Life here on the earth can be filled with stark contrarities. As I reflect on my own circumstances to those of my children, I pause. My oldest daughter Heather, and my son Taylor graduate this coming year, Heather from college and Taylor from high school. As the cool of autumn is lapping at me I hearken back to those days of my own life.
You know we are filled with anticipation in looking forward to high school graduation some time near the beginning of our senior year; I mean the thought of the passage to adulthood, the excitment of making our own money, the responsibilities of decision-making affecting our futures, I mean we had it together, didnt we? You know the passage of a single event like this means very little looking backwards. A day when you dress funny, thirty years and some on this side of that event, I recall very little....it was just another day...was it not?
College graduation for me was very different.....it was a diploma in a mailing tube, a block to be checked, almost perfunctory. After all, upon choosing the "fifteen-year plan" I was already married, had two little children and was steeped with financial responsibilities and pressures. Grad school was no different; I was the consummate adult-learner. Even today, I am keeping my further grad studies on life-support and the all-elusive PhD is but a fleeting dream.
Okay, this is not being whiny; just stating facts. Frankly, the only thing I would have changed about any of these circumstances would have been the extended schooling into middle adulthood, and its robbery of precious family time for the sake of studies, but that was unavoidable for a number of reasons (wont share these).
What is the point of all of this? Fact is, these milestones are a point in time and not really important. There is a much-deeper richness in learning from the sacrifices and the life events that are shaped during those years; far deeper than what was dealt in any classroom. Dont misread me, I am a stalwart supporter of education, I mean next to a parent and even greater than a pastor, a teacher has a much deeper role of shaping the heart of a child and young adults. You know, no matter where we are in life, we can make an investment in others whether we teach professionally or not. The encouragement, a careful occasional prod and a heap of advise as people grow. In daily life, I have seen young people come into the work place with a sense of entitlement, an air of contempt for authority and a lazy streak that demands attention. I believe that there are opportunities all around us and we must act before it is too late to change their direction, before they become adults that suck the life out of their marriages, workplaces and families due to their character issues. Just some thoughts here on significant life events.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
On a Great Life-Lesson in Transition
As I transition out of my job I have left my office for the temporary cubicle world. This episodic foray touched off a curious game of musical chairs as a number of moves were afoot. In the space of three days I was forced to move three times, so I cheerfully (well OK not always) went through the office pushing a cart with my few office possessions to the next cube, singing along the way. I greeted my temporary neighbors with a smile; all warning me to keep my singing to a minimum. I must admit, going from a place of settled comfort to a series of temporary places did lessen my morale. So maybe it was also coupled with the loss of position and a sense of temporal uncertainty of a new job which to-date still is in a hazy cloud.
I am not overly-concerned with the job-future, although I must continue to remind myself of the "sparrow and the lillies"; this chapter has reminded me of temporary nature of our earthly tent, that is our body. I was curious of the middle-eastern bedouines. These simple peoples push their sheep across the desert, or fastidiously farm the reeds along the Tigris. Theirs is a simple lot and it reminds me that travelling light is not a bad thing.
While I have been consumed by these transitions, frankly little else has occupied my time, I have to realize that little eternal value is recompensed for our job performance, our temporary merits or our achievements, no matter how towering. I am reminded of the Judgment Seat of Christ which shall examine our investment here, Paul intimates this in 1Cr 3:12-14 "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. This foundation here he speaks of if Christ. In other words, only the spiritual things done in the right heart will last, are timeless diamonds, is limitless gold, and eternal silver!
Hard work and merit on earth are fine, even encouraged as "unto the Lord", but I am to take heed to the those things that will not be burned up...those that will abide.....not like the office or the cubicle or the position....or the money. It reminds me of the poem from the unknown author which ends with this phrase.
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
esc
I am not overly-concerned with the job-future, although I must continue to remind myself of the "sparrow and the lillies"; this chapter has reminded me of temporary nature of our earthly tent, that is our body. I was curious of the middle-eastern bedouines. These simple peoples push their sheep across the desert, or fastidiously farm the reeds along the Tigris. Theirs is a simple lot and it reminds me that travelling light is not a bad thing.
While I have been consumed by these transitions, frankly little else has occupied my time, I have to realize that little eternal value is recompensed for our job performance, our temporary merits or our achievements, no matter how towering. I am reminded of the Judgment Seat of Christ which shall examine our investment here, Paul intimates this in 1Cr 3:12-14 "Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. This foundation here he speaks of if Christ. In other words, only the spiritual things done in the right heart will last, are timeless diamonds, is limitless gold, and eternal silver!
Hard work and merit on earth are fine, even encouraged as "unto the Lord", but I am to take heed to the those things that will not be burned up...those that will abide.....not like the office or the cubicle or the position....or the money. It reminds me of the poem from the unknown author which ends with this phrase.
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,"Thy will be done";
And when at last I'll hear the call, I know I'll say "twas worth it all";
Only one life,'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.
esc
Sunday, May 16, 2010
On Lasting Change
Most recently on a trip, my group was joined by a colleague for dinner. As oft the case, dinners are times for social dialogue, rarely ever delving into work issues. Our friend opened a passage into their personal life, she had written a book about her trials after coming home from the war in Iraq. In her book, She admitted that she drank often, had many interpersonal problems and had sought all sorts of help from psychologists in order to feel better. She freely admitted that her past career as a social worker had somewhat impeached the process, because she knew the book answers from the psychology manuals and her training. She seemingly resigned herself to a hopeless course of life. This is sad.
Her problem; that the way of the world her problems are not solved neither by social change, alcohol, nor psychology. She needs Jesus Christ. Her answer to her problem was that she cannot change. Now I know that this is a normal defense when someone wants to provide excuse for certain behavior; they are “who they are”; after all “people cant change”. Even believers come up with this excuse, I have seen this in counseling. Frankly, we need to dissect this and demonstrate the fallaciousness of this argument.
Christian, we all understand that Christ died on the cross; yes? Let’s construct an extended syllogism for instruction’s sake here.
1. Jesus died on the cross for our sins as a substitute; 1Pe 3:18 says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
2. Jesus died not only for our past sins as a substitute, but our present sins as well, 1 John 1:9 teaches that, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
3. All of our sins were in the future; therefore Christ died for our future sins as a substitute.
4. Christ’s death was complete; it was effective and delivers from the power of sin. Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
5. Therefore, the power of God, through the Agency of the Holy Spirit delivers us from the power of such sin. Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
6. Given these things, we can change! Consider the passage in Hebrews Hbr 4:15-16 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
You see there is hope for our friend through Christ! Yes!!
Her problem; that the way of the world her problems are not solved neither by social change, alcohol, nor psychology. She needs Jesus Christ. Her answer to her problem was that she cannot change. Now I know that this is a normal defense when someone wants to provide excuse for certain behavior; they are “who they are”; after all “people cant change”. Even believers come up with this excuse, I have seen this in counseling. Frankly, we need to dissect this and demonstrate the fallaciousness of this argument.
Christian, we all understand that Christ died on the cross; yes? Let’s construct an extended syllogism for instruction’s sake here.
1. Jesus died on the cross for our sins as a substitute; 1Pe 3:18 says, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
2. Jesus died not only for our past sins as a substitute, but our present sins as well, 1 John 1:9 teaches that, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
3. All of our sins were in the future; therefore Christ died for our future sins as a substitute.
4. Christ’s death was complete; it was effective and delivers from the power of sin. Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
5. Therefore, the power of God, through the Agency of the Holy Spirit delivers us from the power of such sin. Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
6. Given these things, we can change! Consider the passage in Hebrews Hbr 4:15-16 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
You see there is hope for our friend through Christ! Yes!!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
On a Strong Work Ethic
Well of recent I have been prone to muse about the trappings of the workplace and the requisite industry of any strong society. I am at a crossroads having left the traditional workplace for pursuit into the full-time military six years whence. Ah, but the wisdom of Uncle Sugar's Army hath but delivered that blow-fatale' to one's career, that fateful siren of the mandatory retirement. The winds of change are a'blowin'.
Wistful as one can be on promotions never earned, I can now resolutely say that I will never hear the words, "General Crow". I must admit that sounds good but it is not to be. But what of us mid-lifers? At this juncture, its a tough economy out there. I am reminded of being thirty-one years in and out of the work-place now and I have some strong understanding of my capabilities and aptitudes, talents, passions and frankly, what to avoid like a plague. I mean you are not going to want me to run a machine....I would fall asleep out of sheer boredom, or the whole factory would die because of my daydreaming! Now I could be a brain surgeon, but I would have to understand a little bit about it before I jumped right in!
Most of my peers getting to this point in their careers opt for the government contractor jobs. They have'nt earned the moniker, "Beltway Bandits" for no reason! Some strive for the golden goose; the coveted government civil-servant job with all its security and fortunes. OK, living in North Alabama where I grew up, the so-called fortune equals a really good salary, but here in DC, it can also mean supplementing your income with a pizza job. I know this first-hand. It gives me pause here.
I see the value of hard work over intellect, creativity and giftedness. I once had a college engineering professor tell me, "you learn to love the "A" Students because they are the ones who come back and are great teaching assistants or professors; but you also learn to love the "C" students because it is they who come back and build you a new reaserch lab through a handsome endowment"! I like that, because it personfies the maxim that human potential through talent and intelligence is not always what its marketed to be. I have seen plenty of educated people in my years here. Much of the constituency that I have served and have served with have had many advanced degrees, many PhDs. Much of my counsel to young up-and-coming fledglings (and I have seen many) is to tell them, "you dont need a PhD, you need a JOB", go out kill something, bring it home and eat it! This is where I want to take us here.
The purest and brilliant minds are of no count if one hasn't the discipline, the motivation, the punch and the grit to apply it to the task ahead of him, and press things to a close. One's giftedness does not determine his position in life; your abilities are not your measure; only what you produce. What determines your peace with who you are? Find out how God made you and pursue this to its infinite end with fervor!
Give me somebody with the determination to see things through, who is not afraid to put his shoulder into the task and we can accomplish many things! Give me someone who has discovered how and why God made them and its better than any symphony; its a masterpiece! I am reminded of Eric Liddel the scottish olympian (movie "Chariots of Fire") and missionary to China, and I am inspired. He lost the opportunity to qualify for his event because he chose out of principle not to run on the Lord's Day. His sister asked him, why he put himself through the agony of running and training so much, only to fail because of his forfeiture. He said, "I believe that God made me for a purpose (China), but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure". Upon his graduation from Edinburgh University, he gave an unexpected speech, he shared the following:
"Over the gate at the University of Pennsylvania there is a motto, which reads, ‘In the dust of defeat as well as in the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best.’ There are many men and women who have done their best, but who have not succeeded in gaining the laurels of victory. To them, as much honor is due as to those who have received these laurels."
Wistful as one can be on promotions never earned, I can now resolutely say that I will never hear the words, "General Crow". I must admit that sounds good but it is not to be. But what of us mid-lifers? At this juncture, its a tough economy out there. I am reminded of being thirty-one years in and out of the work-place now and I have some strong understanding of my capabilities and aptitudes, talents, passions and frankly, what to avoid like a plague. I mean you are not going to want me to run a machine....I would fall asleep out of sheer boredom, or the whole factory would die because of my daydreaming! Now I could be a brain surgeon, but I would have to understand a little bit about it before I jumped right in!
Most of my peers getting to this point in their careers opt for the government contractor jobs. They have'nt earned the moniker, "Beltway Bandits" for no reason! Some strive for the golden goose; the coveted government civil-servant job with all its security and fortunes. OK, living in North Alabama where I grew up, the so-called fortune equals a really good salary, but here in DC, it can also mean supplementing your income with a pizza job. I know this first-hand. It gives me pause here.
I see the value of hard work over intellect, creativity and giftedness. I once had a college engineering professor tell me, "you learn to love the "A" Students because they are the ones who come back and are great teaching assistants or professors; but you also learn to love the "C" students because it is they who come back and build you a new reaserch lab through a handsome endowment"! I like that, because it personfies the maxim that human potential through talent and intelligence is not always what its marketed to be. I have seen plenty of educated people in my years here. Much of the constituency that I have served and have served with have had many advanced degrees, many PhDs. Much of my counsel to young up-and-coming fledglings (and I have seen many) is to tell them, "you dont need a PhD, you need a JOB", go out kill something, bring it home and eat it! This is where I want to take us here.
The purest and brilliant minds are of no count if one hasn't the discipline, the motivation, the punch and the grit to apply it to the task ahead of him, and press things to a close. One's giftedness does not determine his position in life; your abilities are not your measure; only what you produce. What determines your peace with who you are? Find out how God made you and pursue this to its infinite end with fervor!
Give me somebody with the determination to see things through, who is not afraid to put his shoulder into the task and we can accomplish many things! Give me someone who has discovered how and why God made them and its better than any symphony; its a masterpiece! I am reminded of Eric Liddel the scottish olympian (movie "Chariots of Fire") and missionary to China, and I am inspired. He lost the opportunity to qualify for his event because he chose out of principle not to run on the Lord's Day. His sister asked him, why he put himself through the agony of running and training so much, only to fail because of his forfeiture. He said, "I believe that God made me for a purpose (China), but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure". Upon his graduation from Edinburgh University, he gave an unexpected speech, he shared the following:
"Over the gate at the University of Pennsylvania there is a motto, which reads, ‘In the dust of defeat as well as in the laurels of victory there is a glory to be found if one has done his best.’ There are many men and women who have done their best, but who have not succeeded in gaining the laurels of victory. To them, as much honor is due as to those who have received these laurels."
On An Attitude of Gratitude
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." -- Melody Beattie
I am of the custom of camping onto life principles oftimes. During my morning walk today, I was listening to a podcast of one of my favorite radio hosts when I heard him quote this in answering a respondent. It welled within me some deep emotions that took me back to earlier days of my life. In 1980, I was in my late teens, I had lost my father the previous year, I had just impetuously quit my position with a local factory due to anger and immaturity, and I was a confused young man. It was the most difficult period of my life. I had no direction, no depth of experience to draw on, no job skills and no money. Surrounding that, my family had nothing either. My mother had a debilitating disease and we subsistied on a meager social security pension. We were in a deep hole and what little I could muster by mowing yards, sling blading ditches, and picking fruit coukl do little to stem the tide of lack. I look back on those days and could see the seeming hopelessness in those circumstances, but there is always hope. My younger brother had a part-time night job at a local chicken place. For a period of a year or so, we had chicken every night. Sometimes we had the side items, corn, potatoes, beans, etc. You would think that we would have turned into a yard-bird complete with feathers and beak!
I can see those days and fathom the Hand of God in His provision! I am so grateful for those times. We are stronger when we sustain the gales of these circumstances. Out of the ashes arose a child more confident in His Creator, a young man more confident to stand on his own, a father who wanted better for his children. Our lives are measured in seasons. How do you weather those storms? Can you draw on the depths of what you have amidst the privation of what you do not? Can you recognize that life is of great value regardless of what you have, possess, your credentials?
You know by standards of utility, my family and I do not have much now. We live in a fairly small home but in my present estimation its a mansion. Often I am overwhelmed at the cost of living here in Washington DC; am snowed under by the stressful and frantic pace of life and then I close my eyes and am transported to place of great joy, to small townhome in Burke, Virginia. To a place where the chaos is overwhelmed by solitude. A place where the voice of my sweetheart calms, a place where my precious daughter sings her beautiful pieces for school, a place of laughter where my quick-witted son spreads delightful humor and a place of fantasy where my youngest's playtime is spread all over the house....a beauty shop, a nail salon! Yeah, I am okay now. I am at peace and I am clear about that. How about you friend? Now what's for supper? I think I will have chicken......yeah, I'm southern.
I am of the custom of camping onto life principles oftimes. During my morning walk today, I was listening to a podcast of one of my favorite radio hosts when I heard him quote this in answering a respondent. It welled within me some deep emotions that took me back to earlier days of my life. In 1980, I was in my late teens, I had lost my father the previous year, I had just impetuously quit my position with a local factory due to anger and immaturity, and I was a confused young man. It was the most difficult period of my life. I had no direction, no depth of experience to draw on, no job skills and no money. Surrounding that, my family had nothing either. My mother had a debilitating disease and we subsistied on a meager social security pension. We were in a deep hole and what little I could muster by mowing yards, sling blading ditches, and picking fruit coukl do little to stem the tide of lack. I look back on those days and could see the seeming hopelessness in those circumstances, but there is always hope. My younger brother had a part-time night job at a local chicken place. For a period of a year or so, we had chicken every night. Sometimes we had the side items, corn, potatoes, beans, etc. You would think that we would have turned into a yard-bird complete with feathers and beak!
I can see those days and fathom the Hand of God in His provision! I am so grateful for those times. We are stronger when we sustain the gales of these circumstances. Out of the ashes arose a child more confident in His Creator, a young man more confident to stand on his own, a father who wanted better for his children. Our lives are measured in seasons. How do you weather those storms? Can you draw on the depths of what you have amidst the privation of what you do not? Can you recognize that life is of great value regardless of what you have, possess, your credentials?
You know by standards of utility, my family and I do not have much now. We live in a fairly small home but in my present estimation its a mansion. Often I am overwhelmed at the cost of living here in Washington DC; am snowed under by the stressful and frantic pace of life and then I close my eyes and am transported to place of great joy, to small townhome in Burke, Virginia. To a place where the chaos is overwhelmed by solitude. A place where the voice of my sweetheart calms, a place where my precious daughter sings her beautiful pieces for school, a place of laughter where my quick-witted son spreads delightful humor and a place of fantasy where my youngest's playtime is spread all over the house....a beauty shop, a nail salon! Yeah, I am okay now. I am at peace and I am clear about that. How about you friend? Now what's for supper? I think I will have chicken......yeah, I'm southern.
ON SINGING
You know that there is always the guy behind you in the congregation that cannot carry a tune? The hymns and choruses are stabbed at; they sheepishly sing….oh, some even freely admit that they are tone deaf. You know we are not talking about you, no, but someone who may look like you. Yes, we even find these dear souls in the choir. Sometimes they volunteer for the solos and the specials and their fragile egos cannot be crushed by the mere mention of the thought that it may smart to hear them. Actually, I know that every music minister in the world has to deal with this issue.
Well, there are the other people too. These are the folk who have a tremendous gift. I have a daughter who certainly fits in this category. They are the ones that can be counted on to get every note perfect; they are the quick studies with “broadway” voices. Now some of these folks (not all of course) have the “Diva” mentality. If you are in the choir or are active in your music program, chances are they have wandered in for a short time. Here, we your “spiritualized” Luciano Pavoratti, Placido Domingo or Alma Gluck. Here is another, yet cumbersome issue that those in ministry have to deal with.
You know I had a thought the other day that will bring some perspective on this. You know, no matter how perfect a voice, no matter how keen a talent, no matter how grand a command of diction, we are not going to measure up to the heavenly hosts that sing before God! You know those angels that appeared that night on a hill to the shepherds upon the pronouncement. Those that Isaiah saw in the temple in Chapter 6 singing the thrice Holy! No matter how good or poor an earthly voice, God only hears a heart! ”….Out of the abundance the heart speaketh”, MT 12:34b, but out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth singeth as well. You know that God deserves our best; no question. We should always minister with our gifts, but it’s okay if our abilities are in other areas. I don’t mind hearing a “tone-deaf” person sing if their ministry is genuine. I also love when a genuinely gifted person ministers with their talent as well. Check all egos at the door and admonish each other properly with love. Now where did I put those ear plugs?
Well, there are the other people too. These are the folk who have a tremendous gift. I have a daughter who certainly fits in this category. They are the ones that can be counted on to get every note perfect; they are the quick studies with “broadway” voices. Now some of these folks (not all of course) have the “Diva” mentality. If you are in the choir or are active in your music program, chances are they have wandered in for a short time. Here, we your “spiritualized” Luciano Pavoratti, Placido Domingo or Alma Gluck. Here is another, yet cumbersome issue that those in ministry have to deal with.
You know I had a thought the other day that will bring some perspective on this. You know, no matter how perfect a voice, no matter how keen a talent, no matter how grand a command of diction, we are not going to measure up to the heavenly hosts that sing before God! You know those angels that appeared that night on a hill to the shepherds upon the pronouncement. Those that Isaiah saw in the temple in Chapter 6 singing the thrice Holy! No matter how good or poor an earthly voice, God only hears a heart! ”….Out of the abundance the heart speaketh”, MT 12:34b, but out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth singeth as well. You know that God deserves our best; no question. We should always minister with our gifts, but it’s okay if our abilities are in other areas. I don’t mind hearing a “tone-deaf” person sing if their ministry is genuine. I also love when a genuinely gifted person ministers with their talent as well. Check all egos at the door and admonish each other properly with love. Now where did I put those ear plugs?
Who You Following?
Men hold truths nowadays with the bowels taken out of them, and the very life and meaning torn away. There are members and ministers of evangelical denominations who do not believe evangelical doctrine, or if they do believe it they attach but little importance to it; their sermons are essays on philosophy, tinged with the gospel. They put a quarter of a grain of gospel into an Atlantic of talk, and poor souls are drenched with words to no profit. God save us from ever leaving the old gospel, or losing its spirit, and the solid comfort which it brings; yet into the ditch of lifeless profession and philosophic dreaming we may soon fall if we commit ourselves to wrong leadership. Sound familiar? This is from no modern polimicist, this is from Spurgeon's Sermon on "The Choice of a Leader" preached, 1 August 1875, from the pulpit of the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
You Planting Among the Rocks or in the Thorns....
Spurgeon delivered a message entitled "Ploughing the Rock" based on Amos 6:12 "Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen?" It reminds me of how short our time is hereon earth...how hard people's hearts are around us...how even flinty our own stony heart can be. Did you know that thousands of pastors leave the ministry every year? This sermon foreshadows this. But Mister Spurgeon ends with this plea to the Almighty and call to us.....perhaps if you're discouraged today, you can draw some encouragement here.
__________________________________________________________________________________
What then? Shall the preacher continue his fruitless toil? If there is only half a hope left him, he is willing to go on and say, "Hear, ye deaf, and see, ye blind, and live, ye dead." He will even so speak this day, for his Master bids him preach the gospel to every creature; but it will be hard work to repeat the word of exhortation for years to those who will not hear it.
Happily there is one other turn which affairs may take. There is a God in heaven, let us pray to him to put forth his power. Jesus is at his side, let us invoke his interposition. The Holy Ghost is almighty, let us call for his aid. Brothers who plough and sisters who pray, cry to the Master for help. The horse and the ox evidently fail, but there remains One above who is able to work great marvels. Did he not once speak to the rock, and turn the flint into a stream of water? Let us pray him to do the same now.
And, oh, if there is one who feels and mourns that his heart is like a piece of rock, I am glad he feels it; for he who feels that his heart is a rock gives some evidence that the flint is being transformed. O rock, instead of smiting thee, as Moses smote the rock in the wilderness and erred therein, I would speak to thee. O rock, wouldst thou become like wax? O rock, wouldst thou dissolve into rivers of repentence? Hearken to God's voice! O rock, break with good desire! O rock, dissolve with longing after Christ, for God is working upon thee now. Who knows but at this very moment thou shalt begin to crumble down. Dost thou feel the power of the Word? Does the sharp ploughshare touch thee just now? Break and break again, till by contrition thou art dissolved, for then will the good seed of the gospel come to thee, and thou shalt receive it into thy bosom, and we shall all behold the fruit thereof.
And so I will fling one more handful of good corn, and have done. If thou desirest eternal life, trust Jesus Christ, and thou art saved at once. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," says Christ, "for I am God, and beside me there is none else." He that believeth in him hath everlasting life. "Like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
O Lord, break up the rock, and let the seed drop in among its broken substance, and get thou a harvest from the dissolved granite, at this time, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
__________________________________________________________________________________
What then? Shall the preacher continue his fruitless toil? If there is only half a hope left him, he is willing to go on and say, "Hear, ye deaf, and see, ye blind, and live, ye dead." He will even so speak this day, for his Master bids him preach the gospel to every creature; but it will be hard work to repeat the word of exhortation for years to those who will not hear it.
Happily there is one other turn which affairs may take. There is a God in heaven, let us pray to him to put forth his power. Jesus is at his side, let us invoke his interposition. The Holy Ghost is almighty, let us call for his aid. Brothers who plough and sisters who pray, cry to the Master for help. The horse and the ox evidently fail, but there remains One above who is able to work great marvels. Did he not once speak to the rock, and turn the flint into a stream of water? Let us pray him to do the same now.
And, oh, if there is one who feels and mourns that his heart is like a piece of rock, I am glad he feels it; for he who feels that his heart is a rock gives some evidence that the flint is being transformed. O rock, instead of smiting thee, as Moses smote the rock in the wilderness and erred therein, I would speak to thee. O rock, wouldst thou become like wax? O rock, wouldst thou dissolve into rivers of repentence? Hearken to God's voice! O rock, break with good desire! O rock, dissolve with longing after Christ, for God is working upon thee now. Who knows but at this very moment thou shalt begin to crumble down. Dost thou feel the power of the Word? Does the sharp ploughshare touch thee just now? Break and break again, till by contrition thou art dissolved, for then will the good seed of the gospel come to thee, and thou shalt receive it into thy bosom, and we shall all behold the fruit thereof.
And so I will fling one more handful of good corn, and have done. If thou desirest eternal life, trust Jesus Christ, and thou art saved at once. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," says Christ, "for I am God, and beside me there is none else." He that believeth in him hath everlasting life. "Like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
O Lord, break up the rock, and let the seed drop in among its broken substance, and get thou a harvest from the dissolved granite, at this time, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Two Philosophies
Freud wrote: ‘In all that follows I take up the standpoint that the ten-dency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man. The natural instinct of aggression in man - the hostility of each against all and all against the one - opposes the programme of civilisation.’ In other words, this philosophy is bankrupt; it begs the question, "is there real hope for man?"
In his work, "The Doctor Himself", David Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote, "Turning to the future, when you come to consider the question of hope, what hope is there for man? It is here, it seems to me, that is seen the unique message of the Christian faith. It is not merely good advice, it is not mere morality or ethics, nor is it simply a higher view of life. It is a doctrine that gives due place to the real nature and state of mankind. To use biblical terminology, it declares that a man can be ‘born again’, that there can be a radical change in a man’s soul. He can become a new man. It is amazing, but it is true. History has its endless examples of it – its striking examples. It is not confined to an élite class – it happens amongst the common people. Here is hope for the drug addict, the alcoholic, or any kind of individual who has become an utter slave to some particular kind of sin. It has its dynamic – it is ‘the power of God unto salvation’.
What turned a raging Saul into the Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary ever to have walked th earth, delivering 2/3rds of the New Testament? The power of the Gospel! What transformed my father who was a slurring drunk and a striker into a weeping prayer for his family? It was Romans 1:16, "...the dunomos, or power of the gospel". Second Corinthians 5:17 delacres "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature....! I prefer that kind of Hope, how about you?
In his work, "The Doctor Himself", David Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote, "Turning to the future, when you come to consider the question of hope, what hope is there for man? It is here, it seems to me, that is seen the unique message of the Christian faith. It is not merely good advice, it is not mere morality or ethics, nor is it simply a higher view of life. It is a doctrine that gives due place to the real nature and state of mankind. To use biblical terminology, it declares that a man can be ‘born again’, that there can be a radical change in a man’s soul. He can become a new man. It is amazing, but it is true. History has its endless examples of it – its striking examples. It is not confined to an élite class – it happens amongst the common people. Here is hope for the drug addict, the alcoholic, or any kind of individual who has become an utter slave to some particular kind of sin. It has its dynamic – it is ‘the power of God unto salvation’.
What turned a raging Saul into the Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary ever to have walked th earth, delivering 2/3rds of the New Testament? The power of the Gospel! What transformed my father who was a slurring drunk and a striker into a weeping prayer for his family? It was Romans 1:16, "...the dunomos, or power of the gospel". Second Corinthians 5:17 delacres "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature....! I prefer that kind of Hope, how about you?
The Other Side of the Hill
F. W. Boreham wrote . . . ‘But, what is on the other side of the hill?' That, I say, is the question. It is the oldest question in the world and the greatest question in the world. All the pathos and the tragedy of the ages are crammed into it. It was the first question that man asked; it will be the last that he will try to answer. Wherever on this planet you find a man, you find him with eyes turned wistfully towards the distant ranges, repeating to himself again and yet again the old, old question, 'The hill! The other side of the hill! What is on the other side of the hill?'
From Crow's perspective, that is a compelling question. A question that I too have asked a few times in my life. In the present context I certainly am faced once again with this. The Army says I must retire and yes, I have options; armed with some skills and a proverbial drive that has me charging brick walls at times. Beyond the hills there are different paths. As Bunyan writes and was faced on his travels to the Celestial City, but Pilgrim was confronted by many challenges, yes?
What are you to do? Are you comfortable with your business, your practice, your career? How about your life? I am not talking about tangible things, but your character, the balance, the spiritual? What about the eternal? Ponder, yes?
From Crow's perspective, that is a compelling question. A question that I too have asked a few times in my life. In the present context I certainly am faced once again with this. The Army says I must retire and yes, I have options; armed with some skills and a proverbial drive that has me charging brick walls at times. Beyond the hills there are different paths. As Bunyan writes and was faced on his travels to the Celestial City, but Pilgrim was confronted by many challenges, yes?
What are you to do? Are you comfortable with your business, your practice, your career? How about your life? I am not talking about tangible things, but your character, the balance, the spiritual? What about the eternal? Ponder, yes?
On Thomas Edison and Intersecting Possbilities with Realities
Any of you possess enough motivation and tenacity in you to change humanity? Are you rather, working the nine-to-five, drawing a salary with no real authenticity? Frankly, I was inspired by this essay by F. W. Boreham on Thomas Edison. What a scientific entrepreneur! What a genuis of industry! Can you imagine turning ideas into tangibles benefits for mankind? You may say, wait Crow, I dont have that kind of talent, intellect or capacity. To this, I say, every person is endowed by God with skills, talents and abilities. Find what it is and zealously work to bring value to people and Glory to God that he deserves!
Boreham on Thomas Edison
Possibility Thinker
In the most modest and unpretentious circumstances, Thomas Alva Edison was born in Ohio on February 11, 1847. He was scarcely out of his cradle when he formed the conviction that nothing thinkable is impossible; and, at the age of eighty-four, he died translating into concrete actualities the wildest and weirdest conceptions of his restless brain. Multitudinous and bewildering as were his countless inventions, it is impossible to lay down the list of his countless and almost incredible triumphs without feeling that the mind that could wrestle with such problems, and produce such wonders, was itself, far and away, the most miraculous piece of mechanism of them all.
Like Faraday, on whom, to some extent, he modelled his career, he owed practically nothing to his education. He spent three months at school. His mother, and his own sharp eyes, taught him all that he came to know. Having once learned to read, he felt that the world was at his feet. As a small boy he devoured the entire contents of an Encyclopedia, Hume's History of England, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Newton's Principia, and he one day entered the Public Library at Detroit with the avowed intention of absorbing the entire contents of the institution, book by book! Every experience that came his way became grist to his mill. He began life by selling newspapers and fruit on a railway train. He was soon printing a paper of his own on that selfsame train. A little later, to further some of his other experiments, he added a laboratory to his travelling equipment; had the misfortune to set the van on fire; was severely cuffed by the angry guard; and the blow burdened him with lifelong deafness.
Touching Life At A Thousand Points
The precise number of his inventions will never be known. More than a thousand of his amazing contrivances were patented in the United States alone. In his 24th year he had 45 distinct inventions simultaneously under way, and the Patent Commissioner described him as "the young man who keeps the path to the Patents Office hot with his footsteps. "He allowed no grass to grow under his feet. At four o'clock one afternoon he made an important discovery; he immediately rushed to his solicitor, who instantly cabled particulars to London; and, next day, he was informed that his idea was under serious consideration in England. In an essay on Edison, Mr. Lionel Elvin remarks that he himself is writing on a typewriter by the light of an incandescent electric lamp. The room contains a gramophone, a wireless set and a telephone. As soon as his manuscript is complete, he intends to ring up a cinema to reserve seats for the evening. He will find his way to the theatre by electric train and then go home by taxi. And for all these things—the typewriter, the lamp, the gramophone, the radio, the telephone, the moving pictures, the electric train and the automobile—he is indebted to Edison.
Thomas Edison represents in his own person the new trend in scientific thought. More than three centuries ago, Lord Bacon hurled the thunderbolts of his vigorous denunciation into the academies of the scientists and the portals of the philosophers, charging these learned speculators with making no real contribution to the practical welfare of the race. "Words, and more words, and nothing but words," he complained, "has been the fruit of the toil of the most renowned sages of sixty generations." The old philosophy had been singularly shy of meddling in matters that might serve some utilitarian end, lest it should be supposed that academic pursuits were simply followed for the sake of the vulgar purposes that they promoted.
Science Looks At Life, Transfigures Everything
For many hundreds of years the most capable thinkers were content to deal in nebulous theories, abstract speculations, mystifying hypotheses and occult disquisitions. Science was in the world like a spider in the water, with its own native atmosphere gathered closely about it and fearful lest any general admixture should take place between the element that was the breath of its own nostrils and the turbid body of affairs beyond it. Even Seneca ridiculed the thinkers who applied their powers to increasing the comfort of their homes. "The invention of such appliances," he said, "is drudgery for the lowest slaves; philosophy lies deeper. It is not for her to teach men how to use their hands; her mission is to form the soul." It was against this pernicious doctrine that, in season and out of season Bacon protested. And with good effect. In a telling essay Macaulay has shown how Bacon's gospel transfigured civilisation. It has lengthened human life, he says; has mitigated pain; has extinguished diseases; has increased the fertility of the soil; it has given new security to shipping; has spanned huge rivers, has guided the thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to earth; has lighted up the night with the splendour of the day; has extended the range of human vision, has multiplied the power of the human muscles; has accelerated motion; has annihilated distance; has facilitated intercourse; has enabled man to descend into the depths of the sea; to soar into the sky, to penetrate the noxious recesses of the earth; and to traverse land, sea and air at incredible rates of speed. In this cavalcade of achievement, no one scientist has played a braver part than Thomas Alva Edison. One of the most impressive pages of the New Testament describes the way in which the scientists of an earlier day laid their tributes of gold and frankincense and myrrh at the divine feet. Lives like those of Faraday and Edison prove that, when that act of adoration has once been sincerely performed, science turns from the presence of Deity to the service of Humanity, transforming every phase of human experience in the process.
F W Boreham
Boreham on Thomas Edison
Possibility Thinker
In the most modest and unpretentious circumstances, Thomas Alva Edison was born in Ohio on February 11, 1847. He was scarcely out of his cradle when he formed the conviction that nothing thinkable is impossible; and, at the age of eighty-four, he died translating into concrete actualities the wildest and weirdest conceptions of his restless brain. Multitudinous and bewildering as were his countless inventions, it is impossible to lay down the list of his countless and almost incredible triumphs without feeling that the mind that could wrestle with such problems, and produce such wonders, was itself, far and away, the most miraculous piece of mechanism of them all.
Like Faraday, on whom, to some extent, he modelled his career, he owed practically nothing to his education. He spent three months at school. His mother, and his own sharp eyes, taught him all that he came to know. Having once learned to read, he felt that the world was at his feet. As a small boy he devoured the entire contents of an Encyclopedia, Hume's History of England, Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Newton's Principia, and he one day entered the Public Library at Detroit with the avowed intention of absorbing the entire contents of the institution, book by book! Every experience that came his way became grist to his mill. He began life by selling newspapers and fruit on a railway train. He was soon printing a paper of his own on that selfsame train. A little later, to further some of his other experiments, he added a laboratory to his travelling equipment; had the misfortune to set the van on fire; was severely cuffed by the angry guard; and the blow burdened him with lifelong deafness.
Touching Life At A Thousand Points
The precise number of his inventions will never be known. More than a thousand of his amazing contrivances were patented in the United States alone. In his 24th year he had 45 distinct inventions simultaneously under way, and the Patent Commissioner described him as "the young man who keeps the path to the Patents Office hot with his footsteps. "He allowed no grass to grow under his feet. At four o'clock one afternoon he made an important discovery; he immediately rushed to his solicitor, who instantly cabled particulars to London; and, next day, he was informed that his idea was under serious consideration in England. In an essay on Edison, Mr. Lionel Elvin remarks that he himself is writing on a typewriter by the light of an incandescent electric lamp. The room contains a gramophone, a wireless set and a telephone. As soon as his manuscript is complete, he intends to ring up a cinema to reserve seats for the evening. He will find his way to the theatre by electric train and then go home by taxi. And for all these things—the typewriter, the lamp, the gramophone, the radio, the telephone, the moving pictures, the electric train and the automobile—he is indebted to Edison.
Thomas Edison represents in his own person the new trend in scientific thought. More than three centuries ago, Lord Bacon hurled the thunderbolts of his vigorous denunciation into the academies of the scientists and the portals of the philosophers, charging these learned speculators with making no real contribution to the practical welfare of the race. "Words, and more words, and nothing but words," he complained, "has been the fruit of the toil of the most renowned sages of sixty generations." The old philosophy had been singularly shy of meddling in matters that might serve some utilitarian end, lest it should be supposed that academic pursuits were simply followed for the sake of the vulgar purposes that they promoted.
Science Looks At Life, Transfigures Everything
For many hundreds of years the most capable thinkers were content to deal in nebulous theories, abstract speculations, mystifying hypotheses and occult disquisitions. Science was in the world like a spider in the water, with its own native atmosphere gathered closely about it and fearful lest any general admixture should take place between the element that was the breath of its own nostrils and the turbid body of affairs beyond it. Even Seneca ridiculed the thinkers who applied their powers to increasing the comfort of their homes. "The invention of such appliances," he said, "is drudgery for the lowest slaves; philosophy lies deeper. It is not for her to teach men how to use their hands; her mission is to form the soul." It was against this pernicious doctrine that, in season and out of season Bacon protested. And with good effect. In a telling essay Macaulay has shown how Bacon's gospel transfigured civilisation. It has lengthened human life, he says; has mitigated pain; has extinguished diseases; has increased the fertility of the soil; it has given new security to shipping; has spanned huge rivers, has guided the thunderbolt innocuously from heaven to earth; has lighted up the night with the splendour of the day; has extended the range of human vision, has multiplied the power of the human muscles; has accelerated motion; has annihilated distance; has facilitated intercourse; has enabled man to descend into the depths of the sea; to soar into the sky, to penetrate the noxious recesses of the earth; and to traverse land, sea and air at incredible rates of speed. In this cavalcade of achievement, no one scientist has played a braver part than Thomas Alva Edison. One of the most impressive pages of the New Testament describes the way in which the scientists of an earlier day laid their tributes of gold and frankincense and myrrh at the divine feet. Lives like those of Faraday and Edison prove that, when that act of adoration has once been sincerely performed, science turns from the presence of Deity to the service of Humanity, transforming every phase of human experience in the process.
F W Boreham
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
On the Divine Resources of the Captain of the Host!
I tell you, things sure have been very stressful at work lately. We have had many changes in systems and processes that has caused much confusion and anxiety; we have had changes in leadership, we have had more workload and shifting priorities, and frankly I have faced burnout and my physical health and attitude are suffering.
Awaking this morning, I was considering to myself, how do I draw on any deep resources to emotionally get through this? Frankly it has been ages since this perfect storm of events have caused such stresses in my work life.
Do you remember when Joshua first took over as the leader of Israel? The nation had just come out of the wilderness, crossing the Jordan on dry ground through that great miracle; they sat up a memorial at the command of the Lord where they would remember that great event. As he stared across the plains of Jericho (henceforth called Gilgal), Joshua was confronted by a man. Listen to Jos 5:13 and following:
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And Joshua did so."
God provided the Captain of the Host, an Old Testament Christophany (a preincarnate appearance of Christ)! He was going before the army of Israel as God had promised. We know the tremendous victories as they swept across the Caanaite-held lands!
Wait, arent we suppose to pray without ceasing? Is there not a cause on the earth that is too big for the Lord? But wait, my problems are too big for the Lord....my work circumstances are caanaitish; the Nephalim (the giants) are there! The Baal gods are there! The asherah groves are there! Martin Luther once arose in the morning amidst of all of his earthly trials and complained to his wife about his adversaries. Her response was, "Martin, I am so sorry that God is dead"! " Why Katherine, God is not Dead!" You know her next words....."Stop acting as if He is"! Man, I have to turn this one over to God! I know that the Captain of the Host of the Lord will go before me! How about you? Sherrell
Awaking this morning, I was considering to myself, how do I draw on any deep resources to emotionally get through this? Frankly it has been ages since this perfect storm of events have caused such stresses in my work life.
Do you remember when Joshua first took over as the leader of Israel? The nation had just come out of the wilderness, crossing the Jordan on dry ground through that great miracle; they sat up a memorial at the command of the Lord where they would remember that great event. As he stared across the plains of Jericho (henceforth called Gilgal), Joshua was confronted by a man. Listen to Jos 5:13 and following:
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And Joshua did so."
God provided the Captain of the Host, an Old Testament Christophany (a preincarnate appearance of Christ)! He was going before the army of Israel as God had promised. We know the tremendous victories as they swept across the Caanaite-held lands!
Wait, arent we suppose to pray without ceasing? Is there not a cause on the earth that is too big for the Lord? But wait, my problems are too big for the Lord....my work circumstances are caanaitish; the Nephalim (the giants) are there! The Baal gods are there! The asherah groves are there! Martin Luther once arose in the morning amidst of all of his earthly trials and complained to his wife about his adversaries. Her response was, "Martin, I am so sorry that God is dead"! " Why Katherine, God is not Dead!" You know her next words....."Stop acting as if He is"! Man, I have to turn this one over to God! I know that the Captain of the Host of the Lord will go before me! How about you? Sherrell
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A Puritan's Church Growth Program
Essayist, Maurice Roberts writing for “Banner of Truth” magazine in an article entitled Richard Baxter and His Gospel says:
”What is perhaps most interesting to us in the times in which we live is that he (Baxter) was a powerful instrument in the hands of God to promote true revival Surely this must be so. James Packer says that as the Vicar of Kidderminster in 1647-61 he converted 'just about the whole town'. Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones could say this: 'Surely we must agree that in England in the case of Rogers of Dedham and Baxter at Kidderminster we are entitled to speak of revival'. Certainly these testimonies of modern writers and preachers is correct. Baxter's own testimony is this. He said that the Parish Church of his day held about a thousand persons but that in his time it was overflowing and no less than five galleries had to be erected in the church. Then he tells us this: 'On the Lord's days there was no disorder to be seen in the streets, but you might hear a hundred families singing psalms and repeating sermons as you passed through the streets. In a word, when I came thither [he means to Kidderminster] first, there was about one family in a street that worshipped God and called on his name. When I came away there were some streets where there was not more than one family in the side of a street that did not so'.
What does this hold for us today? Here was a man of God in the late 1600s, who catechized his whole flock (800 families) at the rate of 19 families per week each year, ministering in the teachings of the Scriptures. He personally poured his life into God’s people. Now you notice here that this man’s efforts were blessed mightily by God. He did not need modern methodologies, edgy music, flashy graphics and a marketing plan. He used the Scriptures. Notice what the church did; constructing “no less than five galleries”….that’s five capital building programs! Did Baxter do something new, something profoundly different than the historical church? No, read on
What happened on the Day of Pentecost? Peter preached the Gospel and five-thousand were added. What happened with the church? It exploded, why? The Spirit continued to work. You notice the key to this growth was the personal work of the Holy Spirit and He led them into the Truth as Christ explained in John 15:26. Acts 2:42 says, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. You hear this? The key to the church’s growth was that they “continued in the Apostle’s Doctrine”. Are you a member of this type of church? If not, find one who is founded and focused on the Truth and rids itself of earthly programs, modern man-centered psychology and man-centered methods. Humbly.
”What is perhaps most interesting to us in the times in which we live is that he (Baxter) was a powerful instrument in the hands of God to promote true revival Surely this must be so. James Packer says that as the Vicar of Kidderminster in 1647-61 he converted 'just about the whole town'. Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones could say this: 'Surely we must agree that in England in the case of Rogers of Dedham and Baxter at Kidderminster we are entitled to speak of revival'. Certainly these testimonies of modern writers and preachers is correct. Baxter's own testimony is this. He said that the Parish Church of his day held about a thousand persons but that in his time it was overflowing and no less than five galleries had to be erected in the church. Then he tells us this: 'On the Lord's days there was no disorder to be seen in the streets, but you might hear a hundred families singing psalms and repeating sermons as you passed through the streets. In a word, when I came thither [he means to Kidderminster] first, there was about one family in a street that worshipped God and called on his name. When I came away there were some streets where there was not more than one family in the side of a street that did not so'.
What does this hold for us today? Here was a man of God in the late 1600s, who catechized his whole flock (800 families) at the rate of 19 families per week each year, ministering in the teachings of the Scriptures. He personally poured his life into God’s people. Now you notice here that this man’s efforts were blessed mightily by God. He did not need modern methodologies, edgy music, flashy graphics and a marketing plan. He used the Scriptures. Notice what the church did; constructing “no less than five galleries”….that’s five capital building programs! Did Baxter do something new, something profoundly different than the historical church? No, read on
What happened on the Day of Pentecost? Peter preached the Gospel and five-thousand were added. What happened with the church? It exploded, why? The Spirit continued to work. You notice the key to this growth was the personal work of the Holy Spirit and He led them into the Truth as Christ explained in John 15:26. Acts 2:42 says, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. You hear this? The key to the church’s growth was that they “continued in the Apostle’s Doctrine”. Are you a member of this type of church? If not, find one who is founded and focused on the Truth and rids itself of earthly programs, modern man-centered psychology and man-centered methods. Humbly.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Doctor's Admonition to the Doctors
A brilliant preacher, Martin Lloyd-Jones was a profound thinker and pulpiteer in the early to mid-twentieth century in London's Westminster Chapel. This winsome fellow was not only a fruitful minister, he was a physician.
Listen to a passage in his book entitled, The Doctor Himself. Too many practitioners know more about some detail in the anatomy or pathology of a person than they do about the person himself. While we may talk more of, and pay lip service to, the concept of ‘the whole man’ and ‘the complete patient’, we must be very careful that in fact and in practice we do not forget him. It is something which we need continually to bear in mind. The patient, the total patient and all that happens to him, is rarely being fully remembered in contemporary practice. Let me quote McFarlane Burnett again. He says, ‘An important part of the technological and social crisis of our time is this. The social problems of drug addiction and the more subtle influences of the need of alcohol, tobacco, sedatives, tranquillizers, and the rest, to make intolerable situations acceptable, are tolerated instead of making an effort to change them.’ I think that is a very profound remark. Our tendency is to tolerate, just to make these things - these intolerable situations - acceptable without any real thought of radical attempts to change them. Wow! I want to draw parallel to the matter of spiritual ministry because I know that is where our protagonist was going.
I had ocassion recently while travelling, to visit a friend's church. I did not notice the casual worship atmosphere; I paid no attention to the demographics, but I was drawn to the pastor himself. I found in him a genuine ethos that defies trite colloquial descriptions of hospitality. I noticed somebody who was in tune to each person; who was engaging at a spiritual level. I noticed somebody who had a genuine interest in spiritual change in people. He had not lost sight of ministering to the whole-man for the sake of churchiness and technology. He owned the role of shepherd. Now I would not brag on my friend openly here; I would not want to rob him of the spiritual blessing that I am sure is awaiting him. I do want to commend him to you as an example. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's offering in 1 Cor 4:15a when he says "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers...".
Ah, here is the tension. I do not believe that God is looking for the qualified instructors, He is looking for the fathers! He is looking for the disciple-making sisters and mothers and brothers. Yes He is looking for the Pastors too. Everyone who is a genuine Christian has spiritual gifts and we are called to identify the struggling, intersect them with Jesus and show them a resounding model of the sanctified man! Hello! Are you out there? Sherrell here.
Listen to a passage in his book entitled, The Doctor Himself. Too many practitioners know more about some detail in the anatomy or pathology of a person than they do about the person himself. While we may talk more of, and pay lip service to, the concept of ‘the whole man’ and ‘the complete patient’, we must be very careful that in fact and in practice we do not forget him. It is something which we need continually to bear in mind. The patient, the total patient and all that happens to him, is rarely being fully remembered in contemporary practice. Let me quote McFarlane Burnett again. He says, ‘An important part of the technological and social crisis of our time is this. The social problems of drug addiction and the more subtle influences of the need of alcohol, tobacco, sedatives, tranquillizers, and the rest, to make intolerable situations acceptable, are tolerated instead of making an effort to change them.’ I think that is a very profound remark. Our tendency is to tolerate, just to make these things - these intolerable situations - acceptable without any real thought of radical attempts to change them. Wow! I want to draw parallel to the matter of spiritual ministry because I know that is where our protagonist was going.
I had ocassion recently while travelling, to visit a friend's church. I did not notice the casual worship atmosphere; I paid no attention to the demographics, but I was drawn to the pastor himself. I found in him a genuine ethos that defies trite colloquial descriptions of hospitality. I noticed somebody who was in tune to each person; who was engaging at a spiritual level. I noticed somebody who had a genuine interest in spiritual change in people. He had not lost sight of ministering to the whole-man for the sake of churchiness and technology. He owned the role of shepherd. Now I would not brag on my friend openly here; I would not want to rob him of the spiritual blessing that I am sure is awaiting him. I do want to commend him to you as an example. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul's offering in 1 Cor 4:15a when he says "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers...".
Ah, here is the tension. I do not believe that God is looking for the qualified instructors, He is looking for the fathers! He is looking for the disciple-making sisters and mothers and brothers. Yes He is looking for the Pastors too. Everyone who is a genuine Christian has spiritual gifts and we are called to identify the struggling, intersect them with Jesus and show them a resounding model of the sanctified man! Hello! Are you out there? Sherrell here.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Unspeakable
Did you ever possess the compelling desire to pray, caught up in the affairs of life, overwhelmed by burdens, but yet you could scarce define the words, mouth any expression?
Psalm 5: 1 starts... Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Spurgeon's Classic, "A Treasury of David" comments on this expression, listen:
On Verse 1. There are two sorts of prayers—those expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations. Words are not the essence but the garments of prayer. Moses at the Red Sea cried to God, though he said nothing. Yet the use of language may prevent distraction of mind, may assist the powers of the soul, and may excite devotion. David, we observe, uses both modes of prayer, and craves for the one a hearing, and for the other a consideration. What an expressive word! "Consider my meditation." If I have asked that which is right, give it to me; if I have omitted to ask that which I most needed, fill up the vacancy in my prayer. "Consider my meditation." Let thy holy soul consider it as presented through my all-glorious Mediator: then regard thou it in thy wisdom, weigh it in the scales, judge thou of my sincerity, and of the true state of my necessities, and answer me in due time for thy mercy's sake! There may be prevailing intercession where there are no words; and alas! there may be words where there is no true supplication. Let us cultivate the spirit of prayer which is even better than the habit of prayer. There may be seeming prayer where there is little devotion. We should begin to pray before we kneel down, and we should not cease when we rise up.
Take solace my friend; we serve the Omniscient Maker of the universe! He knows our need, even if we don't. Romans 8:26 advises, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
I like that! How about you? Blessings!
Psalm 5: 1 starts... Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Spurgeon's Classic, "A Treasury of David" comments on this expression, listen:
On Verse 1. There are two sorts of prayers—those expressed in words, and the unuttered longings which abide as silent meditations. Words are not the essence but the garments of prayer. Moses at the Red Sea cried to God, though he said nothing. Yet the use of language may prevent distraction of mind, may assist the powers of the soul, and may excite devotion. David, we observe, uses both modes of prayer, and craves for the one a hearing, and for the other a consideration. What an expressive word! "Consider my meditation." If I have asked that which is right, give it to me; if I have omitted to ask that which I most needed, fill up the vacancy in my prayer. "Consider my meditation." Let thy holy soul consider it as presented through my all-glorious Mediator: then regard thou it in thy wisdom, weigh it in the scales, judge thou of my sincerity, and of the true state of my necessities, and answer me in due time for thy mercy's sake! There may be prevailing intercession where there are no words; and alas! there may be words where there is no true supplication. Let us cultivate the spirit of prayer which is even better than the habit of prayer. There may be seeming prayer where there is little devotion. We should begin to pray before we kneel down, and we should not cease when we rise up.
Take solace my friend; we serve the Omniscient Maker of the universe! He knows our need, even if we don't. Romans 8:26 advises, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
I like that! How about you? Blessings!
Friday, January 1, 2010
On Beginning Strong!
Most of us pilgrims reading this today have experienced an extraordinary privilege, living to see not only a few decades (almost 5 in my case), but the turn of a century; even the turn of another millennia. Of the eleven or so that have elapsed since the dawn of time there have been no doubt countless new beginnings. When one stops to imagine the people that have experienced such a phenomenal event as a new “thousand”, and put that through the grid of our current technological era our generation perhaps is treading in places only experienced by a very few to have lived top-side of the earth.
As I begin a new decade I cannot help but hearken back to the edge of the Jordan River as the Jewish peoples surveyed across, looking into the Promised Land. Most of those of the age of reason had passed on some previous 40 years, having ignored the pleas of Joshua and Caleb to throw off the testimony of the ten for the Promises of God; to taste of the fruit of Eschol; to take God at his Word that they would no longer have to feast on Manna. Now, a new multitude stood at the threshold of the river and peered across at the place of giants.
Now I tell you, the land of giants in the future may cause some trepidation, but it does not have to. The decade beginning here is the year 2010 may hold some seeming obstacles, but our Lord said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid“, John 14:27. I don’t know about you, but I like having the Lord on my side; I cherish the Peace of Christ. Now frankly, lets admit it, being in the right fellowship with God means ridding myself of those things that will introduce enmity with Him; right? That is what James 4:4 teaches. Let us put the fellowship with the world behind us; let us understand that we must put away the leeks of Egypt, the fine Babylonian garments, the foreign snares that entangle us and make us unfit and cause friction of fellowship with Christ.
Join me to resolve right now through genuine repentance of un-confessed sins, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of His sufferings to press into 2010! Let’s start strong! Press towards the mark of the high calling! Look, Joshua is standing! The priests are standing in the Jordan! Let’s move out!! I am Sherrell……blessings for a new year!
As I begin a new decade I cannot help but hearken back to the edge of the Jordan River as the Jewish peoples surveyed across, looking into the Promised Land. Most of those of the age of reason had passed on some previous 40 years, having ignored the pleas of Joshua and Caleb to throw off the testimony of the ten for the Promises of God; to taste of the fruit of Eschol; to take God at his Word that they would no longer have to feast on Manna. Now, a new multitude stood at the threshold of the river and peered across at the place of giants.
Now I tell you, the land of giants in the future may cause some trepidation, but it does not have to. The decade beginning here is the year 2010 may hold some seeming obstacles, but our Lord said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid“, John 14:27. I don’t know about you, but I like having the Lord on my side; I cherish the Peace of Christ. Now frankly, lets admit it, being in the right fellowship with God means ridding myself of those things that will introduce enmity with Him; right? That is what James 4:4 teaches. Let us put the fellowship with the world behind us; let us understand that we must put away the leeks of Egypt, the fine Babylonian garments, the foreign snares that entangle us and make us unfit and cause friction of fellowship with Christ.
Join me to resolve right now through genuine repentance of un-confessed sins, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of His sufferings to press into 2010! Let’s start strong! Press towards the mark of the high calling! Look, Joshua is standing! The priests are standing in the Jordan! Let’s move out!! I am Sherrell……blessings for a new year!
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About Me
- The Master's Teacher
- Burke, Virginia, United States
- A humble plebe of God's Word dedicated to the Lord God of Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ; to bring Him honor and glory that He deserves!
