Monday, December 29, 2008

A Pauline Prayer


This last Sunday, I was given the opportunity to preach at Bristol Missionary Baptist Church. For the last several weeks I have been praying and meditating on Ephesians 3:14-21. I have gleaned a tremendous amount of insight form Paul's prayer to the Ephesian church. It was hard for me to narrow down all that I wanted to say. The congregation would probably agree. However, there were a few things that I thought stood out as very practical and satisfying precepts in prayer. I will post two separate blogs highlighting the gist of what was said. I hope it helps you to pray with passion and effectiveness.

Paul's Prayer God Centered and Trinitarian

If you look closely at the text, you will notice two interesting things about Paul's prayer. First, it is Trinitarian. In verse 14 Paul prays to the Father. In verse 16, he asks that they be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, in verse 17, he ask that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all called on here to do a work. The second thing to notice is that the prayer is God centered. Aside from Paul applying the the Trinity to work in the lives of the Ephesian believers, we also see that the climax of Paul's prayer is that the church in Ephesus would be filled withe fullness of God. He prays for them to be strengthened by His Spirit and according to His riches in glory. Paul prays God would ground them in His love by His knowledge. Paul's prayers for the church are God-centered prayers. He forces me to consider how I am praying for the church. Are my prayers God centered or man-centered?

Christ Centered Praying

In all of that, I am essentially praying that Christ would be at the very core of my praying. Praying God’s word keeps me in line in doing that. Because Christ is the word (pre-incarnate and incarnate), the gospel, the good news, and the radiance of Gods glory; keeping his words and deeds at the center of my communication with God forces the conversation to be God centered. This, in the end, is glorifying to Him and satisfying to me. Why would this be satisfying to me? Because praying God’s word also allows me to articulate the very cries of my heart. Many times, I approach God desiring to pray and have no idea where to begin or how to convey the needs that come with life. God’s word, in its entirety, not only has the power to work in and through prayer, but also the eloquence to express the inner longings of the human soul. His word also helps me to express my desires for Him. Therefore, keeping Christ at the center is God glorifying and soul satisfying because He receives all the glory for meeting my physical and spiritual needs through Christ.

Below are the requisite attitudes that Paul displays in his praying as seen in verse 14 & 15. I believe these attitudes help the Christian to approach God in a manner that is worthy of such a privilege. It also helps the heart to hear the affectionate yearning that Christ has for His church.

Three Requisites

Submission

The first requisite is submission. Paul says in verse 14, “I bow my knees…”. Kneeling represents an attitude of humility and compliance; a deflating of ego if you will. God does not mind his children standing and praying. However, though the legs may be extended, the soul must always be prostrate before God. A. Skevington Wood says that kneeling symbolizes submissiveness, solemnity, and adoration. Paul bows before his king in reverence and passion. He willingly kneels down with his hands extended before God as a servant and friend; not bound in shackles behind his back as an enemy (Philippians 2:9-11). With a willing heart, his attitude of submission resembles that of our Lord Jesus Christ.

King Jesus modeled this well for us when he states in the Lord’s Prayer with “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) He also prayed in Luke 22:42, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but your will be done.” Before we pray, we must submit. We serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling and kiss the Son of God (Psalm 2:11-12). In doing so we acknowledge His lordship and right to rule; not only in the world, but in our little universe as well. A vital component to our praying is submission.

Recognition

The second requisite is recognition. Paul is not just praying to anybody. He is praying to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named. Paul is praying to the Alpha and
Omega, the Beginning and the End, the great I AM, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Paul is pleading with the creator of the universe and all the fullness in it. He prays to the one who knows every star by name; who tells the sun to shine in the day and the moon to guide by night; who upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). Paul cries out to the one who brings the harvest, the cold and the heat, the summer and the winter, the day and the night, the rain and the sunshine (Gen 8:22). He converses with the One who knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we say them, our comings, and goings, and all the days we will spend on this earth; which he wrote ahead of time in a book. Paul listens to the One who created us in the deepest and most secret place in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139) and knows every hair on our head. Paul recognizes the authenticity and authority of the Father. The Father is our creator and deserves our utmost respect and awe. He is our God in heaven, and He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3) Recognizing this constrains our ego and allows humility to lift our prayers to the ears of our Lord.

Validation

In verse sixteen, Paul gives the Ephesians a sense of validation when he prays “that according to the riches of his glory.” Paul understood the vastness of the resources and ability of our God. He was not praying in the restricted confines of our hearts, but according to the inexhaustible riches of an all-knowing and omnipotent God. William MacDonald says this about the text, “Preachers often point out that there is a difference between the expressions ‘out of the riches’ and ‘according to the riches’ of his perfections. A wealthy person may give a trifling amount out of his riches, not in proportion of them.” So in effect, if I have a million dollars and I give a person one hundred dollars, I have given out of my riches. If I give a person one hundred thousand dollars, I have given according to my riches. When we go to people and ask for our needs to be met, they can only provide out of their riches; which are borrowed and limited. When we come before God, his riches in glory are never fleeting.

He owns the entire world (Psalm 50:10-12; Psalm 24:1) Everything belongs to God. Every man, every woman, every child, every animal, every little fire ant that invades your porches and lawns, every annoying fly that gets in your face while you’re trying to talk, every ounce of wisdom you provide in counseling a friend, every act of grace you display to an enemy, your house and all your belongings, every American dollar (even the ones in your pocket right now) all belong to him. He needs nothing from us because he is self-sufficient. Acts 17:25, “He is not served with human hands as if He needs anything.” When Hebrews 4:16 says that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence it is because God has given himself to be our confidence. It is because the validity he brings in backing up every one of his promises one hundred percent of the time. MacDonald goes onto say, “Since the Lord is infinitely rich in glory, let the saints flood! Why should we ask so little of so great a king?” Paul assures the Ephesians that His prayers can be backed by the good faith and credit of God. The same giver; not the US government or its economy backs our prayers.

Before you come before our Lord in prayer, prostrate your heart in confession and submit your soul to the Lord. Recognize is inifnite power and authority over the universe and your life. Validate His ability and faithfulness by slaying unbelief with trust in his magnificent promises. Humility before God may be one of the lifting forces that bring our prayers into the ears of God.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

No Santa No Jesus?

It is Christmas morning and we are in a hotel room in Plano Texas. Many of Stacy's family from all over the states have congregated at her aunt Kathy's house. Instead of us driving the hour back and forth from Bristol, Stacy's brother Andy graciously provided a nice hotel room for us to stay in. It is wonderful. We have a queen size bed with a small kitchen; complete with stove and cooking utensils. There is a green couch with small red diamonds that turns into a roll away bed. The living room set is complete with two table stands, three lamps, and a plaid love seat. It does feel pretty close to home. The only thing missing, really, is our Christmas tree. If I were a child this arrangement might not be half bad.

However, if I were a child, I would wonder how Santa was going to make into our room. I would have asked my dad all kinds of questions that would put him in awkward position of being pretty creative. I can see his face now. It would have expressions of amazement and torment. Later on in life we would laugh about it, but at the time, I would I have to go bed trusting my dads explanations. Needless to say, that did not happen last night. Why?

Like many Christians, my wife and I aim to keep Christ at the center of Christmas. There are many things we try to do to set parameters to keep us on track. One of them is denying the existence of Santa. I know, this is sacrilegious in some respects and almost down right UnAmerican. How could we deprive our children of one of the most influential characters of their childhood? Simple, we love them to much.

There is an interesting relationship between Santa and Christ. Both require faith to believe in them. Both of them require that we obey and do what is right. Both of them know are names and have written them down (Santa has a naughty or nice, Jesus has a book of life). Both are not physically seen, yet perform miracles. There are many other similarities between the two. However, the problem is that one is real and one is not.

If I tell my children to believe in Santa who does not exist, how will they react when I tell them to trust in Christ for their salvation, who does exist? How can they know I am telling them the truth? I have gone to great extents to elaborately keep the truth of Santa hidden from them, until mere logic forces the truth out. For some kids this is devastating.

We have gone to extraordinary lengths to build Santa up. He resides in the North Pole. He has a family and is surrounded by elves. He receives mail from all over the world. He gets around by riding reindeer that fly. He works all year to bring every boy and girl in the world a gift. (This in itself is harsh. Not every boy and girl in the world receives a gift. As a matter of fact, most in the world don't. The majority of gifts given out is in the West; namely America and Europe.) All of this comes crashing down the moment Santa is identified as a fraud and faith is lost.

The souls of our children are far to precious to do this to them. Unbelief is already afflicting them to begin with, why in the world would I stoke its hell driven flames with an imaginary savior? We have one that is alive and well. His name is Jesus. When I tell them of His birth and how he lived, his death and resurrection, where he is now and when he is coming back, I say it with complete confidence. There is a proverb that says, "If you don't tell a lie, you don't have to remember what you said." I don't have to create any elaborate stories about Christmas. God created one them moment He sent His Son into the word. The most loving thing I can do for them is tell them the truth about Christmas by pointing them to Christ.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

New Updates

I just wanted to drop a little FYI about the new things I have added to the blog. First, I have added a reference tool called Reftagger. Reftagger allows me to type a scripture reference in a post without having to type in the entire text. If you move your mouse over the reference, a little box with the text will appear.

Try it out! Psalm 121:8, Philippians 4:13, Romans 12:1-2

So What?

Reftagger is good for both the reader and the writer. First it saves me time in having to write out every reference. Secondly, for the reader, it helps you to read everything in context. It keeps me from just using one piece of the text to fit what I want it to say. If you can read the entire text, it helps keep me accountable and you better informed.

Visum De Glorium

I am not a hundred percent for YouTube. I do not believe it is regulated or monitored enough with caution; especially with young people. However, it does serve a good purpose for communication and the gospel. On the left hand side I have added a section called Visum De Glorium (Vision of Glory). You will see 3-5 video boxes. Write now I have several videos of John Piper. I would encourage you to check these out. Most of these videos last between 2-6 minutes. They are theologically meaty and very challenging. If you get nothing out of what I write, you will for sure get something out of what this man says. I will have other speakers, Lord willing, in the future (John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Mark Driscol, etc).

Also, I will download some video of my family. Because we live so far away from most of our friends and relatives, I have decided to get a YouTube account to post video on my blog. Lord willing, I will have some video of Naomi's gymnastics Christmas program and Christmas stuff within the month.

I hope to post a more in-depth post shortly. I have been meditating on a few things and hope to put a few of them down soon. I hope is going well with you where you are.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Abigail Lillian Plumer


O Lord , our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens, out of the mouth of babes and infants…”
Psalm 8:2


God has given us a glimpse of His majestic glory and grace in allowing our daughter, Abigail, to be born on November 25, 2008. By His mercy, both Stacy and Abbie, are healthy and doing well. We are undeserving of such compassion and blessing and do appreciate what our Father has done for us.


Below I have written a chronological order of what transpired that day. I have also included some stats and why we named her Abigail. I have tried to conjure up some of my thoughts and feelings of the day. However, I am speechless. I marvel inexpressibly at how God brings a life into this world. It is almost incomprehensible; much like he is. So instead of trying to piece together everything I was thinking and feeling at the time, I have spared you and kept it brief. Feel free to comment on the blog if you like. At the very end is a slide show of baby pictures of Abbie and the kids loving on her. Please enjoy.

Chronological Order of Events


Stacy went her weekly doctors appointment on Monday November 24, 2008. At the appointment, after considering her previous history of rapid birthing and the convenience of me being home for the week from work, Dr. Jones decided to induce her the next day. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30am. We were put in a birthing room and Stacy was given a once over by the nurses. At 7:30am Stacy was given pitocin to begin inducing labor. At 8:15am Dr. Jones broke her water. After an hour and nine minutes labor, baby Abigail was born at 9:24am.

Stats


Abigail Lillian Plumer weighed 7.45 pounds and was 19 ½ inches long.

Why the Name?


Stacy and I both believe in the value of a strong name. The bible says that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1) Following this piece of wisdom, Stacy and I set out to pray and consider strong names for all of our children. Naomi was named after Ruth’s mother in-law in the book of Ruth. Her name means “pleasant one” in Hebrew. Her middle name, Susanne, was a combination of a family name on Stacy’s side and my mothers name. Ethan was a music leader in the book of Chronicles and his name means “strong or bold” in Hebrew. His middle name is Matthew, named after Stacy’s younger brother who passed away at the age of 23 from a rare form of cancer. As you can see, the first name finds its significance from God’s word and the middle name carries the tribute of someone in our family. Abigail’s name is no different.


Abigail means “a fathers joy” in Hebrew, and is found in the book of 1 Samuel. Abigail was a bold woman who did what was right by honoring king David when her husband failed to do so. Our Abigail’s middle name is Lillian. Lillian was my grandmothers name on my mothers side. I wanted to honor her because I believe she is one of the most influential people in my faith. Because of her prayers and her forthrightness in her commitment to Christ, I personally know my redeemer lives.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Five Blessings To Restore The Joy of Your Salvation

A few weeks ago, my pastor inspired my soul with a wonderful message. He spoke out of Ephesians 1 and told of five blessings that the Father gives us through Christ. His hope was to show us the supremacy of Christ in the bible and in our own lives. For me he succeeded. I want to share them with you. I hope they feed your mind with thoughts as sweet as French Silk Pie and as satisfying as Prime Rib steak.

Ephesians 1:4-14

1. The Father chose us before the foundation of the world and set us apart for holiness through Christ.

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

The Father chose to set his love upon me before I ever existed. He does not love me for my own goodness or my own moral righteousness. I was born dead in my trespasses (Eph 2:1-3) and wicked at heart (Romans 8:7-8). I did not seek God on my own, and apart from His grace, I would not seek Him now. I was running as hard and as fast as I could towards the gates of hell. My Father in heaven reached out his hands of mercy and embraced my heart, whispering softly in my ear; “I will not let you go. You are mine.”

2. The Father predestined us for adoption as sons through Christ.

5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will

This was a predetermined act. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, chose to elect some to be saved for the glory of the Father’s praise. They did not do this out of a foreknowledge that some would later choose God. The Greek text does not allow for that interpretation and it does not fit with the context of the bible. First of all we do not have the moral ability to choose a righteous God (Romans 8:7-8; Romans 9). Our hearts are abundantly wicked and our minds are set on our flesh (Romans 1 & 8). Secondly, God would not receive the glory that is do Him. If we could choose Him, we could boast in our salvation. We would not be saved by grace, but by our own doing (Phil 2:8).

3. The Father redeemed us through Christ.

“7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,(U) according to the riches of his grace

The Son willingly submitted Himself to the Father’s will in saving sinners. Christ, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross for the redemption of sinners. On the cross, Jesus nailed our sin so that the out debt would be wiped away. The enmity between the Father and me would be settled and peace would reign in my heart.

4. The Father made known the mystery of His will in according to His purpose in Christ.

9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ

It is no small thing for the supreme God of the universe to reveal to us His will to save sinners for His glory and our joy. He is not obligated to share what His desires are for His world. Consider it a double portion of grace in knowing that your heart has been spoken to by God. He has made known His good and pleasing and perfect will for your life; magnify Christ in life and death.

5. The Father has sealed us in Christ with Holy Spirit.

13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

The word sealed refers to a believers salvation. Paul refers to a mark that is given to a letter to identify and authenticate the document. The document is thereby officially under the authority of the one who sent it. Every believer is given the Holy Spirit to identify us as Christ’s possession,. Just as a man gives a woman an engagement ring, promising to marry her, so does Christ give us the Holy Spirit. John MacArthur says this about the text:

The Holy Spirit is given by God as His pledge of the believers’ future inheritance in glory.”

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My New President

There have been many thoughts racing through my mind since the outcome of the election. Some are dissappointing and nerv-racking; while others are hopful and envision opportunity. Yet, the thought that reigns the most in my mind is Daniel 2:20-21; "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings (and presidents) and raises kings up." The Amercian people are not the one who put Senator Obama in office; our sovereign God did. We only played an ordained role in the process.

Overall I am pleased with the outcome because God has spoken. He answered my prayers. I asked for his will to be done. Though it is not the desired outcome that I wanted, it is the best for us, no matter the consequences. Already it has forced me to pray. I pray that God will protect and sustain our new president's family. I pray that God will give him wisdom. I pray that God will give him a sincere since of value for life; not only in war, but in the womb as well. I pray that God will show him the magnificance of marriage by opeing his eyes to see the beauty of the relationship between Christ and His church; and that President elect Obama will protect the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.

I would like to encourage you to read Albert Mohlers posting on todays blog. He wrote a very thoughtful and insightful response to Senator Obama's election to office. His words capture the magnitude of the day, tempured with a touch of concern. He is a wonderful writer and will force you to think in 3D.

America Has Chosen A President

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

For My Name's Sake

In Psalm 25:11, it says “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great.” Several weeks ago I read over this verse in my quiet time giving it little thought. For some time now, I have been introduced to the idea that God is zealous for his name, and will display his great power in wrath and salvation, to receive glory for His name (read verses 1 Samuel 12:22; 1 Kings 8:41; 2 Chronicles 6:32, Psalm 23:3, 31:3,79:9, 106:8, 109:21, 115:1, 143:11; Isaiah 45:4, 48:8-11, 66:5, Jeremiah 14:7, 14:21; Ezekiel 20:9, 20:14, 20:22, 20:44, 36:22; Daniel 9:19; Matthew 10:22, 19:29). Maybe I have grown to comfortable in my complacency to recognize the weight of this truth; God is zealous for His name.

God Is Zealous For His Name

God is zealous for His name because His name is associated with His glory. Everything He ordains is for the glory of His name; that He may be known among the nations and the heavens as great. Great in power. Great in mercy. Great grace. When I meditate on the fullness of this truth I am compelled to see the God-centeredness of God. I am overwhelmed at the magnitude of the significance of this truth in my daily walk. If God is zealous for His glory, and his name represents that glory, than I, bearing the name of his Son, should also be zealous for that glory. And if my life does not reflect zeal for my fathers glory, then I bring shame upon his name.

God reminded me of this truth last week through one of life’s little parables. Last Thursday I made a decision with my football players that was not the wisest. It was not a major mistake, however, it did make a few parents upset. They, deciding not to come to me or my athletic director first, called my super intendment. He of course was not happy and called my athletic director. That Friday I walked into my AD's office and apologized for my mistake. I was wrong in my decision making and made no excuses for it. He was rightfully upset and told me to use a little more common sense when making decisions that are public. In so many words he said to me, “ Everything you do reflects on me. When you make a mistake, it is my name that gets dragged through the mud.” As I thought about our conversation in my car, I felt ashamed for causing my athletic director so much reproach and grief. Growing up in the military, our house was under the same rule; everything we did affected my father. I knew better and should not have been so careless. Then it dawned on me; this is no different than my walk with God.

Be Holy For I am Holy (1 Peter 1:15)

God has called me out of death to enjoy His goodness and majesty through Christ His Son. My heart has been given life and the ability to see the grandeur of Jesus. With that, my selfish ambitions have been afflicted with the constant barrage of soul satisfying truths of my sinful state and God’s greatness; so much so, that I desire to live a holy life. As these desires mount up like a volcano on the verge of eruption, I cannot help but to confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. Every true believer cannot help but to go public with their love for their King. We are like Peter, who confidently confesses Jesus as “the Christ of God” before the disciples (Luke 9:18-22). We are the woman who interrupted Jesus’ dinner with a Pharisee, to publicly display her love for her Messiah, by washing His feet with her tears and anointing His head with a fragrant oil (John 7:36-39). Our hearts believe, our mouths confess, and our lives show whom we treasure; namely Jesus.

When we do that, the world looks on and can’t help but to marvel. Part of them is attracted, to some degree, by the mere mystery of the unrecognizable beauty pouring out of a redeemed heart. Their eyes can’t help but to be drawn to the blazing center of a Christians life. The other part of them is repulsed by it. When confronted with the holiness of God, they cannot stand to see who they truly are; totally depraved and without any righteousness. This shatters their self involved moral façade. This in turn brings enmity between those whom God have called into holiness and those who are unregenerate; just as Jesus promises in John 15:18-25.

What does this have to do with my poor decision making?

My athletic director is our head varsity football coach. Though he is over all athletics, football is his specialty. I am a football coach; one of his own, a disciple if you will. I am suppose to act as he would act. My judgments, relating to football, should be directly be in line with what he would do. When ever they are not, in the public eye, he is looked upon as incompetent and without authority. It shows his leadership is weak and unworthy. This gives the critical parents and community members prime opportunity to criticize and mock him. This in turn brings shame.

A believer in Christ is no different. God is our sovereign Lord who is all-knowing, all powerful, all wise, and utterly worthy of our complete adoration. When we live unholy and wretched lives before the lost, we tell the world that God is not all-knowing, not all-powerful, not all- wise, and is certainly not worthy of our complete adoration. When our mouths utter disgusting profanities, when our hearts commit adultery with idol worship and empty sensual promises, when our pursuits are inflated with self ego, when our reputations live only for the praises of men; we say to God, “ You are a liar!” And the world sings a resounding chorus, “Who is the Lord that we should acknowledge Him? Who is the Lord that we should adore Him? His people, whom he has called by His name, are not satisfied in him; why should we be?” This brings shame and mockery to our King.

His Name Is Wonderful!

O Lord, forgive me for being so reckless with your name. Your name, the name that is above all names. The name that every knee will bow to and every mouth will confess as Lord; the name at which the stars tremble at the sound of and the mountains melt like wax in the hearing of; the name at which demons submit to and quake by the authority of, and the name by which men are saved by. O Lord God, you are truth. You are our rock and there is no unrighteousness in You. (Psalm 92:8) O Lord God You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, You cover Yourself with light as with a garment, You who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. May Your glory endure forever; May You rejoice in Your works. You look on the earth, and it trembles; You touch the hills, and they smoke. I will sing to You as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be sweet to You. And may Your name reign gloriously exalted in my life and the lives of my family.(Psalm 104:1-2; 31-34; 19:6)

Brothers and sisters, take joy in the name of our God. It is glorious. Live your life in a manner worthy of the name of Jesus. He is our joy. Our obedience to him is not out of duty but of delight. May the world see him more clearly and preciously through the lenses of our lives.

It is amazing how God, in his infinite wisdom, chooses to reveal his word and my sin through many of my blunders. I am amazed at the ability of Gods word to apply itself to the abundant and diverse circumstances that arise every hour of my day. If the eyes of my heart could recognize the multitude of opportunities to taste and SEE God moving and working, they would never blink.

Be good and God bless.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Victory In Defeat


On Thursday, September 11, 2008, my Jr. High football team opened our season up against the 3rd ranked team in the state; Pilot Point. The boys knew that Pilot Point would be a hard team to overcome. They are disciplined and well coached. They have been playing together since they could walk. They are all athletic with speed and stamina. They are a good team. And we knew that if we were going to beat them that we would have to be all of that and more.

We practiced hard and worked on our strategy. The coaches relentlessly taught stance and start over and over; working on technique and assignments. They boys ran gassers across the field in blistering heat; I ran with them. I wanted to show the that I am committed to their success. I wanted them to know that I will walk with them through the pain and sacrifice. When they look to their left they will see their team mate. When they look to their right they will see me; struggling and persevering with them.

Thursday arrived with great anticipation. My stomach felt like little salamanders were scurrying in random directions. Ten minutes before the game I had the boys take a knee and we went over the plays we were going to run. We walked onto the field and warmed up. I spoke to them about courage and how it was not by mere coincidence that we were playing our first game on the 7th anniversary of one of the worst tragedies America has endured; 911.

I told them:

"On that day that many Americans were struck in the heart with a dagger of hate, with the poison of grief and fear dripping from its tip. Its affects were numbing at first, as shock made its way through the veins of America; causing our pulse to weaken. At that point we had a choice; lay down and die or stand and fight. It is easy to lay down and die. Fear cripples your mind and body and convinces you that you are weak and unable, and death is certain. America chose to stand and fight. We have chosen to risk all that we have to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have what we have; freedom, liberty, and the opportunity to pursue our dreams. That takes courage and determination. It takes endurance and perseverance. We must not loose heart. We must stay the course and not loose sight of the prize. Tonight, I’m not asking you to lay your life down for your country. I’m not asking you to sacrifice your comforts for the sake of your neighbors. I’m simply asking you to see what is before you. God has given us tonight as a parable; a time of teaching. Look on the past events of September 11, 2001 and learn from them. If we are to be victorious tonight we must stand and fight. We must have courage in the midst of fierce competition, determination in exhaustion, and endurance in the absence of vision."(paraphrase)

After the speech we knelt and prayed. I pleaded with God for Him to help us play to our potential and not beat ourselves. We prayed for safety for all players and broke out with a hardy amen. The young men ran through the tunnel to the excitement of the crowd. I reminded them that champions do not beat themselves and then broke them out onto the field. My team went out ready to play the game of football with some pride..... and hopefully a level head and heart.

Unfortunately, we lost 28-0. We fought hard for two quarters. Our defense played well, bending but not breaking. However, our offense could not move the ball. My linemen would not fire off the ball. Eventually we were overcome by a persistent thrust of Pilot Point's buck sweep. After the second touchdown everything I had mentioned above was lost. We lost sight of the prize, our determination drizzled, and our heart was to empty to endure.

After the game I spoke to them about what I saw on the field. I had some disappointment and I let them know it. Nonetheless, Lord willing there will be tomorrow and as long as we are willing to get better, we will be ok. Needless to say, after the game I was heart broken. I desperately wanted my boys to win that night. I felt like they needed it to show them that they are capable of doing great things. However, I’m not so sure that is what God felt was in their best interest.

An hour or so after the game I was walking to my car and noticed two of my players (brothers) waiting in the parking lot. I asked why they had not left. They told me that they were waiting for their mother to get off work. Many of my boys have parents that work both shifts to make ends meet. I put my stuff on the steps and decided to wait with them. I was concerned that they were all alone in the school parking lot at 10:30 at night. I sat in between the two boys and began chit chatting about the game. The oldest brother is passionate about football and looked very disappointed. His head was hanging low and he would not look me in the eyes. His voice was soft and his sentences were fragmented. He obviously was upset. He seemed to be humiliated. I tried to encourage him in that he will get better in practice and so will the team. He nodded respectfully and the conversation ended.

A few minutes later he began talking about Roger Garcia. Roger was a student of mine who died on February 8, 2008 suddenly from Community Acquired Pneumonia and the flu. Roger was also a very close friend of this boy. He spoke very fondly of Roger as a friend. I spoke fondly of him as a student. This young man was obviously still grieving the sudden loss of his friend and had a lot of questions. While we were talking I realized that an opportunity was on the horizon; an opportunity to share the most loving thing I could share, the gospel.

I asked the young man that if he and Roger were switched, where would he be right now. He said heaven. I asked him how he knew that for sure. He could not give me an answer. I went over the law with him and asked him if he had broken any of the ten commandments. He confessed to lying, stealing, and using the Lords name in vain. So I told him that if he died tonight, by his own confession, he would be a lying, thieving, blasphemer at heart. He agreed. Then I asked him how he thought God would judge him. The young man replied that he would go to hell. I asked him if that concerned him. He said "Yes...a lot." I then went into the grace of God through Christ and encouraged him to think about his need for Jesus and to commit his life to Christ.

Looking back on that night I see victory in a completely different way. On the field God allowed us to get handled pretty roughly. The boys were very disappointed in their play and the outcome of the game. We were humiliated. However, behind the scenes God was using that humiliation to prepare this young man’s heart to hear the gospel. He was humble and broken. This brokenesss caused him to reflect on weighty matters, such as his friend Roger. It is amazing how loss, no matter how major or minute causes the soul to reflect. This reflection was a sign of divine opporutnity.
Had we won he might have been proud and haughty. Instead, the loss tilled up fertile ground for the gospel to be planted and watered. Therefore, our game against Pilot Point was a success. Though we lost, a soul may have been won. And that soul is worth far more than a “W” in the win column. Please pray for this young man. Pray that his heart took in the seed of the gospel and that Satan will not be able to take it away. Pray that he will be saved and committed to live a life of radical love for Jesus.

Obviously that night many lessons were taught on the football field. If you don't mind, after reading this blog, leave a comment on a lesson you could have possibly learned that night on the field. I'm curious of what you may see that I did not catch. Thanks. Be good and God bless.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Comfortable In Conforming

Our church, as a whole, is dealing with a season of suffering. We have several members either personally dealing with a devastating illness or have family members who are suffering a terminal illness. And it is not just the old but the young as well. There are several children associated with members of our church who are dealing with leukemia. There is a 25 year old grand daughter of one of our flock who is battling terminal brain cancer while having to care for 2 young children. Suffering seems not to discriminate by age. And the pain felt by those who are caring for the sick seems just as intense, in some ways, as those who are dealing with the sickness themselves.

A week ago Sunday pastor Dave, being sensitive to the current atmosphere in the church, preached a message on the comfort of God out of 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. The message was faithful to Gods word and weighty to my soul. Pastor Dave pointed out some misconceptions about suffering we tend to hold to in our society. He then reconstructed our worldview of suffering by putting a biblical context to words like comfort and troubles. In this blog I want to share two things I gleaned from my meditation of the sermon with you.

1. There is purpose in our pain.

There are many texts in the bible that would support this conclusion. For example, the book of Job is a powerful illustration of Gods sovereign hand in ordaining suffering to fulfill a greater purpose. Also, the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-52 where he suffers tremendously at the hands of his brothers and spends most of his life a slave in captivity. Only in the end to say “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:20).” However, one of the strongest verses that supports that our pain has purpose is Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” It is hard for us to understand that the word “all” in this verse really encompasses absolutely everything. In America at least, we are more inclined to try to get God off the hook when it comes to the evil that floods our life at times. However, this verse, as well as the mentioned above, shows that God does not want to get of the hook. Instead He has a purpose in brining the rain to our souls. In this verse, the purpose is to bring good. What is this good might you say? The answer is in verse 29, that we might be conformed to His Son Jesus.

It is every believers desire to conform to the image of Christ. God gives us this desire when He transforms our hearts from stone to flesh, when He breathes life into our dead souls, when He shatters the scales from our eyes as they fall into a million pieces and our souls can behold the beauty of Jesus. From that moment on, our heart has one desire; that is to be like Jesus. Why? Because He is the radiance of Gods glory. He is perfect in every way. There is none like him. He is the essence of what is good, what is beautiful, what is powerful, and noble, and pure, and loving, etc. Just as a flower needs the rain to bring its beauty to life, so our souls need suffering to help us conform to the beauty of Christ.

In order to become like Christ we must go through a transformation. The word conformed in verse twenty nine is the Greek word “symmorphous”. This word is made up of the prefix “sym” which means the adjustment of parts; and the suffix “morphous,” which is to shape or to make resemble. The idea here is to fashion together to have the same form. Everyday we are conforming to Christ. Sometimes that conforming is painful. Paul alludes to that when he says “ I have counted those things as loss for the sake of Christ… I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.” (Philippians 3: 7-11)

The word symmorphous is only used one other time in the bible; Philippians 3:21 “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” Here we see a transformation happening. Our old vile bodies will be conformed into new glorious bodies; a morphous if you will. God uses suffering to aid in this transformation process and to make us able to see the surpassing value and worth of Christ.

2. My Idea of Comfortable Is Not God’s Idea of Comfortable

Something I really took note of in the sermon was when Pastor Dave defined the word
comfortable in the text. My idea of comfort or comfortable is to have ease. When I think
of comfort I think of a soft chair or a firm mattress. I think of a cool breeze on an autumn
day. And when it comes to trials I want my comfort to give me ease. Unfortunately, that
is not what the bible says. The word comfort in this text is the word “paraclete.” It
means to come along side or to brave with. It is the word that describes the “comforter”
that Jesus promised the disciples. The promise that comes with the text is that God will
brave what ever you are going through with you. It coincides with the promise that God
will never leave or forsake you. That in and of itself is comforting. You will never walk
through the fire alone. You are never abandoned. Your not an orphan left to the streets.
God will always be with you.

However, it does not mean that He will lift the pain. He does not promise ease. Many
times in our pain we, rightfully, ask for the pain to be lifted. And if God does not lift it,
we are not comforted. Therefore, we get disgruntle and question God’s faithfulness. This
is sin. God does not promise to always take away your pain while you are on earth. That
promise is reserved for heaven. On earth we will walk through trials and tribulations,
pain and suffering, sickness and dismay. And as stated before, God uses pain as an
instructor and reformer to transform us into the glory of His Son. This process is painful
at times and will stretch us beyond our capacity. However, God will never abandon His
work. He is faithful to complete the good work He began in you. Our God is a faithful
God, keeping His convent of love to a thousand generations to those who love Him. This is in itself a comfort.

I see Gods presence as a comfort is a couple of ways. First, not to be redundant, we are not alone. In our suffering, we tend to believe we are the only ones who have suffered. Being in that state of mind leads us to believe we are all by ourselves. And sometimes it seems
that way. Sometimes our friends and family do not know how to handle certain tragedies
and seem to distance themselves from us. God will never do that. By His hand he brings
us to the river. By His hand He walks us into the river. And by His hand we are
delivered from the river.

Secondly, God is able to deliver us from any and all trouble. Because He is sovereign
and all powerful, He is able to overcome every obstacle in our way. When the Psalmist
says, “I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from
the Lord, the Maker of the heavens and the earth
(Psalm 121:8),” his comfort and hope lies in the power of His maker. We have the same hope. Our trials are not bigger than our God. He
ordains them for His purpose. Therefore, when they are fulfilled He will end them with
certainty, accomplishing all that He intended. Again, Job suffered a great deal without
ever knowing why. But as we know, God was in the middle of it all from beginning to
end; orchestrating a magnificent display of His glory for many generations to see.

Knowing that there is purpose in every ounce of pain gives me tremendous hope.
Nothing is ever wasted. God is incredibly efficient in His sovereignty. If there is purpose in my pain, then pain has been allotted to me to serve me as an instructor. Ease would negate my learning and ultimately my intimacy with God. Very rarely am I as intimate with God on the mountain top than I am in the valley. My comfort is in the knowing that God is with me and will never leave me. He is sovereign over every second of my life and will only let things go this far and no further.

Charles Spurgeon was an incrediable pastor ans teacher. He suffered many physical ailments as well as depression. He has said many amazing insights to suffering with the experience to validate them. Here is one that speaks volumes to the soul.

If you would find out the cause of most of your sorrows, dig at the root of your self-will, for that is where it lies. When your heart is wholly sanctified unto God and your will is entirely subdued to Him, the bitter becomes sweet, pain is changed to pleasure and suffering is turned into joy. It is not possible for that man’s mind to be disturbed whose will is wholly resigned to the will of God.”
Charles Spurgeon

Sunday, August 17, 2008

God Is At Work; Even in The Hamas

I read an amazing article the other day that sent me into prasie of a sovereign God. The article was in small blue bold print on the foxnews website. I was just kind of glancing over the headlines and caught the small title on the lower lefthand side, "Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back On Islam and Embraces Christianity." Instead of blogging too much on it, I want to encourage you to read the story yourself. This guy is bold and on fire. He is an encouragment to me and my pursuit of God's glory. Reading this article opend my eyes to see hope in a hopless situation. God is big enough and powerful enough to work in and through such a staunch fundamental Islamic group to bring His people to Himself. Enjoy the read. The link is below.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,402483,00.html

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Chief End Of Parenting Part 2



Here Are The How To’s


I would like to put a face on this for you and try to give you some application here. The first four points are philosophies that ground your biblical parenting. From here I will share some applicable things we do in our house to ensure God is at our center.


1. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of
your mind
. (Deuteronomy 6 and Matthew 22:37)


If parent has lack luster love for God, the kids will do the same. Children have an uncanny way of smelling out a hypocrite. Unfortunately, they absorb the hypocrisy and become one themselves. If you want children who love the lord, you must first love the Lord. And this must show itself in your daily life. It shows in what you make as you priorities. If you value baseball or football games or school events, or work over church on Sundays, they will do the same. It is a sin to have a lack luster love for God for it violates the command to love the Lord with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Therefore your complacent love will lead your child to sin against God in idolatry and adultery; idolatry in that they will worship what they love, adultery in that they will love something over their God.


2. The Word of God must be on your heart.


Again Deuteronomy 6: 5 commands the parents to not only know the word of God, but to be intimate with it as well. Psalm 119 speaks of those who walk in the way of the Lord are blessed. The blessing goes to those who seek God with their whole heart v2; who keep His statutes v8; who have His word hidden in their heart that they may not sin against God v 11; those who meditate on His precepts and contemplate His ways v15; and those who delight themselves in His statutes and refuse to forget them v16. To write them on your heart is to love them and ingrain His word in your life. The word of God should pour forth like a fountain in the mornings when you wake up and the evenings when you go to bed. You should be able to give your children the full counsel of God. Children will encounter a plethora of circumstances in their life in which they will need to see God. God gives you these circumstances as opportunities to put him on display so that your children can taste and see that he is good; even when mommy or daddy gets cancer.


3. Do not provoke them to anger; be consistent.


Ephesians 6:4 warns that fathers should not provoke their children to anger. I believe one of the hardest obstacles a child has to overcome is the inconsistency in their parents. Being inconsistent sends a confusing message that frustrates a child to the point of not caring. When a parent commits to going to church on Sunday and Wednesday, but shows not spiritual fever on every other day of the week, they are being inconsistent. This inconsistency leads to complacency. Your love for God must not begin and end on Sundays. It must be a continuous river pouring itself into your children. Just like our father does to us in Romans 5:5, where his love is poured into our hearts, so must we pour his love through our love into our children. This cannot be done sporadically and expect our children to love God and not depart form Him.


[Notice the call to fathers in this verse. There is a deadly epidemic in our country killing our children. It is the root to the many other epidemics such as obesity and moral depravity. It is the lack of the role of the father in the house hold. God has called men to be the leaders of their home. They are commanded to love their wives like Christ loved the church, not abandon them to a life of instability and insecurity. They are to raise their children up in the lord, not provoke them to anger and give them no example of our heavenly father. To be a daddy is a high and honorable calling. A daddy is one of the greatest forces against Satan claiming our children. Unfortunately, many men are tucking tale and handing them over to the reigns of hell. Men, start being men and honor your Father by being a father.]


4. There must be loving discipline.


The other end of Ephesians 6:4 speaks of discipline. I believe the context in theis verse incorporates the corporeal punishment of our children. We are not to beat our children. And we are not to punish them by an inconsistent standard. However, children thrive on structure and a firm hand. Spanking a child has an abusive stigma attached to it now so that to do so is considered unloving and unlawful. Even though the bible clearly states that if you spare the rod, you hate your child, but if you strongly discipline your child, you love them (Proverbs 13:24). It is loving to spank your child when they do something wrong. God has given us pain as an instructor. Pain teaches us about danger and consequence. Think about it. If you did not have pain, how would you know if you burned your hand reaching into a hot oven or an open fire? The pain signals that something is wrong and you need to immediately fix it. Discipline serves the same purpose. Spanking, along with loving discourse, tells the child that there is good and evil, right and wrong, a narrow way and broad way. The temporary pain leaves a lasting reminder that the wrong they committed is not expectable and could have an eternal consequence.


[I say all of this not to just advocate for corporal punishment, but to show that the Christian life style is not accepted by the world and the way you are called to train up your children will not be accepted either. ]


What We Do At Home: Practical Application


We have a routine everyday that consist of a strong effort in making God central in our family. In the morning before we eat breakfast, the children are required to recite scripture they have hidden in there heart. Right now we will typicall hear Proverbs 15:1, John 14:6, Psalm 34:8, Genesis 1:1, and Ephesains 6:1-3. (It is key that you incorporate a weekly fighter verse to memorize as a family. We use a lot of creative ways to teach our children scriputre; i.e. hand signals.) This is actually done before every meal. Then Naomi and Ethan will pick a couple of people to pray for and daddy will end with thanksgiving and a blessing over the food. It is not uncommon to discuss the scripture they recited over our meal.


During the day we will also go outside or find somehting inside to talk to the chidlren about God. For example, one day I asked Naomi why did God create trees? She responded that He made them so that we would know the different seasons (paraphrase). This led into a 10-15 minute discussion on God's glory on making trees. I try to do this often so that my children will see that God is applicable the everyday mundane things.


Throughout the day the children will do something that upsets us or each other in which we will have to discipline them. It is here where we apply Ephesians 6:1-3 and discuss how they are not honoring their mother and father, and it is not about to go well with them. We have them talk to us about what they did wrong and what God's word says about it. This is usauly followed up by a spanking or some time on the wall.


At the end of the day we have our family alter time. We sing several songs that are simple enough for them to sing, yet meaty enough for them to see God. (Be creative in doing this as well. I have taken an old nursury song and tunred it into a song teaching the trinity. You can have a lot of fun with your kids during worship. We even will let them dance during this time.) We pray and then we read God's word as a family. We follow this up with a discussion in which the children are required to tell us what they learned from the reading. (We use a childrens bible when we do this.) At bedtime we recite over them Isaiah 41:10 and pray for God to get us through the night. We also ask for God to help us treasure Christ more tomorrow than we did today.


The Blessing and the Warning


It is not enough to just come to church and expect your family to be saved. Many churches are filled to capacity with unbelieving hearts. Which means that many of them are living in unbelieving homes. And when there unbelieving children grow up, they will be unbelieving adults. And the parents will say that we were at church every time the doors were open. We prayed over meals. Why did my children depart from the way? They departed from us because they were not of us (1 John 2:19).


The blessing of this verse is clear. The bible says that if you diligently teach your children my word and consistently live it out before them they will develop life long habits that glorify God. However, the promise of salvation is not certain. Because we know salvation belongs to God and He chooses who He wills, salvation is up to the Lord. (See Romans 9 for further explanation.) We can all point to someone in our family or friends who grew up in a bible believing home with parents who were consistent in their godly parenting, who left and never came back. As general rule, we would like to believe that godly parenting will lead to a child’s conversion. However, salvation is between the Lord and your child.


The warning is just as clear. If you do not live to glorify God and enjoy him as a family, your children will depart. That is the negative side of the verse. The bible calls for radical faith and living and our parenting should be no different. We have been given the mandate to teach our children the ways of God and submit to his will for their life. That is what separates the blessing from the warning. The blessing offers hope for our children. The warning offers wrath. If you are complacent in your faith, you will be complacent in your parenting. This in the end will be the ruin of our children. This is not loving. The most loving thing we can do is consistently point our children and offer them the opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good; in hope that they will do that and trust in him.

Friday, August 8, 2008

The Chief End Of Parenting Is To Glorify God And Enjoy Him Forever!



Insight To Text

(Here is s sermon I preached a week ago while my pastor was on vacation. The issue of biblical parenting has been weighing in my heart for some time. I truely believe the root of why our youth are leaving the church is becasue the parents of today are spiritually neglecting their children at home. Rarely is God worshiped at home through a family alter. Rarely is God seen glorious through consistency and character by the motives and actions of mothers and fathers. Rarely is God experienced as enjoyable before the hearts of our kids. So when pastor Dave asked me to preach while he was gone, I chose a fairly broad text to try to bring us to a narrow conclusion; it is the parents responisbility to spiritually nurture their children. And that is the most loving thing they could do. (I will display this sermon in two post becasue of its length.)


Two Points To Consider

It could be very condescending of me to stand here and preach a sermon on parenting or child rearing being who I am and where I am in life. It is not my goal to personally attack anyone’s parenting skills or abilities. However, it is my goal to present to you what the bible calls for us parents in rearing our children. And if this truth draws conviction in areas of my parenting or your parenting, then my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would make Himself so obvious to us that our immediate course of action would be to repent of our sin, incorporate a biblical model of parenting, and not kill the youth pastor. That being said, I would like to provide a couple scaffold supports to help us stand on the truth more clearly.

The verdict is out on my children.

I stand here preaching a truth that I am in the beginning stages of working through. My children are young and still impressionable. We are dealing with the terrible twos and threes; not the explosive teens. Therefore I cannot show you an end result of my own personal experience. I am preaching this message to myself in faith and ask you to take this message the same. However, please know that I understand where some of you could easily say “Who are you to tell me about parenting? You have not been through what I have had to walk through.” That is why I am approaching this subject with fear and trembling.

A preacher must preach; even if he lacks experience.

There are many times when God has called men to preach truths that lack personal experience. For example, many of the Old Testament prophets preached the coming of the messiah, knowing that they would probably never see Him on earth. Many Godly men have preached on the sin of adultery without the experience of committing adultery. The experience is not the validating factor in the message; the truth is. The fact that I lack a certain degree of experience in parenting does not negate the message. The truth is the truth. I am responsible for doing all that I can to present it accurately and rightly. It is your responsibility as a believer to engage and apply it to your life.

Chief End Of Every Family

The Westminster Confession states that the chief end of every man (or human being) is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. They base this off of texts like Isaiah 43:7 which says, “ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."; or Psalms 144:15, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!”; Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." Everyone who is called by His name was created for the sole purpose of bringing Him glory. Our purpose in life is to make much of God, not ourselves. And some theologians like John Piper would argue that we make much of God by enjoying Him. When we enjoy God we delight in who He is as God, His ways, His commands, and so forth. In turn this creates a life of obedience that magnifies the name of our God.

That being said, I would argue that the chief end of every God ordained family is to glorify God and enjoy him forever; being an extension of our individual purpose. Once a man and a women unite in marriage, the bible says they become one. Genesis 2:23-24 says, “The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” As seen in the text, God ordained marriage to be an indissoluble union where a man and a woman would become complete. John MacArthur put it like this in his commentary, “ One flesh speaks of a complete unity of parts making a whole with two people; one cluster, many grapes or one God with three persons. Thus the marital union was complete and whole with two people.” The man and the woman are so permanently joined that divorce should be inconceivable. What God has put together, let no man tear apart (Matthew 19:6).

One of the blessings that result from the perfect union of two is a child. Thus the family is born in one. As they begin their lives together they separate from their parents and become unified as one family. As they bear children the family extends never loosing its “oneness.” Therefore the purpose of the man and woman remains the same for the entire family; namely to glorify God and enjoy him forever. The question that comes to mind then is “how do we doe this?” But first, let us define our role as parents. This role has been ripped and shredded in our post modern society so much that the truth cannot be seen through the cloud of vague political correctness. It is essential that we begin here in order to catch hold of the vision God has for us as parents.

What Is Good Parenting?

In today’s society we have been given a slew of parenting styles. Most of them are unbiblical and miss the mark in accomplishing good behavior; let alone godliness. We are told that corporal punishment is unloving, that clear guidelines with consequences is to restricting, and that traditional values are outdated. But contrary to popular belief, the bible still holds to be the most supreme parenting resource. It explains why our children at two and three years old are naturally selfish and need to be taught the right way. The bible helps us understand why teenagers can be just as selfish and how they have the uncanny ability of pushing us to the very outer limits of our sanity, and how we should respond lovingly. The bible is clear that if we are to fulfill our purpose in life as a family, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Our parenting is radically different from the worlds. Our goal is not to just produce good moral abiding citizens who pursue good careers and take care of their families; albeit those are nice qualities. Our goal is to lead them to the one thing that can genuinely satisfy them and save them from the coming damnation; Christ Jesus.

With that being said I am proposing a very narrow definition of a good parent by the world’s standards to say the least. A good parent is one who’s life ambition is to rear their children up to taste and see that the Lord is good, in hope that they would trust in Him, because this is the most loving thing they could do (Psalm 34:8). And any parenting style that does not make this its aim is godless and unloving.

Train Up By Your Example

The connotation of the Hebrew word for train is to discipline. In this context it leads us to consistently and lovingly discipline our children throughout their upbringing. Discipline is not limited to corporal punishment or strong structure. Discipline encompasses a life style of Godliness. The apostle Paul explains this life style in 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27, “ Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we run for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." Paul uses several athletic analogies to convey the walk of a true believer. Just as an athlete fine tunes his body by restricting his diet and consistently working his body with rigor, so does the Christian with is soul. We fight for our faith and purity in order to pursue our happiness in Gods holiness. And in order to do so we must be disciplined in our efforts. Not only as individuals, but as a family.

Discipline is striving daily to take up your cross and walk with the Lord. Discipline is reading your bible everyday and putting into practice the truths you have gleaned. Discipline is making the Sabbath holy and making it your number one priority over anything else. It takes discipline to come to church every Sunday. It takes even more discipline to make it a priority above sports or school events. Discipline is religiously teaching the word of God at home day in and day out. Training a child up consist of a life style that is committed to God’s supremacy in everything. And consistency in your commitment must be lead by example of the parents. If the parents do not hold to Christ as their supreme value, and discipline themselves to do so, then the children will not do so as well, no matter how much you tell them. That is why God gave us such a radical mandate in Deuteronomy 6:5-9 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The "Way" Is The Way


Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me.” The word translated "way" in this text is equivalent to the word used in out text this morning. The “way” in both texts means a road or a path. Without trying to add to the text something that may not be there, I found something rather interesting with the root of the word train and the meaning of the word way. When you look at the root of the Hebrew word for train; it means narrow. If you put that context with the word way; you see that the way is narrow. It is a narrow road traveled on. It reminds me of Matthew 7:13-14 where Jesus warns “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The word “way” used in both of these text is the same word used in John 14:6 and Proverbs 22:6. Now if we examine this text closely in relation to parenting we see things developing. Essentially Matthew 7:13-14 is speaking of salvation. Those who are of the world and not of Christ walk on a broad road leading them to hell. It is a very popular road with many people on it. On the other side of the text we see the narrow way. Only those who have placed their trust in Christ and love Him as Lord, Savior, and Treasure are on this road which leads to eternal life. Notice, very few are on this road.


A sad reality in today’s society is that there are many children walking on the broad road. It is not crowded with just murderers and rapist and Hitler types; you know the ones that are obviously going to hell. In actuality it is crowded with young boys and girls running and skipping their way to the place where the fire never stops, and the pain is so immense that your teeth are in a continuous state of gnashing. And the really sad reality is that it has become a family affair. There are many parents holding the hands of their children on this road galloping along with them s if they were walking in the park on their way to a picnic.


Why is this so? Because families are not taking responsibility for rearing the spiritual welfare of their children. Many families, at best are leaving it up to the pastor and youth pastors to feed and nurture the souls of their children. Many families are refusing walk on the narrow way. I’m not just talking about the lost. I expect it from the lost. I see more and more of it in the church. William Scribner, a puritan preacher says this, “Often children are not converted because parents leave their work to others. valuable though Sunday school teachers are, no parent can be released from the obligation of striving by his own personal efforts to lead his children to Christ. We are commanded to bring our children up "in the fear and nurture of the Lord."
One of the reasons why I believe so many of our young people are falling away from the church after their freshman year of college is because they were spiritually neglected at home. They were not trained up (or disciplined) on the narrow way by the ones God gave the responsibility to do the job; the parents.

Think about this reality for a minute. A youth pastor will spend about 2.5 hours of teaching time with their youth a week. The schools get the children 8 hours a day plus any extra curricular activity time; which is at least an extra 3 hours. So the schools get the children 55 plus hours a week. The rest is with their family. Now the average American home watches 8-9 hours of T.V. a day. If you are an average family, out of a 120 hour work week, 55 hours is spent at work or school, 40 hours is spent watching T.V. and 2.5 hours is spent learning about God. Who are the biggest influences? Which is the braod way and which is the narrow?


Do you see where this turns into a life style change? Jesus said the narrow way is the hard way. It is hard rearing your children up in a godless society. It is hard to make time everyday to have family worship; especially after you have worked all day. It is hard to live against the grain of our society, your community, and some of your family. But the commandment is clear in Deuteronomy 6 and 11 and Ephesians 6:4, bring your children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. And do not just teach, but live them out in your love for God and his supremacy in all things. This is what it means to train them up in the Lord. Radically living for Christ is the only way to ensure they will not depart.

(Part two will come in a few days. It contains more of the application part of the sermon.)


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Sweet Bread From A Fruitful Quiet Time

I always stress the importance of a quiet time with God to my youth. I try to explain to them that God is the only one who can work out eternal matters in a span of a few minutes. For example, God uses my quiet time to draw me nearer to some of His greatest mysteries. He uses that time to wipe away the infectious mucus of the world from my eyes so that I may see Him more clearly. He sees that my thirst is great and that many times I am walking in spiritual dehydration, and so, He quenches my thirst by pouring Himself into my soul through His Word. He foresees the famine my soul will encounter during the day and graciously gives an abundant outpouring of Himself to satisfy my heart. My quiet time is an amazing time; even in some of its more driest times.

I want to share a couple of things I gleaned from my time with God. He showed how sweetly sovereign He is in His faithfulness, and how if I would trust His faithfulness, I would be greatly satisfied; as a believer and a parent.

Old Testament

2 Chronicles 34:1-36:23

“Josiah was eight years old when he became King….and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or the left…..for in the eighth year of his reign , he began to seek the God of his father David. “
2 Chronicles 34:1-3

  • God began a work in Josiah at an early age; 8 years old. For the next eight years God was working out Josiah’s salvation. So that by the time he was 16 years old, he was seeking the one and true God. The fruit of his seeking showed itself in a passion for God ‘s supremacy in his heart and every part of his kingdom. He eradicated all the idols, altars, and molded images. He sought to purify the land and restore the cities. His heart longed for God to be exalted in His temple and more importantly, in His people.
  1. This Gives me hope:
  • My children can live radically for Christ. I do not have to set the bar below sea-level at them “hopefully” being saved and spiritually productive by the time they are adults. By
    God’s grace, they can live with a passion for His supremacy in their own little life; at
    pre-school or elementary school, on the play ground or at a sleep over. There are a lot
    of areas right now that they can put Christ on display.
  • When my children become teenagers, I do not have to expect them to rebel against our household and God's authority. I believe this is more of a Western problem than a typical problem. Josiah became passionate for God at 16 years of age. He chose to rebel against his sin (2 Chronicles 34:3-7) and to restore His people. He tore his clothes and humbled himself at the reading of God’s word. He set out to display God’s glory for His name sake. Oh how I pray that my children would be as passionate for Christ and His supremacy as
    Josiah was for God the Father.

2. This gives me purpose:

  • As a parent I must strive to diligently teach my children the supremacy and worth of
    King Jesus. As a parent I must be innocent of the blood of my children by giving them
    the full counsel of God. (See Deuteronomy 6 for instructions.)

3. This makes me tremble:

  • Josiah’s son Jehoiachin, at eight years old was evil in the sight of the Lord ( 36:9). Just
    because my children are in a Christian home, does not mean they are not totally
    depraved of any righteousness and in need of God’s sovereign grace. Through prayer,
    pleading, and saturating my children with Godly character and His word, I hope to see
    them saved and joyfully obedient to the Lord our God.

God was faithful to keep His promise:

  • Because Josiah humbled himself before God and did what was right, God promised
    Josiah that he would be gathered to his grave in peace; and his eyes would not see the
    calamity which God was going to bring on Judah and Jerusalem ( 2 Chronicles 34: 27-
    28). In Chapter 35, Josiah is shot and killed by some archers in a war with Necho, king
    of Egypt. On the surface, as I read this, I thought this seemed to contradict the promise
    given in chapter 34; ( he would be gathered to his grave in peace.) Being shot by an
    archer in war is not exactly peaceful. After further consideration and examination of
    the promise, I see God was faithful to Josiah and kept his word. Because God’s people
    forsook Him and burned incensed to other gods and provoked Him to anger; God was
    going to bring all the calamity He had promised to bring that was written down in the
    book of the law. But because Josiah humbled himself at the reading of Gods word and
    had a contrite heart, God promised to spare him from the curses and the plagues that
    were coming. Therefore, Josiah did die in peace considering that he did not suffer the
    wrath of God. This was the peace God had promised and was faithful to deliver.
    Josiah was a great king for Israel and was missed dearly. The people mourned the loss
    of Josiah for some 200 years later.

New Testament


Acts 21:1-17

The apostle Paul’s passion for the supremacy of Christ gives me passion for Christ supremacy.

  1. After being told by Agabus that he would be bound and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, Paul passionately responds by saying, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready to not only be bound , but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the LordJesus.” (Acts 21: 13) By this time Paul had suffered many things for the name of the Lord Jesus including being beaten and imprisonment (Acts 16). Through these sufferings Paul better understood Isaiah’s revelation of God’s promise to all of His elect; “Do not feat for I am with you, do not be afraid for I am your God; I will strengthen you and help you and uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) Paul knew that death was not to be feared but to be embraced (Philippians 1:21-22). This trust in God’s sovereign faithfulness lead Paul to live radically satisfied in Christ alone. So much so that he held nothing back and went to the place that gave him the most opportunity to be closest to Christ, even if it cost him his earthly life. This trust is best exemplified in verse 14, when Paul would not be denied his hearts desire; “The Lords will be done.”

May we live with a passion for the supremacy of Christ by trusting in the sovereign faithfulness of our God.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Holiness: A Priortiy In Our Happiness



One of the benefits I have as being a teacher in the public school system is having my summers off. Being that I am so busy during the year teaching and coaching, the summer offers me much needed make up time with my family and my reading. So far I have tackled Tony Dungy’s Biography “Quiet Strength” in which I will comment on in a later blog. I have also read a wonderful book called “What’s So Great About The Doctrines of Grace” by Rev. Richard D. Phillips. I have really enjoyed the insight and the passion he brings into understanding this doctrine and making it applicable in your everyday worship. It is a much needed book and one I highly recommend it to anyone who is in need of a deep drink.


The other morning while I was reading the chapter on election, Reverend Phillips wrote something that sent me off into a sermon preaching to my soul the necessity of holiness in my pursuit of happiness. He said, “This is the great priority of the Christian life-not happiness, but holiness.” Let me give you a little context to this statement and a couple of things that I believe it means and does not mean.


Phillips says that unconditional election promotes holiness not license. One of the arguments that comes against the doctrine of election is that if mans salvation is totally dependant on God’s mercy, then what motive do we have to live holy? Why should we struggle with our sanctification? Phillips argues that this way of thinking stems from a gross misunderstanding of salvation as a whole. God is holy and demands that we be holy. Therefore, when He predestined the elect to salvation, He predestined them to holiness. Ephesians 1:4 “He chose us…..that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” Holiness is the mark of a believer in Christ. And holiness comes through the work of sanctification; which is the will of God. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3). With this context Phillips writes that holiness is the Christians number one priority.


At a first glance it almost looks as if Phillips is saying that holiness and happiness are not able to coexist together; “This is the great priority of the Christian life-not happiness, but holiness.” {My emphasis on the words not and but} The negative connotation of the word “not” in this sentence seems to imply that being holy and being happy are at odds with each other. And this would seem to settle just fine in today’s perception of God and the church. However, I do not believe Phillips is implying this perspective in his statement.

Consideration Number One: America’s Happiness Is Not Godly Happiness

There are a couple of things I consider would be Phillips intent in this statement. First, he is very aware of the moral deprivation of our culture and a sensual society dieing on their ambition to live happy. He knows that America has bought into pagan hedonism and has manufactured its own “good news” called the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. He is well aware of our addiction to consumption and our self imposed right to life, liberty, and early retirement (so we can have a second career riding in our yachts and collecting sea shells living gloriously for ourselves until we die 25 years later). He knows America well and does not want to give any inclination that these things are holy and are in any way the source of genuine happiness. Therefore he counters the idea by placing a greater weight on holiness over happiness.

God’s Holiness Is Our Happiness

The other consideration I thought of is that our happiness is found in God’s holiness. One of the main themes of the bible is the pursuit of God’s glory in the redemption of lost sinners. In this pursuit God offers Himself as the prize of our salvation. He is our inheritance. His glory is our satisfaction and the fulfillment of every need our soul longs to be met. We get a taste of this in in Psalm 16:11 where God promises to "make known to me the path of life and that in His presence there is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (paraphrase)
Our soul longs for the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Furthermore, the New Testament shows us that Jesus is the pathway to life and that He sits at the right hand of the Father (John 3:16; John 14:1; John 14:6; Acts 7:56; John 13:1-3; Hebrews 1:3). If we examine Hebrews 1:3 a little closer we see that not only is Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father, but that He is the radiance of God’s glory. Christ is the exact imprint of God’s nature. Being that God the Father promises us the fullness of joy in His presence and pleasure forevermore at His right hand, and that Christ is the pathway to life who sits at His right hand being the radiance of His glory; then it is safe to say that our souls long to be enthralled by the presence and glory of God; namely Jesus. Jesus Himself alludes to this when He prays for us in John 17. In verse 24 He prays "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” Jesus’ desire for us is to be near Him and behold His glory. To be near Christ is to be near the Father. And in the presence of the Father is the radiance of His glory (His Son Jesus) in which beholding brings joy. The closer to the Father we are the more joy we experience.


What Does this Have to Do With Holiness?


As we stated before in Ephesians 1:4, God predestined us for holiness. God is holy. It is a part of who He is. He is nothing less than perfect and desires His people to be that way. Knowing that we could not do that on our own He gave us His Son Jesus to be our holiness. But instead of translating us directly to heaven the moment we were saved; He found it more glorious to give us the Holy Spirit to work to sanctify us for a time on earth. This sanctification is the process of becoming holy; i.e. becoming more like Christ (the radiance of God’s glory). This in turn gives us the same kind of fellowship the Father and Son enjoy (John 3:35; 5:20; 16:27-28). The more we work out our sanctification (in which God is the primary acting agent) the closer we draw near to God. This closeness offers us waves of joy that overcome us the closer we draw near.
Therefore, making holiness our first priority is in fact a pursuit of our greatest happiness. This is so because the happiness is not of ourselves but of an all powerful, all righteous, eternal God. The happiness is genuine and sustaining. In this context the two go hand in hand together. For holiness, in Christ, will be our happiness.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Running On Faith



On June 29, 2008, I ran my first 5k in Colona, IL; “The 2nd Annual Hennepin Hustle.” The run consisted of a flat 3.1 mile trek around a beautiful canal full of greenery and birds singing their morning song. My wife, children, and mother-in-law were awaiting me at the finish line. My brother-in-law Andy was there as well by phone congratulating me and telling me he was proud of my accomplishment. My father-in-law was gracious enough to get up early and ride with me to the race and participate by walking. I had a tremendous amount of support there to encourage me to run and finish. It was a very beautiful moment for me. A moment I will always cherish.


It was also the first step in my life long goal to run a marathon. It has not been easy getting to this point and I still have a long road ahead of me. When I began the process of really making this a reality, which started last July, I was extremely over weight and well out of shape. When I moved to Texas in July of 2006, I was at the heaviest I had ever been; 310 pounds. On my 5’10 frame, this was the makings of a heart attack or stroke.


In May of 2007, I turned 30 years old. Realizing that if I did not change my ways soon that I would not live to be around to turn gray and outspoken with my wife, and possibly see the legacy that God would build of radical Christ loving children; I knew I had to start doing something. So I began to run. I live next to a cemetery (divine irony and very fitting) that is semi paved with a quarter mile track. I started slow and would run one minute and walk two minutes. I did that off and on for several weeks until I was ready to be more aggressive. As God provided a teaching and coaching job for me in July, my workout teetered a bit, but I remained faithful to run as much as I could.


In January of 2008, I realized I needed an immediate goal. The marathon was obviously a long way off. I needed something I could accomplish now. So I set a goal to run a 5k and finish the race in under 40 minutes. And I wanted to do it by my thirty first birthday. I increased my workouts and watched my diet. By this time my weight was down to about 285 pounds and I was able to exercise for 30-40 minutes straight. By the time May 24th rolled around I was running 2 miles straight at a 12 minute mile pace. Unfortunately, the Friday before I was to run my first 5k, I hurt my neck badly and was not able to run. I was doing push-ups with my 7th grade athletics class and something popped in my neck. I was out the entire Memorial Day weekend. This was not the first set back I had to deal with.


When I began this process ( in 2006) I had to overcome several obstacles. First, I had a severe staff infection all over my body. The infection produced sores that would inflame at times and a rash that burned in my groin area. God allowed that to continue for 9 months. After that went away my back continually went out of alignment and caused a lot of pain while I ran. There were times when my knees hurt so bad I could barely lift them up the three steps to get onto my porch. I had to overcome a great deal of spiritual and mental fatigue as well. There were days when my mind could not wrap itself around the idea of running three miles at a time and would be discouraged and distracted. Also, my soul would grow weary. It is amazing how many different voices will preach to my soul telling me to give up or that I would fail just as I have in the past. Over and over I would hear this as I am trying to run. It was at that time I pleaded with God to only hear His voice, the voice of truth. The voice of faithfulness. A lesson I have learned from all of this is that God is faithful.


The first day I went out to run the quarter mile track around cemetery, I remember praying to God a very deep hearted but simple prayer; please do not kill me while I run. Please let my heart continue to beat properly and the blood to get where it needs to go without any problems. This is a prayer I continue to pray today. Every time I run it is a testimony of Gods faithfulness. It is by His grace that I have the air to breathe and lungs that are healthy enough to use it. It is by His mercy that my legs work well enough to run for any length of time. It is only by His patience that I have not died in my gluttony; which is a sin. God is faithful. And He will be faithful according to all he desires for me.

Just as God had been faithful in the past runs, God was faithful on June 29th. God woke me up at 4:20am to spend time with Him in His word and in prayer. He warned me of how my pride could swell up and try to suffocate my soul from God’s life giving word if I try to run on my own strength. He showed me that in (1 Chronicles 21: 1-22:19). He also showed me in Acts 9 how the Apostle Paul was called to be a chosen vessel to suffer for God’s name sake and that I may be called to suffer for His name’s sake as well. And just as God was faithful with the Apostle Paul He will be faithful with me; and this race is proof.


God allowed my father-in-law and I to safely arrive at the race and hour early which allowed us to visit and fellowship. The race began at 8am and God was there with me leading the way. God was faithful to encourage me when I grew tired and wanted to quite. He did this by allowing me to run a 10:30 mile, the fastest I have run since I started. God was faithful to humble me with a stitch in my side that slowed me down by about 4 minutes and let two people pass me. For my attitude was getting haughty and I might have made the same mistake King David did in Chronicles. God was good to allow me to see this work and worship him in it. God was faithful to carry me the last half mile by allowing my wife and children to arrive at the race safely to encourage me to finish strong. God was faithful to allow me to finish in a time of 36:30; under the 40 minute goal I had set previously.

Running has become a time of worship for me. There are times in my life when I am blinded either by sin or suffering or circumstances from the faithfulness of God. In running, this is not the case. Every time I run I see God being faithful. The very fact that I finish and walk into the house is a testimony in and of itself. However, God, through running, has moved me to pray more fervently and sing more vigorously praises to His name. There are times when my physical exhaustion is likened to my spiritual exhaustion, and when the two meet I am forced to plead with God for strength. Many times God shows me my sin while I mediate during the run and corrects me with his word. Most times, He captures me with His beauty in a morning sun rise and His gentle touch by a cool breeze on a warm night. Often I hear His creation praising Him through the wrestling of the leaves in the trees and the singing of birds in the fields of hay settled along the road.

God has shown Himself glorious to me in running. I pray that He continues to move me to run and worship Him in it. Lord willing, I hope to run a few more 5k’s before moving onto a 10k. After the 10k I hope to prepare for half marathon and then a full marathon. My goal is the qualify for the Boston Marathon. If God is wiling, I hope to fulfill this before I turn 40 years old. God only knows and by His grace I hope to magnify Him in this work. Until then, please pray for me to be faithful and continue in the work. I know I have hard road ahead of me. However, I know I serve a God who is faithful.