A Man Named Mentor

According to Homer’s Odyssey, when King Odysseus went off to fight in the Trojan War, he left his son Telemachus in the hands of a wise old man named Mentor. Mentor was charged with the task off teaching the young man wisdom.

More than 2,000 years after Homer, a French scholar and theologian by the name of Francois Fenelon adapted the story of Telemachus in a novel titled Telemaque. In it he enlarged the character of Mentor. The word mentor soon came to mean “a wise and responsible tutor”—an experienced person who advises, guides, teaches, inspires, challenges, corrects, and serves as a model. –OUR DAILY BREAD

Second Timothy 2:2 describes spiritual mentoring, and the Bible gives us many examples like Timothy had Paul; Mark had Barnabas; Joshua had Moses; Elisha had Elijah.

Do you have one or more mentors? I was thinking about that question and I realized that I have been blessed with a few different mentors in my life. I met with and elder for three and a half years every Wednesday morning at 5am. He would primarily advise and guide me in regards to my bible study. In business I worked for a man for four years who mentored me in business affairs. I consider another man a mentor of mine in the area of business investments.

The two most influential men in my life have been my father and my pastor. My father has been a mentor to me in all areas of life from sports, marriage, spiritual, business, and much more. I could never say enough about how much my father has influenced me. My pastor began as my Dean of Men at TMC, and then he became my discipler, then a marriage counselor, then a friend and then my pastor.

Rarely do I make any decisions without seeking the counsel of almost all of these men. All of these men have helped me in my faith and my relationships. I consider myself very fortunate to have such wise counselors.

Do you have a mentor or mentors in your life? 2 Timothy 1:16 mentions a man named Onesiphorus who eagerly searched out and found Paul. Search out Godly people and asked them to spend time with you. Your mentors might have different strengths. Maybe you have music or sports mentors who are quite different than your spiritual mentor.

Remember God teaches each one of us so that we can teach others. Not only should you have mentors but also you may be a mentor to someone else.

Remember the beginning of the story? What a legacy Mentor left behind. He was so successful at providing wisdom and influence that to this day we call that process “mentor”. Why are you here? What is the purpose of your life? What legacy are you leaving behind? There is no greater legacy than that of a human life influenced by you.

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Where's the Beef?

This used to be the slogan of Wendy’s back in the ‘80’s when talking about these other burger joints that had hamburgers with less than satisfying amounts of meat on their hamburgers. I am asking the same thing with the Gospel that is preached to the world these days: Where’s the beef? The Gospel has been so watered down that you cannot tell the Gospel and the preacher from just a speech and a motivational speaker. The question is where do we put our trust? Do we trust the power of the Gospel or the persuasion of words? Power of God or power of psychology? It really comes down to God or man. Look at Paul’s words:

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Why could Paul make this kind of statement? Because he knew the power of God’s word and believed in Isaiah 55:11

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.

Yet today many of today’s “pastors” are looking for a better way to go around the gospel to make it more “meaningful” to the lost and more comfortable so that people are not turned off by the old and staunch words of our Lord. This leads to tickling the ears of the hearer and leads to the sad state of our church worldwide. I saw an interview with the hero of this watered down, motivational approach: Joel Osteen. He was asked if being a Christian was hard. He of course quickly responded, “No.” That should be the test for all of us not just Joel Osteen. We are told that the world will hate us (John 15:18); that we will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12); that Christ came with a sword and will separate families (Matthew 10:34). It IS easy to be a Christian if you never evangelize or never preach about sin or stand up against immorality. Of course that is an easy way to walk through this world, because you have become part of the world. But look to the warning that John gives those who are a part of the world instead of apart from the world:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15

And also James speaks out against it:

Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4

We need to put the “beef back into the burger” and start to preach out against sin: To love the sinner and hate the sin; To love the deceived and hate the Deceiver; To hate the lie and love the truth. Joel Osteen’s Christian life is easy because he admits he never speaks against sin and actually never even uses the term in his “sermons.” How can someone repent and be saved if they don’t know their sin and they don’t know what they are being saved from. Also, what will happen to these same people when their lives come across trials or when a great philosopher comes across their path and persuades them another way? How do we guard against this? Paul again tells us:

that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and {attaining} to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, {resulting} in a true knowledge of God's mystery, {that is,} Christ {Himself,} in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, {so} walk in Him, having been firmly rooted {and now} being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, {and} overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.

Colossians 2:2-9

Did you catch that? All our wisdom is found in Christ. Why? Because He is fully God! If you don’t lean completely on Christ for your wisdom, people can take you away with their persuasion. If you lean completely on Christ for all your wisdom, you will never be deceived by these philosophies and persuasive arguments. But those who are, will be the ones that Christ says, “Away from Me for I never knew you.” I don’t want that to be anyone that I came across and preached the Gospel to. I want to be like Paul and simply preach Christ crucified; may it be the same with you.

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Why I am Not a Preterist

Some might be asking, “What is Preterism?” Preterist means “gone by” or “past.” Preterists believe that that Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 24 were all fulfilled before AD 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem. They would also take that Revelation was written in AD 68 to AD 70 instead of the traditional AD 95 that even early church fathers point to. My post will not exhaustively take on this widely debated subject but I just want to give you some of my problems with this way of interpretation.

The very first thing that I notice with Preterism is the way of commingled hermeneutics that make the reader decide when he wants to take a passage, or even different words, as literal or figurative instead of letting the passage really speak for itself.

In Donald Green’s article “A Critique of Preterism” he states the following:

One of the standard authors on biblical interpretation, Bernard Ramm, says, “The interpreter should take the literal meaning of a prophetic passage as his limiting or controlling guide.” Without denying the presence of figures of speech or symbols, Ramm emphasizes that the literal meaning of words cannot be abandoned simply because the interpreter is handling prophetic literature.

So what am I, Donald Green and Bernard Ramm pointing out? In Matthew 24:34, the Olivet Discourse, Jesus Christ says that, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The Preterist would say that means that according to Jewish generations, which is 40 years, that all these things will come to pass before 40 years has ended. Here is where I have problem with this interpretation. If they take this part literally then they must take all of the prophecies that were spoken of before being literally fulfilled as well. So they should take that there would have been a great falling away from Christianity (24:10); there will be many false prophets (24:11); there will be a great tribulation, like never seen before (24:21); the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky (24:29); the Son of Man will appear in the sky, then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (24:30). All happening on or before AD 70!

So does the Preterist believe that all these things have literally been fulfilled? No. They believe they have been fulfilled but all of them figurative instead of literal. The main point, the very point they rest everything on, is because Christ says, “this generation will not pass away.” They force all other things to fit into this one statement. Full Preterists are forced to even say that Christ’s parousia, His second coming, has already happened as well. This is plain and utter horrific hermeneutics.

If you look in the very next verse, Matthew 24:35, Christ says that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Christ uses the very same phrase, pass away, for the end of the age that He just used with “this generation.” Could it be that He meant that the generation He is speaking of is a more loose term speaking of those followers that are living at the time all these things take place? It seems more likely that this would be the case. When you take “generation” to mean just that, you can now let Scripture speak for itself instead of having to take all these things figuratively.

Think of it: Has the sun been darkened? Was there a great falling away? Was the destruction of Jerusalem a great tribulation like never seen before? Has Christ returned on the clouds with His angels? The answer to all these is, no. Many Preterists claim that Christ is on His throne now and it is, of course, a figurative throne and not a literal physical throne. Quickly take a look at this verse:

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
Matthew 25:31

Did you notice it? When Christ comes again, THEN He will sit on His throne. Christ doesn’t reign on the promised throne at this time. But at His second coming then He will reign forever like the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16) promised.

Many early Christians were told to look for the second coming, to have hope in Christ’s return. Where is our hope if Christ has already come again and the Devil is bound? And how can you say that the devil is bound when it is obvious that he is still so rampant in this world and Peter actually says that he is still prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

There are so many points of Preterism that I don’t agree with but just wanted to give a short summary of them here to start a discussion or start us all on thinking of these things. Let Scripture speak for itself and know that it is best to start on the literal and then let Scripture tell us when it is supposed to be taken as figurative.

I look forward to the parousia and can’t wait to see my Saviour come on the literal clouds with His literal angels to call all the literal elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

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God's Will for Our Lives

Have you ever wondered what God's will is? Have you ever contemplated whether or not you truly are in God's will right now. Have you ever felt like you are standing outside of His will looking in, wondering how in the world you can be in the center of it? Ever come to a "fork in the road" concerning life, whether it is I career path to make or a ministry to join, and wonder how you know which one God wants you to take? I have faced this many, many times and find myself staring at the inevitable question once more. This time, the question does not just involve myself but my wife and potentially my kids. How do I know which road to take and how do I make sure the path that I am on is God lead. Three easy check points for truly knowing how to be in God's will.

1. This is the most important checkpoint. You MUST BE A CHRISTIAN! Now when I say a "Christian", I do not mean it in the loose, liberal, self-gratifying, all-inclusive way that the world uses it. I mean it in the strictest sense possible. A christian is someone that follows Christ. A servant of our living Savior and Master. A Christian is someone who has acknowledged their sin and need for a savior(they are going to hell), they have confessed with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, and they have believed in their heart, soul, and mind that Jesus died on the cross for their sins taking the penalty for our sins which is death and that He rose from the dead on the third day conquering sin and death and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. (Rom. 3:1-10, 23; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 16:31) Without this belief and devotion to Christ, stop here, you will not be able to be in God's will without doing so first.

2. You must be walking with God and all sin confessed. This is a continual and ongoing event. In order to commune with a holy, righteous, just and awesome God, we must be pure of heart and holy in stature. A daily conditioning of our body must be in order. I believe that this is just part of what Paul is talking about in 1 Cor. When he declares that we need to "buffet our body and beat it into submission" and again the author of Heb. 12 when he stats "Therefore, let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us...". How can someone know the Will of God if he is not in harmony with God. The Bible declares that sin breaks our communion with our heavenly Father and therefore our relationship suffers. Have you ever gotten into a fight with a brother, sister, parent, or friend and then not speak for quit some time? It puts kind of a rift between you and the other person. How much more of a gap is there when we sin against our Holy Father and then not confess it? In order for us to be in God's will we must be living a holy, upright, and above reproach life.

3. Finally, knowing what God says in His word and then practicing it will allow you to be in His will. I believe that there are two pieces to His will: There is a Broad or General will that God has for every believer and there is a specific will that God has for each individual's life. The general will applies to every one and is consistent throughout. You can read what God has to say about this in several different passages. Starting with the great commission found in Matt. 28:18-20 you can see that one of our main goals as a Christian is to share the gospel and make disciples. This is a direct command from Jesus Christ. Another command that God has given us in His word is to "fight the good fight and run the race". Paul speaks of us "running the race with endurance" and "standing firm against ruler's of this darkness". (2 Tim. 2; Eph. 6; 1 Cor. 9:16-27) Our goal as believers is to stay true to his word and to finish the coarse that God has set before us. What is that coarse, you ask? It could be suffering. Paul pleads with us in 2 Tim. 2 (read the whole chapter) to "join with him in his suffering" for the sake of the gospel. Jesus tells the disciples that the world will hate you. "If it has hated me, it will hate you". Whatever the coarse, our main goal is to love and spread the gospel to those in need...Namely, everyone.

As for the specific Will of God for our lives, that is different for everyone. God directs each person differently but how we find that specific will for our lives is the same. Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us a pretty good understanding of how to find God's specific will for our lives.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

A few things to note here: We are to trust God with EVERYTHING that comes in our path. We fall when we decide to trust in our own decisions and try to take matters in our own hands. I think all too often we go about our business OUR way and then turn to God when we have failed or need his help. The key here is to Trust God in everything and abandon our practice of leaning on our own deficiencies. If we do this then God, not us, will make our paths straight. Notice it says "paths", plural. I truly believe that God allows us to choose different paths within His will. In other words, He will make make whatever path that we choose straight as long as we are fully trusting in Him and leaning on His understanding and following His General Will. You could say that if we are in His General Will then we will be in His specific will for our lives. They go hand in hand.

So to recap, in order to find God's will for your life you must be a Christian that is walking with God and living a life that is above reproach. In so doing, you will be preaching the gospel and thereby running the race that has been set before us and allowing God to direct your steps because you are leaning on Him rather than your own understandings. The choices that you make will be aligned with God's choices because you are seeking His glory before your own. What a wonderful God that we serve, knowing that He has our very best in mind and planned out! May we always look to Jesus and Him Crucified!

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Quote

Just thought I would share a quote I saw over at Pyromaniacs from Machen:

If my idea of God were really mine, if it were one which I had evolved out of my own inner consciousness, I should attribute very little importance to it myself, and should certainly expect even less importance to be attributed to it by others. If God is merely a fact of human experience, if theology is merely a branch of psychology, then I for my part shall cease to be interested in the subject at all. The only God about whom I can feel concerned is one who has objective existence, an existence independent of man.
But if there be such a really and independently existent Being, it seems extremely unlikely that there can be any knowledge of Him unless He chooses to reveal Himself: a divine Being that could be discovered apart from revelation would be either a mere name for an aspect of man's nature – the feeling of reverence or loyalty or the like – or else, if possessing objective existence, a mere passive thing that would submit to human investigation like the substances that are analyzed in the laboratory. And in either case it would seem absurd to apply to such a Being the name of "God."

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Are You a Witness or a Wimp?

The persecution that we see as Christians in America is nothing compared to what we see in other countries, the persecution against our beloved apostles and early church fathers who have pleaded for sinners to repent and pleaded for the lost to look upon Christ. We recently had the opportunity to evangelize at a local community event and what surprised me the most is the amount of backlash I got for sharing the Gospel. The surprise wasn’t the amount of backlash but the lack thereof. The largest amount of backlash was a roll of the eyes or a “no thank you.” First thought for any Christian when they hear this is probably, “Well how did you evangelize? Did you talk about sin? Did you talk about hell? Did you bring humility to the proud and grace to the humble?” The answers to all these questions is an emphatic “YES!” The fact is that most that I talked to didn’t even know what God had done for them to replace His wrath upon their sin. They didn’t know what “repent” meant. They thought they were saved because they went to church or were baptized as an infant. When they heard what the Saviour did on the cross they were astonished and wanted to know more. I spoke to one middle aged woman who exclaimed that she had never spoken to a Christian!

What is our problem? We have people ready and wanting to hear and yet we sit down at night watching our T.V. or getting together with friends on the weekends talking and learning more about doctrine and theology and doing nothing with it. Who cares how much I know about the early church, the doctrines of Grace, or apologetics if I sit at home and just “pray” for the lost. I am not saying prayer isn’t important, for it is vital to God’s plan, but most cop out with prayer instead of action. Did Philip pray when the angel came and told him the following:

But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert.
Acts 8:26

The Scriptures don’t tell us he did, it just says that “He arose and went.” We have a country that allows free speech and yet we won’t even tell people about our Saviour who died on the cross while we were still in our sin, while we were spitting in His face, while we were giving Him vinegar instead of water, even though in return, He offers these same sinners the water which will forever quench their thirst.

Most will say, “I don’t know enough to share my faith, or I am too scared” Look at these two Scriptures and know you and I are without excuse:

And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
1 Cor 2:1-5

For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. Be not ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of God;
2 Tim 1:7-8

Do you believe in the power of the Spirit? Do you believe in the power of God’s word? Do you even care that people all around you are dying and going to hell? Do you want to watch those who are your friends and family burn and watch the worm eat them? I would hope the answer would be “NO.” Look at what will happen at the end of the age:

And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. And of them also will I take for priests (and) for Levites, saith Jehovah. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Isa 66:20-24

I don’t know exactly what will happen at the end of our age but it seems as though there will be a time where we watch the unregenerate burn and watch the worm eat at their dead bodies. Next time you say you don’t know what to say or that you are too scared think of watching that loved one burn as they look into your eyes and ask you, “Why didn’t you share Christ crucified?”

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Holding On Too Tight to Tradition

I was asked this last week what I thought about “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” and if a Sabbath day was still in effect for us in the New Testament church. My first response was to see if the questioner understood what the Sabbath was meant for and even to the most rudimentary level, what day the Sabbath was actually on. After finding out that he understood the latter but not really the former I proceeded to quote Colossians 2:16,17

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's.

My thought is not to try and argue for why there isn’t a Sabbath’s day of rest anymore but the question from this gentleman was, “I have a friend whose church only meets on Wednesday nights, do you have an issue with this?” My first response being the good Southern Baptist that I am said, “Yeah, for some reason I do.” Then I told him I don’t know why it would bother me if I truly feel as though we as the New Testament church don’t follow under the rules that govern the Sabbath. Now, do I feel as though we should take a day out of our week for worshipping our Creator: of course. But tradition is the only reason we meet on Sunday. The apostles and the early church met every day, but especially on Sunday being that was the day of Christ’s resurrection.

What other traditions do we hold too tight of? I recently read on a church website that they don’t have Sunday school but have small groups on Sunday night instead. My first response? HERETICS! Wow, holding on too tight to tradition. What says we must have a time of gathering at 9am where we meet in our own age groups to learn more about the Bible? Nothing! But, I really do see the need and do love Sunday school but I have been too quick to judge when others have found other ways to minister to their congregation. We do have churches that hold so tight to their traditions that they would actually call it doctrine…ummm…oh yeah…the Roman Catholics. Way off target. Our only rule for judging whether something is of God or not is by His Holy Scriptures. We have Sunday school because we are told to edify the church, to long for the pure milk of the Word, to meditate on it day or night, to not turn to the right or left. So, Sunday school is another way to grow in our understanding of the Word of God. But Sunday school and other forms of worship that are loosely based on Bible should not become the blue print for how church is to be run while excluding all other forms of ministering to the body. So what if a church meets on Wednesday nights or has small groups on Sunday night or cancels Sunday school or has communion every week or every other week or once a month or has a worship band or just a pianist or a choir or uses the New International Version or the New American Standard or The King James Version. The question really comes down to this: Do you glorify God in all you do? Do you believe, truly believe, that it is by grace alone that you are saved and not by whether you only use The King James Version only or have Sunday school?

We really need to go back and understand what the reformers laid out for our focus: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Soli Deo Gloria (For the Glory of God Alone). Return to the roots of why we worship and gather together and understand, it isn’t the programs, it isn’t the time of day or actual day we worship, but WHO we worship and WHY we worship. May God always be shown glory in our worship services with all reverence and fear.

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God's Will For Our Lives

Have you ever wondered what God's will is? Have you ever contemplated whether or not you truly are in God's will right now. Have you ever felt like you are standing outside of His will looking in, wondering how in the world you can be in the center of it? Ever come to a "fork in the road" concerning life, whether it is I career path to make or a ministry to join, and wonder how you know which one God wants you to take? I have faced this many, many times and find myself staring at the inevitable question once more. This time, the question does not just involve myself but my wife and potentially my kids. How do I know which road to take and how do I make sure the path that I am on is God lead. Three easy check points for truly knowing how to be in God's will.

1. This is the most important checkpoint. You MUST BE A CHRISTIAN! Now when I say a "Christian", I do not mean it in the loose, liberal, self-gratifying, all-inclusive way that the world uses it. I mean it in the strictest sense possible. A christian is someone that follows Christ. A servant of our living Savior and Master. A Christian is someone who has acknowledged their sin and need for a savior(they are going to hell), they have confessed with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, and they have believed in their heart, soul, and mind that Jesus died on the cross for their sins taking the penalty for our sins which is death and that He rose from the dead on the third day conquering sin and death and now sits at the right hand of the throne of God. (Rom. 3:1-10, 23; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 16:31) Without this belief and devotion to Christ, stop here, you will not be able to be in God's will without doing so first.

2. You must be walking with God and all sin confessed. This is a continual and ongoing event. In order to commune with a holy, righteous, just and awesome God, we must be pure of heart and holy in stature. A daily conditioning of our body must be in order. I believe that this is just part of what Paul is talking about in 1 Cor. When he declares that we need to "buffet our body and beat it into submission" and again the author of Heb. 12 when he stats "Therefore, let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us...". How can someone know the Will of God if he is not in harmony with God. The Bible declares that sin breaks our communion with our heavenly Father and therefore our relationship suffers. Have you ever gotten into a fight with a brother, sister, parent, or friend and then not speak for quit some time? It puts kind of a rift between you and the other person. How much more of a gap is there when we sin against our Holy Father and then not confess it? In order for us to be in God's will we must be living a holy, upright, and above reproach life.

3. Finally, knowing what God says in His word and then practicing it will allow you to be in His will. I believe that there are two pieces to His will: There is a Broad or General will that God has for every believer and there is a specific will that God has for each individual's life. The general will applies to every one and is consistent throughout. You can read what God has to say about this in several different passages. Starting with the great commission found in Matt. 28:18-20 you can see that one of our main goals as a Christian is to share the gospel and make disciples. This is a direct command from Jesus Christ. Another command that God has given us in His word is to "fight the good fight and run the race". Paul speaks of us "running the race with endurance" and "standing firm against ruler's of this darkness". (2 Tim. 2; Eph. 6; 1 Cor. 9:16-27) Our goal as believers is to stay true to his word and to finish the coarse that God has set before us. What is that coarse, you ask? It could be suffering. Paul pleads with us in 2 Tim. 2 (read the whole chapter) to "join with him in his suffering" for the sake of the gospel. Jesus tells the disciples that the world will hate you. "If it has hated me, it will hate you". Whatever the coarse, our main goal is to love and spread the gospel to those in need...Namely, everyone.

As for the specific Will of God for our lives, that is different for everyone. God directs each person differently but how we find that specific will for our lives is the same. Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us a pretty good understanding of how to find God's specific will for our lives.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

A few things to note here: We are to trust God with EVERYTHING that comes in our path. We fall when we decide to trust in our own decisions and try to take matters in our own hands. I think all too often we go about our business OUR way and then turn to God when we have failed or need his help. The key here is to Trust God in everything and abandon our practice of leaning on our own deficiencies. If we do this then God, not us, will make our paths straight. Notice it says "paths", plural. I truly believe that God allows us to choose different paths within His will. In other words, He will make make whatever path that we choose straight as long as we are fully trusting in Him and leaning on His understanding and following His General Will. You could say that if we are in His General Will then we will be in His specific will for our lives. They go hand in hand.

So to recap, in order to find God's will for your life you must be a Christian that is walking with God and living a life that is above reproach. In so doing, you will be preaching the gospel and thereby running the race that has been set before us and allowing God to direct your steps because you are leaning on Him rather than your own understandings. The choices that you make will be aligned with God's choices because you are seeking His glory before your own. What a wonderful God that we serve, knowing that He has our very best in mind and planned out! May we always look to Jesus and Him Crucified!

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Lie, Steal, Cheat and Swear

Are you a liar, stealer, cheater or swearer? I grew up for thirteen years without doing the big four but I must confess when I began to do them on a daily basis my life was changed. I discovered that the more I did them the better I felt and the closer to God I became. Let me explain.

My first spiritual experience began when I decided to “LIE” down each night and pray to God. I must admit for a few years my prayers sounded like something you would hear an eight-year-old asking Santa Claus. As I continued over the years I found myself praying more for the salvation of others more than anything else. While attending The Master’s College my prayers turned more introspective as I became more aware of my own frailties and a need for serious personal spiritual growth. By the time I graduated I began to keep a prayer journal and each night when I would lie down I would pray about every and anything. I love that time just before bed when I lie down and humble myself before the Lord my God my maker.

While attending college I majored in history in which required tons of reading. Unfortunately I was not a good reader nor did I enjoy the process. I began to “STEAL” time each day reading God’s word a few months into my first year at The Master’s College. Nothing has impacted my life more than being discipled by God through His word. As an adult it seems as though time is the most difficult thing to obtain in life. I make it a point to steal time everyday sometime during the day in God’s word. Sometimes I read first thing in the morning sometimes it’s the last thing I do at night and sometimes I pull off the side of the road and steal some time from life.

I love to “CHEAT” the devil out of victory. The devil’s schemes are all around us and each time we succumb to his empty philosophies we give him victory. The spiritual disciplines of a Godly man like praying and reading God’s word cheat the devil out of the joy of keeping man complacent. The spiritual acts of worship like serving in the widow; orphan and poor cheat the devil out of gaining a foothold in the lives of struggling man.

Finally when I was thirteen I remember asking the Lord into my life. I can picture that day like it was yesterday as I sat in my room begging for his grace and mercy. I knew I wanted the sweet taste of salvation but what I didn’t know was that there was a response to redemption. It wasn’t until a few years later while attending Basic Youth Conflicts that I realized a life with Christ wasn’t just about taking it was about giving as well. It was then that I realized that Jesus was not only the Savior but also the Lord. I began to SWEAR allegiance to Jesus the Christ, Master of my life. Each time I bow the knee before His throne I renew my vow to follow Him. I know now to fear the Lord, worship Him and swear by His name. I will not follow any of the gods of the peoples around me.

So you see it is a good thing to LIE, STEAL, CHEAT and SWEAR.

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I Digress

As I have spoken to some of my fellow bloggers and others that have read this last post on hand raising I need to make sure I come back and make sure that I make something very clear. I have worshipped with and seen many fellow believers who find it very natural to raise their hands during worship and I would continue to stand and worship and fight the battle hand in hand and step by step with no thought of them being “showy” or doing anything of what would be considered selfish worship. My post was written from a point of view of someone who has been continually told throughout my entire life that he is lifeless and dead merely because he doesn’t raise his hands during worship. Told that I am not filled with the Holy Spirit because I don’t raise my hands. Told that I was cold because I don’t raise my hands. Told that all his churches that he has been in are cold and unloving and don't know how to worship because we didn't raise our hands. This has been an inner fight my entire life, knowing that if I ever said anything against it, it would be seen as a harsh attack on brothers and sisters in Christ. My intent was not to “fire” at an “opposition” as it came across to many, but was merely an attempt to make sure we continue to look to Scripture to guide us in every thing that we do.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Cor 10:31

Or would be paraphrased by the reformers, “Soli Deo Gloria.”

I didn’t want people to look at this as an attack but realize it could easily be seen as that, I didn’t want it to be harsh, but it has been seen as that as well. I also know that if I was going to tackle this question at all it would always be seen in some way as an attack

So if you raise your hands during worship, I am not saying you are doing it out of selfishness or being showy, I am just asking you to examine the “why.” If you examine the “why” and you still feel as though the only reason you do it is because you are worshipping with fear, know that I would stand next to you and worship daily without any second thought. But also know as my hands are in my pocket or behind my back that my heart is reaching as high as heaven along with yours. Please take a second look at the post and understand it truly comes from a brother that does care for those around but truly is searching daily for the truth of how God commands us to stand for Him. Ravi Zacharias said it best; we as Christians are to conform to God’s Word and not expect the Word to conform to us.

Examine all things, hold fast that which is good
1 Thessalonians 5:21

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Got a Question?

This is what I used to think, because I thought I was funny, when I was a young Baptist growing up in the Bible belt when I saw people raising their hands in worship. I just never understood why people raised their hands in worship. I never understood why people would just stand up and raise their hands when everyone else was sitting down. Was this a way to put yourself on stage so all could see your “spirituality?” I would hope this wouldn’t be the reason but was always confused on why and how this practice started in worship. The only place we see this in the New Testament is in 1 Timothy 2:8;

I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing.

What does the passage say? It says that during prayer; we should lift holy hands, not during the singing of hymns and praise songs. I know that some will say that it is just natural to lift their hands or that they are reaching for the God’s hand like a child to a father’s hand. Some say are showing that they are “receiving” God’s blessings, through worship, by raising hands. Sorry to be such a conservative but I don’t see it in Scripture and what I see out of a lot of people is show more than love for the brethren. Now I can’t judge people’s hearts and most would consider me apart of the “frozen chosen” but I am not going to do something that isn’t laid out in Scripture. We are told to be apart of the body of Christ and to never consider ourselves more highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3) and we are to be lowly and meek (Ephesians 4:2), how is raising hands showing you are apart of the body? Isn’t it putting other’s eyes on you instead of the focus being totally on God?

I know that this will strike a nerve with a lot of people but I want to know why? Why do people raise their hands? Why only during singing? Why only during certain songs? Why not during the preaching? Why not during communion? Why not during church discipline? We are only told to do this during prayer, even David mentions raising his hands during supplications to the Lord (Psalm 28:2), but where does it stop?

I am really tired of people saying that I am not spiritual or that our church isn’t Holy Spirit filled because most of us don’t raise our hands during worship. What a joke. I am tired of people telling us that we are dead or dry because we don’t raise our hands, when those same people can’t even defend their faith or give me a reason I should believe on the blood stained cross that Christ was shed on. These same people (that lash out, not necessarily ALL hand raisers) care more about show than theology. I am told that I don’t love God because I don’t raise my hands and speak in tongues when no one has ever convinced me that either are biblical. I have an idea, start believing in Sola Scriptura and then we’ll have some common ground to start at; start with your emotions and I will show you pagan worship.

To obey is better than sacrifice
1 Samuel 15:20-23

Here is my disclaimer on this whole post. Don’t think that I think badly of those who like raising their hands or have something against “hand-raisers.” I just test everything to Scripture and want to know the reason people raise their hands when it isn’t in Scripture. I want everyone to know I love my brethren, and love those whom I don’t see eye to eye on with everything on Scripture. I just really get tired of being told because I don’t do something, in this case raising my hands, that my heart isn’t praising God.

Remember God cares more about the inside than the outside. I understand that the outside sometimes shows the inside, such as Moses being demanded to take off his sandals when he was standing on holy ground. I am not a Gnostic, but understand that God does call us to do certain things to show our heart (giving, evangelism, loving the brethren, and all the gifts of the Spirit) but raising hands during singing isn’t one of them.

Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Jeremiah 4:4


And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezek 11:19-20

The real question is where is your heart not where are your hands.

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Spiritual Warfare, Pt. 2

Seth and I were exchanging emails this week, and we both agreed that there have been some tough things to deal with over the last couple of days in our individual lives. Then he commented that it's possible that the enemy was trying to throw us off track for the upcoming time we will be gathering to witness at Maple Valley Days. Even after I had been thinking on the subject of spiritual warfare, I had not even connected these two thoughts as a possibility. The hard part is that cannot know for sure. But Seth's thought is a very real possibility.

Knowing that this battle is real, and the enemy is readily close, and that the work of God is always opposed, and that these forces that oppose are formidable and very strong, it requires that we understand the Biblical definition of what the battle is, and what the rules of engagement are.

The first passage that comes to mind when thinking about spiritual warfare is Ephesians 6:10-20. The phrase I want to focus on is in verse 11:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood..."

1) It is a struggle: While we should not fear these forces an longer, since we are in Christ (for greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4)), nevertheless it is a struggle. And one we need to be constantly vigilant to engage in. We will discuss later what the Scripture ascribes and limits how we are to engage in this battle.

2) It is "our" struggle: There are very few believers that warrant the attention of Satan himself, personally. He is not omnipresent, so must focus his attacks one place/person/event at time. Knowing this, and knowing that he can and does dispatch demons to do his work in world, we need to remember that we cannot isolate ourselves and expect to have victory in this struggle. It is "our" struggle, corporately, as believers. Let us not think arrogantly that we have the strength in and of ourselves to engage successfully in this battle. If we often lose the battle with our own flesh on a daily basis, then we cannot expect to win a greater struggle with powerful, intelligent fallen angels who are greater than we are (Heb 2:6-7).

More to come....

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God's Sovereignty

When I think of God’s sovereignty I think of some of the most obvious ways we see His sovereignty in the Bible, such as His control over creation, salvation and man. I think of Romans 13 that tells us that we are to be subject to every governing authority because God has established them all. With the belief in God’s sovereignty the next logical train of thought is knowing that He is also the great Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides. For if you believe that He controls all things it is only through Him that anything good comes in your life (James 1:17). The things that I love in the Bible and also in how God shows us who He is, is through revelation from His word and His people thoughts that are sort of “hidden.” Let me explain:

I was listening to Caedmon’s Call yesterday and they have a song on one of their old albums (Back Home) that had this line:

You made the seed that made the tree That made the cross that saved me

It brought reminders to me of other ways God’s sovereignty and providence are shown in the Bible. One was one that Justin brought to my attention and that is in the same passage that God is given the name Jehovah Jireh, by Abraham, on Mount Moriah, that by the way is the same place where our Christ was crucified (for another discussion that leads to amazing realities of God’s plan). The point was that as Abraham and Isaac were walking up the mountain God was leading up the ram that was to be sacrificed up the mountain on the other side. The same ram that led Abraham to give the name Jehovah Jireh to our God.

Think about the trees that God created knowing that those same trees were going to be the ones that Noah was going to use to build the ark to save his family and the animals from the flood that God brought. I could just see God protecting the trees from animals, weather and just other people from cutting them down. For God had a plan for some of these trees to be used specifically by Noah.

Many other examples are in the Bible to show how God was preparing His providence to His people because He controls all things. If we just started to grasp this we would understand that as we go through trials God has already been preparing His providence for us. How much more confidence would we have if we started to search for these things and trust in God when these trials happen? God even tells us that His Spirit is praying for us in ways we don’t understand. The Spirit is praying for us for trials that we don’t even know are coming, yet He does. And He not only knows they are coming but is preparing His providence for it.

Do we honestly trust God and His sovereignty? Noah did and so did Abraham; amazing men of faith of whom the world is not worthy. I pray that I start to really trust in God and know that He will truly provide my every need for He knows what is yet to come and controls all things.

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Spiritual Warfare, Pt. 1

Tony, Seth, Trevor (and maybe we'll draw Jason this time?!): Here is a subject the Lord has been impressing on me over the last couple of weeks; Spiritual Warfare. Interesting quote from Macarthur:

"During spiritual warfare, Satan's primary attacks target your thinking and emotions. If he can condition you to think and feel contrary to God's Word, he has won a significant victory. That's why he attempts to fill your mind with lies, immorality , false doctrine, and half-truths. He tries to blur the line between righteousness and sin. He clothes offensive sin in the blinding garment of entertainment. He puts it to music and masks it in humor to confuse you and deaden your spiritual senses." (emphasis mine)

I know we would all agree that Spiritual Warfare is real. The questions would be 1) "How would we define it?" 2) "What is it limited to?" 3) "What is our response as believers?" 4) (and true to Puritan thinking) "What is it not?". Contrary to the caricatures that the world portrays, like the picture above, we need to know about our enemy. Who he truly is, and how he operates so we can be prepared to Contend Earnestly.

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Number Your Days

Ps 90:12
"O teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Think on this: There is wisdom in contemplating and meditating on your own death. Psalm 90 is one of the oldest Psalms we have and it is a prayer of Moses. When have we ever asked the Lord to teach us to number our days? To be taught that this earthly life is limited. That it is brief. Firmly comprehending our death should and will have an immense impact on how we live our lives today. If we are able to number our days, then we can present a heart of wisdom to the Lord. What a prayer! Consider these thoughts:

Heb 9:27
"…it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment"

Be prepared. There is only one way to be prepared for death, and that is through salvation that is found in Christ alone.

John 14:6
"I Am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me"

Once we are prepared, we are no longer to fear death.

1 Cor 15:54-57
"But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Spurgeon said that we are to live "life in such a way that any day would make a suitable top stone for life." Can you say that about your endeavors? What are we doing for the cause of Christ? Are even the mundane tasks done for His glory?

1 Cor 10:31
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

May we take time to consider our death, that our lives may be lived in full for the glory of the Savior.

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