thankFULL people...
being filled with thanks

give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Every year on this day, a strange phenominon occurs...Black Friday Shopping. Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving in the U.S., traditionally marking the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Shopping gets earlier each year and the ads more abundant. Retailers try to get a jump on their competetors by offering "doorbuster" and "early bird" promotional sales. This year many stores opened at midnight to kick off the shopping season.

Shoppers are whipped into a frenzy with commercials, sales flyers, and the promise of getting a better deal than anyone else. While some have made this a fun social event with friends and/or family, others claw, scratch, and fight to get to the deals.

For whatever this is worth, The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive traffic on that day. The name stuck and later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the period during which retailers are turning a profit, or "in the black."

Over the years, I've watched how all of this retail promotion affects my family... and me! Here are a few thoughts.

1) It doesn't take much for our "gratitide-o-meter" to get out of whack and need adjustment. As I was looking through the mound of sales papers, I would catch myself saying, "I NEED this or that". "That would make things better" or "My friends have one of those __________(fill in the blank) and I should have one, too."

It's troubling how quickly a few pictures and numbers could skew our thinking so radically. I find myself dissatisfied with the perfectly good t.v. that I have because I see one that is tauted as "bigger and better".

Maybe we should spend a little more time in homeless shelters and soup kitchens than in shopping malls to "re-calibrate" our gratitude. When we give and when we serve, we grow... and so does our thankfulness!

2) Greed is not a new problem. 1 John 2:16 says, "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Before we say that our "gimme" attitudes have been created by the retailers and the advertisers... we need to realize that it's an internal problem. They've just stirred the appetite.

In 1 John 2, all sin is deliniated into three categories:

The lustful desires of the flesh
The lustful desires of the eyes
The pride of life (boasting in achievements and possessions)

These sum it up! We desire pleasure, we want, we crave, we desire. Lust is most commonly associated with unrestrained sexual desires. However, these obsessive desires could be thirst for power, knowledge, or worldly possessions, which fill our daily thoughts in an unhealthy manner – causing us to pursue such things no matter the cost – many times creating a wave of pain and consequence.

God wants to bring fulfilment into your life, yet temptations come to stir dissatisfaction. John Piper says that "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him". He longs to meet your needs and satisfy your soul...Seek Him as your provision and you won't be disappointed!

Early Thanksgiving Morning reflections...

This morning, I am simply thanking God for all of the wonderful gifts, treasures, and blessings in my life. He truly is the source of all our provision, and worthy of our gratitude.

I'm incredibly thankful for all those obvious things: family, friends, freedom, health, life, strength... but deeper still

Thankful for the goodness of God! Because He is good, I can trust Him in my circumstances. I can trust that He is working on my behalf, for His glory! Thankful that every good and perfect gift comes from Him and that all of my circumstances are filtered through His powerful hands! He is at work...so I must thank Him! ...but deeper still

Thankful for the grace of God! I am so thankful for the bloody cross and the empty tomb! "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15 His grace and mercy give us salvation and hope. We should never lose sight of His redemptive work. Scripture tells us to "Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day." If you've been redeemed, one of the greatest ways you can express gratitude to God is to TELL SOMEONE ABOUT HIM!

So today, enjoy family, freedom, friends, football, food...

indulge in turkey & tryptophan

but take time to reflect on the goodness and grace of God!HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thought you might enjoy this song...

Nichole Nordeman's Gratitude

Send some rain, would You send some rain?'
Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time

Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude

A lesson learned to hunger after You

That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead

And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between

What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace

Move our hearts to hear a single beat

Between alibis and enemies tonight

Or maybe not, not today

Peace might be another world away

And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to You

With gratitude

For lessons learned in how to trust in You

That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream

In abundance or in needAnd if You never grant us peace
But Jesus, would You please . . .

GRATITUDE IN THE

STORMS OF LIFE

It's been said that you are in one of three positions related to storms in life... You are either just coming out of one, in one now, or headed toward one. Sounds a bit pessimistic to believe that if you are not in a difficult time, you likely will encounter one soon. However, life is full of challenge. Storms are a very real part of our existence.In fact, Jesus promised that we will have many hardships in this life (John 16:33). And was He right!


As unpleasant as trials are, there's still much reason for giving thanks. In my last post, I shared three insights from Dr. Charles Stanley on adversity in the lives of believers... He suggested three provisions believers can count on during adversity: God's presence, a pathway through the trouble, and potential to grow. Today, Let's explore two more.

Protection. God doesn't necessarily keep believers from suffering or disappointment. Stopping the storms may be our goal, but from His point of view, the adversity may be necessary to mature us spiritually. But the Father offers protection by staying with us in the struggle. Once we receive Jesus as our Savior, we are promised that God indwells us and will never leave. What's more, we have assurance that nothing can separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38-39). So our ever-present God walks with us through the hardships, providing guidance and speaking truth into the situation.


Peace. While difficulties cause many people anxiety, believers have God's peace. This inner serenity does not depend on whether circumstances improve. Rather, it's a result of our relationship with Him. Our main focus shouldn't be on fixing the problem but on our dependence upon God. As we recognize the Lord's provision during trials, we can genuinely express gratitude. Doing so will enable us to fix our eyes on Him rather than on our circumstance. We often don't know what the purpose is for each ensuing trial, but we do know that our God is good and trustworthy.

Thank Him today that He is working out His will and His way in your life... Thank Him for His divine protection and peace! Thank Him for the promise of His presence and for giving us the potential to grow! THANK HIM!

Thank God for His Provision
Matthew 14:22-34

I've got good news and I've got some bad news...Which would you like first?

BAD NEWS - No one gets through life without trials! That's not a very pleasant thought, but it's a reality of life. That is the bad news.

GOOD NEWS - We serve a good God who provides beautifully—especially during the dark periods of life. Today, I want to talk to you about being thankful for His provision!

Matthew 14 tells of a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus provided for His disciples on that fretful night and He also provides for us today. Just as He met the needs of His disciples in that unsettling situation, He supplies our needs in time of difficulty. How does He do this? Pastor and Author, Charles Stanley offers the following three insights.

First, the Father gives Christians His presence and the promise that He will never leave (Heb. 13:5-6). This is, perhaps, the greatest gift because from this awareness, He offers a sense of comfort, courage, and confidence.

Second, the Lord blesses His children with a pathway through trouble. He is in total control of our storm and will use the trial for His purpose. We may not understand, but we can trust His hand to guide us and accomplish good. Sometimes the reason and benefit of a difficulty will becomes obvious, while in other cases, it may never be clear.

Third, the Father offers believers the potential to grow. Hardships are exercises in trust and times to learn more fully who God is and how great His power and love are.

No one enjoys trials. But remember to express gratitude for God's hand in your life and the ways in which He will use the adversity. Hardships are chances to trust your Creator and to know Him better. Of course, they are painful, but don't waste the opportunity to become all the Lord has planned for you.

This week, I want to say some things about gratitude... First, I want to kick off these posts by sharing a word from one of my favorite communicators, Dr. Tom Elliff. A Baptist statesman, pastor, denominational leader, and author, Dr. Elliff has deeply impacted my life through his writing and preaching. Tom Elliff served as the International Mission Board’s Senior Vice President for Spiritual Nurture and Church Relations. In addition to his work with the IMB, Tom pastored for forty-two years, during which time he served as the president of the SBC Pastors Conference and two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Most recently, he is the founder of Living in the Word Publications, a writing and speaking ministry focused on the ongoing necessity of spiritual awakening.

Dr. Elliff has blessed me, and I know that his words below will bless you!

TEN TRUTHS ABOUT THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is becoming a less recognized holiday with each passing year, most likely because it is devoid of the great marketing opportunities shared by Halloween and Christmas. Unless, of course, you are a grocer! This reality grieves me because, in a sense, Thanksgiving is perhaps the purest of holidays in terms of purpose and practice.

The annual expression of “thanksgiving” has been a distinctly American celebration for almost four hundred years, dating back to 1621. However, it was not until the Civil War period that Thanksgiving was designated as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln. From its inception, Thanksgiving was directed primarily to an acknowledgement of the providence of God.

In more recent years, the Thanksgiving focus has shifted from God to groceries, faith to friends, appreciation to athletics, and providence to parades. I’m not seeking to be curmudgeonous here, far from it. I love the get-togethers, groceries and good times as much as the next guy. But I am saddened by the fact that there is an obvious diminishment of focus on the ONE who makes life, health, warm friendships and a purposeful future possible.

Of course, we are only reflections of the reality of human nature and the insidious sin of ingratitude. When considering a “thanksgiving celebration” that took place over 2,000 years ago, not much has changed. I’d like to offer you ten thoughts on Thanksgiving, harvested from Luke’s account of the healing of ten lepers (Luke 17: 11-19).

1. Thanksgiving is a rare practice (11-15a). “While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back.” Only one of the ten turned back to offer gratitude! So not much has changed, has it.


2. Thanksgiving should be a “reflex response (15a). Notice that it was “when he saw that he had been healed” that the man turned back to offer gratitude. I am reminded of what one of Ronald Reagan’s caregivers said of him as they walked with him through the last, confusing painful days of his life on earth. “He never lost his gracious spirit. It was embedded in his character.”

3. Thanksgiving will bring you back to the Lord (15b-16a). The healed man “turned back” to his Healer. In most circles, everyone but God receives thanks for the good times, and no one but God receives blame for the bad times. Here is a man who knew the source of his healing, turned back, and fell at the feet of Jesus.


4. Thanksgiving is something you “do,” not just something you “feel,” or “think” (15-16). You cannot escape the action here. The grateful man turned back, glorified God with a loud voice, fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and gave thanks to Him. Thanksgiving, like love, is every bit as much an expression as an emotion.

5. Thanksgiving erupts from the heart of people who consider themselves truly undeserving (16). Luke considered it worth noting that this man who “fell on his face at Jesus’ feet” was a Samaritan. Most Jews considered the Samaritans as mongrels, or “half-breeds,” because they were the descendants of Jews who had earlier intermarried with their gentile captors. On more than one occasion, Jesus applauded the humility of the Samaritans. Humble people are grateful people, and God honors those who are humble.

6. Thanksgiving is one of the most quick and simple ways to get an audience with the Lord (17). As the psalmist reminds us, we “enter His gates with thanksgiving.” Immediately upon his return, we find the lone leper experiencing something the other nine totally missed, a conversation with the Messiah! Who among us doesn’t respond with interest toward the person with gratitude in his heart and on his lips.

7. “Thanksgivers” are easily identifiable, but so are the ungrateful (17-18). “Where are the other nine?” asks Jesus. Ouch! The Samaritan could only shrug his shoulders. After all, he could only express what was in his own heart. How sad that in this permanent record of the event, we remember the nine as readily as the one. How are you remembered?

8. Thanksgiving results in a satisfying sense of purpose (19). “Stand up and go your way,” said Jesus. It was His way of saying, “No need to linger now that you have expressed your hearts gratitude. Go show yourself to the priest, then run home to your family and friends and tell them about both your cure, and our conversation!” Until thanksgiving is expressed, you will live life with no sense of closure. There is always something yet to be said and done.

9. Thanksgiving is the path to greater understanding (19). This one grateful, healed leper received an insight and clarification that the other nine totally missed. His healing was the result of his faith in Christ! “Your faith has made you well,” said Jesus. Of all ten, here was one man who had the true message. His gratitude had brought him to school at the Master’s feet. All things come by faith!

10. As a child of God, if you can do just one thing…thank Him! You will probably have a lot on your plate this Thanksgiving, both literally and figuratively! So why not begin by coming to the feet of Jesus and expressing gratitude. Right now! Just fall at His feet and tell Him of your love and gratitude. Be specific! Then listen for His response. Let your heart of gratitude to God be your most evident expression this Thanksgiving.

As someone has said, “Gratitude is your heart’s memory.”

Let’s not forget to be grateful!

Rejoice evermore!

Tom Elliff

A new chapter begins...

Yesterday marked a unique turn in our lives and ministry. Our family is stepping out in faith and prayerfully searching for what comes next.

Back in September, I preached in view of a call to become the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Olive Branch. The church extended a call, but circumstances surrounding the call led us to decline. We sensed our ministry coming to a close there at FBCOB and determined that it was time to move forward.

I cannot express how wonderful so much of the experience of serving in Olive Branch has been. I’ve had the privilege of leading out in mission opportunities, seeing people come to Christ and helping them grow in Christ! Equipping people to faithfully follow Jesus Christ and casting a courageous vision to impact the world has been my consuming passion!

My labor of love has also included teaching a wonderful Sunday School Class that has shared life together! For the past two years this amazing group has explored a variety of topics from verse by verse studies of books of the Bible, marriage and parenting issues to Heaven! We’ve prayed, laughed, cried, and grown together. They have been a true faith family!

It is with a deep sense of sadness that we’re saying goodbye. Yet as Stephanie and I have prayerfully considered our place in ministry and recognized that it was time for us to move forward... we do so with confidence!


My new email address is shanberry@me.com
and Stephanie can be reached at hanberrys5@yahoo.com


Below is the letter I shared with the church:

November 14, 2010

Dear Church Family,

“The steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.” Reading this passage from Psalm 37 reminds me that my life is not my own. I belong to God. Stephanie and our children belong to God. We’ve committed our individual lives and our family to His calling and purpose. We’ve resolved to travel together down the path that He has set before us. We’ve entrusted our steps to Him.

It was God’s leading that brought us to Olive Branch in December of 2007. It was His plan for us to serve and minister through First Baptist Church. He has given us a heart for this community and a love for our faith family. His blessings have been abundant and evident, and I’m convinced that our days here have been ordained by the Lord.

That’s why today is so difficult. Through prayer and Godly counsel we are convinced that God is asking us to travel down a new path and our deepest desire is to honor Him by following His lead! The difficulty comes, not in saying yes to the Lord, but in saying goodbye to all of you. In our hearts we never thought this day would come, yet God’s Word tells us in Proverbs 16 that “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

Today, November 14, 2010, I am officially resigning as your Associate Pastor for Education.
Please hear these words from the bottom of our hearts, we love you and will be praying for God’s richest blessings in your lives and in the life of this church. Also, be reminded of this... our friendship in Christ is not merely lifelong, but eternal! We will be united again, never to be parted, in God’s presence. Our labors here and now are temporary and we work must all work with diligence and urgency until our faith becomes sight.

God directs our steps and promises not to leave us nor forsake us. I’m confident that if God is leading us on to something new and wonderful then the same is true for FBCOB. Just as God is preparing to bless Stephanie and I with a new work, He is preparing to bless this church with a new season. May God richly bless this church to His Glory as you honor Him in thought, word, and action.

Respectfully submitted,





Dr. L. Scott Hanberry

SURVIVING
FRIENDLY
FIRE

Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. Friendly fire happens on the battlefield...it happens in marriages...it happens in the Church...it happens in life. Wounds are sometimes caused by trusted friends and allies.

Churches are full of hurting and wounded people. Tragically, many of them have been hurt not by enemies but by friends or fellow believers. I would highly recommend a book by Ron Dunn, entitled Surviving Friendly Fire. It will help you respond in a God-honoring way!

Oh, and here's an example of what friendly fire looks like.

High School Touchdown Broken Up By Teammates @ Yahoo! Video

^{LOVING OTHERS}

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:38-48

DOXOLOGY

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

THE CHURCH AWAKENING
A WAKE UP CALL FOR THE CHURCH!

Erosion happens quietly...slowly... barely noticed.

PHYSICAL EROSION -slowly our habits of exercise are replaced with more docile patterns of life. Fast-foods meet the demands of fast lives and nutrition gives way to convenience. We don't fall out of shape, we drift there. We become consumed with other things and slowly move out of shape.

SPIRITUAL EROSION - slowly our habits of spiritual formation (prayer, time in the Word, meditation, Scripture memorization) are replaced with other pursuits. We sometimes adopt the attitude that we "already know" these things, so further study isn't necessary.

CHURCH EROSION - The culmination of spiritual erosion in the life of individuals is church erosion! Believers become by-standers, saints become spectators, Christians become consumers! And tragically, church leaders placate this culture religious retail. Sermons move away from foundational doctrinal teaching and bend toward advice for marriage, parenting, or a happy life. We must continually go back to where we started, The New Testament Church, and look closely at where we currently are to recognize the course we're on. My how we've drifted. My how we've become consumed with other things. Otherwise, without close inspection, we wake up and found ourselves off course.

The safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope soft underfoot without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. The long, dull monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil...
C.S. Lewis in "The Screwtape Letters"

I want to encourage you to listen to the message series called, "The Church Awakening" on insight for living. The message series has challenged and encouraged me regarding the church! These messages aired beginning on October 22nd with a message entitled, "The Church: Let's Start Here"

There are 9 individual messages in this series:

1. The Church: Let’s Start Here
2. Challenges, Struggles, Solutions, Priorities
3. Distinctives of a Contagious Church
4. Worship: A Commitment . . . Not a War, Part One
5. Worship: A Commitment . . . Not a War, Part Two
6. What Must the Church Realize?
7. How Should the Church React?
8. The Church on a Long Drift
9. It’s Time to “Restore the Years”

The Church Awakening

By Chuck Swindoll

Let's enter an imaginary time tunnel and journey back about twenty centuries. As we do, remember that in the place we find ourselves there is no United States of America. The modern civilizations of Europe, Australia, and Canada—as well as other contemporary cultures—do not exist. Even the nation of Israel looks completely different. In the first century, there are no Christian traditions, and we certainly find no denominations or churches. Where we're imagining ourselves standing, no one has even heard the word church before. And the Jewish culture of the day exists in the context of a pagan Roman government that dominates the land of Israel. On top of all that, the official religious leaders of the day are proud, self-serving, and corrupt. It was in such an environment that "the church" began.

Whenever we want to understand a topic or term, such as church, we should begin at the passage of primary reference. It helps to ask, where did the word first appear, and in what context was it used? Surprisingly, the first mention in the New Testament of the word church wasn't from the pen of the apostle Paul. Peter didn't coin the term, nor did any of the other apostles. It was Jesus.
Matthew describes the scene for us. He writes of the time Jesus took His disciples up north into the Gentile area of Caesarea Philippi. While there, the Lord asks His men what the public is saying about His identity:

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:13–16)

The culture around Jesus viewed Him as nothing more than a great man. But Peter voiced a different opinion. Speaking for the disciples as a whole, Peter was never more accurate: "You are the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One . . . the Son of the living God." Peter nailed it! At that point in the discussion, Jesus changed the dialogue to a monologue and commended Peter for his statement:

Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. (Matthew 16:17–18)

In commending Simon Peter for his spiritual insight about who Jesus was, the Lord unveiled even more truth about what He would do. In essence, Jesus told Peter, "Your words about Me are true. In fact, they are a foundational statement—like a rock. And on this rocklike declaration I will build My church." He also promised that the gates of Hades would not erode it or erase it. The church would have staying power. Against all odds, it would prevail. Not even the adversary would overpower it. I will build My church…

…When Matthew recorded Jesus' word for "church"—the first mention of that term in the Bible—he chose the Greek word ekklesia. It’s a compound word, from ek, meaning "out, from," and kaleo, meaning "to call." It refers to those who have been "called out" from among others. The term more accurately reflects an assembly of people defined by a distinct purpose. The word was in use hundreds of years before Jesus was born, but by adding the word My to the term, Jesus revealed that He would build His own ekklesia—a people defined by faith in the truth that Peter had just revealed: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." We now call this unique assembly over which Jesus serves as Head "the church." How valuable it is to return to the origin of this term and make a serious examination of its purpose!

Why study the origin of church? Because it's there we see God's intention. Our understanding and application of what church should be will erode if we don't examine and keep in mind its Founder and its foundation.


This is an excerpt from THE CHURCH AWAKENING by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2010 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted with permission from FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God

as a workman who does not need to be ashamed,
accurately handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

THEOLOGY ON THE WEB

Throughout my ministry, God has given me a heart for equipping others. I love to match needs with resources and I love to see those resources make a difference in lives and ministries! My time with LifeWay Christian Resources as Manager of the NOBTS Campus Bookstore shaped that passion! 

That said, I’d love to share a great resource with you... Deo Gloria Trust is a UK based organization who’s mission is to “Promote the Good News about Jesus Christ and encouraging Christians to share it with others!”

One of their resources is a Facebook group called “Theology on the Web”." This ministry exists to make high quality theological material available free-of-charge throughout the world, thus providing Bible teachers and Pastors with the training they need to spread the Gospel in their countries.

This is achieved by:

~ Providing detailed bibliographies for Seminary level students and ministers.

~ Reprinting, in co-operation with authors and publishers, rare and out-of-print theology books and articles.

~ Providing, with the help of volunteers, translations of theological articles in a number of languages. 


~ Providing a single cross-linked resource made up of the following websites:

Biblical Studies
Theological Studies
Early Church
Medieval Church
Biblical Archaeology

Hope these help! Blessings!

What is the Gospel?
GOOD NEWS!

The gospel is the singularly most important communication of God to man. In Jesus, who is God the Son, we have the revelation of God’s love and sacrifice that saves us from God's righteous judgment upon sinners.

If you are not a Christian and want to know how to be forgiven of your sins and follow Christ, or are just curious to know what the Christian gospel is, then this is for you.

The Bible tells us what the gospel is in 1 Cor. 15:1-4,

Now I make known to you brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..."

The Bible says that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23). This means that we have all offended God. We have all broken His law. Therefore, we are guilty of having sinned. Because of this, we are separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), are dead in our sins (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:3), cannot please God (Rom. 3:10-11), and will suffer damnation (2 Thess. 1:9). The only way to escape this judgment is by receiving Christ, by trusting in what Jesus did on the cross (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:24).

Since we are sinners, we are incapable of removing the guilt of our sinfulness through our own efforts. Gal. 2:21 says, "...if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." The Law is the do’s and don’t’s of moral behavior. In other words, we can’t become righteous by what we do. Why? Because we are dead in our sins (Eph. 2:3).

This means that since we cannot remove our own sins, God must do it.

Jesus, who is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 8:58; Col. 2:9), bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24). He died in our place. He paid the penalty of breaking the Law of God that should have fallen upon us. He satisfied the law of God the Father by dying on the cross.

It is only through Jesus that we can escape the penalty that God will execute upon all who have broken his holy and perfect law. Do you want to be saved from the righteous judgment of God? If so, if you want to become a Christian and follow God, then you must realize that you have sinned against God, and are under his judgment. You must look to Jesus who died on the cross and trust what he did in order for you to be forgiven of your sentence and be saved from the judgment of God. This is accomplished by faith alone in what Jesus has done. You cannot add any human works to what Jesus has done.

First, count the cost

Jesus said, "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28). Jesus tells us to count the cost. The cost of becoming a Christian can be quite high sometimes. In some parts of the world it can cost you your life. Here in America, it is not nearly as dangerous. Nevertheless, if you become a Christian God will take it very seriously. He will work in your heart and in your life to change you and make you more like him. Sometimes this is an easy journey and other times it can be difficult. But, this is what it means to become a Christian - to have God work in your life and to continue to work in your life after you have been saved.

Receive Christ

If you desire to receive Christ we offer the following prayer as an example. It is not a formula, but it is a representation of what it means to trust in Christ.

"Lord Jesus. I come to you and confess that I am a sinner, that I have lied, thought evil in my heart, and broken your word. Please forgive me of my sins. I trust in what you have done on the cross and I receive you. Please cleanse me of my sin and be the Lord of my life. I trust you completely for the forgiveness of my sins and put no trust in my own efforts of righteousness. Lord Jesus, please save me."

If you've just prayed this prayer with sincerity, Congratulations! Welcome to the family of God! Now tell others about your commitment to Jesus. The Bible says, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).

This article by Matt Slick is reprinted from the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry ________________________

List of some scriptures referenced above:

• Isaiah 59:2, "Your sins have caused a separation between you and your God...."
• John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
• John 8:58, "Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
• John 14:6, "Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
• Acts 4:12, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
• Romans 3:10-11, "as it is written,’ There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God...’"
• Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
• Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
• Romans 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
• Ephesians 2:3, "Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."
• Colossians 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,"
• 2 Thess. 1:9, "And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
• 1 Pet. 2:24, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."

THE LOCAL CHURCH
IS THE
HOPE OF THE WORLD!

A pastor friend recently challenged me to begin writing more frequently, so I’ve started blogging again. Not too consistently, I might add... but its picking up. It’s been a wonderful exercise in discipline and has helped me clarify thoughts. I felt like a natural place to start would be to interact with one of the books I have recently read, so I started blogging about Chuck Swindoll’s most current book, The Church Awakening. It has been a unique experience, in part because of the content of the book.

While the ultimate aim of the book is to offer some encouragement, inspiration, and focus for the church, the first chapters don’t start out that way! Swindoll points out the drift that has occurred in the church. He chides the leaders of today’s church for allowing spiritual erosion and decay. He paints a dismal picture of the problems of the modern church.

As I’ve blogged day by day, I noticed a trend... NEGATIVITY! I’m working through these early chapters which are primarily rebuke! But obviously, casting stones is not Swindoll’s ultimate aim, and it’s certainly not mine.

The book is focused on reestablishing a life-altering church with Christ as Lord and Master. The publisher’s review calls it “Illuminating and empowering” and tauts that “this volume will ignite a revolution in the way Christians “do church” for years to come.”

While I still have several days worth of blogs that cover the problems and challenges before getting to the opportunities and solutions... I wanted to take a small hiatus from that line of thought and focus on the beauty of the church... Christ’s Church!



Years ago, while attending a conference at Willow Creek Community Church, I heard Pastor Bill Hybels say, “The local church is the hope of the world.” With great passion and conviction, he inspired the attendees to give themselves for the church!

In His book Courageous Leadership, Hybels comments “There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused. It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, the disillusioned. It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed, and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world. Whatever the capacity for human suffering, the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness.
Still to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp. No other organization on earth is like the church. Nothing even comes close.” ~Hybels, Courageous Leadership.

May we be reminded that Jesus owns the church...He bought it with His own blood. He calls it His Bride, His Body! May we be inspired to follow the Lord in humble, holy obedience and BE the church that He intended!

and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:27

On Sunday, our small group began a study of Larry Osborne's 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. Amazing book that will be helpful in dispelling Sunday School myths that might just be undermining your faith! Here is a sample chapter...

FAITH CAN FIX ANYTHING

I’ll never forget the day my wife and I stopped by the local hospital for what we knew would be our last visit with her friend Susan.

For three years, Susan had put up a valiant fight against a disease that was now in its last stages. Her labored breathing, gaunt figure, and deep-set eyes made it painfully obvious that she would not be around much longer.

As we sat by her bed, wondering what to say and how to pray, I was stumped. (I’m a pastor and I’m supposed to know what to say in these situations.) But before I could say anything profound—or even trite—our awkward silence was broken by the entrance of Susan’s husband, John, into the room.

We exchanged hugs and a quick greeting. Then John began to talk. He spoke of the plans he and Susan had for the future. Not in a regretful reflection of what could have been, but with a powerful conviction of what was yet to be.

It was weird.

Susan lay there barely cognizant, struggling for each breath, seemingly hours from death. Yet her husband stood inches away talking about future vacations, a kitchen remodel, and their retirement years as if the four of us were hanging out at a backyard barbeque.

While John and Susan had often spoken of their confidence in God’s ability to heal, this was different. He wasn’t talking about an assurance that she could be healed. He was describing his absolute certainty that she would be healed. He didn’t have an ounce of doubt. It was already a done deal.

Then he told us what had happened. That morning, while in prayer for Susan’s healing, he’d been overcome with a powerful sense of God’s presence and a deep conviction that God had answered his prayer. As he continued to pray, biblical passages proclaiming God’s protection and care flooded his mind. He felt as if God had physically reached down and touched him, whispering in his ear, “I’ve heard you. She’ll be okay.”

Brimming with confidence, he figured he’d arrived at the epitome of faith because he had absolute assurance of what he hoped for and complete certainty of what he had not yet seen.1He was as giddy as a prospector who’d just tapped into the mother lode.

I didn’t know what to say. Could it be that God was up to something big? Were we about to witness a miracle? Was John’s faith going to pull her back from the jaws of death?

I wasn’t so sure.

He was absolutely certain.

That night she breathed her last breath.

John was devastated. For years after Susan’s death, he limped along spiritually, disillusioned with God, prayer, and the impotence of faith.

But his spiritual meltdown had nothing to do with God letting him down. It had nothing to do with the promises of the Bible being hollow. It was the predictable result of having placed his trust in the fool’s gold of faith’s best known and most widely believed spiritual urban legend: the myth that if we have enough faith, we can do or fix anything.

Unfortunately, John’s concept of faith (what it was and how it worked) didn’t come from the Word of God; it came from the word on the street. He had banked on a set of assumptions and beliefs that simply weren’t true. And they had let him down.

The Word on the Street
The word on the street is that faith is a potent mixture of intellectual and emotional self-control that when properly harnessed can literally change outcomes through positive thinking and clear visualization.

It’s what successful people tout as the key to their achievements, survivors of great tragedies cite as the source of their endurance, televangelists credit with healing power, and motivational speakers make a sweet living espousing.

It’s why, when our team is five runs down with two outs in the ninth inning, we’re not supposed to think negatively. Instead, we’re supposed to hang tough, visualize a big inning. Because as long as we really believe we can win, there is a good chance we will.

This kind of hopeful thinking is more about faith in faith than faith in God. Yet it’s what many of us have been taught to believe God wants from us when we’re confronted with insurmountable odds.

Same with a medical crisis. Did the tests come back showing the cancer has metastasized? Don’t panic. It can be beat. Just think positively.

Or perhaps your son is a five-foot, two-inch freshman with dreams of playing in the NBA. Whatever you do, don’t discourage him. Who knows? It could happen. After all, nothing is impossible as long as he pursues his dreams with hard work and unwavering faith.

Unfortunately, this kind of hopeful thinking has nothing in common with what the Bible calls faith. It’s more about faith in faith than faith in God. Yet it’s what many of us have been taught to believe God wants from us when we’re confronted with insurmountable odds.

We’ve been told that for those who can muster it up, an all doubts-removed, count-it-as-done faith has the power to fix anything. It’s God’s great cure-all, a magic potion.

In fact, in some Christian circles, this kind of faith is said to have the power to actually manipulate the hand of God. I recently heard a TV preacher claim that God has to answer prayers of unwavering faith no matter what we ask for. As long as we have no doubt, he has no choice. It’s a law of the universe. Apparently it even trumps God’s sovereignty.

Though I’d hate to be the one to tell him so.

How the English Language Mucks Things Up
While faith is a concept deeply rooted in the Christian Scriptures, most of our modern ideas about it aren’t. Much of the blame can be placed on the way the original manuscripts of the New Testament have been translated into English.

It’s not that the translators are unskilled or deceptive. It’s simply that translating anything from one language to another is a difficult task, burdened by all the ancillary meanings and uses found in one language but not another.

A quick comparison of how we use the words faith, belief, and trust in modern-day English with how they were originally used in the Greek language of the New Testament can be eye opening. Let’s take a look to see what I mean.

Faith

For most of us, the word faith conjures up an image of confidence. It’s the opposite of fear and doubt. It’s often defined by our feelings as much as by anything else. That’s why most teaching on faith tends to focus on eradicating all fear, doubt, and negative thoughts. It’s also why “You gotta have faith” has come to mean “Think positively.”

Belief

On the other hand, the word belief usually conjures up an image of intellectual assent. We say we believe in something as long as we think that it’s probably true. And since our beliefs are thought to exist primarily between our ears, we’re not particularly puzzled when people claim to believe in something—say UFOs, Bigfoot, Darwinian evolution, creationism, even Jesus—but live as if they don’t. For most of us, beliefs are intellectual. Acting upon them is optional.

You can see this definition of belief in the way many of us approach evangelism. We tell the Jesus story to people and then ask them if they believe it. Those who say yes are immediately assured that they’re headed for heaven. After all, they’re “believers.” It doesn’t seem to matter that the Bible adds quite a few qualifiers beyond mere mental assent.2

Trust

In contrast to our use of faith and belief, when we use the word trust it almost always carries an assumption that there will be some sort of corresponding action. If we trust a person, it’s supposed to show up in our response. For instance, if the parent of a teenage girl says, “I trust you,” but won’t let her out of the house, we’d think that parent was speaking nonsense. There’s no question the daughter would.

Clearly, each of these three words carries a distinctly different meaning in the English language. But to the surprise of most Christians, almost every time we find one of these three words in our English New Testaments, each is a translation of the exact same Greek root word.3

That means that the Bible knows nothing of the sharp distinctions we make between faith, belief, and trust. Biblically, they not only overlap, but they are practically synonymous. To the writers of Scripture, our modern distinctions between faith, belief, and trust would seem quite strange and forced.

So, What Kind of Faith Does God Want?

The kind of faith the Bible advocates and God wants from us has far more to do with our actions than our feelings. In fact, biblical faith is so closely tied to actions of obedience that the Bible ridicules the very idea of someone claiming to have faith without acting upon it.4

God doesn’t care if we’ve mastered the art of positive thinking. He’s not impressed by the mental gymnastics of visualization. He doesn’t even insist that we eradicate all doubts and fears. In fact, more than once, he’s answered the prayers of people whose “faith” was so weak that when God said yes, they didn’t believe it.

When the first response to an answered prayer is shock and amazement, the people who offered that prayer certainly don’t fit the standard definition of having faith. Yet God answered anyway because their prayers fit his definition of faith. Their simple act of praying was an act of faith—they trusted God enough to do what he commanded, even though they were certain it wouldn’t work.

To better understand what biblical faith is and how it works, let’s take a look at the most famous faith passage in the Bible: Hebrews 11. Often called God’s Hall of Fame, it offers a lengthy list of examples, each one showing what God-pleasing faith looks like and what it produced.

The writer of Hebrews starts with Adam’s son Abel, then moves on to Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, laying out a series of vignettes that describe their steps of faith and the great victories that followed.

Then, almost as if he is running out of steam (or his audience is running out of attention), the writer adds twelve more examples. But this time he offers only a name or a cryptic reference to the great victories their faith accomplished.

It’s an inspiring list. At first glance it seems to support the popular notion that faith rightly applied can conquer anything. It tells of kingdoms won, lions muzzled, flames quenched, weaknesses turned to strength, enemies routed, the dead raised. All in all, a pretty impressive résumé.

But the writer doesn’t stop there. He goes on.

But I warn you. What he said might mess with your head. It certainly messed with mine. After reciting a litany of victories, he suddenly switches gears and changes direction. Now he speaks of people whose faith led them down a different path—folks who were tortured, jeered, flogged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, and put to death by the sword. He ends with a reminder that still others were rewarded with financial destitution, persecution, and mistreatment.

Then he writes these words: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.”6 In other words, these weren’t the faith rejects, the losers, the ones who couldn’t get it right. These were men and women whose faith was applauded by God. Yet their faith didn’t fix anything.

In some cases it made matters worse.

Whoa!

I guarantee you that no one taught my kids this side of faith in Sunday school. Imagine if they did. “Okay, children, today we’re going to learn how trusting and obeying God might get you torn in two, thrown into jail, hated by your friends, and force you to drive an old beater the rest of your life.”

That would thin the herd. It would certainly rile a few parents.

But it’s essentially what the Bible says that faith (at least the kind of faith that God commends) might do. It may lead us to victory. It may lead us to prison. Which it will be is his call—not ours.

Why Bother?

That raises an important question. If faith is primarily about trusting God enough to do what he says, and yet it won’t fix everything and sometimes will make matters worse, why bother?

One reason stands out above all others. It’s what God wants from us. He says so himself: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Now, it seems to me that if God is really God, and not just some sort of mystical force, cosmic consultant, or favorite uncle in the sky, then knowing what he wants and doing it is a pretty important thing to pay attention to. Few of us would mess with our boss’s stated preferences. What kind of fool messes with God’s?

A thousand years from now, all the things we try so hard to fix with our positive thinking, visualization, and drive-out-all-doubt prayers won’t matter. The only thing that will matter is our awesome future and our face-to-face relationship with God.

Another reason to live by faith (even if it can’t fix all the problems we face) is that it does promise to fix our biggest problem and our biggest dilemma. What do we say and do when we stand before a holy and perfect God who knows every one of our secrets and all of our sins?

Honest now—what’s to keep us from becoming toast?

Frankly, nothing.

But that’s where the real fix-it power of biblical faith kicks in. Jesus promised that all who believe in him (remember that includes trusting him enough to actually follow and do what he says) will receive forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. A thousand years from now, all the things we try so hard to fix with our positive thinking, visualization, and drive-out-all-doubt prayers won’t matter. They’ll be but a distant memory, if they can be remembered at all. The only thing that will matter is our awesome future and our face-to-face relationship with God.

God’s GPS System

There’s one more benefit to a proper understanding of biblical faith. Biblical faith gives us something that all the positive thinking and visualization in the world can’t provide. It gives us a life map, something we can depend on to always take us exactly where God wants us to go.

Admittedly, it’s not always an easy map to follow. It takes time, experience, and an occasional leap into the dark to master. It can be frustrating—and scary at times. But in the end, for those who are led by it, it’s a trusty guide, guaranteed to always take us where we need to be.

In many ways the adventure of learning to live by biblical faith is a lot like my love/hate relationship with the mapping software on my GPS unit. Let me explain.

I’m a geographical moron. My wife has no idea how I get home after traveling to speak somewhere. She’s always surprised to see me walk through the front door.

My problem is twofold. First, I’m often in two places at once, mentally. I call it multitasking. My family and friends call it something else. But the end result is that I can be completely oblivious to my surroundings. And when that happens, I literally don’t know where I am. I may think I do, but I don’t, mainly because I haven’t been paying attention.

My second problem is an absolute lack of an internal sense of direction. Without the Pacific Ocean and the mountains as bench-marks, I have no idea which direction is north, south, east, or west. That means that along with not knowing where I am, I often don’t know where I’m heading.

Put those two together and you have a recipe for search-and-rescue. But fortunately (or so you would think), I live in a day when GPS is within reach of the common man.

Yet, despite the promise that an affordable GPS unit has to offer, there is one frustrating problem. The pesky voice in my Garmin often tells me to turn the wrong way.

My first response is always a quick flash of annoyance at the company that makes the mapping software. I wonder why they can’t get it right. I know there are lots of streets they have to include, but come on. That’s what I paid for. And I’m not talking about thinking I should turn left when it says to turn right. I’m talking about those times when I know I should turn left.

To make matters worse, as I make the turn that I know I should make, the little lady in the box starts nagging me. In a mildly disgusted tone, she repeats over and over, “Recalculating. Recalculating.”

Faith is not a skill we master. It’s not an impenetrable shield that protects us from life’s hardships and trials. It’s not a magic potion that removes every mess. It’s a map we follow.

It’s enough to make me reach over to hit the Off button. But before I do, I’m usually struck with a haunting realization. I’ve been certain I was right before—but somehow ended up wrong. And despite the fact that my GPS sometimes seems unaware of a street or two and occasionally takes me on a circuitous route, it’s always found a way to get me where I want to go.

But doggone it, this time I know I’m right. I’m absolutely certain. I don’t care how many times she spouts off, “Recalculating.” She’s wrong.

So, what do I do?

This is, in essence, a crisis of faith. I have a choice to make. Will I place my trust in my own sense of direction, knowing that this time my not-so-trusty GPS has gotten it all wrong? Or will I place my faith in the little box and turn right, despite my certainty that it’s directing me far from where I want to go?

You probably know the answer. Based on my past experiences, I’ve learned to shrug my shoulders and do what the unit says. So I reluctantly make a turn that makes no sense tome. As I do, my pulse quickens and my stomach churns. My mind fills with images of speaking engagements lost and flights missed.

I turn anyway.

And that’s the reason that I always surprise my wife when I walk in the front door. Somehow east magically turns into west and the “wrong” route gets me there anyway.

Go figure.
Once I arrive at my destination, it really doesn’t matter what doubts or concerns I had along the way. As long as I follow the directions or quickly get back on track after a little “recalculating,” I always end up where I need to be.

That’s exactly how biblical faith works. When rightly understood and applied, it doesn’t matter how many doubts we have. It doesn’t even matter if we’re convinced that all is lost. Ultimately all that matters is whether we have enough faith (maybe just a mustard seed’s worth) to follow God’s instructions. Those who do, get where they’re supposed to go. Those who don’t, end up lost somewhere far from home.


Faith is not a skill we master. It’s not an impenetrable shield that protects us from life’s hardships and trials. It’s not a magic potion that removes every mess. It’s a map we follow.

It’s designed to guide us on a path called righteousness. Along the way, it doesn’t promise to fix every flat tire. It won’t reroute us around every traffic jam. It won’t even stop the road rage of the crazy guy we cut off at the merge.

But it will take us exactly where God wants us to go. And isn’t that where we want to be?

CAN FAITH FIX ANYTHING?

They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. HEBREWS 11:37–40

Title: Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe
Author: Larry Osborne
Pages: 224
Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 14, 2009)
Genre: Non-Fiction / Christian Living
Here's a review of the book.

Choose Your
Rut Carefully

Over the years, I have amassed a random collection sermon fodder on my computer in the form of ponderable questions, goofy jokes & funny pictures. Many of those pictures are of road signs. To the annoyance of friends and family alike, I have stopped the car in the most inconvenient places to get a snapshot of a random sign...It’s a quirky hobby, I know, but I have fun with it.

Road signs can tell us a lot...

Like the one welcoming you to Kettle Falls, Washington, the home of “1255 friendly people and one grouch.”



After Hurricane Gustav hit the Louisiana coast, I took a mission team down to help with cleanup efforts. There was a petrol shortage, so when you could find fuel, you stopped. I enjoyed taking a picture of our team in front of a service station's sign that proudly proclaimed, “WE’VE GOT GAS!”



Here’s a warning sign found along Oregon’s winding coast, “Emergency stopping only. Whale watching is not an emergency. Keep driving.” 

One of my favorite road signs is not one that I’ve seen, but I have read about! Pastor Ray Stedman described this sign as he crossed the border into Alaska:

“Choose your rut carefully.
You’ll be in it for the next two hundred miles.”

The same can be said about life and for many a church. Obviously, the preference is to avoid the ruts altogether...but sometimes we find ourselves there. Your choices will lead you to a destination... Many times, we make just enough conscious decision about our lives to find a relatively comfortable place and then go on autopilot... We don't really live, we just exist in a rut.

Churches are no different. Over the next few chapters of The Church Awakening, Swindoll offers insight into the enemy’s strategies for keeping the church distracted, off-track, and in a rut. I hope to walk through these insights with you, and we’ll also look at the early church as an inspired example for our success!

Before we get to those remedies, let's think a bit more about the challenges we face.

Swindoll’s assessment of the state of affairs in today’s church includes a warning of several distinct problems:

• uncertainty of purpose
• blurred vision
• 
fuzzy priorities

• compromised values
• 
replacing volunteerism with professionalism

The church can succumb to these subtleties and find itself painfully dysfunctional - off track and stuck in a rut. The church was never meant to be a “professional organization.” We’ll let the world have all of those. The church is not a slick, efficient corporation with a cross stuck on its roof. It is a ministry. 
We do not look to the government for support or to the state for direction.
We do not look to Wall Street for financial suggestions. We have one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not rely on any earthly organization or some rich individual to sustain the ministry. The church is a spiritual entity, built up and supported by its Founder, Jesus, who promised to build His church. (29)

John Piper, in his book Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, says that “We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Our business is...to deny ourselves and take up a blood-spattered cross daily.” (Luke 9:23)

Apologia pro Morta Sua

Dr. Hershael York

Powerful message by Dr. York delivered in the Sept. 30, 2010 Chapel service at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky.

HIDDEN FAULTS

Ray Stedman has long been one of my favorite expositors... Today's devotional from his archived library was a great reminder for us that God's process of working in our lives is often different than what we might expect. We pray for one thing.. and find ourselves shocked when God answers it, but answers in a way that is totally foreign to our expectation. My prayer for you, and for me today is that we would be open to allow God to work in our lives to transform us...in whatever ways He chooses.

Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression (Psalm 19:12b-13).

Forgive my hidden faults. Is that your prayer? Do you know what will happen when you pray that way? You might think that God will take a sponge and wipe around inside you so you will not even know what those hidden faults were. But God does not do that. His way of dealing with hidden faults is either to send somebody to point them out to you or to bring them out through some circumstance in which you are suddenly confronted with what you have done or said and you find that it is ugly and you do not like it. That is the way God cleanses us from hidden faults. He opens up the secret places.

Usually he does it through other people because, as God well knows, we cannot see ourselves, but other people can see us. These faults are hidden to us but not to others. They see them very plainly. And we can see their hidden faults better than they can. You know that you can see the faults of somebody you are thinking about right now better than that person can. You say, I don't see how that person can be so blind. Someone is thinking that very same way about you. That is why it is always proper to say, Lord, cleanse me from hidden faults. Help me to see myself through the eyes of a friend who loves me enough to tell me the truth.

And then, Keep me from willful sins. Willful sins are those in which you are confident that you have what it takes to do what God wants. Self-confidence is presumption. God never asks us to do anything on that basis. If we depend upon ourselves, we are acting presumptuously, and any activity that stems from self-confidence is a presumptuous sin. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For me to act as though there is anything that I can contribute is to be guilty of this kind of sin. The cure for this is dependence upon the activity of God in you as a believer. So David is praying, Lord, let me realize that without You I can do nothing. Help me to depend upon You to work through me. Then I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

Lord You speak to me through the world You have made and the Word You have spoken. Give me a teachable heart.

Life Application: What are two crucial areas for our lives that need exposure? Are we open to praying about them and to allowing God to answer our prayers in His way?