If you are a Christian living in America then it goes without saying you are busy. The basic issue I have seen, especially over the last 10 years in full time ministry, has been the busy lifestyles of our family, friends, neighbors and church members. Everyone is hustling to get the next thing done, kids to the game, presentation for the project, and packed suitcases for the trip. It is almost like being busy is the drug of choice for most Americans. Just talk to someone, anyone on the phone this week about your life and use words or phrases like "craziness" and "it's nuts", immediately they come back with a hearty AMEN!
Have you asked this question to anyone in the past 30 days - what did the Lord Jesus say to you this morning in your devotion? The statistics show that very few people in the church today read, devote and study their Bibles. I taught a small group for almost 3 years of 8-12 people. Between studies I issued a survey asking the amount of time they spent in study of the Bible. The survey was broken down into the following choices:
1. over 3 hours per week
2. between 1-3 hours per week
3. approximately 1 hour per week
4. less than 30 minutes a week
The survey results were less than 30 minutes per week from those who responded. It was not surprising but rather confirmed what I thought and what I have seen from most Christians. This is the era of fast food religion, large numbers, exciting worship music and pretending to be something we aren't in order to maintain a look good, smell good and act good reputation. Why are we surprised when there is so little apparent transformation with the people of God when they openly admit they spend no time with God. Let me ask those of you reading this blog the following questions:
1. Where and what are you reading daily from the Bible?
2. Are you meditating to the point of understanding what is said and then being obedient to what you read?
3. Is someone coming along side of you in this critical area of your life for accountability and support?
4. Are you coming along side of someone else?
I have asked these types of questions over and over in church, small groups and even one on one. The response to these answers has been an overwhelming "NO" to Bible reading, Bible meditation and Bible accountability with others. There is little overall commitment from today's pastors, elders and church leaders to be saturated in the word of God. I don't say this lightly but factually based on several church ministries, reading and conversations with others in the church.
Bottom line is that those within the church who don't read, devote and study their Bibles manifest in their behavior a lack of treasuring valuing and prizing the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a principle that I learned early on in my Bible study days - "a person can be no closer to the Lord Jesus Christ than they are close to His word." How can we be too busy for the Bible? How can our schedules, lifestyles, job, kids, recreation and entertainment be placed above knowing God through knowing almighty God? Isn't it time for those in the church who profess to be Christians but spend no time with their Bibles to reexamine their faith to see if they have believed in vain?
Read carefully Amos 8:11
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the LORD.
Notice the text doesn't say a famine in the preaching or teaching of the word but of the hearing of the word. Has the American church lost its ability for the most part to hear the word of God? And should the church not hear the word of God doesn't it mean a lack of transformation into the likeness of God?
Could I encourage you to begin this year with 4 simple but profound steps as you hopefully recommit to the reading, devotion and study of God's word?
These are all prayers of desperation from the heart to our great God:
I – Incline your heart (Psalm 119:36)
Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
O – Open my eyes (Psalm 119:18)
Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
U – Unite my heart (Psalm 86:11)
Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name
S – Satisfy my heart (Psalm 90:14)
O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Blessings
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am a part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by prayer and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
As far as I know the author is anonymous. But I render this in honor of former fellow elder at the Shepherd's Church and dear friend Larry Burgess!
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by prayer and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
As far as I know the author is anonymous. But I render this in honor of former fellow elder at the Shepherd's Church and dear friend Larry Burgess!
This is you...
This is you without any solid Bible doctrine in a world of sharks. These sharks can be distractions, sin or even false teaching based on what people think and not what the Bible says. By the way this is not a fake photo but is very genuine. How will you survive in this world without your spiritual life deeply planted into the truth of God's word. The answer is you won't and all you will end up being is SHARK BAIT!!!
The Sky Angel Cowboy…
This is one of the sweetest audio clips I have ever come across. By now you have probably heard it but just had to include it on my blog site.
"The Sky Angel Cowboy! Since posting this audio it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. Some corrections… We originally said Logan was 12. He actually turned 13 in August, so we don’t want to deprive him of such a big birthday. Logan listens to us (89.3 KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX) on Sky Angel because he lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. He called us distraught because he had to take down a calf. His words have wisdom beyond his years".
Listen to what Logan had to say…
"The Sky Angel Cowboy! Since posting this audio it has taken on a life of its own. People are forwarding it all over the world. Some corrections… We originally said Logan was 12. He actually turned 13 in August, so we don’t want to deprive him of such a big birthday. Logan listens to us (89.3 KSBJ which broadcasts from Houston, TX) on Sky Angel because he lives on a ranch in a very small town in Nebraska. He called us distraught because he had to take down a calf. His words have wisdom beyond his years".
Listen to what Logan had to say…
Time management "God's way" in 2008
Here is an article from the Old Truth blogsite.
"There are countless distractions that keep Christians from doing what they're supposed to, and many of them seem harmless enough, maybe even noble. But when it comes to having good doctrine and proper biblical interpretation, there is simply no substitute for spending lots of time just reading and studying scripture. Yet, in a culture that's high-tech, fast paced, and multimedia driven, the decidedly low-tech process of just reading the bible only appeals to the sincere of heart. We must be totally committed to reading our bibles; it all begins there. Ignore the people who don't interpret scripture properly and who therefore say that reading your bible a lot is unnecessary or excessive, and listen instead to what God commands in 2 Timothy 2:15 . . . "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth". ..."
For something to get your attention go to and watch at this LINK.
"There are countless distractions that keep Christians from doing what they're supposed to, and many of them seem harmless enough, maybe even noble. But when it comes to having good doctrine and proper biblical interpretation, there is simply no substitute for spending lots of time just reading and studying scripture. Yet, in a culture that's high-tech, fast paced, and multimedia driven, the decidedly low-tech process of just reading the bible only appeals to the sincere of heart. We must be totally committed to reading our bibles; it all begins there. Ignore the people who don't interpret scripture properly and who therefore say that reading your bible a lot is unnecessary or excessive, and listen instead to what God commands in 2 Timothy 2:15 . . . "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth". ..."
For something to get your attention go to and watch at this LINK.
Preaching in the "seeker-friendly" church
While today's growth-driven churches do their best to shorten sermons and spice them up with drama, videos, and comedy, numerous Emergent churches are equally afraid to just preach the Word (as Paul urged Timothy). Rather than have an "authority figure" stand up and give a "lecture", these Emergents will circle the pews (couches actually) around the "leader" and join-in with him, stating their own opinions of what they think about the bible. The concept goes like this: No one person has anything more important to say than any other person in the room, everyone has equal value, so everybody should get to express themselves. What a change from days of the great revivals when lands were set ablaze by the spirit-lead preaching of the Word. In the 19th century, R.L. Dabney wrote -
"All the leading Reformers, whether in Germany, Switzerland, England or Scotland were constant preachers, and their sermons were prevalently expository"; the purpose was to explain the meaning of Scripture. So he says, "We can assume with safety that the instrumentality to which the spiritual power of the great revolution of the Reformation - was mainly due to the restoration of scriptural preaching". Take the next 6 minutes to listen to an audio presentation on how the Reformers preached. ...
"All the leading Reformers, whether in Germany, Switzerland, England or Scotland were constant preachers, and their sermons were prevalently expository"; the purpose was to explain the meaning of Scripture. So he says, "We can assume with safety that the instrumentality to which the spiritual power of the great revolution of the Reformation - was mainly due to the restoration of scriptural preaching". Take the next 6 minutes to listen to an audio presentation on how the Reformers preached. ...
The Cup
C.J. Mahaney in this video talks about Christ, the cross and it's impact on our lives. We need as believers to get into the habit of preaching the gospel daily to ourselves. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once stated "the problem with most Christians regarding depression is that they spend way to much time listening to themselves when they should be preaching to themselves." In 2008 would you resolve to preach the gospel to yourself every day?
Monday, January 7, 2008
Is Pat Robertson a prophet?
"when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22)
“During the last part of this year…it’ll be the second half, somehow, of 2007, there will be some very serious terrorist attacks…it’s going to happen…there will be mass killings, possibly millions of people, major cities injured…” – Pat Robertson
“During the last part of this year…it’ll be the second half, somehow, of 2007, there will be some very serious terrorist attacks…it’s going to happen…there will be mass killings, possibly millions of people, major cities injured…” – Pat Robertson
Bruce Ware teaches on the Trinity
Here is Dr. Bruce Ware teaching on the Trinity at the Desiring God Pastor's Conference in Minneapolis, MN in 2005. During the next few days I will post some audio files in order that you can become more familiar with Dr. Ware and his tremendous teaching ministry.
Can man in his natural state come to God?
Man is unable to come to God because of his nature. Charles Spurgeon gives this beautiful example, one day a man said, that he did not believe any man had the power to walk to the house of God unless the Father drew him. This was very foolish saying according to Spurgeon. Because as long as a man was alive and had legs, it was as easy for him to walk to the house of God as to the house of Satan. There is no lack of physical power in coming to Christ, as physically men are alive, they can raise a hand in coming to Christ, they can walk down the isle in coming to Christ, they can say a prayer in coming to Christ. But just because they did all these things physically, it does not mean they truly came to Christ. The defect is not in the body, as the natural man is alive and strong physically, the defect is in the mind and in the heart. It is spiritual. As he is spiritually dead.
Spurgeon gives the example of a lion and a sheep. The lion has legs so does sheep, the lion has a mouth so does a sheep, the lion have ears so does a sheep. Physically both can walk and eat. But the lion will not eat grass like a sheep neither the sheep will eat meat like a lion. The distinction is in the nature. By nature, the Lion is different than a sheep. In the same way by the natural man s nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.
Spurgeon gives the example of a lion and a sheep. The lion has legs so does sheep, the lion has a mouth so does a sheep, the lion have ears so does a sheep. Physically both can walk and eat. But the lion will not eat grass like a sheep neither the sheep will eat meat like a lion. The distinction is in the nature. By nature, the Lion is different than a sheep. In the same way by the natural man s nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.
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