A Little Too Much Separating

Posted on March 1, 2012 by russellmckinney

My buddy Malcolm Woody once forwarded something to me that someone had forwarded to him. It’s a word about religious groups and denominations. I have no idea who wrote it, but it hits a little too close to home. See what you think.

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”

He said, “Nobody loves me.”

I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”

He said, “A Christian.”

I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”

He said, “Protestant.”

I said, “Me, too! What franchise?”

He said, “Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”

I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”

I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.

Does the Bible teach there are times when I, as a Christian, should separate myself from those who either preach wrong doctrine or practice wrong conduct? Yes, it does. For your homework, read: Romans 16:17-18; Titus 3:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; Jude v.3; Galatians 1:6-9; 1 John 4:1; 2 John v.9-11; and Ephesians 5:11. Obviously, there really is a time for what is known as “biblical separation.”

But as we Christians tend to do with so many things, we can go overboard with this separation. For example, if the very gospel itself is being compromised by some erroneous reinterpretation of it, that’s grounds for separation. If, however, the divisive argument in question is over how the financial contributions should be spent, that’s not such sacred ground. Can you see the difference? I hope so. And if you can’t, well, die heretic!

Posted in Balance, Doctrine, Humor, Separation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Romans 8:28 & Roan Mountain

Posted on February 28, 2012 by russellmckinney

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NKJV)

I grew up in the small town of Bakersville, North Carolina. I would call it Mayberry, but Mayberry looks bigger on television. Nationally speaking, Bakersville’s claim to fame is that it lies at the foot of the North Carolina side of Roan Mountain, a well-known tourist site.

And what is it that makes tourists want to come see Roan Mountain? Rhododendrons. The mountain is home to the largest display of blooming rhododendrons in the world, and the display is 100% natural. All told, the plants cover over 600 acres of the mountain. We’re talking about the world’s most exquisite rhododendron garden, marvelously nestled along a mountain ridge 6,300 feet high. It really is quite a site. The plants usually bloom sometime around mid-June, and Bakersville holds an annual Rhododendron festival complete with a beauty pageant, street dance, 10K run, and car show. Can you say, “Small town Americana”?

In the 1800s, people held to the general notion that high mountains offered mystical, healing powers. To cash in on this idea, mining tycoon John Wilder built the grand three-story Cloudland Hotel atop Roan Mountain. The hotel was completed in 1885 and was billed as a health resort. It featured beautiful carpets, fine furniture, copper bathtubs, steam heat, a bowling alley, a croquet course, and a small golf course. The hotel thrived for several years as a class of wealthy patrons ranging from American politicians to European royalty frequented it. Ultimately, however, the high cost of operating such a place on a mountaintop marked the end of the Cloudland. By 1910, the hotel was out of operation. A few years later, just before his death, Wilder sold it. Shortly afterward the new owner auctioned off the materials of the decaying building. By 1927, nothing but rubble was left. Now even the rubble is gone.

Here, though, is where the story of Roan Mountain’s rhododendrons takes an interesting turn. After the Cloudland’s closure, workers were hired to come in with machinery and dig up the mountain’s rhododendrons. The plants were then sold to different places. Obviously, the conservationist movement hadn’t exactly taken hold yet! The removal of the plants left the once beautiful mountaintop looking barren and scarred, and the local people who lived on either side of the mountain were grieved and outraged. They thought the days of Roan Mountain being defined by its trademark rhododendrons were gone forever.

But something unexpected started happening a couple of springs later. The roots of the old plants, roots that had been down too deep for the workers to touch, started sprouting new growth. Almost unbelievably, this new growth was even more beautiful than the previous growth had been. Whereas the previous growth had looked somewhat unkept and wild, the new growth actually looked cultured, even intelligently pruned. It wasn’t too long then before the mountaintop was once again a natural rhododendron garden, with this garden being even more breathtaking than the original one.

Now let’s be clear, the digging up of those original rhododendrons was certainly not a good thing. Today we look back on it and are appalled at such a ravaging of God’s creation. God, however, in His infinite power and sovereignty, was able to take that “bad” and make it work for Roan Mountain’s “good.” And you can rest assured that if He was able to do that with a bunch of rhododendrons atop a mountain, He can do it with the “bad” of your life. Do you remember what Jesus said about another kind of flowers, the lilies? He said:

…Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:28-30, NKJV)

The point is that God cares much more about you than He does flowers, even gorgeous lilies or stunning rhododendrons. This doesn’t mean that He will keep everything “bad” from happening to you, but it does mean that if you know Jesus as your Savior, He will take even the “bad” in your life and use it to produce something “good.” He’ll bring a positive out of the negative. He’ll work with the ugly to create something of beauty. Claim this promise today, Christian, and if you need an object lesson from nature, go visit Roan Mountain along about the second week of June.

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Brokenness, Comfort, Complaining, Creation, Depression, Disappointment, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Sovereignty, God's Work, Perseverance, Personal, Problems, Restoration, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Problem of Copper Nails

Posted on February 23, 2012 by russellmckinney

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10, N.K.J.V.)

The noted preacher Dr. F.E. Marsh once preached a sermon on the importance of confession of sin and (wherever possible) the restitution for wrong done to others. At the close of the service one of his church members came to him with a troubled conscience. “Pastor,” he said, “you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged someone and am ashamed to confess it or try to put it right. You see, I am a boat builder and the man I work for is an infidel. I have talked to him often about his need of Christ and urged him to come and hear you preach, but he scoffs and ridicules it all. Lately, though, I’ve become guilty of something that, if I should acknowledge it to him, will ruin my testimony forever.”

The church member then went on to explain that sometime ago he had started building a boat for himself in his own yard. He had needed to use copper nails for the job because such nails don’t rust in water, but copper nails were expensive. Consequently, he had been carrying home large quantities of them from work. He had rationalized the stealing by telling himself that his employer wasn’t paying him a large enough salary and that the employer had so many nails that he wouldn’t miss them anyway. That reasoning had kept the fellow’s conscience reasonably appeased until Dr. Marsh’s sermon.

Dr. Marsh counseled the church member to go to the employer, confess the stealing, and make the theft right, something the man just couldn’t bring himself to do. In his mind, such a thing would simply be too embarrassing. So, weeks passed, and with each new week the fellow’s guilt only increased. Finally, it got to be too much for him and he broke. He went and confessed all to the employer and offered to pay for the nails.

And how did the employer respond to the confession and the offer? He said, “George, I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there’s something to this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them must be worth having.”

And now, Christian, I’ve got just one question for you: Have you got any “copper nails” in your life that call for some confession and restitution on your part? If you do, you’d be well advised to confront the issue head on because, until you do, any sense of inner peace you have will be a false one. Remember, you can’t be wrong with people and right with God.

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Confession, Conscience, Conviction, Guilt, Honesty, Inner Peace, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sin, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Doing Church Differently

Posted on February 21, 2012 by russellmckinney

The churches of Asia greet you, Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19, N.K.J.V.)

Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house. (Colossians 4:15, N.K.J.V.)

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our friend and fellow laborer, to the beloved Apphia, Archipus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: (Philemon 1:1-2, N.K.J.V.)

Elbert Hubbard was a prominent American writer, publisher, and philosopher before his untimely death aboard the Lusitania, the ship that was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Hubbard was known as a man of profound quotes. One of those, in particular, strikes a chord with me. He called tradition “a clock that tells us what time it was.”

As we study the gospels, we find that Jesus was frequently in conflict with the man-made traditions of the Jewish religious elite. In particular, many incidents involved Him purposely breaking the time-honored but erroneous rules that had been established for keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest (Matthew 12:1-13; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6; John 5:1-16). What caused all that conflict regarding the keeping of the Sabbath? Let me explain.

In the Old Testament Hebrew, the Sabbath commandment consists of 39 words. In accordance with those 39 words, the Jewish rabbis devised their own list of 39 ways in which a person could break the commandment. Then the rabbis took the whole process one step further by dividing those 39 ways into 39 divisions. This produced a grand total of 1,521 ways by which one could break the Sabbath. For example, getting a tack in your sandal was considered carrying a burden on the Sabbath. Killing a flea was considered hunting on the Sabbath. Even eating an egg that was laid on Saturday was considered a violation because the hen had worked on the Sabbath. It’s no wonder that Jesus railed against such traditions.

While I certainly wouldn’t say that the traditions of the American way of “doing church” are as bad as those the Jews used to keep their Sabbath, our traditions do sometimes seem about as entrenched. Try changing something in the typical local church and see what you get! But what’s surprising is that so many of our traditions have little or no scriptural basis.

Consider that for the first 300 years or so churches were simple “house churches” (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon v.1-2; James 2:1-3; Acts 2:1-2; 2 John v.10). That means no: committees, deacon boards (even though the churches did have deacons), business meetings, Sunday Schools, Bible Schools, Bible conferences, revivals, church budgets, choirs, Christmas plays, Christmas cantatas, Easter dramas, Easter cantatas, Fall Festival parties, missions boards, youth missions trips, senior-citizen outings, or Christian schools. The congregations didn’t have pew-filled sanctuaries, baptisteries, education buildings, fellowship halls, gymnasiums, or life-activity centers, either.

So, how did those early churches “do church”? Consider the following:

  1. There were multiple house churches in a city. Since cities such as Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Smyrna, Colossae, and Laodicea boasted populations in the multiplied thousands, no one house could possibly have been large enough to host all of the Christians in a city.
  2. Evidently, when a congregation grew too big for the confines of a home, that was seen as an opportunity to begin a new offshoot house church. This was a version of what we might call “church planting” in the early decades of the church age.
  3. All of the house churches in a given city made up the one “church” of that city (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 2:1; Romans 1:7). When the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the “church” of a city, he meant for that letter to be passed along to each of the house congregations in that city and read aloud in each one.
  4. Each city had multiple pastors. These men were typically called “elders,” “overseers,” or “bishops” (Acts 14:23; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5; James 5:14; Philippians 1:1; Ephesians 4:11). It seems likely that each house congregation had one pastor as its overseer. The fact that Acts 14:23 says that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders (plural) in every church (singular) and Acts 20:17 speaks of the elders (plural) of the church (singular) of Ephesus is explained by the fact that all of the house congregations in a given city made up the one “church” of that city. In that sense, each “church” did have multiple pastors.
  5. There were deacons, men who performed necessary menial acts of service in the congregations (Acts 6:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:8-13).
  6. The congregations met each Sunday to commemorate the fact that Christ arose on a Sunday (Acts 20:7-8; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10). Since many of the early Christians were slaves, and since the Roman empire did not consider Sunday to be a special day during this time (this was before Constantine became the Emperor of Rome and change that), it is likely that services were typically held on Sunday night.
  7. The services were free-flowing ones wherein each Christian was encouraged to contribute by somehow using or exhibiting his or her spiritual gift (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:26; Ephesians 4:7-11). However, everything was to be done in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14:40).
  8. There was praying (James 5:13).
  9. There was singing (Ephesians 5:18-19; Colossians 3:16; James 5:13; 1 Corinthians 14:15). Since the headings of many of the Psalms tell us those Psalms were written to be played on specific instruments, perhaps instruments were sometimes used in the services. Obviously, though, there wasn’t a piano organ sitting in the corner.
  10. There were no pulpits, but there was certainly teaching and what we now call “preaching” (1 Timothy 1:3; 4:6,13,16; 5:17; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Titus 1:9; 2:1).
  11. It seems that the Lord’s Supper was observed each service. This was called “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42-47).
  12. In the earliest days of the church age, a “love feast” (a meal designed to help the poorer Christians) was served in conjuncture with the Lord’s Supper (Jude v. 12).
  13. Real wine was used during the Lord’s Supper and the love feast (1 Corinthians 11:21). How else could some of the Christians of Corinth have gotten drunk during the observance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)?
  14. The house churches were expected to practice church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-13). Perhaps they did this by using the guideline laid out by Jesus (Matthew 18:15-17).
  15. As for the collection of monetary offerings, the Old Testament law’s elaborate system of tithing (Leviticus 27:30-34; Deuteronomy 12:5-7,17-19; 14:22-29; Numbers 18:21-32; Malachi 3:8-12) was not taught. Why would it have been since Christians were no longer under the law (Romans 6:14; 7:4; 10:4; Galatians 5:18)? For that matter, a Christian couldn’t bring a tenth of his harvests and livestock to a house church, and there was no longer a need to support the Levitical priests who ministered at the temple. So, what many now call “grace giving” replaced the commands concerning tithing. Under “grace giving” cheerful and generous giving was expected as each Christian gave in accordance with his or her prosperity (2 Corinthians 9:6-15; 1 Timothy 6:17-19).
  16. The collected offerings went to aid the needy (Acts 20:35; Ephesians 4:28; James 1:27), help fellow Christians who were struggling (Acts 11:29; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Galatians 6:10; Hebrews 6:10), support the apostles in their missionary work (Philippians 4:10-20; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14; 2 Corinthians 11:5-9), and meet the basic needs of the pastors (Galatians 6:6,10; 1 Corinthians 9:7,11; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
  17. Each and every Christian was to be actively involved in hands-on service to Christ outside the confines of the church congregation. The primary role of the pastors was to equip all Christians with the doctrine and knowledge necessary for those Christians to carry out the work of ministry themselves (Ephesians 4:11-12).
  18. The pastors did have authority to lead the congregations (Acts 20:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 3:5; Hebrews 13:7,17,24).
  19. Pastoral leadership was to be the kind of servant leadership that Jesus exemplified (1 Peter 5:1-4).
  20. The ultimate authority in all the churches rested with the apostles (1 Corinthians 5:1-3). They were the ones who ordained the pastors (Acts 14:23).

Okay, so why am I telling you all this? First, let me assure you that it’s not because I’m trying to take us all back to those early days of the church age. Even if we wanted to go back to that time, we couldn’t because we no longer have genuine apostles the likes of Peter and Paul. Second, I’m also not saying that there is anything patently wrong with: church buildings, committees, Sunday Schools, Bible Schools, revivals, missions boards, youth missions trips, senior-citizen outings, Christian schools, etc. I mean, the fact that you are reading this via a very modern tool called the internet isn’t lost on me!

No, my purpose in this post is to help promote a little more tolerance among Christians when a church comes along and says, “We’re going to try something different.” Since what we consider to be the “traditional” way of “doing church” is as different from the churches of the New Testament as apples are from oranges, who are we to say, “Oh, that’s wrong, you can’t do that”? C’mon, we’re already so far off the New Testament blueprint that Peter and Paul would hardly recognize us. Therefore, surely we can use a lot less of the attitude, “Our way is the only way.”

Actually, the more I study the church, the more I realize that it is akin to a living, breathing thing, and as such is constantly growing and evolving. The Lord doesn’t want congregations who are trapped back in the year 100, 1600, 1900, or 2000. He wants us out there on the cutting edge of society, relating to people where they are, and keeping up with the times. Think about it, isn’t that exactly how Jesus ministered to the people of His day? So, even though there is certainly a basic, Bible-based template for what constitutes a local church and how that church should function and be led, there is a lot of God-allowed play in the particulars of how a specific congregation goes about its mission. And just because a church operates differently from your personal preferences or your tradition, don’t automatically assume that the church is in the wrong and you are in the right.

Posted in Alcohol, Balance, Change, Church, Church Discipline, Giving, God's Work, Ministry, Money, Music, Prayer, Preaching, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Stewardship, Sunday School, Teaching, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Doing Church Differently

Responding to Criticism

Posted on February 15, 2012 by russellmckinney

Dr. Charles Lowery is a motivational speaker. For years, though, he was a pastor, and some of his observations on the ministry were absolutely hilarious. Consider this one on criticism:

I always try to be positive with my critics. One came up to me last week and I said, “If I had two more just like you, I’d be a happy man.” He didn’t know what to say. He replied, “Pastor, what are you talking about? I’m always criticizing you. Why would you be happy if you had two more like me?” I answered, “Because I have twenty more like you. If I only had three, I would be a happy man!”

If you want to avoid getting criticized I’d suggest that you become a hermit who doesn’t attempt to get anything done. Then again, that will get you criticized for being lazy! Yes, unfortunately, getting criticized is pretty much inevitable in this world.

Sometimes it seems as if people are lined up around the block waiting to tell me all the things I’ve done wrong. In response, I’ve often used a Bill Murray line from the classic comedy Ghostbusters. At one point in the storyline, after Murray and the other Ghostbusters have become famous, he tries to have a conversation with Sigourney Weaver, the girl of his dreams. When she cuts him down with a sarcastic remark, he says, “Oh, I don’t have to take this abuse from you. I’ve got hundreds of people waiting to abuse me.”

Let me offer a simple two-fold suggestion for how you should handle the criticism that will inevitably come your way. First, honestly evaluate the criticism to see if there is even a kernel of truth in it. Much to your chagrin, you might find that you actually deserve what you are getting. Then, second, make any changes that you need to make because of the criticism.

Please understand that I’m not suggesting that you beat yourself up over criticism that isn’t factual or valid. If no changes are warranted on your part, don’t make any. But you aren’t perfect, and that means that sometimes changes will be in order for you. And it’s during those times that you’ll have to ask yourself, “Am I a big enough person to accept this criticism rightly and make the appropriate changes to bring good out of it?”

Posted in Attitude, Character, Criticism, Humor, Pastors, Personal | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Responding to Criticism

The History of Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 13, 2012 by russellmckinney

In honor of Valentine’s Day I thought I’d share a little of the history of the holiday. Admittedly, that’s tough to do because the holiday’s origins are somewhat murky. Even reputable historians can’t seem to come to full agreement on all the details. Keeping that in mind, though, what follows is one of the most accepted takes on the subject.

In the ancient city of Rome different kinds of pagan festivals were held during set times of the year. The mid-February festival was called Lupercalia, which was held February 13-15. Lupercalia was what we might call a “love feast.” It was held to honor the supposed truth that birds began their mating season halfway through February.

The holiday festivities began with the sacrificing of two male goats and a dog. Following the sacrifice, the men who officiated over the holiday dressed themselves up in the skins of the sacrificed goats and ran around the walls of the city. As they ran they carried whips in their hands, whips made from strips of the animals’ skins. Girls and young women would line up along the route to receive lashes from these whips. A lash would supposedly ensure fertility upon a woman for the coming year. If you know your William Shakespeare you know that the beginning of his famous play Julius Caesar is set during the celebrating of Lupercalia. Caesar instructs Mark Antony to be sure and strike Caesar’s wife Calpurnia with a lash so that her barrenness might be ended.

Okay, if you also know your Catholic history you know that Catholicism eventually arose and became nothing less than the mandated state religion of the Roman empire. But the Catholic church understood how much the Romans loved their various festivals, and the Church feared outright revolt if it completely did away with them. So the Bishops and Popes took a different approach. Over the course of the years, they systematically “Christianized” the holidays. They did this by removing the rank, barbaric pagan rituals from the celebrations and putting Christian slants on them.

Thus, the late December holiday that celebrated the rebirth of the sun became Christmas, which celebrates the birth of the Son. The early spring holiday that celebrated the supposed resurrection of Tammuz, the son of Semiramis (also known as Ishtar, Astarte, and Eostre), became Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The end-of-fall festival that was associated with the dead became All Hallows Eve (of which Halloween is a derivation), with All Hollows (Saints) Day being November 1 and celebrating the honoring of the Catholic Saints. And, yes, the mid-February celebration known as Lupercalia got a religious makeover too. It became the celebration of the death of a man named Saint Valentine on February 14.

There is much debate as to the actual identity of Saint Valentine. Some historians contend that three different men named Valentine were merged into one myth. Others say that two Valentines were merged. Others say there was just one. If we go with the idea that there was just one, the legend concerning him is reasonably basic.

As the legend goes, Father Valentine was a priest who lived during the 3rd century when the Roman emperor Claudius ruled. Claudius was an ambitious military ruler who believed in keeping vast numbers of soldiers in the field and away from their families for long periods of time. To keep his soldiers from getting homesick, he even went so far as to outlaw marriage altogether. Father Valentine defied this ban and continued to secretly marry young couples. Eventually Claudius found out and had Father Valentine arrested and sentenced to death. As Valentine sat in prison awaiting his execution, young couples he had secretly wed would visit him and pass him flowers and notes to show their appreciation.

Another part of the legend says that while Valentine was in prison he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. On February 14, the day of his execution, he passed the girl a note that was signed “From your Valentine.” If you believe the legend, this was the beginning of the sending of Valentine’s Day cards. What we do know for sure is that in 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius made the date for the celebration of Lupercalia February 14, most likely tying it in with the death of Father Valentine on that date. And the rest, we might say, is greeting-card-industry history.

Posted in Valentine's Day | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Compel

Posted on February 9, 2012 by russellmckinney

There once was a time when boys sold newspapers on the streets of big cities. One young man, in particular, was top notch at doing the job. As a man passed by him on the street one day, the young fellow asked, “Buy a paper, Mister?” The man answered, “Sorry, son, I can’t read.” Without pausing for a moment, the boy replied, “That’s okay, Mister, buy one anyway, carry it in your hand, and people won’t know that you can’t read.” Now that’s a salesman!

We Christians tend to give up too easily in our attempts to share the gospel. The slightest excuse stops us dead in our tracks. Who knows how many times just a little bit of persistence would produce the desired result?

In Luke 14:16-24, Jesus tells one of His many parables regarding the kingdom of God. I won’t go into all the details of the parable, but the famous line from it is found in verse 23:

“Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.'” (N.K.J.V.)

The operative word there is “compel.” It translates the Greek word anankazo, which means to constrain by persuasion, force, or threat. It’s the same word used in Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45, both of which say that Jesus “made” His disciples get into the boat (N.K.J.V.). The point is, anankazo is a pretty serious word. It’s certainly a whole lot more serious than most Christians are about inviting lost people into the kingdom of God.

I have no idea why the Lord led me to write on this topic today, but I’m guessing that someone who reads this has tried unsuccessfully in times past to witness to a certain person. Well, I’m encouraging you to make another attempt with that individual. Will the outcome be different this time? I don’t know. Frankly, there is no guarantee that you won’t get rebuffed again. But it just might be that this time the person will be much more open to what you have to say. One thing’s for sure: If you give up easily, you’ll stand no chance of ever winning the person to Christ.

Posted in Evangelism, Faithfulness, Perseverance, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Try to Wear Someone Else’s Armor

Posted on February 8, 2012 by russellmckinney

When King Saul heard that a teenage boy named David had volunteered to fight the giant Goliath, he called for David and tried to talk him out of it. He said, “David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33). David, however, explained to Saul that he had killed lions and bears while tending his father’s flocks. Based upon this past success, David was confident that he could defeat Goliath. As he put it, “And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36). Saul then reluctantly gave his approval by saying, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

However, before Saul sent David out to fight, he let him borrow his personal armor, which included a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put on the armor and tried walking around in it but found it too cumbersome and ill-fitting (1 Samuel 17:38-39). Saul was a very tall man, the tallest in all Israel (1 Samuel 9:2), and young David was much shorter. So, David politely declined the offer and chose instead to arm himself with his sling and five smooth stones, which he placed in his shepherd’s pouch (1 Samuel 17:40). Of course, the rest is history.

If I’ve learned nothing else about life, I’ve learned one thing: You can’t be successful trying to wear armor that doesn’t fit you. You have to be yourself and strive to keep yourself in situations that suit you. Not every job is a good fit for you, even if the pay is good. Some neighborhoods just aren’t your style. Your relationships with certain people will never be quite right, no matter how hard you work at them. That’s just the way it is. The world has its Sauls, wearing their armor, and its Davids, carrying shepherds’ pouches and slings. People are different.

That’s why it’s so important that you learn to appreciate it when you find yourself in a good circumstance. Don’t be so quick to run off from a spot that is obviously well suited to you. If you’ve found people with whom you can get along, stay with them. If you’ve got a job that provides you with not only a paycheck but also contentment, stick with it. If you’ve discovered an oasis in a desert of life’s barrenness, sink your roots down into it and enjoy it.

You see, there’s nothing wrong with maintaining your individuality and being true to yourself. After all, God is the one who wired you the way you are. So, why should you try to be someone you’re not or force your round peg into a square hole? That won’t work for you any more than wearing Saul’s armor worked for David. And could it be that Goliaths aren’t getting slain in your life simply because you aren’t fighting in a style that suits you? Think about it.

Posted in Change, Choices, Contentment, Decisions, Desires, God's Will, Individuality, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Talents | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Making A Decision In Winter

Posted on February 6, 2012 by russellmckinney

Several years ago, Tonya and I were shopping for a house. We had sold the one we had lived in for about ten years and were currently renting. One house we were interested in was not even on the market, but we liked its location and the owner was Tonya’s aunt. Through the family grapevine, we heard that she might be open to selling.

As it turned out, she wasn’t interested in selling at that time, but the reason she gave fascinated me. Very politely she told us, “No, I don’t want to sell right now because from past experience I’ve learned that I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I have to admit that when I heard that answer I thought to myself, “Good for you! There are people who go their entire lives and never recognize such a pattern about themselves.” I actually admired her for being able to figure that out about herself. You see, she is the type of person who is prone to melancholy and depression, and winter weather causes that to bubble up in her all the more. But through much introspection and self-analysis, she had learned that about herself and come up with a way of limiting its damaging effects in her life.

Well, in the end, Tonya and I bought another house, and quite a few years have passed since. Still, though, I remember the line: “I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I think of it when I want to resign from a church during a rough stretch of attendance, spirit, and offerings. I think of it when I want one of the boys to quit a ball team because a coach isn’t doing him right. I think of it when I want to sell our current house because I’ve grown frustrated with all the renovating and repairs it needs.

“I don’t make good decisions in winter” simply means: Always be wary of making a major, life-changing decision during a difficult time. It’s usually better to wait until the sun is warm, the birds are singing, attendance is up, the spirit is good, the money is fine, things are going well for your kid, the repairs are finished, and your overall outlook on life is upbeat. Then, if you can still make the same decision, you know the course of action is right for you.

Posted in Change, Choices, Contentment, Desires, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Personal, Weather | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What Was Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by russellmckinney

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, N.K.J.V.)

T. De Witt Talmage, one of America’s most prominent preachers in the late 1800s, put it best when he said, “Many of the theological doctors have felt Paul’s pulse to see what was the matter with him.” Boy, have they ever! The question “What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh?” is one of the most famous in all of Christianity. So, I thought I’d write a blog post and offer the correct answer in order to clear up the confusion once and for all. (Yeah, right.)

What I will do is name the two contenders for the “best answer” category. Ready? Here we go.

Possible answer #1: The thorn in the flesh was some kind of physical ailment with which Paul struggled continually.

In Galatians 4:13-15, Paul speaks of preaching the gospel in “physical infirmity” and “my trial which was in my flesh.” He also says of the Galatian Christians, “…you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.” If we take Paul’s specific use of the word “eyes” at its simplest meaning, it would seem to indicate that Paul had a problem with his eyesight.

I should point out, however, that it’s possible that “plucked out your own eyes” was just a figure of speech (Matthew 5:29, 18:9) that Paul used to show that the Galatian Corinthians would have gone to any lengths to meet his needs. Still, though, even if it was just a figure of speech, the idea that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was some kind of physical ailment (bad eyesight or something else) is further strengthened by the fact that he himself says in our text passage, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities…” Furthermore, the thorn was in his “flesh,” which most commonly would be taken to mean “in my body.”

Possible answer #2: The thorn in the flesh was a demon (a fallen angel).

On the heels of using the term “a thorn in the flesh,” Paul further describes the thorn as “a messenger of Satan to buffet me.” The Greek word that is translated there as “messenger” is angelos, which is the common Greek word for “angel.” This answer is given even more credence by the fact that Paul knew the Old Testament well, and the word “thorn” is used multiple times in its pages to refer to enemies of Israel (Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Judges 2:3; Ezekiel 28:24). All of this explains why both Martin Luther and John Calvin held to this answer.

But hold on a minute before you pronounce conclusively that Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a demon. While the term “messenger (angelos) of Satan” does seem to refer to an “angel of Satan” (which would be a demon), Paul also referred to his thorn as “this thing” and “it.” This creates a problem for this answer because scripture refers to Satan, the leader of all the fallen angels, as “he” not “it.” The point is that maybe Paul would have used a pronoun if he was indeed talking about a fallen angel.

Well, as you can see, each of these two possible answers has its merits. Because of this, the debate will continue until we all get to heaven. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though. As many students of the Bible have learned, the fact that Paul’s thorn in the flesh remains unidentified allows more people to relate to it. Putting it another way, if we knew for sure that the thorn was an eyesight problem, it would lose some of its appeal to people who have 20/20 vision. Likewise, if we knew for sure that it was a demon that dogged him wherever he went, it would lose some of its appeal to people who don’t have a demon constantly harassing them. But since we don’t know for sure, each of us has the freedom to compare Paul’s thorn to whatever problem we are facing.

Posted in Adversity, Bible Study, Demons, Problems, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil, Trials | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments