Russell Mckinney's Blog

Straight Talk About God and Life

Church Or YBOA Basketball?

For the past three years, my son Ryan has played two categories of youth basketball. One, he has played in our county’s recreation league. Two, he has played on our county’s YBOA (Youth Basketball of America) team for his age division.

The rec. games are relatively low-pressure games that are played locally. Scores and standings are kept, but the rules promise a certain amount of playing time for all the kids. The games are played through the week, but no games are played on Sundays or Wednesday nights.

YBOA, on the other hand, is more serious. The players are, for the most part, the county’s elite. The coaching is better, and the whole atmosphere is much more intense. No kid is guaranteed any playing time either. It has to be earned. The games are all travel games, played on the weekends, starting as early as Friday night and ending as late as Sunday night. Each weekend offers a new tournament, and the number of games your team plays in a given weekend is dependent upon how many games it wins that weekend. Our team has never won a tournament.

Some parents complain about the gas it takes to drive to the YBOA sites. Others complain about the money that is required for the down times between games. For example, let’s say that your team plays three games on a Saturday. The first is at 9:30 a.m. The second is at 2:30 p.m. The third is at 7:30 p.m. During all the hours between those three games, there is basically nothing else to do but hang around the city in which you’re playing and spend money (Mcdonald’s, the Mall, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.).

Still, my main problem with YBOA is that the schedulers have no qualms whatsoever about scheduling games during what has traditionally been Sunday morning “church time.” They think nothing of starting a game at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Admittedly, if your team has won enough games on Saturday, it will probably be rewarded by not having to play Sunday before 2:00 p.m. But if you happen to be on a team that loses a game or two Saturday, watch out. Your church attendance is about to be tested.

During Ryan’s first two years of YBOA, he never missed a Sunday morning service. Most of the time our team went winless on Saturdays and didn’t even qualify for the Sunday rounds of play. On the few occasions we did, our first games didn’t tip off until after church. I always knew, though, that we were walking a tightrope between YBOA and church.

Lately, we have fallen off that tightrope. Two of the last three Sunday mornings, Ryan has missed our church services because he was playing YBOA games. One game started at 9:30 a.m. and the other at 11:00 a.m. The site of each game was an hour’s drive from our house. Since it was impossible for Ryan to be in two places at once, both Sunday mornings I sent him off with Tonya while Royce and I went to church.

Just so you know, I prayed earnestly about doing that. I asked God what He wanted me to do and obeyed the word He gave me. I realize that some of my hardline, more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ will dispute that God told me to have Ryan (and Tonya) attend a ball game rather than church. But I know what God told me. I also know that He gave me a tremendous peace about it. Before you label me a heretic, consider the following couple of principles from the Bible:

1. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (an Old Testament verse) and Colossians 3:23 (a New Testament verse) both instruct us to do whatever we do ”heartily” and “with might.” Playing YBOA basketball has to be classified as a “whatever.” If you are going to play it, play it to the best of your ability.

2. Proverbs 25:19 says: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.” I want both my boys to be people who understand the importance of faithfulness and commitment to a cause. You can’t build a life around not showing up to honor your commitments any time the waters turn choppy.

Furthermore, here are four more thoughts for you to mull over:

1. Ryan is a Christian who, as a pastor’s son, has already attended more church services that many people will in a lifetime.

2. If I had told him that he had to miss the games and attend church, he would have done it without argument.

3. If our family’s annual vacation encompasses a Sunday morning, we don’t seek out a place to worship that morning. We just miss church altogether that day. 

4. While it’s certainly true that Hebrews 10:25 tells Christians not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, that general command doesn’t strictly forbid a Christian from ever missing a church service.  

But now here’s where I’ve been headed with all this. Yesterday we played a team that had made a solemn commitment that they weren’t going to play on Sunday if it meant missing church. The Lord, in His providence, arranged for me to “just happen” to have a conversation with their coach yesterday afternoon. The fellow told me without stutter, stammer, or hesitation, “If we win our next game, we will play at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. That will be alright. But if we lose this next game, we’ll have to play at 11:00 a.m. And if that’s the case, we won’t be here. Our boys go to church.”

Guess what happened. His team won that next game and got to play today at 2:00 p.m. I couldn’t help but think of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. When they refused to obey King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down before his image of gold, he promised to have them thrown in the fiery furnace. In doing so, he asked, “And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” They responded, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image you have set up.” You gotta love that. “King, our God can deliver us if He so chooses. But even if He doesn’t, we’re not going to change our minds.” It was as if that coach and that team were saying to those tournament organizers, “Our God can have us win this next game. But even if He doesn’t, we’re still not playing at 11:00 tomorrow morning.”     

I don’t know if I’ll ever see that coach again, but I’ll always be indebted to him. He became walking, talking, living proof to me that a Christian can still take a stand in this modern world. He showed me that I wasn’t the only parent who saw the problem with scheduling basketball games on Sunday morning.

As I said earlier, I was in God’s will by having Ryan and Tonya miss those church services. I don’t doubt that because God didn’t bring me under any conviction over those decisions. He knew my heart, and He knew what He told me to do. But that didn’t mean that I enjoyed doing it. And now I know that He saw that part of it too. He had me allow Ryan to play in the two Sunday morning games to let me experience that side of the fence. Then He brought that devoted Christian coach into my life yesterday to let me experience the other side. I believe that He wanted me to make a thoroughly informed decision concerning what to do about Sunday morning games from here on out.

And what decision have I made? I’ve decided that Ryan will no longer miss Sunday morning services on account of YBOA. We’ll play Friday nights, all day Saturdays, and after church on Sundays, but we won’t play until we have attended church. I haven’t talked to our coach about this decision yet, but I will. This YBOA season is over, and next season won’t start until late fall, but I’m not going to change my mind over the summer. I’m going to say, “Coach, you can have Ryan full bore all season, except for those Sunday morning games.” In 1 Samuel 2:30, God says, “Those who honor Me I will honor.” I’m looking forward to finding out just how much He means that.

March 29, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Choices, Church attendance, Commitment, God's Will, Parenting, Personal, Priorities, Sports | , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Does Satan Exist?

I watched an interesting debate on “Nightline” last night. The topic was, “Does Satan Exist?” The debate was held at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington and featured four speakers. Two argued for the existence of Satan and two argued against it.

Arguing for Satan’s existence were Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church, and Annie Loberts, a former prostitute who now runs an organization that seeks to win prostitutes to Christ. Arguing against Satan’s existence were Deepak Chopra, a new-age spiritualist who has written several books on the subject of God, and Carlton Pearson, a former Pentecostal preacher who now teaches that the love of God is so all-encompassing that there is no eternal damnation for anyone.

All four speakers passionately expresed their viewpoints, and everyone was generally cordial. The audience members, for the most part, believed in the existence of Satan. This wasn’t surprising considering that the debate was held at Driscoll’s church. There were, however, some who cheered the remarks of Chopra and Pearson.

But what really struck me was that the core of the debate wasn’t so much about Satan, or even Jesus, as it was the Bible. You see, if the Bible really is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative word of God, then Satan is real. Why? Because the Bible says he is. Chopra and Pearson didn’t even attempt to back up their claims by using the Bible. Everyone in the debate knew it couldn’t be done. All the two had to say concerning the Bible was that it is not God’s book to man, but rather man’s book about God. Chopra characterized it as an ancient book that was written from superstitution and is, thus, now outdated and irrelevant. Pearson flatly stated that we can pick and choose what parts of the Bible we believe because the book isn’t so much God’s inspired word to man as it is man’s inspired word about God.    

This morning, as I was thinking about the debate, I was reminded of Billy Graham. When he was a young preacher, he came to a moment of crisis in his ministry. The crisis involved the question of the Bible’s inspiration and inerrancy. Graham walked out into the woods one day, laid his Bible on a tree stump, and prayed. He came out of those woods with a deep-settled conviction that the Bible really is God’s written word to man. Out of that conviction came his dedication to preach the Bible to the best of his ability.

Do you know what the great problem is with Deepak Chopra’s and Carlton Pearson’s beliefs? It’s the fact that they have no authoritative basis upon which to rest them. Chopra contends that God is too big to be confined by the bounds of any religion, including Christianity. But that contention is merely his opinion. The only authority upon which he bases it is the authority of his own mind, a mind which, hopefully, even he would admit isn’t perfect. My mind isn’t perfect either, but let’s say that I hold the opinion that God is a big, green frog out in the middle of the universe. I’ve got just as much authority for that belief as Chopra does for his. It’s all personal opinion.  

The same can be said of Pearson. In his mind, who decides what parts of the Bible are true and what parts aren’t true? It’s him. He’s the judge. But his mind isn’t any more perfect than Chopra’s or mine. He would say that passages such as Matthew 4:1-11 shouldn’t be believed because they speak of a literal devil. But that’s just one man’s opinion. It’s merely a conclusion he has reached in his own mind. I can go around saying, with just as much human authority, that I have reached the conclusion that such passages should be believed. Do you see what I mean? When you throw out the authority of the Bible, anybody is free to believe anything.        

The limitations of the human mind must always be taken into account. It’s like that joke about the atheist who confidently proclaims, “There is no God.” A man says to him, “Sir, do you know everything?” The atheist answers, “Of course not. No one knows everything.” The man replies, “Then maybe God exists in that part you don’t know.” I could say to Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson, “Maybe Satan exists in that part you don’t know.”

You ask, “But how can we even know that what the Bible says about itself can be trusted? It claims to be God-inspired (2 Timothy 3:16), but can’t we just chalk that up to the book bragging on itself?” Well, that’s a valid point, but there is a comeback to it. First, we must establish the Bible’s trustworthiness from sources outside the Bible. This is done by using four distinct categories of evidence:     

1. Archaeological Finds: In scores of digs down through the years, archaeologists have unearthed evidence that verifies the Bible’s record of human history.

2. Fulfilled Prophecy: The Bible currently holds a perfect record in the fulfillment of its prophecies.

3. Internal Consistency: Even though the Bible was written over a period of fifteen hundred years, in two languages (Hebrew and Greek), by forty different writers, on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), there is a remarkable consistency to its record that simply cannot be attributed to human genius.  

4. Changed Lives: No other book ever written has impacted lives the way the Bible has.

Then, after we have used these four categories of evidence to establish the trustworthiness of the Bible, we can go to the Bible and see what it says about itself. We read the 2 Timothy 3:16 verse: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” This gives us the authority of the Bible.

Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson need reliable doctrine. They need reprooof. They need correction. They need instruction in righteousness. But, unless they change their views concerning the Bible, they will never receive these things. They may attract audiences, sell books, and appear on t.v., but it will all be built upon their opinions. And you know that old line about opinions: Everybody’s got one. The only opinion that truly counts is God’s. Has He spoken? Has He laid down the rules? Has He put forth a standard? Has He given us a word about Satan, about hell, about damnation? Yes, He has. And where can we find it all? You know: in the pages of the Bible. So, I’ll finish up this post by asking you the obvious question that comes out of it, “How’s your Bible study these days?

March 27, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Bible Study, Personal, Satan, Scripture, The Bible, The Devil | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Children Are…

Think about how you would finish the following sentence: “Children are…” These days, I’m a little scared of how Tonya and I might finish it. Both of us have now learned to function in a state of semi-exhaustion from keeping up with the schedules that Ryan (our eleven-year old) and Royce (our eight-year old) bring. Because of this, we might finish the sentence: “Children are draining, demanding, needy, expensive, ungrateful, and hard.”

We feel like the parents in that story about two teenagers who were talking. One teen said to the other, “I’m worried. My father goes to work every day to keep a roof over my head, food in my stomach, clothes on my back, and a car under me. When he comes home, he mows the yard, trims the hedge, and pays the bills. My mother cooks all our meals, washes the dishes, cleans the house, and does the laundry.” The second teen said, “So what have you got to be worried about? It sounds like you’ve got it made.” To that, the first teen replied, “I’m worried they will try to escape!” 

It’s just this kind of thing that keeps my attitude towards my two boys from always being what it should be. I become easily annoyed. I get ill. I walk around cranky. Someone once asked a little boy, “Does your daddy have a den?” The boy said, “No, he just growls all over the house.” That’s me too many times.

When we come to the Bible, however, we see that it teaches that parents should place an incalculable value on children. Psalm 127:3-5 says: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.” When women such as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah learned they were barren, they were devastated. They wanted to be mothers! They understood the worth and importance of children.

On my desk, taped just below my computer monitor, is a good word from Anthony Mullinax. It is entitled “If I Knew Then.” He writes:

“There are so many daily joys for the parents of young children: pushing their swing, bouncing them on your knee, playing horsey, shooting marbles, playing baseball, etc. Then one day it dawns on you that you aren’t doing those things anymore – they’ve outgrown it. You realize that somewhere back there was the very last time. If I knew then what I know now, I would have savored the last occurance of each of those childhood games a little more. I would have lingered a little longer at the swing, bounced them on my knee a little longer that last time. When we played horsey and that inevitable, gleeful plea came, ’One more time! Daddy, one more time,’ I would have crawled across that floor on my hands and knees until only sheer exhaustion made me drop.”      

I keep that piece taped to my desk where I can see it because I want to make the most of my boys’ childhood days. Through all of the time consumption, energy drain, financial outlay, and downright aggravation, I want to keep in mind that this part of their lives won’t last forever. I can already drag out the old videos of them as babies and toddlers and feel a tug at my heart for days that will never been again. Yes, being a parent is tough, and if I had even one more “arrow” in my “quiver,” I don’t know how I’d make it. Still, I want to do a good job as a father to Ryan and Royce. For one reason, my heavenly father expects nothing less. But for another one, it really is the desire of my heart.

March 25, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Children, Fatherhood, Parenting | | No Comments Yet

Don’t Be Afraid To Fly

The true story is told of a Midwestern farmer who found a young eaglet. The bird’s wing was injured to the point that flying was impossible. The farmer carefully picked up the eaglet and took it back to his farm. Not knowing exactly what to do with it, he put it in the pen with his chickens. It wasn’t long afterward that the farmer noticed something odd: The eaglet had begun to mimic the chickens. It pecked for food, drank from the waterer, and scratched around in the ground for worms.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the eaglet’s wing healed. But the bird made no attempt to fly out of the pen. It just continued to act like a chicken. The farmer actually began to feel sorry for the eaglet. The bird’s beautiful feathers were becoming dusty and its sharp beak was becoming discolored from all the pecking on the ground.  

One day a young man happened to pay a visit to the farm. As he passed by the chicken pen, he saw the eaglet scratching around in the dirt like the chickens. When he asked the farmer about the bird, the farmer told him the story. The young man said, “It was nice of you to bring him home and take care of him, but now that his wing is healed surely you will let him go.” The farmer responded, “He can leave anytime he wants to, but I’m afraid he’s forgotten how to fly.”

Upon hearing that, the young man became determined to help the eaglet. With the farmer tagging along, he took the bird out to the area where the farmer had found it. Then he placed the eaglet on his arm and yelled, “Go, boy, go!” The eaglet, however, didn’t budge. It just sat there looking confused.

Then suddenly, from high in the sky, a mighty shriek was heard. It was the shriek of a mother eagle flying overhead. When the eaglet heard this shriek and saw the mother eagle, it gingerly tested its injured wing and then cautiously launched off from the young man’s arm. At first, it circled slowly overhead as if gathering its confidence. Then it shot up into the sky to join the mother eagle. As the young man watched the eaglet soar away, he said to the farmer, “Now that’s what he was meant to do.”

Christian, I’ve got a question for you: Are you doing what you are meant to do for Christ? In Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, and Ephesians 4:7-16, the Bible teaches that God has imparted at least one spiritual gift to each Christian. Many Christians have been given more than one, but every Christian has been given at least one. A spiritual gift is not the same thing as a natural talent. It is an ability or skill that the Christian did not have before the moment of salvation. At the moment of salvation, when God the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside the Christian’s body and create the born-again experience, the Holy Spirit brought the gift or gifts to the Christian. Just as we our born physically with natural talents, Christians are born again spiritually with at least one spiritual gift. And every spiritual gift is to be used in service to Christ. It is the Christian’s unique way of doing something for the Savior.    

This is where I come back to the story of the eaglet that acted like a chicken. Perhaps you, Christian, need to learn from that eaglet. Tell me, are you content to live somebody else’s life? Is it enough for you to mimic another Christian’s spiritual gift? Are you afraid to take off and fly the way that God has gifted you to fly? Listen, sometimes you’ve just got to launch out in faith and go for it. I know it’s scary, but you need to do it. Don’t worry. If what you are doing is really of God, you won’t come crashing to the ground. Instead, you’ll spread your wings as you never have before and reach heights of service you never thought you could. But you’ve got to try. Remember, there is always room for another eagle in the sky of God’s service.

March 22, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Uncategorized | , , , | No Comments Yet

The Ups & Downs of Life

I am currently helping out a friend by serving as an assistant coach on our local 7th-8th grade baseball team. The friend is the head coach. Actually, it was my eleven-year-old son, Ryan, who got me involved. Being a 6th grader, he volunteered to help out as one of the team’s managers until he can play next year. From there it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to me becoming an assistant coach.

Our last two games have been kind of fascinating to me. We lost the first one 11-2 and set baseball back at least a century with our poor play. But then the very next day we won the second game 10-0. In that game, we hit well, fielded well, and pitched well. It’s hard to believe that the same team could play such vastly different games. What should I expect from here on out? My guess is, more ups and downs. 

Forrest Gump’s mother is famous for saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” With all due respect to Sally Field, I might say that it is like a 7th-8th grade baseball team. Some days everything goes your way. You hit what you swing at, catch what comes at you, and throw strike after strike. Other days you look completely overmatched and inept. You strike out, make errors, and fall way behind in the score. I don’t know what the secret is to having all good days. If I did, I’d go around hawking it and become a trillionaire.

In Philippians 4:11, the apostle Paul instructs the Christian on how to handle life’s ups and downs. He says, “For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Those words “whatever state” cover anything and everything that life can throw at you. Winning 10-0, be content. Losing 11-2, be content. (You don’t have to be happy about losing, but you should be content with what a sovereign God has allowed to come your way.)

I’ve always thought the key word in Philippians 4:11 is that word “learned.” Paul says, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” The point is, living with such contentment doesn’t come naturally to us. Even the great apostle had to learn how to do it. And if he had to learn it, it goes without saying that we have to as well.

But what are we trying to learn? The lesson is two-fold. First, when we are riding one of life’s ups, we mustn’t get greedy and demand more. A “state” of 10-0 is plenty of score cushion. There’s no need to become obsessed with running up the score to 15-0 or 20-0. That’s not the way of a contented person. Second, when we are riding one of life’s downs, we mustn’t get mad at God and start railing against Him. A “state” of 11-2 isn’t fun, but at least we are still able to head out onto the field and play the game. We’re not on the disabled list. Blessings are all around us if we will just acknowledge them. Griping about the bad things isn’t the way of a contented person either.       

Do you know what my friend, the head coach, said to me after today’s landslide victory? He said, “When you win, don’t get too high. And when you lose, don’t get too low.” That’s not only sound advice for a baseball season; it’s sound advice for life. I don’t know what kind of a “state” you are in right now, but strive to be content in it. If you are abased (the word Paul uses in Philippians 4:12), don’t let yourself get too low. God is still on the throne, and He isn’t finished with you yet. On the other hand, if you are abounding (the other word he uses in that verse), don’t let yourself get too high. Nothing will bring you down quicker than pride (Proverbs 16:18). When you start throwing out your chest and saying, “Look at all the great things that are going on in my life,” you are headed for disaster at breakneck speed.

In the end, what you are after is a proper balance, and that balance, as we have seen, involves being content in whatever state you find yourself. You say, “Oh, Russell, I could never learn such contentment. It’s beyond my ability.” Okay, fine, I believe you. But now let me leave you with one more thought that is found in the overall context of the Philippians 4:11 passage. In Philippians 4:13, Paul says confidently, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Does that mean, Christian, that you can learn to be content during life’s highs? Yes, it does. Does it mean that you can learn to be content during life’s lows? Yes, it does. You see, the contented balance that you need is found in Jesus. He is the One who taught it to Paul, and He will teach it to you as well.

March 20, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Personal, balance, contentment | | No Comments Yet

Fleas

Corrie ten Boom was a Jewish Christian who lived in Germany during World War II. She and her older sister, Betsy, were rounded up by the Nazis and taken by train to one of the worst concentration camps in all of Germany. Upon their arrival there, the sisters were tattooed with a number and placed into a cabin barrack for women. The barrack was so overcrowded the sisters had to sleep on the floor. What made their barrack even more gruesome than all the others was the flea infestation. Day after day, the women had to endure flea bites.

Early on in their imprisonment, the sisters decided to study their Bibles together and invite all the other women to join them. Most of the women showed no interest, but a few did. Every morning the sisters would lead in a time of Bible study and prayer. They lived under the constant fear that the guards would burst in at any time, confiscate their Bibles, and punish those who took part in the group.

One morning, after the girls had been imprisoned for years, they read 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Betsy was eager to obey the passage, but Corrie just couldn’t bring herself to give thanks for the fleas. Weren’t years of imprisonment bad enough? Wasn’t having to sleep on the floor bad enough? Why did their barrack, of all the barracks, have to be infested with fleas? If God was allowing the sisters to go through this time of injustice, the least He could do was take away the fleas. In the end, though, Betsy made Corrie thank God for the fleas. Older sisters do that kind of thing.

It was about three months after this that the sisters were at long last released from their imprisonment. A short time later they found a journal that had been written by one of their German guards. In one entry the girls learned why the guards had never interrupted their morning times of Bible study and prayer. Concerning that cabin, the guard had written, “We don’t ever want to go in that cabin because it is so full of fleas.” 

I don’t have a flea problem at my house. I can’t even remember the last time I was bitten by a flea. But I sure do have some other “fleas” for which I am hard pressed to be thankful. I didn’t ask for them. I didn’t see them coming. I don’t even think I deserve them. But I’ve got ‘em. And the Bible says that I’m to give thanks for them. That isn’t easy.       

In order for me to be obey this command, I must see my problems as somehow being a part of God’s grand plan for my life. He doesn’t make mistakes, and He knows how to use anything and everything to mold and shape me to become more like Christ. As Romans 8:28-29 says: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” No, everything isn’t good, particularly my problems. But God can use everything, even my problems, for good. As those two faithful sisters discovered, He can even use fleas.

Remember this the next time you find yourself griping and grumbling about a problem. You can’t see the big picture, but God can. He loves you, and that problem of yours might well be the chariot He uses to help you, not hurt you. Learn to pray words such as these: “Father, I don’t enjoy this problem, but I want to thank you for it. I do this in the faith that You are going to use the problem to somehow bring about good in my life.” Such praying will help you to see your problem in a whole different light, a light that produces trust in God rather than bitterness toward Him. It will help you to persevere when you feel like quitting.  It will help you to live victoriously in the midst of your “fleas.”

March 18, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Adversity, Problems, Thankfulness | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Things I Know About Barack Obama

As is the case with any president, Barack Obama produces wildly different opinions among the masses. I don’t want to get into all that. I just want to share with you two things that I know about the man.

First, I know that God has allowed him to be the President of the United States. Daniel 2:21 says: “He removes kings and raises up kings.” Daniel 4:32 says: “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” Psalm 75:7 says: He puts down one, and exalts another.” Romans 13:1 says: “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

When I say that God has allowed Barack Obama to be President, this doesn’t automatically mean that Obama is a Christian (any more than it automatically meant that George Bush is a Christian). I don’t want the job of judging another man’s standing with Christ. What it does mean is that God, in His divine plan and purposes, whatever they may be, brought Obama to the forefront of a very crowded field of Presidential hopefuls (some Democrats and some Republicans). To use the language of the Bible, He raised him up, gave him the American kingdom to lead, exalted him, and appointed him. This in no way makes Obama a modern-day King David, a man “after God’s own heart.” It doesn’t make his decisions pleasing to God or his vision a God-approved one. It simply makes him the man that God has allowed the privilege, for whatever reason or reasons, of being our current President.      

Second, I know that God wants each Christian in this country to pray for Barack Obama. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, the apostle Paul writes: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” You say, “I didn’t vote for Obama.” God still wants you to pray for him. You say, “But I don’t agree with his stances on the controversial issues.” God still wants you to pray for him. You say, “I truly believe he is going to ruin this nation.” God still wants you to pray for him. Remember that Paul and Timothy lived under the wicked Roman government with its political leader, the paganistic, pompous Caesar. Despite this, Paul still exhorted Christians to pray for “kings and all those in authority.”

And please notice the reason that Paul gives for Christians to pray for their governmental leader. He says, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Isn’t that interesting? Every Christian ought to appreciate the fact that he or she lives in America, a country where Christians are free to worship God in the manner in which the Bible instructs us. If America falls to a foreign country, or if her government begins a campaign to stamp out Christianity, Christians certainly won’t be able to live quiet and peaceable lives. Therefore, we should pray for our President, whoever he may be, that he will do his part to ensure that American Christians remain free to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

I realize, of course, that politics is a highly emotional issue with many people, and that Christians aren’t exempt from this emotion. But there really is a Bible way of relating to the office of President of the United States. While we are citizens of another country and kingdom (Philippians 3:20, Ephesians 2:19), we still live our earthly lives here in the United States. This means that we have a God-given responsibility to pray for this nation’s leader. This responsibility goes far beyond the confines of the Democratic and Republican parties. It isn’t a “Constitution thing.” It is a Bible thing, and the sooner we Christians learn that the better off we will be as not only God’s people but also American citizens.

March 16, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Government, politics, prayer | , , , , , | 1 Comment

God’s Provision

I’ve never been a wealthy man, but there have been times when I was financially better off than usual. One such time is when I was serving as the pastor of Mckinney Cove Baptist church. At that time, I was making a better salary than I ever had.

During those days, God also opened the door for Tonya and I to sell our house. It was a nice house, but we had gotten to the point where we wanted something different. We hoped to scale down to a smaller house and have a smaller mortgage payment. After we sold, we rented another house on a monthly basis and excitedly looked around for our next home. 

Our excitement soon waned, however, when we couldn’t find what we wanted. The houses that would have allowed us to scale down were all too overpriced, too in need of repair, too poor in location, or too something. The only house that we liked was one that was a step up for us. It was a beautiful house in a older, well-established neighborhood. We both loved it, but our mortgage payment would be even more than our previous one had been.

Finally, after tons of prayer and much seeking after God’s will, we knew that God wanted us to buy the beautiful house. We remained apprehensive about the mortgage, but God assured us that He would take care of us. I trusted Him because I was, after all, making a good salary to go along with Tonya’s teacher’s salary. 

Well, things progressed along as expected for almost two years. It was then that God instructed me to resign Mckinney Cove church, step out in faith, and start a non-denominational church. The idea of starting a new church was very appealing, but it was also frightening. Not the least of my concerns was, how will we make our mortgage payments if I take such a major salary cut?

Finally, I submitted to God’s will and started the new church. I didn’t know where we would get the money to cover our bills, but I knew that God was able. I had preached about God’s provision so many times. Now it was time for me to put that preaching to the test in my own life.

It was at this time that God used nature to give me two object lessons. The first one was a squirrel. One day as I was watching the little thing search for nuts in my yard, God spoke to me and said, “If I can make sure that squirrel has nuts for the winter, I can make sure that your bills get paid.” The second came a few days later. I was sitting at my desk when a small bird landed in the bush just outside my study window. As I watched the bird, God said to me, “Just as I take care of that bird, I will take care of you.” Of course, even as God spoke to me about those two creatures, I knew that Jesus loved to use nature as a means of illustrating His teachings. I also knew those promises to me concerning those two creatures lined up perfectly with similar teachings Jesus had given about the birds of the air and the lillies of the field (Matthew 6:25-34).

We are now well into our third year of Disciples Road Church, and Tonya and I have never failed to make a payment or pay a bill. Even more than that, we’ve been able to afford “extras” such as vacations, nice Christmas gifts, baseball camps, etc. Was it because my salary at the new church ended up being more than expected? No, that salary is still much less than I made at Mckinney Cove. So, how have we done it? I would have to write an entire book to explain it. I have watched in amazement as God has time and time again met the need. You’ve noticed his immense imagination and creativity in the natural world, haven’t you? Well, believe me when I say that you can apply those things to the financial realm as well. He just never runs out of new and interesting ways to get the bills paid for those who will put their complete trust in Him and let Him work.

Before I go, though, I do need to share with you two important truths on this whole subject. Truth #1: Never try to make God cover the bill for something that isn’t His will. Tonya and I have made it because both the house and the church were His will. As I heard a preacher say just the other day, “When it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill.” I guess the flip side of that is, “When it’s your will, it’s your bill.” Truth #2: God enjoys taking things right down to the last possible moment before He meets the need. Oh, yes, He has scared us to death more than once before coming through for us. Think about Moses and the Israelites standing on the shore of the Red Sea. It wasn’t until Pharaoh’s army was right on top of them that God parted the waters.

I’ll close by reminding you of the opening words of the famous 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  These words mean that when you play the role of sheep and let the Lord play the role of shepherd, you won’t want for anything. That includes wanting for money to cover the bills. Whenever I notice a squirrel or a bird now, I’m reminded of God’s provision. I would advise you to let Him give you some object lessons for your own life.

March 14, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | God's Provision, God's Will, Personal | , , , , | No Comments Yet

A Crossroad In Life

The word “crossroad” probably brings up a certain mental image with you. I envision a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere that comes to a four-way intersection with three other dirt roads. The person who comes to such a place must make a decision. He can go straight, right, or left. I guess he could also turn around and go back if he was too afraid or indecisive to choose. But make no mistake, he’s got to make some kind of move.

There are times when we come to a different kind of crossroad. I’m talking about a crossroad in life. One fellow who came to such a place was Lot, the nephew of Abraham (who was then known as Abram). The story is found in Genesis chapter 13. I’ll give you the highlights.

Abraham and Lot lived alongside each other in the land of Canaan. Each of them was very wealthy. In particular, they both had large flocks and herds. This became a problem when their region could no longer support the combination of their flocks and herds. Strife arose between the herdsmen of the two men, and it became obvious that something had to be done.   

That’s when Abraham cordially, and with the love of an uncle, asked Lot to separate from him. He said, “Please, let’s put a stop to this fighting over grazing and watering territory. It’s a big land. If you take the left, I will take the right. If you take the right, I will take the left.” It was a simple and godly solution to the situation.

But here’s where Lot made two mistakes. Mistake #1: He didn’t humbly and graciously pass the choice back to Abraham. Abraham was the elder. He was the one to whom God had given all of Canaan. If it wasn’t for Abraham, Lot wouldn’t have even been in Canaan. Mistake #2: Lot made his choice based solely upon what looked good to him at the time. He looked down upon the plain of Jordan, which was well watered like a beautiful garden, and quickly said, “I’ll take that part of the land.” He didn’t pray about his decision. He didn’t seek God’s will in it. He didn’t ask Abraham for advice. He just latched himself onto something that was appealing to his eyes.

That old saying ”all that glitters is not gold” hadn’t been invented yet, but it would have helped Lot to hear it. Sure, that vast plain of Jordan was desirable in appearance. It was abundant, lush, and fertile. The problem was that it was also dotted with vile, wicked cities. You’ve heard of Sodom and Gomorrah, haven’t you? Those twin cities were located squarely in the heart of that region.

Not surprisingly, Lot, being the spiritually and morally weak person that he was, soon came under the tempting influence of Sodom. He started by setting up his camp and staking down his tents near Sodom. Next, he left behind his shepherd’s tent and formally moved into Sodom (Genesis 14:12). Once he was settled there, he then rose to a place of prominence and political prestige in the city. Genesis 19:1 speaks of him “sitting in the gate” of Sodom. Since ancient cities conducted their business at their gates, it was quite an honor to carry a fixed position at such gates.  

You say, “So, where’s the downside? It sounds like Lot did well for himself.” Oh, there was plenty of downside. As a matter of fact, there was enough downside to cancel out any upside that Lot’s choice brought him. First, Lot was living in Sodom when an enemy army came into town and looted it (Genesis 14:1-11). Lot was actually taken as a prisoner of war (Genesis 14:12). Abraham had to take 318 of his trained men and go and rescue Lot (Genesis 14: 13-16). Second, Lot was still living in Sodom when God sent two angels to utterly destroy the city by way of fire and brimstone. Lot lost all of his possessions as well as most of his family in the destruction (Genesis 19:1-26). Third, Lot and his two surviving daughters ended up living in a cave in the mountains above the city of Zoar (Genesis 19:30). While they were in that cave, Lot’s life hit absolute rock bottom as he, on two separate occasions, got drunk and slept with one of his daughters (Genesis 19:31-35). The products of those incestuous relationships were two sons who grew up to father the Moabites and the Ammonites, two enemies of Israel (Genesis 19:36-38).      

Do you see how Lot’s wrong choice back at life’s crossroad eventually brought catastrophy to his life? He stupidly embraced what looked good to him, failing to understand the dark vein that ran beneath it. Beware, my friend, that you don’t make Lot’s mistake. Even being a Christian isn’t enough to shield you from the results of going down the wrong road. After all, Lot was actually a saved person in the sense of being an Old Testament believer (Second Peter 2:4-8). I encourage you to pray serious prayers over your decisions. Commit your ways to the Lord. Seek His will and not your own. He knows the best path for you, and He will gladly share that knowledge with you if you will just slow down and ask Him.

March 11, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Choices, God's Will | , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

Learning From Rhododendrons

When the calendar page rolls over to March and the weather turns noticeably warmer, my thoughts drift toward yardwork. It’s not a drift that I eagerly embrace. The way I see it I’m an apartment or condo guy who happens to live in a big brick house with a sizable yard. That yard must be maintained, and I don’t have a professional gardener on staff. My gardener looks back at me when I shave.

I don’t really mind dragging out the lawnmower and mowing the grass. It’s a little more work to fire up the weedeater and do the detail trimming, but even that’s not unbearable. What I truly loathe is dealing with my rhododendrons. Oh, I know how beautiful they are when they are in bloom, but I also know how finicky they are. If they don’t get enough water, they turn dry and brittle. If they get too much water, they develop spots on the leaves. All of this is minor, though, compared to the damage that is done when a dog or some other animal gets into a plant and breaks some branches. Those branches have to be cut out, and that leaves a big hole. (Ask me how I know that). You get the same problem when a little boy, in the heat of a frontyard football game, crashes into one. (Ask me how I know that).

I guess we might say that rhododendrons are like Christians. When they are ideally full, healthy, and in perfect bloom, nothing is more pleasing to the eye. They brighten up their surroundings and make the world a better place to be. But when sins such as drug addiction, alcoholism, sexual immorality, and other forms of “hard living” get into a Christian’s branches and break some of them off, it leaves a noticeable hole. No matter how nice the other parts of the life may look, our attention will always be drawn to the hole. And no matter how much that Christian does in service to the Lord, that hole will never fill back in to it’s former beauty, at least not in this life.

It’s similar to what happened to David back in the days of the Old Testament. We can all agree that He lived his life for God. But right in the middle of it there was his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah. David eventually confessed his sin and repented of it, but he never got out from under its earthly stigma. The Bible bears this out in First Kings 15:5 by saying: “David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”  

Please understand that I’m not trying to be mean or unforgiving. I know full well that God can take a life’s broken eggs and make great omelets. He’s done it in my life. I just want you to realize that sin damages your life in a very real way. Some of the damage can be minor, but some of it can be catastrophic. Certainly forgiveness of all sin is available in Jesus. But even Jesus won’t bring crop failure to bad seeds you have sown. He’ll help you face up to those tough harvests, and He’ll even bring much good out of them. But the harvests will come up. That’s why it’s so much better to not sow the seeds. Keep your life looking like a perfectly shaped, beautiful rhododendron. Stay in God’s will. Don’t run off to some Bathsheba that looks good to you. Remember, you’ll never be able to bloom to your fullest extent if you’ve got a sin-shaped hole somewhere in your plant.

March 7, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | God's Will, Personal, Sin | , , , , , , , , , | No Comments Yet

« Previous Entries