Planted by Water

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

A tree by a river has a continual source of water.  It will never wither away, because it is always getting what it needs.  If we are constantly needy, it may be worth examining if we are planted by the rivers of water or not.  This would also be a tree that is strong and stable, sinking down deep roots. The life of the righteous man is marked by strength and stability.

Love Never Fails

1 Cor. 13:4-8 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  (5)  Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  (6)  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  (7)  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  (8)  Charity never faileth:….

This chapter is called the love chapter of the Bible.  Of course, the word love is from the Greek word agape.  It is translated “charity” in the KJV. 

In this chapter we find a display of love, not a definition.  We must remember that this chapter does follow chapter 12 which dealt with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, it is logical to assume that chapter 13 tells us that the energy or fuel of the gifts is love.

Thus, a good way to see how we’re doing is to simply replace the word “charity” with our own names.  Try it and you’ll understand as I do, that we fall so short, but thanks be to God who loves us still!

Paintballing

Went paintballing with some middle school students Saturday. I can barely move today!

Love Made Perfect

1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Many times this verse is quoted out of context because the previous verse says, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment.”  It’s primary interpretation is referring to the fact that as Christians we have no need to fear because we have already been judged at the Cross.  Of course, it can have secondary application to everyday life issues as well.

I read this illustration of the love of God several years ago, “A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the cross.  It illuminated the crown of thorns, the two wounded hands, the two wounded feet, the marks of the spear. A hush fell on the congregation.  He blew out the candle and left.  There was nothing else to say.”

Religious Liberties Concern

It's an absolute shame that our military chaplains have to be worried about this kind of thing. They definitely need our prayers. Either the government will give them an exemption or our military will end up with a group of religious leaders who do not believe the Bible.

Military's religious liberties a concern (OneNewsNow.com)

Use Time Wisely

John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished.  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000 that carried over no balance from day to day...Allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage! Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever of this you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances, it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.

Comfort One Another

1Th 5:11 “Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also ye do.”

The encouragement here is not for us to “take” comfort, but to “give” comfort.  In other words, if all Christians had a heart to comfort others then all would be comforted.  The idea is that a church should be full of active participants and not passive spectators.  Hiebert says, “It is clear that in the early church that the care of souls was not delegated to an individual, but it was the work in which every believer shared.”  Paul’s encouragement wasn’t to scold them for not doing it, but to encourage them to continue doing it.

False Prophets

Preacher says world will actually end in October - Yahoo! News

God has nothing nice to say about false prophets. Deu 18:20 "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die."

Mr. Camping should thank God every day that we do not still live under Old Testament law.

Church Youth, Part 2

According to Josh McDowel's research on "Christian" youth, he found that 85% of public school students from Christian homes do not embrace a biblical world view. As such, they are 225% more likely to be angry with life, 215% more likely to be resentful, 210% more likely to lack purpose, 200% more likely to be disappointed in life, 48% more likely to cheat on an exam, 200% more likely to steal, 200% more likely to hurt someone else physically, 300% more likely to use illegal drugs and 600% more likely to attempt suicide.

What is a biblical worldview? I found and like this definition on the Focus on the Family website by Del Tackett. It says, "A worldview is a comprehensive set of truth claims that purport to paint a true picture of reality. A comprehensive biblical worldview is one that includes and fundamentally understands God's truth claimed over every area of life. Our personal worldview is the total set of truth claims that we have bought, consciously or subconsciously, which drive our emotions and what we think and do in unguarded moments — reflecting what we believe to be really real." That's a great definition.

Whose responsibility is it to see that their children have a proper worldview? The school? – No! The church? – No! The parents? - YES!

Church Youth

According to Josh McDowel's research on "Christian" youth…63% do not believe that Jesus is the son of the one true God, 58% believe that all faiths teach equally valid truths, 51% don't' believe that Jesus rose from the dead, 68% don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a real entity and 65% do not believe that Satan is real. As a matter of fact, he found only a 4% difference in the attitudes and actions of professing Christian youth and non-Christian youth.

What should this tell us as a church? I believe that it should tell us that we need to stop segregating the youth from the adults and stop expecting Youth Pastors who have very little experience or knowledge to replace the Senior Pastor in young people's lives. I think that far too many well-meaning churches are placing way too much responsibility on the youth pastors. Yes, there is a place for youth ministries. They should be places where youth can meet, have fun and fellowship, but they should not replace the opportunity for them to worship with their families and sit under the teaching of their senior pastor.

It's a Daily Decision

There is something terribly right about...realizing that our struggle with sin is in many ways similar to an alcoholic's struggle with drinking. It's never over. How often I find myself talking about sin in the past tense as if being a sinner is something I'm beyond--a page turned in the book of my life. But sin is like alcoholism. Sinners are never cured; they simply decide to stop sinning...and it's a daily decision.

PC(USA) okay with 'gay' clergy

The "organized" church in America has lost it's way!

PC(USA) okay with 'gay' clergy (OneNewsNow.com)

15,000 Feet

This is where I was Friday afternoon around 2:00pm at 15,000 feet having a snowball fight with students! Unbelievable!

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