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WHY??

21 May

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“While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” (Job 1:18-19 ESV)

I thought about this verse yesterday and I watched the new of the tornado in Oklahoma at about dinnertime yesterday evening.  It was horrible to watch the devastation and then to hear of the loss of life that resulted in this terrible event.

This morning, the radio news talk shows were filled with discussion about the tornado last night.  One secular radio host I happened to catch talked about the horrible news coming out and said, “There are just so many questions!”  He said, “The theological questions like why God would do this to people bother me the most!”  Well, that did it, and I just had to sit down and compose some thoughts about this event and help to point us in the right direction as we seek to answer those tough theological questions in the midst of tragedies like this.

Job lost his children in a similar way.  A great wind came and killed them as they were inside eating and celebrating.  Job had to hear the news from a servant who had barely made it out himself.  Can you imagine getting that kind of news?  This of course began a series of numerous trials for Job, and entire book of the Bible devoted to helping us to understand the “why” or lack of a “why” when it comes to difficult circumstances and tough times.

Just a few basic observations from Job’s life that I think can add some perspective for us in these difficult days:

First, God is in control.  At no time does God ever not know what is happening in Job’s life and not one time is He ever surprised at what happens.  In fact, God is intimately involved in Job’s life and is giving permission for all of these things to take place.

Second, God never gives Job an explanation.  I would love to be able to write an article and give the answer to the all-encompassing question of “why,” but in all reality I cannot.  God was n control during every trail that Job experienced, but He never tells Job why He (God) allowed for these situations and trials.  When you put things into that kind of reality, the question of “why” ends up going away.  All we really need to be concerned with is the fact that God is in control.  He doesn’t ask our permission when He wants to do something that He doesn’t ever owe us an explanation.  He does however; promise to be with us during those trials and difficult times.

Finally, God will use hard situations and difficult times for good.  This is after all the promise of Romans 8:28.  But in Job’s life it was also exemplified.  Job struggled as he went through the hard times, just as anyone would.  In the end, Job remained faithful to the Lord and God blessed Job’s life by replacing everything he had lost with even more.  Job’s statement says it all, Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  (Job 42:1-2 ESV)

Answering the hard question of “why” is never easy, and is in fact many times impossible.  Turning our eyes to the Lord and fixing our eyes on Christ is much easier and in the end, is really all that our good God wants us to do.

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2013 in Practical Helps, Uncategorized

 

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The Privilege of Life

21 May

ImageIt has been a little quiet on the blogging front for me over the past two weeks or so, but for good reason.  Two weeks ago, my dear wife gave birth to our fourth child.  Little Ashlee Faith has been a little blessing and we are so happy to have her as part of our family.  The Lord was very gracious and gave a safe delivery.

You know, the birth of a child brings a lot of emotions and very little sleep.  I held back the tears as Ashlee was born as a reflected on the miracle of life.  But even more, as my wife was laboring, news came in over the television in the room of the Gosnell trial verdict and the continued tragic news of this man’s abortion work.  It was a bit surreal as I sat in that labor room as my wife prepared to deliver our baby all the while thinking of the fact that this man had been killing babies not much younger than the little life that was about to join our family.

These are just one of the affects of sin.  If there is one thing that I want to say from this short post, it is that life is precious.  We as believers and churches need to do all we can to sound the alarm about the truth that life is precious and we must allow the sinfulness of sin to motivate us in the work of the gospel.  It is only by the power of the gospel that hearts can ever be transformed and it is only through the gospel that heinous acts like partial-birth abortion will ever be stopped. 

May God continue to be merciful to the United State of America and may churches do their job in reaching the USA with faithful and solid gospel work!

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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The Definition and Role of the Evangelist (Podcast)

07 May

CLICK HERE to hear our recent podcast about the role of the Evangelist in the local church.

 
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Posted by on May 7, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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New Blog Series: The Doctrine of Perpetual Carnality

25 Apr

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The city where I pastor is a very popular place to come in the summer time.  For that reason, I have the chance to meet a lot of different people over the course of a summer as they come and visit us on a Lord’s Day or to attend one of our prayer meetings.  This past summer, I had the chance to meet some folks who were here vacationing and who attended two of our Lord’s Day services.  After the final service they attended at Faith, they came to me bothered about my definition and emphasis on the matter of repentance on the part of those that come to Christ by faith (we were studying John 4 at the time).  In the process of the conversation, I was accused of being “a fruit inspector” apparently for stating something to the affect that if someone truly comes to Christ by faith, their life is going to reflect that decision.  A few weeks later I received a large packet of information further telling me why I was wrong in my position…so on and so forth.  It is not my practice to debate lay people on matters such as this, so I refrain from answering these sorts of things and from engaging in debates along these lines.  This issue did however, get placed into my “blog incubator” to simmer for a time such as now when I wanted to write a series of articles about this matter and issue.

Call it what you want, this is a significant issue in evangelical churches today.  I have heard it called “fruit inspecting”on the part of those who don’t believe a pastor or another believer should be using the life a person for a litmus test as to whether they are truly a believer (which is true, but as we will see, Scripture actually does the inspection for us).  I have also been told that a person living in sin could really know the Lord but is a “carnal Christian.” My question whether this is indeed a Biblical concept and if it isn’t, those who take such a position are on dangerous ground is condoning lifestyles of sin that the Bible is really explicitly against.

For the purposes of these blog articles, I am going to call this issue “The Doctrine of Perpetual Carnality.”  The reality is that this is a doctrine on the part of those that believe that a person can live in a years long carnal or fleshly state while still having a relationship with Christ and being a Biblical Christian.

So, here are the things we are going to cover in this series.  I hope they wet your appetite a little:

  • When does one become a disciple of Christ?
  • Perpetual Carnality in light of Jesus teachings
  • Perpetual Carnality in light of the Epistles of Paul
  • Perpetual Carnality in light of the Epistle of James
  • Perpetual Carnality in light of I John
  • The Results of one’s position on this issue
  • A few other things that I am sure I haven’t thought of yet

In all seriousness, I hope that you will follow this series.  At the very least, I will post one article a week, and the most I will post two or three a week, depending on the amount of time I have.  This is a serious matter and one that needs to be looked at through the lens of Scripture.  The implications of this “doctrine” reach far into such places as counseling, church ministry philosophies, gospel presentations, and so many other practical areas.  There are some that will not agree with me on this, and there is liberty to do that (to some extent) but I hope that these posts will at least get us thinking about a consistent, fleshly lifestyle in relation to how Scripture describes a true believer in Christ.

 

 
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Posted by on April 25, 2013 in Theology, Uncategorized

 

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A Fall from Grace

03 Apr

The longer I am in and around the ministry, the more often I hear about fellow pastors, church leaders, and believers that fall from grace.  They have been involved in deep sin for some time, and all of a sudden it comes out, usually in stunning fashion.  While I hear about these situations more that I would like to, I never get used to it and the stories never cease to make me sick to my stomach.  I recently sat down and thought through some of the things that the Lord always brings to mind in light of these sorts of situations.  There are absolute truths that we can learn from these very tough situations.

First, spiritual leaders are human.  Paul wrote, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (Rom 7:18) This is why our faith is in God not in the leaders of our churches.  No one should ever be afraid of trusting their church leadership.  God has placed them there for your good and His glory.  While the bad always makes the news and puts a bad light on churches, there is so much good going on which is never reported.  Church members must remember that their leaders are under attack and Satan will expose and use any weakness that is in a life.  Every believer, but especially church leaders, has to remember that the flesh is dangerous and prayer for protection of yourself and of your church leaders is absolutely crucial.  This is not an excuse.  If spiritual leaders would understand and remember this fact regularly, they would not have to use this to defend themselves after they commit some gross sin!

Second, leaders need to consider themselves.  One of the jobs and responsibility of church leaders is to seek repentance on the part of individuals and to see them restored.  The apostle Paul again writes, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” (Gal 6:1).  Any time a leader falls or a believer falls, it is always a reminder to search our own hearts understanding that we are capable to doing the very same thing and that it is by the grace of God that we are not involved in the very same thing.  In all reality, it needs to scare every believer straight!

Third, all sin will be revealed.  Paul writes, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” (1 Cor. 4:5)  Clearly, God will bring everything to light at the judgment seat and every believer will be known for what they truly are.  BUT, God also has a way of revealing who and what people are right now.  He will not allow sin to go covered or for His name to be constantly blasphemed.  He will reveal and judge sin.  I can tell you as a pastor that I never go out and try to catch people doing wrong things.  The Lord has a way of making sure that it is revealed.

Fourth, church discipline needs to be practiced.  When a church leader or a member of a church falls into sin and that sin is revealed, church discipline MUST be practiced.  The level of that discipline depends on the level and publicity of the sin.  It isn’t enough to just fire the church leader and move on.  Some argue that church discipline re-opens wounds and is not profitable.  So, we must ask the question, why church discipline?  Church discipline could be something as small as a private confrontation of sin by the pastor and deacons to a public confession and apology to the church.  Again, it all depends on the situation at hand.  Passages such as Matthew 18 and I Corinthians 5 must be followed.  The end result is to encourage righteous living on the part of the believers that see and experience the discipline, repentance on the part of the one being disciplined, and eventual restoration of the individual being disciplined.  This is not a shunning.  The only time someone is put out of the congregation is with a refusal to repent of their sin.  Even still, the goal is always restoration!

Finally, consequences always remain.  David committed gross sin and God brought it to light.  He had committed adultery and murder, both horrible sins.  When it was revealed, David confessed and forsook his sin and God forgave him.  David was still called a man after God’s own heart.  He still wrote the majority of the Psalms and God still allowed the Messiah to come from his line.  But, grave consequences still came to David and his house.  His child died.  The sword and rebellion never left his house.  David’s own son tried to over-throw him and was killed.  Things were never the same for David after he committed this sin.  God’s grace and restoration was absolutely there for David, but it was no without consequence.  Sin always robs a man of what could have been. 

May God help every believer and every church leader to remain faithful to Him and to never take sin lightly.

 

 
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Posted by on April 3, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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Does Starbucks Want Your Right-Wing, Pro-marriage Business?

25 Mar

So, there was a huge issue created by Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks Coffee.  The issue was over his response to a shareholder to asked about the stance that Starbucks has taken (and not just recently) regarding same-sex marriage.  You can watch his exact comments here.  Having spent eight years in the business world and now being a pastor, I wanted to make some observations and comments and try and answer this question.  

The reality is that Starbucks has had this position for some time.  This story has been in a number of business reports and business journals recently so it is clear that it happened. In my opinion, CEOs need to stay out of politics. Nothing good ever happens when you make insensitive comments for either side. When you have an investor ask about supporting a certain cause, you don’t make the kind of comments that the Starbucks CEO did.  He made a clear point in saying that, “This is not an economic issue…!”  He repeated this a number of times, making it clear that this was the side of a MORAL issue that they were taking a stand on. Unfortunately, it is this sort of thing that outrages people. I love Starbucks coffee and I meet people there all the time for ministry purposes. I don’t intend on changing that. My point is that this was a dumb business move on the part of this CEO and he and Starbucks will probably feel it as a result.  

I supported Chick-Fil-A when they made the choice (unwisely from my standpoint) to delve into this issue.  They faced the wrath of the gay and lesbian community.  Clearly, all was not rainbows during those days and I felt that Chick-Fil-A was standing for the side of the moral issue that I agreed with and believed myself.  The Starbucks CEO was doing the same thing, only on the opposite side of things.  Should they feel the wrath of traditional marriage advocates shouting obscenities and boycotting their business?  I didn’t think Chick-Fil-A should have and I don’t believe Starbucks should either and won’t because families don’t really have the time to do that sort of thing.  But here are some clear observations from this entire situation:

1) Businesses should remain businesses.  When I was running my real estate business, I had laws and rules that governed the way that I conducted myself and my business.  I worked with all sorts of people because that is what I was being hired to do.  My morals and my ethics never changed, but it was not my job or place to pass judgement or to comment with my thoughts about the way another individual was living their life.  Morals and ethics govern practice and every business has the right to practice in the way that they see fit.  But they need to do it quietly. It is challenging but imperative that companies be willing to serve all consumers.  This is business 101.

2) Businesses should stay out of politics.  Like it or not, this was a political statement on the part of this CEO who took a position and alienated one group of people by doing so.  Perhaps it would have been a bit more wise to indicate that they as a company were serving all consumers regardless of race or sexual orientation, etc., etc.  But that isn’t what he did.  

3) In reality, the Starbucks CEO didn’t understand what he was saying. He clearly stated his personal (and perhaps the company’s) position on same-sex marriage and in a very polite tone stated that this investor could take his money away from Starbucks and invest it somewhere else.  Guess what, some of those investors are going to do that, and if they do that, Starbucks loses money.  Couple that with consumers doing the same thing, and you have created a serious issue for your business.  Perhaps Starbucks doesn’t think it is an issue at all, but ask JCPenny what happened when they chose to go this route.  That CEO no longer has a job and JCPenny suffered serious financial strain as a result.

4) At the end of the day, people have a right to spend their money the way they see fit.  I don’t see the need for a boycott, but I would have to honestly say that I might think twice about how much business I give them.  If there is another coffee shop close to one (which there is in almost every case) I may chose to go there instead.  You add millions of consumers who chose to do the same thing, along with investors who are going to take Mr. Schultz’s advice and invest elsewhere and things are not going to be pretty for Starbucks.  This is the quiet voice of the moral majority in our country who WILL show support (or a lack of it) with their pocket book.  

I believe that our country is a center-right country morally and politically.  When a CEO says to an investor (and to the American people), we are taking this stand morally and you don’t have to support us, the reality is that people will agree with him and not support them.  Pro-marriage advocates showed up in force to support the Chic-Fil-A’s position.  I am wondering who will show up to support Starbucks. Perhaps Howard Schultz and fired JCPenny CEO Ron Johnson will be having a cup of coffee together during their unplanned vacations.  Time will only tell. 

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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Psalm 8–Helping Inferiority Issues

18 Mar

I have never been a fan of the phrase and question, “I have good news and bad news…which would you like to hear first?”  Depending on the context in which that question is asked, the answer may or may not be what you want to hear regardless of which one you want to hear first.  At the same time, if I am ever faced with that dilemma, I tend to always choose the bad news first only because the good news can many times help to ease the bad news and encourage you rather than vise versa and having the bad news discourage you.

Psalm 8 has some of these same elements in it.  There is the good news and the bad news.  I think that understanding both of these aspects will greatly help a person struggling with inferiority issues.  When a person constantly believes that they don’t match up to other people or tend to shrink in the face of obstacles because they lack confidence.  These are inferiority issues.   These issues can also be revealed when a person has to act overly aggressive in order to try and prove something to those around them because of insecurity and wrong feelings.  I believe that Psalm 8 can help to encourage those that struggle in this way.

The first way it helps with inferiority is that it reveals praise to God for His Superiority (vv. 1-2; 9)  The reality of this passage is that the glory that God gives to mankind results in glory being given back to God in the form of praise.  He is the one that is totally superior to all of the creation that He has made.  Romans 1:20 clearly states that all of creation cries out as a witness not only to His existence but also to His very character.  God is superior because He is the creator of everything that moves and breathes.  The sooner that every man understands this truth, the quicker they will be to bow to Him and worship at His feet.  Man will quickly understand that he is nothing.  Feeling inferior is the result of one thinking that they don’t match up or that they have to try harder and be more aggressive in order to match up.  The reality is that no one can match up to God.  He is far superior than any man and because of that all men fall short and are completely inferior.

The second way it helps with inferiority is that it reveals the inferior position of all men. (vv. 3-4)  As has been mentioned already, in considering God and all of His creation, one quickly realizes that man is not God and that he is nothing compared to God.  Hence the question by the psalmist, “What is man that you are mindful of him?  Perhaps it could be put a bit more simply by saying that because man is nothing, man should never be our standard.  It is not an issue that some men make it and some don’t or that the ones that do not make it have to work that much harder to be accepted.  The issue is that no man makes it when it comes to matching with God.  This realization makes the playing field even for everyone.  No matter how good, how talented, how rich, how poor…every man misses the standard.  This is why Paul writes that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  A person will stop feeling inferior the moment they recognize this fact…God is the only one about whom they need to be concerned.

The final way this Psalm helps with inferiority is that it reveals the privilege of all men. (vv. 5-8)  Even though man is inferior and God is superior, there is the good news that every man has been given the privilege of being in the image of God as Genesis 1:26-27.  This is referred to as man being made “imago Dei” or in the image of God.  Being made in the image of God means that every man has inherent worth in God’s eyes and that God made every person the exact way in which they were to be made according to His perfect will.  Furthermore, man has the ability to be God’s representatives here on this earth by having dominion over the earth.

In conclusion, inferiority problems are really a struggle with selfishness, pride, and even guilt.  If we will but humble ourselves and start by understanding that we are nothing compared to God and then further understand the worth that every man has by being a creation of God, those inferior thoughts will leave very quickly.  God has given every man the privilege of reflecting Him, therefore, each of us must shine as only we can shine!

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2013 in Practical Helps

 

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