Waiting, Watching, & Listening!

May 27, 2008
As you might imagine (those of you that keep up with my comings and goings), my mind is a bit preoccupied with hearing what He has to say to me about the forthcoming “Celebration of Revival” at Friendship Baptist Church. Because I have no “canned” sermons that I can reopen and regurgitate, I am dependent upon Him for the messages I will preach, not my filing cabinet. Actually, I do have hundreds of sermon notes from sermons that I preached early on but may God help the poor souls who heard them. Trust me, I wouldn’t dare attempt to resurrect one of them! Truth is I don’t know why I keep them, other than the fact that it would take too much time to destroy them.
Anyway, my MO for preaching is very simple: WAIT, WATCH, & LISTEN. The waiting is the difficult part, especially when it is Tuesday and Sunday is coming—FAST! This is especially true today because I will be preaching this Sunday at a church where I have never before preached, and I really do want to honor the pastor of the church, and at the same time I want to honor The Head of the Church (Yes, thankfully, that is possible in this situation!). Most of the watching will happen AFTER I arrive at the church, which is fine but it does mean that I will have to watch carefully. If you are wondering what I will be watching for, I will tell you: I will be watching to see what He is doing in and amongst this congregation. The listening part has been going on since Bro. Gary invited me to come and preach and it will continue throughout this time of preaching. For what am I listening? Very simple: I am listening to hear whatever He has to say to me. I am not listening for Him to speak something that will give me clarity because clarity is NOT what I need; instead, I need trust. I need to trust that He will speak through me WHATEVER He wants said. Obviously, if I have clarity, I will have no need for trust and that would be a bad thing, especially in the realm of preaching!
You might be wondering why I have not mentioned the listeners, those who will be sitting under the sound of my voice, and, hopefully, hearing what He has to say; if so, the answer is simple: they are His responsibility, not mine. If I took on the task of doing what only He can do—reveal Jesus—I would be a basket case extraordinaire! Thankfully, He convinced me long ago that the church is His and He will build it without any of my help. That was a relief! All He asks of me is that I be a broken pot, out of which He can pour the water of life. Don’t ask me why He prefers broken pots because I do not know, nor do I care! I am simply thrilled that He does.
Anyway, as I wait, watch and listen, I would really appreciate your prayers for me and for them! Who knows, if you pray and God moves, why He might just stick a geranium in your cracked pot!

Blessings and love,
Mac

Does it Need to be This Complicated?

Saturday morning, May 24, 2008
Have any of you noticed how complicated the US government can make, even the simplest of things? The meaning of “red tape” is becoming increasing clear, to say the least. I never will forget the letter my mother received from a particular government agency (long after they had been duly notified of her death) telling her they agreed with her conclusion that she no longer needed to pay the amount in question. Go figure! I have never written many letters to dead folk (actually none!) but I seriously doubt that those who have ever received a response. I mean you would think the government would let you alone after you are dead.
Maybe the problem is with the forms they send for the likes of you and me to complete. It wouldn’t be so bad, if the information on the forms didn’t determine some major piece of the rest of our lives, but most of the time it does. For me, most recently it has been Social Security forms and Medicare forms. Gosh, I paid into Social Security for 50 years (still do, for that matter!), so it was rather important to me that I completed the forms correctly, when it came time for me to begin receiving my “benefits”. Then there was Medicare Part A, and now it is Part B and Part D. If I had the energy, I would explain to you what I have been through to get these activated (I’m still not sure the are!). All I know is this: I am paying higher monthly premiums, now that I have these “benefits,” than I was before I had them. Maybe I should have majored in Government Logic!
Don’t lose me but I want to take a brief detour. The other day (Thursday to be exact), I was having a computer problem, so I called the tech support (what a novel idea!) in the hopes that he/she could solve my problem. After about ten minutes of my attempting to translate a foreign language, I finally asked, “Where are you?” and she said, “the Philippines.” I just hung up! I knew that it would be much less complicated for me to go to computer fixin’ school than to resolve my problem with someone on the other side of the world, who can’t even speak English, much less Georgia English. Don’t we have enough English speaking people, who actually own a computer and live somewhere within a hundred mile radius, that companies can hire to be their “tech support”? Apparently not!
Anyway, this experience reminded me of my dealings with the US government. I dare you to call either the Social Security Administration or the Medicare Office and ask a simple question (if you can get anyone to answer!), one like, “How do you spell “Medicare” or even better, “How much will my Social Security check be, if I ever get one?” and see if you can get a straight answer. Try asking this one: “What are the advantages of my purchasing Medicare Part D?” I will (almost) promise that you will hang up before you get a sensible answer, if you get on at all. I will guarantee you that you will not get the same answer from two different people, not even on how to spell Medicare!
Now for my point: the church has done the same thing with the gospel. Jesus made it so simple that even a child can grasp it and love Him, but the church has chosen sides, divided ranks, and made the simplest of messages so complicated that, well, that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get a straight answer from anyone, and to be sure, one cannot get the same answer to any question from two different believers. It leaves many feeling about Christianity the same way I have felt about Social Security and Medicare—is it really possible for this to become a reality for me?
Jesus made it very simple: Love Me and love one another; but, then, that might not be as simple as it sounds! Even so, it is much (very much) simpler than trying to follow some illusive system of rules and attempting to understand systemic theology.

What is Truth?

Monday evening, May 19, 2008
As you well-know, I was born in Adam—dead to God, alive to sin, totally depraved, sinful, sinning, hopeless, helpless, with no interest in Jesus or in His gift of eternal life whatsoever—and on my way to an eternal hell. Thankfully, God intervened!
At His initiative and completely against my will, He dragged me, kicking and screaming to the cross, and there He placed that Adamic man into Christ Jesus and saw to it that he was crucified (killed!) in Christ on the cross. Thankfully, he did not stop there! When Jesus was placed in His borrowed tomb, God saw to it that that Adamic man was buried in Christ in that tomb. Listen to the word of Paul, as he explains: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20); “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:2-4). Anyway you cut it, that old, sinful, sinning, dead-to-God, Adamic man is dead, buried, and no longer exists!! Hallelujah!! But there is, yet, more!
Did you see the hint at the end of Romans 6:4— “so we too might walk in newness of life”? The grave could not hold Jesus; there was a resurrection—His resurrection! Now, listen up because some believe an error at this point—a terrible error. Although that old Adamic man was crucified and buried in Jesus, he was NOT resurrected in Jesus’ resurrection! No! No! As a result of Jesus resurrection, God brought forth a new creation “me”, a completely new creation, one with absolutely no kinship to Adam! “Therefore if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature; old things passed away, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It was this new creation “me” that came running to Jesus eagerly and excitedly in response to His call, and, thankfully, He welcomed me with open arms!!
Upon my arrival, He gave me the gift of faith, the faith that would not only enable me to believe the good news about Jesus’ and His vicarious work on the cross, but also produce in me a genuine attraction to and for Jesus. As a result of His vicarious work and the faith He gave me, I am justified and glorified! Paul said it this way: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called, and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, the He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
Now, don’t attempt to dissect this to the point of missing the point, but I would love to read you comments, be they positive or negative.

Is Your Will Really Free?

Friday morning, May 16, 2008
Your response to my previous perspective, the one having to do with our having been chosen according to God’s foreknowledge, requires that I write this one. Hopefully, it will cause a “stir” within your soul.
Obviously, I do not have the results of any scientific study (none have been done to my knowledge) that I could use to back this up; however, it is clear to me that the vast majority of believers are absolutely convinced that man has a free will. Well, before I go any further with this, let me say that I surely hope that they are wrong, as in incorrect! It scares me to death to think that for even one millisecond God would allow one of us, much less all of us, to make choices that were outside the parameters of His providence. If God should relinquish control for even an instant there is no telling what would happen.
One of the reasons I hear most often in support of this idea of “free will” is this: God wants people to love Him because they choose to love Him, not because He persuaded them to do so by refusing to allow them to make the choice on their own. Although, I clearly understand what they are saying, they are missing this very important point: because of the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus, those who love God do so because they eagerly choose to love Him. He set the stage in such a manner that the ONLY choice we can conceive of making is the choice to love Him!
Another of the reasons is a bit more covert (most do not admit it) and it is this: man is so self-centered that he cannot imagine living under the complete control of another, where he is not free to do what he pleases, when he pleases, how he pleases, even if that “other” is God. Just for the fun of it, pretend for a moment that God decided to turn you loose to do what you please, when you please, and how you please for the next 30 days, with no intervention on His part. Honestly, do you really want Him to do that? I think not, unless you are more self-centered than I thought (and I gave you credit for much self-centeredness).
Of course, there is this reason, albeit, somewhat lame: God allows us the freedom to make wise choices and foolish choices, and He does so to bring us to maturity. It is true—very true—that God allows us to make wise and foolish choices (more foolish than wise for the most part; thankfully, He has a sense of humor) but isn’t it obvious that, if He allows us to make them, He is still the One in control and our wills are not free. Satan thought his will was free when he was harassing Job but the truth is his will was subject to the limitations and parameters of God’s providence, as is evidenced by the fact the he could do ONLY what God allowed Him to do—period.
To be sure, if you are a believer today, you are not because your will is free, but because He chose to intervene in your life, interrupt your will, and drag you to Himself completely against your will. Of course, when He gave you the gift of faith and the inclination for Jesus, your will changed and you chose to love Him.
To be honest, I am very thankful that He did this in my life; otherwise, I would still be wandering, following my own will, and refusing to have anything to do with Him.
Take the day off and enjoy allowing Him to make your decisions for you!

Chosen According to HIs Foreknowledge

Monday evening, May 12, 2008
Yesterday my message came from 1 Peter 1-2 and it had to do with our having been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. As you probably know, there are at least two words in these verses that have been the subject of much debate throughout the years of church history—chosen and foreknowledge. Most believers accept the fact that God is all-knowing from eternity to eternity, but for some reason many of them want God’s foreknowledge to have determined His choice in election (oops, another of those “words”). In their minds, God looked down through the corridors of time and saw those who would believe the gospel and, consequently, chose them for Himself. The question that never seems to get addressed is this: How did those He “saw” come to believe? Was it some meritorious act of their own initiative? If you accept the foundational truth of Christianity, that each of us comes into this world in Adam, dead to God, and alive to sin, then, obviously, this cannot be the answer. Acting on our own initiative, there is not one of us who would choose to believe the gospel and we would not because in our lost condition we have absolutely no interest in or inclination toward Jesus; in fact, we are repulsed by Him.
If, however, we accept this foundational principal of Christianity, namely, that the ONLY way any of us could ever choose to believe the gospel is for God to act first and give us not only the faith to believe, but also an inclination for Jesus, then we must conclude that what God “saw” (His foreknowledge) was what He had already predestined to occur—the redemption of His elect. Yes, I know that this is offensive to many because it eliminates man from the “equation” and makes God both the author and the finisher of our faith; man is simply the beneficiary of God’s sovereign choice! Whether or not we like it, God is free to show mercy to whom He shows mercy and He is free to harden whom He chooses to harden; after all, He is God! By the way, be very thankful that He isn’t fair; if He were, then all of us would be eternally lost and destined for hell.
Just for the fun of it read the following passages: Mark 13:20; John 13:18; John 15:16; Acts 10:40-41; Romans 11:7; Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 2:9. Enjoy!
` Now, check this one out: “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself” (Acts 2:39; emphasis added).
Now read Romans 8:28-30—every word carefully. Follow Paul’s logic to its conclusion— “whom He called, these He also justified, and whom He justified, these He also glorified!”
In my opinion, the glorious truth that God saw me in my lost condition—sinful, depraved, helpless, hopeless, and disinterested—and, yet, He chose to intervene in my life, completely against my will, and give me the gift of faith, faith that created an incredible inclination for Jesus that resulted in a love for Him I could have never imagined, is the greatest story ever told—an indescribable gift, indeed.
As for me, I am very thankful that God did not leave the choice up to me!

The Unexpected

Friday morning, May 9, 2008
Yesterday, I spent some time with a man, who was in the throes of having just found his wife lying dead on the floor in their home; to put it mildly, he was upset, unsettled, and undone. Not in his wildest dreams did he expect this event to happen anytime in the near future, much less yesterday. His words still ring in my mind: “I just wanted to grow old with my baby.”
For reasons that fit somehow in God’s plan (but most often, not in ours), our lives are filled with unexpected events that forever change our lives, events that, for the most part, we would never choose to experience and would, therefore, attempt to avoid at all cost. As you know, most of the time these kinds of events leave us with feelings that control our lives for far too long. For example, sometimes we become angry with God and, sadly, we cling to our anger for years and years, only to learn somewhere down the road that we have become slaves to an image of God that is not God at all.
Rest assured that we have a very clever enemy, one who goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; albeit, most often very covertly (even when he is roaring like a lion!). He will stop at nothing to distract us from embracing truth, even to the point of making lies look so much like the truth that we believe them to be truth. It is entirely possible that the man I mentioned above is already struggling with one of the enemy’s lies—a good God would never have allowed this to happen—one with which we would struggle, as well, especially if we were in his shoes.
On the other hand, rest assured (even more assured!) that because God is for you no one can be against you, at least not successfully! Oh, it might appear that someone, even God, is against you, but things are not always as they appear! The fact is this: God is for you (see Romans 8:31) and, I might add He loves you, as well. In fact, nothing can separate you from His love—nothing! Neither death, nor live, nor angels, nor powers, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, not depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate YOU from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus (if you don’t believe it, read Romans 8:37-39).
Interestingly, however, one can know this and know it well, even be absolutely convinced that it is true; however, neither the knowledge or the faith numb the pain we feel when one of these unexpected events come our way. Yes, in time both have a way of bringing us to rest in His Sovereignty, but most of us struggle during the interim and what we struggle with are usually the really difficult questions.
Thankfully, truth always stands the test of time and God is always on our side—ALWAYS! He simply will not allow us to remain forever enslaved to an image of Him that is not Him.

-Mac

A Bit over the Top

Wednesday morning, May 7, 2008
For many years this passage has intrigued me—bothered me, might be a better word: “I am telling the truth is Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 9:1-5).
I like to think that I have a passion for the gospel but the truth is mine is not even close to Paul’s. You think about what he is saying and tell me how you measure-up. He is declaring that he is willing to be separated from Jesus, if that could somehow open the door for some of his Jewish kinsmen to know Him! The only other person I have ever known who was willing to go that far for another’s salvation was Jesus and I ain’t Jesus!
Obviously, Paul knew that he was not his fellow kinsmen’s savior, but to be willing to go this distance for them is quite remarkable. Sadly, few of them ever understood his concern for them and continued in their efforts to destroy this man, who loved them with such love.
Notice, too, Paul’s “great sorrow and unceasing grief” both of which seemed to hang over his head like a dark cloud. Again, I like to think that I have a concern for the lost (otherwise, why my passion for the gospel?) but, sadly, I don’t think I have a clue as to the sorrow and grief that was Paul’s. He really was concerned about his fellow kinsmen and, consequently, carried this deep and abiding sense of sorrow and grief for them.
There is a bit of irony in all of this because it is none other than Paul who taught me that the responsibility for winning the lost rests upon God’s shoulders, not mine; my mission is to passionately preach the gospel and leave the rest to Him. Furthermore, through his writings, I have learned that everyone who wants to be saved will be; the rest do not want to, will not want to, and really do not want to be bothered about the whole thing. My grieving for them (whoever they are) is, therefore, rather futile.
I once read a quote from a great theologian, Dr. Gerstner, that was his response to this question from another great theologian, R.C Sproul: “What will happen, if I get to heaven and find out that my mother is not there?” This was his response: “R.C if you get to heaven and find out that your mother is not there, in this you will greatly rejoice and God will be glorified!”
Now, I am convinced that Dr. Gerstner’s statement is absolutely true; however, spanning the chasm from Paul’s “great sorrow and unceasing grief” to Dr. Gerstner’s, “in this you will greatly rejoice and God will be glorified” is quite a journey of incredible faith.
I really didn’t to rattle your brain, but think on this and pray for a dose no only of Paul’s “great sorrow and unceasing grief,” but also of Dr. Gerstner’s “in this you will greatly rejoice and God will be glorified”!

Truth or Error?

Yes, I know that this is somewhat longer than my usual perspective; however, please take the time to read it, as I have a couple of questions for you that I will ask at the end of the article (By the way, I don’t know who wrote this, only that a friend sent it to me).

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this
course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve t o stay after class so he could talk with him. “How many push-ups can you do?” Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.” “200? That's pretty good, Steve, “Dr. Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?” Steve replied, “I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time.” “Do you think you could?” again asked Dr. Christianson.

“Well, I can try,” said Steve.

“Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” said the professor. Steve said, “Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it.”


Dr. Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited; it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?”

Cynthia said, “Yes.”

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do
ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?” “Sure!” Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe, do you want a donut?” Joe said, “Yes.”

Dr. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, “Scott do you want a donut?” Scott's reply was, “Well, can I do my own push-ups?” Dr. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.” Then Scott said, “Well, I don't want one then.” Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve,
would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?” With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn't want one!”

Dr. Christianson said, “Look!, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it.” And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?”

Sternly, Jenny said, “No.”

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?’” Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, “No!” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because
of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donut s. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?”

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they're your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.” And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, “NO! Don't come in! Stay out!” Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Professor Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push- ups for him?” Steve said, “Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.”

Dr. Christianson said, “Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. ‘Yes,” he said, “give me a donut.” “Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a donut?” Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Professor Christianson quietly asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?” Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?” Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. “Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?”

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.'”
“Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?”

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift o n the desk, uneaten.”

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

“Well done, good and faithful servant,” said the professor, adding, “Not all sermons are preached in words.”

Turning to his class, the professor said, “My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.” “Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?”

This is really a neat story but it contains several theological errors, the kind of errors that seem to be so true, yet they bring death, not life (Satan is a master at making error look so much like truth that we think it is!).

Anyway, see how many errors (theological!) that you can find and please send your findings back to me, as I am really interested in what you will see.

Thanks,

Mac