The Foolish Prince

March 21, 2011 Leave a comment

A prince left the ease and safety of his father’s castle in order to seek adventure in the world. He left all his riches behind and eventually reached such a low state that he was forced to dress in rags and scrounge for food wherever he could. He lived so long that way that he ultimately even forgot that he had once been a prince.

But then came the day when his father, who had been diligently searching for him for years, found him and took him home. As the father walked the prince through the castle, the prince’s memories refired and he slowly began to reclaim the life of royalty that had once been his. To his shame, he also began to realize just how foolish he had been for ever wanting to abandon such a lifestyle for a lower one.

You say, “Boy, what a stupid story. NOBODY would be as foolish as that prince.” Friend, there are Christians out there right now who have voluntarily abandoned the royal lifestyle of walking in close fellowship with Christ and chosen to live in the squalor of sin. There are Christian husbands who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling, or pornography. There are Christian wives who are cheating on their husbands. There are Christian teenagers who are fully conforming to the world in their mindset, appearance, words, and deeds. Even the average Christian child knows far more about the latest SpongeBob SquarePants episode than he does the Bible.

So what about you? Are you a Christian? Well then, how is your lifestyle these days? Could it be that you have more in common with that foolish prince that you’d like to admit? Is your heavenly Father out looking for you, His wayward child who has broken off fellowship with Him? If that describes you in any way, please come to your senses.

Know this: The fellowship being broken off, even for a long time, doesn’t mean that the relationship has been severed, and God wants you back home with Him. He wants to take care of you and pour out His rich blessings upon you. But He can’t do that, prince, until the fellowship you once had with Him is restored. So, are you ready to get back to your castle and a higher way of living? The only person stopping you is you.

Filed under Backsliding, Change, Choices, Disobedience, Dress and Appearance, Eternal Security, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, God's Love, God's Provision, Husbands, obedience, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Seeking Forgiveness, Sin Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Find That Treasure

March 13, 2011 Leave a comment

William Randolph Hearst, the legendary newspaper publishing magnate, was one of the wealthiest men of his time. His great wealth allowed him to spend millions of dollars collecting art treasures from around the world. One day he read the description of a valuable piece of art and promptly dispatched his agent abroad to locate the piece and buy it. After months of searching, the agent finally reported that he had found the treasure. Where was it? To Hearst’s great surprise, it was stored in one of his own warehouses, having already been purchased by him years earlier.

There are many applications we could make to this story, but let me just offer this one: Sometimes the treasure you seek is one you already have in your possession if you only knew it.

Christian, what does God’s word say about being content with the things you have? The passage is Hebrews 13:5-6:

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

The teaching is: If you have Jesus, you have the Creator of the universe on your side, and that’s plenty of treasure for anyone.

Filed under contentment, Covetousness, Desires, God's Omnipotence, God's Provision, Greed, needs, Prosperity, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , ,

Feeling Kind of Inadequate? Good!

March 3, 2011 Leave a comment

My wife Tonya is a middle-school math teacher, which means that she is good at math. She isn’t nearly as good, however, in the areas of grammar and spelling. Being polar opposites, I am good at grammar and spelling but not much at math. So which one would Tonya seek God’s help more concerning, a situation involving math or grammar? She would run to Him more quickly for help with grammar. I, on the other hand, would run to Him more quickly for help with math.

The point is that none of us typically asks for the Lord’s help unless we really think we need it. In light of this fact, can you see how God would work against Himself if He made us all supremely talented and gifted in every area of life? I mean, if we could expertly handle everything that came our way, would we ever look to Him for guidance and strength? I think we know the answer to that.

So rather than cursing your inadequacies and physical shortcomings, learn to see them as pathways to God. Instead of being angry at Him for not making you “perfect,” hear Him calling you to Himself by way of your limitations. I don’t want to sound corny here, but God wants to show off for you. He wants you to see what He can do when you admit your inability and ask for His help. You say that you are struggling with a problem right now, one that is out of your skill set. Okay, that makes you NORMAL. Now take that problem to a loving, all-powerful God and let Him help you. And don’t feel shame for acknowledging your weakness. Instead feel the joy that comes with working hand in hand with the One who created you and longs to share your life.

Filed under God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Omniscience, God's Provision, needs, prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Trusting In God, Worry Tagged with , , , , , ,

One Is Enough

January 29, 2011 Leave a comment

When a person is born, he or she comes wired with certain talents, skills, and natural abilities. Obviously, these must be recognized and honed as the individual grows, but the point is that these things are inside the person even in infancy.

Well, the New Testament teaches that when a person believes in Christ as Savior and is thus “born again” (John 3:1-21) God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside that person’s body (Romans 8:9-11). And among other things He does, the indwelling Holy Spirit imparts to the person at least one “spiritual gift” (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Ephesians 4:7-11).

What is a spiritual gift? It is a talent, skill, or ability that the person did not have before becoming a Christian. As with natural talents, skills, and abilities, it might take the new Christian (who is called a babe in Christ: 1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Peter 2:2) a while to identify the gift and hone it, but the gift is present from the moment of salvation. Some Christians are given more than one spiritual gift, but every Christian is given at least one (1 Corinthians 12:7). And trust me when I say that one is plenty by which to serve Christ in great and mighty ways.     

A young man who lost his left arm in an automobile accident wanted to learn judo. His family, delighted that he wasn’t letting his disability keep him down, hired an old Japanese master to teach him judo’s throws. After three months had passed, the master had taught the young man only one throw, but that throw had been mastered. Surprisingly, the master felt that it was time for the young man to enter his first competition. Even more suprisingly, the young man actually won the event, defeating the defending champion in the finals.

After the finals, the young man asked the master the question that had been on his mind: “Why did you teach me only one throw?” The master replied, “There are two reasons. First, by mastering that one throw you have mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that throw is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

You see, that young man knew only one throw, but one was enough. Likewise, Christian, God the Holy Spirit may have imparted to you only one spiritual gift, but that one is enough. So use it, use it, use it, over and over again in service to Christ. And here’s the good news: Satan won’t have a defense for it.

Filed under Adversity, Attitude, Doing Good, God's Provision, salvation, Satan, spiritual gifts, The Devil, The Holy Spirit Tagged with , , , , ,

Will God Meet My Need?

February 2, 2010 Leave a comment

In the mid-nineteenth century, poverty characterized the people of the northeast Highlands of Scotland. During those days, a man named John Murray was praying for guidance by a riverside. Many of his neighbors were imigrating to America, and he was wondering if he should join them. As he was praying, he heard a loud thud on the grass behind him. A salmon had leaped right out of the water and was lying there for him! Murray took it as an answer that the Lord could provide for him in Scotland. 

Philippians 4:19 says: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This verse is very well known, for good reason. However, I would like to point out one important fact about the verse’s application.

That fact is: The verse was written by a Christian (the apostle Paul) to other Christians (the Christians of Philippi). You see, it’s not just anyone who can rightly say, “I know that God will supply all my need according to His riches in glory.” The verse doesn’t obligate God to provide for those who do not know Jesus as Savior. Pay careful attention to the wording: God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I’m not saying that God won’t supply the need of a lost person. The truth is, He usually does. As Jesus said, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). I’m simply pointing out the vast difference between knowing God as one’s heavenly Father and merely knowing Him as “the man upstairs.”

Imagine me walking around the mall with my two boys. It’s 6:00 p.m. and they haven’t had supper. They look at me and say, “Daddy, we’re hungry. Will you buy us something to eat?” I will buy them something because I’m their father, a fact which obligates me to provide for their needs. That is how God responds to the Christian’s needs. He meets them out of a fatherly obligation.

But now imagine another boy, a total stranger, coming up to me in the mall and saying, “Mister, I’m hungry. Will you buy me something to eat?” Based upon my assessment of the situation, if I sense a genuine need in the child, I will buy him something to eat. But I’m not obligated to do it, am I? Do you see the difference? I meet my boys’ need out of parental obligation, but I meet the other boy’s need out of something else, call it mercy, pity, charity, kindness, or compassion.

So, I’ll leave you with two thoughts. First, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior, you are not a child of God. You are loved by Him and you are desired by Him, but you are not His child. You must believe in Christ as Savior to actually join the family (John 1:12). And then, second, if you do know Jesus as Savior, you really shouldn’t worry about the meeting of your needs. Remember that your heavenly Father has inexhaustible “riches” and is obligated to take care of you, even if he has to drop a salmon on your bank to do it.

Filed under faith, God's Love, God's Provision, needs, Trusting In God, Worry Tagged with , , , , , ,

Is Beautiful Music Coming From You?

December 10, 2009 Leave a comment

Old stories are just that: old stories. Some are true. Some aren’t. Here’s one that comes from the late seventeenth century. I can’t testify to it’s authenticity, but it’s a good story.

A wealthy man from London was traveling across Europe. In a rundown little shop in Paris, he found an old violin. Its finish was flaking. It’s bridges were broken down. It’s strings were gone. But something about the instrument intrigued the man, and he bought it for a small sum.

He took the violin to his room and began to tinker with it but quickly realized that repairing it was far too great a task for him. He then began to search for someone to do the job. In Cremona, Italy, he asked a man on the street if he knew anyone who repaired violins. The man directed him to a certain house. He went there and knocked on the door, and the person who answered instructed him to leave the violin and come back in one week.

When the man returned to pick up his instrument, the door was answered by someone different. This man was quite elegant looking and wore distinguished glasses. When he brought forth the violin, it didn’t even look like the same instrument. It was restored completely and virtually sparkled with beauty. 

The man took his violin and tried to play it, but the sound that came out was harsh and unpleasant. He thought, “Oh well. It was worth a try to fix it.” Then he asked for the bill and voiced his appall at what he considered an outrageous price, considering that the violin’s sound still left much to be desired.  

At that point the bespeckled fellow took the instrument back and began playing it. This time the sound produced was indescribably beautiful to the ear. The owner, with his eyes bouncing, immediately changed his mind and agreed to the price. As he handed over the money, he asked the gentleman, “Who are you, sir?” The answer came back, “My name is Antonio Stradivari. If you will look closely, you’ll find that name inside your violin because I made it.”        

The spiritual application of this story is two fold. First, just as Antonio Stradivari knew how to restore one of his Stradivarius violins, God knows how to restore you, His creation. Second, just as Stradivari knew exactly how to play one of his violins to produce the most beautiful music from it, God knows how to play you to produce the most beautiful music you have in you.

Filed under Doing Good, God's Love, God's Provision, Personal Holiness, spiritual gifts Tagged with , , ,

What Jesus Was Thankful For

November 25, 2009 Leave a comment

For a Thanksgiving sermon this year, I did something I’d never done. I got down my concordance and looked up all the instances in which Jesus is specifically mentioned as giving thanks. I found that there are four things for which the Bible says He gave thanks. 

#1: In John 6:11,23, Jesus gives thanks for the food by which He feeds the multitudes. In this passage, that food is five barley loaves and two small fishes, and those multitudes are 5,000 men. In another passage, Matthew 15:36, He gives thanks for the seven loaves of bread and few small fish that feed 4,000 men. Obviously, this teaches us that we should give thanks for food.

#2: In John 11:41, Jesus gives thanks that God the Father has heard His prayers concerning the death of Lazarus. This shows us that we should give thanks that God the Father, despite all of His majesty, glory, and power, will take the time to hear our prayers.

#3: In Luke 10:21, Jesus gives thanks that God the Father hides spiritual truths from the earthly wise and prudent and reveals them to “babes.” This teaches us that we should give thanks that God doesn’t have to depend upon the world’s intellectual elite to get His message out or His work done. He is perfectly willing and able to work through common folk. (This same lesson is taught in Matthew 11:25 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.) 

#4: In Luke 22:17-19, Jesus gives thanks for the symbolic elements He uses in the Lord’s Supper. The bread symbolizes His body and the cup symbolizes His blood. This teaches us that we should give thanks for Christ’s death. After all, it is because of that death that any of us have the opportunity to believe in Christ as Savior and be granted forgiveness of all sin and eternal life.    

Of course, I’m not saying that Jesus never gave thanks for anything outside these four categories. The Bible in no way gives us a complete record of His earthly life and ministry. But for those of us who believe that all the words of the Bible are divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:16), we can find great meaning in those facts the Bible actually includes. We figure, if they made the cut, God had a good reason for putting them in there.

So, this Thanksgiving, take the time to thank the Lord for these four things. I can tell you from first-hand experience since Sunday that you will find this a helpful spiritual experience. And that, I know, will allow you to have a better Thanksgiving all the way around.

Filed under Bible Study, Christ's Death, God's Provision, God's Work, prayer, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, The Bible Tagged with , , , ,

A Good Thought For Thanksgiving

November 22, 2009 Leave a comment

I preached a Thanksgiving sermon this morning. Then Tonya hit the Mcdonalds drive-thru tonight and picked up some supper. Let me combine those two events of my day and give you a good thought, Christian.

Let’s say that a father takes his child to Mcdonalds for french-fries. Once they have their order and are seated at a table, the father tests the child by asking, “Do you love me more than you love these french-fries?” The child has to think for a moment but finally answers, “Yes.” Do you know why that was the right choice? It’s because it’s better to love the source of the blessing rather than the blessing itself. 

You see, if that father had much money in his wallet, he could buy fries for all the people in the restaurant. The fact that he bought fries especially for his child showed that he loved that child and wanted to have an intimate time of fellowship with that child. The point is, the real gift was the father, not the fries. The fries were merely a byproduct of the far more important thing: the unique relationship with the father.      

I have two wonderful boys, and I enjoy filling their lives with pleasing things such as food, clothing, comfortable beds, balls, bats, gloves, toys, televisions, and Playstation systems. But they should appreciate me more than the stuff that I give them. New stuff gets manufactured and purchased every day, but there is only one me. Ryan and Royce don’t have another earthly father. I’m it. That makes me infinitely more important than anything I can buy them.

As we enter into this Thanksgiving week, I’ll ask you to do something: Spend some time thanking God for His person. Don’t just be thankful for the blessings He has bestowed upon you, blessings such as family, friends, health, peace of mind, home, money, and possessions. That’s just the child thanking the father for the french-fries. Be sure to thank God even more for simply being who He is.        

Christian, if all you can do is thank God for the blessings that He sends your way, what will you do if those blessings get taken away? That happened to Job. Chapters 1 and 2 of his book describe how he lost his wealth, his children, and his health. But over the course of the rest of the book, Job learns to thank God merely for being who He is. Could you or I offer up any thanks if we lost all the blessings that Job lost? That’s a good question to ponder over the next few days. Hopefully, by Thursday, the thanks we offer up to God will be more mature and insightful than any we’ve ever offered up before on Thanksgiving.

Filed under Fatherhood, God's Love, God's Provision, Parenting, Priorities, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, trials Tagged with , , , , , ,

My Father Runs the Trains

April 28, 2009 Leave a comment

Railroad tracks snake their way through the heart of the town in which I live. I’m not talking about old, decrepit tracks that haven’t seen any action in years. These tracks are alive and vibrant with the sounds of the trains that roll atop them at various hours of the day and night. A few months back, there was even a rant of complaint in our local paper about all the train whistles that blow around here.

The trains call to mind a story from the life of J. Hudson Taylor, that giant among Christian missionaries. Taylor spent fifty-one years in China and founded the famous China Inland Mission. That Mission was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries into the country. Those missionaries began 125 schools and saw the Christian conversions of over 18,000 Chinese.

Like most missionaries, Taylor was well versed in trusting God to meet his needs. On one occasion, he was in America, speaking in St. Louis at the church of Dr. James H. Brookes. The next speaking engagement on his schedule was the Sunday service at a church in southern Illinois. Brookes was responsible for getting Taylor to the train station Saturday morning to catch the train to that engagement. But things didn’t go as planned and Taylor ended up missing his train by just a few minutes.

Brookes felt awful about letting down his esteemed guest and the two men immediately started asking about other trains that would get Taylor to the church in time. They were informed, however, that the next train to make that run would depart too late to be of any help. “There is one train that is supposed to connect up with another train to make the run you need,” said the stationmaster. “It is about to depart right over there. But, since it never connects up with that other train according to schedule, it wouldn’t be any use to you either.”

With that, Brookes set off to do some more asking about trains and schedules. He returned without having any luck and was surprised to find Taylor standing on the rear platform of the train that never made the connection. He said, “Mr. Taylor, the stationmaster told us that train won’t make the connection.” Taylor just gave him a little smile and said, “Goodbye, Doctor. My Father runs the trains.” When Brookes protested and tried to talk reason to Taylor, he only received the same reply, “Goodbye, Doctor. My Father runs the trains.”

Upon boarding the inconsistent train, Taylor went to the conductor and explained the importance of making the connection with the other train. The conductor said, “I hope we will time it right with that other train, but we almost never do.” Taylor then thanked the man and set to praying.

And was the connection made? Yes. As Taylor’s train was pulling into the station, he saw the other train sitting there as if it was waiting for him. The conductor, with genuine surprise said, “Well, there it is. But I didn’t expect it.” Taylor then got off his train, made his way across the platform, boarded the other train, and easily made it to the church for his speaking engagement.

Jesus said to His followers, “Don’t worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25). He backed up that command by using the birds of the air and the lillies of the field as illustrations (Matthew 6:26-30). If God sees to the care of birds and flowers, how much more will He see to the needs of His children?

In another setting, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

I’ve got three questions for you:

#1: Are you a Christian?

#2: Are you worried about something?

#3: Do you see how a “yes” answer to the first question should prohibit a “yes” answer to the second?

Christian, you need to learn the lesson that J. Hudson Taylor knew so well: You are a child of God (John 1:9-13), and your heavenly Father runs the trains. Your life isn’t careening unguided down the tracks. The Lord knows where you’ve been, where you are now, and where He wants to take you. What you must do is trust Him explicitly to meet your every need. When you learn to live like this, you’ll be able to rest in the knowledge that God will ensure that you make all your connections.

Filed under God's Provision, Worry Tagged with , , , , , , ,

God’s Provision

March 14, 2009 Leave a comment

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.

Filed under God's Provision, God's Will, Personal Tagged with , , , ,

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