint? In the old Testament, the pilgrimage had reference to those who were making the regular pilgrimages back to the temple as required by the Mosaic Law for feast days. All the people would flock back to Jerusalem for the Passover, for the Feast of Tabernacles, and others. And they were blessed. They were blessed because going back to the temple was where they met God. To go back on a pilgrimage was truly a blessing.

What about for us? We don't live under the Old Testament. How can this apply to us? Hopefully, you find going to church a blessing because you also meet God there. Church should never be a drag. It should never be a bore. Instead, going to church ought to be the highlight of your week. That's where you can fellowship with other believers. That's where you can join them in lifting your voice in praise of God. That's where you can hear how God has been at work in the lives of other believers. That's where you can sit under the teaching of the Word of God. That's where you can encourage and be encouraged by other believers. But mostly, church is a place to meet with and communicate with God. You can do that whether or not the preaching is dynamic or the music is to your taste. You can do that whether the church building is comfortable and ornate, or an old gym.

There was a time when the church was the center of of the social life in this country. In some places it's not even the center of religious life any more. What a shame, and what a loss for people. Because going to church should make you happy. Going to church should be a means by which God brings blessing into your life.

But ultimately, our pilgrimage is never to a building, but to God. there should be a constant restlessness within us, a constant longing to draw closer to God. Joining other believers in worship is a part of that. Do you have that longing in your heart? Until you do, you will never be truly blessed.

God Can Use Anyone - Psalm 84

2009-11-24T09:52:00.004-05:00

The good news in Psalm 84:5 is this: "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You." Since God doesn't expect us to rely on our own strength, which is pretty puny, but to rely on His strength, which is without end; that gives us hope. It means I can be used by God to be actively involved in His service. I can be of use to Him even if I am a person who doesn't have much strength at all; even if I am weak and insignificant. That doesn't matter.

As a matter of fact, being weak is almost an asset. If I am weak and God works through me, He gets all the credit and all the glory for anything that happens. In 1st Corinthians 1:26-29, we see the kind of person who God calls to His service:
"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

Do you see this? God doesn't usually call the powerful, strong, rich, and talented people. If they accomplish things for God, everyone will assume they did it themselves through their strength, ability, and talent. But if He calls the weak, the common, and the ordinary people, and they accomplish great things for Him, then everyone will know that God did it through them.

So what kind of person are you? Are you common? Are you ordinary? Are you weak? Than praise God, because you are just the kind of person God is looking for. You are exactly the kind He wants to call to His service.

To me, that is such a comfort. God can use someone like me. I don't know how He does it, but He does. And God can use someone like you. God can use anyone who is willing, and he will give them His strength - the only strength available for effective spiritual ministry.

Remember what Jesus said in John 15:5? Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." What is He saying? Doe Jesus mean nothing at all? That we can't even tie our own shoes? Obviously if Jesus hadn't given us physical life, not even tying our shoe would be possible. but that's not the meaning. Jesus means we can do nothing of any spiritual consequence without Him working through us. He means we can do nothing that God will bless. And he won't bless anything that he can't take 100% credit for,

So, blessed is the man whose strength is in God. Has God called you to serve Him? Are you relying on His strength? Or your own?

Relying on God's Strength

2009-11-19T09:30:00.003-05:00

Psalm 84:5 gives us two reasons a man is blessed. It says, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Since the first blessing is to the man whose strength is in the Lord, are you blessed? Is your strength in the Lord?

I know a lot of strong men - men of special talent and intelligence. I know preachers with real charismatic personalities and dynamic deliveries. I could almost envy them. They could be successful at almost anything they try to do, all in their own strength; but they aren't blessed.

The man who is blessed is the man who leans on God's strength, not his own. What a relief that is. AMEN? If we rely on God's strength, then He is responsible for the outcome, not us. It takes away the worry and the pressure. What we are responsible for is to be faithful, and we can all do that.

And since our strength is so puny and so quick to run out, and His strength is all-powerful and without end; nothing that God asks us to do is impossible, because it's not up to us. What God calls us to do we can do through His strength. That's the meaning of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Isn't that a blessing?

Now certainly, this isn't talking about leaping tall building with a single bound, or about being faster than a speeding bullet, or being stronger than a locomotive. It doesn't mean we become Superman. What it means is that anything God asks us to do, we can do through His strength. If he asks us to serve Him, we can. If He asks us to witness, we can. He supplies what we don't have. Plus this means we can be useful to God just the way we are. Truly relying on god is the way to blessing.

The Only Thing That Truly Makes Us Happy

2009-11-17T10:14:00.002-05:00

Psalm 84 is special to me because it tells me the secret of happiness. In verse 4, it declares, "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising you." Why is a person blessed? They are blessed when they dwell with God. Then their praise will never end.

I'm sure you've heard the word, blessed, before. Psalm 1:1 began "Blessed is the man..." Jesus listed a whole series of blesseds in the Beatitudes beginning in Matthew 5:3, "blessed are the poor in spirit, etc." The word, blessed, is often translated as happy, or contented, or satisfied. How about this definition? To be blessed is to be blissfully contented with life. Or this one: joy unspeakable and full of glory.

What makes a person that way? The answer from Psalm 84:4 is to dwell in the presence of the Lord. It comes from having that sweet, precious communion with the One who loves us more than anyone, and who proved that love by dying on the cross for us. So if you want to be miserable, focus on yourself. If you want to be blessed, focus on God. Spend your time in His presence.

What makes a person miserable? It is to live apart from God. We would do that because of sin, choosing the pleasures of sin over a relationship with Christ who died for that sin. We see people like that all the time, who stay away from Christ because they know they wouldn't be comfortable in His presence while they enjoyed their sin. But to live in Christ's presence or apart from it is as dramatic a difference as night and day.

So how is your relationship with God? Do you have close fellowship with Him? Is it sweet? Then that is expressed how? As it says in Psalm 84:4, "They will still be praising You." That blessedness just bubbles out of us in praise - praise to God. We can't contain it.

Then this section of the Psalm ends with the word, selah, In other words, "What do you think of that?" Let's examine this word, selah, for a moment. The Psalms were written to music, right? They were intended to be sung. So selah is a musical notation. The word isn't intended to be read. You don't read a book and say comma, period, semicolon. So you don't read the word, selah, either for the same reason. The word is like a rest in a musical score. It indicates a pause or a breathing space. It gives us time to sit up and take notice and think about what has been said.

But the word means still more. Selah, in the verb form, means to exalt or to lift up. But lift up what? How about God? How about we pause and exalt the Lord? How about we lift up and bless His name? After pausing and thinking about what has just been said in the Psalm, we lift up and exalt God through our praise. So why don't you do that? Why don't you pause right now and exalt God's name?

Longing for God - Psalm 84

2009-11-12T10:13:00.002-05:00

Have you fallen in love with God? Do you long for Him like some "mooney-eyed" junior high boy longs for that cute cheerleader? Do you want to be in His presence all the time? The good news is, you can! In Psalm 37, we read, "Delight yourselves also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." What does He give you? The desires of your heart. But what is it you desired? The Lord! He is your delight. Therefore, God give you Himself. He gives you His presence - His fellowship.

So delight yourself in Him. Let Jesus be the longing of your heart. Long not just for what he can do for you, but for Him. Long for His sweet fellowship. That is exactly what we see in Psalm 84 with this gatekeeper at the tabernacle. He longed to spend more time with God.

Then the gatekeeper looked up and saw the sparrows flying around inside the tabernacle. Maybe they were carrying around bits of grass or string to make a nest in there. But it causes the gatekeeper to respond in Psalm 84:3: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."
Have you ever tried to keep sparrows out of a barn? They love to get into buildings to fly around and to nest. When we go into Sam's Club or Wal-Mart, there are sparrows flying around inside all the time. Our kids think it is kind of neat (better than the bats), but they both can leave the same klind of mess. Those sparrows and swallows got inside the tabernacle too and built their nests. Yes, they built their nests right there inside the tabernacle, even on the altars. And this gatekeeper is jealous. He envies the sparrows. Why? He wants to be, like them, all the time with God. He doesn't want his shift to end and have to go home for the night.

I can relate to that with my fiancee (Now my wife of 35 years). I remember when we were courting. we wanted to see each other every day, all day long. We wanted to be together as much as was possible. I hated to go home at night and leave her behind at her parents house. That was one of the biggest motivations for my wanting to get married. I didn't want to have to leave her at night.

That's the longing the Psalmist had for God. He got to go to the tabernacle each day to work as a gatekeeper. But every night, he would have to go home to get his supper and to sleep in his own bed. And that upset him. He wanted to stay in God's presence all the time. So, he was jealous of the sparrows. "Why do I have to go home, and these sparrows get to live here? Boy, those sparrows are lucky!"

But guess what? We are lucky too (Bad choice of words, I know). You don't get to move in with God - not yet! not until heaven. But God has moved in with you (If you are born-again). His Spirit has indwelt your life. You never have to be apart from His presence again. You never have to break off your fellowship with Him. NEVER! If your fellowship is broken, it is because you want it that way. It is because your heart doesn't long for that sweet relationship with God.

My friend, is God your Lord and your King? Is He really? Do you love Him as your Heavenly Father? Then you can bask in His presence every moment of every day. Praise God!

Psalm 84 - The Response

2009-10-21T10:24:00.002-04:00

In Psalm 84, the author, who was assigned to be a gate keeper in the tabernacle, looked around and burst into praise of God's home. But that praise causes him to have an emotional response. So the author, in verse 2, blurts out, "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." What heart-felt passion! What emotion! But this is the desire of his heart. He wants to be in the presence of God. That's the real point here. The author has an intense longing for God's presence.

For the Israelites, they had to go to the tabernacle to meet God, and that's what he wanted to do with all his heart. He wanted God. That intensity seems so foreign to most church members who don't seem to care all that much about spending time with God. The typical church member will let almost anything get in the way. But the author wants to be in the presence of God most of all. And for him, that meant being in the tabernacle.

A noble castle or a majestic cathedral is never enough if no one lives there. How lonely an empty house is. A beautiful church is but an empty shell without the Spirit of God. Ornate caskets still house only dead men's bones. What is needed most is life - God's life and presence. Gold, marble, and ivory are cold and can never really satisfy without someone to share it all with. So the real longing here is for the lord; for His presence. The Psalmist didn't long for a building, but for God.

In the same way, we don't really long for heaven because of the streets of gold, but because that's where God is. We long to be in His presence - to see Him face to face. That's why the Psalmist says, "My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord." That is almost a physical thing. He is almost ready to faint out of his hunger for God. It is like what the fantastic verses of Psalm 42:1-2 say,

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?"

Do you see that same longing?

Have you ever missed a meal or two and almost gotten faint from hunger? Your belly growls, and hunger gnaws at your insides. You'd give almost anything for a PBJ sandwich. Well, have you ever had that kind of craving to be close to God? Have you ever longed for Him as much as a man parched and dry in the desert searches for water? As Psalm 84 verse 2 continues, "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." Is that what your heart cries out for - for that sweet, close fellowship with God?

Than do your actions prove it? What actions? Oh, come on. You know what actions. do you long to learn more about Him? Are you sitting under the teaching of the Word? Are you studying the Bible for yourself? What about your prayer life? Are you longing to spend time with Him? Are you talking to Him? Walking with Him? Does your soul long for a closer relationship with God? You will never find that sweet relationship if you don't hunger for it.

Psalm 84 - Continued

2009-10-20T10:30:00.002-04:00

In Psalm 84, the sons of Korah were gatekeepers in the tabernacle. They looked around in awe and wonder, and exclaimed in verse 1, "How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!" And it was! God's physical presence dwelt in the tabernacle. His Shikineh glory came down and was visible dwelling between the wings of the cherubim over the mercy seat atop the Ark of the Covenant. God's glory was actually there. In Exodus 40:34, it says, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." This was the cloud and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness during the time of Moses. Now it made a home in the tabernacle.

Nowadays, we know it is different. God doesn't physically dwell in our church buildings. His shikineh glory is not seen any more. Maybe that's why so many get the idea that it doesn't matter what we meet in to worship - that any old thing is good enough for God.

Personally, I believer that's misguided and a poor testimony. Not that I am advocating elaborate cathedrals. But so often it is just an excuse used by people who don't want to work or give or sacrifice for God. If they really did use that time, money, and labor that they weren't putting into keeping the church building nice into some ministry like supporting missionaries, then I'd applaud them. But all too often, they pocket the money and use the time for things they want to do. They build their own nest egg instead of the house of God as the book of Haggai pointed out. Friends, there is nothing wrong with a nice church building. We need to keep it neat, attractive, and well maintained.

But in truth, where does God dwell now? In heaven? Yes! But also in our hearts. He dwells in the lives of believers. Let's do a quick survey:

1st Corinthians 6:19-20: "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's"

2nd Corinthians 6:16, "And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall; be My people.'"

Paul's own testimony is found in:

Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, burt Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Christ lives in us and through us if we are born-again believers. We are the temple of God - the very dwelling place of God. So it is in you that God expects to be glorified. Maybe we should be more concerned with making our lives beautiful for God. Maybe we should be most concerned with making our lives a fit dwelling place.

Is your life lovely? Are you proud of the temple you are personally providing God? Do you see how important it is to maintain your life right? Your life is important. Christ lives on earth through you. When the sons of Korah call the tabernacle lovely, the word is sometimes translated as amiable. That means pleasant, friendly, comfortable, easy to live with.

Would the Spirit of God find your life a pleasing home for Him? Are you easy for God to live with? Would He be comfortable dwelling with you? Would it be like staying at a good friend's or at a favorite grandma's? Or would the Spirit of God feel ill at ease in you because of the sin you allow in your life? We have all been to places we don't feel welcome. You can just tell when you aren't wanted. Get your life - your temple- as pleasing to God as possible.

The author iof this Psalm looked around at the tabernacle in which he served and said, "How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of Hosts." We need to supply the spirit if God a lovely dwelling place too.

Psalm 84 - The Grandeur of the Tabernacle

2009-10-15T07:10:00.003-04:00

In the introduction to Psalm 84, it tells us a little bit about the author. It says this is "A Psalm of the Sons of Korah." The only thing that is important for us to remember about that as we study this Psalm is what is found in 1st Chronicles 9:19, "The Korahites were in charge of the work of the service, gate keepers of the Tabernacle." Do you see? They had an official job. They were gate keepers at the tabernacle.

So what do these gate keepers say? Psalm 84:1, "How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!" They are addressing God. They had been standing there on the job, looking around, and it hits him. "Wow! This is magnificent!" They realized just how gorgeous, how lovely, the tabernacle was.

Of course it was. God's home must be the most beautiful, most magnificent, most glorious place in the universe. And it is in heaven. We can get little glimpses of it here and there in Scripture, especially in Revelation 21. Paul caught sight of it, and he said he coudn't tell us about it because it was beyond words. John saw it and had to resort to magnificent symbols to describe it - an emerald rainbow around the throne, a sea of glass as clear as crystal, walls of jasper, gates of pearls, streets of gold. What an awesome place the temple of God is in heaven.

And the earthly tabernacle was a pale replica of that. Did you know that the earthly tabernacle used the same plans as the heavenly one? Hebrews 8:5 tells us that, speaking about the priests,

"Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, 'See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.'"

The earthly tabernacle was a pint-size replica of the one in heaven. It was like a model airplane compared to the real thing.

And God revealed the pattern to Moses, He gave the blueprint, on Mt. Sinai. So the Israelites did their best to make the tabernacle just as beautiful as they could. No price was too great to pay. No sacrifice was too great to make. They gave and gave and gave until Moses had to tell them, "Enough is enough!" Exodus 36:2-7 records the event:

"Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholioab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. so they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, 'The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.' So Moses gave a command, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, 'Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.' And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work done - indeed too much."

Wow! What sacrificial giving.! If the members of our churches were ever to give like that, can you imagine what could be accomplished for God? Could you imagine people giving until the pastor had to stand up and tell them, "Stop! You've given way more than is needed."

But no sacrifice was too great for them, not for the the temple of God. And you can read about the grandeur of the tabernacle for five chapters in Exodus. Exodus 25-30 gives intricate details of the tabernacle. No wonder the sons of Korah were in awe looking around at it. No wonder it made them want to praise God.

Haggai's First Sermon - The Result

2009-09-29T09:16:00.002-04:00

As Samuel told the nation of Israel in First Samuel 15:22, "To obey is better than sacrifice." Haggai had now told the nation the same thing. The Temple lay in ruins while they built their nice houses; and God, through Haggai, told them to get to work. So what happened? We see the answer in Haggai 1:13-15:

"Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, spoke the Lord's message to the people, saying, 'I am with you, says the Lord.' So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of Hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius."

If you look back at verse 1, you'll see that 23 days have passed. It took 23 days to clear the rubble away and go up into the mountains to cut lumber, But the project is now back under way. The people got back to work.

But notice the progression. Obedience came first. Obedience came before the blessing. As it says back in verse 12, "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God." That came first before we see the beautiful statement that the Lord was with them in verse 13. Is that some kind of coincidence? Not on your life!

Turn to Matthew 28:19-20. It is the passage we call the Great Commission. But notice that it starts the same was as Haggai 1:8, "Go!" That's a call to action. For Israel, it was a call to build the Temple. In Matthew, it's a call to build the church. Let's read it, Matthew 28:19-20,

"'Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."

Notice that the promise of God's presence, of His enabling power, comes after obedience. It comes after we "Go!" We go, and Jesus blesses that going by making the disciples.

The promise rests upon obedience. They had fritted away all that time working at lesser things while God was waiting for them to "go" so He could bless them. But God never promises to bless those who sit on their duff and do nothing.

May I ask you again, are you working to build the church of Jesus Christ? Or are other things more important? Let me close with these words again from First Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." If God calls you to do something, God will bless your effort. He will see it through to the end. But you must be faithful. You must not give up. You must always abound in the work of the Lord.

The Chastening Hand of God as Found in Haggai

2009-09-25T08:51:00.002-04:00

The people of Israel were back in the land following seventy years of captivity in Babylon. They had settled in, made nice comfortable homes, and gotten on with life. Except they had forgotten to rebuild the temple of God. The book of Haggai confronts them over this shortfall. In doing so, it also sets forth a pattern that is applicable to us if and when we neglect doing the work of God in building His church. Haggai 1:9-11 outlines the outcome:

"You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the Lord of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain, and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands."

Who is responsible for this? God is. He takes full credit. In effect, God says,

"If things aren't going so good for you right now, blame Me, because I did it. I have to get your attention some way, so I took an active part in this thing. I turned off the faucet and shut off your water."

Would God really do that? Of course He would. He said He did it, didn't He?

We can see the same idea found in Hebrews 12:6-7,

"For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?"

God chastens His own. He disciplines. When we don't obey, He'll spank us. So if it feels, sometimes, that you are being taken to the woodshed for a lickin,' ask yourself if God is doing this. Examine your ways.

It may not always be that. Certainly, Job was not being chastened by God when he was run through the ringer. Even God said that Job was a righteous man. But it could be God telling you to straighten-up. In Malachi 3:8-11, God told the same people that if they rob God, He would punish them. We have to give God His due. If we put God in His proper place, God will take care of us. We learned that in Matthew 6:33, that God would take care of the details in taking care of us if we put Him first.

But they ignored the work God had set before them, so they experienced a drought at the hand of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for drought also means desolation or ruin. It is the same Hebrew word that was used in Haggai 1:4 and Haggai 1:9 to describe the condition of the temple. It lay too in ruins. What comes round goes round. If they leave God's house in ruin, they get ruin.

How did they respond? Haggai 1:12:

"Then Zerubabbel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people feared the presence of the Lord."

Obviously, the words of the prophet, or should I say, the words of God brought conviction. Thankfully, they had sense enough to recognize the message was from God, and they obeyed. If your translations says they listened instead of obeyed, just remember, you don't really listen to God until you obey Him. The essence of faith is obedience. As First Samuel 15:22 says, "to obey is better than sacrifice." They obeyed. do you?

Haggai says, "Get to Work" - Part Two

2009-09-22T10:06:00.003-04:00

The book of Haggai is much like the book of James in its emphasis on work. In Haggai 1:8, we find God saying, "Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified." In other words, God is telling them to "Get to work!" The emphasis in James is also on the daily grind. Do you remember what James said? He said, "Faith without works is dead." He also said, "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Well, how can you do that? How can you show me your faith? You can't see faith, can you? No! But you can see the works that faith produces. God wants us to demonstrate our faith by getting to work. Or as Haggai says, "Go, bring, build."

We need to remember that action is spiritual, and a do nothing attitude is wicked. My Christian friend, work is the measure of your heart. What is your heart like? Does your work for God show your heart is set on God? What has He asked you to do? Are you doing it? If not, let Paul encourage you. He writes in 1st Corinthians 15:58:

"Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

This admonition is given to regular church members - to people like you. So are you, "abounding in the work of the Lord?" Are you working for God?

We tend to make the effort to accomplish all the things we really want to do, the things that will benefit us personally; but it takes effort, commitment of time, energy, and resources, even a little bit of our soul, to get the work of the Lord done.

When I lived in Michigan, there was a little tiny town called Nashville. In that little town of no more than 100 people was a very large church of 1,500 people. The pastor had the name of Lester DeGroot. People would always come around to ask Lester the "Secret of his success." Lester would always be happy to comply. He would look all round to make sure no one else was listening, then he would take the questioner down into the basement to the furnace room so they could be alone when he told the "secret of his success." Then Lester would lean over to supposedly whisper the secret, and he would yell, "WORK!!!" That would always surprise the people, but that was the secret of his success. That is the secret of any of our success. So we could do the same in our churches too, if we would just get to work. And isn't that exactly what God is telling us to do? Aren't we to be, "Always abounding in the work of the Lord?"

Missionaries by the thousands have given up the comfort and security of home to make the supreme sacrifice for God, while so many more of us are content to offer God nothing that requires sacrifice or hardship. Ask yourself the question, "How much am I doing for myself, and how much am I doing for God?" Are you doing enough? That hits kind of close to home, doesn't it? But the burden of ministry shouldn't fall on just a hand full of people. It is just plain wrong that 80% of the work in our churches is done by 20% of the members. We, 100% of us, should be working for God,

So, roll up your sleeves, Get busy! Get to work building the church of Jesus Christ.

Haggai says, "Get to Work!"

2009-09-04T07:29:00.003-04:00

God wants us to "Seek first the Kingdom of God." We tend to seek first what we think is good for us. Unfortunately, that doesn't work, because God makes sure that seeking first our wants will never satisfy. That's what we talked about last time.

Yet, how easy it is to our our desires, our comforts, our conveniences, and our timetables ahead of God? And we can justify it. The weather is too bad to attend church, but not too bad to keep us from going hunting or on a shopping trip. We can sit through a double header on hard bleachers in the rain and never complain, but we fidget on our padded pews in church if the the worship service runs five minutes longer than we expected. There seems to be something wrong with this picture.

And sure, we mean well. Once our circumstances are under control, and our lives get put back together; then, if there is anything left over, then I'll give some time to God. And once our budget is back on track, and our bills get paid off, and I buy that new...whatever; then I'll give to God. And then I'll consider getting involved in some ministry at church, if I can fit it into my busy schedule amongst all my other activities.

"No!" God says, "Consider your ways!" Then, In Haggai 1:7, God says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Consider your ways.'" Twice God implores them to consider their ways. This is important. Because if you chase after your own priorities, you lose. So take a good look at your lifestyle. Consider your priorities. For many of you, quite frankly, you'll find the Lord hasn't rated very high.

The answer? According to God in Haggai 1:8, "'Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,' says the Lord." The message is simple, practical, and straightforward. It is as simple as 2+2=4. It is a three point sermon: go, bring, build. The temple needs to built. God wants them to build it. So, go, bring, build. You wonder why they didn't see it. I wonder why we so often don't.

We sit around and say, "Gee, I wonder when God is going to build this church?" God says, "Get to work!" He says, "Go, bring build. Do you think the temple is going to build itself? Get to work!" My friend, do you think the church is going to build itself? Get to work!

The Cost of Misplaced Priorities

2009-09-02T07:32:00.002-04:00

After Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," and after Jesus had told us in Matthew 19:25, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on it;" then, in Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." All those material things of life that everyone seems to worry so much about will be Jesus' concern, if we "seek first....His righteousness." This is all about priorities. Yet, we constantly keep seeking all those things as our highest priority, and we put God on the back burner reserved for when we have more time and we have built our nest egg. That was the example of Israel when Haggai wrote to them.

Except things never satisfy. There is never enough of them. A person will never reach the point of satisfaction. God will see to that. Because if we seek things first over God, God will let us acquire the things, but He will see to it that we are never satisfied. There will always be an empty gnawing in our souls. So we take on extra jobs and work all the overtime we can get to get ahead, but it seems like we are on a treadmill not getting anywhere no matter how fast we run. It is like climbing up the stairs on the down escalator. Don't stop running or you will lose all the ground you've gained. It's like the old Pennsylvania Dutch expression, "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." That's life apart from God, and it is exactly the way God intended.

And of course, the radio, and the TV, and the billboards are always there to make sure we know about all the things we are still missing out on - all the things that the Jones' have that I don't. You know, I might be a little more satisfied with my home, or car, or deck, or yard, or whatever, if I didn't keep hearing about all those new and improved ones out there.

Have you ever looked through all those gorgeous homes and yards featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine? Nice aren't they? But have you ever asked yourself the question, "Better than whose?" Better than mine, of course! And the message comes through loud and clear. Mine don't measure up. And I am tempted to be dissatisfied with what I have. Don't look so smug. Yours don't measure up either.

So we become people who always need a little more to be content; just a little more in order to really enjoy life. As someone said, "We are people spending money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know." It is a trap! Because, listen to me! the only real contentment we will ever find comes from God. It comes when we, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness," then let God worry about all the rest of the stuff.

The Psalmist found that out, writing in Psalm 107:9, "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." God alone can do that. Does He satisfy your soul? He can, you know. And He wants to. But your priorities must be right. God must come first.

Further Thoughts on Haggai's First Sermon

2009-09-01T10:06:00.002-04:00

In Haggai's first sermon, he addressed an all too common modern problem. The people of Israel had gotten too busy with their own lives that they had no time for God. They became too concerned with themselves to have time for God's work. If that is you, learn from the words of Haggai.

The people had gone back to the land following their seventy years of exile in Babyon, and they'd gone back with a mission. They were going to rebuild the Temple of God. They started well. But as soon as a little opposition came along, they gave up. Oh, it is so easy to do. And soon, other things distracted them from building the house of God. Oh, it was nothing sinful. It was nothing necessarily wrong in and of itself. They simply forgot about building the house of the Lord because they had gotten so busy building their own houses.

They never said they wouldn't do it. They just got sidetracked. It is like the farmer who goes out to feed the cows and sees that he has got a broken gate. So he goes to fetch the tools to fix the gate, when he remembers he needs to change the oil in the tractor. So he goes to get oil for the tractor, when he sees that a pig has gotten loose. And as he chases the pig, he realizes . . . . And the end of the day comes, and the cow isn't fed, the gate isn't fixed, the oil hasn't been changed, and the pig is still loose.

It is an easy trap. And it can so easily happen to us in our spiritual lives. Something comes up on a Sunday morning, sow we skip church. The alarm doesn't go off, so we skip our devotions. Bill comes along as we are talking to Joe, so we don't witness to Joe. The ligjht bill was higher than expected this month, so we don't tithe.

The people of Israel were going to build the Temple. But instead, they got sidetracked building nice, comfortable houses for themselves. They had put their desires ahead of God's. Probably, it was quite by accident. There wasn't any forethought or malice. But it happened.

Well, God decides to intervene. We read in Haggai 1:5, "Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Consider your ways!'" If I may paraphrase, God is saying,

"Stop! Think about what you are doing! Don't you realize there is a cost to this? You might think that looking out for yourself first will get you ahead in the long run,that maybe it will bring you happiness, but it won't"

Indeed, those who believe this are sadly mistaken. Trying to please yourself first never works, so "Consider your ways!"

The next verse explains why. Haggai 1:6 says,

"You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes."

Boy, doesn't that sound like your paycheck? The money never seems to stretch far enough.

This is a graphic warning to us. It pictures our day and age as much as theirs. We have more cars, bigger houses, better furniture, more food, more TV sets, more leisure, more vacations than any people in history; yet, we are wretchedly unsatisfied as a people. We have more of everything, yet we are still miserable. And that is the way God intended it. If we aren't seeking our fulfillment in Him, nothing else will ever satisfy.

Haggai's first Sermon (Conclusion)

2009-08-28T08:06:00.003-04:00

In his first sermon to the nation of Israel, Haggai urged them to get busy rebuilding the Temple of God. To not build the temple was to say that they didn't care about their relationship with God or with evangelism. But how do we bring that message on home to us? How do we make it practical to our lives? Is our church building a Temple? Is it the House of God? No! It is a house of God, or at least a meeting house for God's people. But your home (where you live) should also be a house of God where you meet God and worship and evangelize.

If our church buildings were the only house of God, we wouldn't have to behave ourselves after we left. We could develop a double standard. We could live one way on Sunday, and live differently the rest of the week.

But now, where is the Temple of God located? First Corinthians 3:16 tells us,

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

It repeats that same truth in Second Corinthians 6:16. As a believer, your body is the temple of God - the dwelling place of God's Spirit. Brick and mortar has given way skin and bone. Nowadays, the building is merely another tool of ministry. We need one, yes! It is an important tool. But the emphasis now is not upon building a temple of stone and wood, but upon making disciples.

As Peter reminds us in First Peter 2:5,

"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

The individual believers are the church. In the Old Testament, they were to build a stone and wood temple as the house of God. In the New Testament, we are to build a spiritual house made up of living stones - the individual born again believers joined into a family of God called the church.

The call of God to us is to build the church. We build the church through evangelism, discipleship, and spiritual growth. We build the church by adding one soul at a time. The complaint against Israel was that they had no time to build the temple. Do you not have time to build the church? Have you let other priorities get in the way?

These good people, who started well with the best of intentions, let other things get in the way of their service to God. Their comfort, their homes, etc., all got in the way. Have you let other things get in the way? Have you let things become more important than God in your life?

Then let me challenge you with this one last verse from Jesus' own lips. Matthew 6:33says,

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

All those things that we let get in the way of our service to God, God says He will take care of, if we put Him first. Do you? Or are other things more important?

Haggai's First Sermon (Continued Some More)

2009-08-22T09:56:00.002-04:00

In Haggai's first sermon, he was dealing with inverted priorities. The people had no time to build the temple of God, but they had plenty of time to build their own nice, ornate homes. Their priorities were themselves, not the will of God. And aren't all inverted priorities really idolatry? Aren't they really putting the creation ahead of the Creator? God said in Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Then God said in Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Yet, they loved themselves more than God. They loved their comforts more than God.

Do you? My friend, are you you talking about serving God, and planning to serve Him; but not actually serving Him? Are you allowing other priorities, good priorities, to get in the way of the best priority - building the temple of God - or in our case, building the church of Jesus Christ?

Now before you get some misconceptions, let's put this into perspective. Some of you might be thinking, "Oh, I get it. The pastor is just preaching this so we will get behind a building program. He wants to build a new church building." Not so! A building program is the least of our concerns. But we do want to build the church of Jesus Christ.

Let's think about the purpose of the Temple and see if there aren't any grander themes. What was the purpose of the Temple? From 1st Kings 8, during the dedication of the first Temple by Solomon, I gleaned these two purposes. The first is this: As the house of God, it was the place where the people came to meet God. We can see this in 1st Kings 8:38-40, "Whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart you know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers."
After the dedication ceremony, the glory of God came down and resided in the temple. The Shikineah glory was only there in all the earth. So that was where the people went to meet God and to worship Him. If there was no Temple, there was no worship. So by not building the Temple, they had made a priority statement. They would never admit it, but they didn't care about their relationship with God as a people.

"God, it is good to have a relationship with you, but we will put it off until we get these other parts of our lives in order."

"I've got things to do God. I don't have time to pray, or read my Bible, or attend the services of the church. Maybe next year things will lighten up."

And our relationshipw with God gets put on the back burner.

The second purpose of the temple is evangelism. We see this in 1st Kings 8:41-43,

"Moreover, concerning the foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name's sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this Temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this Temple which I have built is called by Your name."

Solomon said that when the foreigner came (translate that as unbeliever), he could learn about God at the temple. God would reveal Himself. So ignoring the Temple was to ignore outreach and evangelism. "But it isn't time," they said. It isn't? It's not time for God? It's not time to reach out to others?

God is saying, "Don't you care about your relationship with Me? Don't you care that your neighbor has no relationship with me?" "We do care!" the responded. "Then why don't you build the temple?" He askled them. To us, He would be asking, "Why don't you build the church?"

The First Message of Haggai (Continued)

2009-08-20T11:08:00.002-04:00

Haggai needed to get a group of good people fired up again. They had started well to rebuild the temple, but they got sidetracked. In Haggai 1:2, God says, "This people says, 'The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.'" They are making excuses, and God is quoting them. "It's not time," they say. And they neglect building God's house. They aren't saying, "We won't do it! It's not important! It's not a good thing!" they are say, "Just not now!" Their zeal for the Lord has gone.

Well, what did they have time for? Haggai 1:3-4 says, "Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 'Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?'"
Interesting, isn't it? They didn't have time to build God's house, but they did have time to build their own. Do you detect a little sarcasm in God's tone here? It wasn't time to do what God had asked them to do, but it was time for the things they really wanted. What a familiar scenario.

And I know, some of you are going to object,

"But that's not fair. God is being too hard on them. Everyone needs a house to live in, God doesn't expect for us to be homeless."

Granted. That's true. God even demands that fathers provide for their families or they are worse than unbelievers. We do need shelter and a place to raise our kids. But these weren't tar-paper shacks. These houses were paneled. What does that mean? It means these were pretty nice houses. Paneled houses were usually reserved for royalty. The palace was paneled. So we are talking about exclusive neighborhoods with ornate homes and an attitude that says, "We've got to be comfortable and take care of ourselves." But they didn't lift a finger to build the temple of God. The foundation was long overgrown with weeds. It was a place of grass and hoot owls. Do you see the misplaced priorities?

Oh, but they had their excuses for why they weren't building the temple. "It's not time!" Oh we have our excuses for why we aren't building the church of Jesus Christ. But God says, "IT IS TIME!" How many of us have those same misplaced priorities? How many of us need to be reminded to get back to work for God?

Jim Allen of HCJB Radio, which transmits the Gospel worldwide, related this story: A missionary on the field was having some severe financial difficulty, like most missionaries,and he wrote a letter home about it asking for support. One of the responses, this one from his own sister, came back, and said:

"We received your letter and we are very concerned about your financial needs and your need to remain on the field so the Gospel can be communicated. But as you know, we've just put in a new carpet in the family room, and we've just been able to purchase a new dog that we've been wanting for some time, and we still have some payments to make left on the car, so at this time we are unable to do anything to help you. We are sorry."

Anything wrong with new carpet? No! Anything wrong with paying off your car? No! Anything wrong with buying a dog? Well, that one is up for grabs with all the free ones running around (Just kidding). But good people do these things. Members of the finest churches do these things. So when do they become wrong? When they take the place of building the house of God.

So we begin to make excuses.

"Well, of course Christians are supposed to witness, but witnessing to my co-workers is a delicate business. I don't think it's the time yet."

"I know I should tithe, but the way the economy is this year, I have too many family obligations."

"I'm flattered you think my talents could help at church, but I don't have time to serve right now. Perhaps later when the pressures of my job let up."

God was accusing these people of having plenty of time and money for themselves and their own comforts, while they claimed they had nothing for God or His service. What about you? Have you found yourself doing that?

The First Message of Haggai

2009-08-13T09:04:00.003-04:00

The book of Haggai, which is only two short chapters long, contains four sermons, each addressing a particular sin. The first sin Haggai addresses is the sin of putting me first. The passage begins like this in Haggai 1:1-2:

"In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 'Thus speaks the Lord of host,' saying: 'This people says, "the time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built."'"

The date is September 1, 520 BC. Sixteen years have past since the foundation of the temple was laid. And there it was, just siting there unfinished. No work had gone on for over a decade and a half.

So Haggai has about had it. Or should I say, God has about had it. This is ridiculous! So Haggai goes right to the top - right to Zerubbabel the governor and to Joshua the high priest. After all, they are the ones responsible, aren't they? Leaders are supposed to lead, and the people follow. If nothing is getting done, you'd better jack-up the leadership.

Churches rise and fall on leadership. The leaders are either out in front leading, or they are the problem. They are either the cheerleaders out encouraging everyone else to get on with it, optimistically trusting God for strength and guidance; or their pessimism will discourage everyone else. They will be the wet blanket putting out the fires of enthusiasm. That's not the way it should be. If the people are discouraged, the leadership needs to fire them up - to encourage them - to get them going again for God. So Haggai goes to the top. And he makes this little sermon.

The people were making excuses, "The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built." But God says, It is time. Get to work. What about you? Are you making excuses for why you aren't accomplishing the work of God? Or you at work?

Let's Not Wait Around

2009-08-11T08:27:00.004-04:00

The prophet Haggai was confronting a group of dedicated, on-fire believers who had grown cold in their faith. They had returned to the land of Israel after seventy years of captivity in Babylon with a mission to rebuild the decimated temple. They started well, but gave up when the going got tough. Oh, they fully intended to get the project done, someday. They knew it was important. They knew God had called them to do it. But just not yet - the time wasn't right. Other things had become more important. Their own lives took precedent. And these on fire, committed people became complacent. They became part of the staus quo.

Oh, what a warning that should be for us - for you and for me - for any of us who are on fire for the Lord. The constant attacks from Satan can wear us down. They can cool us off. They can thwart our enthusiasm and silence our zeal. We must constantly guard against that or we will end up like them - sitting comfortably in our status quo - while the work of God remains undone. That's what happened to them. That can happen to us.

But this was when Haggai stepped in. God had sent him to shake up these now lazy people and get them back to work finishing the temple. So this is the message of the book of Haggai. It contains four sermons, each given on a separate occasion and each dealing with a different specific sin that can keep us from accomplishing God's will and finishing His work.

Well, the result? The people did get back to work. They resumed work on the temple in 520 B.C. and completed it in 515 B.C. Mission accomplished. And all it took was a little encouragement from the prophet of God who simply asked the people to "consider your ways (Haggai 1:5)." The prophet told them, in my paraphrase, "Stop. Take a look at what you are doing. Is it right? Are you serving God the way you ought to be?" Could it be that in our day, we need to be reminded of the same thing? Should we also "consider our ways?"

All the time, all across this country, I hear peole say in churches, "You know, we've got a good church. Things are going pretty well. We feel like we are right on the verge of something great happening here." But it usually never does. Yet, they keep saying, "We don't know what it is, but we feel that any time now it is just going to break wide open. Everything is in place." And they wait, and wait, and wait for something that never happens.

Do you ever think that maybe God has that same attitude, but in reverse? Maybe God is sitting up in heaven thinking, "Everything is in place. They are right on the verge of something great happening. I'm ready to empower them and to bless their effort. But I wonder when they are going to get at it? Why don't they just do it?"

Aren't you tired of living on the verge? Aren't you tired of waiting for something great to happen sometime in the future while not much is happening in the present? Isn't it time to "consider your ways," and push on to accomplish something great for God? God has called you to a task. Isn't it time we accomplish it?

Growing Discouragement

2009-08-06T07:18:00.004-04:00

Last time, we began to look at the situation addressed by Haggai the prophet. A remnant of on-fire, committed Jews had returned to the land of Israel following seventy years of captivity in Babylon. They had returned filled with optimism and anticipation. They were psyched and ready to get to work rebuilding the temple. They started right with good intentions and godly motives. Yet, they faltered in their commitment when opposition came their way. They gave up on the project. What a warning this should be to all of us. Even the best of us can grow discouraged.

The first thing they did when they returned to the land was take up a free-will offering to pay for the costs of building. They gave 1,100 pounds of gold and three tons of silver at a great sacrifice. Wow! What a great offering. They just knew that something great was about to happen. God was at work, and they wanted to be a part of it. And they were ready and willing to be used by God. They cleared the temple court of rubble and they replaced the altar of burnt offerings on its base. Now they could begin the daily sacrifice again. By the next spring, they had the foundation laid. They were really humming along.

Then the bottom fell out. The Samaritans (Remember those folks that lived to the north that were half Jews and all apostates?)offered to join in and help. The Jews rightly turned them down. You don't join with the apostates to build the house of God. But then, with their wounded pride, the Samaritans decided to terrorize this little band. They threatened them, "You quit this building or we will beat you up and kill you." They slandered them. They wrote letters to the editor against them. They sent them anonymous hate mail (all the same tactics used today). And it wasn't long before the work ground to halt.

That always happens whenever you offend someone; whenever you invade their territory or violate their turf. They turn on you. The ones who were once your friends become your enemies. The ones who loved you now hate you and work passionately to destroy your ministry. And nothing you do will infuriate them more than not to need them, or if you ask someone else to help do what they consider their own private job. Count on it! As sure as shooting, wherever God is at work, Satan will be there to oppose. And he'll have plenty of willing human accomplices.

Against this little band of Jews, the threats worked. It wasn't long before the work on the temple ground to a halt. They ended up spending all their time dealing with the threats, and putting out the brush fires, and defending themselves, so that they didn't have time to build the temple. There was no time to do what God had called them to do. And the work ground to halt because these Jews took more notice of their enemies that they could see than they did of God whom they couldn't see. They were very human in their fears.

So time dragged on, and on, and on. The weeks turned into months, and the months turned into years. Soon a decade had gone by and still counting as these good,committed people became occupied with making a life and building homes and getting on with their businesses. And the temple of God lay in ruins, long forgotten.

Oh, what a warning that is to us. How easy it is to be distracted from the work of God. We mean well, but things come up. It was into this situation that the prophet Haggai was sent by God with an encouragement. His words to them will be a great encouragement to us as well.

A Select Few

2009-08-04T08:52:00.004-04:00

I've started a new book study in my Sunday morning sermons. I am preaching through the book of Haggai, one of the minor prophets. It is the second shortest book in the Old Testament after Obadiah. It is a book of only two chapters. But don't let that fool you. Haggai has got a punch. Haggai was the one who gave the nation of Israel the shot in the arm they needed of encouragement to get them to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. As Frank Gaebelein, one of the most famous commentators, has said, "The truth is that few prophets have succeeded in packaging into such brief compass so much spiritual common sense as Haggai did."

But a little background is in order. For Israel, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Those famous words of Charles Dickens could be applied to the nation of Israel in 536 BC. They had spent 70 years of captivity in Babylon following their defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. But the captivity was about over.

They had been sent to Babylon as captives by God as punishment for their idolatry. But all through that time, they had longed to return to Israel. All that time, they had dreamed of going back - back to the land; back to the city of Jerusalem which now lay in ruins and to their temple dismantled stone by stone; back to rebuild all they had lost. And now the time was right. Now they were getting their chance.

Cyrus, the Persian Emperor, had conquered Babylon, and he looked favorably upon the Jews. In 536 BC, he issued a decree permitting the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple. You could feel the excitement in the air. The recruiters went out to sign up the volunteers.

"Are you ready?" they asked. "We can go back now. Come on! Let's go!"

But one after another turned away with their excuses:

"Nah, my business is going too good. You can't expect me to relocate."

"I've got a nice home here. You couldn't ask me to leave that now."

"You mean, I'd have to start all over from scratch?"

"Nah, it's greener here, and I like the climate better."

When the departure day came, only a fraction - just a hand full compared to the multitudes of Israel - returned. When Zerubbabel started off, only a remnant, only 50,000, followed him off into the unknown - off over those long, hard miles of desert. And what awaited them at the end of all their effort and hardship? A desolate land and a ruined city surrounded by enemies.

Oh, these were a chosen bunch - a choice lot. Don't ever forget that, Never look down your nose at this remnant. They dared to do the hard thing. They dared to try the impossible. They were willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work serving God, while the majority of their countrymen chose ease. The rest chose to bask in their comfort and the luxury of a pagan land. So these few were different. They had a special devotion to God which cause them to separate from their countrymen in order to serve God.

Why is it always just a remnant? Why is it always just a chosen few who are willing to serve God while the rest are content in their complacency? Why, even today, are so few willing to make the sacrifice? By the way, which are you? Are you one of the complacent comfortable? Or are you a part of the working, serving remnant?

Church Membership - Part Eight

2009-07-23T07:10:00.003-04:00

In our church, there is a third requirement for church membership. That requirement is that you agree to support the work of the church financially and spiritually as you are able.

Remember, we are a family. The church is the family of God, and our local church is a family within the extended family of the universal church. So how does a family operate? In our family, we have visitors who often come and stay with us. We love having guests. We want them to feel at home, and we don't expect them to do the dishes or take out the trash. We serve them, and we do it joyously.

But things are different for the members of our family. If you are a part of our family, you are expected to pull your fair share of the load. You will take your turn with the dishes, and you will have assigned chores. We don't call them chores in our family, we call them acts of service or acts of ministry to the ones we love. But the jobs are the same. And if you are a part of the family, you are expected to carry your fair share.

Now certainly, babies aren't given a job. And the jobs that are given are age appropriate. I don't give my four year old a chainsaw and send him out to cut firewood. That would be stupid on my part. But we can expect our four year old to pick up his toys when he is done playing with them or help set the table. As he grows in ability and maturity, the complexity of the job will increase. And if one of our kids doesn't do his chores (I mean acts of service), he pays the consequences. Only our guests get away with doing nothing. That's how it works in our family.

Now, shouldn't we have the same expectation of people who join our local church family? shouldn't they be expected to contribute something to the well being and health of the church? If you are our guest, we will serve you gladly; but if you are part of the family, you are expected to serve along side of us. You are expected to pull your fair share.

And we will give you ministries based on your spiritual maturity and according to your spiritual giftedness. New believers won't be asked to preach a sermon, for instance, or become a deacon. No one should be given a job above their skill level. But you should expect to do some ministry within your skill level and giftedness.

This is Scriptural, you know. Ephesians 2:8-9 teach that we are saved by grace through faith, and that it is not of works. But the next verse, Ephesians 2:10, talks about our work. It says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we could walk in them." We aren't saved by our works, rather, we are saved to work. We are created to work for God. Even before we were born, God planned work for us. God gave us at least one spiritual gift so that we could accomplish the work He'd planned. He also gave us His Spirit to indwell us and empower us to do the work. He supplies all we need.

God expects us to get the job done. What an abomination for a true believer to sit on his duff like so much dead wood and just soak up the good benefits that come from Christ without ever lifting a finger to help. Yet, how many people sit in church week after week like a bump on a log, or like a corpse in a pew? They never give back to God any of the money that he provides to them to live on, and they never serve Him with the gifts he has given them. If they were created to work for God, they have aborted their purpose.

Certainly, God gave His best to us. John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God sent His Son to the cross to die for us as our substitute so that He could offer us eternal life as a free gift. All we have to do is reach out our hand in faith to receive it. How can we not be so eternally grateful that we we wouldn't do anything for Him? We should be willing to pay any cost - to go any distance - for the one who loved us this much. So why then is it a strange thing if we expect members to support the work of the church?

What about you? Are you a guest or a member? If a guest, how long are you going to simply go along for the ride? When will you commit yourself to the work of ministry?

Church Membership - Part Seven

2009-07-22T13:16:00.003-04:00

There is a second requirement of church membership. We said the first was a solid testimony of being born-again. The second, at least from our church constitution, is an agreement with our doctrinal position.

What does that mean? Does it mean that we have to agree with every jot and every tittle that's written (That's a little King James Bible lingo for you)? No! That's not what it means. Quite frankly, our church's doctrinal statement is quite basic. It isn't based on denominational distinctives, nor does it try to cover every doctrine in depth. We believe and teach a lot more than what is in our doctrinal statement. But our doctrinal statement does cover the fundamentals of the faith, especially when it comes to the nature of God, of Christ, of sin, and of salvation. Is it a perfect statement? NO! Would any of us necessarily write it again the same way? Probably not! But that doesn't mean it isn't a good statement.

Now certainly, the Bible is inspired. The Bible is perfect and changeless. But our doctrinal statement was written by fallible men. That's why our constitution provides a method to change it. It isn't easy to change, and it shouldn't be. But, yes, it can be changed. That doesn't mean we are turning heretic if we change something. But it does mean there could be a better way of stating what we believe. So we don't expect absolute and perfect agreement. That isn't what we mean when we say that it is a requirement to agree with our doctrinal statement.

What it means is this: It means we want people to join our church who believe basically what we believe. Those who join should support and agree with what we teach anmd preach. Not every jot and tittle, necessarily. We don't claim to have a lock on truth. Nor do we claim infallibility. If you disagree with what I have to say, I am more than willing to listen to you to wee if I am wrong.

But what we don't want is for someone to join the church with an agenda to change us. We are an Independent Bible Church by conviction. That's what we are going to stay. If you want a Universalist Unitarian Chruch that denies the doctrine of the trinity and contends that everyone will eventually be saved, well, how can I say it kindly? Our church isn't for you. If you are looking for a church where everyone speaks in tongues and gets slain in the spirit, our church isn't for you. If you are looking for the high church where the service is read out of a book, our church isn't for you. Do you see what I am saying? We are an Independent Bible Church. If that is what you are looking for, this is the place for you. If you want something else, you need to look elsewhare.

Does that mean we wouldn't want you to attend our services? Of course not! We would be honored if you worshipped with us. And there are many wonderful, mature Christians who disagree with us on some doctrines. But we are what we are because we believe this is what God wants us to be. We believe this is what God tells us a church should be. Join us if that's what you believe.

But don't join us if your goal is to change us. That would only bring schism to the church. In Proverbs 6:16 it says, "These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him" Then, after listing six, the seventh is, "And one who sows discord among brethren." Don't be one of those who sows discord in this church. If you don't believe what we believe, don't join. Or come and sit quietly in a pew as our guest. But don't try to bring upheaval by pushing doctrines contrary to our core beliefs. That's why we require agreement with our doctrinal statement from people who join the church.

Church Membership - Part Six

2009-07-21T10:28:00.003-04:00

We've talked about the need to assure that every church member is a born-again believer - that in order to be a member of the local church, they already are a part of the universal church through their faith in Jesus Christ. But why is this important?

As a congregational church, we believe that Christ is the head of His body the church, and the church takes her orders from Him. But how can an unsaved person receive guidance from christ through His Holy Spirit if he doesn't have the Holy Spirit within him? How can he possibly vote on issues with Christ's mind if he doesn't possess Christ? He can't.

Churches that allow unsaved people into their membership inevitably go liberal over time. It's only natural. How can they help it? If they have unsaved people helping shape the direction of the local church, how can it stay true to the course? That's why requirement Number One is a clear confession of faith.

Does that mean we don't want unsaved people to come to our church? Do we not want them to attend? Don't be silly! Of course we do! They are most certainly welcome. We invite them to come. We desire that they hear the Gospel message and respond to it. We want them to get saved. So, yes! We want them to come as our invited guests. But we don't let them put in a change of address until they become part of the family. Until they profess Christ, they are simply that - invited guests.

Church Membership - Part Five

2009-07-18T08:57:00.004-04:00

Last time, I said that the non-negotiable requirement for membership in the local church was that one be born-again. That is the requirement to be part of the universal church, so it must be the requirement to be a member of the local church. But why? Why is it important? Let's think about it. And I am assuming you are a Christian, so let's think as Christians.

Who should the church call as their pastor? What is the most important criteria? Who should the church choose as a deacon? Or, who would you want the church to pick as the Sunday School teacher for your kid's class? Do you see what I am getting at? The first and foremost qualification must be that they are saved - that they are born again - and then that they have some measure of spiritual maturity.

Requiring church membership is a minimal way of assuring this. To say that, if you want the privileges and responsibilities of church membership, you have to make a commitment to join; isn't too much to ask. And it isn't hard for a genuine believer. To join our church, there are three simple requirements. We will cover the first today.

The first requirement is that you be born-again. This is the only requirement to be a part of the universal church. You must be born-again through faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, you must be a Christian. But being a Christian requires that you make a confession of your faith. This is what it teaches in Romans 10:9-10:

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

We think it is important for a believer to profess his faith.

"But, wait a minute," You may say. "I'm already a Christian. I automatically became part of the universal church when I trusted Christ, didn't I? Why shouldn't I automatically be a member of the local church?" The simple answer is, Christ can see your heart. He knows whether or not you have trusted Him. We don't. And it is our job to guard the local church. So we need you to tell us about it. We need to hear your testimony of salvation before you join. We need you to tell us what you are trusting in for salvation.

Certainly not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. We talked about that back in our discussion of the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. Not every profession of faith is genuine. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Matthew 7:21-23:

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

You only have to think of the cults that come to your door to know the truth of this. They claim to be Christians. They work like crazy. Some of them put us to shame with their zeal. But they aren't saved because the have not trusted Christ. They trust in their own good works. Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." It doesn't say trust in your good works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 teach,

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

If they are trusting in their good works to get them to heaven, they aren't saved. And if they do not turn to Christ in faith, they will one day hear those words of Jesus, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who proactive lawlessness."

Obviously, not everyone who claims to be part of the universal church really is. We want to make sure before we allow them to become members and engage in ministry in our local church. that is why we require that we hear their testimony.

Church Membership - Part Four

2009-07-17T07:25:00.010-04:00

After all that we've said concerning wheat and tares and false teachers, how does this apply to church membership? Why do we and most churches require a person to actually go through the process of joining the church in order to minister within the local church? The answer should be obvious. The answer is quality control.

Oh, but that doesn't sound good, does it? It makes it sound like the church is some kind of elite club where the less than desirable need not apply. But that's not it at all. There is, and should be, no prejudice within the church. You can see this in Galatians 3:26-29:

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

When this says we are all sons of God, that doesn't mean every person, but every person who has come to Jesus Christ in faith for salvation. That's what makes us a child of God and an heir to the promise. Being Christ's is the only requirement. That puts us all on equal footing within the kingdom of God.

Indeed, the church is an equal opportunity employer. People aren't called by God because of their riches or power, or their good looks, or talent. Most of the time, it is in spite of a lack of any of these things. It tells us this in 1st Corinthians 1:26-29,

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

God doesn't often choose those with lots of natural talent. The rich and famous, the talented and powerful; anything they accomplish for God they would take credit for. "After all, I am so talented," they would say. Or, "That was my money that paid for that program, you know." But someone who isn't all that much in themselves - the common and despised person of this world - if he accomplishes something for God, he knows that God did it through him. God gets all the credit.

So, no! When I say quality control, I am not talking about excluding the less than rich and beautiful. I'm talking about the difference between saved and unsaved. Only the saved are part of the kingdom of god. Only the saved are children of God. Only the saved are part of the universal church. Therefore, only the saved should be allowed to be members of the local church.

Church Membership - Part Three

2009-07-15T07:39:00.009-04:00

We've been talking about the tension that exists in every local church between the genuine believers and the make-believers. Now throw in the question we have asked: why are there so many different denominations and so many different local churches, even in small, local communities; and you can understand how this tension plays out.

It plays out like this: The true believer wants to see the pastor preaching and teaching the Word of God in all its grandeur, straight and unvarnished. They live for the pure milk and meat of the Word. The true doctrines of the faith excite them. The make-believers prefer false doctrine that tickles their ears. "The Bible is outdated, after all, and not relevant for today," They say. "We have come so much farther than those parochial Jews who were prejudiced against women and gays. We're enlightened." And they think they can sit in judgment over the Bible deciding what is or isn't relevant for today.

Now, it they are better at infighting and can come up with enough votes at a congregational meeting, they can change the doctrines of the church. They can assure that the preachers who are called are the less offensive ones who won't step on the good church member's toes by preaching the Word, or make unbelievers feel uncomfortable.

This is precisely why the elders of the church are commanded to guard and preserve the pure doctrines of the church. We can see this as Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus to him as he was on his way to Jerusalem to be arrested and taken to Rome. In Acts 20:25-31, he says:

"And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears."

That's the problem. False teachers will arise to draw the church away from the truth of God's Word into error. Paul claimed that he had taught them the whole counsel of God's Word, holding nothing back, no matter how much public opinion swayed against Him. False teachers will lead the congregation away from the truth. But it is Christ's church. He purchased it with His own blood. He gets to say what our doctrines should be, and He has through His Word. It is up to His preachers to teach it straight. It is through the false teachers that arise within the church, the savage wolves as Paul calls them, that false doctrines enter the church. The elders must guard against that. Requiring an examination for church membership helps to guard against this.

Even Jesus warned that the wolves would come, and He warned that they would not be easily recognized. But He gave us the key to pick them out. In Matthew 7:15-16, Jesus said: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." The false teachers will come disguised as genuine believers, just like tares. They will present themselves as sheep, the name Jesus used of His true followers. But like the tares, they will bear a different fruit. Being careful with church membership, requiring an examination of the perspective member as to salvation, will help keep out the savage wolves.

Church Membrship - Part Two

2009-07-14T07:20:00.005-04:00

Last time, I painted a picture that was pretty black and white as I contrasted the different objectives within the church of the true, born-again believer and the make-believer. But I'm sure you know that in the real world, nothing is ever that black and white. Especially with people, they come in shades of gray.

Sometimes new believers don't seem much different from the world they were just saved out of. they still carry the smell of the fires of hell on them, and they still have lots of that old baggage from the world they carry around. They desperately need to be discipled by an older, dedicated believer. On the other hand, some unbelievers are the sweetest, most generous and moral people you would ever want to meet. You would never know they have never trusted Christ for salvation - that they are still as lost as a billy goat. You'd swear by their actions that they are good Christians. So sometimes, it is really hard to tell them apart. Is this person a carnal Christian? Or is this person a moral pagan interested in the church? And how can you tell them apart?

Remember, the basic problem in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares is that you can't tell them apart - not until the harvest - when the tares show themselves by not producing any fruit. That's the problem we face in every church. How do we tell them apart? Christians don't come with a big "C" tattooed across their foreheads, and unbelievers don't come with that "666" tattooed across theirs. Not yet, anyway. So how do we know who is on our side and who is on the devil's side?

And quite frankly. sometimes the tares don't know either. Quite often, they are deceived into thinking they are just as good a Christian as the next person. And lots of times they are, to our shame. Except that they really aren't. But that's one of Satan's most effective tactics - the tactic of deceit. Revelation 12:7-9 says,

"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So that great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Do you see? Satan is now down here on earth stirring up lots of mischief, and his most effective tactic is deceit. Satan deceives the whole world. And Satan loves nothing more than to have the tares think of themselves as wheat. He loves to deceive the make-believers into thinking of themselves as genuine (They aren't likely to get saved that way).

But that is precisely why Paul urged personal introspection. 3nd Corinthians 13:5 teaches, "Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified." Self examination is so vital. Just because you are a member of a church doesn't mean you have been saved. Make sure you are. Examine your life. And that is why perspective members need to be examined for the genuineness of their faith. Are they really, truly a part of the true church?

The Need for Church Membership

2009-07-13T07:38:00.003-04:00

We spent a lot of time talking about why there are local churches, and especially why there are so many of them. We asked why there are literally hundreds of denominations in this country alone, and why there is a different local church on nearly every corner. The answer we gave was, in part, found in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. The moral of the parable, for our purposes, was that that while Jesus is busy building His church and filling it with genuine, born-again Christians - the good grain of the parable; Satan is busy filling the church with make-believe Christians - the tares of the parable. The tares look just like the wheat, but aren't. And they never bear fruit. But they are within the church rubbing shoulders with the true believers.

As such, there will always be a tension within the church - a tension between the two groups as they each follow their respective sower. They will each try to pull the church in the direction desired by their sower. And while the sower of the true-believer is Christ, the sower of the make-believer is Christ's arch-enemy, Satan. The directions they want to go are polar opposites. Everything they are looking for is different. The local church they would each make would be unrecognizable to the other.

True believers want to be taught the Word of God. Make believers want their ears tickled with feel good sermons. True believers want accountability. Make believers don't. Genuine believers will want to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. They will want to mature spiritually. They are eager to know and learn through private devotions. And they are excited to come to church to be taught the Word of God. They really genuinely want to know what God expects of them so they can get their life lined up right. They want to be clean from their sin that they have learned to hate so much. They will want to get things done for Christ and won't have to be begged to serve. They will eagerly volunteer to work hard. And they will share their faith with others. In other words, they will be committed to Christ.

The make believers? Well, they will be content to stay just the way they are. They will resent Bible studies and sermons that challenge them. They might get in a huff if the pastor or Sunday School teacher steps on their toes. Especially, don't try to tell them that anything they do is sin. They like their sin. Their sin is an old, comfortable friend that they want to keep around. And they will show up at the church services when they feel like it, if they feel like it. To them, regular church attendance is optional. And to get them to take a job around church? It is like pulling teeth. Maybe they will if there is enough glory in it, but probably not. In other words, make-believers want a comfortable place where they can come and go as they please. Many prefer total anonymity. Some want a place where they can be pampered and coddled and entertained.

True believers want a place where they can join in and be committed - where they can be taught and where they can serve. It really becomes a lifestyle thing with them. So, true believers strengthen a local church (They are the church), while make believers within the local church weaken it. What kind of church member are you?

Picking A Local Church

2009-07-09T07:27:00.004-04:00

Not all local churches are the same. There are good ones and there are bad ones. And you have to be able to tell the difference. If you become involved in a bad church that preaches a distorted Gospel, you could be deceived, or at best, spin your wheels in a cause that is more dangerous than useless.

So, how do you pick? Local churches are as thick as fleas on a dog. They are all different to one degree or another. Some are bigger and some are smaller. Some are friendly and some are not. Some have upbeat music while some rely on traditional hymns. But what is most important? What really makes a good church?

This is the key element. There are local churches that lead people to God for salvation and teach His Word; and there there are local churches that will deceive you, teaching false ways to God that only lead to hell teaching the opinions of men instead of the Word of God. This is the single most important element. Is the local church true and faithful to the Word of God or are they not?

As for me, I have chosen to be a part of an Independent Bible Church. That's the territory I have staked out as a pastor. But what kind of a church is that? What does Independent mean? Does it mean that we can't get along with anyone else? Does it mean that we won't fellowship or cooperate with other churches - that we are as independent as a hog on ice? Not at all. It simply means we are free from outside control.

No denomination controls the affairs of our church. We are self governing, and we believe that was how the early church functioned in the book of Acts. Like them, we choose our own officers and call our own pastor. We own our own building. We make our own decisions, following the leading of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Word, of course.

But we also feel it was the responsibility of the local church to preserve sound doctrine. In 1st Timothy 3:15, Paul writes, "But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, the pillar and the ground of truth." That's the local church. It is the pillar and the ground of the truth. In His letters to the seven churches, Jesus wrote condemnation to the church in Pergamus because they tolerated false doctrines within their midst. Revelation 2:14-16 says,

"But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth."

Jesus will judge us as a church based on our adherence to sound doctrine.

The early church was autonomous. Modern churches need to be autonomous. Jesus is our head and we follow His Word for our direction. To be independent means we have to rely on the Lord, not some outside organization. This should drive us to our knees in prayer.

But we are also a Bible Church. That means we are centered on the Word of God. The Bible and the Bible alone is our authority. We don't follow some man. We don't follow some creed or doctrinal statement. We follow the Bible to the best of our abilities. We do this because we believe the Bible is sufficient. In 2nd Timothy 3:15 it says: "And the from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." The Scriptures are necessary to learn the way of salvation. Then it continues in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." If that's what the Word of God does, what more do we need?

Yes, there are good creeds and good catechisms. We can use them. They can help us succinctly crystallize and explain the doctrines of the Bible. But they don't contain all the Word of God, so they aren't sufficient. There are good traditions that we can follow, but they never super cede the Word of God. This is why we are a Bible Church, and this is why we teach and preach the Word of God in all of our services.

If you attend our services, you really ought to bring your Bible because that is what we use every time - every week. Every week, week after week, you are going to find me standing in the pulpit teaching the Word. There really isn't much variety. I've heard of churches that week after week continually have a variety act. They feature a Christian rock concert one week, then a Christian karate expert the next week giving his testimony and breaking boards. They have all kinds of acts to keep people's attention. I guess the make-believers need that. But hopefully, you don't need a juggler or a dancing pony to make church entertaining. Hopefully, you attend because you take the Word of God seriously and want to learn what God has to say.

Here you just get the word, straight and unvarnished. We believe it is the most important element of our worship. As we study the Words of Scripture, the Word comes alive in our hearts. It purifies us, prunes away the dead wood. It washes us clean. It is our daily food - our milk and meat. It is what causes us to grow into spiritual maturity and holiness. The Word convicts and challenges us. It continually shows us new ways to worship God. What could be more exciting than that?

Why There is a Local Church - Part Five

2009-07-07T10:09:00.006-04:00

The universal church is made up of only born-again believers adopted into the family of God. The local church, however, has a mixture of believers and make-believers. We learned this from two parables: the parable of the wheat and the tares, which taught that the enemy sows make-believers within the church that look and act like genuine believers but never produce fruit; and from the parable of the mustard seed, that showed that the church grows big enough to form a perch for the birds of the air that, according to the parable of the sower, snatch away the seed of the Word from the make-believers. It has been this way from the beginning. Make believers are within the Church basking in the blessings of church membership, but not understanding the truth and craving false teaching. It tickles their ears.

Look at Paul's charge to the young pastor Timothy in 2nd Timothy 4:1-4: I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned to fables.
Paul's mandate for every preacher called by God is to preach the Word. Why? Because the day would come when sound doctrine would not be tolerated. People won't want to hear the Bible. They will only want their ears tickled with feel good sermons and prosperity gospel sermons.

But do you see this? While God's true servants are preaching the Word, Satan's servants are preaching their fables. And the tares prefer the fables because it tickles their ears. And if the true believers don't check out the teaching - if they don't act like the noble Bereans who scoured the pages of Scripture to make sure the teaching they were hearing was correct - soon the fables will become the primary doctrines of the local church. When it disagrees with what they used to believe they will separate from the "unenlightened" believers who want to adhere to the old way and still believe the Bible, and they will start a new church or a new denomination.

Now, don't get me wrong. Sometimes it is in the reverse order as a group of believers will leave an apostate denomination to return to Biblical principles. The Protestant Reformation was such an example as they left the Roman Catholic Church to return to the Bible as their sole authority. The Bible Church movement is another example as they came out of the liberal denominations to return to the fundamental doctrines of the faith. So the separation goes both ways.

Nowadays, some of the denominations don't even get the Gospel right. It's been that way since the beginning too, since Paul had to write the book of Galatians to counteract a false gospel. But that is the very heart of our faith, isn't it? As Romans 1:16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believers, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. If they get the Gospel wrong, there is no other way of salvation, no way into the universal church, no way into the family of God. And people stay lost and condemned.

And Satan wins. Satan always wins if he keeps people from getting saved and if he can screw up our doctrines. Satan always wins if he can divide us. So the diversity of denominations is an accomplishment of Satan, not of God. We almost have to wonder why some of them even call themselves churches if they deny the Scriptures and teach an incorrect Gospel. They aren't leading people to God, but away from Him. They aren't leading people to salvation and heaven, but misleading them right into hell.

In his book, Let the Church Be the Church, Ray Ortland asks, "Has your church really become part of the church, or did it just steal the label?" What he was asking was this: has your local church really become part of the universal church, or is a counterfeit? there are a lot of churches that aren't churches yet they masquerade as churches. John MacArthur claims,

"I am convinced that in the name of Christianity, there are many places that call themselves churches that are not churches, and they have men leading them who call themselves pastors who are not pastors, and they have congregations who call themselves Christians who are not Christian. They are not churches, and they are not pastors, and they are not Christians, and yet they proudly post the label, Christian."

So no, not all local churches are the same. there are good ones and there are bad ones. there are good denominations and there are bad denominations. It all depends on their adherence to the truth of the Scriptures. And you must be able to tell the difference.

Why There is a Local Church - Part Four

2009-07-01T09:56:00.003-04:00

Lat time, in talking about the makeup of the local church, we looked at the Parable of the Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13. We saw that while Jesus populates the local church with true, born-again believers, Satan populates the local church with make-believers - the tares. They look just like the genuine, but they aren't. They never bear fruit.

Today, we want to look at the second parable Jesus told. It is the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Matthew 13:31-32: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.
Jesus was talking about the church beginning small. It began with just 120 people praying in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, but the church would grow large and fill the earth. The mustard seed is a tiny seed, but the bush it grows into could reach fifteen feet high. That's plenty big enough for birds to roost in.

But what are the birds? That's the question. I've always learned that the immediate context helps us understand the meaning of any passage. So, does Jesus talk about birds anywhere else in the immediate context? Sure He does! He does so in the Parable of The Sower where a farmer goes out to sow seed in his field. In Matthew 13:4, it says: "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them." When Jesus explained the parable, He told us the seed was the Word of God and the one who snatched the seed away was the evil one - Satan. We see this in Matthew 13:18-19:

"Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside."

So, Satan is active in snatching away the Word of God from those who don't understand - like the unsaved tares. He accomplishes this within the church through his false teachers and false prophets who teach things contrary to sound doctrine. Where do you think so many silly doctrines come from? Certainly, they are not found in the Bible.

False teachers have been in the church from the beginning, and the tares are always ready to listen to them and believe them. The tares aren't saved, remember? They don't have the Holy Spirit within them to guide them to the truth. So false doctrines make sense to them. They seem appealing. They tickle their ears. And a battle over doctrine erupts within the church, maybe a split happens, and often a new denomination is started.

Why There is a Local Church - Part Three

2009-06-29T08:43:00.004-04:00

From the beginning of the church's existence, the church has existed as a collection of local churches. Each city had it s own. Each region had its own. But, boy, we've sure taken this concept to the extreme in our day, haven't we? Today there are literally hundreds of denominations, and a good size city may literally have hundreds of churches. There are local churches on practically every corner. Sometimes one corner can have four churches on it, one each from a different denomination. Any small village might have three Methodist churches and a half dozen Baptist churches.

And we wonder why? Why has the church fractured into so many different denominations? Why have they, in turn, fractured into so many different branches? We have American Baptists, Southern Baptists, General Baptists, Conservative Baptists, Regular Baptists, Missionary Baptists, Reformed Baptists, and I'm just getting warmed up. I grew up Baptist, by the way, so I am one of them.

But why? Why can't we get along? Why can't we have a united doctrine and a united voice? Why do we have to disagree so much? Yeah, I know. Somebody said we are all people. And by that, we mean fallen, sinful people usually too intent upon our own wishes and desires instead of worrying about what God wants. They claim if you put two Baptists in a room together, you'll get three opinions on any given subject. But that's probably true of any denomination.

There is an even more basic reason, though, for why we fracture so much. The answer is found in Matthew 13, in two parables Jesus told. The first is about the wheat and the tares. The second is the parable of the mustard seed. We'll cover the first today.

The parable of the wheat and tares is found in Matthew 13:24-30:

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?" He said to them, "An enemy has done this." The servant said to him, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?" But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest, and at that the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn, but gather the whet into my barn.'"

In understanding the parable, the farmer sowing wheat, according to Matthew 13:37-38, is Jesus sowing the sons of the kingdom, or believers, throughout the world. For our benefit, we'll consider this as happening in the local church as well. The enemy is Satan. The tares are a weed, probably darnel, that looks and grows like the wheat. It's really hard to tell them apart, with one major exception - the tares never produce fruit. The tares never produce a crop of wheat. But you can't tell until the harvest. The enemy would sow tares into the field to destroy the crops and the livelihood of the farmer. So this is Satan's way of sabotaging the work of building the church. And he has been quite successful.

While Christ populates the church with born-again believers, Satan populates the church with make-believers who look and act like everyone else in the pews. But they never bear fruit. They take up space. They use up resources. They demand their share of the positions on the committees. But they never contribute anything of value to the life of the church. Yet, they are there, side by side with the true believers within the church. Like tares, they are so intertwined with the root system and so hard to pick out, that it is impossible to get rid of them. Which is why Jesus said that the separation won't take place until the end times judgment when the saved will be taken to heaven and the lost will be cast into hell.

Until then, our churches will always be a mixture of saved and unsaved people within our walls. The better churches may have fewer while the apostates churches may be almost all tares. But unsaved people are always a part of the mix, and they will be until the end. Always there to oppose the work and oppose true doctrine. No wonder there are so many disagreements and divisions within the local church.

Why is There a Local Church - Part Two

2009-06-27T08:04:00.003-04:00

Of all the names the New Testament uses for the local church, the one I like best is the family of God. When we are born again into the family of God, we become brothers and sisters in Christ, joined not by the bloodline of our parents, but by the shed blood of Christ. Then we begin functioning like a family - a spiritual family, We begin functioning in much the same way as our flesh and blood families functioned.

You can see this in Acts 2:44-47, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."
That's Jesus building His church. And they loved each other. They took care of each other. They acted like family. And the local church made a stronger family for them than their own flesh and blood brothers and sisters, parents, or even children in some cases who often turned on them when they trusted Christ. When their flesh and blood families disowned them, their spiritual family took them in.

So as you can see, the church is a mystical, spiritual entity. It exists over space and time made up of spiritually regenerated people. But we can't see the universal church. We can't minister through the universal church. We can't fellowship with something that is ethereal. We need a place with real flesh and blood people.

That's why local churches have been in existence since the day of Pentecost as groups of believers banded together to form local congregations for mutual fellowship and encouragement. Wherever the apostles went, they would form local churches. Each city would have its own with its own leadership, and there would be numerous churches throughout a country or throughout a region. So the universal church has always existed as local churches. So we can think of the universal church as a concept, but we have to have a local church to be a part of. I trust you have made a commitment to join and serve through a local church.

Why is There a Local Church

2009-06-26T07:21:00.006-04:00

This month, I've begun a new sermon series in our church on the local church. I wanted to share some of the things I've been preaching. First, I assume you have some concept of the church. You know that the church isn't a building or a denomination. The church is made up of a redeemed people. The word church comes from a compound word in Greek, ecclesia. It is composed of the prefix ek, meaning out of, and klesia, meaning called. Together they render called out. The church is a group of people called out by God.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The church is a spiritual entity that Jesus Himself is building by calling out people from the world to be His. He used a little play on words here. In Greek, the word for Peter is a word for a small stone, while the word for rock is a word describing bedrock. The church is not built on Peter, the pebble, but upon the bedrock of his confession of faith in Matthew 16:16 that Jesus is, "the Christ, the Son of the Living God," a confession of faith unto salvation.

Jesus is building His church worldwide. He's building it in unlikely places as far away as China and Iran - in places like South America and Africa - places where now great revivals are happening. He's not just at work in North America. As a matter of fact, it seems like He is doing greater work building His church elsewhere. The church of Jesus Christ is worldwide.

It also spans time. Jesus began His church dramatically on the day of Pentecost with miraculous signs: the sounds of a mighty, rushing wind, the Spirit of God descending as tongues of fire to rest upon each disciple, and the gift of tongues as each apostle arose and speaking in his own language was understood in the native language of each hearer. And they preached the Word of God clearly and forcefully. They proclaimed the Gospel message in power. And people were saved. Peter preached, according to Acts 2:21, "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." That very day, 3,000 souls repented of their sin, trusted Jesus Christ for salvation, called on His name, and were added to the church.

The church is still being built today as each of us fulfills the Great Commission of Jesus in Matthew 29:19-20:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen."

So what is the church of Jesus Christ? It is a spiritual entity made up of every person born again into the Family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, living or dead, no matter where they live and worship and in any age since the day of Pentecost until today.

It is described in many ways in Scripture using many relationships we can understand. The church is called the bride of Christ in Ephesians 5:23-32 and Revelation 21:9. In Ephesians 1:22-23, it is called the body of Christ whose head is Jesus. There are many other descriptions, but the one I like best is when the church is called a family - the family of God. It is called this in Ephesians 3:15. As in a family, you enter the family by being born into it, just as we are born-again into the family of God. So may I ask you, have you been born again into the family of God through repentant faith in Jesus Christ? Are you part of this family? If not, I urge you to do so today and join the best family on earth - the family of God.

2009-06-26T07:21:00.001-04:00