Stirring the Pot

 After a recent sermon, a woman met me after the service and told me, "You love to stir the pot." I really did not know what she meant. That certainly had not been my intention in preaching that morning. I admit I have preached some hard and even unpleasant truths. I do not shy away from Biblical truth no matter how popular or unpopular. Truth is truth no matter which way the prevailing political winds of the day may blow. 

There are multiple hot button topics like abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, racism, the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. There are issues out there like pedophilia, occultism, rape, murder, greed, and fraud. The Bible has much to say about those issues. Many preachers shy away from preaching the whole counsel of God. I WILL NOT BE A VELVET MOUTHED PREACHER as George Whitfield first proclaimed. I think he meant by that statement that he would not preach to please people and tickle ears. 

Many people are turned off by hard preaching. I prayerfully seek to balance hard preaching with truth that builds up, comforts, and offers hope. I will not preach those messages to the exclusion of hard truth. We live in serious times. Time is short as we approach the end. Most everyone I talk to believe these are the end times. I believe life is short, hell is real, eternity is long, and Jesus is the only way to salvation. I believe that the rapture is imminent. I believe seven horrific years of the Great Tribulation are ahead for those who have not trusted Jesus for salvation. I believe evil forces are at work pushing toward a one world global government, the rise of a one world leader known as the antichrist will rule the world as a pawn of Satan, and all those things are being set in motion right before our eyes even now. 

How can I stand in the pulpit or enter the public sector and not proclaim truth even if my message is not popular. I am mandated to rescue the perishing like Rom 1:14-16 exhorts. Matt 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15, Acts 20:24 all compel me to stir the pot. So, I take the Bible as my spoon and the world as my pot, and I stir. I agitate. I mix in all the seasons of God's words. 

Who Then Is This

 Many of us have grown up hearing the stories of Jesus. We are familiar with His teachings, healings, interactions with people along with His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. We have read the gospels. We have heard the sermons and Bible studies. It all can become less than thrilling to our souls after all these years. What a sad place for any of us to fall into. 

I wish God would rub away the varnish of years of Bible saturation and religious trappings. I wish our eyes could be renewed the read about Jesus in fresh ways as if we were reading about Him for the very first time. I am convinced there is so much more to discover than we have ever really seen. May God pull back the curtain from our eyes to really behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. May the blinders be removed so we can see and experience Jesus in fresh ways. 

Nobody could have grown more callused to Jesus than the disciples. After three years of Jesus' miracle ministry, they saw it all. They saw healings, demonic deliverances, miraculous provision with a few fish and some small loaves of bread, some resurrections from the dead, and more things than are recorded in the gospel accounts. On one particular day, Jesus blew their minds with His power and authority. 

After the miracle He performed, the disciples collectively said, "Who then is this..." We all need a who then is this moment if our walks aren't  getting stale. Who then is this? Let's try to give a brief answer. 

• Messiah - [John 1:41]
• Son of God - [John 3:16]
• Bread of Life - [John 6:35]
• Light of the World - [John 8:12]
• The Door - [John 10:9]
• The Resurrection and the Life - [John 11:25]
• The Way, The Truth, and The Life - [John 14:6]
• Mountain Mover - [Matt 17:20]
• Miracle Worker - [Mark 3:7-11]
• Healer - [Matt 8:1-3]
• Savior - [John 4:42]
• Redeemer - [Rom 3:24]
• Strength - [Phil 4:13]
• He is able - [Eph 3:20]

There is so much more. We barely scratched the surface. He is much more than our minds can conceive. More wonderful than we can imagine. More magnificent than we can comprehend. Who then is this? He is Lord, Master, King, Christ, Jesus, Yeshua, Emmanuel, and the Great Shepherd. May we not take Him for granted. May we never get bored studying about Him. God, please help us to always see more of who then is this?

Triceps Death

 One of the things I enjoy most about exercising, more specifically weightlifting, is to push your body and mind further than you thought possible. Some years ago, I was working my triceps. Those are the muscles in the back part of your arm. I came up with a series of three exercises I would do back to back to back without any breaks between. Those exercises were brutal. I named it triceps death. 

Over the years I introduced triceps death to my sons, their friends, and workout partners. This morning we introduced it to the TCA powerlifting team. I could not keep from chuckling as lifter after lifter failed in their attempts to complete the workout. 

That has me thinking about something much more serious than a workout routine. I am thinking about mental toughness as an approach to life. Especially in our Christian walk.  Life hits hard. It will knock you off your feet. Disease, death, and divorce hit with lethal force taking the wind out of the sails for many. The pain is excruciating. The sorrow is overwhelming. The mind kicks in during such times convincing us we cannot make it through the trial. People give up and give in. They crumble. They lose the will to fight. They struggle to battle through the hardships.

What hope can we find from God's word? The Bible has much to say about perseverance and our thoughts. Read the following. 

James 1:2-4 (NASB)
²  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
³  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
⁴  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NASB)

³  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
⁴  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
⁵  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Philippians 4:8-9 (NASB)
⁸  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Faith produces endurance when it is tested. We are to take every thought obedient to Christ. We are to dwell on things that are honorable, right, pure, lovely and excellent. 

Paul knew about mental toughness. Being persecuted constantly. Constantly in danger on ever side. He faced more adversity than many people do. How did he handle it? He endured with joy. In Phil 4:9  Paul writes, 

⁹  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. 

Read what he wrote. He exhorted people to practice what they learned, received, and heard from Paul. One of those things was mental toughness. He just did not give up. He pressed on through many afflictions. He stayed the course when it would have much easier to give up. 

    The God of peace will be with you. The God of tranquility of the mind and heart. The God of calmness in the middle of the chaos of life. He offers comfort, peace, strength, endurance, and hope to make it through the trials. With God, we can make it through more than we think we can. We can overcome obstacles. We can prevail through adversity. We can survive the storms. We can triumph over the trials. It may not be pleasant. In fact, it may be very painful. Thoughts of giving up may lodge in our mind. We can train our minds not to lose heart. Triceps death is just a lesson in mental toughness. So is pressing through the tough times in life. Each test will strengthen our faith and produce perseverance. With God's help, we can make it through much more than we think we can. 

 

Fragrance

 Over Christmas, the four sons and I set about on our annual Christmas Eve tradition to purchase gifts for Brenda. We wanted to get her some perfume among other things. Talk about clueless. We walked into the perfume section and were overwhelmed with choices. The salesperson asked what type of fragrance she might like. We offered no help looking like calves staring at a new gate. 

She picked out a few bottles and sprayed them on a piece of paper. The first smelled too sweet. We didn't like that one. We tried another. It smelled like my grandmother. Nor did we care for it. Finally, we tried one we all agreed on. Who knew buying perfume could be so complicated. 

The sense of smell is strong. Certain smells can take me back to my childhood. The smell of a Pine tree, homemade biscuits, and the smell of newspaper. I ran paper routes as a youngster.

 The sanctuary at Spring Creek has a distinct smell that whisked me back three decades when I walked in there as pastor. Even people give off odors. I walked by one female student a few days ago who wreaked of strong perfume. The fragrance lingered long after she walked past. The same thing happened recently when I passed by a group of people. The hairs in my nostrils revolted at the repulsive body odor. Somebody in that group left an odor wherever they went. 

I wonder what fragrance we give off spiritually. Do we give off the fragrance of Christ to those around us? Or do we have a foul stench because our actions and attitudes do not reflect Jesus? Our lives are giving a fragrance or an odor. Which one is it. 

If a person sings praise on Sunday and then speaks profanity the rest of the week, that is a foul odor. If a person radiates joy in difficult circumstances, that gives off the fragrance of Christ. The fragrance of Christ is a pleasant aroma to people who need Jesus all around us. This makes Jesus even more attractive. The fragrance of Christ fills the atmosphere when the people of God are kind to the outcasts, when they serve sacrificially without compensation, when they love the most unlovable, and countless other ways. 

Our spiritual odor can turn people away from Jesus. We can repulse them with the sin of hypocrisy. The stench can repulse people away from Jesus. May we live to be the sweet, breathtaking, mesmerizing fragrance of Christ wherever we go. 

Time Stand Still

 Recently I was in the secret place meeting with God. It will be hard to convey what I experienced that morning. Words like contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace can only describe in part how I felt. That morning I did not do much talking. I sat before the Lord in silence. I did more listening than talking. More enjoying than asking. 

The conditions were perfect. It was early in the morning. The only sound I heard was the compressor clicking on the mini-fridge in the office. Other than that it was perfectly hushed. Nobody else was around. Nobody even knew I was in the secret place. Nobody but God. I met Him that morning. I sensed His presence settle over me. Nothing else mattered in that moment. 

That is when the deepest longings of my heart formed the sentence, "Lord, make time stand still. I want this to last." I did not want it to end. I did not want other responsibilities to press on me to have to leave. I did not want to be interrupted by other people invading my secret place. I did not want to be pulled away by other distractions. I yearned for eternity. 

In that hour, I craved God more than anything else in this world. It felt like every cell in my body reached out in yearning toward God. The perfect combination of silence, solitude, a hungry heart and thirsty soul, and a God who longs to draw nearer and nearer to His children. 

I lost track of reality. I had no concept of time. I lost touch with my surroundings. Nothing else mattered in those moments but meeting with God. I really wanted time to stand still. It was a moment I longed to make last as long as possible. There is so much more of God to discover and to pursue. That fuels getting up and frequenting the secret place. God encounters happen there. Such sacred times makes one wish time could stand still. 

How Is Your Walk

 I had not seen the young man for over a year. His hair was longer, and he grew some facial hair. We caught up making small talk. I asked him a question I have asked many people over the years, "How is your walk with Jesus?" 

He looked at me and said it has been better. I was deeply saddened to hear that. When I pressed a little deeper, he gave me a couple of challenges he faced recently. He was both disillusioned and angry with God at the same time.  I pulled him aside saying, "Let's pray about it." We walked away from the group of people around us to a private spot and prayed. When the prayer ended, he looked at me a little misty eyed and we embraced. Those are the memorable moments that fuel the fire in me to coach young men. 

When a person's walk with God suffers you can predict they will fall away into things that they should have avoided. Such people sit in the pews, in stadiums, on bar stools, in dark secluded rooms looking at obscene images on a computer screen. Professing believers living far beneath their purpose. 

Our walks with the Lord are vital. They are necessary if we are going to avoid the destructive pitfalls of temptations. This topic will not make for the next best-selling book nor draw the crowds for a sermon series. It is not that exciting. Not until you consider the profound adventures that await people who walk with God. Their lives are uncommon spiritually. They worship deeper, prayer passionately, and radiate a joyous countenance that is other worldly. Our walk with God is the most important thing in our spiritual life. To continually reorient ourselves to God and realign our hearts with His heart must happen habitually. 

This is not easy. It will not happen by accident. It will only happen by intentional acts of the will. Day in and day out. Bible reading and meditation. Prayer. Scripture memory. The continual passionate pursuit of God. These are the spiritual disciplines that keep us on track. Daily devotions. Time must be carved out of our schedules, sometimes sleep must be forsaken, and we must forsake the company of other people to keep company with God. 

I am surprised when I ask people how their walk with Jesus is going how few seem to be in a vibrant growing relationship with Him. Even people who are in public worship every week. While maintaining the outward expressions of faith, how many are spiritually bankrupt internally. They show up for public events while neglecting the all-important private times in the prayer closet. Sooner or later the internal deficiencies make people vulnerable and easy prey for Satan who seeks to devour. 

So, I turn the question on you. How is your walk? How is your private time with Jesus? Do you frequent the prayer closet? Do you make supplication in the secret place? Do you pour over the pages of scriptures to meet God? How is your passion for God and the things of God? Evaluate the effectiveness of your service if you are serving in some ministry? These are crucial questions that require some serious reflection. 

Maybe we can find inspiration from Jesus' example. Read and reflect on Mark 1:35. Even Jesus made time to distance Himself from the crowds for the purpose of maintaining His walk with God. How much more should we do the same? May we be inspired with an insatiable desire to meet with God and walk with Him daily. If your walk is not that great right now, let this be the catalyst for making some serious changes. 

Judgmental

 There are no perfect churches. Churches are made up of imperfect people who struggle with sin. This is common knowledge. What may not be so common among congregations is the number and type of sins among the people. All of this with very little to no accountability. We live in an age where people are welcomed in flocks no matter what they have done or what they are doing. Churches to treat people with grace. There is forgiveness. That is not the point of this post. 

Christian people living in willful, deliberate and defiant sin hurt the church and bring shame and reproach on Jesus. These are the people who need confrontation and accountability. Sometimes even removal from the church body. 

In I Corinthians 5:1-13 we read about a grievous sin among one of the men in the church. A sexually immoral man was having sex with his father's wife. Most think the woman was his stepmother. Paul said that such behavior was not even tolerated by pagans, yet this man was welcomed in worship. I am not saying the man sinned and then stopped. He was still engaged in the unholy behavior. 

Nobody in the church said a word to the immoral man about repentance. I am sure there was gossip. There always is when somebody blows it among the people of God. The whisper campaigns start. The rumors run rampant. Accountability and confrontation were noticeably absent. That is until Paul got wind of the situation. He went into action firing off a letter to the Corinthian church. He did not hold back. 

Paul calls out the church for being arrogant instead of mourning and grieving over this sin. He actually judged the immoral man. I thought we are not supposed to judge according to Matthew 7:1-5. We are not to look for splinters in other people's eyes. Read what the scripture contains in I Corinthians 5:12. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church who you are to judge?

I bet most were not even aware that verse was in the Bible. Not only did Paul judge the man but he exhorted the church to do the same. He wrote, "Purge the evil man from among you." Not only that but he urged them to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his spirit might be saved. 

Paul is not done. He exhorts the church to not even associate with sexually immoral people. He also includes not to do so at all. That is an extremely harsh stance. Paul also told the church not to associate with greedy people, swindlers, or idolaters. Think of how many of such people fill our pews today. 

Is that the reason the church is so impotent in society today. We are weighed down with so many openly defiant sinful people on Sunday mornings it grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit. Where God is grieved, He will not work as powerfully. There is a clog in the hose that kinks His power. 

Do churches really take holiness seriously? Do the people of God embrace repentance and have the guts to remove unrepentant immoral people from the assembly? Do pastors? It is time for judgment to begin in the house of God. Such pastors better get their resumes updated. They most likely will not survive such confrontation no matter how badly it is needed. 

Until Death Do Us Part

 I sat in a chair next to a man and his wife visiting last week. The man asked me to pray for his wife and all she does for him in his sickened condition. She is his primary caregiver. She does this joyfully and has for a long time. He knew she had a lot on her shoulders. She looked at him lovingly and said, "Until do us part we vowed." 

That really struck me. Many couples say that. Do they really mean it when things get hard? The divorce rates would indicate many couples do not take their vows seriously. Think about the traditional wedding vows. Do you promise to love and cherish (name of your spouse) in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part. Those are easy words say. Sometimes they are much harder to live. 

For instance, as couples age health problems may increase. Brenda daily battles rheumatoid arthritis. All of her joints ache. Watching her get up after sleeping or sitting for a long time is painful to watch. I deal with diabetes and one aching knee. Part of the wedding pledge to one another included loving in the hard times of health problems. We frequent doctor's offices more these days than we did three decades ago. Still the promise to love and remain faithful glues us together. 

Wedding vows call for couples to also love even when financial difficulties test and strain the relationship. Finances is one of the top issues couples fight about and divorce over. Finances shipwrecks many married couples. Arguments about such issues revolve in a vicious circle. Many do not survive. 

Until death parts us. June 29, 1991 I stood at the front of FBC Hurst, TX waiting for Brenda to walk in. She looked beautiful in that wedding dress. It hit me as she walked down the aisle how serious the covenant of marriage was. This was not like dating, going steady, or even being engaged. Brenda and I had talked about intentions to stay together before we were ever engaged. We both came from divorced homes. We were playing for keeps. Loving forever. Until death parts us. That was close to 32 years ago. There have been rough patches. Fights. Disagreements, Differences of opinions. Divorce is not an option for us. Till death do us part. There have also been countless joyous occasions, deeply engrained memories, and much laughter. She is still my best friend and my wife. 

I recently walked with a lady through the agonizing last stages of life for her husband. It was a real gut check. She is stunned trying to keep it together for her kids. She did not leave him when things got tough. She stayed true to the very end. Even when that end meant two weeks in ICU. She stayed at that hospital days on end. She loved him and stayed by his side until death parted them. 

Such devotion to marriage inspires me. Both couples have traveled many more miles down the marriage road than Brenda and me. There is much we can learn from them. Like remaining devoted to the goal of until death do us part. 

Several years ago, I preached the funeral for a couple that had been married for 75 years. I asked Mr. Russell when he knew he was going to marry Mrs. Russell. His reply made me chuckle. He said, "In 4th grade!" When he wheeled up to her casket in his wheelchair, his last words to her choked me up. He lovingly commented, "I'll see you again baby." Until death parted them. Now Mr. Russell is also in heaven. May we all remain true to our marriage vows until death parts us. 

Terrifying

 Terrified of something means to be extremely afraid. Like of snakes, spiders, heights, noises in the night, confinement in tight spaces, or death. Some people choose to live on the edge doing extremely dangerous things to get their adrenaline up. It makes them feel alive. People choose to terrify themselves by watching horror movies, riding roller coasters, bungee jumping, and sky diving. 

There is a terrifying experience that really defies the human language to fully describe. No words can do it justice. It is scary, petrifying, and fearful all on steroids in intensity. What is so terrifying. Read it for yourself. 

It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [Heb 10:31] The context for this verse is for people who reject, insult, deny, and trample on the grace of God. What makes this so terrifying is that it will happen after a person's last breath when there will be no second chances and do overs. The fate of that soul will be executed swiftly, without remorse and for all of eternity. Trust me. No lost person wants to fall into the hands of the living God. 

For starters, nobody can fully comprehend the consequences of God's anger and vengeance being poured out on people who did not heed His warnings about hell. Hell is a place of eternal agony and everlasting torment. Wrap your mind around that. The suffering never ends. After a thousand years, one hundred thousand years, even a million years the suffering is never alleviated. Not one bit. The intensity of the suffering never lessens. People will never get use to it. It will not relent or get easier. 

In that terrifying moment, people will discover that God is a just, holy, righteous and active Judge. Notice the phrase, "living God." He is still alive and still doing His job daily. Month after month, Year after year. Decade after decade. Century after Century. Millennial after millennial. 

Now is the age of grace, redemption, and salvation. Once a person dies, then comes the judgement of God. It will be executed swiftly. It will be equally poured our for the atheist as well as the agnostic. The educated as well as the uneducated. The famous as well as the obscure. The wealthy as well as the poor. The religious as well as the scoffer. None will be spared. All stand before a terrifying God. 

Some will not be terrified. They will stand clothed in righteousness not of their own doing. They will stand faultless before the throne because of the sacrifice and blood of Jesus. There will be no need to fear that day. A day longed for by many saints. Promotion day, emancipation day, freedom day, glorification day. 

I challenge us all to contemplate where we stand with Jesus long before that day arrives. We face eternal judgment with faith or fear. Triumph or terror. Belief or unbelief. Reward or retribution. Jesus paid it all. All to Him we owe. Sin left a crimson stain that Jesus washed whiter than snow. 

My Last Blog

 Life is busy. As busy as I can ever remember with teaching, preaching, shepherding, planning, administrating, and coaching. My days start early and I usually fall asleep in the recliner before going to bed each evening. Not that I am complaining. I love all of it. Such a jam packed schedule does not leave time for writing. Even when the creative juices flow there just is not enough time or energy to write. This saddens me because I love this ministry penning things in the hopes that it might help someone. Something had to give. Writing and reading have fallen to the side in recent days. 

My last blog...was written on Nov 17th. Nearly a month and a half ago. I have a long list of to do things for today, but I decided it was time to get back in the saddle and pound the keyboard a little this morning. Most people I know are busy. Few of those people live really disciplined lives to make the most of each day. I have made a few schedule changes. I hope this will accommodate more time for the things I love like writing. I trust God to help me be more focused and intentional in this vital ministry. 

The word definition for discipline means to practice a code to live by. Most people equate discipline to will power. I think Paul saw it differently as the Holy Spirit inspired him to write Gal 5:22-23 about the fruit of the spirit. Nestled in that list in verse 23 are the words self control. In the original language that means mastery. Holy Spirit led mastery over our thoughts, actions, and reactions. 

The Holy Spirit masters our bodies so that we are more fruitful and productive for Him. We do so in order to bring more glory to Him. We read in [John 15:8] My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and prove to be my disciples. One of the ways we bear more fruit is through prayer. See verse seven of Matthew 15. It is through prayer that we yield to the Holy Spirit trusting to work in us, through us, and around us to bear fruit for God. One of the the ways I get to do this is by sitting at this keyboard and relaying to readers what He impresses to me. 

Part of that fruit bearing for me is to write more. To master through submission to the Holy Spirit my time better so as to leverage its use for more ministry. Last year I wrote 169 posts. My last post was written on November 17. Today is January 5th. I did not write a sentence for the last 48 days of 2022. With God's help and mastery by the Holy Spirit I hope to beat 169 posts  in 2023 even though I am already behind several days going into the new year. With Holy Spirit control I trust to make up lost ground and be more consistent in writing throughout the year. Hopefully there will be much more where this came from. See you soon with the next post.