Adventures in The Odyssey

I’d like to tell you about a little adventure we had, but first I’d like to examine some scripture to set the stage.

Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell address to the Israelites from the plains of Moab right before they were to enter the promised land. The book contains three sermons given by Moses, the first of which include a recount of what’s been going on the last forty years. A lot of that you find in the book of Numbers as well. The name of the book of Numbers was actually “Bemidbar,” meaning, “in the desert.” Chapter 33 of numbers pretty much sums it up. If you read that chapter and get out a map, it would seem that they were zig-zagging all over the place but not really going anywhere. But in reality, God was doing something in them. He was taking them somewhere, but first he had to refine them in the desert.

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses is connecting the dots for them. The Israelites were worn slap out. No doubt, many of them didn’t quite understand why they had been wandering all over the desert. Chapter 8 starts with, “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.”

We see here that the ultimate goal is for God’s people to walk in HIs will and follow his commands. We know that it’s just not natural for any of us to do this. As we raise our children, we don’t have to teach them how to be disobedient. It comes naturally. We have to teach them to obey. How do we teach them these things? Well, one good way is to put them in situations, in a controlled environment, give them a clear command and then watch them closely to make sure they keep your command. Blanket time is a great method that we learned from the Duggars. You put a baby on a blanket, tell them it’s blanket time, and make it clear that they are not to cry or get off the blanket. If they do, you correct them. Eventually, they realize that it’s better to obey.

We see in verse five that God disciplines us the same way that a man disciplines his son. Moses reminded them how the Lord humbled them and tested them in order to see what was in their hearts; in order to teach them to keep his commands. He was preparing them to enter the promised land.

Now, as Christians, what is the promised land and what is the desert? The promised land is Heaven, right? And the desert is simply the life that we live this side of Heaven, right? Kind of, but not really. For us, we can have the promised land today. Now it’s certainly not the promised land that we will inherit on the other side of eternity. We will still have many trials. But it doesn’t have to feel like we are wandering around in the desert. As we walk through our lives, we will face one test after another? And do we not sometimes think, “When are these tests going to end? When are we going to pass and be done with all the testing?” Well, I’ve got news for you. Not until we take our last breath and enter into eternity will they end. We just have to keep running the race. The question is, “Are we okay with that?”

We missed last Sunday because we had gone to Fayetteville to see my mom. It started off wonderfully. There was a plant nursery that I had been wanting to visit for a while. We were going to stop by there on the way and pick up a special fig tree I had been wanting and then be on our way to my mom’s. While we were there, the owner gave us an hour long tour and kept blessing Olivia with free plants since she had just celebrated her birthday.

We eventually made it to my mom’s and had a great time there. We woke up early Sunday morning and we barely made it out of the hotel in time, where the gps said we’d make it to a church in Asheboro just in time. Paige and I were fidgeting with the heat because it wasn’t working. Then I saw that the temperature gauge was all the way above the H. We pulled over and, long story short, we had to call AAA and get towed to the shop. It was our water pump, which is a very expensive fix on a minivan.

As a result of many similar trials we’ve been through in the past, I was immediately reminded to pray first. So we prayed with the kids. Here is where it gets really cool. As we unloaded all of the kids and the car seats, Paige made her way in to a Wing restaurant for lunch, and as I was talking with the tow truck driver, a man came out to me and said he saw what was going on and offered to take his family home and come back and get all of us to take us anywhere we needed to go. I was humbled but grateful to him and took him up on his offer. Then I made it in to my family and decided we were going to go ahead and do our devotions at the restaurant since we missed church. As we were reading Proverbs, the manager of the restaurant interrupted me, explaining that she had overheard what was going on and said she wanted to buy us lunch. We were again humbled but so grateful.

We took the opportunity to show the kids that even though we were stranded, God will always take care of us. When we got to the auto shop and received the bad news, my mom then told me that she would put us up in a hotel for the night so we could get our van fixed and head back the next day. As we all walked down the busy road, carrying all of our luggage (maybe a little reminiscent of the Israelites wandering through the desert), Wesley and Olivia said this reminded them of an Adventures in Odyssey (a Christian radio program they sometimes listen to). And then they made a joke about the fact that our van is an Odyssey.

When we got into the hotel, I gathered all of them around and talked to them about the significance of this trip. They were having a blast and we were all amazed at the ways God was showing up. You would have thought we were at Disney or something, with the fun time they were having. So I decided we needed to do something to remember this occasion. When we picked up the van I said that we were going to plant this special fig tree and name it something special so that we will never forget this experience. Wesley and Olivia agreed that we should name it “Odyssey.” So when we plant it, we’ll put a plant tag on it with the name, “Odyssey” on it. Paige pointed out to me that Odyssey actually means, “a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune.” Ha! Go figure.

It all came together as I was thinking about what I would be doing with this tree. You see, fig trees in our climate can easily die back to the roots in the winter time. I’ve been researching ways to prevent this. One way is utilizing a method called, “pinching.” As the new vertical growth emerges, you remove it. What this does is forces the tree to focus on the lower parts of the tree. It will strengthen the existing branches, which will make it stronger and more likely to survive the winter. Another added bonus is that it will actually force the tree to produce more fruit.

This tree serves as a perfect example of what God was doing with the Israelites in the desert and it serves a perfect example of what God does in our lives. Yes, it can hurt when he pinches us, but we have to remember that this is God’s way of growing us and teaching us to walk in His ways. I was once prone to worry and stress when hit with a trial, but I now realize what’s going on and turn to the Lord. And guess what, though I passed the test in Fayetteville, another soon followed as I had to replace our water heater in our home just a couple days after returning. And then, while I was actually in the process of replacing our water heater, Paige called, broken down in Landis, with a completely shot transmission. Even though we passed the test in Fayetteville, we were met with two more. But we did not fret. We prayed. And we are trusting God that he will see us through.

And again I was reminded that life, this side of eternity, is our desert. But it can also be the promised land. The difference is whether or not you respond in faith when met with trials. Only then can we truly do as James admonished us, considering it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. I hope you can find this. It makes all the world of difference.

Share the Hope of Christ

The God of All Comfort

With the state of things today, a good question would be, “How do you find hope in the midst of turmoil?” Just in the past couple of weeks, I have being seeing more and more people noticing that something is going on. Wildfires are burning in the Northwest, catastrophic hurricanes are hitting the United States, causing unbelievable destruction. And that’s just in the past couple weeks. If you go back, we consistently hear rival countries making threats against our nation, we see violence in the streets, our rulers are full of greed and corruption. I could keep going…

So in the midst of all of this, where does our hope come from? How can we be comforted. Well, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that the God of all comfort comforts us in all our troubles. As Christians, we know that Jesus laid the foundation of the earth, that there is a God who created everything and we can trust that He will keep us in the midst of all this turmoil. We know that “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31) As Christians, we have hope in Christ.

But for the unbeliever, how do they view all of this stuff going on? Where does their hope come from? Well, as I was at the fair recently, I talked to a couple teenage boys about this very thing. We talked about all of the turmoil in the world and I asked them where they could find hope in all of this. They didn’t have an answer. After talking with them a little bit about eternity and they admitted to being uncertain about where they would spend it, I asked them if they believed in God or Evolution. One said God, the other said both. On a side note, I don’t believe it to be a coincidence that when I asked them if they had thought about suicide, the one who said both was the one who said he had thought about suicide.

The truth is, most people in this nation would probably say they believe in Evolution. But many also believe in God. The problem is, you can’t believe in both. If the Bible is true, Evolution cannot be. And when you believe that you evolved from slime and you have no real purpose in life, then it is impossible to find any true hope in the midst of troubles.

Without God, when you look at all of the stuff going on, the only hope you have is a false hope. Without God, the only thing you can trust is yourself, your strength, your finances, your education, etc. But all of those things will crumble. So that’s where we (the church) come in. If you read on in 2 Corinthians 1, you will see that the reason God comforts us in the midst of our troubles is “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”

So our job is to be a light in the darkness. That doesn’t mean you have to memorize the four spiritual truths and be an expert evangelist. Those things are great, but often times, your testimony is good enough. And it doesn’t have to be some crazy testimony where God saved you from a life of gangs and drugs. It’s as simple as this. You have hope, because you have Christ. You can stare these things in the face and fear not because you have a God that is over it all.

When I shared my testimony with those two boys at the fair, their eyes lit up. Especially the one who had said he had thought about suicide. They shook our hands multiple times and thanked us for talking with them about these things. Their eyes had been opened to the truth that there is a God who cares enough about them not to let them waste away in hopelessness.

So that’s what we need to do. Jesus said that we are to be the light of the world, and not to hide our light under a bushel. We’ve got to go out and shine it for the whole world to see. Whether you have a platform with much influence or just a couple people, you just have to remember, that they have questions and you have answers.

So let’s get out there and be the light, church! You don’t have to look hard for opportunities to open the eyes of the blind. And, as the judgment of God increases in this nation, our opportunities will grow that much more. We just have to be ready to comfort others with the hope of Christ, no matter how much stuff we ourselves are going through. Are you ready?

Remembering D-Day – Preparing for Father’s Day 2017

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”  (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Several years ago, my wife and I started watched the World War II miniseries, Band of Brothers, based on the experiences of E Company (“Easy Company”) of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army.  As I saw the faces of these young men, preparing to jump from an airplane on June 6th, 1944 (D-Day), I couldn’t help to notice the stark contrast between young men 73 years ago and young men today.  One thing is certain: these boys were no longer boys; they had put away childish things.  They had set in their hearts that they were willing to lay down their lives that others might live.

Now, fast-forward 73 years.  Just think of ten young “men” in your mind, ages 16-21, and tell me how many of them still play video games.  Am I the only one who is sick and tired of hearing these young “men” constantly talking about video games, fidget spinners and Pokemon, while doing there best to show as little masculinity as possible?  I just don’t think they grasp what Paul meant by putting away childish things.  They certainly don’t grasp what Jesus meant when he commanded us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

Unfortunately, I believe that this epidemic of lifelong childhood will only be cured by the persecution coming to this land.  2,000 years ago, childishness was not a problem in the church of Jesus Christ.  I know this because I know the persecution the early church faced.  Mothers and fathers had to decide whether they would deny Christ so that their children would not be thrown to hungry lions.  Even children had to make the decision as to whether they would deny Christ or be impaled on a stake and lit on fire in Nero’s gardens.  Trust me, we know nothing of persecution today.  Though we often whine about our trivial sufferings, we have it good compared to the early church.

The book of Hebrews was written to Christians that were dealing with much persecution.  The writer was warning them to keep the faith in the midst of it all; not to give in to the temptation to choose the easy way.  For encouragement, he gives great examples of men and women who, in the midst of great persecution, kept the faith.  Hebrews 11:35-38 says, “and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

There are many men in the Old Testament that I think of when I read this passage of scripture.  But, for some reason, the prophet Micaiah always comes to mind.  In 1 Kings 22, you find a man who was not willing to live his life for himself.  Rather, he showed that he was ready to lay his life down, for the sake of his King.

Let me quickly paraphrase the story about Micaiah, found in 1 Kings 22.  This chapter talks about the godly king of Judah—Jehoshaphat—joining in an unholy alliance with the wicked king of Israel—Ahab.  Jehoshaphat and Ahab sat on their thrones by the entrance to the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.  These were all false prophets, telling the kings only good things.  The kings had inquired whether or not they should go to war with Aram.  The prophets were telling them to go and that they would be victorious.  Jehoshaphat realized that they were not prophets of the Lord, so he asked Ahab if he knew of any true prophets.  Ahab reluctantly brought in Micaiah.  He hated Micaiah because he always told Ahab the truth.  When Micaiah prophesied the truth, that the Lord had decreed disaster for the king of Israel, one of the prophets, Zedekiah, came up and slapped Micaiah in the face.  Now you might think that was persecution, but the real persecution came from the king who had summoned him to prophesy.  The wicked king Ahab had him thrown in prison and ordered that he be given only bread and water until he returned from battle.  Micaiah’s last recorded words were, “If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me…Hearken, O people, every one of you.”  (1 Kings 22:28)  And that’s the last we hear from Micaiah.  No one can know what happened with the rest of his life, but I have a feeling he never made it out of that prison.  And we want to complain about our trials.

This story stuck out to me the first time I read it.  Not only did it cause me to admire the saints of old, but it also caused me to realize how pitiful my Christian walk is.  How many times have I held back from confronting someone, for fear of what might happen?  I’m sure it’s been far too many.

I started this article with the admonition that kids today need to grow up.  They need to stop befriending the world and they need to begin to embrace holy living.  That much I do know.  But, I also know that we (and by “we” I mean Christian men) also need to repent.  You see, we haven’t done such a great job modeling to them what a man should be.  (The reason I’m focusing on men is that when men get it right, the women will too.)  How can we expect our boys to become men when we, ourselves, have chosen not to?  How can we expect our boys to understand the fear of the Lord if we aren’t teaching them the word of God?  How can we expect our boys to endure persecution if we flee from it?  You might say, “Well, we’re not living in a time of persecution.  How can we teach them to endure something we never see?”  My answer to that is that we have chosen comfort rather than suffering.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t long to suffer.  But, I do long to stand for truth.  And, trust me, when you stand for truth, you are choosing to suffer.  Just ask Micaiah.

A.W. Tozer said it best when he said, “We love the old saints, missionaries, martyrs, and reformers.  Our Luthers, Bunyans, Wesleys and Asburys, etc….We will write their biographies, reverence their memories, frame their epitaphs, and build their monuments.  We will do anything except imitate them.  We cherish the last drop of their blood, but watch carefully over the first drop of our own.”  What it comes down to, beloved, is not that our children are lazy and childish.  No.  It comes down to our failure to take up the sword of the Spirit and wage war against the seed of the Serpent.  For far too long, we have enjoyed the benefits of choosing Christ, yet denied the responsibility that comes with making that choice.  Jesus called us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.

So, if you were in agreement with my first paragraph, I wonder where you stand now.  Men: Are you willing to own up to the responsibility you have for raising up men of God?  And I am not just talking to fathers.  Read Titus 2 and you will see that our responsibility is not limited to our children.  Likewise, boys: Are you willing to deny the world and embrace Christ?  Are you willing to put away the silly video games and cartoons, and study the word of God?  You had better make up your mind, because persecution and suffering is soon to come to this land.  When it comes, it will be most important that you have already set your hearts to stand for Christ, no matter the cost.

I will close with a convicting admonition from C.T. Studd (1860-1931), who was an English missionary who faithfully served His Saviour in China, India, and Africa.

“Too long have we been waiting for one another to begin! The time of waiting is past! The hour of God has struck! War is declared! In God’s Holy Name let us arise and build! ‘The God of Heaven, He will fight for us’, as we for Him. We will not build on the sand, but on the bedrock of the sayings of Christ, and the gates and minions of hell shall not prevail against us.  Should such men as we fear? Before the world, aye, before the sleepy, lukewarm, faithless, namby-pamby Christian world, we will dare to trust our God, we will venture our all for Him, we will live and we will die for Him, and we will do it with His joy unspeakable singing aloud in our hearts. We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only our God, than live trusting in man. And when we come to this position, the battle is already won, and the end of the glorious campaign in sight. We will have the real Holiness of God, not the sickly stuff of talk and dainty words and pretty thoughts; we will have a Masculine Holiness, one of daring faith and works for Jesus Christ.”

Just a couple weeks ago, we decorated the graves of those who were ready to lay down their lives for the sake of others. As we remember D-day, and prepare for Father’s Day, may we examine ourselves to see where it is that we are apathetic.  We men need to turn to the Scriptures and find that “Masculine Holiness” that C.T. Studd spoke of.  If you have children, take them to a cemetery with you and teach them what these men and women did for us; and teach them the fear of the Lord.

For His Glory,

Adam Tennant

Seeing Clearly

In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus healed a blind man. When some people brought the blind man to Jesus, He took him by the hand and led him outside the village. Then, He spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, asking him if he could see anything. At that point, the man said he could see people, but they look like trees walking around.

Now it is important to note that this healing takes place right before the major split in the gospel of Mark. Up to this point, Jesus had been performing miracles and preaching a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins. His followers had begun to see that He was the One, the Messiah. They were beginning to see, but just like the blind man, they couldn’t see the whole picture yet.

So back to the blind man. After he said that he could see people but  they looked like trees, Jesus again put his hands on the man’s eyes. At that point, the man’s eyes were open, his sight was restored, and he could now see everything clearly.

In the next section of Scripture, Peter reveals that the disciples were beginning to have their eyes open, but they weren’t quite seeing things clearly yet. When Jesus asked His disciples, who they said that He was, Peter replied, “You are the Christ.” Peter was really just being a spokesman for all of the disciples. They all believed he was the Christ…but what that meant was far different than what they thought it meant.

In verse 31, Jesus began to teach them that He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he would be killed and after three days rise again. Jesus affirmed to Peter that he was the Christ, and now he was “touching” them again, letting them know what that was going to look like. It was obvious that they weren’t seeing things clearly, because Peter would have none of it. He actually rebuked Jesus.

Jesus then rebuked Peter. There are two things that I would like to point out about this rebuke. First of all, He did it in front of everyone. Sometimes things are important enough that you rebuke someone in front of everyone else. Paul did the same things to Peter later in Antioch (Galatians 2:14). The second thing I’d like to point out is that Jesus did not focus His anger at Peter. Peter meant well, but he was being influenced by Satan. Therefore, Jesus looked at Peter but confronted Satan, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” So, we could say that Peter had been under the influence of the doctrine of Satan, which places importance on earthly things, rather than eternal things. I wonder if any of us fall into that from time to time…

A friend of mine recently told me that ever since he and his wife had decided to get closer to God, they have had one thing after another thrown at them. It reminded me of this section of Scripture. All through Scripture, you will see that when we declare our allegiance to Christ, we declare war on the enemy. The attacks of the enemy will come through the least likely suspects; more often than not, from the ones we love the most. It is easy to direct our anger at them in these times, but we must remember that Jesus always directed His anger at Satan. He focused on Satan as His enemy. That is how we are to fight the battle as well. We fight through prayer, fasting, and communion with God. Don’t get me wrong though; it will certainly include the necessity for confrontation. The confrontation just needs to take place from the correct perspective.

In this confrontation, the temptation will be to focus on the person, rather than the spiritual battle that is taking place. If we do that, we will never focus on the real truth that needs to be told. We have to go into these confrontations looking for redemption. We must not be ashamed to have Jesus on our lips, looking for every opportunity to share the gospel. This could be with friends, coworkers, spouses, parents, siblings, children, etc.

So, back to the Scripture. After Jesus rebuked Peter, he called the crowd to him, along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

This is the second half of the story. The disciples didn’t really get this until after Jesus died, but when they got it, they really got it. Many of us come to Christ, not expecting all of the trials. At some point, we will get it. And when we get it, we will really get it. And when we really get it, we become a force for Jesus in the Kingdom of God, reeking all kinds of havoc on the kingdom of darkness. When the disciples finally got it, they turned the world upside down (actually, they turned it right side up)!

There are many things to mine from this passage, but what I really want to leave you with is to focus on the right enemy. When we deny ourselves and follow Christ, we will suffer persecution. Not only do these trials build our faith, but they often bring us people who need Jesus. Let’s make sure that we are not ashamed of Jesus and His Word in these times. Always be ready to shine the light of Christ.

Being Thankful for the Little Trials

Here’s a little something I think we should all think about this Thanksgiving. Sometimes, it can be hard to make yourself thankful. God has His ways of getting us there.

 

1 Peter 1:6 says, “In this you greatly rejoice…” Peter is referring to the inheritance we have in Christ; the eternal glory that we will experience with Him. He then goes to say, “though now…” So what he is about to say is that even though you go through this, you should still greatly rejoice in that. Without reading ahead, you might think he is about to talk about all of the persecution we have to suffer as Christians. Perhaps he was talking about all of the great persecutions that the early church suffered.

However, that is not what he’s about to reference. He says, “though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Peter is not talking about great persecution here. If he were, he would have used the words “persecutions” or “tribulations.” He is talking about the day in and day out things we have to deal with as believers in a fallen world. These are more general problems we face as we are surrounded by unbelievers.

In preparation to teach my children about Thanksgiving, I again read the account of our Pilgrim forefathers (this time I read The Light and The Glory); of how they endured a torturous three month journey at sea, only to be met by an even more torturous first winter in Plymouth, where they lost nearly half of their number. Almost every family was touched by death. I would never desire to experience what they went through, but it is easy to think that it would be much easier to have a strong faith if I were in their situation. And there is truth in that. They had nowhere to go but to Him.

However, this type of suffering does not guarantee great faith. Just look at the Jamestown colony. When they faced suffering, they turned everywhere but to God. What made the Jamestown and Plymouth different was their faith. And the faith of the Pilgrims didn’t happen overnight. They suffered persecution at the hands of the Church of England. So much so, that they fled to Leyden, Holland. However, in Leyden, it wasn’t great persecution or tribulation they faced. Here, they faced the same sort of things we face; these “trials” that Peter spoke of.

 

William Bradford spoke of these trials in Leyden, where he said they were aging prematurely due to the long hours of hard work they had to take on just to survive (sound familiar? I know it does to me). He also mentioned that they—like us—had to fight the battle of losing their children to the culture. I’m sure if you could interview him today, he would tell you that the trials they faced in Leyden were every bit as difficult as the suffering they endured in America. However, had they not responded in faith to the trials in Leyden, they would not have been prepared for the tribulation in Plymouth. That is what we need to remember.

Peter said that “These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” What Peter is saying is that to endure this road called Christianity—to make it all the way to the end, where we will certainly go through times of great tribulation—we will need great faith. Therefore, we will need to learn to grow in these little trials we go through on a daily basis. We will need to learn to respond in Christlike manner to anything an unbeliever might throw our way. And lastly, we will need to learn to “greatly rejoice” no matter what is thrown our way.

So, as we are approaching Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the little trials that God used to get my attention on some things. I truly am. I would encourage you all to look back over the past year and be reminded of why God allowed certain things, and what He has done through them. As always, you should examine yourself to see that you are in the faith. If you have not responded correctly to some of these trials, perhaps you need to get things right with God today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Combat the Deceitfulness of Sin

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:1-2)

I’ve always looked at this scripture in light of the way things will get really bad “in later times.” However, I recently realized that the “when” is not that important. The “what” and “why” is what we should focus on.

First of all, Paul is saying that some believers are going to abandon the faith. Now that’s a really heavy statement. You’re telling me that someone who loves Jesus and has experienced the joy of salvation is going to throw all of that away?! What in the world would ever lead someone to do something so foolish?!

We might think that that would never happen to us, but let’s not forget that no matter how firm we think we are standing, we need to be on our guard so that we don’t fall (1 Cor 10:12). These aren’t just false teachers. These are probably people who were once a lot like us…but something happened…

Paul said that they would abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. So they believed false doctrine, but I’m sure it didn’t just hit them one day and they decided to disregard sound teaching and embrace false teaching.

As someone who has been in the faith for over ten years now, I could never see myself following bad doctrine, especially doctrines of demons. But let me explain to you how this could happen to any of us. Paul said that these teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. The fact that he said they are hypocrites tell me that they would still profess to be believers. The fact that he mentioned their consciences tells me that their doctrine is a direct reflection of their morality.

So here is where I’m going with this. These teachers most likely fell into some sin, and instead of responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, they found scripture to back up their sinful behavior. Instead of finding mercy through confession and repentance (Proverbs 28:13), they twisted scripture to justify their wickedness. This sounds bad, right? But don’t think it is something you couldn’t do.

Have you ever sinned? Of course you have. Now when you sin, there are several ways to respond. You could deny that you did anything wrong at all. You could blame others—embracing a victim mentality. You could justify your sin, finding a reason that what you did was okay. Yes, you know it’s wrong, but it was okay in your situation. You could minimize your sin. Yes, you know it’s wrong, but it’s not that big of a deal. Now…how should you respond to sin? You know the answer. It’s found in Proverbs 28:13: “He who conceals his sin will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them finds mercy.”

It’s that simple. You do have a choice in the matter, but make no mistake, one leads to life and one leads to death. There is no middle ground. If you deny, justify, or minimize your sin, you have chosen a path that leads to death. But it’s a slow death. You don’t realize how much you have drifted away. It usually takes a trip to God’s woodshed before you really get it.

I think that’s what happened to those that Paul is referring to. Certainly God chastised them in hopes of turning them back to Him, but they ignored His discipline. They clung to their false doctrines that justified their sinful lifestyle and they ended up with seared consciences. Nothing could get through to them because they were comfortable believing that God was smiling on them in their sin.

The same thing happens today, both on the corporate level and the personal level. It’s up to us to get it right personally, so we can take it on corporately. I believe that is why you later see Paul telling Timothy to, “set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12) Timothy was a pastor, but we are all called to do the same.

If you have not responded to sin with confession and repentance, please get things right immediately. That might mean confessing to God AND to someone else. Often times, that is most difficult, and that is where it is easiest to justify and minimize sin. Don’t do that. You won’t find freedom outside of God’s will. Sometimes, you won’t realize how much you have minimized and justified your sin until you tell someone else, realizing the weight of it.

Once you get things right with God, you need to be faithful to bless others by warning them. Hebrews 3:13 says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Remember, apostasy doesn’t happen in a day. It happens when we fail little tests along the way, and refuse to do what is necessary to find freedom.

My prayer is that you’ll take heed, confess, repent and then warn others.

My Testimony: From Death to Life

Ten years ago, today, I passed from darkness to light. I’d like to take a few moments to tell you about it.

I will be brief, as I know your time is valuable. In fifth grade, my parents got divorced. In middle school, I started smoking, drinking, and discovered an addiction to opiods. From fifteen until twenty five years of age, my drug addiction grew. It wasn’t just drugs. I almost killed myself and two friends, crashing head on into a tree, drunk driving at sixteen. But it was opiods that grabbed me.

I remember many nights, falling to sleep on methadone or oxycontin, praying that I would wake up. I could tell that my breathing was so slow that I might just shut down in my sleep. I can recall several times that I had to call people to pick me up in the middle of nowhere because I could not even keep my eyes open. I knew that if something didn’t change, my parents were going to have to bury me. So I did everything in my power to quit. I went to the doctor, who prescribed me valium…didn’t work. I quit cold turkey…didn’t work. I tried to wean myself. Once again…it did not work.

Then a friend told me about Jesus, invited me to church, and then “suckered” me into watching The Passion of the Christ (“suckered” because I thought it would be like Braveheart or something). After watching this movie, I felt like I needed to look more into this “Messiah,” to see if He was real. I had always viewed Jesus as similar to a greek God, even Hercules (half man/half god). I thought that weak, uneducated people followed Jesus, but I saw all kinds of people at this movie…balling their eyes out. I wondered if they, perhaps, knew something I didn’t…

I began to read the Bible every night, and I even prayed that God would reveal Himself to me. After a few months of reading, my desire for the truth only grew. I was still hooked on drugs the whole time, but God was drawing me.

Let me jump to the chase. Searching for answers, I went to church for the next year or so. I even had some intense experiences where God was revealing Himself to me. Then on August 18, 2005, I was at Truth Temple Church, in Kannapolis, NC, praying with some believers. What is crazy about this is that I was upset…while I was praying…because my Percocet had not kicked in like I had hoped. All of the sudden it hit me. Or it would be better to say, He hit me. He flattened me. For the first time, I realized how serious my sin was, and how my whole life was offensive to Him. I was a hypocrite, a drug addict, a liar, full of lust…you name it.

So I cried out to Him in repentance. I explained to Him that I had tried my best to be the man He wanted me to be…I had tried to get off drugs and resist temptation…but I continued to fail. In my own words, I explained to Him what I later found in Romans 7:14-24. I didn’t understand what I did. The things I knew I should do, I didn’t do. The things I knew I should not do, I always ended up doing. I was a slave to sin. I was a wretched man. I deserved hell…but it wasn’t long after that that I found out who could deliver me from this body of death…Thanks be to God…through Jesus Christ our Lord!

That night, I completely surrendered. I even remember saying, “God, I know that you don’t normally do it this way, but in my case would you please just take it from me? I have tried to do it myself, but can’t. Please just do it for me.” I thought that it was on me; that I had to clean myself up. Well, He did it alright. Though I went to bed that night feeling as guilty as ever, I woke up the next morning and everything was different. Though I had been on opiods for as long as I could remember, I had no desire to find pills that morning. And I wasn’t feeling any withdrawal symptoms. I felt brand new. As if I had passed from death to life. That is exactly what happened! All my sins had been washed away, and God completely delivered me from the drugs and other addictions.

Not long after that, God took me places I never thought I would go. I have had the greatest experiences in ministry, God brought me a wonderful, beautiful wife, He has blessed me with four amazing children, and He has continued to lead me deeper into His truth. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” That is not talking about big houses and fancy cars. That is saying that He will give you the desires that He wants you to have and He will grant those desires to you. I can’t even begin to describe how blessed I am that I want to do things that I thought were ridiculous before I met Christ. How things have changed…

Ten years ago, I truly believed that nothing would stop the downward spiral toward a certain death via overdose. He saved me though. Thank you Jesus! My favorite verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed way; behold, all things have become new.” That’s me…and that can be you too. I wonder if you are like I was. You think that you have to clean yourself up before coming to Christ. You can’t do it. Believe me. But if you surrender your life to Him, you will experience freedom that I cannot even begin to describe. Do it today.

Think About These Things…

As I listened to the radio on my drive into work this morning, I thought about the influence that music can have on us. My mind went to some of my friends who had shown interest in Christ—some even surrendered to him—and then slowly drifted back to the world. Often-times, the thing they could not give up was the music that they loved before meeting Christ.

So, I was asking myself if music was really that powerful. Can music really be such a stronghold in someone’s life that it draws them away from Christ? Or, on the flip-side, could music be a tool that God uses to draw someone to Christ? As I was thinking, I was reminded of a couple of scriptures.

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and gathered all the governing officials in order to dedicate it. He said to them, “when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image.” So, what’s going on here? Well, he knew the power of music and was trying to make them feel more comfortable to do what he had commanded. Have you ever heard music that makes you feel good? That even makes you feel more comfortable to do something you wouldn’t normally do? Sure you have. I would submit that it even gives you some sort of high. I know that there are songs that I hear today that bring me back to places I don’t want to go. However, there is still the temptation to stay and listen because I enjoy the music. It makes me feel good. It is my responsibility to resist that temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Another scripture that shows music’s power to influence someone is in 1 Samuel 16. Verse 14 says, “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.” Then, verse 23 says, “And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.” Can you see the power that music had on Saul? It made an evil spirit depart. If music has the power to cause evil spirits to depart, do you think it can also invite them to come? It would certainly make sense, wouldn’t it?

So, where am I going with all of this? Well, as I continued to think on these things, one of my favorite verses came to my mind. This verse always causes me to think of my beautiful wife. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Boom! Listen, it’s not about legalism: saying that listening to certain music makes you an unbeliever, etc. It’s about holiness! It’s about purity! What do you want to put in your brain? Things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, praiseworthy? Of course you do!

I want to encourage you to examine yourself now. Are there any things that you are taking into your mind, that are having a negative effect on your heart? On your relationship with Christ? Or, perhaps you have never known Christ. Then I would encourage you to start putting God’s Word into your heart. It is pure and lovely. It will bust you up from time to time, but that’s good. Let him break you so He can pour out His mercy into your heart and save you!

How Does the Monarch Butterfly Reveal Our Purpose in Life?

Every year, I embark on the journey to read through the entire Bible. This provides a wonderful opportunity for God to speak to me each and every day. Recently, as I was reading through Job and Romans, a couple passages stuck out to me.

Job 12:7-10 says, “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”

In a nutshell, this passage is saying that God’s creation will teach us about God. One might ask how this takes place. It doesn’t take long to find this happening though. Simply look around you and do what Job is telling us to do, “Ask the beasts…” Look at God’s creation and ask the question, “What can this tell me about God?” When you do that, you will find your answer. God is concerned about you. His desire is for you to know Him. He wants to reveal Himself to you. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Do it today! Call to Him!

Allow me to briefly tell you about one of God’s creation that will teach you about God: The monarch butterfly. Did you know that this beautiful little creature has a built in internal GPS for the purpose of migration? Every year, countless monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles from the east coast of the United States to a remote place in central Mexico.

This is an awesome feat in itself, that a tiny winged creature, can fly thousands of miles. However, it becomes much more awesome when you realize that they are flying to a place they have most likely never been. They often times even return to the very same tree where their parents began the journey—sometimes their grandparents. It is obvious that these butterflies are not flying on a journey which they have flown before. They have been programmed to go to a specific place, and they have been given the tools to get there. The question some might ask, at this point, is, “If they have been programmed, does that mean there is a Programmer?” Well, let’s look at it a little further.

Scientists have studied this creature and have come to the conclusion that monarchs do, indeed, have a GPS that enables them to journey to the same place every year, where they lay their eggs and die. They use the earth’s magnetic field and the position of the sun to navigate. They can even be taken off course and will still find their way to the same mountains in Mexico.

Scientists can study this butterfly, and clearly see the inexplicable wonders that could not have come about by chance, yet they conclude that these things did come about by chance; that these creatures evolved from slime some billions of years ago. Is it not clear that God gave these little butterflies a purpose and a destiny? He also gave them the tools to fulfill this purpose and destiny. Let us pretend for a moment that animals have free will. If one of these butterflies decides to try to fly to Australia, he has that choice. He could deny everything that is clear to him, and make that journey. However, doing so will result in his destruction. He was not created for that purpose.

Likewise, God has given all of us a purpose. His desire is that all men, everywhere repent and place their trust in Jesus. Just like the monarch butterfly, He has enabled us with everything we need to fulfill this purpose and to reach the destination to which He desires we go. Through His creation, He has revealed Himself to us. Through His Word, He has shown all of us that we can come to Him through faith in His Son, Jesus. However, if we deny this calling, and choose to go our own way, it will only lead to our destruction.

Though we can draw some parallels between mankind and the animal kingdom, it is clear that we are different than any other creation of God. Other than the obvious physical differences, He has also only chosen us to give a moral GPS. He has revealed to us that which is good, and that which is evil. He has also revealed to us the consequences that come with choosing one or the other. He has stamped eternity on our hearts. He has written His Law on our hearts. He has given us all we need, in order to reveal Himself to us. It is up to us whether we will submit to Him, repent and believe, OR suppress this truth by our own unrighteousness.

Let me close with the other passage that stuck out to me from my reading plan. Romans 1:18-20 says, “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

God has made what can be known about Himself plain for all to see…since the beginning. The monarch butterfly is a perfect example of this. We could look at thousands of other creatures and find things that are just as marvelous. This passage is speaking of the wrath of God that we see in the wickedness of those who deny God…who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness. If you continue reading, you can see what that looked like in Paul’s day. You will probably come to the conclusion that the things Paul saw are not too far from what we see today.

It is this simple, God has revealed Himself to all of us; through His creation, through His Word, and also through the Moral Law that He has written on all of our hearts. We know that we have lied, stolen, looked with lust (which is the same as adultery), dishonored our parents, etc. We know that we are all guilty, and fall short of the glory of God. Some of us come to terms with this and surrender to Christ, repenting and placing our faith in Him. However, so many more deny this Moral Law, and the Moral Lawgiver, and sin all the more, suppressing the truth by unrighteousness.

My prayer is that when you see the mighty hand of God at work, you will submit yourself to Him. His name is Jesus, and He desires that you would surrender everything and follow Him.

The Best Remedy for Self-Control Issues: Frontline Ministry

Last Saturday, I visited an abortion mill to minister to abortion-minded women.  I normally go to one we call Hebron (because it is located on Hebron St.), but I ended up at Latrobe.  I have been to many “battlefields” where there is very intense spiritual warfare taking place.  Sometimes, this warfare manifests physically.  This would certainly be one of those occasions.

Not long after I arrived, Flip told me to go preach.  I walked over to the mic, and saw a large woman, with a pink shirt, walking my way.  After praying a quick prayer I began to preach.  Immediately, this woman got in my face and began to scream, “Stop harassing women! Stop harassing women!”  She would not stop.  (She is a pro-abort, who comes out almost everyday, by the way) Now here’s the deal.  I have preached in all sorts of situations.  I have had people unplug the sound while I’m preaching, I have had people try to rip the mic out of my hand, they have pushed me and gotten in my face, I’ve seen it all.  However, this was rather difficult to preach over.  I think what it comes down to is that, sometimes you can let these attacks get the best of you.  Everything in me wanted to engage her and “give her a piece of my mind.”  However, over the years, I have learned that, most of the time, the best thing to do is ignore this type of attack.

After preaching a few minutes, Lazarus (one of the clinic’s security guards) got into the face of a friend of mine.  It was 9am and he was already drunk.  This was no bluff.  He was an inch from my friend’s face, verbally threatening him.  That made it a little hard to keep preaching as well.  And then the police showed up to shut us down.  It seemed that the enemy was working overtime to silence the proclamation of the gospel.

You might be wondering where I am going with all of this?  The enemy hates it when we declare the truth.  As we fulfill our Christian duty, of exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness, and being salt and light in this world, we will stir up all kinds of opposition.  Satan wants to shut us up.  He would love to get under our skin to distract us.  His desire is to take us out.

I would like to ask you a simple question.  How do you respond to opposition?  Jesus said to “bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Lk 6:28)  Can you stand in the face of opposition and bless these people as they make every attempt to take you out?

I have heard comments over the years that go something like this:  “I would love to join you guys, but there is no way that I could put up with that stuff.  I would do something I regret.”  Before I go on, let me make something clear.  I struggle with this too!  I have done stupid things in the past.  However, I never let my lack of self-control keep me on the sidelines.  When I do something stupid, the Holy Spirit always convicts me.  He will direct me to confess my sin to God AND to the person I sinned against.  In this process, God is refining me in His refiner’s fire.

My statement is this: When I engage in spiritual warfare, I know that I am putting myself in a situation where I might get in the flesh.  However, if I do get in the flesh, it shows me that I have a serious spiritual problem.  Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit.”  If that is the case, I would much rather have this sin of mine exposed at the abortion mill, rather than let it grow on the inside, going unchecked.  How can I expect to lead my wife and children if I lack self-control?  If I become a man who is like a broken down city, left without walls, what does that say about my family?  My lack of self-control will lead to the downfall of my family.  May it never be so!  Let me be very clear, if there are any instances where I struggle to control myself, I need to deal with it ruthlessly.  If I let it fester, it will take me out.

I would like to encourage anyone who might struggle with self-control.  If you feel that you do not have the self-control to engage in this battle, I understand!  I have been there.  And, I must confess, that there are times that I still get in the flesh out there.  It’s just that though…my flesh.  I have to walk in the Spirit!  Any reliance in my own strength will always lead to failure.  It is this simple, I know that God has called me to this battle.  If I deny this call, not only will the blood of millions will be on my hands, I will lose a golden opportunity for Jesus to mold me into the man of God that He has called me to be.

So no more excuses!  Come on out and join us!  Just this year, in the city of Charlotte, we have had the joy of seeing 289 mommas choose life.  On the particular day I mentioned earlier, we saw two choose life at Latrobe, and one at Hebron.  Just think of all the precious children that will now get to enjoy life because a few little Christians decided to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ, at the very gates of hell.  Don’t you want to be a part of something like that?!