Bible

Real Church

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“What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would His Word still be enough for his people to come together?” (David Platt)

“Heresy of method may be as deadly as heresy of message” (A.W. Tozer).

I am the first to confess that I love technology. I especially love it when the church is able to incorporate talent and technology to advance the gospel in ways that were unthinkable even a generation ago. I love how we can reach all over the world with literally a tap of the finger and the power of social media and the world wide web.

But I wonder if sometimes we plan for talent and technology but leave no room for God’s Holy Spirit. I wonder that if the Holy Spirit were to depart from a church if it would cause the slightest ripple in the service that is pre-planned down to the second.

Again, I am all for worship not being all hap-hazard but well thought out. I just know that in many places around the world, people are worshipping without the comforts of padded pews or air conditioning or even buildings. Many of them meet in secret for fear of being arrested. Many know that to openly proclaim Jesus as Lord will cost them their lives. Yet they’re the ones worshipping in spirit and in truth while many of us here in America are worshipping in comfort and ease.

I’m afraid it will take the persecution of the Church in America to get us from lukewarm to faithful. I don’t mean the persecution of us getting our feelings hurt because people say things about us that are not nice. I mean persecution in the sense of some of us being dragged off to prison and maybe at some point people losing their lives for not denying the name of Jesus.

Lord, wake us up and make us faithful.

I Need Jesus

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That’s it. I need Jesus, not a better car or a better job or a more stylish wardrobe or a devoted spouse.

Because at the end of the day, a better car will eventually break down and need to be replaced.

A better job will have its own issues and you can still get fired or downsized or laid off there, too.

Wardrobes go out of fashion fast. What was stylish last year is already laughable. Plus, clothing wears out like anything else.

Spouses are great, but they can’t be everything. If you’re expecting a marriage to fix all your problems and for your spouse to fulfill all your needs, you are going to be bitterly disappointed. There’s a reason why over half of marriages (including Christian marriages) end in divorce.

Anything not rooted in Jesus is bound to fail and fall short. If I’m not satisfied in Christ at my deepest level, then nothing else will ever bring me lasting peace or joy or contentment. I will always be stuck in the more syndrome — a little more money, a little bigger house, a different partner, a better career, and so on unto infinity.

The saying remains true. Everything but Jesus = nothing. Nothing else but Jesus = everything.

The Ye Old Quest for a New(er) Car

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I figured out it’s been a while since I actually had to look for a car. The car that I’ve had for the past 10 years was my Mom’s old car that they sold to me when they got a new car. That was in 2013. Before that, I found out my cousin was selling his old Jeep that he had barely ever driven. That was in 2003.

Before that, I can’t really remember. I had a 1988 Ford Taurus for my very first car that I think I bought from a used car dealership. Then I got another Taurus, this one a 1993. I remember very little about the actual process. I remember looking at a few cars that seemed like a good idea to me at the time but probably wouldn’t have worked out. One was an older BMW convertible with a non-working A/C. One was a car brand that didn’t even exist anymore but looked cool and had leather seats.

I’ve learned to trust God’s timing in all things, not just in car shopping. In my experience, God usually never gives me what I ask for when I ask for it. Or it seems like my requests take a long time to reach God’s ear.

But I can attest that God’s provision is never a moment too late. I can trust that God’s denials can be as much of a blessing and a grace as God’s gifts, though they may not seem like it at the time.

Today, I looked at a 2021 Jeep Wrangler. It looked great, but there were a couple of red flags that made me hesitate. So the process goes on. But as I’ve learned, what I end up with will be better in the end. Plus, the process will be a learning and growing experience.

If you know of anyone who’s selling a relatively new Wrangler, I’m in the market. Plus, I really like the color red.

When It Seems Jesus Doesn’t Care

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Here I am with another mostly borrowed blog post. But this one spoke to me as deeply as the one I posted yesterday. Some days, God can feel distant and silent. If we trust in our feelings, we’re very much tempted to give up on God. But if we trust in the promises of God that are all Yes and Amen, we will find that God is present even in the silences and we can see Him near just as our eyes adjust to the darkness around us:

“Martha came to him Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care?’ (Lk 10:40).

Lord Jesus, when Martha called your empathy and compassion into question, thank you for giving her grace and not taking offense. Though she ‘only’ felt under-appreciated, there are times when we experience crises, stories, and heartaches that seem to contradict your compassion, care, and control.

When ‘darkness hides your lovely face’ we become vulnerable to all kinds of graceless voices:

•The devil’s toxic whisperings … ‘Where IS your Jesus now?’.

•Karma replacing the Gospel, telling us, ‘You’re sick because of hidden, unconfessed sin’.

•The narration of a cynical friend or weary family member, or nosy neighbor. Like Job’s wife telling Job, “Curse God and die” Job 2:9.

•Our own emotionally exhausted, pain-fueled monologue … ‘Maybe there is no Jesus. Maybe I’d be better off dead.’

Lord Jesus, though you don’t always explain yourself or fix things on our timetable, you will never “crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (Matt.12:20). The Scriptures are very honest about life between your resurrection and return: We will have days when mystery is more real than mercy, heartache is more tangible than hope, and pain is more convincing than providence. But, we will never have a Jesus-absent day.

When we’re angry like Jonah (Jonah 4:9), disillusioned like Job (Job.10:15), fearful like Elijah (1 Kings 19:3), doubt you like John the Baptist (Matt. 11:3), ‘beastly’ like Asaph (Psalm 73:21-22), despairing of life like Paul (2 Cor. 1:8)… you welcome us, and meet us right there… taking no offense, only giving us grace.

Jesus, no one cares like you. No one understandings suffering like you. No one has done more to eradicate all ‘death, mourning, crying and pain’ (Rev.21:4). Thank you. Meet us today, and meet our most weary friends through us. So Very Amen” (Scotty Smith).

A Prayer of Confession for 2024

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I found this prayer penned by Scotty Smith on Facebook and thought it was worth sharing. I think more than anything the Church in America needs to posture itself for the new year in a position of repentance and seeking forgiveness for not living up to biblical standards.

I think on one hand we’ve been too legalistic and self-righteous, looking down on others who sin differently than we do. I also think at times we’ve tried to look too much like the culture we’re called to reach out to and have compromised the message of salvation in the process.

So here’s my prayer for 2024:

“Abba Is Changing Us. Let’s Cooperate.

‘If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness’ (1Jn.1:8-9).

Heavenly Father, for your steadfast love, we bless you. For your patience and kindness, we praise you. For your daily mercies, we trust you. Hallelujah… you’ve already declared us righteous in Christ, and now you’re at work to make us as beautiful as Jesus. Here are some of the areas of heart and life for which we need grace and the Spirit’s work—clear manifestations we’re not as Christ-like as you intend.

•We confess thinking of ourselves too much and marveling at Jesus too little.

•We confess it’s easier for us to rush to judgment than linger in your presence.

•We confess over-believing our fears and under-resting in the Gospel.

•We confess scheduling ourselves into bad attitudes and diminishing health.

•We confess indulging a critical spirit more than we seek your Spirit’s filling.

•We confess being more upset by the news than at peace through your Word.

•We confess making more of other’s sins and weaknesses than our own.

Father, thank you for the full forgiveness we already have in Christ, and the sure hope of being like Jesus one Day. We look to you for strength to repent quicker when you convict us of these and other sins. Humble us. Change us. Heal us. Free us. Thank you… and So Very Amen (Scotty Smith).”

True Faith Prevails

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“Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave” (G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man).

It seems that in every generation, people have tried to modify Christianity to make it more culturally acceptable and more palatable to modern ears. The Bible even promises that people won’t want to hear the truth but will follow after those who tell them what they want to believe and want to hear.

But true faith has a way of outliving all those who want to change it. True orthodox Christianity will always exist because it alone has the power to transform people and truly set them free. There is only one gospel with the power to save.

I don’t claim to be smart enough to understand how true faith has managed to stay alive all these centuries, even when it was just about dead in the world and hardly any recognizable form of the gospel could be found.

But I believe that just as God promised Elijah that there was a remnant in Israel who remained faithful, so God again promises that there will always be a true remnant who will hold fast to the teachings of the Bible and of the true Jesus of the gospels. And it won’t be because of any of us who are super faithful and super spiritual, but because it is God’s truth and God will preserve His truth.

My prayer for those who have fallen into false teaching and a pseudo-faith is that they will come to THE truth — not my truth, not their truth, but God’s unchanging and unwavering truth as found in Scripture. I pray they will embrace true faith and find the true joy of salvation.

And I will trust that God is able to keep that which He has created and committed to us, the real and true gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Books I’m Reading

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Normally, I’m not a multi-tasker when it comes to reading books. I’m strictly a one book at a time kind of dude. But lately, I’ve been reading three at the same time.

Two of them are books that easily break down into daily readings. The Winter Fire book is really an Advent devotional based off the writings of G. K. Chesterton, and Every Moment Holy III: The Work of the People is a series of liturgies that can each be read as devotionals.

The Boxen book is one that I’ve been reading off and on as time allows. I have a feeling that if the weather delivers all the cold and snow I’ve been hearing about, I may have a bit more time in the next few days to catch up on my reading.

But that’s where I am. I’m also in a Bible reading plan with all the Brentwood Baptist regional campuses, so that’s something new as well. I mean I’ve read through the Bible before, but never as part of a large group.

I recommend each and every one of these books if you’re looking for new reads. The Bible I’m using is a Day by Day Chronological Bible that breaks down into easy daily reads with some helpful commentary from Dr. George Guthrie.

Now it’s time to catch up on some of my reading.

A Faith Like Betty Elliott’s

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‘Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and I accept Thy will for my life. I give up myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all of my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take second place in my heart. Fill me now and seal me with Thy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, for to me to live is Christ. Amen” (Betty Scott Stam).

I want the kind of faith that Betty Elliott had. And before I go on, I do realize that she was a flawed, sometimes insecure, follower of Christ. I also realize that the only one we’re truly called to be like is Jesus, but I think it’s helpful to have worthy examples to inspire us.

After listening to most of the biography Becoming Elisabeth Elliott, I see a faith that definitely is inspiring to me. This woman of God waited for marriage for a long time. She had wait while Jim wrestled with whether God was calling him to marriage in addition to a call to the mission field. After that, their marriage lasted all of two years before he was martyred.

Then she was willing to go to the very people who had murdered her husband and take them the gospel. It’s only through the power of the gospel of Christ that she was even able to forgive them, much less reach out to them in love. It’s that same amazing grace that later saw a majority of that tribe come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

That’s the kind of faith I want. Not so much the dramatic, in your face part, but the quiet and steady confidence in a God whose ways I may not always understand. I want the faith that can say at any moment, whatever the circumstances, “Thy will be done, even if it means that my will be undone.”

Her legacy lives on in the books she wrote, particularly Through Gates of Splendor and its account of Jim Elliott and four other missionaries’ attempts to reach the Huaorani people of Ecuador, an unreached people group, with the gospel and how it cost them their very lives.

I love this prayer of hers from when she was 21:

“My life is on Thy Alter, Lord – for Thee to consume. Set the fire, Father! Bind me with cords of love to the Alter. Hold me there. Let me remember the Cross.”

The Bread of Life

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I ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with the family today. Yes, that place that has a menu the size of War and Peace. But they also have bread.

One of my favorite pleasures has to be freshly baked bread right out of the oven, covered in just the right amount of butter. The taste, the texture, and the way it melts in my mouth all make for happiness. I could live without a lot of things, but I seriously doubt I could live without bread.

And think about it. Bread is such a staple for so many parts of the world. Back in Jesus’ day, bread was a daily part of their lives and integral to every meal. So when Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life, he was saying more than He was one of the four food groups, spiritually speaking. He was saying that the more we know and love Jesus, the more we find Him completely satisfying on every level.

If I had let myself, I could have eaten basket after basket of bread and not had any room left for the entree. That would have been foolish. But when Jesus is the bread of life, we find that there’s no such thing as too much. The more we learn and the more we see, the more we want and the more our desire grows to know and love and serve Jesus. The more we want to share this Bread with others.

May the love of Jesus never grow old for any of us, but may we always savor Jesus and carry His aroma wherever we go to those around us in all the places we go.

New Year’s Day 2024

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This is my favorite quote for the new year. It was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer while he was in a concentration camp after a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He penned these words, knowing they might be some of his very last and that he probably would not live to see the next new year.

These words are timeless and just as needed in 2024 as they were in 1945:

“With every power for good to stay and guide me,
comforted and inspired beyond all fear,
I’ll live these days with you in thought beside me,
and pass, with you, into the coming year.

While all the powers of Good aid and attend us,
boldly we’ll face the future, be it what may.
At even, and at morn, God will befriend us,
and oh, most surely on each new year’s day

The old year still torments our hearts, unhastening:
the long days of our sorrow still endure.
Father, grant to the soul thou hast been chastening
that Thou hast promised—the healing and the cure.

Should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving
even to the dregs of pain, at thy command,
we will not falter, thankfully receiving
all that is given by thy loving hand.

But, should it be thy will once more to release us
to life’s enjoyment and its good sunshine,
that we’ve learned from sorrow shall increase us
and all our life be dedicate as thine.

To-day, let candles shed their radiant greeting:
lo, on our darkness are they not thy light,
leading us haply to our longed-for meeting?
Thou canst illumine e’en our darkest night.

When now the silence deepens for our harkening,
grant we may hear thy children’s voices raise
from all the unseen world around us darkening
their universal paean, in thy praise.

While all the powers of Good aid and attend us,
boldy we’ll face the future, be it what way.
At even, and at morn, God will befriend us,
And oh, most surely on each new year’s day!” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).