He Speaks With Fork-ed Tongue

That I don’t like snakes has been well documented. We had another sighting the other day . . . well not we, more like Rahab (the cat) and Andrea (the wife). From Andrea’s description and from pictures we have seen on the internet, it appears the culprit was a Copperhead.

I am not surprised. Last week the owners of the abandoned old “home place” next to us cut the brush and grass for the first time in at least three years. The snake appeared in the afternoon after I had been doing yard work all day. Come to think of it, the last snake sighting involved yard work as well. Maybe I should stop doing yard work! Fortunately, Rahab was our defender and chased the snake away.

The creepiest thing about a snake is that nasty forked tongue. But did you know that the tongue was especially designed by God to help the snake evaluate his environment. A snake has a special gland in the roof of his mouth called a Jacobson’s Gland. When the snake wags his tongue, he gathers scents around him on it. Then when he retracts his tongue he sticks the two tips of his tongue onto the two corresponding holes in his Jake Gland. The gland then sends the data to his brain which then processes the gathered knowledge.

Our tongues are not so beneficial, and in reality even more poisonous, hence the expression “he speaks with fork-ed tongue.”

…no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. – James 3:8

I can think of at least five deadly poisons that come from our tongue.

Gossip (Romans 1:28-32) – telling something rumored to be true or even known to be true in order to make ones self look better or make another look bad. Note the list of sins in which gossip is included. Gossip is no laughing matter in God’s eyes.

Negativity (Philippians 2:14) – grumbling and complaining about others or one’s circumstances; always seeing the negative in circumstances and other people; always criticizing others.

Lying (Ephesians 4:25) – intentionally misrepresenting the truth or manipulating facts to achieve one’s own agenda

Foul language (Ephesians 4:29) – using inappropriate words, expressions, innuendo, and suggestion.

Arguing (Ephesians 4:31) – expressing anger, displeasure, or frustration through combative words, tones, and gestures; stirring up strife, discord, and dissention.

Friends, let’s be careful what we say and how we say it. You may not play with snakes, but too many of us all too often play with the deadly poison of words. When we carelessly choose how we talk to and about others and our circumstances, we do great harm to ourselves and those who hear us. Words can be used to build up or tear down; to encourage or to incinerate. Choose your words wisely and make it your aim to encourage those who hear.

Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. – Colossians 4:6

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Today we pause to remember those brave men and women who, down through the years, made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives for the cause we call freedom. The value of something is determined by its cost. Freedom is precious since it cost the lives of American men and women. According to statistics from the Office of Veterans’ Affairs in the US Department of Defense, we have lost 1,194,664 soldiers during times of war and conflict. We should never take our freedom for granted.

There are places in the world where people worship in secret places in fear for their lives. If they are caught worshiping Jesus, they will be killed. That is not just a fictional story . . . it is real. I can introduce you to some missionaries who have been there . . . done that! Yesterday, our church worshiped outdoors – in plain view of everybody. Freedom makes that possible.

Our culture makes heroes out of the most unlikely people – sports starts, performers, politicians, cultural icons. But to me, the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces are truly heroes. And those who have given their lives in the service are worthy of remembrance indeed. Jesus said,

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13

Yet the greatest Friend we have ever known made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat our ultimate enemy and provide us with the ultimate freedom. Jesus’ death on the cross one and for all provided the payment for the sins of all who will believe and trust in Him.

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36

Social freedom is precious and we should be grateful to those who made it possible. Spiritual freedom is priceless and we should believe and trust in the One who makes it possible. I know that many who read my blog are church members and professing believers, but I also know the occasional visitor scans this page too. Whether you are a church “lifer” or happened on this page by what seemed to you a coincidence, let me ask you some important questions.

Do you know for certain that you have a right relationship with God because you have abandoned your own best efforts at being good enough for God and you have acknowledged and professed that Jesus died for you so that you don’t have to be good enough? Has there been a time in your life when you made a conscious choice of your own will to commit your life to following Him? Have you called out to Jesus and asked Him to come into your life, forgive your sins, and give your life meaning and purpose?

Jesus didn’t die on the cross so we could join a church, be good person, or do enough good things to hope we are right with God. He died so that all who believe in Him would HAVE eternal life. Just as we don’t want to let the deaths of our brave service men and women to be in vain, so much more don’t let Jesus’ death for you be in vain. Trust Him today. If you would like to know more, feel free to email me or click on the picture below.

Living Life Summa Cum Laude

The hallowed halls of academia – sometimes I miss them. I enjoy the subculture of an educational institution. All the good memories of my times in college and grad school came rushing back to me this weekend when we made a visit to Toccoa Falls College. I have visited the campus a few times in the past and have always thought it to be a beautiful, worship-inspiring place. Saturday was no exception.

We were there to celebrate the graduation of our almost now former Minister of Music, Ed Barham. As an aside, Ed is about to leave us for the even more hallowed ground of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I could not be prouder. If he had to leave us, I am comforted at least in his chosen destination.

I am proud of Ed for a lot of reasons, he is a friend and colleague and a masterful musician. I have thrilled to watch him grow as a minister during his time here with us. But Ed is also a very good student. He graduated Summa Cum Laude, which being interpreted is “with highest honors.” (As opposed to a certain blogger who graduated Summer Come Later, which being interpreted is “thank goodness, he finally got through!) In order to earn that designation, Ed graduated with a grade point average in excess of 3.9 on a 4.0 scale. See, I told you he was a wise guy!

As I thought about his honor, I wondered how highest honors in the Christian life would be awarded. What kind of disciple is exceptional? And then God reminded me of one of my favorite passages of Scripture:

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior. – Psalm 24:3-5

Receiving blessing from the Lord and vindication from our Savior is akin to a graduate receiving honors. And here, David list four criteria for those wishing to distinguish themselves as followers of Christ.

• Clean hands – this speaks to outer behavior. The distinguished disciple acts like he ought to act. He does what he knows is right and avoids what he knows is wrong. Visible evidence sets apart the conscientious Christian.

• Pure heart – this speaks to inner motivations. The distinguished disciple seeks only to please God. He has no hidden agendas, no selfish pursuits, no personal ambition.

• Does not lift up his soul to an idol – “lift up his soul” is an Eastern idiom that refers to one’s total dependence on something. The distinguished disciple trusts no wisdom, no power, no resource other than God. His soul is completely souled [sic] out to his Savior.

• Does not swear by what is false – this speaks to integrity. The distinguished disciple says what he means and means what he says – and people know it! The emphasis here is on “deceit.” From time to time a disciple will err, but never will he intentionally deceive another.

Looking at those qualities, how would you grade yourself as you think about climbing heaven’s hill and standing before God? Our goal should be nothing less than a 4.0

By the way, for all you preacher types out there – here is the alliterative outline for the above 4 points in case you want to preach it – actions, attitudes, affections, assurances. Have at it!

Sticky Life

Life is sticky. I am amazed at how easily we get attached to things that are native to our earth existence as if they are coated with some sort of miracle bonding adhesive. We have grown so accustomed to the accoutrements and technologies of our day. If a storm knocks out power, we lament the inconvenience of being “powerless.” If our cell phones lose service, we feel as though we have been cut off from the world around us. Let’s not even think about what happens if we lose the cable TV or satellite service!

Just this weekend, the hard drive on my new laptop crashed. Without any warning this malady exposed my sad dependence on modern technology. I am embarrassed at how this affected my mood. You see, I had not backed up my system since November – yes, I know, my fault! – and I stand to lose the study notes from my entire Joshua series, a ton of downloaded (legally!) music, and a nice collection of graphic art. Not mention, I also will lose updates to software already loaded on my computer.

But when God finally calmed me down, I realized how silly I am about stuff like that. We still have a desktop PC in the house that works as well or better than my laptop, and I have my old laptop still as a backup – an extra laptop for crying out loud! The only loss I will suffer is little inconvenience over some documents that stupid me failed to backup. And there is even a chance some of the data from the failed drive can still be retrieved. Compared to family and friends - as well as others - who suffered so much loss during the storms of last weekend, I really am blessed and should rather be thankful to God for His blessings in my life.

But as I said, life on earth is sticky. “Things” seem to adhere to us steadfastly, so much so that all too often we take our attention off of God and His purposes and ways in our lives. Our life is not defined by the things we have . . . or don’t have for that matter. Our own resources, possessions, talents, merits, and deeds amount to nothing in the Kingdom of God. Let me remind us of the words of Jesus:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

Sobering words, that last verse – where your treasure is there your heart will be also. I have to ask myself – do I treasure my stuff or God? What bothers me more, that my laptop crashed or someone sitting in church today feels like her life is falling apart? What costs me more sleep, the loss of data or the lostness of a neighbor’s soul? What do we treasure, OUR things or GOD’S Kingdom? My plans, my aspirations, my agenda; or God's purposes and plans for me?

I think it may be time for me get out the spiritual solvent and lose this attachment to things. I know where I want my heart to be; now it’s the time to get it there.

Learning from the Storm

To say this has been an emotional week is an understatement. The Sunday morning storms left a wake of destruction, devastation, and disappointment. For many hours I have been glued to the local newspaper pictures and television station coverage of the catastrophic event.

Before I could get up to preach Sunday morning, I was on the phone making sure that family and close friends, all in the “line of fire”, we safe and sound. Thankfully all were. My parents experienced some damage to their property, my sister lost power, Andrea’s brother’s house had a tree fall on it, and so many friends were without power and emotionally shell-shocked from the experience. I thank God that all are safe and that He kept them through the ordeal. The pictures, however, are heartbreaking. I look at so many places where I used to shop, ride, play, live, and see the effects of the fury of an F2 twister. The area of town where I grew up will never be the same I fear.

As if that is not enough, as soon as I finished church I received an email on my BlackBerry informing me of the tragic death of one of the most prolific songwriters in Gospel Music. Dottie Rambo was travelling through Missouri from an engagement in Illinois to an engagement in Texas when her bus left the road and crashed down an embankment. She was thrown from her bunk and killed instantly. The bus driver as of this writing remains in critical condition. Her product manager/webmaster, Chris Barnes, and her manager, Larry Ferguson, remain in the critical care unit of a local hospital. Larry’s wife and two children were also on the bus. She and the younger child were treated and released, the older child is still hospitalized for observation.

Dottie was a tremendous songwriter. Two of her songs, We Shall Behold Him and Behold the Lamb, are in our church hymnal. She was creative with words, ideas, and tunes – using all three to musically paint pictures of heaven for all who heard her songs. Her songs were recorded by Johnny Cash, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and a host of other artists not normally associated with Gospel Music. One of her songs was sung by Whitney Houston in the motion picture The Preacher’s Wife, understandably one of my favorite movies, and decidedly my favorite Dottie song.

Here Whitney sings the song during an appearance at Gospel Music’s annual Dove Awards.

So what can we learn from such tragedy? The answers would come so much easier if only the “bad” people experienced the storms, but such is not the case. Jesus said, “… He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)

Remember that life is fragile. Live your life to the fullest. Never sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent. People are infinitely more precious than stuff. We should never hold in our heart what we can hold in our hands. Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal…” (Matthew 6:19). Of all that was lost in the Sunday morning storms, the loss of loved ones leaves the deepest hurt. Enjoy the people in your life. Life itself is fragile and can be taken away without so much as a moment’s notice.

Because life is so fragile, remember also our Creator. Live life to worship Him. A life devoted to His glory is not spent, but invested, and wisely at that. The wise king Solomon said as he pondered the mysteries of life, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I know this blog has been longer than most, but I leave you with the lyrics of a most appropriate Dottie Rambo song.

Remind Me Dear Lord
Written by Dottie Rambo

The things that I love, and hold dear to my heart
Are just borrowed they’re not mine at all
Jesus only lets me use them to brighten my life
So remind me, remind me dear Lord

Roll back the curtain of memories now and then
Show me where you brought me from
Oh, and where I could have been
Remember I’m human, and humans forget
So remind me, remind me dear Lord

Nothing good have I done to deserve God’s own Son
I’m not worthy of the scars in His hand
Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead
Why He loved me, I can’t understand

Baseball and Church

With baseball season now in full swing (yes, pun intended), I share with you a story I once read. As you read it, think about your “position” on your church team. Where would your church be if your team was like this? Or . . . is it?

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Behold a ball team went forth to play a game of ball.

Just as the umpire was saying “Batter Up,” the catcher for the home team arrived and took his place. The center fielder and the second baseman didn’t arrive until the middle of the second inning. The first baseman didn’t come at all, but later sent his regrets and said that he had to go to a family reunion. The third baseman likewise failed to show up, having been up late the night before watching television, and preferred to spend the rest of the day in bed. The left fielder was away attending another ball game across town. The shortstop was present, but left his glove at home.

Verily when the pitcher stepped onto the mound, he looked around to see his teammates, and lo, his heart was heavy when he saw many empty places in the lineup. The game had been announced, and visitors were already in the stands to see the game. There was nothing left for him to do but go ahead and pitch and hope for the best.

So the pitcher tightened his belt, stepped to the mound and did his level best to put it over the plate. But for some strange reason he just couldn’t find the groove. Some of his teammates began to ride him for wild pitching and booed him all through the game.

At the close of the game, his home team was mercilessly beaten. The game produced a considerable amount of discussion and when the rest of the team heard about the disgraceful defeat, everyone decided that the reasons should be found. They finally came to a unanimous decision: it must have been the pitcher’s poor pitching that lost the game.

Behold, a sunny Sunday morning, a preacher stood up to preach . . . but that’s another story.

From Wayne Robertson, Pastor, Morningside Baptist Church, Valdosta, Ga.

What kind of church would my church be,
if everyone in it were as faithful as me?

"Dear Abbey"

According to a study release in 2006 by Marketdata Enterprises, Inc., in 2005 the American “Self-Help” industry was worth an astounding $9.6 billion – yes that is billion with a B. People are turning to self-help book, personal coaches, TV infomercials, and motivational speakers like never before. I am amazed at WHO we will turn to for advice and counsel. Men and women who have no more qualification than that they are on TV or authored a book now serve as the shapers of our cultural clay.

Unfortunately even some preachers and ministries have gone to the other extreme and have succumbed to the temptation to become nothing more than purveyors of emotional snake oil and feel good philosophy. They do not speak of sin, personal accountability, the Cross of Christ, but only of the “blessing” of being rich, the promise of prosperity, and the accumulation of wealth.

Part of my calling involves giving people spiritual counsel. I always did want one of those advice columns they run in local papers. I guess if I were a monastic I could call mine “Dear Abbey.” However, my goal as a “life coach” or “spiritual advisor” is to point people back to the Word of God, the only infallible source for living life.

Psalm 19:7 - The instruction of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

In my own reading recently, I noticed a subtle trend that I had taken which led me to authors whose secular worldview had dulled the edge off of my Spiritual perspective. Whether it be a popular TV personality, a bestselling author, a “success” guru, or even a feel-good philosopher masquerading as a minister of the Gospel, we need to beware whose voice we heed. God’s Word is our ONLY true source for success and prosperity. Consider God’s charge to Joshua:

Joshua 1:8 – Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

If we would withstand the moral, emotional, and spiritual drought prevalent in our culture it will be because we have a proactive plan to read, learn, and do what God told us in His Word. What is your plan? Who/what is coaching you? God and His Word or one of the charlatans getting wealthy from the dollars you throw his way? Hmm. Quit wasting your hard earned money - help yourself by receiving God’s help. It’s free.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Having a Field Day . . . Spiritually

Field Day was always my favorite day of the school year. Instead of going to class, we had a full day of recess, only more organized. Competitions included track and field events, sack races, and relays. I never did too well at the speed events since I am designed more for comfort than for speed. I fared better in “skills” oriented competitions like punt-pass-kick, softball hitting, throwing, and such as those. But my favorite event was tug-o-war.

We would choose teams and take our positions on opposite sides of a mud-filled pit, each team taking a sturdy grip on an end of a long rope stretched across the pit. The object was to pull the other team into the mud pit. We usually ended up with both teams in the pit and covered with mud from head to toe.

Spiritually speaking, we live with a daily tug-o-war raging in our souls. In the one hand, the devil works through our fleshly desires to tempt us toward sinful attitudes, actions, and affections. On the other hand, God’s Holy Spirit living inside of us strives to make us more like Jesus, a process we refer to theologically as sanctification. The current winner is not too difficult to discern:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
– Galatians 5:19-23

The lists are pretty self-explanatory. An honest assessment of the attitudes, actions, and affections prevalent in your life will demonstrate quite clearly which side is winning in the spiritual tug-o-war of your life. If immorality, selfishness, or divisiveness marks your life then the devil is prevailing through your flesh. If love, joy, peace, and qualities that are Christlike describe your demeanor then obviously the Holy Spirit controls you.

The winner in the tug-o-war contest is YOUR CHOICE. Let’s face it, if we are honest when behave fleshly it is because we choose to behave fleshly. When we behave godly, it is because we choose to let the Holy Spirit influence our behavior. Paul goes on to write:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. – Galatians 5:24-25

Spiritual living is not rocket science, it is rather an conscious decision of our will to allow God’s Holy Spirit to control our thinking and behaving. The one (flesh or Spirit) we choose is the one who wins.

Who did you choose today?

The Cemetery Fence

Have you ever wondered why they put a fence around a cemetery? Is it to keep people in or out? I mean, really! The ones who are in there aren’t going anywhere . . . at least not until . . . you know . . . 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. I mean after all, those are just bodies, the souls have gone. So why the fence? I guess it is to keep out vandals and any who would do harm to the graves are to the cemetery. Unfortunately, if someone is determined to vandalize a grave a fence will not be able to stop them.

Did you know that Hell has a fence around it? And it’s not to keep people in, once they are there, they are there for eternity. The fence around Hell is to protect Hell from the onslaught of God’s people. Read this:

“… and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18b

Jesus portrays the kingdom of satan as defenseless against the onslaught of the people of God. Jesus uses a word picture based on the meaning of Peter’s name. Petros – Peter’s name means “rock.” But Jesus referred to this rock, meaning the earlier statement Peter made - that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That one belief, the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world is the one attack hell cannot withstand. There is no soul that satan can detain in his evil concentration camp that has professed its faith in Jesus.

We read in the Bible about putting on the armor of God to defend ourselves against the fiery darts of the devil. We read about the importance of being aware of his devious schemes. We can be certain that the devil is our sworn enemy and accuser. But there is area where we can attack him and we can ALWAYS win – when we lead others to faith in Christ as their Savior.

The problem in most churches is that we have forgotten who the enemy is. Oh we, attack and we conquer, alright. We attack and conquer those on our own team! We fight each other over petty issues – worship styles, carpet colors, pews/chairs, the list goes on. All the while satan sits back and watches – no, really he encourages – as we tear each other to shreds over things that matter zilch in eternity.

Folks, let’s get reoriented as to who the real enemy is. Let’s quit fighting over petty stuff. Can’t we all agree that the most important pursuit of any church, any Christian is the salvation of lost souls? You see, while we fight each other satan is taking a whole generation of precious souls captive. Don’t you think it’s time to make the main thing the main thing again?

Most of you reading this are probably thinking, “yes, that’s what’s wrong with them!” But the problem is not them . . . it’s you . . . and me. I was brought up to believe that it takes 2 to fight, so I am picking my battles. When one of my own tried to engage me, I can always walk away. Instead, I am saving my energy for the real enemy. What will you do to engage the real enemy? How about let’s you and me get busy setting some captives free, shall we?