I Am a Father

I can’t ignore it.  I was told that there are far more important things that we need to talk about other than the disgusting display of Miley Cyrus on the awards show.  It came to my attention while watching the news and what I saw absolutely floored me at first that the news would consider it important enough to talk about over many of the more important.  I was becoming irate that this type of behavior was considered “news”.  As I waited for them to hurry through the dialogues I heard the voice of my two young daughters in the other room.  My heart sunk.  I can’t ignore it.  I can’t ignore it because as a Christian the moral values of America is important.  The Christian church is the last line of defense for moral values in America.  If Christians refuse to stand, then moral degeneration shall occur.  So many of our moral values have already been trampled on by print, media, and social networks.  It used to be that what happens in the privacy of one’s own home stays in the home but the ease of social networking has brought what was once cherished as intimate, cherished, and private to the forefront.  Instead of enjoying the wonderful events of a family or sharing in wonderful news, we spend more time deleting vulgarities and scantily clad pics in seductive poses or showing off their newest tats.  This is the world my children are growing up in.  I can’t ignore it because as a father, I find it all too important to ensure that my children are taught wholesome values.  God gave me these children.  I am a steward for these children.  I am responsible for the things that I allow into my children’s lives.  I can’t let the Miley Cyruses and the Justin Beibers of this world be allowed into my home.  Not while their young minds can be so easily shaped by the things they see or hear.  Not while they continue to be called "wholesome entertainment" yet their despicable acts of rebellion and selfishness and disrespect are on full display.  I can’t ignore it.  As a pastor, I have a duty to take a stand for what is right.  I have a duty to stand against sin.  I have a duty to cry aloud as said in Isaiah “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1).  The moral value of America is shrinking at an alarming rate because we have stopped raising our voices at the moral undressing of America.  Maybe because we are fearful of offending people.  Maybe because we just want to climb into our shell and say God will take care of them, it is not my problem.  But in doing so, you would be forced to ignore Ezekiel 3:20 - Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.  Yes, God will take care of them but God will also hold us accountable for ignoring it or keeping it.  I can’t ignore it.  As an American, this should not be reflective of who America is.  We cannot allow Hollywood shape the image of America or even the world for that matter.  The spiritual battle rages on so many fronts.  From personal, to the home, to the church, to the country and to the world.  Acts like these are only a small part of a larger scale of assault against moral values in society today.  My daughters are laughing now.  I need to go pick them up and hold them close to me.  I can’t ignore it.  I need to teach them.  I need to love them.  I need to raise them….all in accordance to God’s Word.

Birds of a feather

Birds of a feather flock together.  This is an ancient saying that is said to have it roots back to ancient Greece.  There has been a bit of a crisp in the air especially in the evenings, a sign that fall is coming.  Fall usually means birds will begin their long trek to their winter grounds in the south.  Last fall, my first in this Calhoun County, I was amazed at the number of white pelicans that rested at the nearby Rip Rap.  The little ravines of water were coated in a sea of white as pelicans floated lazily along and fed on unsuspecting fish.  Within a week, they were gone. 

There is another saying about ducks.  If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and congregates with other ducks, then it must be a duck.  I have been in church pretty much my whole life and have been involved in church ministry for at least 18 years and there is a destructive tendency found among church members: cliques.  A clique is a tight knit group of likeminded people.  It is interesting to know that the word “clique” derives from the French word that means to make noise. 

There is nothing wrong with friendship, in fact, the Bible encourages friendship and when it encourages friendship, it encourages right friendship.  Consider these verses from Proverbs:

One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. (Proverbs 12:26)

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. (Proverbs 22:24,25)

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

The Bible is full of friendship such as David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, Elijah and Elisha, and Paul and Silas among other.

In the same way that the Bible encourages friendships, it also discourages cliques.  Cliques tend to cause division or trouble in the church or as the original French word would define it “make noise.”  Paul gives us a warning to watch out for them:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.  For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. (Romans 16:17-18)

According to what Paul wrote above, these people are more concerned about themselves than they are the good of the church.  Commentator John Gill writes that their usage of smooth and flattering speech is handling “the word of God deceitfully.” 

In another letter, Paul writes:

  But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him (Titus 3:9,10)

Consider these words of James in his epistle

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:1-3)

Did you see why people fight and quarrel.  Because they are not getting what they want.  It is not a coincidence that Christianity is a matter of the heart as Jesus teaches.  Everything we are and everything we do is a reflection of the condition of our heart.  If we are bitter, then we have bitterness in our heart.  If we are selfish, then we our heart is focused on ourselves and not God.  If we are indifferent to others, then our heart is indifferent.  Paul even teaches us to preach the Word in II Timothy 4 because the time will come where people will find teachers after their own desires to satisfy their needs.  The key point is this, it is not what God wants but what we want that brings about quarrels. 

Now, let’s go back to the word clique.  You can tell a lot about a person by the kind of people they hang out with.  A duck hangs out with other ducks.  A pelican hangs out with other pelicans.  If you find yourself become a part of a clique, leave because as the wisdom of Proverbs tells us:

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. (Proverbs 22:24,25)

What flock are you flying with?

Be the "You"

Friday was an interesting day.  I met with a young lady named Erika Harold.  Erika is a former Miss America.  She won the crown in 2003.  She is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. She was in Hardin and I had lunch with her at the Barefoot Landing.  While I thought it was impressive that a little old preacher like me could be having lunch with a former Miss America, even more impressive is who she was.  She was the kindest, humble, and compassionate soul I have ever met.  In a world surrounding by cliques and stature, around that table no such thing existed.  There were five of us and each one of us came from different backgrounds and different areas.  Each one of us do different things for a living but on that day, around the table, none of those things existed.  In my travels through life, I have met some famous people and some non-famous people.  I have met some who were rich and some who were not so rich.  I have met people of different nationalities and race.  I have been in some extravagant homes and I have been in some humble homes.  Despite all the positions and conditions, there is one thing I have noticed, people in general are the same.  In my conversations with Erika, it stood out that she was as real or genuine as one could be.  She didn’t want you to see her as a Miss America.  She did not want you to see her as a lawyer or politician.  She wanted you to see her as Erika Harold.  She wanted you to see her as a person who cares.  She wanted you to see her as one of you.  She could have gone anywhere else and met different people but she chose to meet with someone like me, an ordinary person simply striving to make a difference in the community and county.  She was simply…herself.  I am reminded of a story of a young man who met a beautiful girl on the plane.  He tried to strike up a conversation and asked her what kind of men she liked.  She said she liked Indian men because of their tan color.  She also like Jewish men because they were generally rich.  She further stated that she liked country boys for their rugged way of life and monster trucks.  She finally asked him his name and he responded, “I am Geronimo Benjamin but my friends call me Bubba.”  Too often we try to be different things to different people when all we need to be is ourselves.  It is the only way people can really know who we are.  It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you do, simply be the you God intended you to be.  Forget the cliques and social statuses, simply accept and enjoy people for who they are because in reality: a sure fire way to make a difference in the lives of others.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…(Psalm 139:14)

God's Got Something Better

“You keep checking doors and you keep checking doors and when it doesn’t open, you leave them alone.”  Those words of advice was given to me by a pastor in December 2011 as he and his wife met with my wife and me.  I was discouraged as I was wondering if God really had a place for us.  I knew that God had a place but the search and the wait was getting frustrated.  I once heard this quote “On the way to a dream you will find a better dream”.  Too often we have this idea of what we want or even how we want, but when we pray God will either say yes, no, or I have something better.  The third answer is probably just as difficult for some as the second answer because the third answer most likely involves waiting.  When I received the invitation to pastor Belleview Community Church, at the time I had a hard time seeing how this could be better.  16 months into the journey, I can see that God is right.  Sometimes when we push the issue, we usually will wind up in trouble.  With any of life’s major decision we need to LET GOD.  We need to let Him provide.  We need to let Him guide.  We need to let Him answer.  Whatever the answer may be realize that our best interest is in His mind.

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

God has a plan for us.  Did you know the word “providence” means “to see beforehand?”  God knows what is best for us but not only that, we need to realize that He knows what is best for us beforehand.  Long before our journey begins….God knows.  He knows our hurts.  He knows our heartaches.  He knows our situations.  He knows our frustrations.  He knows our prayers.  He knows our desires.  He knows our thoughts.  He also knows what is best.  The Message has a wonderful paraphrase for this verse: I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  As we determine God’s plan and purpose for our lives we can take comfort in his provision.  He will take care of us.  God supplies our every need.  Everything we could possibly need to get us to where we need to go, God will take care of it.  Every obstacle that stands in our way, God will enable us to overcome.  He knows the plans.  He knows what He is doing.  We can also see God’s presence.  He will not abandon us.  No matter where we are or where we are going, He will not abandon us.  What a blessing!  When I reflect back to the second half of 2011 when we were searching for God’s plan for our lives, I can see how God was with us.  There is no way that we could have financially survived those months except for God.  There is a third blessing found in the verse.  His promise.  His plans are for our best.  You didn’t get the house you want.  You didn’t get the job you want.  You didn’t move to the state you wanted to move to.   It doesn’t mean God is saying no, it could just be God saying, I have something better.  Let God.

Constrained by Fear or Conquering by Faith?

“Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil” (New American Standard).  In II Kings 4:1-7, we read the story of the widow and her oil.  The widow’s situation was dire, she had owed so much money and was unable to pay that she was on the verge of losing her two sons to slavery to pay the debt.  The prophet Elisha asked her a question.  What do you have in your house?  She had nothing but a pot of oil.  Such a bleak outlook.  If we live in the material then we are going to be limited to the material.  Too often we focus on the situations instead of the Savior.  That is the difference between fear and faith.  Fear limits us.

 Fear says “Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10).

 Faith says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  

 

Fear says “So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:32-33). 

Faith says “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (I Samuel 17:37). 

 

Fear says “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (Exodus 16:3).

Faith says “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:13). 

 

I wonder what we would be saying about the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 if they allowed their visions or faith to be hampered by their situations.  Faith is defined in Hebrews 11 as “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is the assurance that what God has promised He can and will keep.  Faith is the assurance that God is watching over us.  Faith is the assurance that God provides.  Faith is the assurance that through Jesus Christ we have the gift of eternal life.  Faith is the assurance of victory

In his attempt to walk on water, Peter allowed fear to hamper his step.  Faith helped three Hebrew friends to walk in the fire.  Fear sees giants.  Faith sees God.  Fear sees obstacles.  Faith sees victory.  Fear says “I have nothing but a pot of oil.”  Faith says “God will take care of us.”  Much like He did in the story of the widow and her oil.  So how does God do it?

1)      In His own way

2)      In His own time

3)      Using other people

Two years ago I stepped out on faith and quit my job believing that God had a place for me elsewhere but holding to my job was preventing me from finding that place and purpose.  It was fear that made me use that job as a crutch.   I have found that place.  It is in western Illinois, a place that was far from my thoughts and far out of my way.  A simple reminder that “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).  How many goals have been missed?  How many blessings have been robbed?  How much joy has been taken?  Simply because we let fear control our steps and our destiny.

Common "Denominator"

What denomination are you?  I was posed this question recently.  It is a question that makes me cringe.  I do not cringe because I am ashamed of my denomination, I cringe because of what the word denomination has done to the church of Christ over the years.  Our church, Belleview Community Church is a part of The Evangelical Church headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.  We are first and foremost Christians whose headquarters is Heaven.  I have been a part of a few different denominations in my lifetime.  For almost 30 years I was a Free Will Baptist, I have worked with youth in Nazarene churches and Free Methodist churches as well.  For some of these denominations, I have gotten a gist of how the denominations work.  The dangerous enemy of the body of Christ is not worldliness, the dangerous enemy of the body of Christ is its people.  Please understand that I am not against denominations, I am against what it has done.  It has deeply divided the body of Christ and has damaged the testimony of so many churches. I can’t tell you how often I have attended meetings or listened to other pastors spend so much energy in fighting with other leaders and pastors within the denomination over trivial issues or fight with other denominations because they simply don’t agree with their interpretations.  Our focus is to edify the Christ and his saving grace.  “Angry” sermons are being preached when people genuinely need to see the love of God instead of us venting our frustrations about denominations, ours or theirs..  People deal with enough fighting in the week they do not need to deal with it when they come into the house of God.  They want to see Christ.  Just recently I read a pastor’s share his sermon which was obviously done in an eisegesis method instead of the more proper exegetical message.  To understand the difference between the two is to understand that the eisegesis approach is when the speaker or preacher interjects his own ideas into the text.  The Bible does not need your ideas interjected, to do so will only diminish its authority, value, and truth. The people do not need to hear what we think we have to say, the people need to hear what the Bible has to say.  Yes denominations are different.  Yes, people within denominations will do things that we may not like or agree with.  Our goal is to exalt the love of Christ and evangelize those who need evangelization into the Kingdom of God.  There are a few denominational leaders in other denominations that have gone so far overboard to say that anyone else not in their camp are “hell bound”.  A few years back, after the publication of my book, I was looking to set up a table to advertise my book at a “denominational” conference.  I was told that they do not deal with outsiders. I recently read this passage of Scripture from Galatians:

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27, New American Standard)

We are all one in Christ.  Whether we are Baptists, Methodists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, or Nazarenes, the most important element of any person is a saving faith in Christ. It is not about denominational beliefs, it is about relationship with Christ.  Let us add to that number instead of trying to take away numbers from other denominations.  Focus on the cause of Christ instead of cursing other churches.  You build God’s kingdom by evangelizing the lost not shuffling sheep.