Secret Sin

Posted on January 20, 2012 by russellmckinney

It’s been said that your character is what you are when no one is looking. However, it’s also been said that you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool God any time. In other words, God is always looking. And so what kind of character does He see on display from you when no one is looking?

When I was a kid I got a snazzy new tape recorder one Christmas. In the days that followed, I had a blast with that thing. One of my favorite pastimes was covertly recording the conversations between my mom and dad. You just never knew when you’d catch some bit of gossip, some unguarded moment of candor, or some discussion that they’d rather have not had immortalized on cassette tape. I thought it was all funny, but they weren’t always amused when they heard the playback.

Years later, in a clear case of the apple falling in close proximity to the tree, my youngest son, Royce, received a Nintendo 3DS for Christmas and tried to secretly record some of my conversations. Fortunately for me, I caught him before I could utter any blackmail-worthy remarks. Unfortunately for me, God’s tape recorder is always running. Actually, He has a video machine, not a tape recorder.

It’s with this in mind that I’ll ask you if you’ve been committing some supposedly “secret” sin lately? If you have, just know that “secret” sin on earth is open scandal in heaven. You might be fooling some of the people all of the time or even all of the people some of the time, but you aren’t fooling God any time. Furthermore, the Bible still says, “…be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). And if you don’t believe that, the only person you are fooling is yourself.

Posted in Adultery, Alcohol, Backsliding, Character, Conviction, Drugs, Gambling, God's Omnipresence, God's Judgment, God's Omniscience, Guilt, Homosexuality, Honesty, Hypocrisy, Lesbianism, Lust, Lying, Personal, Personal Holiness, Racism, Rebellion, Repentance, Sin, Sowing and Reaping, Temptation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Building with the Golden Windows

Posted on January 18, 2012 by russellmckinney

Contentment is one of those subjects that is easy to talk about but hard to master. Let’s say that my neighbor buys himself a brand new Corvette. The car is “please notice me” red. The interior is “please don’t get me dirty” white. The engine is the factory option “you can’t unrun me” high performance. The wheels are “you can’t afford me” aluminum. And to top it all off, he starts wearing a shirt that reads: “Real men drive Corvettes.” Well, how long do you think it will take me to become discontented with my “it’s all I’ve got” Subaru?

I want you to take a personal survey. Ask yourself this question: “Is there anything in my life right now with which I am not content?” Perhaps it’s your car. Perhaps it’s your home. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your financial situation. It might be your appearance. It might be your relationship status. But is there something that is currently killing your contentment?

As I was growing up, my dad would often say to me, “Russell, you can’t be satisfied with anything.” I remember how I always chafed at that accusation because I honestly didn’t believe that it was true. I used to think to myself, “No, he’s wrong. I can be content, just not with what I’ve got to work with right now.”

Unfortunately, as I’ve grown older, I’ve been forced to learn that my father was right about my contentment level. If that level was a thermostat it would be set very, very low. I’ll now freely admit that it doesn’t take much to get me to looking over the hills and thinking, “How much better my life would be if I was over there.” Seriously, if God had let me move every time I had felt an urge to do so, my primary vehicle would have become a U-HAUL long ago. As for Tonya and the boys, I guess they would have felt like a military family that moves from one base to another, never staying anywhere long enough to put down roots and build lasting relationships.

Somewhere, years ago, I read a silly little line that has always helped me. It goes like this: “If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it’s because it’s growing over a septic tank.” That line has often come to my mind when God has turned down my latest urge to bolt and run and seek my fortune elsewhere. Have I usually got problems in my current location? Yes. But would I be problem free if I moved to that latest place that has caught my fancy? Nope. It would just be a new set of problems, perhaps even worse than my current ones.

You can learn some things by watching children’s television shows. I can’t remember if I was babysitting Ryan or Royce, but one of them was watching a kids’ show one day when a thought-provoking cartoon segment aired. It was about a little girl who lived in an apartment building in a big city. Every morning she would look out her window and stare longingly at the building with the golden windows that sat on the other side of the city. Oh, how she wanted to live in that beautiful building!

So, one morning she made up her mind to go and see the building up close. She got herself dressed and headed out to find it, and all day long she searched and searched but was unable to find the building with the golden windows. Then, late in the afternoon, just as she was about to lose all hope, she turned around and saw the building. But it was way over on the other side of town. She then ran and ran and ran until she finally arrived at the building. That was when she realized that it was the building in which lived. She thought, “How is this possible?” After pondering the situation for a while, the answer came to her: The sun which cast its light upon the one building in rising in the morning was casting its light upon her building in setting in the evening.

Okay, so why am I telling you all this? I’m doing it to help you realize that where you are right now is a wonderful place if it is where God wants to be. That doesn’t mean that God never relocates people. Sometimes He does. But right now, if He has you living in a certain place, working a certain job, maintaining a certain financial level, driving a certain car, etc., you need to learn to see the golden windows in those things. They really are there. You just have to recognize them.

I’ll leave you now with some words from the apostle Paul. They are words that I know very well because they have haunted me many times. The haunting stems from the fact that I still can’t truthfully make the statement that Paul makes. In Philippians 4:11, he says:

…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. (N.K.J.V.)

I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t completely learned that yet. No, my classes are still in session. I’m hoping, though, that I can earn that degree one day. But until then, I need to keep looking for those golden windows of where God has me.

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Change, Children, Complaining, Contentment, Depression, Desires, Disappointment, Faithfulness, God's Provision, God's Will, Impatience, Jealousy, Needs, Personal, Praise, Problems, Prosperity, Temptation, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Making Perception Align with Reality

Posted on January 16, 2012 by russellmckinney

The owner of a candy store noticed that one of his salesgirls would have customers lined up waiting for her even as his other salesgirls stood by doing nothing. Perplexed by this, he went to the girl and asked for her secret. She answered, “The other girls scoop up more than the requested amount of candy and then start taking away. I scoop up less and then add to it.”

It’s all about perception, isn’t it? Those customers were perceiving themselves to be getting more candy from that salesgirl, even though they really weren’t. They were forming an opinion about her and altering their behavior toward her accordingly.

We Christians must admit that the perception lost people have of us oftentimes isn’t all that glowing. They perceive us to be hypocritical, judgmental, bigoted, closed-minded, ignorant, irrational, and angry. Unfortunately, of course, some Christians can legitimately be classified under each of those adjectives. Ah, but there are other Christians who must be classified differently, and these are the ones who can’t be so easily explained away by lost people.

A world traveler visited the land of what had once been a savage race of cannibals. Actually, the only reason the man could even visit the land was because Christian missionaries had previously blazed the trail, learned the language, and won many of those cannibals to Christ. As the traveler struck up a conversation with one of the natives, he couldn’t resist sharing his views on Christianity with the native. The traveler said, “I myself have no use for the religion. I don’t believe the Bible to be anything other than a man-made book, I don’t believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, and I don’t believe that I will somehow be changed if I believe in Him as my Savior.” To that, the native answered, “My friend, if Jesus does not change lives, you would be in a pot by now.”

Is that story real? I doubt it. But could it be? Absolutely! As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. (N.K.J.V.)

The test that we Christians must pass daily is that of making the reality of the change Jesus has worked inside each of us align with the world’s perception of us. Putting it another way, we’ve got to act “new.” If we continue to commit our same old sins and hold to our same old wrong attitudes, that will create a false perception of us. Lost people will look at us and think, “I guess that ‘Jesus thing’ didn’t work out so well.” On the other hand, if we exhibit a genuine change from cannibalistic to cordial (to go back to my illustration), from hypocritical to holy, from angry to affable, from judgmental to just, etc., then they won’t be able to dismiss us so quickly. That, you see, is why it is so important that we walk the walk in addition to talking the talk.

Posted in Attitude, Backsliding, Change, Discipleship, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Faithfulness, God's Work, Honesty, Hypocrisy, Influence, Missions, Personal Holiness, Righteousness, Salvation, Service, Sin | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My Post-Holiday Funk

Posted on January 12, 2012 by russellmckinney

Financially speaking, this month of January tends to be a more trying month for me and Tonya than other months. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce the reason: Christmas hangover. It’s not that we go wild with Christmas shopping and cross the line into sin with it. It’s just that spending any amount of any month’s “extra” income on presents affects the next month’s checkbook. That’s simple math.

A preacher reminded a financially strapped church-member that 1st Thessalonians 5:18 says: “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” The church-member said, “I don’t see what I have to be thankful for, preacher. I’m buried in debt. I can’t pay my bills. I can’t make my payments. And I just lost my job.” The preacher thought for a moment and answered, “Well, be thankful that you aren’t one of your creditors!”

No, it’s not that bad with my family’s finances, but it’s not helping matters that I’m also suffering from some kind of post-holiday, winter malaise. For whatever reason, I’ve been having trouble getting energized this new year. During the holidays, with Tonya and the boys home from school, we all got off schedule by sitting up later and sleeping in later. When school started back, they got back on track, but I’m still having trouble breaking out of that pattern. I’ve got to fix that. Also, I had been doing an excellent job of getting in thirty minutes of daily exercise leading up to Christmas, but I’m now on my third week or so of taking a break from that. I’ve got to fix that too and get back on that exercise machine.

I was listening to the radio a few days ago and actually heard a disc-jockey address what I’ve been experiencing. He said the post-holiday letdown is very normal and that it is brought on by eating too much, not getting enough exercise, and sleeping too much. I thought, “Wow, he must be following me around!” At least I was encouraged that my problem is fairly typical.

Oh, and another thing that isn’t helping my mood or energy level these days is the weather we’ve been getting here in the mountains of western North Carolina. Like a lot of other folks across the country, we’re mired in one of those winters that doesn’t know it’s a winter. Since the beginning of December we’ve had unseasonably warm weather and a lot of rain. Such weather just kind of wears on you when you’ve grown up in these mountains and are used to subfreezing temperatures and snow. As I recall, we’ve only had two snowfalls so far this winter. One was a barely measurable trace that got the grass white for a little while, and the other one was a couple of inches that didn’t exactly get everyone buzzing, either. The forecast does call for the possibility of an inch or so tonight, but, again, that’s not enough to really get our juices flowing around here.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share some of this info with you guys, my readers, today. Maybe someone else out there is experiencing some of the same post-holiday funk that I’m experiencing. If you are, I invite you to join me in slipping back into gear and getting back up to speed. This new year is a big new adventure that is just lying there waiting for us, and God wants to do great things in us, for us, and through us during it. So, let’s stop sulking around, overeating, oversleeping, and worrying about our finances and start living with the faith, energy, zest, zeal, and confident expectation with which He would have us. And, yes, I’m preaching to myself on that.

Posted in Attitude, Christmas, Dieting, Gluttony, Money, New Year, Personal, Thankfulness, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Now That’s a Good Question

Posted on January 11, 2012 by russellmckinney

A great debate was held between a devout Christian and a staunch atheist. The Christian was allowed to speak first, but without saying a word he simply pulled an orange from his pocket and began to peel it. Then, with thousands of eyes watching him in curiosity, he separated the orange into slices and ate each slice.

The Christian then looked over to the atheist and asked, “How did the orange taste?” The atheist, with a smirk, answered, “I don’t know because I didn’t taste it.” To that, the Christian responded, “Then why do you talk against Christianity and salvation? You haven’t tasted or experienced the blessings of salvation and the joy Jesus gives to those who serve Him. So, how can you intelligently debate something of which you know nothing?”

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him. (Psalm 34:8)

Posted in Atheism, God's Love, God's Provision, Salvation, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Young Man & His Reason

Posted on January 5, 2012 by russellmckinney

A Christian once asked a young man if he wanted to believe in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. The young man answered, “No.” When the Christian asked him to give a reason for his refusal, the young man said:

Several years ago, I was in a man’s kitchen. When he found me there he swore at me and kicked me out. That man was a professing Christian, and from that time I decided never to have anything to do with religion. And I never have to this day.

After hearing that, the Christian asked the young man to write the reason down, word for word, and sign it. The young man played along and did so. Then the Christian handed the signed document back to him and said, “Take this, and when you are asked for your excuse on the day of judgment, hand this up.”

We should learn two lessons from this illustration. First, we Christians should mind our behavior because we do untold damage to the cause of Christ when we our lives slip into sin and compromise. Second, there is no valid excuse for refusing to believe in Christ as Savior. If you think you have one, write it down, sign it, and carry it with you always. You can try using it in the afterlife, but don’t expect it to work.

Posted in Belief, Coming Judgment, Death, Evangelism, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Hell, Salvation, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Keeper of the Spring

Posted on January 3, 2012 by russellmckinney

In a little hamlet, the town council held a meeting to discuss how to cut expenses. They studied the budget more seriously than ever before and noticed an item that had previously escaped their attention. It was a small fee that was paid each month to someone called “The Keeper of the Spring.”

As the council members tried to figure out who “The Keeper of the Spring” was and why he was paid a fee each month, only one member could even offer a clue. He said, “I think there is an old man who lives near the top of the mountain, and he cleans out all the springs and creeks that flow down to the river that fills the reservoir that provides the town’s drinking water.”

The other council members didn’t dispute the answer, but they certainly didn’t see the need to keep paying the fee. One said, “We’ve never even seen this man.” Another said, “That’s right, so how can we be sure that he’s actually doing his job?” A third added, “If he was an old man, he could be dead by now.” So, the council voted unanimously to stop paying “The Keeper of the Spring” and sent a letter of dismissal to the mountaintop address to which the fee had always been sent.

A few months later the town’s citizens began to notice that their drinking water wasn’t as clear and sparkling as it had once been. No fuss was raised, though, because it wasn’t that big a deal. More months passed and they noticed that the water’s color was now different. Still, there didn’t seem to be any cause for alarm. Then more months passed and some of the citizens started getting sick. Finally, a full-fledged epidemic broke out and some of the citizens lost their lives.

Panic now ruled the streets, and the town council voted unanimously to have a team do a thorough investigation to discover the cause of the epidemic. You can guess how the report came back: a polluted, unsafe water supply. Obviously, the town council had failed to realize just how important “The Keeper of the Spring” was. Even though they hadn’t known it, he was the true secret to the town’s livelihood and happiness.

Christian, let me encourage you to realize that Jesus Christ is “The Keeper of the Spring” for you. As long as your fellowship with Him is right, there will be a purity and vitality to your life and you will know the joy, comfort, and inner peace that are only found through Him. But if you foolishly choose to ignore Him and try to operate without Him, at some point you will have to deal with the costly fallout from your choice. Therefore, the smart move is to build your life around Jesus and let Him be “The Keeper of the Spring” for you. If you do that, you can rest assured that He will keep the issues of your life flowing clear and pure.

Posted in Backsliding, Comfort, Commitment, Discipleship, Encouragement, Faithfulness, God's Provision, Inner Peace, Joy, Needs, Personal Holiness, Priorities, Sanctification, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Christian & His New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on December 31, 2011 by russellmckinney

A boy was running along a beach gathering up the best seashells he could find. As he bent down to pick up a certain shell, he caught sight of the biggest, most beautiful shell he had ever seen. It was just ahead of him as he made his way up the shoreline. The boy thought to himself, “I won’t go and get that one right now. I’ll just keep making my way to it, picking up shells as I go.”

So, he continued along with his collecting, making steady progress toward that big, beautiful shell. But what happened just as he got to the shell? A huge wave came crashing into the shore and took the shell back out to sea.

Each New Year’s Day most of us make certain resolutions. Truth be told, though, those resolutions typically don’t get kept. And when the next New Year’s Day comes crashing upon the shores of our lives and recedes back out into time, it takes with it all of those big, beautiful resolutions that were still lying there.

That brings us to the link between New Year’s Day and Christianity. For the Christian, New Year’s resolutions often take on a spiritual connotation. For example, the Christian might commit to read the Bible more, pray more, give more, or attend church more. While such resolutions are fine in and of themselves, there is one thing that every Christian needs to understand: If a resolution becomes a “vow” to God, that puts it into a much more serious category. Consider the words of Ecclesiastes 5:4-5:

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed – better not to vow than to vow and not pay. (N.K.J.V.)

Christian, keep this passage in mind this New Year if you plan to make any spiritual resolutions that might be considered vows to God. I’m not telling you not to make such resolutions, but I am pointing out that God’s word does have something to say on this subject. Because of that, if you are going to go down that road, be sure that you are honestly prepared to travel it to its end.

Posted in Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Faithfulness, New Year, Personal Holiness, Prayer | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Burning Your Ships

Posted on December 30, 2011 by russellmckinney

Hernando (Hernan) Cortez was a Spanish Conquistador who launched ships from Spanish-held Cuba to conquer Mexico in 1519. That brought about the demise of the great Aztec empire. According to legend, when Cortez first landed on the shores of Mexico, he commanded his men to burn the ships. The burning made retreat impossible and has thus become the classic historical example of going “all in” for an endeavor.

Truth be told, many historians doubt the validity of the legend. Some of them contend that Cortez did purposely render his ships unsuitable for sailing but didn’t burn them. According to the theory, he did this because he didn’t want his men to mutiny and return to the safe haven of Cuba. Others say that the idea of Cortez burning the ships stems from a poor translation of the Latin in which the story was written. But, hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a great story!

If you like the idea of going full bore into something by “burning your ships,” there’s a Bible story that fits that bill. It’s the one about God parting the Red Sea for Moses and the Israelites to facilitate their escape from Pharaoh’s army. You’ll find that story in Exodus chapter 14.

Exodus 14:21 says that God divided the waters and turned the sea into dry land by means of a strong east wind that blew all night. In Exodus 15:8, Moses describes this wind as the blast of God’s nostrils. Isn’t that great? And so, the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry land. Then what happened? The Egyptian army pursued them into that same dry land only to be drowned in the depths when the waters came crashing back into place once the Israelites were safely on the opposite shore.

Okay, now here’s where I’m going with this. When those waters thundered back down and closed the pathway through that sea, that was God slamming the door shut on the Israelites possibly returning to Egypt. You see, it wasn’t just His way of slaying Egypt’s army, it was also His way of forcing the Israelites to forge onward into a new day. Going back to Cortez legend, it was God burning Israel’s ships.

As you read this, perhaps God has pushed you out into a new adventure but you are considering returning back to more comfortable ground. All I’ll say is that if you genuinely believe the adventure is of the Lord, don’t try to return to Egypt. For one thing, there’s nothing for you back there. For another, it doesn’t take much faith to live in Egypt. That life just is what it is, what it’s always been for you. But it takes a high degree of faith to let God lead you step by step into a new, uncharted land. Therefore, a good prayer for you to pray right now might go something like this, “Lord, if you want me to continue on with this adventure, close up the waters behind me so that I’ll have to stay here in this new land. And then help me make it here.”

Posted in Adversity, Change, Choices, Courage, Decisions, Disappointment, Faith, Fear, God's Provision, God's Will, Perseverance, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering Your Homeland & Culture

Posted on December 28, 2011 by russellmckinney

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2, N.K.J.V.)

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone 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.)

An Englishman went to visit his longtime friend, a British military officer who was stationed in an African jungle. When he finally arrived at the officer’s hut and entered it, he was startled to find his friend dressed in formal clothing and seated at a table beautifully set with polished silverware and fine china. Such a scene simply didn’t seem in keeping with a jungle location.

When the Englishman asked the officer why he was all dressed up and seated at such a table in the middle of a jungle, the officer answered: “Once a week I follow this routine to remind myself of who I am – a British citizen. I want to maintain the customs of my real home and live according to the codes of British conduct, no matter how those around me live. I want to avoid substituting a foreign culture for that of my homeland.”

The parallel to living the Christian life is obvious. Even though we Christians are currently stationed in a foreign land, we are still citizens of the kingdom of heaven. As the Bible says, we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13) but “our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). These facts are not in question. What is in question is whether or not we are substituting the foreign culture of this world for that of our homeland.

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Commitment, Desires, Discipleship, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Eternity, Faithfulness, Heaven, Personal Holiness, Priorities, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment