Be It Unto Me According to Your Word

Friday morning, December 12, 2008 [clear skies, and 470; too cold for me!],
To say the very least, these words of Mary should capture our attention : “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). On the surface, they might not seem like much, but the next time an angel leads you into a place where “angels, themselves, fear to tread,” try them on for size, and, then, let me know what you think.
This is the “where angels fear to tread” place that Gabriel (the angel) was leading Mary into: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will over-shadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God” (vs. 35). You think about this: Mary is a virgin, engaged-to-be-married, but a virgin, none-the-less—no hanky-panky, whatsoever (what a novel idea!); although she was probably looking forward to having a quiver filled with children, who would be the sons and daughters of the man to whom she was engaged, aka Joseph, she had no idea (none, nada, zilch!) that God had chosen her to give birth to, of all people, the Son of God (her “how can this be” question evidences this!) and certainly NOT before being married (As you know, in her day adulterers were not looked upon very favorably; to say the least her “political future” would be placed in serious jeopardy, not to mention that she would be stoned to death. Can you imagine her trying to convince anyone that this conception was, well, that it was Immaculate?); and, finally, she saw herself as God’s bondslave, which was a good thing—a very good thing—otherwise, she would have “cut and run” faster than a beagle hound chasing a rabbit through a sage field on a cold winter morning (Of course, running would have been futile because God had already made His decision and His decision always stands, regardless of how fast we run!). Yes, I can see why she would have “double clutched” with “how can this be” before she came through with these words that will live in infamy (Yes, I intended to use that word!): “. . . be it done to me according to your word.”
Oftentimes, the Lord leads us (maybe it is angels!) into places where “angels fear to tread,” places where we would NEVER volunteer to go, places we know we have no business being in, places that scare the wits out of us, places that move us so far out of our comfort zones, that we feel completely out of control, and when He does, it becomes OUR time to say, “Be it unto me according to your Word.”
Don’t think you will escape this, as Jesus Himself could not! Remember His words: “Not my will but Thine be done!” Need I remind you that these words did NOT come easily for Him, it took the sweating of blood, and, I might add, they will not come easily for you, but they will come; He will see to it!
I hope you will think about this-

The Seed of God

Wednesday afternoon, December 10, 2008 [raining cats & dogs!],
Listen carefully to these words, spoken by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary: “And behold you shall conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). Then, as you remember, she responded with, “How can this be, since I am a virgin” (vs. 34)? His answer was clear—very clear: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God” (vs. 35).
As you also remember, Gabriel told Mary of Elizabeth’s unexpected pregnancy: “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month” (vs. 36). I want to encourage you to read this entire story, beginning in verse 5 of chapter one, continuing through verse25, as I think it will be meaningful to you. Anyway, as you can see in verse 23, Zacharias, Elizabeth’s husband, returned home, which is key in this story. Verse 24, unlocks the door to the secret: “And after these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant . . .” In other words, after Zacharias’ meeting with his angel, he finished his priestly duties and returned home to enjoy a bit of hanky-panky with his wife, hanky-panky that proved to be productive, much to his (and her) surprise!
I said all of that to say this: there is a significant difference between these two pregnancies: on the one hand, Elizabeth conceives as the result of hanky-panky (sexual intercourse!), but Mary conceives without any hanky-panky whatsoever! The seed (spermatozoon!), that produced the zygote that became the embryo that became John, came from old Zack; however, the seed (spermatozoon!), that produced the zygote that became the embryo that became Jesus, came from, well it came from none other than the Holy Spirit! Wow! Talk about threading camels through the eyes of needles!
Why is this so significant? Simple! This means that those who are born into the family of God are born without any of Adam’s seed whatsoever; instead, we are born with the Seed of God, the Holy, blameless, perfect, righteous, imperishable, sinless, eternal seed of God! No longer Adam’s kindred, but altogether children of God!
Now you give this some thought, especially if you are a preacher, but even if you aren’t a preacher, give it some thought, as it will bless you abundantly. If you do give it some thought but still cannot see the blessing, ask the Holy Spirit to take the blinders off your eyes, so you can see. I’m telling you, this is good stuff!

Nothing is Impossible with God!

Tuesday morning, December 8, 2008 [Sunny and 670!],
An angel came to Mary and said, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:30-33). And Mary thought, “Yea, right!” Then she said (probably before she thought again!), “How can this be, since I am a virgin” (vs. 34)? Then she thought some more: “I am not married, I have never had sexual relations with anyone; truth is, I am a virgin and proud of it. Something is wrong with this picture—terribly wrong! How CAN this be?”
The angel’s response makes it evident that he (that is correct, as every time the word “angel” is used in the Scriptures it is in the masculine NOT the feminine) came equipped with extra-sensory perception, i.e., he could sense the anxiety and fear in Mary’s heart, so he said to her (my paraphrase), “You haven’t heard anything yet! Listen to this: Your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived (past tense!) a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month!”
You know, sometimes God can come up with some outlandish ideas, ideas that make all of us nervous, anxious, and afraid, and these are two very good examples! I can understand why Mary might have been just a tad nervous, even anxious. In the society in which she lived, this could only go in one direction—DOWNHILL—or so she thought.
Then the angel reveals the punch line to Mary: FOR NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD! As you remember, Jesus spoke these very same words to His disciples in response to His telling them that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. I don’t know who was most relieved to hear them, Mary or the disciples, but I do know this: THEY ARE POWERFUL WORDS, WORDS THAT BRING FAITH—INCREDIBLE FAITH—THE KIND THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, THE KIND THAT THREADS CAMELS THROUGH THE EYES OF NEEDLES, AND THE KIND THAT ALLOWS FOR A VIRGIN TO GIVE BIRTH TO THE SON OF GOD! To be sure, His ways are not our ways, not even close, but aren’t we all glad, as in very glad!
Now, listen up: because nothing is impossible with God, it is entirely possible and highly probable that you will make it through this Christmas season without being distracted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus, the same Jesus who was conceived in a virgin womb, who moves mountains, and who threads camels through the eyes of needles. If my prediction is true, you can say on December 26, I have just witnessed a mountain-moving, miracle!

This is the Gift from God!

Friday afternoon, December 5, 2008 [sunny and still too cold for me!],
This is what Solomon had to say: “There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand. And this also is a grievous evil—exactly as a man is born, thus will he die. So, what is the advantage to him who toils for the wind? Throughout his life he also eats in darkness with great vexation, sickness and anger. Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift from God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart” (Ecclesiastes 5:13-20; emphasis, mine).
This is what Jesus had to say: “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions” (Luke 12:15; emphasis, mine).
He also said this: “Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these” (Luke 12:27; emphasis, mine).
I really wish you would take the time to meditate upon these passages, especially during these days of our lives.

The Object of our Worship?

Wednesday morning, November 19, 2008 [clear and COLD; 330F],
[CONTINUED FROM MONDAY, 11/17/08]
Admittedly, you will probably disagree with my opinion but I am going to make it, nevertheless: There are more church-goers who worship themselves than worship God. Yes, I realize that money, especially during these financially precarious times, seems to be the god of most; however, a more careful look will reveal the truth—the worship of money takes a back seat to the worship of self.
To be sure, you can determine what/who a person worships by the way he reacts when the object of his worship crumbles, and the present financial melt-down has certainly evidenced this. Some have reacted with remarkable faith and peace, while others have reacted with incredible fear and anger; however, there is no reaction like the reaction most church-goers have when someone tells them that keeping the Ten Commandments has no more to do with righteousness than does the singing of the National Anthem. If you have ever tried to take away a child's pacifier, then you know something of the kind of reaction to which I am referring.
You see, if you believe that pleasing God has to do with your behavior, then the rules that define the correct behavior become all-important. For most, these rules are known as The Ten Commandments (I find it interesting that although few believers can even name the Ten Commandments, most see them as the way to holiness and righteousness. Go figure!). Of course, these Ten Commandments have to be interpreted and this presents us with an entirely new set of gods to worship—keeping the Sabbath Day holy; loving your neighbor, as you love yourself; tithing; church attendance; financial responsibility; stewardship; faithfulness, to name a few.
I say these (both the Ten Commandments and our interpretations of them) are gods we worship because we place far more confidence in our ability to keep (obey) them than we ever place in the finished work of Jesus, the work he accomplished in our behalf through His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seating.
The real tragedy begins when a believer begins to think that he/she is being successful at keeping the rules! Believe it or not, I actually had someone (a preacher) tell me that he keeps all of the Ten Commandments! Yes, he was being serious—very serious! Sadly, the more one believes that he is being successful at keeping the "rules," the more confidence he places in his own ability to please God (this was Adam's and Eve's problem!); obviously, in the end, this person is worshipping himself—a sad state of affairs, to be sure.
So you see, what begins as a sincere, albeit terribly misinformed, desire to please God, ends in self-worship. Sadly, most are taught that the way to holiness is through the keeping of the Ten Commandments, which quickly become a very long list of interpretations of the commandments (the Jews developed 210 rules on how to keep the Sabbath Day holy; my mother had 211); consequently, we strive very hard to meet the standards set before us. In our deception, we honestly believe that we are making progress and, consequently, we soon begin to place much confidence in our own ability to please God, thus the beginning of our worship of the commandments. As we see more progress being made (or so we sincerely believe), we begin to put even more confidence in our own ability to please God and begin to worship ourselves! A slippery slope, indeed! When the god of self begins to crumble, even money looses is luster!
By the way, and just for the record: Jesus is our righteousness—period! Your keeping the commandments has no more to do with your righteousness than does your singing of the National Anthem.

Released from the Law!

Monday morning, November 17, 2008 [beautiful, clear, sunny and 420F],

[CONTINUED FROM Thursday, 11/13/08]

For reasons beyond me, Steve Brown also said this (my paraphrase, as I do not have the tape): There is a shallow teaching going around that says we have been released from the Law; however, we have NOT been released from the Law.
As you might imagine, when he spoke these words, I really wanted to stop him and question him, but Annis was sitting next to me, so I managed to contain myself, barely but enough to continue listening. I do think I know what he was attempting to accomplish because He followed with this: God's Ten Commandments were not His Ten Suggestions!
He went on to say that God has not changed His mind about any of His commandments from the first to the last. In other words, Steve was reminding us that each of His commandments is off limits for us; we have no business "fishing" where these "no fishing" signs are posted. Amazingly, I agreed with him; however, I must admit that I was wondering what he was going to do with his "we have NOT been released from the Law" comment.
Surely, every Christian (with the possible exception of those 'fresh born') knows that God was serious about the Ten Commandments, that He really meant for us to obey them, not violate them. I mean that has been preached long enough that even the heathen should know it is true.
But IS it really true? I don't think so (oops, I probably won't get a return invite!) and this is my reason: God knew from the very beginning that we would not obey the Ten Commandments, so He was not really expecting us to do so. You see, He gave us the Ten Commandments to show us our need for a Savior, not to give us "God's Rules for Righteousness." He gave us the Ten Commandments to show us how foolish it is for us to think we can become righteous in our own strength, i.e. by keeping the commandments.
Specifically, God gave us the Law (the Ten Commandments) to (1) define sin; (2) to show us its exceeding sinfulness; (3) to give sin its strength [power]; and finally (4) to be a schoolmaster that would drive [actually, drag] us in utter desperation to Jesus. When that job has been accomplished (and it has been in the life of every believer!), we are, thus, released from the Law!
Listen to Paul's own words: "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under Law, but under grace" [Romans 6:14; emphasis, mine]; "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound (the Law), so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter [Romans 7:4-6; emphasis, mine]; "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The Righteous man shall live by faith.' However the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'He who practices them shall live by them.' Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree . . .'" [Galatians 3:11-13; emphasis, mine].
You can draw your own conclusions—

[more to come!]

Free from Sin and Enslaved to Righteousness

Thursday morning, November 13, 2008 [raining cats & dogs; 550F],

[CONTINUED FROM Wednesday]

OK, so we have now established that man is evil—period—and in desperately need of a Savior—One who can do for him what he cannot do for himself, even with God's help. Thankfully, we have also seen that God has provided that Savior in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The good news is this: in sending our Savior, God did not, simply, refurbish us; instead, He crucified us, buried us, and raised us up as new creations in Him—born of the seed of God! In other words, the person that you were in Adam was crucified in Christ on the Cross, buried with Him, and, finally, raised up with Him and seated at His right hand in the Most Holy Place in the heavens (see Romans 6 & Ephesians 2, if you do not believe me).
When we were born into the world, we were born in Adam bearing his seed—sinners, separated from God, with no interest in Him, not to mention helpless to do anything about our dire situation, even if we were interested in doing so. To be sure, we had no inclination for good; instead, our inclination was for self, even when we fed the poor or took warm, apple pies to widows or gave some money for the local soup kitchen or attended a funeral visitation. The ONLY reason we would ever show interest in helping another person was to make ourselves look "good," or at least better.
Thank God for Jesus! He is the Head of the family of God and has no Adamic seed whatsoever (He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, not by man!); consequently, when we are born into His family, we are born free of Adam's seed.
This is significant for several reasons: (1) We are, therefore, as righteous as Jesus is righteous; (2) We have an inclination for Jesus; (3) We are privileged to do good works, the works that He prepared beforehand for us; (4) We have the option of allowing love to motivate us, instead of self; (5) It evidences God's love for us—His unconditional love; (6) and finally, (7) We are freed from the power of sin and made slaves of righteousness.
Sadly, even though they are staring Truth in the face, many believers choose to live as if they are "good with an inclination for evil." Hopefully, you can now see just how far short this falls from the Truth, not to mention how much it deprives them of the glorious freedom of living in complete dependence upon Him, the One who is our righteousness.

[more to come]

Putting Off the Old and Putting on the New

Wednesday morning, November 12, 2008 [cloudy and 51 degrees],

[CONTINUED FROM MONDAY]

Thankfully, Steve did point out that God imputed the righteousness of Jesus to every believer (whether he is good with a tinge of evil or evil with a tinge of good or just plain mean as a snake)! To be honest, I always cringe a bit when I hear a teacher use the word "impute" in this context and for good reason: it doesn't do justice to the Greek word that is being translated, not to mention that most of us seldom even use the word, in any context. Try using it in a common, ordinary, everyday sentence!
Sadly, most of the time (for theology teachers) its use implies that God has given us something that is really not ours. It is as if they see the finished work of Jesus as amounting to an adoption, an adoption that says, "I am giving you My name and my righteousness but remember that neither are really yours." To be sure, we have been adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5, among others); however, this adoption is much more than a legal and limited declaration. As a result of this adoption, we have actually changed bloodlines; we have been removed from the family of Adam and placed into the family of God [You think about that!].
Having said that, allow me to show you Paul's rendition of what Steve said: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21; emphasis added). As you can see, Paul's rendition is clear: we actually become the righteousness of God in Christ!
Why am I making this point? Well, for one reason, it needs to be made; we need to know that we are no longer who we were. As believers, we are no longer good with a proclivity for evil and, certainly, not evil with a proclivity for good; instead, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are no longer in Adam, but in Christ! We have been raised up with Him and seated with Him in the Heavenly places (the Most Holy Place) at God's right hand! We are no longer sinners but saints!
Now stay with me: Even though we have become the righteousness of God in Christ, we have nothing about which to boast, except in the cross of Jesus, and we do not because He gave His righteousness to us, we did not manufacture it on our own. A thing of grace, indeed!
Maybe it is time for us to put off the old man and put on the new man! "But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Ephesians 4:20-24).

[MORE TO COME!]

Continued from yesterday.

Monday morning, November 10, 2008 [sunny and a bit chilly—430],

[CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY]

In an effort to be "Fair & Balanced," I must hasten to tell you that Steve Brown also said this: "Man is basically evil with a proclivity for good." As you might imagine, he was using these two opposing notions in an effort to cause his listeners to think, and I am certain that his pedagogical method worked (I was there and saw it with my own eyes!).
Although no poll was taken, I am certain that there were decidedly more "takers" for the "Man is good with a proclivity for evil" notion than there were for "Man is evil with a proclivity for good" notion. I mean, after all, man is so selfish and self-centered that he cannot imagine that he is anything but good, with, yes, maybe a hint of evil surfacing every now and then.
Now, if you can, imagine yourself sitting at a lunch table with several people you have never before seen, having a discussion around these two opposing notions. Imagine trying to convince even one of them that man is basically evil with a proclivity for good. Trust me, it is difficult enough to convince one that man is good with a proclivity for evil; however, when both are used together, most always choose the "man is good with a proclivity for evil" notion.
Now, imagine yourself sitting at the same table having this discussion KNOWING that both notions are incorrect—terribly incorrect—and also knowing that Steve Brown (and they had come to hear him, not you!) had just come down on the "man is evil with a proclivity for good" side of the fence. If your imagination is working, you have probably already broken out in hives, or at least a sweat!
Imagine that you knew that there is a third piece of this "pie" that Steve never mentioned, the piece that, in your opinion, is THE truth of the matter: "Man is evil—period! I can imagine that your part of the conversation would have gone something like this: Man not only has no proclivity for good, he doesn't even have the capacity for it. Scene change: you are now sitting at the table alone!
For the life of me, I cannot imagine why Steve never mentioned this piece of the "pie!" Yea, right! I can, however, imagine that, if he had mentioned it and claimed it as truth, this trip to the Cove would have been his last one and I don't fault him for wanting to make return trips!
I, however, don't have to be concerned with that concern, so I will take the liberty of pushing the envelope even further with this: there is not one blessed (no pun intended) thing man can do about his complete and total depravity. Really! I am not teasing. The fact is, there is nothing he can do even to desire to be Good!
Again, man does not need God's help; instead, he needs for God to do for him what he could never do for himself, even with God's help—snatch him out of the pit and give him Life!

MORE TO COME—SOON!

Grace & peace,
Mac

A Proclivity for Good?

Sunday evening, November 9, 2008 [clear and 620],

After having spent several days at The Cove, listening to Steve Brown and intermingling with others, who were listening to him, I am more convinced than ever that the message of grace is the message that God is bringing alive within the church today. As we sat at the breakfast table, the morning after the first session, I took the liberty of interjecting myself into a conversation that some folk were having about something Steve said the night before. This is what he said: Man is basically good with a proclivity for evil. What I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears served to confirm what I already knew: many people attend church for years without ever being taught the true gospel. Sadly, the gospel they have been taught puts man at the center of the universe and God somewhere on the sidelines—man becomes a god and God becomes his victim.
As you might imagine, I challenged Steve's comment, suggesting that man is basically evil with no proclivity for good—none whatsoever. It soon became obvious that the people, whose conversation I interrupted, were not about to accept my suggestion; that is, none of them but the one man who was obviously being drawn to The Truth.
One of the men said he knew several lost people, not to mention Christians, who consistently did some really good things. He even mentioned Warren Buffet, reminding us that he has given millions to help the needy. Sadly, he really believed that the "good" works to which he was referring translated into "a proclivity for good" in man. As I gently (honestly, I was being gentle!) pursued my premise, he left the table, along with two of his friends, one of whom was the sister of the man who was, obviously, being drawn to The Truth. It was if I could read her mind: "Let's get out of here before he convinces my brother of this heresy."
The truth is this: until we realize our own depravity, we will not realize our own need for a savior! We will think much like the Galatians, who agreed that Jesus was good but insisted that circumcision was essential. In other words, salvation is the result of what Jesus did and what we will do (or not do, as the case may be). There is a Greek word for this mindset—baloney! (No, I did not tell them that!).
Anyway, just for the record, I will share with you what Paul had to say about man's proclivity for good: "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is not one who does good, there is not even one. There throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18; emphasis added).
No, we do not need God's help; instead, we need Him, in the person of Jesus, to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, even with His help. We need to get over thinking that we have a proclivity for good and accept the fact that we are rotten to the core. A young man came up to Jesus one day and addressed Him with this: "Good Teacher . . . ". Jesus immediately stopped him and said, "Why do you call me good? There is but One who is Good and He is My Father."
Enough said? I think so!

There is more to come—

Blessings with grace lavished,

Anxious about Tomorrow?

Monday morning, October 20, 2008 [sunny, beautiful and cold; 380],

This is a portion of what Jesus had to say in that well-known sermon He preached from the mountain side, aka The Sermon on the Mount: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where you treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6: 19-21). He went on to add this: "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (vs. 34). At the very least, we cannot blame Him for not warning us!

Yesterday, General Colin Powell endorsed Barak Hussein Obama—surprise, surprise. Obama made it clear that he was "humbled and honored" to have received his endorsement, not to mention that Powell would surely be one of his advisors, possible even have a "formal" position, if he (Powell) should so choose.

Powell made it clear in his endorsement of Obama that, in his opinion, there is nothing wrong with the US President being a Muslim—surprise, surprise, again. I must assume that, in his opinion, there is nothing wrong with the Pope being a Southern Baptist, or a United Methodist, for that matter. I wish he would travel to some Muslin country and suggest that a Christian become their leader; even better that a Christian woman become their leader. Why, I feel sure that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is already considering Sarah Palin as his immediate replacement! If not her, then, surely, an orthodox Jew.

Folks, I don't give a rip what Colin Powell says, God said this: "You shall have no other gods before Me" and from what I can see, i.e., in my not-so-humble opinion, He meant what He said, and He has NOT changed His mind, and Allah is NOT another name for the God who spoke those solemn words!

Now, that ain't the end of the story; Powell also said this: Barak Obama (he left out his middle name for some strange reason; maybe, just maybe, oh never mind!) has the advantage of big bucks and a big name. I guess he thinks, that of all the requirements that must be met for one to become a US President, these rank at the top of the list, kinda' like a five-star General ranks above a four star. Well, for some reason the same God who made it clear that we will have no other gods before Him, the One who is the creator of the universe, the One who put the stars in space and counted them, the One who is all-knowing did not choose to follow Powell's philosophy in making His decision, as to who would be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He chose a man who had not bucks at all, not even a place to lay His head and a name that, well a name that was completely rejected!

I find it noteworthy, however, that God did say this about that Name: ""Therefore God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

I really don't think we need to be anxious about tomorrow!

On the Subject of Politics

To be sure, I make no claims of being a politician; the only time I ever ran for a public office was umpteen years ago when I ran for Coroner of Taylor County and won! Actually, not too many people aspire to such a lofty position, which gave me an edge, I feel sure. For the rest of my life rather than running for an office, I have been running from one (which might be one of my character faults; I will leave that for your judgment). That does not mean, however, that I am not interested in what goes on in the world of politics; instead, it means that I prefer not to subject myself to the intense scrutiny that seems to be the norm of the day. Maybe (just maybe) if I were in closer proximity to the side called "perfect," I might be more inclined but I am not, and that is for sure.

Anyway, and more to the point, there is something going on in America that really troubles me and it is this (among other things!): there is a huge demographic of people living in America who literally hate Christianity and they are taking a stand, a strong stand, especially in the arena of politics. Obviously, the media is on their side and doing everything it (they!) can to encourage and support their cause. Both seem driven to belittle and to berate the very God of Creation, along with His Son, Jesus Christ. Obviously, their mission is futile and, consequently, it serves only to demonstrate the depravity of lost man.

I heard Senator McCain once say that he would rather lose an election, than lose a war, and his making that statement convinced me to vote for him. Tonight, I heard a few soundbites from Charlie Gibson's interview with Governor Sarah Palin. His attempts at belittling her strong Christian beliefs angered me. I can only pray that from her heart of hearts she can say "I would rather lose an election than denounce my Savior!" I believe she can, but I also know that she is under enormous pressure. She needs our prayers! I hope you will join with me, in praying that having done all, she will stand true to Him and not allow these foolish "men" intimidate her.

My Perspective: This nation needs Sarah Palin and John McCain--desperately.

Cluck, Cluck!

Friday morning, August 8, 2008 (080808)[much cooler than yesterday!],
Can you bear another quote from Mason's book? "When it comes to the topic of physical pain, people who are not actually experiencing such pain can entertain all kinds of noble theories about it. As long as it is happening to someone else, pain is but an abstraction, a theological conundrum, an unfortunate blight on an otherwise fairly tolerable world. But as soon as the Devil so much as touches a person's own body, the whole picture changes. Then suffering becomes the very opposite of an abstraction: it becomes an enormity, a concrete reality so overwhelming that it has the power to engulf all other reality, to eclipse all other thought except the thought itself" (p. 41).
This is what Satan said to God concerning Job: "'Skin for skin!' Satan replied. 'A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face'" (Job 2:4-5). Humm – sometimes Satan doesn't know what he is talking about nor does he know about whom he is talking and that is a good thing!
Now, listen to what Mason says: "It could almost be said that the sufferer's knowledge of pain is of the same order as the believer's knowledge of God and that this is why the Devil exploits pain as a prime vehicle of temptation . . . It is not accident that the place where the Lord and the Devil themselves join ultimate battle—the cross—is a rack of torture" (p. 42).
As you probably know (if you have been a Christian for any length of time), the Devil has several goals that he feverishly attempts to reach, not the least of which are the following: (1) to cause us to lose everything we have; (2) to cause us to lose our identity (who we really are). As is evident in the Scriptures, he did cause Job to lose everything he had (with God's permission, of course, and thankfully!) but rather than coming "unglued" and cursing God and running down the road throwing beer bottles at mail boxes, Job worshipped [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21b)]. Rest assured that this was not a knee-jerk reaction, but a response to a lifetime of practicing worshipping, that's correct—practicing worshipping.
What about Job's identity? Was Satan able to rob him of it? No! Absolutely not! Oh, on several occasions, it seems that he had lost, but keep reading because he did not. Job struggled and hurt and cried and did everything else that anyone would have done, but He refused to relent, when it came to his identity (Thank God that He has the reins in His hands!).
As best I know, the only anesthetic for pain, the kind of pain that Job endured, the kind of pain that is comparable to having open heart surgery without anesthesia, is trust—trust in THE SURGEON! This is what Mason said: "When there is stabbing pain, trust cries out. It is only mistrust, fear, and suspicion that keeps silent" (p. 58).
Even so (and just for the record), I am not standing in the "Please give me pain" line; I am too much of a "chicken" for that! "Cluck, cluck!"

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

The Disguise of Commendable Behavior

Wednesday morning, April 30, 2008
The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 should make everyone quake in his/her boots, especially in light of the fact that it is such a perfect example of how Satan enters the “congregation of those who believe” under the disguise of commendable behavior. This is how the Holy Spirit chose to preserve the story: “But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 5:1-2).
You are familiar with the context of this story so I won’t repeat it (if not, read yesterday’s perspective). On the surface, there is nothing wrong with a man and his wife selling a piece of property and giving a portion of it to the church and keeping the rest for themselves—nothing at all; however, there is a bit more to this story. This couple was pretending to be doing the same thing that those in the last part of chapter 4 were doing—selling houses and land and bringing ALL of the proceeds to the church (actually, laying them at the apostles’ feet) for the apostles to distribute, as the need arose. As you remember the consequence for their lying to the Holy Spirit was rather severe—immediate and sudden death.
Now before you jump to some religious, Pharisaical conclusion, allow me to remind you that there is nothing in this passage that even hints that they lost their salvation; instead, they simply died. Admittedly, however, that was a rather severe consequence by anyone’s standards, especially in view of the fact that we have no record of it happening again (not one that I can remember, anyway). Interestingly, as a result of their death, great fear came upon all who heard about it (see vs. 5)! I wonder why—
This is another of those truths that, spoken to most local churches, would not go over very well. Go ahead and give it a try. This Sunday morning get you pastor’s permission (if you are the pastor, do it yourself) and warn the congregants (from Acts 5) that the consequence for hiding oneself under the disguise of commendable behavior is immediate and sudden death. You might also want to remind them that the Holy Spirit will, indeed, find them out. I might add this: It would prove dramatic, should several of the folk fall over dead in the pews! Yes, great fear would come upon the church!
I feel certain that those of you who love being religious, who love living under the disguise of commendable behavior, love this story and equally love telling others how they should live-up to the standard of behavior you have achieved—the correct standard, of course. If this is true for you, then allow me to remind you that the enemy is using YOU to enter the “congregation of those who believe” under the disguise of commendable behavior.
For those of us who have long-since learned that there is nothing commendable about our behavior, even when it is at its best, the freedom from having to pretend is, well it is incredibly freeing! The freedom from having to do anything simply because someone else is doing it and others are commending it, is even more freeing! The freedom to live in undistracted devotion to Him is the grandest freedom of all!

Blessings and love,

An Owner or a Steward?

Tuesday morning, April 29, 2008
As I hope you remember, in yesterday’s perspective I mentioned that it was my strong opinion that Jesus “hurt the feelings” of the temple leaders when He told them that they had turned His House into a robbers den, and I went on to say that I seriously doubted that He was concerned about having done so. The truth is His agenda had a much higher purpose than catering to their feelings.
Interestingly, this morning I was reading from the fourth chapter of Acts and in the process, I came upon this passage: “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them” (Acts 4:32). Wow! I wonder how this would go over in your local church, i.e. among the congregation of those who believe where you worship. Actually, I think we can find out, if you really want to know.
This Sunday morning stand up in church and read this passage and suggest to the congregation that, since this was the practice of the early church, it should be the practice of your church, as well. Then suggest that everyone gather the following Wednesday afternoon, when verse 34 and 35 will be carried out: “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need” (vs. 34-35). Don’t expect a very large gathering.
The truth is I marvel at the fact that this ever happened, even within the early church, and, consequently, I have no expectations of it happening today, but that is not my point. My point is this: there are many things about the early church that would prove to be very offensive to the church we know today, and this example is certainly one of them.
I do think it worth noting that the fruit of this “releasing of ownership” was quite incredible: “And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them. . .” (vs. 33-34a).
Somehow, we have forgotten (if we ever knew) that we are mere stewards of what God has entrusted to us, NOT the owners of it. An owner is privileged to do as he/she pleases with whatever is owned; however, a steward has a much higher privilege—to take care of what has been entrusted to him and to use it according to the owner’s instructions. To say the least, recognizing that most of us have been made stewards of much, I seriously doubt that there should be even one truly needy person among us. In all probability, if even half of the stained glass, fancy candelabras, tall steeples, expensive musical instruments, ad infinitum, that the church itself owns, were sold and the proceeds laid at the feet of those Christians who care about the needy, most needy believers would no longer be needy. At the very least, the government could get out of the welfare business and the church would take care of her own.
Are you an owner or a steward. Your response to what I have written might provide you with a hint.

Blessings and love,

The Opinion of Others

Monday morning, April 28, 2008
It is my very strong opinion that Jesus hurt the feelings of the temple leaders when He said this to them: “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den” (Luke 19:46). Why that would be much like some outsider entering one of the local churches in this area and telling them a truth they did NOT want to hear. For example, “It is written, ‘I am the Lord your God and you shall have no other Gods before Me,’ but you are worshipping all sorts of pagan gods—attendance, money, performance, music, talent, success, preaching, preachers, doctrines, even dogmas, to name a few.” I am of the opinion that this would not go over very well in most churches for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that church-goers typically do not appreciate being called idolaters.
To be honest, I do not think Jesus was concerned about the feelings of the temple leaders; in fact, it is my opinion that He refused to take responsibility for another’s feelings, especially those of the temple leaders. Not even Jesus was able to control or determine how another might feel!
I said that so I could say this: It is very difficult NOT to be concerned about the feelings of others when your well-being is so strongly attached to their opinions of you. When this is the case (and it is, more often than not!), most everything we do is done to “keep the boat from rocking” and, thus, to avoid the firestorms that result when others are angered by something we say or do. Obviously, Jesus wasn’t in Sunday School when this lesson was taught (read Matthew 23, if you should doubt this!).
Let me say that this way: Jesus was NOT a hireling—period! He never “hired-on” to work for anyone; He never put Himself in a place where His value was determined by anyone’s opinion of Him; instead, He lived and died to serve His Father. I think there is a lesson in this for all of us: Jesus was able to do this because He KNEW His Father’s opinion of Him and His opinion was the only one that mattered—”This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased!”
If we could not only realize that this is His opinion of us, as well; but also come to the place where His opinion of us is the only one that really matters, we would spend much less time making our decisions around what others might think of us and, thus, spend much more time living our lives in the freedom of His opinion of us.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Who Touched My Garments?

Wednesday evening, April 23, 2008
The Scriptures do not tell us her name but they do tell us that after enduring much at the hands of many physicians and spending all of her money, she was worse at the end than at the beginning. She had a chronic menstrual bleed that not only left her physically weakened and financially destitute, but also spiritually unclean. Furthermore, you might as well face the fact that she was probably abused by most of these physicians. This is the text: “And a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse ” (Mark 5:25-26).
The mental picture I have of this woman depicts a very frail, severely emaciated, fearful, shy, angry, hopeless, desperate, and barely-able-to-walk middle-aged woman. She was probably very frustrated with the Scribes and Pharisees, especially in light of their refusal to have anything to do with her because of her unclean status. What was she to do? Where was she to go? Did anyone care? Then, as if out of nowhere (at least to her), Jesus passes by! Oh, she had heard about Him but because of her “issue of blood” she knew that He, like the Scribes and Pharisees, would have nothing to do with her. This was what she thought: If I can just touch His garment, that will be enough; I won’t have to actually touch Him and He won’t have to touch me! Maybe, just maybe, I can slip up close enough to Him to touch the hem of His robe and not even be noticed; that is all it will take!
She had one major problem and it was this: She could not “slip up” on Jesus because He never misses anything! She thought He was focused on getting to Jairus’ house, where his daughter was dying; however, she was mistaken—greatly mistaken! Yes, He was on the way to Jairus’ house, but at that moment He was focused on her and on what He was about to do for her! I honestly think that had she known what Jesus was thinking, had she known the love He had in His heart for her, she would have been absolutely astonished—flabbergasted!
At any rate, as inconspicuously as she possibly could, even stealthily, she managed to crawl close enough to Him to reach out and gently touch the hem of His robe, quickly retracting her hand, hoping not to noticed. I love these words: “And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction” (vs. 29)!
Notice what happened: She felt in her body that she was healed; at the same time He perceived in Himself that power (dynamite!) and gone forth from Him, following His perception with these words: “Who touched my garments?” (As if He did not know!). I can see her now, as she meekly raised her hand, identifying herself, and, then, falling down before Him, she told Him the whole truth. I love His response: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction” (vs. 34). Yes, she was financially destitute, afraid, emaciated, desperate, and et al, BUT she was healed of her infirmity—something money could not buy and physicians could not appropriate!
Do you ever wonder why it takes some of us so long to come to Jesus, just to come to Him and, if nothing else, touch the hem of His garment? When we do, the strangest thing happens, perfect healing comes!
Humble submission to Jesus, nothing more; nothing less.

Greatly Mistaken!

Monday afternoon, April 21, 2008
On this particular day, some of the Sadducees (those who insisted that there could be no resurrection) came to Jesus to question Him, obviously not trying to find truth but to prove Him a blasphemer and a phony. After setting the stage with this quote from Moses, “If a man’s brother dies, and leaves behind a wife, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring to his brother,” they created this question: “There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died, leaving no offspring. And the second one took her, and died, leaving behind no offspring; and the third likewise; and so all seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
This was His response: “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures, or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of these Sadducees, none whatsoever; they were truly convinced that they were correct regarding the impossibility of anyone being resurrected from the dead. In my opinion, they were just as sincere in wanting to prove Him wrong!
Just for the record: I will take what Jesus said as truth—these Sadducees were greatly mistaken regarding the reality of one’s resurrection from the dead, and it goes without saying that they were just as mistaken regarding their ability to prove Him wrong.
Have there been any times in your life when you were positively convinced that you were “right” and everyone else was “wrong,” only to learn (usually the hard way) that you were greatly mistaken? Do you remember how you tried so hard not only to prove them wrong, but also to prove that you were right, only to have to eat a large slice of “humble pie” when the truth became evident?
Gosh, I can remember many of these experiences from my own life. For example, I well-remember being absolutely convinced, positively-no-doubt-about-it convinced, that a believer could lose his/her salvation AND, I might add, I also well-remember trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. I also remember that HUGE slice of humble pie! I also remember being just as convinced that Jesus’ atonement was for everyone and, as a result, trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. Another HUGE piece of humble pie!
Anyway, I have lived long enough to be good-and-tired of being greatly mistaken, DECEIVED is a better word, and having to eat humble pie. The longer I walk with Him, the more I realize that there is very little that I need to “cast in cement;” in fact, only one thing—JESUS IS LORD, MY LORD! Anything else, I leave open for discussion—

Do You Not Yet Understand?

Friday afternoon, April 18, 2008
As you know, it is Friday and Sunday is coming—FAST! I sometimes wonder how I ever preached three sermons per week, especially in light of the fact that weeks pass by so quickly. Even more, I wonder how any of the “pew sitters” ever assimilated so much material; I guess they were just gracious and patiently endured my insensitivity to their derrières.
Things have changed now and for the most part I am down to one sermon per week, which I think is a good thing! Actually, I literally LOVE to preach; it is what I was born to do. My loving to do it, however, does not mean that everyone else loves to hear me do it, at least not as much as I love to do it. The reason I think that “one sermon per week” is a good thing is this: it enhances the possibility that the “hearers of the Word” will become “doers of the Word” and not, simply, professional students of the Word.
Now don’t misunderstand me: for more years than I can remember, I have loved to study the Scriptures (another good thing!); however, if my doing so was merely to gain more knowledge, then I have missed the point altogether. If my study of the Scriptures does not result in my becoming a doer of the same, then what is the purpose?
One more thing: by becoming a “doer of the Word” I do not mean that we should embrace the Protestant work ethic and take on the responsibility of working our fool selves to death in an effort to please God and to help Him redeem the world. Please, please, don’t make that assumption! If you do, you will have really missed the point not only of study, but also of Christianity!
Anyway, as far as I know now, my text for Sunday’s sermon is from Mark’s gospel (Mark 8:11-21), with emphasis on verse 21: “And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?” As you might imagine, my response is, “Heck, no! I do not yet understand but I am trying (which is why I do all this studying; well, one of the reasons!).
The text does give me some hope, however, because His disciples had seen more than they ever deserved to see (the feeding of the four thousand and the feeding of the five thousand, both with many leftovers!) but they, obviously, did not understand.
I know that most of you will not be in attendance at GCF this Sunday but I do challenge each of you to meditate on this text, not just for the sake of studying, but in order to understand just enough to become a “doer” of this part of His Word.
Also, please take the time to pray for me as I continue to prepare to preach this message. Remember: Jesus does not need this message; this message needs Jesus! If He doesn’t say something, then nothing of value will be said.

Blessings and love,

REvived or REformed?

Tuesday morning, April 15, 2008
It is official: I have accepted the invitation to preach a “revival” at Friendship Baptist Church near Lake Sinclair beginning Sunday morning, June 1, 2008. The pastor (Rev. Gary Horton) and I have met a couple of times for lunch and I must tell you that both of us are convinced that this is truly a Divine Appointment. To say that I am excited about this opportunity would be an understatement, a very under understatement.
As you might guess, my accepting this invitation has motivated me to do some thinking about this notion of “revival”. As I said in an earlier perspective, “revival” is not the term I would choose to describe meetings of this kind, and, I might add, the reasons are several. In the first place, most revivals are seen as evangelistic crusades; however, for obvious reasons, the spiritually dead do not need to be REvived. In the second place, God certainly does not need to be revived (if He does, then we are in heaps of trouble!). In the third place, if the purpose of revival is to revive those believers who are already involved in the church, to re-energize them to do what they are already doing but with more enthusiasm and faithfulness, then (in my opinion) the purpose is contrary to the purpose of God for His people. The truth is most church members are already running at “burnout levels” and, consequently, those who haven’t already done so, are ready to throw in the proverbial “towel” and leave the organized church. In other words, the church is killing it own people with its “we must win the world for Jesus and if we don’t hurry up and get it done the enemy will win” mentality.
In my not-so-humble opinion, the church does not need to be REvived, it needs to be REformed and when this happens, God’s elect, even those who do not yet know they are, will run to it like a thirsty deer on a hot summer Georgia day runs for the water brook. The truth is some very simple truths would turn the tide. For example, if we would just begin to let believers know that the responsibility for winning the lost rests on Jesus’ shoulders, not ours, the tide would turn and drastically so. If we would begin to let believers know that they CANNOT live the Christian life, that the ONLY person who can pull that off is Jesus, there would be a major turn in the tide. If we would begin to let believers know that we are here, not to work ourselves to death in an effort to bring in the Kingdom, but to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, there would, indeed, be a major turn in the tide!
Yes, the church needs to be REformed by returning to its roots, to those truths that give life and peace and rest; to those truths that honor God, not man; to those truths that refuse to make God a victim of man’s self-centeredness; and to those truths that give highest priority to the Word and to the Sacraments.
Well, now you know what I am thinking today, but who knows what thoughts tomorrow might bring.
Please, please begin to pray for me, for Rev. Horton, and for those who attend this Divine Appointment. To be sure, I stand in eager anticipation of what He is about to do among His people.

The Christian Life: A Life of Perfect!

Thursday morning, April 10, 2008
Several years ago, some golfers got together and wrote a book they chose to label with this title: “Golf is not a Game of Perfect”. You can rest assured that those of us who play the game (even Tiger Woods) are well-acquainted with the truthfulness of their thesis. I played just yesterday and my doing so reminded me of what I already knew—golf is NOT a game of perfect!
If you choose to watch the Masters this week, the tournament where the best-of-the-best will be playing, you will see for yourself that golf is NOT a game of perfect. Even those who are the cream of the crop cannot hone their game anywhere near perfect. The tragedy lies not only in the fact that imperfect shots will be made, but also in the fact that the entire “world” watches them being made—no hiding, no cheating, no covering-up, no denying.
To top it all off, several scoreboards are placed around the course so everyone, even the TV audience, can see just how imperfectly the golfers play the game. To be sure, there will be some incredible scores; some will score much better than others, and, yes, one will finally outscore the rest of the field and win the tourney. Finally, after four days of intense competition, the winner will receive that coveted Green Jacket and walk away “smiling ever after”!
One of the things that has intrigued me about golf is the fact that there are no referees or umpires who police the game. Every golfer is expected to report his own transgressions and penalize himself accordingly, and, I might add, the rules are plenteous and exacting (If you aren’t familiar with the rules of golf, get a copy and read them; they make the Law of Moses look like “leaves of gold in setting of silver”!). Yes, there is a rules committee on hand, whose primary purpose is to do just that—make you aware of the “rule” that applies to any and every situation.
Anyway (my space is running out), I think it is time for some Christians to get together and write a book and entitle it: “Christianity IS A Life of Perfect!” Unlike golf, where the one with the lowest score (the one who makes the fewest mistakes) wins, God’s standard is perfection; consequently, the ONLY ones who “win” in the Christian life are those with perfect scores! “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
It goes without saying that every one of us is in desperate need of the Savior, the only One who has met God’s standard of perfection. Thankfully, He imputed His “score” to us and God accepted it, as if it were ours! Wow!

Stinger Tees!

Tuesday morning, April 8, 2008
Well, as best I can tell, I survived Hilton Head Island with few scrapes and bruises; thankfully, I am now “back in the saddle again”. As some of you know, I enjoy attempting to play golf (I chose those words carefully!), which is probably the primary reason I enjoy Hilton Head. Interestingly, while there one of the strangest things happened: I ran out of “tees”! Usually, my golf bag is well-equipped with “tees” but for some reason, my stock was depleted—zilch, zero, none!
Obviously, this did not precipitate a national crisis, as “tees” are plenteous on this golfer’s island paradise. One can purchase them in any color imaginable, in many various lengths, with all kinds of logos, in small packages, in medium packages, and in gallon jugs. At any rate, I stopped by one the golf shops on the island to purchase a bag of “tees” and the ones that caught my eye were called “Ultra Streamlined Stinger Golf Tees”! You can only imagine how these made all the rest look outdated and ugly, certainly unworthy of my money. Yes, I purchased a package and made my way to the golf course to begin play.
While I waited in line to begin play, I decided to read what was written on the back of the package of “tees” and I thought so much of it that I decided to share it with you: “ROBOTIC testing by Golf Laboratories Inc. definitely proved that a golf ball hit off a Singer “COMPETITION” golf tee traveled an average of 14 yards farther that a ball hit of a regular tee. For complete test data or to order Stinger Tees: www.stingertees.com or (1-800-600-3447). What more could a golfer want? Of course, this added 14 yards is helpful ONLY if you hit the ball in the fairway. To hit it 14 yards farther into the rough, is not exactly a good thing but that was not mentioned.
DEFINITELY PROVED! That has a good ring about it, very convincing. Why, when I stood over that first ball, that had been teed-up using one of these miraculous tees, I had the confidence of Tiger Woods (well maybe not quite that much). I wish you could have seen that thing fly! I mean 14 yards to the tenth of an inch farther than my previous drive! DEFINITELY PROVED!
Have you noticed that people will tell you anything to get you converted over to whatever they “sell”? Bible teachers are especially good at this, having DEFINITELY PROVEN that whatever they might be teaching is absolute truth. The Baptists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Presbyterians have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Methodists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that what they believe is the only absolute truth; the Universalists have DEFINITELY PROVEN that whatever you believe is absolute truth.
Although I have no idea what name God has given to His testing laboratories, He has DEFINITELY PROVEN to me that everything I thought I had DEFINITELY PROVEN missed the mark, as in really missed the mark.
To be sure, the “Robotic testing by Goddard Laboratories, Inc.,” DEFINITELY PROVED that I need to get out of the DEFINITELY PROVING business and accept the fact that it ain’t how I drive but how I arrive that really matters.