Who Are You Dancing With?

Posted on January 24, 2025 by russellmckinney

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world….” (John 18:36, 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. (1 John 2:15, N.K.J.V.)

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

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36, N.K.J.V.)

When we hear or read the word “world” our instinct is to equate it with the word “planet.” In this way, the “world” becomes the sum total of the rocks, mountains, valleys, deserts, streams, rivers, oceans, plants, and trees of planet Earth. Interestingly, though, this is not how the New Testament primarily uses the word.

The Greek word our English New Testaments most often translate as “world” is kosmos. This word occurs over 200 times in the New Testament, including the four verses I’ve cited as my opening texts for this post. Kosmos can have different meanings, but for the greater part it refers to an order or an arrangement.

When used in this way, the “world” becomes the arranged order through which Satan rules the human race. This explains how Jesus could rightly call him “the ruler of this world (kosmos)” (John 12:31). Satan is the ruler because, as we’re told in Ephesians 2:2, lost people walk “according to the course of this world (kosmos),” and that course is ordered and arranged by Satan, whom the verse calls “the prince of the power of the air.” Along the same lines, 1 John 5:19 says the whole world (kosmos) lies under the sway and control of Satan.

The point here is that God doesn’t mind the Christian loving planet Earth’s mountains, valleys, streams, rivers, oceans, plants, etc., but He has major problems with the Christian loving the world order through which Satan controls the Earth’s inhabitants. This order includes the “world’s”: banking industry, political realm, internet, movie industry, television industry, publishing industry, print media, news media, advertising industry, fashion industry, pornography industry, false religion realm, abortion industry, sports realm, alcoholic beverage industry, drug industry, gambling industry, and any other industry or realm that operates by and large outside the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

It’s this world order that is characterized by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). It’s this world order that has so-called “wisdom” that is rated as mere foolishness with God (1 Corinthians 3:19). It’s this world order into which false prophets and deceivers have gone (1 John 4:1; 2 John v.7). It’s this world order that hates Christians (1 John 3:13). It’s this world order that made Paul and the other apostles feel like its “filth” (1 Corinthians 4:13). It’s this world order that is not worthy of being graced by the presence of God’s persecuted people and martyrs (Hebrews 11:32-38).

This is the world order from which we Christians are commanded to keep ourselves separated. While it’s true that we have to live and function in the order to some degree (1 Corinthians 5:9-10), we should never be of it (John 17:16). We belong to God (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), not to Satan (Matthew 13:36-38; John 8:42-44). We are citizens of heaven, not this “world” (Philippians 3:20). Therefore, our separation should be evidenced in our priorities, goals, pursuits, standards, and opinions. It should be seen in how we spend our time, energy, and money. We should stand out from Satan’s world order as clearly as light stands out from darkness (Matthew 5:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5) and sheep stand out from goats (Matthew 25:31-46).

1 John 2:17 tells us this “world” (kosmos) is passing away. That’s why it isn’t a good idea to attach yourself to it or align yourself with it. For the Christian, however, the promise is that he or she will surely overcome the “world” (1 John 5:4-5). This promise comes with a guarantee because our Savior, Jesus, first overcame the “world” (John 16:33).

But how sad is it that a world order established and entrenched by Satan keeps all the human race’s lost people constantly under his sway? I can think of only one thing sadder, and that is the fact that so many truly born-again Christians have become so comfortable in the order. Rather than stand out from it, they’ve made themselves at home in it.

And so I’ll ask you, Christian, does this describe you? If it does, then I’ll remind you that you are failing miserably at the command of separation from the “world.” Remember, not only does the world’s order hate you, it’s the same order that got your Savior crucified. That means that you dishonor His name every time you let the order pour you into its mold and get you to thinking and operating like it does. Yes, that’s hard preaching, but it’s high time that we Christians stopped dancing with Satan’s “world” and went back to dancing with the one that brought us: Jesus.

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Kateland’s Answer

Posted on January 22, 2025 by russellmckinney

I was in my first pastorate, and our church was having its annual Bible School week. The attendance was excellent each night as several visiting kids who weren’t part of our church were coming. One of those visitors was a sweet little girl named Kateland. She was probably around ten years old.

Kateland’s teacher brought her to me one night and said, “Kateland would like to talk to you about her salvation.” I said, “Sure.” I then took Kateland into the room I was using for counseling. Once there, the conversation went like this:

Me: “Alright, Kateland, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Kateland: “I want to get saved.”

Me: “That’s great, and I’ll be glad to help you with that. But, first, I’d like for you to tell me what makes you think you are not saved?” (The answer I was hoping for was something along the lines of, “Because God is holy, I’m a sinner, and I need to have my sins forgiven.” Actually, though, I was going to play off any answer Kateland gave and use it as a starting point to present the plan of salvation. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t prepared for what she said.)

Kateland: “Well, you could get saved at the church I used to go to, but I didn’t. Then, so many people started getting saved at that church that we had to go to another church. That church didn’t save anybody, and I couldn’t get saved there. So, I’d like to get saved at this church.”

As I sat there and listened to all that, I couldn’t help but chuckle. In all my years of counseling with kids during Bible Schools, that answer still stands out as the most memorable. As a matter of fact, I went home that night and made a point of writing the answer down verbatim and putting it in my files, just so I wouldn’t forget it.

And how did I respond to Kateland’s answer? After I processed it for a second or two, I decided the best thing to do was scale everything back to the simplest basics of the plan of salvation and walk her through them. So, I did that. Then, when I was finished, we bowed our heads and I led her in a “Repeat after me…” prayer in which she asked Jesus to be her Savior. She was as sincere as she could be, and I like to think she got saved that night. I really can’t state with any certainty that she did, though, because her parents attended another church and I never got the chance to talk with her again.

I’m reminded of Kateland’s answer sometimes when I’m trying to lead a child to Jesus. It’s so hard to discern how much a child truly understands about God, sin, Christ’s death on the cross, and salvation. Certainly, you don’t ever want to discourage any child who says, “I want to get saved.” But, on the other hand, you don’t want to play a part in helping anybody think they have gotten saved when they really haven’t. Even more than that, you don’t want to have a hand in getting a kid baptized who isn’t even a Christian.

In the end, the best you can do is faithfully, sincerely, and tactfully work with any child who comes to you to talk about salvation. It’s always good to keep the gospel as simple as you can without gutting it of its necessary theology. Also, it’s important that you ask God to give you wisdom and discernment to know when a child is genuinely ready to accept Jesus and when some more seasoning is required. God knows who He is drawing to Himself by way of the Holy Spirit, and the same Spirit who is drawing the child will give you the confirmation that the child is ready to get saved.

It’s an inexact science to be sure, no doubt about it, but I’ve found that God is more than willing to help the Christian who is honestly trying to do right by a child. The fact is that Katelands are out there everywhere, and we need to do our part in leading them to Jesus. Somebody did that for you once, Christian, and you should be willing to do it for others, whether they be old or young. Again, it’s not necessarily an easy thing to do. But on the plus side, the rewards of winning someone to Jesus, whether that person be an adult or a child, are nothing less than out of this world.

Posted in Baptism, Children, Church, Discernment, Evangelism, God's Work, Humor, Ministry, Parenting, Pastors, Personal, Reward, Salvation, The Holy Spirit, Witnessing, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Look Out for Those Unequal Yokes

Posted on January 20, 2025 by russellmckinney

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? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, N.K.J.V.)

What exactly constitutes an unequal yoke in the life of the Christian? While I understand that the universally accepted application involves a Christian marrying a lost person, it’s obvious that there is more to the command than that. I mean, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 is a fairly lengthy passage, but it doesn’t even use the word “marriage” once.

In case you don’t know, a yoke is a harness device that sits over the shoulders of two livestock animals, attaches underneath the animals’ necks, and binds the animals together for working. It is most often associated with a team of oxen pulling something, but it can be used with any pair of the same type of work animals. An unequal yoke is created when two different kinds of animals are harnessed together. An ox in one ring of the harness and a horse in the other is an unequal yoke. A horse in one ring and a donkey in the other is an unequal yoke. God’s Old Testament law for Israel even included the following specific law:

You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. (Exodus 22:10, N.K.J.V.)

An unequal yoke isn’t an effective way of getting work done because different types of animals are fundamentally incompatible due to their size, strength, step, and mannerisms. You see, the idea behind yoking two animals together is to get them to work as a single, unified unit, and that can’t happen if one animal is pulling to the left while the other is pulling to the right. It also can’t happen if the animals don’t pull in synced tandem or drive forward at precisely the same moment to get the weight moving. That’s why you need two like animals in a yoke. As Amos 3:3 says:

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? (N.K.J.V.)

But, getting back to my opening question, what does an unequal yoke actually look like in terms of the Christian life? To help us with this answer, allow me to offer direct quotes from seven solid Bible teachers. Here goes:

This is a wise and wide-ranging prohibition. It frowns upon the marriage of a believer with an unbeliever. It looks with disfavor on a believer entering into a business partnership with an unbeliever. It discountenances a believer joining in a club, society, lodge, or fraternity with an unbeliever. The reason is simple: Before long, the believer and the unbeliever will start to pull in opposite directions — either that or the believer will be dragged into behavior which will compromise his testimony and trouble his conscience. (John Phillips)

The great unanswered question is, What is a yoke? Is a business partnership a yoke? Is a union membership a yoke? Is marriage a yoke? Is a date with a non-Christian a yoke? Not all associations are yokes, but yokes have two characteristics by which we can always identify them. The first one is that a yoke is not easily broken. It is a kind of permanent relationship. When you yoke two animals together they are bound together; they do not have any choice. Uncomfortable as it may be, they must do things together. The second mark of a yoke is that it constrains someone; it does not permit independent action. There is something that forces you to comply with what the other one wants to do, whether you like it or not. Any kind of relationship that does not permit a believer to follow his or her Lord in all things is a yoke. Even a friendship can be a yoke. If it is the kind of possessive friendship in which you feel you cannot do what God wants you to do because you will offend your friend, then that is a yoke, and it must be broken. (Ray Stedman)

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers is often quoted as a prohibition of a mixed marriage. This is no doubt included, but the exhortation means more and includes every form of alliance with the world and ungodly principles. It also includes the so-called “religious world” with its unscriptural practices and denials of the truth. (A.C. Gaebelein)

It certainly refers to the marriage relationship. A Christian should not marry an unsaved person…In addition to this, it refers to business. A Christian should not go into partnership with one who does not know the Lord. It applies clearly to secret orders and fraternities. How could one who is faithful to Christ consistently go on in an association where the name of the Lord Jesus is unwelcome? Its application to social life would be as follows: A Christian should maintain contact with the unsaved in an effort to win them to Christ, but he should never engage in their sinful pleasures or in any of their activities in such a way as to lead them to think he is no different than they. Then this section would also apply to religious matters. A faithful follower of Christ would not want to hold membership in a church where unbelievers were knowingly admitted as members. (William MacDonald)

Separation is not from contact with evil in the world, but from complicity with it and conformity to it. (Merrill Unger, Unger’s Bible Handbook)

Many commentators apply this command to marriage in particular, pointing out that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. But I do not interpret Paul’s instruction here as having to do with marriage only. It includes many things besides the martial relationship. It extends to all things which would be detrimental to a believer’s testimony — business, pleasure, marriage, religion, or whatever. (Oliver B. Greene)

This injunction applies to marriage, business, and to ecclesiastical and intimate personal relationships. (Charles Ryrie)

And so, by defining the term “unequal yolk” by way of these quotes, we are left with a workable starter’s list of alliances and relationships of which the Christian should beware. I don’t present this list as an end-all-be-all kind of thing, but it’s at least enough to get our minds thinking in the right direction. Therefore, I offer it not only as the conclusion to this post but also as a word of instruction to any Christian out there who sincerely wants to avoid unequal yokes.

  1. A Christian should not marry a lost person. Of course, sometimes such marriages come to pass as two lost people marry and one becomes a Christian sometime during the marriage. Also, sometimes Christians simply miss God’s will in regards to who they should marry. In the case of any mixed marriage, God’s rules are laid out in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16.
  2. A Christian should not enter into what would be considered a binding, “hitched together” business relationship with a lost person. It’s one thing for a Christian to purchase a produce from a business that is owned by a lost person, but it’s quite another thing for that Christian to literally become a co-owner of that same business. Somewhere down the line of business, that Christian will undoubtedly be forced to compromise his or her spiritual convictions in the name of profit.
  3. A Christian should not become so unified with any one political party that he or she refuses to break with that party even when the party’s political platform pushes an agenda that is clearly unbiblical and, thus, anti-God.
  4. A Christian should not join any group that requires some type of special initiation if that group does not unashamedly proclaim the name Jesus Christ and adhere to His standards of personal holiness. College fraternities and sororities that major on drinking and premarital sex are unequal yokes for the Christian. The same thing can be said of Masonic lodges and other societies that meet in secret, engage in ritualistic ceremonies, seek divine wisdom apart from Jesus Christ, manipulate worldly power and influence for the purported purpose of doing good, and speak only of a “Supreme Being” or the “Great Architect of the Universe” as opposed to clearly naming the name of Jesus Christ.
  5. A Christian should not join or remain in a church or a denomination that has doctrinally compromised itself to the point of out-and-out heresy. The Christian should never feel at home anywhere — and that includes churches and denominations — where the plain teachings of the Bible are either casually ignored or blatantly contradicted.
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Weather (post 3 of 3)

Posted on January 18, 2025 by russellmckinney

This post is going to finish up our series on what the Bible teaches about weather. Thus far in the series we have learned that God is the source of weather, Noah’s flood was the start of the weather we experience today, the weather plays multiple roles of service in God’s plan, and weather inevitably at some point showcases storms. Now, with this third and final post in the series, we’re going to learn what the Bible teaches about the schooling of weather and the stabilizing of weather.

V. The Schooling of Weather

Have you figured out yet that weather can take you to school by teaching you some valuable lessons? We find evidence of this in the same story that we referenced in post #2 in regards to the storms of weather. That story is found in Luke chapter 8. In that previous post, we only went as far into the story as Jesus turning the raging wind and the churning waters instantly calm. That miracle, in addition to everything else we might say about it, was a classroom lesson for Christ’s 12 apostles. To see what they learned from it, let’s now read Luke 8:25, the closing verse of the story:

But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (N.K.J.V.)

So, what schooling did that storm give those apostles? They learned that Jesus is the sovereign Master of the wind and the waves. They learned that storms obey Him!

As for the lessons the weather can teach us, the list would be just about endless, but let me at least name three of them. These are three that I myself have learned from past storms. Once you hear the three, you’ll probably realize that you’ve had the same schooling I’ve had.

Lesson #1 is: The weather teaches us that we are not in ultimate control of our lives. This is a lesson about perspective. We like to think that we are in complete charge of our business, don’t we? We like to think that we are so smart, ingenious, and shrewd that we’ve got all the bases of life covered. Then a storm comes along, sending serious disruption into our lives, and we are reminded that we aren’t in control at all. Weather can knock the egomaniac out of anybody.

Lesson #2 is: The weather teaches us to be thankful for blessings we otherwise take for granted. This is a lesson about thankfulness. If you go without water, electricity, the internet, or cell-phone service for a couple of days, I guarantee that you’ll be a whole lot more thankful for those things when they start flowing your way again. It’s sad that we have to lose blessings before we are thankful for them, but that is just the way we humans are wired.

Lesson #3 is: The weather teaches us to identify those things that are most valuable in our lives. This is a lesson about priorities. Isn’t it amazing how a weather event can teach you what you should be prioritizing in life? When the weather turns catastrophic, if you are married, you’ll be asking, “Is my spouse okay?” If you are a parent, you’ll be asking, “Are my kids safe?” If you are a child, you’ll be asking, “Are my parents out of danger?” When the wind starts howling, the rain starts falling, the waters start rising, or the snow starts piling up, you’ll figure out very quickly who and what your priorities should be.   

VI. The Stabilizing of Weather

I am happy to report that there is coming a time on this planet when the weather will no longer be destructive. There will be no more hurricanes, tornados, high winds, big rains, hailstorms, or snow storms. You say, “When will that be?” Well, if you are a born-again Christian, you’ve probably prayed for this coming period of time more than once in your lifetime. What are the opening words of the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”? They go like this:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed by Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth, as it is in heaven.” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Is God’s kingdom really coming to this earth? You bet it is, and when that happens God’s will is going to be done on this planet the way His will is done in heaven. What we’re talking about here is the age of Jesus Christ’s 1,000-year reign upon this earth. The chronological order of prophetic events isn’t hard to understand.

First, the Rapture of the church is going to take place. The Rapture is that moment in time when Jesus will step down out of heaven, make a quick appearance in earth’s sky, and snatch the bodies of all Christians up to be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The bodies of the Christians who will have previously died will be resurrected and glorified at that time, and the bodies of the Christians who will be alive on the earth at that moment will be glorified, not having a need to also be resurrected.

Amazingly, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 tells us the entire Rapture will play itself out in “a moment” and “in the twinkling of an eye.” The Greek word translated there as “moment” is atomos, and it is the word from which we get the word “atom.” The Rapture taking place in an atom of time explains why the moment has been called “the secret Rapture.” It can rightly be described as a “secret” because the resurrecting, glorifying, and snatching away will happen so fast — in less than a second — the world’s population won’t know what has happened.

Then, once the bodies of the true Christians have all been removed from this earth, the world will enter into a seven-year-period that is commonly referred to as “the tribulation period.” This period will see that man the New Testament calls “the Antichrist” (1 John 2:18-19) come to world prominence and power. Also, during those seven years the earth will experience many different kinds of catastrophic ecological disasters. The Bible’s best description of these seven years can be found in chapters 6 through 18 of the book of The Revelation.

How will the tribulation period end? It will end with Jesus Christ returning to this earth to not only walk the planet again but also to rule and reign over it for 1,000 years (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:4-6). These coming 1,000 years are called “the kingdom age” or “the millennial reign.” Satan and all the other fallen angels will be chained up in a site called the bottomless pit — it’s that site the Greek language calls Tartarus — for these 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3; Isaiah 24:21-22), and Jesus will rule over the whole world from His throne in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:17). It is during these 1,000 years that the earth itself will be reverted back to something of its pre-sin form. It won’t be completely reverted back to that form, but a good deal of its original, pristine condition will be restored.

First, this reverting back will affect the earth’s topography. Isaiah chapter 35 says the wilderness and wasteland will be made glad, the desert will blossom like a rose, the waters will burst forth from the wilderness, the parched ground will become like a pool, and the thirsty lands will become like streams in the desert. Putting it simply, the earth will be transformed into a veritable oasis.  

Second, this reverting back will affect the earth’s creatures. Isaiah 11:6-9 says that in this coming kingdom age the wolf will dwell in peace with the lamb, the leopard will lie down in peace with the kid goat, the calf and the young lion will exist together, and all the animals will be docile enough that a small child will be able to lead them around like pets. Furthermore, the bear will graze on grass like the cow does, the lion will eat straw like the ox does, and a small child will be able to play next to the hole of a poisonous snake (even putting his or her hand into the hole itself) and still be perfectly safe.

Third, this reverting back will affect the physical bodies of the people who will have become Christians during the tribulation period and survived the tribulation period. Revelation chapter 7 says that at the beginning of the tribulation period 144,000 Jews are going to get saved and head out into the world to evangelize. These Jewish Christians will lead millions of people to saving belief in Jesus during the tribulation period. Many of these tribulation-period believers will get martyred for their faith, but others of them will make it all the way through the tribulation period alive.

Those who make it all the way through alive will go into Christ’s 1,000-year kingdom in their normal earthly bodies. But here’s the thing: Jesus will grant those bodies a fresh health and vitality that will allow those tribulation-period believers to live to extended ages during the thousand-year reign before dying. As evidence of this, Isaiah chapter 35 says the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame will leap like the deer, and the person who is physically unable to speak will sing.

How long will these people live in the kingdom age before they finally experience physical death? The length of each life will be different, but according to Isaiah 65:20 if someone dies at the age of 100 in the kingdom age, that will be akin to that person dying in childhood. Likewise, Isaiah 65:22 quotes God as saying about those times, “…For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people” (N.K.J.V.). Furthermore, that same 65th chapter of Isaiah says these people will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them, and bring forth children and raise them during the centuries of the millennium.

Fourth, when Jesus returns to walk this earth again and establish His reign upon it, He will revert the weather back to something somewhat similar to what it was like before Adam and Eve brought sin into this world. This means that the earth’s weather will in those days become stabilized. In Ezekiel 34:25-27, God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel, and He talks about the fact that a remnant of the Jewish people will believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior in the tribulation period and live to see the end of those seven years. (According to Zechariah 13:8, that remnant will be one-third of all the Jews who are alive on the earth at the end of the tribulation period.) These saved Jews will enter into the kingdom age in their earthly bodies and in so doing become the fulfillment of all the promises that God has made to the nation of Israel about a glorious Messianic age.

Listen now to how God describes the lives those Jews will live in Christ’s 1,000-year reign:

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land, and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

You see, in reference to Christ’s millennial reign, God doesn’t talk about rainstorms, floods, or blizzards. Instead, He talks about “showers of blessing” that will come down in season right on time and in just the right amount to cause the earth to produce her harvests. That means that there will be weather (rain) in the kingdom age upon the earth, but it will be good rain (nice rain, easy rain, blessed rain) that causes the crops to grow.

The only people who will have any problems with weather in the kingdom age are talked about in the closing section of the book of Zechariah. According to Zechariah 14:16-19, if there ever comes a time during Christ’s millennial reign when some of the earth’s inhabitants who are in their early bodies refuse to make the required annual trip to Jerusalem to worship Jesus on His throne in Jerusalem, God will cause the rain to cease from falling upon their lands. Those verses say:

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” (N.K.J.V.)

Other than this exception, however, the weather upon the earth during Christ’s coming 1,000-year reign will be idyllic. This, at long last, will be the stabilizing of the planet’s weather. Until then, though, the earth will know weather that ranges from drought to deluge, from showers to snow, and from heatwaves to hurricanes. Through whatever weather we experience, though, let us never forget that our weather comes from God, and He uses every form of it to accomplish His grand plans.

And now let me close this post and this series by reminding you that Jesus taught that times of severe weather are, in actuality, times of testing. We find this teaching in Matthew 7:24-27, which is the passage I will leave with you to ponder. I realize that Jesus is talking about figurative storms in these verses, but I have a sneaking suspicion that what He says can be applied to literal storms as well. See what you think. He said:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Bible Study, Christ's Return, Creation, God's Omnipotence, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Prophecy, Resurrection, Series: "Weather", Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Weather (post 2 of 3)

Posted on January 15, 2025 by russellmckinney

In the previous post, I explained what the Bible teaches about weather in regards to the source of weather and the start of our weather. The source of weather is God, and the start of the weather our world now experiences was the flood of Noah. So, now let’s move on and see what the Bible teaches about the service of weather and the storms of weather.

III. The Service of Weather

The fact is that weather plays a number of roles in service to God. While there are many different passages by which the Bible teaches this, I’ll select just one from the list. That passage is Job 37:13, a verse that uses three basic categorizes to describe many of the roles weather plays in God’s plan.

You might recall that I used Job 37:9-12 as a reference in talking about the source of weather. In those verses, we learn that God is the source of the snow, the gentle rains, the heavy rains, the ice, the water-freezing temperatures, the rain clouds, and the lightning. Now let’s look at verse 13, which says in reference to God and all that weather:

He causes it to come, Whether for correction, Or for His land, Or for mercy. (N.K.J.V. emphasis mine)

First, God uses weather is His service as CORRECTION. What we are talking about here is God sending weather as a form of either chastisement or judgment. Of course, the greatest example of God using weather in this way was the flood of Noah. Why did God send that flood? Genesis 6:5 says:

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (N.K.J.V.)

There are, however, other Bible stories where God uses weather as a means of chastisement or judgment in order to produce correction in peoples’ behavior. For example, Psalm 48:7 talks about God breaking the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. Similarly, Psalm 107:23-30 describes sailors who do not know the Lord getting out onto the sea and finding themselves in the midst of a windstorm that God sends to churn up the waves. Those terrified sailors cry out to the Lord in their time of trouble and He calms the storm for them.

Another example is found in 1 Samuel chapter 12. In that story, the prophet Samuel tells the people of Israel that even though they now have their first king (Saul), they must continue to fear the Lord and obey Him. Then, as a visual aid to what will happen to those people if they disobey God, Samuel calls upon the Lord to send thunder and rain down upon the wheat harvest that very day. Along those same lines, in Deuteronomy 11:17 Moses warns the Israelites that if they turn from God and begin worshiping false gods, God’s wrath will be kindled against the Israelites and He will create a time of drought by shutting up the heavens so that it doesn’t rain.

That warning reminds us of the three-and-a-half years of drought that God inflicted upon Israel’s northern kingdom during the days of Elijah the prophet. And in that same vein, in Isaiah 5:6 God says that He will lay waste to the city of Jerusalem by commanding the clouds to not send rain upon it. Likewise, in Amos 4:7, God tells the citizens of Israel’s northern kingdom that He has withheld rain from them.

Second, God uses weather in His service as A MEANS of WATERING the Earth (“His land”). This category is all about God using the weather to keep His earth watered and fertile. In the previous post, I provided a quote from Dr. Henry Morris about the hydrologic cycle. That cycle is how God has kept the earth watered since the days of Noah’s flood. Now let me expand upon that thought by citing a few passages in which the Bible describes this cycle.

In Ecclesiastes 1:6-7, we read:

The wind goes toward the south And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. (N.K.J.V.)

In Isaiah 55:10-11, we read:

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud; That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent.” (N.K.J.V.)

Jeremiah 10:13 says of God:

When He utters His voice, There is a multitude of waters in the heavens, And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth (that’s talking about evaporation). He makes lightning for the rain, He brings the wind out of His treasuries. (N.K.J.V., explanation mine)

Finally, in Job 38:22-29, God asks Job a series of questions. He asks him:

“Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war? By what way is the light diffused, Or the east wind scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, Or a path for the thunderbolt, To cause it to rain on a land where there is no man; To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth?” (N.K.J.V.)

Third, God uses weather in His service FOR MERCY. This category involves God sending beneficial weather as a means of simply being merciful upon us, and I think the best reference here is what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 about how God treats His enemies. After telling His followers that they should love their enemies, bless those who curse them, do good to them that hate them, and pray for those who use them and persecute them, Jesus says of God the Father,

“…He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (N.K.J.V.)

Why would God bless the evil and the unjust with rain? Why wouldn’t He keep those kinds of people in a continual drought? It’s because of His mercy upon them. He gives them beneficial weather they don’t deserve simply because He is merciful toward them.

IV. The Storms of Weather

There is weather and then there is WEATHER. And WEATHER involves storms! Therefore, it isn’t surprising that storms plays a major role in multiple stories from the Bible. One such story is found in Luke 8:22-24, which says concerning Jesus and His chosen 12 apostles:

Now it happened on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. (N.K.J.V.)

You see, even Jesus (God the Son, God in human flesh) had to deal with storms while He was here upon this earth, and His chosen 12 apostles had to deal with them as well. And let’s not miss the fact that in this instance those men got nailed by a storm even though it was Jesus’ idea for them to cross that lake in that boat. This proves that you can be right smack dab in the middle of God’s will for your life (and even have Jesus in your boat with you), and yet you can still get hit with an awful storm of weather. Welcome to life on planet Earth.

So, to sum up this post, weather has its service in God’s grand plan for life on earth, and it also has its storms. In terms of God’s service, Job 37:13 tells us that God uses weather as a means of correcting people who need correcting, as a means of keeping His earth watered, and as a means of Him showing mercy toward undeserving people. And somehow God even uses weather’s storms to accomplish those three purposes of service. In the next post, we’ll look at what the Bible tells us about the schooling of weather and the stabilizing of weather. Both of those topics are loaded with helpful information, and so I hope you will join me for that final post of this little series.

Posted in Bible Study, Creation, God's Chastening, God's Omnipotence, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, God's Mercy, God's Sovereignty, Grace, Series: "Weather", Weather | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Weather (post 1 of 3)

Posted on January 13, 2025 by russellmckinney

I live in western North Carolina, and our region is still recovering from the almost unbelievable devastation caused by the flooding and high winds from the remains of Hurricane Helene. It was in the aftermath of all that tragedy and catastrophe that some serious-minded Christians started asking, “How do we interpret this storm through the lens of the Bible?” In order to answer that question, I preached a two-part sermon entitled “Weather” in which I explained just exactly what the Bible teaches about the topic. Here now, on the blog, I’d like to use three posts to share that scriptural information.

I. The Source of Weather

Where does weather come from? The answer is: Weather comes from God. There are many passages where the Bible teaches this, and one of them is Job 37:5-6. Those verses say:

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, “Fall on the earth”; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. (N.K.J.V.)

A similar passage is Job chapter 37: 9-12, which says:

From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen. Also with moisture He saturates the thick cloud; He scatters His bright clouds. And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance, That they may do whatever He commands them On the face of the whole earth. (N.K.J.V.)

Since God is sovereign over all of His creation, it should come as no surprise that He is the source of weather. Nahum 1:3 says the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Psalm 148:8 says that hail, snow, and stormy winds fulfill His word. In Jeremiah 14:22, the people of Judah (Israel’s southern kingdom) are suffering from a drought, and they cry out to God: “Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You, since You have made all these.”

Someone might ask, “But can’t Satan manipulate the weather?” The answer is: Yes, he can, but he can only do it in those instances wherein God allows him to do it. Actually, though, we have just one instance in the Bible wherein we are plainly told that God even allowed Satan to mess with the weather. That one instance is found in the book of Job as God allows Satan to attempt to break Job from worshiping God.

As part of that breaking process, Satan sends what the Bible calls “a great wind” from the wilderness to strike the four corners of the house in which Job’s ten children are gathered. That wind causes the house to collapse in on itself and all ten of Job’s children to be killed by the collapsing. Again, though, that story is the only passage where the Bible plainly says that God even allowed Satan to manipulate the weather.

Therefore, let’s not be so quick to blame hurricanes, heavy rains, high winds, tornados, snowstorms, times of drought, times of intense heat, times of intense cold, and all of the other types of weather we experience on the devil. No, the Bible teaches that God is the source of weather. Even if Satan does ever get a chance to mess with the weather in any way, it’s only because God allows Him to do so.

Admittedly, many an individual might not believe in a God who causes weather that creates so many problems for so many people and even causes so many deaths. Such a person might say, “That’s not the God I know.” Well, my response to such a person would be, “You don’t get to pick who God is or how God operates. God is God, whether you like Him or not, and there is only one true God. He is the God described in the Bible, and the Bible teaches that He is the source of weather (good weather and bad weather).”

Coming at this topic another way, some of you conspiracy theorists out there might be thinking, “But mankind has now reached a scientific point where we can create the weather ourselves. Through geoengineering we can seed clouds and create hurricanes. So, our government is secretly creating these powerful, devastating hurricanes in an attempt to bankrupt America by crippling our economy so that the way can be paved for us to become a part of the new world order under one world government.” To that I’ll just say, “Alice, if you want to follow that white rabbit down into that rabbit hole, don’t bother to take your Bible along with you because you won’t need it down there.” Why not? It’s because the Bible teaches that God is the source of weather.

     II. The Start of Weather

Did you know the pre-sin earth of Adam and Eve did not have weather the way we have it today? Genesis 2:4-7, verses that describe the early days of the creation week before God created Adam, say:

This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

The earth as God originally created it (Genesis 1:1) was not a finished product. It was there, sitting in space, but it needed detail work. As evidence of that, Genesis 1:2 says it was “without form.” That means that the earth didn’t yet have the circular shape it has now. Additionally, Genesis 1:2 tells us that the earth at that time was totally covered in water that was no doubt many miles deep.

It was on day 2 of the creation week that God cut what Genesis 1:6-8 calls a “firmament” right through the midst of all that water that was covering the earth. Genesis 1:8 says that God called this firmament “Heaven” (N.K.J.V., K.J.V., E.S.V., R.S.V.) The Hebrew word that gets translated “firmament” literally means “an expanse.” Basically, the firmament is what you see when you walk outside and look up either in the daytime or the nighttime. Genesis 1:14-17 says in reference to day 4 of the creation week that God set the sun, the moon, and the stars in the firmament. Likewise, Genesis 1:20 says in reference to day 5 of the creation week that birds fly in the firmament.

What God’s creating of the firmament did to all that water that was covering the earth was trap some of it above the firmament and leave some of it trapped below the firmament. The water trapped below the firmament was left to become the earth’s oceans, rivers, and streams. That’s why it makes perfect sense that after God had created that firmament on day 2, day 3 begins with God saying, “Let the waters under the heavens (and it’s the same Hebrew word that gets translated as “firmament”) be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear…” (N.K.J.V.)

That only left to be accounted for all the water that had gotten trapped above the firmament. And what happened to all of that water? It created a great canopy of water (probably in vaporous form) that allowed the earth to have what we might think of as a perfect, greenhouse-type environment. Consequently, what the Bible describes in those days is an earth that was for all intents and purposes without weather. It didn’t rain or snow, and there were no hurricanes or tornados. Again, according to Genesis 2:4-7, the whole planet got watered by way of a mist that rose up from the ground. The conditions were idyllic.

As for when weather started to appear upon the earth, that happened during the flood of Noah. Genesis 7:10-12 says:

And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. (N.K.J.V.)

Scholars tell us that if it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, that still wouldn’t produce enough water to fully cover the entire earth. That means that other factors were involved with the great flood, factors that produced a whole lot of flood water. And the Bible tells us right here in Genesis 7:10-12 what those factors were.

First, verse 11 says all the fountains of the great deep were broken up. That breaking up resulted in an untold amount of water bursting forth upward from deep inside the earth. Evidently, that water had been trapped in there since God had created the earth in Genesis 1:1. Second, verse 11 also says the windows of “heaven” were opened. And according to Genesis 1:8, what was it that God called the firmament? “Heaven.” You see, during the great flood a great deluge of water came down from the sky as that vast canopy of moisture that had been trapped up there above the firmament since day 2 of the creation week was released and allowed to fall as rain. That closed the door on the earth having that protective canopy of moisture above it, and it left the earth ripe for what we now know as “weather” to begin.

Dr. Henry Morris was a highly reputable scientist who earned his PhD in hydraulic engineering from the University of Minnesota, and he was also a devout Christian and a defender of the Bible’s record of history. In regards to the earth’s natural cycle that began after the great flood and continues working today to produce rain upon the earth, Morris wrote this:

The present cycle, which began at the time of the great Flood, involves global and continental air mass movements, and annual and seasonal temperature changes…This present cycle centers around the solar evaporation of ocean waters, transportation to the continents in the atmospheric circulation, condensation and precipitation in the form of rain and snow, and transportation to the ocean via rivers.

And so, with this first post from this series, we have looked at what the Bible says about the source of weather and the start of our weather. The source of weather is God, and the start of our weather was the flood of Noah. In the next post, we’ll identify what the Bible says about the service of weather and the storms of weather. Until then, I hope you will stay tuned.

Posted in Bible Study, Creation, God's Omnipotence, God's Sovereignty, Satan, Series: "Weather", Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Self-Preservation & Jesus

Posted on January 10, 2025 by russellmckinney

A man interviewed for a job at a famous art gallery that housed dozens of priceless masterpieces. As part of the interview process, he was asked, “If a fire broke out in this gallery and you could only save one picture, which one would it be?” The man answered, “I’d save the one closest to the exit.”

Yes, the survival instinct is a very real thing. And we’ve all got a touch of it inside us, don’t we? As a character in an episode of an old western series once said, “When it comes to living a little longer, every man has some wolf in him.”

But this wolf poses a real problem for the Christian. As my way of identifying that problem, let me take that quote from that old western and rework it to make it fit Christianity. For the Christian, the quote would sound something like this: “When it comes to following Jesus Christ and serving Him, every Christian must have some sacrificial lamb in him.” As evidence of the scriptural accuracy of this reworked statement, consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V.):

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (Matthew 5:38-39)

“I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

“As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’” (Romans 8:36)

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (1 Timothy 3:12)

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

“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.” (1 John 2:15)

How out of place these passages (and others like them) seem in this age of “health and wealth/prosperity” preaching. In such an age, sermons on topics such as self-sacrifice, turning the other cheek, and enduring persecution certainly don’t fill the pews of the average church, do they? And yet, this is the life of radical faith. This is the life of selling out to Jesus completely regardless of the consequences. This is the life of standard New Testament discipleship.

Again, Christian, we certainly aren’t talking about your self-preservation here. We certainly aren’t talking about you making comfort your top priority. We certainly aren’t talking about you chasing popularity as your life’s goal. You say you want safety, comfort, and praise from the masses? Then you’ll never live under the lordship of Jesus Christ. That just isn’t the life He is proposing when He says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Trust me, no one ever took up a Roman cross in order to live a little longer, enjoy himself, or win a popularity contest.

It’s not that Jesus wants us to go around with a death wish. Much to the contrary, He wants us to appreciate life and really LIVE it for Him. But let’s be clear about one thing: His idea of living life for Him is far different from our worldly ideas about what living it for Him looks like. We mustn’t forget that this is same Savior who said, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Those aren’t words that we Christians want to hear, are they? Undoubtedly, though, they are every bit as true and as relevant to us as John 3:16 is when it comes to us living for Christ.

Posted in Adversity, Brokenness, Commitment, Courage, Crucifixion, Death, Disappointment, Discipleship, Doing Good, Dying To Self, Extending Forgiveness, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Work, Human Life, Ministry, Missions, Obedience, Persecution, Perseverance, Personal Holiness, Preaching, Priorities, Problems, Prosperity, Revenge, Sacrifice, Sanctification, Service, Spiritual Warfare, Submission, Suffering, Trials, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Different Bible School Meetings

Posted on January 8, 2025 by russellmckinney

After a relatively successful V.B.S. at one of my former churches, I called for a meeting of the teachers and workers who had been involved with the effort. My purpose for the meeting was to assess what had gone well about the V.B.S. and what hadn’t. All I wanted was a friendly, open, candid discussion that would help us identify the areas in which we could improve our V.B.S. the following summer.

As expected, the meeting went exactly as purposed. Even when negative subjects were discussed, the meeting retained a warm, friendly spirit that allowed for helpful dialogue and a free-flowing exchange of ideas. No one had an agenda. No one got defensive. No one brought personal issues into the fray. Basically, it was one of the better church meetings that I’ve ever experienced.

Now let’s fast forward to my first year in my next pastorate. Once again my church enjoyed a relatively successful V.B.S., after which I scheduled a follow-up assessment meeting of the teachers and workers. Since this type of meeting had gone so well at my previous church, I assumed the same would be true in my new church. Boy, was that a wrong assumption!

The problems started early with one teacher complaining that the music director had ignored a song request the teacher’s class had suggested. That, in turn, caused the music director to get defensive. That, in turn, caused the teacher to ratchet things up a notch in terms of tone. That, in turn, caused the music director to match that increased tone. So there we all were, just a few minutes into the meeting, and things were already at DEFCON 3.

As the moderator (and I use that word loosely) of the informal meeting, I allowed the verbal exchange between the teacher and the music director to continue for a few uncomfortable seconds. In the end, this would get me accused of siding with the teacher. The truth is, though, I had two reasons for allowing the argument to last a bit longer than I could have. First, I was caught off guard by the turn the meeting took and had to play catch up there for a moment. Second, it was obvious to me that some venting would do both parties some good, you know, sort of like releasing the built-up pressure in a pressure cooker. I hoped that once the sore subject of the debated song was out in the open, emotions would settle down and we could discuss the disagreement calmly and rationally. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for that calm, rational discussion.

You ask, “And what did the rest of the people at the meeting do during the argument?” Well, for one thing, they weren’t about to get involved in that dust-up. So, they just sat there watching the show. For another thing, some of them didn’t really want to be at the meeting anyway because they themselves were still pouting over different little issues from the recent V.B.S.

Fear not, though, those issues did eventually get brought up in the meeting as well. And, like the issue of the song, they weren’t brought up in what you might call an ideal spirit. The spirit wasn’t the raw anger and emotion of the exchange between the teacher and the music director. It was, instead, a sober, solemn kind of spirit that more or less conveyed the idea, “If we have to do V.B.S. the same way next year, I might not help with it because I really didn’t enjoy this year at all.”

But now let me tell you the real reason why those two follow-up meetings at those two churches played out so differently. Here’s the thing: The first meeting involved a church that was in a good place spiritually, but the opposite was true for the second meeting. Simply put, one church was in the midst of a time of peace and even a bit of a revival, but the other one was in the midst of a time of civil war and division.

Before I had become the pastor of that second church, the church had experienced some serious problems that had prompted the resignation of the previous pastor. Following that, a pastoral vote on a new potential pastor hadn’t received the necessary percentage for the man to be called by the church. In the wake of that failed vote, I myself had barely received the required percentage to become their pastor.

All this serves as evidence that the church that I had come into was a deeply divided one that was marked by cliques, emotional wounds that hadn’t yet healed, and power struggles over who was going to “run” the church. It was a church that a lot of pastors would have avoided. For my part, though, I felt genuinely called of the Lord to wade into the mess and try to help. I ended up staying there three-and-a-half years, and I at least got them to the place where they could get healthy after I left, but I’ll guarantee you that we didn’t have another follow-up V.B.S. meeting. I had no desire whatsoever to open up another such can of worms.

The point I’m trying to get across here is not hard to understand. Churches that are where they need to be spiritually can deal with virtually anything in a positive way, while churches that aren’t can’t even get through a follow-up Vacation Bible School meeting without incident. That’s why it is so hard for a church to right itself once it has gone down a wrong path. The people who created the problems are usually the worst candidates to fix them because fixing them would require humility, brokenness, admission of mistakes, confession of sin, authentic repentance, forgiveness, and a willingness to work together to make the necessary changes. I’m not saying that troubled churches can’t rise to these things (or lower themselves to them, depending on how you look at it), but if such behavior came easily for the people, the church wouldn’t have gotten itself into such sad shape initially.

So, if you ever find yourself in a church that has major issues, tread lightly. Always keep in mind that something that would be harmless in another church might very well light the fuse to a powder keg in yours. V.B.S. meetings, changing the color of the carpet in the sanctuary, putting in new light fixtures, issues involving the church cemetery, changing the Sunday School literature, committee member appointees, changes to the church budget, etc., etc., etc. all have the potential to create problems and even a church split if the church is sick spiritually. This is the sad truth, and it is undoubtedly playing itself out in some church somewhere right now even as you read this.

Posted in Attitude, Backsliding, Brokenness, Christian Unity, Church, Church Attendance, Confession, Criticism, Extending Forgiveness, Forgiveness, God's Work, Humility, Ministry, Pastors, Personal, Pride, Problems, Reconciliation, Restoration, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My Anger Management Plan

Posted on January 6, 2025 by russellmckinney

One day a wife asked her husband, “Why don’t you play golf with George anymore?” The husband answered, “Would you play golf with a man who moves the ball and puts down the wrong score while you’re not looking?” The wife said, “Certainly not.” The husband replied, “Neither would George.”

Sinful behavior — it does affect our lives, doesn’t it? My youngest son, Royce, once struck out by foolishly swinging at a pitch that was in the dirt. On his way back to the dugout, he threw down his helmet in a fit of anger. And what was my wife Tonya’s knee-jerk reaction to that? She smiled and said, “I wonder who he gets that from?” (No, she wasn’t talking about herself.)

Okay, I’ll admit it, when I get really mad my first reaction is to throw something, kick something, or slam something. For example, several years ago Tonya stood in the kitchen and watched me get aggravated at a troublesome weed eater and launch it into space. That incident reminds me of the story about the little boy who was watching a preacher try to start an old pull-cord mower. When the boy commented, “That mower is enough to make a fellow cuss,” the preached said, “Son, I used to cuss, but I stopped that filthy habit when I accepted Jesus, and it’s been so long since I cussed, I’m not sure I could even remember how.” To that the boy replied, “You keep pulling on that cord and it will all come back to you.”

The truth is that each of us struggles with some specific sin or pattern of bad behavior, and no matter how long we go without tripping over that old log, we’ll eventually find ourselves again face first on the ground. One of mine (and there are others) is my temper. That’s my personal admission for the day. But how about you? What’s your problem area? Is it worry? Doubt? Greed? Impatience? Lust? Jealousy? Ego? Vanity? Pride? Some type of addiction? Something else?

Getting back to my story about Royce and baseball, I had the conversation with him that day about not slamming down his batting helmet. Unfortunately, the underlying cause of that little fit of rage is something that he will have to contend with for the rest of his life. I speak from personal experience on this because I am still contending with my own case of it. For me as a Christian, one of the best things about heaven is the fact that I will be eternally rescued from this mortal flesh, a flesh that is polluted and tainted by sin. Until then, though, I will always deal with the temptation to slam down helmets, throw weed eaters, cuss, kick garbage cans, punch walls, etc., etc., etc.

The only real help I’ve ever found to combat my faulty inner wiring is Jesus Christ. When I placed my belief in Him as Savior, God the Holy Spirit came to take up residence inside me, and His presence allows me a fighting chance to keep my pet sins and bad behavior at bay. Even with the Spirit living inside me, I still show my temper every now and then, but those occasions aren’t nearly as numerous as they used to be. This, you see, is my anger management plan, and the plan will work as long as I work the plan by letting the Holy Spirit control me from the inside.

Posted in Addiction, Depravity, Doubt, Greed, Heaven, Impatience, Jealousy, Lust, Personal, Personal Holiness, Pride, Salvation, Sin, Sports, Temptation, The Holy Spirit, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Worship Wars

Posted on January 3, 2025 by russellmckinney

I once met with the pulpit committee of a certain church about the possibility of me becoming that church’s next pastor. I don’t normally take Tonya along for such meetings, but this committee wanted to meet her as well. So, we made the drive to a designated restaurant that split the mileage distance between our home and the church. Once we were all at the restaurant, we ordered our food and proceeded with the discussion at hand.

The church was one that church growth experts call a “graying” congregation. That simply means that it had a lot more old folks than young folks. In this case, the “graying” was evidenced by the pulpit committee, which consisted of two men and three women. Each committee member was over 55, and the chairman was well into his 70s.

Much of the meeting consisted of the committee members (particularly the three women) bemoaning the fact that their church had become a shell of its former self in regards to attendance. The church’s heyday had been in the 1960s and 1970s, and the women wanted things back to the way they used to be. Whereas the church had once boasted an attendance of close to 200 on Sunday mornings, those numbers were then down to 50 or so.

According to the committee, the main culprit in their church’s declining attendance was a megachurch’s new satellite campus that had set up shop just a few miles down the road from their church and was pulling in large numbers of people, especially young couples. In case you don’t know what a satellite campus is, let me explain how it works. A megachurch rents a large building in either a different town or at least another part of town and sends some of their staff to that new site to work it. It is the job of those staff members to get the new congregation up and running. That means using social media, knocking on doors, handing out flyers, renting billboards, or whatever else it takes to get folks in the door.

The megachurch pays the bills to equip the site with the best of everything. The audio and video systems are cutting edge. Comfortable chairs are used instead of padded pews. Contemporary Christian songs are used instead of classic hymns. A praise-and-worship team and band are used rather than a song leader and choir. Words on a big screen are used instead of hymn books.

The target group for any satellite campus will always be young couples with children. If something appeals to that generation, that’s what will be prioritized. That means youth programs and lots of them. It also means casual dress, modern translations of the Bible, and sermons that focus less on doctrine and more on issues relevant to the ones such couples face today.

Every satellite campus has a campus pastor, but these pastors don’t normally do any preaching. Instead, the sermons from the lead pastor of the megachurch are piped in via video. The campus pastor’s job is to manage the staff, make sure the building is always up to spec, collect the offerings, and funnel everything back to the megachurch. Whatever vision the megachurch has for the satellite campus, the campus pastor is responsible for implementing it. He might also do some counseling and fundraising, but no matter what he does he is always working under the lead pastor of the megachurch.

Okay, so this is what the members of that pulpit committee were up against. A massive church that was located about 30 minutes from their church had launched a satellite campus in their town, and that satellite campus had become the hot new thing in that town. So, the question those pulpit committee members wanted me to answer was, “How would you go about getting our church back to its rightful place of prominence in our town?”

Oh, and did I mention that they didn’t want to convert to contemporary Christian music, use any translation other than the K.J.V., forego Sunday night or Wednesday night services, update their old sanctuary in any way, or change anything about their Sunday School organization? Also, they expected me to wear a coat and tie every time I preached. But they wanted to grow. That’s a line I remember very well: “We want to grow.”

Well, according to Tonya I was far too blunt and far too honest in my answer, even though I really wasn’t trying to tick those people off or hurt their feelings. All I told them was that their church might never get back to what it had been in the ’60s and ’70s but that didn’t mean that God had forsaken it. That church still had an important ministry, one that perhaps should focus on the elderly who still loved that style of church. After all, that generation is every bit as important in God’s eyes as the younger generation. I explained that times had changed and that the church simply wasn’t going to attract young couples by using a church model from the 1950s. Basically, I said something to the effect, “I can’t promise you that I can lead your church back to where it once was. All I can promise you is that I will faithfully preach the Bible, visit the sick, and lead the church in the direction in which God burdens me to lead it. And as long as what we do is pleasing to Him, we’ll be fine.”

I myself thought that was a reasonable answer, and as Tonya and I left the restaurant the committee chairman leaned toward my ear and said, “We’ll let you know if we are interested, but I feel confident that you’ll be hearing from us soon.” That led me to believe that the meeting had gone pretty well. However, once Tonya and I got in the car she informed me that I had thrown cold water all over that committee, particularly those three women, and she had serious doubts that I would ever get a call. When I attempted to defend myself by saying, “But everything I told them was the truth,” she responded, “Yes it was, but those women wanted you to tell them that their church is as great as they think it is and that there is no doubt that it can get back to what it used to be.”

And so how did things turn out? Well, as you’ve probably already guessed, I’m still waiting on that call. Evidently that chairman was in the minority in regards to his assessment of the meeting. I really don’t know what became of that church or who they elected as pastor. What I do know is that the entire experience was a memorable one for Tonya and myself. Rarely have we seen the stark conflict between the older generation of churchgoers and the younger generation on better display than we saw at that restaurant that night. Church growth experts have even coined a term for this conflict. They call it “worship wars.”

Really, though, the reality of the situation is that the “worship wars” lessen a little more with each passing year. The reason why is obvious: The older generation is dying off. You see, with very few exceptions, the “winning” side in these wars is already predetermined. It’s just a matter of how long it takes the fighting to reach its inevitable conclusion of the younger generations’ preferences becoming the norm. Until then we pastors are left to stand in the gap between our members who favor the old way of doing church and those who favor the new way.

I don’t mind telling you that this is a difficult challenge. Somehow, though, in the midst of it all, we must try to stay in tune with God and hear His still, small voice of direction, guidance, and spiritual discernment. Sometimes that voice promotes the new, but other times it promotes the old. Each situation and each congregation is unique. As I said, it’s a tough balancing act for a pastor. I just wish that more churchgoers on both sides would be open-minded to the other side’s position. Even more important than that, I wish that all of us Christians would be more open-minded to what God wants as opposed to what we want.

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