The Unused Tool

As a bivocational pastor, I have the privilege of pastoring a rural church and working at Autozone. It is an interesting vantage point on life here in the so called "Bible Belt". Over the last several years of working in this way I have seen many people, get themselves into trouble while working on their cars and trucks.

Broken flanges, bolts, parts, you name it I have seen it come through our doors. Many times these broken things are accompanied by anger and frustration which a lot of times could be avoided, if the worker had just used the correct tool to repair their vehicles, in the first place.

I have been thinking about this over the last few weeks as I prepared to finish a sermon series on 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and I could not help but see that Christians  many times find themselves frustrated and anxious like a misguided "do it yourselfer".

We as believers in Christ as Lord, and Savior of our lives, have in fact been given everything we need, in the Scriptures,  to be, "equipped for every good work." Sadly though, more and more Christians have neglected this tool all together, and find themselves overwhelmed by the situations God has placed them in for their growth in faith and devotion to Him. We have been given the full and complete Revelation of God, that shows us how we can be made righteous in His Son, and how we are to live faithfully and obediently, "working out our salvation," the problem is we repeatedly reject and neglect this our most powerful tool for facing the adversary who is seeking to destroy our lives and testimonies.

So I challenge you brothers and sisters in Christ, know that you will face temptations and trials, but know that you have been given everything you will ever need to overcome and succeed in being obedient to Christ, if you would just use it. Remember even our Savior in His perfect example used the Scripture to overcome the snares of the devil. If it was good enough to be trusted and used by Him, what's stopping you?

The Standard That Is Scripture

How do you know if you've been successful? How do you know if you have done, or are doing the right thing? The answers to these questions often seem to be different among people, and with sometimes context drives the answers to these questions. How then can one claim to know what is right or what is wrong, if the standard keeps changing.

Take for example the thoughts of the psychological profession on sexual orientation. In the 1950s the American Psychological Association stated that homosexuality was a disorder that required treatment, now 60 years later it is an acceptable form of sexual expression. If the answers to questions of morality, continually shift is there any true moral stance? How can one know what really is right or wrong?

These are existential questions for those living in the heyday of a post modern secular culture, that strike to how one views the entire world in which they live.  Thankfully for Christians, though, there is a standard set by which they might know when they are right, and are being successful. The Canon.

God in His perfect providence inspired the 66 books of the Bible and protected them within the hearts of religious leaders over thousands of years so that they might be brought together so that people could know God and His unchanging standard for all of humanity; a standard based on His perfection.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 records that, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

So my question for you who read this today is: Do you realize that there is an answer for what is right and wrong( It is found within the self revelation of God in the Bible and like God its truth never changes.); and will you let this do standard or Canon be the measuring rod it was created to be in your life to bring a deeper more intimate relationship with God, through His Son Jesus the Christ who came as a ransom for all so that they might spend eternity with Him, in paradise, and live now in abundance in spite of trying times?

Are We the New Hebrews?

I am thankful that God has seen fit to let me be born, raised, live and serve in the Bible belt. It is true beyond a doubt that people live differently down here. Southerners are proud of our heritage, even some of the stains that are on it because it shows how God's grace can lead to change even the hardest and malevolent hearts and ways of life.

Part of that heritage is our "religion" just about everyone I know had a drug problem coming up, they were drug to church by parents and grandparents alike, and we are thankful that we don't have to go more than 3 miles to find a church.(This is probably because many would not go if they had to drive any further)

Lately I have been reflecting on the heritage of my family, my church and our convention. In each area I see a great legacy of faith taught by forebears to those who would come behind them and I am thankful. It was with this on my heart and mind that God decided to challenge with a question that was first preserved thousands of years ago, and ai had to share it with others because it has consumed me over the last 12 hours.

As I was reading my Bible last night after church I stumbled onto Hebrews 5, which not a part of my reading plan, In fact I have no idea how it came up as the passage I was last on in my Logos App. When I got to verse 12 I was stopped dead in my tracks by the idea of stagnation in faith and knowledge of God. It was as I pondered the context of this passage that I realized so many correlations between 1st century Hebrewws and 21st century Southern American Christians. Think with me on this now.

1st Century Jews Have ----------------------21st Century Southern Christians have

a legacy of faith of the patriarachs.----- A legacy of faith from parents/grandparents

Experience with miracles of God.------------------God's miraculous provision

The temple with them.-------------------------------A church on every corner

Access to religious education.----------------Even better access to religious education


Saadly though the similarities do not end there. Just as the Hebrews were admonished for not being ready for theological meat in due to their lack of knowledge, concern, and devotion, we here that buckle the Bible belt so to speak, seem to suffer the same problems. We have been given great blessings by God to stir us to a deeper more fruitful relay ship with Him but have continually like the Jews of the 1st century seem to have traded what is best for what is easiest and ultimately unfruitful.

So my question for all who would read this and myself is, are we ready for the spiritual meat that God desires for us so that we might be better laborers in a field that is white unto the harvest, and if not what are you going to do about it?

Think about it, if we saw a 4 year old sucking formula from a bottle we would think that he should be way past that, and look poorly on his parents. When will we look at ourselves and realize we should be way past the milk of the gospel and get to the meat and realize it is not our Father's fault that we aren't already, but ours, because Scripture is clear that He would give us meat if only we were ready to tolerate it.

Quick Hits

I realize it's been four months since I last posted and both of my followers are craving for my thoughts, but honestly I am a bivocational pastor with an 11 month old son, I don't have time to post in depth articles that are more my style so here's a few quick things of note, hope they help and you enjoy. Gay Marriage: is unbiblical and wrong no matter who supports it. I know President Obama is a smart man and I believe a kind man. These qualities do not automatically make his thoughts morally acceptable. Even if it were not a biblical issue it would still be a moral, and procreation issue. That being said, Christians must let their only offense in this debate be the truthful difference of the gospel. We must also not only confront this assault on biblical marriage, but also the assault of divorce that is a problem within our churches just as bad as it is without, for if we don't our acrimony has all the credibility of Fat Albert telling people to lose weight. Hey Hey Hey! This leads me to my second point: Just because someone with authority endorses or allows something dies not mean that Scripture endorses it. This is true of pastors, presidents, parents, (no alliteration intended) bosses, the only blessing you need to worry about isvtheblessing that comes from obedience to God's revealed will through Scripture. People make mistakes and get things wrong, your faith and service is due to the perfectly righteous God who made His desires for you known through His inerrant (read perfect) word. This does not mean kids should disobey their parents or employees, their bosses etc. Just that they don't always have to do what is allowed if Scripture speaks against it. Finally, I know at there are many of my friends who might read this who are hurting, please know that even during your most sorrowful time of isolation our God and Father is right their with you working all things together for your good according to His purposes. (Rom. 8:28) He is even now working in your situation so that you might be able to better love and represent Him as perseverance performs it's perfect work making you complete for every good work. (James 1:2-3) Pease know that I am praying for each one of you who will read this and will be happy to do all I can to assist you on the road God has given you as I continue to walk this rural route to righteousness He has given me.

Decision Points, A great Choice:

Decision Points , by George W. Bush is a memoir of sorts by the former President of the United States.  While it is not put together chronologically it does give the reader a great idea of how this controversial leader grew to be the man he is and how he made the major decision in his life giving the reader a fantastic insight  into his life both a private man and a public leader.                                                                                                                                              While the nonchronolgical format of the book makes it a little more difficult to read tha a story that follows events as they happen Decision Points is able to overcome this difficulty by not taking on minute decisions from all over the former president's life but by examining the factors principled underpinnings of each decision discussed within its pages. This makes it an unique memoir which only furthers the book's appeal to a wider audience.          Overall I felt that Decision Points was an  excellent book that could have been made better with a more convertional layout but was not too diffuicult to follow for any average reader.      I recived this book from Waterbrook Multnomah in exhcange for this review.

The Brotherhood of Firefighters

A week ago today I was in the midst of a smoke filled building on my hands and knees fighting controllable fires and theatrical smoke with people I did not even know. It was simply some of the most fun I have ever had in my life. Call me crazy if you want but firefighters love to be where the action is, and last weekend was wall to wall action.

A little background is in order I am firefighter 531 of Calhoun Fire Department in McMinn County Tennessee, I was dubbed "Preacher" before a single brother had ever heard me preach. As a part of the Department I took a class in which people from all over the county came together and were trained in basics of firefighting by some great guys in the local "paid" department. It was while we were taking this class that I really got to know some of these guys well and developed friendships and thought I knew what it meant to be a part of the "brotherhood of firefighters".

It turns out I did not know half of the extent of the camraderie firefighters feel toward one another. This is how I learned: During our last week of class which included a stressful final and a trip to the academy a fellow firefighter in our county had an atv accident in which he sustained severe trauma and eventually succumbed to his injuries. The firefighter's name was Zach Shultz and while I did not know him at all I could tell that he had an enormous impact on the community at large and specifically the rescue squad of our county. What I did not know what the impact he would have on firefighters from all over the state who did not even know this young man existed until he had already died.

Flash forward a bit to this past weekend. Our group of cadets from McMinn County was a part of a large class of cadets from all over the State of Tennessee at the academy. During the course of the weekend we placed our wellbeing into the hands of complete strangers during training evolutions when all we knew was they were firefighting rookies just like us. It turns out that the fire ground was not the only place they would support us though and it was off the ground that it mattered the most.

At the completion of our class those that completed the requirements were given a certificate and that is when it happened the moment that revealed the true brotherhood of firefighters. During the closing session one of my brothers in the McMinn County Department stood up and played for our class, "The Last Call of Zack Shultz." For those of you dont know the last call of a firefighter is where they inform the others of his passing via the emergency alert system we all use to respond to calls. This one was special because it was not only a county dispatcher reading numbers off of a computer screen but one of Zach's friends playing tribute to him one last time.

It was as this call was just beginning as the "tones dropped" that the firefighters all around us that never knew Zack rose from their seats, removed their hats, and stood at attention to salute this brother they never knew, and support the brothers they just met. I cannot tell you how deafening and encouraging the silence was and how much it meant to even me a guy who never knew the deceased to know that we were a part of something so much grander than just our individual departments, but I can tell you that I will never forget it as long as I live.

It is this brotherhood that makes what we do easier, that even though we may hound each other to death as if we hated each other between calls, we know that when those tones drop and the trucks start rolling, or even when we are dealing with the grief of a lost brother or a disastrous wreck or fire, we are a family of firefighters who are the only ones who understand fully what we see and do on a regular basis.

Now I truly understand what they meant when they said I was joining a brotherhood, and I have never been prouder to be apart of it.

The Most Surprising Uplifting Part of My Day

If you are reading this I beg that you will not just hear my words, but my heart that underlies the words I am using to describe this surprising, uplifting, and paradigm shifting experience that I had at a nursing home today with a group from the church.

First, a little background is in order. As I was growing up I only knew three grandparents, my two paternal grandparents and my maternal grandmother, and both my paternal grandparents spent their last years of of their lives in nursing homes. My grandfather was stricken with Alzheimer's disease around the time I was coming through middle school, and sadly after a couple years he lost the control of his faculties and my family was without alternative for his care but to put him in a nursing home.  My grandmother fell to a couple of strokes and was put into a nursing home with control of her faculties just unable to fully take care of herself on her own and was placed in a nursing home until ultimately a massive stroke took her life.

Because of these experiences a nursing home is not the kind of place I enjoy going and to be honest with you I have a jaded perception of because of my history with them. My family basically visited my grandfather and saw with each visit a man further and further gone mentally, physically, and emotionally even though he sat just before us. Even to a lesser degree the manor that my grandmother went to while great and incredibly helpful was ultimately reduced in my mind to the place my "Buddie" went to ultimately die.  This led to a more than apprehensive feeling toward leading worship services at the Magnolia Manor of Marion County as a part of Mount Carmel.

Today was the day for the Mount Carmel family to go the nursing home and for me to bring a sermonette for the residents who would come to the chapel service, it was also the first time I have been to a nursing home since my grandmother passed away several years ago. I've kicked around for weeks in my head what I might say, and prayed constantly for God to speak to me so that He might speak through me for these disabled men and women who in my opinion, however coarse, were just waiting to die.

Well as usual God provided right on time, He directed me to a wonderfully encouraging passage from Phillippians chapter four and laid wonderful music on the hearts of the teenagers and some of the others who went along to love on these people. This trip that I had been aprrehensive about at best and dreading at worst turned out to be one of the most uplifting worship experiences of my life. These folks whom I had prematurely written off as waiting to die were full of the life God has left them to live and were excited about people, especially young people coming to see them and even more excited about the ability to sing the praises of the Godd through whose hands passed their afflictions. 

I know that God had this day marked out for me specifically for the purpose of reforming my hard heartedness toward these wonderful people who happen to be disabled. I had gone wondering how God would be able to use me, someone who honestly did not like nursing homes to bless those "stuck" in one, and came away completely uplifted by their joy even among physical problems and the loneliness that must be a part of their living conditions. While I went striving in spite of myself to be a blessing God used a group of people many, including myself, would have only have pity on, to bless me and the group from the church beyond anything I can ever remember.

I beg those of you reading this remember that the ways of God almighty are not our ways and are far better,  those we mean to bless may very well be the ones who bless us mightily. Those whom you might not be able to see a purpose for may fulfill their purpose to have an enormous impact on your life, for God is perfect in His wisdom, and mercy, and love for us and works all things together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purposes even when we couldn't think of any way he could.