Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn (Et al) And Joni Tada

I read a interesting article about the Word of Faith ministries and preachers by quadriplegic Joni Erickson Tada (Click here).  Consider a few of her comments from what she wrote…

I had read some portions of Scripture that seemed to indicate that if God’s Word abided in me, and I abided in Him, I could ask whatever I wished and the request would be fulfilled and my joy would be brighter.

I took that to mean that God wanted me healed. My sister packed me into her station wagon and a couple of friends, and we drove down to the Washington DC arena and Kathryn Kuhlman swept on stage and praise choruses and testimonies and songs and all of us in the wheelchair section, we kind of like with baited breath were waiting and wondering, and nothing happened. In fact, the ushers came up to all of us in the wheelchair section, about 35 or 40 of us, and said, “Let’s escort you all out early so as not to create a traffic jam, and so there I was… number 15 in line of 35 people in wheelchairs or on crutches, waiting at the stadium elevator to go up to the parking lot, and we could still hear the distant strains of the organ and piano – Kathryn Kuhlman’s meeting was still going on – and I looked up and down this line of solemn-faced individuals and saw so much disappointment, and I thought “Something’s wrong with this picture.“

John 5 talks about where Jesus once visited the Pool of Bethesda, and among all these disabled people He touched and healed a man paralyzed on a straw mat for over 30 years. I remember I was in the dark at night. After my bible was closed I’d picture myself at that same pool. I would imagine me dressed in maybe a rough burlap coat lying on a straw mat, perhaps even near that man that Jesus healed, and I would plead with God in prayer, “Oh, Lord, do not pass me by.” I would even sing to Him that hymn, “Jesus, Jesus, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.” I would pray that, and yet I was never healed.

…Tears began cascading down my cheeks as I looked over this pool of Bethesda and I said, “Oh, Lord Jesus, how good of You to wait 30 years, almost as many years as that man laid on his straw mat, You waited this long to bring me to this place, a place where I imagined myself so many years ago, and I’m so grateful that You did not pass me by, because a ‘no’ answer to a request for healing has meant purged sin from my life, and it strengthened my commitment to you, Lord Jesus. It has forced me to depend on Your grace. It has bound me with other believers. It has produced discernment.”

It has disciplined my mind. It has taught me to spend my time wisely. It has given me a hope of heaven. Lord Jesus, You were so good in not healing me.” And I know there are many people listening now who wish to be free of their circumstances – they are looking for an escape hatch, or maybe a quick fix for their affliction, and they think they might find it in a divorce or they are pondering maybe with the idea of suicide, such as one caller mentioned earlier. Or they’re thinking that they’ll find it in pills or medication, or a healing service. But the 32 years that I’ve been in this wheelchair and being at the Pool of Bethesda last year, has taught me that suffering is that good sheepdog, always snapping at my heals and driving me into the arms of the Shepherd. For that, I am so grateful. I am so grateful.

The Next Test Of Fellowship In The SBC?

I’ve been thinking and have come to a conclusion of sorts about what could be the next point of discussion in the Southern Baptist Convention.  I could be dead on…  in left field… or not even in the park.  Only time will tell.  First a little reminder of recent Southern Baptist theological history because if I’m right, there may be a few heated discussions to come.

In the late 1970s through the early 1990s there was a fight among SBC leaders to restore the supremacy of Scripture in seminaries.  Most agree this did occur for good or bad, depending on your perspective and evaluation of the event.  However, as with many movements, the continuing results were not expected by those who initiated it.

The first result of a more conservative convention dedicated to Biblical infallibility was that students of The Word took the Bible more seriously.  That was a good thing to those in power at the time.  However… students went further than some of the SBC reformers expected.  Eventually a doctrine bubbled to the top of teaching, preaching, and application they didn’t expect: The absolute sovereignty of God.

My goal in this post is not to discuss that issue.  Instead I’d like to suggest what I believe will be the NEXT point of discussion which… if the past is any indicator… could be a test of  fellowship including whether or not a person is called as pastor of a church.  This topic may cause as much discussion, debate, pastoral transitions as inerrancy or the absolute sovereignty of God.

The doctrine I believe will cause this is Eschatology, the study of Last Things… the events leading up to the return of Christ.

People will be confronted with the truth there is more than one way to understand End Time events.  Millennial views may come under examination.  The timing of the rapture might be questioned and discussed.  The definition of “the last days” could be changed for many.  Passages like Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, and The Book of The Revelation will be preached… taught… studied… and examined like they haven’t been in years.  People who’s theology is akin to Hal Lindsey and The Left Behind series might find their views being challenged.  It is always a good thing for people to be driven to the Scripture to affirm their beliefs and “rightly handle the Word of Truth.”

In my mind… the discussions to come regarding eschatology are needed… just as much as those on the topics mentioned earlier.  My prayer, if I am right, is that Christians will be much more patient… gracious… understanding… and merciful toward those who have a different view from themselves than in the past.

Will eschatology be discussed as much  and opposing views (Whatever they may be) vilified as many have done regarding Biblical infallibility and the absolute sovereignty of God?  Possibly to probably is my answer… but  I’ll have to revisit this thought in 10 to 20 years.  I guess that means we’ll talk again  in 2019 or 2029…

Evangelical Atheism, Are Our Kids Ready?

Recently I read an article (Click here) that reports that atheist… humanist… and agnostic groups are growing in number on college campuses. Here are a few quotes for contemplation…

Campus affiliates of the Secular Student Alliance, a sort of Godless Campus Crusade for Christ, have multiplied from 80 in 2007 to 100 in 2008 and 174 this fall, providing the atheist movement new training grounds for future leaders. In another sign of growing acceptance, at least three universities, including Harvard, now have humanist chaplains meeting the needs of the not-so-spiritual.

As teenagers move into young adulthood, some leave God behind. But not in huge numbers.

More than three-quarters of young adults taking part in the National Study of Youth and Religion profess a belief in God. But almost 7 percent fewer believe in God as young adults (ages 18 to 23) than did as teenagers, according to the study, which is tracking the same group of young people as they mature.

What young adults are less likely to believe in is religion. The number of those who describe themselves as “not religious” nearly doubled, to 27 percent, in young adulthood.

Growing hostility toward religion was found, too. About 1 in 10 young adults are “irreligious” — or actively against religion — after virtually none of them fit that description as teenagers.

What is it that could have a young person be at least somewhat active during high school and then turn against their faith once in college.  I’m sure to a degree it is the freedom to do what they want when away from home, but I believe other factors are at work also.

The concern I have as a pastor is whether or not the youth in the church I serve are ready to have their faith challenged.  When I was 18 and in college my faith was severely challenged… and I did actually question the validity of everything I believed.  But the grace of God prevented me from falling away.

My thought is that youth in the church need more than feel good messages from the pastor.  They need more than fun activities as part of a youth group.  They need to be discipled by their parents with the church augmenting what they get at home.

The growing boldness of atheist and agnostic groups on college campuses may be but another sign that God is giving America over to what we’ve said we wanted for decades… life without Him (Romans 1:21-25).  I believe God may very well be in the process of giving America over to sin.

Be Thankful To God…

It is written in Scripture…

Ps 50:14, Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving… 23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!

Ps 69:30, I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Ps 95:2, Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Ps 100:4, Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Ps 147:7, Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving…

2 Cor 4:15, grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Phil 4:6, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

God, thank you for…

Your salvation… Your Son… Your Holy Spirit… Your Word… Your Church… Your grace, mercy, compassion, patience, and love!

My wife Pam, my children Amy, Trey, and Britton.  My mom and my mother in law.  My home.

Antioch Baptist Church, Highland Gardens Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Oxford, Woodward Avenue Baptist Church, and Moulton Baptist Church.

Your spiritual blessings… Your material blessings… The difficult times… The times of peace.

Music… laughter… sleep… cars… entertainment… friends.

Eternity… New Jerusalem… Your righteous judgment… Your all sustaining power… Your protection.

Jesus!

What Not To Forget!

There are a lot of things we forget which include: Names… faces… events… birthdays… and all other kinds of things.  But there are some things we are told not to forget.  Consider…

Deut 8:11,”Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes…”

Ps 78:5-7, He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments…

Ps 103:2-5, Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Ps 119:16, I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. 61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law. 141 I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts. 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

Pr 4:5, Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

Hebrews 12:5-6, And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

In A Coma (Awake!) For 23 Years!

Can you imagine being unable to move or communicate for 23 years but being fully conscious the entire time?!  That is what happened to Rom Houben. Click here to read the article from which these quotes are taken.

A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday.  Houben, 46, had a car crash in 1983 and doctors thought he had sunk into a coma.

Searching finally got (His mom) in touch with (a physician), who put Houben through a PET scan that indicated he was conscious. The family and doctors then began trying to establish communication.  He used the device to tell a reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel that: “I screamed but there was nothing to hear.”

Imagine yourself in that condition… for 23 years… hearing everything that was going on around you… and not being able to communicate!  While reading the article I couldn’t help but think about Terri Schiavo… Dr. Jack Kevorkian (Dr. Death)… Mrs. Billy Graham’s own request to have her feeding tube removed… and my dad.

Could Ms. Schiavo also hear and understand all that was going on around her?  Was she screaming to be allowed to live but there was nothing to hear?

Did Kevorkian really comprehend the intricacies of the body… life… death… and the afterlife as he assisted 130+ to die?

Then there’s Ms. Graham… a Christian lady who understood her time had come to be with Christ.

Did my dad, as he was laying in a hospital bed unable to speak, really not want a feeding tube and no measures taken to sustain life when those decisions finally had to be made for him (He had communicated that to me many times… but it’s different when you are actually IN the situation.  But he couldn’t say otherwise.)?

Human life… ALL human life… is precious because it is in the image of God.  Just because a person’s life doesn’t seem to us to have quality doesn’t mean it doesn’t have quality to the person themselves!

God commands through Scripture to defend the weak… those who can’t defend themselves… and all who are powerless.  This is one of the reasons I support and signed the Manhattan Declaration (CLICK HERE).

Decisions about when our final days come are difficult in the best of situations (Been there!).  At the same time I must assert that short of a person’s wishes being known and their desire against measures to sustain their life… it should and must be protected with all diligence.

Manhattan Declaration… Call To Christian Conscience

Recently I read The Manhattan Declaration and after contemplating it for a few days I whole heartedly support it and have signed it.  I would encourage you to do the same.  Click here to read the declaration and sign it if you are so led.

As one has written about the declaration,

The Manhattan Declaration is a document affirming the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage, and the rights of conscience and religious liberty. All three of these items are under siege in our culture today, so a group of Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians have drafted this statement and call upon others to defend life, marriage, and religious liberty.

It has been signed by a number of prominent theologians and Southern Baptists such as… Dr. Danny Aiken (President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), Chuck Colson, Dr. Timothy George (Dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University), James Dobson, Dr. David Dockery (President of Union University), Ray Pritchard, Joni Tada, Dr. Wayne Grudem, Dr. Al Mohler (President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).

I give you that list to encourage you give the document more than a cursory reading… to be comforted that it is a sound theological affirmation of Christian ideals.

Consider this portion of The Manhattan Declaration…

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

Earworms And Scripture

Do you know what an “ear worm” is?  It is a little jingle that gets stuck in our head and we go along singing it to ourselves all day.  A few years ago college students were asked to come up with a list of the most insidious ear worms an these are some that made the list.

The Barney song: “I Love, you love me, we’re a great big family…”

Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs” jingle: “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…”

Who Let the Dogs Out: “Who let the dogs out…woof, woof, woof, woof…Who let the dogs out…woof, woof, woof, woof…”

Kit-Kat candy-bar jingle: “Gimme a Break, Gimme a Break …”

The Lion Sleeps Tonight: “We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de de, we-um-um-a-way – drum fill – We-de-de-de, de-de-de-de-de de, we-um-um-a-way… A wimoweh, a-wimoweh a-wimoweh, a wimoweh” Note: That makes all spell checker go crazy.

“It’s a Small World After All” (“It’s a small world after all…it’s a small world after all…it’s a small, small world…”)

There are songs we hate to hear because the “earworm” will get buried deep in our brain for the rest of the day.  But musical earworms are generally annoying and not very dangerous.

There are other earworms that damage our relationships and even our walk with Christ.  These are the portions of our life history that get stuck in our heads. You know what I mean. Those old lyrics get played and the spiritual battle earworm takes hold.  Some might call it Satan whispering in our ear…

“You are a failure…”

“You will never change.”

“Why even try? You will just fail again.”

“You are not enough.”

“You are faking and everyone knows.”

“Everyone is doing fine except you.”

“You are not smart enough… pretty enough… tough enough…whatever enough”

“God is tired of your failures and He is tired of you.”

Try this ear worm from Scripture: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Romans 8:1

The Toilet Paper Debate And Church…

This comic owns me from Comics.com by Steven Pastis.

Churches and church members argue and fight over the silliest things!  We snicker when they fight about carpet color… where to put the flowers (In the baptistery or in front of pulpit?)… or style of music.  One church I served had a number of members get bent out of shape because we didn’t do “The Birthday Barrel” each month after worship (You don’t want to know that story!).

Yet for some, these are serious matters… worth whacking someone on the head for.  Goodness knows there are plenty of church members who’ve believed it was their call to whack a minister over the head “For the good of the church.”  And there have been more than enough ministers who’ve done the same thing and called it preaching!

I have listened as people question the faith of my dad for smoking as defiling God’s temple.  Yet the accuser had a critical spirit toward anyone who didn’t agree with them AND he was overweight (Didn’t Jesus say something about it’s what comes out of a person that defiles them?  I also think there is something in the Bible about gluttony too.).  I abuse my temple by pouring several ice coffees into it every day.  One day I might change because of God’s conviction (Or inability to sleep), but not because someone guilted and criticized me.

The worst case is when Christians condemn and judge those who aren’t Christians in the name of Christ… and do it with a harsh attitude in the process.  Nothing gives Jesus a black eye like how those people act.

How nice it would be if we Christians did something so radical as taking serious the Gospel and the Scripture.  Wouldn’t it be a blessing if we didn’t have to blow out other’s candle thinking it made ours brighter?  It would be refreshing for laughter not to come at the expense of others, but from a heart that can find humor in other ways.

Consider Colossians 3:12-15…

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Waiting On God Is…

Following up from yesterday’s thought, I’d like to suggest another idea of what waiting on God is.  Consider Habakkuk 2:3…

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Think about waiting on God in three terms… a sentry at his post, a waiter/waitress in a restaurant, and a mother hen (Yes… a mother hen!).

When a sentry is at his post he is watching for an approaching enemy.  His responsibility is to look, keep watch, and sound the alarm if an enemy approaches.  Though he is waiting… he is busy.  He is anything but idle.

A waiter/waitress does not just stand by the table and watch.  They are very busy taking orders… communicating the diner’s request to the cook… bringing drinks… and serving.  Waiting involves a lot of activity.

A mother hen sitting on her nest of eggs may seem not to be doing anything, but she is providing a vital function in keeping the eggs warm so they will hatch at the appointed time.  She sits… doing what she’s supposed to do… and waiting for what will eventually come in the form of her chicks.  She is waiting… but active at the same time (So to speak).

As God’s people we are at times called on to wait for God.  This does not mean to do nothing, but to be active doing His will where we are as faithful servants until the time comes when God acts.   Waiting faithfully on God does not mean inactivity, but rather faithful service until God’s next purpose for life is revealed.  Then we act upon that.

How Long Oh Lord?!

Presently I am meditating upon Psalm 13 where it is written…

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?  2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

This isn’t the only time in Scripture the question of “How Long?” is asked.  It is also found in Ps 35:17, 74:10-11, 89:46, and then most interestingly Rev 6:10.  It seems that God’s people regularly ask… aren’t always given an answer… and wait.

The question is not about God… more than likely it exposes our own weak faith that God will act according to our time table.  And that is when frustration grows… unless…

The unless is found in verses 5 and 6 though.  The way to deal with impatience is: 1) Trust in God’s unchanging love!  2) Rejoice in the salvation God has given.  3) Worship God for His bountiful blessings.

I have found that when I do those three simple things, all the worries about God not acting according to my fleshly timetable vanish as the some of an extinguished candle.  This is how our faith grows in God… by getting our mind off the things we want to who God is.

Loving God Is A Reflex

We don’t taste honey and decide it is sweet.  Neither do we touch an iron and decide it is hot.  Both “sweet” and “hot” are a reflexes to a reality we experience.

When a person personally experiences the love of God through Jesus’ death on the cross, the natural reflex will be to respond in love to God.  A person does not decide to love God… love for God is a reflex to God’s love poured into them by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).  It is the result of God giving a person the ability to comprehend the love of God through Jesus.

Deciding to love God is as much something we choose as tasting honey and deciding it is sweet or getting burned by fire and deciding it is hot.

Something Worth It…

There is a difference between something being written, and something being written worth reading. Solomon wrote that there was no end to the writing of books.  With that being the case… it is doubly true when it comes to blog posts (At least in my view).  Everyone has an opinion on something and few of them are much more than a copy of someone else’s thought (Solomon again, “There is nothing new under the sun”).

By the way… this post is falls into the category described in the first sentence above.

From my perspective… I think it much better to blog if/when something strikes me as important enough to blog about (Rather than posting just because another day has followed the last one).

So… what is worth writing about today?  Mark 6:31 (NIV)…

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

The Line Between Good And Evil

Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote this…

In my most evil moments I was convinced that I was doing good, and I was well supplied with systematic arguments. It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts. . . .

The difference between every one of us and Hitler is indeed the grace of God.  Every human being is capable of untold evil.  Given the right time… the right situation… with enough pressure… none of us knows for certain whether we would choose righteousness or sin.  And that is a terrible thought!

The same sun that softens wax hardens clay…

It is written in Genesis 4:7, “… sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Indeed the line between godliness and being a reprobate is thin… much thinner than we realize.

Kids: They Do Get It Right

I just got off the phone with my oldest son Trey (He’s the one with the red tie).  He has been going through some relationship issues with a precious young lady who just can’t seem to get her head straight… sweet as she is.  Over the course of two years they have broken up and gotten back together several times.  Each time she was the one ending the relationship and then my son taking her back.

The last time they broke up I said to him, “You have to make a decision.  Either your accept the fact that this will be your life for the next 40 or so years or you make a change.  The decision is yours and I will always love and support you, but you will have to live with the decision you make.”

It was after their most recent break up that he wrote a prayer letter to God about his future wife (Click here to read it).  I thought to myself that this may be the final time… but I also know how young people can change.

Trey began our phone call today with… “Dad, I’ve been talking to her for a couple of weeks but just hear me out…” (I thought, “Here it comes… they’re back together again…”  But I was wrong.)

My son told me that he couldn’t continue seeing or talking to her.  He told me he ended the relationship for good… and felt bad that he left her “crying her eyes out.”  He told me he felt bad he couldn’t do anything to make it better for her, but he had to do what was best for Him.  (Pause)  I was proud that he was able to make that decision… as hard as it was.

Parental Encouragement (The purpose of this post): When it comes to our kids… we do our best to teach and train them to be wise and follow God.  We pray for them and impart as much wisdom to them as we can.  But the time will come when THEY are the ones that have to put it all into practice…

It is then that as parents we have to step back and not fix things for them… regardless of what they do or the decisions they make.  We are still there, ready to help in whatever way necessary… but it is a mistake to always come to their rescue.  It is sometimes best not to say anything or impart further wisdom in the moment but let them spread their wings and sometimes fall to the ground.

Does it hurt us? Yes it does… tremendously.  Do we weep for them? Yes… more than they know.  Is it hard to keep quiet and not get involved? YES.

But then they get it right.  They do what they should (As best we can tell).  They grow… mature… and become adults.  And then we thank God for what He is doing in them to make them more like Christ.