Effectiveness

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

- C. S. Lewis

Jesus marveled

Luke 7:9 - Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith."

The word "marvel" is used very few times in the Bible when it comes to Jesus. I can see only two times when He actually marveled. Let me explain first of all, that the word "marvel" is thaumazō and it is used in terms of wonderment and even with a hint of admiration in this case, accrding to the dictionary. The situation here where the Savior is taken aback is when the Roman centurion shows such humility that he begs Jesus not only to heal the centurian's dying servant, he begs Jesus not to bother Himself with traveling and entering his home (Jewish belief at the time was that a Jew who entered a Gentile's home was ceremonially unclean).

The centurian only asks that Jesus says the words of healing, and the servant will be cleansed of his terminal illness.

Jesus is in wonderment at this man's amazing belief. This Roman has a faith that is absolutely stunning.

Yet Jesus wonders another time... in Mark 6:6 He wondered at His own people's unbelief.

And this gets me to thinking...

...I clearly recall in the 80s of the Lord caring for my every penny whenever, as a single man, I traveled the country as a small-time evangelist, speaking at churches and schools without ever asking for a cent. I commited to the Lord that if He wanted me to keep traveling, He would provide without me ever having to ask for money. For two years I ringed the United States speaking at churches as few as 20 and as large as 2,000. I never had to ask for support...that was a beautiful testing of my faith in which God came out more glorious than ever.

So why does my unbelief pop up now and again?

Jesus must wonder.

Sunday

Things are getting exciting once again. I will be speaking at the Singles Bible Study on Sunday morning at West Park Baptist Church, and then we will be rolling along in our College Bible Study at 6 p.m. on Sunday, looking into the book of Luke as well as some key Greek words in the book of Corinthians. Feeling happy to be able to get deeper into the ministry once again. How I've missed it!

The weekend means getting to catch up with Nicholas, playing with little Julianne, spending time with my wife Jill and maybe catching a movie with Peter.

And a chance for us to go to worship at church on Sunday together!

Clarksville

I've had some time to reflect on my ministries of years past as I prepare to embark on new ones...

... and it brings me to Clarksville, Georgia, where, as a Bible college student in 1980, I would pile into a car with a couple of other fellows and drive the few hours to this little town and help out a storefront church pastored by an engaging man named "Buzz."

We had after-church Sunday lunches that would beat any big-city buffet. I still remember the ham and the tall tales told by the patriarch of whichever clapboard home we were blessed to eat that sumptuous feast.

But the Sunday morning services still stick in my mind...

There couldn't have been more than 30 people in any service; 20 might be more like it. The floor was an uneven sloping bare wood construction. However, the intense joy and fervor for seeing the Lord's blessing was evident in each service. There was a lady in her 20s - I think her name was Cherry - who would sing at a moment's notice ("Cherry, some on up here and sing us a song...you know, that one about the resurrection?") without any instrument backup.

The church was a storefront; only one window air conditioner cooled the "sanctuary" and made hearing the preacher a challenge. Most men came in work jeans; ladies came in sundresses. I believe a few children were barefoot. A beehive was attached to the back window. But the deep love for Jesus in that little church was one memory that I still feel to this day. There were no programs or series of messages (not that programs or series are wrong, mind you) but a week-by-week outpouring of what God had done in the lives of the people in that little burg in northern Georgia in 1980.

Some things you'll always remember.

Ashamed of Christ?

Powerful thoughts here by John MacArthur:

...in Matthew chapter 10 we have a very interesting section of Scripture. I want you to pick it up as Jesus teaches here regarding the cost of discipleship at verse 32, Matthew 10:32. "Jesus said, Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven."
In other words, Jesus says everyone who openly, unashamedly, unabashedly with conviction speaks My name before men, I'll speak their name before My Father. In other words, if you'll claim Me, I'll claim you. If you don't claim Me, I won't claim you. Verse 33, "Whosoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." Now we're dealing with a very serious issue here, friends. This is a matter of salvation. If you are continuously and constantly ashamed to confess Christ, then He will be ashamed to confess you before His Father. You don't belong to Him if He doesn't belong to you. If you won't acknowledge Him, He won't acknowledge you. And the implication here is that there's a price to pay for that. Notice verse 34, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth, I didn't come to bring peace but a sword." Jesus is saying I know there's a cost here. "For I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter‑in‑law against her mother‑in‑law and a man's enemies will be the members of his household."
In other words, I know that if you confess Me in that Jewish environment, you're going to pay a price for it right in your own family. But if you're not willing to do that, then I'm not willing to confess you. And verse 37 He follows it up, here's the real issue, it's who you love most. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who doesn't take his cross...that means be willing to die...and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. And he who has found his life shall lose it. And he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it." In other words, if you're willing to confess Me, if you're willing to take what rejection comes, if you're willing to give your life over to Me even to death, then I'll confess you before My Father. But if you're ashamed of Me, and if you're constantly ashamed of Me and continually ashamed of Me, then I don't have any relationship to you at all and I will not claim you before God.
In Mark chapter 8 verse 38, you remember this text, don't you? "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Listen to what comes after that. "For whosoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation," you get that? You're ashamed to speak up for Christ because you know society is hostile to Him. "The Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Boy, what a statement.

from study on 2 Timothy 1:6
by John MacArthurCopyright 2007, Grace to You.

http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/55-2.htm

Mr and Mrs Christopher Daniel Jones

Chris Jones and Jill King wedding today

At 4 p.m. I will be officiating the marriage of Chris Jones and Jill King at a beautiful amphitheater near the Norris Dam in the Lake City, Tennessee region. Chris was in my youth group years and years ago and the honor in performing this ceremony is above what I can fully express. A lot of my good old youth group members will be there as well. As soon as I have pictures I will post them here.

Paying It Out

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15, 16

I often get edgy at work. A desk job is extremely confining to me, and I long to get back into the teaching profession where I can walk the room and never sit down. Moreover, I like looking at the clock and realizing that for the next 40 to 50 minutes, I can share the Bible with my students in a controlled environment where they can ask questions, check my facts, and dip into the Bible and learn for themselves.

I constantly pray for patience, but I often feel like time is running out. There is so much ministry to do!

It's the same with my publishing work. I enjoy the labor of creating and developing plot lines and story episodes, but I often get antsy. Why can't I do this all the time, and really pour my efforts into the written word?

It's to be patient that I pray for, but not to be complacent.

The KJV relays verse 16 as "redeeming the time." The word redeeming is exagorazo and it is a financial term, referring to the wise use of money. Your use of time is like spending money on a shopping day. You can use it for meaningful things like food staples or construction needs, or you can blow it on candy bars and comic books. It's your money, but how will you use it?

That's always the way I felt that time was - a precious commodity that is to be used wisely. I seek to spend it wisely each day. The wise way to spend it is in such a way that at the end of the day I can honestly say to Jesus, "Thank you for the day. Here is how I spent it for You."

How We Christians Should Speak

These are the words of Augustine in his writing The City of God. The term "Teacher" in this paragraph speaks of any preacher, missionary, laymen, housewife, school student....anyone who presents the Scripture as a tool for change.

The Duty of the Christian Teacher.
6. It is the duty, then, of the interpreter and teacher of Holy Scripture, the defender of the true faith and the opponent of error, both to teach what is right and to refute what is wrong, and in the performance of this task to conciliate the hostile, to rouse the careless, and to tell the ignorant both what is occurring at present and what is probable in the future. But once that his hearers are friendly, attentive, and ready to learn, whether he has found them so, or has himself made them so, the remaining objects are to be carried out in whatever way the case requires. If the hearers need teaching, the matter treated of must be made fully known by means of narrative. On the other hand, to clear up points that are doubtful requires reasoning and the exhibition of proof. If, however, the hearers require to be roused rather than instructed, in order that they may be diligent to do what they already know, and to bring their feelings into harmony with the truths they admit, greater vigor of speech is needed. Here entreaties and reproaches, exhortations and upbraidings, and all the other means of rousing the emotions, are necessary.

That is my joy in our Sunday night College studies and in the times that I travel and speak to different groups. it has nothing whatsoever to do with the uplifting of my name (pure foolishness to do so), but rather lifting up the name of Jesus so that people may see the clear light not only of salvation but also of a holy and delightful walk with God each day.

Our household perks up each time our home is a place for a guest to stay. We all agree that our home is part of our ministry, and we thank God for the opportunity to use it in this manner.

Col.3:12

pronounced {khray-stot'-ace} sympathy, compassion, tenderness



So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;






Little Julianne's birthday was this weekend - the smallest Zockoll turned four years old! The weekend was filled with hugs, trips, treats and small gifts. At one point when Julie was being treated royally, we saw a great example of today's greek word.

Julianne stopped and saw my wife Jill sitting on a nearby sofa, resting from an exhausting day. "Here, Mommy," she said, giving her only cookie away to her mother. "This is for you so you will be happy."

That act of kindness brought to mind the many who helped lift me up during the long days of this past year for me. Between the sicknesses and injuries as well as the ministerial setbacks, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult years of my adult life. But in the midst of this, I saw Jesus as I saw His love carried through kindnesses brought to me, one who had no ability to retunr the favor because of my condition or the situations surrounding me at the time:

- the immediate and attantive call by old college mate Dan Moorehead when he heard of my pain. I cannot tell you, Dan, how that one phone call lifted my spirits.

- the expression of a gift of foodstuffs toward the College ministry by the Bernard. Mr. and Mrs. Bernard, my wife and I are taken aback by your giving attitude. Chris, you are quite a guy to have a heart like this. Thank you all.

- the continued prayers and notes from the Hydes across the pond in England. You are truly God with skin on!

Hiding Place

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

- Psalm 91:1

"shelter" is the Hebrew word "cether" (pronounced "say-ther") which means "hiding place."

The Bible commentator Fausset says that hiding place "denotes nearness to God... (to) abide or lodge secure from assaults" that a Christian "can well use the terms of trust" that we so often sing of in God.

Do you allow God to hide you, to protect you, take care of you? It's a problem of mine that I often want to jump out away from His protection in order to see if I can succeed of experience life on my own. I don't want to sit and talk with Him. It's at those times that I receive painful wounds because I forget, as the song says, "the arm of flesh will fail you."

Pastor Chuck Smith notes that in this verse we are reminded that "There is a place where you and I can live in Jesus Christ, a place of safety, peace, and joy." I think of this as I counsel many young people who are hurting, but don't want to let go of their own desires and ways. They dopmn't want to go to the hiding place of submission and let God start the healing process. I am reminded of quite a while back when I met with one girl who would not let God take over a dating relationship that had gone sour. She wanted to continue to force her views, impatience and timetable on the situation... and the boy has since gone far away, not seeing a peace in the relationship.

I don't point a finger at her... I've done the same myself.

But, boy, do I get rest when I go to God's hiding place and let Him talk.

Augustine

"Do you wish to be great? Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation. ... Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility."

-St. Augustine

Last night's meeting

It seems as if the Lord is not directing in the area of expanding or even maintaining the College Ministry... at least that's the direction I'm seeing. We had the information meeting last night for financial support and virtually nobody showed up. Since Jill and I have been pouring our incomes into the ministry, we've found ourselves under a severe financial strain, hence the meeting last night. The turnout sent a clear message to me that although I have a lot of vocal support in the community, there is little else, and so I am forced to postpone the ministry and see where the Lord is leading.

Jill and I had laid out a fleece concerning this meeting. The answer came through loud and clear.

Yes, I am disappointed, but when God makes it clear that a door uis shut, there's no use worrying or fussing about it.

Time to pick up and move on. I'll keep up my writing and publishing, but that's not the ministry I felt we were led into.

I wonder if there are any ministries in the United States who could use someone like me with a heart for college and/or career people?

If you know of one, please contact me.

Stay with Your Strengths

If you ever want to see diversification in action, stop by a local school sometime. In my years of teaching, I had friends who would wear numerous hats during the course of their job. One friend I knew taught history, coached volleyball, taught a foreign language, led a Social Studies class, and did out-of-class counseling... every day! Now that's diversifying!

The problem is, all he wanted to do was teach just one subject. That never happened, though. The school district needed teacher who could handle numerous subjects.

Spreading yourself around can be good - especially in the area of learning new trades - but it can also have its hazards.

Sometimes companies’ ideas on diversifying can raise a few eyebrows. I know that I was caught off-guard whenever I read a UPI story entitled “British Grocer Offers Dental Treatments. Now, our local Kroger’s has an indoor bank as well as a Starbucks, but the dental office was a new concept to me altogether. Sure enough, there was the story out of Manchester England. Grocery shoppers who would like to have a bit of teeth cleaning or a cavity filled can park their shopping cart and stroll on into the private dental clinic within the Sainsbury store.
In fact, the check-up fee of $28 dollars is among the lowest in the region, beating out the National Health Service charges. The Sainsbury's stores are making these dental services available seven days according to the Daily Telegraph.

Hmmm. Not a bad idea although I am not sure that I want to hear the whine of a drill while I’m walking the dairy aisle.

Diversification can get pretty radical. I’ve read about soft-drink companies buying up theater chains and liquor companies purchasing fried-chicken outlets. Sometimes this “spreading out” works. Sometimes not.

The same happens to me whenever I start freewheeling in my walk with the Lord. I find reasons to get on a rabbit trail instead of intensifying my walk with Jesus. I might get immersed in the social aspects of a Bible study group rather than the Bible itself. I will be more concerned with the number within a study group rather than the quality of Scripture and the time we spend in God's word. I might spend more time in my clothing preparation for church than in my spiritual readiness to hear what God has for me. You see where I'm coming from?

All the other stuff is dross. I don't want divesification in my walk with Jesus. I really do desire one goal:

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; (Phllpn 3:10)

Cafeteria Religion

Is it possible for man to find satisfaction in the afterlife and even here on earth if he chooses religions and core beliefs as if he was shopping for parts of a meal in a cafeteria? Is it possible for a person worship the true God in any fashion, with any rules or creed and have it accepted by God? What does the Bible say?

JOHN 4:23-24 – "'But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'"

Are there many avenues to finding the right kind of worship to God?

ACTS 4:12 – "Neither is there salvation in any other [than Jesus]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Could it be that God is okay if people reject the Bible but still want a spiritual experience?

ISAIAH 8:20 – "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

DEUTERONOMY 4:5-8 – "'Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them…. Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? ''"

Is man the answer to all things?

PROVERBS 14:12 (16:25) - "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."
JEREMIAH 10:23 – "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps."

Little Things

One of the most intriguing things about Michael Phelps’ eight Olympic medal trek is that more than one of his victories was decided within a stroke or two of the final touch-pad. In fact, you may remember that a twist on the usual stroke brought him a win by the smallest of margins. Think of it: one action could mean the difference between first and fourth place.

Big victories are achieved through the smooth integration of small practices. In other words, you’ve got to be consistent with the “littles” in order to win the “bigs.”

Ignoring the minor details can be disastrous. This was brought home to the working Chicagoans who had offices in downtown business district known as the Loop. In an article in the April 27, 1992 edition of the U.S. News & World Report, the busy and productive Loop economic region had enjoyed a status of high-energy success… until one embarrassing and costly morning.
Traffic and business was stopped as thousands received reports about a leak. A big leak. In fact, a HUGE leak. A quarter billion gallons of dark Chicago River water was spewing into a 60-mile system of ancient freight tunnels directly beneath the Loop. The ensuing plumbing and electrical disasters stopped virtually every business in the area, costing untold millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The problem? It seems that a top city official was aware of the initial leak, but felt that the short-term advantage of saving some money for the local government was worth it. The repairs would have cost only about $50,000. The final cost of the damage? Over $1 billion.

Sir Humphrey Davy once said “Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort.”

The Bible expounds the same philosophy as Solomon writes "Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom."

Small things. Those nasty little sins can drive a wedge in our peaceful walk with Jesus. You know what I mean:

That impatient attitude towards your kids. That small lie to get you out of a situation. That exaggeration about yourself you place on your MySpace or FaceBook page (and let's also add the prideful attitude in doing so). The sarcastic remark you give to your spouse or good friend. The gossip you can't wait to share...

The little sins we commit are like rude replies to Jesus' questions about how we can grow closer to Him.

Sin

I have come to the conclusion that none of us in our generation feels as guilty about sin as we should or as our forefathers did.

- Francis Schaeffer

He forgot the obvious

Many times people will put style over substance.

I'll never forget the story that my dad would tell us on occasion, dealing with this very subject. As a young boy growing up in the sandlots of Pittsburgh , he had a chance to play quite a bit of baseball, and ended up on an organized team when he was a teenager. The team improved enough to make the playoffs.

The story goes, as my dad tells it, that some of the boys knew that there would be a fair-sized crowd to see the playoff game, so they cleaned up their uniforms and bought some new shoes, caps and even gloves in order to make a good display.

The game was very close, and going into the ninth inning my dad's team was down by one run, but with two outs, was able to get a runner over to third base. On an infield smash, the runner at third base made a dash for home. The catcher got the ball, holding the ball high for a tag. All the runner needed to do was slide... but he didn't. He ran toward home, and was tagged out by the catcher, and that was the end of the game.

My dad and his teammates surrounded the runner. "Why didn't you slide?" they asked. "You could have tied the game."

"Hey," said the runner, "these are new shoes, and no way I'm going to risk scuffing them up."

In order to keep up his appearance, the runner forgot that the main reason he was out there was to win the game!

He forgot the obvious.

This came across my desk some years ago and I've kept it in my file for quite some time. It was from an international business magazine, and the article was talking about strange and odd bits of news. The report came out about an unusual business move by the owner of a South Korean movie house.

It seems that the theater owner got the rights to a very famous American movie and with joy, announced its release to the public. However, when he previewed it, he was bothered by what he saw. This theater owner decided that the movie "The Sound of Music" was too long, and wanted to pack in as many people as possible. He decided to take care of the problem by shortening the movie so he could have more showings per day. How did he do it? Believe it or not, he shortened it by cutting out all of the musical scenes!

Sometimes in a rush to get a result, people will make poor judgments that divert them from the very goal they seek.

I like this:

In Acts 4:20 Peter and John are warned to speak of Christ no longer. They answer in a straightforward way, by replying that "we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard. The words in the Koine Greek "ou dunamai" denote more than Peter and John's reluctance to stop speaking. The word "dunamai" is where we get the word for dynamite. More strongly worded, it could say this: "We have no power to stop speaking of the things we witnessed." Peter and John knew the reason they were put on Earth; they knew their ministry. So should we Christians. Simply be witnesses of the fantastic things Christ has done for us.

Do You Want Merely Nice Persons or Radically New People?

I hear this argument many times, and it does indeed become a puzzle to many Believers: if Christianity works, then how come there are so many people who call themselves Christians so rotten? Why aren't all Christians nicer than the non-Christians?

I recommend highly C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, particularlyone of the final chapters entitled "Nice People or New Men." In it, Lewis tells of how Christians are a continual work in progress as they grow closer to the Lord, and the overall picture is clearer when you remember that the entire creature is overcoming the effects of a sinful kosmos and is in transition towards total and complete Christlikeness. At the moment, some "works in progress" may seem to need a lot more renovation (boy, that really describes me!) For the casual observer to point and say, "well, that's the reason I don't become a Christian, because that Christian is not perfect in his manners," I direct you to Lewis' closing paragraphs of that same chapter:

"Niceness"-wholesome, integrated personality-is an excellent thing. We must try by every medical, educational, economic, and political means in ourpower, to produce a world where as many people as possible grow up "nice";just as we must try to produce a world where all have plenty to eat. But we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world - and might even be more difficult to save.

For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders - no one could tell by looking at them that theyare going to be wings - may even give it an awkward appearance. ..

If whatyou want is an argument against Christianity (and I well remember how eagerly I looked for such arguments when I began to be afraid it was true) you can easily find some stupid and unsatisfactory Christian and say, "So there's your boasted new man! Give me the old kind." But if once you have begun to see that Christianity is on other grounds probable, you will know in your heart that this is only evading the issue. What can you ever really know of other people's souls - of their temptations, their opportunities, their struggles? One soul in the whole creation you do know: and it is the only one whose fate is placed in your hands. If there is a God, you are, in a sense, alone with Him. You cannot put Him off with speculations about your next door neighbours or memories of what you have read in books. What will all that chatter and hearsay count (will you even be able to remember it?) when the anaesthetic fog which we call "nature" or "the real world" fades away and the Presence in which you have always stood becomes palpable, immediate, and unavoidable?

Mark 2:16-17

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?"

And hearing {this,} Jesus *said to them, "{It is} not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

That Jesus would not only converse, but dine with the "common, dirty folk" was astounding to the Pharisees, whose name literally meant "separated ones." They were secure intheir religious ways, including quiet libraries, fine robes and front seats at the big social events of the town.

Then here comes Jesus - a Man who touches lepers, preaches in houses and on seashores, and takes children into His lap. The Pharisees couldn't comprehend One who would soil His hands in such a way.

The write Morgan says: “I am constrained to say that I believe at this very hour one of the secrets of arrest, and one of the reasons for the condition of things in the Christian Church that is troubling us in many ways, is the aloofness of the Christian Church from sinning men and women. We still build our sanctuaries, and set up our standards, and institute our arrangements, and say to the sinning ones: if you will come to us, we will help you!”

I recall working under a pastor years ago, who, when I was discussing an outreach, shut down the whole discussion by saying, "If they want to hear the Bible, they know where we are."

Small wonder why our church couldnt clear 100 in attendance in a town of almost 40,000.

Yet in later years, I was under a pastor whose fervor for reaching out affected our whole church. Everyone was invited and nurturing the townfolk. They streamed in: kids coming in from the Projects; single moms who were trying to make it from paycheck to paycheck; lonely men and women who just wanted friends; desperate people who needed the Gospel. They knew they were "sick" and needed the Physician, just as we staff members knew our "sickness" as well. It was an amazing time of seeing people coming to Christ and growing in grace.

Monday

After the mountaintop, you sometimes experience the valley...

After a great Bible study time at the U.T. campus, I came home and experienced a familiar feeling last night around 11 p.m.: the back pain again.

This time it was brutal. My lower spine felt like I was laying on broken glass.

I paced the floor all night, barely getting over an hour of sleep. Couldn't think straight, get my thoughts together. I broke out in a sweat, because of the pain, and developed shivers. Massive headache set in. Nausea. Work, of course, was impossible, so I spent the day at home, literally on my back.

I'm trying to avoid surgery - the surgeon is definitely telling me it is an uneasy option due to the aftereffects - and I am down to taking in liquids only as well as spending incredible amounts of time on my back. (In fact, I snuck to the back part of the church on Sunday and lay on my back between for a good ten minutes in order to relieve the pressure.)

Lord, if this might pass...

... I will surely remember the simple joy of being able to sit or stand without pain. And right now, to be pain-free ... that's pretty high up on my prayer list.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE THIS SUNDAY

IT'S TIME ONCE AGAIN TO GET BACK ON CAMPUS!

Our Jolly Beggars Bible study will load the cars and head on down to U.T. campus for a Sunday evening Apologetics Bible study. Yessssss!

I LOVE to go on campus and meet up with the hungry, dynamic kids at the University of Tennessee. The many times I've been at either Reese Hall or Hess Hall have been great.

We're going to share the restfulness of Jesus as taught through the Scriptures.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28


The word REST is important to know. Jesus gives us anapauo {an-ap-ow'-o}

Strong's Concordance says it means "to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labour in order to recover and collect his strength." I think that's what a lot of Christians need to do - collect their strength. You KNOW that a college student today needs to sit back and get a restful time with Jesus. I think one of the most frequent words used by Christian college students - and nonbelievers as well - is "busy." Always preoccupied with classes, functions, deadlines, studies, holidays...and very little time for Jesus Himself. We need a rest. We need anapauo - a time to recover our strength.

Meet at my house at 6 p.m. We'll get the caravan moving!

Revival comes about...

When I was on the Bible faculty of a Christian academy a few years back, I was given the responsibility of organizing the chapel services. I recall - to my great surprise - of being chastised by a student for not having enough music during the service.

"But we have music for the first twenty minutes,"I replied.

"It's not enough," he retorted. "It needs to be at least an hour. We want a revival to start."

"You understand," I said, "that the entire chapel service is only sixty minutes long."

"It doesn't matter," he answered back. "We need more time to get into the Spirit."

After I questioned him longer, he told me that in his home church, the congregation felt it necessary to have a music/praise service for a minimum of two hours "in order to get into the Spirit. We want revival and that's the way it comes about."

Now, I am not sure what this young man feels about the Scripture, but when I challenged him to show me a passage in the Bible where a revival (by his definition of an outpouring of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit) was brought about by a musical event, he stared at me blankly.

We had recently had a school activity where some students openly flaunted the rules and the result was a minor scandal among the student body. I pointed this out, saying, "We as the faculty did everything we could in confronting the rule-breakers, including punishment. You students have talked about this with one another. Yet not one of the students of this school has stepped forward to confront these guys, who still remain unrepentant. And you know, every revival I have read about in the Bible started with the recognition, confession and repentance of sin. My friend, that's what you need to do as a peer and fellow Christian. If you feel so strongly about wanting to see revival within this school, go and deal - in the Matthew 18 principle - with these troublemakers who call themselves Christians but are still rebellious. Talk with them. Pray with them. But you gotta deal with it."

He looked at me blankly and left the room. He never confronted any of the rule breakers. Nor did any other student in the school.

Revival never came.

Starting Line

On Sunday night October 5th I will be meeting with interested families here in Knoxville at the Kolinsky home, sharing my ministry about reaching college students and seeing if there is an interest in expanding the ministry.

Please pray for this, as this is a pivotal meeting. I will be basing much of our future plans on the decisions made that night.

Although I am excited and a little nervous about it, I don't have an anxiety about it. Hey, this is all of God's doing, and if it is meant to be, then He will make a way.

Phil. 4:6 puts it this way:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

The Greek word for "anxious" is "merimnaō" and it gives two pertinent definitions:
1. to be taken over by troubles - in other words, to be rippling with worry.
2. to seek to promote one's self interests - in other words, to turn my eyes of of Jesus and to rely on my own wits.

Both definitions show that anxiety in a Christian's walk is a crack in the foundation of the relationship with Jesus.

This college ministry is not a self-interest. This is not an ego trip. And I will not trouble the waters of my relationship with Jesus by fretting and fussing about it if things don't turn out the way I want them to.

Merimnao is not my leader. Jesus is.

The Wild Honey is what people seek

Pronounced: (mel – ee ag-ree-os)

Mark 1:6 - "John was clothed with camel's hair and {wore} a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey."

Over the past few months, I've run into both former students and old classmates of mine, whom I once knew to be in the Christian faith but since have fallen away. I've also encountered those who have told me that they've seen Christianity and found it lacking.

And after a little bit of studying about their search, their contacts and their place of worship, I can see what they mean.

They hit the A.S. Christianity...."artificial sweetener Christianity."

And we have no ones to blame but ourselves when we see people turned off by it.

I run into more and more people who are tired of the concert-type of gatherings - they want the direction to be toward Jesus, and how they can know him as the Bible intends. No games, no traditions.

I meet people who don't want a pastor who tells anecdotes and one-liners... they want someone who digs into the depths of the Scripture, with commentary limited to a helpmeet of how God intended for us to use this in today's day and time.

I am encountering people who want the "meli agrios" - the wild honey of Jesus' message. They want the grassroots works and words of the Messiah. Wow - and when they get it, they're changed, my friend.

Like Stewart in North Carolina, who sat in my office and wrestled with the problem of a death in his family. When he saw what Jesus offered, BAM! Stewart was a changed man. He became a joyous and energetic follower of Christ who was happy.

Like Jeanine, who came out of the depths of depravity from the Tenderloin district of San Francisco and met me in California, telling me that if she could not get the roots of Jesus' forgiveness and grace, she would end her life that night. Let me tell you, when she realized - through the Bible, not my opinion - the real Jesus and what He did for her, she changed that instant. The depression left, the guilt and the slavery to sin. As I watched her the next few weeks, I saw Jeanine grow in an amazing display of relief, comfort, and open joy because she was able to taste freely of the Wild Honey of Jesus' message.

Man, oh, man. We need to get back to this Wild Honey.

Jesus, take us back to the basics.

Quick notes

Although I try to keep as much Scripture study in this blog, I want to drop a few personal notes...

Nicholas will be coming home from Camp RedCloud (Lake City CO) at the end of October. He has announced his engagement to Alexis Shipley of Greenville TN. We are very excited. Nicholas will be home and working toward transferring to University of Tennessee. He is also looking into options of a military career, possibly Air Force.

Peter is in another play at Berean. This one will be a Sherlock Holmes mystery. They have a great theatrical program, a very impressive director named Mr. Brown.

My back pain is constant but liveable. Yesterday was excruciating for about three hours but the rest of the day was okay. Last night was fine. This morning my lower back had a dull throbbing rather than the sharp pain that would make my skin crawl. And here's the strange thing: I can still run. I hit the treadmill for 40 minutes to an hour five times a week and , as the doctor said, there is nothing wrong it. In fact, it even helps it at times. ?

Jill is readying us for the fall holidays already! Of course, with the NFL underway, we already in a great mood. I'm preparing to put a gas line into the downstairs fireplace so she'll be warm all winter. Fibro myalgia is brutal to her when the winter cold sets in.

Julianne, of course, is Julianne. She's three years old but has decided that she is the only one to monitor the medical progress of my back. She is Julianne the Doctor who feels it's important to whack my knee with that little medical hammer every time she wants to see if my back is okay.

Stop and think

Psalm 1:2 - "But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

Definition of meditation:

Haga, which means to utter, groan, meditate, or ponder;  in various places in the Bible it is the same word used by a lion growling over his prey, and of low thunder - both speak of strength that is above and beyond a human's... a great thought to remember.   Meditation speaks of great power, which comes from the realization of our mighty God and the things He can do. 

Stop.

Think.

Really think about what God says and who God is. 

John MacArthur quote

I will tell you this, there’s really only one thing that I want to do in my ministry. There’s only one obligation that I have and it is this: to show people that the Scripture is the Word of the Living God, to be adhered to. I don’t want them to think I’m the authority, I don’t want them to think the culture is the authority; I just want them to know this Word is the authority. Now, how do you convince people of that if you don’t ever teach it? People coming through those kinds of environments, have a superficial, once-over-lightly view of Scripture. The depth of it utterly escapes them.

Friday morning

I am finishing the editing of my youth pastor's ministry book that will be picked up by two Christian universities. It's slow going, but I should be done within a week and ready for final publication.

I say this guardedly: It is nearing 9 o'clock and this is the first morning since May that I have been pain-free. I am plenty sore - my back still throbs - by the pain started subsiding last night about 10 p.m. It is hard to believe that I have been putting up with this since the end of last school year, but it's true. I have had plenty of quiet times with the Lord while flat on my back, so I honestly say I cannot regret the time I spent in this condition. And this is not to say that it is over. Even as I write this, my skin still crawls with the pulsing soreness deep in my back. But still, I at least have a morning without glass-sharp pain ripping into me.

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important." - C. S. Lewis

God is above and beyond

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! - Romans 11:33

How do you fully describe God?  As I read the Bible and find the snippets of the descriptions of God, I find that even these morsels of information are astounding to me.  I see why God parcels them out in small forms - they are so awesome that we could not process them with our finite minds.  I stop and meditate upon His transendent attributes and I must sit still and ponder in order to take it in.  This is pretty heady stuff for me, anyway - I'm the kind of person who gets amazed by the circuitry of our home's water heater.

This God of all the universe defies description. 

Here's what I'm trying to say... well, Isaac Newton puts it best.  Here is a good summery in his own words - 

“The supreme God exists necessarily, and by the same necessity He exists always and everywhere. Whence also He is all similar, all eye, all ear, all brain, all arm, all power to perceive, to understand, and to act; but in a manner not at all human, in a manner not at all corporeal, in a manner utterly unknown to us. 

As a blind man has no idea of colors, so have we no idea of the manner by which the all-wise God perceives and understands all things. He is utterly void of all body and bodily figure, and can, therefore neither be seen or heard or touched; nor ought He to be worshiped under the representation of any corporeal thing. 

We have ideas of His attributes but what the real substance of anything is we know not. In bodies we see only their figures and colors, we hear only the sound, we touch only their outward surfaces, we smell only the smells and taste the savors, but their inward substances are not to be known either by our senses or by any reflex act of our minds; much less, then, have we any idea of the substance of God. 

We know Him only by His most wise and excellent contrivances of things and final causes; we admire Him for His perfections, but we reverence and adore Him on account of His dominion, for we adore Him as His servants.”

Something about atheism...

Last night's Bible study at the CAK campus went well. We hit some pretty serious Greek phrases as well as handled some apologetics arguments.

I love these points brought up to question atheists. These are refutations to claims made by prominent skeptics, notably Richard dawkins. These few points are culled from a book called The Irrational Atheist by Vox Day:

1. Atheists claim that atheists make up a smaller percent of prison populations that their theists counterparts. However, surveys indicate that those who profess no religion are four times more likely to be incarcerated than their Christian counterparts. (Page 20)
2. Atheists say that religion hinders scientific progress. However, one of the most religious countries (the United States) produces 28.7% more scientific output per capita than the most atheistic one (France). (Pages 58-59)
3. They claim that Hitler was a Christian. The truth is that although Adolf Hitler made Christian-like statements when attempting to get elected to political office, once installed, he hated Christianity, and planned to replace it with a religion based upon racial eugenics. (Pages 209-214)
4. Atheists claim that only religious people start horrible acts, and that atheists would never commit atrocities. But the writer states that atheist regimes of the 20th century have committed much worse atrocities than all religious atrocities combined. In the words of Day, "...the average atheist crime against humanity is 18.3 million percent worse than the very worst depredation committed by Christians, even though atheists have had less than one-twentieth the number of opportunities with which to commit them." and "The (atheists') attempt to explain away the murderous acts of atheists shows the logical errors and double standard for those within their own camps. "(Pages 233-250)

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I ask for prayer for my back once again. The pain became so severe that I had to leave a meeting. Once again, I lay sprawled on the floor of my office, waiting for the pain to subside. This has been going on since May. The specialist has me on some nuclear-powered medicine, and wants me to try it for six more weeks, then see if I need surgery.

View

If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.

C. S. Lewis

A deep-seated change

Mar 1:4 -
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Repentance is the word metanoia, whose definition is "a changing of the mind, a changing of the atitude, and even a changing of the direction or plans one has made."

I tell my students that if you want to put it in a math term, it is a 180 degree turn, going from what you were doing or the direction you were heading, and going in the completely opposite way.

Meta = "change"

Noia = "intellect, mind"

When I come to Christ, I change from my old habits, my selfish ways and my greedy life. I become the opposite by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I form new, good habits; I become unselfish; I am giving, not greedy. I show Jesus by these actions.

Look how John presented a Jesus-pleasing repentance. In the words of Bible scholar Matthew Henry: "John...told people that there must be a renovation of their hearts and a reformation of their lives, that they must forsake their sins and turn to God, and upon those terms and no other, their sins should be forgiven."

Wow. A full renovation of the heart. I remember seeing buildings that have been renovated. They are changed and come out looking for the better. I've seen people whose lives have been reformed, and it's a wondrous thing to see the new direction.

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STARTING SEPTEMBER 2ND!!!

Thank the Lord!

The Christian Academy of Knoxville is letting me teach an evening Bible study on campus. We have a new college Bible study going on. Starting next Tuesday, we will meet at 6 p.m. for pizza and serious Koine Greek in-depth Bible study. Room 501.

A Pause in the Action...

Let's take a few minutes' break from our Bible study and get a glimpse of me at the Steeler Training camp with the Steeler mascot Steely McBeam.

He looks so off-the-wall that I knew I had to get a picture with him.

Highlight of my weekend.

Not, not really.

Live Your Faith

"Doctrinal rightness and rightness of ecclesiastical position are important, but only as a starting point to go on into a living relationship - and not as ends in themselves. "

- Francis Schaeffer

Murder

10:25 am EST

A student at Central High School - a local high school here in Knoxville - has just died a few minutes ago due to a shooting in the cafeteria before school started.

A young person's life was just snuffed out.

My boy Peter sent me a text, and I saw the local web page of the TV news channels.

This is devastating.

How can an argument ever justify a murder? How can a disagreement result in the taking of someone else's life?

I'm having a hard time holding together. This has touched me deeply. one of our Bible study boys goes to Central. I feel like all the teens in this city are like family.

Why?

"I was ripped off!"

"FRET NOT THYSELF BECAUSE OF EVILDOERS, NEITHER BE THOU ENVIOUS AGAINST THE WORKERS OF INIQUITY." - Psalm 37:1

Forgiving is one thing... and then there's the forgetting...

Back to the late 70's...

Much as it is now with many college teens, money was hard to come by when I was taking my university training back in 1979. At that time we were scrambling for weekend jobs which would net us $10 or $15 an afternoon. Imagine my excitement, then, when my roommate Kent approached me and told me that he had a new boss who would pay us over $25 a day... maybe even $30. Six of us scrambled over to sign on with the man, a local roofer in the town.

We spent that cold Saturday in 40 degree wind-driven rainy weather, assembling aluminum carports over customers' driveways. We had the itinerary of the whole day's list of assembly spots throughout the town.

"Listen, this man's whole week's wages depend on how well we get this stuff done. Let's help him out. Come on," my friend Kent chattered through the continuing drizzle, "lets see how many of these we can do for the owner!" The other guys nodded and grinned. We'd make the man amazed.

So, in that cold rawm rain, we doubled our efforts and put up carports across town - we took no break for lunch or resting. We were careful but also moving as a unit, quickly and efficiently. It was a great feeling doing a top-notch job... we went back to the dorms wet and cold but happy.

The next week Kent came to me, sickened. "The owner pulled a fast one - he won't pay us for anymore than the first house. "

"Quit kidding," I demanded."

"I'm not bluffing. He's drummed up a technicality about being off the original location!"

"But that's not fair," I cried, "he knows we've doubled his normal output!"

"No matter," said Kent, "He's found a technicality and refuses to pay us more than a couple of dollars."

And that's how it all ended. We got stiffed by a guy we broke our backs trying to help.

Even now, more than 30 years later, I can recall the bitterness I felt when I called the owner who breezily claimed to be a Christian yet freely admitted he had us over a barrel and that, yes, he was cheating us out of money.

"If you don't like it, send me back the rest of the money," he taunted.

I hung up the phone and swallowed hard.

Would it be easy to forgive? No.

But did I forgive? Yes.

And you know, all these years later, it still remains a hard memory....but I believe I have learned to forgive and let the Lord take charge. It's taken a load off me.

Good problem to have

Sunday was quite exciting and very active. Our College Bible study "the Jolly Beggars", was in full swing, with students continually coming and coming. Soon every sofa, chair and floor space was filled. We went through a whole case of hamburgers as well as polish sausages, a 5 gallon tub of ice cream , and numerous 2 liters of soft drinks.

We went through the books of Mark, Ephesians and 1 Peter. We had good prayer, asking Jesus to work in us throughout the evening as we learned. We tackled five Koine Greek passages as well as having Jon lead in an Oswald Chambers devotional and Jared giving us a challenge about studying and obeying the Scripture. Then we had a debate, as I presented myself as a nonbeliever yet one who was interested in the words of the Bible. Soon the evening had to come to an end. Jon, Derek and EJ met me on the porch and chatted about some contemprary issues they were dealing with. Dan shook my hand and promised he'd be back (he's been calling me on my cell throughout the week, asking Bible questions) and Clint went out and bought himself a Greek New Testament.

So now I have a "problem": we're running out of room! Guys are packed everywhere.

This week I'll need to move the player piano to the other side of the house That will give us room enough for a couch - or at least some lawn chairs we'll bring in from the outside.

Woo hoo! Good problem to have. Thank you, Lord, for the encouragement of this "problem."