Think About These Things - Part 1

Okay this is not a rant against television because believe me I love to watch television. But God has really been dealing with me about this topic. Let me give you some statistics that I found that have just really rocked my soul:

Amount of time the average American watches TV a day

=

4 hours (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year).

Amount of time the average American will watch TV by the time they are 65

=

9 years

Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans

=

250 billion

Value of that time watching TV annually by Americans assuming an average wage of S5/hour

=

S1.25 trillion

Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation with their children

=

3.5

Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television

=

1,680

Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television

=

54

Hours per year the average American youth spends in school

=

900 hours

Hours per year the average American youth watches television

=

1500

Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school

=

8,000

Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18

=

200,000

Tomorrow we will take a look at a passage of scripture that has really challenged me regarding my own TV watching habits. Today I just want you to let these statistics flow over you.

Statistics were compiled by:

TV-Free America

1322 18th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 887-4036

What's that Smell?!

What’s that Smell?!

Okay, this post is not about what you think it is about!! I want to look at a passage of scripture that I find SO compelling. Look at what it says:

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NIV)
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

What is Paul talking about in these verses? When he speaks of a triumphal procession he is using the Greek word which described the Roman general returning home from battle victorious. During these victory parades incense would be burned as an act of worship to the gods. For those in the victorious Roman army, and for the spectators in Rome this smell of incense would have brought great joy and recognition of victory as the smell wafted over the crowd. But for the enemy soldier who was paraded through town only to be killed at the final ceremony the smell would have signaled death for them. For the Romans the smell was the smell of life and for their enemies it was the smell of impending death.

It is with this metaphor that Paul describes how God uses us to spread the knowledge of him. You see once we have accepted Christ we are not to shrink to the sidelines as though we have been defeated in battle. No, we are now alive, we are victorious! That victory in our lives should spread out throughout the world. We should take the knowledge of Him to all people of all nations. We have the aroma of Christ on us and we should act like it! Now to those who will reject Him that aroma will only signal their doom, but to those who accept the message of grace that we spread will delight in His aroma on us because it signals their eternal life!!

So let me ask you a question, can people smell Christ on you? Does the smell of Christ waft over your neighborhood or your workplace? Can others smell the close proximity of Christ in your life? We are being paraded by God through the world, let us march in the triumphal procession and allow the aroma of Christ to flow from us!

Lord, let others be able to tell that I have been close to you today. Please help me to take my place in the triumphal procession so that the knowledge of you might spread to all people of all nations. I praise you my victorious King!

MAN LAW

Man Law #348: You mess with the youngest of 3 boys at your own peril!

My son Koleman learned an important lesson in Man Law on Saturday. You can read a mother’s perspective of the event on my wife’s blog, but let me tell you my side!

Koleman and his friend were playing and wrestling on the field near where the team Kensey cheers for were playing their game. Koleman was dishing it out as well as he was receiving it. But ultimately he learned Man Law #348: You mess with the youngest of 3 boys at your own peril!

Koleman has two sisters at home. They like to dress him up and laugh at him! They like to make him play barbies and house. But his friend is the youngest of 3 boys. He is used to being a tackling dummy and wrestle partner. It goes without saying that one is much more experienced in rough-housing than the other! Well when the boys started rough-housing Koleman gave his friend his best move – and it was NOT good enough!!! Needless to say we learned two important lessons: 1) mommy is not allowed to rescue you just because you picked on the wrong guy; and 2) if you are going to dish out the punishment then you can’t cry when they give it back!!

Growing up as a boy is not an easy thing in a world that demands the feminization of men. But I am determined that Koleman will not shy away from difficulties just because they are a little painful! I am determined that he will be a Godly man without being feminine! I am determined that he will have a sensitive heart and a strong back! And, I am so thankful that he has other boys who are growing up in Christian homes to help him learn these lessons!

Crowns - Part 3 - GLORIOUS!!

Okay one last thought about crowns.

The passage of scripture that really grabbed my attention when I started thinking about this topic is from the book of Revelation. It reads:

Revelation 4:9-11 (NIV)
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.”

The elders in this passage are the representatives for the church of God. In other words they represent each of us who have had the crowns of righteousness and life placed upon our heads.

This passage tells us that when the elders are in the presence of God they take off their crowns and lay them before the Lord. This is the point that really captured me as I considered the crowns. Think about it – as much as the crown of righteousness means to us because it represents the work and sacrifice of Christ on the cross that covers our sin and allows God to declare us as justified before Him; and as much as the crown of life is cherished because it represents our willingness to persevere in our faith in the midst of a world that will hate us; neither means anything compared to the surpassing greatness of just being in His presence!

God is so incredible and so glorious that everything else pales in comparison! The work of Christ on the cross, my own perseverance in faith all pale when compared to Him when He displays His glory!

We do not serve a mundane God. We do not worship a stale God. We do not bow before a God who is beige. We serve, worship and commit our lives to Him who lives in unapproachable light; the one whose glory is indescribable and whose might stretches beyond my own ability to imagine. We are children of the King, purchased with the cost of His own blood – but none of that compares to the sheer delight that we will experience at just being in His presence!! He truly is worthy to be praised and nothing that I might gain in this life or the life to come can compare to Him! Let us bow before Him and present our crowns!

Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV)
7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…

Crowns - Part 2

Okay, let’s keep talking about “crowns.” Yesterday we looked at the “crown of righteousness.” Today I want us to look at the most familiar crown in the New Testament, the “crown of life.” What I found as I studied this crown has absolutely blown me away!!!

The “crown of righteousness” is a crown that points to the efforts of Christ on the cross that allowed for our justification even though we are rebellious and not righteous (see yesterday’s post for a more full explanation). But the “crown of life” points to our own perseverance once Christ captures us in salvation. Let me try to show you what I mean – the key text for the “crown of life” is found in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 2:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The word for “crown” that is used here is the Greek word stephanos it was used to denote the crown that was given to the victor of a competition. And the word “life” here is clearly talking about eternal life in God’s love and grace.

So think about what the Apostle John is saying in this passage. He is saying that if we will stand strong in our faith even to the point of death that God will place on our heads the victor’s crown of eternal life in His love! So, the “crown of righteousness” was earned by Christ on the cross. It assures us of eternal life as we are justified before the Righteous Judge. But the “crown of life” is placed on our heads when live in that gift and persevere no matter the difficulties.

Now I am not saying that we earn eternal life, but I do believe that what this passage teaches us is that we show that the righteousness of Christ really lives in us if we persevere in our faith when it is difficult. I do not believe that the scriptures allow for the wishy-washy believer. We have either been radically transformed or we haven’t, but there is no in-between. And if we have been transformed then we will show it with how we live our lives, not just when things are easy, but when they get hard (even to the point of death). This is what makes the following statement from Christ so profound:

Matthew 10:22 (NIV)

²² All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Again Jesus is not saying that our perseverance is what saves us, but He is saying that if we have been captured by Christ then we will persevere!

So, are you living the victorious life? Are you standing firm even though it is hard? Is God preparing the “crown of life” to be placed on your head? I pray that it is true!

Lord, please help us to persevere in our faith. Please help us to live out our love for you even when life is hard and we want to give up or follow our own course. We praise you that we prove our salvation every day when we live in obedience to you!

Crowns - Part 1

Have you ever thought about the crowns that are mentioned throughout scripture? Probably not, I had never really thought about them until a couple of weeks ago when several of the songs that we sang in worship mentioned “crowns.” It got me thinking about their obvious importance in the scriptures and what they mean to us. So I did a little study! Over the next couple of days I would like to look at this interesting topic.

Crowns are mentioned throughout the New Testament. There is the crown that athletes receive as a result of winning the race (1 Corinthians 9:25). There is the crown of thorns that Christ wore on the cross; and Paul will mention those that he has led to Christ as his own earthly crown (Philippians 4:1). But the crowns that interest me the most are the eternal crowns.

2 Timothy 4:8 gives mention to one of the eternal crowns:

2 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Now the Greek of the phrase crown of righteousness is interesting. It seems, on the surface, that this phrase means that God will place on our heads a crown that has the word “righteousness” written on it. In fact what is meant here is that God will place righteousness on our head as though it is a crown.

So the only way for us to fully understand the crown of righteousness is to understand the word “righteousness”:

Righteousness means “the state of being right” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary). In other words to be righteous means that we have never been wrong. The only problem with any of us possessing the title of “righteous” is that, clearly, we have all done wrong.

So for us to understand our ability to be righteous we have to understand the concept of justification.

Justification: it is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law, i.e., as conformed to all its demands. In addition to the pardon (q.v.) of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified. It is the act of a judge and not of a sovereign. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law (Easton’s Bible Dictionary).

In other words, we are righteous because God considers the righteousness of Christ and His willingness to receive our punishment on the cross; and pardon’s all of our sin so that we are considered as absolutely without sin before Him!

Think about that for a second; even though I am absolutely sinful and rebellious against God, because of the sacrifice of Christ God declares me to be absolutely right when I stand in front of Him!

So, what Paul is saying in this verse is that if I (and you) will place our faith in Christ then God will place righteousness on our head as though it were a crown! And, I can have full confidence in the receipt of that crown because it has been purchased with the blood of Christ and promised by God!

Let us delight today in the crown of righteousness that awaits any of us who have placed our faith in Christ to purchase our sin and grant us eternal life in heaven. Let us be a people who freely share this gift that awaits any who believe!

Lord I praise you for my righteousness. I know that my sin reveals my need for judgment, but your love and sacrifice has purchased grace for me! Lord please help me to live in the righteousness that cost you so much today! I praise you!

A Child's Challenge!

Today’s blog is not really a devotional as much as it is a challenge.

Over the weekend my oldest daughter Kensey (9 years old) was telling us about a friend in her class who is Muslim. Kensey said that she really wanted to share Christ with her. In Kensey’s Sunday School class they had learned how to use an Evangecube so Valinda gave her one and we prayed together yesterday morning that God would give her the right words and that God would soften the heart of her friend.

I cannot tell you how excited I was to see Kensey’s passion to share the Gospel. I loved that Valinda and I did not have to spur her on, she took the initiative to share and went boldly forward!

Well yesterday when she finished school my first question was, “How did it go?” She told me that her friend said, “It is not that I do not believe in your God, I just believe in my god more.” Kensey then blew me away by saying that she was going to keep looking for opportunities to share with her friend. I love that she did not get discouraged or give up, she was just determined to keep right on sharing!

But then something happened that touched my heart even further – Karis, my middle child (7 years old), started weeping! She said, “But I want everyone to believe in the One True God!” Her heart was broken that Kensey’s friend had not accepted Christ! I was humbled by the depth of pain that she felt over anyone who would not accept Christ.

I don’t know if you are like me, but I wish that I was as driven by the gospel as those two girls! The passage of scripture that sounds in my heart is in the book of Psalms:

Psalm 8:2a (NIV)
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise…

So, what is stopping you from sharing your faith? Is it fear, lack of knowledge, or some other excuse that we all tend to use when it comes to participating in the radical advancement of the Kingdom of God? The reality is that each and every one of us should be broken over those who do not know Christ as their savior. Lostness should keep us up at night and drive us forward during the day. We should take our cue from two schoolgirls and we should boldly proclaim the grace of Christ because our love for our fellow man compels us into action! We must no longer sit on the sidelines but we should grasp this day, this moment for His glory! We have been deeply loved; let us love others by sharing the truth of His grace!

Romans 1:16a (NIV)
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…

Lord Jesus, help my heart to break for those who do not know you as Savior! Please help me to never forget the certainty of judgment and the depth of your love! Let me push aside my fear and apathy and help me to press forward unashamedly with your Gospel on my lips! I praise you my Savior.

Temptation - Part 3

Okay I promised this last post about temptation last week, but the offer to stay out on the deer lease for one more day won out over my desire to post on the blog! I know, I know, I am weak! Anyway, back to the topic of temptation.

The last temptation of Christ during His time in the wilderness is as interesting one. I have to admit that when I first started this topic I thought that I had it figured out, but the more I look at it the more that I think that I had it wrong. So, let’s look at the passage for today:

Luke 4:9-12 (NIV)
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

When I first read this passage I thought that the temptation was about pride. I thought that Satan was challenging Christ over whether or not He was really the Son of God. I thought that he was trying to get Jesus to prove Himself.

But when I kept reading the passage I could not get away from Christ’s response to Satan. He does not respond with, “I have no need to prove myself.” Or, “I know who I am; I do not need to prove it to you!” No, He responds simply with, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” And then I realized, Satan is not trying to get Jesus to prove Himself, He is challenging Jesus to prove how much He really trusts His Father. This is not a challenge to the abilities of Christ; this is a challenge to the abilities of the Father. So, the temptation is most clearly, “Do you really trust your Father the way that you say that you do? If so prove it!” This is a challenge to the faith of Christ!

Can you imagine that Christ would have been tempted to not trust His Father? But think about it, has there ever been a more trusting moment than when Christ took on flesh? Before taking on flesh Jesus was omnipresent (everywhere at once); omniscient (all knowing); omnipotent (all powerful) – He was GOD!! But then when He became flesh each of these attributes was veiled. He could no longer be everywhere at once; He did not know everything (He confesses that He does not know the day or hour of His return – Matthew 24:36); and He was not all-powerful (He can only do that which the Father tells Him to do – John 5:19). He went from being absolutely in control of all creation to having to trust His Father to lead, guide and protect Him! Can you imagine the level of faith that it took for Him to step into flesh?

With this reality in mind let this passage from Philippians 2 wash over you:

Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (better translated as "held onto"),
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

So, when the enemy challenges Christ to throw Himself from the Temple He is challenging Christ to test the trustworthiness of His Father to do what He had promised – to protect His Son. You see Satan knows that if he can convince Christ that His Father is not trustworthy then the downfall of Christ is all but assured. Satan understood that the entirety of Christ’s life and ministry was built upon the faith that He had in His Father! But Jesus will not be drawn into the challenge; He has no need to test His Father because His Father had never failed to be trustworthy.

So let me ask you, do you trust God the way that Christ did? Is your attitude the same as that of Christ Jesus as it is commanded to be in Philippians 2:5?

Well maybe these questions are unfair, so let me start with one that is a little more clear-cut – “Has God ever let you down?” The response must be an unequivocal and absolute, “NO!” Of course He has not let you down because it is impossible for God to let you down:

2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)
13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

And if it is impossible for God to let us down then there is no need to ever doubt Him! So, whatever you might be dealing with today (stock market worries, marriage issues, parenting problems) you can trust Him. Now, that does not mean that God will remove every struggle, but it does mean that we can trust that no matter how difficult a situation may be, no matter how much it may hurt, God will ALWAYS work it out for that which is absolutely the best!

Romans 8:28 (NIV)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Lord, help us to trust you with our entire lives! Please remind us that you are absolutely trustworthy and when the enemy tries to convince us to do things under our own power or in our own wisdom remind us that you and you alone are really trustworthy. We praise you our Lord and our God!

Temptation - Part 2

Okay let’s go back to our discussion on temptation. Yesterday we looked at the first temptation – to take control of our own lives and to provide for ourselves. We saw that the way that we combat this temptation is to delight ourselves in God above all others and trust that our greatest blessings flow from Him. This same theme will flow into the next temptation. Look at what happens:

Luke 4:5-8 (NIV)
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

So, what is the Enemy tempting Christ with here? Materialism! He is trying to convince Christ that all of the stuff that the world has to offer, wealth and fame, is of higher value than God. You see if wealth and fame is of highest value then it does not matter if Christ worships Satan because by worshipping Satan Christ will receive that which is most valuable.

And this temptation is exactly what ensnares so many of us. We fall into the trap of believing that the path to happiness is found in material things. So we chase after these things as though they were God. Maybe you don’t believe me that we chase after the things of this world as though they were God. So let me ask you a question, “Already, today, have you spent more time earning your paycheck or seeking after the Lord?” You see the path to materialism is a slippery slope!

Now I am not implying that we should all quit our jobs and just read our Bibles all day. But I am saying that our lives should prove whom we truly serve. Because we cannot serve our pursuit of money and God at the same time. This is how Christ will say it:

Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

So, how do we know if we are serving God or money? How do we make sure that we look at life the same way that Christ looked at it, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” I think the answer is found in how we use our money. This is where things get deep, so hang with me!

You see the end result of the life of Christ is that all authority and splendor would be given to Him:

Philippians 2:8-11 (NIV)
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

But notice why Christ is given all authority and splendor – vs. 11b, to the glory of God the Father. Christ suffered died and was exalted for the glory of God. But Satan tries to convince him to take the glory for Himself. He says, “You can have everything that you are shooting for anyway, just do it for your own glory!”

Well it is the same with us. You see, there is nothing wrong with seeking after blessings. There is nothing wrong with working hard and making a good living. But the question that we each have to wrestle with is, “Why I am working so hard? Is it for my own comfort and my own fame? Do I work so that I can hoard my wealth and use it only for my own benefit? Or, am I completely submitted to God’s will for my life? Do I enjoy the blessings that He allows me to have, but do I enjoy them with an open hand? Am I always willing to release any blessing in my life so that it might be a blessing to someone else for the glory of God?”

You see Christ was not going to be sucked into a materialistic mindset. He knew that God planned to bless Him and provide for Him if He would but serve the Father. So He had no need to take it for Himself. In the same way we can rest in the absolute assurance that if we will serve God and not money that He will bless us and prosper us. We can trust that if we will serve and worship Him that we will know hope and a bright future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

In this time of economic uncertainty the temptation will be more real than maybe ever before in our lives. Determine now that you will live your life with an open hand. Determine now that you will trust that God is the giver of blessing and that you ultimately serve Him alone.

Oh Lord I trust you and praise you. I admit that I am tempted to grab my own blessings. I admit that I want to seek the things of this world more than I seek my relationship with you. I admit that material things dominate the desires of my heart. Lord, please help me to worship only you, not my bank account or the toys that I purchase. Lord you alone give me hope and a future and I trust you!