Your Penny

Posted on June 23, 2011 by russellmckinney

He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13, N.K.J.V.)

Little Billy had his hand stuck in an expensive vase. His mother tried her best to pull the hand out, but she finally had to resort to breaking the vase. Once it was broken, she saw that Billy had kept his fist balled up the whole time. When she asked him why he had done this, he answered, “Because if I had opened my hand, I would have dropped my penny.”

Many a person is right now holding on to some “penny” of sin. Even when clutching the sin begins to complicate their life, they won’t let go of the sin. Even when clutching it gets monetarily expensive, they still won’t let go. Maybe the sin is drugs. Maybe it is alcoholism. Perhaps it is adultery or pornography. Sometimes it’s greed, pride, or covetousness. The list of potential “pennies” is certainly a long one.

This isn’t just a problem for lost people, either. No, a lot of Christians are out there right now playing the role of little Billy. I don’t figure that repentance has ever made for popular preaching, but its popularity is definitely at a low ebb right now. Many preachers today major on themes such as acceptance, tolerance, mercy, patience, and love. Obviously, these are indeed thoroughly scriptural themes. However, even as we preach these themes, we must guard against allowing our message to become so “mush and gush” that we downplay repentance into oblivion. No matter what the spirit of the times happens to be, God always wants fists opened and pennies of sin dropped.

So, I ask you, what’s that in your hand right now? Is it your personal penny of sin? Well, little Billy, you’re going to have to let go of that penny (repent of it) before God will help you get your hand out of that vase in which you’re caught. You see, He’ll gladly set you free from your entrapment, but He won’t do it just so you can keep a death grip on your penny.

Posted in Backsliding, Change, Choices, Disobedience, God's Holiness, Personal Holiness, Preaching, Rebellion, Repentance, Seeking Forgiveness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Optimistic Are You About Your Future?

Posted on June 22, 2011 by russellmckinney

Flagstaff, Maine, was chosen as the site for a huge hydroelectric installation. The installation would include a dam that would impound miles and miles of water and bury the town under water. Consequently, in the late 1940s, the process of the town becoming physically abandoned began.

Even before everybody left, when the plan to build the installation was first approved and announced, the need to keep up the appearance of the town went by the wayside. No one bothered to paint his house anymore. Worn streets were left unrepaired. The school building and the church building were left to decline. One man summed up the situation by saying, “Apparently, when there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.”

That’s a profound statement, isn’t it? And in the light of it, I want to ask you this question: When you think about your future, do you do so with optimism or dread? Imagine yourself ten years from now. Do you see yourself as happier, more at peace, and more contented? Or do you see yourself in an even worse state than your current one? How you answer says a lot about you.

Every Christian should be an optimist because, if for no other reason, he or she is bound for heaven and eternal bliss. That’s just impossible to beat for a future. 1 Peter 1:4 describes it as:

…an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (N.K.J.V.)

Notice that the word used is “inheritance.” Question: How does a person collect an inheritance? Answer: Somebody else has to die. Well, who died in order that the Christian can collect a heavenly inheritance? The answer is found in the preceding verse, 1 Peter 1:3:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (N.K.J.V.)

You see, Christian, Christ’s death and resurrection have paved the way for you to have been begotten to “a living hope.” Not only that, but you having this living hope in hand ought to make you wildly optimistic about the future. If you can get excited about an earthly vacation at a hotel or resort simply because you have a reservation there, that should be nothing compared to the excitement you feel about having an eternal inheritance reserved in heaven for the afterlife.

Now, does such optimism mean that you won’t have any difficult times here upon this earth? No, it doesn’t. Does it mean that the last days of your earthly life will be the happiest days of it? Not necessarily. But what it does mean is that you can be sincerely optimistic about the future because you understand that this world isn’t the end. Even if things get bad for you down here, you have an unshakable reservation for a better place. In other words, Christian, if you are looking to the future with dread, you just aren’t looking out there far enough.

Posted in Adversity, Aging, Assurance of Salvation, Attitude, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Comfort, Contentment, Depression, Disappointment, Elderly, Encouragement, Eternal Security, Eternity, Faith, Heaven, Peace, Problems, Reward, Salvation, Suffering, Trials | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mona Lisa

Posted on June 21, 2011 by russellmckinney

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1:17, N.K.J.V.)

In 1911, the famous Mona Lisa painting was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris and remained missing for the next two years. Interestingly, more people came to the museum to see the blank space than had come to view the masterpiece itself in the previous twelve years. What does that teach us about human nature? If nothing else, it teaches us that we take masterpieces for granted until they are gone.

Now let’s spiritually apply this illustration to our lives. God faithfully hangs countless masterpieces upon the walls of our lives, only to have us walk past them each day without appreciating them for the blessings they are. But the moment we realize that one is gone, we finally begin to understand just how wonderful it was and we start staring at the vacant spot, reminiscing about the happiness the blessing used to bring us.

I, for one, constantly need to be reminded to focus on the good in my life rather than the bad. Stating it simply, I need to spend more time appreciating all the Mona Lisas that God has granted me. Everything about my life can’t be categorized as a “good gift” or a “perfect gift,” but I’ve certainly got abundance enough of such gifts to know that God the Father (the Father of lights) has been exceptionally good to me.

Getting back to my opening illustration, my life is a figurative Louvre with its walls lined with masterpiece after masterpiece. Therefore, if I don’t give each one its proper appreciation, that says a lot more about me than it does the blessing. It means the blessing is doing its job of adding value to my life but I’m not doing my job of appreciating that value. Frankly, that makes me an ingrate, and I doubt that God is in much of hurry to pour out more blessings upon someone who doesn’t appreciate the ones he already has.

Posted in Attitude, Complaining, Contentment, Covetousness, God's Love, God's Provision, Grace, Praise, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Criticism

Posted on June 20, 2011 by russellmckinney

I once heard Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas, tell a great story in his sermon. The story went as follows.

A man and his wife walked into a store. A parrot sitting on a perch greeted them at the door by saying to the man, “Hey you, you’re stupid and your wife is ugly.” Shocked, the couple quickly moved away from the bird. But the bird wouldn’t let the matter go. Even as the couple moved toward another part of the store, the bird said to the man again, this time a little louder, “Hey you, you’re stupid and your wife is ugly.”

At that point, the store manager came out of the back, and the couple immediately reported what the parrot had said. The manager said, “Oh no, is that crazy bird doing that again? I’ve warned him about that.” Then the manager walked over to the bird, grabbed it by its neck, and swatted its backside a few times with his hand. The bird took its punishment and squawked in pain, after which the manager returned it to its perch.

Well, by then the couple was pretty upset about the whole episode and decided to leave the store. So they headed for the door, which meant that they had to walk past the parrot again. And just as they opened the door to leave, the bird said to the man, “Hey you.” The man’s first instinct was to just keep walking but curiosity got the better of him, and so he slowly turned around and looked straight at the bird. The bird stared back at him for a second and then said two words: “You know.”

Graham’s point was that critics are everywhere. Therefore, if you are doing something that you know is right, don’t let your critics get you down. Just keep on doing what God has you doing.

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Commitment, Criticism, Doing Good, Faithfulness, God's Will, Humor, Obedience, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Blame God

Posted on June 17, 2011 by russellmckinney

“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:40, N.K.J.V.)

A barber and a minister found themselves having to travel through a rather seedy part of town. Disgusted by the conditions he saw, the barber said, “This is why I cannot believe in a God of love. How could such a God allow all this poverty, squalor, and disease? How could He allow these poor people to continue on in their addictions?”

The minister remained silent until they saw a man who was in an especially bad way. As a part of the man’s deplorable appearance, he had long hair and a half-inch of stubble on his face. So, the minister took the opportunity to use the man as an object lesson. He said to the barber, “You must not be a very good barber. If you were any good, you wouldn’t let that man go around in such need of a haircut and a shave.” Insulted by that remark, the barbed replied, “How can you blame me for his appearance? He’s never given me a chance to fix him up.” To that, the minister said, “Then don’t blame God for the state of this neighborhood. He is constantly inviting these people to come to Him through Christ and have their lives restored, but they refuse the offer.”

Posted in Addiction, Belief, Change, Choices, Depravity, Disobedience, Dress and Appearance, God's Love, Man's Freewill, Rebellion, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Simple Reminder

Posted on June 16, 2011 by russellmckinney

The drunk who has been marvelously delivered from alcoholism by the power of Christ certainly has a testimony. But so does the Christian who by that same power of Christ has never even tasted alcohol. The adulterer who cheated on his wife, gave his life to Christ, and saw his marriage restored has a testimony. But so does the Christian who has been married for thirty years and has never once been unfaithful to his wife. Do you see what I’m getting at?

In the realm of the church, there has long been a tendency to marvel at those who have been forgiven and restored of sins that we deem uncommonly serious, even scandalous. These are the “exciting” and “interesting” Christians. All the while there has been a parallel tendency to yawn at Christians whose lives have been marked by decade after decade of consistent holy living. It’s a shame, really, that we take for granted these people who are every bit as much “trophies” of God’s grace as those who have sinned spectacularly and been redeemed.

So, I guess you can classify this post as a call for you to show some highly consistent Christian just how much you appreciate them. Tell them by way of a conversation. Send them a card, an email, or a text. You could even write them a letter. You don’t realize how much it would mean to that person. We are so thankful for the likes of Moses and David, murderers who found forgiveness and were mighty servants of God. But let’s also remember to be thankful for the likes of Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel, men who served God just as mightily without the unnecessary baggage of such sin.

Posted in Adultery, Alcohol, Character, Church, Discipleship, Doing Good, Marriage, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Sin | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Poor Choices

Posted on June 14, 2011 by russellmckinney

Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction. All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly. (Proverbs 13:15-16, N.I.V.)

Two prisoners were on the chain gang digging a ditch. The first prisoner said to the second, “Why are we down here working like dogs while that guard sits up there in the shade drinking a cold drink?” The second prisoner chuckled a bit and said sarcastically, “Why don’t you go ask him?” So, to the second prisoner’s amazement, the first prisoner climbed out of the ditch and followed his advice. Even more amazingly, the guard actually answered the question.

The guard told the first prisoner, “You are down there because you make poor choices. Here, let me show you what I mean.” Then he walked over to a light pole, placed his hand on the light pole, and said to the prisoner, “Hit my hand.” The prisoner obliged by swinging as hard as he could at the guard’s hand, but the guard moved his hand and the prisoner’s fist went crashing into the light pole. As the pain shot through the prisoner’s knuckles, he heard the guard say, “See what I mean? You make poor choices. Now climb back down into that ditch and get back to work.”

With his hand still throbbing, the prisoner did as he was told. He hadn’t been working too long when the second prisoner asked, “Well, what did he say?” The first prisoner said, “He said that we’re down here because we make poor choices.” A bit puzzled, the second prisoner said, “What did he mean by that?” The first prisoner said, “Here, I’ll show you.” Then he placed his hand over his face and said, “Hit my hand.” Some people just can’t seem to stop making poor choices, can they? Don’t let yourself be one of them.

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Discernment, God's Will, Humor, Sin, Sowing and Reaping, Temptation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A True Masterpiece

Posted on June 13, 2011 by russellmckinney

An artist visited a museum where one of his masterpieces was on exhibit. He approached the painting and noticed that the museum had placed one of his earlier, lesser-known works beside it. As he stood there comparing both paintings, he began to feel sad. Just then someone recognized him and complimented him on his masterpiece. But the artist couldn’t enjoy that word of praise. Instead, he replied, “All I know is that it grieves me that I realized so little of the promise I showed in my youth.”

Truth be told, many Christians would have to say the same thing about their Christian growth. Oh, they showed so much promise when they were young! They went to church. They studied the Bible. They prayed. They gave. They witnessed. They lived lives of holiness. But then they got older and ran into some trouble.

When conflict within the church caused them to become disillusioned, they stopped attending. When differing doctrinal interpretations made studying the Bible harder, they gave up on it. When their prayers weren’t answered to their satisfaction, they quit praying. When their financial situation took a downturn, they eliminated their giving. When they saw no fruit from their witnessing, they hushed. When God didn’t seem to reward their life of holiness, they turned to worldly pursuits and pleasures.

Christian friend, does any of this description fit you? If it does, I urge you to find your way back to the fellowship you once had with Jesus. And, please, work on the fellowship before you start working on the service. If you can get the fellowship where it needs to be, the service will inevitably flow. By contrast, service without fellowship just becomes drudgery. Therefore, you should strive to rediscover the simple, childlike faith that you once had, a faith that was shown even in those classic rhyming prayers:

“God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed. Thank you, Lord, for daily bread. Amen.”

“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

You should also consider Matthew 18:1-4, which says:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (N.K.J.V.)

Did you notice that Jesus said we must “become as little children” AFTER we are “converted”? Why did He make that the order? He did it because He knew that we are prone to become more hardened, cynical, and doubtful as we age. Yes, the adult life surely has a way of knocking the childlike faith out of us, and even authentic Christian conversion doesn’t eliminate that problem. That’s why even us Christian adults must become “as little children.” Is that a tall order? You’d better believe it. But is it one worth meeting? Absolutely, because when we meet it, that creates a true masterpiece.

Posted in Adversity, Aging, Backsliding, Belief, Bible Study, Children, Church Attendance, Disappointment, Doubt, Evangelism, Faith, Giving, God's Work, Perseverance, Personal Holiness, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Salvation, Scripture, Service, The Bible, Trials, Trusting In God, Witnessing, Youth | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Christian’s Paradoxical Life

Posted on June 10, 2011 by russellmckinney

But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:5-6, N.K.J.V.)

The events of our text passage took place in Thessalonica shortly after Paul and Silas began a successful ministry campaign in that city. On three successive Sabbaths, Paul went into Thessalonica’s Jewish synagogue and preached Jesus (Acts 17:1-3). That preaching resulted in a sizable group of citizens (a group that included Jews, devout Greeks, and some of the city’s most prominent women) converting to Christianity (Acts 17:4).

In turn, the Jews who refused to convert went into the city’s marketplace, recruited some evil men as a mob, and riotously marched on the house of Jacob, where Paul and Silas were staying. The intent was to get Paul and Silas out of the house and into the hands of the mob (Acts 17:5). But when Paul and Silas couldn’t be found, the mob settled for bringing Jason and some of his fellow Christians before the rulers of the city. The official charge was that Jason, Paul, Silas, and all the other Christians were committing treason against Rome by saying that Jesus, rather than Caesar, was King (Acts 17:7-8).

It was only after Jason had posted bond that he and the other Christians were allowed to return to their homes (Acts 17:9). Perhaps the agreement was that Jason would lose the bond money if Paul and Silas did not leave town. Whatever the exact details were, Paul and Silas did leave Thessalonica that night and traveled to Berea, which was located about 46 miles southwest (Acts 17:10).

Okay, so there is a lot that I could unpack about this whole story, but the one thought that I want to run with for this post has to do with how those lost Jews described Paul and Silas. They called them “these who have turned the world upside down.” How’s that for a graphic description? It speaks to what a powerful impact the ministries of those two men had wherever they went.

But do you know something? The fact is that every devout Christian lives a life that surely seems “upside down” when contrasted with how lost people live their lives.  A.W. Tozer, who was one of the most famous preachers that America has ever produced, did a good job of describing this contrast when he talked about the Christian life being full of paradoxes. He said of the Christian:

He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen. He talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to Heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order that he might be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up.

He is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passeth knowledge.

Let me encourage you to take the time to reread Tozer’s description and linger a while on each part of it. If you are a devout Christian, you should easily find yourself in his words. Even more than that, you should also get some inkling as to why us Christians are so confusing to lost people. They genuinely don’t understand why we live the way we live, talk the way we talk, and act the way we act. To them, we’re not only out of step with the real world but the vertical opposite of it. Actually, the real shame is that enough of us aren’t doing enough for the cause of Christ these days to get our world turned upside down. Considering the way things are going, it really could use a good inverting.

Posted in Belief, Brokenness, Current Events, Discipleship, Doing Good, Dying To Self, Evangelism, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Missions, Personal Holiness, Salvation, Sanctification, Service, Trusting In God, Witnessing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Problem of Trying to Do Too Much

Posted on June 8, 2011 by russellmckinney

A man boasted that he could whip anybody on his street, but no one took him up on his boast. Then he boasted that he could whip anybody in the neighborhood, but no one challenged him on that, either. Finally, he took out ads in several regional papers, ads boasting that he could whip anybody in the state. A few days later, he showed up at his friend’s house with two black eyes and bruises all over his face. The friend asked, “What happened to you?” The man answered, “I took on too much territory.”

Folks, we should all guard against taking on more territory than is in God’s will for our lives. We can overextend ourselves. We can try to do too much. We can get too many things going at once. We can run ourselves ragged.

The ironic thing about all the technology of our modern world is that it speeds us up rather than slows us down. Nothing seems to take as long as it used to take, but we don’t use the found time to relax and ease our pace. Instead, we use it to attempt to get even more stuff done. I pity us all when the next major breakthrough in time-saving devices hits the stores. If it has the same effect on our lives as the microwave, the computer, and the cell phone, we’ll be in trouble!

So, my advice to you is: Take a long, hard look at your life and ask God if everything you are doing is His will. And then be open minded about His answer. It could well be that some of the things you are knocking yourself out over aren’t even in His plan for your life. Remember those famous words from Jesus:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Balance, Choices, Doing Good, God's Will, Service, Work | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment