Play Your Piccolo

Posted on July 2, 2009 by russellmckinney

Acts 6:1-7 gives the account of an election that was held by the early church. Not only did the apostles instruct the church members to choose seven men, the seven had to be much more than just “casual Christians.” They had to be of a good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit, and full of wisdom. Why was the standard for selection so high? It was because the seven would be responsible for overseeing the daily distribution of food to the church’s widows.

Many students of the Bible consider this to be the first election of deacons. I’ll admit that this interpretation is debated, but I have always agreed with it more or less. However, what’s sad is the fact that in the debate over the interpretation, and in the adjoining debate over the qualifications for deaconship, a major point is missed altogether. That point is the apostles quote, “It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.”

The Bible is a very complex book that takes tons of study to teach correctly (2 Timothy 2:15). Such study requires time, lots of it. It also requires prayer and focus. But all of that is hard to achieve when a man is expected to fill his days with visiting the sick, evangelizing the lost, counseling the troubled, attending meetings, etc., etc., etc. Therefore, is it any wonder that the New Testament so plainly teaches that every Christian is supposed to help out with the work of the church?

Passages such as Romans 12:1-13, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Ephesians 4:11-16, and 1 Corinthians 14:26 show us that God doesn’t expect all His work to be done by a precious few “spiritual elites.” Instead, He imparts at least one spiritual gift to each Christian and says, “Go wear it out through use.” By way of definition, a spiritual gift is a skill or talent the Christian did not have before the moment of salvation. At that moment, however, the Holy Spirit imparted the gift to the Christian when He came to indwell that Christian. Every Christian receives at least one spiritual gift, and many Christians even receive more than one.

Here again, though, the church has made the mistake of getting all bogged down in how to interpret the spiritual gift passages. The major point of contention centers around the question of whether God still imparts all the different kinds of gifts or whether the so-called “sign” gifts were exclusively for the days of the early church. I do have an opinion on all that, but the point I’m making right now is this: In all our debating and arguing, we have overlooked the basic teaching that every Christian is supposed to do his or her part in the work of the church.

Ephesians 4:11-12 refers to apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers as gifts that Jesus gave to the church. Apostles had the spiritual gift of apostleship, prophets had the spiritual gift of prophecy, evangelists had the spiritual gift of evangelism, and pastor-teachers had the spiritual gift of pastor-teaching. And why did Jesus give these people to the church? He did it “for the equipping of the saints.” Okay, so why did the saints (Christians) need to be equipped? They needed to be equipped in order to do “the work of the ministry.” The set-up isn’t hard to understand. The spiritually gifted leaders in the church are supposed to equip the so-called “lay members” so that the “lay members” can do the work of the ministry. That’s a far cry from the spiritual leaders doing all the work!

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the apostle Paul compares the functioning of the church to the functioning of the human body. He says that if a foot doesn’t do its job because it wants to be a hand, that hurts the whole body. If an ear doesn’t do its job because it wants to be an eye, that hurts the whole body. If the whole body is one big eye, the work of hearing doesn’t get done. If it is one big ear, the work of smelling doesn’t get done. What a marvelous illustration that is!

Sir Michael Costa, the noted composer and conductor of another day, was once conducting a rehearsal that featured a large number of performers and singers. The mighty chorus was singing out in perfect unison, the organ was thundering, the drums were rolling, the horns were blasting, and the cymbals were clashing. But in the midst of that din of noise, one piccolo player began to feel very small and insignificant. He thought to himself, “In all this sound it doesn’t really matter whether I play or not. Nobody will notice if I just stop.” And so he stopped. Immediately, however, the great conductor brought the entire rehearsal to a screeching halt, threw up his hands, and cried out, “Where is the piccolo?”

That story makes me think of God. I can just picture Him leaning over heaven’s balcony, listening to the volume of noise that rises up as the church goes about its work, and noticing every spiritual gift that isn’t being put to use. Unlike Michael Costa, though, He doesn’t miss the sound of just one player. No, He misses the sound of many thousands, even millions, of spiritually-gifted people who simply aren’t doing the jobs they are supposed to be doing.

So tell me, Christian, how is your piccolo playing these days? Are you using your spiritual gift (gifts) in service to Christ? Are you carrying your weight in regards to the work of the church? Or does the Lord only hear silence coming from your chair? Speaking as a hard-working part of the orchestra, let me say that we need your piccolo. If you won’t play it, somebody like me will have to pick up the slack, and the truth is that I’ve got plenty of my own work to do.

Posted in Bible Study, Church, Doing Good, Faithfulness, God's Work, Individuality, Pastors, Preaching, Service, Spiritual Gifts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief!”

Posted on June 30, 2009 by russellmckinney

The story of a certain father bringing his demon-possessed son to Jesus is recorded in Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-42. While each of those accounts provides different details about the story, the account that typically gets used as a preaching text is Mark’s. The reason for that has to do with the dialogue that Mark says took place between the father and Jesus.

According to Mark, the father brings the son to Jesus and says, “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” The word “If” gives us a glimpse into that father’s heart. He is open-minded about Jesus but not fully convinced. He is willing to give Jesus a try, but he can’t make himself unreservedly believe that Jesus can cure the boy. But let’s not be too harsh on this man. He isn’t a bad sort of fellow; he is just a parent at his wit’s end over his child’s deplorable condition.

Jesus knows this, and so He doesn’t lambaste the guy for using the word “If.” Instead of getting all defensive about His miracle-working power, Jesus goes on the offensive by saying to the father, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” You have to love that comeback. Now the pressure is back on the father. Does the man have enough belief to see his son delivered?

This brings us to everybody’s favorite part of the story as the father responds to Jesus by saying, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” How’s that for blunt honesty? “Lord, I’m not totally faithless. There is a very real part of me that does believe You can heal my son. But I won’t lie and say that my faith is perfect. I want to be the believer You want me to be, but You are going to have to help me get there.”

Of all the Bible stories in which I could be cast, this one is perhaps the most natural for me. I believe the Lord can and will do wonderful things in my life, but my belief frequently needs help. It’s during such times that I need a fresh measure of the Lord’s strengthening grace. Putting it another way, I need Him to look at me through eyes of mercy and not let my bad cancel out my good.

Those of us who know something about weightlifting know the term “spotter.” A spotter is a person who stands behind the bench while the weightlifter lies on the bench and bench presses as much weight as he can. When the weightlifter reaches the limit of what he can lift, and the weight starts coming back down toward his chest, the spotter reaches down with both hands, grabs the bar that is holding the weight, pulls it back up, and places it onto the holding bars.

I see myself as a weightlifter who can bench press a limited amount of weight. I know where the spiritual gym is, and I know how to handle myself in the midst of a spiritual bench press, but when the weight becomes too heavy for me, when I can no longer lift it, when I feel it is just about to crash down hard onto my chest, I’m glad I have Jesus as my spotter. His strength makes up for weakness. His ability covers my inability. He can pick up where I leave off.

I write this as a way of encouraging those of you out there who are too hard on yourself concerning your level of faith. If you are a Christian, and if you have a legitimate amount of faith, don’t think that your lack of “ideal” faith keeps the Lord from doing what He wants to do in your life. After all, if Jesus had waited until the father of that demon-possessed boy had “perfected” his belief, who knows when that boy would have been delivered and healed? Would he ever have been?

You see, it’s not that your somewhat deficient faith is a good thing. We know it isn’t. But the Lord always stands ready to give credit where credit is due, and He understands that some faith is certainly better than no faith. Think about a loving earthly father. If that father sees that his child is obviously making an attempt to live up to his wishes, he will not give up on his child. Instead, he will work with that child, show patience, and give the child time to do even better. And my point is, if an earthly father will operate like that, how much more will our heavenly Father?

Posted in Adversity, Belief, Comfort, Faith, Fear, God's Love, Grace, Needs, Personal, Prayer Requests, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Our Anniversary

Posted on June 25, 2009 by russellmckinney

Fifteen years ago today, Tonya and I stood in her home church and got married. If I have never done anything else right in my life, I married well. She is my best friend, my life-partner, and the mother of my children. She is a pastor’s wife, a school teacher, a good daughter, and a concerned sister. Proverbs 18:22 says: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.” I live out the truth of that verse every day.

Here is a small sampling of the things I’ve seen Tonya do over the past fifteen years:

play the roles of interior designer, decorator, and painter

prepare annual Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for my entire family

from her position in the passenger’s seat of the car, reach around to the back seat and change a diaper while I was driving us down the interstate at about 65 m.p.h. (still one of my fondest memories of her)

teach me the fine art of how to navigate your way around a computer

doggedly work in Vacation Bible Schools until she was ready to drop

organize vacations for us and her entire family

spell me from getting out in the snow and taking the boys sledding, even though she hates sledding

spend untold hours sitting in church nurseries while all of us other adults enjoyed ourselves in sanctuaries

get under a lawnmower and clean out the grass while I held the thing up on its back wheels

scan over the Sunday paper, carefully looking for coupons that might save us a grand total of $1.75 on our next trip to the grocery store

work the chains on the sideline of middle school football games

run a wet-Vac to get the water out of our basement after a heavy rain

go with me on visits to hospitals and homes

do the continual summer maintenance on one of those above-ground, Walmart pools

coach the youth league basketball team for our oldest while I coached the one for our youngest

play the role of listener and adviser to more people than I can begin to remember

do without so the boys and I could do with

Tonya and I have become one of those couples who always get talked about in tandem. It’s not “Russell” or “Tonya” anymore. It’s “Russell and Tonya.” We have become one flesh (Matthew 19:5) not only in the eyes of God but in the eyes of the world.

What’s fascinating about that is the fact that we are opposites in so many ways. I am a night owl; she goes to bed early. I sleep late; she gets up early even when she doesn’t have to. When I get mad, I get loud; when she gets mad, she gets quiet. I hate coffee; she loves it. I sleep on my back; she sleeps on her chest. My strong subject is English; hers is math. I like a small breakfast, a bigger lunch, and an even bigger supper; she likes a big breakfast, a lesser lunch, and a light supper.

And yet, despite all these differences, we are “one.” Anyone who knows us will tell you that we function as a team. I play my role in the marriage and she plays hers. After fifteen years, we pretty much have the roles down pat. She knows me better than anybody, and I know her better than anybody.

Tonya loves tv shows I can’t stand. I’m talking about shows such as: What Not To Wear; Top Chef; She’s Got The Look; House Hunters; Project Runway; America’s Next Top Model; Divine Design; and Decorating Cents. She doesn’t listen to a lot of music, but when she does, it’s 80’s stuff. Her favorite vacation is lying by a pool for hours in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As near as I can tell, her favorite movie is anything with Kevin Bacon in it.

She’s an obsessive planner and organizer who really can’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t plan and organize. When she laughs, it’s a big, loud laugh. She doesn’t like to get up on the first alarm; she’s a snooze-button kind of person. Whenever she starts off a sentence with the words, “Well, darling…” I know I’m about to get hit with pure, unfiltered sarcasm. I long ago gave up on taking her shopping for clothes. She’ll spend hours looking and trying on and not buy anything.

Marriage counselors talk about something called “the empty nest syndrome.” After a couple’s kids have all grown up and left the house, the couple can have trouble reconnecting as man and wife. Their lives have been dominated by child-rearing for so long they’ve forgotten how to be sweethearts. I assure you, Tonya and I won’t have this problem. As much as we love our two boys and want the best for them, we understand the great benefits that are going to come with being “empty nesters.” Think of the extra money that won’t have to be spent on groceries. Think of getting to eat out and not have to ask, “Do you have a children’s menu?” Think of the intimate vacations for two. Think of getting a house clean and being able to keep it clean. Think of the closet space!

And so, honey, on this 25th day of June, 2009, I wish you the happiest of anniversaries. I’d like to be boarding a flight for Hawaii this afternoon, with brand new wardrobes in tow and an unlimited supply of cash in our pockets. But you know as well as I do where we’ll be: Ryan has a scrimmage game at 6:00 and Royce has practice at 6:30.

That means I’ll be at one field and you’ll be at the other one. We’ll all eat supper at home before we leave, and we’ll all be wiped out when we get back home. Even if you and I tried to plan something for tomorrow night, Royce has a game at 6:45. Somehow, I really can’t see us having much of a problem with “empty nest syndrome.” I think we’ll be much more susceptible to pushing them out of the nest prematurely. I wonder if that’s a syndrome.

Anyway, never doubt that I love you. When we got married, I loved you with the kind of love that comes out of several years of on-again-off-again dating. It was real, but it was immature. Now I love you with the kind of love that comes out of fifteen years of walking through life together, experiencing its highs and lows, ups and downs, and good and bad (much more highs, ups, and good).

I can truthfully say I love you more today than I ever have, and that’s as good as can be done so many years into a marriage. I don’t know what God has in store for us in the future, but I can believe nothing else but that our next fifteen years will be even better than our first fifteen. I do know that I don’t want to spend them with anyone but you.

Posted in Children, Marriage, Parenting, Personal | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Easy Eddie’s Example to Fathers

Posted on June 20, 2009 by russellmckinney

Back in the days when Al Capone ran the city of Chicago, his lawyer was a man nicknamed “Easy Eddie.” Despite the fact that Capone’s empire was built around bootleg booze, prostitution, and murder, Easy Eddie’s legal skill always kept his boss out of jail. To show his appreciation, Capone made sure that Easy Eddie was well compensated. Eddie had plenty of money, a fenced-in mansion, house servants, and all the conveniences of the day. His estate was so large that it filled an entire city block of Chicago. Eddie had it made, and he didn’t worry himself about the incredible damage he was doing by keeping Capone out of jail.

But Eddie had one soft spot: his son. How he loved that boy! He saw to it that the kid had the best of everything. To his credit, he even tried to teach him the difference between right and wrong. He wanted the boy to rise above the sordid life of the Chicago mob and be a better man than he was.

After a while, though, Eddie began to see how hypocritical his actions were. How could a son stay away from gangsters when his father was so thick with them? How could a son not be enamored with the mob’s wealth when the “good life” his father lived came from that wealth? Eddie realized that the “do as I say and not as I do” line wouldn’t work. So, he decided to change his ways and do something that would allow him to pass a good example and a good name down to his son. That something was going to the authorities and volunteering to testify against “Big Al” and the mob. Eddie knew the danger involved with such a move, but he testified anyway.

And what happened to Easy Eddie? Within a year, his life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. This determined father paid the ultimate price just so he could leave his son with two things all the money in the world couldn’t buy: a good example and a good name.

But wait, the story doesn’t end there. Eddie’s son, Butch, grew up to be a fighter pilot in World War II. He was assigned to an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent out on a mission. Butch hadn’t been in the air too long when he realized that the fuel tank on his airplane hadn’t been refueled. So, he radioed to his squadron leader and was told to return to the carrier.

On his way back to the ship, Butch saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese Zero planes were speeding their way toward the American fleet. With the American fighters being on mission, the fleet was all but defenseless. Butch knew that he had to do something, but the situation was desperate. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back to defend the fleet, and his radio was such that he couldn’t even use it to warn the fleet about the approaching Zeros.

Finally, Butch decided upon a radical course of action. He would try to divert the squadron of Zeros from the fleet by laying aside all thoughts of personal safety and diving straight into the formation. He went in with guns firing and managed to get the Japanese squadron to break formation. Then he wove in and out of the broken formation, firing at as many planes as he could.

When all his ammunition was gone, he began diving at the Zeros, hoping to at least clip off a plane’s wing or tail and render it unable to fly. He wanted to do whatever he could to keep those planes from reaching the American fleet. His efforts proved successful, too, when the disjointed Japanese squadron finally took off in another direction.

Butch then flew his tattered fighter back to the carrier and reported what had happened. If anyone doubted the truth of his story, that changed when they saw the film from the camera that had been mounted on his plane. In the end, Butch was given one of the nation’s highest military honors. Oh, and by the way, maybe you’ve heard of the airport that was ultimately named after him. That would be Chicago’s famed O’Hare airport. Yes, that airport is named after Butch O’Hare, the son of Easy Eddie O’Hare.

Now tell me, father, do you really believe that the way you live your life won’t have any bearing upon how your child turns out? You aren’t that delusional, are you? Of course it will! That old saying is an old saying for a reason: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Easy Eddie O’Hare had the good sense to examine his rotten tree and realize that it would produce a rotten apple. Then he did that which was necessary to fix his tree. It wasn’t easy, but he did it. May the same be said of all us fathers this Father’s Day. As the Bible says, “A good name is better than precious ointment (Ecclesiastes 7:1) and “is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1).

Posted in Children, Doing Good, Fatherhood, Influence, Parenting, Personal Holiness, Priorities | Tagged | Leave a comment

My Body, A Temple

Posted on June 17, 2009 by russellmckinney

I’m well aware that 1 Timothy 4:8 says: “For bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (N.K.J.V.). I’m also well aware that overweight Christians love that verse because it seems to dismiss the need for exercise. Nevertheless, a thorough study of the totality of scripture will show that God is all for Christians keeping themselves in good physical shape.

First, there are the multiple passages that vividly paint gluttony in a bad light. Proverbs 23:21 says: “For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty.” Likewise, 1 Samuel 4:18 makes a point of saying that Eli, Israel’s high priest, was “old and heavy.” Judges 3:17 does the same with Eglon, king of Moab, saying that he was “a very fat man.” As proof of how fat Eglon was, Judges 3:22 says that when Ehud stabbed him with a dagger, “the fat closed over the blade.” We don’t have to think too hard to get the visual imagery of that line, do we?

Second, there is the Bible’s great teaching that the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. According to multiple passages, the moment an individual believes in Christ as Savior, God the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside that person’s body. This experience is known as “Spirit baptism,” being “born again,” or “regeneration” (1 Corinthians 12:13; John 3:1-8; Titus 3:5). The experience is so necessary to authentic Christianity that Romans 8:9 flatly says: “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

The presence of God the Holy Spirit inside a Christian’s body automatically makes that body the temple of God. That’s why 1 Corinthians 6:19 asks the profound question: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” You see, it isn’t the bodybuilder, the yoga expert, or the aerobics instructor whose body is a temple. Only the Christian can rightly say, “My body is a temple” because only the Christian has the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Years ago, I heard Charles Stanley preach on this subject, and the outline he used stuck with me. He said the Christian’s body being the temple of the Holy Spirit should affect three things:

#1: what the Christian puts in his or her body

#2: what the Christian puts on his or her body

#3: what the Christian does with his or her body

Point #1 covers sins such as gluttony, drunkenness, and drug addiction. Each of these sins involves the Christian putting something (or at least too much of it) literally inside the body. As for me, I agree with those who would add smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and dipping snuff to this list of sins. You might get mad at me for saying that, but I think the medical evidence now clearly indicates that all of these activities are bad for one’s health. Putting it simply, they do harm to the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Point #2 covers the sins of immodest or unholy appearance. The Christian female’s wardrobe shouldn’t be a showcase for short skirts, skimpy bathing suits, spray-on jeans, low-cut tops, skintight shirts, shirts that expose the midriff, crude tee-shirts, etc. Likewise, a Christian male’s wardrobe shouldn’t be a showcase for low-riding pants, immodest shorts, spray-on jeans, skintight shirts, shirts that expose the midriff, crude tee-shirts, etc. I’m not trying to be the fashion Gestapo here, but some looks are just out of bounds for the Christian.

Furthermore, I don’t think tattoos, even Christian ones, are becoming to the temple of the Holy Spirit. The fact that God forbade them among the people of Israel (Leviticus 19:28) shouldn’t be completely dismissed as Old Testament, antiquated stuff that only pertained to the worship of idols. (For a much more thorough treatment of this topic please read my post “Should a Christian Get a Tattoo?”) Also, any “look” that gives the impression of gaudiness (Isaiah 3:16-23) or worldliness (Romans 12:2; Titus 2:11-12; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17) should be avoided. This gets into the realm of excessive jewelry, body-piercing, and hairdos that are designed to induce a reaction.

Before you accuse me of legalism or label me a fanatical Puritan, ask yourself this question: “Should the Christian’s appearance bring attention to the Christian or honor to Christ?” You know the answer. Furthermore, we as Christians should be trying to please God with our appearance rather than impress members of the opposite sex. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 talks about women adorning themselves in modest apparel and taking a low-key, toned-down approach to hairdos, jewelry, and clothing. Similarly, 1 Peter 3:1-6 says a woman’s outward holiness should spring up from her inward holiness. I like that. The Christian (man or woman) who is wrong in some way in outward appearance isn’t where he or she needs to be in inner holiness. As the old saying goes, the heart of the problem is usually the problem of the heart.

Point #3 covers the incredibly broad area of sinful acts done with the body. Certainly, sins such as murder, adultery, and theft are on this list, but so are sins such as flying into an ungodly rage, lying, gambling, using profane language, and looking at pornography. Basically, whenever the Christian takes the indwelling Holy Spirit along for a ride He doesn’t want to take, that Christian defiles the temple that is his or her body.

What we, as Christians, must realize is that Jesus wants lordship over every area of our lives. That includes how we eat, how we look, and how we act. Sadly, far too many Christians simply don’t do their part to keep their temples unspotted and acceptable to the Lord. To help with this problem, let me offer a tried-and-true piece of advice: Christian, before you put anything in your body, on your body, or do anything with your body, ask yourself, “If I do this, will it upset the Holy Spirit who dwells inside me?”

Read James 4:5 sometime. That verse says that the Spirit who dwells within us yearns jealously. Yes, Christian, you can make the indwelling Holy Spirit jealous. When you overeat, you make Him jealous because He gets the idea that you love food more than Him. When you let your body get out of shape, He gets jealous because He gets the idea that you don’t care about His temple. When you put something sinful in your body, He gets jealous because He gets the idea that you’d rather have that something than Him. When you put something sinful on your body, He gets jealous because He gets the idea that you are more concerned about impressing others than impressing Him. When you do something sinful with your body, He gets jealous because He gets the idea that His opinion of what you should and shouldn’t do means nothing to you.

And so, in closing, I’ll ask you, the Christian, “How’s your temple looking these days?” Is it a place the Holy Spirit is proud to call home? If it’s not, you need to make the necessary repairs. For some of us, that might mean starting something (for example, an exercise program). For others, it might mean giving up something (for example, cigarettes). But whatever action the repairs call for, do it without delay. After all, nobody, even God, likes to live in a house that causes them shame.

Posted in Alcohol, Dieting, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Gambling, Gluttony, Homosexuality, Idolatry, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sanctification, Sex, Sin, Temptation, The Heart, The Holy Spirit, The Tongue | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Patience

Posted on June 11, 2009 by russellmckinney

Chuck Swindoll’s preaching is marked by wonderful illustrations. He has compiled hundreds of these into a book entitled The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart. That title comes from my favorite illustration in the book.

An old man and his son once farmed a little piece of land. Several times each year they would load their vegetables into an ox-drawn cart and go to the nearest city to sell their produce. The trip was usually marked by disagreement because the son was always in a hurry and the old man couldn’t be rushed.

One morning the two headed out on their trip. The son calculated that if they walked fast and pushed on through the night they’d be in the city early the next morning. In order to stay on that schedule, he kept hitting the ox with a stick, prodding the animal to move faster. Finally, after a few rounds of that, the father said, “Take it easy, son. You’ll last longer.” The boy said, “But if we get to market ahead of the others, we’ll get the best prices.” To that, the father just pulled his hat down over his eyes and fell asleep on the seat of the cart. The boy kept hitting the ox, but the ox had a pace all its own.

Four hours into the trip they came to a little house. The father roused from his sleep and said, “This is your uncle’s house. Let’s stop in and say hello.” The boy replied, “But we are already an hour behind schedule.” “Then a few more minutes won’t matter,” said the father. “My brother and I don’t get to see each other much.” And so, for the next hour, the boy sat and stewed while the brothers laughed and talked.

When the father and son finally got back onto the road, the father took his turn leading the ox. They came to a fork in the road, and he led the ox to the right. The boy piped up, “The left way is shorter.” The old man answered, “I know, but this way offers prettier scenery.” The boy bellowed, “Don’t you have any respect for time?” “Yes, I do,” said the father, “that’s why I want to use it to enjoy the beautiful scenery.”

The winding path led through picturesque meadows, wildflowers, and alongside a babbling brook. But the son missed it all because he was too busy moaning from impatience. He didn’t even notice how perfect the sunset was that afternoon. The father pulled the ox to a halt in a particularly gorgeous spot and said, “Let’s sleep here tonight.” Through his frustration, the boy raged, “I’m not going to take any more trips with you. You are more interested in watching sunsets and smelling flowers than in making money!” He meant for those words to hurt his father, but the old man just smiled and said, “Why, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” It wasn’t long before the father was snoring and the son was staring up at the stars, restless for the morning to come and the trip to begin again.

The sun wasn’t even fully up when the young man shook his father awake. They hitched up the ox and headed down the road. They had traveled about a mile when they came upon another farmer who was trying to pull his cart out of a ditch. The father said, “Let’s give him a hand.” “And lose more time?” the boy shot back. “Relax,” said the man, “you might be in a ditch yourself sometime.”

It was almost 8:00 a.m. by the time they got the other cart out of the ditch and back onto the road. Suddenly a great flash split the sky. What sounded like thunder followed and the sky grew dark beyond the hills. “Looks like a big rain in the city,” said the father. “Yes,” said the son, “and if we’d hurried we’d be almost sold out by now.” “Take it easy, you’ll last longer. And you’ll enjoy life so much more,” said the father.

It was late afternoon by the time father and son made it to the hill overlooking the city. They stood there and stared for a long, long time. Neither of them said a word. Finally, the son put his hand on his father’s shoulder and said, “Now I see what you mean.” Then they turned the oxcart around and began to slowly roll away from what had once been the city of Hiroshima.

Christian, do you think that God is dragging His heels in taking you some place? Do you think that He is needlessly delaying the answer to your prayers? Do you think that He is wasting time with your life? Trust me, He isn’t. What you think are crippling delays might just be that which is necessary to keep you out of harm’s way.

Posted in Disappointment, God's Timing, God's Omniscience, Impatience, Patience, Waiting, Worry | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Path That Won’t Lead You Back

Posted on June 9, 2009 by russellmckinney

In moonshine country, a revenuer once asked a boy, “Son, will that path take me to your daddy’s still?” The boy answered, “Yes, but it won’t bring you back.” Life has some paths like that. They will take you to a dangerous place and not bring you back.

When God rejected Cain’s bloodless sacrifice, He knew that Cain was standing at the head of such a path. That’s why He said to him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:1-7, N.K.J.V.). God was telling Cain that he was at a critical juncture. Cain’s next move would set the course for what remained of his life. Sadly, Cain chose badly and in a jealous rage killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8).

Cain then spent his remaining years as a vagabond (Genesis 4:12). Even though he was a skilled farmer, the earth stopped producing harvests for him (Genesis 4:11-12). Even though he married, fathered a son, and built a city (Genesis 4:16-17), he never got back into relationship or fellowship with God. Why not? He had gone down a path that wouldn’t bring him back.

The people of Israel anxiously awaited the report of the twelve spies they had sent to scout the land of Canaan. When the spies returned, they told tales of a lavishly abundant land that “flowed with milk and honey.” Even more than that, the spies brought proof of the land’s abundance in the form of pomegranates, figs, and a massive cluster of grapes (Numbers 13:1-27).

The report caused the people to get all fired up about claiming Canaan as their own, but that enthusiasm quickly died when the spies started talking about Canaan’s strong people, fortified cities, and race of giants (Numbers 13:28-33). At that point, the people said, “If only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness!” Even when Caleb and Joshua, two men of great faith, tried to rouse them to go claim Canaan, they responded by making plans to stone those two optimists (Numbers 14:1-10) .

But God interrupted the stoning proceedings and, instead, gave His verdict of the situation to Moses. And what was that verdict? For the next forty years the people of Israel would wander in the wilderness, and over the course of those years, every Israelite twenty years old or older would die. The only two exceptions would be Caleb and Joshua. Consequently, when the wandering and dying off was all said and done, God would give Canaan to Israel’s younger generation (Numbers 14:11-38). Wow, what happened there? Those Israelites went down a path that wouldn’t bring them back.

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul reached far back into the history of the human race and talked about the world’s very first idolaters. Creation itself gave these people ample evidence that there was a Creator God who should be worshipped (Romans 1:20), but these people took their knowledge of God and corrupted it. Rather than worship the true and living God, they changed the glory of God into inglorious idols of birds, animals, and creeping things and worshiped them (Romans 1:21-23).

And how did God respond to these idolaters? He “gave them up” (“gave them over”) to uncleanness. That means that He let them run wild with their sins. As a result, the people started committing all kinds of sins on an even grander scale than they had been committing them. Some of the sins were downright perverse as the idolaters sexually dishonored their bodies in ways that went against nature. This, you see, was the origin of homosexuality and lesbianism (Romans 1:24-27). Furthermore, God didn’t just give the idolaters over to debased bodies; He also gave them up to debased minds, minds that constantly planned and schemed to commit all kinds of ungodly deeds (Romans 1:28-32). Basically, God said, “Okay, if you don’t want to worship Me, then go find out for yourselves just how godless, wicked, and perverse you can get.”

What those first idolaters didn’t realize was that they were starting down a path that wouldn’t lead them back. Instead of forcing them to return to their knowledge and worship of Him, God took all restraint of conscience or the Holy Spirit’s conviction off them and watched as they plunged deeper and deeper into the dark depths of sin. What started with a rejection of Him and an embracing of idols ended with a cornucopia of sins that included everything from sexual perversity to being disobedient to parents.

Obviously, when God gives you over to yourself to commit all the sins you want to commit, you are in a bad way (even if you don’t realize it). You might live for years after the giving over, but you won’t ever make any changes for the better. To the contrary, your heart will grow increasingly harder toward the things of God and you will become more settled in your rebellion and probably more “hardcore” in your sins.

And it isn’t just lost people who can go down paths that won’t lead them back. As scriptural evidence of this, let’s recall something the apostle John said. In 1 John 5:16-17, he writes: “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask (pray), and He (God) will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that“(N.K.J.V., emphasis mine).

So, what is the sin that leads to death in the life of the Christian? It can be one of two kinds of sins. First, it can be a singular sin that causes God to more or less strike the person dead. That’s what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, two Christians in the early church at Jerusalem (Acts 5:1-11). It’s also what happened to some of the Christians in the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).

Second, the sin that leads to death for the Christian can be the singular act that climaxes days, weeks, months, years, or decades of playing the rebellious child, never fully coming under the lordship of Christ, and living as you please. As such, it is that moment when your heavenly Father looks down from heaven and says, “You are eternally My child and I love you, but you are never going to change as long as you are on the earth, and I’m tired of watching you bring shame to the family name.” In this way, the sin that leads to death is the final period on the earthly life of a Christian who pushes God too far.

Referring again to my opening illustration, I am not writing this post to people (Christians or non-Christians) who are right now walking paths that won’t lead them back. Frankly, these people have already passed the point where they can be helped. Instead, I’m writing this to anyone who is currently standing at the entrance to such a path. You are Cain before he killed Abel. You are those Israelite adults before they refused to conquer Canaan and instead tried to stone Caleb and Joshua. You are those idolaters before they made their first idols. And I’m saying to you, “Don’t go down that path you are considering. Change your direction while there is still time. Submit yourself fully to the Lord while there is hope for you, and let Him lead you into the blessings of a life lived for Him.”

  

Posted in Choices, Disobedience, Fatherhood, Homosexuality, Lesbianism, Obedience, Rebellion, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Through Many Tribulations

Posted on June 6, 2009 by russellmckinney

…”We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22, N.K.J.V.)

David Livingstone was born in Scotland to poor parents. The family was so poor that he went to work in a cotton factory when he was only ten years old. Despite his poverty he managed to get an education and eventually become a doctor.

At that point, Livingstone could have gone into practice in Scotland and made an easy life for himself. But that’s not what he did. He chose, instead, to go to Africa and become a preacher/doctor.

Livingstone’s work took him deep into the heart of Africa, to places where no white man had ever been. He poured his life into the people of that continent, and in so doing became a living legend among missionaries. Even though he died penniless, he was honored by being buried in London’s famous Westminster Abbey.

A missionary society in West Africa once wrote to Livingstone and asked, “Have you found a good road to where you are? If not, we want to know how to send other men to join you.” Livingstone wrote back, “I don’t know what you mean by ‘other’ men joining me when none have come as yet. If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come even if there is no road.”

Christian, the tasks that are set before us in this life aren’t always easy. As a matter of fact, some of them can be downright brutal. And the Bible makes no apologies for this. As our text verse says, we must enter the kingdom of God “through many tribulations.” Please understand, though, that it’s not the tribulations that save us or merit our entrance into the kingdom. No, our salvation and kingdom citizenship rest solely upon our belief in Christ as Savior. The point is that we Christians needn’t expect easy lives just because we are God’s people. Sure, we’ll all make it into heaven in the end, but the road that takes us there will be marked by many tribulations.

Oh, and did you notice that the word used is “many”? That means the tribulations will be numerous and will come in all shapes, sizes, and varieties. For example, the famous preacher J. Wilber Chapman said that heaven was never so near to him as on the night when his firstborn child lay dead.

So, Christian, do you have some situation in your life right now that you would classify as a tribulation? Are you having to endure something that isn’t pleasant? Are you having to live with a circumstance that is very trying? Well, take heart in two things. First, your experience makes you normal. When the Bible says that we must enter the kingdom of God through many tribulations, you aren’t the exception. Second, never forget that you are headed to a better place. Rather than just going around in some sadistic circle, you are on your way to heaven.

There was a Christian woman who grumbled all the time about her life. Her prayers were dominated by complaints and her thoughts were consumed by exaggerated ideas of how bad her situation was. Whenever someone asked her how she was doing, they soon regretted asking when she started whining about all her problems.

One night this woman dreamed that she went to heaven and met Jesus. But when she saw Him, she didn’t fall down before Him in praise, adoration, and worship. Instead, she said, “Jesus, I’m so glad to get this chance to talk to You face to face. I just want You to know that my cross is too big for me to bear.”

To that, Jesus asked, “Would you like to trade it for another one?” “Yes,” the woman answered excitedly, “I’d like that very much!” Jesus then took her to a special room in heaven and said, “This is the room for crosses. You look around in here until you find one you can bear.”

In her looking around, the woman saw tall crosses, heavy crosses, ugly crosses, and twisted crosses. In her estimation, though, all of them looked too difficult for her to carry. Finally, she found a small, easy-looking cross sitting all by itself in a corner of the room. She said, “That’s it, Jesus. I’ll take that one right there. That’s a cross I can bear.” Jesus said, “You’re right, it is; that’s the one you brought in.”

Posted in Adversity, Complaining, Contentment, Disappointment, Human Life, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Sickness, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Thankfulness, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Change

Posted on June 4, 2009 by russellmckinney

In her newspaper column on gardening, Jan Riggenbach gives us a good word on how to plant bedding plants. She writes:

Giving new bedding plants some rough treatment at planting time may be the best thing you can do to help them survive in the garden. When I was new to gardening, I tried to set tomatoes, petunias, and other bedding plants in the garden without disturbing their roots at all. Nowadays I am much more ruthless…If the plant has been growing in its pot so long that the roots are circling the bottom, I jab my finger into the bottom of the soil and pull down to untangle the roots…If the whole pot is filled with circling roots, I have to be merciless. I don’t worry if I break some of the roots; that’s better than allowing the roots to continue to circle when the plants are growing in the garden.

I think Riggenbach’s gardening advice about breaking up encircled roots can also be applied to life. Oftentimes, the worst thing that can happen to a person is to continue to live the same life year after year. Such a circling of roots doesn’t lead to health and growth. Instead, it leads to stagnation and rut.

Yes, change can be a good thing, a healthy thing. God told Noah to build an ark (Genesis 6:5-22). That was change. He commanded Abram (Abraham) to leave his home in Ur and journey to a land that He would show him (Genesis 12:1-3). That was change. He commanded Moses to leave the safety of Midian, go back to Egypt, and lead the Israelites out of bondage (Exodus 3:1-10). That was change. He commanded Amos to leave Tekoa and go prophesy to the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 7:14-15). That was change. Jesus commanded Matthew to leave his job as a tax collector and follow Him (Matthew 9:9). That was change. Peter was instructed to eat meat that wasn’t kosher (Acts 10:9-15). That was change. These are just a few of the numerous, similar examples found in the Bible.

One of my favorites comes from the life of Jacob. Through an incredible series of events, Jacob came to the point where he was prepared to load up his large family and his sizable holdings and move the whole show from Canaan to Egypt. You might ask, “Why would he consider doing such a thing?” The answer is that he had learned that his long-lost son, Joseph, was now second in command of Egypt and wanted Jacob and the family to join him there.

Charles Spurgeon, the renowned preacher, suggested four possible reasons to explain any hesitation Jacob had concerning that move:

#1: Jacob was 130 years old at this time (Genesis 47:28), and old people don’t like change.

#2. Egypt was a pagan land, one well known for its pantheon of false gods.

#3: Egypt was the subject for bad memories for Jacob’s family. Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, had once gotten into trouble there (Genesis 12:10-20), and God had forbidden Isaac, Jacob’s father, from going there (Genesis 26:1-6).

#4: Jacob had been warned of future evils. God had told Abraham that his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and serve the people of that land for 400 years (Genesis 15:13). Assuming that Abraham passed that revelation down to Isaac, and that Isaac passed it down to Jacob, it wouldn’t have taken much deduction for Jacob to figure out that Egypt would be that land.

Still, though, despite these four legitimate reasons for hesitation, Jacob pulled up stakes and made his way to Beersheba. Beersheba, you see, was pretty much the southern edge of Canaan, which made it the jumping-off point to Egypt. This brings us to the best part of the story. While Jacob was camped at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices (Genesis 46:1) as a way of rededicating himself to God. That was his way of rededicating himself to God and saying, “Lord, I am about to make a major change in my life, and I want to know for certain that this change is Your will.” Wasn’t that a perfect thing for him to do at that time of his life? And God must have thought so as well because He gave him the assurance he needed by saying to him that night:

I am God, the God of your father, do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes (Genesis 46:2-4).

Let’s take these statements one at a time.

First, God said, “Do not fear to go down to Egypt.” God wouldn’t have said that unless Jacob was somewhat afraid of the change. Yes, Jacob had stepped out in faith by beginning the move, but he certainly hadn’t blown past Beersheba and headed straight on down into Egypt. The fact that he was currently camped at that southernmost part of Canaan proved that he had a bit of trepidation about continuing southward into Egypt.

Second, God said, “I will make of you a great nation in Egypt.” For the record, God did keep this promise. 400 years later, when the Israelites made their exodus out of Egypt, they were some two million strong.

Third, God said, “I will surely go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again.” There are a couple of possible ways to interpret that part about God bringing Jacob up again.. On the one hand, God could have been referring to where Jacob would be buried. When Jacob died in Egypt, a large group made a one-time trip back to Canaan and buried him in the family burial cave. On the other hand, God’s promise could have spoken to the fact that God would one day bring Jacob’s entire nation, the Israelites, up from Egypt and settle them again in Canaan.

Fourth, God said, “And Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.” What a beautiful scene this describes. At Jacob’s death, his beloved son Joseph would be right there to close the eyes on the corpse. What a comfort it was for Jacob to know that he would die with loved ones gathered around him.

Getting back to my opening illustration, what God was doing in all this was breaking up the encircled roots in Jacob’s life. He was replanting Jacob in brand new soil by commanding him to make a radical change. Certainly it was a scary time for Jacob, even painful, but the change would produce incredible blessings and fruit that simply would not be produced if Jacob stayed where he was.

Perhaps God is dealing with you right now about a major change that He wants you to make. If He is, I encourage you to follow Jacob’s excellent example. Before you officially “take the plunge,” have your time at “Beersheba” by rededicating yourself to God completely and letting Him know that you don’t want to do anything that isn’t His will. Then, if He gives you the assurance and peace that the change is of Him, don’t be afraid to launch out with Him. Putting it simply, don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from your land of Egypt and all the blessings God has for you there.

Posted in Aging, Change, Choices, Elderly, Faith, Fear, God's Will, Obedience, Reward, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

That Old Serpent

Posted on June 1, 2009 by russellmckinney

My brother Richie and his family were renting an older house when one day he killed a huge blacksnake on the wooden deck of the place. That was scary enough, but a few days later he saw what he figured was that snake’s mate lying on the deck. He would have killed it too, but he was in the process of moving into a new home and didn’t have a hoe or shovel handy. So, he had to settle for merely scaring the thing off the deck.

When I saw Richie sometime afterward, he showed me a cell-phone picture he had taken of the one that got away. We estimated the snake to be over six feet long. For some reason, the creature made me think of Satan, the one the Bible calls “the serpent of old” (Revelation 20:2). As Genesis chapter 3 tells us, it was Satan who entered into the body of the garden of Eden’s serpent and tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1-5). If you don’t believe that a fallen angel (a demon) can enter into the body of a serpent, you had best read the story of how Jesus allowed a group of demons to enter into a herd of swine (Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 5:1-14; Luke 8:26-33). Certainly, if those demons could have entered into those swine, Satan could have entered into that serpent.

Count me among those who teach that the incident in Eden explains why snakes crawl on their bellies. After all, God did say to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go” (Genesis 3:14). That wouldn’t have been much of a punishment if the serpent had always slithered along on the ground. Evidently, the creature originally stood erect.

But why did God punish that poor serpent? Wasn’t it just a pawn in the hands of a mighty fallen angel? What purpose is served by having a world full of snakes going around on their bellies rather than walking upright? Dare I say that God meant for every snake to be a constant reminder of what happened back in Eden. He doesn’t want us to ever forget that Satan deceived Eve, a deception which led to the fall of the human race.

Isaiah 14:3-23 and Ezekiel 28:1-19 are two of the more fascinating passages concerning Satan. In them we find him indelibly intertwined with the earthly kings of Babylon and Tyre. In each passage, much of the language fits Satan better than the earthly ruler. For example, Ezekiel 28:15 says, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” Also, Ezekiel 28:13 says, “You were in Eden, the garden of God.”

Some translations of Isaiah 14:12 even use the word “Lucifer,” which means “shining one” or “morning star.” Obviously, the point that Isaiah and Ezekiel are making is that Satan was the real power behind the thrones of Babylon and Tyre. That accounts for why some parts of the passages apply to the earthly kings while other parts apply to Satan. It is as if God keeps crossing back and forth between the story of the two kings and the story of Satan.

This means that we can use these passages to glean several truths about Satan. When we do this, we come up with seven of them:

#1: God created Satan as perfect (Ezekiel 28:12,15).

#2: Satan was bright, shining, and indescribably beautiful (Ezekiel 28:12-13,17).

#3: Satan was a cherub angel (Ezekiel 28:14).

#4: Satan had a high rank in the angelic order, possibly even the highest (Ezekiel 28:14).

#5: Satan became sinfully vain and proud of his beauty and rank (Isaiah 14:13-14, Ezekiel 28:16-18).

#6: Satan fell from heaven (Isaiah 14:12, Ezekiel 28:16).

#7: Satan has even more judgment in his future (Isaiah 14:16-17, Ezekiel 28:19).

Whereas the Isaiah and Ezekiel prophecies only hint at Satan’s future judgment, other passages paint in the full picture. The judgment’s order is as follows:

-At the midway point of the coming seven-year Tribulation period, Satan and the other fallen angels (Revelation 12:3-4 indicates that one-third of all the angels fell with him) will make a second attempt at overthrowing God in heaven (Revelation 12:7). Again, though, they will lose and be cast out of God’s presence (Revelation 12:8-12).

-At Christ’s Second Coming, Satan and the other fallen angels will be chained up and cast into that place described as “the bottomless pit” (Revelation 20:1-2; Matthew 8:28-29; Luke 8:26-31; Isaiah 24:21-22). They will remain incarcerated there for the 1,000 years of Christ’s Millennial reign upon the earth (Revelation 20:2-3).

-Following that reign, Satan and the other fallen angels will be released to mount one last rebellion against the Lord (Revelation 20:7-9). God the Father will personally cast fire down from heaven to put an end to that rebellion (Revelation 20:9).

-Satan and the other fallen angels will then be banished to the lake of fire where they will spend eternity suffering in torment (Revelation 20:10, Matthew 25:41).

And so, you see, unlike Richie’s blacksnake, Satan isn’t going to get away. His days really are numbered. Surely, he knows this, and that’s why he works so diligently to get his desires done. But take heart, Christian, in the fact that God is still on the throne and Satan must answer to Him. We want God to hurry up and deal with him, but God is always working from a predetermined plan. Therefore, what we must do is trust Him and patiently await Satan’s demise.

Oh, and in the meantime, let’s keep on the lookout for what Satan and his angels are up to in our lives. Let’s put on “the whole armor of God” so that we can “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-20). And, as for me, I’m watching out for blacksnakes too!

Posted in Angels, Christ's Return, Coming Judgment, Demons, Prophecy, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment