Monthly Archives

June 2018

Three Simple Acts To Bring God’s Blessing On Your Life

By | Public Blog

I have a book on my shelf that I take down a couple of times each year.  The book was written by a young man that I first came to know while serving at Lynchburg Christian Academy.  The book’s title is The Little Red Book of Wisdom.  This small book as several short chapters that provide Christians will some keys on how to obtain true wisdom.  Mark learned these nuggets of wisdom from his father and others who God used to influence his life.

Over the years I have gleaned many things from this book that have shaped my life as a husband, father and leader.  Recently, I opened this resource to read a couple of the chapters that dealt with “Wisdom for Your Personal Life”.  The one chapter that caught my attention was The Wisdom of Firsts.  Everyone wants to be first in whatever he/she attempts to accomplish.  But this writing is not about how to be #1 but what to keep #1 in your life.

As many of us who are involved in Christian education are entering into the summer months, I thought I would share with you three simple acts that will bring God’s blessing on your life.  We all want God to bless us and have His hand of favor on all we do.  However, sometimes we fall short of experiencing this in our everyday lives.  The Wisdom of Firsts can be summed up this way: The First Hour, The First Day, The First Dime!

The First Hour

One of the things every Christian must do in order to have God’s presence in his life is to give God the first hour of every day!  There is something that happens when I start every morning spending time with the Lord.  When I open God’s Word and let Him speak to me, it changes my perspective on what I am facing at that particular time.  It also prepares me for what God has in store for my life that day — many times it’s things that I don’t even know are going to take place.

Each year I try to find a plan by which I can read the Bible through in that year.  This year I am following a plan that I found on the website for John Piper’s ministry, Desiring God.  This plan has me reading portions of the Old and New Testament each day.  Even though I have read the Bible through many times, this year I am finding myself underlining more and more passages that the words seem to almost jump off the pages.

After reading God’s Word each morning, it is also important for me to talk to God.  An early morning prayer time has proven to be so special to me as it helps me stay focused on Him throughout the day.  It is during this time of prayer that God brings to my mind others who need God’s touch on their lives.  Whenever this happens, it makes me realize that my problems are quite small as I think of others who are facing much more serious challenges in their lives.

I travel a lot in my ministry and most trips I schedule start pretty early in the morning.  Because of this I must discipline myself to set the alarm a little earlier.  If I don’t do this, I end up rushing to the airport and, before you know it, I am deep into my day’s work without getting any wisdom from the Lord that He knew I needed to accomplish what He wanted me to do that day.  So, if you want God’s blessing in your life give God the first hour of every day!

The First Day

A lot of Christians that I know are very faithful in giving God the first hour in every day.  However, this second Wisdom of Firsts is one that many of us, especially those of us in full-time ministry, struggle with.  It is also important to give God the first day of every week.  I know that you might be thinking that you do that.  You may be one who never misses a Sunday going to church.  In fact, you may even use your gifts on Sunday in service at your church.  However, I am not talking about giving God the first morning of every week.

In our fast paced lives, we can get to the point when we think that we can’t afford to cease form all of our work for a whole day.  I have come to enjoy the music ministry of Andrew Peterson.  He has written a series of songs that he put into a couple of albums called Resurrection Letters.  One of his songs is simply called, God Rested.  In it Peterson reminds the listener that six days God worked and created the world and all that is in but on the seventh day — God Rested!  When you read the Scriptures, you don’t find that He rested for a morning or for an hour but for a day.

I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to church and immediately after the services, I have rushed out into to life to do stuff that just “had to be done”.  One of the things that I have come to realize is that it is very easy to forget everything God wanted to teach you in a church service when you end up racing to your “next important task.”  I think this is what Jesus had in mind when He was teaching His disciples about sowing seed into different types of soil.

One of the types of soil that good seed fell on was soil that contained thorns.  If you know this account, Jesus explained that the seed never produced a harvest because the thorns choked the seeds and they never matured.  When Jesus explained this, He said,

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. Matthew 13:22 (NKJV)

I have experienced this happening in my life when I failed to give God the first day of every week!

The First Dime

Have you ever gone into a restaurant or business that was individually or family owned?  These types of business are many times quaint establishments that have various things on the walls or shelves that are reminders of how the business started and grew over the years.  One of the items I have seen on walls of private businesses many times is a small picture frame with a dollar bill encased inside.  It represented the “first” dollar that the original owner made in the business.

Well, God establishes His private businesses throughout the world in the lives of His children.  He calls us to do His will, equips us to do it and then sends us out to perform it for His glory.  This is called “work”.  Through our work we receive increase or pay.  Of course, we know that everything we have comes from God and that God owns it all — or so we say we believe this.  However, the third act we find in God’s Wisdom of First may be the one that is violated the most.  It is simply the act of giving God the first dime of every dollar.

The tithe is not ours to give to God but it belongs to God and we simply acknowledge that the first dime of all our increase is His by giving it back to its rightful owner.  I have talked with Christians and they have argued that it is the first dime of every “net” dollar or after taxes that one earns.  If that were the case, then it wouldn’t be a “first”.  There is not time to go into this in this blog but I encourage you to read Haggai 1:1-11 and see how God views it when we don’t keep this “first” in our lives.  We are to give God the first dime of every dollar!

Three simple acts with major consequences that we will experience if we faithfully perform them.  However, there are equal but opposite consequences in not doing them.  As you go through the summer months, I challenge you to begin the habit of the Wisdom of Firsts by giving God the first hour, day and dime.  Have a blessed summer!

Is There Not A Cause?

By | Public Blog

One of my favorite historical accounts found in Scripture is that of David’s fight with Goliath.  When you read about this confrontation in 1 Samuel 17, there are several points that are worthy of one’s consideration.  David is at home taking care of the sheep while his three oldest brothers are with the Israelite army fighting the Philistines.  I imagine that David must have dreamed about what it might be like to be on the battlefield instead of watching some smelly old sheep.

One day, his father gives him food supplies and sends him to check on the battle.  David is to go and see how his brothers are doing and bring a report home to his father.  David must have been excited to be asked to get the opportunity to go where the fighting was taking place. Scripture records that David got up early and hurried to the battle front.  He dropped off the supplies and went looking for his brothers.  As he approached the army of Israel his heart must have started racing as we find the following account taking place.

And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 1 Samuel 17:20-21 (NKJV)

These words paint a great picture of what David was about to experience.  He arrived in time to see the army going out to fight.  He could hear the shout of the soldiers in unison as they assembled in military formation.  David probably thought to himself that he had arrived just in time to see the mighty Israelite army fight against its enemy, the Philistines.

Here an interesting twist takes place that caught David by surprise.  David had found his brothers and was talking with them when a huge man, named Goliath, stood on the hillside opposite of where the Israelites had drawn up in military formation.  David heard this man mock the army of Israel and, even worse, blasphemed their God.  I wonder if the thought raced through his mind that God’s mighty army was going to rise up and take this evil person out.  However, something unexpectedly took place.  Instead of going to fight this giant, the Israelite army turned and ran away from him in fear.  David was shocked.  The entire army went and hid in their tents because of the threatening words of one man.

Again, I envision David becoming a flap flipper.  David appears to go to the soldiers, flip the flap of their tents and start asking them what they were doing cowering inside their tents.  This young teenager couldn’t believe that they were letting one man mock the God of Israel and not standing up to him.  This must have mystifying to David.

Then something else took place that may have caught David my surprise.  David’s oldest brother catches up with him and says the following.

Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 1 Samuel 17:28 (NKJV)

Instead of feeling guilty for not standing up for God and confronting Goliath, Eliab gets mad at David and accuses him of rocking the boat.  In essence, David’s brother, wanted him to quit stirring up trouble and simply go back and tend their father’s sheep.  After all, the Israelite army would get in battle formation and go through the military maneuvers on a regular basis.  Whenever Goliath would raise his ugly head, they would break rank, go to their tents and wait until Goliath was through.  Then they would gather again in formation and continue with their drills.  Everything was fine.  Goliath inflicted no actual harm and after his spewing of hatred toward God and His army, he would retreat and the army could go back to its normal routine.

It was at this point in the account when David said something that would bring everything to a head.  The first thing he asked his brother was what had he done.  This sounds like a typical teenager’s response to a sibling’s rebuke.  But then David asked a second question,

Is there not a CAUSE? 1 Samuel 17: 29 (NKJV)

The word “cause” often referred to a decree or commandment.  Many times its use conveyed the idea of divine communication.  We can determine that what David was asking was, Hasn’t God said something about a situation like this?  Doesn’t God expect His people do something when His name is being profaned in the way that Goliath was doing?  We know that David was willing to take up this cause and ended up being the person that God would use to defeat Goliath.

In light of all of this, I see a similar situation taking place in God’s army, His church, today.  If I were to go to the battle ground on any given Sunday, I would see a mighty fighting force gathering together and going through their military maneuvers.  They would shout out in unison songs telling of the greatness of God and they would hear from some of their military leaders words of encouragement and the need to remain faithful to the Lord’s commands.  There would be a sense of excitement as I experienced the worship that I would witness.

However, I would experience something like David experienced if I stayed around the week following the Sunday worship time.  Then I would witness a giant come forth and start defying the God that Christians had just gathered to worship on Sunday.  He would declare that this God wasn’t so great and even mock His existence.  It would be at this point that if I were to start asking church leaders and other Christians why this was being allowed to take place, I would be told not to rock the boat.  They might tell me that every Sunday they gathered together and would join in going through some dynamic military maneuvers.  Then on Monday through Friday, this giant would come out and start mouthing off about God etc.  However, by the end of the week, he would go back into his camp and God’s people would gather once again to sing, shout and hear the Word of God preached.  No harm – no foul!

My question is, Is there not a CAUSE?  Doesn’t God expect us to do something when His name if being profaned in the way this modern-day giant is doing?  You may be wondering who is this giant I am writing about?  Today’s giant that stands against God is secular education.  Every day a vast majority of our children and youth listen and learn from this giant how man is the center of everything and God simply isn’t important or doesn’t even exist.  God’s name is being profaned and yet, many of His people, don’t do a thing about it.

What was David’s cause or motivation that led him to be able to defeat Goliath on that memorable day?  David’s cause is recorded in verse 46.

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  1 Samuel 17:46 (NKJV)

As another school year comes to a close and many start planning for next year, I want to challenge Christians everywhere to recognize the cause for why we are in this battle.  Our cause must be that future generations will know that there is a God in our lives, our homes, our churches and our schools.  It is the only cause worth fighting for!

The Importance of Having a Kingdom Focus

By | Public Blog, Uncategorized

In preparation for a sermon I had to preach this past weekend, I was studying some of the key concepts that Dr. Ken Hemphill wrote about in his book, EKG: The Heartbeat of God.  I was reminded that Jesus declared that the kingdom of God must be our highest priority in our lives, homes, churches and schools.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

In order that we may seek His kingdom, we must first understand what His kingdom is.  Hemphill explains God’s kingdom in a very understandable way.

The kingdom of God can be understood by realizing that He is our King and we are His people that He is our Master and we are His servants that He sets the rules and we simply obey.

Simply stated God’s kingdom is present wherever and whenever God reigns.  God wants to reign supreme in all of life — whether it is in the life of an individual, a family, a church or the education of one’s children.

The heartbeat of God is for His kingdom to grow.  Throughout human history God has accomplished and continues to accomplish this through a select group of people that He takes as His possession.  In the Old Testament, God chose Israel to be His possession (Exodus 9:16; 16:5).  In the New Testament, He chooses individuals or we could say the church in general (Titus 2:14).  It is important to keep in mind why God chooses nations and/or individuals to become His possession.  I again refer to what Hemphill writes in his book.

God has a claim on His people (Israel, today’s church) not just to give His people privilege or standing but to give them purpose. As His possession we are not to be admired on the shelf but to be maneuvered full force into the world.

God has chosen us, as Christians, to accomplish two purposes through our lives.

  1. God wants His people to be known to the world as demonstrated by their relationship to Him.
  2. God wants His people to fulfill their roles in all of life in order to extend His kingdom rule in the world.

God always desires to demonstrate to the world what living in a covenant relationship with Him would produce in people’s lives.

The blessings God promises to bestow upon His people were and are never intended to glorify the people but to showcase His goodness so that all the nations would be drawn to Him through His people. Ken Hemphill

This is why He demands His people to be holy (1 Peter 1:16).  Holy means to be set apart.  Our lives should be set apart from the world in our:

  • worldview or beliefs
  • speech
  • lifestyle or behavior

This concept is also applicable to the education we give to our children and youth.  Their education must be different from the secular education that this world provides.  The difference must be evident in the school’s philosophy and the worldview from which all teaching takes place.  However, we are facing a crisis in today’s homes, churches and schools.  Hemphill accurately describes our current crisis this way.

Ours is a world where we are too often lured into being near carbon copies of our culture – Christian up to a point yet cool enough to know when we are taking it too far.  We are rewarded with the world’s acceptance when our tastes and standards look more like the prevailing norms and less like the prescribed Word of God. We feel a little bit more comfortable when we fit in.

Unfortunately, I find this very same situation infiltrating too many Christian schools.  There seems to be an effort to “fit in” with secular forms of education.  We offer the same courses, use the same textbooks and basically follow the traditions of men that Paul warned against in Colossians 2:8.  The challenge Christian parents, church leaders and educators face is that it is easier to be traditional than it is to be biblical.

I was reminded of the power of what might be referred to as the “hem of holiness”.  We find these words in Zechariah 8:22.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

This is an amazing statement.  There will be a day when people from every nation and language will cling to God’s people and beg to go with them.  Why?  It will be because they heard that God is with them.

As another school year comes to close here in this country and we start preparing for a new year, I believe it is important that we take some time and reflect on God’s call on our lives, our homes, our churches and our schools.  In light of what I have shared above, there are some questions that we need to consider.

  1. Do we desire the kingdom of God or the kingdoms of the world?
  2. Are we striving for personal/school fame or for the Father’s glory?
  3. Are our homes, churches and schools known by our relationship with God?
  4. Do we see and have we accepted our roles as leaders to extend the rule of the King?  If so, where”?  In whom”
  5. Are families coming to our schools and urging us to allow them to join and go with us because they have heard and seen that God is with us?

God still wants a people of His own who will:

  1. Embrace His mission — be God’s chosen instruments to draw the lost to Himself.
  2. Embody His name — represent His nature and character to the world.
  3. Obey His Word — have a brand of holiness that demonstrates all the noticeable difference He makes in lives.