08/31/20 “MODERN CARS” IN SCRIPTURE — I’ll bet most of you did NOT know how many modern cars are mentioned in the Bible. I’ve listed just a few below:

1. (Plymouth) FURY: Genesis 27:44 (NKJV) “And stay with him a few days, until your brother's FURY turns away.” I had no idea that internal combustion engines were even invented way back then!

2. FORD: Genesis 32:22 (NKJV) “And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the FORD of Jabbok.” I guess Jabbok owned an unspecified Ford model.

3. (Pontiac) TEMPEST: Psalm 83:15 (NKJV) “So pursue them with Your TEMPEST, And frighten them with Your storm.” Those Tempests were loud, scary, fast cars, all right!

4. (Honda) ACCORD: Acts 2:1 (NKJV) “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one ACCORD in one place.” The poor 120 believers apparently had only one car among them, an Accord.

5. (Ford)ESCAPE: 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of ESCAPE, that you may be able to bear it.” Whenever you’re in trouble, it seems that God promises to send an Escape to pick you up.

Amazing, right?! Maybe YOU can help me find MORE “modern” automobiles in the Bible!

 08/30/20 NOT FAR IS NOT IN — In Mark 12, the Sadducees had just concocted a complex riddle to disparage Jesus. They surely thought that no matter how He answered, they could trap and discredit Him. But, no, once more, He answered as only the Son of God could—He “blew them right out of the saddle.”

Verse 28 (CSB) says, “One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, ‘Which command is the most important of all?’” It seems like he was NOT trying to trap Jesus. Perhaps he really wanted to hear the Messiah’s wise answer.  

He was rightly impressed with Jesus’ response (vs.32-33). Verse says, ^“When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, ‘You are NOT FAR from the kingdom of God.’ And no one dared to question Him any longer.” Coming from Jesus Himself, this was a compliment indeed!

BUT “NOT FAR” is NOT “in” God’s Kingdom. The scribe was so much more receptive and respectful to Jesus’ Person and Message than most of the Jewish leaders. He embraced what Jesus said about LOVE, BUT, as far as we know, like far too many of us, he FAILED to understand his obligation to OBEY. As far as Scripture tells us, he NEVER actually became a sold-out, surrendered follower of Jesus. Unless something wonderfully miraculous happened to him, he remained a HELL-BOUND SINNER.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Faithfully attending a church, reading and memorizing Bible verses, praying a blessing before each meal, helping those in need regularly and living a lawful, decent life—if you’re doing ALL of that virtually ALL the time, YOU, too, are NOT FAR from the Kingdom. But unless you have deliberately accepted the Covenant/Contract that God is offering to ALL people—REALIZE that (1) Your Thoughts, Words and Deeds are Unacceptable to God; (2) The consequences for God’s displeasure are His discipline and chastening here on the earth, followed by an ETERNITY in HELL, separated from God, Jesus, your friends and loved ones and anything/everything good and pleasant; (3) Surrendering Control of the Rest of your Life to Jesus, God’s Son and mankind’s ONLY Savior, Whose undeserved execution on a cross God arranged to pay the incalculable debt you owe Him—unless you are 3 for 3, YOU, too are still a HELL-BOUND SINNER! Not because I said so, but because God’s Holy Bible declares all that loud and clear over and over. PLEASE, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic chaos, rioting and looting, THIS is the MOST URGENT and IMPORTANT thing you can do!

08/28/20 Back on Aug. 18, I discussed “JESUS’ FOOLPROOF FLOWCHART OF FORGIVENESS.” Here’s a picture of it! 

08/27/20 RE-MINDERS FROM JONAH — In my course “Digging Gems in the MINER Prophets” (deliberately misspelled!), each week I presented most of the “RE-“ words in these short books, e.g. rebuild, repair, return, restore, repent, etc. In future posts I’ll probably present these “RE-minders” from the other 11 Minor prophets. But below are those in Jonah:

In Jonah 3:9-10 (CSB) the king of Nineveh says, “’Who knows? God may TURN and RELENT; he may TURN from his burning anger so that we will not perish.’ 10 God saw their actions — that they had TURNED from their evil ways — so God RELENTED from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.”

Also Jonah 4:2, “He prayed to the Lord, ‘Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a Gracious And Compassionate God, Slow To Anger, Abounding In Faithful Love, and one who RELENTS from sending disaster.’”

The OT Hebrew word rendered “turn” in the verses above is often translated “REPENT.” And one of the explanations folks give for (OT) repentance is “turning away from evil and toward God.” The NT Greek word for repentance means to change one’s mind, which is the sense of word “RELENT” above.

Praise the Lord! We most certainly DESERVE any disasters God sends our way. But if and when we sincerely TURN and REPENT, He will RELENT, forgive us and even, perhaps, remove His chastening hand.

08/26/20 MESSAGE FROM JONAH #2 — As I attempted to APPLY that message (see yesterday’s post), I offered five challenges:

1. There is ALWAYS a STIFF PRICE to PAY for Running from the Lord. (1:3)

2. A straight line may be the SHORTEST distance between two points. BUT Running from the Lord is the ROUGHEST distance between two points. (1:4)

3. Often WE are as INCONSISTENT and SELFISH as Jonah. (3:10-4:3)

4. God cares for ALL People. (4:11)

5. God gives SECOND CHANCES, even to His Enemies! If YOU need one, take advantage of it NOW!

Several people responded during the invitation time. My biggest surprise came when two young men I had “never laid eyes on before” (CBC had several hundred in attendance on Wednesday evenings) came forward and spoke deliberately to me. They told me they were each called by God to be preachers and were making plans to attend seminary next fall, same as me, but, in spite of all that, they had been running from God and were paying the price. They thanked me profusely for my message; and I prayed for and with them that they would stay close to the Lord.

08/25/20 MESSAGE FROM JONAH #1 — Before I actually moved away to attend seminary, I actually preached a few times at my church, Central Baptist Church of Oak Ridge, TN. As I was preparing one such message, I read something by Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Church/Life—sound familiar?). He suggested that most of our sermon outlines were boring and useless. He said he had abandoned a “content” outline in favor of an “application” outline. I decided to try it. The Book of Jonah is four short chapters; I had already come up with my outline; but I decided to amend “application” to it. My completed outline and “talking points” were:

Chapter 1. The DISOBEDIENT Prophet—Running AWAY FROM the Lord: “I WON’T GO!”

Chapter 2. The DISCIPLINED Prophet—Running BACK TO the Lord: “I WILL GO!”

Chapter 3. The DYNAMIC Prophet—Running WITH the Lord: “I’M HERE NOW!”

Chapter 4. The DISAPPOINTED Prophet—Running AHEAD Of the Lord: “I SHOULDN’T HAVE COME!”

The response was to that message was amazing. But you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about it.

 08/24/20 THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE — Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man had just concluded. In Mark 10:24-27 (CSB) we read, “The disciples were ASTONISHED at his words. Again Jesus said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ 26 They were EVEN MORE ASTONISHED, saying to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ 27 Looking at them, Jesus said, ‘With man it is IMPOSSIBLE, but not with God, because ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD.’”

Some people seem to want to take the starch out of the Bible. Folks have come up with two desperate attempts to make this passage more palatable. First, some point out that the Greek words for “camel” and “cable” are just one letter apart. So “camel” is a mistake; instead it should say “cable,” they suggest. They say that Jesus really meant that being saved was as hard as threading a needle, which, by the way, nearly anyone can do!

Others point out that there is small gate in the ancient walls of Jerusalem called “The Eye of the Needle.” The purpose of this gate was to make it difficult for intruders to enter the city—they would have to crawl in on hands and knees. So Jesus was saying that salvation was hard, requiring us to humble ourselves on our knees. But just a cursory Google search reveals that this gate was installed between the 5th and 9th centuries after Christ was here! If it ever had a defensive purpose, it has become nothing more than a phony tourist attraction today!

Let the Scriptures speak for themselves! Jesus’ disciples understood perfectly what He was saying. They were (EVEN MORE) ASTONISHED because they KNEW He was saying that salvation is IMPOSSIBLE for any of us to achieve. Fortunately, as Jesus added, salvation IS POSSIBLE for GOD to arrange. Our salvation, redemption and reconciliation with God is ONLY AVAILABLE because He made it so. Thank You, Lord. Hallelujah!

 08/23/20 A SUPER SATURDAY — Years ago on a Saturday afternoon we had a special men’s event at Central Baptist Church in Oak Ridge. The speakers were all famous football players; the keynote speaker was UT alum and Hall-of-Fame defensive end Reggie White. My job was to wait for him to arrive on the backside of the campus and escort him into the worship auditorium.

It was nearly time to start and he had not arrived yet. Plus my walkie-talkie seemed to have quit. Just as I was about to give up and abandon my post, several police cars came barreling into the parking lot, lights flashing and sirens blaring. They pulled up right in front of me and screeched to a halt. The rear door opened and this giant of a man got out. I could check his official stats right now, but, instead, let me just say that my mouth dropped open, and I automatically took a step back—he was the largest man I’ve ever been close to. Reggie White grabbed my right hand with his—about the size of a catcher’s mitt—and nearly crushed it!

AsI turned to go inside, Reggie stopped me, laughing. He gestured toward the rear seat of the patrol car and UT tackle Antone Davis began his cumbersome exit. I’m pretty sure the entire vehicle shook as he tried to squeeze his massive frame through the tiny door opening. As he stood up, it seemed as if a solar eclipse had occurred—he was nearly completely blocking out the sun. He towered over us both—Reggie looked average-sized and me, a runt.

Someone had mistakenly locked the back doors of the church. We could hear the music and loud singing—the service had already begun. Reggie asked me what we should do. I told him if I had two monsters with me I’d get them to open the door somehow and deal with the consequences later. He and Antone grabbed the door handles and jerked the locked doors open—no problem!

Someone had saved me a seat on the front row! Reggie told us all about his adventures traveling to CBC, arriving late, and how he, Antone and Ed (me) had managed to get inside. My jealous friends made all manner of fun of me for weeks afterward! What a glorious day that was, serving the Lord along with a thousand of His men!

08/22/20 THE GLORY OF GOD #2 — Years ago the light-heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, had taken a several month break and gained some weight. Overconfident and undefeated, he decided to try his hand at boxing as a heavyweight.

He chose a relative unknown as his first opponent, a young heavyweight named Renaldo Snipes. Unfortunately for Eddie, Snipes was several inches taller, his reach was many inches longer and he outweighed Eddie by more than 30 pounds. The result was absolutely predictable. I watched on live TV as Snipes, who soon earned the nickname “Mr. Snipes,” beat Muhammad mercilessly, finally mercifully knocking him out in an early round. The crowd was awestruck and stunned to see “the champ” out cold on the mat!

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad may have been the VERY BEST light-heavyweight boxer in the world at that time. But he could only PRETEND to be a true heavyweight. He was literally OUT-CLASSED by Renaldo. He was NO MATCH for a TRUE HEAVYWEIGHT.

As I reminded everyone yesterday, in BOTH ancient Hebrew and Greek, the word for “glory” carries the idea of HEAVY! God our Father is NOT a lightweight, middleweight or even a heavyweight. Almighty God is the UNDEFEATED SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF HIS UNIVERSE! Speaking of the shepherds minding their sheep on the night when Jesus was born, Luke 2:9 (CSB) says, “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the GLORY of the LORD shone around them, and they were TERRIFIED.” Of course they were!

 08/21/20 THE GLORY OF GOD #1 — Years ago I was in seminary at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, VA. My former pastor, Ron Herrod, was going to preach in Seminary Chapel on Friday, before preaching at Thomas Road Baptist Church (pastor: Jerry Fallwell) that Sunday. My job was to open in prayer and introduce Dr. Herrod.

Just before my turn, a Chinese seminary student sang The Lord’s Prayer slowly and beautifully. But on the third phrase, instead of “Hallowed,” he distinctly sang, “HOW LOADED be Thy Name!” Lots of the other students laughed and snickered; he was so embarrassed. I wanted to help him somehow.

Then it came to me. I reminded everyone that in the Bible, in BOTH ancient Hebrew and Greek, the word for “glory” carries the idea of HEAVY! Think about God’s OMNIPOTENCE—He’s ALL Powerful; God’s OMNIPRESENCE—ALL of God is PRESENT EVERYWHERE ALL the time. And consider His Amazing Grace and Mercy, His Incredible Forgiveness and Infinite Love?! John 1:14 (CSB) says about God the Son, Jesus Christ, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed HIS GLORY, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.” All GLORY to God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Indeed, the Name of the Lord IS LOADED!

 08/20/20 WHAT’S HAPPENING TO US? — Centuries ago, in his “Essay on Man”, Alexander Pope wrote: “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien; As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.” For those of you not fluent in Old English, perhaps I should try to paraphrase. Some ideas and behaviors are so obviously evil that godly people are instantly repulsed when they first encounter them. But if we’re exposed to them over and over, we often become desensitized. Eventually we decide just to tolerate them, perhaps even pity those who approve of them. If this continues we may even lose our minds entirely and actually embrace them!?

A recent FB post I heard about described another, similar regression: Once we take the first step and overlook evil, soon thereafter we permit it, legalize it, promote it; finally we celebrate it, and persecute those “narrow-minded bigots” who still call it evil. It sure seems like there’s a lot of that happening around here just now!?

Scripture give us the ALTERNATIVE, the ANTIDOTE in Ephesians 5:11-12 (CSB): ^“DON’T PARTICIPATE in THE FRUITLESS WORKS OF DARKNESS, but instead EXPOSE them. 12 For it is SHAMEFUL EVEN TO MENTION what is done by them in secret.”

08/19/20 THE #1 MOST MISUSED BIBLE VERSE — In Matthew 18:19-20 (CSB), Jesus concluded His description and prescription of church discipline, “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.”

First, in my experience V.20 is the MOST MISUSED verse in the entire Bible. At least two of my seminary professors and some of my favorite former pastors have quoted it each and every time that a scheduled church meeting, service or event resulted in a meager crowd. It seems that nearly everyone uses this verse to claim that Jesus blesses and supports SMALL groups. That notion is not necessarily wrong; but v.20 has NOTHING to do with smaller than anticipated crowds.

CONTEXT is universally agreed upon as the #1 MOST IMPORTANT ingredient in responsible interpretation of Scripture. And the context here is clearly, unmistakably church discipline! I have personally been involved in church discipline issues at several churches as deacon and pastor. ALL such issues are difficult, troublesome and risky. I’ve witnessed both pastors and deacons decide to abandon the process when the perceived pain became more than they could bear. But THAT’s EXACTLY where these verses APPLY! Jesus KNOWS that these issues are painful and puzzling. So He promises personally to be involved in our deliberations. That’s all the encouragement I’ve ever needed to persevere till the ultimate resolution. And, praise the Lord, I have personally been involved in the restoration of several penitent church members, who have become lifelong friends as a result!

08/18/20 JESUS’ SECOND MENTION OF CHURCH — Matthew 18:15-20 is the SECOND and FINAL time Jesus mentioned “Church.” Just after teaching the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus discussed His Four-Step Procedure for Maintaining Church Discipline. I can hear it now: “Oh, NO! Not church discipline! That’s terrible! We tried it once. It didn’t work!” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard that from longtime church members. I usually ask, “So, are you suggesting that Jesus Himself made a BIG MISTAKE when He prescribed for us how to deal with sin?”

Having been a computer geek my entire adult life, when I was in seminary I prepared a computer program style flowchart of this passage, which I entitled “JESUS’ FOOLPROOF FLOWCHART OF FORGIVENESS” (I MAY post it soon, even tomorrow). One Wednesday night I presented to the Youth at our church. A mini-revival broke out with teens confronting, confessing and forgiving one another, and praying together! It was a school night; some parents were dismayed when their kids were not ready to go home yet. Our college pastor heard about it; he asked me to present it to his crowd the next week. Same thing (except for the parents)! It was fantastic!

Church growth gurus tell us that the #1 characteristic of a successful mega-church pastor is FRIENDLINESS!? These days we are so consumed with growing numerically, that we have nearly abandoned the accountability, discipline, maturity and purity Jesus expected and commanded. And our profound lack of POWER and INFLUENCE is the inevitable result. Let’s return to the FORMULAS for a SUCCESSFUL CHURCH outlined by the Lord Himself. After all, it’s HIS Church and He WILL (continue to) build it, on His terms and His timetable! These were His “Famous Last Words” about Church! Let’s READ them and HEED them!

 08/17/20 JESUS’ FIRST MENTION OF CHURCH — Matthew 16:13-20 is the FIRST time Jesus mentioned “Church.” Near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus gave His disciples a quiz with only 2 questions. His first question is in v.13: Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” That question is interesting, but NOT of eternal consequence.

In v.15 He asked them one of the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS EVER: “But YOU,… who do YOU say that I am?” With God’s prompting, Simon gave the PERFECT ANSWER in v.16: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” THAT’s the question each person will one day be required to answer. And his/her answer has eternal consequences (see 1 Cor.12:3)!

In v.18 Jesus officially changed Simon’s name to “Peter”: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” The Lord made a never-to-be-forgotten play on words: “Peter” is actually “Petros” in Greek, meaning a relatively small stone (maybe we should call him “Pebble” or “Rockie” instead!); the feminine form of his name in Greek is “petra,” which means “a foundation boulder” (according to MacArthur’s Study Bible).

Then Jesus told us at least four things about the Church: (1) Conservative Bible scholars agree that Jesus meant that Peter’s CONFESSION was the FIRM FOUNDATION of the Church (NOT Peter himself!); (2) The Church belongs exclusively to Jesus (NOT to any of us or denominations, etc.)—it’s HIS Church; (3) He had NOT birthed it yet—“I WILL build it”; and (4) The ULTIMATE VICTORY of His CHURCH is GUARANTEED! Praise the Lord!

 08/16/20 G3: GOD, GOSPEL & GOLF #4 — After hundreds of rounds, I’ve come up with my own proverb: “100% of putts which are not struck hard enough do NOT go in the hole!” Some guys kneel down, hang their putters nearly vertical and stare for an eternity before they stroke the ball. My observation is that guys who are way too careful nearly ALWAYS hit their putts TOO SOFT. They almost NEVER make it to the hole.

As preachers, teachers and witnesses for Jesus Christ, we need to be sharing the Gospel with the growing hoards of Americans who are still unredeemed. But, for the most part, the gospel presentations I hear in churches, on television and in person are TOO SOFT. They rarely mention SIN and almost NEVER mention HELL. In Luke 14:23 (NASB), near the end of one of His parables, Jesus said, "And the master said to the slave, 'Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and COMPEL them to come in, so that my house may be filled.’” We need to share what they need to be saved FROM and FOR (Eph.2:10) before we ever mention the blessings that come to us afterward. We will NEVER cause them to feel any compulsion or urgency by speaking about God’s amazing grace and love or having a special love relationship with God and/or Jesus.

We need to “HIT HARDER” for the ball to make it all the way to the hole AND for the Gospel message to make it all the way into a person’s heart and soul!

 08/15/20 G3: GOD, GOSPEL & GOLF #3 — There’s an old golf proverb: “Drive for show, Putt for dough!” On the surface it seems to make sense. Far too many golfers (mostly, especially males) spend nearly all their time practicing with their drivers, and almost no time working with their other clubs. And the vast majority of the time, one has to hit 2 or 3 putts to get the ball in the hole. So, if you want to improve (lower) your scores, better work with your putter.

On the other hand, Tiger Woods says that the driver is the most important club; and your tee shot is the very most important stroke, since it sets up the rest of your strokes on any hole. Of course, you don’t even use your driver on par 3 holes and short par 4s. So, who’s right? “Stop, they’re both right!” For truly low scores you need consistency. If you hit even one terrible shot on a hole, your score is likely to sky-rocket.

That old saw, “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish,” is wrong, as well. When it comes to living the Christian life, each and every day is important. As the world watches, both our Walk and our Talk must be consistently godly. In Matthew 24:46 (CSB) Jesus says, “That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded (also Luke 12:43).” Sure, God the Father is Almighty, All-Powerful, Sovereign over every moment of time and every molecule of matter. But He expects us to be busy about His Kingdom work! Let’s Get to It!

08/14/20 FAITH THAT PERSEVERES — One of our former associate pastors, Windy Rich, used to say: “A FAITH that FAILS at the FINISH had a FATAL FLAW from the FIRST!” Try saying that five times fast!

These days, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems as if everywhere I go, people are confused, angry and/or desperate. Some are questioning God’s power or His goodness! You know how it goes, something like “If God were really GOOD He would WANT to remove it…”; and/or “If He were ALL-POWERFUL, He WOULD remove it; BUT…” Watch out if those kinds of thoughts enter your mind. In the OT Job told his friends that if God would just show His face, Job would prove his own innocence and get his mess all straightened out. After God finally obliged and confronted him with 70+ tough questions, Job basically said, “I’m so sorry—I stood up and spoke up when I should have sat down and shut up!” (see Job 42:1-6)

In Luke 8:13 (CSB), in the middle of the Parable of the Sower and Seed, Jesus says, “And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.” What we’re facing is obviously a time of testing. Satan wants us to fail the tests. “BUT GOD” (I love it when that phrase occurs in Scripture) wants us to pass with flying colors, with our faith in Him stronger and more confident than ever!

08/13/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #7 — The return trip was a 12-13 hour flight, with a layover in Los Angeles. When I left the plane there, exhausted and half asleep, I accidentally wandered down a forbidden hallway. Loud alarms sounded and security personnel confronted me and laughed at my pitiful excuse. When we finally landed in DC, I left the plane as quickly as possible. Never before did American soil look so precious to me! At the end of the hall, I scanned the gathered crowd. Then I spotted the beautiful face of my dear wife Linda. I ran to her and gave her the biggest hugs and most lavish kisses ever! 

That was a Saturday. The next morning during my sermon, I shared this with my congregation. I told them that someday, pretty soon, I would arrive in heaven. Maybe there would be a crowd, eager to greet me. But the brand-new eyes in my glorified body would scan the saints, looking for One Person. And when I first see Jesus, my dear Savior and Lord, “I’m gonna lose it!” It’s “gonna be shoutin’ time!” I’ll probably whoop louder than when the Virginia Tech (or Tennessee) football team pulls off a big upset. WOW—I can hardly wait!

08/12/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #6 — Early the last morning we headed to the airport. My missionary hosts warned me that it would be a violent mob scene—with Russians pushing, shoving and butting into the front of the line. Passage and seating was on a “first come, first served” basis. And the guards and attendants would insist on bribes even to let you board the plane. They told me that my best strategy was to be bold, even aggressive—just keep my head down, hold my place, move ahead steadily, show my ticket, and ignore threats from other passengers or attendants.

That’s sort of my personality anyway, so I tried to follow their advice to the letter. Everything was just as they predicted, only worse! It was pure mayhem. And, since all the signs and the intercom announcements were in a foreign script and language, I was not at all sure exactly where I should have been heading. At some point I was satisfied that I needed to board the plane at this particular gate. I fought to maintain my place in line and move forcefully toward the front. As I handed the guy my ticket, he held out his hand, palm up, screaming something which I could not understand. I figured that was the bribe request and ignored it, as I was told. As I headed down the walkway, behind me I heard alarming sounds of scuffling and rifles clicking (I’m pretty sure). I just kept walking.

When I was satisfied I had found an appropriate seat on the plane, I flopped down, tilted it back, closed my eyes and thanked the Good Lord for His provision and protection during an exciting mission trip and (seemingly) dangerous departure. Especially that morning I remembered and had experienced Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28:20b (CSB), ^“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

08/11/20 CONFUSED JOB DESCRIPTIONS — In Matthew 6:31-33 (CSB), near the end of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”

I like to think that Jesus described two jobs—God’s and ours. He explained that OUR job, our #1 PRIORITY, is to pursue the goals of God’s kingdom and righteousness—in our own personal lives, our families, our jobs, our churches, etc. In exchange, God promises to do His job—to provide our basic needs: food, drink, clothing and shelter. Jesus commands us to be radically different from ungodly people, to stop worrying about these things since God always faithfully performs His promises.

Somehow we seem to have gotten it backwards. Far too many of us act as if scrounging and working to provide for ourselves and our families is our foremost priority. On the other hand, then, it must be God’s job to look after His kingdom and righteousness (whatever that is)! Here’s an interesting idea: Let’s try to do the main job God assigned to us and leave God’s responsibilities in His absolutely faithful, powerful hands.

 08/10/20 WHAT PRACTICE MAKES — Over the last few years, I’ve played the same golf course over and over, literally hundreds of times. As a result my scores have gotten better and better. Recently I have played alongside several younger men who really hadn’t played much golf at all. At some point several of them have asked me something like, “What do I need to do to be able to play as well as you?” (OK, so their sights weren’t set very high!).

I have told them how I got started, not that many years ago. We lived on a 3.5 acre lot with an exceptionally wide front yard. I bought a golf cup and flag and planted them at the bottom of our property. From the top of the yard I could practice 100-110 yard shots at the flag. Nearly every day, year round, I hit 100 or more practice shots there. If I did that 300 days a year for 5 years, that’s over 150,000 practice swings! After awhile I could land the vast majority of my balls within a few feet of the flag!

The old proverb, “Practice make perfect,” is clearly NOT true (at least in the sense in which we usually use the word “perfect”), But it is certainly true that “PRACTICE MAKES PROFICIENT” (or PROGRESS or PRODUCTIVE)! And that’s not just for golf or other sports. That principle applies to nearly every area of life, including the challenges of faithful Christian living. As you PRACTICE a behavior over and over you develop physical, mental, emotional and spiritual “muscle memory.” Let’s get busy practicing the Spiritual Disciplines—Bible study, prayer, fasting, witnessing, meeting genuine needs, etc. Repeat after me: “PRACTICE MAKES PROFICIENT!”

 08/09/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #5 — One day we crossed the border into a neighboring country (both were formerly part of the USSR). Let’s just say it was a rough day. We left close to midnight, when the border officially closed. As the clock neared 12:00am and we got closer and closer to the border, lots of folks had pulled their vehicles off the road, apparently resigned to spending the night there. Amazingly we actually arrived at the first checkpoint about 11:59pm! Whew—I thought our troubles were over. The rest of our party, who could speak and write the language at least a little, quickly went through. But not me!

They jerked me over to the side into a small, closed room. There was a long table with several chairs on one side and one lonely chair on the other side—that’s where they seated me. Soon the other chairs filled up with unfriendly looking guys in military uniforms. I tried to gesture to them that they needed to alert my team about my whereabouts. They ignored me and took turns passing around my passport, pointing to me and laughing loudly and derisively. Finally the guy who seemed to be in charge sneered in (very) broken English, “Virginia, eh? Ahh… Governor Schwarzenegger!” I took one of the pencils and a blank visa form and tried to show them that California and Virginia were on opposite coasts. What a waste of time!

Suddenly they shoved me out the door. In seconds all the lights were off. I was all alone. Did I mention that the temperature had fallen to 19 degrees and I was wearing only a light jacket?! All of a sudden, there were two red taillights and my missionary friends were backing up as fast as they could. I was exhausted and nearly frozen, but I had survived, by the Grace of God! MORE TO COME…

08/08/20 IN THE NEWS — In 2 Samuel 12:14 (NKJV) the prophet said to David, “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

Rest assured, I don’t believe in “kicking a man while he is down.” And I’m NOT taking sides—it’s way too early and I’m too ignorant at this point (like the vast majority of the rest of us!). But one of the sensational news items today concerns a prominent conservative Christian leader who apparently did something really stupid. Even if his early explanation is absolutely truthful, he should have known that the enemies of Christ are ever present, especially on the Internet and social media.

King David’s sins, which included adultery, conspiracy and accomplice to murder, were certainly much more serious, at least in the eyes of the world. But BOTH of them have given God’s enemies—the atheists, agnostics, cynics and skeptics—a chance to wag their fingers and their acid tongues at believers and God Himself and say, “If that’s what it means to be Christian, I won’t have anything to do with it. Why I’m better than that guy!”

Let that Scripture and this unfortunate incident serve as a wake-up call for all of us who follow Jesus Christ. As He told us in Acts 1:8, we are indeed His witnesses, for better or worse. When we foul up, the world is watching. Let’s all pray for this leader, his family, his university and seminary and the cause of Christ in general!

08/07/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #4 — We shared several meals with this particular Muslim family. After dinner one such night, at their home my missionary friend sang “Since Jesus Came into My Heart” in their language while I played it on his guitar (I had brought a whole guitar case of guitar strings for him—they were hard to find over there!). When we finished the entire family cheered and applauded. AND the mother and younger son converted to Christianity right there, on the spot! After a couple of years of witnessing and ministering to that family, my buddy saw firsthand the “fruits of his labor.” And God allowed me to play a small, last-minute part, too!

The father and his oldest son were shocked and looked none too pleased. Weeks later, back in central VA, I received a letter from my missionary friend—the father and older son had also claimed Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. What a harvest! And what a privilege it was for me to have had even a miniscule role in it! MORE TO COME…

08/06/20 2005 MISSION TRIP TO CENTRAL ASIA #3 — I suppose I should have known but I was unaware until after I had actually arrived that my entire visit occurred in the month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast from all food and drink from sunrise to sunset every day.

Our small group had several meals in the homes of a few residents. I noticed that they gorged themselves right up to the moment when they heard the loud, shrill call to begin fasting in the morning as well as right after the same call in the evening to break the fast and resume eating.

My missionary host told them my church had been fasting for at least six weeks. I tried to correct him—only four weeks, I said; but he knew that my folks were continuing to fast and pray for us during my visit (I had NOT known that)! So the family concluded that Christianity was better than Islam!? I tried to explain that the length of time one spent in prayer and fasting was not necessarily the best measure of the validity of one’s religious faith, but they stubbornly refused to change their minds. At least right there and then, they thought that we American Christians ought to be admired for our faithful dedication to our religious rituals. MORE TO COME…

08/05/20 “LOST” GOLF BALLS & TEES #3 — When I played golf this morning, as usual, I saw dozens of discarded tees lying all over the place and not a few golf balls hiding in the tall grass or under bushes. It occurred to me that each of these was at least evidence that someone had actually been there, trying his best to get his ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible.

In the sense that I have noticed many parallels between golf and believers’ sharing their faith with others, I thought that “lost” balls and tees are analogous to our witnessing attempts. If your spiritual life is like a hole on the golf course, would anybody find any evidence that you are actively sharing the gospel with those in your circle of influence? I’m reminded once again that experts report that the average American who calls himself or herself a Christian NEVER shares his or her faith with anybody!

In 1 Corinthians 9:22b-23 (CSB) Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.” There are blessings from God that are available to us only as we are active and faithful in sharing the gospel. And I don’t want to miss out on any of the “goodies” God has in store for me! How about YOU?

08/04/20 WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU? — One fall Friday night years ago, Jared, our high school quarterback, got clobbered; his collarbone was broken. He left the game in an ambulance. We got smeared!

Jared was also a member of the 11-12th-grade guys SS class I taught. Two days later, the Scripture passage we were studying included Matthew 20:32-34 (CSB) ‘Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said to him, “open our eyes.” 34 Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed him.’ We also looked at Luke 18:40-43 ‘Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see.” 42 “Receive your sight.” Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.” 43 Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.’

For an ice-breaker, I asked Jared a question: “Suppose I had seen you right after that vicious, painful tackle and asked you, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ What would you have said?” Obviously still in pain, Jared said something cynical and sarcastic which I dare not repeat here! He implied that my question was absolutely stupid, that anyone with even half a brain would already have known what he wanted and needed most at that moment!

“Hmmm, so, was Jesus’ question just as dumb as you claim mine was?” I asked. The guys weren’t entirely sure. I reminded them that sometimes lame or paralyzed people came to Jesus and the very first thing He said was, “Your sins are forgiven.” Frankly, frequently we are WRONG about what our #1 need truly is! JESUS CHRIST IS ABLE TO MEET EVERY ONE OF OUR NEEDS, from the smallest to the greatest! They all agreed!

08/03/20 DISCARDED GOLF TEES — Another item I can accumulate at the golf course is tees that other golfers have broken and discarded. Or, they’re either so lazy or so rich that they can’t be bothered to bend over and pick up their tee after they hit their tee shot. When I first began playing, I bought a sack of “cheapo” wooden tees for a dollar or two. But on nearly every teebox there are more than a dozen tees lying around. Some are broken. But some are (nearly) brand-new plastic or nylon expensive tees!

On each hole, as a golfer stands in the teebox, he has a special privilege. With a few restrictions, he may stand just about anywhere he wants. AND he/she may choose to place the ball on a tee, raising it up off the ground so that it is easier to hit (far and straight!). He may also choose how high to raise the ball. This is the ONLY time during his round when he has such choices. The rest of his shots are “play it as it lies.” So smart golfers choose short, medium or tall tees carefully to take full advantage of this privilege.

This also reminds me of what happens when we believers share our faith with others. The old saying is “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” We get to choose exactly when and how to begin. After that, how the other person responds very much dictates how we should continue our presentation.

In golf, I often find that I can reuse a tee someone else has discarded. On par 3 holes I use a very short tee, usually a broken tee someone else threw away. In witnessing all we can do is share the Gospel; only the Holy Spirit can change the heart of anyone. So, just because a particular witnessing technique seemed to be unsuccessful, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to trash it. Even if it seems to be “broken,” maybe we can pick it up, sharpen it and reuse it. LET’S SHOW COURAGE AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN OUR HELPER, THE HOLY SPIRIT. LET’S IMPROVE OUR GOSPEL STORIES AS WE RETELL THEM OVER AND OVER!

08/02/20 “LOST” GOLF BALLS #2 — The vast majority of golfers are right-handed. AND the vast majority of right-handed golfers naturally “slice” the ball, that is, nearly all their strokes, but, especially, when using their driver, curve to the right.

Since I became aware of that I learned that I NEVER need to buy any balls. After I hit my tee shot, if I just walk along the right side of the fairway, after 100 yards or so, it looks like a “golf bird” has laid dozens of “golf ball eggs.” And they’re free for the taking! Plus, some of the golf course workers find so many of these that they regularly leave little piles for me. Thanks, guys! At one point recently I had accumulated several thousand used golf balls, most of them shiny and clean, good as new! (But Linda made me get rid of them?!)

As I have played golf, I have thought of many parallels between trying to get the golf ball into the hole and trying to get the gospel to take root in someone’s soul. Imagine each of these “lost,” discarded golf balls as a lost person to whom a believer has tried to share his/her faith. Something has gone amiss; and that person is now “out of the fairway,” “in the weeds or woods,” “in the sand trap,” “in the water,” etc. Just as some of the golf balls are really expensive, about $4.00 or more apiece, these souls are priceless! So why would we just abandon them when they go astray?

I often tell my fellow golfers who have just hit an errant shot that, since they are not interested, I will spend a short time looking for their ball. But if I find it, it’s mine! When it comes to the souls of our friends, families and neighbors, let’s not abandon them to Satan and the World. LET’S GO, FIND AND RECLAIM THEM FOR CHRIST!

08/01/20 GOD CHOOSES THE ONES HE USES — Judges 7:4-7 (CSB) Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many troops. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one can go with you,’ he can go. But if I say about anyone, ‘This one cannot go with you,’ he cannot go.” 5 So he brought the troops down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate everyone who laps water with his tongue like a dog. Do the same with everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men, and all the rest of the troops knelt to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the three hundred men who lapped and hand the Midianites over to you. But everyone else is to go home.”

I’ve heard Bible teachers and preachers try to explain why and how God chose the final 300 warriors. But I think that is precisely NOT what God wanted from Gideon or us. In the last part of v.5, the Lord basically tells Gideon, “I’m in charge here. I will choose exactly which ones can go and which ones cannot. There will be NO opportunity for questions or suggestions. Hope that’s OK with you!”

Over the years it seems to me that most church leaders, pastors and, especially, members of Nominating Committees mostly try to “fill empty slots with warm bodies” whenever there is a vacancy in their ministry teams. There is essentially NO thought given to the personalities, abilities and/or spiritual gifts especially suited (or especially unsuited) to the tasks involved. That oft-quoted maxim, “If you want something done, just ask a busy person…” translates into “Find someone who doesn’t know how to say ‘No’!” It could be that there is no longer any need for that ministry so that vacancy does not need to be filled! And, finally, what about evaluating the talents and gifts of your people and creating new ministries custom-made for their talents, abilities and gifts? Why not let GOD CHOOSE THOSE HE USES AND HOW TO USE THEM?!