Why Hasn’t Russell Been Posting More?

Posted on May 21, 2009 by russellmckinney

This morning, I want to thank all of you who faithfully read this blog. Don’t ever think I don’t appreciate your interest and confidence. I also want to explain why I haven’t been posting as much the past couple of weeks. It’s not because I’ve been too lazy or didn’t have anything to say. The fact is, I’ve been absolutely slammed with work.

For one thing, we’ve been plowing through the process of moving Disciples Road Church into a larger facility with a better location. I’m thrilled with the new building, but it took some doing to get us in there. We had to purchase a shipment of new chairs as well as a new sound system. We had to mount the video projector and screen. We had to get all the computer stuff up and running. My brother-in-law, Ben Pressley, handled all of the electronics. (I’m useless in that department.) And I’m happy to report we held our first service in the new building on Mother’s Day.

In addition to the church move, I’ve also been very busy working on a website for the church. We’ve hired David Biddix to create the site for us, and he is doing a great job. My role is to figure out how we want the site to look and get the content for it to David. The site will offer a word about Disciples Road Church, a place where people can listen to some of my sermons, a link to this blog, and an “Articles” section that houses some pieces I’ve written on various topics. We are far along with this project and hope to launch the site in the next couple of weeks.

Another item that is on the schedule for the month of June is the release of my first book, Straight Talk About God’s Will. The book is being published by Jebaire Publishing in Snellville, Ga. For the past several months, I’ve been working with Shannon Clark, Jebaire’s acquisitions editor, to get the book out into the marketplace. We’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that, but it has been a chore. I wrote the book over the course of January-March of 2008. If you’ll do the math, you’ll find that it has taken over a year to:

-send out queries and proposals to publishers

-find a publisher who wanted it

-weave through the steps of the editing process

-get a preliminary version printed for early reviews

-etc., etc., etc., etc.

Needless to say, I’ve got a whole new appreciation for what it takes to get a book to a store shelf. I feel like the father in that movie “A Christmas Story.” When he won that awful, gaudy lamp, he said, “It’s a major award!” When I’m actually holding my published book in my hand, I plan to quote that line.

And, of course, it’s not like life slows down to let you move into a new building, launch a website, or get a book published. This past Tuesday night my eight-year-old, Royce, had his last rec. league, coach-pitch baseball game. The “coach” in that term “coach pitch” was me. We had a great season, but I don’t mind admitting that I’m glad it’s over. That’s one less thing on my plate.

The same can’t be said for Ryan’s season. He’s my eleven-year-old, and he still has a lot of baseball to play this year. He’s got one game left in his rec. season, followed by a season-ending tournament. Then he heads right into the practices and tournaments for his Cal Ripken All Stars team. I’m an assistant coach for his rec. team and his Cal Ripken team.

Of course, there’s always the yard that needs mowing. I’ve got that on the itinerary for this afternoon. I also need to preach and record the sermon for my Sunday morning radio broadcast. I’ll do that either today or tomorrow. That’s in addition to finishing the preparations on my Sunday morning sermon for Disciples Road. A new building doesn’t do much good if the pastor doesn’t have God’s message for the hour.

But you know what? As rundown as I get sometimes, I’ve learned to be thankful to have the health to be able to go. The Bible says “In Him (God) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It also says life is so fragile and vaporous that we aren’t guaranteed another tomorrow (James 4:13-15). Take a trip to the hospital or the nursing home sometime. That will give you a new perspective on things. Those folks would love to have the health to be “busy.” So, if you’ve got such health, thank the Lord for it and use it for Him.

I’ll end this little personal update by asking you to pray for me, Disciples Road Church, the website, the book, and this blog. Ask God to use every item on the list to expand His kingdom, instruct His people, and bring honor and glory to His name. Any ministry that I have is really just Jesus ministering through me. If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t be doing any of this. Instead, I’d be off playing some brand of “trivial pursuit” with my life.

Again, I thank you for your interest in this blog and your confidence in me. If God is using the blog to help you, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment sometime. That would be a real source of encouragement to me. Have a great day!

Posted in Personal | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

A Dry Land

Posted on May 18, 2009 by russellmckinney

When a drought hits a land, springs go dry, wells stop working, and creeks run low. There is, however, another kind of drought, one that is mentioned in Psalm 68:5-6. Those verses say:

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. (N.K.J.V.)

The teaching here is that God doesn’t bless the rebel. He acts as a father to the fatherless, serves as a defender of widows, sets the solitary in families, and brings out those who are bound into prosperity. But what does He do for the rebellious? He lets them dwell in a dry land.

While this thought is easily understood in terms of a literal interpretation, there is also a spiritual aspect to it. I say that because, spiritually speaking, the Bible equates water with the word of God. We see this in passages such as Psalm 119:9 and Ephesians 5:25-27. Therefore, Psalm 68:5-6 can also be rightly interpreted to say that the rebel’s land is dry because his life runs contrary to the word of God.

Even though the rebel might own a Bible, it’s possible to like hell with a Bible under your arm. After all, a person can memorize and quote various passages and yet still live a life that contradicts the book’s plainest teachings. As evangelist Gypsy Smith said, “What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.”

And, oh, how our society glorifies the rebel! James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Johnny Depp became icons by playing that role. Similarly, Frank Sinatra’s signature song was, “I Did It My Way.” Pirates, gangsters, outlaws, and bad boys all have a certain “coolness” about them, don’t they? People look at them and want to be like them, either secretly or not so secretly.

When we come to God’s word, however, we find a different opinion of rebellion. It says:

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry…(1 Samuel 15:23, N.K.J.V.)

Have you been dealing in magic, conjuring up spells, and chanting to strange spirits lately? Probably not. But have you been rebelling against God? If you have, you might as well have been practicing witchcraft. Have you been offering sacrifices to a graven image in your backyard? I doubt it. But have you been stubbornly refusing to do what God wants you to do? Then you might just as well have been fully embracing idolatry.

Isaiah 65:2 is another verse that goes a long way in describing the rebel. In it, God says:

I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts. (N.K.J.V.)

Obviously, God wants the rebel to rush into His arms so that He can hug him and pour out His blessings upon him. But that doesn’t happen. Why? It’s because the rebel wants nothing to do with submitting to God’s commands. To the rebel, no word carries the stigma the word “submission” carries. He’d rather die in his rebellion than live in submission. Even as his life dries up, he refuses to repent of his sins. The bottom line is, he’ll choose to dwell in a dry land where he can do as he pleases rather than dwell in a lush, fertile, well-watered land where he must submit to God.

And the lengths to which the rebel will go to explain away his sin are astounding. He’ll rationalize his conduct in an effort to make it look acceptable. He’ll compare his life to the lives of other sinners rather than to God’s standard of holiness. He’ll say, “I’m just doing what makes me happy.” Through it all, though, one word will ring out loud and clear over his life: rebellion.

Those of us who know something about a fireplace know what a backlog is. It’s a big log that you put at the back of the fire to keep the smaller logs from rolling off the back. One day a father asked his grown son to bring in a backlog. The son said, “No.” The father kindly but firmly said, “As long as you live in my house you will obey me. The choice is yours. You can obey me and live here or disobey me and leave.” The son flew mad, packed his bags, and left. But a few days later he came back home. The father met him and said, “Son, that backlog is still out there.” This time the son obeyed and was welcomed back into his father’s good graces.

I ask you: Do you have some backlog that you are in rebellion to God about? If you do, I plead with you to lay aside your rebellion, repent, and rush into God’s open arms. By refusing to repent you are surely headed for a dry land, if you aren’t already living in one. Remember, dry lands always come to rebels as God eventually reaches the limits of His patience. That doesn’t have to happen to you, though. All you have to do to keep your land watered is live in obedience to the word of God. Yes, that will cost you your rebellion, but that price will pale in comparison to the blessings that God sends your way.

Posted in Attitude, Backsliding, Bible Study, Change, Character, Choices, Confession, Decisions, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dying To Self, God's Chastening, God's Love, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Pride, Problems, Rebellion, Repentance, Reward, Scripture, Sin, Sowing and Reaping, Submission, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building a Babel

Posted on May 14, 2009 by russellmckinney

Let’s say that you are toying around with doing a particular thing in your life. Maybe you are considering buying something (a house, a piece of land, a car, a boat, etc.) Maybe you are mulling over making an investment. Maybe you are thinking about marrying a certain person. Maybe you’ve been asked to accept a position, teach a class, or coach a ball team. Well, here’s the one thing to always keep in mind when you are making any decision: Seek God’s will in the decision and DO THAT!

In Genesis 11:1-9, we find the Bible’s record of how a group of people once got together and built the city of Babel, the centerpiece of which was the fabled Tower of Babel. The group’s leader was an impressive fellow named Nimrod, who was renowned for his skill as a hunter (Genesis 10:8-10). The site for the city was a plain in the land of Shinar (v.2). Today we know that land as Iraq.

But God had three major problems with the building of Babel.

Problem #1 was: Nimrod was a godless leader. The name “Nimrod” literally means “rebel” or “let us rebel.” With a name like that, you know what kind of leader you are getting. Ancient historical records tell us that Nimrod’s wife, Semiramis, founded a mystery cult religion that promoted the worship of her and her son, Tammuz. She was known as “the queen of heaven” and Tammuz was purported to be a Messianic figure. The legend associated with him told that he was conceived by a sunbeam. When he was older, he was allegedly killed by a wild boar and miraculously resurrected forty days later. Down through the centuries, the false “mother-child” religion spread around the world. It even worked its way into Israel (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-25; Ezekiel 8:14). And it all started in ancient Babel in the house of a rebel leader named Nimrod.

Problem #2 was: Babel itself was an attempt to disobey God’s decreed plan. When Noah and his family got off the ark, God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). To fill the earth, Noah and his descendants had to scatter themselves. In other words, in those days God did not intend for people to find a nice spot, build an empire, and remain in that specific location. But what did the builders of Babel say? They said, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. Let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (v.3-4).

Problem #3 was: Pride was the driving motivation behind the entire project. The people said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves” (v.4). Those people didn’t build something to bring honor to the name of God; they built something to bring honor to their name.

With all of these things going against it, it comes as no surprise that God the holy Trinity (note the use of “Us” in v.7) put a stop to the building of Babel. He did this by confusing the peoples’ language (v.7). The construction project was brought to a screeching halt as simple everyday tasks that involved people talking with one another became monumental struggles. Imagine telling the guy next to you to hand you a hammer, only to discover that he now speaks a completely different language. Babel was the beginning of multiple languages being spoken upon the earth.

You see, God understood that unity was the secret to the strength of the people of Babel. Unity, of course, is a very powerful thing. Used rightly, it can bring about tremendous good. Used wrongly, it can bring about tremendous evil. The people of Babel used their unity wrongly, and so God ruined their unity. In Nimrod’s day, the name “Babel” meant “the gate of god” or “the gate of the gods.” After this event, however, the name came to signify conversational confusion. Even today we sometimes hear the question, “What is that fellow babbling about?”

Now, as you think about God’s will concerning your particular decision, you can pull five valuable lessons from the story of Babel.

Lesson #1: Some amazing Babels can be built. This story offers clear proof of the incredible capabilities of the human race. God Himself said of the people of Babel, “Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them” (v.6). We have it in us to ignore God and yet still accomplish tasks that seem to be great and wondrous. Certainly that applies to mankind as a whole, but it also applies to individuals.

Lesson #2: The blueprint for your Babel always looks appealing. As you think about building your Babel, you will quickly find that the idea appeals to you. Nimrod and company wouldn’t have dedicated themselves to building the grandest city on earth if the idea hadn’t appealed to them. A Babel is like that. It looks good to you.

Lesson #3: Building your Babel adversely affects others besides you. Nimrod’s building of Babel wasn’t a solo project. Others got caught up in its wake. That’s how it works with a Babel. When you begin to build one, a domino effect is set into motion. You don’t just hurt yourself; you hurt others.

Lesson #4: God never helps in the building of a Babel. When you do something that is in God’s will for your life, the thing goes better and the end result creates a lasting effect for the good. But when you step out of God’s will and build a Babel, the reverse is true. Isn’t it interesting that the city of Babel was never actually completed (Genesis 11:8)?  What happened? God worked against the endeavor.

Lesson #5: A thing that is the will of God for one person might be a Babel for another person. City-building is neutral. It isn’t always right or always wrong. David and Solomon renovated Jerusalem, added structures to it (namely the Temple of God), and built the city into a magnificent place. They did that in God’s will. Nimrod, on the other hand, did his building outside God’s will. Do you see the difference? One noted preacher from the past said, “There are plenty of things in life that are perfectly legitimate, but when they get on a God-forbidden tree they are not right.”

A Babel is anything that isn’t God’s will for your life. To build one, you’ll have to step right over Him to do it. And, friend, believe me when I tell you that’s not a step you want to make. Sure, that Babel looks good to you right now, but it won’t look nearly so good when all the accounts are in and all the dust has settled. Therefore, I’ll say again what I said earlier about any decision you ever face: Seek God’s will in the decision, and DO THAT!     

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Desires, Discernment, Disobedience, God's Will, Obedience, Pride, Rebellion, Sowing and Reaping, The Trinity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why God Hates Gambling

Posted on May 12, 2009 by russellmckinney

God hates gambling. Perhaps your response to that simple statement is, “But what’s wrong with me having a little fun? I can buy a lottery ticket every now and then, go to a casino a couple of weekends a year, or put some money on the ballgame, and it not be a big deal. I might even win some money.” Well, my friend, it is a big deal with God, and any money you win from gambling is ill-gotten gain. Let me take the Bible and give you four solid reasons why God hates gambling.

Reason #1: God hates gambling because it shows a lack of contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-10, Philippians 4:11-12, Hebrews 13:5, and Exodus 20:17). When you gamble, you are, in essence, saying to God, “I am not content with the financial situation in which you have me. I want more money.” Not only is this matter of discontentment at the heart of the famous commandment — “Thou shalt not covet” — it can be traced all the way back to the garden of Eden. Remember, Adam and Eve coveted the fruit from the one tree God had deemed off limits to them.

Reason #2: God hates gambling because it involves get-rich-quick schemes (Proverbs 28:20,22; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 13:11). The Bible never promotes such schemes. Instead, it consistently promotes hard work, good stewardship, and even wise investing.

Reason #3: God hates gambling because it exploits the poor (Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 28:27; Proverbs 29:7; Psalm 41:1). Did you know there are many more lottery outlets in poor neighborhoods than in higher income areas? Did you know that on those days when welfare checks arrive around this country, long lines form around the stores that sell lottery tickets? Did you know that in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, the Illinois state lottery rented billboards that showed a lottery ticket and the caption, “This could be your ticket out of poverty”? In gambling, for one person to win, other people must lose. And what category of people can least afford to hand over money and get nothing in return? Poor people.

Reason #4: God hates gambling because it frequently destroys peoples’ lives (Proverbs 24:1-2; Ephesians 5:11). Ungodly people and their industries work to tear down society rather than build it up, and the Bible tells us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). But how does the gambling industry tear down society? First, gambling leads to an increased crime rate. Studies have shown that while casinos initially bring short-term economic benefits, property crimes take a sharp rise by the fourth year. Second, gambling leads to addiction. A survey done by two Duke University professors found that 10% of those who buy lottery tickets are compulsive gamblers who account for a whopping 50% of all money bet on lotteries. It’s also been proven that people are twice as likely to become problem gamblers if a casino is located within fifty miles of their home. Third, gambling leads to what we might call “a culture of destruction.” One survey of compulsive gamblers found that 22% had divorced because of gambling, 49% had stolen from an employer to pay gambling debts, and 79% said they wanted to die. Fourth, gambling leads to a demise in local business. Show me $50 that was spent on lottery tickets, and I’ll show you $50 that wasn’t spent in local stores on groceries, gasoline, clothes, or dinner.

The fact is, the gambling industry is a dirty business that thrives off peoples’ pain. Evidence of this is seen in the pawnshops that are frequently located near casinos. One pawnshop owner in Reno, Nevada has actually displayed a jar of gold-filled human teeth that his customers have pulled and pawned. Why would we want to have anything to do with an industry that causes people to do such a thing?

Matthew 27:35 is an interesting verse on this whole topic. It says of Jesus and the Roman soldiers:

Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Even while God in the flesh was giving His all in dying for the sins of mankind, sinful men were engaging in the equivalent of “shooting dice” to see who would get His clothes. Instead of recognizing what Jesus was doing for them, their attention was focused upon gambling. Sadly, something about that makes me say, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Ah, but here comes the cry in defense of gambling, “But so many people are doing it.” Well, a lot of people are cheating on their spouses, but that doesn’t make it right. A lot of people are abusing their kids, but that doesn’t make it right. A lot of people are watching pornography, but that doesn’t make it right. Therefore, let’s have none of this argument that says gambling must be okay because so many people are doing it. That argument is nothing but a lie. The hard, cold truth of the matter is that God hates gambling, and it’s about time that message started being heard.

Posted in Addiction, Christ's Death, Christian Liberty, Contentment, Gambling, God's Will, Greed, Money, Personal Holiness, Prosperity, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abounding More and More

Posted on May 7, 2009 by russellmckinney

Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. (1 Thessalonians 4:1, N.K.J.V.)

As you read this passage from the apostle Paul, take special note of the phrase “abound more and more.” Paul’s point is that, generally speaking, a Christian’s service to the Lord should increase over the course of life as there is a noticeable progression in that Christian’s service. At 20, that Christian should do more for Christ than he or she did at 15. At 25, he or she should do more than at 20. At 30, he or she should do more than at 25. On and on it should go like that.

Of course, we understand that at some point the physical limitations of getting older will stop a Christian from performing certain acts of service. Even in old age, however, a person can shift focus to different kinds of service. For example, the elderly preacher can no longer hold down a pastorate, but that just gives him more time for prayer. The retired school teacher can no longer be “salt and light” in the school system, but she can do more visiting. Even the Christian in the nursing home can be an effective witness for Christ. The goal is to always abound more and more in service.

I was in my early 20s when I gave myself fully to Christ. Since I had been out of church for some time, my first order of business was to start attending Sunday morning worship services. That led to my faithful attendance in Sunday School. That led to me getting serious about having a daily prayer life. That led to my faithful attendance for Sunday night services. That led to my faithful attendance for Wednesday night services. All of that church attendance led to me getting serious about Bible study. That led to me teaching a Youth Sunday School class. That led to me hearing God’s call to preach and accepting it. That led to me becoming a pastor.

You see, my progression in service started with me taking the baby step of attending Sunday morning worship services. I took that step, stayed at that level for a little while, and then felt God push me to take another step. Then I took that step, stayed at that level for a little while, and then felt Him push me to take another step. Then I took that step, stayed at that level for a little while, and then felt Him push me to take another step. The process has been a slow walk, not a long jump.

The New Testament uses the words “bishop,” “elder,” and “pastor” interchangeably to describe the role that I am currently fulfilling in church. Each of these three words speaks to a different aspect of the role. “Bishop” carries the idea of overseeing. “Elder” carries the idea of leading with wisdom. “Pastor” carries the idea of shepherding the sheep.

In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul gives a God-inspired list of the qualifications of a pastor. Interestingly, in verse 6, he says that a pastor shouldn’t be a “novice.” Why did he say that? He said it because the young Christian who has been rushed into the ministry hasn’t had the necessary time to get his roots sunk deep. He hasn’t been able to sit under enough teaching, and he doesn’t have adequate experience where the rubber of Christianity meets the road of life. This explains why many young preachers flame out like shooting stars. Much of that could be avoided if each potential preacher was made to work through the careful process of abounding more and more in service to Christ.

I don’t mean to imply that the end of every Christian’s road of service will be the ministry. It won’t be. I’m saying, Christian, that your life should show progression in service. If you aren’t currently doing any more for Christ than you did last year, you are wasting valuable time. You need to get off dead-center and take another step in service to Him. There is another level, one just above you, that you need to reach. You’ve got to keep moving on up in regards to your service.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a great basketball player who had incredible natural talent. To his credit, though, he also had a strong work ethic. As evidence of that, each off-season he would diligently work to add another dimension to his game. One off-season he worked on his free-throw shooting and became an excellent free-throw shooter. Another off-season he worked on his long-range shooting and became an excellent long-range shooter. He was never satisfied with where he was as a player. He was always working to get better.

What Magic Johnson did as a basketball player each Christian should do as a servant of Christ. Christian, when you get your church attendance where it needs to be, start working on your prayer life. When you get that in order, go to work on your Bible study. Once you get a good handle on that, hone in on specific acts of Christian service. Once those have become part of your routine, start working on your evangelism. Etc. Etc. Etc. You get the idea.

While it’s true that God wants to start with you right where you are, it’s equally true that He doesn’t want to leave you there. At the close of our text verse, Paul doesn’t talk about “how you ought to stand and to please God,” Instead, he talks about “how you ought to walk and to please God.” And there is a big difference between standing and walking, isn’t there? Walking implies movement and progression and goes right along with “abounding more and more.”

So, Christian, take a look at where you are in your service to Christ right now and dedicate yourself to abounding more and more for Him. I don’t know where God’s road of individualized service will ultimately lead you, but I do know that it will get you busier for Him than you’ve ever been. You don’t have to try to become the apostle Paul in a week, but you do need to get busy at the next level of service on your own ladder. Putting it another way, you need to stop standing and start walking. That, after all, is how the abounding begins.

Posted in Aging, Church Attendance, Discipleship, Doing Good, Evangelism, Giving, God's Work, Ministry, Personal, Prayer, Preaching, Service, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Costly Salvation

Posted on May 6, 2009 by russellmckinney

The great preacher G. Campbell Morgan was once approached by a miner who said, “I would give anything to believe that God will forgive sins, but I cannot believe He will forgive me if I just turn to Him. It is too cheap.” Morgan replied, “You were working in the mine today. How did you get out of the pit?” The miner answered, “I got into the cage and was pulled to the top.” Morgan asked, “And how much did you pay to come out of the pit?” “I didn’t pay anything,” said the miner. “Well,” said Morgan, “weren’t you afraid to trust yourself to that cage? Wasn’t it too cheap?” “Oh no,” said the miner, “it was cheap for me, but it cost the company a lot of money.” That gave Morgan the perfect lead-in to explain that the salvation the miner called “cheap” cost Jesus His life and that Jesus is the cage God uses to pull men out of the pit. We don’t have to reconstruct that cage or pay for it. All we have to do is climb aboard it and let it pull us up from the pit.

Consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V.):

Mark 14:64-65: And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands. That’s not cheap.

Matthew 27:26: And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. (A scourge was a whip in which the thongs were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal to rip away more of the victim’s flesh.) That’s not cheap.

Isaiah 50:6: I gave My back to those who struck Me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. That’s not cheap.

Isaiah 52:14: His visage was marred more than any man. That’s not cheap.

Matthew 27:28-31: And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. That’s not cheap.

Luke 23:35-36: And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” Then the soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” That’s not cheap.

John 19:32-34: Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. That’s not cheap.

Isaiah 53:5: But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. That’s not cheap.

Many of us have seen the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ. Admittedly, the film is not without its drawbacks, most of which stem from Gibson’s Catholicism. For one thing, the virgin Mary is played up too much. For another, certain scenes are based upon the so-called “visions” of a nineteenth-century nun rather than the Biblical text. Still, though, despite these flaws, the movie has spiritual value in that it graphically depicts Christ’s death in a way that other films don’t. If anything, Gibson might have even gone a bit too far with the brutality of Christ’s scourging. At least, however, the film doesn’t try to clean up the very messy and very bloody process of a Roman scourging and crucifixion.

The bottom line is this: If we think salvation is cheap, it’s only because we don’t properly understand what it cost Jesus. Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.” Let’s not miss the imagery of that word “slaughter.” A “slaughter” is not a pretty scene. It isn’t for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach. Being whipped with a scourge produces real blood flowing from real stripes. Having a crown of thorns placed upon your head produces real blood flowing from real cuts. Having nails driven through your hands and feet produces real blood flowing from real puncture wounds. Being pierced with a spear produces real blood oozing from a real gash.

Why did they offer Jesus that sour wine as He hung on the cross? They did it because the wine was a narcotic that was used to deaden excruciating pain. Why did Jesus say to doubting Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side” (John 20:27)? He did it because those marks on His body were conclusive evidence of a terrible death.

And why did Jesus voluntarily submit to such a death? He did it to pay the sin debt of the entire human race (1 John 2:2). Now He asks each person to believe in Him as Savior so His death can stand good for that person’s sins and provide forgiveness for them (John 3:16). So, tell me, have you done that? If you haven’t, just know that you are ignoring a salvation that was very, very costly.

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A Boll Weevil Experience

Posted on May 5, 2009 by russellmckinney

In his book It Is Toward Evening, Vance Havner tells the story of a group of cotton farmers in the deep South. Year after year these men grew cotton, put their profits back into it, and set all of their fields in it. Then tragedy struck in the form of the devastating boll weevil. All of the cotton was destroyed and it looked as if the farmers were headed for the poorhouse.

Being farmers, though, the men persevered. In the wake of their disaster with cotton, they shifted gears and planted peanuts. Amazingly, they ended up making more money with peanuts than they ever had with cotton. When the farmers realized that what had seemed to be a disaster had actually turned out to be a boon, they erected a large monument to the very thing they thought had ruined them: the boll weevil.

Havner concludes the story by saying:

Sometimes we settle into a humdrum routine as monotonous as growing cotton year after year. Then God sends the boll weevil; He jolts us out of our groove, and we must find new ways to live. Financial reverses, great bereavement, physical infirmity, loss of position – how many have been driven by trouble to be better husbandman and to bring forth finer fruit from their souls! The best thing that ever happened to some of us was the coming of our boll weevil.

When God either causes or allows you to go through a boll weevil experience, you might think it is the ruin of you. You might say, “I will never get over this. This is more than I can overcome. These wounds are too deep to ever heal.” But that is a wrong assessment of your situation. If you will turn things over to God and allow Him to help you, you won’t just get past the experience; you will come out the other end of it a better person who will, as Vance Havner said, “bring forth finer fruit.”

The book of Genesis gives us the record of Joseph’s boll weevil experience. He was sold into slavery by his brothers (Genesis 37:12-36) and taken from his homeland of Canaan and transported south to Egypt where he became the servant of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard (Genesis 39:1-6). There, he was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7-18) and thrown into Pharaoh’s prison where he remained for two years (Genesis 39:20-41:1). Talk about devastating times!

But God took that whole experience and used it to bring incredible fruit from Joseph. After interpreting two dreams for Pharaoh, Joseph was made second in command of all Egypt (Genesis 41:1-46), and because of Joseph’s foresight and administrative skill, Egypt prospered through a seven-year famine (Genesis 41:48-57). Ultimately, his position in Egypt allowed him to reunite with his family and bring them from famine-ravaged Canaan to Egypt, where they thrived (Genesis 42:1-47:27).

I can just hear Joseph saying when his brothers sold him into slavery, “Lord, don’t let this happen to me.” I can just hear him asking when Potiphar’s wife told her lie, “Lord, are you going to let her get away with this?” I can just hear him praying as he languished in Pharaoh’s prison for those two years, “Lord, it seems as if my life is over.” But then I can also hear him, as an old man, looking back over his life and admitting, “When I was going through that experience, I thought it was the end of me. But now I see that God used it to make me better than I was.”

Perhaps you are in a boll weevil experience right now. Something has happened that has absolutely devastated you. If that’s the case, don’t give up hope. Times may seem hard now, but God isn’t finished working the process. He’s been clearing the fields of your old crop of service so that He can make room for your new and more fruitful crop. So, don’t begrudge whatever it takes for Him to do away with your cotton because that cotton has to go to make room for your peanuts.

Is a boll weevil experience pleasant? Certainly not. Is it something you want to volunteer for? Not if you have any sense. But is it something that God can use to make you a better servant? Most definitely. He won’t expect you to follow those farmers’ example and erect a monument to your experience, but He will expect you to see the value in the experience. And there will be value in it. As a matter of fact, you will never produce a certain quality and quantity of fruit in your life until your boll weevil wipes you out and you are forced to rethink the way you live and serve.

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Billy Graham

Posted on May 1, 2009 by russellmckinney

The Billy Graham Training Center At the Cove is located in Asheville, North Carolina. That’s about an hour from my home. Yesterday, the Center put on a free breakfast for the pastors of this area. So, I fired up the Dodge Caravan, met three of my fellow pastors from the county, and off we went.

The breakfast buffet was an impressive spread. As we ate, a few speakers took turns standing at a podium and telling us some nice things about The Cove. The last speaker was Will Graham (Franklin’s son, Billy’s grandson), who also gave us a personal report on how Billy is doing these days.

For most people, that was the end of the breakfast. But my friends and I had an “inside man.” Even though this fellow works at The Cove, he lives in our county and attends the church where two of my friends serve on staff. After the breakfast, he took us on an extensive tour of the whole facility. He drove us around Camp Cedar Cliff, the youth camp that is located at The Cove. He walked us through the Visitor’s Center and the Chapel. He took us into one of the rooms of The Cove’s two inns. He even let us go inside a couple of the cabins where the famous speakers who come to teach at The Cove stay while they are there. Billy’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, had recently spent about a month in one of the cabins we toured.

Trust me when I say that The Cove is quite a place. Wherever we went I couldn’t help but marvel at the simple beauty of the design and construction. Millions of dollars have been spent, but the place is far from ostentatious. It strikes that difficult balance between the time-honored and the contemporary. I don’t impress all that easily, and I was impressed.

We all know about the praise and laud Billy Graham has long received. But do you know about the criticisms he has also long received? There are three of them. As I say a few things about each, I want you to do me a favor: Take an unbiased look at each case and see what you think. When I get to the end of this post, I’ll sum up what I think.

The first criticism involves the close relationships that Billy Graham has enjoyed with many of our Presidents. In particular, he and Richard Nixon were very dear friends. The critics say that Graham always went too soft on the Presidents. They say, “Here was a man who had the ear of the most powerful men on earth, but what did he do with it other than keep himself in the celebrity spotlight?” The contention is that Graham was more concerned about remaining in good standing with the Presidents than truly playing the role of sin-renouncing, fear-of-God-evoking prophet. The critics feel that he should be have been more like Nathan — who boldly looked at King David and said, “You are the man” — or Daniel — who defied Darius’ decree and openly prayed to God.

The second criticism stems from Billy Graham’s breaking down of denominational lines. It was back in the ’50s when he started letting ministers other than Baptists sit on stage with him. Over the years, he continued down this path of religious inclusiveness. Bringing a Graham crusade to an area meant all of the local churches working together. Baptists got on the same team with Lutherans. Methodists came alongside Episcopalians. Presbyterians joined up with Catholics. When an individual responded to a Graham invitation, the person was asked to give a denominational preference. His or her name was then handed over to a local church from that denomination. Critics have always contended that Graham’s practices violated Bible passages concerning separation over doctrinal error, passages such as: Matthew 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:3; Titus 2:1; Hebrews 13:9; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 Timothy 4:1; Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 John 9-11; and 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.

The third criticism has to do with Ruth Graham, Billy’s wife. She was left at home to raise the children while Billy traveled around the world holding his crusades. Billy himself has even admitted that this criticism holds some merit. He loved Ruth and his family immensely and couldn’t help but feel some remorse that his schedule took him from them so much. Of course, it should be noted that Ruth never complained about Billy’s constant traveling. Marrying him had ended her hopes of becoming a missionary. Consequently, she believed that by raising the children while he was off preaching the gospel, she was doing her part to see people won to Christ.

So, what is my opinion of Billy Graham? I think he is like most of us in that he is not as wonderful as some perceive him but not as bad as others perceive him. The truth is somewhere in the middle. I do know there will never be another like him. At The Cove, I saw pictures of him with celebrities such as Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. I saw a picture of him sitting on his front porch with Muhammad Ali. I saw other pictures of vast crowds gathered in stadiums to hear him present the gospel. I saw sermon outlines that had been given to him, handwritten outlines from Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody. I saw a priceless pocket watch that had been given to him by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. I saw old posters from the legendary Los Angeles crusade that made him a household name. For reasons that are still debated, news mogul William Randolph Hurst, who never met Graham, ordered all his newspapers to play up that crusade and make it headline news. I saw a Dallas Cowboys jersey that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had given to him. It had the name “Graham” on the back.

What do you make of such a preacher? It’s kind of hard to say. I can understand the points of both the praising and the criticizing. What I’m going to do is let God sort it all out. And, from what I know about Billy, he would be just fine with that answer.

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Once Saved Always Saved

Posted on April 30, 2009 by russellmckinney

There are a few Bible passages that, upon first glance, seem to indicate that a Christian can lose his salvation. For example, Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks of the possibility that those who were “once enlightened” and have “tasted the heavenly gift” and “become partakers of the Holy Spirit” might “fall away.” Likewise, Revelation 22:19 provides an ominous warning about God taking away a person’s part from the Book of Life. Similarly, in John 15:1-2 Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away.” If you are looking for Bible texts to support your idea that salvation can be lost, these three would surely be on your list.

Still, the best commentary on the Bible is always the Bible and no single passage can ever be allowed to stand alone as an island unto itself. Instead, each passage must be understood in the light of the Bible’s totality. This means that any passage that appears to go against the main current of scripture must be interpreted in a way that fits into that current. We must not take a handful of passages and use them as the lens through which we view the bulk of scripture. To the contrary, we must begin with the obvious teaching of the bulk of scripture and interpret the handful of passages through that teaching.

And what does the bulk of scripture teach about losing one’s salvation? It teaches that the Christian is eternally secure. Said another way, it teaches “once saved always saved.”

Now, I wouldn’t be much of a Bible teacher if I just added a hearty, “Amen” to that last sentence and closed out this post. So, what I’m going to do is list 20 Bible evidences for the eternal security of the believer. Along with each reason, I’ll cite at least one appropriate passage (all from the N.K.J.V.). An entire sermon could be preached from any one of these 20, but I’ll be brief with my comments and keep things moving along at a nice pace.

#1. Once you become a Christian, no one can snatch you out of God’s hand. In John 10:27-30, Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” No one is able to snatch the Christian out of God’s hand. This promise might possibly even be extended to include the Christian himself.

#2. As a Christian, you aren’t just in Christ’s hand; you are actually in Him. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, the Christian is “in” Christ. Did you know that 1 Peter 3:20 depicts Noah’s ark as a symbol (type) of salvation? Well, Noah and his family were “in” the ark, weren’t they? They could fall down inside the ark but they couldn’t fall out of it. Applying this symbolism (typology) to salvation, the Christian can fall down inside Christ but not out of Christ. You see, salvation is not found in a place called heaven. If we think about it, Satan and the other rebellious angels actually fell from there. No, salvation is found in a person: the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Since the Christian is “in” Him, the only way the Christian could ever lose his salvation is if Christ lost His relationship with God the Father. That, of course, can never happen. Remember that Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30).

#3. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the Christian’s down payment on salvation, and God always pays His bills in full. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says that Jesus has given Christians “the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” The classic King James translation uses the old word “earnest” instead of “guarantee.” People used to call down payment money “earnest money.” Therefore, the teaching is easy to understand: God the Holy Spirit’s presence within the Christian serves as God’s down payment on the Christian’s salvation. The Spirit is the earnest money that God has put down on the full payment. And since God never goes bad on a bill, the Christian must one day get to enjoy the full benefits of salvation. If the Holy Spirit ever vacated a Christian’s body, God would lose His down payment with that Christian and go bad on a bill to which He had committed.    

#4: Jesus promised that the Christian will never “perish.” In John 10:28, Jesus says of His people, “and they shall never perish.” In His teachings, Jesus used the idea of “perishing” to describe a soul ending up in Hell (John 3:16; Matthew 5:29-30). Here, though, He promises that not one of His people would “perish” in this way. This promise would be proven to be a lie if even one Christian somehow lost his salvation and wound up in Hell.

#5. For “eternal life” to be true to its name, it cannot be probationary. In John 3:16; 10:28; and Mark 10:30, Jesus calls salvation “eternal life.” He couldn’t have used that word “eternal” if this life could potentially be lost along the way. He would have had to call it “temporary life” or “probationary life.”

#6. The Christian will never again be charged with any sin on his eternal account with God. Romans 4:1-5 explains that God accounts the Christian’s faith in Christ for righteousness. While this is wonderful in and of itself, Romans 4:6-8 goes on to explain that God will never again “impute” any sin to the Christian. The word “impute” means “to charge to an account.” So, when we put the two thoughts together, we see that God has charged righteousness to the Christian’s eternal account and He will no longer charge any sin to that account. This is an unbeatable combination that ensures that God will see the Christian as “righteous” for all eternity.

#7. Nothing or nobody can separate the Christian from the love of God in Christ. Romans 8:35-39 applies exclusively to Christians. For one thing, the passage is written to those who know “the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” For another, throughout the passage the apostle Paul uses the words “we” and “us” in reference to the Christians of Rome. The point of the passage is that it is impossible for the Christian to ever be separated from the love of God in Christ. Paul goes so far as to say that even “principalities” and “powers” can’t accomplish this separation. This is significant because the Bible uses these words in reference to fallen angels. Since Satan Himself is a fallen angel, even he can’t steal a Christian’s salvation.

#8. The Christian is God’s child, and God will never disown His child. John 1:12 says that Jesus gave those who received Him as Savior the right to become children of God. The Christian becomes God’s child in two ways. First, he becomes God’s child by way of a birth as he is “born again” (John 3:1-16). Second, he becomes God’s child by way of an adoption as he is formally adopted into the family of God (Romans 8:14-17). I am the father of two boys and I will always be their father, no matter how badly they behave. The same is true of God and His children.

#9. The indwelling Holy Spirit seals the Christian until the day of redemption. 2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:13 tell us the indwelling Holy Spirit seals the Christian. But Ephesians 4:30 takes the matter a step further in saying that this sealing is “for the day of redemption.” The Christian isn’t sealed “for the day of backsliding” or “the day of falling away.” No, he is sealed for the day of redemption, which means that he is sealed for the day he sees Christ face to face.

10. The Christian is predestined to go to heaven. The proof texts for this are Romans 8:30 and Ephesians 1:11. You simply cannot be more sure of going to heaven than to be predestined by God to go there. The Bible never uses the idea of predestination in relation to lost people and hell. It only applies predestination to the Christian.

11. The Christian is kept by the power of God. Show me a person who believes that salvation can be lost, and I’ll show you a person who thinks that an individual must keep his salvation by his own power. This misses the Bible’s teaching completely. 1 Peter 1:5 says the Christian is kept “by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The words “through faith for salvation” speak of the faith in Christ that is the requirement for salvation. But the power for keeping the Christian in that salvation comes from God, not the Christian.

12. Salvation is a good work of God, and God always finishes what He starts. In Philippians 1:6, Paul says to the Christians of Philippi, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” If a person got saved, and then lost that salvation, that would amount to God failing to finish a job He started. That kind of thing doesn’t happen with God.

13. The Christian has a reserved inheritance in heaven that does not fade away. The passage on this is 1 Peter 1:3-4. This inheritance is described as “incorruptible” and “undefiled.” That fact that it does not fade away means that nothing the Christian does or doesn’t do can cause him to miss out on this heavenly inheritance.

14. God will present the Christian as faultless before Himself. According to Jude verse 24, the Christian does not have to keep himself from stumbling or worry about how he will look when he stands before God. It is God Himself who will present the Christian as faultless.

15. The Christian has passed from spiritual death to life. In John 5:24, Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life.” You see, the Bible teaches that each person is born “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1; Psalm 51:5), but when an individual believes in (places faith in) Jesus as Savior, that person gains eternal life. This is what Jesus meant by “has passed from death into life.” Furthermore, there are no Bible passages that speak of passing from death into life and then back into death.

16. Jesus will confirm the Christian to the end. 1 Corinthians 1:8 is the proof text on this. It doesn’t say that Jesus will confirm the Christian to the time when the Christian sins too much. To the contrary, it says that He will confirm the Christian to the end. That is eternal security.

17. Jesus makes intercession with God the Father for the Christian. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail.” Notice the link between Christ’s praying and Peter’s faith not failing. This same idea can be applied to all Christians because of Hebrews 7:22-28, verse 25 of which says of Jesus: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

18. The Christian commits his salvation to Jesus, and Jesus will keep it until the day of its full consummation. In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul says to Timothy, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Here again the idea is that the Christian isn’t responsible for keeping his own salvation. That is Christ’s job. Since Christ is all-powerful, He is more than capable of doing the job.

19. The Christian has been made accepted in Jesus. In Ephesians 1:6, Paul says that Christians have been made “accepted in the Beloved.” “Beloved” is a title for Jesus. The point is that God the Father doesn’t accept Christians because of their good works. He accepts them because He accepts Jesus and they are “in” Jesus. As long as He accepts Jesus, He must accept those in Jesus.

20. Lot is a wonderful example of eternal security. Lot was Abraham’s nephew and his story is told in Genesis chapters 12-19. It is the story of a saved believer who committed gross sins such as drunkenness and incest (Genesis 19:30-38). Nevertheless, despite Lot’s despicable conduct, 2 Peter 2:7-8 calls him “righteous.” This gets back to the truth that God does not impute sin to the believer’s account (Romans 4:5-8). What was true for Old Testament believers such as Lot, Abraham, Samson, and David is also true for New Testament believers (Christians).

So, there you have it, a list of 20 Bible evidences for the eternal security of the Christian. As a child of God, the disobedient Christian can experience God’s whippings (Hebrews 12:5-11). In worst-case scenarios, he can even be put to an early death by God (1 John 5:16-17; 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). But he can never lose his salvation. Since salvation cannot be produced by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9) it cannot be lost by bad works.

Of course, having a proper understanding of eternal security should lead the Christian to do a better (not worse) job of serving the Lord. If you know your eternal destiny is fixed and secure, you can take the time you would spend worrying about that destiny and use it to serve the Lord all the more. Basically, eternal security should make the Christian very appreciative of what God has done, is doing, and will do for him, and out of that appreciation should flow better service to God. That’s how the transition is made from being saved to acting saved.

Posted in Assurance of Salvation, Doctrine, Eternal Security, Grace, Heaven, Salvation, Scripture, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My Father Runs the Trains

Posted on April 28, 2009 by russellmckinney

Railroad tracks snake their way through the heart of the town in which I live. I’m not talking about old, decrepit tracks that haven’t seen any action in years. These tracks are alive and vibrant with the sounds of the trains that roll atop them at various hours of the day and night. A while back there was even a rant of complaint in our local paper about all the train whistles that blow around here.

The trains call to mind a story from the life of J. Hudson Taylor, that legend among Christian missionaries. Taylor spent fifty-one years in China and founded the famous China Inland Mission which was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries into that country. Those missionaries began 125 schools and saw the Christian conversions of over 18,000 Chinese.

Like most missionaries, Taylor was well versed in trusting God to meet his needs. On one occasion, he was in America speaking in St. Louis at the church of Dr. James H. Brookes. The next speaking engagement on Taylor’s schedule was the Sunday service at a church in southern Illinois, and Dr. Brookes was responsible for getting him to the train station Saturday morning to catch the train to that engagement. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and Taylor ended up missing his train by just a few minutes.

Dr. Brookes felt awful about letting down his esteemed guest and the two men immediately started asking about other trains that would get Taylor to the church in time. To their disappointment, they were informed that the next train to make that run would depart too late to be of any help. “There is one train that is supposed to connect up with another train to make the run you need,” said the stationmaster, “and it is about to depart right over there. But it never connects up with that other train according to schedule, and so it wouldn’t be any use to you, either.”

With that, Dr. Brookes set off to do some more asking about trains and schedules. He returned without having any luck and was surprised to find Taylor standing on the rear platform of the train that never made the desired connection. He said, “Mr. Taylor, the stationmaster told us that train won’t make the connection.” Taylor just gave him a little smile and said, “Goodbye, Doctor. My Father runs the trains.” When Dr. Brookes protested and tried to talk reason to Taylor, he only received the same reply: “Goodbye, Doctor. My Father runs the trains.”

Upon boarding the inconsistent train, Taylor went to the conductor and explained the importance of making the connection with the other train. The conductor said, “I hope we will time it right with that other train, but we almost never do.” Taylor then thanked the man and set himself to the task of praying about the matter.

And was the connection made? Yes. As Taylor’s train was pulling into the station, he saw the other train sitting there as if it was waiting for him. The conductor, with genuine surprise said, “Well, there it is. But I didn’t expect it.” Taylor then got off his train, made his way across the platform, boarded the other train, and easily made it to the church for his speaking engagement.

Jesus said to His followers, “…do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25, N.K.J.V.). Then He backed up that command by using the birds of the air and the lilies of the field as illustrations (Matthew 6:26-30). If God sees to the care of birds and flowers, how much more will He see to the needs of His children?

In another setting, Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31, N.K.J.V.).

So, in light of these passages, I’ve got three questions for you:

Question #1: Are you a Christian?

Question #2: Are you worried about something?

Question #3: Do you see how a “yes” answer to the first question should rule out a “yes” answer to the second?

Christian, you need to learn the lesson J. Hudson Taylor knew so well: You are a child of God (John 1:9-13), and your heavenly Father runs the trains. Your life isn’t careening unguided down the tracks. The Lord knows where you’ve been, where you are now, and where He wants to take you. Therefore, what you must do is explicitly trust Him to meet your every need and get you to where He wants you to go. When you learn to live like that, you’ll be able to rest in the knowledge that He will ensure that you make every single one of your required connections.

Posted in Adversity, Desires, Disappointment, Encouragement, God's Omnipotence, God's Timing, God's Omniscience, God's Provision, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Needs, Problems, Trials, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment