Psalms 116:1-2: "I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live."
If we are honest today we all would admit that there are times that we feel as if the Lord is not hearing our prayers. I believe that everyone, at one time or another, feels this way.
The Psalmist is rejoicing because God has delivered him from death (verse 3). So he rejoices and gives God praise, which is the correct thing to do. When God answers our prayers, it is only right to thank Him and give Him praise (Luke 17:17-18).
However, do we thank and praise God before our prayers are answered? Often, we all fail to do so.
God hears our prayers, not because we feel He does or because our circumstances confirm that He does (for often our circumstances declare the opposite). God hears our prayers because He says He does. The Psalmist uses the word, "inclined." This word means to pay attention to and concentrate on what is being said. Think about it - when you or I pray, God gives us His undivided attention - He hears our prayers!
Chuck Smith is fond of saying that God is always working behind the scenes. This is true. We often don't see Him working, but He is there just the same, working out His plan and purpose for our lives.
So rejoice - God has inclined His ear to our prayers, and is working on our behalf. Always!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Spurgeon on THE Foundation
2 Timothy 2:19: The foundation of God standeth sure.
The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and that "Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God"; "Who Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree"; "For the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." In one word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave Him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in Jesus-this is the cardinal fact of the gospel. If this foundation were removed, what could we do? But it standeth firm as the throne of God. We know it; we rest on it; we rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to meditate upon it, and to proclaim it, while we desire to be actuated and moved by gratitude for it in every part of our life and conversation. In these days a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the atonement. Men cannot bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by experience the preciousness of this truth, will proclaim it in defiance of them confidently and unceasingly. We will neither dilute it nor change it, nor fritter it away in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a positive substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the stead of men. We cannot, dare not, give it up, for it is our life, and despite every controversy we feel that "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure."
The foundation upon which our faith rests is this, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." The great fact on which genuine faith relies is, that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and that "Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God"; "Who Himself bare our sins in His own body on the tree"; "For the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." In one word, the great pillar of the Christian's hope is substitution. The vicarious sacrifice of Christ for the guilty, Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, Christ offering up a true and proper expiatory and substitutionary sacrifice in the room, place, and stead of as many as the Father gave Him, who are known to God by name, and are recognized in their own hearts by their trusting in Jesus-this is the cardinal fact of the gospel. If this foundation were removed, what could we do? But it standeth firm as the throne of God. We know it; we rest on it; we rejoice in it; and our delight is to hold it, to meditate upon it, and to proclaim it, while we desire to be actuated and moved by gratitude for it in every part of our life and conversation. In these days a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the atonement. Men cannot bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. But we, who know by experience the preciousness of this truth, will proclaim it in defiance of them confidently and unceasingly. We will neither dilute it nor change it, nor fritter it away in any shape or fashion. It shall still be Christ, a positive substitute, bearing human guilt and suffering in the stead of men. We cannot, dare not, give it up, for it is our life, and despite every controversy we feel that "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure."
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wrestle with this for a while...
Psalms 103:17: "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children."
"Is from the eternity past to the eternity to come. It had its foundation in the eternal decrees of God; it has its security in his purpose that where it is conferred, it shall not be withdrawn. It had no beginning; it will have no end. There never was a period in the past when it was not the purpose of God to save his people; there never will be a period in the future when it will be said that his saving mercy has ceased. It would be difficult to think of a statement which would at the same time, in so few words, confirm at once the doctrine of the divine decrees, and the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
If either of these doctrines is denied, then what is here stated by the psalmist is not true: if the doctrine of the divine decrees is denied, then his purpose of mercy had a beginning, and is not "from everlasting;" if the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is denied, then his mercy has an end, and is not "to everlasting."
(from Barnes' Notes)
"Is from the eternity past to the eternity to come. It had its foundation in the eternal decrees of God; it has its security in his purpose that where it is conferred, it shall not be withdrawn. It had no beginning; it will have no end. There never was a period in the past when it was not the purpose of God to save his people; there never will be a period in the future when it will be said that his saving mercy has ceased. It would be difficult to think of a statement which would at the same time, in so few words, confirm at once the doctrine of the divine decrees, and the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
If either of these doctrines is denied, then what is here stated by the psalmist is not true: if the doctrine of the divine decrees is denied, then his purpose of mercy had a beginning, and is not "from everlasting;" if the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is denied, then his mercy has an end, and is not "to everlasting."
(from Barnes' Notes)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Prayer for a friend...
Please pray for my friend, Pastor Bill Walden, of Cornerstone Miniseries, Napa, CA. He is taking a group back to Mexico for the ongoing work they are doing there.
Pray for their safety, in both building and witnessing.
Pray for their safety, in both building and witnessing.
Spurgeon on Sifting
Amos 9:9
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, "I will sift the house of Israel."
Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord's floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to His own glory, and to thine eternal profit. The Lord Jesus will surely use the fan which is in His hand, and will divide the precious from the vile. All are not Israel that are of Israel; the heap on the barn floor is not clean provender, and hence the winnowing process must be performed.
In the sieve true weight alone has power. Husks and chaff being devoid of substance must fly before the wind, and only solid corn will remain. Observe the complete safety of the Lord's wheat; even the least grain has a promise of preservation. God Himself sifts, and therefore it is stern and terrible work; He sifts them in all places, "among all nations"; He sifts them in the most effectual manner, "like as corn is sifted in a sieve"; and yet for all this, not the smallest, lightest, or most shrivelled grain, is permitted to fall to the ground.
Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord, a shepherd would not lose one sheep, nor a jeweller one diamond, nor a mother one child, nor a man one limb of his body, nor will the Lord lose one of His redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord's, we may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus.
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, "I will sift the house of Israel."
Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord's floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to His own glory, and to thine eternal profit. The Lord Jesus will surely use the fan which is in His hand, and will divide the precious from the vile. All are not Israel that are of Israel; the heap on the barn floor is not clean provender, and hence the winnowing process must be performed.
In the sieve true weight alone has power. Husks and chaff being devoid of substance must fly before the wind, and only solid corn will remain. Observe the complete safety of the Lord's wheat; even the least grain has a promise of preservation. God Himself sifts, and therefore it is stern and terrible work; He sifts them in all places, "among all nations"; He sifts them in the most effectual manner, "like as corn is sifted in a sieve"; and yet for all this, not the smallest, lightest, or most shrivelled grain, is permitted to fall to the ground.
Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord, a shepherd would not lose one sheep, nor a jeweller one diamond, nor a mother one child, nor a man one limb of his body, nor will the Lord lose one of His redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord's, we may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Seperation
"Would that we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It makes one sad to hear Christians saying, “Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that”, thus getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in that soul which can even raise the question of how far it may go in worldly conformity." C.H. Spurgeon
Perhaps it is time to emphasize separation between the Church and the World as much as the world emphasizes separation of Church and State?
Perhaps it is time to emphasize separation between the Church and the World as much as the world emphasizes separation of Church and State?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Can It Happen Here? Chuck Colson
In China, Christians have a choice: Join a government-approved church-which is constantly monitored by the authorities-or join an underground church.
Thank heavens things like that don't happen in the West, you may be thinking. Think again. In Britain, the government has begun sticking its nose in church business, telling churches what to do.
According to the Daily Telegraph, starting next year, the British government is going to begin forcing churches and other religious institutions to hire open, practicing homosexuals. It will happen under the provisions of the so-called Equity Bill, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals or transsexuals.
The law would "cover almost all church employees," according to Deputy Equities Minster Maria Eagle. "The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than full equality are few and far between," Eagle said. Church groups, she said, "cannot claim that everything they run is outside the scope of anti-discrimination law."
What's next-regulating the content of sermons? I'm not kidding. According to Eagle, "Members of faith groups have a role in making the argument in their own communities for greater" acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people.
Maybe it would simplify things if the government simply wrote the sermons for the pastors.
The Equity Law could lead to some interesting situations. What happens if a church, under pressure, hires a gay youth minister-and orders him to teach kids about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior? And I can only imagine the reaction of a British mosque when the religion police orders it to hire a lesbian secretary.
Neil Addison, a Catholic barrister who is an expert on religious discrimination laws, told the Telegraph that the Equity Law "is a threat to religious liberty." "What we are losing," he said, "is the right for to make free choices."
He's right. To put it more bluntly, the government is beginning to run the churches. And if they succeed, it will be the end of religious freedom in Britain.
Legislation like the Equity Law should concern Americans. So-called "social reforms" that begin in Europe soon wash up on our own shores.
And then, what will happen to the Church? Will we put our congregations under the authority of Caesar? Or will we resist and, if need be, abandon our elegant buildings and, like our faithful brethren in China, form underground churches?
The Bible teaches that the followers of Christ will be tested. We ought to be in prayer for the church in Great Britain, asking God to guide it as the government bears down.
Second, we ought to be preparing for similar laws here. Many churches are already under great pressure by homosexual activists to violate their own teachings under the guise of "fairness"-a much abused word.
This, by the way, is not a hysterical rant. The threat is very real.
Third, we ought to remind our neighbors that the First Amendment was written not just to protect the government from churches, but more so to protect churches from the government.
Thank heavens things like that don't happen in the West, you may be thinking. Think again. In Britain, the government has begun sticking its nose in church business, telling churches what to do.
According to the Daily Telegraph, starting next year, the British government is going to begin forcing churches and other religious institutions to hire open, practicing homosexuals. It will happen under the provisions of the so-called Equity Bill, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals or transsexuals.
The law would "cover almost all church employees," according to Deputy Equities Minster Maria Eagle. "The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than full equality are few and far between," Eagle said. Church groups, she said, "cannot claim that everything they run is outside the scope of anti-discrimination law."
What's next-regulating the content of sermons? I'm not kidding. According to Eagle, "Members of faith groups have a role in making the argument in their own communities for greater" acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people.
Maybe it would simplify things if the government simply wrote the sermons for the pastors.
The Equity Law could lead to some interesting situations. What happens if a church, under pressure, hires a gay youth minister-and orders him to teach kids about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior? And I can only imagine the reaction of a British mosque when the religion police orders it to hire a lesbian secretary.
Neil Addison, a Catholic barrister who is an expert on religious discrimination laws, told the Telegraph that the Equity Law "is a threat to religious liberty." "What we are losing," he said, "is the right for to make free choices."
He's right. To put it more bluntly, the government is beginning to run the churches. And if they succeed, it will be the end of religious freedom in Britain.
Legislation like the Equity Law should concern Americans. So-called "social reforms" that begin in Europe soon wash up on our own shores.
And then, what will happen to the Church? Will we put our congregations under the authority of Caesar? Or will we resist and, if need be, abandon our elegant buildings and, like our faithful brethren in China, form underground churches?
The Bible teaches that the followers of Christ will be tested. We ought to be in prayer for the church in Great Britain, asking God to guide it as the government bears down.
Second, we ought to be preparing for similar laws here. Many churches are already under great pressure by homosexual activists to violate their own teachings under the guise of "fairness"-a much abused word.
This, by the way, is not a hysterical rant. The threat is very real.
Third, we ought to remind our neighbors that the First Amendment was written not just to protect the government from churches, but more so to protect churches from the government.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Quotes for Today
"I thought I finally had life all figured out but there was a flag on the play." Charlie Brown
"Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread." D. T. Niles
"The world is looking for better methods, but God is looking for better men." E. M. Bounds
"The Only Thing Necessary For Evil to Triumph is for Good Men to do Nothing." Edmund Burke
"God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him." Jim Elliot
"Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread." D. T. Niles
"The world is looking for better methods, but God is looking for better men." E. M. Bounds
"The Only Thing Necessary For Evil to Triumph is for Good Men to do Nothing." Edmund Burke
"God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with him." Jim Elliot
Monday, June 15, 2009
Wisdom from Spurgeon
Daniel 9:8: O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face . . . because we have sinned against Thee.
A deep sense and clear sight of sin, its heinousness, and the punishment which it deserves, should make us lie low before the throne. We have sinned as Christians. Alas! that it should be so. Favoured as we have been, we have yet been ungrateful: privileged beyond most, we have not brought forth fruit in proportion. Who is there, although he may long have been engaged in the Christian warfare, that will not blush when he looks back upon the past? As for our days before we were regenerated, may they be forgiven and forgotten; but since then, though we have not sinned as before, yet we have sinned against light and against love-light which has really penetrated our minds, and love in which we have rejoiced. Oh, the atrocity of the sin of a pardoned soul! An unpardoned sinner sins cheaply compared with the sin of one of God's own elect ones, who has had communion with Christ and leaned his head upon Jesus' bosom. Look at David! Many will talk of his sin, but I pray you look at his repentance, and hear his broken bones, as each one of them moans out its dolorous confession! Mark his tears, as they fall upon the ground, and the deep sighs with which he accompanies the softened music of his harp! We have erred: let us, therefore, seek the spirit of penitence. Look, again, at Peter! We speak much of Peter's denying his Master. Remember, it is written, "He wept bitterly." Have we no denials of our Lord to be lamented with tears? Alas! these sins of ours, before and after conversion, would consign us to the place of inextinguishable fire if it were not for the sovereign mercy which has made us to differ, snatching us like brands from the burning. My soul, bow down under a sense of thy natural sinfulness, and worship thy God. Admire the grace which saves thee-the mercy which spares thee-the love which pardons thee!
A deep sense and clear sight of sin, its heinousness, and the punishment which it deserves, should make us lie low before the throne. We have sinned as Christians. Alas! that it should be so. Favoured as we have been, we have yet been ungrateful: privileged beyond most, we have not brought forth fruit in proportion. Who is there, although he may long have been engaged in the Christian warfare, that will not blush when he looks back upon the past? As for our days before we were regenerated, may they be forgiven and forgotten; but since then, though we have not sinned as before, yet we have sinned against light and against love-light which has really penetrated our minds, and love in which we have rejoiced. Oh, the atrocity of the sin of a pardoned soul! An unpardoned sinner sins cheaply compared with the sin of one of God's own elect ones, who has had communion with Christ and leaned his head upon Jesus' bosom. Look at David! Many will talk of his sin, but I pray you look at his repentance, and hear his broken bones, as each one of them moans out its dolorous confession! Mark his tears, as they fall upon the ground, and the deep sighs with which he accompanies the softened music of his harp! We have erred: let us, therefore, seek the spirit of penitence. Look, again, at Peter! We speak much of Peter's denying his Master. Remember, it is written, "He wept bitterly." Have we no denials of our Lord to be lamented with tears? Alas! these sins of ours, before and after conversion, would consign us to the place of inextinguishable fire if it were not for the sovereign mercy which has made us to differ, snatching us like brands from the burning. My soul, bow down under a sense of thy natural sinfulness, and worship thy God. Admire the grace which saves thee-the mercy which spares thee-the love which pardons thee!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
False Ministers, 2
Shallow preaching that does not grapple with the terrible fact of man’s sinfulness and guilt, calling on “all men everywhere to repent,” results in shallow conversions; and so we have a myriad of glib-tongued professors today who give no evidence of regeneration whatever. Prating of salvation by grace, they manifest no grace in their lives. Loudly declaring they are justified by faith alone, they fail to remember that “faith without works is dead”; and that justification by works before men is not to be ignored as though it were in contradiction to justification by faith before God. We need to reread James 3 and let its serious message sink deep into our hearts, that it may control our lives. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” No man can truly believe in Christ, who does not first repent. Nor will his repentance end when he has saving faith, but the more he knows God as he goes on through the years, the deeper will that repentance become. A servant of Christ said: “I repented before I knew the meaning of the word. I have repented far more since than I did then.”
- Harry Ironside (from ‘Except Ye Repent’)
1876 – 1951
- Harry Ironside (from ‘Except Ye Repent’)
1876 – 1951
Saturday, June 13, 2009
False Ministers
The apostles of Satan are not abortionists and sex traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers. Thousands of those who occupy our post-modern pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, but have turned aside from the Truth and have given heed unto fables. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, they minimize it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to “flee from the wrath to come” they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to send any of His own creatures to eternal torment. Instead of declaring that “without shedding of blood is no remission,” they merely hold up Christ as the great Exemplar and exhort their hearers to “follow in His steps.” Of them it must be said, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” ( Romans 10:3).
Their message may sound very plausible and their aim appear very praiseworthy, yet we read of them— “for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves (imitating) into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing [not to be wondered at] if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
In addition to the fact that today hundreds of churches are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we also have to face the additional fact that the majority of people in these churches are very unlikely to learn the Truth themselves.
A. W. Pink (1886–1952)
Their message may sound very plausible and their aim appear very praiseworthy, yet we read of them— “for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves (imitating) into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing [not to be wondered at] if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
In addition to the fact that today hundreds of churches are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we also have to face the additional fact that the majority of people in these churches are very unlikely to learn the Truth themselves.
A. W. Pink (1886–1952)
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday's Spurgeon
Psalm 126:3: The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.
Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed them. But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state, will come forward joyously, and say, "I will speak, not about myself, but to the honour of my God. He hath brought me up out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. The Lord hath done great things for me, whereof I am glad." Such an abstract of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion. In looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has brought us "out into a wealthy place." The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life's song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."
Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed them. But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state, will come forward joyously, and say, "I will speak, not about myself, but to the honour of my God. He hath brought me up out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. The Lord hath done great things for me, whereof I am glad." Such an abstract of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion. In looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has brought us "out into a wealthy place." The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life's song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Media on Obama...
http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=ydaG6UprkU
"We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic... we stand for something. In a way, Obama's standing above the country, above the world. He's sort of God. He's going to bring all different sides together." --Newsweek's Evan Thomas on the June 5 "Hardball with Chris Matthews" about Obama's upcoming D-Day Anniversary speech at Normandy, comparing Obama to the 'parochial' Ronald Reagan.
"We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic... we stand for something. In a way, Obama's standing above the country, above the world. He's sort of God. He's going to bring all different sides together." --Newsweek's Evan Thomas on the June 5 "Hardball with Chris Matthews" about Obama's upcoming D-Day Anniversary speech at Normandy, comparing Obama to the 'parochial' Ronald Reagan.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Wisdom from Spurgeon
Psalm 55:22: Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.
Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place to do for Him that which He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy He will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in intruding upon His province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the "broken cistern" instead of to the "fountain;" a sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon Him, and are "careful for nothing" because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him, and strengthen us against much temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."
Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place to do for Him that which He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy He will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in intruding upon His province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the "broken cistern" instead of to the "fountain;" a sin which was laid against Israel of old. Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon Him, and are "careful for nothing" because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him, and strengthen us against much temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
A Conversation with an Unhappy Sheep, Joe McKeever
"You don't like your pastor. What else is new?"
"You say that like there's a lot of it going around."
"It's like a plague. I've been thinking of going back and reading Exodus where God sent the plagues on Egypt to see if this was one of them. Frogs in the street, blood in the Nile, unhappiness in the pews."
"Are you dismissing the subject? You're so pro-pastor that you can't see sometimes a church has genuine issues with a preacher and he needs to leave?"
"Not at all. I'm just voicing my unhappiness with the whole business. It hurts to see pastors and congregations at odds with one another."
"Do you want to hear my side of this matter? Do you have time?"
"I can make the time. This is important."
We sat there in my office quietly for a moment, then I said, "But first, would you let me tell you something on my heart? This is not about you or your church, but about the whole issue of the relationships of pastors and congregations."
"I'm a good listener," he said. "Shoot."
"One of the primary reasons for so much unhappiness in the pews with the preachers is faulty understanding of what God intends. I've come up with four half-truths which most church members believe. When we believe wrong, as you know, we do wrong and no good comes of it."
He was listening well, so I went on.
"Let me name all four. One, the church hires a pastor. Two, the church can vote him in and can vote him out. Three, his job is to serve the people. And four, if the congregation is not happy with him, he has failed and needs to leave. Does this sound familiar?"
He sat up. "That's pretty well how we do it. And you're calling these half-truths?"
"The best way to explain why they are faulty is to turn it around and list the truth, the way God actually meant things to be."
"Four truths to answer the four half-truths?" he smiled.
I said, "Well, five, actually: One, the church belongs to Christ. Not to the congregation or the denomination. Definitely not to the pastor and most definitely not to the deacons or elders."
"Okay," he said. "No problem there."
"Second, the pastor's job is to serve Christ."
"Hold it," he said. "I thought his job was to serve the church. Didn't Jesus tell Peter to 'feed my flock'?"
"He did. But in doing that, Peter would be serving the Lord, obeying Him. There is definitely a sense in which the shepherd is serving the sheep. But notice, the shepherd does not take orders from the sheep. He takes orders from the owner of the sheep as to the care and tending of the flock."
"I need to give that some thought," he said. "But go on."
"You might recall that Paul said, 'We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.' That's 2 Corinthians 4:5. Notice that he's your servant, but 'for Jesus' sake.' Which means he takes orders from Jesus as to how to serve you. That's important."
"Okay. What else?"
"Third, just that point--the pastor is a servant. Not the lord of the church, not the boss, or ruler, not the CEO or anything else people come up with. He's a servant. That's the meaning of the word 'minister.'"
He was quiet. I continued.
"Fourth, God chooses and sends the pastor. The choice of the minister for a particular church is His. We can complicate it anyway we please--with recommendations and resumes and search committees and bishops making assignments--but biblically, the Lord calls the shots."
"I'm not sure about that one," he said. "It seems to me He gives us a lot of leeway to find the guy who fits our congregation best, the one with the qualifications we feel we need, that sort of thing."
"And that's how we get in trouble," I said. "The sheep do not have a clue what they need in a shepherd. They do not see the storm approaching or the danger lurking over the next hillside. Left to themselves, sheep would always choose the shepherd who caters to their every want."
"I can tell you don't think a lot of pastor search committees surveying the congregation to see what they want in a preacher."
"Oh, I think a lot of it. I think it is a complete waste of time and leads the people to faulty conclusions, that the pastor is their choice and is there to satisfy them."
"What's the fifth 'truth'?"
"You're going to love this one. Fifth, the Lord does not care one iota whether the sheep approve of His choice of a shepherd. The shepherd is there at His pleasure, not the congregation's."
"So," he said, "if the congregation feels there is a mismatch between us and this preacher, tough cookies. Is that what you're saying?"
"Probably. If there are moral or ethical or biblical reasons for getting rid of a pastor, the leadership of the congregation should step up and do the job. It's a difficult task and it's probably going to make a lot of people unhappy with them, but they are the leaders. If the preacher absolutely should be removed, they ought to do it."
He was quiet, taking all this in, and a little restless.
He said, "It has to be something big? It can't be that we don't like his style? Or that he sometimes mangles the King's English? And that his wife is unfriendly?"
I said, "You folks have lost your way."
"Say what?"
"You have forgotten the church is not a social club. This is not a popularity contest. The pastor and his wife were not sent by God to be the congregation's mascots or the favorite guests at the civic clubs.
"The pastor was sent to shepherd the Lord's flock. He was sent to represent God, to preach His word, and to train the people for being salt and light in the community.
"The church is not a human enterprise and we are not running a business. The church was never intended as a democracy where the majority calls the shots. The church is Christ's body. He is its Head and we are individual cells in it. We are to obey Him. The way to do that is to read His Word and then follow it.
"I grant you a preacher should use proper English. It's distracting when he's preaching and he says 'John and me were visiting the other day.' But that's all it is--distracting. If he's opening the Word and telling what God has said, if he is a man of prayer and is sincerely working to lead the Lord's people, then cut him a little slack, for Pete's sake."
He didn't say anything.
"It's not just you or your church, it's like an epidemic in our land. People on the pastor's back because they don't like his sermons, they don't find his wife friendly, his children are unruly sometimes, the pastor doesn't give enough respect to the older members, he is introducing too much change into the church, he uses too much humor or tells too many stories or doesn't wear a tie. It's enough to drive a man crazy.
"None of this has the first thing to do with anything," I said.
"The Lord did not send the pastor to make the church happy. He sent the pastor to make the church healthy and Himself happy. I can't put it any stronger than that."
I finished, "Sorry for the outburst. You can see I feel pretty strongly about this."
He said, "I still want to talk with you about our church situation sometime. I grant you that it would be wrong to run the pastor off, but maybe you could help him do a better job of relating to the older people."
I said, "If I can, I'll be happy to. Especially since I happen to be in that age group myself.
"Before you leave, could I give you something? This is a verse of scripture I'd like you to read and think about over the next few days. Acts 20:28 may be one of the most important texts in the Bible for what your church is going through right now.
"Paul is talking to the pastors or elders of Ephesus. He tells them, 'Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
He agreed to read that scripture several times and think about it.
If he does, I'm confident he will be in for a realignment of his attitude about the pastor's role in the church. Scripture has a way of doing that to all of us.
Almost every one of the five points we talked about are found in that one verse. The Lord owns the church. The pastor's job is to obey the Lord by shepherding the flock. God chooses the pastor. How the flock feels about the man God sends at any particular time is irrelevant.
I called him a week later and we met at McDonald's for coffee. I said, "Now, let's talk about whatever it was that brought you to my office the other day..."
Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt.
"You say that like there's a lot of it going around."
"It's like a plague. I've been thinking of going back and reading Exodus where God sent the plagues on Egypt to see if this was one of them. Frogs in the street, blood in the Nile, unhappiness in the pews."
"Are you dismissing the subject? You're so pro-pastor that you can't see sometimes a church has genuine issues with a preacher and he needs to leave?"
"Not at all. I'm just voicing my unhappiness with the whole business. It hurts to see pastors and congregations at odds with one another."
"Do you want to hear my side of this matter? Do you have time?"
"I can make the time. This is important."
We sat there in my office quietly for a moment, then I said, "But first, would you let me tell you something on my heart? This is not about you or your church, but about the whole issue of the relationships of pastors and congregations."
"I'm a good listener," he said. "Shoot."
"One of the primary reasons for so much unhappiness in the pews with the preachers is faulty understanding of what God intends. I've come up with four half-truths which most church members believe. When we believe wrong, as you know, we do wrong and no good comes of it."
He was listening well, so I went on.
"Let me name all four. One, the church hires a pastor. Two, the church can vote him in and can vote him out. Three, his job is to serve the people. And four, if the congregation is not happy with him, he has failed and needs to leave. Does this sound familiar?"
He sat up. "That's pretty well how we do it. And you're calling these half-truths?"
"The best way to explain why they are faulty is to turn it around and list the truth, the way God actually meant things to be."
"Four truths to answer the four half-truths?" he smiled.
I said, "Well, five, actually: One, the church belongs to Christ. Not to the congregation or the denomination. Definitely not to the pastor and most definitely not to the deacons or elders."
"Okay," he said. "No problem there."
"Second, the pastor's job is to serve Christ."
"Hold it," he said. "I thought his job was to serve the church. Didn't Jesus tell Peter to 'feed my flock'?"
"He did. But in doing that, Peter would be serving the Lord, obeying Him. There is definitely a sense in which the shepherd is serving the sheep. But notice, the shepherd does not take orders from the sheep. He takes orders from the owner of the sheep as to the care and tending of the flock."
"I need to give that some thought," he said. "But go on."
"You might recall that Paul said, 'We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.' That's 2 Corinthians 4:5. Notice that he's your servant, but 'for Jesus' sake.' Which means he takes orders from Jesus as to how to serve you. That's important."
"Okay. What else?"
"Third, just that point--the pastor is a servant. Not the lord of the church, not the boss, or ruler, not the CEO or anything else people come up with. He's a servant. That's the meaning of the word 'minister.'"
He was quiet. I continued.
"Fourth, God chooses and sends the pastor. The choice of the minister for a particular church is His. We can complicate it anyway we please--with recommendations and resumes and search committees and bishops making assignments--but biblically, the Lord calls the shots."
"I'm not sure about that one," he said. "It seems to me He gives us a lot of leeway to find the guy who fits our congregation best, the one with the qualifications we feel we need, that sort of thing."
"And that's how we get in trouble," I said. "The sheep do not have a clue what they need in a shepherd. They do not see the storm approaching or the danger lurking over the next hillside. Left to themselves, sheep would always choose the shepherd who caters to their every want."
"I can tell you don't think a lot of pastor search committees surveying the congregation to see what they want in a preacher."
"Oh, I think a lot of it. I think it is a complete waste of time and leads the people to faulty conclusions, that the pastor is their choice and is there to satisfy them."
"What's the fifth 'truth'?"
"You're going to love this one. Fifth, the Lord does not care one iota whether the sheep approve of His choice of a shepherd. The shepherd is there at His pleasure, not the congregation's."
"So," he said, "if the congregation feels there is a mismatch between us and this preacher, tough cookies. Is that what you're saying?"
"Probably. If there are moral or ethical or biblical reasons for getting rid of a pastor, the leadership of the congregation should step up and do the job. It's a difficult task and it's probably going to make a lot of people unhappy with them, but they are the leaders. If the preacher absolutely should be removed, they ought to do it."
He was quiet, taking all this in, and a little restless.
He said, "It has to be something big? It can't be that we don't like his style? Or that he sometimes mangles the King's English? And that his wife is unfriendly?"
I said, "You folks have lost your way."
"Say what?"
"You have forgotten the church is not a social club. This is not a popularity contest. The pastor and his wife were not sent by God to be the congregation's mascots or the favorite guests at the civic clubs.
"The pastor was sent to shepherd the Lord's flock. He was sent to represent God, to preach His word, and to train the people for being salt and light in the community.
"The church is not a human enterprise and we are not running a business. The church was never intended as a democracy where the majority calls the shots. The church is Christ's body. He is its Head and we are individual cells in it. We are to obey Him. The way to do that is to read His Word and then follow it.
"I grant you a preacher should use proper English. It's distracting when he's preaching and he says 'John and me were visiting the other day.' But that's all it is--distracting. If he's opening the Word and telling what God has said, if he is a man of prayer and is sincerely working to lead the Lord's people, then cut him a little slack, for Pete's sake."
He didn't say anything.
"It's not just you or your church, it's like an epidemic in our land. People on the pastor's back because they don't like his sermons, they don't find his wife friendly, his children are unruly sometimes, the pastor doesn't give enough respect to the older members, he is introducing too much change into the church, he uses too much humor or tells too many stories or doesn't wear a tie. It's enough to drive a man crazy.
"None of this has the first thing to do with anything," I said.
"The Lord did not send the pastor to make the church happy. He sent the pastor to make the church healthy and Himself happy. I can't put it any stronger than that."
I finished, "Sorry for the outburst. You can see I feel pretty strongly about this."
He said, "I still want to talk with you about our church situation sometime. I grant you that it would be wrong to run the pastor off, but maybe you could help him do a better job of relating to the older people."
I said, "If I can, I'll be happy to. Especially since I happen to be in that age group myself.
"Before you leave, could I give you something? This is a verse of scripture I'd like you to read and think about over the next few days. Acts 20:28 may be one of the most important texts in the Bible for what your church is going through right now.
"Paul is talking to the pastors or elders of Ephesus. He tells them, 'Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
He agreed to read that scripture several times and think about it.
If he does, I'm confident he will be in for a realignment of his attitude about the pastor's role in the church. Scripture has a way of doing that to all of us.
Almost every one of the five points we talked about are found in that one verse. The Lord owns the church. The pastor's job is to obey the Lord by shepherding the flock. God chooses the pastor. How the flock feels about the man God sends at any particular time is irrelevant.
I called him a week later and we met at McDonald's for coffee. I said, "Now, let's talk about whatever it was that brought you to my office the other day..."
Dr. Joe McKeever is a Preacher, Cartoonist, and the Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans. Visit him at joemckeever.com/mt.
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