What Kind of Worship?

I Chronicles 21:18-30 tell us about an episode involving King David and his worship to God. David was told by the angel of the Lord to, "go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." When David went there he found Ornan at work. David then informed Ornan of what he planned to do. He offered to buy the place from Ornan, "at the full price."

Ornan instead wanted to just give the threshing floor to David along with everything else he had there that David could use; oxen for an offering, tools for the wood to burn and wheat for a grain offering. David as the king could have easily taken Ornan up on that offer but he didn't. The reason is given in verse 24. "I will not take what is your for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which cost me nothing." Why?

David knew that for his worship to be meaningful it had to involve sacrifice; his own sacrifice. The entire concept of salvation is built on sacrifice. Jesus tells us in the New Testament that if we are to follow Him we need to sacrifice. We need to give of ourselves. How meaningful is our worship if we aren't involving ourselves, giving of ourselves, sacrificing?

True, acceptable worship to God needs to involve us giving more than just three hours a week to attend a service. It needs to include us turning all our thoughts, attention and feelings to God. That obviously should extend to more times than just the occasions we're together in congregational worship. It's not an original thought but it's worth repeating that worship is a verb. It's something we do. It's not a noun. It's not a place we go. If we're going to do it, if we're going to worship it needs to be this kind of sacrificial worship. Otherwise we couldn't make the decision David made in this story. We wouldn't really be worshipping. We would only be present. What kind of worship do we present?

Random Thoughts

I have no idea how many people read this blog, maybe only the four or five who have said something to me. Regardless, for those of you that have asked recently, I'm sorry for not posting more over the last couple of months. I appreciate your interest and plan to post more regularly like I did in the Spring.

Some of you know my family has been in the process of moving. Because we only moved five miles from the old house we thought it would better to move a little at a time instead of all at once. In hindsight, probably not the smartest or most time saving way to do it. It's done now though so at least one of my excuses for not posting has been eliminated. Hopefully you'll see more new content coming up.

A great idea was born today. Our congregation is launching "First Fridays For Men". This is a men's Bible study that will take place on the first Friday of each month starting in November. Obviously anytime you increase the amount of time spent studying the Bible is a good thing. Getting together with other Christians is obviously a no-brainer as well. I'm looking forward to combining the two.

In the past we've had Saturday morning prayer breakfasts. I like this new idea because we've decided the meal is not the focus. If you want something to eat, bring it yourself. We plan to start talking about the responsibility and opportunity for men to take an active role in worship. One goal is to involve more of our men in worship roles. Other ideas for study include the role of the man in the family and the role of the Christian man in the daily world. I can see nothing but great things coming from this.

One of the men who helped bring this about had a great point today. He's a man who teaches Bible classes on a regular basis and has for several years. His thought was that as a feeder, he sometimes needs to be fed but isn't able to study with other Christians because he's always teaching. There's a great lesson there. We need to be careful about "burning out" our teachers. They need the chance to learn and grow as much as anyone else.

I mention this because I'm not only excited about it and what it can do for our men and for our congregation but because it's a great idea. I think great ideas are worth sharing when it can help others. Maybe it's something your home church can use. Maybe you've done something similar and would like to comment or share results. Either way, if you care to leave a comment they'd certainly be welcomed. I'll let you known how it goes from this end.

"Oh, To Be Like Thee"

Many of the songs we sing in worship have a personal message. Songs like "Be With Me Lord" and "It Is Well" are songs that we sing to express our own feelings. Some songs like "Bless Be The Tie" and "God Be With You" are songs with messages to to other Christians. Countless songs we sing have messages intended for God.

Recently while selecting songs I came across a standard, "Oh, To Be Like Thee". I can't tell you how many times I've sung this song in my life. On this particular occasion though, without singing I just read the words.

Oh to be like Thee blessed Redeemer.
This is my constant longing and prayer.
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's threasures,
Jesus Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh to be like Thee full of compassion,
loving, forgiving, tender and kind.
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
seeking the wandering sinner to find.

Oh to be like Thee Lord I am coming
now to receive the annointing divine.
All that I am and have I am bringing
Lord from this moment all shall be Thine.

I wonder what we would say to God if we had the chance to speak to Him. In our prayer life for instance; would we say the words of this song to Him and mean them? What for instance is our "constant longing and prayer"? Is it really to be like Him? How much would we, do we and have we forfeited for the cause of Christ? How much compassion, love and forgiveness do we show?

If we can't answer those questions in the right way, why would we or why do we sing this song? If we can sincerely sing these words to God, we should sing it more robustly than ever. If we can't believe these words or live these words in our lives, I'd say we not only need to not sing this song but we need to examine ourselves and make some serious changes. What do you think?

A Growing Success Story

Last month I had the chance to talk to a man named Bob. Bob isn't rich and famous. Few people outside of his hometown probably know who Bob is. Bob is a success story though. I don't know why he decided to share his story with me but he did and I'm glad.

Bob is married to a lady named Carol. Carol is and has been a faithful Christian. Bob though was never baptized. One night several years ago the minister was visiting Bob and Carol. As they were talking about salvation Bob asked the preacher if baptism really was essential to salvation. Would Bob really go to Hell if he were to die without being baptized?

At this point many would just have given their own thoughts. The preacher did a wise thing in answering. He told Bob to read Acts 2:38 and decide for himself. He then invited Bob to be baptized that night. Bob declined.

As Bob related it to me, the very next day he was at his son's house cutting limbs from a tree when he felt like he had indigestion. After some antacid failed to help, he went to the hospital. He was having heart trouble. He ended up having a bypass. He said when Carol got to the hospital she told him that she was sure he was going to be alright because she knew that God was a loving God. She believed God would let him live so he could do the right thing and be saved.

Bob was saved. When he got home he was baptized. He is an active member of his congregation. He participates in the services as a song leader. He leads prayers and serves at the communion table. If Bob's story ended there it is a success. The preacher was successful in his discussions with Bob. Carol was successful in faithfully continuing to be an example for her husband. Bob of course is the greatest success in this story. The story doesn't end there though. Bob went on to tell me that he's since baptized his son and daughter in law!

I've thought of that story of conversion often in the weeks since I talked with Bob. Tonight Bob's success once again grew. I related this story at church during the devotional portion of our service at my home congregation. As the invitation was extended a college student named Josh came forward.

He told me that though he tries and wants to try to be faithful in his service to God, he sometimes finds it difficult. He appreciated hearing about Bob and he didn't want years to go by without him being the Christian he knows he can be. He was inspired. We prayed for Josh. We'll continue to pray for Josh. I told Josh he's doing well, better than a lot of people to figure this out at an early age. I think Josh knows he has a church home with us and the support he'll want and need in his spiritual journey. I think and hope he'll do well.

I'm glad Bob talked to me. I'm glad I relayed his story. I'm glad it postively affected Josh. I'm glad Josh has the opportunity to shine his light on others. I'm glad Bob did what he did. What a success story!

A Man That Knew How To Pray

II Kings 19: 14-19 gives us a description of King Hezekiah of Judah praying to God. The circumstances surrounding this event are pretty bleak. Judah is under military and political threat from Assyria. Assyria at this time has the greatest military in the world and they are telling Hezekiah to either become a servant to them or risk being attacked.

Hezekiah has been a good king. He's been loyal to God and led his kingdom away from the idol worship they'd long been a part of. True worship has been restored in the nation. II Kings 18:5-6 tell us just how loyal to God Hezekiah was.

Here in the 19th chapter he now faces what is probably his biggest spiritual and political challenge. It's the type of situation that can either make or break a person. 19:14 shows us where Hezekiah's priorities were at this time. Once he'd received the written threat from Assyria's leaders he immediately took it to God. He didn't try to find a solution by himself then go to God as a last resort. Praying to God was his first choice of action.

Verse 19 is the powerful verse in this passage. It's one thing to pray for a certain outcome to a situation. Let's face it, we probably do that all the time. It's the reason Hezekiah wants God's help that is so different from our thinking. "Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone."

Hezekiah's thinking goes far beyond his immediate need for help. His desired outcome is for God to be glorified and respected. He didn't ask for deliverance for his own sake or for the sake of his kingdom. He asked for deliverence so that God would be recognized. Have you ever done that?

I wonder if we ever consider this when we pray; when we ask God for something. No matter how good or noble our motives may seem to us do we have the same motive as this man? Is it our hope and our goal that God, His power and His message is magnified by answering our prayer in the way we desire? Or are we just too focused on ourselves and whatever situation or problem we find ourselves facing?

Hezekiah was a man who truly knew the whole purpose of man is to serve God. That's why when he prayed he asked for nothing less than for God to be glorified. He was not too self-focused to see that true service and obedience extends to prayer. Let's hope we can all learn to pray like Hezekiah.

The Fear of God

I'm currently teaching an adult Bible class on Wednesday nights covering the Books of Kings. Last week we were studying II Kings 17. In the space of ten verses (32-41) the word fear is used nine times relating to the fear of God. A question was asked about this. Were the people scared of God? More importantly should we fear or be afraid of God?

These are important questions. We need to know this for our own knowledge and to improve our relationship to God. This is also a point that non-believers like to us. Often some will say they don't want to worship a God they have to be scared of. They will also wonder how a God that is supposed to ipitimize love can demand fear from us.

Read Exodus 20:20. If you didn't know better you might believe this verse contradicts itself. Fear is used twice. Once the people are told not to fear. Then they're told God's fear will be before them.

The main Hebrew word we get fear from is Yare. It means fearing, reverent or afraid. From it comes the word Yir' ah. That word means respect, reverence, revered, to stand in awe. That word is used 64 times in the Old Testament, 27 times in Psalms alone. Four verses that use the word fear in a meaning of reverence and/or respect are Genesis 22:12, Exodus 14:31, Exodus 18:21 andII Samuel 23:3. Go back and read those verses with the above definition in mind. Don't they mean much more than we might have first thought?

The other Hebrew word for fear is Pachad. It means terro, dread, an object of dread. This word is used 25 times in the Old Testament including II Chronicles 20:29.

Since we live under the New Testament, what does it say? The Greek word Phobos is most commonly used meaning reverence. II Corinthians 7:1 and Ephesians 5:21 are good examples of this. Yes there is a "bad" fear as evidenced in Luke 12:5 and Hebrews 10:31. That is the fear the non-believer should have; a reason to be afraid.

For the Christian though, the reverence can be seen in the word phobo as used in Hebrews 12:28-29 and Revelation 12:4 among others.

Yes we need to fear God. We need to have reverence, respect and stand in awe of Him. Whether we're together with other Christians in worship or alone with Him in Bible reading or prayer. If that weren't true then entire passages like I John would be meaningless. A scared fear wouldn't mesh with the love of God talked about there.

I think a man who spoke about this in class last week summed it up best. He has a four year old son. That son fears him but isn't afraid of him. The son is at an age where he reveres his father. He looks up to him. He wants to please his father. Isn't that a simple way to sum up how our relationship should be with our Father?

Top Ten

Bobby Ross of the Christian Chronicle sent out an email asking for people's top ten lists. In part, this is what he wrote.

" I am contemplating a column featuring various Top 10 lists submitted by Chronicle readers, such as:-- Top 10 movies with faith themes (or TV shows).-- Top 10 country songs with faith themes (or pop or rock).-- Top 10 favorite hymns sung at church.-- Top 10 favorite Church of Christ bloggers (feel free to rank yourself No. 1!).-- Top 10 favorite Christian university rules (of today or your own era).-- Top 10 best things about summer Bible camp (of today or your own era).-- Top 10 requirements to be a Church of Christ preacher.-- Top 10 (you come up with the category)."

I submitted my top ten hymns. They are as follows with a few notes.
1. It Is Well (Besides being a personal favorite, as a song leader I get more requests to lead this than any other song.)
2. Be With Me Lord (A favorite since I was small. When leading this, I've seen people cry in the audience.)
3. This Is My Father's World (I can remember my dad leading this at a nursing home when several church members went there to sing one Sunday afternoon. I couldn't have been more than 4 or 5.)
4. I Will Sing The Wondrous Story
5. Nearer Still Nearer (Probably the second leading request I get when leading.)
6. Abide With Me (A woman whose husband was dying at the time came up to me crying and thanked me for leading this.)
7. Fountain Free
8. I Know That My Redeemer Lives
9. The New Song (But only when sung by a large group...and assuming they know how to sing it!)
10. Oh Lord Our Lord (Same thought as #9.)

Top Ten Favorite Preachers I've Heard In Person
1. Dan Winkler
2. Dennis Lloyd
3. Willard Collins
4. Marlin Connelly
5. Joe Barnett
6. Tom Miller
7. Tom Holland
8. Joe Barnett
9. John Steele, Jr. (If you ever heard my Pa Pa preach you'd remember it!)
10. John Steele III (It wouldn't be right to leave this guy off the list!)

I just thought that might give you something light hearted to think about. Share yours if you care to.

A Few Odds And Ends

I apologize for not posting here more often over the last couple of months. Like everyone else, I've been pretty busy and have spent some time out of town and out of state. It's not as though thousands are waiting anxiously for what I write. I do know somebody reads this because a couple of you have talked to me about it (and you're not even related to me). I appreciate that.

I read on a website earlier this summer about new ways we could praise God this summer. I'm sorry I can't remember the site or the author. A couple of ideas he had though were good and I thought I'd share them as well. Give some money annonymously to a family in need at your congregation. Read the book of Psalms outloud this month.

I was reading in the book of Mark this past weekend. I read the story of Jesus curing a man's demon possessed son in chapter 9. Jesus talks about the need for the man to believe for his son to be cured. The father emotionally professes his belief in verse 24. Jesus then heals the son. When the disciples ask Him later why they couldn't cast out the demon, Jesus tells them in verse 29, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

So that got me thinking about fasting. Why don't we talk about it more? When's the last time you heard a lesson on fasting? More importantly, why don't we fast or fast more than we do if we even do at all? Jesus fasted. True there are no direct commands in the New Testament that say Thou shalt fast. If Jesus is our example though and we strive to be Christ like, why do seem to fail at this? There are other examples in Acts that show us Christians fasted. Why isn't this discussed more in Bible classes or from the pulpit?

I really don't know. I have decided though after thinking about this to study it a lot more. I hope you do as well. If you have any comments on this subject I'd love to hear them. If I'm able to get some ideas together about the subject I'll try to post them on here. Think about it and thanks for reading.

Only Judgement Day Will Stop Them

Several years ago talk began in the news about American tobacco companies being sued for producing a dangerous product. A lot of us laughed. After all, everyone over the age of 8 knew cigarettes were bad for you. The first several lawsuits failed but those who pursued the lawsuits kept hammering away. They kept refining their arguments and learning from each previous setback. Eventually as you know, the tobacco companies did lose. They had to pay out billions of dollars. Something most of us thought could or would never happen came to pass.

Not too many years ago we started hearing about the idea of gay marriage. We laughed. After all, that was so far from reality and possibility how could anyone ever believe something like that would happen? Again, those pursuing the idea never gave up. Evil never ends. As you now know that concept is now reality in Massachusetts and California. Hawaii almost approved it a few years back and it's being reported that state will reconsider it again next year.

Obviously I'm not saying tobacco companies shouldn't have been sued. I mention that situation to remind us of how quickly and easily what seems impossible can become the reality. I bring up the gay marriage issue for two reasons. One, those who support that idea will say they only want equal rights and that's not true. It's not all they want. Secondly, forces of evil don't stop when they accomplish their objective. They continue to reach for more. A story came out last week that only proves that last point but also I believe, is another first step to something most of us would like to think is not possible.

The following story is reprinted from religionnewsblog.com.

"Christian publisher Zondervan is facing a $60 million federal lawsuit filed by a man who claims he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible.

But a company spokeswoman says Zondervan doesn't translate the Bible or own the copyright for any of the translations. Instead, she said in a statement, the company relies on the 'scholarly judgment of credible translation committees.' That is to say, setting aside whether the federal civil rights lawsuit is credible, the company says Bradley Fowler sued the wrong group.

His suit centers on one passage in scripture-I Corinthians 6:9-and how it reads in Bibles published by Zondervan. Fowler says Zondervan Bibles published in 1982 and 1987 use the word homosexuals among a list of those who are 'wicked' or 'unrighteous' and won't inherit the kingdom of heaven. Fowler says his family's pastor used that Zondervan Bible and because of it his family considered him a sinner and he suffered.

Fowler says he came across the discrepancy while researching a book. He says Zondervan Bibles published in the 1980's use the word homosexuals in the Corinthian passage in question but earlier and later ones don't. 24 Hour News 8 (WOOD in Cedar Rapids) went to a library to do some research of our own and found Zondervan Bibles published both in the 80's and post-2000 use the word homosexuals in the passage.

Some translations, like the New American Standard use the word. Others don't. The American Standard version uses the phrase 'abusers of themselves with men.' The King James says 'abusers of themselves with mankind'. Still others, like the New American Bible use the word 'sodomites.'

Fowler says the idea that those phrases are another way of saying homosexuals is a misinterpretation as well."

I think we can all be pretty sure this guy won't win this lawsuit. I also think we should be pretty sure that this isn't the en. Situations like this don't end after one step. This is only the first step. As if the entire thought process behind the suit isn't scary enough, reread the last sentence of the article. Bradley Fowler and those like him want to eliminate all references in scripture that condemn their lifestyle.

There are several points that could be made about this suit and the overall attitude of those in today's world that don't agree with the Bible. For now though I just wanted to inform as many people as I could. Now more than ever we need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it and we had better be able to give a "ready defense."

Which One Are You? Which One Am I?

A man is working in his garden on a hot summer day. Behind him trails his young five year old son pretending to help his daddy. As the man finishes weeding a long row of vegetables he stands and wipes the sweat off his head. Almost to himself he says, "Man, I need something to drink."

The young boy hears this. Wanting to please his father, the boy races to the house. He finds an old, rusty tuna can laying in the yard. He takes it over to the water spigot. Unable to turn the spigot on, he stands there patiently as the dripping, lukewarm water fills that filthy can. Pleased with himself, the boy carefully walks back to the garden where his father is tending another row. He holds the can up with both hands and as he smiles he says, "Here Daddy."

The man looks down at that dirty, warm water. He sees the smile on his son's face. What do you think the man does? He drinks that water of course. He drinks it and acts like it's the coldest, best water he's ever tasted, smacks his lips and says, "Now that hit the spot." He knows the effort the son gave to please him. He wants the boy to know he appreciates what he did. You better believe that made the boy feel like a hero inside. Now what do you think the man's reaction would have been if the son had been 14 years old instead of 5?

Why are so many of us trying to get by with the same actions, the same effort in our walk with God that we put forth when we were new Christians? Why do we think that effort or lack of it is going to please Him? How many of us are not growing; not doing more? Too many of us are no more involved in our congregations, our giving, our Bible reading, our prayer life or missions than we were years ago. Yet we wonder why the church doesn't grow or why our congregations don't grow. We wonder why things aren't better. What are we doing to make them better? Which child are we?

Let's Be Like the Lepers

I'm sure the thought in that title is something you wouldn't normally look forward to. Follow along and see what I mean though.

Vicksburg, Mississippi was one of the richest cities in the south and probably in the entire nation prior to the Civil War. The town was filled with grand homes owned by some of the wealthiest planters and business men in the region. It was a busy commericial port on the Mississippi River.

In 1863 though Federal forces took city under siege. They had not been able to successfully invade Vicksburg. Gunboats cut off the river to the west and regularly bombarded the downtown area. Troops led by General Grant dug in to the north, east and south. Entering or exiting the town was not possible. This began on May 22 and lasted until July 4. The citizens of this once rich and proud town were reduced to living in caves and surviving on rats. Most of us can't imagine how hard that would have been.

II Kings 6 gives us the story of Samaria as it lay under siege by the Syrian army. Verses 24 and 25 tell us that items once considered worthless were being bought and sold for incredibly high prices. The following five verses are so horrible I don't think it's possible for us to imagine how unbelievably difficult the situation was.

Those verses tell us of a lady explaining to King Jehoram that she and another lady had decided that to survive they would have to eat their children. They decided one day to boil this lady's son for food. They were supposed to boil the son of the second lady but she had hidden him. Talk about a disturbing picture of want!

Now look at II Kings 7:3-5. In those verses we find four lepers sitting outside the city gates. They are trying to choose between the better of three bad options. They stay where they are and die of starvation. They can enter the city and die or they can surrender to the Syrians. They figure the last option is best. There might be a small chance they will be fed by the invaders. If not, they figure death at the hands of the Syrian army will be quicker and easier than the death they face in town.

Verses 6-8 tell us that God had, "caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses-the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, 'Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!' Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact..."

As a result of the camp being left intact, these four lepers who had been facing certain starvation found food. Can you imagine the swing in emotions at their discovery? God made the army flee. God provided the food these four men needed. They were saved. They also knew the people in the city were still starving and the food they needed was here in the camp. Unless they were told about God's deliverance they would continue to suffer and die. These lepers understood this and knew what they had to do.

To me verse 9 is the key to this story. "Then they said to one another, 'We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent..." Get the point? As Christians we know and remember the state we were in; our souls under siege and under attack by sin. If we didn't find a way out death and punishment were guaranteed to be our end.

God provided a way out. Jesus dying on the cross gave us the way out we needed; the spiritual food to save our souls. We now have all we need to live. We should be like these four lepers who also discovered God's salvation. Why are we so silent about what we have and what we know about? "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent." Let's quit being so silent and quit treating salvation as a great secret. How good a day has this been? Why are we not making this the great day it really is and telling others?

Where Is My Faith (Part 4)

Now we come to the Christians who were praying at Mary's house. We're told twice in this chapter that they were praying for Peter; in verse 5 and in verse 12. That part of the lesson they give us is wonderful. It's a great example of Christians praying for other Christians. We need to know and should enjoy knowing when others are praying for us. Jesus told Peter, "I will pray for you that your faith will not fail". What's it mean to us to know others are praying for us? It's uplifting.

The problem with this group though seems to be the attitude behind their prayers. They seemed to know the order, form and procedure for prayer. However, in verse14 their prayers were answered in the most direct and concrete way possible. Peter was standing at the door. Yet in verse 15 they can't or don't believe it's happened. The prayers of these believers were like emergency levers. They grabbed ahold of it held on for dear life wondering if it would work.

They remind me of Huck Finn when Miss Watson tried to teach him to pray. Huck decided to pray for fish hooks. When he woke up the next morning and didn't have his hooks he decided he couldn't make it work. Do we believe in prayer or are we shocked when we see it work? In verse 16, after Rhoda has been insistent they were still astonished to see Peter. Like Thomas and too many of us, they had faith in the flesh, not faith in faith. Their reaction in verse 16 shows us they didn't "walk in faith not in sight." Literally and figuratively they kept a door closed they should have opened with faith.

Was their faith really in the power of God or like many of us did they treat Him like Santa Claus; asking for something they hope to get but not expecting it?

"When the Son of Man returns will he find faith?" What kind?

Where Is My Faith? (Part 3)

Everything we know about the servant girl Rhoda, we learn from Acts 12:13-15. In these three verses though Rhoda is the perfect example of having a childlike faith. For the lesson she gives us during her brief time in the spotlight I think she's one of the great minor characters of the New Testament.

It's obvious from verse 14 that Rhoda knew who Peter was. She knew his voice. Was she a Christian? Had she been part of the group of Christians who were at Mary's house praying at this time? Considering Peter's influence in Jerusalem and who she worked for, it's possible that she knew Peter from previous visits to the house. Maybe she's heard him preach.

It's the middle of the night at this time, perhaps not far from daylight. The Christians have been praying there at the house for Peter. We know there are many people there for this purpose. Peter knocks on the door. Don't you think considering the time of night and the circumstances that a knock at the door would be noticed inside? Rhoda goes to the door. Verse 14 tells us Peter spoke at the door. She knew it was Peter; she knew his voice.

Look at her reaction. Due to her gladness she did not open the gate. Her faith was acknowledged yet she lost sight of the prize. Do we lose sense of what's important? When receive the answer we're looking for do we then focus on that answer instead of where and Who it came from?

I like Rhoda's behavior in verse 15 when she has gone into the house to tell the Christians that Peter is at the gate. They don't believe her but she keeps insisting. The next verse says that while that was happening inside, Peter "continued knocking" on the outside. As a side note, remember that the iron gate opened to the city in verse 10, "of its own accord" while Mary's gate remained closed. We need to remember that while God does some things for us, He expects us to do other things.

The persistance displayed by Rhoda in verse 15 and Peter in verse 16 is something we need to remember. Peter continues knocking while Rhoda keeps insisting. Let's hold to our faith regardless of what others think. Hold the commitment even if we're mocked. Look to God as responsible and able to guide us and just as importantly be ready to do our part. Never lose sight of the goal.

Ask yourself again, "Where is my faith?"

Where Is My Faith? (Part 2)

I realize it's easy to save the best for last but in the order these examples of faith are given in Acts 12, the apostle Peter is next. I'm glad Peter is the one who is a part of this story. When the word faith is mentioned with Peter, too often it's in a negative context. We think of the time he lost faith when trying to walk on the water towards Jesus. Of course we also remember that he denied Jesus three times the night before He was crucified. Adding insult to injury he did that after telling Jesus he would never deny Him.

Yet here Peter is in Acts 12 as a glowing example of a growing, solid faith. I like that. That shows me a person can grow in their faith. Our faith has to be growing. Faith is not and cannot be stagnet. It's either growing or dying. Too often when we talk about faith I'm afraid we don't get much beyond saying it's our belief in God. James 2:19 tells us it has to be much more than that. Otherwise we're on the same level as the "...demons believe - and tremble." James goes on to remind us of the importance of faithful works in conjunction with our belief.

Think abou the things that keep us awake at night; the concerns we have about different aspects of our lives. Now imagine Peter in that prison in Acts 12. He knows what's happened to James. Certainly he would feel sorrow. He knows that he is living through what is intended to be the last night of his life. He is literally hours away from being killed if things go according to Herod's plan. He has four squads of Roman soldiers guarding him; 16 soldiers. He is chained to two of these soldiers, one on either side of him. Yet look at verse 6. He slept. Imagine yourself in Peter's position. How are you spending that night? Peter is confident in his faith. He has grown. He feels secure and has a quiet acceptance while waiting for God's time. That's what a living faith does!

Verses 7 through 10 tells how Peter was released from the prison and taken through the streets of Jerusalem. We have no evidence that Peter did anything other than obey. In verse 11 he acknowledges God's hand in what's happened to him. He's been sustained by a faith that comforted him knowing that whatever happens, God is in charge. That's what we need, a growing, living faith where we trust Him and let faith take control. Allow ourselves to be led by the will of God.

Where Is My Faith? (Part 1)

Note: The idea for this post and the related ones that will follow come from a sermon I heard several years ago by Dr. Dennis Lloyd of the Granny White congregation in Nashville.

Acts 12 is an interesting chapter. It's almost a side note to the story of Saul. It follows chapters that describe the work of Peter and the early work of Paul, then called Saul. The end of chapter 11 sends Saul and Barnabas off from Antioch to Jerusalem. We don't read of them again until the very last verse of chapter 12. In between we're given four examples of faith as displayed by other people. The focus of the chapter is on other people; James, Peter, Herod, Rhoda and the believers at Mary's house. It reveals to us varying levels of faith, microcosms of us.

The first example in chapter 12 is the faith of Herod Agrippa I. We're told he is harassing the church and kills the apostle James. Verse 3 tells us a lot about where his priorities are. He imprisons Peter because he saw that killing James, "pleased the Jews". He no doubt planned to also have Peter killed for sport based on verse 4.

Starting in verse 20 we read another account of Herod, this time in Caesarea. He'd not been happy with the people of Tyre and Sidon but through his personal aide, they'd come asking for peace. They were giving in to him and he decides to address them. Verse 21 says he was, "...arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them." The first century historian Josephus says in his Jewish Antiquities that this "royal apparel" was made out of material that had silver sown into it. As Herod sat on his throne above the people, sunlight reflected on the silver shined off of him. This made it look like light was coming from Herod. That's why the people listening got caught up in the moment and shouted, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" Verse 23 tells us the result of his actions which was death, "because he did not give glory to God." His faith was in himself and his public, not what was right and wrong. God not only received no glory, He wasn't even considered.

It's easy for us to read this and not see any similarities between us and Herod. After all we don't have the ability to imprison and kill people on a whim. We don't rule over people. Besides his actions, our lesson should be from his motivation.

He wanted people to like him. He wanted people to be happy with him and what he did. He's sensitive to his actions from pleasing the Jews to killing the guards for letting Peter escape. How many times do we let our desire to be liked or accepted by others interfere with what we know is right? How many times do we say or do something not because it gives glory to God, not because it's the right thing to do but because it will make others feel good about us? That's the faith Herod had; a faith in himself and in others. When we feel we can make decisions on our own we have this same faithless faith.Look at the result then ask youself "Where Is My Faith?"

Get Off the Spiritual Tight Rope...It Doesn't Exist

The great gospel preacher Willard Collins conducted a survey many years ago. He asked several Nashville area psychologists what the religious backgrounds were of the people they saw whose greatest challenge was guilt. The overwhelming leaders were members of the Assembly of God and members of the churches of Christ.

Now imagine a scene in a worship service where the preacher asks everyone who believes they're going to Heaven then and there to raise there hands. What kind of response would he get? Unfortunately I think he'd see few hands go straight up. Most would want to raise them but just couldn't be sure.

I don't claim to have all the answers but I think I have a pretty good idea about this these two scenarios. It's really simple. Some how for some reason over the years we have either forgotten or not paid attention to I John, specifically I John 1:7 through 2:2.

To truly grasp the meaning of this passage, one needs a basic understanding of Greek verb tenses since this book was written in that language. There are three types of Greek verbs. An aorist verb signifies a single action event; something that happened once. A perfect verb represents an action that has already happened but which still has ramifications. The sacrifice of Christ is the best example of this. Finally, the present tense verb indicates a continuous action; something that is ongoing. This is the tense regularly used in I John and specifically it's used in chapter 1, verse 7.

Understand that because for too long too many people have not. Now look at verse 7 again with that thought. The blood of Jesus continually cleanses us if we continually walk in the light. That doesn't mean we have to continually be perfect because we can't be. Verse 8 tells us that. The first verse of chapter 2 reinforces the idea that Jesus is still there for us after we sin.

What does this really mean for us? It means we can eliminate the idea of a good person doing or saying something bad as their last action on earth and being sent to Hell for that one misdeed. Teachers for too long have taught the idea that a good person could be in a car wreck and if they say a bad word then are killed they're going to Hell because they didn't ask to be forgiven. If that were the case then the opposite would have to be true. One could be a convicted murderer. Their last action on earth could be something good. Yet that doesn't make them a good person. It doesn't mean they're "walking in the light". So why have we fallen for the idea that one can happen but not the other?

Joe Barnett from Texas is a great gospel preacher. He tells the story of holding a meeting. An older lady in the congregation asked him to visit with her. She had something on her mind. Barnett went to visit her and she told him about a situation in which she had said something unkind to another church member quite a while in the past. She'd told that member she was sorry and had prayed about it. She wanted Barnett to pray for her and he did. Two or three years later he was back for another meeting. The same lady approached him with the same problem. He says he refused to pray for her. He would however pray for her lack of faith. Why pray for a situation that's been forgiven by the continuing cleansing of Jesus? God forgives us easier than we forgive ourselves. That in itself is worth talking about.

Not only have too many Christians been carrying too much unneccessary guilt, I believe this has probably driven away more people from the church than any other single issue. Seriously, who wants to serve a God that makes us walk that kind of tight rope? Fortunately we don't and more of us need to start figuring that out.

A Quick Thought Worth Sharing

The following was written by Jim Waldron in the May 2008 "Bulletin Briefs" printed by the Crossville church of Christ in Crossville, TN. He is a missionary in India.

"The world population for 2008 stands at 6.7 billion (www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf) If a man gave his wife one billion dollars and gave her two rules about spending it: 'Spend $10,000 every day and don't come back until you have spent it all' she would be gone for more than 273 years. Yet our Lord expects us to preach to 6 billions plus...As disciples of Christ we have been given the greatest responsibility in the world which is to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15-16)."

What did we do today?

Benevolence

In 1989 I was attending the Hillsboro church of Christ in Nashville. In January of that year the Elders presented the year's budget to the congregation. Two points still stick in my mind about that. It was the first time I ever heard of a church with an annual budget of one million dollars. If I remember correctly it was also the first year Hillsboro's budget was that large. Secondly, the Elders were not only proud of the fact that 50% of it was geared towards benevolence but they were hopeful they could increase that percentage. I don't believe it was a coincidence that Hillsboro was a growing church grounded in the New Testament.

I've personally dealt with two situations in the past four days where people needed money. I also became aware tonight of a lady who had a need for clothing a few days ago. With fuel and food prices rising as quickly as they are we're going to see an increase in the number of people needing help from both inside our church family and from the outside. I think we're already seeing it.

I'm coming to the conclusion that a "lack of money" is not a valid reason for not helping others. In the situation I dealt with tonight I would have liked to have helped the lady. Our church budget for benevolence is already gone for the month of may and there are 24 days left in the month as I write this. The lady this evening came asking for help just minutes before the service started. I would have liked to have gone to several individuals who were already there for the service and "passed the hat". In hindsight I believe I should have and hopefully next time I will. When we can afford $60+ a month for cable tv and waste money on countless other ways for our own pleasure I believe the problem is anything but a lack of money. It's a lack of priorities.

I've mentioned this in an earlier post but if we're going to continue to call ourselves the New Testament church we need to start acting like it. Act 2:44-45 show us the first example of how the early Christians cared for each other. Acts 4:32-34 of course is another example; one I discussed in an earlier post. I also like the example given in Acts 11:28-30. In that one a man showed the Christians a need that existed in another area and the Christians responded. There were no committee meetings. There doesn't appear to be much thought or discussion. There is only action, positive action shown. II Corinthians 8 and 9 are also powerful chapters we need to re-read.

I do see positives coming out of the current wide spread financial situation. Tonight in our adult Bible class we had a wonderful, positive discussion about giving and helping others in need. That wasn't the plan but as we studied Elisha helping the widow and her two sons in II Kings 4:1-7 the discussion took us down that road. We had tons of comments, some coming from people who don't normally speak up in class. Everyone also seemed to have the same general idea and thoughts; we need to do more and more importantly we can do more. The big test of course comes as we transform those words and thoughts into action. Here's hoping we do because I know we can.

A Quick Thought On Helping Others

I was approached after this morning's worship service by one of our ushers. He told me there was a man and his daughter there who came in asking for financial assistance. It's the policy of our congregation to ask people in that position to come to a service or in this case stay through the service before we find out what we can possibly do for them. I believe that's a fair policy.

I met with the man who appeared to be in his 30's. The girl with him was probably four or five. He said he lived in our area. He wasn't a member of any church and that his mother died in another state. He said he had been recently laid off from work and needed $100 to $150 to get him to the funeral. He would worry about getting the money to make it back home once he was there. He even offered to call someone to back up his story.

Now a cynic would say that's a pretty unlikely story. How would we know that whoever he might call on the phone wasn't part of his plan? We could have grilled him about why he couldn't look at other avenues for the money. I'll admit that in the past I probably would have asked the same thing.

I'm proud to say we were able to help him out. At least three of us invited him to come visit us again with his wife and daughter.We usually don't give that much monetary assistance to one person. Due to the number of requests we get we try to help more people with less money each.

Will we ever see him again? Was his story legitimate? More importantly are those really our concerns? That end of the equation doesn't lay on us or our consciences. The only thing we needed to worry about was whether or not we could help this person who expressed a need. If we had the opportunity and failed then we're the ones with the problem as individuals and as a congregation.

Whether or not the man's mother was dead and his story was real is something he has to be responsible for. I don't believe we need to foolishly throw money away but we should be more willing to give than to not give. I know there are those who become "regulars" in needing assistance. I've personally dealt with some. Those need to be treated differently but that's not the type of situation I'm talking about.

This is important for a couple of reasons. First I think churches in the past have been more stingy in situations like this than they should be. I realize there are budgets to meet but in our case I'm sure the contribution today was over $2000. What's $100 from that? Secondly we're going to be seeing more situations like this in the future. With fuel and food prices soaring as they are more churches are going to be asked to help more people than ever before. Obviously we can't help them all with everything they need. We do need to make sure we're doing what we can and in this instance I'm glad to see that we did.

I wonder if we'll see this man and his family again. I'll let you know.

A Lesson from Elisha

II Kings 2:23-24 tells us about Elisha traveling from Jericho to Bethel and what happens to him on the way. It's a story we're taught in Sunday School as children. In short, some youths from Bethel mock him and say, "Go up you baldhead." Scripture says he, "pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled fourty two of the youths."

Unfortunately when that lesson is taught I think most teachers end it with a laugh and the idea that we shouldn't make fun of preachers and prophets or that Elisha was a mean man. Then they move on to another lesson. I don't think I ever heard any detailed explanation of this event. I covered this in an adult Bible class tonight. Based on the comments I received afterwards I realized many others had the same experience. I'm very glad we covered this in detail tonight. The following is what I discovered about this story and how I believe it can apply to us in the 21st century.

Keep in mind this took place at Bethel. That name means "house of God" or "place of God". It was one of the four cities Samuel held court in as he judged Israel. This was an important city, a spiritual place. By the time this story took place Bethel had become a corrupt city. It was one of two places Jeroboam had set up idols to Baal as the symbol of worship. Hosea, who would minister to Israel after Elisha called it Bethaven which means "house of wickedness". (Hoseas 4:15, 5:8 and 10:5) Even though there is a school of prophets here at the time, Bethel is not a good place.

The youths who mocked Elisha were "naars". That meant they were special. I Samuel 1:24 uses that word for Samuel, that "the naar was a naar". Dr. Randy Cloud says that's like saying the president is the president. He's saying the naar is special. This word is also used to describe Joseph when he was a teenager and later in prison before he interprets the dreams. Benjamin was also called this after he had grown and fathered ten sons. These weren't small boys mocking Elisha but kids old enough to know better. They were special, probably armor bearers, young knights, crowned princes or noblemen.

The word mocked is the Hebrew word galas and means a "scornful belittling" with the attitude of counting as worthless something or someone that is really of great value. Also the word for curse here is the Hebrew galal which means it "expresses a removal or lowering from the place of blessing".

So let's look at this story again with that knowledge. These young men were considered special. They were educated yet Elisha meant nothing to them and certainly neither did God. They "galas"-ed Elisha. They belittled someone of value. When they called him baldheaded they probably wouldn't have known if he was or not. In that part of the world, traveling by foot Elisha probably had his head covered. Even if he didn't, baldness was often associated with leprosy which would obviously make one an outcast. Elisha in turn "galal"-ed the kids. He took from them any blessing. Blessings were important at that time and would especially be soo from a man of God.

Elisha did not make the bears attack these young people. God did. All Elisha did was speak to them in a way that they would know they were not being blessed. It's also interesting to note that they told him to "go up". This would seem that they were telling him that if he were like Elijah he should "go up" to Heaven like his mentor did much like the people told Jesus at the cross that if he could really save Himself He should.

The lesson? God will not be mocked. I think that's the most obvious and important. Also I think it tells us we should be like Elisha. He didn't turn and run when faced with a difficult situation. I think he practiced what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:6. He didn't compromise his belief. I think he personified what James said about facing trials. He also is an example of I Peter 4:12-14 and II Timothy 3:12.

We need to be like Elisha. Stand fast and firm acting in a Christian manner and leaving the results to God. Trust God to make a way and remove the obstacles. To me this is a great example of an Old Testament story teaching and reinforcing New Testament principles.

Is Our Religion Pure and Undefiled?

This was a great day. The weather in my part of the country was sunny and warm with the temperature in the low 70's. This was especially nice since the last few days have been gray and rainy.

My family went to church as we always do on Sunday. I enjoyed a Sunday School class that studied the end of Hebrews 12 and the beginning of chapter 13. We listened to two outstanding lessons from the pulpit. The evening sermon was particularly enjoyable for me. It was based on Psalm 125:1-2 and dealt with the things God surrounds us with; His promise, peace, protection and presense. We lifted our voices in song and took part in the communion meal.

As I sit here at the end of the day though I wonder if that was enough. I mean my heart and mind were right and focused but I wonder if James would have found my actions to be enough. Not just today, but in my everyday walk am I practicing "pure and undefiled religion"? Are any of us?

James wrote in chapter 1, verse 27 of his epistle that, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." I believe (or hope) that most of us are doing the best we can with the second part of this verse, keeping ourselves unspotted. It's the first part that I wonder about.

Most congregations I've been a part of send fruit baskets to widows at Christmas time. Several congregations gather money at different times of the year for orphanages. This is usually done by families taking home cans and depositing change into them. When the can is full or the deadline arrives the can is returned to the church. Someone from the orphanage picks them up. There's nothing wrong with either of those tasks. The problem comes when that's the bulk of what we do.

I'm sure James meant for us to be concerned about these two groups more than once a year. How often are we visiting the widows? How often do we check on their well being? How often do we try to make sure their needs are being met? Most but of course not all widows are elderly. Older folks sometimes keep quiet about their problems. They don't want to feel like they're a burden to anyone. Don't you think it's vitally important for us to make sure these ladies are taken care of?

Remember in Acts 6 the Apostles appointed seven men to look after the widows in the church. That was to be their responsibility. Even if the widows among us have everything they need like transportation, food, safe and secure homes, what kind of priority do we place on visiting them? Older folks often feel lonely. If nothing else I think we should place more importance on that. I know I do.

What about orphans? When was the last time your congregation hosted orphans for a day of fun? How often do you think kids in that situation get to go to baseball games, go to the mountains, have a day of fun activities with other kids their own age? Think of the example it would set for our own children if a congregation decided to set aside one Saturday a month to host an event for the orphans in our community? I'm not saying no one does that. Sadly I will say though I've never seen it happen or heard of it. It's even possible a family in our congregations would meet and get to know a child that they would want to bring into their family.

The more I think about this it's not just the widows and orphans who are neglected. In not being of service to them year 'round, we're also neglecting ourselves, our spiritual growth and personal growth and failing to set the proper example to others. I hope you'll ask yourself the same question I asked myself today; just how pure and undefiled is your religion?

Justice and Mercy and Blueberry Pie

Many years ago there was a lady known for her delicious homemade pies. Her name was Flossie. As everyone knows, older experienced cooks make the best pies. Miss Flossie and her husband owned a fruit farm so she always had good, fresh ingredients for her pies.

She had given a pie to a family in her church. One Wednesday night as the family left to go to that night's church service the mother of that family mentioned taking Miss Flossie's glass pie plate back to her. One of the sons in this family over heard his mother. He wanted to take the pie plate back. He wanted to let Miss Flossie know how much he enjoyed her pie.

This boy couldn't have been older than six at the time and his mother didn't think it was a good idea for him to be responsible for this glass pie plate. Using all his persuasive skills though, he was able to convince his mother that he would be careful and that nothing would happen to the pie plate. The mother finally gave in.

The boy carried that glass pie plate in both hands while walking slowly towards the church building. As he started up the few concrete steps to the door, he tripped. You know the result. That glass pie plate of Miss Flossie's broke into hundreds of pieces. That boy felt as low as a six year old boy could feel. That is until his mother saw him. Then he really felt bad.

His mother was obviously upset, disappointed and mad at the boy. As he listened to her he didn't think he could feel any worse; until she told him he would have to tell Miss Flossie what happened. He stood there waiting for the old lady to show up, hoping she would stay at home this night. His heart sank when he saw her pull into the parking lot. The moment of truth was at hand.

As Miss Flossie approached him he felt even worse than he ever thought possible. Miss Flossie greeted his mother and gave the boy a hug. He began to tell the woman what had happened, that it had been an accident, that's he'd tried to be careful, that he was sorry. He had broken her pie plate. He now waited knowing that as bad as things had been for the past few minutes they were probably going to get worse. He'd have to pay for the plate. He might have to work at the fruit farm. His parents would punish him. Miss Flossie would punish him.

Then she hugged him. Miss Flossie hugged the boy, told him it was alright, don't worry about that old pie plate. The boy was stunned as she went on to ask what his favorite flavor of pie was because she was going to bake a special one just for him. Thinking this was too good to be true the boy yelled out, "Blueberry" as quickly as he could before she changed her mind. The lady hugged him again as she told him he'd have his own blueberry pie the following Sunday and he did.

Did that boy deserve that pie? Had he done anything to earn that pie? Of course not. If anything he deserved to be punished for his actions, not rewarded. Yet he was rewarded. He was given a gift that he didn't deserve, that he didn't earn and it was given solely out of love. What the boy deserved was justice. What he got was mercy.

So it is with us. We don't deserve the salvation given to us by God. We certainly can't and didn't earn it. It has been given to us because of His love for us, no other reason. Do we appreciate it? Do we cherish it like the boy cherished his blueberry pie? Do we look forward to that final reward? If we were given what we've earned, what we deserve because of our sins, we would all be in trouble.

I've eaten many blueberry pies since that night in the mid-70's. None tasted as sweet and delicious as that blueberry pie Miss Flossie made for me. I can't even eat, see or hear about blueberry pie without thinking of Miss Flossie, love and mercy. Cherish and appreciate His love, His mercy, His salvation. If we do it will show in our lives to others and help make us stronger, more Christ centered Christians and it will certainly be sweeter than a thousand blueberry pies.

Another Thought on Gideon

It's my belief that too many people today focus on the New Testament to the exclusion of the Old Testament. Paul wrote in In Romans 15:4, Paul tells us, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

While writing specifically about Old Testament examples, in I Corinthians 10:11, Paul says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” It’s obvious from these passages that the stories and examples from the Old Testament are there for our learning. It’s up to us to take advantage of these lessons given to us.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I taught a class on the book of Judges a couple of years ago. As a result of that study I gained a greater appreciation for Gideon. I believe there are several great lessons in that man's story that we can apply to our lives to make us better New Testament Christians. The following is what I wrote about how Gideon dealt with doubt and faith. I hope you find it useful even though it may be considered lengthy by internet standards.

There’s not a person among us that hasn’t been affected by doubt. It’s human nature. There are countless ways that we let doubt creep into our lives. We worry about jobs and income. We may worry about whether we’re good parents or good spouses. Some may worry about their health. Perhaps we worry about whether we’re doing all we can as Christians in our service to God.

Gideon was worried about the future. He was concerned in Judges 6:12-16 about his future and the future of his country. Of course Gideon wasn’t the only person in the Bible that was afflicted with doubt. One of the most striking examples that come to mind is when Peter tried to walk on the water with Jesus.

Even after he and the other disciples heard the voice of Jesus tell them to have courage, to “Be of good cheer” (Matthew 14:27). Peter doubted. He asked again if that really was Jesus out on the water. Even when he was reassured by Jesus a second time, Peter doubted. Jesus asks him pointedly in verse 31, “Why did you doubt?”

The Apostle Thomas has been come so synonymous with the word doubt that even to this day the phrase “Doubting Thomas” is a part of our vocabulary today. This was a man who spent the biggest part of three years following, listening, watching and learning from Christ. Yet he doubted when presented with the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.

The account of Jesus appearing to the disciples after his resurrection is also given to us in Luke 24. It would appear from verse 37 of that chapter that Thomas wasn’t the only one who doubted what he was seeing and hearing. In Matthews telling of this story in chapter 28 we are told candidly in verse 16, “Some doubted.”

Jesus knew it was human nature for us to have doubts. He warned against it and tried to reassure us not to have doubts when he spoke to his followers about the withered fig tree. He tells us of the power inside us that can be unleashed only when we remove doubt from our thinking. Those passages (Matthew 21:20-22 and Mark 11:20-24) also give us the antidote for doubt; growing in and increasing our faith.

So it was with Gideon. In the exchange he has with the Angel of the Lord in Judges 6:12-16, before Gideon speaks, he in already hearing positive words from the Angel. From verse 12, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” He’s given three positive thoughts from the Angel. He is told that God is with him. He is told that he is mighty and that he is a man of valor. Yet in the very next verse, Gideon doubts.

Think about how we today handle doubt. Gone unchecked without a positive thought or an uplifting word from another, doubt can eat away at a person until there is no confidence left. It’s easy to imagine that if Gideon still doubts after hearing these reassuring words from the Angel, that he certainly was filled with a greater degree of negativity before this conversation.

The Angel once again in verse 14 tries to reassure him. “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?” Here again are two positive messages. Gideon is told that he is mighty. He is also told for the second time that God is with him. Yet in his follow up, his reply in the very next verse, Gideon still has reservations. Like Thomas in the example mentioned earlier, he needs physical reassurance. He must for his own mind, to assuage those doubts be shown. He even makes excuses for himself. He comes up with reasons why he believes he’s not capable of great things. He is weak. He comes from a small, weak family.

Doubts will rise up and cloud our thinking. There’s no way around that. It’s the response to doubt, fear and reservations that will determine the type of servant we will be though. There is nothing wrong with having doubts about ourselves or a particular set of circumstances. The problems arise when we allow those doubts to overcome our faith and our overall attitude.

Fear and doubt are not things God gives us or leaves us with. They are things that come about because we fail to recognize our own ability; ability given to us by God. They can be great motivators, great tools, and great launching pads for us to pick ourselves up from. They can motivate us to achieve greater things in life than we thought possible. Or, they can paralyze us. Fear and doubt can also be the starting point for a downward spiral that in the lives of some end up ruining lives and ultimately separating that person from God forever.

God understands our doubts. He understands we have doubts. If we let Him, He will use these times to convince us of His sufficiency and His love. He will use these times and these feelings to lead us to an increased faith. We must take the first step which involves stepping out of fleshly thinking and into the thinking of faith; into the realm of the Spirit.

The Apostle Paul found himself in such a condition when dealing with what he himself called his “thorn in the flesh”. Not once, not twice but three times he says he asked God to remove this trouble from his life. He recounts for us in II Corinthians 12:9 that Christ told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The problem wasn’t taken away from Paul. The difference was that through his faith and because of his faith he knew he now had the means to deal with the problem.

Paul told the Corinthians in chapter 1 of the same book about his feelings as he encountered trouble in Asia. He says in verse 8, “We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” In the next verse though he admits that it wasn’t him who had the answers, it was God. Again, in that same letter he affirms that all sufficiency comes from God and not from man (3:5).

Then there are the words of Jesus who tells us in John 15:5, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” Is it easy to put away those negative feelings of doubting and despair? Of course not. That’s not the point. The point is whether we use those moments to our own advantage and to the glory of God. That’s what we see Gideon do.

Gideon wasn’t expected to be able to overcome his doubts and problems by himself and neither are we. Abiding in and with God he was able to “bear much fruit”. Why should we be any different? When confronted with doubt, if we don’t listen to those words of Christ we not only sink deeper in doubt but that leads to other negative problems. Left unchecked those doubts can spiral into deep fear, inactivity, and depression.

When confronting his fears and doubt, Gideon throws himself to the Lord and allows himself to be used as an instrument for God. He is ready to overcome, step up and move on to great things. In a way he uses this time to vent his frustrations, to reflect on what he feels are his weaknesses. But he’s not ready to live in that condition. He’s ready to use this opportunity to step away from that doubt, draw closer to God and go on to greatness. Can we be any different?

Really...Are We Even Close?

The goal of the New Testament church is to follow in the footsteps and examples given to us by the first century Christians. This is or should be true of the individual Christian, their congregation and the church as a whole. That blueprint we should hope to follow is given to us in the New Testament. It's the individual Christian's responsibility and hopefully their desire to do so. When those individuals do so they form a working, growing, relevant congregation. When those congregations do so they form a church rooted in love and good works and will make an impact throughout the world. I look at how we follow some of those New Testament examples and I wonder just how close we really are to what they did.

I'm not hear to bash good works by individuals or congregations. I'm going to assume we're doing what we feel we can. I just hope we can look closer at whether we're actually doing all we can particulary when compared to the church talked about at the end of Acts 2.

I hope of course hope that we are as stated in verse 42 of this chapter continuing, "steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, the the breaking of bread, and in prayers." Congregations of faithful Christians are following that example. Of course we can always improve the amount of time we devote to fellowship and our prayer lives. What I wonder about and want to focus on here are the later verses in this chapter.

Beginning with verse 44 and continuing we read, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of hear, praising God and having favor with all the people..."

While we're at it, let's also read verses 32 through 35 of chapter 4. "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need." WOW!

I'm not talking to you about this matter. I really am talking with you about it. I can't say that I've ever sold a house, taken the proceeds from the sale, given that money to my elders and told them to give it to those that had need. I'm not even going to claim that I've been a part of, "breaking bread from house to house". What about you?

Am I overanalyzing this or are we really not as close as we'd like to claim in following this example? Yes (I hope)we enjoy moments of fellowship with each other outside of our worship services. As I write this though I realize that in the five plus years my family has worshipped at our current congregation we've never had other Christians over for a meal. I look forward to changing that.

How much are we doing to make sure the needs of our fellow Christians are met? When we hear of someone in need are we willing to part with "our" money as generously as we should? Many congregations have food pantries and clothes closets. We might take up a special collection if we know of a family facing extreme financial hardships. Too often though it seems we have these assets to serve the community at large at the exclusion of those right here in our Family. Doesn't it seem to you that the church in Acts took it much further than that?

If we aren't doing enough we should have the desire to improve on our track record if for no other reason than we claim to want to follow the New Testament. However these verses not only point out our shortcomings they also tell us of great rewards for those that do try to pattern themselves after these verses.

Acts 2:47 shows the reward for really looking after each other is, "having favor with the people." Even better than that, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." How favorable is your congregation looked upon by the people in your community? Think about how many baptisms were conducted at your location in the last year. Were they occuring daily, weekly or even monthy? Now who is falling short, us or God?

Look at what happened to the church in 4:32 and 33. They, "were of one heart and one soul..." "And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked..." Aren't these things we should all be seeking? Paul writes in Romans 15:5 for, "...the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus..." How and when will that happen? It happens when I look out for you, you look out for me and we commit ourselves to truly being the Christians we should not only want to be but the Christians we can be. Do we have the faith to do these things? Really...are we even close?

Gideon's Trumpet

I wanted to talk about this story of Gideon early on for a couple of reasons. I had the idea of naming this blog by that title or something similar. Also, I grew to have a new appreciation and deeper understanding of Gideon thanks to an adult Bible class I taught on the book of Judges.

The story of Gideon is found of course in Judges chapters 6 through 8. The specific story I reference is from chapter 7. This is the familiar incident when God tells Gideon to prepare for battle against the mighty army of the Midianites. We're told in chapter 7 verse 12, "Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts..."

To show Gideon and the Israelites that He was in charge and I believe to also test their faith, God told Gideon cut the number of his soldiers to 300. When the time came to attack the Midianites, Gideon commanded them in verses 16-18 to follow him in blowing trumpets and breaking pitchers as they invaded the enemy camps. The following verses recount what happened as the men did this; they soundly defeated the enemy.

Now you and I both know neither the trumpets nor the pitchers by themselves were capable of doing anything. Placed in the right hands, with faith and with the help of the Higher Power, they accomplished great things. The Israelites weren't victorious that night because just because they blew trumpets and broke clay pitchers. They were victorious because they had faith, they used the tools they had and they did what they were capable of doing and they trusted God to take care of the rest.

So perhaps this blog should be named for those trumpets and or pitchers. I can't do anything by myself. What I'm able to accomplish is done with the help of God. I have faith in God. I want to try to use what I have, what I've been given to further His cause. With His guidance and my effort I believe we can do great things in this world full of modern day Midianites. I believe we all can.

Regardless then of what title or name is at the top of this I hope we'll all take that lesson to improve our lives, walk in faith and further His cause.

Here We Go

I've decided to carve out my own little piece of the internet world. I'm glad you've visited regardless of your reason for being here. I've thought about this blog long before I decided to start it.

I'm a 38 year old man; a Christian. I would think of myself as a good guy, a nice guy trying to do the right thing. From time to time I realize there's more I could do. The creation of this blog is the result of one of those realizations. That's a lot of what I hope to accomplish here. That's mainly why my name isn't on this blog. I don't think who I am is important here. I hope though that what I say might be...at least some of the time. I certainly don't mind telling anyone who I am; just ask.

I don't have all the answers. I'm still trying to figure a lot of things out as we all are. What I do have are my thoughts and the answers I've found to this point in my life. I hope they make you think. My goal is to talk about issues of faith and our walk with God. From time to time though I may stray onto other topics that I have an interest in. Again, this is my piece of the web so I make no apologies for that.

Why am I doing this? The internet as you're aware is not the Godliest of places. In trying to make myself a better example for others I thought I might use this area for something positive regardless of how small this part is. Also, I find writing helps me clear my mind a lot of times. Finally, my ultimate goal would be to either encourage others or instruct others. I hope to encourage fellow Christains and instruct those who are still searching for Him.

I know with forgiveness there's no need to "make up" for a person's past. That past is gone so there's nothing to make up for. So instead of saying I'm trying to do that, let's consider that I'm trying to improve my future and hopefully someone else's along the way! Let me know if I can be of help.