Praying in the Face of the Pandemic

I wanted to share with you some thoughts from the scriptures to encourage you today. We are not even 24 hours into the "stay at home" order issued by our governor and I'm certain the confinement, though necessary, is already getting old.

While Psalm 91 is definitely a Psalm that is applicable to our current situation, I want to point you to one of my favorite passages in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 20:1-23. 

The passage opens with "after this." Of course, you have to read what was going on in 2 Chronicles 19:4-11 to get the full sense of what the "after this" is really all about. Essentially, Jehoshaphat, being a king who wanted to serve and honor God,  appointed judges throughout the land who would judge with righteous judgment. After making this change, both in service to God and to the people of his kingdom, Jehoshaphat was confronted by the unexpected. Three nations had gathered to come in and destroy Jehoshaphat and the southern Kingdom of Judah. 

The response of Jehoshaphat is seen In the text in chapter 20 and I think will help us understand what our response needs to be in the face of the unexpected. 

He Prayed 

What was his motivation for prayer? Two things:

• Fear - verse 3 says that Jehoshaphat was "alarmed" or also translated "fearful." This was not a fear that overtook him or overpowered him. He didn't allow fear to paralyze him. At that moment some things still hadn't come into view, specifically, the word of God that would be delivered to him later in this passage to encourage both Jehoshaphat and the people.

• Faith - Yes, it sounds contradictory that both fear and faith can be the motivators to pray, but the momentary fear he felt at the beginning of his trial moved him to pray in faith. In fact, his prayer, while it is a prayer for help, had very little to do with addressing his own feeling of fear and more to do with what God had done in the past, as well as trusting God for a future that was still unknown. 

Briefly, his prayer is one of the great prayers in the Bible for a few reasons:

• The beginning of his prayer focuses on how great and awesome God is.
• He is fully aware of the word that God gave in the past to preserve the very nations that are now coming to war against them.
• He trusts that God's word was true back then and therefore must be true today.
• He makes one of the greatest statements of faith when he says, "we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." Faith does not ignore the problem, it simply focuses more sharply on the One who is the answer. 

We, our leaders, our scientists, and the medical community may not have an answer to the pandemic we are faced with right now in our world, but I want to leave you with this final word of encouragement to pray for an answer. Pray that God will stem the tide of sickness in our world. Pray that you will honor Him with your life in spite of the pain and suffering you see around you. 

What is it...?

As my wife and I were talking today about some of the news events we have read about recently, and being the parents of two girls growing up in a world very different from the one we grew up knowing, we found ourselves discussing this question: What is it that causes such anger that a 14 year old will kill one of his teachers? What is it that causes a 12 year old to take weapons into a school? What is it that causes another 14 year old to open fire at a school killing another teacher? What is it that causes two girls in Florida to continue to post horrible things about a girl, even after they knew their bullying brought her to such despair that she ended her life?

Why the anger? Why the hopelessness? Why the despair? Why the disregard for life? I could sit here and give a simplistic (and true) answer based upon my knowledge of Scripture that Sin is THE major problem. It is, there's no doubt about that, but I think to a culture and society that has bought all the refuse that postmodernism has shoved down it's throat, I dare not be so simplistic. So what is it in more complex form?

Here are just some bullet points of my thoughts:

1. We have created a society where things mean more than people. We prefer stuff over people.

2. Lack of respect for authority. I was taught to respect my elders and those who were older than me, just by virtue of the fact they had lived longer than me, deserved my respect. Our society and culture no longer respects those around them, and if you are in a position of authority, all the more reason NOT to be respected. You are to be despised.

3. Dovetailing on that thought is the cynicism that we have espoused in our society. If you hold a position of authority, then it must be assumed you have used some crooked means to gain that power and it is the responsibility, the duty of those under you to somehow expose you as a fraud and bring you down. Furthermore, it is likely that you have abused the power you possess and so you are not to be trusted.

4. We have created a society in which children are shoved off on someone else for hours in a day so both Mom and Dad can work to have the nicest house, the best toys, the latest gadgets and games all in a pursuit for more. When do you have enough? Well...never! Kids are letting themselves into their own houses with no supervision, or they're just hanging out on the street or at the park with their friends and no adult is affecting any kind of change in their lives for the better. And we wonder why they are wild?

5. Computer access - Kids have way too much unrestricted access, and parents if you don't know every site your child visits and every password for every site they go to, please confiscate the computer until you have all the information. Oh and that cell phone you bought them so you could check up on them, take it from them and check up on them, because calling them on it is not checking up on them; finding out what they are saying to their peers in their texts is. And, yes, you do have a right!

6. You are not their friend, you are their parent. There will come a day when they will (hopefully) be your friend, but when they are young, don't try to be the cool Mom or the cool Dad, just be the Mom and be the Dad because they need that more than they need you to be a friend who never tells them what they need to hear. In fact, they haven't quite learned the lesson yet that a true friend isn't the one who always tells them what they want to hear anyway. Proverbs says "faithful are the wounds of a friend."

7. Facebook...it may be fun, and where a third of the planet is, but if you as a parent don't know what they are doing on there, unplug the computer, remove it from your home while you're not there and don't let them on again until you are their Facebook friend. Oh and make sure they have not signed up under some other name that will escape your attention.

8. They have been told that as humans, we are just another part of the animal kingdom. Really? This is science at it's best, teaching a godless evolution that gives no purpose to our existence, no meaning to the lives of those around you and you are included in that hopeless, purposeless existence. So, following the absence of a Moral Lawgiver, it seems clear that even society's attempt to create some kind of moral code and rule of law is also nothing more than an establishment that must be eliminated.

These are just a few things that a pastor, husband and father has observed. I'm not an expert in any of those three categories and certainly I'm not an expert in much else. However, I know this, my wife and I love our daughters more than we can even say and want them to grow up to be women who love God and love people around them. We hope we can teach the lesson to love people and use things, not the opposite. The pitfalls are great for our girls and your sons and daughters, but I believe that we can help them navigate those pitfalls so as to never have to be the subject of the question, "What is it...?"

The writer of Ecclesiastes finished his thoughts with this summary of truth:
Eccl. 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
Eccl. 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

It's my humble opinion that the only thing that is going to pull our society out of the hopelessness our youth find themselves growing up in is going to be a powerful move of God in our hearts.

A Great Day for Windows Users! Accordance Bible Software for You, Too!

The premier Bible software and the one I use for all Scripture study and sermon preparation is now available as a native app for Windows XP and up! While I defected from Windows years ago, I credit Accordance as the reason I stayed with the Mac. You don't actually have to defect to get the best, and I mean the best Bible software on any platform.

So, get on over to Accordance Bible Software and check it out for yourself. Oh, and the support is second to none!

Preaching and Prayer

My father, who has been with the Lord since 2006, was an old-time Pentecostal preacher, and never willing to apologize for that either. You had to know my Dad and know a little about him to appreciate how hard he worked at studying for his messages. He was not an orator, not smooth, but he was real. When he preached, you sensed that He had been with Jesus, because he actually had been with the Lord. I'm not sure what the ratio was of praying to studying, but as he poured over the books in his study, with notepad out and his fairly giant Dake's Annotated Study Bible open, I recall many times knocking on his door only to find him on his knees. For him, studying was something that he had to do to prepare his mind, while praying was something he had to do to prepare his heart. No matter what label you wear, Pentecostal, Baptist, Presbyterian or no label at all (since, in reality, the only label we see in the NT was "Christian"), can we really dispute the correlation between study and prayer for the purpose of being effective in our ministry to communicate the Word? I don't think so.

I once heard a preacher by the name of A.A. Ledford, someone my Dad and I admired, say, "Never go into the pulpit unprepared." I always thought he meant preparation as it relates to study, but as I've gotten older, I see that he really meant both study and prayer.

I wonder how many of us preachers and teachers, in the age of Powerpoint preparation, forget the importance and vitality of praying over what we have studied so that it would be communicated effectively, not based on our desire to impress, but based on our desire to see the Spirit of God accomplish something in the hearts of the listener. Prayer keeps this goal in focus. If we study and don't pray, we might fall into the trap of thinking that we are studying just to preach a "good" sermon. Yet, prayer keeps us close to the heart of God who desires to communicate His heart through your sermon preparation and delivery.

There were other times that I would be looking for my Dad before a service. I'd knock on the door to his office, but he wasn't there. At that point, I knew right where to find him. He could be found in the prayer room of the church asking the Lord to minister in a mighty way to the people. I recall the day I left for Bible college. My Dad, stood in our living room and said to me, "Brent, find the prayer room." His advice still rings in my ears. It wasn't, "Brent, find the library." Nor was it, "Brent, find this really great commentary set that I know will help you in your study of the Bible." It was, "find the prayer room."

I started out writing this blog post with the intention of sharing my perfect preaching solution, some of the tools of our age of technology that have been enormously helpful to me. However, as I began to remember my Dad's perfect preaching solution, it seemed so clear to me that it wasn't all the books on his bookshelves in his study; it was his dependence on the Holy Spirit as he bent his knee before the service to express his need for God to use him in that meeting.

It's Not You! It's Me!

You've heard those words before, right? Somewhere, in the archives of your past relationships, someone so desperately wanted to get out the relationship that they lied to you. At least they were kind of enough to try and spare your feelings! But you got older and wiser, and well, let's face it, you had to use the line on someone else!

So is this a little blog entry about lying? No. About relationships? No. Actually, maybe. Let's see where this one goes.

In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel came to Samuel and asked for a king. While they put they seemed to place the blame on Samuel and his sons the true nature of their request comes out in the passage. Samuel was getting older and unable to lead Israel as he had in the past, and his sons were derelict in the duties, bringing corruption into their leadership. Samuel maybe felt that there was some element of failure on his part. He couldn't control the fact that he was getting too old to lead and he obviously couldn't control his sons who brought a sense of distrust over the people. It would almost seem logical that the people would ask for a king to give them leadership that they, at that point didn't feel they were getting. Really, if Samuel's sons were so out of control, the people of Israel almost look holy and righteous in their appeal.

However, their request that Samuel appoint a king to rule over them was not so noble. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 8:5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” And there it is. "Such as all the other nations have." It had nothing to do with Samuel getting old or Samuel's basket-case sons! Israel, just wanted to be like everyone else. It would be prophetic and eventually pathetic! They would not only become like other nations by having a king rule over them, but they would stray so far away from God that idolatry would become so common that God would (a few hundred years later) have to purge them of their sin by a Babylonian invasion. It's not that they hadn't dabbled in idolatry prior to asking for a king, but by Jeremiah's time, the practices and rites of idol worship involved such unspeakable human degradation, there was nothing else for God to do but to allow judgment for their sin.

So, what about the "it's not you, it's me" speech. Where does that come in? For once, this speech was used to encourage...and it was the truth! Here's the speech. It comes straight from God to Samuel. Samuel was so upset by what the people had requested that he prays to the Lord (verse 6). Here is God's answer, 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. God just told Samuel, it's not you, it's me! He was right. It had nothing to do with Samuel, it was God that they were rejecting. He desired to be their King. He led them, nurtured them and kept them, but now they wanted to be like other nations. They didn't want to be peculiar. They didn't want to be different. They wanted to blend in and look like everyone else. The people were using Samuel and his sons as an excuse to distance themselves from God. It seems that throughout history, man does whatever he can to put more miles between himself and God.

Today,the idea that God should be in charge of our lives grates against the 21st century mindset. We don't want God to tell us what to do. No, we'd rather have some philosopher, hanging on the brink of insanity lead us toward some mind-numbing, hopeless mantra that "everything is relative" and "what's true for you, may not be true for me." Or, we want some entertainer to speak on our behalf and provide a public platform for our skewed moral compass. Even in many churches, we prefer a show, rather than actually meeting to find out that there is a God who desires to change us so that we can shine His light in a dark world. It seems that we are giving the "it's not you, it's me" speech to God. I wonder if His reply isn't simply, "you're right!"

You may try to shake free from God and place distance between you and Him, but it cannot change His love for you! The people of Samuel's day rejected God, but He still loved them, as He will love you no matter how far you try to go to get away from Him.

What God Sees!

One of my favorite accounts in all of Scripture is the account of Gideon. The opening scene in Judges 6 is nothing less than a contrast between what we see and what God sees!

Because of their sin, Israel was under the oppressive rule of the Midianites. It wasn't like the Midianites ruled with dignity, they just waited for the Israelites to plant their crops, get read to harvest it and then would come marching in and either destroy their food supply or take it from them. It is likely during this time that the people of Israel were beginning to starve. This is where we pick up with Gideon. We find him threshing wheat in a winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. Gideon saw pain, suffering and injustice. He was hiding in order to have just a small amount of food by which to survive. He saw weakness...that which was around him but also his own. This is where most of us are stuck. We see pain, suffering, injustice, sin and our own weakness. We think there is nothing we can do, so let's hide and try to eek out a living in a survival mindset.

Maybe you are hiding behind past hurts and failures while life seemingly continues to march forward. You might look around you and feel that others are not just surviving, they are somehow thriving...but not you. No, you've been weakened by your frustration, your bitterness, your anger and your resentment. Someone, somewhere over the course of your life hurt you and brought you under their rule. The pain they caused steers your life, determines your trajectory and you find yourself limping along all the while thinking that no one really notices your pain.

But, in the story of Gideon, an angel of the Lord appears and calls Gideon a "Mighty Warrior" or as the King James Version puts it, a "Mighty Man of Valor." Clearly, the angel had the wrong address! The idea that Gideon was a mighty warrior was something that Gideon could not see. Seriously, he's threshing wheat in a winepress. He's in hiding, he's afraid and then goes on to argue with the angel about God's plan.

Yet, in this story as in other places in Scripture where man tends to get in the way of God's plan, it is not what we see that counts, it is what God sees that matters most. We see pain, but God sees potential. We see frustration, but God's remedy is faith. God, at that moment was not looking at Gideon for what Gideon saw or was even projecting or saying about himself, God was looking at Gideon for what He was going to help Gideon to become. So how was that going to happen? Gideon just had to get on board with what God wanted and let God guide him through impossible odds to show that what really mattered in his life was what God sees.

So it isn't what you see about yourself that really matters most, it is what God sees in your life. God sees great things! God sees potential! Rather than hide behind something, get ready to be part of God's solution to the problems you find around you. Begin to see what God sees!

The Wrong Kind of Thankfulness

And so here I am after a long time of not posting anything, trying now to get someone, anyone to read what I’ve written. Maybe you’ve checked once or twice and just thought to yourself - “Ha, I knew he wouldn’t keep it up.” Well, I’m back… for now! I make no guarantees for the future.

These thoughts arose as I was preparing for a message entitled “Time to Fill Your Thank Tank” to be given November 20, 2011 at Praise Tabernacle. In the sermon, I make reference to a story Jesus told about a Pharisee and tax collector who went up to the temple to pray. Since the sermon is about thanksgiving and being thankful, the words of the Pharisee’s prayer jumped off the page at me. Here are his words so you can see for yourself:

        Luke 18:11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank         you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even         like this tax         collector.

        Luke 18:12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ (NIV1984)

I’m not sure if you saw it, but let me point out a couple of things he says in verse 11.

1. He addresses God as the object of his thankfulness - Good place to start. I’ve been saying for years that to be really thankful, it’s best when thanksgiving is directed in the appropriate direction - most appropriate is God. However, this is where the positives for this religious leader comes to an end.
2. He thanks God that he is not like other men - I’ve heard and said the expression before “there for the grace of God, go I.” There’s nothing wrong with that when there is a sense of humility and realization that God is the one who has delivered you and brought you out of your sin. But really? He thanks God that he’s not like these sinful people? This guy clearly thought he was better than everyone else around him, “even this tax collector,” he says.

Let me just go on record at this point and say, this is the wrong kind of thankfulness! The story Jesus told was to teach those in the crowd who trusted in their own righteousness that repentance and humility gets God’s attention, not being thankful at how good you think you are in your own eyes. What this man failed to see was that he was exactly like those “other men” because his heart wasn’t right with God and all the outward expressions of religion don’t change that.

His most egregious error was that of actually attaching thankfulness (a quality we are reminded at least once a year to possess) to his supposed position with God; and then to thank God, as if somehow God had something to do with him being so prideful, stuck-up and horribly deceived. He was thankful alright, but he was the wrong kind of thankful.

Let’s be thankful to God that He has delivered us from sin, but stay away from the comparisons to others because that’s the wrong kind of thankfulness.

To Infinity and Beyond... Through a Mac

I really was making better use of my time when the question came to me, what it would be like to screenshare from one Mac and then through that screeenshare, open up a screenshare on the other Mac back to the one I was on?

Here's the result. Cool, huh?

The Bible Software I Use and Recommend

As a 2nd generation pastor, I remember seeing all the books in my Dad's library and remember often seeing them spread out on his desk as he would study and labor over his messages (for many years preaching 3 times a week). I wonder how many hours Dad would have saved with Accordance. Of course, by the time computers became a must have for most pastors, Dad was in the later years of his ministry and I was in the early years of mine. A few years ago, I discovered Accordance and was pleasantly surprised at the time by how fast it was (that was Accordance 6). Now at version 9, Accordance is just as fast as ever, is native to the Mac and continues to provide excellent resources for in depth Bible study. I have only begun to scratch the surface of using Accordance, but there are excellent quality resources like a the Lighting the Lamp Podcast and a knowledgeable community of users in the Accordance User Forum to help get you started. You won't regret it.

I don't remember the last time I had books spread out all over my desk because they are now neatly organized in my Accordance Bible Software workspace.

The new Multimedia Preview gives you some quick insight into a few of the things Accordance has to offer.

Thirsty?

When Jesus was on the cross, He said, "I thirst." Viewed from the physical perspective, He no doubt needed something to quench His thirst. He was becoming severely dehydrated through all that He was suffering. But we also have to wonder if He wasn't sensing the great spiritual thirst of all of mankind as the sins of the whole world were placed on Him. It was the thirst felt by billions of people around the world.

The solution? Get a drink. John 7:37 (NIV) "... If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." The One who felt thirst on the cross, is the answer for quenching the spiritual thirsting of your soul. Nothing else will ever satisfy your thirst like He will.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Most of us think of any number of things when it comes to Christmas! Right now there is the smell of an apple pie baking in the oven (thank you to my dear wife for that)! Maybe for you it brings to mind your family, your loved ones and of course to most children it’s about what will be under the tree. But the account of the first Christmas according to the Scriptures shows multiple lessons of one of the most important of all Christian responses - obedience. Both Mary and Joseph in their own individual encounters with the Lord had to follow Him in obedience to His plan. The shepherds had to obey in order to experience the wonderful blessing of seeing the Savior of the world come to be one of us. The Magi, later on, obeyed the voice of the Lord and returned to the own country by another way.

In the end, without obedience to the plan of God, the real meaning of Christmas is lost! But as the main players show, obedience to His plan is nothing but the beginning of something revolutionary!

Merry Christmas!

Blame or Credit?

There are those who blame God at every turn. A bad day must certainly be God’s fault. A let-down in life leads many to one conclusion only - that God is nowhere to be found or that He alone is the cause of all the trouble. Besides, if He had been there all of this wouldn't happen. It sort of sounds like Martha when Jesus showed up just a little bit too late - after her brother Lazarus had died and already been placed in a tomb. Jesus didn’t even attend the funeral of His close friend. “Jesus” Martha said "if you have been here, Lazarus wouldn't have died." More than likely, she was right about that. But what Martha didn’t understand was that there was a greater purpose being worked out behind the scenes. An all-wise decision had been made; one that saw through all of the things that were going on in her mind and in Mary's mind and all the other minds present for the passing of Lazarus. (Read John 11 for the whole story)

God’s perspective of the situation is very different from yours. Martha was quick to blame Jesus. However, instead of blame what we really should be doing is giving Him credit (or praise) for the fact that in the midst of our trouble He is present. He told the people of Israel, and I’m paraphrasing, when you pass through the water I'll be there; when you go through the fire I'll be with you (Isaiah 43:2). You don't need to be afraid I'm not going to get you out of it I'm going to take you through it and as a result of that we become stronger.  Trust him, don't blame him.  Give him the credit for showing up when you need Him most, right in the middle of your pain.

Here is one final thing to consider about Martha’s accusation that Jesus had been too late in getting there and had He been there, their brother would still be alive. Even when Jesus delayed and allowed His friend Lazarus to die without so much as a healing touch or even a spoken word to heal, the end result for Martha and Mary was the same as if Jesus had been there before Lazarus died. Lazarus lived (which was what his sisters desired most). Jesus wanted this result too, but not until His power could be displayed over our last great enemy, death. The divine purpose of God was fulfilled and the human need was met by the hand of a loving and merciful Savior. In the end, if Lazarus hadn’t died, Jesus could not have shown to those who had gathered there in that moment to mourn that He was (and still is) the resurrection and the life. So rather than assuming that God is absent from your dreadful problem, begin to thank Him that He is walking with you through that difficult place.

Thanksgiving?

Ok, I enjoy a good football game like the rest of the male population raised in America. While I am more of a baseball guy, I do like football. Of course, being raised in New England, I’m supposed to be a Patriots fan, but it is the one New England sports team with which I severed ties when I was a kid in favor of “The Steel Curtain.” That’s right, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the late 70’s was a thing of beauty, but I digress. My question is, what will a lot of us be doing on Thanksgiving day? Well, we will be watching football! So will we really be giving thanks? I wonder if the Pilgrims had this in mind. I know what you are thinking... “Is this guy for real? They didn’t have football in the 1600’s! Duh!” Of course, if they had been able to peer into the future and see that the New England Patriots would be playing less than 50 miles from where they landed at Plymouth Rock, they might have let out a cheer or two. Who really knows? But have we turned the spirit of the day into... well, Thanks-watching?

Then, there’s the turkey! I’m salivating already at the thought of that perfectly cooked holiday bird along with all the traditional side dishes. I’ve been known to put away quite a lot of turkey and close to a half a pan of sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top. I can’t wait! But have we turned it into Thanks-eating?

And of course there’s the aftermath of the ginormous meal at which we have essentially exceeded our normal food intake for one sitting, but hey, after all, it’s thanksgiving. All that food leads only to one place...Thanks-napping! Our eyelids will get heavy and we will want nothing more than to lay down and sleep off some of that meal because we know that a little later, we’re going to want all the Thanks-leftovers!

What’s my point in all of this? Am I trying to get you to sit down and not enjoy some of the 21st century traditions. Not at all. Enjoy the game, but be thankful that you live in a country that has afforded you the freedom to be able to watch that game. And, be thankful that you can sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal when there are so many in the world going without. Just be thankful.

Maybe this Thanksgiving is a little difficult this year. It could be that the economy has handed you some hard times, or your Thanksgiving is clouded by grief. In spite of that, as a believer in Jesus Christ and in what He accomplished for me on the cross, I know that I have reason to be thankful though things are sometimes difficult.

Regardless of what we are going through, Paul reminded the Thessalonians believers to do this: 1Th. 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Yes, that’s right, he did say (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I might add) “in all circumstances.” You may not like what is happening to you, but it is in that circumstance that we are told to give thanks.

So in the time where some might be watching, eating, napping, struggling and even grieving, you can still give thanks in your circumstances when you turn your heart to Christ.

Follow Me

Jesus was not lengthy in His call of the disciples.

In Matthew 9:9-12 we read of Matthew’s call to be a disciple. It was short, to the point and was met by a willing heart rather than excuses as to why he wouldn’t be good for the job. In fact, the impact on Matthew was immediate and extensive. The text says, “Matthew got up and followed him.” (NIV) We read nothing about wrapping things up at the tax collecting booth or giving two weeks notice. His following was as quick as the call. Jesus called and Matthew followed. Yet, the extent of the impact on Matthew is seen by the fact he then invites some of his colleagues (other tax collectors and sinners) to have dinner with Jesus, which He didn’t refuse. Why would He? He had a room full of people who needed Him.

As a tax collector, he was looked down upon by the religious leaders of the day and likely the majority of society as well. Quite possibly he had been crooked in his dealings with others, maybe in a similar way to that of another tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus. But, what is so striking about Matthew’s call is the fact that Jesus didn’t care about his past because he was about to give this tax collector a new future. Jesus is not worried by the things we have done in the past; He is concerned with the future He wants to give you.

Most of us get stuck on our past and sometimes even IN our past, so much so that we fail to be impacted by the call of Christ to bring Him to others. Matthew receives the call to follow Jesus and understands that Jesus is meant to be shared with others, not simply reserved for the last part of our weekend for a select group of people gathering on a Sunday morning in a church service. Jesus said it best, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)

The question is, how are we following Him? In our society, many encourage Christians to get involved politically and somehow make a difference that way. I firmly believe that since we are given the right to vote, we ought to use it to the fullest extent of our convictions, but Jesus didn’t come to be a vehicle for politics in the church. He came to change lives and give people the hope of eternal life. Are we following Him in a way that impacts people’s lives? Matthew’s life changed that day because he heard the call of Christ, responded and then began pointing others to Him.

Where Have I Been?

A family member recently commented that I had not blogged since January 30th and they were correct. Clearly, blogging on a consistent basis it is a great challenge for those of us who are not writers by nature. It is increasingly more difficult as my time is consumed with trying to complete a degree program through directed research. My Alma Mater, Zion Bible College in Haverhill, MA has been kind enough to institute a program for those of us who graduated under their three year ministry training program to “come back” and complete the degree through directed research. The Lord willing, I should be done soon, but blogging has been demoted on the priority list for the time being.

For the latest in devotional thoughts, you can keep up with our latest sermons on the Podcast page of our website.

God bless you.

God in the Silence

Silence. It’s sort of a mixed bag. For instance, when I’m trying to study, I need silence. I used to be able to listen to music and study at the same time. Things have changed. I need silence in order to get things done. As parents, when do we worry about what’s going on with our kids the most? When it suddenly gets real quiet in the house. As the father of two kids ages 7 and 3, I experience this on a fairly regular basis. My wife and I don’t interpret the quietness as inactivity, quite the opposite. We are aware that there may be some things happening that should give us reason for concern. When the kids are playing loudly, or even fighting, we know what’s going on and there is an element of comfort that we gain by the noise.

For many of us, we come to our spiritual experience and even life experience with the sense that there has to be some noise for us to feel that things are OK. However, silence seems to lend itself to a great deal of anxiety. Unlike how we interpret the silence of our small children, we tend to interpret the silence of God as inactivity on His part. This assumption, however, is not reality.

Recently, I re-read the account of Joseph and besides determining that it is in fact one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture, I was reminded of the great contrasts in his life as compared to his father Jacob, grandfather Isaac and great-grandfather Abraham. Those three men all had something in common — very clear and precise promises from God. When you read the book of Genesis, you see some of the character flaws in all three of the aforementioned patriarchs, but you really have to dig to see anything in the life of Joseph that remotely resembles a flaw (I’m not suggesting he was perfect) and when you do think you’ve found something, you’re not 100% about it. However, the most striking contrast in his life when placed alongside his forefathers is this...silence. God spoke to Abraham on several occasions. God spoke to Isaac and to Jacob.

Yet, as you scour the last one-third of the book of Genesis which deals with the life of Joseph, you have no hint that God spoke to him in the way that He had to the patriarchs. In fact, Joseph seems to go through some terribly painful things without even a clue that God saw what was going on, much less cared about what was happening to Him. Let’s face it, most of us would have concluded in bitter anguish after being sold off by our own family members into slavery that God didn’t care. Then after being falsely accused of making advances toward Potiphar’s wife, which landed him in an Egyptian prison, you would expect that somehow God would show up and tell poor Joseph to hold on because he would eventually promote him to be the number two guy in the nation, but God didn’t. What did He do? The Lord stayed silent and didn’t speak to Joseph about it. And, by the time Joseph interprets the dreams of the butler and baker only to be forgotten about by the butler to seemingly waste away in an Egyptian prison, you might think that if God doesn’t speak to him now, then it would be safe for Joseph to not only assume that God doesn’t care, but that God didn’t exist at all.

Unfortunately, we make the very bad mistake of assuming that silence on God’s part means that He’s inactive, uncaring and worse, not there! Joseph, in all he went threw, never jumped to such a ridiculous conclusion. Instead, we find a man who, in the middle of what seemed to be silent injustice served upon the innocent, stood by God in complete faithfulness. Joseph remained true to God from Potipher’s house to the penitentiary, and at just the right time God brought him out of his painful crisis and caused him to see a plan that was larger than him. So big was this plan that he was able say with forgiving confidence to his brothers “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” (Gen. 45:5 - NIV)

Joseph didn’t understand what was going on in the silence, but he eventually saw that there was something going on and that silence didn’t mean inactivity on God’s part. He never allowed the “negative” stuff to make him bitter; he just trusted God no matter what happened (or didn’t happen).

Oh, and the dreams Joseph had in Genesis 37 (dreams that God gave him) where the stalks of wheat bowed down to his stalk of wheat, and then the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him, all came true.

My Move to the Mac and Accordance Bible Software

One of my hobbies is computers. I like what they can do and certainly how they have helped me in my ministry and in everyday life.

I first started using a computer in 1994 when I was hired to work in a mailroom. I had no clue even how to turn a computer on and thought explosions could occur if left alone with one. However, the IT person was very patient and assured me that I wasn’t going to mess anything up. As I sat down in front of a Mac Quadra I was struck by how cool the MacOS interface was at the time. My introduction to computers was not on a PC, but on a Mac. That having been said, I ended up buying a PC for personal use and from there on in, I dove into the world of computers tinkering with this part or that, upgrading memory, hard drives, software, etc.

As a pastor the challenge had been to effectively and efficiently research my resources to be able to find exactly what I needed. The time looking often outweighed the actual time of study or reading. I soon realized that Bible software was the way to go and I somehow stumbled on Quickverse 3. I was soon compiling notes and sermons on the computer and the time to actually find what I needed was cut down greatly so I could study more and broaden the scope of my study. I used Quickverse all the way up to version 7. However, somewhere in the midst of version 7, Parson’s was sold to FindEx and it was the beginning of what I believed to be the dumbing down of my favorite PC Bible Study Software. Version 8 for me was a disaster and I soon headed for Logos Bible Software.

Logos had been around for a long time and seemed to have a big following. At the time I moved to Logos, they were coming out with the Libronix Digital Library System (LDLS). This took some getting used to and there was a definite learning curve. I spent a lot of time moving my notes from Quickverse to Logos (that’s right copying and pasting). However, I never would come to feel as strongly for Logos’ software as I had Quickverse (honestly, anything above Quickverse 4 was also a step in the wrong direction - in my opinion). Maybe it was that Quickverse had been my introduction to the power, speed and efficiency of Bible Study on the computer as opposed print.

I came to find that Logos had enormous amounts of resources and I would use the LDLS right up until version 3 came on the scene. The frustration mounted that some of the things I could do with my own personal notes in Quickverse 4, were note so easily handled in LDLS or even Quickverse 5-7 for that matter. Creating notes and being able to search them was a big deal to me. I guess it’s because they are uniquely mine and was often the basis of a future sermon. It seemed that any kind of notes feature within LDLS was more of an afterthought and they were not searchable in any kind of way.

It was right about this time that more than one virus had wiped out my data. On one occasion, I even had an anti-virus program with updated definitions. It told me I had a virus, but it neither prevented it nor could it clean it. At this point, Apple Stores were popping up all over the place, and I decided to take the plunge. I bought one, tried it out and then returned it. Bought another one, then returned that one. It would be about a year before I finally got completely fed up with the PC and got a Powerbook. I never looked back. I suppose my indecision over the Mac was simply the fact that I had put some money into Bible Study software on the PC that I wouldn’t be able to use anymore. Virtual PC was around, but mind-numbingly slow, so I had to find Bible software that was native to the Mac.

I ended up at the Accordance Bible Software website. I started with the Introductory version and purchased my preferred translation. Opening up the software, I could see right away it was different than all the other Bible software I had used. It took some getting used to and there was a learning curve. Honestly, isn’t there with most things that are new and unfamiliar to you? Anyway, my big beef with the PC Bible software had been the fact that the notes feature seemed to be an afterthought and you couldn’t do much with it. Not so with Accordance. My standard had been Quickverse 4 on a PC, but almost every other Bible Study annotation feature after QV4 on the PC, including the subsequent versions of Quickverse seemed to be an add-on in which you could make notes, read them, copy and paste them, but you couldn’t search them. I realize grading Bible Software for any platform based on its notes capabilities may not seem to be as noble as its handling of Greek and Hebrew resources, but after building a fairly extensive notes file, I wanted my notes to be part of my Bible Study experience. When Accordance landed on my Powerbook, it outdid every other Bible software for Mac or PC by giving me the ability to create user notes that could be searched (for essentially anything). And, there was the ability to create a User Tool as well, which could be your own work or a public domain work, and this too would be a completely searchable module. So a separate database of my sermons preached over the years, became a module that was integrated with all my other resources. To me, this was extremely useful. Here I am 4 years later using Accordance 8 for pretty much every aspect of Bible Study and sermon preparation.

I realize that Logos came out with their Mac offering and I cross-graded from my Windows version. There are lots of resources, but you can’t do much with them. Oh, and no notes in the Mac version. Quickverse is no longer a player in my mind for Windows or Mac (and they have both versions too). There’s WordSearch and they have their engine running on a Mac under the X11 environment using WINE. They have good resources too, but it’s not a native to the Mac. I have them all (except for Quickverse), but my only choice (daily) is Accordance. They don’t have as many “resources” as other companies, but then again they don’t actually count their resources the same way as others do. Additionally, they have some “resources” or “modules” as they call them, that other companies do not have. Oddly enough, what pulled me to the Mac environment was the announcement by Logos that they would have a Mac version of their software within about 6 months of the announcement. After 2 years they still hadn’t produced the Mac version. It was during that time that I found Accordance. So, I look at it that Logos helped bring me to using a Mac, while Accordance gave me reason to continue using the Mac.

So, when it comes to Bible Software for your daily use, my recommendation is always, get a Mac and use Accordance. This program alone is reason enough to move to a Mac and stay with it.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the only virus in my household from time to time is... a cold!

Keeping Christ In...

Christmas is just a few hours away, but I wanted to share some thoughts about how we hear so much about Keeping Christ In Christmas.

At this season of the year, I hear many believers make an important statement - something like, "We need to keep Christ in Christmas." I completely agree. Unfortunately for many this tends to be a seasonal soapbox rather than a daily, year-round commitment to "contend for the faith." I don't know, maybe it's because we feel that the daily balance of greetings at this time of year tips the scale too far in the direction of Happy Holidays and not Merry Christmas. And, then there's the whole X-mas abbreviation that is completely annoying and yet in my humble opinion, totally powerless to stamp out the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Keeping Christ in Christmas is not some kind of conservative political statement that absolutely must be made at this time every year just because we've heard some generic greeting too many times. Frankly, that idea is too small. Jesus didn't come into the world to create some subsection of a political party that would jump on a bandwagon of slogans at Christmastime. He came into the world to reach out with great love and compassion to the unbeliever (some of whom will claim to be offended at being wished a Merry Christmas). We who claim to be followers of Christ get offended at their offense and then start on a mission to somehow change it all. But when reading the Gospels, you will find that Jesus dealt with non-believers with grace while the "religious" crowd were often handed stinging rebukes for their outward piety and inward emptiness.

I don't think Jesus came into the world just to be at the center of Christmas. He came into the world to be the center of our lives every day of the year. After Christmas is over, are we keeping Christ in our New Year? We must pursue Him daily, not just at specific seasons of the year.

How do we accomplish this? Scripture always offers the best solution for us. The best way to keep Christ in Christmas is to keep Christ in our hearts and our daily lives through prayer. The greatest voice the Christian has is not at the polls or on some kind of soapbox at Christmas or any other significant Christian holiday, but the voice that James 5:16 says is "the prayer of the righteous" and that prayer is "powerful and effective." Keep Christ in... well, just keep Him in...everything!

From my heart to yours, Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Celebration

If you're in Chicago, you are invited to join us at Praise Tabernacle this Sunday morning, December 20, 2009 at 11:00 for a celebration of Christmas. The Praise Power House kids will be singing and the Praise Tabernacle Ensemble will be ministering in song as well. If you can't make it, please pray for the Lord to minister through us to convey the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus!

Pillars

I’m not a builder. I now wish I had been, at least to some extent. I suppose I could’ve been, had I listened to my father a little more when he tried to teach me about carpentry, but I was too busy pursuing my junior high and high school baseball careers, which yielded little in the grand scheme of my life.

But, enough about the past. I do know a little bit about pillars, those vitally important support structures for buildings. I have been in a number of high-rise office buildings in downtown Chicago and have seen the massive columns as I walked through the lobbies. Without those supports, it would be impossible to build a Sears Tower or Hancock building.

What may strike you as you walk through one of those places and see those enormous pillars is how beautiful they are made to look on the inside. However, whatever kind of decorations are placed on those pillars to beautify them, the beauty of their function is not how ornate an interior decorator can cause them to be. Their beauty lies in the fact that they are holding up an entire building without any sound of stress. I would think twice about walking into a building where I heard the columns begin to creak and crack underneath the stress of that major structure. In fact, I think most of us would likely turn around and walk out the door getting as far away from the building as possible.

I was reminded a little while back about how essential it is to have pillars (spiritual pillars) in the local church. I battled illness for two days, and had to call upon a few people to help fill in the areas of responsibility that are generally mine to fulfill. These are the people that hold the whole thing together, or I should say, they hold it up so it doesn’t fall down. It is the strength of their faithfulness and their willingness to keep things moving forward in moments of minor crises that caused me as the pastor be grateful that I have a few pillars around upholding and supporting the ministry of our church.

So how is a pillar characterized in the local church?

1. First and foremost, a pillar must be spiritual. Since the ministry of Christ was a spiritual ministry, our ministry in and to the local church must first be a spiritual ministry which meets the spiritual needs of those in attendance.
2. Secondly, a pillar must be strong. The strength of a pillar is vital to the success of the local church. In times of storm and stress, their strength shows through.
3. Lastly, a pillar must be supportive. A pillar within the church, doesn’t seek leadership, but doesn’t shy away from it when called upon. The person carries out an important support role.

These three essential qualities of individuals within the local church will help the church to grow as it should.