Great Word to Ponder

I was reading in Mark 6 this morning and found a fascinating word about Jesus. I don't know if there is anywhere else in the Bible that uses this word when it comes to Jesus.

Mark 6:6 - "And He was amazed..."

Now, think about this. What would it take to amaze the Son of God? He's the Author of the Universe, the Creator of all things, the Anointed One ... what would make Him amazed?

"...at their lack of faith."

Now, ponder this: the one thing that could completely amaze Christ is the lack of faith of people in the face of everything that God puts before them! And I see this truth more clearly each day. God has given us so many good things each day - some small, others large - and yet there are people who will explain it away to "luck", "good fortune", "Nature", "the Fates," or some other invention of the mind.

Yes, I suppose that would be enough to amaze Jesus.

CS Lewis' conversion

At one time a hardened atheist, writer C.S. Lewis learned of a benevolent and loving God who cared about him. Lewis was able to overcome his terrible childhood memories and come to Jesus. he said, "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed . . . . The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation."

Then Lewis made a specific step to accept Jesus as the God/man, the Savior. "I was now approaching the source from which those arrows of Joy had been shot at me ever since childhood. . . . No slightest hint was vouchsafed me that there ever had been or ever would be any connection between God and Joy. If anything, it was the reverse. I had hoped that the heart of reality might be of such a kind that we can best symbolize it as a place; instead, I found it to be a Person."

Possible L'Abri?

Here are a few photos of our new home. We move in on Friday! THank you, Lord for this beautiful home. It's 4500 square feet. We'll take time to fix it up and then we will start our student reception ministry as the Lord leads.

Our New Home

I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are about the new home God has given us. For almost 20 years, Jill and I have been praying to have a home that would be large enough to welcome groups, lead Bible studies for young people, and take in a missionary on furlough or an international student needing a place to stay overnight.

God has graciously made it possible for us to purchase a home on the west side of knoxville. This house is 4500 square feet and is everything we have ever dreamed of. True, it will need updating, but it is virtually all cosmetic - the structure is as sound as the day it was built.

I will post some pictures later on this week to let you see it. We are dedicating this home to honor the Lord in all we do.

The Omnipotence Paradox

I was recently asked if God could make a rock he couldn't move. It's a pretty cliche question coming from people who want a quick answer about God but don't want to stop and study the magnificent Lord.

There are some who strike a pose within the intellectual community to attempt a complete summary of the subject. J.L. Cowan wrote "The Paradox of Omnipotence Revisited" and proposed the following:

(1) Either God can create a stone which He cannot lift, or He cannot create a stone which He cannot lift.
(2) If God can create a stone which He cannot lift, then He is not omnipotent (since He cannot lift the stone in question).
(3) If God cannot create a stone which He cannot lift, then He is not omnipotent (since He cannot create the stone in question).
(4) Therefore God is not omnipotent.

Yet Mr. Cowan's assumption is that his proposal is the absolute, with no variance. Thomas Aquinas, however, would question Mr. Cowan's theory based upon the fact that he does not fully grasp what omnipotence truly means.

I like CS Lewis' words, stating that just because a person invents a preposterous statements and tries to affix authority about God to it, it must be true: "not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God".

God is not the author of confusion, nor is His might limited to our small fantasies and bauble-type thinking. The God of the Bible is beyond comprehension, giving us but a glimpse of Hios majesty in the Bible.

Since I have never seen the far side of Venus, do I invent questions to doubt its existence? Science cannot explain fully the makings of gravity, and can actually write many journals on the doubts of its existence; does that make it so? I myself could give you hundreds of reasons - very digestible ones at that - on why a Boeing 747 could never lift off the ground. Yet the truth is there.

And so is the Truth, known as God.

Stunning Truth about Ability

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" ( Philippians 4:13 )

I always thought that the Philippians verse referred to the ability to do the great, noble and mighty. I can preach before great crowds; I can understand deep truths in the Koine Greek; I can endure trials and succeed where few have succeeded before...

But the WHOLE truth of this passage hit me this morning.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me..." Not only the high and mighty and heroic, but the humiliating.

Through Christ, I can take correction without losing my temper. Through Christ, I can do the mundane jobs without becoming impatient. Through Christ, I can turn away from the embarrassing sins that pester me and try to bring me down. Through Christ, I can lose my pride and truly serve Him.

This verse explains that I can have the power to be abased as well as be exalted.

Amazing.

Thoughts on the Christian's Joy

From Oswald Chambers:

Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him. The joy of Jesus was His absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice to His Father— the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do— ". . . who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross . . ." ( Hebrews 12:2 ). "I delight to do Your will, O my God . . ." ( Psalm 40:8 ). Jesus prayed that our joy might continue fulfilling itself until it becomes the same joy as His.

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I had a great time at the Berean Christian School at Camp Ba-Yo-Ca. I spent the last two nights traveling over to Townsend, TN and spent the evenings sharing the Bible with the 100+ students...what a great group. Dr. Core is an amazing administrator.

The Holiness of the Lord

The Heavens are unclean before Him Job 15:15
The Lord speaks in His holiness Psalm 60:6
God sits upon the throne of His holiness Psalm 47:8
Habakkuk 1:12 are you not from everlasting O Lord my God mine Holy one?
Habakkuk 2:20 the Lord is in His holy temple

God’s holiness would not allow a man to touch the ark, specifically against His rules 2 samuel 6

God’s holiness would not allow people to mock the Lord’s Supper and live 1 Cor. 11
God’s holiness would not allow people to lie to the Holy Spirit even in the honorable action of giving money to the Lord, Acts 5

Today's prayer

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15

Heavenly Father,

Please prepare my heart as I minister to the students at Berean Christian School this week. Please also make ready their hearts as we all find Your teaching at the Spiritual retreat.

Please assist Oscar Hyde in his quest to honor You as he makes decisions for college and his career here on Earth.

I pray you would continue to strengthen my wife Jill as she battles fibro myalgia, and continues to be a stellar mother and wife.

Please help me as I face the challenges of the day, knowing that You have also faced these very same roadblocks and trials. I pray that People would see You above all else.

In Jesus' Name I pray,

Amen

Small things

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Praise

Great news has been filling my week!

- my former Christian Academy of Knoxville student, Amanda Brooks, is "breezing through" her college New Testament class. That gives this old teacher a glad heart. The teaching stayed with her! Thanks to the Lord.

- my former Grace Christian Academy student Justin Rhyne is actively telling others about the truth of Christ while a student at the University of Tennessee. His call last night was a great boost to me.

- my former online international student and great friend across the Pond, Oscar Hyde is preparing for college (Princeton? Cambridge?) but let me know that one of his priorities is to stay strong in the Lord by meeting with Christian friends and groups whenever he steps on campus next fall.

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

Blocking the Way

". . . the cares of this world, . . . choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful"

( Mark 4:19 ).

The church service was a powerful one. The message included a passage on the Father's sacrifice in order to bring us salvation, and it included the testimony of a man who had also suffered great loss but loved Jesus even more. The message was dynamic.

I was puzzled, therefore, when I saw some young adults totally unmoved by this and even flippant about the message whenever we were leaving the service. Now, I am a person who is wary of those who feel that emotion is a necessary part of a service, but this reaction by these people threw me. They even mentioned non-entities such as the background scenery and the expressions of other people in the audience.

How could someone be in the same service and see something totally different? How could someone be completely unmoved by the power of God's Word?

Then I realized that some of the people within that group were dallying in the world and its pleasures at the expense of seeing Jesus work in their lives. They had let selfishness take over. I had noticed it in their speech and habits throughout the earlier months but didn't realize how deeply that attitude had sunk. It had taken anchor in their soul and was clogging up the passageway to seeing God's teaching and blessing.

". . . the cares of this world, . . . choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful"
( Mark 4:19 ).

As I seek God's leading at this next stage of my life, I have no idea of the direction He will take me. I do know this, though. Even though I am not sure of His nudge just yet, I don't want to be pushing away His hand by distracting myself with other cares.

I don't want to be so fixated on the road surface that I miss the mansion.

Impacting the World

If we are to tell people about Jesus, what do we present to them? Is Jesus to be presented as an example...a teacher....a highly moralistic citizen of His country?

Let's look at it as we ourselves contemplate who this Jesus is. Let's get back to square one in our Christian walk. Lay aside the social aspect of church. Forget the musical interludes. Put aside the liturgical emphasis.

Who is this Jesus?

Let's look at just a few of the truths about the Savior we may have forgotten:

He became one of us, weaknesses and all

Heb. 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin."

He endured death and defeated it.

Romans 6:9 - "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him."

He died so that we could live.

1 John 2:2 - "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

His victory proved that He was and is the Son of God

Romans 1:4 - "and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

One day everyone will recognize His majesty

Philpns 2:10 - "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth..."

So what is the best way to tell them?

I propose that the best and first way to do this is by telling Jesus "thanks." That's it. "Thanks."

By word and by deed. By thought and by living example.

That's it. Simple.

And yet not so.

Oswald Chambers

Here are profound thoughts from Oswald Chambers from his book My Utmost for His Highest:

When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (see John 20:11-18 ). It is possible to know all about doctrine and still not know Jesus. A person’s soul is in grave danger when the knowledge of doctrine surpasses Jesus, avoiding intimate touch with Him. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine meant no more to her than the grass under her feet. In fact, any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could never ridicule was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (see Luke 8:2 ); yet His blessings were nothing to her in comparison with knowing Jesus Himself. ". . . she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. . . . Jesus said to her, ’Mary!’ " ( John 20:14, 16 ). Once He called Mary by her name, she immediately knew that she had a personal history with the One who spoke. "She turned and said to Him, ’Rabboni!’ " ( John 20:16 ).

In summary (I speak especially to my students from years past) it is of the greatest importance to remember that mere Biblical memorization does not automatically open the door to a oneness with Jesus. Just as I cannot say that I personally know Babe Ruth or Neil Armstrong just because I have memorized knowledge about them, I cannot honestly say that my intellectual grasp of Jesus is enough. It is the experience of submission, frisndhip and worship that completes the bridgespan.

Persecution

Here is a valuable link to use. Whenever you think that you're having a hard time standing for Christ, go over and read some of the persecutions faced today, in real time stories of suffering by Christians around the world.

Click here:

http://www.persecution.com/

This site is provided by the blessed work of the ministry called Voice of the Martyrs. Reading through some of these stories will change your life, I am sure.

Excitement while waiting

One of the hardest things for me to do is to rest. Standing still or staying in one place just about kills me. This past school year featured a special field day for the senior high, and we teachers were relegated to standing around and applauding the efforts of the various student teams to which we were assigned to oversee. We couldn't do anything but stand around. ARGH. I'm telling you, that had to be one of the longest days of my life. I don't like to stand back and observe; I like to get in the mix, even if I fall.

That's what has been so unusual about this summer. I'm standing still quietly...and I like it. I've been holding still, waiting upon the Lord to see what He has for me. In the last few weeks, the verse calling me to "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" ( Psalm 37:7 ) has been especially important. Having no "churchy" activity has made me take my vision and place it more specifically upon things I've not enjoyed so intensely before. For instance, our vacation trip to Disney World was one of the most enjoyable weeks in my memory. I had a great time (despite the shockingly brutal heat and humidity) being with my family in a quiet and conversational way that I'd not experienced during the school year. My devotional life has taken a new turn. My prayer life has also seen new windows open to truths.

Most surprising of all, I have been contacted for some new proposals in publishing ideas. Those of you who are writers understand the shock of publishing firms approaching you. Most of the time, it is the writer running after the publisher with hat in had. This truly is a "God thing."

I encourage you to take time away from summer diversions to stop and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty" ( Psalm 91:1 ). You may, as I have, see some new things occuring that can only be described as God-generated blessings.

I will keep you posted on the blessings that have been coming our way. Please continue to pray for Jill's dealing with fibro myalgia. It is still a great concern to the family.

Thanks for your patience

I have been in a "retreat" mode since school has let out. I have withdrawn from any teaching, preferring to sit in meetings and assemblies and get fed without the feeling of having to stand up and teach a class within the next 24 hours. Don't get me wrong - I do love to teach, especially relaying God's truths, but there comes a time when I need to sit by the wayside and rest. I lvoe the stillness and the solitude.

Lately it's been more important for me to get away for restful times. I've found myself sitting alone and reading a good devotional book or a passage from the Bible, re-reading a particular truth in order to let it sink in.

I am finding these intensely quiet times as important to my life as exercise or fellowship. This has become increasingly important to me. If I am going to know more about my Friend, isn't it right to just sit at His table and let Him talk to me? How can a friendship be based on inattention?

I want to know more about Jesus and what it is like to truly, truly, truly regard Him as the most important One in my life.

The strange case of Craig

As I was running the track this morning I glanced at the school nearby and fell into a flood of memories about my high school years, to one of my wrestling teammates. When I first met Craig, I learned of his reputation as a pushy, mouthy, egocentric guy who liked picking on smaller people around him. Throught he months of the wrestling season, I became casually acquainted with Craig. He didn't bother me much, but I did see how he could get on people's nerves. He carried an air about him that rubbed people the wrong way. He dressed sloppily, never combed his long hair, and he was loud.

The wrestling season ended, and then the months of school flew by toward the summer. Since he was an upper classman, I didn't see much of Craig the rest of that year or in the summer months.

But in the fall as school started, I was surprised by what I saw. In fact, we all were.

Craig came into school wearing a short sleeved white shirt. His hair was cut to crewcut length. He sported a thin black tie. His black pants and shoes were immaculate. And he was quiet, polite, and reserved.

Ah, you think I'm going to say he became a Christian. No, not at all.

Craig had joined a cult. And in watching his change, i learned something about the Christian walk.

Craig avoided groups and kept to himself. He was mannerly, sure, but he and his sister stayed off to one side and carried an otherworldly gaze in their eyes. They finished up school neatly and reservedly, and we never heard from them again.

My point is this: whereas we saw a change in Criag, I don't think any of us really saw something we found attractive. Craig stopped befriending us. He avoided public gatherings and became withdrawn. He gave us no impression that we would want to be like him.

It helped me understand our Christian testimony's impact.

The Question of Compromise

I remember asking a Russian pastor, "What is it like to pastor a church in your country? Is it difficult?" The pastor responded, "No, it's easy because I know where everyone stands. But how can someone pastor a church in America, where compromise is so common and subtle?" Many so-called Christians want the world's acceptance and are therefore unwilling to take a stand for Christ.

The world is clever in its allurements, the flesh is vulnerable to temptation, and the devil is aggressive in his attack. So it's a battle to remain spiritually stable.

- John MacArthur, Seven Steps to Spiritual Stability

Some good sites

Here are a couple of great sites that I think you need to see:

a complete dramatized Audio Bible unabridged in MP3 Format. Listen to the bible anywhere either on your PC or portable MP3 compatable device. www.audio-bibles.co.uk


one of the best Bible resource places I know: http://www.blueletterbible.org/