Trending NOW

 

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Once again the people picked up stones to kill him.  Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works.  For which one are you going to stone me?”  They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy!  You, a mere man, claim to be God.”  Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’  And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered.  So  if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’?  After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.  Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work.  But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me.  Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”  Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them.  He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile.  And many followed him.  “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.”  And many who were there believed in Jesus.  John 10:31-42

Trending is an amazing phenomenon.  Something happens in today’s world and the bandwagon gets overloaded in a hurry.  The trending of people getting ready to stone someone is as old as the fourth chapter of Genesis, when Cain picked up a big rock to teach his brother, Abel a lesson.  That didn’t end well, and it still doesn’t.

Not all stoning, however, is done with a rock.  What’s been trending since I was barely into my teens is the stoning of God’s church, and faith in the church’s Founder, Jesus.  Now, there are many “reasons” (and some would say “excuses”) for this falling away from Christian orthodoxy, which places faith firmly in Holy Scripture, bedrock of which is the Gospel.  But the primary cause for this increase in faith-downward-trending isn’t any different than when people picked up the stones that day in Jerusalem’s Temple to silence the upstart son of a carpenter.  When something is said that rocks the comfort boat, the occupants are going to toss it overboard.

As a reply, Jesus challenged their willingness to send him packing from the church (also not a new occurrence…preachers are very familiar with the exit trending of both members, under their own power of choice, and the preachers themselves by committee vote).  But the bottom line of Jesus’ challenge is common sense.  If what he DID matched what He SAID, and what the Scripture RECORDED as God’s Word and way, why the disbelief?  You’ve heard it before:  If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck….  This passage has a world arriving at the conclusion that, evidence aside, we’d rather have the comfort level of making our independent choices, than the uncertainty of following a God of infinite power, Who disturbs our comfortable nest. 

For You Today

It may be easier (for many people) to follow Jesus in theory, rather than to stand with Jesus once the flinging of the rocks commences.  Then, it’s a whole lot easier to just go with what’s trending.  But there’s coming a trend to end all trends…that moment when you face the one who faced the crowds with rocks in their hands that day in Jerusalem.  He’s going to say one of two things in that moment:

1.    Well done, thou good and faithful servant

2.    Depart from me, I never knew you.

The right choice, or the wrong rock is in your hand!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road with Jesus; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Optional or Vital?

 

Monday, January 31, 2022

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:23-25

I came across a quote attributed to C.S. Lewis the other day about genuine faith:

The oft stated, I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, will spasm and die out when the threat of persecution comes.  If one can’t commit themselves to the most basic task of the Christian faith when it costs them very little, it is a fanciful dream to believe they will pay the ultimate price when the stakes are highest.[1]

The writer of Hebrews seemed to think the church gathering was vital for several critical issues:

1.    Shoring-up faith that could waver.  Another quote…one I heard drop from the lips of Evangelist Vance Havner when I was attending New Orleans Seminary, was:  Faith that was fickle at the first will fizzle at the finish.  That was a homestyle version of Hebrews.  The basis in fact is that we are prone to wander, we humans.  We need our faith strengthened.

2.    Motivating us in the right direction.  I’ve heard motivational speakers all my life.  Most of them do well, and are helpful; many are less so.  But the motivational forces that have always served to make me a better man are those of personal testimony, whose lives I saw up close over time.  Jerry was a businessman, Ossie, a laborer, and Marshal was a steelworker.  These men helped form me by their character.  I met them all in church.

3.    Encouraging – putting faith’s wheels on the rocky road of this life.  In days like these, with challenges political, societal, personal, medical, and every other way imaginable, it takes faith just to get out of bed in the morning. 

I could and would say so much more about the virtues and benefits of church if we had a couple of months this morning.  Let it suffice here:  it’s VITAL!  And the only evidence I need is what Jesus said: 

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  John 13:34

For You Today

So, here I am, Monday-Morning-Quarterbacking…but I will press the question, nonetheless:

Did you go yesterday?  And if you did, was it habit, or because it was as vital as your next breath?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and Other Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

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[1] Quote attributed to C.S. Lewis (source uncertain, but it sounds like him, and fits his thinking)

Citizens of Heaven

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Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.  For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  They are headed for destruction.  Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.  He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.   Philippians 3:17-21^(NLT)

It is an unusual thing for a pastor to miss church.  It’s like an athlete watching his team play the game on TV; it’s just not the same when you’re not there.  I’ve written and preached enough about that over the years so this seems like familiar ground, but when a believer/follower of Christ is absent from worship there is a sense of having missed doing that for which you’ve been created…worship!

I felt that Sunday.  Saturday night’s earache, brought on by a sizeable middle ear infection, robbed me of any possibility of sleep.  By the flickering pre-dawn light of the wee hours I was hunting for a worship service on TV that would somehow keep my mind focused on the Lord’s Day.  Flipping through the channels I saw it again – the filled stadium in Texas, and the familiar pop culture pop star peddling his best-life, you-deserve-more, and you-can-have-it-if-you-smile-as-big-as-I-do theology. 

(I’m not sure why I’m drawn to watch that drivel, except that it’s common to our human nature to want more of everything, and this guy finds a way to tap into that desire.)

This time I only watched for about thirty seconds before the waves of nausea hit.  No, the ear infection did not make me want to lose it; I felt a rising sense of compassion for the people in that stadium who were being deceived by a false message which dwells on all hope being in this life only. 

That is a message worlds-apart from the true Christian message the Apostle Paul gave us about being content, not letting your belly’s appetite, or this world’s wealth rule your mind and actions. 

Paul said we should be citizens of Heaven, eagerly looking for the return of Christ.  To be a citizen of Heaven means we lift our aim a little higher than having financial gain, or the trappings of earth’s successes.  Paul said to the church at Corinth that fixing your mind on earthly wealth, even though some Houston preacher of prosperity with a TV audience makes it sound like a spiritual quest, is empty – a sham of godliness:

 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.  1 Corinthians 15:19^(NLT)

For You Today

Financial gain, worldly acclaim, and the power to control your life may hold a certain allure for those who don’t have those things.  But the overwhelming evidence is that we were created for worship, not wealth. 

If you are a citizen of Heaven the choice isn’t that hard.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of:  Pixabay.com

Keeping a Firm Grip on Biblical Teaching

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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord.  We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth.  He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.  2 Thessalonians 2:13-15^(NLT)

Years ago a leader in a church I served disagreed (rather strongly) with a decision I had made.  In the ensuing “discussion” I was trying to explain how I saw the circumstances and the reasons behind why I chose plan “A” rather than plan “B”.  The leader could not see it from my perspective and got frustrated.  His frustration took the form of an angry tone of voice and a shouted:  I know what I believe; don’t confuse it with facts!

That was not the kind of standing firm with a strong grip Paul the apostle had in mind!  Rather, Paul was encouraging the church to stand firm in the pathway of all the teaching he had passed on to them.

In the past several decades we have seen a loosening of the grip on Biblical truth, in favor of rationalizing human, sinful behavior.  The result in our day is a wave of individualism that has weakened the church and body of Christ.  It is easy to see some of those results in the life of the local church:

·       Church attendance comes in a distant third or less when compared to the beach, mountains or sleeping-in

·       Biblical standards of morality are merely suggestions – or just passed-off as superstitions of a past culture

·       Biblical authority is no longer questions; it is blatantly discarded, or, worse, denied as false.

It is rare to see a firm stand in the things of God today, and we can thank intolerance for accepting and learning the Word of God.  After all, how can anyone stand firm in the will of God if the Word of God is not known?

For You Today

What is it upon which you stand firm and grip strongly?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

NOTES

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[i] Title Image: Pixabay.com

Up-Rooted

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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Now this is what the Lord says:  “I will uproot from their land all the evil nations reaching out for the possession I gave my people Israel.  And I will uproot Judah from among them.  But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them.  I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own possession.  And if these nations truly learn the ways of my people, and if they learn to swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’ (just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal), then they will be given a place among my people.  But any nation who refuses to obey me will be uprooted and destroyed.  I, the Lord, have spoken!”   Jeremiah 12:14-17^(NLT)

Jeremiah didn’t have an easy message to hear.  God was about to discipline his chosen family by up-rooting them along with the surrounding evil kingdoms that had helped corrupt his people.  The destruction would lead to captivity and slavery for the whole nation.  They had become the opposite of an obedient witness for JHWH

The point is well-made that you cannot take a prophecy that was given to one person or nation and apply it directly to another.  That isn’t good Biblical interpretation. 

You can, however, look closely at a prophecy like Jeremiah’s and draw lessons that are universal and always apply, no matter what nation, or what individual.  As Paul wrote to Timothy: 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  2 Timothy 3:16^(NLT)

It is in this way we again make the point that America, birthed in the robes of freedom, justice, and, as de Tocqueville penned, “…pulpits aflame,” has decayed to the point of killing their unborn, turning to the ways of Sodom and Gomorrah, and become a nation of disrespect towards the God who shined the light and goodness of blessing upon this people.  What’s worse is we congratulate ourselves on how blessed we are, and how pleased God must be that he blesses America, land that we love.

A look at the worship attendance reality of the average church in America tells quite a different story; even the basic command to remember to be faithful in worship with other believers is ignored:

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:25^(NLT)

          ·       On any given Sunday less than 20% of Americans attend church

         ·       Nearly 6 of 10 church members are totally inactive[ii]

Collectively, America is not a godly nation…not even close.

As in Elijah’s day the remnant of faithful believers who will pray for this nation, refuse to bow the knee to contemporary culture’s ways, and stand in the gap for righteousness are about all that’s keeping us from being destroyed like Israel of old.

For You Today

Here’s a good question – not an easy question – about your walk with Christ today:

What is it that marks me as part of a faithful remnant in a faithless land?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title Image: By ericskiff/Glitch010101, via Wikimedia Commons

[ii] ChurchLeaders.com

The Forgotten Dinosaur

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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Devotion VIDEO here

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.  I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.  God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.  Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.  Ephesians 3:8-12^(NLT)

You read the reports coming out of secular news sources as well as church denomination headquarters and they all say the same thing:  the church is dead.  By this the reports are not offering a critique on some uninspired sermon or boring hymn or the way church committees fall asleep regularly. 

By this the reports are simply announcing what is painfully obvious – that the institutions we have set up to represent God are failing at representing God’s wisdom and eternal plan – so much so, that the church, as an institution, is unsustainable. 

As the proverbial picture of rats jumping off a sinking ship, membership and attendance decline are stripping the church of the kind of impact it once had on the culture.

And that may not be bad news at all, really; particularly so if you consider the abuses that the church in general has inflicted on culture in the name of religion…namely, the Crusades, Holocaust, Waco, ethnic cleansing, Salem, and more recently, radical Islam.

This kind of so-called “church” needs to be left behind like a bad memory!

Paul spoke to a church in transition; it was a church largely comprised of Jews, converted to following Jesus.  To the first century believers the idea of Christ as their Savior was entirely a fulfillment of prophecy for the Jews.  Gentiles were not even an afterthought – they were considered beside the point altogether – not part of God’s plan (other than perhaps to fuel the fires of hell).

Paul had seen otherwise, as large numbers of Gentile believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began serving God.  Paul convinced the leaders of this young church that God was indeed bringing His eternal plan to fruition; the change was going to ignite the worldwide Gospel message displaying the glory of God.

In Paul’s day change was just as hard as it is today; human nature being what it is – resistant (read that:  “stubborn”)!  We hardly ever want to be confused with the truth when we already have what we want.  Just leave us alone to bask in our former days of glory and warm fuzzy, please!

But there are other factors today that didn’t cloud Paul’s message – the church then had little wealth and power in the cultural sense.  What power she had was dependent on God’s Spirit moving as they moved out to share the message.

And therein we may find the one key piece of the puzzle that modern day leadership is groping-around to find in the spiritually-darkened malaise that is church these days.  What we’re looking for is what we see precious little of…the movement of God’s Holy Spirit.  Church in the 21^st century has become like the 400 years in-between Malachi and Matthew…no voice from Heaven.

Like the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus looking for answers about inheriting eternal life, the church may have to divest itself of whatever aspirations politically, financially and lose its image of respectability by actually following Jesus.

The alternative is to walk away sadly.  And that would be sad, indeed.

For You Today

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we always have that question before us, as to if what we’re doing day by day, even moment by moment, is following Jesus…or pleasing self.

You chew on that out on that Rocky Road today…and have a joy-filled and blessed day!

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[1] Title image:  ceridwen, via Wikimedia Commons