1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Some forty-two years ago, my brother and I participated in a teen choir at our church which proved to be one of the most helpful and encouraging events of my teenage years. The previous summer I had just experienced a call to the ministry, and as any young person seeking God’s will for their life, I wanted some confirmation that the call was genuine. Those two years singing in the teen choir helped solidify that call in my life.
Recently, one of the men, now a pastor himself, contacted as many of the old members of the teen choir to see if any of them were interested in a reunion. The response he got was overwhelming. Plans were made, we met at a restaurant near our old church for a meal together, and then we gathered at the church for fellowship and singing. We had a wonderful time. I was good to see old friends, some of whom I had not seen for over thirty years.
After the meal, as we were walking up to the youth center of the church (our old haunt during our teen years), one of my brother’s friends remarked to me, “Boy, you sure look like your dad.” I responded that I was well aware of the physical resemblance, but wished I had more of my father’s character traits. “That must be intimidating,” he said, “does it bother you?” I told him that everyday I get up and look in the mirror to see my father’s face and stature. While not near as strong a man as he, I have the stocky-build through the chest and my wife says I walk just like him.
All this brought me to the thought that we are to bear the image of our Heavenly Father and we are to covet His divine character in our lives. Our text tells us that if we are of the heavenly we will bear the image of the heavenly. The old adage, “You are the only Jesus some folks will ever see” holds true. So I ask myself these two questions: 1) What do others think of my earthly father when they see me? and 2) What do people think of Almighty God when they look at my life?
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Massachusetts Pregnancy Pact
Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, Tit 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Modern American society has fallen light-years behind the Biblical admonition we find in our text. It saddens my heart to hear of such debauchery as teenage girls in the most blessed and privileged country in the world forming a pact to have themselves impregnated outside of marriage so they can “raise” their children together. But just this morning the news report came that such is the case in Glouchester, Massachusetts. Were their lives so empty that they felt compelled to do such perverse and senseless thing.
One may ask, “What were they thinking?” Well, as one who has been in the ministry now almost forty-one years, worked closely with children, teens, and young adults most of that time, and has pastored families who have gone through such nightmares, I can tell you what they were not thinking. They gave little or no thought to how this situation they have created is going to affect the child they are bringing into the world. It is a selfish, self-centered act that will complicate the life of the child and place them in disadvantage in the future as well as in the immediate.
At the risk of being labeled “uncaring, unforgiving, legalistic, narrow-minded, out-of-touch, and old fashioned” I will tell you this. God calls this wickedness “blaspheme” and condemns it in Scripture. This amoral society is headed for judgment!
To the teenage girls in that high school in Glouchester, Massachusetts, I want to say this: My heart is broke for you. Apparently, you made a choice to bring a life into the world for which you now are responsible. There may be those who will run to your aide and comfort you now, but will they be there when this child is thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old? Will you expect the tax payers to pick up the tab when medical needs arise, housing is needed and food must be provided? Obviously, no one has taught you to be sober and think this matter through. No one impressed upon you that marriage is God’s plan for procreation and to do otherwise is animalistic. And as you cuddle the small infant in your arms, is it to bring you comfort or are you going to give your life to that child?
When my wife and I started a family, we prayed for our children. We begged God to give them to us and promised Him that we would be faithful to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God was good to us and helped us, but even with divine help we had to pour our lives into them. Then later in life we were reminded of the great responsibility of child rearing when our grandchildren and their mother came to live with us. It takes more than money to raise a child. It takes time and patience and self-sacrifice.
My counsel to you of the “pregnancy pact” is this: There is a God Who is merciful and gracious, and He cares what happens to you and your child. He will forgive you of this folly and help you if you let Him. But you must repent and confess your sin to Him and trust Him to save you from your sin. His name is Jesus Christ and He loves you.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Modern American society has fallen light-years behind the Biblical admonition we find in our text. It saddens my heart to hear of such debauchery as teenage girls in the most blessed and privileged country in the world forming a pact to have themselves impregnated outside of marriage so they can “raise” their children together. But just this morning the news report came that such is the case in Glouchester, Massachusetts. Were their lives so empty that they felt compelled to do such perverse and senseless thing.
One may ask, “What were they thinking?” Well, as one who has been in the ministry now almost forty-one years, worked closely with children, teens, and young adults most of that time, and has pastored families who have gone through such nightmares, I can tell you what they were not thinking. They gave little or no thought to how this situation they have created is going to affect the child they are bringing into the world. It is a selfish, self-centered act that will complicate the life of the child and place them in disadvantage in the future as well as in the immediate.
At the risk of being labeled “uncaring, unforgiving, legalistic, narrow-minded, out-of-touch, and old fashioned” I will tell you this. God calls this wickedness “blaspheme” and condemns it in Scripture. This amoral society is headed for judgment!
To the teenage girls in that high school in Glouchester, Massachusetts, I want to say this: My heart is broke for you. Apparently, you made a choice to bring a life into the world for which you now are responsible. There may be those who will run to your aide and comfort you now, but will they be there when this child is thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old? Will you expect the tax payers to pick up the tab when medical needs arise, housing is needed and food must be provided? Obviously, no one has taught you to be sober and think this matter through. No one impressed upon you that marriage is God’s plan for procreation and to do otherwise is animalistic. And as you cuddle the small infant in your arms, is it to bring you comfort or are you going to give your life to that child?
When my wife and I started a family, we prayed for our children. We begged God to give them to us and promised Him that we would be faithful to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God was good to us and helped us, but even with divine help we had to pour our lives into them. Then later in life we were reminded of the great responsibility of child rearing when our grandchildren and their mother came to live with us. It takes more than money to raise a child. It takes time and patience and self-sacrifice.
My counsel to you of the “pregnancy pact” is this: There is a God Who is merciful and gracious, and He cares what happens to you and your child. He will forgive you of this folly and help you if you let Him. But you must repent and confess your sin to Him and trust Him to save you from your sin. His name is Jesus Christ and He loves you.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Bound Husbands and Fathers
Mk 3:23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? Mk 3:24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. Mk 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Mk 3:26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. Mk 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Seems men (husbands and fathers) are being bound today by Satan and he is spoiling their homes. This appears to be done with little effort on the devil’s part because men have gotten weak and rendered helpless, bound by the three fold cord of the tempter.
Ecc 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Satan has two accomplices in this matter of binding the strong man: the flesh and the world. And I believe the threefold cord they use is S – I – N:
SELFISHNESS. A selfish man does not know the true meaning of love according to 1 Corinthians 13. He is bound with the cord of selfishness and blind to the needs of others including his wife and children. His selfishness is the very thing that will destroy his home. Girls, don’t marry a selfish man. He is always a taker and seldom a giver.
INFIDELITY. A man bound with the cord of infidelity will make promises he has no intention of keeping or does not have the ability to keep. This cord will cause the strong man to blame anyone or anything else for his own failures, but he will never take responsibility for himself. He will struggle to be faithful to his family because he is not faithful to God.
NEGLECT. A husband and/or father who neglects his spiritual relationship with God has allowed himself to be bound and is useless to help and lead his family. He cannot pray for them, he cannot stand against the wiles of the devil, he cannot lead them to do right because he is bound.
Abraham and Lot were both saved men I believe. The ways they conducted their lives, raised families and received results were in stark contrast. Abraham looked where God told him to look, he lived in the land God had promised him, and his legacy was a son who respected and loved his father and followed God. On the other hand, Lot looked to the well watered plains of Jordan, he lived in a city full of wickedness and his legacy was two nations through an incestuous act who opposed God and the people of God.
The threefold cord is not quickly broken, but it can be broken. Submission to God and obedience to the Word of God will supply the power and strength to overcome the bindings of the world, the flesh and the devil.
One last word of caution. It is easy to take your family into Sodom, but it is very hard to get them out, and even harder to get Sodom out of them.
Seems men (husbands and fathers) are being bound today by Satan and he is spoiling their homes. This appears to be done with little effort on the devil’s part because men have gotten weak and rendered helpless, bound by the three fold cord of the tempter.
Ecc 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Satan has two accomplices in this matter of binding the strong man: the flesh and the world. And I believe the threefold cord they use is S – I – N:
SELFISHNESS. A selfish man does not know the true meaning of love according to 1 Corinthians 13. He is bound with the cord of selfishness and blind to the needs of others including his wife and children. His selfishness is the very thing that will destroy his home. Girls, don’t marry a selfish man. He is always a taker and seldom a giver.
INFIDELITY. A man bound with the cord of infidelity will make promises he has no intention of keeping or does not have the ability to keep. This cord will cause the strong man to blame anyone or anything else for his own failures, but he will never take responsibility for himself. He will struggle to be faithful to his family because he is not faithful to God.
NEGLECT. A husband and/or father who neglects his spiritual relationship with God has allowed himself to be bound and is useless to help and lead his family. He cannot pray for them, he cannot stand against the wiles of the devil, he cannot lead them to do right because he is bound.
Abraham and Lot were both saved men I believe. The ways they conducted their lives, raised families and received results were in stark contrast. Abraham looked where God told him to look, he lived in the land God had promised him, and his legacy was a son who respected and loved his father and followed God. On the other hand, Lot looked to the well watered plains of Jordan, he lived in a city full of wickedness and his legacy was two nations through an incestuous act who opposed God and the people of God.
The threefold cord is not quickly broken, but it can be broken. Submission to God and obedience to the Word of God will supply the power and strength to overcome the bindings of the world, the flesh and the devil.
One last word of caution. It is easy to take your family into Sodom, but it is very hard to get them out, and even harder to get Sodom out of them.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Forty-Eight
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Yesterday I celebrated forty-eight years as a child of God. In 1960 as a ten year old Sunday School boy I sat in the second row, left side, of the Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, Norwood, Ohio. I listened once again to my pastor, Herstle Mayfield, preach the Word of God. The wickedness of my sin and the fires of hell became a reality to me. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin and I thought my heart would burst inside of me. I remember taking the first step into the aisle, but I cannot remember any of the steps that got me to the altar that day. I fell into the altar bench and looked up to see my Sunday School teacher, Mr. Bill Pruit, come out of the choir loft and rush to my side. He opened his Bible and began to read from the book of Romans. My tears fell upon the pages of that Bible as I gave my heart and placed my faith in Jesus Christ. I was gloriously saved by God’s grace that day. My father and mother stood by me as our pastor presented me to the church for baptism. The following Sunday evening I was immersed in water by the pastor in obedience to Christ’s command.
It has been quite a journey over the years and it is not over. I have been overwhelmed as the Word of God burned in my heart and I have had periods of dullness when my ears were deaf to it. I have had the privilege of giving the Gospel to others and see the same miracle work in their hearts. I have baptized some of those as they have followed their Saviour. God’s call upon my life has allowed me to travel this country, preaching and singing. I have preached the Word in Taiwan; on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece; on the isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea; at Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley; in the jungles of Thailand to lepers; to U.S. soldiers in Germany and a German church; in a train station in Hungary; and, a Bible Institute in Romania. And just about the time I would think the journey could bring no more, the Lord has opened another door of opportunity. How thrilling!
Forty-eight years may seem a long time to man, but it is not even a blink of God’s eye. There is no telling what is in store for the days ahead. To some, politics and war and economy bring a bleak picture. But (to borrow the words of a chorus) “Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”
Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Yesterday I celebrated forty-eight years as a child of God. In 1960 as a ten year old Sunday School boy I sat in the second row, left side, of the Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, Norwood, Ohio. I listened once again to my pastor, Herstle Mayfield, preach the Word of God. The wickedness of my sin and the fires of hell became a reality to me. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my sin and I thought my heart would burst inside of me. I remember taking the first step into the aisle, but I cannot remember any of the steps that got me to the altar that day. I fell into the altar bench and looked up to see my Sunday School teacher, Mr. Bill Pruit, come out of the choir loft and rush to my side. He opened his Bible and began to read from the book of Romans. My tears fell upon the pages of that Bible as I gave my heart and placed my faith in Jesus Christ. I was gloriously saved by God’s grace that day. My father and mother stood by me as our pastor presented me to the church for baptism. The following Sunday evening I was immersed in water by the pastor in obedience to Christ’s command.
It has been quite a journey over the years and it is not over. I have been overwhelmed as the Word of God burned in my heart and I have had periods of dullness when my ears were deaf to it. I have had the privilege of giving the Gospel to others and see the same miracle work in their hearts. I have baptized some of those as they have followed their Saviour. God’s call upon my life has allowed me to travel this country, preaching and singing. I have preached the Word in Taiwan; on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece; on the isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea; at Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley; in the jungles of Thailand to lepers; to U.S. soldiers in Germany and a German church; in a train station in Hungary; and, a Bible Institute in Romania. And just about the time I would think the journey could bring no more, the Lord has opened another door of opportunity. How thrilling!
Forty-eight years may seem a long time to man, but it is not even a blink of God’s eye. There is no telling what is in store for the days ahead. To some, politics and war and economy bring a bleak picture. But (to borrow the words of a chorus) “Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”
Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Jesus Saves the Best Until Last
“And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:6-10)
As our Lord began His ministry on earth, His first recorded miracle is found during His attendance of a wedding in Cana of Galilee. During the wedding feast they had exhausted their supply of wine. When Jesus is called upon to help the servants are instructed to fill the stone waterpots used for cleansing. The governor of the feast did not know where the fresh wine came from, but the servants did.
And so it is with everything our Saviour does. He saves the best until last. Life is filled with disappointments, sorrows, pain and suffering, evil. But for the believer, none of that can be compared to the "best saved for last" which shall be for all of eternity.
As the old adage goes, "He that laughs last, laughs best." “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” (Psalms 2:4-6)
As our Lord began His ministry on earth, His first recorded miracle is found during His attendance of a wedding in Cana of Galilee. During the wedding feast they had exhausted their supply of wine. When Jesus is called upon to help the servants are instructed to fill the stone waterpots used for cleansing. The governor of the feast did not know where the fresh wine came from, but the servants did.
And so it is with everything our Saviour does. He saves the best until last. Life is filled with disappointments, sorrows, pain and suffering, evil. But for the believer, none of that can be compared to the "best saved for last" which shall be for all of eternity.
As the old adage goes, "He that laughs last, laughs best." “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” (Psalms 2:4-6)
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