Head-dibs

“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2, 5) The apostle Paul was accused of being self-serving, sneaky but his defense is an appeal to conscience and false accusations are betrayed. Living in truth means one is not bound to explain and defend every statement, every action; rather, it is to live openly before the Lord. When we live in obedience to His Word, we expose what is right, what is wrong and conscience will agree. This is where God does the fighting. When it comes to the way we use our words, we preach Christ Jesus the Lord. Paul defines his ministry in 3:6 as being “of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit” in other words, he is responsible to obey God’s Spirit in delivering the message of forgiveness of sins in Christ in order for people to become the s...

“So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” [2Co 2:8-11 ESV] Another feature of forgiveness is comfort. This is what Paul intends by instructing the church to come alongside the man who repented, reaffirm him with Christian love. The idea here is that reconciliation has occurred AND both sides are talking, conversing. Fellowship restored so all that’s left to do is encourage, strengthening. Don’t let a repentant person to wallow in sorrow. Guilt is found in sin, not in forgiveness. The man was over- whelmed in sorrow, aware of his sin but also afflicted under punishment. Now it is time for the church to meet three objectives: First, “Reaffirm love” (2...

“ Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that has been set before us .” (Hebrew 12:1) After a heavy workout, I feel like collapsing. Though the ground feels nice as I gush sweat like a lawn sprinkler, that pile is really not the best position in which to be. One needs be upright. So I walk around with my hands on my head, filling my lungs with air. I’m running much faster now that some of this weight is coming off. I started at 252 by walking for 15 minutes. Then 15 minutes became 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 45 minutes. Then my body whispered “faster.” So I went faster. And the weight is coming off. With faster comes stronger and the end of the workout is full of accomplishment. The encumbrance, the weight must come off in order to run with endurance. Jesus said the thorns that choke are world-worries, things that ...

Permit me to say first that I already know what my problem is: I over-think.  While this may not seem like much to you, it is to me. I just want to make certain I have it right, that’s all. Been thinking about “authority” lately and am spending much more time on the subject than I would have liked. Asking too many questions, chasing too many rabbits. For example: “why authority?” Answer: because at this time, the subject interests me. And so on. What is “authority?” Well, the 12 th century French noun “auctorite” was synonymous with “The Scriptures” though in a broader sense the term became used to describe that which settled an argument. The French word comes from the Latin “auctoritas” referring to the “master, leader” or as we say, “author.”   I begin here because frankly, present definitions seem woefully short. I find this is true when language and meaning paradigms shift. I also feel this is dishonest, to shift meaning. The consensus seems to be that author...

THE FIRST HALF Why we call this “St. Francis’ Prayer” or “The Prayer of St. Francis” is not clear to me as the good saint was not the author. Perhaps the prayer came to be known as such due to the Franciscan-sounding principles. Regardless, this is a fine prayer (if a prayer could be called “fine”). “Lord, make me an instrument” This is actually the first of two petitions, the second begin later in the prayer: “O Divine Master, grant that I . . .” Such weighty words like Hamlet’s question that make us pause as we consider who we are and who we are not. He is the Lord, our Creator and Sovereign. He is the Divine Master, as we will see later in the prayer. The Lord is Master and I am not. As  we are born into this fallen state, we are not much use even to ourselves. The prayer begins by returning to the Creator that He make take what He has fashioned in our mother’s wombs and go a step further: make me more than I am. Make me fit for the Master’s use. “Instrument” h...

I once met a man on the street who in the course of our conversation made a point to say that words have no meaning and are without power. I told him I did not understand. He explained, completely missing his point. Martin Luther knew the power of words. His famous “Mighty Fortress” contains one little word that we to this day still strive to grasp exactly that which fells the prince of darkness grim. Regardless, whatever the word is, it abides above all earthly pow’rs (no thanks to them). Yes, one word sends us reeling. Consider “on” and “off” or “hot” and “cold.” Indeed, words are powerful, meaningful. Have you ever pondered the most dangerous word? Martin Luther’s word is the word of victory, the word that leads to life. Our word is the opposite. It is the most perilous. Some words can kill a conversation, or suck the breath right out of someone’s chest. Present discussions center on “Bullying” and “President.” What about “Death” or “Poverty” or “Revenge?” Deceitfulness? ...

Haldor Lillenas in 1918 penned the choral piece, “Wonderful Grace of Jesus,” a song that many enjoy singing still today. The chorus is true jubilation of rolling, climbing, sparkling and decorated with lilting soprano in a descant joy, all culminating at the pinnacle, the name of Jesus. Here is an enjoyable arrangement: The grace of God in Christ Jesus is so magnificent and so glorious, but why do we have such a difficult time expressing it? The Bible says plainly that the gospel is, “ is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ” (Romans 1:16). Those who have turned from their sins to God by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus have experienced this marvelous grace—it is truly good news—yet we can’t seem to communicate it to others. The reasons may be many, but they are not good reasons. The Christian can’t claim ignorance of the gospel—how did one come to Christ to begin with? The Christian can’t claim fear—we are to die to self and live in Christ...

“What’s on your mind?” the psychiatrist asked. “It doesn’t matter,” replied the physicist. “What is matter?” prodded the psychiatrist. “Never mind” replied the physicist. ************** “Does it matter what I believe? If I love Jesus, isn’t that enough?” These are questions that seems to echoing through the age. But are these good questions? Perhaps the first question is inadequate. What is “it” that “matters?” Perhaps a better way to ask the question would be, “If I love Jesus, what I believe matter?”; or, “Is my love for Jesus enough to have a bearing on what I believe?” If one were to ask Jesus, He would say that belief has everything to do with love that is bound up in Him. Jesus answered this question three times, saying plainly: “ If you love Me, keep My commandments .” (Jn 14:15); “ He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him ." (Jn 14:21)...

I don't know what book or books you are reading right now and at this point, I really don't care.  Put it down.  Put them all down and pick this one up , open it, read it.  I triple-dog-dare you (that's right, I'm skipping the "triple dare," and am going straight for the throat)! Buy it. Borrow it. Don't steal it (stealing is sin).  Check it out from the library (and if they don't have it, get it by Inter-library loan).  Buy a case, give them away.  Wish-list it.  Trade for it.  Have someone read it to you.  Read it over someone's shoulder (ask, first.  Have some couth). Read it out loud in Sunday School. Get it in large print. Get it in Braille. Get someone to translate it for you. It will wreck your life.

“There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear.” Fear makes people do the strangest things. The Russian revolutionary Joseph Stalin had eight bedrooms that could each be locked up like a bank vault, and nobody knew which room he was sleeping in on any given night. “Cockpit country” in Jamaica was once called the “Land of Look Behind” after the 1600’s. Runaway slaves (“maroons”) fled into the jungles and waged guerilla warfare against the English. The government troops so frequently looked over their shoulders to avoid ambush that they gave the mountainous area it’s name. Fear does not prevent us from greeting a stranger in the grocery store, nor does it keep us from talking about the best deals in town (we may perhaps even swap coupons) or discussing the best brand of toilet paper (I was being random). Yet, turning the corner in the store and seeing some young men with nametags that read "T...

"Almighty and most merciful Father, I again appear in Thy Presence, the wretched misspender of another year which Thy mercy has allowed me. O Lord, let me now sink into total depravity, look down upon me, and rescue me at last from the captivity of sin. Impart to me good resolutions, and give me strength and perservance to perform them. Take not from me Thy Holy Spirit, but grant that I may redeem the time lost, and that by temperance and diligence, by sincere repentance and faithful obedience I may finally attain everlasting happiness, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord." (Samuel Johnson, 1709 - 1784).

To say, "I have not sinned" is to make God a liar ( 1 John 1:10 ); To say, "I must sin," is to deny the gospel ( Jude 24 ; Galatians 2:20 ); To say, "I must not sin," is to conform to the gospel ( Colossians 3:17 ); To say, "I need not sin," is to state my priviledge ( Ephesians 1:4 ); To say, "By the grace of God I will not sin," is to live the gospel ( Galatians 5:25 ).

New Testament scholar Paul S. Minear noted: "[Composer Johannes] Brahms chose his own texts [for his German Requiem] from Luther’s Bible to illustrate the Protestant conviction that man must hear and respond to God’s word in man’s own language, and that every believer must be free to deal with the Biblical text apart from priestly veto . . . For the word 'German' he would gladly have substituted the word 'human' because he was concerned to comment on 'the primary text of human existence' finding there, as in the Bible, the universal themes of suffering and joy."

"Our starting point is Scripture, which we accept as God’s unique and trustworthy revelation. Yet, in seeking with loyalty to conserve this truth from God, we attribute no infallibility to our own evangelical traditions. We desire, rather, to re-examine them radically -- that is to say, with a thoroughness which digs down even to their roots. If we seem to the reader to be always sure about the truthfulness of Scripture but sometimes less than sure in our understanding of how to apply it to complex contemporary questions, then he has accurately grasped our mood." John R. W. Stott (1921-), “Obeying Christ in a Changing World”

Sometimes I wonder if our house ever sleeps. Someone seems to be always watching TV or is on the computer and listening to music through headphones. Still someone else may be in her or her room playing their stereo or guitar. When the phone rings, all volumes drop (or should, theoretically) so the caller can be heard and understood. The TV gets muted, conversation quiets—or the phone is taken into a quieter room. God sometimes speaks in such a still small voice that we may find it hard to hear Him when He speaks. It may require that the distractions be removed—those areas of sin which deafen our ears to the voice of the Lord. The world loves noise because it does not want to stop and think, much less hear the voice of the Lord. The world loves to kill time, is always seeking ways to pass the time. An undocumented source observed: “Picture, if you will, some solar ray suddenly causing all radio, cassette players, stereo sets and televisions to stop working. Trembling hands impatie...

When Goliath came to the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, “He’s so big we can never kill him!” When David saw him, he thought, “He’s so big, I can’t miss!” Now THAT's seeing from God's perspective!

A common phenomenon in nature is “the path of least resistance.” Electricity moving through a circuit will always travel where it is easiest to go. Cars are developed aerodynamically so there will be a minimal wind resistance. Water always travels under a bridge because it is far easier to go under the bridge than over it. Frequently this is what people are like also. It is easier to sit in front of the TV rather than to care for our neighbor’s needs. It is easier to get angry at your mate and let that anger diminish over the course of time rather than sitting down and working the problem through. Thumbing through a Reader’s Digest is much easier than a time of personal Bible study. And so we find that we too, just like water under the bridge are prone to take the “path of least resistance.” But there is one difference between ourselves and water. Water will never have to give an account of what it has done. Ought not we examine ourselves and get on the “path of greatest persistance?’

"Almighty and merciful Father, I am now about to commemorate once more in Thy presence, the redemption of the world by our Lord and Savior Thy Son Jesus Christ. Grant, 0 most merciful God, that the benefit of His sufferings may be extended to me. Grant me faith, grant me repentance. Illuminate me with Thy Holy Spirit. Enable me to form good purposes, and to bring these purposes to good effect. Let me so dispose my time, that I may discharge the duties to which Thou shalt vouchsafe to call me, and let that degree of health, to which Thy mercy has restored me, be employed to Thy Glory. O God, invigorate my understanding, compose my perturbations, recall my wanderings, and calm my thoughts, that having lived while Thou shalt grant me life, to do good and to praise Thee, I may when Thy call shall summon me to another state, receive mercy from Thee, for Jesus Christs sake. Amen." Samuel Johnson (1709-1784).

When a man is released from prison, he is not free to do anything he feels like doing, but he is free to obey the Law. In the same way when we are freed from sin, when trusting in Christ, we are not given a license to sin, but are free to obey Him.

Oil, gas, and diamonds are precious commodities today but without tremendous pressure of earth on organic matter and time to develop, there would be just organic matter. So it is with the man of God as he responds with trust in God; He uses the daily pressures of life to mold quality into the man of God.