IT'S NOT WHAT I DO. IT'S WHO HE IS.

It was the second time within 15 minutes. I had just hung up the phone after a brief conversation about a business opportunity. The opportunity was unsolicited and completely unexpected - it came "out of the blue", just like the other call I had completed not 15 minutes earlier. As I disconnected from the second call, I said out loud, "Thank you, Lord. I don't deserve this." For those of you wondering why I didn't say this after the first call - well, that's another topic altogether. Let's just say that I am sometimes a bit slow to recognize God's blessings.



Immediately after I had spoken the words, another voice was speaking. Not audibly, but a quiet, still, small voice - the voice of the Spirit of God that resides within me. The one that Jesus said would "guide you into all truth." He said "No, you don't. You don't deserve any of my blessings. You should know by now that my blessings are not dependent on anything you do. My blessings flow from my nature."


It's not what I do. It's who He is.


As I thought about this through the remainder of the week, I became more convicted of how much I take for granted God's blessings. The truth is that everything in my life that I call "good" is from Him. "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. " (James 1:17)


It's so easy to begin to think that the good things in my life are a result of my talents and efforts. They are not. If a certain result it attained due to the ability to work hard and long, I must remember that He is the one who gave me the ability to do so. If there is anything I do that I seem to "naturally" do well, it is because He has blessed me with the necessary aptitude and gifts. None of the good things of life are a direct result of what I do, and because of my sin, I deserve none of them. It is not because of what I do or what I deserve, but because of who He is.


The truth is that God is so abundant in his blessing that I cannot even keep track of them. In the 103rd Psalm, David wrote:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget none of His benefits;

3 Who pardons all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases;

4 Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

5 Who satisfies your years with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle

Note what he said in verse two - " And forget none of His benefits". His blessings are so abundant that it hard to remember them all, thus David's words of caution not to forget them. Psalm 103 speaks of God's benevolence (vv.2-5); grace (vv.8,9); mercy (v.10); love and forgiveness (v.12); compassion (v.13); eternal nature (v.17); and sovereignty (v.19). All of these "benefits", also known as blessings, flow to us because of who God is. He blesses us with benevolence because He is benevolent; with grace because He is gracious; with mercy because He is merciful; with love because He is love... None of this comes to you or to me because we are deserving. It's not what you or I do - it's who He is.


Exactly one week after I received those two calls presenting business opportunities, something happened within my business that created a very difficult situation. Both my heart and my head are telling me that the resolution to this problem will involve a very hard decision on my part - a decision that will likely cause a great deal of stress and pain. Even as I struggle with this decision, I know that somehow, in some way, blessing will come out of it. I will be able to say:



Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
 I know that this is true, because I know that blessing comes not because of what I do, but because of who He is.


In Christ -


John


Soli Deo Gloria

MEANINGLESS

I love old cemeteries. I'm not sure why, but ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated by them. I know it's odd, but I find it sobering and thought provoking to walk slowly through an old cemetery, reading the inscriptions on the gravestones. The oldest cemetery I have encountered is in Georgetown, South Carolina where some of the graves date back to the 1700's.



Although it's been many years since the last time I was there, I remember that most of the gravestones there bore a basic epitaph: a name, year of birth, and year of death. That's it. Nothing more. Many of them were barely legible, showing the effects of time and weather. It was not at all unusual to encounter graves of people who only lived forty or fifty years, as life expectancies were so much shorter then. Occasionally I came across the graves of husband and wife next to each other. That made me pause and think about my own marriage, and the blessing of a good wife. Some of the gravestones were very tiny. These were the children, who never made it past infancy. This made me sad, and thankful for the joys of raising our own children.


Among the basic gravestones, there were those which are a bit "fancier". Some had short poems, or a reference to a person's military service or contribution to society. Some had a brief sentiment etched in the stone. One thing I never encountered in that old cemetery in Georgetown is anything with an ounce of humor. Like the following actual epitaphs:


"Here lies old Fred. A Great Big Rock Fell on His Head.: R.I.P."


"WILLIAM H HAHN Jr. 1905 - 1980 I TOLD YOU I WAS SICK"


"Here lies my wife: Here let her lie! Now she's at rest. And so am I."


"Here Lies Mary Smith Silent At Last"


I have never encountered a humorous gravestone, and I doubt that I will ever encounter one that has this as the epitaph either: "MEANINGLESS!" Can you imagine walking through a cemetery and finding a gravestone that reads "John Smith 1940 - 2012 HIS LIFE WAS MEANINGLESS!"? "Poor John Smith", you say. "He must have lived a pathetic life." Imagine that you walk a bit further, where you find a gravestone with YOUR NAME, your year of birth, a blank for your year of death, and the inscription " HIS LIFE WAS MEANINGLESS!"


Your Name 1950 - _____. HIS LIFE WAS MEANINGLESS!


Your mind begins to race, and your thoughts run from "How did this get here?" and "Who would/could have done this?" to a quick summation of all that you have done in your life that is good and meaningful. You find yourself talking out loud, as though debating with that piece of stone that dares to call your life meaningless. "What about...?", you say. "What about my success in business, the children I raised, all the money I have given to churches and charities, my volunteer work? What about...? What about? What about...? " The gravestone stands silent and unchanged. Beginning to feel a bit silly, standing alone in a cemetery, talking to a gravestone, you walk around to the back of the stone. There you find one word: "ECCLESIASTES" Imagine that!


The book of Ecclesiastes begins with these words:


The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”


Other versions read:


The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities ! All is vanity."


The word translated "vanity" means "breath, or vapor". Walk outside on a cold winter day and exhale. You can see the vapor of your breath in the air. In a very brief moment it is gone - and the world around you is unchanged. It's as though it had never been there. Meaningless.


When I was a young believer, I found Ecclesiastes discouraging and depressing. A few decades later, I see more of the true perspective shared in Solomon's divinely inspired words. The basic message of Ecclesiastes is that all of life is meaningless - useless, follow, futile - if it is not rightly related to God.


Over the past few weeks I read Ecclesiastes again. Here are just a few truth claims that really stood out to me:


• Anything done without God is ultimately meaningless.

• Life not centered on God has no purpose.

• Apart from God, man's wisdom is faulty, and leads to grief and despair. (Ecc.1:18)

• All the accomplishments - the "successes" - of a person's life are by themselves meaningless. Only that which is done with God at the center has any worth or meaning. (Ecc.2:11)

• Work is meaningless unless submitted to God and done for him. (Ecc.2:17)

• God is in heaven - the sovereign ruler. I am on earth - his subject. I must stand in awe of him, and listen. (Ecc.5:2)


There is much wisdom available to us in Ecclesiastes, and I encourage you to read it for yourself. Perhaps you, like me, will find it to be a much needed reminder of how we are to live.


May it be so...


John


Soli Deo Gloria

GOD AT WORK

     In general, I don't like meetings. Typically, meetings take much longer than needed. Often the subject matter could have been addressed in an email, and there are the inevitable questions at the end of the meeting - the answer to which was given earlier in the meeting! The meetings I dislike most are those where I encounter people who complain about their work.

     Not long ago, I attended a day-long meeting with a group of about 20 people . All of us are "independent contractors" and not directly employed by the company, but our association with the company is "captive", meaning that we have no associations with other companies. I happened to sit near a couple of the more "seasoned" associates whose tenure was in the 35 year range.

    It seemed that at every break, and at times during the meeting, they would complain about the company. "This company isn't what it used to be!" "This new system doesn't work." "They expect too much!" "If they think I'm doing that, they're crazy." One of them is literally counting the days until he retires in about 3 years. How sad...
    What is amazing to me is that all the good the company has done for these men and their families seems to have been forgotten. Their work has done far more than provide for the basic necessities of life, as these men enjoy a lifestyle they would not otherwise have attained. They have no enjoyment in their work, no passion for it, and little appreciation of it. I suppose that this kind of attitude toward work is not uncommon in the work place, but I believe it is far from the Biblical view of work. To these men, "work is a four letter word". It is to God as well, and that word is "good'.
     There are many who believe that work is a product of the fall of man. In reality, God assigned the privilege of work to man before the fall (Gen. 2:15). Since the God who created everything and pronounced it "good", also gave man work to do, work must also be good. The primary reason work can be so hard for us is a result of the fall - (Gen.3:17-19). It is clear from scripture that work is profitable, good, and to be pursued. (Proverbs 14:23; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 28:19). In the book of Genesis, we read "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." Man is made in the image of God. If God works, man works.

     Our view of work has been seriously corrupted by the culture. God's perspective on work is that it is a mandate. The culture's perspective is that work is a curse. God's perspective is that work is to provide for family needs. The culture's perspective is that it is to have more (more "stuff"). God's perspective is that work is to be done for the glory of God. The culture's perspective is that work is done to be more (Recognition). God's perspective is that work is to provide for the needy. The culture's perspective is to influence more (Power). God's perspective is that work is so that we can minister to others. The culture's perspective is that work makes us feel secure and significant.

     In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he wrote "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."(1 cor.10:31). In his letter to the Colossians, we find this instruction: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." (Col. 3:23) Regardless of who signs the paycheck, It is clear that the believer is called to work as if working for the Lord, and that our work is to be done for the glory of God.
     As believers, we must be very careful that our attitudes toward work are not corrupted by the culture. Whatever He has called us to do, whether inside the home or out in the work place, we are challenged to view it from a Godly perspective.


May it be so...
John

Soli Deo Gloria

DON'T SPOIL YOUR APPETITE

A few weeks ago, I attended a business conference in Orlando, Florida. I was one of about 800 attendees, and the purpose of the conference was to learn more about a conceptual planning process that helps our clients create and keep more wealth. ("Wealth" is a relative term by the way. Whether God has blessed you with $1000 or $1,000,000, that is your wealth.)


This is the second time I have attended this conference, and there are a number of things that I like about it, among them:
 1. The creator of this planning process is an affable, intelligent, creative Christian who does not hesitate to speak of his faith. His friends call him "Don Buddy".

2. The majority - over 90% by my estimate - of the attendees are not affiliated with the company I work with. This gives me a different perspective.

3. There is a hunger and thirst for new knowledge, as well as the mastery of "old knowledge". I find it very refreshing to be among men & women who desire to be better at their God-given vocation, willing to give up their time and money to improve their professional skills.

The youngest person I met while there was 28 years old. The oldest was 80, and he still has great enthusiasm for his work. This man absolutely loves working with people, especially young people, to help them improve their financial strategies. He has attended over 15 of these conferences, which are held in January of each year. When asked why he continues to attend, year after year, he smiles and responds "because you can't learn less by being here." He seemed to have an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and a desire to share his knowledge with others.

While attending the conference, the Lord reminded me that my appetite for His word is often lacking. Truth be told - sometimes almost non-existent. Why is it that I have a hunger for knowledge and its application in my career that often exceeds my desire to be reading, studying, and applying the divinely inspired word of God? Is it just me, or have you "been there" too?

There are things that I know to be true about scripture. For example: It is divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:16); it is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path in life (Psalm 119:104-106), it is a weapon of warfare (Ephesians 6:16-18). The word of God judges my thoughts and attitudes (Hebrews 4:12), and it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). I know all this, and I believe it to be true, and yet sometimes I have no appetite for the word. How can this be?

When I was a kid, my mother would sometimes scold me for snacking shortly before dinner. "You're going to spoil your appetite!", she would say. She meant that I would be filled up by the snack and I would have little or no appetite for the meal she had worked hard to prepare, which was far more nutritious than what I had chosen to snack on.

What is it that "spoils the appetite" for God's word? I suppose it can be just about anything, and my guess is that it varies by individual. For me, it can be too much work, too much television, the cares of this world, and my own sin. And this is just a partial list!

What about you? Is there anything spoiling your appetite for God's word?

Think about it...

Soli Deo Gloria

John

A GREAT MIND - BUT HE STILL DIDN'T GET IT.

Written by guest blogger, Jeffrey Darville

Steve Jobs - Dead at age 59

I just picked up Water Isaacson's Steve Jobs book.  In it he quotes Jobs "The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it."  I think we can agree with Mr. Jobs on this point.  Our goal, as Christians, is to be conformed into the likeness of Christ.  To live and die like Jesus is to see the world as Jesus saw it. ( Romans 8:29  - For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.)

However, what Steve doesn't understand is the way we do this is through faith.  He must have equated "faith" with organized religion which is an understandable, but unfortunate error.  It's one that many people make.  Most people don't get the fact that we worship God because we love him.  And because we love him, we obey his commands.  Many people who come into contact with Christianity in a cultural or badly represented form miss these key ideas.  Like the doctrine that Jesus is the God-man, and he and the father are one.  This is the central claim of the gospel. 

Isaacson goes on: Steve was attracted to Zen Buddhism because he preferred spiritual experience to received dogma.  Yet spiritual experience is part of Christianity. Every believer has a testimony about how God rescued us personally.  Often our testimony is the greatest witness to others of God's provision in our lives.  Everyone likes wonderful experiences.  In many cases we live our life by experience, such as driving a car or the habit of our morning routines.  But we don't live by experience alone.  Our experience is not replicable to others.  What we are taught about God comes from doctrine, because experiences with God are not normative.  This means that how you interact with the Almighty does not mean that I should do the same thing.  Yet we can experience God (as Henry Blackaby describes it) through spiritual disciplines, such as prayer andmeditating on scripture and .  In both cases we use the Bible to guide our activity.  And, doctrine is the system through which we understand the accumulated wisdom of God's revealed Word.  (Acts 26:18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.')

Steve goes on, "I think different religions are different doors to the same house."  This statement will tell you all you need to know about the problems with Steve Jobs' unfettered spirituality.  Our spirit is the root of our desire to reach out to the eternal.  But the idea that all paths lead to heaven is a lie from Satan.  That type of thinking is a one way ticket to hell, because it will give you false confidence in this life.  If you are blind to your own sin then you don't feel the need for a savior and you will remain a slave to sin.  (Romans 6:16  Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?") 

Jobs continues "Sometimes I think that the house exists, and sometimes I don't.  It's a great mystery."  God is a great mystery, but his existence is apparent.  He who has ears let him hear. 

There is also a story about Steve seeing a calf being born and try to walk immediately.  He comments "it was as if something in the animal’s body and brain has been engineered to work together."  It is sad that even the recognition of intelligent design without the proper grounding in theology will still lead you astray.  Even a theist without the knowledge of the one true God is still confused at best.  (Romans 18 - The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. )

Isaacson describes when Steve decided to reject the Lutheran church and Christian religion.  He brought a Life magazine cover picture of starving children in Biafra to Sunday school and confronted the pastor.  He asked "does God know which finger I will raise before I do it?"  The pastor affirmed God's omniscience.  He followed "Does God know about these children?"  The pastor told him that even though Steve could not understand God knew about them.  But he did nothing to explain the cause of suffering and evil in the world to a young, precocious, aspiring 13 year old.  Granted, this is hard to do.  But, who should be better equipped to do this than someone whose life is dedicated to reading and knowing the Word of God and God Himself?  Why don't clergy properly represent our faith?  Why don't we?  Why can't we give good answers to hard questions?  What would you say if a child or your son or daughter asked this type of question? 

Lee Strobel has a good presentation of rebuttals to the two big questions that dogged Billy Graham's friend turned atheist Charles Templeton in The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity.  The questions are about the problem of evil, sin and suffering and the exclusivity of Christ.  Without going into detail, we need to know that there are answers to these tough questions and they essentially point us to the fact that we can decide to move toward God or away from him.  But these answers will always be inconclusive or insufficient to the darkened mind and oppressive doubt that only God can remove.  God saves us, and we must choose to run to him.  I believe we can see in Steve Jobs' life the critical elements of the 1960's Cultural Revolution and the way it tainted many peoples view of Christ and God.  We have the chance to interact with many people who have picked up bits and pieces of these ideas.  May we show them God's love and present to them the truth in God's Word.  May he open their eyes.  May he use us as faithful servants.  May we live out the faith he has given us. 

(Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,)

We are all confronted with the reality that we don't know or understand all the answers.  Often "I don’t know" is the best reply to tough questions.  But even if we don't know an answer, God is the answer to our deepest needs.  Our answer must point to God, and may God grant us the wisdom to give an answer to anyone who asks the tough questions.  And to apply the doctrine we know in our days...

May it be so...

ALWAYS UNDER ATTACK

Robert Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was the son of a Congregationalist minister. He was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought.(1) Noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism, he was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic." Ingersoll was an extremely intelligent man, was considered to be an "electrifying" orator, and was and viewed Christianity and the Bible with great disdain. Consider these quotations:

“If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New, he would be insane.”

“Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery.”

“The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it. ”


Speaking of the Bible, Ingersoll said “In 15 years I will have this book in the morgue.” (Ironically, Ingersoll died 15 years later. A pastor purchased Ingersoll’s desk and spent his life writing sermon’s on it.)


Robert Ingersoll it just one example of how the word of God has been attacked over the years. In fact, the attacks have continued non-stop for centuries. Yet the word still stands, and millions still read the Bible, study it, and seek to order their lives according to the truth found within it.

Why is the Bible (and Christianity) under constant attack? The answer is found in Romans 1, where we read that "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness." (Romans 1:18) The truth is suppressed because there are consequences associated with the acknowledgement that God exists, and that the Bible is His inspired word. If I tell myself that there is no God, then I can live my life as I wish, and I can rationalize my immoral behavior. If I acknowledge His existence, and that His word tells me what I am to believe about Him and how I am to live my life, there are negative consequences to continuing to live as though this were not true. Rather than deal with reality, it's just "easier" for me to deny (suppress) the truth.


Suppression of the truth comes in a variety of belief systems. There are some who say that God does not exist (Atheism). Some would say that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify knowledge whether God exists or does not (Agnosticism). There are others that agree that yes, there is a God and that this is obvious from reason and observation of the natural world, but this higher power does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe.(Deism). There are many other systems of belief that suppress the truth, and the reality is that God's word and Christianity have always been under attack, and will continue to be under attack.


As believers, we must remember that we are in a war, but we do not fight this war as the world does with the traditional weapons of warfare. No, the weapons we fight with have divine power, sufficient to demolish the strongholds of atheism, agnosticism, deism, and all other false belief systems (2 Cor. 10:4). What is this weapon? It is the "sword of the Spirit" - the word of God (Ephesians 6:16-18).


If the body of Christ is to have any significant influence on the declining culture of our nation, we must be prepared for the battle. So, fellow Christian, equip yourself to make war - pick up the Sword of the Spirit - read it, study it, and most importantly, live it. Nothing will stand against it.


May it be so...


In Christ -


John

Soli Deo Gloria

  

(1). The Golden Age of Freethought describes the socio-political movement promoting freethought that developed in the mid 19th-century United States. The Golden Age was encouraged by the lectures of the extremely popular agnostic orator Robert G. Ingersoll, the popularization of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, the push for woman’s suffrage, and other political, scientific, and social trends that clashed with religious orthodoxy and caused people to question their traditional ideas about the world.

A PRAYER ON THE 1OTH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

     Father - we come before you sobered by our memories of this day. Each of us can close our eyes and see the images so prominent in our news media the day of the attack, and for months afterward. The sky in New York was cloudless, and the sun shined brightly - just as it did in Washington, in Shanksville, and here, in Pittsburgh. We remember the black smoke and flames rising from those towers, the people falling to their death, the billowing clouds of gray dust as the towers collapsed - panicked people running through the streets .
     Almost 3,000 people died that day, and we remember Lord, that each and every one of them was made in your image - each of them an eternal being destined for heaven, or destined for hell. In that unexpected instant, they met their destiny. On that day, the lives of a very large group of people - perhaps 10,000 or more - were changed forever. We think of the husbands and wives suddenly widowed. The children who lost a parent. The first-responders who lost their services brothers and sisters, and more... We lift those people before you Heavenly Father, and ask that you comfort them - not just today, on the 10th anniversary of the attack - but every day. We pray Lord, that you would bring to them the peace that only you can bring, and that your Spirit would quiet troubled hearts.
     It is so hard for us to imagine such hatred - such evil - that could cause anyone to do something so terrible. But you, Lord - you know the heart of man. The reality is that were it not for your grace, each of us would be capable of such evil acts - and we thank you and praise you for your grace. Father in heaven, we pray against these acts of terrorism. Right now - as we gather together - there is someone plotting evil against us. We pray for those people. We ask that you would touch their hearts and minds and bring the transformation only you can bring.
     We humbly ask you - sovereign Lord, to continue to protect the United States of America. You are the only true source of security, and we acknowledge that truth. Yet -we also need to do what we can do as a nation to protect ourselves. According to your word, Government is to commend the good, punish evil, and protect its citizens. We pray for our President, Senators & Representatives, our Governors, and all who serve in elected office - that you would give them wisdom and guidance to do what is needed to protect the citizens they are called to serve. And we lift before you those who have chosen to serve in our armed forces. We thank you for these men & women, and we ask that you would protect those who protect us.

     Finally Lord, we acknowledge before you that terrorism is not the greatest threat to our nation. History teaches us that great nations have fallen in the past - not because of attacks by a hostile nation or ideology, but because they crumbled from within. We ask you omnipotent Lord - to save us from ourselves. We have drifted far from you and become prideful of our independence and wealth. We have somehow come to believe that we are responsible for this good life - when in reality you are the provider of every good and perfect gift.

     We ask that the citizens of this nation would awaken to what is happening all around us. That each would see the profound moral decay, the extensive corruption, the rejection of religion and morality and say “Enough!” Not so that we would control the power of the state, but so that you would be honored by the general conduct of this nation.

    We pray Father that you would bring revival and renewal in the United States of America, and the hearts of it’s citizens would be drawn to you.

     Always aware of how undeserving we are, yet also aware of your grace, we ask all of these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus.


May it be so....