Sun, Apr 27th - 6:23PM
Discovering the Narrow Gate To Life Today’s devotion is given from my sincere heart, from a desire to make sure that those who read these lines from week to week, won’t miss the glory train when it heads toward the depot on Hallelujah Square. Since my retirement in 1998 and re-entry into a church pastoral ministry, I’ve conducted a good number of funerals. They are never easy, some more difficult than others. Yet, when everyone walks away from the grave-side, for some of the deceased there are lingering questions as to their relationship with God when they breathed their last breathe. So, I would like to use some thoughts I used at a recent service. It in no way reflects back upon that individual, but is a kind of generic word for all of us who are living in this present life. These are some things perhaps we can use in our own lives or some things we can use to share with other folk. First, know that there is a place to where most folk want to go when they die. That place is Heaven. Revelation 21:3 tells us that John "heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Who doesn’t desire a Paradise like that? So, most people want to go to Heaven when they die. So, don’t be surprised when you hear such from even the roughest folk you know. Second, know that there is a problem to overcome before one can go to Heaven. Paul said it this way in his Roman letter. "As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one:" (3:10). Then a little further forward he wrote, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23). So all that desire for Heaven is washed away because none of us are righteous enough to go to Heaven. Third, know that there is a plan to overcome the problem. It is the one and only plan God has set in motion. His plan carries us to the cross of Calvary where Jesus died for the sins of mankind. Paul again speaks to us through his pen: "For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved" (10:13). But Jesus Himself said it best in that old favorite passage from John’s gospel: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting lift"(v. 16). Forth, know that there is a promise to those who come to Jesus by the way of His plan. Jesus gave the promise in John 14:3, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." Everyone who comes to God through Jesus Christ His Son is having a mansion built in glory land. One day, either by way of physical death or at His coming again, Jesus Himself is coming back to get us so we can be with Him forever. It’s a short distance between desiring to go to Heaven and actually preparing to go there after death. But it’s a distance many are missing. Jesus said on one occasion, "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Mt. 7:14). Did you catch that? "Few who find it"? Yes, it’s a short distance but many who want to go to Heaven never make it because they choose to enter the wide gate of destruction instead! One last thing! Know that there is an appointment all persons will keep. Actually, it’s two appointments! One is death. The second appointment is to meet with God. Hebrews 9:27 is clear: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." Where do you stand today with God?
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Mon, Apr 21st - 12:03AM
It Is Important To Fear God Fear is an unpleasant emotion which creates anxiety in the human heart. It is driven by both the known and the unknown, visual dangers as well as perceived possible dangers. A life driven by fear is discomforting along with the diminishing of one’s effectiveness in daily pursuits. On the other hand, fear can be a beneficial asset. It is a good balance between reckless living habits and overprotection. Fear, when balanced with caution, protects folk from many of life’s dangers and painful experiences. But there is another meaning for the emotion of fear. According to one rendering in the dictionary it refers to "a former or ancient time - regard with reverence and awe". That’s the meaning of the word which the Bible emphases throughout Holy Scripture. Peter encouraged the persecuted believers, to whom his two letters were addressed, as to how they should live in their society. He wrote in 1 Peter 2:17, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king". When he encouraged the believers to "fear God" he was in no way suggesting for them to be scared of God. Instead of fear in the sense of being afraid, he encouraged the dispersed Christians to show great respect for God. In Ecclesiastes, the preacher concludes his admonition with "Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil"(12:13,14). We live in a world which shows more and more evidence that it doesn’t at all fear God. Even many of those who call themselves Christians, those who are members of churches of all sizes and persuasions, from all parts of the world, in big towns and small alike, publicly use language and do activities which proves the heart to be evil and not good. So, the Bible word for fear does mean awe but at the same time doesn’t eliminate the fear factor. The Psalmist wrote "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes"(36:1). He saw their deed and heard their language and concluded they had no fear of God because if they did fear Him, either in awe or cowardliness, their lives and mouths would be different. But it seems that mankind has either forgotten or doesn’t know what the preacher’s conclusion is as stated above: "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil". In the sense of respect toward God and a fear of the consequences of not honoring Him, the writer in Proverbs1:7 declared that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge . . .". All of the learning one can accumulate will never be enough if one doesn’t learn to fear the LORD God. It’s certainly not manly nor smart to think that an individual can get by with dishonoring Him. Again the writer of the Proverbs gives us some good advise about fear. He wrote in 8:13, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil". When a person wises up and begins to gain eternal knowledge by fearing the LORD, that individual will further understand that this knowledge leads to a hatred for evil. Here is a clear indicator with which we can all judge ourselves. When evil isn’t disliked, we can easily determine that we don’t have the knowledge which comes from fearing Him. The Psalmist chimes in with advise in19:9. "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever"(v. 9). See the progression? The fear of the LORD begins knowledge, hates evil, and is clean, lasting forever. Finally, in Psalms 111:10, is written the following: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom . . .". This is wisdom gained from one’s experience in walking with the Lord. Knowledge, which is eternal, is gained by standing in awe and fear of God, becomes real when the heart gets in tune with His heart by hating evil, and is clean and purifies the believer’s mind and soul and lasts forever. In the end, we discover the wisdom of a walking with God and seeking to mimic the Christians in Acts when they were persecuted and scattered. The scripture among other things says, "And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they multiplied"(9:31).
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Sun, Apr 13th - 10:08PM
Drifting From The Harbor of Safety is Spiritually Dangerous Most individuals have a goal toward which they daily strive. Few folk wish to wander aimlessly through life, that is, getting up in the morning and waiting to see what happens. A structured or semi-structured life is satisfying and meaningful. Those who set goals and shoots to achieve them are more likely successful than those who have set no goals. I thought retirement, back in 1998, would be followed by a life of "come what may"! That works for about a week, then it gets boring. In only a couple of weeks I discovered I needed to set some goals for the rest of my future. I still do! Without some tangible, often written agenda, life becomes difficult. It is easy to get bored and become depressed. A goal becomes the foundation to which one is attached. As long as there is contact with that foundation, one’s life remains intact. This same idea holds true when it comes to one’s faith. There must be an anchor, a foundation to which we are attached. The writer of the Hebrews has beautifully reminded believers of the one sure foundation which provides their safety. He wrote, "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, . . ."(2:1-3). Note that it isn’t the foundation which is faulty, causing one to err. The problem lies in the drifter. The writer put emphasis upon "lest we drift away". This is the picture of a boat which is tied to the pier. The rope breaks without anyone noticing and the boat drifts away from the safe harbor. That harbor has been its salvation (its safe place), but now the boat is headed out into unsafe territory. So it is, when a believer drifts away from the teachings of Biblical doctrine, that individual is getting into unstable waters and is heading for rough times in their spiritual journey. And there are tremendously dangerous waters filling societies around the world. The New Age religious philosophy sees no wrong bad enough to be sinful, therefore discounts sin altogether. They claim there are many ways to get to Heaven instead of the Christian’s "only way Jesus". Sadly, there are Christians (or so called) who are being caught up in the error of these and other modern day rejecters of the Christian’s Bible and message. Oprah Winfrey, popular TV personality, is one of the latest "preachers" of this false gospel. The contention of this new gospel (which isn’t new at all) is that good people go to Heaven. Hell isn’t a real place after death, Heaven is for good folk, and everyone’s "higher power" is accepted in their religious camp. Where do you desire for your life to be anchored? To Biblical truth which is a proven book of faith in the one and only of a kind Jesus Christ? Or in the modern, remake, of some old religion which denies that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior of the world, coming King and Lord of all? Thank you, I’ll stick with the Bible, with the hope of glory which is achieved only through Jesus Christ. The Bible doesn’t declare that good people go to Heaven, but that only saved people have a home awaiting for them when this life is done. It is natural that a lost person will desire a religion which has no judgement for sin, has denounced Hell as the destination of Christ’s rejecters, opens Heaven for everyone, allows for all lifestyles to be enjoyed without God’s condemnation, and preaches that the words of Jesus are good words coming from a good man. They reject the idea that the rest of the New Testament is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Let’s not drift away from the harbor of our salvation which is in Jesus Christ alone!
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Sun, Apr 6th - 10:30PM
Some Funny Things At Church Some folk give going to church a bad rap. They claim the experience is too dull, the music isn’t all that inspiring, and there are hypocrites in the church. These people would rather be somewhere more exciting. But I find the church an exciting place. The most memorable moments of my life occurred at the church house. In years gone by, youth meetings were well attended and I recall happy gatherings. Through my adult years, I’ve been privileged to sit through some of the most spiritually awesome services one can imagine. There’s nothing dull about attending church. There are also a lot of funny stories told by church going folk. You’ve no doubt seen some misprints found in church bulletins or heard some funny stuff told by preachers. So, I thought I’d take a few moments to share a few of the "funny spots"in my own years as church pastor. I’ve always tried to have everything ready for the Sunday services. I like for things to be just so so, but that’s not always possible. Sometimes, things just happen which are beyond one’s control. Many of them end up being funny moments so we laugh about them and move on. In one of the churches where I was pastor, the piano was upon the pulpit platform, sitting just behind the pulpit, facing the wall. I was doing my best to get the sermon across to the people. Their smiles told me something was wrong. Those nearest the front pews were very attentive to something in my direction and it wasn’t the sermon. I looked toward my wife for some reassurance and noticed that she too was interested in something in my direction, which, according to the smile on her face, wasn’t my wise wisdom from scripture. First thing that came to my mind was — "Is my paints unzipped?". So I made sure that I moved directly behind the pulpit. But the women the front continued to watch something! It wasn’t until the "ordeal" of getting the sermon finished that I discovered their curiosity. A mouse was playing on the floor behind me. Peggy said it would run out from under the piano, then back again. Once or twice I almost stepped on it! Sure glad it didn’t get up my pants leg because we’d have had a dancing good time! In a night service, I was doing some pretty good preaching. Raising my voice. Lifting that index finger and pointing at the correct moments. Making unforgettable statements! Just as one of those splendid moments of inspiration was emphasized, an elderly gentleman sneezed and his false teeth flew out! I couldn’t help but watch his next few seconds as he snatched at them, fumbled them, then caught them and stuck them back into his mouth. He never missed a lick or indicated any embarrassment over the incident. Can’t say the same about that sermon! I was coming to the end of the wedding ceremony. So, I asked the woman, "do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded wife?" I noticed a questing smile and thought how sweet of her. She answered the question correctly but I was certainly embarrassed about the "miss spoken statement" when told what I had actually said. In case you missed it and are wondering what I’m talking about, the man isn’t taken as a wife! At one of the churches were I served as pastor, I had a radio program. I would tape either the morning sermon, sometimes the night sermon, or the Wednesday night sermon. I got the bright idea that I would use the morning music as an introduction to the air time. I wanted to add an announcement while the music was played in the background. The plan was to go back into the hallway and make the announcement with the church music in the background but my mike was to be silenced over the public address system in the church. Guess what! The booth forgot to silence my mike and it came out over the church audience. They had a good laugh while I preached and I couldn’t understand why such a brilliant sermon was so funny. That is, until I learned what had happened. But the most embarrassing incident was the first year we were on this new church field. Their custom was to have an early morning, like 6 am, sunrise service. They mentioned it to me but evidently it didn’t registry very well. On Easter Sunday morning, a knock was heard at our front door. Someone was reminding me of the service. The people had gathered but the preacher was fast asleep! No! Church attendance isn’t dull. The best and longest laughs, for me at least, have come from church!
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Name: Odus Jackson
