Vanity, Vanity…all is Vanity. Unless…

    Discouragement certainly abounds today.  Where is the hope?  I read the news accounts of the young men and women committing suicide all around us.  There is a loss of hope, and and its having a profound impact on life as lived in the Western world.  Drug use to numb the pain is up.  Suicide to end the pain is skyrocketing.  This despite the fact that Ivory tower secularist academics who don’t live a regular life tell us to throw off our cares.  There is no God, so don’t worry about sin! Do what you want!

   Our culture has been living this reality, functional atheism, even if it has not confessed it to be so, for over half a century.  And we are now where such thinking takes us.  We have stopped seeing God as being relevant for life and for the moment by moment.  And now the despair that is the only natural result sweeps over us and our young people.  Hopelessness and purposelessness is killing us.  

   No cosmetics can cover over the ugly reality.  No money can buy enough pleasure to deaden the pain.  No power position can fill the void.  No sex, no vote, no accomplishment, no honor or award can make life matter if there is no God.  

   One might argue that there IS the advancement of the species to consider.  But what does that “great” cause matter to Joe average?  In the back of Joe’s mind remains the haunting thought that he is only one amidst a sea of peoples, and he does not really matter that much anyway.  Who cares if he’s missing from the “great cause” to propel the human race.  And propel the race to what?  The stars?  Even they must die.  And those who claim to know believe that the universe itself must be extinguished someday, even if its billions of years from now, in a great cosmic night.  So what does the individual matter?

   These are questions without an answer if there is no God.

   If you feel despair and emptiness, its time to reconsider the meaning of life.  If there is a God, then everything has meaning and value about you and for you.  The tack you stepped on when you were five has meaning.  The illness you had when you were ten has meaning.  Your Father making you get a job at 14, and your first accident in a car at 16.  That inexplicable firing when you had your first decent job...all of it has a meaning.  You job has meaning and purpose.  Your drive home has meaning and purpose.  Its part of God making you and shaping you.  Into what?  That’s really the important question isn’t it… But now you are searching for meaning and you don’t know how it all fits.  Things are not working out the way you expected, harder in fact, than you thought it would be.  Why? 

    If you feel that life is meaningless, your feeling is flat out wrong!  Its time to start centering on God!  Its time to consider Him.  Its time to see His hand in your life, and in all your circumstances.  Its time to realize that He knows you by name, and has numbered the hairs on your head.  You may have attended church in the past.  You may have read your bible once in a while, but haven’t picked it up in months.  You’ve tried what the world has told you would work: Be a better wife/husband; be a better business man; get more money; have more pleasure; buy a nicer car; get a better hobby; buy a bigger house; have a more important career; pave over the bad things, and seek the honor of people.  It goes on and on. Yet you still feel empty.  Its time to come back to God.  “Seek his Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).”

Were You There?

Its one of those statements that comes up periodically in Bible studies and sermons.  Its even a question that’s immortalized in the famous Negro Spiritual, “Were You There?”  Over the years it has sometimes struck me as opportunistic emotional manipulation, or a way to generate cheap oos and ahs from your audience:  “I was there when they drove in the nails, and all the people said Amen.”  You know that type of thing.  You’ve heard it before.

But this week I entered some serious introspection, and began to review my life in light of that question, “Were you there?”  Instead of thinking about it piously and shallowly, and I realized that I was very much there in a variety of ways.

I have done my work mercilessly and callously like a Roman Soldier,

I have heckled people of faith like the crowd.

I have hated and plotted murder like a pharisee,

I have abandoned and denied my Lord like a disciple.

Like a crucified bandit, I have judged people better than I 

Even as I hang guilty and condemned between heaven and earth.

I have been jealous like a Sadducee,

I have rejected truth like a Pilate.

I sought to use violence to enforce my will, like a Peter,

I have betrayed like a Judas

Easter has always been the Highest Holiday on the calendar until about the last couple of centuries.  Its a day for celebration and victory.  I thank God for Easter, because it says that there is hope and forgiveness for every human being on earth.   But Thursday is about Betrayal, and Friday is about Repentance. 

 “You ARE the man.”  “All we like sheep, have gone astray.”  Were you there on Good Friday?  The scriptures say it is so.

YOUTUBE!

There is a new sermon on my Youtube site!  Enjoy!

Disrespecting the Church? I'm a little confused about this…

I am confused.  

I recently bumped into an individual who was an occasional attender of our church, had participated in ministry we sponsored, and was also saved through our ministry, as a result of money spent here at this church, through efforts of volunteers at our church.  This person, when I asked why they don’t come to church began to inform me that everything we were doing here was irrelevant and phony.

This person did not say it exactly like that.  But he certainly pointed the finger at the general church crowd.  This person is not attending anywhere a regular “church” service.  And its not just our church crowd...but all the Sunday Church crowd.  Phony.  Shallow.  Pretender.  Hypocrites.  Again, not necessarily using those words, but the description fit.  And so he doesn’t attend any service.

I scratched my head over that.  Around that same time I bumped into him again, but in the context of a bible study.  It was a collection of individuals who have ties to a few local churches, and I stopped by to check it out.  There I learned, according to them, that the Sunday crowd is phony and unnecessary.  This event, this study, was the real church in their mind.  They said so.  

The two conversations were separated by a little bit of time and other concerns, but sometime later, I put two and two together.  Here was the problem.

I did not get a chance to point out to this friend that if our church, or any church is fake, phony, hypocritical or shallow, they certainly do pony up resources, funds, people and effort to make sure that we can do ministry to people like him.  If it hadn’t been for people who were serious about making a difference in the lives of people like him, there would have been no outreach.  There would have been no resources spent to ensure that we could have events where he could become a Christian.  There would have been no volunteers to lead people like him to Christ by telling him the story of salvation.  That certainly does not seem phony to me!

Now I need to note that I am not angry at this person.  Just confused.  And a little bit sad and disappointed.  Part of it is because BCC, and other churches around this area really are doing relevant and life changing ministry. The Church is quite alive and well here in Bancroft and Shiawassee County.  

But there is more to it than that.  Its a question of wrong thinking which certainly has not been taught here.  

The Church is the BODY of Christ.  Its the Bride of Christ.  Its built on the rock of the confession of faith, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.  The scripture tells us, in no uncertain terms, that its a dangerous thing to sit in judgment against other parts of it, and forbids us from saying that we do not need the other parts.  The Bible enjoins communal worship despite differences that can potentially separate us.  It tells us to be in subjection to one another in love and to a divinely appointed leaders/Elders/Pastors/Deacons who watch over us for our benefit.

I am confused because Jesus says, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church," but some think that modern complacency has done what the devil could not do!  

A Bible study is not church.  Its a function of church.  Its something a church does and should be present in every local manifestation of the body of Christ.  But if that’s all you are in… you are not in church.  Church is a collective.  Church isdiverse.  Church seeks out fellowship, not a place to hide from its other parts.  Church is mutual submission.  Church seeks to minister to the needs of the people around, both believers and non-believers.  

We ought to be seeking out fellowship with other believers.  If we think we are more zealous than others, than we ought to go and help stoke the fires of others, rather than retreat from them.

"Hold the Rope"

 William Carey once asked others to “hold the rope” while he goes to bear witness of Christ to the lost of India.  He believed that he himself, and others, are called to go and make a difference in the lives of lost people around the world.  He knew that someone needed to tell them about Jesus, and that they were going to hell without him.

He knew also that not everyone can go.  He knew not everyone is called.  But he needed help.  He needed people back home to “hold the rope,” that is to be a safety line, so that he would be able to go.  

There were all kinds of ways to support Mr. Carey...to hold the rope.  Certainly there was prayer.  We might be tempted to wave that off in todays culture of computers and motor cars.  It does not seem like much, but in God’s economy, that’s everything!  Its not the least she can do, its the most important thing.  If we are going to entrust a dear friend or relative to a long trip and possible privation overseas, we certainly better be praying for him or her!  

There were also donations of finances.  Financial “rope holding” gave Mr. Carey the freedom to purchase facilities and grounds, to pay staff, and provide for practical every day needs.  There is food for family.  There are services to be procured.  Many missionaries, even today, are woefully underfunded.  

Don’t forget that people could also send goods that might not easily be obtainable in a place like India.  There might be medical supplies and clothing.  Perhaps machinery or text books, and study resources.

These are all ways that Mr. Carey, and so many others have been blessed by the church through out the years for purpose of reaching the lost for Christ.

Today has not lessened the need.  In fact, they are as great as ever.  With the world population exploding, there are still many people that need to be reached for Jesus Christ.  And missionaries still need someone to “hold the rope.”  How can you hold the rope?  Do you have a missionary you support?  Are you upholding them in prayer?  Are you helping them with material needs?

Awesome Classic Cars and Dusty Treasures

I wonder if my son, David, saw this news item:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/03/25/wheres-steve-mcqueen-when-need-him-16-shelby-gt500-found-under-40-years-dust/?intcmp=latestnews

If he had, I am sure he would have just flipped.  Can you imagine going through your family member’s estate, and finding some gem like this tucked away in the back of a barn?  A precious coin or stamp in the back of some drawer?  A rare antique dresser gathering dust in some attic?

This individual apparently only enjoyed his treasure enough to know it was there.  He was so afraid of damaging it that he did not even take it to have it washed.  Eventually it was parked and no longer driven, in fear lest it should be damaged.  Now, I don’t know about you, but even at the sticker price it had in 1969 (5200 dollars) it represented a signficant drop of cash!  And then to stop driving it?  Just because it might get a scratch? Wow! I guess he understood that possessions are only temporary (proverbs 23:5) but that knowledge apparently did not give him the freedom to enjoy what God had given (Ecc 5:19).

I know what that article is making you think of doing.  You are thinking about that old coin collection you stuck aside years ago.  You are dreaming of the things you could get today if your mom hadn’t thrown away those old comic books or the baseball cards you saved as a kid.  Maybe you are wondering if there is some lost loot in that old barn that maybe you missed when you first bought the old farm house?

I can tell you that there is treasure in your home.  Hopefully its not covered with dust!  Hopefully its not buried in some old drawer, or lost in the back of an old barn.  Know what it is?  Yeah, you know where this is going…

Its your Bible.

Now you feel ripped off.  You thought this would be a great article about a classic car and it turned out to be another trap to make you feel guilty about not reading the scriptures.  But if you have not been reading them, I am trying to make you feel guilty.  You already are!!

Ok, folks.  Its time to get out those Bibles and dust them off.  Time for us to read and be renewed!  There is treasure in “them thar” pages!

Gone Postal

Did you hear about the Postman who was caught dumping his mail into the trash?  Somewhere in New York state, a Postman dumped, by his own count, 15 loads of mail.  One news source reported: ”The motive, according to federal agents, was that Paskett could not be bothered. He allegedly thought it was a nuisance in the cold and snowy weather to complete the deliveries.”

Wow.

Here is a man who is charged and entrusted with a duty to deliver other people’s possessions...some of them perhaps quite valuable, and he could not be bothered to complete the delivery.  Perhaps an important bill was destroyed.  Perhaps someone’s check did not arrive in a timely matter.  A vital correspondence may have been missed that could have mended or resulted in a broken relationship. 

He admitted to the dumping, and even showed investigators some of the places where he dumped the mail.  Thankfully, a small amount of the mail was recovered, yet, amazingly, the man is still employed by the USPS as a sorter, while the case is investigated.  I thought they arrested people for things like that!

There once was a day when hard work and solid effort were part of our culture.  We believed, as a people, that sweat on your brow and pushing through difficulty was a virtue.  We believed that work was a blessing from God to form your character and make you a channel for blessing others.  We called that the “Protestant work ethic.” 

There once was a day when being a government worker was a sacred trust.  We also believed that when you handle other people’s property, you ought to handle it as well as or better than anything you owned of yourself.

There once was a day when people who stole and destroyed other people’s property were properly tried and punished by our justice system.

Sadly, all of these “old timey” traditional values that were part of what made our culture strong have long been thrown out the window.  Young people today are taught to snicker at patriotism, and that hard work and working your way up the ladder is degrading.  Government workers are surrounded by numerous protections now that empower them to these kinds of misadventures, making it difficult, if not impossible to fire them.  This is not to say that there aren’t solid workers for the government or the USPS.  But the values that made this nation great, cast aside by the liberal establishment, has created an environment where these kinds of behaviors are not rarities, but happen nearly every day.  The young people we have coming of age in our culture know nothing of sacred duty, of integrity and honor, because our schools no longer teach such things. They can’t.  They have removed the God who is the judge of such things as the foundation for such “Outdated” enculturated ideas.

The best thing for America’s future is to teach kids that there is a God, and that he holds us responsible for how we treat our neighbors.  He holds us responsible for how we handle our neighbor’s goods.  He will catch and execute justice on us if we remain uncaught by the human justice system.