Tears

Psalm 56:8 - You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are {they} not in Your book?

Put tears in a bottle? What does this passage mean?

In the Old Testament times and continuing through to the Roman times when Christ walked the earth, tear bottles were used by mourners for the purpose of respect to the deceased. Those who sorrowed would fill tiny bottles with tears and placed them in burial tombs. Called "Lachrymatories," these bottles were considered very precious.

Could it have been the woman in Luke 7 poured her bottle of tears first on the feet of Jesus before anointing his feet with alabaster? This would have been a powerful display of emotion and affection, to pour out the treasured bottle of tears!

The commentator Fausset says : "The custom of bottling the tears of mourners as a memorial, which has existed in some Eastern nations, may explain the figure."

The commentator Matthew Henry says: "(God) observes them (sorrowing people) with compassion and tender concern; he is afflicted in their afflictions, and knows their souls in adversity. As the blood of his saints, and their deaths, are precious in the sight of the Lord, so are their tears, not one of them shall fall to the ground. I have seen thy tears, 2 Ki. 20:5.

God cares.

Are Christians Unable to Decide Right and Wrong?

Isn' t Exodus 20:15's teaching about stealing very clear? Here's troubling news:

" ...a new study conducted by The Barna Group suggests that, despite the widespread coverage of the legal arguments and fight against piracy, most young consumers possess no moral qualms about getting music illegally."

"The study shows that born again Christian teens are not much different than are non-born again teens in terms of holding an anti-piracy moral position. Just 10% of Christian teens believe that copying CDs for friends and unauthorized music downloading are morally wrong, compared to 6% of non-born agains (the four-point difference barely qualified as statistically significant). Also, the proportion of pragmatists was statistically equivalent - 64% of born again Christians and 66% of non-Christians."

For more on this story, click here:
http://www.cmta.com/research.htm

"With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come." - Shakespeare

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln

Surprise of the Missionary

This picture is of a first-century fishing boat, used during the time that Jesus walked the earth. It was excavated in 1985.
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Big happenings on Tuesday - my birthday! I'll be a spritely 48 years old! Come and join my party at the Cove, just outside of Farragut, TN.
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I think one of the wondrous things about our God is that He’s a God of miracles. He does things that we cannot even begin to comprehend.

One of my friends Lauren Phillips is a missionary to Eastern Asia. She’s about 24 years old and is energetic in wanting to see the Lord work in and among the people of Eastern Asia. Earlier this year she read aloud a letter given to her from one of her fellow missionaries. They are called the Dao people and the letter from her friends is enough to shock anyone.

The new missionary couples came into a totally new area, the letter said, and yet when they arrived, the men of the village greeted them warmly and let them sit by the fire. While one of the men fiddled with his nose bone and smoked a cigarette, he mentioned casually that his father, now dead for almost two decades, said that the missionaries would come.

"Long ago, when I was a little boy, my father was waiting for you to come, He told me you would come," said the man. The man, in his late thirties, said that there would be people with white skin who would come and tell them about the truth about God and the way to get to see Him. "We had never seen a white person, so he told us all, don’t be afraid of their white skin! They look very different but they will become like our own brothers and sisters. They will be one family with us. They will bring a talk about God."

When the young couple added up the years, they realized that the father had told the message to his village the very year the missionaries were born!

As the missionary heard these amazing things, he thought about the passage in Ephesians 2:10 which said "God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing." This is the God that we read about in the Scripture and we talk to in prayer. He’s not a far-away God. In Isa. 43: 1-4 we read of a compassionate God whom nobody could have ever imagined. A God who openly pursues us with His love and His care. Listen to this passage:
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you...you are precious in My sight...you are honored and I love you."

Concerns about the mood

This photo is of the Garden of Gethsemane if you were to visit it today. One of my lifelong dreams is to go over and visit the Holy Land.

While at the Christian Academy of Knoxville, one of my positions was that of scheduling chapel speakers and heading up our Tuesday chapel time. A few times in this past year I had student-led chapels, and after two of these chapels I was approached by a small band of students. Both times they chastised me for not allowing the chapel to go beyond the scheduled hour that our school has allotted.
Although both chapels were very powerful, I found that this clutch of students were agitated about the length of the service.

"It must be longer - at least an hour more than you've allotted," insisted one boy.

When I asked him why, he responded, "because we need time to get into the Spirit, and the song time is what we need to do this. It's got to be much longer. We've got to get into the Spirit."

Now, I find this curious. I have encountered people who have told me this before, and I fail to see where the Bible gives directions on how Christians need a massive amount of time to "warm up" to the Holy Spirit's movement. To be sure, singing prepares a heart for the Word of God's instruction, but I was told by this group that there must be gobs of songs and lengths of time in order to get ready, and I find this lacking in Scriptural authority. We are to spend two, three hours in singing before we can allow God's Word to be brought forth?

It leads me to see a danger that I will talk about in coming blogs: the danger of over-emotionalism in today's Christian generalization. Many, many times I see the abstract thinkers of Christianity push away the concrete thinkers with an insistence that the service be flowery and mood-sensitive.

Hey, I want to have time with Jesus and praise Him, but I don't want a Woodstock experience to have to achieve it.

Security of the Believer

We Christians are such losers sometimes...could Jesus take our salvation away as punishment?

Many a time in my youth I wondered if Jesus would simply get tired of us. After all, people can be pretty stupid a lot of the time. We endeavor to do right but we fail. We set lofty goals and get nowhere near attaining them. Why would Christ have any interest in us as we keep stumbling about? We Christians attempt to honor Him but we end up wanted to honor ourselves more. We lose control of so many of the ways to give Him glory, why wouldn't He just forget us and deny us Heaven? We're trying to do good, but doesn't His patience have a limit?

Then I look at His Word and I am comforted. Can we lose our salvation? I read the Word and see some powerful truths that tell me otherwise...

1. God does not let saints fall
Micah 7:8 - "when I fall I shall arise"
Psalm 37:24,25 - "Though he fall he shall not utterly be cast down...I have not seen the righteous forsaken..."

2. This is the Lord's doing, and it is not in our power to "undo" it.
Psalm 37:37,40 - "But salvation of the righteous is of the Lord..."
2 Tim. 1:12 "He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."
Jude 24 - "...now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling..."
1 Peter 1:5 - "who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

3. God knows the believer.
John 10:14 - God tells us He knows His child.
Compare that with the lost He speaks to in Matthew 7:23. "...I never knew you..."

4. The believer is in Jesus' hand.
John 10:28 - "...neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

5. The believer will not come into condemnation.
John 5:24 - "He that...believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation..."

Thank you, Jesus, for making a Way. Thank you for keeping us going on that Way.

Foundation of holiness - the Word

The Gospel of John fragment (8:14-22) from the 3rd Century

Why should we read our Bible? It's just a guide, isn't it? It's just a rule book, right? Wrong.

The answer is found in the book of John. In John 17:17 Jesus says, “Sanctify them...that is those who belong to Him in the world, believers...sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth.”

The Greek word aletheia is the word for truth. We Christians are sanctified ("made holy") in this aletheia. So, then, the key to being holy and pleasing to God is to know and obey the truth, and that is what the word of God is. Reading the Bible and getting into its depths is the doorway to holiness.

I had a talk with a young man this week who is desperately seeking to be a true, genuine Christian. He finds this authentic walk in holiness by going to the source of God's communication with us: the Bible.

Graduation on Sunday

Here is a picture of me along with one of my dear students, Alison Poland. Alison was very special to our family and was a great camper at our Theology Camp last year. Hard to believe she is heading off to college in the fall. The Zockoll family will miss you, Alison!

Another one of my star pupils, Chris Bernard, made a "tribute" to me on You Tube! Please go to You Tube and enter "Zockoll" in the search category. You'll find it there. Thank you for such a wonderful gift, Chris!

I see the Finish Line

School has its final day tomorrow, and my official retirement from classroom teaching will be a reality. As it is, this last week is Exam Week, and since I taught an elective (Biblical Greek) there were no exams to be taken in my class. I have been cleaning up and sorting my papers in preparation for my exit.

It has been a long race, but I see the finish line. I will be heading back into writing. I'm already into my first chapters of my next book.

It has been a fantastic year, and a fun teaching career. I will truly miss my students. Seeing them grow in both knowledge and Godly wisdom is a satisfaction that few other achievments can equal. I've shed a few tears in the past weeks, realizing that this part of my life will be over, but that my students will head into careers and ministries of their own. These are tears of sorrow and gladness - quite a mixture!

Thank you Asa, Yani, Bret, Jonathon, Kate, Jennifer, Jacob, Brandon, Abby, Alison, Jessica, Rose, David, Chris, Ben, Kate, Melanie, Josh, Jeremy, Jeremiah, Robert, Taylor, Jackson, Nick, Kerry, Tim, Jordan, Amanda...the list goes on.

3 John 1:4 - "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

Col. 3:11

"Christ is all, and is in all."


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"Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all." - Augustine

High Flight

(Thanks for being so patient - my computer's problems joined up with the end-of-the-semester assignments to make blogging impossible for a while).

Graduation is upon us! Time for the grads to move on in life.

I will truly miss my young students as we all go our separate ways.

I give you "High Flight". perhaps my favorite poem, written by Gillespie Magee:

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew -

And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The high untresspassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

May you, in your coming years, enjoy God's presence so much that you feel you have touched His face.

A new step

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. Happily, I was able to share the joy of a new avenue in my career but sadly I had to say goodbye.

At chapel I announced to the faculty and students that I would not be returning to CAK this fall. I have received a wonderful offer to join up with the ABS corporation here in town, and I will be starting with them in June. I am leaving a campus full of kids that I love, and it's never easy to say goodbye to family.

I thank the Lord for the fantastic five years I have enjoyed teaching here in Knoxville. I can gladly say that I have enjoyed virtually every day that I stepped into the classroom. What most people don't know is that I probably learned more than the students did.

I learned more about the Bible. I learned about working among educators. I learned about today's generation and their great needs. And I learned about myself - my joys, my commitment, my temper, and my shortcomings.

Thank you, Grace Academy and Christian Academy of Knoxville, for the opportunity to serve. Thank you, Jesus, for giving me this great blessing.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. - Psalm 37:23

I was sitting here, thinking of the many people whose friendship I've enjoyed through the years. Friends who stayed with me through thick and thin, whose hearts are ready to counsel, listen and enjoy. I can safely say that the Lord has given me an abundance of riches in this area.

The Hydes in England
The Krises in Arizona
The Hornes in Tennessee
the Daniels in South Dakota
The Kliewers in California
The Sidwells in Pennsylvania
My professors in South Carolina
The Hodaks in Michigan
The Pines in Oregon
The Williams in North Carolina
The Johnsons in Florida


and of course, Jesus overall. He's the friend that sticks closer than a brother.

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“Compassion costs. It is easy enough to argue, criticize and condemn, but redemption is costly, and comfort draws from the deep. Brains can argue, but It takes heart to comfort.” - Samuel Chadwick

Lose My Salvation?

In his sermon "Abiding in Christ", John MacArthur says:

Some people would conclude that Judas lost his salvation, and that if any Christian fails to bear fruit, he also will lose his salvation. However, John 10:28 says, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." The Word of God is absolutely clear about the security of salvation. In John 6:37, Jesus said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me." In chapter 17, He told the Father, "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition" (v. 12). Those statements reveal that Jesus was not talking about a true believer who stops bearing fruit and loses his salvation. Rather, he is talking about a Judas-type of believer who is superficially attached to the vine, but never receives spiritual nourishment from it. Judas had a superficial relationship with Jesus, but he willingly walked away from that relationship and into the judicial condemnation of God. It seems natural that the allegory of the vine and the branches would come out of Christ's intimate talk with the eleven disciples who believed in Him.

Where is your joy?

“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence...? You'd be bored to tears in heaven, if you're not ecstatic about God now!”

- Keith Green

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..."

- Phlpn. 3:10

Good Friday

Germans call this day what could be considered "Mourning Friday." In Russia today is known as "Passion Friday." Why does the English-speaking world call it "Good Friday?" Numerous sources show us that it is a change in the form of God the Father; it actually means "God's Friday" or "God Friday."

We reflect on Christ's suffering today, how He suffered as payment for our sins. The Believer in Christ, is then told that his walk with be a walk with suffering as well. Have we considered this, in a society of ease such as ours?

The Puritan pastor John Flavel exhorted people to consider the cost before calling upon Christ as Savior:

"If I open to Christ, this I shall gain, but that I must lose; I cannot separate Christ from sufferings: Christ will separate me from my sins; if I seek him, I must let them go; if I profess Christ, Providence will one time or other bring me to this dilemma, either Christ or earthly comforts must go. It is necessary, therefore, that I now propound to myself what Providence may, one time or other, propound to me. He hath set down his terms: 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. '"

(Christ Knocking at the Door of Sinners Hearts [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978 reprint], p. 183).

Every Dog Has His Day

An easy way for an average artist to get noticed on a nationwide scale?

Make your artwork mock Jesus.

It's controversial, bombastic, and it gets the attention you crave. Think of the latest entries into the Ridicule Jesus parade:
- a New York creation of Jesus unclothed, made totally in chocolate.
- a Chicago art entry of Barak Obama as Jesus, complete with a neon halo

These follow the line of "daring" art pieces of the past that have shown Jesus in a jar of urine and the Virgin Mary splattered with feces. (Am I the only one to notice that none of these pieces show any talent?) The artists smile smugly at the camera and proclaim that this shows "boldness and daring" or (here's my favorite cliche) "it opens the door to discussion."

In virtual all cases, the artist portrays himself as being brave enough to address such an issue.

My question is: have any of these artists considered themselves bold enough to portray such a depiction of Mohammed?

No, it's safer to mock the Christian.

Decision time

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed. - Proverbs 16:3

Please pray for me. I am at the crossroads of two very big decisions, either of which could impact my family and me for years and years to come. Either choice is an exciting ministry opportunity and I will confess I am completely confused as to the next step.

"Do you seek any further reward beyond that of having pleased God? In truth, you know not how great a good it is to please Him." - John Chrysostom

OBEDIENCE

"How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, His precepts!"

- Ben Franklin

"It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home."

- Hudson Taylor

"Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

- Matthew 16:24

The ministry needs your prayers

Please pray as I seek the proper homestead for us to initiate the Hepta project. The timeline is that we would be able to start the ministry in Septmeber as the high school students have settled in and the college students are starting classes. We want to have Care packages on their way and the first evening Bible classes humming along. If possible, I would like to have our first book published in order to have a study guide as we journey through the Bible.

There are five homes in the Knoxville area that seem to meet our needs. Please pray that I clearly see God's choice of the proper house.

A local carpentry ministry has told me that if we need additions to the home for expansion purposes, then all our ministry needs to do is supply the material and they will build it at no cost!

Please write me if you have any questions or comments:

bradzockoll@hotmail.com

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In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, "That is mine!"

~ Abraham Kuyper

The Seven Year Plan, part 3

To the left you can see another one of the L'Abri homes (I believe this one was in Switzerland) as well as a photo of Francis Schaeffer. I would like to build this ministry based on the Schaeffer model of Christian study.

The extreme burden of my ministry at CAK is to prepare and equip the students for the next years after secondary school. ("You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them" - 2 Timothy 3:14) It will be called Hepta, the Greek word for "seven". The Hepta: Seven Year Ministry will incorporate numerous teaching tools including:

Biblical study and note-taking

Debate and speech skills

Group study and also one-on-one care

Private devotion time available in "refuge rooms"

No-holds-barred Q&A time each week (I am already conducting this on the UT campus and the Lord has greatly blessed)

Second-level teaching (going into Greek and Hebrew word study, possibly offering certificates)

Speech and devotional practice (each student will be trained and will deliver at least one message during the course of the week)

Summer Evening Retreats that will be both social and spiritual helps for the students

Overall, the James 1:22 principle will be employed: "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only."

The Seven Year Plan, part 2

This picture is of the L-Abri ministry in England - a shelter for the student seeking a deeper spiritual life. I'd like to make a ministry here in Knoxville with the basics of L'Abri in mind...but with a wider purpose. Please read on.

Here is my burden: one of the most dramatic and traumatic times of a student’s life occurs at graduation: the changing of campuses. In more than one way, a graduating senior undergoes a major paradigm shift. He will change in:

physical location
decision-making opportunities
reality of worship and his "God-walk"
his circle of friends
financial matters
his position of dependent to becoming an independent

In realizing these needs of teens and young adults all over Knoxville, I’ve created this document in order to set forth a proposal to lay out a plan for the overall Bible training that can set an anchor at CAK and reach beyond the campus. Having been a teacher at three other Christian schools and a speaker/observer at over fifty others in the past twenty years, I truly believe that Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK) to be among the top-tier schools in areas of energy, direction and desire when it comes to taking responsible steps in the scholastic and spiritual education of enrolled students. I feel, though, that the ministry on or near the CAK campus needs to have a longer reach - on toward college and beyond..

The Plan

Two truths come to mind that will give us an answer:

The James 1:22 principle: "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." The Bible education is not complete if it remains potential and is never activated as kinetic. There must be action following the education. Part of the proposed ministry is to take this principle beyond the May graduation.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism’s teaching of the duty of all Christians: "Question: What is the chief end of man? Answer: To worship God and enjoy Him forever." Yet many grads will not really understand how to continue on in a walk with God when they feel they’ve been "kicked out of the nest."
I would like to pursue a dream of taking teens into a deeper walk with the Lord.

I want to start a homestead ministry as a place for students to come and study God off-campus...take the next steps of spiritual maturation in walking with Jesus.

The L'Abri centers around the world have intrigued me. From the L'Abri site: "L'Abri is a French word that means shelter. The first L'Abri community was founded in Switzerland in 1955 by Dr. Francis Schaeffer and his wife, Edith. Dr. Schaeffer was a Christian theologian and philosopher who also authored a number of books on theology, philosophy, general culture and the arts.
The L'Abri communities are study centers in Europe, Asia and America where individuals have the opportunity to seek answers to honest questions about God and the significance of human life. L'Abri believes that Christianity speaks to all aspects of life."

WE SHOULD HAVE A L’ABRI HERE, RIGHT IN KNOXVILLE, NEAR THE CAK CAMPUS. We would call it "hepta", meaning "seven," for that would be the main focus of the ministry. We would concentrate our resources on reaching and assisting the CAK student through the seven transitional years - from the Junior year in high school to the first year out of college.

I will tell you more tomorrow.

7 year plan

Here's my great frustration: there are two cliffs that need bridges, and we Christian educators have not done enough to construct one.

I'm talking about two gaps in the career path that need to be addressed by concerned Christians.

The first one is at high school graduation. We hand our students a diploma and warmly thank them for the work they've done. We send them off with our prayers and then ... what? They head to a college with little or no on-site mentoring or helps when the liberalism of many campuses try to wear them down.

The second one is at college graduation. The student has finished his four years, and then steps out into the world of decision-making and solitary choices with little or no guidance. Many a student flounders or suffers from bad advice gleaned from a less-than-caring source.

I propose a Seven Year Plan - one that will join with a student from his or her junior year and be alongside them through to their first year out of college. It'll be a helpmeet ministry, one that sends caring e-mails and care packages along with resources to make this new step in the world a bit easier for the eager but needy Christian.

I will share some more of my plan in the next blog.

Closeness of God Himself

I just got back from Maryland, driving through back to Tennessee in 11 hours. I left on Saturday morning and drove back on Monday morning, and I am tired but happy. It was a great trip, getting to see my family - my mom and dad, brothers and sisters - once again.

There is a closeness to family that you cannot replicate anywhere else. This is true in God's dealing with us.

What intrigues me is that God displays to us one of His names as Father. The thought, then, is that He wants us to see Him as more than Creator. He wants to allow us to let Him draw near to us. He wants to be one-on-one.

We hear so may people talk about this belief, but where does the Bible show it?

Job 34:19: For God carefully watches the way people live; he sees everything they do.

Mattew 11: 28 - Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

James 4:8 - Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Zeph. 3:17 - The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Jeremiah 31:3-4 - The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.’

True belief

The Santa Claus Syndrome worries me.

Here we have Santa....people talk about him. They hang up pictures about him, even sing songs about him. They do more than acknowledge him - they exchange gifts in connection with his image, and they will even have parties based upon the example he sets. They'll teach their kids about him.

Probelm is, he doesn't change their lives, because they don't really believe that he exists.

Here we have Santa....people talk about him. They know his history. The thought of himmakes them feel good inside. They hang up pictures about him, even sing songs about him. They do more than acknowledge him - they exchange gifts in connection with his image, and they will even have parties based upon the example he sets. They'll teach their kids about him.

Problem is, he doesn't change their lives, because they don't really believe that he exists. They compartmentalize his effect on them, because overall, he doesn't mean that much to them.

Here we have Jesus....people talk about him. They know His history. The thought of Himmakes them feel good inside. They hang up pictures about Him, even sing songs about him. They do more than acknowledge Him - they gather and socialize and talk about His life, and they will even have celebrations based upon the example He sets. They'll teach their kids about Him.

Problem is, He doesn't change their lives, because they don't really believe that He exists. They compartmentalize his effect on them, because overall, He doesn't mean that much to them. Their lives haven't changed.

And that is a tragedy.

God is unchanging

IMMUTABLE: unchanging

When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, was a university student, he lived an a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher, not infirm and unable to leave the apartment. Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they would go through together. He would come down the steps, open the old man’s door, and ask, “Well, what’s the good news?” The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair and say, That’s middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano across the hall is out of tune, but, my friend, THAT is middle C!”

The old man had discovered one thing upon which he could depend, one constant reality in his life, one “still point in a turning world.” For Christians, the one “still point in a turning world,” the one absolute of which there is no shadow of turning, is Jesus Christ.

"And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (1 Samuel 15:29).

His Word is ‘forever settled in heaven’ (Ps 119:89).

His love is eternal: ‘I have loved thee with an everlasting love’ (Jer 31:3) and,

‘Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end’ (Jn 13:1).

His mercy ceases not, for it is ‘everlasting’ (Ps l00:5)

One of God's attributes is that He is immutable. Praise God for this truth!

Excerpt from my last debate with an atheist

Last year I had a formal debate with an atheist. As I gave my openings I included three points that I wished the atheist to answer. Here is the opening section of my notes:

Last week my good friend Lauren Hickok, was in a terrible van wreck. Her lungs collapsed, her knees are damaged and every bone in her face is broken. At best, if she survives - a 50-50 chance right now - she will undergo years of therapy.

If I am a admirer of Nietzche, as my friend here is, then my response would be to pull the plug and let her die, for Nietsche says the true perfect human being has no room for compassion for the ailing.

If I am a Darwinist, as I believe my friend here is to be, then Lauren is to be cast aside, since only the strongest survive in the species.

If I am to follow Buddhism, then I could care less about her suffering, for my concerns are only about myself.

Yet, I believe in a God, a God who shows compassion. That’s what this debate is about: God. I will show you how reasonable it is to prove that there is a God, for if there is no God, there is no compassion, there are no universal rules, there is no standard of conduct - rape is okay, incest is okay, and the pulling of the plug on Lauren would be okay, which is reprehensible.

(SECOND ROUND)

Let me first say that I have no fear in saying that the Bible is the Word of God and shows many truths which have been unanswered by the agnostic.

My I give a few questions to our friend here:

Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 says that the Messiah, God’s son coming to save mankind would be born in Bethlehem. 400 years later, the exact prophecy was fulfilled to the very tiny town. How would you explain that ourtside of the supernatural?

Psalm 22: tell us exactly what this suffering Savior of mankind would experience on the cross, in shocking detail, and the passage was written 700 years before it happened....700 years before the idea of death by a form of punishment called crucifixion was ever thought of. How could that be made up outside of the supernatural realm?

The very building blocks of physics known as Quantum Mechanics state that a proton, neutron and electron have no NATURAL way of staying together in an atom...since they are positive, neutral and negative forces, all NATURAL science states that since opposites attract, they should instantly bond and create an atomic explosion...yet they don’t. Outside of the supernatural realm, how is this possible?

My atheist friend never answered any of these questions.

Backbone

I see that America has neither a dearth of riches nor a lack of resources. What I do see is this country greatly lacks in true character.

Children need parents with character. Students need teachers with character. Congregations look to pastors for good examples. Readers want authors and columnists with a solid reputation. Non-Christians are looking to Believers for good, solid character.

"Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested." - Oswald Chambers

"A pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself." - AW Tozer

"Oh, young man, character is worth more than money, character is worth more than anything else in this wide world." - DL Moody

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

(To the left is a picture of the Garden of Gethsemane)

I had quite a surprise over the weekend - a call from a classmate I have not seen since 1981! Jesse Bullard was one of the most talented guys I met while at college and is still at it - he is now ministering in Iowa (what a beautiful state, especially in the spring!) and has a heart in assisting music ministries around the country. Great to hear from you, Jess - we'll keep in touch.
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Fantastic news from our Wednesday Bible study ministry at the University of Tennessee. One young man sat in the back a few weeks ago and listened intently to the message. I received word from Britton that this young man had made a decision for Christ! Thank you, Lord.
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From John 18:2-6...
"And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground."

Can you see the power of Christ in this passage? When Jesus declares who He is (The divine term "I Am"), the soldiers actually fall to the ground. Not only is it a striking display of Jesus' power, it is also a fantastic display of Jesus’ humility and willingness to carry through with His mission. Think of it - He could have destroyed the army with anything from avenging angels to fire from heaven. We see one of the most vivid pictures of Jesus - His majesty displayed in His voluntary humility and weakness.

This is one of the marvelous things about Christianity, to paraphrase CS Lewis - this is one of the reasons we know no man originated this stroy - who could have possibly invented anything like this? No human could have created such a dazzling array of unpredicted supernatural wonderments like we find in the person of Jesus.

Last words of the dying

"Earth is receding; heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day!" - D.L. Moody

"The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell!"
- John Wesley

"I am so weak that I can hardly write, I cannot read my Bible, I cannot even pray, I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child, and trust."
- Hudson Taylor

Where is our commitment?

I deal with young people day in and day out who are obsessed with polishing their fame and reputation; Christ is secondary to the image they feel they must project. Some will even go as far as to "re-invent themselves" on places like MySpace or Facebook.

It's a hard step for us all to swallow the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:13 -

"... we are made as the filth of the world, [and are] the offscouring of all things unto this day."

The Corinthian Christians were filled with pride in their own spirituality, finding it hard to identify with someone as "low" as Paul because of his “weaknesses” like physical infirmities and humility. Paul tells them of the reality of Christianity: we are considered the filth of the world and the "offscouring" to everyone. And that's not necessarily bad.

"Offscouring" is, in the Greek, the word peripsema {per-ip'-say-mah} and has a very graphic descrition of the lowliness of men. The Athenians had a yearly "offering" to the waters in order to "pay off" Poseidon. The human victims were called “scrapings” in the belief that they would wipe away the populations' guilt. In order to avoid public calamities, the Greeks cast a criminal into the sea as an offering; hence the term became used for a ransom. As they threw the worthless people into the sea (especially during a time of plague or famine, they would shout “Be our offscouring!”

Paul uses that term to describe us. We are the ransom, the willing offscouring, ready to pay the ransom. We are really the lowly of the population, fixing our lives to be sacrifices so that others may come to Jesus. Are we willing to take on that mindset...so that others may see salvation's path?

Born only 21 weeks and six days after conception, Amillia Taylor weighed just under 10oz and was only 91/2 inches long...and she is alive.

The London newspaper Daily Mail, on their web site, (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/) states that

William Smalling, neo-natologist at Baptist Children's Hospital in Miami, said: "She's truly a miracle baby. We didn't even know what a normal blood pressure is for a baby this small."

The article went on to say that "Amillia's incredible story will reignite the debate over Britain's abortion laws, which campaigners say must be updated in the light of recent medical advances."

A picture on the web site shows that Amillia is a little bit longer than a ballpoint pen.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10).

"For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalms 139:13-16)

"Making the decision to have a child — it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." --by Elizabeth Stone, appeared in Reader’s Digest

Prayer

Luke 11:2 - And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

This very rich, deep and yet puzzling word for prayer is proseuchomai {pros-yoo'-khom-ahee}. Does anybody fully understand the impact of this wonderful gift of communication God has given us?

The Greek definition simply means to make a request to a deity, but what else can we learn about this word used by the Savior in this passage?

Prayer is so simple that the smallest child can pray, but it is so great that the mightiest man of God cannot be said to truly have mastered prayer. - (David Guzik)

"Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the first thing." (Murray)

"The wrestler strips before he enters upon the contest, and confession does the like for the man who is about to plead with God. A racer on the plains of prayer cannot hope to win, unless, by confession, repentance, and faith, he lays aside every weight of sin." - Spurgeon

So much to be said about prayer. Let's spend the next few days talking about it.

What kind of future?

Today marks the beginning of the Chinese year, and this year has the makings of an unsettling year, I am told. The Chinese Year of the Pig starts today, and fortune tellers all over the Oriental world are saying that this year will be one of violence and unrest.

The pig is one of 12 animals - one is mythical, as in the case of the dragon - based on the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which follows the lunar calendar. Other animals include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, sheep, and monkey.

According to the calendar, I was born in the year of the Pig (1959), and being a plump child, I found this revelation quite embarrassing when I first viewed the fact on a Chinese restaurant's placemat. However, Chinese culture compliments me on my position, asserting that because of this I am loyal, hard-working, and honest. Thank you.

However, this year is seen as uneasy.

I cannot disagree. With the Iraq struggle, schools in decline, natural disasters, falling morals and a self-indulgent society, I see this country facing a difficult road ahead.

Here is my best friend Jesus telling us how to cope:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. - John 14:27-29

The Koine Greek word for peace is eirene {i-ray'-nay} and it means not only harmony and concord but also security, safety, and prosperity. Think of it - if you are free from worry and fear, you have the open road opportunity to be prosperous! (And that means in more than just a monetary way). I also see that it means contentment. Just as the child who sits back and grins when his parents tell him to wait a few more minutes before the birthday party begins - he is happy and content with the way thinks are going. Just as the mother who sits and smiles even though the snowstorm rages outside, because she knows her house is well-secured, her husband is checking the furnace and her children are safe by the fireplace - she is at peace. Just as the frightened, lonely person is taken into the safety of close friends and relatives to have a place to stay and eat and enjoy companionship - he is surrounded with security and care.

Has this year gone to the pigs? Doesn't matter to the Christian who puts his trust in the One who sees and protects.

I remember Mrs. Spinnatiford, an elderly lady much involved in the social side of our rural church in my childhood days.

Coming out of church one fall afternoon, Mrs. Spinnatiford leaned on her eldest son's arm and asked him, "Do you think that Johnson girl is tinting her hair?"

"I didn't even see her," he admitted, helping her into the car.

"And that dress Mrs. Davis was wearing," she continued , "Really, don't tell me you think that's the proper outfit for a mother of two."

"I'm afraid I didn't notice that either," said her son as he sat down in the driver's seat.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," snapped Mrs. Mrs. Spinnatiford. "A lot of good it does you to go to church."

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Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. -

Thomas Paine

The last word

Nietzsche died in spiritual darkness, a babbling madman.

On a wall in Austria a graffiti said,
"God is dead,
--Nietzsche!"

Someone else wrote under it,
"Nietzsche is dead!
--God."

John 12:21 - "The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus."

I've been fighting a real uneasiness in the past months.

I am tired, so tired of this celebrity-driven society. I go to WalMart and movie mags cover the checkout line. I work out at the local gym and the bank of televisions are constantly playing talk shows and soap operas. I can't even have a meal at McDonald's without turning around and seeing a fictional show on the overhead TV.

I'm wanting a deeper relationship Jesus more and more each day...and I'm wondering if there are many yet who really want to know the Savior. Scores of people I encounter know who is dating in Hollywood but couldn't tell me the first thing about a narrative in the Bible of Jesus and the Heavenly Kingdom.

How I love it when I am approached, as Philip was, by individuals who want to seek and hear about the risen Christ!

Heavenly Father, please help us all. Please deliver a thirst and a hunger for You and Your Word once again to Your people.

Galatians 5:16-26" But the fruit of the Spirit is ' self-control." (vv.22-23)

One of my most dear friends in high school was my spiritual mentor, Eric Frazier. Eric, a college student, moved into our household (we had 12 living under the roof at one time whenever he showed up!) and was almost an immediate influence to me in my 16th year. I saw him enjoy talking about the Scripture and sharing stories about the Bible in ways I never knew.

But the single most profound influence Eric had was the day we were on a Scouting trip with the troop. Eric was assisting in helping the guys set up camp and was given control over the site in the scoutmaster's absence. The only other adult was carrying a rotten attitude; he felt that the scoutmaster was short-changing him on some responsibilities and rights.

When the other adult started to lash out in front of the boys, Eric kindly but firmly told him that he needed to stop.

The adult twirled around and rushed 22 year old Eric, waving his fists and ready to strike. Eric closed his eyes and repeated that the man needed to follow the proper rules of authority.

I stood amazed at Eric's calmness, especially in the face of an open threat. He never lost his cool; in fact, within ten minutes, he had his arm around the other man, walking him around the perimeter of the camp, showing the troopers that there were no hard feelings.

Eric's Christian self-control was given to me in volumes that day. Talk all you like; I prefer to learn by seeing you walk.

Reality of death

Writer Art Buchwald, playwright Sidney Sheldon, Anna Nicole Smith, Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. - James 4:14

Great UT Bible study time again

Ah, going over and leading the Bible study at the University of Tennessee Hess Hall was as much fun last night as it has been all month. I am meeting and making new friends: Austin, Amy, Dan, Charlie, Britton, Chris, and others. We had about 25 in attendance last night and the great students at CAK once again sent me with bags of goodies to share with the "starving" underclassmen.

Our subejcts ranged from the validity of the Bible to the problem with evolution to the power of prophecies in the Bible. Then we had a good Q & A time. It is SO GREAT to be able to be a part of these wonderful students' lives. Thank you, Lord!

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CNN gave a report on little Roberto Salazer in its September 28, 2006 edition. Roberto is now nearing five but he has a terrible problem: he can't feel pain. The CNN report tells us that when he rams his head violently into walls or plays a little too roughly with a schoolmate, all the while smiling, that you are reminded that he suffers from an incredibly rare genetic disorder.
Roberto is one of 17 people in the United States with "congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis," referred to as CIPA by the few people who know about it.

CNN went on to say that his family was shocked when Roberto started teething. He gnawed on his own tongue, lips and fingers to the point of mutilation.

An attending doctor had studied this disease for years. "For some children it's a mild degree such as breaking a leg, they'll get up and walk on the leg. They feel that something is uncomfortable but they keep on moving," she said. "For other children, the pain loss is so severe that they can injure themselves repetitively and actually mutilate themselves because they don't know when to stop."

My heart goes out to this little boy, and I'm going to pray for his treatments which will help him develop "pain sense." As long as he cannot feel the dangers around him, he's in constatn danger.

I'm also praying for those people I meet throughout the week that see no need to deal with their sin or feel a need to get things right with the God of the universe. As long as they cannot feel the dangers around them in facing an eternity without Christ, they're in constant danger.

Contradictions?

I came upon an assertion by an atheist that claimed there were hundreds of contradictions in the Bible. As I studied the claims, I relaized that the critic had pulled passages out right and left but was not fair in his allegations; he had not done the necessary homework in honestly trying to see what the passage was explaining. The best way I can illustrate this is to say that someone would attend an NFL game for five minutes and declare that Peyton Manning could never be a quarterback since they never saw him throw a pass.

Here is a sample of the supposed contradictions:

MT 25:34 Heaven was prepared before the Ascension of Jesus.
JN 14:2-3 It was prepared after the Ascension of Jesus.

The students of the Bible know full well the omnisicence of God in that Heaven was planned and prepared in the mind of God at the time the earth was formed. The Scripture plainly states that two distinct locations - heaven and earth - were createded at that time. In the reading of the coming Kingdom in the book of John in chapter 14, Christ foretells of dwelling places that the Believer will enjoy within the bounds of heaven. Jesus is now preparing these special places for His children.

The fact of Heaven; the fact of the specific lodging within Heaven. These are not ontradictions at all. These are words of hope and joy to the Believer.

GOOD out of EVIL?

When I think of God's goodness arising desite the fact of human evil, I think of the story of Joseph ( Genesis 37–50 ). Joseph got "kicked in the teeth" more than once. He was forsaken by his brothers (coming from a family of ten children, I find this almost incomprehensible) and sold by his brothers into slavery. While some people might feel a reason for this incident to scar them into therapy for the rest of their lives, Joseph went on to be in God's hands to save the lives of multitudes in Egypt, even the members of his own family. As I read the passage, I note no bitterness on behalf of the one who was abused; Joseph kept his mouth shut except to do good for the Lord. There is no doubt about it, his brothers acted terribly - but through Joseph, God used their evil deeds for His glory.

At the point of possible revenge, Jospeh pushed aside any thoughts of violence in responding to the brothers' fears: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:19-20).

This is one of the things that amazes me about God - He constantly shows His goodness even through the wickedness of man. It's one of the many amazing things about our God.

The love of Jesus

I'm home today, unable to teach at church due to a pretty bad cold. However, I've run into a treasure chest of great devotional reading while recovering. The love of Christ pops out on every page!

Read Oswald Chambers' thoughts:

The love of Christ compels us . . . —2 Corinthians 5:14

Paul said that he was overpowered, subdued, and held as in a vise by "the love of Christ." Very few of us really know what it means to be held in the grip of the love of God. We tend so often to be controlled simply by our own experience. The one thing that gripped and held Paul, to the exclusion of everything else, was the love of God. "The love of Christ compels us . . . ."

This total surrender to "the love of Christ" is the only thing that will bear fruit in your life. And it will always leave the mark of God’s holiness and His power, never drawing attention to your personal holiness.

Here's Max Lucado:

"...keep in mind the perspective of the lepers of the world. They aren’t picky. They aren’t finicky. They’re just lonely. They are yearning for a godly touch. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world."

And concerning the depths of His love and His ministry, writer Mike DeVries refers to Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus:

What I find fascinating is that Nicodemus walks away from Jesus without a clear understanding of what Jesus is talking about, and that’s okay with Jesus. He doesn’t walk away with a three-step formula for being “born again.” The story, much like the point Jesus is getting at, is unresolved, a mystery that forces Nicodemus, as well as the reader, to walk away... thinking, pondering, wondering, searching.

Faith is a lifelong journey of discovery. Just when you awaken to a new understanding of the depth of who God is, you discover there is something still beyond. As one theologian put it, “God is the beyond that is in our midst.” It’s okay not to have it all figured out. It’s okay not to have all the answers worked out in a nice and easy package.

Apparently, seeing faith as an open-ended quest is okay. It was for Jesus and Nicodemus.
If we had all the answers, it wouldn’t be called faith, now would it?

Jesus, the authority

I will be heading up a new adult Bible study over at Christian Academy of Knoxville on Monday nights through the month of February. Contact me through this web page if you would like more information.

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Jesus' teaching has astounded generations of readers through the ages because of its profound, Godly wisdom and excellence. Jesus needed to quote no previous sources; He was the highest Source of all!

Matt. 7:29 - "for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."

Bible scholar Robertson says:
"They had heard many sermons before from the regular rabbis in the synagogues. We have specimens of these discourses preserved in the Mishna and Gemara, the Jewish Talmud when both were completed, the driest, dullest collection of disjointed comments upon every conceivable problem in the history of mankind. The scribes quoted the rabbis before them and were afraid to express an idea without bolstering it up by some predecessor. Jesus spoke with the authority of truth, the reality and freshness of the morning light, and the power of God’s Spirit. This sermon which made such a profound impression ended with the tragedy of the fall of the house on the sand like the crash of a giant oak in the forest. There was no smoothing over the outcome. "

This was no fancy high-church rhetoric. There were no memorized odes or epochs. This was Jesus, in His communicative power.

The Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament. Copyright © Broadman Press 1932,33, Renewal 1960. All rights reserved.