"Opportunity"

Gal 6:9
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Gal 6:10
So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

opportunity = Greek "kairos", meaning "seasonable time" or " the right time".

I think of my good friend Doug Walker, who, when a junior-high age teen, sat at the curb in his neighborhood on a summer day and reasoned with a neighbor who was a young atheist. Doug put aside his sports gear and patiently told the boy about the truth of the Gospel and the reality of God. With compassion, grace and kindness seasoned with intellect and study, Doug shared the Gospel with the young fellow who listened intently. If I'm not mistaken, we saw the boy at the youth group more than once.

Here's my point: Doug could have brushed off the boy's beliefs as being "his own opinion" and "his right to believe whatever he wants." It was a summer day, so why not take advantage of the vacation time? But Doug saw the opportune time to do right, to share eternal truths with a boy who needed a vision and a hope.

Doug took advantage of an opportune time. So should we.

Because...

... the word "kairos" can also mean "a limited period of time." There's no guarantee that we'll have unlimited hours to act. Let's do the right thing now.

Thursday night presentation

Please pray as I make a presentation to about 25 families concerning the College "Springboard" Ministry we have at the Zockoll home. It will take place in Knoxville at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. I am making a presentation in order to see if the ministry could expand for the purpose of bringing in UT students by van, reaching the international students in the area colleges, and publishing devotionals and apologetic books, among other parts of the ministry.

Tomorrow night will be a crossroads for Jill and me. We are laying this out before the Lord and seeking to see Jesus guide in His way. The home we purchased is not our home - it is totally the Lord's, and we want to use it in that way, for whatever ministry He wants.


Colossians 1:18 - "...that in all [things] He might have the preeminence."

The Call ... the Gospel

Does God send an invitation to join Him in eternity? Yes, the Scripture tells us that He is a God of invitation. From the message of John MacArthur, we glean some of the passages. The Bible refers to the general call to people as the preaching of the gospel:

1) Isaiah 45:22--"Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth...."

2) Isaiah 55:6--"Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near." That was the heralding cry of the prophet to all who would hear.

3) Ezekiel 33:11--"...I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn from your evil ways; for why will ye die?..." Again, we see the general call to the people of Israel to return to God in faithfulness.

4) Matthew 11:28--Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

5) John 7:37-38--Jesus stood up in Jerusalem while water was being poured out at the Feast of Tabernacles, and said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink....of living water."

6) Revelation 22:17--"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

7) Romans 10:17-18--The Apostle Paul said that faith comes by hearing a message about Christ. He indicated that Israel had heard the message of the general call: "But I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world" (v. 18).

list compiled from John MacArthur's message "Beware the Pretenders" http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg2122.htm

and here is Peter's photo

Wow, we made it back and am I ever exhausted. Bad fever this morning and some nausea (after 18 hours travelling in the last day and a half.) We almost had a couple of accidents on the way back. First was a close call when Peter was driving...a semi got a little too close. The second was during a cloudburst and I started hydroplaning on the West Virginia highways in the mountains. Thank you, Lord, for protection while we travel.

Now, here is Peter's photo at the Steeler camp. I think they might sign him up...

from the Steeler Training Camp

Well, it's possible that if Tomlin has a bad season, they could call me to coach. I think this photo has a nice victory aura about it.

In one day...

My son Peter and I will be leaving 3 tomorrow morning to drive from Knoxville TN to Latrobe PA to St. Vincents' College to watch the Steelers training camp...then drive back tomorrow night. Eight hours on the road, each way.

You gotta do what's right. And this, my friends, is what's right.

It is good...

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
-Psalm 43:5

It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
-Psalm 119:71

I've been having a lot more times of reflection, and some clear observations have become prominent to me:

1. Despite many people's initial response to it, it's okay to be sad sometimes.

2. For a good one-on-one time with God, few things beat a solitary walk.

3. For an ADHD person like myself, it''s often good to disengage all gears and let the Lord speak in a small voice. No distractions and no agenda cluttering my mind.

4. When I really concentrate on the magnificence of God and what He has done for mankind, I come away stunned. Really.

5. The story of Jesus and His ministry will never cease to amaze me.

6. Total reliance upon God is a very hard thing, because I am stupid and selfish.

7. The never-ending answer to helping alleviate depression and anxiety, for me, is an all-out concentrated reading of the Bible. Nothing, but nothing can top it for giving me peace. That's the honest truth.

A Chance to Review

In this quietness of solitude, I'm struggling to see what God has placed in my path for reflection, and a particular parcel sits right in the middle of the road...

Jill and I love the grad kids who head into their careers and college education... and we love the small in-home ministry we have right now of linking with the Christian young people who step out into the post-high school years.

And this is what is burning in the middle of the path right now...

1. USA Today reports from a LifeWay research project that 70% of Christian teens walk away from their faith after they leave home.

2. Cross Examined ministry states the dropout rate as high as 75%

3. Answers in Genesis states the percentage as 75% of Christian teens

4. The book Family Driven Faith puts the figure as high as 88% of the Christian teens who leave home for college will not go back to their faith again.

This tears at me.

I am meeting with a group of parents this Thursday night to address this issue. Lord, in the midst of all others things being stripped away, are you leading in this direction?

Ecclesiastes 3:4

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

I need the chance, like Elijah and Job, to sit and feel the pain. It may not be understandable to those outside of my daily walk, but that's how these things slam us sometimes. Unexplainable. Indescribable.

I don't need finger-wagging or raised eyebrows. I want someone to listen - simply listen. Can Christianity get back to that? Can I find a friend who will sit alongside me and allow me to weep? Can I find pure kindness?

After all, we can make a clear case for a split lip or a gashed finger. We can easily show you a punctured hand or even a broken bone. But a wounded spirit? A mourning soul? We don't have enough words in the dictionary to give the proper definition.

I've lost my energy. I find it hard to talk. About anything.

Don't assume a teacher pose. Don't look for a quick fix. And please don't analyze. Or tell me to stop grieving.

I need this time. I need this solitude.

Depression

LUK 18:1 - "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."





Not give up.

"give up" - EKKAKEW (Greek) - to be utterly spiritless, to be wearied out, exhausted

spiritless...feeling hollow, tired... like you ran a ten-mile race - finishing dead last - and nobody was at the finish line to meet you... wearied out...beyond bone-tired, it's a chest-heaving loneliness and hopelessness that you can't explain...

How many times have we felt that way?

We have plans for our life and honestly try to pursue the course that we think is right and God-honoring, only to have our maps shredded and our dreams smashed?





Not give up.





How many times have we walked through the valley of shadows, hurting mostly because we lack a nearby comforter here among the people we know. We long for a chance to talk and share our wounded feelings, but we face finger-wagging and lecture talks.





Not give up.





It's at times like this that we reach up and grasp tightly to Jesus and His promises found in the Bible and wait.





That's the hardest part, waiting. And letting the hurt go by.

Commission

"Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting."

- Francis Schaeffer

1Timothy 1:15

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost {of all.}

This is a statement that is (in the Greek) apodochē - "acceptable, available for admittance" -something you can grab open-handed and clutch, and pull to yourself and hold closely. So what is it that we hold tighter than our most precious possession?

The fact that Jesus is more than an example or a Sunday School picture. The trutht that He is above a Speaker, Teacher, or Rabbi. He is the Anointed One, the One Who Saves, the Almighty come in the flesh.

I remember the Christmas present that I had hoped and longed for, as a child. I lay awake at nights, hoping that I would open up the treasure on that Yule morning. What if my parents forgot that I wanted it? Would my Christmas morning be ruined? I remember actually being scared that it wouldn't come. But finally the day arrived. And, in an imitation of Ralphie opening up the last box that gave him the Red Ryder BB gun, I opened up my gift and there it was! I held it close, hardly believing it was mine, really mine.

And with the same awe and wonder, I can hold Jesus the Christ close to me and realize He is mine, really mine. If He was only a Teacher, that would be great. if He was just a great leader, I would enjoy that, too. But so much more! He forgives my sins and He listens to me. He leads me and loves me. And best of all...

...He is mine. And I am His.

Sunday morning thoughts

( This is a picture of Tennessee's Smoky Mountains at sunrise - a sight which always fills us with awe. )

It's still early enough that the household is still asleep, and I take the quietness of the hour to reflect upon my reading from Romans this morning and fully appreciate what Jesus has done for me and my family as well.



There is so much for which I can be thankful. My children are in good health, but also in a walk with Jesus, learning and growing step by step. Nicholas will be heading back to Camp Red Cloud within the month, continuing the fine ministry outreach to families across the country. Peter has returned from the mission trip in Chicago, where he told me he is internalizing what he has experienced. Jill is in better health, and both she and I seek not only to grow closer together but also to see the new ministry the lord will lay before us. Little Julianne, of course, is a joy to the household, and loves Jesus vocally and enthusiastically.





But I also see the battle within me, and as I read Romans 6:


Rom 6:11
Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Rom 6:12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
Rom 6:13
and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin {as} instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members {as} instruments of righteousness to God.
Rom 6:14
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

The first thought that may strike us is that the battle is with sexual sin or a sensual nature leading into lasciviousness. However, this warning leads to other dangers. Anger, for one.
As I have stated, my anger is a danger to me. It is almsot like being an alcoholic. I will never be able to say I have won a true victory overmy anger - only that, by God's grace, I am able to see it kept under control.
I can recall the time as a student at the university when a fellow student was getting antsy and kept kicking my bed, trying to get me to wake up from much-needed rest in order to go to the dining hall. He got more and more mouthy and challenging. Those who were in the hall remember what I did - I was so livid I shot out of that bed, literally picked him up, kicked open an adjacent door and threw him bodily into another room. I don't give this account to brag - in fact I am ashamed of it - but to note how my anger used to throw me into a rage.

Now, decades later, it is no longer physical in that sense, but it is an Achille's heel that I must constantly take before Jesus. The other day I was accosted with very callous words by a fellow employee, and I had to seclude myself in my office in order to siummer down, knowing any return words would be hurtful. Thank the Lord a fellow Christian stopped by and sat with me.
I have no desire to let my mind or my mouth become a tool of the Enemy. These will not become a hoplon - (Greek - an instrument) against Christ. The word "instrument" can be defined as a weapon. I will not let any part of me be truned over to the Enemy, against my Lord. Therefore, I go before Jesus and ask him to have control of my arsenal. Let Him have the registry of all of my weapons and ammunition.

You Must Read This

For those of you who remember Viet Nam and the famous photo here, I am connecting you to an incredible link, that is, amazingly, found on NPR, not exactly a pro-Christian network. You will understand what I mean when you read this essay. Please do not miss this story:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91964687

Photo credit: AP, Nick Ut

Seeing Jesus working in His servants

Here is just an excerpt from a mission team to Chicago: a group of 20 teens led by Jonathon Huffman of West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville TN. (Our son Peter is part of this trip.) Just read this small portion of their week and you'll get an idea of Christ in action:

"What an awe-inspiring day of ministry. Our day ran long but the blessings ran longer. And best of all, students ministered with passion and boldness!

Today's task looked simple and scary. We were to walk the streets of Chicago offering prayer and food to those in need. Our ministry started with spending an hour and a half in the Court House plaza downtown. As people passed by (lawyers, the homeless, policemen, tourists, foreigners), we simply explained that we were in the plaza to pray with anyone who wanted it. For many of us (myself included), this was the most intimidating project of the trip. But as we stepped into the challenge, we found it to be equally rewarding.

Aaron spoke to one woman who was sitting on a bench but didn't say a word in response. She simply reached up and clutched his hand. He asked her name. She said nothing. So Aaron began to pray for her on the spot. When he finished the prayer and opened his eyes, tears were streaming down the woman's face. She never said a word, but her face said everything.

We had many stories similar to that, where God allowed us to enter some deep places of hurt and offer hope. One woman had recently lost a child; another was getting evicted. Another person was struggling with health issues and another, with addiction. At the end of our time there, we had prayed for about 250 people in the plaza. Of course, many said no or didn't listen or just openly rejected any blessing we might offer. But for those who said yes, it was a profound moment, one where maybe for the first time in a long time, or for the first time ever, they allowed God a window into their lives.

From there, we visited a Hindu temple and spoke with those who worship Hare Krshna. Entering their temple was like entering another world. The sights and smells were as foreign to us as India itself. The worshippers there kindly answered our questions about the religion,.. The point of our visit was to breakdown some of our own stereotypes and apprehensions we might have in talking to people of such disparate religious backgrounds.

We then made an unplanned stop at a local bakery for some snacks, but we soon came realize it was in fact a planned stop. God had something for us to do. As we left the bakery, we noticed a man struggling to walk. We offered him a hand but it quickly realized he was on the verge of collapsing. The boys quickly rushed around him and helped him to the curb. We tracked down a car; drove him to his house; and from there, we had to call the fire department to get him up the stairs. Again, the students wowed us. The man’s wife spoke only Spanish, so Michelle became our translator. She spoke with the lady and figured out what she wanted and where they lived.

We were encouraged to see each student helping in the way he or she could.In the evening, we handed out food to the homeless along Lakeshore Drive around Lincoln Park. Stories abounded, but we’ll have to tell you more later. Keep us in your prayers!"

This is the kind of mission work that can change our world. The the Lord for the work of this mission team! Keep up the good ministry work!

Genesis 15:12

"Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror {and} great darkness fell upon him."
"terror" in the Hebrew language is eymah, meaning dread, or horror, like that given by the presence of a king.

The teror of great darkness, according to commentator Matthew Henry tells us that "... children of light do not always walk in the light, but sometimes clouds and darkness are round about them. This great darkness, which brought horror with it, was designed."

The design might be that God is preparing us for harder times, and strengthening us for those times. It may be to help us see the darkness blot out the unnecessary baubles of life so that we might get our eyes back upon Him. It might be that in taking us through the valleys of the shadow of darkness, we can be ready to appreciate the light more.

This is a personal lesson for me right now. My back trouble is such that I must go back again to the doctor on Monday. This will be the fourth time in recent weeks, and the second time I will see a surgeon. It's hard to describe the frustration of having to lie on your back in the middle of the day in order to wait until the pain stops throbbing through your body. I often close my office door and do my mail and phone calls while flat on my back. Sometimes the agony is so great that my skin raises in chills. Last night was yet another bout, and I lay on the floor throughout the evening, staring at the wall.

Yet, in this time of pain, I've had time also to reflect and see how the Lord is causing me to stop and think. Jesus wants to get my attention back. When I was up and around, I tended to put Him in the back seat.

So, (I can hardly believe that I am saying this) but it's been good to endure this.

Egner's comments hit home

"I have no pleasure in you." This was the Lord's stinging rebuke to His people through the prophet Malachi (1:10).

God was angry with their careless, shoddy methods of worship. The animals they brought for sacrifice were not acceptable to Him because they were not the best of the herds and flocks. Instead, they offered stolen, lame, and sick animals (v.13).

While we may not be showing this degree of contempt toward God, sometimes we are too casual in our worship. A friend of mine made this observation about herself:

"When I shop for simple things like soap or butter, I hardly think about it. But when I'm looking for a blouse to match a skirt, I shop very carefully. I go from store to store until I find exactly what I'm looking for." Then she added thoughtfully, "I should pay that same attention when I am worshiping God. But sometimes I approach Him as casually as if I were shopping for a box of Kleenex."

During worship services in our churches, we may fail to give God our full attention. We rush in late. Our thoughts wander. We need to discipline our minds so that we are not focusing on yesterday's cares or tomorrow's responsibilities. When we worship the Lord with all our heart, He will be pleased with us.

—David C. Egner

Sunday night musings

Well, this has been a weekend to remember. In no particular order:

* Julie sat in one of those litle motorized kids' jeeps at WalMart, the ones that run on batteries but they take the batteries out of the floor models, right? - Well, surprise... this particular jeep HAD the batteries installed. As I turned around, she was tearing across the floor with a terrified look in her eye, having her foot on the pedal and not knowing what to do. I grabbed her steering wheel and was pulling for all I was worth while trying to find out where the brake was! (Of course, in her panic, she still had her foot on the gas). I stopped her about three inches from knocking over a floor display of about twenty bikes lined up in a row.

* Peter left on his Chicago mission trip. I took him to Waffle House this morning at five a.m. and we had the honor of paying the tab for a lone military man who was having breakfast. Hey, soldiers get high respect in our household.

* My back flared up. And bad. Back to square one on medication and pain relief. What a way to start a Sunday. I'm going to see that surgeon after all.

* Nicholas called and will be staying at Camp Red Cloud at least through the end of the calendar year! Praise the Lord!

* Our college Bible study was greeted by four new members who came to the study by kayak! I kid you not. They paddled up to our boat slip - oh, I didn't tell you we had a boat slip? Mainly because I don't know where it is myself. It's one of the many joyful surprises we had in purchasing this house. I told the guys at the study that we had to be the first Bible study anywhere who has newcomers arriving by kayak!

* Two universities want to order my nonfiction youth pastor helps book. Our micropublishing company, Doorknob Publishing, is off and running. To God be the glory!

Henry's Quote

“It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

- Patrick Henry

CS Lewis' notes on the argument for a Universal Absolute

Here is a segment of Chapter 1 of CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. I find it a very compelling argument and have presented this to atheists and non-believers whenever I have a chat with them. Read this excerpt and mull over this clear presentation for an Absolute rather than a leaderless relativistic belief. This presentation is clear and down-to-earth, leading the way to the Creator (the italics are mine):

Every one has heard people quarrelling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kind of things they say. They say things like this:

"How'd you like it if anyone did the same to you?"

-"That's my seat, I was there first"

-"Leave him alone, he isn't doing you any harm"

- "Why should you shove in first?"

-"Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine"

-"Come on, you promised."

People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups. Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man's behaviour does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behaviour which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: "To hell with your standard." Nearly always he tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in this particular case why the person who took the seat first should not keep it, or that things were quite different when he was given the bit of orange, or that something has turned up which lets him off keeping his promise. It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or decent behaviour or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed.And they have. If they had not, they might, of course, fight like animals,but they could not quarrel in the human sense of the word. Quarrelling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be nosense in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of football.

- CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, chap 1

Freedom

1 Peter 2:15-16
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. {Act} as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but {use it} as bondslaves of God.

My son Peter and I had a good talk last night after the college Bible study. We were talking about the freedom that graduating Christian high school students have. When they get that diploma, they feel a rush of emotion; they are finally free!

Free to be considered an adult in many ways.

Many ways.

But I told Peter that what puzzles me is what many Christian teens feel is the true exercise of that freedom.

(I will cite you examples of those who have crossed my path in these many years of youth ministry, so you won't think I'm just spouting off.)

- "Freedom" to go to an NC 17 movie

-"Freedom" to start buying lottery tickets

- "Freedom" for unrestricted premarital sex

-"Freedom" to imbibe in alcohol

- "Freedom" to ignore or belittle the very parents who have raised them

I'm not going to do finger-wagging; the Holy Spirit gives the necessary conviction to the Christian. It's just... I guess I'm puzzled. The word "free" is eleutheros and it truly means becoming unrestrained, but it means in the freedom from the Law and the freedom to enjoy life... and still honor God.

Forgive me personal take on this, but since it's my blog, I'll tell you how I enjoyed this freedom when I "let the chains go" of graduation from the same.

- I had the freedom to jump in my car and tour the United States and visit other churches - from Georgia to South Dakota to California - and see how other people worshiped. I spent time in churches as big as 5,000 and as small as 12. I went to rescue missions and saw heartfelt and open worship. I visited inner city churches, suburban churches, and rural storefronts to see people enjoy a special reserved time with Jesus and each other. That freedom to visit was like another college course. I'm going to write a book about those two years on the road.

- I had the freedom to look at temptation and see how real Jesus was to me. When I had no earthly peers to monitor my activity as I was on the road, I grew in my walk with Jesus. Is He really my best friend? Is He real in my life? When I was on the road, anywhere from Nevada to New York, I faced a lot of personal crossroads, and that's when I saw my walk with Jesus strengthen.

- I had the freedomn to test my faith and God's grace at the same time. You see, at the age of 21 I made a vow to the Lord that I would travel aroud the USA and speak to any church, school, or group that would have me, and I would never ask for money. Not at all. If the Lord wanted me to continue, the money would be there. I cannot tell you how many times enough dollars were pushed into my hand at the last minute so that I could make it to the next meeting place in the next state in order to minister. God gave me an epic answer in showing His faithfulness.

That's what I feel that the experience of freedom did for me.

And somehow alcohol or a lottery ticket will never come near the joy I experienced in that freedom I knew. And still know today.

reflections on a Saturday night

I am thankful not only for the relief that my ailment was not cancer, but also for the supporting prayers of so many Christians.

Sunday night is just about my favorite time of the week.

I look forward to being with my good college and high school friends tomorrow evening here at the Zockoll household. I think what I enjoy most is the open-hearted desire to actually dig into the Scripture and see what God is revealing to us all.

Tomorrow night at 6 pm we look at the ways a person can identify a cult, and I'll be showing some actual cults... and the very sad consequences of those who followed them.

The Realians

Scientologists

Jim Jones' cult

Aum (the poison gas attack in Japan)

Applewhite and the Heaven's Gate cult

Temple of Set

Anton LaVey's Church of Satan

Matthew 24

•4 Jesus told them, "Don't let anyone mislead you.
•5 For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Messiah.' They will lead many astray.

Why don't...

... more people appreciate the writings of James Thurber? The man's writings were some of the funniest stories I've ever read. Same goes for a now-obscure writer named Robert Benchley.

...we have an Opera Day festival, where everyone can attend an opera in their home town? For that matter, why does a ticket for a decent opera ticket cost more than my car? Can any run-of-the-mill guy like myself have a chance of getting a ticket?

...people learn decent manners in doing business? I never cease to be amazed at the belief that rudeness equals power which equals an advantage.

...we have a church service where you simply walk in, open your Bible and get right into a good full-hour to 90 minutes of intensive study (with some good Greek and Hebrew explanations)without any other parts of a program . No fifty-minute preliminaries of announcements and (please don't get me wrong) endless choruses of music. Just a good solid Bible study and no-frills teaching. Show me a church like that and I'll be asking for directions.

Revelation 21:4

I can recall the deep pain of leaving our dear friends in Knoxville at West Park Baptist Church after my five years in the youth pastorate. Jill and I knew the Lord was moving me on to a publishing ministry, but the grief we undertook in leaving our close friends was almost unbearable. I can honestly say that I don't know if I have ever cried so much. The following day after our farewell party, my chest was sore from sobbing.

That was ponos - pain, and it is the word used in Revelation 21:4, telling us that when we get to Heaven, that pain will cease. It will be over.

When many of us think of the word "pain" as used in Revelation 21:4, we think of the physical hurt of arthritis, cancer, or injury. This word goes much deeper than that. The definition in the Greek intimates "intense trouble," or even a "deep longing," the kind, I believe that comes from yearning for something out of reach.

The ponos that hurts me most deeply is the pain of loss, especially the loss of friendship. I think of Dan and Katie Moorehead, in whose wedding I was most proud to be a participant back in 1981, and how much I just enjoyed talking and being with these wonderful people. I can recall being on the road, traveling as an itinerant speaker around the United States when I was single, and giving them a phone call or visit once in a while just to be able to enjoy their voices or presence.

Dan and Katie visited here in Knoxville about a year ago and recently sent a card with their picture (alongside their wonderful family), and I told me wife that if it were in my power to do so, would move their whole family to our neighborhood just so we all could be together once again. The ponos of separation from friends like this hurts me more than a physical injury.

It will not be so in Heaven. I will get to be with friends and family once again, no matter where - (Somerset, England; Hershey PA; Hollister CA; Phoenix AZ etc) - and we will never suffer ponos again, because the One who assures us of comfort and joy - Jesus Himself - will be overseeing the grand reunion.

Nachah - (Hebrew) - "lead, guide forth or back"

Psa 139:24 -
And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

I am at a crossroads, Lord with so many different paths to take. I am totally unstable in making a decision on my own. I plead with you, Lord, to take hold and guide where You wil have me to go. Open the doors wide so that we know it is in the way You safely point. Open the doors loudly so that we know it is Your sound we follow. Open it in the way only You can, with Your strength so that we truly know that this is a God thing we are experiencing.

And in all things I will praise Your name.

With the years I have left on this earth, let me point all successes and joys toward You, so that everyone will know that ultimate happiness comes from You.

Request Your Prayers

These last two weeks have been increasingly difficult to me. The pain was so much that I had to leave work on Friday and go to a nearby medical clinic. I've not been back to work since then. My back hurts so bad that I cannot sit for more than a few minutes. Initial tests by doctors believe that I have an intestinal tear (absess and/or infection are not ruled out).

Preliminary tests ruled out cancer, thank the Lord.

I am scheduled to go to Fort Sanders Hospital on Friday for further tests. Please pray. The pain is almost continual, even with pain medication.

To those who believe the Universe is Infinite...

I present to you the dark-sky paradox, also known as Olbers's paradox. This was named for Willhelm Olbers, a 19th-century astronomer who brought to the forefront an argument presented by Edmond Halley to the Royal Society. He fought the idea of an eternal universe, saying it had to have a beginning because "if the number of Fixt stars were more than finite, the whole superficies of their apparent Sphere would be luminous.''

If the universe were infinite, with all the stars and galaxies about, any person would not see dark spaces between stars, because the spaces would be filled with more stars, and the sky would be briliant with a uniform light.

New Books Coming Out

Hurray! I just finished in negotiations with Cedar Springs and the company has agreed to present my trilogy for the Christmas season! The three-volume set is called the White Icicle Chronicles and is an adventure of little Nicholas as he encounters a whole new universe in which he is enlisted as a translator. It's an allegorical Christian fiction journey along the lines of C.S. Lewis' tales.

It will be released in late October - all three books at once.

This is the first step of my new publishing ministry. Thank the Lord for the encouraging first step across the threshold.

The Small Problems Become Large

Small mistakes can quickly become big ones. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to detail. You may remember the scene in the movie “Remember the Titans.” The young freshman running back eagerly ran into the field to play in his first ever game of high school football. He was immediately called back to the sideline before the play ever started. Why? He forgot a simple detail known as having a helmet on his head!



A strange-but-true humorous web site relates another actual story of those who make small mistakes that quickly become big ones.

Back in May of 2004, a group of Ukraine soldiers were exhausted after a morning of piling up live artillery in a military warehouse. Totally ignoring the warning signs against smoking and open flames posted on virtually every wall, the group of soldiers took a cigarette break at lunchtime.

At this point I’m going to inform you that the warehouse was filled with 92,000 tons of ammunition.

After the lunch hour, the soldiers flicked the still-lit cigarettes away and went back to work. The glowing embers of the cigarette butts caught onto flammable material, starting a small fire that quickly set off a domino-like reaction of massive explosions.

Did I mention that there were 92,000 tons of ammunition in the warehouse?

The explosions threw wreckage as far as 25 miles away, dropping burning fragments in other towns which then set off fires. The explosions lasted for a full week and leveled all buildings within in a two-mile radius. A gas pipeline ruptured. The whole region had to be evacuated.
That little naughty smoking break ended up costing about $750 million in damages.

The infraction seemed minor, but it set off a change of events that were supremely disastrous.

Song of Solomon 2:15 reminds us of the little nuisances that have big results when it says:
"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes."

The little foxes may seem petty and even cute, but soon the whole harvest is ruined.

Just like a word spoken in anger can ruin a friendship.
Just like a small but callous response to someone's need can hurt them deeply.
Just like a quick disregard for giving help to mission work can slow the spread of the Gospel significantly.
Just like the small stolen item at work can severely damage your Christian testimony.

Think about it. Are there small foxes in our lives that are doing damamge to the harvest?

Psalm 48:12-14 Count the Towers!

Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers;

Christian, take a look around and see the protection and guidance that God has given you all these years. Start right now! Count your blessings, add them up and start bragging on Jesus. Go ahead, count the towers! Count the times you were delivered!

I recall clearly the time in my youth when I fell off of a car that was moving almost 40 miles per hour. In a moment of teenaged goofiness, I was sitting on top of a car that was racing through a parking lot. I fell off, and to this day cannot comprehend why my brains weren't smashed all over the pavement. I realize that God was preserving me to carry on His ministry in a small way.

Count the towers? Let me list some amazing blessings He has shown us:

1. Jill's continuing recovery from fibromyagia. Remember, only a year ago, she was bedridden for days at a time.

2. Nicholas' ministry at Camp Red Cloud this summer. The doors opened miraculously so that he may minister and be ministered to.

3. The arrival of this 4500 square foot home that we have opened up as a ministry to high schoolers and college age students for serious Bible study and a refuge.

4. Peter's growing sensitivity to the Lord's leading and a continual growing experience at Berean Christian School.

5. The beginning of our publishing ministry to Christian families.

6. Jesus bringing me out of a deep illness with my thyroid. Every day I am happy that my mind is in recovery.

7. My witnessing the personal salvation decisions of people like Chris Swiatocho, Jean Pipestem and the inmate at the South Carolina prison.

8. The students whose lives I saw changed while I taught at Grace Christian Academy, Christian Academy of Knoxville, and Calvary Christian School. The teens who now minister whom I was blessed to see while a youth pastor all these years.

Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell {it} to the next generation.

For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.

Ah, there is so much more I could write here, but I must get to work. Thank you, Jesus for an exciting and joyful life these past 48 years. I want the world to know that You get all the credit for any successes I have enjoyed.

Trying to ignore mercy

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is {the book} of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. - Rev 20:12 NASB

"This is not a trial, trying to determine what the facts are. The facts are in; here is the sentencing of someone already condemned." (Guzik)

“Their standing posture means that they are now about to be sentenced.” (Walvoord)

"...when the sentence is pronounced upon them at that point, they are sent into Gehenna which is the second death and that is permanent." (Chuck Smith)

"God's omniscience will not allow the most insignificant to escape unobserved, and His omnipotence will cause the mightiest to obey the summons. " - (JFB)

If we don't take the mercy shown by Jesus, nor the grace extended by the Father, the only recourse is to let us be judged as holy by our deeds. That's the most pitiful thing I can imagine - to try to stand before God and let Him be convinced of my attempt at using personal self-made holiness to force my way into Heaven.

Reality

"You are not a Christian because you lead a Christian lifestyle. Rather you lead a Christian lifestyle because you are a Christian. There are tens of millions of religious people in this country of ours and countless millions in other lands, who are staking their eternity upon the notion that they are Christians because they try to lead a relatively Christian lifestyle.

But if that were possible, why do you suppose the Apostle Paul, the greatest Christian theologian and missionary of all time, would have spent three chapters talking about justification before he ever got to the subject of how to live the Christian life?

The simple truth is that you can imitate a Christian life, and you can fake a Christian life, but you cannot really live a Christian life until you are one."

(from "A Call to Holy Living" by Michael Andrus )

One More Leap

When I was in high school, I was among a group of teen guys who decided to raise money for our prom by going for the Guinness Book of World Records by leapfrogging twenty miles. We took pledges for our effort – much the same way that people pledge for a walk-a-thon or other fundraisers. However, we added this kicker: if we couldn't finish, then we would pay you the amount you pledged. We raised $900. That meant that if we didn't finish, we owed $900.

The day of the great Leapfrog Team Challenge came. The TV crews were ready. The crowds were at the school stadium. And we started. And I can tell you that I don't think I ever experienced such a painful event in my life. Mind you, I was involved in high school football, baseball and wrestling, so I was in good shape. But this was something else altogether.
At mile 10, the crew was exhausted and complaining. By mile 13 we knew we were in serious trouble. I'd like to tell you that there was some magic resolution to the pain and agony we were going through, but the simple fact is that we kept calling out to one another “jump one more jump.” After a long while we cleared mile 15...then 17...then 19...

That's the way we completed it (and tied the record). We simply leaped one more time…and one more time…and one more time. It was exhausting. It got boring. It was painful. And oh, were we ever sore the days afterward.

But we did it.

I think in our Christian life, we ought to have the same focus. No matter how difficult the trial or how tedious the task, we can get it done by taking small steps and asking the Lord above for help and directions. We don't get frustrated and take our eyes off of the goal. We take one more step and then another as we show complete dependence upon Jesus.

In your prayers today, lean upon Jeus to help you through that trial or disappointment you may be facing right now. Don't take the anxiety upon yourself - you can't bear the load and survive, no way. Right now, just rely upon Christ for strength as you take that next step through the testing time. This hour. Today. This week. This month.

God will see you through.

And I bet it'll be a lot less painful than leapfrogging twenty miles.

Trust me.

Our New Name

"Grace substitutes a full, childlike and delighted acceptance of our Need, a joy in total dependence. We become 'jolly beggars.'" - C. S. Lewis

That will be the name of our Sunday evening Bible Study from now on. In recognition of our weakness and His strength, as well as our delightful dependence on Him, we are dubbing ourselves the "Jolly Beggars."

God Inhabits Praise

Psalms 22:3 give us a curious phrase about God: He inhabits the praises of His people. He inhabits the praise? We know He listens and enjoys the praises, but this word makes the knowledge of our praises much more serious.

Dr. Dale Robbins (victorious.org) says : The Bible says that God inhabits in the praises of His people (Psalms 22:3). In other words, God “dwells” in the atmosphere of His praise. This means that praise is not merely a reaction from coming into His presence - Praise is a vehicle of faith which brings us into the presence and power of God! Praise and worship is the “gate-pass” which allows us to enter the sacredness of His glory.

The AllAbout God devotional says: If we want to see a clear manifestation of God's blessings and grace, all we need to do is to praise Him with all our heart, our mind, and our soul.

"For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods" (Psalm 96:4).

"Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom" (Psalm 145:3).

"I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies" (2 Samuel 22:4).

"You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Revelation 4:11).

Perhaps my favorite commentary about inhabiting praise is from Pastor Eugene P. Harder of New Hope Community Church in British Columbia:

My Bible tells me that God enjoys warm, lavish, extravagant praise just as much as I enjoy it. It says, "God inhabits the praise of his people."
Have you ever been around these religious freaks who shuffle around mumbling under their breath, "Praise the Lord, praise the Lord?" There is a preacher on Radio KARI who every day says, "Repeat after me ten times; praise the Lord." My reaction is, "man, that's weird."
Let's examine the expression, "Praise the Lord." Praise the Lord is an injunction, a command or an order. It's the same grammatical construction as "Wash the dishes." You don't wash the dishes by saying, "wash the dishes." You could repeat a million times "wash the dishes" and not one dish would get washed. You don't praise the Lord by saying, "Praise the Lord." You praise the Lord by saying words like, "God you're so kind, loving and merciful to me, thank you, thank you, thank you."
Sometimes we'll sing a song like, "Praise the name of Jesus, Praise the name of Jesus." What are we doing when we say those words? We are inviting, exhorting and commanding one another to praise the name of Jesus. Then together we begin to praise the name of Jesus with the following words in the song, "He's my rock, he's my fortress, He's my deliverer in Him will I trust." Those are the words of praise that cause relationships with God to blossom.
It's my prayer that this message will motivate you to Praise God with a lavish bouquet of extravagant words and music." If God is real, He deserves my praise.

http://www.newhope.bc.ca./home.htm

"meditation"

Psa 19:14 - " Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

meditation - The Hebrew word pronunced higgayown..."Meditation" is the translation of haghuth, from haghah, "to murmur," "to have a deep tone," hence, "to meditate" (Ps 49:3); of haghigh, "sighing," "moaning" (Ps 5:1; see Ps 5:2); of higgayon, "the murmur" or dull sound of the harp, hence, meditation.

Strong's Concordance places meditation's definition between a "plotting" and a resounding music.

In other words, a repetitive note, or a continual rhythm, whether in thought, action or music.

Note: not a variety. This is the day-to-day thinking of habit. The routine. The everyday. Call it the average thought, the normalcy of your brain action or the cerebral "putting one foot in front of the next."

And that's what the Psalmist wants to be acceptable to God.

Not necessarily the high spirited praise service. Not necessarily the emotional lift of a Biblical retreat or a mountaintop experience.

This is the laundry-day thinking. This is the WalMart and Saturday-chore thinking. You see? God wants the mundane to honor Him as much as the spectacular.

That's the way our thinking should be. All for Him. Not just the thoroughfares of our thoughts, but the alleyways and the backstreets.

Source for higgayown : Nave, Orville James. "Meditation," Nave's Topical Bible. Blue Letter Bible. 1 Apr 2007. 17 Apr 2008.

Great Night of Bible Study and BBQ

I am finding it hard to sleep tonight. I'm feeling real good about the Bible study's great evening.

Incredible night of learning Greek, talking apologetics and having a Q&A session about the things of Jesus. Chris Jones led our study and we watched a segment of Ken Ham's Creation series before Chris led a PowerPoint teaching of the creation vs. evolution concern. Twelve guys piled into our downstairs fireplace room. We had hamburgers on the grill and hermeneutics in the house. What a great time! I am still charged up.

The study is every Sunday night and the young men are serious about learning the Scripture. it's not a sermonizing time; we have a Bible study with an open forum for questions at any time. The Lord is using our house as we had hoped: to be a place of Bible study and learning for college age and college-bound.

"Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it."
--"The World's Last Night", CS Lewis

A Bit Stunned

I am greatly grieved over the events of the past month. A number - a far too high number - of those college students whom I have met who were raised in strong Christian families with good Bible training have fallen hard. I can understand stumbling and getting back up, but the whole-hearted jump into the trash bin is what perplexes me. A number of them have taken a dive and show no signs of remorse. Others are giving me one story and then living another one (amazing what Facebook and MySpace can reveal about the true nature of a person. Do these kids realize that this stuff is also a testimony, going out to scores of people?) Good, solid young people have totally sold out... I'm thoroughly confused. Did they have a faith in Jesus Christ the first place? Was He, or was He not, their best Friend?

Quotes on trials

"I am mended by my sickness, enriched by my poverty, and strengthened by my weakness.... Thus was it with.... Manasseh, when he was in affliction, "He besought the Lord his God": even that king's iron was more precious to him than his gold, his jail a more happy lodging than his palace, Babylon a better school than Jerusalem. What fools are we, then, to frown upon our afflictions! These, how crabbed soever, are our best friends. They are not indeed for our pleasure, they are for our profit."
—Abraham Wright

"Afflictions are light when compared with what we really deserve. They are light when compared with the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. But perhaps their real lightness is best seen by comparing them with the weight of glory which is awaiting us. "
—Arthur W. Pink

"He that rides to be crowned, will not think much of a rainy day."
—John Trapp

We made a mistake

Matthew 6:
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."


When I entered my first years of ministry in California, our church was small but active in the community. I have many fond memories of my time there, but one incident sticks in my mind as a bad situation.

One evening after the Sunday night service, our head pastor asked a certain family to come forward and stand next to him in front of the entire church. The "Smith" family had been beset by numerous financial setbacks through the years, and they could not make ends meet. the mother and four children stood before the church - the children arranging from infant to teens.

Our pastor then made a ceremony of bring bag after bag of groceries up front and handing them to each family member or placing them at their feet.

Though the gift was bountiful, the situation was not. I will always remember the look on the faces of the teens - pure embarrassment and humiliation.

In order to display our own good works, our church had made a bad mistake. Small wonder why, after graduation, none of the children returned to our church even though they lived in town. Practically every one of them has become obsessed with making money.

We made a bad mistake. This should have been done in private.

Nicholas to Camp Redcloud?

Nicholas may be spending the summer at Camp Redcloud, an in-your-face wilderness Christian retreat.

If you'd like to see a fine camp with a great mission, please click on this link. Jill and I were pleased to find that Tim and Deb McKinney, two good friends of ours, are on staff at the camp. If Tim is on staff, then I know that the place must be pretty active! Here is the link:

http://www.campredcloud.org/

Leviticus 8:31 key to growing in the Lord

Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, "Cook the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons are to eat it.' Then burn up the rest of the meat and the bread. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for your ordination will last seven days. What has been done today was commanded by the LORD to make atonement for you. You must stay at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting day and night for seven days and do what the LORD requires, so you will not die; for that is what I have been commanded." So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD commanded through Moses.

Aaron and his sons had to do one of the hardest things I can imagine.

They had to wait.

This would be a real test for me. Perhaps it's my heritage - I have both Russian and German in my blood, and neither line is known for being lazy. Standing around is a very difficult thing for me. in fact, I find it very hard to tolerate people who are not working. I must admit that I have little compassion for someone who does not get up and move.

Yet, here, Aaron was explicitly told by the Lord to wait. Not move. Rely upon God, not Aaron's talent - or Moses' speeches - or the people's reactions.

No.

Wait.

This would force Aaron to learn submission. What man truly wants to have to stand around? This show s the true test of dependence upon the Lord.

And I look at my life and see the times when it was good for me to wait.

I remember clearly the time when I was held back from taking a pastorate in San Jose. I wanted to be a senior pastor so bad. So bad. But the Lord bade me to wait and I did... and narrowly avoided a terrible blow to my life.

I didn't know that a current of sin was running through the deacon board. Within two years of my withdrawal that church had a monstrous downfall and is now gone from the face of the earth. If I had run ahead of God I would have been in the midst of that tragedy.