Celebrating Freedom

I think holidays are important because in our over-packed, overcrowded, over-committed schedules it is very easy to forget the things that allow us to have the freedoms we enjoy. It is certainly the right thing to do to honor the men and women who are or have faithfully served our country. These dedicated people have felt the prayers of God's people and need to continually be lifted up to Him for courage, strength and perseverance.

Yet during this time of remembrance, it is important for us to recognize the real reason that we have the freedom we enjoy. In Genesis 12, God made his covenant promise to Abraham--that he would bless him and make him a great nation so that he could bless others (v.2). Next comes what I firmly believe is the basis for the blessings we now enjoy: I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (v.3)

Earthly empires have risen and fallen throughout history and they all have one thing in common. None of them were founded on the truth that God is the eternal, everlasting, all-powerful Creator of the Universe. None of them ruled on the basis of godly principles rooted in Scripture. None of them served as a blessing to those whom God chose to bless as his own people.

The United States of America stands alone among nations; not because of our vast abilities and resources, but because of our founding as One Nation Under God. We remain strong because we have chosen to be a blessing to the nation of Israel, the seed of Abraham. And we will continue to remain strong not because of our military might, but because we recognize, honor and serve the one true God. All of this gives us the freedom that is worth celebrating.

Just What We Need

One of the things I struggle with in my prayer life is knowing what I should ask of God. If I ask for too much, am I being selfish and focusing too heavily on my own needs? If I don't ask for things that God is waiting to provide for me, am I failing to trust in his provision or relying too much on my own strength? Somehow, I sense that I'm not the only one on this island needing rescue.

Fortunately, Proverbs 30:7-9 provides some much-needed direction: Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Several things jump off the page here. This prayer doesn't strike me as selfish or indulgent; although there is a strong desire to see this request fulfilled. There is also a strong desire for truth; to the point of wanting falsehood repelled as much as possible. Then we see the best answer for whether we are asking for too much or too little--ask God to supply the measure and determine what is best required to meet our needs. There is very clear recognition here of the dangers of both plenty and want. So easily, we can forget the source of our blessings as we enjoy His provision. We can also seek to better our own situations in sinful ways that dishonor God.

James 1:5 promises us that if we lack wisdom and seek His truth, God will generously supply them to us. Jesus instructed his disciples in Matthew 6:11 to ask for daily provision and nothing more or less. James 4:3 reminds us that if we ask for things purely to serve our own interests, we will not receive blessing. Asking only for just what we need sets the stage for the blessings that only He can provide.

One Approved

Okay, the fact that I'm writing this post is proof that Harold Camping and his misguided prediction of the end of the world on May 21 at 6 p.m. was dead wrong. But I'm not rejoicing over the fact that he has once again been exposed as a fraud. I'm not rejoicing over the fact that he managed to get people talking about end times. I'm not rejoicing because he gave Christianity an undeserved black eye. Not to mention that he misled so many people who I do believe are Christians but lacked spiritual depth and maturity.

Our response to Harold Camping should be a desire to share the real truth with those who don't know it. Yes, Jesus lived a perfect sinless life. Yes, Jesus died to pay our sin debt and accepting his sacrifice for us is the only way to Heaven. Yes, Jesus rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Yes, Jesus is coming again to take all those who believe in Him to Heaven where they will live with Him for eternity. Yes, there is terrible judgment coming for all of those who reject Jesus' free gift of salvation.

When will all of this happen? Matthew 24:36-37 reminds us that no one--not Harold Camping, not any false religion that has incorrectly predicted the end times before, not even our Lord Jesus Christ--knows the day or the hour when these events will occur. A lost and dying world needs to know these things and not be left guessing or susceptible to false prophets.

When the apostle Paul was discipling Timothy, he told him: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We need to embrace these same instructions. Let us stay grounded in the Word and seek after righteousness that pleases our Lord. Let us not be ashamed that we are children of God that were adopted into God's family through the shed blood of Christ and share the Good News that Jesus saves. Let us handle the truth of Scripture carefully; making sure that we never water down, embellish or distort in any way what God has spoken to us. Let each of us be one approved.

Righteousness

For the last few days, I've camped out of a verse that Pastor Curtis shared in his message last Sunday: Proverbs 21:3--to do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. So just what is righteousness and why is it so important to God?

The definition of righteous is acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous (Dictionary.com). The definition context is the behavior represents a godly person. Righteousness and the character of God are inseparable. Righteousness is behaving in a godly manner, thinking godly thoughts, taking godly actions and responding to others in a godly way. Our first Men's Night worship event at Ogletown centered around 2 Timothy 2:22: so flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Righteousness isn't listed first here by accident. 2 Peter 3:13 reminds us that the new heavens and new earth will be where righteousness dwells.

At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6) and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (5:10). The armor of God that we're called to put on includes the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14); the protection for our heart that we desperately need. Our Savior himself who knew no sin became sin for us so that by claiming his sacrifice we become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Psalm 33:5 reminds us that God loves righteousness and justice. What more reason do we need to pursue it wholeheartedly?

When the Time is Right

I don't know too many people who like to wait. I know I don't. If you think you are a really patient person, try standing in a check-out line that is moving slower than any other in the store and see how patient you really are. On some level, all of us are impatient; especially when we're convinced that we know what we're doing and the opportunity and timing appears to be just right.

Nehemiah felt a burden for rebuilding Jerusalem after it had fallen into serious disrepair while God's people were in exile. The condition of the holy city caused him to fall to his knees and weep and cry out to God (Nehemiah 1:4). He acknowledge his people's sin before God and how the consequences of their sin had played out (v.5-8). But he also claimed the promise that if the people obeyed God, he would restore them (v.9-11). Then is chapter 2, we see how Nehemiah used his position as the king's cupbearer; along with God's blessing to successfully petition the king to return and rebuild. But rather than jump right in and start working; he waited three days and then took some men with him to start the rebuilding process (v.11).

We would be wise to follow the steps of Nehemiah when we are faced with a significant endeavor in our lives. First he acknowledged the great and awesome God that he served and prayed for His attention and faithfulness (1:5-6). Then he confessed his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the people and his desired to be restored and claim God's promises for those who are faithful (v.6-11). Then (and here comes the hard part) he waited until the time was right to begin rebuilding.

Think about the times when we come up with great ideas, but don't think through our plans before we act. Think about the times we surge ahead with our own plans and then ask God to bless them on the back-end. Or the times when we think the situation we face is either too big or too small for God and we don't include him. Or worse yet, the times we completely ignore God's all-knowing and all-powerful presence and think we know best how to proceed. Nehemiah was able to lead the people to confidently say "Let us rise up and build" (v.2:18) because he first sought the Lord's blessing, direction and timing before proceeding. May each of us do likewise.

Loving Advice

As our church has been studying through the book of Proverbs, you can't help but be amazed at the rich godly advice it contains. In my reading, I've been noticing an all too familiar theme in how it is written. There are many subjects that have been covered so far (wisdom, knowledge, discretion and folly certainly come to mind). The common theme I see is in the tone of how this godly advice is dispensed.

Check out these verses in just the first eight chapters of Proverbs--1:8, 1:10, 2:1, 3:1, 3:11, 3:21, 4:1, 4:3, 4:10, 4:20, 5:1, 5:7, 6:1, 6:20, 7:1, 7:24 and 8:32. These verses show that the advice here is being passed along from a loving Father to his treasured son. While the advice is often pointed and direct, there isn't a hint of sternness in the voice of the Father. There is nothing dictatorial or condescending in how the advice is given. It is a voice from someone who cares deeply; filled with wisdom, knowledge and experience from a life well lived. It is a voice that desires only the best for his son. It is a voice from someone who not only wants to spare his son the ill consequences of wrong choices but would also be feeling the pain and anguish of those choices right along with him.

There may be some of us who have rarely if ever heard loving advice dispensed in such a manner. Our biological fathers, who all are products of the Fall, may or may not be godly men who walked with the Lord or had a nurturing spirit in the way they instructed us. Whatever the case, it is critical that we as God's men know that our Heavenly Father desires nothing but the best for us and His desire is to give us the wisdom we need to avoid the snares of the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy.

Once again, in Proverbs 9:10, we see that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom but we also see that knowledge of the Holy One is insight. It is clearly God's desire to pass along wisdom to us so that we can gain knowledge and insight in living righteously. From a Father who loves his child deeply.

Honoring Mom

I really love Mother's Day and probably for different reasons than most people. My mother went home to be with the Lord in 2003 and sadly, there was a good deal of conflict between us throughout most of my life. Fortunately, we were able to repair our relationship but there were many years that I wasn't very honoring towards her. Mom was a strong godly woman, but she didn't come to know Jesus as her Savior until just a few months before she died. She hasn't been around to see my daughter grow up and she's missed out in seeing how God has worked in my family's life.

What Mother's Day has become for me is an opportunity to honor my mother by honoring my wife Cheryl; the mother of my precious daughter Amanda. I absolutely love helping Amanda make something to give to her mommy to celebrate this special day. I love seeing the joy in her face as she tells her mommy that she is the best mommy in the whole wide world. My daughter is excited to be around Mom-Mom (Cheryl's mom) and her great-grandmother down in Florida. She loves to tell me that because we all have Jesus in our hearts, we'll all be together in Heaven and she can't wait to meet my mom there.

Yes Mother's Day is about our moms and the moms of our children, yet we as God's men have a big part in this as well besides buying them flowers or taking them out to lunch. Two of the strongest God-honoring commands in scripture are Exodus 20:12--honor your...mother and Ephesians 5:25--love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. If your relationship with your mother is strained, ask God to allow you to extend the same grace to her that He so freely gives to you. Then, ask Him to help you lay down anything that is keeping you from loving your wife with the same affection and sacrifice that Christ did for his church.

Let's take time today to reflect on how well we've obeyed these two commands of our Lord. And if we've fallen way short of the mark (which we probably have), let us resolve today to honor our mothers and the mothers of our children each and every day to bring glory to the Father.

Knowledge and Wisdom

We are starting an exciting series on the book of Proverbs this month and I am looking forward to the discussion and insight that the people of Ogletown will be bringing to this series. Proverbs has often been referred to as a book about knowledge and wisdom that was penned by Solomon, who Scripture regards as the wisest man who ever lived.

Proverbs 1:2-6 give us its purpose--to instill wisdom in its readers. The wisdom is practical--instruction in wise dealing (v.3), moral--righteousness, justice and equity (v.3) and intellectual--increase in learning (v.5). It speaks to us wherever we are in our walk and seeks to instill teachability--let the wise hear and increase in learning (v.5). Then we see the first of many contrasts found in Proverbs which sets the foundation of its teaching: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (v.7).

Knowledge begins with an understanding of who we are in relation to God. He is the Creator, we are His creation. He is almighty and all-powerful, we are weak in our own strength. He is the definition of love, we are sinful and in need of his saving grace. Wisdom is the practical application of the knowledge He provides to us in order that we may live godly lives. Knowledge and wisdom come freely and abundantly from our Heavenly Father when we seek Him. The alternative is to avoid wisdom and instruction which makes us fools. Pride, self-centeredness, irreverence toward God and seeking the pleasures of sin will drive us away from a fear of the Lord.

My prayer is that as we make our day-to-day choices, we will allow the knowledge and wisdom from the book of Proverbs to guide us and keep us from being fools.

The One Great Lesson

I just finished reading an incredibly thought-provoking interview that was conducted with R. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Mohler has also been involved with several ongoing initiatives to help Christians think Biblically in a worldly culture and influence it for Christ. In the interview, he was asked what one thing would he share that the Lord has taught him that needed to be passed along to others. From what I'm sure is a vast storehouse of godly knowledge and influence comes this response:

"I think the one great lesson the Lord has taught me over the years is that the importance of the family and the local congregation supersedes every other relationship to which the Christian is called. Christians demonstrate the glory of God and the power of the gospel by the way we marry and stay married, by the way we raise our children, by the way we love each other, and by the way we live faithfully in the congregation of believers. What we have also failed to understand is that Christians in the twenty-first century are being thrown into a world in which just a little bit of Bible knowledge is simply not going to be enough."

Mohler goes on to say, "In the end, I fear that far too much energy is devoted to and far too many hopes are invested in institutions, programs, and projects that will not last. The centrality of Christ's purpose is to glorify himself in His church and the blessings of God that are directed to the precious gift of the family---these far exceed our other allegiances."

Our best hope to reverse the moral slide in our culture is to allow the truth of God's Word to be rooted deeply in our hearts and minds. Then we must take seriously our God-given role as men to be servant leaders in our homes and to faithfully give our spiritual gifts, time and talents to His church. Then, and only then, can we have a gospel influence in a world that desperately needs the saving power of Jesus Christ.