A new step

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

Lose My Salvation?

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

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

Where is your joy?

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

- Keith Green

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

- Phlpn. 3:10

Good Friday

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

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

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

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

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

Every Dog Has His Day

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

Make your artwork mock Jesus.

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

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

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

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

No, it's safer to mock the Christian.

Decision time

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

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

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

OBEDIENCE

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

- Ben Franklin

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

- Hudson Taylor

"Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe."

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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

- Matthew 16:24

The ministry needs your prayers

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

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

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

Please write me if you have any questions or comments:

bradzockoll@hotmail.com

-------------------------

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

~ Abraham Kuyper

The Seven Year Plan, part 3

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

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

Biblical study and note-taking

Debate and speech skills

Group study and also one-on-one care

Private devotion time available in "refuge rooms"

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

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

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

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

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

The Seven Year Plan, part 2

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

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

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

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

The Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

I will tell you more tomorrow.

7 year plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Closeness of God Himself

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

True belief

The Santa Claus Syndrome worries me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that is a tragedy.

God is unchanging

IMMUTABLE: unchanging

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Excerpt from my last debate with an atheist

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

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

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

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

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

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

(SECOND ROUND)

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

My I give a few questions to our friend here:

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

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

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

My atheist friend never answered any of these questions.

Backbone

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

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

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

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

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

Last words of the dying

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

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

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

Where is our commitment?

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

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

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

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

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

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