Making Excuses For Your Sins

September 13, 2011 1 Comment

Four old codgers were playing poker for money in the back of their local store. Suddenly the sheriff walked in on them and said, “Gambling again, eh? This time I’m going to arrest you fellows just to teach you a lesson.”

At that point the excuses started flying. One of the men said, “I wasn’t playing sheriff; I just dropped in to talk.” Another one said, “I wasn’t playing either, Sheriff; I was just visiting.” A third said, “I just came in to warm up by the stove.”

The fourth man sat quietly as all this went on around him. He continued to hold his cards and never once took his eyes off them. The sheriff looked at him and said with a smile, “Well, you certainly can’t deny that you’ve been playing cards.” The old man, still not looking up from his cards, slowly drawled, “Now, Sheriff, who would I be playing with?”

Oh, the excuses we make for our sins! We blame everyone from our parents to the government, when all the while the heart of the problem lies with us. Please understand that I’m not minimizing any sins that have been committed by your parents or your government, but also understand that there comes a time when you have to look in the mirror and take responsibility for your own sins. Face it, you have about as much of God as you want in your life.

You probably know Christ’s most famous parable, the one about the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). But do you know the verse that marks the turning point of that story? It’s Luke 15:17, which says of the son:

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!’”

Be sure not to miss those all important words: But when he came to himself. You see, the prodigal’s life didn’t change for the better until he conducted a personal evaluation and was sufficiently shocked by what he found. And notice that Jesus didn’t say that the young man came to a revelation about how his parents had raised him, or one about how others had done him wrong, or one about the ills of his society. No, he came to a revelation about himself. He thought, “I brought myself to this lowly state.”

I don’t know your life, but perhaps you, like the prodigal, need to come to yourself. Maybe you need to stop blaming others for your troubles and start admitting to your own role in creating your mess. Excuses will only keep the status quo in tact and prevent you from returning to the blessings of the father’s house. I could also say a lot here about the importance of confession and repentance, but I’ll leave that off for another time. Right now the first order of business is to get you to realize that you are the problem. Until that happens, you’ll never be ready for the next step.

Filed under Addiction, Adversity, Attitude, Backsliding, Change, Personal Holiness, Problems, Rebellion, Sin Tagged with , , , , ,

Elephants, Grass, & Spiritual Warfare

September 12, 2011 2 Comments

My mother is a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Dr. C. Mark Corts was the pastor of that church for almost forty years. He died in 2006.

In his retirement years, just before his death, Dr. Corts wrote an excellent book entitled The Truth About Spiritual Warfare. In the first chapter of the book, he deals with the story of Job and explains that spiritual warfare isn’t about us. It is, instead, a battle between God and Satan. Corts writes:

Natives in Africa say, “When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.” That’s what we see happening in the Book of Job – the clearest look behind the curtain in the Bible. Two titans, God and Satan, were engaged in warfare, and Job was the grass that got trampled.

This whole understanding of spiritual warfare has become very helpful to me whenever I find myself having to play the role of the grass. Nowadays when I sense that I’m in the throes of spiritual warfare, I ask myself two questions. Question 1: What is God trying to accomplish in this situation? Question 2: How is Satan working to keep it from happening?

Let me illustrate. A mother approached me a few weeks ago and asked, “Aren’t you Russell Mckinney?” When I answered, “Yes,” she proceeded to tell me how much she enjoyed my Sunday morning radio broadcast on one of our local stations. She is particularly enjoying my current series Life-Lessons From Proverbs and asked if she could get copies of the sermons for her teenage son. I said, “Sure, I’ll get you some. Give me your phone number and I’ll call you when they’re ready.” She promptly obliged. But a couple of weeks later I called the number and got no answer. I ended up leaving a message saying that the first round of cds was ready and if she would call me back we could agree to a meeting place where I could give them to her.

Several days afterward, though, I hadn’t received a callback. I thought that seemed kind of odd because she had seemed so genuinely interested in getting the sermons. My first instinct was to call her again, but then I got to thinking that I didn’t want to pester her. Perhaps she had changed her mind. I certainly didn’t want to make a nuisance of myself by forcing my own preaching onto her!

So what did I do? I took the matter to God in prayer and asked Him if I should make another run at contacting the woman. He answered by reminding me of what Dr. Corts had taught about spiritual warfare. I asked the two questions. What was God trying to accomplish in this situation? Answer: Obviously, He wanted that teenage son to hear the spiritual truths of those life-lessons from Proverbs. And how was Satan trying to keep that from happening? Answer: He was somehow keeping the lines of communication broken down between me and that mother.

Well, once I had that information, I called the woman again. I was disappointed to have to leave another message, but this time she called me back pretty quickly. We worked out a plan for how I could get the cds to her, and she’ll be getting them either today or tomorrow. She also explained why she hadn’t called me back the first time. It hadn’t been anything personal. She had meant to call but, for whatever reason, just hadn’t gotten around to it. I didn’t tell her that I truly believed that Satan had assigned some of his troops to her case and was actively working to keep her son from getting those sermons. I didn’t want to scare her.

And now we come to the application portion of this post. Do you feel like you are currently under spiritual attack? Is the aura of spiritual warfare hanging heavy around you right now? If the answer is yes, please take some time right now to ask yourself the two basic questions about the warfare. What is God trying to accomplish in the situation? And how is Satan working to keep it from happening? You’ll probably be surprised at how straightforward and simple the answers are. Then, once you have those answers, you’ll be able to move forward wisely concerning the situation. Understand that you are the grass upon which two elephants are engaged in battle and keep doing your part to help God accomplish His will.

Filed under Adversity, Angels, Choices, Demons, Doing Good, God's Will, Influence, Personal, prayer, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil, trials Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Rejoicing In The Lord Always

September 6, 2011 2 Comments

Many years ago, in Germany, a young man was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. The cancer would spread unless the tongue was completely removed. That was an undesirable line of treatment, but it had to be done.

On the day of the surgery, a group of students gathered around the operating table to observe the procedure. Before the surgeon began, though, he bent down over the patient and said to him, “My friend, if you wish to say anything, you now have the opportunity. But I must warn you that your words will be the last words that you will ever utter. Think well about what you wish to say.”

The young man did take considerable time before speaking, and those moments of silence hung heavy in the air as the surgeon and the students waited. Finally, they heard him utter these simple words: “Thank God, Jesus Christ.” That response brought tears to their eyes.

I have to question if I would express such devotion at such a time. My last words could well have been: “Why, Lord?” or “I don’t understand, Lord.” Maybe I’m underestimating myself. Then again, maybe I’m not.

The New Testament book of Philippians is a letter the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Philippi. It is a short book, just four chapters long, but over the course of those four chapters Paul uses some variation of the word “rejoice” no less than eleven times. Furthermore, he uses the word “joy” six times. What makes these words all the more amazing is the fact that Paul wrote the letter while he was under house arrest in Rome. This explains his references to “the palace guard” (1:13) and “Caesar’s household” (4:22).

How could a man talk so much about rejoicing and joy when he was chained to a Roman soldier twenty-four hours a day? (The guards operated in six-hour shifts). How could he say, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”? (Philippians 4:4) Obviously, Paul had learned that inner joy isn’t dependent upon outward circumstances. He understood that he had been granted spiritual life by Christ. He understood that his sins had all been forgiven. He understood that God could use him no matter what his circumstances were. He understood that even if Rome put him to death that would just be his promotion to heaven. This explains the joy that was bubbling out of him.

Christian, I don’t know where you find yourself in life today, but I do know that you can have joy there. Even if your earthly circumstances aren’t all that pleasant, you can focus on your eventual entrance into heaven. In that glorious place there will be no more sorrow, pain, sickness, shame, or regret. You will be eternally wedded to Christ as a part of the church, His bride. And you will surely have never-ending reason to say, as that young man in Germany chose to say, “Thank God, Jesus Christ!”

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Comfort, contentment, Forgiveness, Heaven, Joy, perseverance, Reward, salvation, The Tongue Tagged with , , , , , ,

Wise As Serpents, Harmless As Doves

September 2, 2011 1 Comment

In Matthew chapter 10, we find Matthew’s account of Christ’s commissioning of His chosen twelve. It’s a marvelous chapter to study in terms of basic ministry, bold evangelism, and preaching for a decision. With that said, I’d like to draw your attention to a single verse from the chapter. It’s verse 16. Jesus says:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Notice that Jesus begins by describing Christians as sheep. That’s good. But then He says that we are sent out into a world filled with wolves. That’s bad. Because of this, we can’t be regular sheep. Like all sheep, we are to be as harmless as doves. But unlike sheep, we are also to be as wise as serpents.

Can you picture sheep in the midst of a ravenous pack of wolves? That doesn’t conjure up a pretty outcome, does it? Oh, but wait, these aren’t regular sheep. These sheep are as wise as serpents. Going all the way back to the garden of Eden, the serpent is described as being more cunning than any of the other creatures. A sheep as wise as a serpent wouldn’t be such easy pickings for the wolves. And that’s exactly the point that Jesus is making.

A Christian who is as wise as a serpent will exhibit good sense, prudence, and tact when it comes to evangelism. He will not go out into the world wide-eyed, ignorant, and hopelessly naive. He will not be of the world, but he will be in the world, and he will understand what all comes with that. Charles Spurgeon described the situation as follows:

He sends them, not to fight with wolves, nor to drive them out of their haunts, but to transform them. The disciples were sent to fierce men to convince them, and therefore they must be wise…The Christian missionary will need to be wary, to avoid receiving harm; but he must be of a guileless mind, that he do no harm…we are to be simple-hearted, but we are not to be simpletons.

Is it a tough balancing act to stay as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove? You’d better believe it. Let’s admit that the typical way of thinking is to equate wisdom with power and, by implication, the ability to inflict harm. But that’s just not how Jesus expects His followers to wield their wisdom.

Do you remember the story where James and John learned this lesson? It’s found in Luke 9:51-56. When Jesus and the twelve came to a certain village in Samaria, the citizens of the village wouldn’t let them enter the village. James and John, being as wise as serpents in the racial hatred that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, understand the roadblock for the insult that it was. They responded by wanting to strike like King Cobras and exact revenge on those Samaritans. They said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But Jesus rebuked them and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” He might as well have said, “Calm down boys, I need doves not King Cobras.”

And so, Christian, I’ll ask you how you are doing on your balancing act. Are you a sheep that has either too much dove or too much serpent about you? Neither imbalance is good. If you are too gullible in worldly matters, you need to develop more of an edge. On the other hand, if you are too quick to strike, you need to develop more of a calm and peaceable nature. Think of it this way: Too much dove will make you easy pickings for the wolves, but too much serpent will keep you from converting any of the wolves into sheep. And, at the end of the day, turning wolves into sheep is why we’re to go out in the first place, right?

Filed under Adversity, balance, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, salvation, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , ,

Old Bearskin

August 30, 2011 1 Comment

Notre Dame football has had a long and highly successful history. It stood the tallest, though, when Knute Rockne was the head coach. From 1918 to 1930, the team’s winning percentage was .881. They lost only twelve games during those thirteen years and won six national championships. The unprecedented success would no doubt have continued had Rockne not been killed in a tragic plane crash on March 31, 1931. He was just 43 years old.

During Rockne’s tenure at Notre Dame, a football column regularly appeared in the school newspaper. The column’s writer would say incredibly mean, nasty, and insulting things about the team. He would not only ridicule the team as a whole but also pointedly criticize individual players. The writer always remained anonymous and merely signed his name as “Old Bearskin.”

What was most shocking about the column was that the writer seemed to have inside information concerning the team. He knew which players were lazy, which ones were ladies’ men, and which ones kept scrapbooks to read their own press clippings. Every player on the team hated “Old Bearskin.” When a player would come to practice and complain about something that had been written, Coach Rockne would sympathize and say that no one should write such things. Then he would say to the team, “Boys, let’s get out there and show ‘Old Bearskin’ that the things he writes aren’t true.”

It was only after Rockne’s death that “Old Bearskin” was revealed to be none other than Rockne himself. His purpose in writing the column was to keep his players humble and hungry as opposed to egotistical and content to rest on their laurels. Rockne understood the pitfalls of pride and went to the extreme of the column to keep his players from succumbing to them.

I trust that this illustration will help us all to understand why God sometimes allows us or even causes us to experience humbling setbacks and defeats. We don’t like such experiences any more than Knute Rockne’s players liked that newspaper column. But how can we argue that we don’t, at times, need these experiences? Believe it or not, they are nothing less than acts of love on God’s part. You see, He knows Proverbs 16:18, and He wants better for us than its words:

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Filed under Adversity, balance, Character, Criticism, God's Love, Humility, Pride, Problems, Prosperity, Sports Tagged with , , , , , ,

Life’s Army Barracks

August 22, 2011 Leave a comment

The Presbyterian preacher Harry Rimmer told the story of a young man who entered the army. This young man was in the habit of studying his Bible in his bedroom each evening and then kneeling down to pray before retiring for the night. He knew, however, that the army barracks would be a real test of that nightly routine.

The barracks certainly didn’t disappoint as the young fellow found himself surrounded by scores of rough servicemen. They joked around, made crude comments, and cursed. His first instinct was to read his Bible by keeping it half covered under his blanket. But then a wave of conviction came over him and he thought, “I’m a Christian! I must take my stand for the Lord. I won’t hide my faith. I’ll just do as I did at home.” He then took his Bible, read a chapter, and knelt down to pray quietly beside his cot.

When the other men noticed what the young man was doing, a few of them sneered. But in just a few minutes the barracks became strangely quiet as others who respected the new recruit’s devotion hushed those who sneered. After a while the talk began again, but this time without the crudeness and cursing.

The next night when the young man opened his Bible eight other men dug out theirs and did the same. Within a month every soldier in the outfit respected the young Christian so much that they would defend him against anyone who dared criticize him. Even more than that, they would bring their troubles and questions to him and ask for counsel. Rimmer concluded the story by saying, “He influenced more men for Christ than half a dozen chaplains could have in a year of Sundays.”

This world can be a raw, coarse, vulgar place, and being a Christian who tries to live a holy life in its midst can be difficult. Do the people at your workplace tell dirty jokes? Do some of your fellow students use profanity? Do you feel like you would be mocked and ridiculed if you were caught on site reading your Bible or praying? Welcome to your army barracks.

What would Jesus have you do? Well, what example did He set? Did He isolate Himself in a cave atop a mountain and shun the “real” world? No. Did He only converse with His devout followers, people who thought and spoke like He did? No. Did He act one way in private but another way in public? No. To the contrary, He lived what He preached. And what was that? He told His followers to resist the urge to hide their light under a basket and let it, instead, shine before men (Matthew 5:15-16).

So, Christian, I hope you take this post as a call to arms. Stop hiding your light under a basket. Those around you need to see it burning brightly for your Savior. Who knows what domino effect you taking a stand for Christ might start? My guess is that there are others in your setting who are just as offended with certain things as you are. They just need a leader to show them how to create change. And that leader could be you!

Filed under Adversity, Bible Study, Character, Courage, Discipleship, Doing Good, faithfulness, God's Will, God's Word, Influence, obedience, Persecution, Personal Holiness, Scripture, Witnessing, Work, Youth Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Find Things For Which To Be Thankful

August 1, 2011 Leave a comment

A subway car was overly crowded, which caused several people to be forced to stand. Naturally, most of them were griping about the situation. As the car pulled into another station where still more people boarded, one man who was standing said to those coming aboard, “I hope you people like standing because we’ve been doing it for a long while.” He didn’t see the crippled invalid who was helped aboard the train and graciously given a seat, but the invalid heard the comment. To it he somberly replied, “You are fortunate.”

Please don’t hypocritically judge the fellow who was standing. The fact is, he could have been any of us. Speaking personally, his complaint sounds just like something that I would have said. It’s just typical human nature, isn’t it? But that doesn’t make it right or pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:15 says:

Therefore by Him (Jesus) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Christian, I ask you, how are you doing at continually offering the sacrifice of praise to God? What form is the fruit of your lips taking these days? Are you in the habit of giving thanks to the name of the Lord? Truth be told, our answers to these questions probably leave much to be desired.

The Lord knows that you have legitimate problems. He also knows that life can oftentimes be a difficult game to play. But through it all He remains forevermore worthy to be praised. Even during those instances in which you don’t feel like praising Him, He is still worthy. The secret is to train yourself to count your blessings. As the old saying goes, “Count your blessings one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

You see, even that crippled invalid who was boarding that train wouldn’t have had to look very hard to find something for which to be thankful. He could have been thankful for the people who helped him get aboard the train. He could have been thankful for the person who gave up his seat for him. He could have been thankful that someone in his condition could get aboard a train and travel to distant places, places he could never have seen on his own. Do you see my point?

So in the midst of all your grumbling and complaining, make yourself stop and be thankful for all the good things that God has sent your way. And if you can’t come up with anything, be thankful for the fact that Jesus Christ (God the Son) left heaven, took upon Himself human flesh, lived without sin among men, died on a cross to pay the sin debt for the sins of the world, arose from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and now offers salvation and forgiveness of all sin to anyone who will believe in Him as Savior. Trust me, that one item right there should be enough to keep you thankful for all eternity.

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, contentment, Disappointment, Forgiveness, perseverance, Problems, salvation, Thankfulness Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

“My Cross Is Too Big For Me To Bear”

July 15, 2011 2 Comments

A Christian woman was forced to continually deal with a ongoing problem in her life. Eventually she faded into total self-pity. Time and time again she told people, “My cross is too big for me to bear.”

One night she dreamed that she went to heaven. In the dream, she approached Jesus and said, “Lord, my cross is too big for me to bear.” Jesus said, “I understand. Would you be willing to trade it for another one?” The woman enthusiastically answered, “Yes.” Jesus said, “Very well. Then we’ll go into that room over there and find you another one.”

As the two entered the room, the woman was amazed at not only the number of crosses but how intimidating most of them were. There were big crosses, heavy crosses, twisted crosses, and even crosses with nails in them. Finally, after a good deal of searching, she saw a small, easy-looking cross standing in the corner. She looked at Jesus and said, “That’s the one for me right there. I’ll take it.” Jesus said, “Okay, but that’s the one you brought in.”

Christian, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that your problem is real. It is unpleasant, painful, and burdensome, and I wouldn’t even begin to try to explain it away. Furthermore, I don’t pretend to know all God’s reasons for either causing you or at least allowing you to have to deal with that problem. That’s His realm, not mine.

But what I will do is remind you that you certainly aren’t the only person in the world who has a problem. If the crosses we bear were literal, you’d be amazed to see that everybody is carrying at least one and many people are carry much more than one. You’d also see that many of the crosses are big enough and bad enough to make you cringe.

You see, what you need is some perspective on things. To acquire that perspective you’ll have to get your eyes off yourself and start noticing others. Stop talking so much about you and start listening to them. If you’ll do this, I think you’ll find that your cross isn’t nearly as unbearable as you think it is.

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Choices, contentment, Disappointment, perseverance, Problems, trials Tagged with , , , ,

In Training To Be Used Mightily

July 7, 2011 Leave a comment

A budding young soloist went to a great Italian musician for voice training. The master handed him a piece of music and said, “Practice this for one full year and then return here.” The request seemed a bit strange, but for the next twelve months the young man faithfully did his practicing.

At year’s end, he returned to the musician, confident that the master would change his assignment and give him a new, higher grade of music to learn. But it didn’t happen. The master simply said, “Practice the same piece for another year and then return here.”

Somewhat discouraged, the young singer returned home and begrudgingly rededicated himself to his task. For twelve more months he practiced that same piece of music over and over again. Then he returned again to the musician. As he went, he thought, “Surely this time I will be given a new piece to learn.”

Once again, however, the master instructed him to work at the same piece of music for another year and then return. But this time the young man objected. He said, “No, I want to practice something new. I have worked hard, and I deserve to move on up to a more advanced lesson.” Stubbornly, though, the master held his ground, saying, “No, my son, the same lesson this year.”

So now the young man had a decision to make. Should he continue to trust in the great musician and keep practicing the same piece of music? Or should he question the musician’s expertise and seek training elsewhere? Two long years had come and gone. The young singer had worked hard and done as he was told, but he wasn’t seeing any fruit for his labors. Maybe it was now time to cut his losses with the supposed master and change everything.

The young man pondered the issue for quite some time, but in the end he decided to stick with the great musician’s training. So he went back to practicing the same old lesson and faithfully worked at it for yet another year. Then he returned to the master.

But this time the singer wouldn’t be given any more preparatory assignments. Instead, the great musician simply looked at him and said, “Go, my son. You have nothing more to learn.” The young man was both shocked and relieved, but he took the master at his word and began auditioning for singing parts. He nailed performance after performance, no matter how difficult the song, and eventually he rose to become the leading singer in all of Italy.

How was such a thing possible? It was possible because that one piece of music that the singer had so faithfully practiced all those years held within it a certain combination of notes, and that combination had allowed his vocal cords to be developed to perfection. The master, of course, had known this all along.

Christian, it may be that God has had you working on the same assignment for years now. And it also may be that you have grown very tired of singing it. So you’ve begun to long for something new, something different, something that will break you out of your rut. Perhaps you are right now even contemplating going off and doing your own thing because you are tired of living the life in which God has stationed you.

Well, let me ask you this: Could it be that for the past several years God has faithfully been preparing you to do great and mighty works for Him in the future? And, furthermore, could it be that even now your spiritual “vocal cords” are almost perfectly trained to handle these great works? You see, at this point, the last thing you need to do is short-circuit God’s whole plan by foolishly abandoning your master’s training and making some change that you shouldn’t make.

Call this a warning. Call it a word of encouragement. Call it what you will. But just know that God never sends out His servants unprepared, and if He still has you working on the same old assignment, then your training must not be fully completed yet. You ask, “How much longer will it be?” I don’t know. All I know is that there will come a day when God will send you forth to put all of your training to incredible use for Him.

Filed under Adversity, Choices, Commitment, Disappointment, Discipleship, Doing Good, faith, faithfulness, God's Timing, God's Omniscience, God's Will, Impatience, Ministry, Music, obedience, Patience, perseverance, Rebellion, Reward, submission, Teaching, Temptation, Trusting In God Tagged with , , ,

He Maketh No Mistake

July 5, 2011 Leave a comment

My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache;
But in my soul I’m glad I know
He maketh no mistake!

My cherished plans may go astray,
My dreams may fade away;
But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,
For He doth know the way!

Though night be dark, and it may seem
That day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake!

There is so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight’s far too dim;
But come what may, I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift,
And plain it all He’ll make;
Through all the way, though dark to me,
He made not one mistake.

A.M. Overton

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Comfort, Disappointment, Discipleship, Dying To Self, faith, God's Omniscience, God's Will, Patience, perseverance, Problems, trials, Trusting In God Tagged with , , ,

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