On Falling in Love

Prior to the twentieth century there was no such notion as "falling in love". Men and women developed a lasting bond of love only after marriage. Falling in love is a sappy notion romanticized by hollywood. If you can fall into love, it means you can fall out of love, something also portrayed as common in our culture, making divorce as common a throwing out the trash. These are satanic notions to destroy homes.......think about these things

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.

On The Precious Healing of Words

I love beautiful music; classical pieces which draw out and evoke the majesty that only is ordained from the imagination of heaven. Only our Creator is the Divine Architect of such. The weaver of the gifted minds, hearts and ears can produce such splendor. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Heyden produce such moods of imagery through their sweeping chords, movements and counter-movements that transport the hearer to a different place; a place of peace and comfort. These moments are breathtaking; they’re beyond words.
Ephesians 4:29 admonishes us: Let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Solomon declares “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold.” A beautiful heart for Christ is like this. It discerns the needs of the forlorn heart, it senses the chasm of loneliness, and it hears the vacantness in the concert halls of the needy. When we minister grace to the hearers at just the right time, the Spirit-inspired time, we are parties to a Divine appointment of calm and soul soothing music. When we weave this symphony, it can only transcend earth and carry the hearer into the presence of God. Christ always knew what to say did he not? The Apostle here encourages us to put away corrupt communication, to toss aside cutting words, to mortify fleshly backbiting, rather, put on and practice good speech, why? To edify each other, to produce the beautiful chords of grace that only the Spirit of God can weave. You sense the hurting heart, strike the chord of encouragement; you detect the weak, lift them up with the sweeping movements of Jesus. Surrounded by the spiritually oppressed….lend the word of the Gospel. “There is a balm in Gilead that heals the sin-sick soul” Let’s make beautiful music friend. I am Sherrell.

On Ministering with Our Spiritual Gifts

My spouse and son were recently involved in a severe auto crash. By God's grace they were spared, but did suffer broken bones. My wife has been hospitalized for the better part of twelve days as of this writing. This casted me in a temporary role of single parent and has granted me a rich appreciation for my wife's daily tasks of getting the children ready, taking care of the home, nursing sick kids, and pressing homework, etc. Frankly, I have led close to a thousand soldiers in the military, have commanded billions of dollars in budgets, but being a single parent has been the most difficult task to date, and I have a deeper understanding and compassion for widows and the fatherless. God's Word is repleat with verses of His strong Love for these oft-forgotten children.



I have drawn deep encouragement from God's people during these days. Our precious church has rallied around us with prayers, meals, compassion and help with shuttling kids and offers for cleaning and other chores. Frankly I am overwhelmed with God's Grace and His people's generosity and love during these trials.



Do you belong to a local Body of Christ? Paul exhorts in Hebrews 10:25: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching". Here we are pressed to come together in the local body of Christ, that is the church. It is not only fitting and proper, but a command. We cannot be spectators in the body of Christ; we must be participators. God endows us with spiritual gifts for the ministry. 1 Corinthians 14:12 says, "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual [gifts], seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church". You see this? We are called to ministers to those in our local church, to edify and build each other up. When we abandone church attendance for the sake of television or radio ministers we neglect the use of our spiritual gifts and are in disobedience of God's Word.