THE DEPTH OF GOD'S WORK IN US

In virtually every home in America, there is an office of some sort. It’s where Dad or Mom does their letter-writing, bill-paying and general accounting of affairs – you could say it’s the “thought center” of the home. Many a time the rest of the family will give wide berth to the head of the family who sits in that office and puts his mind to work. Why? They know that concentration time is for the care and protection of the home. The children may not be aware of what exactly Dad is doing when he is slaving away at the income tax forms or fervently pounding away on the computer in order to finish a work project, but they rest assured that Dad is taking care of them.

If you ponder that thought and put it in a spiritual realm, you’ll begin to understand the workings of our Father, realizing that even though there’s no way we could be aware of all of His workings, we can still honor and respect His watchcare nonetheless. As much as I could cram into this study I would be the first to agree that this book is but a scratch in the dirt when considering the universal knowledge, power and majesty of God. Psalm 145:3 clearly states, "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable."

I have to raise my eyebrows whenever I hear someone giving the impression that they know what God is up to. I’ve heard people try to summarize all of God’s omnipotance and omniscience into a bite-size paragraph and I have to cringe. God's grandness is farther than any credible attempt at summarizing it. When thinking of God's knowledge of all his ways, the great king David says, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it." (Ps. 139:6; cf. v. 17).

A great oratory?

This is a picture of me at the "making a speech" at the Museum of Natural History during a trip to Washington DC with our school last year. Krissy Key took this picture. I think it nice that Lyndon Johnson sits behinds me and approves.

Another great gas station

I found this gas station picture some years back. Its caption was simply "Big Pump". Maybe that was its name. I don't know where this was taken but it is the kind of weird architecture I like.


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Nicholas will be coming home this weekend from ETSU. We want to hear a lot about his college life and his new friends...and yes, his studies.

IT'S NOT ABOUT US

If this God is such a mean and hard taskmaster as some would suppose, then why are there so many joyful songs ending with calls to praise? If it were simply adherence to rules, wouldn’t the Psalms end in a call to strict and unemotional obedience?

There is more to consider when we realize why we are giving praise. In reading the very last of all the Psalms, we see an important truth to remember from Psalm 150 (Note ht ehighlighted words):

1 Praise the LORD; Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe 5 Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals 6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD Praise the LORD (RSV)
The above Psalm - the final thought of all the Psalms - reminds us that it is not about us.

It reminds me of the time when I was the minister of a wedding in Oregon. During the rehearsal, I couldn’t help but notice a young lady parading before everyone else, oblivious to the need for order during the practice. I was told that she was a friend of the bride, and she was going to sing a solo during the wedding service.

The day of the wedding arrived and the young lady strutted to the front, grabbed a microphone and belted out a rendition of “You Light Up My Life” that was so loud I believe a gentleman in the back lost his toupee. I mean, the windows were rattling during this song. She finished, slammed the microphone back into its holder and looked at the silent crowd. As I looked at her shocked face I realized that she fully expected a standing ovation. As she stomped back to her seat, I became aware of the glaring fact that this girl forgot all about the wedding; she thought the whole ceremony was about her!

I’m not here to judge her, because I believe in the light of the Lord, we all get that way one time or another. We go to church to be seen, not to seek. Here’s the truth for all time: Praise goes to God and God alone. It gets me to thinking about many of today’s churches and the rut into which they’ve fallen. Please realize that the church pleases God not when it makes itself marketable or socially exciting, but when it shows man how to put himself in humility and submission and properly praise God. Moreover, God wants a deep family-love from His people and wishes to display His love for anyone who would receive it.

God wants to be discovered, but you have to be willing to do the searching. Realize, though, that HE is the object of our worship. Not our church, not our social life, not our friends, not even our music. It's Him and only Him.

Apostle Peter's house

This is the foundation of what is believed to be the home of the Apostle Peter's home.

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We had our home Bible Study last night at my house. I think we had nine students including some graduates of CAK like Warren Pineda, Dan Prince, and Matt Mueke. (Matt gave us a good memory of his distant relatives being hosts for Corrie Ten Boom.) We studied Greek words found in 1 Thessalonians and Ephesians. Then I went across town and helped out with Billy High's Bible Study and we went over a study in 1 Corinthians. I am finding that there is a real honest-to-goodness desire to learn the Bible and only the Bible. I think the days of celebrity speakers and prose books is on its way out.

And you know? I like it! When people start reaching for God's pure Word, then there is hope for our generation.


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I met up with my good college buddy Scott Curtis who now works at Bible Broadcasting Network in Charlotte NC. It has been 25 years! We sat at Cracker Barrel and hotted and hollered about old stuff from campus. What a great time.

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HOLINESS OF GOD
Often we forget that God is Holy. The Bible is filled with references to His holiness.
1. Habkk 1:12 - He is everlasting and He is holy.
2. Psalm 60:6 - God speaks in His holiness, from His holy sanctuary (KJV)
3. Job 15:15 - He is so holy, even the heavens are unclean before Him.

WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THIS?
1. We get tough toward sin like Joseph: Psalm 39:9...he realized that the worst thing was that he would sin AGAINST GOD!
2. We become tender like Ezra: Ezra 9:6...when Ezra the prophet saw his people become rebellious against the Lord, he became astonished and ashamed, and the people were moved by his grieving. May we recognize that above all, God is holy!

Kindness and the "foolishness" of hallel

A reporter was interviewing a highly talented symphony orchestra conductor from Eastern Europe who had recently been released from a years-long prison sentence due to his political views. His incarceration was one of total isolation. The reporter asked the maestro many questions on his world views and then turned to the subject of music. The reporter asked, "What in your opinion is the most beautiful piece of music ever written?"

The conductor paused and considered this question, but gave no answer.

The reporter asked again, "Maestro, what is your favorite music. When you were held in isolation what did you want most to hear? What music would you have considered then as the most beautiful?"

"In the whole world?" the maestro asked.

"Yes, in the entire world!" the reporter answered.

"Ah, yes, in all the world," the maestro said, with tears in his eyes, "the most beautiful music is the sound of another voice."

May we remember that there are those around us that simply want the beauty of a Christian's voice of caring. That, indeed is the most beautiful music to a thirsty soul.

We crave kindness. We love it when we are the recipients of an act of care. Our Heavenly Father is ready to give us loving care and kindness every day. Here indeed is a profound statement found in Psalm 136, known to the Jews as the Great Hallel:

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

The entire passage of Psalm 136 could be interpreted as a shout of praise, which is indicated by the Jewish term “Hallel.” It has a very powerful etymology. The Hebrew name for “Psalms” is tehillim and is interpreted as “praises.” It is from the root halal, which means “to make a jubilant sound,” and is directed toward God and his works. If a worshiper makes ellell, he is rejoicing, and the rejoicing is toward the Almighty. It is interesting to note the other meaning for halal, which in the Hithpael means “to praise or boast of one's self”, hence to be foolish. In other words, you can be Godly in your praise and “be a fool for God” ... or you can be foolish if you decide to praise yourself!

Not your ordinary gas station.

This is a very cool photo of an actual gas station from years past. Man, I would have loved to have been a worker here. A theme-park service station! Love it. But then, that's the kind of weird stuff I enjoy seeing. Wonder why they don't make stuff like this anymore? Creativity seems to be relegated to making fancy web pages. Yawn.

I'd like to see some more great "architecture" like this again.

Nicholas leaves for college today

Peter, Nicholas and I got up early and headed to a "going off to college" ceremonial breakfast (don't think we're high-minded; it was a Dunkin' Donuts that we went to, by Nicholas' choice). This is going to be hard to see the firstborn heading off to a new life, out from under our wings. It was mighty hard for me last night, but this morning I have accept it and leave Nicholas' training and further growth to the Lord's direction.

Numerous good Bible ministries at ETSU including Campus Crusade, are calling and looking forward to seeing Nick on campus. In activities both social and spiritual, they are prepared to take him in and care for him.

Nicholas, we will be praying for you each and every day. May the Lord make you a mighty man in Him.

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"The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.”—William Barclay

Baby Julie is the light of the Zockoll household

He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
- Mark 10:14

OVERCOMING TRAGEDIES AND SEEING JOY

Maybe you, as I, have faced a childhood of difficulties and that has hurt your walk with the Lord. Your scars have made you wary of opening up and showing true feelings for God, since many authority figures of your tender years were often cruel and even unjust. I can tell you truly that I have been able to see God's grace in letting me open up and express and profound joy for the Lord and make myself available to His love. I recall the writer CS Lewis and his need to overcome a tragic childhood as well. When he did, he found true joy.

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 (third term of school) 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."

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In school's Bible Apologetics class we're doing a lightning round of learning the books of the Bible so that by the end of the semester, each student will having a working knowledge of EVERY book of the Bible - all 66 in a condensed form so they will know where to go when someone asks them a question about the Scripture.

I am currently working on having a Christmas devotional book being published. The working title is "Fireside Psalms" and it will be the modified version of my doctorial dissertation. I will let you know when it is available - right now the expected time of release is the week before Thanksgiving. it will be a daily devotional that you read from Thankgiving Day right up to Christmas. Each day you will read a passage in the Psalms that reveals something new about God's personal relationship with you. Plenty of Hebrew words to enjoy in their definitions and etymology.

Preparing for Nick's travels ... and other thoughts

On the home front:

Nicholas is getting ready to head to ETSU; we're having special dinners and involving ourselves in last-minute packing in order to help him prepare for Thursday's move.

Peter and I are both trying to get over sinus infections. I was almost caught by surprise by this, but then I realized, hey, I live in Tennessee. Every fall I get some sort of pollen attack and then every winter I get a severe cold. I don't mind it, though - it's worth it to be able to live in Tennessee.

Grandma was trying to cut Julie's bangs, but our little girl decided to fuss and move around during the haircut. The result is that her bangs are almost completely gone; I think I have more bangs than she does (take a look at my photo and you'll see how devastating this fact is). I'll try to post a picture of it soon.

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We hear of many people who say they wish they could take back words they have previously used. We have also heard of others who wanted to make others "eat their words." Well, the celebrated 17th century German political historian Philipp Andreas Oldenburger had just that pleasure. It seems that Oldenburger became a little free-spirited in his criticism of the authorities in his pamphlet writings. He was arrested, found guilty, and given a most unusual sentence: "eat your own writings." And that is exactly what he was forced to do. He writes in his memoirs that he was forced under the threat of a flogging, to eat every last shred of paper of his pamphlets. Talk about having to eat your own words! Maybe those of us whose tongues constantly commit the sin of gossip ought to be aware that words can have a devastating effect on others - and on us!

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

Lighthouses and other thoughts

I love lighthouses; both their aesthetic beauty and their purpose. They not only give us an unusual and attractive presence, they also save lives. This lighthouse is located in

I cannot, simply cannot find my way through life without the daily guidance of my Lord. This lighthouse is located in Point Loma. It reminds me of the structurally sound and comforting strength I find in Jesus Christ.

You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
- 2 Samuel 22:29

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Our 18 year old son Nicholas will be heading to East Tennessee State University this Thursday for orientation. We visited ETSU over the weekend and were impressed by the friendly and can-do-it atmosphere! Please keep Nicholas in your prayers as he makes this big step in his life.

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I was digging through my sermon files and found this excellent story. Here's a great little illustration on anger...

There was a little boy with a bad temper, who would fly off in a rage at the slightest provocation. His father wanted to help him learn of this danger, so he gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence.

It was a hard task. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. He learned about the dangers...Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. "

SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

The question has come up again and again throughout the years of my youth ministry - "Can I lose my salvation? Does the Bible say I will have my salvation taken away? What does the Bible say about eternal security?" Due to the overwhelming interest in this area to new believers, allow me to share some Scriptures with you.

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

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

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

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

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

GOD INVITES YOU

God is a God of Invitation! Look at His Word:

Isaiah 1:18:
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Take a look at Isaiah 55:1:
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."

This is God who is talking!

Didn't Jesus say "Come unto Me and I will give you rest?"

And I also see that God invited Noah into the ark, where He was. Isn't that a great picture of salvation?

Best of all, look at Revelation 22:17. You know the qualifications for coming to Him? You must be thirsty and you must be willing. That's it. Take time today to look up other references besides these, where God openly invites people to receive His blessing.

(Above verses are from the NIV)

Where does the credit go?

(This is a picture of the Mount of Olives. Notice the gravesites in the foreground.)

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May I ask you, what will give you satisfaction as being successful? Will it be a fat salary or a well-respected reputation?

Perhaps it is well to note the power of the passage in John chapter 9, where Jesus takes a down-and-out blind beggar and gives him sight. This is a new man, with a whole new life ahead of him! Mark now what the people ask him and how he answers ...

(I'll paraphrase this.)


"You look familiar, but the guy we knew who looked like you was blind," the people said.

"It's me, for sure, " answers the former blind man.

"Well, wait a minute," the people respond. "How did you get to be able to see?"

"You see, Jesus did it all..." answers the new man.

Notice that all his success starts with Jesus. He gave no opinion of himself or of anything or anyone but Jesus. Jesus was the reason for the miracle, and it's Jesus who gets the credit. THAT is success for the Christian, friends. It's Jesus first and foremost. Please remember this throughout your career, and no matter where you go, you will find that for the Christian, this is true!

The Reality of Frustration

Just as a baseball pitcher who eases up on his fastball and surrenders a home run, we Christians can succumb to lapses in our walk with God and suffer great frustration. Much like a race car driver, any mistake we make can impact so many others around. There are times when I get so upset with my failures that I feel like hiding from God in embarrassment.

Many times I just get sick of me.

Billy Graham said "The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'"

Pitfalls. Mistakes. Blunders. Failings. We all face them, but to the Christian, they represent an open door. An embarrassing and humble one, to be sure, but a door nonetheless. At the door's threshold stands Jesus, saying," reach out your hand, and I will pick you up." We wonder why we haven't lifted our heads to see Him standing there in the first place. This is the point: to remember to keep looking up to Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

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"God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man, - suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized, finally dying a criminal's death - and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched. "
... J. B. Phillips, Your God is Too Small [1953]

A LAST LOOK AT THEOLOGY CAMP

Here are three more pictures taken at Theology Camp, made possible by my good friend and student Alison Poland. I would show you a picture of Alison, but as humble as she is, there is only one picture of her and it is so dark you can hardly make out her features. I will try to get her photo on another post.

The top photo is of Craig Dockery; the second photo is of me in the water readying for another pool game. The third is of Nicholas Zockoll and Zack Aiken as they prepare to make another grand meal in our spacious camp kitchen.

The Theology Camp was so successful that I will be planning three camps next year, Lord willing. Two of the camps will be high school camps and the third one will be for middle school students. We are already in the planning stages.

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It is our first full week of school and each class was spent discussing the Greek word praotes - "gentleness: strength under control" along with the Mark 7 teaching of the Pharisaical washing of the hands and the questions that skeptics will throw at Belivers. I also debated the classes on the issue of the deity of Christ to see if they could show me the truth in the Scripture.

WHERE DO WE FIND THE DEITY OF CHRIST IN THE BIBLE?

John 10:30 - 33.
“I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

Colossians 2:9. -“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Hebrews 1:8, John 20:28. - Jesus Christ is called God by God.
“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”

John 20:31. - “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

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"This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners; for by a wonderful exchange our sins are now not ours but Christ’s, and Christ’s righteousness is not Christ’s but ours."
- Martin Luther

A FUNNY MEMORY ABOUT HYPOCRISY

When I was a child growing up just outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania, our neighborhood was known for having a ferocious dog named King. King was chained, to be sure, but the kids in the area were deathly afraid of him. He would lunge at us and go absolutely insane with fury whenever any of us came within twenty feet of his doghouse. "Stay away from King," the older kids would say, "he hates everything. He's the meanest dog in the world."

Imagine my surprsie one hot and quiet rural summer afternoon whenever I peeked out of our living room window and saw King lying placidly while scores of boards - and I do mean dozens of birds - hopped around his area. Two of them drank from his bowl. Three of them perched on his house and chatted. While numerous birds casually ambled about in front of him (within mere inches of those famous jaws!) one actually sat on his back!

I was dumbfounded. This is the King we all feared? As I tried to fathom the change I was witnessing, a screen door slammed nearby; his owner was coming out of the house.

Immediately King was up and barking, snapping at the birds around him who were barely escaping with their lives. Then I realized that Kind was a big old fake. He knew what was expected of him; he was to appear ferocious. It wasn't his nature at all; he simply knew when and where to put on the act.

Whenever I encounter a Christian who is putting on a show for the sake of reputation or respectability, I'm reminded of the great hypocrite of our neighborhood, King.


Jam 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

THE POWER OF PERSUASION

Psalm 119:18 - "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

I read this interesting tidbit some time ago...sorry I can't remember the original source, but it's too good to pass up:

An Army psychology student drew kitchen detail and decided to apply some of his studies and theories to his work. He was stationed at the end of the chow line, assigned to hand out apricots. Apricots were not exactly a favorite among soldiers.
He asked the first soldiers that passed by, "You dont want any apricots, do you?" He calculated that 90% responded with "No."
He then tried a different angle. The next shift of soldiers were asked "You do want apricots, don't you?" Approximately half answered, "Yes, I guess so."
Finally he tried an old selling technique. This third time he asked, "One dish of apricots or two?" In spite of the universal dislike for Army apricots, 40% took two dishes and 50% took one!

People can be easily swayed by smooth talking...even Christians. Remember that the Christian life is guided by the Truth: Gods Word. No matter where the persuasion - on television, in movies, at school, in the neighborhood, or even in the family - there is only one way for us to go, and that's the path of God's will.

Pictures of Theology Camp

Here are a few pictures of our Theology camp. In the top picture, Bret Carlson is having his quiet time during Meletao (greek for "meditation") In the middle picture, Jackson Slagle is giving us a message during the afternoon session. Jackson is a student at CAK who is ready to graduate this year.In the bottom hand picture I am sitting with Zack Aiken, a great young man who attends Karns High School here in Knoxville. He was an avid reader of the Scripture and can do an absolutely incredible bellywhop in the pool!