J.C. Penney & Chick-fil-A

Posted on August 15, 2012 by russellmckinney

For eight-and-a-half years, I pastored a non-denominational church that I started. Some Sundays, as a part of our services, I would describe an everyday situation and ask, “What would Jesus have us do in this situation?” My original plan for the segment was to play off the old question, “What would Jesus do?” But the first time I included the segment in our service, someone wisely noted that oftentimes what Jesus would do isn’t the same as what He would have us do. For example, if Jesus attended a funeral, He might very well raise the deceased! So, I changed the whole theme to, “What would Jesus have us do?”

My questions were never easy ones, such as, “Should I rob this bank?” or “Should I beat my wife?” I always chose situations that didn’t have obvious, cookie-cutter answers. What I was after was a good discussion, one that addressed all the sometimes conflicting angles of the situation. I found it fascinating to moderate these discussions and listen as sincere Christian people bantered back and forth in their answers. By listening to a person’s answer, I could tell what his or her priorities were. You see, each Christian is unique, and each one tends to major upon different aspects of Jesus and His teachings.

One Sunday I waded into the shark-infested waters of our nation’s cultural war by talking about not only the gay and lesbian ads that J.C. Penney was doing at the time but also the counter stance that was being taken by Chick-fil-A at the time. I said, “At one end of a shopping mall, you have a J.C. Penney store. At the other end, in the food court, you have a Chick-fil-A. If Jesus was in that mall, what would He do? Would He shop at J.C. Penney? Would He boycott them? Would He eat at Chick-fil-A? And even more than that, what would He have us, as Christians, do?”

The discussion that followed was so impactful that folks wanted to revisit the topic the following Sunday. So we did. Perhaps not surprisingly, with everyone having had a week’s worth of time to think about the matter, that second discussion was even better than the previous one had been.

One woman noted that Christians condemning homosexuals and alienating ourselves from them hasn’t led one homosexual to attend church, join a Bible study, or accept Christ as Savior. Conversely, one man said that he believes that Christians have given up way too much ground already and that if we had spoken up early enough and loud enough we wouldn’t be in such a mess today. Another man said that he just couldn’t see himself continuing to shop at J.C. Penny. Another woman said that it’s easy for Christians to come down hard on homosexuals until the homosexual is a family member or close friend.

The entire discussion caused me to think a lot harder about the proper Christian response to the homosexual movement, and I’m going to use this post to share some of my thoughts. I’ll ask you to read each thought and consider it carefully, keeping in mind that what we’re after here is a maturing of our Christian faith and a heightening of our spiritual discernment. This goes for this author as well.

#1: Jesus is much more complex than many Christians want Him to be. The same Jesus who taught, “I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:39) flew into a rage against the wicked money-changers in the Jewish temple and angrily ran them out of there with a whip of cords (John 2:13-17). I wonder, which Jesus do you like? The same Jesus who showed mercy and refused to condemn a woman caught in the very act of adultery also made a point of telling her, “Go, and sin no more.” Then He started talking about the difference between walking in darkness and walking in the light (John 8:1-12). Which part of that story do you like best? Needless to say, the actions and character traits of Jesus that personally appeal to you the most will be an indicator of how you feel a Christian should conduct himself or herself in the cultural war.

#2: Christians aren’t all the same. Paul was an educated intellectual (Acts 22:1-3), but Peter and John were uneducated fishermen (Acts 4:13). Matthew was a tax collector (Matthew 9:9), but Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14). You get the idea. Some Christians are very comfortable grabbing a picket sign and marching against a sin. Other Christians oppose the same sin but simply aren’t hardwired to be so vocal and outspoken. With this understood, how wonderful it would be if each Christian stopped criticizing fellow Christians who don’t think and act exactly like he or she does.

#3: God knows how to use each Christian effectively based upon that Christian’s individuality. Joshua was a great military man who led the Israelites in their conquering of Canaan (Joshua chapters 6-12). Daniel, on the other hand, allowed himself to wrongfully be thrown to the lions rather than fight (Daniel 6:1-23). Which man did God use mightily? Both. Therefore, Christian, I would advise you not to try to be something you’re not. If you are a Joshua, don’t be ashamed of it. Likewise, if you are a Daniel, don’t try to grab your sword and go play Joshua. Whereas Daniel was God’s voice in the highly charged political atmosphere of Babylon for decades, that’s a role that Joshua couldn’t have played nearly as well. Think of it this way: A hammer is a fine tool, but it can’t do the job of a Phillips screwdriver. God is a master worker who knows that no one kind of tool can do every job, and He knows how to use each Christian effectively in His service.

#4: Christians simply don’t have the option of ignoring the fact that the Bible plainly teaches that homosexuality is sin. The biblical truth about homosexuality isn’t complicated. God’s written word consistently classifies the act as sin and condemns it. First, homosexuality would have been sin in the days of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Matthew 19:4-5). Second, it was sin in the age before God gave His law to Israel (Genesis 19:1-29). Third, it was sin under that law that God gave to Israel (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Deuteronomy 23:17). Fourth, it was sin during the many centuries that Israel lived under that law (Judges 19:11-13; 1 Kings 14:21-24; 15:9-15; 22:41-46; 2 Kings 22:1-2; 23:7). Fifth, it is sin in this the New Testament “church age” (Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:8-10).

#5: Christians are commanded to share God’s truth with others, and that includes the truth about homosexuality. I really do sympathize with every Christian who says, “I’m just so tired of all the fighting. Can’t we talk about something besides homosexuality?” I once had a Christian say to me, “I’m Switzerland,” and I had to laugh because if anybody was Switzerland, he was. But the fact of the matter is that if you, as a Christian, know that certain people are living in sin, and you don’t tell them the truth about that sin, you aren’t truly showing them love. This is something that Jesus Himself understands, and that’s why He commands His followers to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-16). Think about it, if every Christian stopped condemning homosexuality today, how long would it take for the sin to become a hundred times more commonplace than it is now? So, don’t we owe it to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to try to hold back the tide of the homosexual movement as long as we can?

#6: When we Christians speak God’s truth concerning homosexuality (or any other sin), we must do it in love. In Ephesians 4:15, the Bible talks about “speaking the truth in love.” Some Christians are very good at speaking the truth, but their words aren’t always laced with love. I’ll admit that I tend to fall into this category. Other Christians excel at speaking in love, but their words are hollow because they lack the bite of the truth. The goal is a God-approved balance. Don’t get me wrong, though, even if you master the art of speaking the truth in love, many homosexuals will still label you a homophobic, hate mongering, bigoted Neanderthal. That just goes with the territory. Nevertheless, Jesus will know that you are out there trying to share the truth in an appropriate way and He will reward you for it.

#7: We Christians leave ourselves wide open to the charge of hypocrisy when we speak loudly against homosexuality and whisper against other types of sexual sin. Is homosexuality sin? Yes. But so are premarital sex, adultery, incest, pedophilia, and pornography. Christian, do you know any young folks who are “fooling around” before marriage? Do you know any couple who is living together without getting married? Do you know any husband or wife who is cheating on their spouse? Are you covering up for someone who is committing incest or pedophilia? Do you speak out against homosexuality at your workplace and then go home and look at pornography on your computer? These are all probing questions. The point is, you need to address each of these other types of sexual sin with the same fervor and voice level with which you address the sin of homosexuality. To fail to do so makes you a hypocrite, and hypocrisy causes you to lose your credibility as a messenger of God.

Now, as I begin to close all this out, I want to offer my answer to one reasonable question that some Christians ask concerning gay marriage. The question goes like this: “Since marriage in the United States is a legal contract (meaning, you have to have a license to get married) as much as it is a religious covenant, do we as Christians have a right to impose our narrow definition of it onto a country that consists of Jews, Muslims, agnostics, and atheists as well as Christians?” My answer is, yes we should. And guess what, I’ve got a Bible passage to back up that answer. It’s Mark 6:14-29. Those verses give us the story of how John the Baptist publicly rebuked the Roman ruler Herod Antipas because Antipas had committed a form of incest by marrying Herodias, who had previously been married to Herod’s brother, Philip. John told Antipas, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

Now, what law was John talking about? Well, it certainly wasn’t the Roman law. Obviously, he was referring to God’s law, that body of law that God had given Israel to live by. So, you see, that was a case of a saved believer (John) holding two unsaved Romans (Herod and Herodias) to God’s standards concerning marriage. And I have to say that I, for one, find in that plenty of scriptural support for the idea that Christians shouldn’t give up the fight against same-sex unions.

Posted in Adultery, Balance, Bible Study, Church, Current Events, Discipleship, Doing Good, Evangelism, Faithfulness, God's Word, God's Work, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy, Marriage, Ministry, Personal, Preaching, Scripture, Sex, Sin, The Bible, Truth, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What’s Your Weakness?

Posted on August 10, 2012 by russellmckinney

Chuck Swindoll, in his study guide on Samson, makes an excellent point about the value of understanding one’s own weaknesses. He writes:

It is important to know your strengths. But it is life-or-death essential to know your weaknesses….it was Samson’s vulnerability to sexual enticement that led to his demise….Possibly, like Samson, your area of weakness is a blind spot to you. If so, you can bet the aisle seat that the people around you see your weaknesses on a big screen, in 3-D, and in Technicolor. Certainly the Philistines could see Samson’s. Why don’t you ask a few friends for a candid film review of your life? Remember that “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6). And be thankful that you’re surrounded by friends rather than Philistines!

Now, if you want to ask some of the people closest to you to identify your main weakness, feel free to do so. However, if you are like me, you already know what your main weakness is. (And, no, I’m not going to tell on myself!) But however you figure out what your most problematic weakness is, the key thing is to identify it.

Maybe your weakness is sexual enticement, as it was with Samson. Do you enjoy looking at and lusting over attractive, scantily clad members of the opposite sex? Maybe your weakness is the love of money. Do you spend most of your time and energy in the pursuit of the almighty dollar? Maybe your weakness is alcohol or drugs. Is your craving for either one your constant undoing? Maybe your weakness is gambling. How much money have you lost to that compulsion? Maybe your weakness is food. Did you know that the Bible categorizes gluttony as a sin right alongside drunkenness? Maybe your weakness is your temper. Has that out-of-control rage of yours gotten you into trouble more times that you’d like to admit? On and on the list goes because, let’s face it, weaknesses come in all shapes and varieties.

So, again, you need to identify your weakness. But then what should you do? Well, I’d suggest two things. First, ask the Lord to help you overcome that weakness. That’s His part. And, second, keep yourself away from those places and situations where you know your weakness will be tempted. That’s your part. You see, you can’t do God’s part, and He won’t do your part, but by working together with God, you can keep yourself from ending up like Samson.

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Anger, Backsliding, Choices, Depravity, Discipleship, Drugs, Gambling, Gluttony, Money, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Sex, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pocket Watch Theology

Posted on August 7, 2012 by russellmckinney

Civil War veteran Colonel Robert Ingersoll was the foremost orator of his time. In the years following the war, he traveled the country and delivered long-winded lectures (sometimes more than three hours in length) to packed audiences. He spoke on a wide variety of subjects, religion being prominently featured among them. Even though his father was a Christian minister, Ingersoll openly doubted the inspiration of the Bible, ridiculed the miracles found in its pages, and called into question the existence of God. In Ingersoll’s opinion, if the God of the Bible did exist, He was a cowardly, bloodthirsty, vengeful tyrant.

Oftentimes, Ingersoll would close his lectures on religion by pulling out his pocket watch, raising his hand dramatically, looking upward, and saying something like this:

God, are you up there somewhere? I don’t believe you exist; but if you do, I here and now brand you a coward and a bully. I hate you and defy you and will do so as long as I live. So why don’t you kill me right now? If there is a God, I dare Him to kill me before this minute is up!

After one minute had passed, Ingersoll would put his watch back into his pocket and declare that he had conclusively proved in sixty seconds that God didn’t exist. This “big finish” proved so effective that dozens of Ingersoll wannabees started running around the country, giving their atheistic lectures, holding up their watches, and daring God to kill them in one minute. Not one of them was struck dead.

There was, however, one of these imitators who had the misfortune of having a Moody Bible Institute student in his audience at Chicago’s Washington Square Park (commonly known as Bughouse Square). After hearing the orator rail against God at length and then do Ingersoll’s watch bit, the student took the soapbox himself and addressed the crowd by saying the following:

Friends, just a few minutes ago as I was walking down Clark Street to come here, a little boy came out of an alley and stepped in front of me. I had never seen him before; but he doubled up his fists, looked up into my face and with hatred in his eyes and anger in his voice yelled, “If you wanna fight just start somethin’. I ain’t scared of you, ya big coward! Ya dirty bully! Go on and hit me – I dare ya to.” Then that little boy began to swear and call me vile names as he continued daring me to hit him.

Of course, I could have slapped him head over heels with one hand, but nothing was further from my mind. He was dressed in rags and was dirty from head to foot. He needed a haircut, looked like he might be hungry and was certainly miserable.

As I saw the hatred and bitterness in his face and heard the vile words pouring from his lips, I pitied him with all my heart and longed to help him, to bathe him, dress him, feed him and help him find a home; but when I spoke kindly to him, he cursed and reviled me all the more. Sadly, I stepped around him and came on down the street.

Imagine my amazement when I found the same scene being enacted here! Back there a dirty little boy stepped up on a soapbox and dared me to strike him. Here a dirty little man stepped up on a soapbox and dared God to kill him!

I did not strike the boy because I pitied him and longed to help him, clean him up, dress him and give him a home. God did not kill this man because He loves him and longs to save him, cleanse him from his sins, clothe him in a robe of righteousness, feed him the Bread of Life and give him a home in Heaven.

That was an awesome reply, wasn’t it? And if we are looking for a Bible verse to go along with it, I’d say that 2 Peter 3:9 fits the bill nicely:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Atheism, Evangelism, God's Love, God's Mercy, Ministry, Salvation, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Problem With an Unequal Yoke

Posted on August 6, 2012 by russellmckinney

A Christian girl once told Charles Spurgeon, the legendary preacher, that she was about to marry a man who didn’t attend church or make any allegiance whatsoever to Jesus. Spurgeon, true to form, quickly reminded her of the command from 2 Corinthians 6:14-15:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (N.K.J.V.)

But the young woman had another plan. She explained that she would lift the young man up spiritually after they were married. Spurgeon listened to what she was saying and then asked her to stand on a chair. The girl was puzzled by such an odd request, but she obliged. Once she was standing on the chair, Spurgeon said to her, “Now you try to pull me up to your level.” The girl tugged hard on the portly preacher, but no matter how hard she pulled she couldn’t pull him up on the chair with her.

Now it was Spurgeon’s turn. He said, “Now I am going to pull you down, and I want you to do your best to remain where you are.” Well, you can guess what happened. Despite the young woman’s best efforts, Spurgeon easily pulled her down from that chair. Then he said to her, “That is what will happen if you marry that man. You won’t lift him up, but he will pull you down.”

Whether the unequal yoke is a marriage, some other type of personal relationship, or a business partnership, it is never God’s will for the Christian. As for an illustration of why it isn’t, I’ve never read anything better than Spurgeon’s demonstration to that young girl. Over the course of time in the yoke, as the Christian and the lost person try to work together to pull the plow, the great differences between the two will eventually become evident. Mismatched priorities, contrasting opinions, conflicting worldviews, and incompatible standards will be the rules rather than the exceptions. And what will the end result of all those differences be? The inevitable will happen as the Christian will, at least to some degree, get pulled down to the level of the lost person.

Posted in Business, Choices, Discernment, Discipleship, God's Will, Influence, Marriage, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Temptation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Daily Medicine

Posted on August 1, 2012 by russellmckinney

Back in the days when doctors made house calls, a doctor paid a visit to John, an elderly man who had called for him. Having treated John many times, the doctor had a good idea going in what the diagnosis would be. Old John was prone to suffer from a particular ailment that was preventable if he would just take his prescribed medicine each day. Unfortunately, John was also prone to be lax in doing that. Instead, he usually waited until he was in a bad way and then called for the doctor. It was all a little game that he and the doctor played.

Well, sure enough, the doctor’s examination showed that John’s failure to take his daily medicine had again created the problem. Once the doctor got the old fellow to feeling better, he said, “John, I’m leaving now. Just be sure to take your medicine.” In typical fashion, John replied, “But when should I take it, doc?” Even though the doctor had heard that question numerous times before, this time it struck a raw nerve. That prompted him to try a new approach with the old man. The conversation went as follows:

Doctor: “Well, John, you seem to be doing all right at this moment. Take the medicine exactly one month from now.”

John (astonished): “Pardon me, Doc, but did you say take the medicine in a month?”

Doctor: “Yes. That should work.”

John: “But Doc, I could be dead in a month.”

Doctor: “Oh, I see your point. Then I guess you’d better take it a week from now.”

John (incredulous): “You’re not understanding me, doctor. I could be dead in a week, too.”

Doctor: “Well, I suppose the odds are against that, but I can’t rule it out as a possibility. So, I guess you’d better start taking the medicine tomorrow.”

John: “But Doc, isn’t it possible that I could die today?”

Doctor: “Oh, right, I guess it is possible. Well then, John, I’ll tell you what I’d do if I was in your shoes: I’d start taking the medicine right now and then I’d take it every day from here on out.”

Christian, prayer is the daily medicine that Jesus, the great Physician, has prescribed for you. What does He say in the famous Lord’s prayer? “Give us this day our daily bread.” Obviously, that implies daily prayer. So, do you pray each day? For that matter, have you prayed today? Or are you waiting until you have to call for the doctor because you’ve let yourself get in a bad way?

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Discipleship, Faithfulness, Humor, Prayer, Problems, Sanctification | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day Mitchell Page Ended My Childhood

Posted on July 30, 2012 by russellmckinney

Today is one of those hot, sultry, late July days. The temperatures are in the 80s, and there is a slight chance of the thunderstorms that are such a classic trademark of summer in the mountains of western North Carolina. The trees are as full as they get. The grass has a tinge of brown here and there from the summer heat. Bees, gnats, and mosquitoes are everywhere. Ants are working themselves in double shifts.

School has been out since the middle of May, which means that the boys have gotten quite used to sitting up past midnight and sleeping in late. The summer trips have all be taken. Most of the calendar dates have been met and scratched off. The next major event on the horizon is the return to school. It was on just such a day, almost thirty-five years ago now, that the last second of my “innocent little boy” era was snatched away and I lost one of the dearest things in the world to me: the wonder, safety, and insulation of my backyard sanctuary.

When I was a kid, my backyard served as the epicenter of the sports universe. It was a football field, a basketball court, and a baseball stadium all rolled into one. How it was used depended upon which sport was in season. Far and away, though, my favorite season was baseball and my favorite time of the year was summer. Virtually every day my schedule was the same: sleep till noon, get up and eat some cereal, and then head out to play the big game. For me, stepping out the door onto our carport and then out into the backyard was akin to running out of the tunnel and onto the field at a Major League ballpark. I’d even do pregame shows in my head, complete with announcers, before hitting the door.

The layout of my field was simple. Home plate was in front of the side of my swing set. The third base line was the pole of my basketball goal. The first base line was the middle support of our carport. And the canopy of huge trees that encircled our house was the outfield fence. Any ball hit high enough into any of those trees was a home run. All other balls were either fielded for outs by the imaginary players that manned each position or went for singles, doubles, or triples.

I used a plastic bat and ball and batted for each player in each team’s lineup. I batted right-handed for the righties and left-handed for the lefties. I swung somewhat weakly for the weak hitters and came out of my shoes swinging for the big studs. Over the years, I must have gone through fifty balls and a dozen bats hitting for the lineups of Major League teams. I wrote the batting lineups out on sheets of notebook paper, played regular innings, and kept precise score. Of course, my beloved Philadelphia Phillies rarely lost.

I wish I was a good enough writer to adequately convey just how important my backyard stadium was to me. It was my refuge from a world that didn’t always go to suit me. It was my empire where I ruled as undisputed king. It was my personal fantasy land where all my athletic dreams could come true. Even today if a psychiatrist asked me to go to a “happy place” in my mind, I’d find myself standing at home plate of that stadium, at the height of summertime, plastic bat in one hand, plastic ball in the other, just about to toss up the ball and cut loose with a mighty swing. No site from my warehouse of memories is safer or more magical.

Ah, but then came that one summer’s day, that one game, and that one swing. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was batting for the order of the Oakland As, and the specific guy at the plate was a player named Mitchell Page. That name has long since been lost to baseball history, but in 1977 Page finished second in the American League’s Rookie of the Year voting to future hall-of-famer Eddie Murray. I knew all about Page because I had his baseball card from that year, complete with all the information that I would ever need about the man.

Since Page was a left-handed power hitter, I switched over to the left side of the plate and mustered my strength to do his swing justice. I tossed the ball up into the air, paused for just a moment to get the timing right, and then cut loose with all I had in a left-handed swing. To my surprise, the ball jumped off the bat in a way I’d never seen one do. I remember that it started off on a much higher plane than usual, a fact that caused me to first assume that I had hit the backyard equivalent of a mile-high Major League popup that would land somewhere between the infield and the outfield for an easy out.

The strange thing was, though, rather than the ball reaching an apex and coming down, the ball kept climbing higher and higher as it soared toward the canopy of trees. I stood there and watched it, thinking to myself, “Man, Mitchell Page shouldn’t have this kind of power.” I was having real trouble getting my logical mind wrapped around the illogical reality that was playing out before me. Higher and higher, farther and farther, the ball sailed until suddenly, in a flash, just as surely as it had been headed toward the highest point of those trees, it disappeared completely from my sight!

I stood there for a while looking confused and puzzled, like one of those guys who thinks he just caught a second’s glimpse of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. I was thinking, “Did what I think just happened really happen? Could it be possible? Would the laws of the universe allow for such a thing? Did I just step out of time and space and enter into some parallel dimension like those I’ve seen on those t.v. shows The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits? Did Mitchell Page just hit a baseball over the trees and, thus, completely out of the stadium?”

With my mind still racing, I threw down my bat, forsook all pretense of the game, and headed off to find exactly where that ball had landed. I went through our back yard, down the bank, and into the woods. My eyes scanned every known place where any previous ball had ever landed, but there was nothing white to be seen anywhere.

So, then I made my way further out into the trees, out toward our neighbor’s gravel driveway. That driveway ran along the edge of the backside of that big canopy of trees, with the trees basically separating our property from hers. And that’s when I saw it, that white plastic baseball lying there in the middle of that driveway. I remember how the white of the ball stood out so vividly against the backdrop of the dark gray of the gravel. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the unimaginable had happened: Mitchell Page had hit a ball completely out of the greatest backyard stadium of all time.

How did I feel at that moment? Well, would you believe that I literally had to hold back the tears? Rather than being ecstatic over such an awesome feat, I was devastated. I felt like a baby bird that had just been pushed out the nest where it had been nurtured and protected for so long. I was now living in a brand-new world and there was no going back to how things had been.

I didn’t even finish that game. As a matter of fact, I only tried playing a couple of times after that day, and my heart wasn’t even in those. I had grown too old and too strong for my own good. Now I needed a bigger stadium, and deep down I knew that such a place didn’t exist. Life would come hard and fast from here on out, and my safe place was no more. The yard, landmarks, and trees were still there, but they’d never hold the same fairy dust they’d once held.

Needless to say, after all these years my mind still makes occasional trips back to my backyard baseball stadium. Of course, I can never stay there for long. The past is the past and the demands of the present must constantly be met. But those fleeting memories serve as the lenses through which I personally view those words from Ecclesiastes 11:9:

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. (N.K.J.V.)

My youth is long gone now, and there’s a certain brand of cheer (let’s call it “little boy” cheer) that I’ll never know again. It’s not that my life is bad now. To the contrary, I’d say that in God’s eyes it’s better than it’s ever been. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes miss those imaginary big-league games in my backyard.

This post got me to thinking about Mitchell Page, and so I did a little internet research on him. I learned that he died in his sleep on March 11, 2011 at the age of 59. Something in me was saddened by that news. All I’ll say is that I hope he was a Christian. If he was, then one day we’ll have an awesome conversation in heaven, and I’ll tell him what a profound influence he unknowingly had on my life.

Posted in Aging, Children, Personal, Sports, Youth | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Everybody Is Not Your Friend

Posted on July 25, 2012 by russellmckinney

The story that I want to use for this post is an old one that has been passed around in preachers’ circles for quite a while. I have no idea whether or not the story is true, and if it is true, I don’t know how it ended or whatever became of the characters. All I know is that the story is a funny one that teaches a great lesson.

As the tale goes, Jorge Rodriguez was a bank robber who operated along the Texas border in the late 1800s. He lived in a small village in Mexico and frequently crossed the Rio Grande into Texas to rob the banks there. He was so successful with his robberies that the Texas Rangers finally placed an extra posse along the river for the sole purpose of catching him.

Late one afternoon, one of the men in that posse saw Rodriguez slipping back across the river into Mexico. Since there was no time to collect any other members of the posse, the Ranger decided to trail Rodriguez back to Rodriguez’s village. When they arrived there, the Ranger watched Rodriguez mingle with the people in the village square and then go into the cantina.

Now the Ranger had Rodriguez cornered. So, he made his way to the cantina and barged in with pistol in hand. As he stood in front of the stunned Rodriguez, the Ranger said, “I know who you are, Jorge Rodriguez, and I have come to get back all the money you’ve stolen from the banks in Texas. Unless you give it to me now, I’m going to blow your brains out.” The Ranger thought he had Rodriguez right where he wanted him, but he didn’t realize the bandit couldn’t speak English, which put the two men at a communication impasse.

Just then a little Mexican spoke up and volunteered to serve as translator. The Ranger agreed to the offer and told the little fellow to translate the ultimatum for Rodriguez. Upon hearing it, Rodriguez grew visibly nervous and answered, “Tell the Texas Ranger that I have not spent a cent of the money. If he will go to the well in the town square, face north, and count down five stones, he will find a loose stone. When he pulls out the stone, he’ll find that all the money is behind it. Please tell him quickly.” To that, the little Mexican got a solemn look on his face, stared the Ranger squarely in the eye, and said in perfect English, “Jorge Rodriguez is a brave man. He says he is ready to die.”

What’s the lesson of the story? Everybody is not your friend. In light of this, be careful who you trust. Understand that even though you might have hundreds of acquaintances, you’ve only got a few real friends who’ll be there for you when the chips are down. And, first and foremost, realize that Jesus is the friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). After all, He’s the only friend you’ve got who has proven His love for you by literally dying for you:

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13, N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Christ's Death, Communication, Deception, Discernment, Friendship, Humor, Truth, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“I Am the Joker”

Posted on July 23, 2012 by russellmckinney

Lately, I’ve been preaching a series on the life of Samson. As you might recall, Samson lived his life under the Old Testament law’s Nazirite vow (Judges 13:5, Numbers 6:1-21). That vow had its definite particulars, but a big part of it involved being separated from the world and unto God.

Christians today don’t live under Old Testament law, including the Nazirite vow. Nevertheless, we are called to live a life of separation. Please slow down right here and read the following passages carefully, all of them from the New Testament:

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4) (N.K.J.V)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anybody loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17) (N.K.J.V)

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?….Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean. And I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:14,17) (N.K.J.V.)

I couldn’t help but think about this whole subject of separation when I heard about the mass shooting that transpired in the Aurora, Colorado theater this past Friday night. 12 people were killed and 58 others were wounded at a packed midnight showing of the new Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. And what was it the alleged shooter, 24-year-old James Holmes, told police? Reportedly, he said, “I am the Joker.” Obviously, he was referring to the Joker character that was depicted in the previous Batman film The Dark Knight. The now-deceased Heath Ledger played that character and posthumously won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the role.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more “worldly” character than Ledger’s Joker. Some of us remember the campy Batman t.v. series from the 1960s in which Caesar Romero played the Joker. Romero’s version was a clownishly silly prankster, nothing more than a Saturday-morning cartoon character brought to life. He never did any real harm, let alone kill anybody. Then came Jack Nicholson’s Joker in the 1989 blockbuster film Batman, a character who was darker and much more dangerous than Romero’s but was still fairly lighthearted and prone to comic one-liners.

Ledger’s Joker, however, took the character to a heavy, sad, maniacally perverse corner. In an interview he gave not long before his death, Ledger described his Joker as, “a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.” He also said of playing the role, “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He slept an average of two hours per night while filming. That led him to take prescription drugs, and it is commonly believed that it all contributed to his death at the age of 28 from an accidental overdose of a combination of his high-powered medicines.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming Heath Ledger for the actions of James Holmes. The fact is that millions of people around the world saw Ledger’s The Dark Knight Joker and didn’t use it as motivation or inspiration to kill others. All I’m saying is that it is absurd to think that what you pour into your brain doesn’t have some effect on your mindsets, attitudes, opinions, worldviews, and, yes, to some degree actions. James Holmes is clearly a disturbed young man, one whose madness could have been set off by any number of things. But can anyone honestly tell me that him watching Heath Ledger’s Joker was an edifying, positive event in his life? Of course not.

The movie, television, and music industries love to churn out products that major on the negative aspects of human existence, things such as: sex, adultery, lust, homosexuality, rape, incest, profanity, drug abuse, alcoholism, murder, brutality, extortion, blackmail, gambling, lying, robbery, greed, corruption, and hypocrisy. The idea is that good, wholesome, moral entertainment just doesn’t have that pizzazz factor that creates buzz and wows the critics. But then the same industries want to wash their hands of any ill-effects their products might have on people. Executives say, “We’re just giving people what they want.” I suppose they are. However, they are also playing an undeniable role in helping people want the wrong things. It’s a two-way street.

As for God, He understands the human mind far better than we do, and so we ought to listen when His written word gives us counsel on the subject of entertainment. Consider the following three passages:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8) (N.K.J.V.)

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. (1 Corinthians 6:12) (N.K.J.V.)

I will set nothing wicked before my eyes… (Psalm 101:3) (N.K.J.V.)

It is on the heels of these passages that I’ll ask you a simple question: How does the entertainment that fills your life measure up to these passages? If your life is like mine, it could stand some tidying up in this area. Of course, I’m not the entertainment czar and couldn’t even begin to tell you what shows, movies, or songs are in bounds or out of bounds for you. All I’ll say is that if you want to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, the biblical call to separate yourself from the world has to come into play at certain points along the way. As I said, I don’t know precisely where those points are for you. But the good news is that God knows where they are, and He will surely reveal them to you if you will ask Him.

Posted in Alcohol, Choices, Christian Liberty, Current Events, Discipleship, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Entertainment, Gambling, Influence, Music, Personal Holiness, Separation, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Miss Thompson & Teddy

Posted on July 20, 2012 by russellmckinney

Today, I feel led to share a story that I picked up years ago from well-known pastor and author John Ortberg. It’s Ortberg’s story put into my own words. The story has always been a blessing to me, and I hope it will be one to you.

Miss Thompson was a 4th-grade teacher who had a student who was unmotivated, apathetic, and well behind the rest of the class academically. Actually, the only reason he was even in the 4th grade was because his previous teachers had promoted him undeservedly. The student’s name was Teddy.

It didn’t take Miss Thompson long to reach the end of her rope with the boy, and her frustration began to come out by way of negative comments toward him. But no matter how much she scolded him or criticized him, nothing seemed to faze him one way or the other. He just took it all in silence. She began to suspect that he just didn’t have the mental capacity to learn.

In desperation, she decided to dig up Teddy’s progress reports from previous years and see if she could find something she could use to reach him. All she found, though, was the sad pattern that had brought him to his current state: “Teddy is academically inferior and in great need of help.” “Teddy has no dad.” Teddy’s mom is sick.” “Teddy is in need of professional counseling.” “Teddy’s mom has died.” “Teddy lives with his aunt.” The reports helped Miss Thompson understand Teddy better, but none of them gave her the answer as to how to help him.

When Christmastime rolled around that year, each of the kids brought a gift for Miss Thompson. Teddy came in carrying a brown paper bag with the opening crudely taped closed. Miss Thompson opened the bag, which held inside it half a bottle of cheap perfume and an old bracelet. Basically, it was the tackiest gift she had ever received. She had enough sensitivity and courtesy, though, to make a good show of things for Teddy. She put a little dab of the perfume on her wrist and complimented him in front of the entire class.

At the close of class that day, Teddy lingered around until the other kids were gone. This was something he had never done. He stood in silence for a good while until he finally said of the perfume, “Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother when she wore it.” Then he left. Miss Thompson cried all the way home that afternoon, and the following morning she walked back into class with a renewed sense of mission. She would make Teddy her personal project and pour more time, effort, and compassion into him than she had any other student.

And how did it all turn out? Well, Teddy passed Miss Thompson’s class. Then he went on to graduate high school. Then he enrolled in college and graduated from there. Then he enrolled in medical school and graduated from there. Every now and then along the way he would send Miss Thompson notes informing her of his progress. The last one came just prior to the ceremony for his graduation from medical school. The note read: “Miss Thompson, I am graduating soon. I want you to sit in my mother’s chair.” It was signed “Theodore Salvard, M.D.”

Ortberg’s point to the story was that you, Christian, are the only Jesus that some people will ever see. I’ll add in that this world is filled with people like Teddy, people who need someone who will put in the effort to understand them and help them. Perhaps the Lord will one day have you cross paths with someone like that. Maybe it’s even already happened. That person might be a kid, an elderly person, a homeless person, or someone who is “the talk of the town.” I don’t know who God might have in mind for you to help, but what I do know is that Jesus Christ came to serve others, including those who needed the most help. And I also know that if we, His people, really want to walk in His steps, such ministering to others has to be a major part of who we are and what we do.

Posted in Children, Christmas, Doing Good, Encouragement, Evangelism, Friendship, God's Love, God's Work, Influence, Mercy, Ministry, Motherhood, Service, Teaching, Witnessing, Youth | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mud

Posted on July 18, 2012 by russellmckinney

Following a summer storm, a mischievous little boy raced outside and proceeded to splash the water out of every mudhole he could find. By the time he was finished, the mudholes were all dry and he was covered in mud from head to toe. Then he went back inside the house. He had taken just a few steps inside the back door when his father intercepted him and said, “Stop right where you are, take off those dirty shoes and clothes, and go take a bath.” The boy tried to protest but the father was having none of it. All discussion was ended when the father said, “Son, you are welcome in this house but your mud isn’t.”

I’ve been a pastor for many years now, and I’ve met a lot of people who would willingly admit their sins and even express shame and regret over them. Sadly, however, the percentage of those people who would actually repent of those sins was relatively small. Like the little boy in that story, a lot of folks want to play in the mud without consequence. Like the father in that story, however, God doesn’t allow that.

You say, “But I’m a Christian and I am eternally forgiven.” Okay, I understand that. Do you understand, though, that sins for which you haven’t confessed and repented will seriously hinder your daily fellowship with God? You see, the relationship will still be there, but there is a difference between having an eternal relationship with God and being in daily fellowship with Him.

And so, Christian, here’s a good question to ask yourself: “Do I have any mud on me right now?” If your answer is “Yes,” consider this post as God’s call for you to repent. Of course, unlike that boy in our story, you can’t be made clean by a bath and a change of clothes. Instead, your forgiveness and cleansing can only be found in Jesus. As 1 John 1:8-9 says:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (N.K.J.V.)

I, for one, am very grateful those words are in the Bible, and I don’t mind admitting that I’ve put them to good use many times in my walk with Christ. Perhaps, Christian, that’s what you need to do as soon as you finish reading this. I’m not trying to put you on a guilt trip over things you haven’t done, but I don’t believe the Lord would have led me to write on this topic unless someone needed it. So, if that someone is you, stop what you are doing and employ 1 John 1:8-9. And remember that even though John doesn’t specifically mention the word “repent” in those verses, as the old saying goes, “Confession without repentance isn’t much more than bragging.”

Posted in Addiction, Backsliding, Change, Confession, Conscience, Conviction, Disobedience, Forgiveness, God's Holiness, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Salvation, Sin | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment