When a Nightmare Becomes a Reality

Posted on March 28, 2020 by russellmckinney

6’10, 235 pound Darrall Imhoff was a great basketball player. He was a two-time All American at the University of California, was a starter on that school’s 1959 team that won the NCAA championship, won a gold medal as a player on the United States’ 1960 Olympic team, and played twelve seasons as a professional player in the National Basketball Association. He was inducted into the University of California’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988, was inducted into the PAC-10 conference’s Hall of Fame in 2005, and had his jersey retired at the University of California in 2009. He’s also a member of basketball’s Naismith Hall of Fame as part of that 1960 Olympic team that won the gold medal.

But Imhoff had a bad night, a colossally bad night, on March 2, 1962. That was the night an even greater basketball player, Wilt Chamberlain, scored 100 points in defeating Imhoff’s team in a game played in the Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That night Chamberlain was the starting center for his Philadelphia Warriors team, and Imhoff was the starting center for his New York Knickerbockers team. That meant that Imhoff had the difficult assignment of guarding Chamberlain. Needless to say, Chamberlain got the better of the match-up. After the game, Imhoff’s classic quote was, “I can’t have a nightmare tonight. I’ve just lived through one.”

While Imhoff’s line was humorous, there’s nothing funny about having to live through a nightmare. That nightmare could be you losing a loved one by way of death. It could be you being diagnosed with a terminal disease. It could be you losing your job. It could be your marriage ending in divorce. Nightmares, after all, can be different things to different people.

In the case of Christ’s chosen 12 apostles, one nightmare they had to live through was the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of their leader, Jesus. Every time Jesus broached the subject in the days leading up to His arrest, the apostles didn’t take it well. For example, in Matthew 16:21-23, when Jesus first mentions the subject, Peter takes Him aside and actually rebukes Him for even saying such a thing. Likewise, in Matthew 17:22-23, when Jesus again repeats the news, the apostles are “exceedingly sorrowful” upon hearing it. They thought, “Our Messiah arrested, tried, and crucified? There’s no way we will ever have to experience that.”

And yet they did have to experience it. Not surprisingly, they didn’t handle it well, either. Rather than hone in on what Jesus had plainly told them would follow His arrest, trial, and crucifixion — namely His resurrection! — they went into hiding, terrified that what had befallen their leader would soon befall them as well. They just couldn’t foresee the empty tomb because they couldn’t get past seeing Jesus hanging on that cross. To them, the notion that God could bring anything good out of Christ’s death was unthinkable.

Perhaps you are someone who has lived through a nightmare. As the old saying goes, you’ve been there and gotten the t-shirt. But tell me, have you made your way over to the empty tomb of that nightmare yet? What I mean is, have you reached a place where you can take your eyes off the bad and begin to live in the light of the good that God has brought out of the bad? If you haven’t, then you are like those pre-Easter apostles in that you are living in fear, disillusionment, depression, and probably a fair amount of anger. That, of course, is exactly where Satan wants you.

For God’s part, though, He wants you to press on through all the hurt and reach the other end of your ordeal. Why? It’s because He knows that’s the end where you’ll find the resurrection of your hope and joy. You see, the message of Easter is not just that God the Father resurrected God the Son; it’s also that God can resurrect you in the wake of that personal nightmare you’ve had to experience. Like those apostles, you too can move out of the closing chapters of the gospels and move into the opening chapters of the book of Acts, complete with a fresh wave of God’s empowering, The only question is, will you do it or will continue to fixate on your nightmare?

Posted in Adversity, Anger, Brokenness, Change, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Comfort, Courage, Crucifixion, Depression, Disappointment, Easter, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, God's Sovereignty, God's Work, Good Friday, Inner Peace, Joy, Perseverance, Problems, Restoration, Resurrection, Sports, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Five Keys For Happiness

Posted on March 26, 2020 by russellmckinney

I ran across a little piece from Ord L. Morrow the other day and thought I’d share it. It’s entitled “Five Keys For Happiness.” Those five keys, along with the proof-text scriptures Morrow suggested, are as follows: (scriptures from the N.K.J.V.)

  1. Give God the first hour of each day. This means pray as soon as you wake up. Even if you can’t pray for a literal hour, pray as long as you can. As Mark 1:35 says of Jesus: “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
  2.  Give God the first day of the week. This means become actively involved in a good local church and make church one of the foundations upon which you build your week. As the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 16:2, instructed the Christians of Corinth: “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”
  3. Give God the first portion of your income. This means always be sure that God gets His proper share of your earnings. As Proverbs 3:9 says: “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;”
  4. Give God the first consideration in every decision. This means make God’s will your absolute top priority in all decisions. As Jesus says in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
  5. Give God’s Son first place in your heart always. This means make Jesus not just your Savior but also the LORD of every breath you take. As Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 8:5, concerning the way the devout Christians of Macedonia responded to him and his ministry team: “…but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

I trust you will agree with me that these five keys are timeless. That’s why I cut the piece out and kept it for my files. Of course, if you can get that fifth one mastered you won’t have any trouble carrying out the other four. Like those Christians of Macedonia, first give yourself to the Lord and then mind Him as He leads you into His will for each and every situation.

Posted in Choices, Church, Church Attendance, Decisions, Discipleship, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Giving, God's Will, God's Work, Money, Obedience, Service, Stewardship, Worship | Tagged , | Leave a comment

It’s a Really Good Time to Pray For Your Leaders

Posted on March 23, 2020 by russellmckinney

After a young seminary student had preached a particularly fiery sermon, one church-goer said to him, “You are a model preacher.” This filled the young student with pride until he took the time to look up the definition of the word “model.” That definition read: “a small imitation of the real thing.”

Humbled, the young preacher decided that he’d better try a different approach than his fire-and-brimstone one. So the next time he preached, his words oozed with love and compassion. Afterward, a church-goer told him, “You are such a warm preacher.” This made the young preacher feel good until he looked up the definition of the word “warm.” It read: “not so hot.”

I wanted to use this illustration today because the Coronavirus is forcing pastors everywhere to make some difficult decisions in terms of ministry. Should we have church services or cancel them? Should we visit our church members or stay at home and avoid the risk of either catching the virus ourselves or spreading it to one of them if we unknowingly have it? If we do decide to cancel services and stay close to home, how can we continue to minister to our folks?

Needless to say, your pastor really needs your prayers right now. For every second that you bash him for what he is or isn’t doing, take two more seconds to pray that God will give him the wisdom and discernment he needs to make God-approved decisions during these difficult days. And along the same lines, let me also encourage you to pray for our President and our other political leaders (national and local) as they attempt to steer our nation, states, counties, and cities through this crisis. As Paul, writing under the inspiration of God, tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quite and peaceable life in all goodness and reverence. (N.K.J.V.)       

You say, “But I didn’t vote for that person.” I hear you, but Paul didn’t exactly vote for Nero to be the Emperor of Rome, either, and yet he still instructed Christians to pray for Nero and all others who were in authority at the time. You see, this is all a part of being that “salt” and “light” that Jesus said we are (Matthew 5:13-16). Sure, it’s easy to be an arm-chair quarterback who handles every situation perfectly and never makes a bad call. It’s also easy to second-guess every decision a leader makes. But your second-guessing will be curtailed quite a bit if you will ask yourself, “How would I like to be in that person’s shoes right now?” And it will be curtailed even more if you will pray for that leader in accordance with the Bible’s command. Now, if you will excuse me, there’s some praying that I myself need to go do for some political leaders.

Posted in Church, Current Events, Government, Intercessory Prayer, Pastors, Politics, Prayer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” Podcast: James 1:5

Posted on March 22, 2020 by russellmckinney

Not one of us has ever had to live through a pandemic. Therefore, there’s no playbook for how to do it. This means that we are all kind of “flying by the seat of our pants” regarding what used to be simple, day-to-day decisions. Should we have church? Should we go to the store? Should we keep our appointments? If we are cooped up at home, how should we fill the time? On and on the questions (and decisions) go.

Fortunately, God has the answers to all of our questions. Even more than that, He has promised to impart to us the wisdom we need to make any decision. This promise is found in James 1:5, and so Malcolm and I thought that verse would be a good one to build this week’s podcast around. Here’s the link:

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Choices, Current Events, Decisions, God's Will | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Not My Typical Week

Posted on March 21, 2020 by russellmckinney

I spent this past week gathering as much information as I could about the Coronavirus in an effort to figure out how to conduct church services in a reasonably safe way. I also met with our church deacons Tuesday night and with a small group of pastors Friday morning. Both meetings were about one question: “Should we continue to have church services during this pandemic?”

I wish everyone could have sat in on that pastors meeting. That way everyone would understand and appreciate not only how much us pastors loathe cancelling church but also our motivations for that loathing. It’s not about our egos, our desire for the spotlight, or our fear that we might lose a paycheck. What it’s all about is our concern for Christ’s church, the people that comprise it, and this nation itself. As I said in that meeting, “Isn’t it awful that in this time of national crisis (pestilence), a time when our churches ought to be full as we seek God’s help, they are empty?”

The topics we kicked around in that meeting were definitely a mixed “box of chocolates.” For example, we talked about the option of forging ahead with regular services and having faith that God will keep our people safe. We talked about having our congregations meet in multiple rooms and getting the sermon feed into those rooms, the idea being that more space will allow our members to keep a six-foot separation between themselves. We talked about setting up loud speakers and letting people sit in their cars and listen to the sermon. We talked about letting people bring their camping chairs and sit in our church yards as they listen. We even talked about the best way to disinfect and sanitize a pew without ruining the varnish on it. Now there’s a conversation I never expected to have!

Here are some other topics that got mentioned:

  • Hebrews 10:25 does tell Christians to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but it doesn’t say to do so in the midst of a pestilence.
  • Our elderly members, who by all accounts are the most susceptible to the Coronavirus, will be the first ones in attendance if church is held.
  • Those older members are the same ones who are the least likely to have internet access and be able to watch a sermon online.
  • If some people get out of the “routine” of attending church, they will never get back into church.
  • If those people don’t come back, are they genuine Christians anyway?
  • Could this virus be God’s way of separating the “wheat” from the “tares” (Matthew 13:24-30, 34-43) in His church to get us back to a spiritually purer membership?
  • Is this virus God’s way of testing the church to see just how much faith we have?

Friday night one of the pastors followed up our meeting by texting out a link to an article written by Michael Brown, who is a well known pastor, theologian, and Christian radio host. The article was a good read on the subject of whether or not to have church in the midst of a pandemic. Here are three quotes from it:

…even if I am not concerned about my own health, I run the risk of becoming infected and carrying the virus to someone else. And so, when hundreds of us gather together for a church service, unless we can guarantee that every person there has sufficient faith not to be infected, then our gathering presents a health hazard to others. That’s why I do not see this as an infringement of our rights as much as an opportunity to love my neighbor.

…It is also wisdom that shows us what to do. That’s why, when we are driving on the highway and there are ice patches forming all over the road, we slow down. That’s why, when there is a hurricane coming, we shutter up the windows. That’s also why we lock our doors at night. And why we don’t let our 5-year-old child wander around the neighborhood. It’s called wisdom.

If and when the government illegitimately seeks to steal our rights, we will stand up and say, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). This, however, is not that time.

Lastly, let me mention one other topic that we addressed in that meeting of pastors. One of the men offered the legitimate criticism that the actions of the church during this pandemic have really not been all that different from the actions of the world at large. While I agreed with his assessment, I likened the situation to the church being in a boxing match and getting hit with a haymaker punch in the opening seconds of the fight. As the old saying in boxing goes, “Everybody has a plan until they get hit.” Well, we got hit with a devastating right hand thrown by the Coronavirus and it addled us, knocked us off our game plan, and forced us to either lay down and take a count-out or get up and try a new plan.

Thankfully, that latter option is what’s happening in churches all across America as we are putting in the effort to figure out how to “do church” in this strange new society the virus has created. We’re streaming sermons online. We’re posting helpful things on Facebook. We’re writing blog posts. We’re writing articles. We’re doing podcasts. We’re sending out group texts. We’re using Twitter and Instagram. Seriously, it’s a great thing to see because if there is one thing our churches tend to struggle with it’s ministering in fresh and creative ways. So, in that sense, God is bringing good out of the Coronavirus just like He promises to do in Romans 8:28, and He’s still ministering through His church just like He promises to do in Matthew 16:18. For that I’m grateful and truly amazed at just how resilient (and dare I say resourceful) the church can be. It’s just a shame that it takes something like this virus to force us out of our comfort zones and get us there.

Posted in Adversity, Church, Church Attendance, Current Events, God's Work, Pastors, Preaching, Problems, Service | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Very Helpful Spiritual Exercise

Posted on March 19, 2020 by russellmckinney

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation; On you I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:4-5, N.K.J.V.)

Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. (Psalm 143:10, N.K.J.V.)

If I ever wrote a book in which I listed the spiritual exercises that have helped me the most in my walk with the Lord, there is one exercise that would unquestionably be on the list. This is an exercise I use anytime I want to do God’s will but am genuinely confused as to what that will is. The exercise goes like this: I talk to God in prayer about the various options I have before me concerning the situation, and I say, “Lord, if you called me up to heaven right now and told me that I had to pick one course of action right now, I would choose…”

In the practical application of this exercise, I’ve found that there are times when I feel pretty strongly about the choice that I voice to God. Other times, however, my choice comes as the result of a razor-thin 50.1 to 49.9 vote. It all depends upon how confused I am about the situation.

The important thing to remember, though, is that the exercise isn’t meant to produce a final decision anyway. Instead, it’s just a way for me to get my up-to-the-minute bearings regarding where my thinking currently stands about the situation. Then, once I have those bearings and understand which way I’m at least leaning, God can move the process of revealing His specific will further along by either confirming my correct leaning or fixing my faulty leaning.

You see, what I’m talking about is what we might call the process of God revealing His will to me about my situation. Rather than give me His answer in one fell swoop that only requires me to seek His guidance one time, God bleeds out the revealing of His will because He wants to spend even more time in intimate fellowship with me. It’s as if He reveals a little bit of His will during one prayer session and then says to me, “Come back later and I’ll reveal some more. I’m enjoying our times together.”

I think this is what David was getting at in both of our text passages when he asked God to teach him His paths and how to do His will. Typically, it takes multiple classes and multiple lessons for a student to truly learn a subject, doesn’t it? And, of course, the more complex the subject, the more classes and lessons are required to learn it.

So, in keeping with this analogy, those times when I put my spiritual exercise into practice become midterm exams that show me how well I’m currently doing at mastering the subject in question. If I’m already leaning toward choosing God’s path for me, He gives me a passing grade and says, “Well done, you’re on the right track. Keep following it until I make my will crystal clear to you and you’ve done it.” But if I’m already leaning toward choosing a path that God doesn’t want for me, He gives me a failing grade and says, “Okay, you’ve got some work to do, but you can still ace the subject in the end if you let Me teach you.”

Perhaps right now you are standing at a fork in the road and you are going to have to choose one road or the other very soon. Well, do you honestly want to choose the road that God has in mind for you? I ask that question because the cold, hard truth is that many people don’t! If, however, you are one of the minority who do want to choose God’s road, then I advise you to use the spiritual exercise I’ve described in this post. Be honest with God about which way you are leaning right now, and then listen carefully for that still, small voice of His as He grades your answer. If He lets you know that you are leaning the right way, then keep up the good work until you have completely mastered the subject and done His will in the matter. But, on the other hand, if He lets you know that you aren’t leaning the right way, then enroll yourself in even more class-time with Him and work even harder to learn what He is trying to teach you. Trust me, if you’ll do that you can still earn your PhD degree in the subject even though you failed your first test. God is, after all, the most loving, patient, and gracious teacher you will ever have.

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Discipleship, Dying To Self, God's Love, God's Will, Personal, Prayer, Submission | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Bible & the Coronavirus

Posted on March 17, 2020 by russellmckinney

Like everybody else, my little corner of the world has been affected by the coronavirus even though no cases have been reported yet here in Mitchell county, NC. Our governor, Roy Cooper, has cancelled all public schools for at least two weeks, with the suspicion being that the cancellation will be longer, perhaps even until the end of the school year. That means that my wife Tonya and my son Ryan, who are both employed as middle-school teachers, are now having to scramble to prepare online classes for their students. Likewise, my son Royce is evidently going to be learning online as well due to the fact that Mayland Community College, the local college he attends, has also cancelled classes for the foreseeable future.

I myself am dealing with church issues. The original suggestion from Governor Cooper was that citizens should avoid gathering in groups of 100 or more for the next two weeks. Using that number as a guideline, we went ahead and had regular church services at Roan Mountain Baptist Church this past Sunday and had an attendance of 50 in Sunday School and 92 for worship service. That at least kept us “legal” (for lack of a better word). We did have some our regulars stay home, but we also picked up a few visitors whose churches had cancelled services. So, basically, everything evened out to keep us at our average numbers attendance wise.

The next day, however, the Center for Disease Control handed down the recommendation that gatherings of 50 or more people should be avoided, and President Trump followed that up by suggesting that gatherings be limited to 10 or more. Then I read last night that McDonald’s franchises nationwide are closing their dine-in option, and Governor Cooper held a press conference this morning to issue an Executive Order stating that all restaurants and bars in our state must remain closed to dine-in customers until further notice. There goes the option of dining out to enjoy a bit of escapism from all this chaos.

I’ve talked with a lot of people the past few days, read several articles on the internet, and (I’ll admit) camped out on Facebook for awhile in my attempt to figure out which way the wind is blowing concerning public opinion about the Coronavirus. Don’t worry, I won’t report all the different opinions I’ve run across, but what I would like to do is mention at least five of the verses (all from the N.K.J.V.) that are being bantered about in relation to the pandemic and offer my take on how they apply to the issues we are facing.

First, there is 2 Timothy 1:7, which says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Malcolm Woody and I chose this as the text verse for our podcast this past Friday due to the fact that so many people, including many Christians, were freaking out over the threat of the Coronavirus. I have to admit, though, that while the verse does provide a general word of encouragement to the Christian in regards to any potentially dangerous situation, I haven’t found much practical help in it as to whether or not to cancel church services. Putting it simply, I don’t have a fear about having church or cancelling it. I just wish that God would send me a text message or an email either way.

Second, there is Acts 5:29, where Peter and the other apostles say, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” This is the line that typically gets used when anyone starts talking about the government telling preachers what they can and can’t preach. This makes perfect sense in light of the fact that Peter and the other apostles spoke the words in response to the Jewish religious leaders attempting to forbid them from preaching about Jesus. Here again, though, the verse hasn’t helped me concerning cancelling church services. You see, it’s not like Governor Cooper or President Trump is telling us we can’t preach for Jesus or against any particular sin. This isn’t that. All they are doing is attempting to curtail the spread of a pandemic. Actually, they are trying to act in our best interest.

Third, there is Romans 13:1, which says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” The meaning of this verse isn’t hard to grasp: God wants Christians to submit to their governing authorities. Furthermore, I would remind us all that the apostle Paul wrote these words to Christians who were living under the Roman government, a government that was morally and spiritually worse than our United States government. And I would also add that this certainly isn’t the only passage in which God comes off as being very much pro-government and instructs Christians to submit to their governments. Other such passages are: 1 Peter 2:13-15; Matthew 22:21; Jeremiah 27:5; and Daniel 2:21. Needless to say, these passages make a strong case for minding your Governor and your President, especially if those politicians aren’t mandating something blatantly against scripture.

Fourth, there is Psalm 91:10, which says of the person who has made the Lord his refuge and dwelling place, “No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.” Admittedly, this verse does sound like a promise that God won’t allow anything bad happen to the devout Christian. However, the best commentary on the Bible is always the Bible itself, and holy scripture is filled with stories that prove that Christians, even devout ones, shouldn’t run off too far with the words of Psalm 91:10. Abel was right with God but still got killed by Cain. Job was right with God but still buried ten children. Uriah was right with God but still got killed after David had impregnated his wife. Stephen was right with God but still got stoned to death by the Sanhedrin council. Paul was right with God but still got whipped, stoned, and shipwrecked. John was right with God but still got exiled to the penal colony on the island of Patmos.

Fifth, there is Matthew 4:7, where Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 in saying, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Interestingly, Jesus offers this answer in reply to Satan quoting Psalm 91:11-12 (the verses that follow Psalm 91:10, which I just covered). Satan quotes this portion of the Psalm in an effort to get Jesus to act presumptuously, not to mention recklessly, by casting Himself down from the pinnacle of the Jewish temple and expecting God the Father to send angels to keep Him from harm. This means that the teaching of the verse is that whatever scripture might say about God’s protection and refusing to live in fear, it isn’t God’s will for any Christian to needlessly place himself or herself in harm’s way. And that stands as doubly true if the Christian sets himself or herself to a course of action that requires God to send angels or perform a miracle to keep that Christian safe.

So, as you can see, the Bible can be used to back up just about any opinion that a Christian has about how to respond to the threat of the Coronavirus. Speaking as a pastor, what I have found particularly frustrating about the church dilemma created by the virus is that it places the church in a no-win situation. On the one hand, if we go along with the recommendations from the CDC, the Governor, and the President and cancel all services for at least the next couple of weeks, we run the risk of being classified as a bunch of gutless wonders who don’t have enough faith that God will protect us. But on the other hand, by continuing to meet for services we become (at best) civil rebels and (at worst) grim reapers if even one person actually gets sick and dies because of our meetings. See what I mean about it being a no-win situation?

In the end, I guess the best thing that any of us can do is fall back upon yet another verse of scripture, James 1:5. This is a verse that I not only quote often but employ frequently in my walk with the Lord. The verse says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Frankly, in all my years as a pastor I have never encountered any situation in which I have lacked wisdom any more than I do regarding all the variables involved with the Coronavirus threat. Therefore, what I’ve been doing and what I’m going to continue doing is asking God for wisdom about the decisions that need to be made. Right now, this is the best advice that I can give to any Christian in regards to this whole mess, and I assure you that it’s advice that I will be using myself.

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“Christian Verses” Podcast: 2 Timothy 1:7

Posted on March 16, 2020 by russellmckinney

We are certainly living in historic times, aren’t we? The coronavirus has seen to that. And while the end of this story is far from being written, this past Friday Malcolm and I devoted a podcast to offering a few thoughts on the subject. Neither one of us pretends to be a doctor or a health expert, but we do know something about what the Bible says about fear. To hear the podcast, just click on the link below:

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Courage, Current Events, Fear, God's Sovereignty, Heaven, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How to Lose the Joy of Salvation

Posted on March 13, 2020 by russellmckinney

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation… (Psalm 51:12, N.K.J.V.)

Prominent Baptist preacher Dr. Tom Wallace tells of an experience he had when he was serving as the pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Elkton, Maryland. One Sunday morning a man visited the church, listened intently to the sermon, and came forward during the altar call to receive Christ as his Savior. The fellow didn’t know much about Baptists or “religion” in general, but he was definitely excited about experiencing the salvation offered in Jesus.

When it came time for the man to be baptized, he joined Dr. Wallace in the baptistery and was immersed. But when the fellow came up from the water he did something unexpected. Rather than observe the usual reverential, dignified protocol, he immediately started clapping his hands and shouting, “Hot dog! Hot dog! Hot dog!” Dr. Wallace finishes the story by saying:

Our people roared with laughter. I quickly asked them for silence as I explained that this dear man had not been around the church and didn’t know about “amen,” “praise the Lord,” and “hallelujah.” His phrase was “hot dog,” and he was praising the Lord with the only vocabulary he knew.

Christian, you need to understand that a joyless life wasn’t what God had in mind for you when He saved you. I’m not saying that you should feel like saying, “Hot dog! Hot dog! Hot dog!” all the time, but frequently there should be times when you feel like it. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, joy isn’t based upon your outward circumstances. It’s an inward thing that bubbles up from deep inside you, not an outer thing that oozes into your skin from the outside when everything happens to be going your way.

In John 15:1-10, Jesus tells His apostles that He is the vine and they are the branches, and they must abide in Him if they want to bear fruit. Next, He tells them how they can abide in Him. He says:

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10, N.K.J.V.)

Following these words, Jesus then explains the direct correlation between keeping the commandments and experiencing joy. He says:

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:11, N.K.J.V.)

The teaching, Christian, is that keeping the Lord’s commandments is the secret to you experiencing the joy of Christ. Even more than that, it is the secret to you experiencing that joy to the fullest. Actually, it’s not a stretch to say that joy is the reward that God bestows upon those who keep His commandments. .

We find further evidence of this in my text verse for this post. The verse comes from Psalm 51, a Psalm David wrote after he had lost his joy. And what had caused him to lose that joy? He had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had for all intents and purposes ordered the execution of her husband, Uriah (1 Samuel 11:1-27). In other words, David had broken God’s commandments regarding adultery and murder. Therefore, it became inevitable that he would lose his joy. That’s why he had to confess his sin, seek God’s forgiveness, and beg God to restore to him the joy that is supposed to walk hand in hand with salvation.

The upshot of all this, Christian, is that if you want to have a genuine joy about you, you must keep the Lord’s commandments. Never forget that sin is a joy killer! This makes your choice very simple. You can either have your sin or you can have the joy of your salvation. What you can’t have is both at the same time. This is the lesson that David had to learn, and it’s one that you and I must learn as well. Here’s hoping that you’ve already learned it and are choosing wisely.

Posted in Backsliding, Confession, Disobedience, Forgiveness, Guilt, Holiness, Joy, Rebellion, Repentance, Restoration, Sin | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Daddy, They Won’t Block”

Posted on March 11, 2020 by russellmckinney

One of the funniest things I ever saw on a football field involved a friend of mine named Richie Jarrett and his son, Dylan. If you’ll bear with me while I set up the story, I think you’ll be glad you did. Trust me, it’s a good story.

First, Richie was coaching Dylan in a youth football game. Second, Dylan was playing quarterback. Third, at this level of league play the coach was allowed to literally be on the field so that he could stand in the huddle and call the plays rather than try to do the play-calling from the sidelines. Fourth, Richie called a play in which Dylan kept the ball and ran with it. Fifth, the play quickly turned into a complete disaster as Dylan hardly got out of his tracks before he got creamed by what looked like half the other team.

Everybody knew why the play had turned into such a debacle: Dylan’s offensive linemen hadn’t blocked a soul. And I assure you this fact wasn’t lost on Dylan. That’s why he was hopping mad with his linemen when he got up from the bottom of that pile of defensive players. Then came the moment I’ll never forget. As Dylan stomped back to Richie for another huddle, the little fellow shouted out to him in utter disgust, “Daddy, they won’t block!”

Have you ever been there? Have you ever taken it on the chin because somebody else didn’t do their job? Have you ever had to pay for somebody else’s shortcomings? My guess is that we have all felt that kind of sting at one point or another. Speaking as a pastor, I can’t even begin to count the times when I’ve had to do a church job that someone else in the church was more talented, gifted, and available to do, but I got piled on because that other person wouldn’t block.

Unfortunately, you just can’t make others do, can you? And equally as unfortunately it’s not like the work slows down in consideration of the fact that some people aren’t doing their share of it. No, the work marches unceasingly forward, forevermore piling up to whatever degree it gets left undone. Welcome to life.

So, for anyone out there reading this who feels overwhelmed by all the work that needs to be done, let me offer a word of encouragement. Actually, it’s a word that I once heard famed preacher Adrian Rogers give in a sermon. He said, “You’ve got enough time each day to do everything that God wants you to do.”

Ah, there’s the secret, isn’t it? We must learn to build our days around doing only those things that God wants us to do. That, ladies and gentlemen, is decidedly different from doing all the things that others want us to do.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, N.K.J.V., underlined emphasis mine). What these words from Christ teach us is that Jesus isn’t in the business of burning out His servants. As I once heard another notable preacher, John Hunter, say of these words, “Serving Jesus isn’t go, go, go and do, do, do.”

Keep this in mind, Christian, anytime you feel weighted down by a workload that has been created for you because other people won’t block. The Lord doesn’t expect you to be all things to all people and corkscrew yourself into a state of exhaustion in the process. He just expects you to be the person He wants you to be and do only the work that He calls you to do each day.

Admittedly, some days will be busier than others, and, yes, there will be times when He will want you to pick up the slack left behind by others. But if you think that His plan for you is to work you like a pack mule until you break down physically, emotionally, or spiritually, you are surely serving the wrong Master. The God who said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” isn’t a harsh taskmaster or (getting back to my opening illustration) an overly demanding coach. He does understand a lack of blocking, and He does care deeply about any individual who pays the price for it.

Posted in Depression, Doing Good, Encouragement, God's Love, God's Will, God's Work, Human Life, Ministry, Service, Spiritual Gifts, Stewardship, Talents, Work, Worry | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment