One Way Out

 

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6

When the disciples asked how they would get to the Father and his “house,” Jesus answered that he was the only way.

This fact that Jesus is the only way to heaven isn’t popular in our age of the “it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere” and “all faiths lead to the same destination” way of thinking. People argue that having just one way is too narrow and limiting. “How can anyone claim to be the only way to God?” they assert.

In reality, Jesus’ way is wide enough for all who believe. Instead of arguing and worrying about how limited it sounds, people should be grateful that there actually is one way to God and eternal life.

When coming to a precipice and wishing to get to the other side of the great divide, we don’t pout and demand that a bridge is in place on the exact spot where we stand. Instead, we travel to the bridge, the only bridge, a few miles away, grateful that a way across has been provided.

Jesus is the way — ​follow him. Jesus is truth — ​believe him. Jesus is life — ​live in him. Regardless of the claims of cults, pop religion, or wishful thinking, no other bridge to the Father and his house exists.

Thank God He has provided the Way.

From Once-A-Day Devotional for Men

BAR SUES CHURCH

 

 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. Acts 4:31 

A bar called Drummond's, in Mt Vernon, Texas began construction on an expansion of their building, hoping to "grow" their business. In response, the local Southern Baptist Church started a campaign to block the bar from expanding - petitions, prayers, etc.

About a week before the bar's grand reopening, a bolt of lightning struck the bar and burned it to the ground! Afterward, the church folks were rather smug - bragging about "the power of prayer". The angry bar owner eventually sued the church on grounds that the church ... "was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building, through direct actions or indirect means." Of course, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise.

The judge read carefully through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply. He then opened the hearing by saying: "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but it appears from the paperwork that what we have here is a bar owner who now believes in the power of prayer and the entire church congregation that does not."

Be careful for what you pray for!!!

Is God The Hub?

 For in him we live and move and exist...Acts 17:28

There's this idea floating around that God, church, and other spiritual matters are spokes in the wheel of a person's busy life. People say things like, “Oh, yeah I attend church” in the same way they'd say, “Oh, yeah I go to the gym” or “Oh, yeah, I am on that committee.”

But the Bible is very clear that God is not just one 'spoke' on the wheel of your life, but to have Him as the hub. Life works best when you bring every aspect of your life. Take a moment to consider the whole of your life. Does it all belong to God? If not, you can invite him in. Tell Him about an area you are having problems with or worried about. Watch what a difference it makes when God is your hub and not just a spoke on your wheel.

Proverbs or Promise? (Part Two)

 

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NKJ

Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost. Proverbs 22:6 MGS

I found that the Hebrew word for 'train" means to learn from experience. Psalm 34:8 For example, when a mother is weaning her baby, she would take some solid food on her finger and place it on the roof of the infant's mouth. As the baby would suck on her finger, he would learn, from experience, to eat solid food. If you want your children to grow up to be a devoted Christ-follower, you must allow them to experience the walk of faith.

When I was in Bible college, I had to experience sharing my faith with non believers. Since I was one of the older students, I was assigned to drive the college bus and take 15-20 students to Belle Glade, Florida. Belle Glade is mostly a slum and has a 75% crime rate and is one of the poorest cities in Florida. Much of the population consists of migrant workers who work in the sugar fields.

My wife and my two young children would often accompany me. During the afternoon, we would share Bible stories with the children on the streets. This ghetto would be littered with hypodermic needles and whiskey bottles. Since we had no building to meet in, we had to sit on the curb on the street. My two kids would be the only white kids in the group.

In the evening, we would go to the migrant worker's camp to hold evangelistic meetings. This gave the ministerial students experience preaching. Again, my children attended with us and the workers enjoyed having our kids with them. It was a little unsettling to see our kids surrounded by these rough men. Many would sharpen their machetes for the next day's work in the field during the service.

Allow me to share this disclaimer. I was not a perfect father. I made more than my share of mistakes. I wish I could say I was a model father. But even with all my shortcomings, both of my children have grown up to be mature followers of Christ. I believe one of the reasons our children have not strayed from the faith is all that they have experienced.

I have been a church pastor for over 30 years and have been through some difficult situations. We were very open with our children when going through those circumstances. When we were treated unfairly, we sat down with our kids and told them we held to ill will against those people. As a family, we prayed for them. Matthew 5:43-44

Parents, the best teaching tool is for you to live the Christian life before your kids. Your kids would rather see a sermon than hear one!

Did I Offend You?

 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this? -- Matthew 15:12

Today in our politically correct world, we have to be so careful that we don't offend anyone. But is that possible? People in our culture do not want to know the truth. Many people don't see truth as being absolute but God's Word is absolutely true.

Technically speaking, people get offended because when they are faced with the truth, they refuse the truth. They refuse it because it doesn't align with their version of the truth. The famous line from the movie A Few Good Men is true. "You can't handle the truth!" When someone lovingly points out a fault or sin in your life, do you get offended?

In Matthew 15, Jesus confronted the religious leader for their twisted view of the truth and they were offended. We when speak the truth against the social norms of today, people will be offended. Christ-followers are commanded to speak the truth. Ephesians 4:25 1 John 3:18 Psalm 15:2

But when we speak the truth it must come from a heart of love. Ephesians 4:15 Truth is not a club we use to beat people who have opposing views. We are not to speak the truth just to win an argument. We speak the truth in love so that people will be set free from falsehood. "you will know the truth, and that truth will give you freedom." John 8:32

Proverb or Promise (Part One)

 

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NKJ

Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost. Proverbs 22:6 MGS

As a Christian parent, my biggest concern was that my two children would grow up to be mature disciples of Jesus Christ. My heart has been broken many times to see children that have been raised in Christian homes and have attended Bible-teaching churches only to forsake the faith and desert the church.

Many have interpreted the above verse as a promise to parents that if they do their job right their children will never abandon the faith. However, this has resulted in many parents feeling as if God has broken His promise to them when their child turns from the faith.

This verse is a proverb and not a promise. Proverbs are sayings about how life normally works. But, there are plenty of exceptions to proverbs, because life is complicated by many factors. Proverbs are principles, not promises.

Bible teacher, Peter Goeman has an interesting insight into this verse. "In addition to the fact that a proverb is a principle, not a promise, Proverbs 22:6 is likely a negative warning rather than a positive promise. If we break down the verse we see some interesting details which support the view this is not a promise...The context in Proverbs speaks very negatively about the way of the youth. Thus, “his way” likely refers to the sinful disposition of the youth. If true, this particular proverb functions as a warning, not a promise. If parents affirm a child in his or her own way, that child will embrace that lifestyle throughout life..."

"By way of application, the main point of the proverb is clear. Whether it is positive or negative, Proverbs 22:6 cannot be viewed as a promise. Rather, it is a principle that highlights the importance of parenting. Further, it also highlights the tendency of the child to hold to the patterns of his youth. However, we should avoid using such a proverb as a promise that has no exceptions.

Your Compartmentalized Life

 Years ago, TV Dinners were very popular. (And I understand they are still available.) For those too young to be familiar with these here is a picture.

As per their name they were designed to be eaten in front of the television so you wouldn't miss your favorite program. I am sure they were not nourishes and their taste well..... And they were designed so that none of the items would touch one another.

It reminds me of many people's lives. They try to compartmentalize the different segments of their lives. Their work life doesn't touch their family life. Their family life doesn't touch their hobbies. And their spiritual life is private and therefore doesn't touch any other segment.

But the Bible makes no distinction that our lives are to be separated. Acts 17:28 says, "Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of him." If live in us (and He does) , then every area of our lives are interconnected. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (Emphasis added) "Whatever", doesn't sound like we separate the different areas of our lives does it?

God's plan is for Christ-followers to impact the world for Him. But how can we make an impact without contact.

Following Jesus In Today's World

 

The Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8. When Jesus was calling the 12 disciples; He asked them to follow Him. Matthew 4:19

Since Jesus never changes; the invitation to follow Him still applies to us today.

To 'follow' someone you must know where they are going. You need to know their destination. So where was Jesus going? Why did He come to earth? Luke 19:10 clearly states He came to 'seek and save that which was lost.'We Jesus often used stories to convey spiritual truth. Each parable had a different meaning but He was told three parables in Luke 15 that all had the same meaning: The lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. If we are to be true followers of Christ, this should be our purpose in life, seeking the lost.

The Apostle Peter followed Jesus and had an intimate relationship with Him. But something changed that relationship. When Jesus was arrested and was being taken prisoner, Matthew 26:58 "Peter followed him at a distance..." Peter made the mistake of allowing a distance in his following. His safety and security were threatened. Technically, he was still following Jesus but from a distance. Later on, Peter was asked if he knew Jesus and he swore with an oath he did not know Him. When you follow Jesus from a distance, it will affect our relationship with other people will change. We are more focused on ourselves than lost people.

We are so unaware of the 'lost' people all around us. Romans 3:23 says 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,' Everyone was has not trusted Jesus Christ to forgive them of their sins, is lost. Doesn't matter if they attend church or are good moral people; without Christ, they are lost.

Tomorrow as you follow Jesus, follow His example and invite someone to follow Jesus with you. It may be at school or at work. It may be at church. Yes, there are lost people who attend church!

Don't follow Jesus at a distance!

The Second Disaster

 

In my last blog, Following Jesus in Today's World, we saw that following Jesus means to follow His example in seeking the lost. Luke 19:10. Unfortunately, most Christ-followers have not made this a priority in their lives. Most go through life never sharing their faith with an unbeliever.

Most of you are familiar with the tragic story of the Titanic. The Titanic was the largest man-made object at its time. During its maiden voyage, it struck an iceberg and started to sink. It took a long time for the ship to go down. About three and a half hours between impact and totally going under. There was a lot of time for lifeboats to be placed in the ocean. But what I found out was that though the lifeboats had the capacity to save 70 people, they were only half full when lowered in the water. It is clearly documented that there were only between 12-30 people in each lifeboat, with the capacity to save more people. When the ship finally went down there were all these lifeboats all over the ocean. There were hundreds of people in the water screaming for help.

And here is where the Second Disaster of the Titanic happened. It was the fact that there were so many lifeboats with seats to space, everyone started to row away from the disaster. They managed to shut out the fact that all these people could be saved but they were happy with the fact that they had been saved. Only ONE lifeboat returned to pick up survivors. This is a picture of todays Christianity where we are just happy we made it! We know Jesus, we are on our way to heaven but our "lifeboat" is only half full!

Today, you are either in a lifeboat or you are in the water! If you are in the water; do not refuse when someone offers to rescue you. If you are in a lifeboat; don't ignore those in the water!

Family Arrows

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them....  Psalm 127: 3-5a

In Bible times, children (especially sons) were of great importance to the family. Sons were designed to carry on the family lineage and to leave a legacy. The Psalmist likened children as arrows in the hand of a warrior.  

You may have seen the archery competition during the Olympics. I was amazed at their skill. The bows probably cost thousands of dollars and I am sure they did not purchase their arrows from Walmart! In Biblical times, arrows were hand crafted and the craftsman had to select the proper wood and feathers for proper flight. In time of war, the point of the arrow was of extreme importance.

An arrow to achieve its purpose, must leave the quiver. Parents must realize that they are not just raising children but future adults. Principles, values, and character must be taught early in a child's development. 

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior: In many ways children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

· They must be carefully shaped and formed.

· They must be guided with skill and strength.

· They must be given care or they will not fly straight.

· They must be aimed and given direction; they will not find direction on their own.

· They are, in some respects, only launched once.

· They are an extension of the warrior’s strength and accomplishment.

· They have potential for much good or evil.

                                                              (Enduring Word Commentary,)