The Food Won’t Come to You

Posted on April 9, 2009 by russellmckinney

My son Ryan, who was eleven years old at the time, got off a classic line one day. He was lying on his bed watching television, and his mother had just finished her nightly chore of preparing his supper. But when she told him that supper was ready, he didn’t respond. Finally, after a few minutes, she ratcheted up the tone to a vintage motherly level and said, “Ryan, get in there and get your food!” In startled response, he said with genuine surprise, “Oh, I thought it was going to come to me.”

As a pastor, I just have to relate that line to church attendance. Christian, the spiritual food doesn’t come to you. No, you have to actually go to church and get it. It’s all there, laid out for you, but it won’t magically make its way to where you are and jump into your mouth.

Now, I know all about the television ministries, You Tube ministries, and Facebook Live ministries most churches now offer. Those ministries allow you to sit right there wherever you are and be fed. Still, though, there is nothing like experiencing the complete “meal” you get by attending your local congregation. Furthermore, those ministries were never meant to take the place of you literally attending your local church. Unfortunately, during the months when most churches only offered online services because of the Covid-19 pandemic, far too many Christians got far too comfortable staying at home for church rather than going to church.

Some years ago, at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine special athletes lined up at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. When the starting pistol sounded, eight of them took off down the track, but one boy stumbled out of the blocks, rolled a couple of times, and began to cry. That’s when something truly wonderful happened. When the other eight runners heard the boy crying, they slowed down to see what was wrong and then went back to help him. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down, kissed him, and said, “This will make it better.” Later, with their arms linked tightly together, all nine runners walked down the track and crossed the finish line together. That’s a beautiful picture of what church can be like. Brothers and sisters in Christ can help each other in life’s race by encouraging and supporting one another. Try getting that from television, You Tube, or Facebook.

Of course, I realize that I’m painting a very idyllic view of churches. I’m a pastor, remember? It’s not like I haven’t seen my share of church members behaving badly toward one other. Nevertheless, when church is right, there is no place like it on earth. It’s a place for learning, growing, fellowshipping, sharing, giving, and worshiping. Seriously, if you are a Christian, why wouldn’t you want to be there?

And believe me, I’ve heard just about all the excuses for not going to church. Again, I’m a pastor, remember? However, many of those excuses don’t hold any weight with the Lord. In his book, The Miracles of Our Lord, Charles Ryrie offers a good word about such excuses. He does it in the context of his comments concerning Christ’s attendance of synagogue. He writes:

If our Lord had wanted to use reasons, such as those often heard today, for not attending public worship He could have found many. Certainly He got very little out of the message, for after all He was the fulfillment of every Scripture read or explained in the service. Surely He knew more about God and spiritual things than anyone present, including the leaders in the synagogue. Too, He knew that the organization He was supporting would soon be replaced by the church. But still He went regularly. Christian liberty, properly understood, does not free one from regular responsibilities, including attending worship services (see Heb. 10:25).

So, Christian, I ask you, “How is your church attendance these days?” It’s been said that church attendees are like cars in that they start missing before they quit. Well, you haven’t been sputtering, have you?  If you have, then consider this God’s wakeup call for you to get back in tune. Alluding again to my opening illustration, you need to realize that the food won’t come to you, and you should go claim that fulfilling meal that is awaiting you down there at your local church.

Posted in Church, Church Attendance, Personal, Worship | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

God’s Chemistry

Posted on April 7, 2009 by russellmckinney

My yard is currently covered in snow. Living where I do, I’m quite used to the stuff. But there is one thing about snow that always, without exception, takes me by surprise: how bright it is. Every time I pull back the curtains on a new day and find snow on the ground, my eyes receive a jolt because I’m never ready for the startling effect of snow’s pure whiteness. This effect takes my mind to Psalm 51:7, where David says to God:

“…Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (N.K.J.V.)

The heading of Psalm 51 leaves no doubt as to what prompted David’s need of cleansing. The prophet Nathan had just confronted him regarding the adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel chapters 11 & 12). Shockingly, David, the “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), had broken three of the ten commandments that made up the moral summation of that body of law God had given to Israel. He had coveted his neighbor’s wife (Exodus 20:17), committed adultery (Exodus 20:14), and murdered (Exodus 20:13).

David understood God was the only One who could remove the dark stain of his sins. There was no heroic deed David could perform to remove that stain. There were no good works, rites, or rituals that would result in his cleansing. There was only God. If He would forgive, David could be restored. If He wouldn’t, there was no hope.

And did David receive his forgiveness and cleansing? Yes. God used that odd chemical process of His to do it. He took David’s sins, which in His holy eyes were crimson, scarlet red, and covered them with sacrificial blood, which was also crimson, scarlet red. That covering turned David’s sins white as snow. While it’s true that dark red on dark red shouldn’t produce white, somehow in God’s chemistry it does. As the Bible says in Isaiah 1:18:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord., “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” (N.K.J.V.)

Of course, David lived in Old Testament days, days in which God commanded the people of Israel to offer up blood sacrifices to Him (Leviticus 17:11). What we must understand, though, is that those sacrifices couldn’t truly “take away” sins (Hebrews 10:4,11). All they could do was roll those sins forward and stay the wrath of God (Hebrews 10:1-3) until Jesus (God the Son), the One whose blood could take away sins (John 1:29), would come and die on the cross as the eternal payment for all sins (Hebrews 10:12-14).

It was only by way of Christ’s death that all the Old Testament sacrifices found legitimacy. Just as we look back upon that death, Old Testament believers such as David looked ahead to it. Therefore, ultimately, it was in the crimson blood that flowed through Christ’s sacrificial body that David found his eternal cleansing.

Maybe you have done something that makes you want to cry out to God for cleansing. Maybe you have committed sins you want God to make whiter than snow. If so, you need to know that such forgiveness is available to you as well. Again, it’s found in Jesus, the One who died on a Roman cross as an Old Testament style, blood sacrifice for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2). There is no sin so scarlet He cannot plunge it under His blood and make it as white as snow.

However, just as there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22), there is no application of Christ’s blood without belief in Him. Whereas His death was sufficient for everyone’s sins, it is only efficient for those who place their belief in Him as Savior (John 3:16-18). This profound doctrinal truth is presented in 1 John 1:5-10, which says to Christians specifically:

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (N.K.J.V.)

You see, it is only the authentic believer (the Christian) who has fellowship with God, walks in spiritual light, has fellowship with other Christians, and has his or her sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Such people freely confess their sins and have those sins forgiven. The Greek word translated as “confess” is homologeo, which literally means “to speak the same thing.” Therefore, to honestly confess one’s sins is to say the same thing about them God says about them rather than try to defend or deny them.

The point in all this is that God’s chemistry does work as scarlet sins are turned snow white, but the agent that produces the reaction is the blood of Jesus. And that blood only gets applied to those who make the voluntary decision to believe in Jesus as Savior. Just as homologeo, the Greek word for “confess,” has a specific definition, so does pisteuo, the Greek word for “believe.” It means “to place confidence in” or “to trust.” One popular definition defines it as “to place one’s full weight down upon.”

So, tell me, have you believed in Jesus (God the Son) as your personal Savior in this way? Are you right now resting all your hopes of forgiveness (i.e. salvation) solely upon Him? Have you confessed your sins to Him, agreeing completely with His assessment of them? And have those crimson, scarlet sins of yours been made white as snow by His crimson, scarlet blood? If so, you can say like David, “I have been washed and made whiter than snow.” If not, God has no choice but to see you as unclean and dirty. No, that’s not His preference, but His perfect holiness demands nothing less and your unforgiven sins leave Him no other choice.

Posted in Belief, Christ's Death, Confession, Depravity, Forgiveness, God's Holiness, Personal, Sacrifice, Salvation, The Old Testament Law | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Keep Playing

Posted on April 5, 2009 by russellmckinney

In Galatians 6:9, the apostle Paul says to the Christians of Galatia, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (N.K.J.V.). At the risk of sounding like a preacher, let me point out this verse easily divides into three alliterated parts.

Part #1 is the command: Let us not grow weary while doing good. It is so easy for the Christian to grow tired of doing right in a world filled with so much wrong. He pours himself into people who inevitably disappoint him. He supports just causes that ultimately fail. He speaks truth only to have it drowned out by a din of lies. He questions whether he is making a difference at all. Nevertheless, he must keep at it. Even when he can no longer see the point or use of it all, he must not grow weary while doing good. This is the divine command.

Part #2 is the compensation: In due season we shall reap. Even though the harvest may linger, it is surely coming. It merely awaits the due season. The great scorekeeper of the universe is on the job, and He will see to it that the doing of good is rewarded handsomely. It’s wrong for the Christian to be motivated to service by the expectation of gain, but it’s perfectly acceptable when God Himself is the One promising the gain. This is the compensation for a job well done.     

Part #3 is the condition: We will only reap if we do not lose heart. The farmer who sows his seed but stops caring for the crop after only a few weeks needn’t expect a harvest. Likewise, the Christian who loses heart in doing good will not get to enjoy the harvesting of the due season. The problem with a loss of heart is that it leads to a lessening of doing good. Doing good is hard enough when one’s heart is in it, let alone when there isn’t a heart for it. Therefore, the Christian must see to it that he doesn’t lose heart while awaiting his promised compensation. This is the condition for reaping his harvest.

A mother, hoping to encourage her young son to continue his piano lessons, bought tickets for a performance by Ignacy Paderewski, the Polish master. After arriving at the concert hall, the woman began talking to a friend and lost track of the boy. When eight o’clock arrived, the spotlights came on and only then did she notice that he had climbed onto the stage and was sitting on the bench of Paderewski’s piano. Then, to her horror, the little fellow started to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

Before the mother could retrieve the boy, Paderewski walked on stage, got behind the little fellow, and whispered, “Don’t quit – keep playing.” Paderewski then reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. He followed that by reaching down with his right hand and adding a running obbligato. Together, Paderewski and his young apprentice played the grandest version of a children’s song the audience had ever heard.

Christian, think of yourself as that boy and the Lord as Ignacy Paderewski. To you, your efforts at doing good seem as if you are only playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” But you aren’t hearing the fill-in parts God is playing. Just as Jesus took a boy’s small lunch and fed 5,000 men (John 6:1-14), He will take your efforts and multiply them beyond your wildest dreams. Remember this the next time you feel a tinge of weariness while doing good. Just keep telling yourself, “It’s too soon to quit because my due season is just over the horizon, and God has promised I will reap. All I’ve got to do is keep playing.”

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Comfort, Courage, Depression, Disappointment, Doing Good, Doubt, Encouragement, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Work, Impatience, Influence, Ministry, Obedience, Patience, Perseverance, Problems, Reward, Service, Sowing and Reaping, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Temptation, Trials, Trusting In God, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are You Too Busy?

Posted on April 3, 2009 by russellmckinney

I live in Mitchell County, way up in the mountains of western North Carolina. Our total population is under 16,000. We roll up the sidewalks at night in our two towns, and we know far too much about our fellow citizens.

Even here in our little county, though, the roads are now filled with cars, trucks, big rigs, dump trucks, and school buses. The situation has gotten so bad that having a clear path to pass any slow-moving vehicle has become a thing of the past. Oftentimes, I find myself asking, “Who are all these people and where are they going?”

I’ve read that North Carolina’s percentage of households with at least one vehicle is 94.4% and the average number of vehicles per household is 2.2. That makes for a lot of vehicles on the roads. I don’t know where you live, but I’m guessing there are more cars on your roads as well these days.

Okay, so why am I fixating on cars today? I’m not. What I’m really fixating on is how busy we’ve become as a society. Everybody seems to be running around to some place to do something.

It reminds me of that episode of The Andy Griffith Show where the visiting preacher tells the Mayberry church folk to slow down and enjoy the simpler things of life. That was 1960s Mayberry, mind you. If that preacher wanted to preach that same message to today’s church folk, he’d have to leave home earlier just to account for the traffic to get to church.

There’s a Bible story that fits in here nicely. You’ve heard the one about Mary and Martha, haven’t you? They were the two sisters of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead.

Luke 10:38-42 is the record of a visit that Jesus made to their home. While Martha was scurrying around the house, taking care of the serving, doing the work of a hostess, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. Finally, in her frustration with the whole scene, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.”

On paper, it seemed to be a perfect occasion for a Proverbs-style lesson on the value of a work ethic. Instead, Jesus reversed field and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

The lesson of the story isn’t hard to identify: No matter how busy you are, you must make time to “sit at Christ’s feet” and “hear His word.” In our lives today, this can be done through prayer, Bible study, or reading a daily devotion. Many people call it “having a quiet time” but an even better word for it is “worship.”

You say, “Russell, I understand what you are saying, and I really want to have such times in my life, but I’m just so busy.” Well, you’re just going to have to make this a priority. Be like the wife of a friend of mine. My friend fussed at her a little because she didn’t exercise enough. When she told him, “I just don’t have the time” he replied, “You’ve got to make it a priority.” A few days later, when he asked her what was for supper, she said, “I don’t know because I’m doing the treadmill. I’M MAKING IT A PRIORITY.”

Please understand now that I’m not telling you to stop doing any of the dozens of things that are mandatory for your day. Trust me, Jesus knows all about what is mandatory. But I am telling you that you must build times of intimacy with Jesus into your life.

Your bed doesn’t always have to be made. Your yard doesn’t have to be manicured. And it’s okay to let a few dishes pile up in the sink every once in a while. You get the idea. Steal some time each day to have a “Mary experience” with Jesus. Oh, and try to stay off the roads, too. Some of us out there are always running late and needing to pass.

Posted in Balance, Bible Study, Business, Church Attendance, Personal, Prayer, Priorities, Work, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Temptation’s Cliff

Posted on April 2, 2009 by russellmckinney

Once there was a man who lived in a mountainous region. The road to his house ran along a steep cliff. When the man set about to hire a coachman, three candidates applied for the position.

The man called in the first candidate and asked him, “How near to the edge of the cliff can you drive a six-horse team?” The candidate answered, “I have a steady hand and a true eye, so I can get within a foot of the edge and not go over.” The man said, “Thank you. Please step outside.”

The second candidate was called in and asked the same question. His answer was, “Since I am an expert in handling horses, I can drive right along the very edge of the cliff and not go over.” The man said, “Thank you. Please step outside.”

When the third candidate was called in and asked the question, his answer was much different. He said, “If you want a man to drive along the edge of the cliff, you don’t want me. When I drive, I keep as far away from the edge as I can.” To that, the man said, “Thank you. You’re hired.”

When it comes to the cliffs of temptation, we would all do well to stay as far away from those edges as we can. We shouldn’t be like the little boy whose mother asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I’m in the kitchen, standing in front of the cookie jar, trying to resist temptation!”

Proverbs 4:14-15 says: Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on. (N.K.J.V.) The teaching is, it’s impossible for you to end up traveling the path of the wicked or the way of evil if you avoid it and don’t even enter it. After all, you just can’t go down a path you totally shun.

Of course, the irony of Proverbs 4:14-15 is that Solomon, the man who penned those verses, didn’t heed them. 1 Kings 11:1-13 tells us that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Those women came from foreign races such as the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, idolatrous races who worshiped false gods rather than the God of Israel. You see, this was Solomon’s cliff, one from which he tragically plunged over the edge. Rather than converting those women to the worship of his god, he allowed them to turn his heart to their gods. Almost unbelievably, he even fell so deep into idolatry that he built worship sites for the pantheon of false gods those women worshiped. That’s what you call going off a spiritual cliff.

Perhaps you have a sin to which you are particularly susceptible. If so, you would do well  to completely shun that path. For example, if you are easily tempted by lust, you shouldn’t visit certain web sites, watch certain movies, or buy certain magazines. If you are easily tempted by drunkenness, you shouldn’t keep beer in the refrigerator. If you are easily tempted by coarse language, you shouldn’t hang out with foul-mouthed people.

Learn from Solomon’s bad example. Like the rest of the people of Israel, he had a natural bent towards idolatry. Consequently, he placed himself in a very precarious spot when he willingly brought idolatry into his life by taking up with all those foreign women.

It’s been jokingly said that a good run will beat a bad stand anytime. Actually, though, that saying is more truth than joke. The apostle Paul told the Christians of Corinth to flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18) and idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14). Similarly, he told the young preacher Timothy to flee youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22) and the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10-11).

“Flee” is a very strong word. It means, “Get out of Dodge now!” It means, “Why are you still here?” It means, “Let them see your back rather than your front.” It’s what Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him. The Bible says that he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside (Genesis 39:12, N.K.J.V.).

That’s how you handle the temptation to sin! You don’t stand in front of the cookie jar. You don’t see how close you can get to the edge of the cliff. You don’t give the temptation an opportunity to take hold in your life. To the contrary, you do whatever is necessary to turn away from the path of the wicked and the way of evil. Any dallying on your part and you just might find yourself where Solomon found himself: plummeting toward the valley floor below. That’s why you must become proactive with your temptation. Don’t sit around and wait for it to come creeping up on you. Know the woods in which it lives and stay out of those woods.

Posted in Addiction, Adultery, Alcohol, Backsliding, Choices, Idolatry, Personal Holiness, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Family Resemblance

Posted on April 1, 2009 by russellmckinney

Let me shock you: God’s chief characteristic is not love. “Then what is it it?” you ask. Answer: holiness. Psalm 47:8 doesn’t say God sits upon his “loving” throne. It says He sits upon His “holy” throne. When Moses stood before the burning bush and talked with the great I AM, he wasn’t told he was standing on “loving” ground. No, he was told he was standing on “holy” ground (Exodus 3:1-14).

How holy is God? The stars aren’t pure in His sight (Job 25:5). He cannot even look upon wickedness (Habakkuk 1:13). He speaks in holiness (Psalm 60:6), and He swears by His holiness (Psalm 89:35). Actually, His very name is “Holy” (Isaiah 57:15). It’s no wonder the seraph angels of Isaiah 6:1-3 cry out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts!”

If God’s love trumped His holiness, everyone’s soul would go to heaven in the afterlife. But that doesn’t happen (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 16:19-31). You see, people ending up in hell has nothing to do with God not loving them. To the contrary, He loves them enough that Jesus (God the Son) died for their sins (Romans 5:6-11; 1 Corinthians 15:3), and His death allows those who place saving belief in Him to be forgiven of all their sins (John 3:16-18; Colossians 1:14, 2:13; 1 John 2:12). So, why do people end up in hell? It happens because God’s holiness compels Him to judge the unforgiven sins of those who do not believe in Christ as Savior (John 3:36; John 5:40; Titus 1:15; Hebrews 2:3).

Think now about an earthly father whose chief characteristic is generosity. How best would that father’s child showcase the father-child relationship? That child would be generous, right? Whenever that child displayed generosity, people would say, “You act just like your father!”

Well, Christian, God is your heavenly father (John 1:1-5, 9-12; Galatians 4:4-7; 1 John 3:1). How then can you best show people that you are His child? You got it: be holy. This connection is made so clearly in passages such as 1 John 3:2-3, 1 Peter 1:15-16, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1.

In light of this, it’s no wonder that the spiritually lost people of this world don’t come knocking on the doors of our churches, begging us Christians to lead them to God. After all, what’s so appealing about a father whose children engage in sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, lying, cheating, foul language, pornography, drug use, backbiting, greed, provocative dress, and unforgiveness? And, let’s admit it, the lives of far too many Christians are marked by these sins and others that we could name.

As a pastor, I’ve seen some church members conduct themselves in ways that certainly did not cast their heavenly Father in a favorable light. Furthermore, I’ve heard these peoples’ feeble attempts to explain away their unholy behavior. “I know this is wrong, but…” “I understand that God isn’t pleased with what I’m doing, but I’m still a Christian.” “Whatever sins I’m committing are covered by the blood of Christ.”

The problem with all these lines is that they lean heavily on the love of God and play down His holiness. They make God out to be a God of mush and gush whose love forces Him to accept any and all standards of conduct. But this is not the God of the Bible. This is the God of the person who doesn’t have enough healthy reverence for God’s frightful holiness to repent of his or her sins.

Christian, if you have never done so, it’s time you started taking your heavenly Father’s holiness seriously. It’s time you gave some real thought to how your ways are causing Him to appear to others. You need to realize that your sins hurt your heavenly Father’s reputation as well as your own.

Since you are the child that God has produced via the born again experience (John 3:1-8), you are His statement to the world. Through you He is saying, “Here is what I can do with the person who becomes My child.” What good is that statement, though, if your life is marked by unholiness? The unholiness mars the family resemblance.

That’s why I encourage you to build personal holiness into your life. Live the kind of life that is worthy of the holy God who has forgiven you and made you His child. Remember, other people are watching you, and a few of them are judging the validity of your heavenly Father by way of your conduct as His child.

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Disobedience, Fatherhood, God's Holiness, God's Love, Heaven, Hell, Holiness, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Salvation, Sanctification, Sin, Temptation, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Church Or YBOA Basketball?

Posted on March 29, 2009 by russellmckinney

For the past three years, my son Ryan has played two categories of youth basketball. One, he has played in our county’s recreation league. Two, he has played on our county’s YBOA (Youth Basketball of America) team for his age division.

The rec. games are relatively low-pressure games that are played locally. Scores and standings are kept, but the rules promise a certain amount of playing time for all the kids. The games are played through the week, but no games are played on Sundays or Wednesday nights.

YBOA, on the other hand, is more serious. The players are, for the most part, the county’s elite. The coaching is better, and the whole atmosphere is much more intense. No kid is guaranteed any playing time either. It has to be earned. The games are all travel games, played on the weekends, starting as early as Friday night and ending as late as Sunday night. Each weekend offers a new tournament, and the number of games your team plays in a given weekend is dependent upon how many games it wins that weekend. Our team has never won a tournament.

Some parents complain about the gas it takes to drive to the YBOA sites. Others complain about the money that is required for the down times between games. For example, let’s say that your team plays three games on a Saturday. The first is at 9:30 a.m. The second is at 2:30 p.m. The third is at 7:30 p.m. During all the hours between those three games, there is basically nothing else to do but hang around the city in which you’re playing and spend money (Mcdonald’s, the Mall, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.).

Still, my main problem with YBOA is that the schedulers have no qualms whatsoever about scheduling games during what has traditionally been Sunday morning “church time.” They think nothing of starting a game at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. Admittedly, if your team has won enough games on Saturday, it will probably be rewarded by not having to play Sunday before 2:00 p.m. But if you happen to be on a team that loses a game or two Saturday, watch out. Your church attendance is about to be tested.

During Ryan’s first two years of YBOA, he never missed a Sunday morning service. Most of the time our team went winless on Saturdays and didn’t even qualify for the Sunday rounds of play. On the few occasions we did, our first games didn’t tip off until after church. I always knew, though, that we were walking a tightrope between YBOA and church.

Lately, we have fallen off that tightrope. Two of the last three Sunday mornings, Ryan has missed our church services because he was playing YBOA games. One game started at 9:30 a.m. and the other at 11:00 a.m. The site of each game was an hour’s drive from our house. Since it was impossible for Ryan to be in two places at once, both Sunday mornings I sent him off with Tonya while Royce and I went to church.

Just so you know, I prayed earnestly about doing that. I asked God what He wanted me to do and obeyed the word He gave me. I realize that some of my hardline, more conservative brothers and sisters in Christ will dispute that God told me to have Ryan (and Tonya) attend a ball game rather than church. But I know what God told me. I also know that He gave me a tremendous peace about it. Before you label me a heretic, consider the following couple of principles from the Bible:

1. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (an Old Testament verse) and Colossians 3:23 (a New Testament verse) both instruct us to do whatever we do “heartily” and “with might.” Playing YBOA basketball has to be classified as a “whatever.” If you are going to play it, play it to the best of your ability.

2. Proverbs 25:19 says: “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.” I want both my boys to be people who understand the importance of faithfulness and commitment to a cause. You can’t build a life around not showing up to honor your commitments any time the waters turn choppy.

Furthermore, here are four more thoughts for you to mull over:

1. Ryan is a Christian who, as a pastor’s son, has already attended more church services that many people will in a lifetime.

2. If I had told him that he had to miss the games and attend church, he would have done it without argument.

3. If our family’s annual vacation encompasses a Sunday morning, we don’t seek out a place to worship that morning. We just miss church altogether that day. 

4. While it’s certainly true that Hebrews 10:25 tells Christians not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, that general command doesn’t strictly forbid a Christian from ever missing a church service.  

But now here’s where I’ve been headed with all this. Yesterday we played a team that had made a solemn commitment that they weren’t going to play on Sunday if it meant missing church. The Lord, in His providence, arranged for me to “just happen” to have a conversation with their coach yesterday afternoon. The fellow told me without stutter, stammer, or hesitation, “If we win our next game, we will play at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow. That will be alright. But if we lose this next game, we’ll have to play at 11:00 a.m. And if that’s the case, we won’t be here. Our boys go to church.”

Guess what happened. His team won that next game and got to play today at 2:00 p.m. I couldn’t help but think of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. When they refused to obey King Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down before his image of gold, he promised to have them thrown in the fiery furnace. In doing so, he asked, “And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” They responded, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image you have set up.” You gotta love that. “King, our God can deliver us if He so chooses. But even if He doesn’t, we’re not going to change our minds.” It was as if that coach and that team were saying to those tournament organizers, “Our God can have us win this next game. But even if He doesn’t, we’re still not playing at 11:00 tomorrow morning.”     

I don’t know if I’ll ever see that coach again, but I’ll always be indebted to him. He became walking, talking, living proof to me that a Christian can still take a stand in this modern world. He showed me that I wasn’t the only parent who saw the problem with scheduling basketball games on Sunday morning.

As I said earlier, I was in God’s will by having Ryan and Tonya miss those church services. I don’t doubt that because God didn’t bring me under any conviction over those decisions. He knew my heart, and He knew what He told me to do. But that didn’t mean that I enjoyed doing it. And now I know that He saw that part of it too. He had me allow Ryan to play in the two Sunday morning games to let me experience that side of the fence. Then He brought that devoted Christian coach into my life yesterday to let me experience the other side. I believe that He wanted me to make a thoroughly informed decision concerning what to do about Sunday morning games from here on out.

And what decision have I made? I’ve decided that Ryan will no longer miss Sunday morning services on account of YBOA. We’ll play Friday nights, all day Saturdays, and after church on Sundays, but we won’t play until we have attended church. I haven’t talked to our coach about this decision yet, but I will. This YBOA season is over, and next season won’t start until late fall, but I’m not going to change my mind over the summer. I’m going to say, “Coach, you can have Ryan full bore all season, except for those Sunday morning games.” In 1 Samuel 2:30, God says, “Those who honor Me I will honor.” I’m looking forward to finding out just how much He means that.

Posted in Choices, Church Attendance, Commitment, God's Will, Parenting, Personal, Priorities, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Does Satan Exist?

Posted on March 27, 2009 by russellmckinney

I once watched an interesting debate on the topic: “Does Satan Exist?” The debate was held at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington and featured four speakers. Two argued for the existence of Satan and two argued against it.

Arguing for Satan’s existence were Mark Driscoll (the pastor of Mars Hill Church at the time) and Annie Lobert (a former prostitute who now runs a ministry dedicated to winning prostitutes and sex-industry workers to Christ). Arguing against Satan’s existence were Deepak Chopra (a prominent new-age spiritualist who has written several books on the subject of God) and Carlton Pearson (a former Pentecostal preacher who had converted to the idea that the love of God is so all-encompassing that there is no eternal damnation for anyone).

All four speakers passionately expressed their viewpoints, and everyone was generally cordial. The audience members, for the most part, believed in the existence of Satan. There were, however, some who cheered the remarks of Chopra and Pearson.

Interestingly, the core of the debate wasn’t so much about Satan as it was the Bible. You see, if the Bible really is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative word of God, then Satan is real. Why? Because the Bible says he is.

That being the case, Chopra and Pearson didn’t even attempt to use the Bible to back up their claims. Their take on the Bible was that it is not God’s book to man but, rather, man’s book about God. Chopra characterized it as an ancient book that was written from superstition and is, as such, now outdated and irrelevant. Likewise, Pearson flatly stated that we can pick and choose what parts of the Bible we believe because the book isn’t so much God’s inspired word to man as it is man’s inspired word about God.

But do you know what the great problem was with Chopra’s and Pearson’s beliefs? It was the fact that they had no authoritative basis upon which to rest them. For example, even as Chopra tried to make the case that God is too big to be confined by any religion, including Christianity, it was obvious the assertion was merely his opinion. The only authority upon which he based it was the authority of his own mind, a mind which, hopefully, even he would admit isn’t perfect. My mind isn’t perfect either, but let’s say that I hold the opinion that God is a big, green frog who lives in the middle of the universe. Can you see that I’ve got just as much authority for that belief as Chopra does for his? It’s all just personal opinion.

Along the same lines, someone could have asked Pearson, “In your life, who decides which parts of the Bible are applicable and which parts aren’t?” If he had been truthful in his answer, he would have said, “I do. I’m the judge.” That’s the only truthful answer he could possibly have given.

In Pearson’s opinion, passages such as Matthew 4:1-11 weren’t worthy of acceptance because they speak of a literal devil. Again, though, that was merely a conclusion he had reached in his own mind. I could go around saying, with just as much human authority, I have reached the conclusion that such passages should be believed. Do you see what I mean? When you throw out the authority of the Bible, anybody is free to believe anything.

You might ask, “But what’s wrong with people reaching their own conclusions about topics such as the existence of Satan?” The problem is found in the limitations of the human mind. This reminds me of the joke about the atheist who confidently proclaimed, “There is no God.” A man said to him, “Sir, do you know everything?” The atheist answered, “Of course not. No one knows everything.” The man replied, “Then maybe God exists in that part you don’t know.” That same kind of thing could have been said to Deepak Chopra and Carlton Pearson during that debate. “Maybe Satan exists in that part you don’t know.”

You ask, “Okay, so how can we even know that what the Bible says can be trusted?” Well, first, we must establish the Bible’s trustworthiness from sources outside the book. This is done by using four distinct categories of evidence:

1. Archaeological Finds: In scores of digs at numerous sites, archaeologists have unearthed evidence that verifies the Bible’s record of human history.

2. Fulfilled Prophecy: The Bible currently holds a perfect record in the fulfillment of its prophecies.

3. Internal Consistency: Even though the Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years, in three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and just a touch of Aramaic), by forty different writers, on three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), there is a remarkable consistency to its record that simply cannot be attributed to human genius.

4. Changed Lives: No other book ever written has impacted lives the way the Bible has.

Then, after we have used these four categories of evidence to establish the trustworthiness of the Bible, we can go to the Bible and see what it says about itself. And what do we find when we do that? In 2 Timothy 3:16, we read:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Frankly, anyone who denies the existence of Satan and hell needs reliable doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Unfortunately, unless that person holds to a correct understanding of what the Bible is and what it teaches, he or she will never receive these things. Such a person might attract audiences, sell books, and appear on t.v., but that worldly success will be built upon mere opinion rather than eternal truth. And you know that old line about opinions: Everybody’s got one.

Posted in Belief, Bible Study, Discernment, Doubt, Faith, Satan, Scripture, The Bible, The Devil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Children Are…

Posted on March 25, 2009 by russellmckinney

Think about how you would finish the following sentence: “Children are…” Truth be told, some of the parents of young children might finish it in a way that wouldn’t be heartwarming. Having learned to function in a state of semi-exhaustion from keeping up with the hectic schedules of today’s kids, those parents might say, “Children are draining, demanding, needy, expensive, ungrateful, and hard.”

Such parents feel like the ones in that story about two teenagers who were talking. One teen said to the other, “I’m worried. My father goes to work every day to keep a roof over my head, food in my stomach, clothes on my back, and a car under me. When he comes home, he mows the yard, trims the hedge, and pays the bills. And my mother cooks all our meals, washes the dishes, cleans the house, and does the laundry.” The second teen said, “So what have you got to be worried about? It sounds like you’ve got it made.” To that, the first teen replied, “I know. I’m worried they will try to escape!”

This kind of thing can keep a parent’s attitude toward a son or daughter from being what it should be. I’m reminded of another illustration about a dutiful dad who was easily annoyed and cranky. Someone asked his little boy, “Does your daddy have a den?” The boy said, “No, he just growls all over the house.”

But how does the Bible finish the sentence: “Children are…”? We find that answer in Psalm 127:3-5. Those verses say:

Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. (K.J.V., emphasis mine)

For years, as Tonya and I were raising our two sons, I kept a certain printout taped to my desk, just below my computer monitor. It was a copy of a word of personal testimony written by a man named Anthony Mullinax. It was entitled “If I Knew Then.” Mullinax writes:

There are so many daily joys for the parents of young children: pushing their swing, bouncing them on your knee, playing horsey, shooting marbles, playing baseball, etc. Then one day it dawns on you that you aren’t doing those things anymore – they’ve outgrown it. You realize that somewhere back there was the very last time. If I knew then what I know now, I would have savored the last occurrence of each of those childhood games a little more. I would have lingered a little longer at the swing, bounced them on my knee a little longer that last time. When we played horsey and that inevitable, gleeful plea came, “One more time! Daddy, one more time,” I would have crawled across that floor on my hands and knees until only sheer exhaustion made me drop.

I kept that piece where I could see it because I wanted to make the most of my boys’ childhood days. Through all the time consumption, energy drain, financial outlay, and downright aggravation, I wanted to keep in mind that those “little boy days” wouldn’t last forever. And, sure enough, they were over far too quickly. Now all Tonya and I have left of them are the memories and the videos.

The Hebrew word translated as “Happy” in Psalm 127:5 is esher. In the King James Version of the Bible, it is translated as “happy” about 20 times in the Old Testament. Even more frequently, however, it is translated as “blessed.” Furthermore, anytime esher is translated as “blessed,” the pronunciation should be “bless-ED” rather than “blest.” You see, esher conveys the idea of abiding in a continual state of blessing rather than merely experiencing a one-time blessing. In other words, it’s better to be “bless-ED” than just “blest.”

I should point out, though, that being described as esher (“bless-ED”) doesn’t always equate to being “happy” by our standards of happiness. For example, Job 5:17-18 uses esher in reference to the one who is suffering the chastisement of God. Along these same lines, the Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words says the following:

One’s status before God (being “blessed”) is not always expressed in terms of the individual or social conditions that bring what moderns normally consider to be “happiness.”

The point is that even though being a parent makes you “bless-ED,” it doesn’t always make you “happy” in terms of what we call happiness. No, parenting can be rough, and it comes complete with plenty of happiness-dampening difficulties. To do it right takes a lot of hard work, devotion, time, energy, and money, and there will be days when you won’t be able to honestly give your sweetest finish to the sentence, “Children are…” Nevertheless, there’s no higher calling in the world than parenthood, and may all of us who are parents redouble our efforts to rise to the task of keeping our “arrows” straight.

Posted in Children, Family, Fatherhood, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Be Afraid to Fly

Posted on March 22, 2009 by russellmckinney

The true story is told of a Midwestern farmer who found a young eaglet. The bird’s wing was injured to the point that flying was impossible. The farmer carefully picked up the eaglet and took it back to his farm. Not knowing exactly what to do with it, he put it in the pen with his chickens. It wasn’t long afterward that the farmer noticed something odd: the eaglet had begun to mimic the chickens. It pecked for food, drank from the waterer, and scratched around in the ground for worms.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the eaglet’s wing healed, but the bird made no attempt to fly out of the pen. It just continued to act like a chicken. The farmer actually began to feel sorry for it. The bird’s beautiful feathers were becoming dusty and its sharp beak was becoming discolored from all the pecking on the ground.

One day a young man happened to pay a visit to the farm. As he passed by the chicken pen, he saw the eaglet scratching around in the dirt like the chickens. When he asked the farmer about the bird, the farmer told him the story. The young man said, “It was nice of you to bring him home and take care of him, but now that his wing is healed surely you will let him go.” The farmer responded, “He can leave anytime he wants to, but I’m afraid he’s forgotten how to fly.”

Upon hearing that, the young man became determined to help the eaglet. With the farmer tagging along, he took the bird out to the area where the farmer had found it. Then he placed the eaglet on his arm and yelled, “Go, boy, go!” The eaglet, however, didn’t budge. It just sat there looking confused.

Then suddenly, from high in the sky, a mighty shriek was heard. It was the shriek of a mother eagle flying overhead. When the eaglet heard this shriek and saw the mother eagle, it gingerly tested its injured wing and then cautiously launched off from the young man’s arm. At first it circled slowly overhead as if gathering its confidence. Then it shot up into the sky to join the mother eagle. As the young man watched the eaglet soar away, he said to the farmer, “Now that’s what he was meant to do.”

Christian, I’ve got a question for you: Are you doing what you are meant to do for Christ? In Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, and Ephesians 4:7-16, the Bible teaches that God has imparted at least one spiritual gift to each Christian. Many Christians have been given more than one, but every Christian has been given at least one.

A spiritual gift is not the same thing as a natural talent. It is an ability or skill the Christian did not have before the moment of salvation. At the moment of salvation, when God the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside the Christian’s body and create the born-again experience, the Holy Spirit brought the gift or gifts to the Christian.

Just as we are born physically with natural talents, Christians are born again spiritually with at least one spiritual gift. And every spiritual gift is to be used in service to Christ. It is the Christian’s unique way of doing something for the Savior.

This is where I come back to the story of the eaglet that acted like a chicken. Perhaps you, Christian, need to learn from that eaglet. Tell me, are you content to live somebody else’s life? Is it enough for you to mimic another Christian’s spiritual gift? Are you afraid to take off and fly the way that God has gifted you to fly?

Listen, sometimes you’ve just got to launch out in faith and go for it. I know it’s scary, but you need to do it. Don’t worry, if what you are doing is really of God, you won’t come crashing to the ground. Instead, you’ll spread your wings as you never have before and reach heights of service you never thought you could reach. But you’ve got to try. Remember, there is always room for another eagle in the sky of God’s service.

Posted in Courage, Faith, God's Will, God's Work, Individuality, Ministry, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Talents | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment