A couple of nights ago I caught this teaser for the late night news, "Where you should live to lessen your chance of dying". Seriously? Really? Who honestly thinks they can lessen their chance of dying? Face it, like Nathan's new t-shirt says, "You're gonna die." We can't get out of it. It is a forgone conclusion to this life. Every one of us has a 100% chance of dying and that is all there is to it.
It made me wonder, though. Are we so afraid of dying now that instead of just not talking about it we are going to act like we can avoid it? Tonights news teaser is a new test that can tell us if we are going to live to be 100. Man, there is not much I would like less than having to hang around here that long. This is not my home and I am getting tired of the visit. Don't get me wrong. I love my husband, kids, friends,church, activities, the beach, Disney World, and a bunch of other things, but I am not going to miss any of it when I get home. I can't wait to spend my time glorifying the One who is worthy. It is going to be so awesome. I hope that you will join me there, even if I have to wait until you are 100.
By the way, just in case you are interested, you really can't lessen your chance of dying, but men have a long life expectancy in Iceland and women in Greece. Maybe keeping them separated has something to do with it.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
What Is Evangelism?
John Stott say that, "to evangelize... does not mean to win converts... but simply to announce the good news, irrespective of the results." That is it folks. Plain and simple. It is not our job to convert the lost. It is our job to tell the Good News that Christ died on the cross to pay the price for our sin and sits today at the right hand of God the Father offering forgiveness to those he chooses.
Too many see evangelism as an imposition. They feel that our goal is to bring others around to our way of thinking. The problem with this is that it is not my way of thinking. My desire is for others to see the truth in all its glory so that they may live a life filled with joy and peace and that God name will be praised throughout the world. It is not my way of thinking at all. It is God's way of thinking. It is the right way of thinking. It is the truth. I can not make someone become a Christian. I can not force them to believe. No matter how persuasive my arguments or eloquent my speech, no matter how entertaining my delivery or winsome my manner, I have no power to change the heart and that is what is needed for conversion. I only have power to proclaim a great and holy God who is creator, ruler and judge over the universe. A God who sent His Son to live a perfect life, die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and rise to conquer death for those he has chosen. Someday you will meet Him. That is the way it is.
And that, folks, is evangelism. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We don't need to gloss over our sinfulness, the pain and gore of Christ's death, or the fact that not all are chosen. We don't need to be awesome speakers or professionals. God uses the weak, foolish things of this world to accomplish His purposes. That includes us.
God used and old deacon filling in the pulpit one snowy Sunday to open the eyes of Charles Spurgeon. The message? " Look unto Christ! That's all you gotta do, just look unto Christ!" repeated over and over again. God used an Indian mother who could barely speak English, let alone read it, reading the chapter of John in the King James to a suicidal son to lead Ravi Zaccarias to himself. He even brought a mocker of Whitefield to repentance as he was mimicking Whitefield's sermon. God will win those He has chosen. The results are not up to us. We are called to be obedient in presenting the gospel. Let us get on with it.
Too many see evangelism as an imposition. They feel that our goal is to bring others around to our way of thinking. The problem with this is that it is not my way of thinking. My desire is for others to see the truth in all its glory so that they may live a life filled with joy and peace and that God name will be praised throughout the world. It is not my way of thinking at all. It is God's way of thinking. It is the right way of thinking. It is the truth. I can not make someone become a Christian. I can not force them to believe. No matter how persuasive my arguments or eloquent my speech, no matter how entertaining my delivery or winsome my manner, I have no power to change the heart and that is what is needed for conversion. I only have power to proclaim a great and holy God who is creator, ruler and judge over the universe. A God who sent His Son to live a perfect life, die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and rise to conquer death for those he has chosen. Someday you will meet Him. That is the way it is.
And that, folks, is evangelism. Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We don't need to gloss over our sinfulness, the pain and gore of Christ's death, or the fact that not all are chosen. We don't need to be awesome speakers or professionals. God uses the weak, foolish things of this world to accomplish His purposes. That includes us.
God used and old deacon filling in the pulpit one snowy Sunday to open the eyes of Charles Spurgeon. The message? " Look unto Christ! That's all you gotta do, just look unto Christ!" repeated over and over again. God used an Indian mother who could barely speak English, let alone read it, reading the chapter of John in the King James to a suicidal son to lead Ravi Zaccarias to himself. He even brought a mocker of Whitefield to repentance as he was mimicking Whitefield's sermon. God will win those He has chosen. The results are not up to us. We are called to be obedient in presenting the gospel. Let us get on with it.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Fruit Trees
When Amber was born Stan and I decided that we would plant a tree in the yard for each of our children. Her tree was a live oak which, 26 years later, stands tall and strong and shades a large part of our back yard.
Ten years later, we chose citrus trees for the twins. We planted an orange and a grapefruit tree in the side yard near the well. Both trees died within a year. This is not an unusual occurrence in my life because not only do I not have a green thumb, I actually have 10 black fingers. I kill much of what I plant. In spite of this, we decided to give it another try. This time we went to a nursery and bought larger trees. We got fertilizer, plant food and specific instructions for our trees. Within two years the trees produced fragrant blossoms that perfumed the whole yard. Soon tiny green fruit appeared. Unfortunately, we never got anything more than tiny, green fruit. It seems that when our house was built, the builder dumped all of the trash in the yard and covered it with a small layer of dirt and sodded over it. This meant that our poor citrus trees didn't develop the deep roots needed to produce the tasty fruit we were looking for.
The Bible compares us to fruit trees quite a bit. We are told that you know a tree by its fruit. Sometimes we get excited when we see fruit start to appear only to find that it doesn't mature because there are no deep roots. Yes, we can show some fruit as baby Christians, and that is good. It encourages us all to see change come about because of the Word of God. The problem comes when the fruit never matures. We can not be content to produce inedible green fruit. We need to follow what God tells us in Psalms 1:2-3 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."
If we want to produce good, life-sustaining fruit, we need to be in God's Word. We need to spend time every day reading, meditating and memorizing what God has to say to us. We need to be in a church where we are continually refocused on God's revelation of Himself through the Scriptures. This blessed Word is better than all of the fertilizer and plant food you can find anywhere else. This is what will produce an abundant crop of mature, sweet fruit that will be a blessing to many. So, how is your tree doing?
Ten years later, we chose citrus trees for the twins. We planted an orange and a grapefruit tree in the side yard near the well. Both trees died within a year. This is not an unusual occurrence in my life because not only do I not have a green thumb, I actually have 10 black fingers. I kill much of what I plant. In spite of this, we decided to give it another try. This time we went to a nursery and bought larger trees. We got fertilizer, plant food and specific instructions for our trees. Within two years the trees produced fragrant blossoms that perfumed the whole yard. Soon tiny green fruit appeared. Unfortunately, we never got anything more than tiny, green fruit. It seems that when our house was built, the builder dumped all of the trash in the yard and covered it with a small layer of dirt and sodded over it. This meant that our poor citrus trees didn't develop the deep roots needed to produce the tasty fruit we were looking for.
The Bible compares us to fruit trees quite a bit. We are told that you know a tree by its fruit. Sometimes we get excited when we see fruit start to appear only to find that it doesn't mature because there are no deep roots. Yes, we can show some fruit as baby Christians, and that is good. It encourages us all to see change come about because of the Word of God. The problem comes when the fruit never matures. We can not be content to produce inedible green fruit. We need to follow what God tells us in Psalms 1:2-3 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither."
If we want to produce good, life-sustaining fruit, we need to be in God's Word. We need to spend time every day reading, meditating and memorizing what God has to say to us. We need to be in a church where we are continually refocused on God's revelation of Himself through the Scriptures. This blessed Word is better than all of the fertilizer and plant food you can find anywhere else. This is what will produce an abundant crop of mature, sweet fruit that will be a blessing to many. So, how is your tree doing?
Friday, May 14, 2010
If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is "Where is the light?" Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is not sense in blaming the meat; that is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is "Where is the salt?" Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves, and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is " Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?" It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world's salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault and we must accept the blame. - John Stott
I confess. Sometimes it is much easier for me to be around Christians than non-Christians. It is a safe place for me to move and I can almost be on auto pilot as I go through the day. But that is not what God has called me to. I am to be in the world just not of it. I am to take part in the activities and daily life that goes on around me. Most importantly, I am to be a representative of the Most Holy God before those who do not know Him. I haven't been doing as good a job as I should. It is hard. It is uncomfortable. It makes me nervous.
I am so grateful that Jesus didn't use those excuses. He was willing to leave Heaven and come to Earth in the first place so that there would be light and salt. I am sure that it would have been easier for him to hang around with the angels than with us sinners. It was bound to be more comfortable at the Father's right hand than hanging on a cross. But he didn't stop to think about what He would prefer, He was about bringing glory to God.
Salt kills the bacteria, preserves the meat and adds flavor to the dish. Light ends the darkness and shows the way. Neither one is comfortable. Salt stings. Light makes you squint if you've been in the dark too long. Being salt and light is not easy and does not bring you popularity, but it is desperately needed in this world. Stop shaking your head and shrugging your shoulders and get out there with the Truth.
I confess. Sometimes it is much easier for me to be around Christians than non-Christians. It is a safe place for me to move and I can almost be on auto pilot as I go through the day. But that is not what God has called me to. I am to be in the world just not of it. I am to take part in the activities and daily life that goes on around me. Most importantly, I am to be a representative of the Most Holy God before those who do not know Him. I haven't been doing as good a job as I should. It is hard. It is uncomfortable. It makes me nervous.
I am so grateful that Jesus didn't use those excuses. He was willing to leave Heaven and come to Earth in the first place so that there would be light and salt. I am sure that it would have been easier for him to hang around with the angels than with us sinners. It was bound to be more comfortable at the Father's right hand than hanging on a cross. But he didn't stop to think about what He would prefer, He was about bringing glory to God.
Salt kills the bacteria, preserves the meat and adds flavor to the dish. Light ends the darkness and shows the way. Neither one is comfortable. Salt stings. Light makes you squint if you've been in the dark too long. Being salt and light is not easy and does not bring you popularity, but it is desperately needed in this world. Stop shaking your head and shrugging your shoulders and get out there with the Truth.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Hole In Our Gospel
The title of this Richard Stearns book intrigued me. As far as I knew there was no hole in the gospel. Nothing was missing in my book, so I decided to read and see what he had to say. I confess that I usually look to see who has reviewed a book before I start reading. I don't read what they say, I just want to see who has been reading it. I shouldn't have done that with this book because it gave me the wrong impression before I started.
While I understand what Stearns is saying about a hole in the gospel, I don't really like the way that statement comes across. He is right. Too many of our churches, therefore, too many of our church goers are not getting the whole message, but that does not mean that there is a hole in the gospel. That means the church is failing in getting the whole message across. Our preachers are focusing too much on the Savior role of Christ and not enough on the Lordship of Christ.
Stearns encourages us as fellow believers (and even non-believers) to do what we can to help others. While he focuses greatly on the poor and HIV affected in Africa, he does remind us that reaching out to those in our own backyard is needed too. I really appreciate his desire to see the church mobilized to do great things for God's glory. I hope that many will read this book and be moved to look around and start utilizing their gifts to serve the Lord.
I think it is impossible to read this book without being moved. We who have so much need to be reminded often how much that really is. Even though I feel the book is misnamed, it is worth reading and acting upon.
While I understand what Stearns is saying about a hole in the gospel, I don't really like the way that statement comes across. He is right. Too many of our churches, therefore, too many of our church goers are not getting the whole message, but that does not mean that there is a hole in the gospel. That means the church is failing in getting the whole message across. Our preachers are focusing too much on the Savior role of Christ and not enough on the Lordship of Christ.
Stearns encourages us as fellow believers (and even non-believers) to do what we can to help others. While he focuses greatly on the poor and HIV affected in Africa, he does remind us that reaching out to those in our own backyard is needed too. I really appreciate his desire to see the church mobilized to do great things for God's glory. I hope that many will read this book and be moved to look around and start utilizing their gifts to serve the Lord.
I think it is impossible to read this book without being moved. We who have so much need to be reminded often how much that really is. Even though I feel the book is misnamed, it is worth reading and acting upon.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Patience Grows Slowly
I have to laugh every time I hear someone say they could never homeschool because they just aren't patient enough. I'm sure that God is getting a good chuckle out of it too. The reason this is so funny is that I am such an incredibly impatient person that if patience were a criteria for homeschooling, I wouldn't even be allowed to spell the word. I really dislike when things disrupt my plans. How can it be that my kids "don't get" Algebra? I read the explanation in the book and understand it just fine. How can they not have finished the 5 page research paper? They had a whole week to work on it (along with said Algebra, Literature, Science, Baseball practice, Spanish, and housework). Mowing the neighbors lawn while she is in the hospital giving birth is not on the schedule, but they are delighted to offer this gift to them.
I didn't get into homeschooling because I was a patient person. Our family started homeschooling because we felt it was the best choice for us. Homeschooling allows us to grow together as a family. It gives us the opportunity to make attitude adjustments immediately. It helps us to teach our children that character counts and part of that character is patience. I didn't start this journey as a patient person and I'm still not there. Patient is not a word that anyone I know would use in their top 10 words to describe me, but I am growing. Not only am I growing in patience, but my children are getting to see an example of God working over a long period to make us more like Him.
Will I ever be a patient person? At the rate I'm going I'd have to live to be 300, but that is okay. God is patient with my impatience. I must go to Him constantly repenting, asking forgiveness, and begging Him to help me grow. You know what? He does. Much of the time He uses my kids and homeschooling to do it. Don't let a lack of patience keep you from considering homeschooling your children. God has enough for both of you, and if you work with Him, yours will grow.
I didn't get into homeschooling because I was a patient person. Our family started homeschooling because we felt it was the best choice for us. Homeschooling allows us to grow together as a family. It gives us the opportunity to make attitude adjustments immediately. It helps us to teach our children that character counts and part of that character is patience. I didn't start this journey as a patient person and I'm still not there. Patient is not a word that anyone I know would use in their top 10 words to describe me, but I am growing. Not only am I growing in patience, but my children are getting to see an example of God working over a long period to make us more like Him.
Will I ever be a patient person? At the rate I'm going I'd have to live to be 300, but that is okay. God is patient with my impatience. I must go to Him constantly repenting, asking forgiveness, and begging Him to help me grow. You know what? He does. Much of the time He uses my kids and homeschooling to do it. Don't let a lack of patience keep you from considering homeschooling your children. God has enough for both of you, and if you work with Him, yours will grow.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Real Toughest Job
Anyone who has had the job knows that motherhood is the toughest job in the world. It is 24/7/365 with no monetary compensation and very little praise for a job well done. There is no training manual and very little opportunity to learn from past experience because each situation and child are so very different. In spite of all that it is the very best job anyone could have, but I don't think it is the real "toughest job in the world". To me, that title goes to the single moms out there.
My mom was a single mom when they were a pretty rare breed. My dad died when I was in fifth grade and that made her the only single mom that I knew. I didn't appreciate the difficulty of the job as I was growing up and probably still don't fully. She never got time off. When she had a tough day at work, she still had to come home and do all the house stuff. She didn't get to sit down and relax a bit because there were kids to feed, homework to go over, and laundry to be done. She is the one who had to figure out what to do about the leaky pipes, funny noise in the car, and loose railing on the stairs. She was always in charge of discipline. No one ever backed up her decisions on curfew or acceptable parties. Everything rested on her shoulders. All of that without any friends who could really understand the situation, any support groups, or any family closer than a two day drive. That is really the toughest job in the world.
Today is Mother's Day. We all know at least one single mom struggling to do her best to provide for her family, take care of the home, and raise her children all by herself. Let us all make a choice starting today to come alongside these heroic women and help them out. Make her a casserole they can eat now or freeze for later, send your teen son over to mow the lawn one Saturday, offer to babysit one evening so she can have some down time, or just give her a hug and tell her how awesome she is. These ladies deserve our repsect, love and support. Remind them that they have it.
To all of you, Happy Mother's Day.
My mom was a single mom when they were a pretty rare breed. My dad died when I was in fifth grade and that made her the only single mom that I knew. I didn't appreciate the difficulty of the job as I was growing up and probably still don't fully. She never got time off. When she had a tough day at work, she still had to come home and do all the house stuff. She didn't get to sit down and relax a bit because there were kids to feed, homework to go over, and laundry to be done. She is the one who had to figure out what to do about the leaky pipes, funny noise in the car, and loose railing on the stairs. She was always in charge of discipline. No one ever backed up her decisions on curfew or acceptable parties. Everything rested on her shoulders. All of that without any friends who could really understand the situation, any support groups, or any family closer than a two day drive. That is really the toughest job in the world.
Today is Mother's Day. We all know at least one single mom struggling to do her best to provide for her family, take care of the home, and raise her children all by herself. Let us all make a choice starting today to come alongside these heroic women and help them out. Make her a casserole they can eat now or freeze for later, send your teen son over to mow the lawn one Saturday, offer to babysit one evening so she can have some down time, or just give her a hug and tell her how awesome she is. These ladies deserve our repsect, love and support. Remind them that they have it.
To all of you, Happy Mother's Day.
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