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.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger? A good Idea

Dinner with a perfect stranger is a great little book that is similar to The Shack in its premise but without the nonbiblical ideas.  David Gregory does a very good job of exploring apologetics in a way that promotes evangelism.

A great easy read I would recommend this book for readers of all levels and every person in the church from a youth to an adult could benefit and enjoy this read.

I received this book fro free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Love and War: A Battle To Read...But worth it!

Love and War is a collaborative effort by John Eldredge and his wife Staci to write a book for couples looking to strengthen their marriage and commitment to one another. I have read some of John's other writings and have enjoyed and was blessed to have learned a little about myself, specifically from his book Wild at Heart, but I just could not get into this book.

I am a 29 year old man who has been married for almost 3 years and have a three month old son, this book was pointed to me and people like me and yet it just did not hit its target with me. The chapters tackled great issues, and contained some great insights to the importance of marriage and the spiritual battles that ensue because of marriage's most important symbolism, but the writing seemed choppy and with the switch back and forth between the husband and wife perspective just seemed to break it up even further.

All of my criticism is stylistic, substantively this is a very good book that deals with one of the most prevalent issues in western society, marriage. I would recommend it for all married people and even for those thinking about getting married in the near future so that they might know just a little better what is in store for them.

I received this book from WaterbrookMultnomah for free in exchange for this review.

My Son In Whom I Am Well Pleased.

On June 7th of 2011 at 12:56 pm, my baby boy David Samuel Jenkins was born.  Born into a year that has great highs (Auburn winning a National Championship) and lows (unemployment, and the loss of Granny Womac) he has been the greatest high of them all and I don't see anything in the last three months of this year improving on him making his apprearance.

As his middle name suggests "Sam" is the boy his daddy (and mommy) prayed for, healthy with all his parts in their respective places and as much a bundle of joy as everyone says babies are.  I confess that I could not be prouder of him and the family God has given me.  Mommy has proved during labor and since that she is strong beyond measure and is a terrific mom, even if she does think I am a little rough when I play with Sam.

Now I know that you could not care less about my reflections of my wonderful son and family, (or maybe you could), so I will struggle to stop doting at only two paragraphs.  But I would be remiss if I did not share with you the thing that has struck me the most about having a son.  No it is not being peed or pooped on for the first time (what a great first Father's Day), or the fact that my son has a smile for me every time he sees me.  It is the fact that God gave His one and only Son for me, a weak fallen individual who continues to struggle with the same sins God has called me away from.

How completely amazing is the love of God towards us sinners that He gave His only begotten Son that we could believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.  I have only spent 12 weeks with my kid and I can tell you I would not give him up for any one.  There would be no Spiderman-esque dilemma about who would I save Sam or a group of others, Sam is saved everyone else fends for themself.

Now contrast that with God who was with Christ in eternity past and is actually one with His Son freely gave him to be beaten and killed for you and me, people who at their very best rebel daily against Him.  I used to think I comprehended that sacrifice as much as anyone could, but I was wrong I could not comprehending trading my son for a friend or a family member much less those who would turn on me daily, just goes to show how Great God is in every way and how long I have to go in trying to be like Him.

Right now I can say like God once said of Jesus, that Sam is my son and I am well pleased in him, but I doubt I would ever be ok with giving him over to death for others but God in his love for me at just the right time sent His son to die for me and millions like me throughout history.

Once again I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me a sinner condemned unclean, when I would not give my son for the best of humanity let alone the worst.

Just my first thoughts of fatherhood on the Rural Route, may the peace and hope Christ fill you and move you to action on whatever Route God has placed you on.  

Been A While....

Well I realize it has been several months since I have posted but things have been busy on the Rural Route lately got a 12 week old son and have had a lack of internet connection, but now we are back and as opinionated as ever. So climb on in and buckle up and we resume our trip down the Rural Route to Righteousness.

Should we be celebrating Bin Laden's death?...Well, sort of

Yesterday was a day that will forever live on in the minds of those who experienced the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole and the tragic, cowardly attacks of 9-11-01. The best of the best, the Navy SEALS, killed Osama Bin Laden in a compound where he appears to have been living the good life of a rich Saudi Prince.  There was immediate acclaim for this symbolic victory of the west in the War on Terror. People were proud and celebrating that this man, who was responsible for the killing of so many innocent people, had died. To be perfectly honest I was excited and glad to hear that this evil man would have no more opportunity to do harm to people anywhere. As I started to process this information it evoked within me a couple of different reactions first as a Christian, and then as a fireman, and then as a Christian again.

While I was immediately proud of my country and relieved that this evil man was no longer able to hurt people, it struck me that this evil person was now in a place of eternal damnation where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, where there is no presence of God because God Himself restrains it, and I was slightly saddened.  Granted there is some justice as the world sees it in this man's death but I do not know that we as Christians are to be encouraged by such low standards.  While I believe the NAVY SEALS, who risked their lives to accomplish the mission placed before them, were completely righteous in their actions I am not sure we should be so happy about it.  While in Psalm 116:15 says that precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His godly ones, but in the same Bible it says, The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  This evil man is dead, and I would say deservedly so, but now he has learned the hard way that his faith was misplaced, and has no chance to ever leave his eternal damnation.  So it brought about a conflict within me, glad that this man would no longer would be able to hurt people, but saddened that he would spend eternity in fiery punishment devoid of the goodness that comes from God.

As a firefighter as I thought back to the images of that September morning where so many police officers, and firefighters rushed into a building burning and soon to collapse to try and save as many as possible, and was enraged that this man fostered and helped fund and prepare for these cowardly acts and was glad he was dead. Almost immediately I was again conflicted should I take joy in the death and damnation of someone no matter how much I am enraged at the indvidual.

In response to the conflict within I turned to Scripture and found a great deal of help and instruction on how God would have me to respond. While there is a great deal of justice and capital punishment withing the Old Testament there is an even greater amount of forgiveness and grace in the New Testament. I am convinced that as a Christian Firefighter I should be relieved over Osama Bin Laden's inability to hurt anyone ever again, but should also be saddened that Bin Laden will also be unable to escape the eternal damnation that he is now in. For while we have all been hurt deeply by Bin Laden's actions, I am convinced now as much as ever that we as Christians should never wish hell on anyone one, not even our worst enemies, nor rejoice in anyone's damnation.

Just my take on the whole matter, relief that he is no longer able to hurt, saddened that he will hurt forever.

The Walk...Is it worth taking?

I have been reading The Walk by Shaun Alexander lately and really enjoyed it.  As a great football fan and a striving to grow Christian it intertwined two of my greatest passions in life and helped me to further process and evaluate where I am and where God would have me to be both spiritually and physically.

The way the book is laid out follows a progression, "The Walk with God" while somewhat oversimplified at times, I think the book does a good job of taking the reader from where every person starts with their interaction and relationship with God and shows how they can grow and how others before them have succeeded in the same walk even in the same types of trials and traps in their way. 

The book could of been strengthened with a few more specifics, as it dealt mostly with generalities but that could be by design as it makes the book more likely to impact more people.

I would recommend this book for just about anyone, a dad new to faith or just searching, or a young man struggling to find out what direction God would have him walking. While it was written by a football star I do not believe that this book would be too "jockish" for a girl or even a woman seeking to get deeper into her relationship with God and His path for them.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Over all I think this walk was well worth taking with me on the Rural Route to Righteousness.

Traveled to Teach ended up Learning

In last 11 days I have traveled over 1200 miles.  That may not sound like too big of a deal but I was not alone on this journey of Southeastern proportions, my beautiful wife was with me for every mile of this trip and she was, at the time of our departure, 29 weeks pregnant!! Needless to say she is a trooper! Why on earth would you pack up a third trimester pregnant woman for such a trip you ask, well to try and do what God has called us to do, preach the gospel and minister to people. That is the only reason I would embark on such a treacherous endeavor.

A great friend and brother in Christ, Dusty Durbin, honored me with an opportunity to preach in the church he pastors for some revival meetings. Dusty is the pastor of Atlanta Baptist Church in Atlanta, Louisiana, a town as small as Atlanta, GA is big.  He is doing a great work leading a great group of people who work for their living day in and day out and work tirelessly for the gospel of Christ as God gives them the opportunity.

As great as Dusty and the congregation of Atlanta Baptist Church is (and i could blog about them for days), something else hit me even harder than their love for God and people on this trip.  There was a man there for all three nights of revival services who showed me a pastor's heart like I have never experienced in person before.  While I cannot remember this fellow's name or the name of his church he minstered to me more than he knew and probably more than I did for him by preaching.

This man was a local pastor in the area at a bivocational church and he came every night for revival services.  This was no I had nothing better to do so I came one night situation. He not only came himself but on the Wednesday night of that week he cancelled services at his church so that they might be able to come and attend the revival meetings at Atlanta. I have never seen this before, granted I am a young pastor and us young bucks do things different than they used to and all, but I have never even heard of old pastors doing this.  To be so interested in himself and his people be revived that he does not care if comes from another pulpit says alot about this man's commitment to God and his people.

I was not only humbled as a preacher, because he brought his church to hear me, but also as a pastor because it would have never entered in my mind to cancel services for a revival in the area I served. I might encourage the church to go on Monday or Tuesday but not give up leading a service so someone else could hopefully lead them to a deeper more intimate walk with Christ than I had. Even though I do not know this man's name he has forever impacted me with his humble service to his people and compliment to me. I am resolved to lead in just that way in the future.

So here is my question to us all: what are we willing to do to grow deeper intimacy in our walk with Christ? What will we sacrifice for that goal? Is it everything or will we continue to lie when we sing "I surrender all"?

Just some thoughts for us to ponder on our route, from the rural route I am on.

Grace and God's Blessings on us all.

Opening Day

First a disclaimer, I am a moderate baseball fan.  I am a devout Atlanta Braves fan starting back when they were still in the baby blue uniforms before all those division titles and pennants, but as far as the rest of the league not so much.  I personally could care less who leads the league in anything, unless of course he is a Brave. With that I am sure you are asking why then would he write an opening day blog?

Every year around the first of April the new baseball season starts and it seems all is good in the world.  No matter what a team's payroll, roster, or even past records they come into today undefeated with all the potential in the world. Everyone today is a World Series contender, even if only for a few days. It is that feeling I believe that makes opening day great even for those of us that aren't fantasy baseball enthusiasts, or even have a favorite team, the good feeling of equality among all the teams, the potential of every team to be exactly what it makes itself.

While opening day is one of my favorite days on the sports calendar, because of its potential, it pales in comparison to the new mercies of God each morning.  Even though we could never deserve it, God grants His children new mercies and compassion each morning.  This is an incredible revelation, that sometimes can be overlooked in the daily hussle.  Though we are responsible for the death of His only begotten Son, and continue to fall short of His standard for each of us, God meets each of His children at the beginning of each new day with new mercies. How deep the Father's love for us must be! I could never imagine responding to people who had spurned my every advance with such great forgivenss and mercy each and every day. I guess thats just another reason we should be grateful that He is God and we are not, for His new mercies for us each day are so much better than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves...even if it doesn't include a World Series Ring for the Braves.

The question is for us just as it is for every baseball team that plays a game today; what will you do with the new mercies you have been given today? Will you take advantage of your God given opportunities and make the best of it? Here's hoping you embrace God's new mercies for you as you travel the route He has laid out for you from those of us on the Rural Route.

The Goodness of God and the Problem of Evil

Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, also wrote If God is Good a book that takes an apologetic look at the goodness of God and all that it entails.  An excerpt of that book actually became a book unto itself The Goodness of God.  Now if you followed all those book titles and how they came to be, you have earned the privilege of diving into a personal take on how the goodness of God can be reconciled in a world full of evil and degradation.

Alcorn rightly starts in the introduction that these questions are universal for humanity.  As we all look deeper into our existence we are faced with the issue of evil and suffering that is around us. It is those issues that lead many to reject the idea of an ever present and good God all together.  Alcorn immediately dives into these issues tackling them in depth with not only the truth and wisdom of Scripture, but also a candor and tone that make reading this entire book enjoyable and easy to understand. I would recommend this book for any Christian or really any person who is currently or has in the past dealt with suffering and evil in his life.

Dealing first and foremost with the competing worldviews and how each of them deal with the existence of evil and suffering.  Ultimately Alcorn, who is a christian, comes to the conclusion that Christianity provides the best answer available to the issues of evil and suffering.

From that point on Alcorn tackles the intricate arguments with the discussion of Evil and the good and all caring God.  Alcorn deals with justice, glory of God, and the purpose of evil and suffering in the life of all man over the next several chapters dealing candidly but gently with each of the questions that are raised most in this discussion.

Overall this is one of the greatest and simplest "apologetic" books I have ever read and would encourage anyone to read it as I believe it advocates the mainstream evangelical stance for the Good God and His allowance of evil in the world He created for His glory.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

A Review of Desiring God by John Piper

I just recently read Desiring God by John Piper.  This book is over 25 years old and is still impacting many, including myself, everyday for the glory of God.  Filled with many deep insights and profound statements this book is a good book for any reader who wants to look deeper into how and why we live our lives for Christ.

While I acknowledge that when I picked this book that I knew Piper was a 5 point Calvinist (I am not), yet I was somewhat suprised at just how much of an impact that belief system had on this work. It seemed to me that had Piper spent more time earlier in the book defining the major theme of Christian Hedonism than explaining and advocating Calvinism it would have been an easier read in the early chapters.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who has a thoughtfully developed theology so that they might be able to see all that there is to grasp in this book and let their life be changed profoundly as mine and so many others have. I must say that while I don't agree with everything proposed in this book Desiring God changed for the better the way I look at what and how I do everything in my worship of God.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this Review.

What Christians can learn from the Volunteer Fire Department

I have recently had the opportunity to join the Volunteer Fire Department here in my local community in east Tennessee.  It is an eclectic group of young, middle aged, and older rednecks who come together and give their time and efforts to protect the lives and property of those around them. Now granted alot of the motivation for some of the younger guys is the fact that we get to go fast with sirens and horns and then play with extremely powerful water hoses.

It was while I was spending time with this group today and in the last few times with them that I started to see something. This group that has both Christians and unbelievers alike is actually a great picture of Christ's love in Scripture.  How can this be you might say. well look at the words of Christ as He is talking with His disciples in the gospel of John: "This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (15:12-13)

Now I am not saying that all of the guys in the department are mature discples or even believers in Christ, but I am starting to see that everywhere around us God calls His children's attention to them if they will just look.  Yes the Holy Scriptures are the only perfect place to find truth about Christ, His salvation, and the live are to live in light of Him and His salvation, but we can find practical examples of Scripture around us if we would just keep the things of Christ and His kingdom on the forefront of our minds.  It does not take a pastor or a Sunday school teacher or anything for one to be able to learn practical discipleship actions, all it takes is a believer that interacts with and meditates on the Word of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit and God's sovereign wisdom in all of creation and you can grow, be strengthened, and challenged in your walk with Christ.

Just an simple observation from a guy looking to see all He can on this the rural route God has placed Him on for righteousness.  I pray the grace, mercy and peace of God bless you on the route He has each of you on.

What I Am Looking Forward To

This morning I was looking forward to a day to try and relax and recuperate from a long week of working on my grandparents house and an interview with a church. Beyond that I am looking forward to the birth of my son in June and between now and then there are alot of unknowns so I am not really actively looking forward to much.  That was until I picked up my Bible this morning.

This morning I finished the book of Revelation as a part of my reading plan.  Now there is alot that has been said and continues to be said about what everything in the book of Revelation means and stands for.  There are churches that represent ages, some say it should be read literally and is yet to come and others say that it is mostl figurative and has already happened.  I will not be entering into that discussion here as this is not a place for extensive discussion on eschatological theory.

What I could not escape as I read the last few chapters of Revelation this morning is that Christ is going to be victorious and ultimately already is. No matter how you interpret the book of Revelation one cannot read it and believe it without feeling better about the future whether it be distant or near.  This is great news for all Believers, no matter what else may be going on in your life whether it be financial trouble, stress at work, or turmoil in your family it will ultimately be taken care of by the only loving, sovereign God, for He cares for you and provides your every need according to His riches in glory.  How refreshing to know that no matter what circumstances and trials may come God is still in control.

This passage did not only bring comfort and excitement however, it brought with it a sobering realization and an urgent challenge.  While I am completely ready for Christ to return and reign victorious over all the Earth, there are millions all over the world who have no idea that He came once before to save them from their sins and themselves, and have no reason to look forward to Christ bringing this world to its worshipful end.  This sad fact compels me and my fellow believers to rest in the assurance that they have in Christ victorious return but also to lead those who have no knowledge of Christ into that same rest while they have the opportunity to find it.

We all have things we are looking forward to in this life both physical and spiritual and that is great as God has plans to bless us beyond measure in our obedience to Him. There does come with those great promised blessings an urgent need to let other know of those same promises that are available to them just as they are to us.

Just a take from a man that is greatly looking forward to what is to come from my loving God and Father on the rural route to righteousness He has placed me on.

Effectiveness...Lessons for the Church from the Government

As I write this right now I am on the phone with a state government office and have been on hold for the last 56 minutes and counting...and counting. Now while I can appreciate that this is a busy office with important work, I do think that this is inefficient at best and dereliction of duty at worst.  If I were a more cynical person I would think that this war on the auditory senses (repitition of only 20 bars of the worst elevator music I have ever heard) is designed to get people to give up.  This may seem like an overreaction from a frustrated citizen but you must understand I was hung up on by a computer 5 times in the last two weeks because "they were experiencing greater than normal call volume and should call back later."  This is why I happen to be a small goverment conservative politically.

The only problem with my political ideas is that if the goverment gets out of the "helping people"  business, it appears to be in lately, that vacuum must be filled by the faithful of our towns, states, and country. That may sound like a great idea to you and at first glance it did to me too. One would ask what's wrong with the idea of churches doing the charitable work? After all didn't Christ teach us to love our neighbor as we love as ourselves, and didn't Paul write to Timothy that the goal of the apostles instruction is charity/love from a pure heart?

I am afraid the sad fact is that while Christ modeled caring for those who were sick and dying in sin and its consequence and Paul reaffirmed that model again and again, the church would still be no more effective than the goverment.  Why you ask. One must first look at the main work left by Christ for the church, to make disciples. Would it shock you to know that in this country a majority of people still profess to be Christian? That is great news for the church right? Well not so much because the majority of those same self professing Christians do not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life in heaven one of the most central aspects of all Christianity. If that were not bad enough it seems that even right now the universal body of Christ is growing exponentially on every inhabited continent on Earth except North America, home of two of the wealthiest countries in the world.

So when you go to bemoan the ineffectiveness of the goverment as I know almost all of you will. Or when you start to complain about how inept the employee at Walmart or McDonald's seems to be. Stop and think a moment about whether or not you are being as effective as possible at the most important job a Christian has, making more Christians. It is easy to complain about other peoples actions (or inactions for that matter) while we judge ourselves by our best intentions. Maybe we should rechannel that energy into being more effective in all that we do but most importantly to be more effective for the Kingdom of God.

I know that is what the Bible has called us to do and we need to get on it or one day when we really look into our mirrors we will find that we are as just as ineffective as a huge goverment. May God bless us with mercy and grace as we continue on the route of righteousness He has called us to.