tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29094043521712453462024-03-14T11:43:51.468-07:00Thoughts To Think ThroughRead at the risk of getting caught up in the middle of unfinished thoughts.Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-40949438602633731572017-05-02T16:32:00.000-07:002017-05-02T16:44:37.642-07:00The Staff of God<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">During my morning Bible study yesterday, I wound up in
Judges, chapter six (The story of Gideon). But that led me to the twenty-third Psalm.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most of you know or are at least aware of this most famous Psalm. Many of you have pondered the meaning of the last part of verse
four, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Some have probably even made
the connection back to verse one and the fact that the Lord, being the Shepherd,
would obviously have a rod and/or a staff in His hand. I’ve heard it said that
the idea of the rod is for beating off predators and the idea of the staff
(crook) is for keeping the sheep out of danger. [Personally, I think these are
references to the same item, not two different items, as if God had one in each
hand.] But what I am betting almost none of you know… is that the Lord actually
does have a literal staff in His hand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wait, what? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First you need to understand something I’ve explained many
times in sermons over the years, that is, that in the Old Testament, the Angel
of the Lord was often spoken of also as the Lord, Himself. This is not to say
all angels were a manifestation of God. Certainly not Michael or Gabriel, who
are distinct angelic beings, not God in any way. But when we see the phrase,
“The Angel of the Lord,” we are usually talking about a manifestation of God on
earth. We can see this in many places, not the least of which is the book of
Judges, chapter six, where Gideon meets the Angel of the Lord, and if you read
that chapter you’ll see that this angel is actually referred to as “The Lord” on
more than one occasion (i.e. vv. 14 and 23). Jacob had a similar experience
(one minute he’s wrestling with an angel and the next minute we are told he
actually wrestled with God) as did Abraham, Moses… and others. Most theologians
(myself included) consider these and similar instances to be visitations of the
pre-incarnate Christ (called a Christophony by the scholars). Remember, Christ
(the Word) was always with God and He always was God (John 1). Christ was
always The Lord, second person of the Trinity (God in Three Persons). We should
understand that the pre-flesh Christ (before the incarnation… before He took on
flesh and was born) was the God who would visit man face to face. Christ was always
the one manifestation of God, visible to man. Christ has always been God,
accessible. But that is sort of a whole other blog (or book). So, assuming that
you understand this idea already, let me get back to the rod or the staff of
God, which I believe is more than a literary or allegorical reference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Look at Judges 6:21.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Then the angel of the Lord <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">put out the end of the staff that was in his hand</b> and touched the
meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock…” (NASB).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Notice that the Angel of the Lord had a literal staff in His
hand and notice that He used it to do a miracle in order to help Gideon believe
that God was with Him. [One might also note that the rod of Moses became the
rod of God at the burning bush and was henceforth used to perform miracles in
the name of God. Could this have been the same rod in some sense?] So this
angel… this messenger or representative of God who is also apparently to be
thought of AS God (i.e. the preincarnate Christ) has in His hand an ACTUAL
staff and He uses it to calm the fears of Gideon, who was being asked to follow
God into dangerous battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, what if the rod and staff mentioned in Psalm 23 are real?
What if Christ, our Shepherd, actually has a literal staff in His hand and what
if He uses it to reach into our lives and do REAL stuff… like miraculous stuff?
What if the Lord, Christ always did have a staff in His hand, as He did when He
met Gideon more than 3,000 years ago? What if Christ our Shepherd has been
using that same staff to care for His sheep… for those who trust in Him…
throughout history? What if His comfort is just as real as the staff? What if
the whole thing is as real as wood in His hand? Well, if so, maybe I can take
courage. Maybe I can some day even hear the Lord say to me what He said to
Gideon: “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior” (v. 12). If the staff of the
Shepherd, who is Christ, is being used in my favor, BY HIM, what have I to
fear? Nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me.</span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Amen.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-39603702233158238602017-01-05T10:05:00.000-08:002017-01-05T11:03:41.911-08:002017: Random Thoughts, Ideas and Resolutions<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.)</span></span><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"> It is time </b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">for me to stop asking what I can do for God and start asking what He can do for me. I realize that sounds terrible at first. This thought came from my time in the Word of God this morning. 2</span><sup style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">nd</sup><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Samuel 7 tells of David’s decision to build God a house. His heart is very good on the matter. David says, “Why should I live in a house of cedar and God in one of curtains.” And Nathan the prophet says, “Go for it!” But later that day, Nathan receives a Word from God and reverses his support, stopping David in his tracks. You probably remember God ultimately wanted David’s son, Solomon to build the temple instead, but you may have forgotten that this is not the first thing God said to David. The first thing God said is that He (God) is actually going to build the house of David (v.11). See, David wanted to build God a house, but God’s response was, “No, I will build your house instead.” I believe sometimes God is saying to us, “Ask not what you can do for Me, but what I can do for you.” Of course, this cannot be taken to the extreme of “health and wealth” nonsense, but neither can the truth of it be ignored by those who really want to understand God. The Lord builds the house, or else those who labor are wasting their time (Psalm 127:1). Christ builds the church, and He does so in response to our faith in Him (Matt 16:18). Believe it or not, many of us pastors hear that once again and in our minds we sort of go, “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting that.” Yes, it is time to stop asking what I can do for God and start asking what He wants to do for me. Refusal to consider such a thing is like Peter refusing to let Jesus wash His feet. It’s a false humility that says God doesn’t have a plan or doesn’t want to do anything for us. Meanwhile, God is saying, “Stop! Believe! Watch!” Yeah, that’s what God showed me this morning in His Word. What does God want to do in 2017? What does He want to do in and through and for me (and in and through and for the church I shepherd). At least for now, that is the question. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2.) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is time</b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> for me to stop whining about the fact that my kids all left to go so very far away in the same week and that now we must actually get on a plane and take vacation time to even see them at all. Okay, that was my last whine about this situation. The turning point in my thinking came this morning in the realization that this is a VERY exciting time for all of them. I have thought about how proud I am, but I have not thought a lot about the joy that is set before them as they begin their adventurous adult lives, following Christ. With Conner and Caroline at seminary and Tory on the mission field, they are all living out the earliest days of their callings and the truth is that those are some of the most exciting times that I remember. I am genuinely happy for them and this helps me find contentment. Since this is such a great time for them, I will not let it be a bad time for me. My grown children are doing what we raised them to do and what we prayed they would be privileged to do. They are following Jesus. I am as fulfilled in this as in any part of my life; therefore, I refuse to be sad about it anymore. I choose joy. I trust God with the future of our relationships, whether at a distance or not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3.) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It is time </b>to
let gratitude win. It is not that I am ungrateful or that I do not see how good
I have it. I probably spend 43% of my time thinking like that. But the other
57% of the time, I’ve been complaining. Yuck. It is time to let gratitude win,
because I have <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">way more</i> to be
thankful for than I have about which to complain. [Mental note: Turn complaints
to thanks in 2017. Let's turn this thing around.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4.) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It is time</b> to
let the grace of God be enough. I have an overactive conscience. People who are
close to me know I feel guilty all the time for basically nothing. I feel
guilty for not having work to do most evenings and relaxing in my home. How dare I have time to play WORDS WITH FRIENDS. Aren’t
pastors supposed to work all the time? (Answer: No) I feel guilty that I don’t
pray and study for hours every day like my wife. I feel guilty for not
evangelizing enough. I feel guilty for having it so good. I practically feel guilty for existing. They say
confession is good for the soul. The Bible says, “Confess your sins one to
another” (James 5:16). My confession is that I feel guilty all the time, not
about any particular sin, but about general, overarching areas of my life. Wait a minute. Am I now feeling guilty for feeling
guilty? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Note: Most people just have no idea what it is like to be a
pastor… to know that a mistake or a weak area could ruin or end your ministry
(and on the inside your “ministry” and your “life” seem pretty much
synonymous). But the pressure doesn’t come mostly from the people. People are
generally gracious. My problem is not the expectations of others, but my
expectations of myself. And really, nobody knows my self that well, except me. The
truth is that I am probably a whole a lot better than some people think I am.
The more I “get real” with people about myself, the more some people jump all
over that and they tend to think of me as less spiritual or less moral or
basically less… than I actually am. Some people love to think less of leaders.
But on the other hand, I am definitely a whole heck of a lot <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">worse</i> than others think I am. Bless
these encouraging folks hearts, they just think I’m awesome. And sure, that
feels good. But who am I, really? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am a
sinner saved by grace. I am a spiritual beggar. I am hopelessly dead on my own
BUT I am alive in Christ and His grace makes me spotless before God. </i>And oh, that last part does not equal a license to sin in my mind. Not for me, no.
That’s not my problem. I’m on the other extreme… still trying too dang hard. Oh
wait… I said “dang.” I also said, “heck” earlier. Does that mean I’m slipping
spiritually? Or does it just mean that someone out there will think that? What
do I think? Well, let me just say that the introspection that came with this
particular new year has brought me this one clear revelation: Personally, I
need to give myself a stinking break! I need to remember that the Cross was
enough. The Cross was enough. The Cross was enough. Thank you, Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-35194912292166145932016-09-06T11:25:00.000-07:002016-09-06T11:47:33.799-07:00Sovereignty: Does God Micro-Manage the Universe?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A hyper-extreme view
of the sovereignty of God leads to nothing short of insanity.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How’s that for a provocative opening statement? But it’s
true. Many have decided that to believe God is sovereign, leaves no room for
anything to happen that ever happens anywhere, that is not fully and willfully put into action and directly caused by God. Proponents of this kind of thinking
would say that every electron surrounding every atom in the universe, is put
into motion and sustained in its orbit around its nucleus, by the active hand
of God, so that if any atom ever breaks down, it is because God decided for it to be so, at that very moment. If an earthquake happens anywhere… every single time, God actively caused it. Every
raindrop falls by His direct causation. If a bird poops on your head, it is a
testimony to the impeccable aim of God. This view, in and of itself, is INSANE… and
I haven’t even brought up the unthinkable evil that occurs on this planet,
which they twist their brains into believing, God must cause.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some of you think I am setting up a straw man. I assure you that I am not. Even now… some who hold this type of view are reading what I have
written so far, and they are about to call me a Deist (someone who thinks God is not
involved with creation, and just lets it all go). They would call ME a Deist... me,
a conservative Southern Baptist pastor, who regularly preaches on the concept
of sovereignty, who believes firmly that God initiates salvation, that He has a
personal relationship with His children, and that He is there to comfort every
hurt, and guide us through every difficulty…. And still, they would call me a
Deist, if not a heretic. Why? Because I believe God allows some things to run
their course (such as most natural disasters and your average rainstorm). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is how crazy-extreme some have gone with their idea of
sovereignty. They say either we believe God micro-manages every single thing
that ever happens (including salvation and, oh by the way, EVIL), or we simply do
not believe He is sovereign (putting us outside the camp of orthodoxy). Meanwhile,
their view of sovereignty means that they do not believe in free will (which,
in my view, puts them outside the camp). They believe every single thing that
happens, is directly caused by God, and they will go so far as to QUOTE
SCRIPTURE to prove that, yes, God is behind every mass murder. You think I am
making this up? I am not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These people typically call themselves Calvinists and/or
Reformed, BUT I am here to tell you this is not Calvinism or traditional
reformed theology. Rather, this is insanity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, I am not a Calvinist (I affirm between 1 and 3 points,
depending on interpretation); however, there are many self-labeled Calvinists
who, after discussion, would find little upon which we disagree. On the other
hand, there are others <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">calling themselves</i>
Calvinists or Reformed thinkers today, who have completely lost their marbles.
Their views are simply insane. Most of those views find their roots in a
ridiculous view of sovereignty, as if God created a world, only so He could
control every nuance of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No, I am not a five-point Calvinist, nor am I an Arminian.
They were both right… and wrong. Oh my, I think I just made everyone mad. But look
no further than every Calvinist’s favorite chapter, Romans 9 to see where they
are RIGHT. Except, the thing is… you actually do need to look a little further... to Romans 10, if you want to see the whole picture. Romans 9
and 10 MUST be taken together. Romans 9 is all about God’s sovereignty in
salvation. Romans 10 is all about “whosoever” has faith (believes). Some would
completely suppress chapter ten, by saying, with one word or another, that God
forces people to have faith (the latest wording I heard was that God “imputes”
faith into those He chooses)… because we know that dead/unregenerate people simply can’t have faith
unless God forces it upon them. This view, by the way, makes faith utterly
meaningless (which might be the reason none of Calvin’s five points include a
single word about faith). Others would utterly suppress Romans 9, saying that
God’s choice means nothing other than an after-the-fact recognition of those
who were somehow able to muster up faith without any help from God. Both of
those positions are utterly flawed. (Personally, I believe in empowered faith,
but not forced faith.) The funny thing is that the Apostle Paul never tried to
reconcile these two doctrines (or even those two chapters), but every amateur theologian with a Greek
dictionary tries to do just that (usually ending up cancelling out either
sovereignty/predestination or free will/faith). It might help to read the end
of chapter 11, where Paul winds up the whole discussion by pointing out that
God’s ways are unfathomable to man. The two are simply both somehow true
whether you and I can understand it or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My position is this: A biblical view of SOVEREIGNTY
(or predestination when it comes to soteriology) means that it cannot cancel
out FAITH (by making it anything less than a free-will response). I have said this
a myriad of other ways, but the bottom line is that we must hold these doctrines
in tension and never allow ourselves to destroy the integrity of one with our
definition of the other. Any view of sovereignty that means a man no longer has
a decision (response) to make, flies in the face of the whole of Scripture. “What
Scripture???” says the hyper Calvinist. Open your Bible at random and see if
you don’t find someone choosing to obey or disobey God of their own free will (i.e. not controlled by God). Having said that, God’s Sovereignty is also everywhere in
Scripture! Any view of free-will faith, that means God is not the primary agent
of salvation (and ultimately in control of the Universe), is equally flawed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And see this is why it all comes down to whether it is
biblical to hold an extreme view of the sovereignty of God. What does it mean
to say that God is in control? Does it mean that He led Eve to the tree, and
put words in the mouth of the serpent (Satan)? Some are saying, “Yes, absolutely.” [Those
who hold this view have simply lost their senses. I won’t even debate with such
a one. They are flat out nuts. They need to stop studying theology, and start
reading their Bibles through.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the other hand, did God know all of this evil was going
to happen? Yep. Did His plan take it all into account? Yep. When He created
mankind, was He aware that it meant one day He would need to come and die on a
Cross? Undoubtedly. And He loved us (from eternity), so much that He went
through with creating us anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">By the way, which is a higher view of sovereignty? The view
that God micro-manages everything, or the view that God allows some things to
run their course, and yet somehow works it all out until ultimately His
purposes are accomplished? Must God choose to micro-manage everything in order
to be sovereign? Or is God sovereign enough to allow for free will… and still
be sovereign? Which of those views lines up with the story of Scripture… the
Gospel?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">So here’s the deal. There are people out there (I find them especially
on Twitter) who are off the deep end one way or another. Various labels are
used, but the truth is that within those labels, the majority of us are not
really that far off from each other. Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop
jumping to extreme conclusions based on nebulous labels and find common ground
instead? But this is difficult, because the internet gives powerful voice to
people who have lost their minds. So what are we gonna do? Honestly, I am still
trying to figure that out. I don’t know whether to start publicly refuting
the insane tweets of others or not, but I am leaning toward mostly letting it
all go, unless it impacts me directly. After all, God is Sovereign.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-88079317517329482242016-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:002016-05-16T11:34:27.837-07:00The Most Important Prayer<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thy will be done.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Those four words comprise the most important sentence you
could ever pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock, and to expect God to
give us what we ask for (Matthew 7:7-11). This principle is seen throughout
Scripture. James also indicated that we do not receive, because we do not ask
in faith. We are clearly instructed to seek what we desire from God. We are to
ask and keep on asking. Jesus even told a parable to illustrate that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">begging</i> God repeatedly for something is
the best way to get it. Sometimes God absolutely WAITS to give us what we are
asking for until we ask and keep on fervently asking for an extended period of
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Preachers of the “Prosperity Gospel,” though heretical, are nonetheless
correct in teaching the above half of the equation. Part of their error comes in not
including the following warning: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sometimes,
when God gives you what you asked for, it is not a good thing. </i>Oh, it is
absolutely true that God wants to give you what you want. He doesn’t like
saying no to His kids. In fact, God hates saying no so much, that sometimes He
says yes even when He knows you are going to be wishing you hadn’t asked in the
end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wait, really? Yep. Keep reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When Jesus taught us to pray, He included the all-important
sentence I mentioned above, “Thy will be done.” He also demonstrated this for
us from the Garden, where, sweating drops of blood, He prayed, “Nevertheless,
Thy will be done, not mine.” Jesus fervently and repeatedly asked for the cup
of suffering to pass from Him, but not without including just as fervently,
“Thy will be done.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When it comes to prayer, there is no way to overemphasize
the importance of those four words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ask the Israelites. When they wanted a king, they forgot to
add these words. When they wanted meat in the wilderness, they forgot to add
these words. Both times, God gave them EXACTLY what they asked for. In the
first instance, they received their king, and it led to war and ultimately
destruction. In the second instance, they received so much meat that it caused
a plague and many died. God said, “I’ll give you enough meat until it is
running out of your noses” (Numbers 11). Both times, their prayers did not line
up with the will of God. Both times, all they could think about was what they
wanted, and receiving it, they faced the consequences of their own lack of
foresight. They forgot to pray, “Thy will be done.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will
give you the desires of your heart.” Some would take this as a sure-fire way to
get whatever you want from God, like an algebra equation guaranteeing results.
Do A and get B. They fail; however, to understand that when A is true, B is automatically
changed. When you delight yourself in the Lord, the desires of your heart become
conformed to His will. Why? Because when He becomes your delight, His desires
become yours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As a child of God, perhaps the most dangerous thing you could
ever do is to ask God for what you desire without adding, “Thy will be done.”
God said in advance that He is prone to give His children what they want most
(Matthew 7:11). If what you want most is not His will, beware the power of prayer!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Scripture absolutely encourages the children of God to ask
for the desires of their hearts. Do not take what I have written to mean you
should skip the asking part and simply pray a blanket prayer for the will of
God. Not at all! Keep on asking, seeking and knocking. BEG GOD for the desires
of your heart! Spend large amounts of time doing this! But don’t forget to add
the most important words to your prayer: “Thy will be done.” And don’t be
surprised when His will and your will are no longer two different things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Father, let Your will
be done, and let every ounce of my will become Yours.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-60743422913478245682015-12-10T11:11:00.002-08:002015-12-10T11:11:49.837-08:00When My Church Prays...<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God answers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh I realize He answers the prayers of other churches, too,
but I want this to be personal, because it is. How dare I barely stop and
notice when God does His miracles in response to my prayers and the prayers of
my church family. How dare I not take a moment to ponder the reality that I
routinely see miraculous things happen as a direct answer to prayer. How dare I
not even notice when the God who flung the stars into space stops to listen…
and to answer my prayers… and the prayers of my church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Three recent examples: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.) We brought a man named Francisco from Colombia to help
us plant a Hispanic church. He came legally, of course, but when it was time to
renew (or really change) his visa, we began to run into problems and mostly a
very long delay. As time marched on, it began to look more and more like he may
be forced to return home and leave his work unfinished. Indeed, we had to get
special permission for him to stay a little bit longer while the paperwork was
being processed. If he had been forced to go home, it would have been horribly
sad for many reasons, not least for his small congregation who love him, and
not least for his wife and children who love it here and have settled into this
place where God led them, by faith. But we prayed and we prayed hard. For many months
we prayed our guts out on this issue. And late last night, I got a text from my
dear friend. He had received his approval letter from the office of
immigration. His visa is approved and he can stay and work legally for the
foreseeable future. When my church prays, God answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.) Church members brought a prayer request, not for anyone
in our church, but for the son of their postal carrier. [By the way, that tells
me a whole lot of good about this couple’s effort to reach out. Proud pastor,
here.] The boy had a brain tumor and it didn’t look good. So we prayed. Today I
received the report that after the surgery, the doctors spoke of the results as
nothing short of miraculous. In fact, there is no sign of the cancer and the
boy is operating normally (despite dire warnings about him losing his speech,
etc. from the surgery). He has been miraculously healed and doesn’t even need
to go back for a check up for a year. When my church prays, God answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3.) I had been out Jeeping with a friend and church member
last Saturday. After we finished tearing through the snow and were enjoying a
hard-earned burger, he mentioned that he was about to be a grandpa. He said his
oldest daughter was set to give birth any time. A few days later, I received
word that he and his wife were on the way to the hospital across the state. Sadly,
their grandbaby had been stillborn… but machine’s were keeping him alive
temporarily. This precious newborn’s heart had stopped for eight minutes and
his lungs were filled with blood. The doctor told the mother that the baby
would probably not live. Quickly, we put the word out to our prayer team, and I
called my staff into my office. We prayed. I choked out a prayer through tears
but I was able to pray with faith. We didn’t pray for comfort. We prayed for
healing. We prayed that God would save this baby, even though it looked pretty
hopeless at that point. We prayed for a miracle. Now, the baby’s lungs are
clear and he is breathing on his own. All indications are that he is going to
be okay. We will keep praying. When my church prays, God answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So there you have it. Three examples inside of a week. God
answers prayer. I really should keep a lifelong list. My soul magnifies the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, do we always get the result we ask for? Of course not.
God is still God and we do not control Him. But my goodness, isn’t it enough
that many times God does exactly what we ask? Does it have to be EVERY time for
us to have faith and believe prayer makes a difference? Does the answer always
have to be yes, for us to keep asking? That would just be illogical and silly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Think about it. When you were a kid, did you stop asking
your parents for what you wanted, just because they didn’t ALWAYS say yes? No,
in fact, one yes in a hundred no’s was enough to keep asking… especially if
what you wanted was right there in front of you. Remember asking for candy in
the aisle at the grocery store? Did you ever stop asking? No, because at least
every once in awhile the answer was yes. Well, this week we got three yes
answers from God, and I feel like a kid again, because, yes… God gave me what I
wanted and EXACTLY what I asked for. And guess what that means. It means, just
like a kid, I’m going to be asking more than ever! But the difference between
parents and God is that He actually wants us to keep on asking. As Jesus put
it,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keep on asking, and
you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on
knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks,
receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will
be opened.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You parents—if your
children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they
ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful
people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly
Father give good gifts to those who ask him.</i> Matthew 7:7-10 (NLT)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, church family, what are you asking God for these days?
Are you asking for Him to make our church all it can be? Are you asking for Him
to lead people to the Cross through our ministry? Are you asking for salvations
and baptisms and spiritual growth to occur? I hope so. Because, when my church
prays, God answers.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-82913301426686419852015-10-21T14:13:00.001-07:002015-10-21T14:31:27.190-07:00Weakness Training<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most people today are familiar with </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">strength training</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, wherein one works out with weights and does
stretches in order to burn fat, tone up, and generally become a stronger
person. Those who have read the best seller titled: “The Daniel Plan” by Rick Warren
et al, might even be thinking of the phrase “Daniel Strong,” a good goal for us
all. Truth be told, I’ve always thought of myself as that kind of strong, and
in recent years have done things to try to stay that way… especially as I get older
(ugh).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In fact, I have spent several seasons of my life committed
to strength training, and had just taken it back up again over the last couple
of months, due to the fact that a hip injury had forced me to stop running. I
thought, well, since I can’t run I’ll start doing some weights at the gym while
I wait for this to heal. However, looking back today I realized that my life of
late has been much more about <i>weakness training</i> than strength training. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think this season of <i>weakness training</i> may have started
about a year ago, when I finally laid down my pride, publicly admitted my
hearing loss (something I tried to hide for years), and purchased hearing aids.
I am <i>only</i> forty-five. In case you don’t know, forty-five-year-olds don’t often get
hearing aids, but this one did, and they do help me hear better, but that’s not
all they do. They humble me. I used to be really cool. Now, not so much. And if
you don’t think wearing hearing aids makes people think you’re old and a lot
less cool, I dare you to try it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So… I started running… and I was really getting into it and,
eh hem, kind of proud to have run several half marathons, and was hoping to run
a full marathon perhaps in the Fall, but then a few months ago I hurt my hip, mountain biking. In denial, I proceeded to run another half marathon through
the pain. After that, my hip got so bad I had to stop running to let it heal, but
nothing seemed to make it better. Always before I was that guy who healed
ridiculously fast, but this time… no progress at all. What I thought would get
better in a couple of weeks is really not much better after three months… and
it is debilitating. (Yes moms, I have had x-rays, etc., and have tried one
type of doctor and am seeing a different type of doctor starting next week).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So with the injury continuing to cramp my style, the next
thing I knew it was time for our annual mission trip to Nicaragua which
includes physical work such as building houses. Every other year I’ve been able
to impress (myself) as a “hard worker,” putting my physical stamina and
strength on display (heh heh). I would be the one to go get the wheel borough
full of cement every time (as if anyone noticed), but this time I couldn’t do anything
impressive at all, and in fact, felt so crummy that for the first two days, I
just wanted to go home. What was my problem? Well things weren’t the same as
usual, spiritually (people were less responsive and opportunities were less
abundant this year, another blog perhaps) and meanwhile I couldn’t do very much
physically either so I just felt completely useless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To make matters worse, my physical limitation was a hip
problem… just like my dear Dad… who is wonderful, but old (just kidding, Dad). But
really, everyone misunderstanding the situation (an injury) and talking to me
about hip surgery (Dad’s had two), basically made me face that I’m not thirty
anymore and to accept the fact that it all gets worse (physically) from here.
Some of you know that’s a pretty painful reality check. So here I am trying to
convince myself that this is not going to be a problem for me until the day I
die, and meanwhile unable to do the work I normally do or to portray the image
I normally portray (yes, I know how this sounds), I did what I could, but
even what little I did was apparently too much, because there were two nights
when I lay in agony, moaning and groaning in pain and not sleeping at all,
which led to some really bad days when I couldn’t even think straight. I then made
the “mistake” of telling people on our team how much pain I was experiencing,
which led to me feeling even more like a total wimp, even as sweet, loving
people wanted to fuss over me (and I did appreciate it, but it’s also humbling).
Everyone was very caring. Superman (in my own mind) was down. The leader could
not lead. He simply was not capable. He was emotionally spent and physically he
might as well have been eighty-five. WEAKNESS. I hate it. Ouch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But that wasn’t the end of the week’s lessons for me.
Stomach problems hit next and I spent the week feeling miserable in the gut,
but then a sore throat signaled what would become a terrible head cold to go
along with my lower end problems. All of this turned into a nightmare on the
very long journey home through three airports and six takeoffs and landings. I
thought my head would explode… or maybe something else. Everyone felt sorry for
me… just what I wanted (not). This terrible trip (from 3 a.m. to 10 p.m. on
Saturday) lead to the first time in twenty-five years that I have missed a
Sunday service for illness. Yes, I was absolutely keeping track and was quite
proud of my flawless twenty-five-year record, now history. I stayed home sick Sunday
(in defeat) and three days later I’m just starting to feel well enough to type
this blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I wonder if there is a lesson in all of this for me?
DUH!!! As the Apostle Paul put it in 2<sup>nd</sup> Corinthians 12, God is
saying: <span style="background: #FDFEFF; color: #001320; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My grace is
sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” And Paul went on to
say, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that
the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with
weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with
difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: #FDFEFF; color: #001320; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I must decrease.
He must increase. Amen.</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We could also insert here any of the many verses about
humility and how God is opposed to the proud but lifts up the humble, right? So
I say to myself, “Hello, are you listening? What is God trying to teach you,
dummy?” And, of course it is obvious isn’t it? I’ve had a dose of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weakness training</i>, and the Lord knows I needed
it. Mr. Healthy and Mr. Strong is now Mr. Sick and Mr. Weak. And so I say also
with Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this
death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25a).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who knew I needed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weakness</i>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">training</i>? God did. And for all of you
who are reading this and thinking, “Yeah, we knew you needed it too…” well look
out brother, because you may be next. And in case I haven’t been clear, you are
not going to like it, because with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">weakness
training</i>, it really is “No pain, no gain.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, it has been a rough few months, physically speaking, but
now I am understanding more what God is doing, and I have hope for the answer
to another of Paul’s prayers in my life, “that He would grant you, according to
the riches of His glory, to be <u>strengthened with power through His Spirit in
the inner man</u>” (Eph. 3:16). Let it be true, Lord. Let it be true.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I surrender.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-7293898050182245522015-10-08T13:51:00.000-07:002015-10-08T13:59:45.628-07:00Immigration: A Dissenting View<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am conservative to the core. I am conservative on the
social issues and the economic issues. I want to return to the Limited Government
of our Founding Fathers. But I disagree with the rhetoric of most conservatives
when it comes to immigration. Why? Because I am a principled man, and my
principles are based on the Bible. My views on abortion, gay marriage, the role
of government, and everything else are based on Scripture. You could say I’m on
the Christian right. Haters, I’m your target.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But how exactly is it a “Christian Right” position to be
hateful toward illegal immigrants? “Oh, we aren’t hateful,” might be your
response. Really? Because I’ve had emails forwarded to me by Christians that
sound pretty hateful (and fearful and selfish and ignorant). Thank God other
countries don’t treat Americans the same way or we wouldn’t be able to have
missionaries all over the world. And what if they said to our missionaries,
“You have to learn our language first before you are welcome here?” Ridiculous,
selfish and sad, not to mention a long way from Christ-like. Good grief, they
learn English by being here for awhile. They all do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me get a couple of “straw men” out of the way before I
go on. 1) Felons who aren’t citizens should be put into prison. 2) Sanctuary
cities are a bad idea. 3) I am not for amnesty or open borders. 4) I realize
I don’t have all the answers to this extremely complicated problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With those caveats stated, let me get back to the reason I
am not happy with the way most conservative Christians are coming across on
this issue. The Bible is not silent regarding immigration and immigrants. One
of the many passages of Scripture that I believe applies very well is Leviticus
19:33-34, which says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“When a foreigner lives with you in
your land, you must not oppress him. You must regard the foreigner who lives
with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you
were foreigners in the land of Egypt; behold I am Yahweh your God.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And I can hear someone saying, “Well that’s Leviticus; it
doesn’t count now,” or “We aren’t Israel and we weren’t in Egypt.” And you
would have a point. The ceremonial/civil law no longer applies to us in a
literal sense, and we were never slaves in Egypt. However, anyone who isn’t
trying so hard not to listen, can surely see that there is a principle here
that is deeper and timeless. This is not even a law, for that matter. This is a
“way to be” as a follower and representative of Yahweh. Read it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what am I saying? Stop the hatred. Stop lumping them all
together as if they were common criminals here to take something that is yours.
Oh how selfish can we be? Part of the problem is that most people talking hatefully
don’t know the people they are talking
about. They don’t see the beautiful families they casually call “illegals,”
with the underlying point being that these people have no rights and
should be treated as if they were thugs deserving of prison. Well, I do know
some of them and they tend to be wonderful people with a better value system
than many Americans. These are real people… good people… trying to provide for
their families. They should not be criminalized simply because they don’t have
the right papers. This is not a Christian attitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Are you aware of the reason most immigrants are technically
here illegally? They are here illegally because it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for
them to be here legally. Our system simply does not work. I have first-hand
knowledge of this fact. Newsflash: Most didn’t swim across the river. Over half
of them came here legally, and have simply overstayed their visas. What
happened? Why couldn’t they get their visas renewed? They came to study or to
work with our compliments. We gave them a visa that said, “Y’all come.” So they
came and they established themselves and their families here and their children
learned English and made friends, but then at some point the government said,
“Your visa is up. Go back home or we will handcuff you and ship you back like
FedEx packages sent to the wrong place.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See it isn’t that hard to get into our country for a little
while, but when it is time to renew that visa or to try for a more permanent status,
that’s when you face the impossibility of the tangled up bureaucracy that is
our American government. Conservatives love to rail against the broken system, only
to expect immigrants to work with it. Well, they can’t. There is virtually no
path to a long-term visa, much less citizenship, unless you have years to wait
and lots of money to spend on a lawyer to try to get it through. Meanwhile,
even if someone is so noble as to try to get through the system legally, during
those months or years when the government can’t seem to get it done, they are considered
“illegal.” It is true that most eventually give up on the paperwork and buy
themselves a fake social security card for about 50 bucks so they can keep on
working rather than to live on handouts or pack up their children and head
back to third-world poverty. Have you really tried putting yourself in their
shoes? Really? REALLY?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what do I think needs to happen? We absolutely need to
secure our borders and know who is entering and leaving our country. We need to
keep felons and terrorists out, and if they get in and commit crime, I say we
deal with them ourselves and lock them up so they can’t just keep sneaking back across our border.
We do need to stop immigrants from coming in illegally as best we can, probably including
better fences or walls or whatever it takes to develop a system where we can monitor who is coming, but I also believe we should help
those who are already here gain extended visas or citizenship (which currently
is virtually impossible). I say that if they are here to work and to
contribute, and especially if they came legally in the first place, we should create
a reasonable pathway for them to become legal and for them to stay long term
and raise their families here. And yet, every time someone tries to suggest a
reasonable way for illegals to become legal, the Republican party starts crying
“No amnesty for the criminals!” It is ridiculous and heartless. A reasonable
path to legal status is not amnesty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Christians, our attitude ought to be compassion, not
self-righteous exclusionism and even racially-biased hatred. It makes no sense.
We are all for giving and helping and going on mission trips to help the poor
people in the world, but if any of them dare figure out a way to come live
here, we want them all (men, women and children) shipped back and dumped at the
border. Can someone tell me how that squares with anything in the Bible, not to mention a
Christian Worldview? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the most part, these are wonderful people who love our
country and want to work here and live here. They are good examples for many
Americans. They could be a nice addition to our nation. They could be a
blessing if we would stop making them out to be criminals because of our own
completely broken system that offers them no real shot at legal status. There
comes a point when government gets so huge and unmanageable that we all could
be called criminals. Christians might want to remember that we could be next in
being labeled criminals for failing to meticulously follow the
freedom-squelching requirements of our ever-more-controlling government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But what about the money!! Oh the tax dollars! The pundits tell
us these people are costing us billions. That is mostly ridiculous. Why?
Because the problem is with the welfare system, not immigration. Stop giving
people free stuff if you want to spend less on welfare. Stop giving it out if
that’s what you’re worried about. Personally, I’d end the whole welfare system
and put the responsibility back on churches and communities to help the poor. That’s
a whole different issue. The point is that we don’t have to deport people to
stop giving money to them. Hello? Did you catch that? Most Hispanics don’t need
government assistance anyway, because I’ve yet to meet a first generation Hispanic
person who doesn’t work. They are here to work! Most of them can’t even attend
the church we’ve planted for them, because they work fourteen hour days, often seven
days per week. And if you think they are taking jobs away from Americans, think
again. How many Americans do you know who are willing to bend their backs to
pick berries all day for pennies? Give me a break.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let me close with this admonition to my fellow Christians:
If you are going to base all your other political beliefs on Scripture, maybe
you should think a little bit more about what the Bible says in regard to how
we treat foreigners living in our land. At the very least, watch your attitude.
Do you really think God wants us to reject and criminalize those of other
nationalities who wish to live and work among us? I don’t think so. I think God
is bringing the mission field to us. Remember the second greatest commandment? </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love your neighbor as yourself.</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I think
maybe we should start doing that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-80528168379564986762015-05-20T11:58:00.001-07:002015-05-20T12:13:57.270-07:00Preaching It Real<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am a
preacher. Every Sunday, I get up and preach a 30-40 minute message from the
Word of God. The amount of thought and research that go into my sermons is pretty
substantial. I try to share things that have the potential to promote radical
life change, should someone choose to apply what they are hearing. I take risks
in my preaching. I risk offending people. Sometimes I offend those who are more
worldly and sometimes I offend those who consider themselves more godly, and
sometimes I offend just about everyone in the room, including myself. I do not
preach safe sermons. I preach real, hopefully eye-opening, definitely eye-brow-raising
sermons. I’m pretty sure that’s what Jesus did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There will
always be those pharisaical Christians who meet the slightest bit of
open-minded thought with condemnation. There will always be those souls who simply
want to hear the things they have always heard presented in the same way
they’ve always heard them presented. They will not be happy with my preaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There will
also always be those who want to hear the latest pop-psychology, feel-good, all-encouraging, ear-tickling nonsense, rather than the exposition of God’s
ancient, unchanging truth. They will not be happy with my preaching either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am
starting to realize how surprising it is that people keep coming back to listen
to me preach… and more all the time. Is it because I am real? I am that, if
nothing else. Is it because most of them have heard enough safe sermons? My
sermons are seldom safe. Almost every week I expect that someone will probably take
issue with something I have said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was
thinking today about the fact that I am a person of very strong conviction who
is also still open minded. Strange as that may sound, it is true. [Right in the
middle of writing this blog, I received an email from our Associate Pastor
complimenting me for being willing to tweak my doctrinal position based on a
discussion we have been having.] The fact is that I consider myself in a state
of flux on many of my beliefs. I am still learning. I have absolutely changed
my view on several issues over the last twenty-five years of ministry. How can
someone of such strong conviction, still also be a person who can change his
positions? I don’t think this is a coincidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My
convictions are strong because I continue to feed them, and because I know that
if they are proven wrong, they can still be changed. I am still listening and
I’m still convincing myself and I’m still open to the fact that I could have
been wrong about some things MY WHOLE LIFE. I believe this actually makes me
stronger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">[I’m
feeling very me, me, me with this blog… talking about myself so much, but oh
well, it is MY blog.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In many
cases, those issues I am strongest on are the ones I have struggled with the most.
In other words, since it is possible that I can change my mind, even on many important
issues, I feel the need to convince myself repeatedly. So yes, even many of my
strongest convictions still include a sliver of open-mindedness. Now that
scares people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">People don’t
want<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a pastor who might change his mind.
That could lead to speaking in tongues. Sorry…. And yet they do want a pastor
who is real. The problem is that those two desires are incongruent. One cannot
be closed-minded and real at the same time. Why? Because if it is impossible
that I could be persuaded to change my position, regardless of the evidence, then
I have made an a priori decision to fake myself out at all costs. I have
decided to keep the wool pulled over my eyes and to close my ears and to say
“la la la la la” to whomever or whatever would try to convince me otherwise,
and there is nothing real about that. A real person doesn’t fool himself. A
real person knows he surely isn’t right about everything and therefore he keeps
open the possibility that he could change his mind about any particular thing.
Can I ask less of myself than I would ask of the audience I seek to persuade,
about one thing or another, every week?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">People have
said that I can be persuasive. My wife jokingly says I should have been a
lawyer. My daughter-in-law recently said, “Just do that thing you do, and
everyone will change their minds in like fifteen minutes.” She’s such a
sweetheart. But I think that if I am no longer persuadable, I will no longer be
persuasive. And someone will probably say I don’t need to be persuasive, to
which I respond, “Oh please.” Even the Apostle Paul was out to persuade as many
as possible (Acts 26:28, 2 Corinthians 5:11).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now,
keeping it real… there are some topics about which I am closed-minded. There
are those areas where I feel I have completely exhausted the argument. You’ll
never convince me that abortion is okay. Sorry. You’ll never convince me that
Jesus didn’t die on the Cross and rise again. I no longer spend any time
wrestling with those issues. These are things that I know at a whole other
level. However, if I were to tell you the list of things that I could potentially
change my mind about, well then I’d have church members really concerned. The
truth is that many of the things I feel strongest about are areas where I
struggle to believe what I believe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why am I so
uber-committed to a supernatural, six-day creation that did not take place
billions of years ago? Because I am so constantly challenged by the other side
that I wear myself out arguing against it. Does that mean I could change my
mind on this issue. Yes. I’m not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">going</i>
to change my mind, but yes, theoretically I could (heh heh). I continue to research
this issue regularly. I wrestle with it. I think. And there are SO MANY areas
like this in my life, wherein I can argue both sides, and yet I land strongly
on one side or the other. That’s just who I am… and it is part of why I preach
the way I preach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I never was
the preacher boy with all of his positions charted out, perfectly confident in
the absolute truth of his own systematic theology. No not at all. I have too
much respect for the unfathomability of God and my own ant-like place in the
world. That doesn’t mean I don’t think I know <i>anything</i>. In truth, I think I
know a lot. It’s just that I also know that what I think I know, I may not
really know and, oh yes, there is also that too-true-truth that I don’t know
what I don’t know. So do I know anything? Yes. I know Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe I’ll
just close out my rambling by quoting the words of someone my wife says I’m a lot
like in many ways. The Apostle Paul said,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And when I came to you, brethren, I
did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the
testimony of God. <u>For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus
Christ, and Him crucified</u>. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in
much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith
would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Yet we do speak
wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of
the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a
mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory...</span></i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">. 1 Corinthians 2:1-7 (NASB)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-56568229872035044632015-04-29T11:36:00.002-07:002015-05-20T11:47:05.603-07:00Concerned Citizen (Part Two)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
So now what? Part One did not offer much hope, because
without an act of mental discipline, I do not <i>feel</i> much hope. I just don’t feel it. I’m sad. Sorry, that is the
truth. However, my feelings do not define reality. And I refuse to stay mired
in these sad feelings. I will listen to what God is saying. When I hear from
God, there is always hope. There is.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have given the ultimate answer to all of our current conundrum
repeatedly in past blogs and sermons. The ultimate answer is spiritual
awakening, which will come when the church is truly revived. See <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2909404352171245346#www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Chronicles+7:14">2 Chronicles
7:14</a>. However, I want to go in another direction this time. I want to think
about this a little bit more in terms of what has happened to my country… the
nation where I am a natural-born citizen, and to which I am loyal. I want to talk
about what has been lost and what can be regained, because as Christians, we
need to figure out what battle we are fighting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am not so sure we can ever get our country back in the
ways that we would like. In fact, I do not believe we can. I do not believe it
is likely that America will ever be considered a Christian nation again. Mr.
Obama was actually half right when he said that we are not a Christian nation
(He was wrong to say we never were, but that’s another topic). Truth is, I
would not want the world to think our nation currently represents Christianity. The
world mostly sees our media and our leaders, and folks, that ain’t Christian.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, I have to insert a paragraph here to say what I am not
saying in this blog. I am not saying Christians should throw up their hands,
that we should not vote or be active in the political process. I am not saying I
won’t be VERY interested in what happens with our next presidential election. I
can carry on a political conversation with the best of them, and I’m very up on
things, because I care. I can even have a little bit of hope that maybe we can slow the tide of
secular humanism to some degree through the political process. Rest assured,
I will be voting and I am not afraid to say what I believe about the issues in the
appropriate setting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Having said that, notice I said I can only hope to slow down
our negative progression, not stop it. I am a realist. My hope is not that we
will return to 1950’s America. Folks, it is not going to happen. Look at
history. All governments get bigger and freedom always erodes. In virtually any
group of people (even ancient Israel), the true God is eventually rejected by
the majority and morality declines. Historically, the only way any of this predictable
negative progression ends is through the death of the original nation and the
birth of a new one. Considering the pain and destruction involved in that whole
process, there is not much hope there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No hope. But that is because I have been talking about the
America of today returning to the America of yesterday, and I honestly do not
believe there is any realistic hope of that happening. But before I get to the place
where I do find hope (they say suspense is a good thing in writing), think
about what would happen if many or most of the best American Christians made
the restoration of our previous national identity or a return to
Christianity-driven cultural norms… what they are all about? What if American
Christians were mostly a bunch of people who are angry about how bad things have
gotten to be? What if we became, mostly, just a bunch of cry babies hollering about how much better things once were? And worse,
what if the thing we are hoping for is not even the will of God? What if His
present goals have nothing to do with returning America to its former glory? What
if He has decided to let us come to the end of ourselves as a nation?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I realize the people who loved my last blog are beginning
to hate this one. That includes me. I don’t like what I’m writing at this
present moment. I’d rather shout on about how mad and disappointed I am and figure out some way to arm twist the nation back to its Christian roots. I'd at least like to hear myself rant about the fact that we DO HAVE Christian roots! We all
want to hear SOMEBODY say the things I said in my last blog. We are all sick and
tired of nobody speaking the truth. We’re angry. We have reason to be angry.
But where can we find hope? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In part one of this blog, I listed eight core principles
that have been rejected by the new majority of Americans, particularly those
who are the America of tomorrow. I do not believe we can hope the majority is
going to change its mind. I am sorry. Again, I am a realist. If a return to those principles is the thing I am hoping for, I am left without hope. I am left arguing on social media or perhaps boycotting
practically every single business in existence to try to make a point. I’m left with nothing
to eat but <i>Chik-Fil-A</i> and nowhere to shop but <i>Hobby Lobby</i>. If changing the
opinions of this culture is where my hope is, I’ll spend my time
ranting about the media and politicians, when my real problem is with the
majority of my fellow Americans who I don’t want to believe exist.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes I still hear this idea that if we would just come
together as Christians, we could take back this country. In fact, I have been
hearing that all my life. There may have been a point where it was true, but I
do not believe it is true any longer. The so-called silent majority is no
longer a majority. In my city of around 50,000 people, maybe 3,000-4,000 folks are
in church on a given Sunday. Maybe. Probably a third of those do not really
believe the Bible. When are we going to wake up and realize most people are not
like us? Committed Christians whose worldview is founded in Scripture are now
the minority in America, by quite a wide margin. We need to deal with reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So where the heck is the hope? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My hope is in the book of Acts! My hope is in the first
three centuries of Christianity in the Roman Empire! My hope is in what is
happening today in China! We are not the first Christians to find themselves a
minority. We are not the first to be persecuted, and make no mistake
persecution is coming to American Christians. It has already begun, and it is
going to get much worse. Wait, and that brings me hope? Yes, my friend, it absolutely
does. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Listen to me, American Christians! Our hope is in evangelism
and prayer, not picket signs and boycotts! Did the early Christians make
changing the Roman Government their mission in life? Did they try to change the
established “church” (Judaism)? Not really. They faced incredible odds as a
tiny minority with almost no public voice. They were persecuted, tortured and
killed. They were squelched. Their freedoms were taken. They were a tiny island
in an ocean of those whose worldview was completely opposed to their own. (Sound
familiar?) And yet, surely you know what happened. They changed the world. Truth
is, everything was going great until they got the government on their side,
about three centuries after they started.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Things are going to change. Make no mistake, I am profoundly sad about
it. Churches will probably decline in numbers… maybe a lot for awhile. The decline in
church membership and attendance in recent years across the nation has been
staggering. We will be hated. We will not be popular. We will be
misunderstood. We will be slandered. Where in the Bible does it say ANY of that
should be our concern?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But again, where is the hope? My hope is in the fact that
the church of Jesus Christ has always thrived when it is persecuted. My hope is
in the fact that things are about to get very real when it comes to following
Jesus. My hope is not in a nation (though I love my country). My hope is in a
kingdom... the Kingdom of God and of His Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Consider this: What did you always think was the most
amazing thing a Christian could decide to do? I was always so inspired when
someone was called to be a missionary. If someone decided to move to a foreign
land, some place almost always less Christian than America, they were simply
heroic. Their sacrifice inspired me. Still, by far, most of us… didn’t go. While
the chosen few were willing to leave this great country and go someplace worse…
to actually live in a foreign land for the express purpose of leading people to
Christ… the rest of us stayed right here. We did not go to that difficult place
to live… that challenging place to raise a family, and to serve. We did not go
to that land. <i>Instead, it came to us. </i></div>
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Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the foreign
mission field. Welcome to America.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What do international missionaries do? Do they try to change
the government where they serve? Do they try to change the culture? Do they try
to change the schools or get everyone to think like they think or believe what
they believe about every issue? No. What do they do? They evangelize. They try
to lead one person at a time to Christ. And when that person comes to Christ,
does he or she immediately agree about every economic or social issue? Does
that person immediately change his or her entire worldview? Of course not.
Sometimes, as they grow in Christ, their views can change, but it takes time,
and sometimes, some of those views never change. Every missionary knows you
don’t try to change the culture, you just try to reach people for Jesus, and
let Him do whatever changing He thinks needs done… one person at a time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if American Christians began to think more like missionaries,
called to America? What if we stopped expecting our work to already be done!? What
if we began to see opportunity instead of disappointment? What if you and I
have been called to witness for Christ in a foreign land where Christianity is
hated? What if that land is America? What if our hope is simply found in one
more person coming to know Jesus Christ?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-6161479150504354922015-04-23T14:35:00.000-07:002015-04-23T14:41:00.856-07:00Concerned Citizen (Part One)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That
description of myself is quite an understatement. I am more than concerned for
the country in which I find citizenship. I am closer to terrified. Why? Because
the things that made America so special are almost completely lost. Overstated?
Oh I don’t think so. Not in light of historical timeframes. Give it a decade or
two. Where do you honestly think we’ll be?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
majority of us are drugged (literally and figuratively). The nation, as a
whole, is staggering about, having forgotten from whence it came and we are completely
clueless about where we are going. We are leaderless. We are visionless. And
most people under the age of forty are completely ignorant of the most
important aspects of our history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It
is this last concern that is perhaps, most concerning. History is what builds a
nation. America was built upon the decisions and sacrifices of our forefathers,
but we deny who they were and what they did. What we cannot deny, we simply do
not teach. Most everything that matters about our history is revised or ignored,
until teenagers today do not even know what many of our forefathers died to
give us. Freedom is underrated and misunderstood. No one cares about those who
died to earn and keep it for the rest of us. Most teenagers can’t imagine what
would be worth fighting a war over. Too much time has passed. We have forgotten
who we are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Christianity?
Censored. Limited Government? Expanded. Free Enterprise? Poisoned. Capitalism?
Demonized. Free Speech? Categorized. Freedom of Religion? Squelched. American
Exceptionalism? Denied. The Constitution? Demeaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They
say it takes a village to raise a child. I do not agree in principle, but to
some degree, like it or not, the village does raise the child. We cannot
entirely shield our children from the village. What kind of child is the
typical American village raising these days? In what direction are the adults
of tomorrow being indoctrinated?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Indoctrinated?
Yes, every society is indoctrinated. Even our grandparents were indoctrinated.
The village indoctrinates. Schools, in particular, indoctrinate. Today, people
are in some kind of school from age three, maybe even to age thirty. Schools have
always indoctrinated and they always will. The only question is the source and
the aim of that indoctrination. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What
kind of indoctrination are the children of America receiving? Excluding those
children whose parents actively work against the system or those children who,
for one reason or another, reject the mainstream, what is the next generation
of Americans being manipulated to believe? The following is a reasonable
summary:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.
God did not create people or the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.
The Bible is mythology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3.
People are animals, evolved from apes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4.
The most important issues of our time are environmental.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5.
Spanking is child abuse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6.
America has not been and is not exceptional in any way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7.
Truth is relative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8.
Immoral behavior should be celebrated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
really not funny thing is that most young adults reading those eight principles
will wonder what my problem is with most or all of them. The majority, and oh
yes I mean majority of the younger generation would be willing to sign their
names to these eight maxims as a manifesto. They do not even realize that they
have been indoctrinated to believe the opposite of their grandparents and the
opposite of the vast majority of Americans during the first 150 plus years of
our history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They
have been indoctrinated. So have I. The difference between me and them is that
I realize my ideas came from others, and I greatly respect those from whom my
ideas came. My ideas came from the people who built this once great nation, or
rather, in many cases from the same place where they got most of those ideas (The
Bible). Oh yes, I was indoctrinated as well… to believe the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.
God created everything that exists out of nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.
The Bible is true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3.
People were created in the image of God, distinct from animals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4.
The most important issues have to do with eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5.
When you spare the rod, you spoil the child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6.
America is quite possibly the most amazing nation to ever exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7.
Truth is absolute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8.
Immoral behavior should be condemned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even
as I write down those principles, I am aware of the venom and the vitriol they
will inspire in a large swath of our now-persuaded-otherwise society. What
cannot be debated is the fact that these beliefs were once held by nearly every
American, certainly including our founders, who risked so much to create the
first free nation of its kind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ideas
have consequences. What happens when the old folks who understand all of this
are gone? What happens when that half, or so, of my own generation who still hold
to these truths, are gone? Some readers may think, “Well, then we’ll finally be
rid of you nut jobs.” But you must admit that you will also be rid of every
principle this nation was built upon. “So what?” you say. Well, I guess you
will find out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
have a hard time believing anything like the America I have known will continue
to exist, and that makes me very sad. Considering the way history is being
revised, I fear the next generation won’t even know what they’ve missed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To
be continued….</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-42421452703213162442015-04-02T12:06:00.000-07:002015-04-02T13:32:34.729-07:00Misguided Warriors<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every church has them. Some (very small) churches are completely
made up of them. Many of them, however, are not connected to a particular
church, but float around, thinking they need not join a particular church (a
convenient way to avoid spiritual authority among other things). Who am I
talking about? I am talking about passionate believers whose focus and energy
are placed on the wrong things. I am talking about Misguided Warriors.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Make no mistake, these people are warriors. They are
fighters. They don’t back down. They are bold and wear persecution (often self-inflicted) as a badge of honor. They are out to correct
everyone else, especially pastors and especially anyone who leads a larger
church or ministry. The bigger the ministry and the more successful the
ministry leader, the more brazen the Misguided Warrior. According to the MG,
these pastors are clearly off-base and must be brought back to the narrow road,
or at least torn down as much as possible. They typically loathe the likes of
Rick Warren or Beth Moore (two of the most wonderful people to ever grace the
face of this earth.) However, since they can’t always get to famous people,
they will also go after any spiritual leader they can find, especially those
with a following (How dare they have a following, i.e. lead?).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Misguided Warriors destroy small groups. They destroy
churches. They are a force for disunity like no other. Still, they think they
are in the right. They have the unpublished books to prove it. They have the
teachings of their favorite unheard-of preachers, teachers and prophets. Their
cause is just and true. They must correct the church, and if they cannot
correct it, they will identify it as false and bring it down so that the true
church can emerge… or wait, is there a true church? Or are they the only ones
around who really know the truth? Aren’t they, pretty much, a church unto
themselves? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, and I should point out that there is often truth to what
Misguided Warriors say. Sometimes, they may be even be right on, in terms of
facts. Christmas trees and Easter eggs are customs with pagan origins. Yep.
That’s true. And the MG will tear your church apart over getting
rid of these things. More often, however, their information is scant at best,
and purely false at worst. How dare the pastor say, “Happy Easter!” Does he not
know that the word Easter was derived from a pagan goddess? [By the way, etymology
is almost always debatable, and just as likely the word, Easter, comes
from German and English translations of what is now termed Passover. Besides,
meanings of words change, and there is also the biblical concept known as redemption
to consider as well. Can God not take what Satan meant for evil, and use it for
good? For more on Easter, see: <a href="https://answersingenesis.org/holidays/easter/is-the-name-easter-of-pagan-origin/">https://answersingenesis.org/holidays/easter/is-the-name-easter-of-pagan-origin/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, there is a war going on for souls! Eternity is in
the balance for billions. And even while millions die every day destined for
Hell, Misguided Warriors are busy spending their time telling the pastor he
should take a firm stance against the Easter Bunny. After all, millions of
children are being kept out of heaven, not because they haven’t heard the
Gospel presented in a clear way, but because they are worshipping a pagan
fertility symbol. Really?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The couple had been attending for months. They had been a
little concerned about our vision graphic/logo. They thought it reminded them
of some mystical symbols from a heretical movement used almost a millennia ago.
They did a web search, and found some symbols they thought were similar (after all, they
were circular), symbols connected to the mystic movement. They sent me these in
hopes I would consider doing away with our vision graphic. They also noticed I
had mentioned “practicing the presence of God” (ala Brother Lawrence), and
boom, I needed to be called out on leading our church toward mysticism. [By the
way, inasmuch as mysticism is the practice of walking in the Spirit and
actually practicing a personal relationship with God through Christ, I have no
problem with it.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another couple decides I’m using too many translations of
Scripture. They prefer the King James and find fault with the rest, as if other,
frankly, more accurate translations are not even authoritative (after all, they
were not authorized by King James). Truth be told, I use what most scholars
consider the most literal translation available (NASB) on most of my
sermons,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>unless I am doing a series
designed for seekers (about once per year). It was during one of these series
that this couple left, looking for a King-James-only church. By the way, is Old
English the only language in the world? Should Latin Americans translate their
Bible into Spanish from the original languages, or should they translate them
from the Old English, KJV, which would give them a translation of a translation?
And what of Wycliffe’s Bible or Tyndale’s or Luther’s (all before KJV)? Are
they heresy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still another couple recently wanted to make sure our
pastors are not a part of the “evil” government’s “Clergy Response Team,”
because this would be a clear violation of “separation of church and state,”
and we would be allowing ourselves to be controlled by the government in terms
of our faith. “If we find that you are involved, we will insist you inform the
entire congregation,” and (presumably) face the consequences, they threatened. [Incidentally,
we are not a part of this.] The same couple wanted me to preach anti-Obama
sermons more often, because they said it is a “godly cause” to tear down
ungodly leaders. They recommended an unheard of book, written by a so-called
scholar (fringe) to help me get over my obvious misconceptions of the
thirteenth chapter of Romans (the idea of submission to the government,
something I certainly do NOT over-interpret, and probably err on the side of a bit too much civil disobedience). Little do they know I could not
be more unhappy with the government, nor do I submit to it in all regards, but
they don’t think I talk about this enough from the pulpit. They want an
anti-government pastor. Why? Because that is what they saturate themselves
with. Everything they read, listen to, or think about… calls upon the church to
be anti-government. We become what we read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Others are wrapped up in a particular set of interpretations
of apocalyptic Scripture. Others want a stronger stance against certain immoral
practices. Still others get all up in arms over church polity, bylaws, Robert’s
Rules, whether or not to incorporate or become a 501c(3), etc., etc., and believe
me, I could go on. These are Misguided Warriors. They are few in number, and
take pride in what they think they know, that most people don’t know. They
think some people just haven’t read the right books. They do not represent the
thoughts, opinions or desires of 99% of my congregation or most congregations,
except where they have managed to group up (usually a church of under 50). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These are warriors, but they are also misguided. The saddest
part of this is not even the division such people can bring to a church like
mine. As lead shepherd (Gr. pomein = pastor = shepherd), one of my primary
responsibilities is to protect the flock from those who would tear it apart
(wolves in sheep’s clothing), and I do just that. But what makes me saddest is
that these Misguided Warriors might have been great assets to the Kingdom of
God. They are passionate people. They are bold. They are not afraid of
persecution. They are ready to be laughed at and scorned and even find
motivation in such things. They have SO MUCH potential, but they are fighting
the wrong battles. That’s sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
am reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:2, “</span><span style="background: #FDFEFF; color: #001320; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If I have the gift of prophecy, and
know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing”</span><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (please forgive the "unauthorized translation"). Can a Misguided Warrior be turned back
around? I’d like to think so. I can remember a few times in my life when I was
a Misguided Warrior, so I need to be gracious (Oops). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
me, when I was in my twenties, I had more zeal than love. For instance, all it
took was one documentary about the holiday we call Halloween, and my mission</span>
became anti-Halloween. Since then, with more historical perspective and a few
years of maturity, my view is still not positive, but it is more balanced, and
I simply am more focused on matters of greater concern (i.e. The Great
Commission). The point is, that any of us can read something or watch something
persuasive and wind up on a witch hunt that really takes us out of the center
of God’s Will for our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me close by addressing the reader, directly. What if you
are in danger of becoming a Misguided Warrior, yourself? Well, I would tell you
to stop saturating yourself with the fringe books, the fringe videos and the fringe
teachers, especially those who are all about what you need to be against or “watch
out for” or how things need to be fixed in the church. A case can be built
AGAINST anything. I promise you, I could build a case right now against just
about anything you want to bring up. I could probably sell books to the
ignorant and misguide many. Why? Because God gave me the gift of persuasion. Some
people use their God-given gifts for the wrong reasons. I would encourage you
to get back to the Bible and teachers who teach it as it is, without personal
agenda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a Commission to be fulfilled. There is The Gospel
to be preached. God is calling His warriors to fight for the right things
against the right enemies. Let us make His mission our only mission. Let us
make His Gospel our only message. Let us leave the latest pet topic in the
dust, and follow Jesus together, into the world. Let us use our passion and our
boldness and our energy to be warriors for Jesus, fighting only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">His</i> battles, guided <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> by Him. Who’s with me? Let’s go!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-42191098822039230892015-02-23T10:59:00.001-08:002015-02-23T11:20:25.311-08:00Relationally Challenged<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I let everyone down. Most of them would never say it. Most
of them don’t even know what they’re missing (ha). But I do let everyone down.
Sometimes, someone notices.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My thoughts began to spin around this topic over the fact
that there was a deacon in the hospital who I should have visited, and I didn’t
get around to it before he was out. Granted the hospital was an hour away, and
it wasn’t a life threatening situation, but I still wish I would have made the
visit. For one thing, I really like the guy. It was a chance to further our
relationship, and I missed it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t get the wrong idea. Truth is I don’t make a ton of
hospital visits. I’ve delegated the bulk of that to our deacon ministry. So
don’t think I’m that run-ragged pastor who thinks he has to do everything
himself, because that’s not the case. Our church is too big for that. I try to
lead leaders and focus on my relationships with leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All of this led me to start thinking about how I prioritize relationships. I think it probably goes something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.) My Wife<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.) My Kids (3 including my son’s wife)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3.) My Parents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4.) Close Friends (maybe 2-3)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5.) Church Staff (7 people)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6.) Church Leaders of Leaders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7.) Church Leaders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8.) Church Members<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9.) Church Attenders (active members/attenders somewhere
around 600 people)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And that’s kind of where my thinking stopped, but then I
remembered several other categories of people who I wasn’t even sure where to
put on the list. What about extended family? My sister? And what about my neighbors, most of whom are unsaved and/or
un-churched? And what about old friends and people who I really cared about in
churches where I served before, and what about missionaries I know who need a touch now and then, and I could go on and on. The point isn’t where
these people would be placed on the list, or even whether my list is in the
correct order, but rather, the point is that I LET THEM ALL DOWN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t misunderstand. This thought process is not a result of anyone complaining at present. This comes from my own heart and mind. I feel
relationally challenged. I want to have an impact on all of these lives, and I
want to “be there” for all of these people, but I can’t. I just can’t. There
are not enough pieces of me to go around. In fact, when I really think through
this list of people, I can only draw the conclusion that relationally… I’m a
dismal failure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I look down through the list, I’m not where I want to be
after about, oh, the first one on the list. Most of the time I do prioritize my
wife, but sometimes I even let her down. After that, I’m nowhere close to where
I wish I could be, and it gets worse and worse as I look down the list. Take
#6, “Leaders of Leaders.” Sometimes all that happens there is maybe an email
every week or two, and not much else. How can this be? Yeah, I probably need to
make some more investments there, right? And what about my staff even? Oh,
sometimes I’m strong with one or two of them but often I feel like I’ve
completely lost touch with most of them. I let everyone down… whether they
realize it or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ringing in my ears, I can hear all the advice that readers
might want to give me. Delegate more. Prioritize relationships more.
Make a point to reach out to more of the people on this list more…. More, more,
more. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll do some of that, and that will help with that person
or those people, but it will take away from someone else on the list, and then
I’ll need to shift again… and again and again. I am not an inexhaustible
resource.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In fact, I feel quite weak. I should be better at all of this.
I should have more to give. I really feel like I should. Why am I so inadequate
on almost every front? I feel like Bilbo… “like butter spread over too much
bread.” What am I saying? I am doomed to let everyone down… or at least,
myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thankfully, thankfully, I am surrounded by understanding
people. Like I said, I’m not feeling pressured by the people on this list. I’m
pressuring myself. I’m disappointed with myself. I want to pour more into more
of these people. I really do. But I don’t know if I can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And it isn’t really about time. I have time. I could make
more phone calls during the day. I could schedule a few more meetings. I could
make more plans to get together, and now that this is on my radar, I probably
will, but in the end I’m not sure this is really fixable, because the problem
is with my own limitations, not time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How many close relationships can I really hope to have?
Looking back at my list, my heart is to have a very close relationship with
probably 30 people, and at least some kind of meaningful relationship with,
well, hundreds. Not possible. So what do I do? I play a balancing game and I’m
not sure I ever win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know, I know. Jesus had twelve… and inside of that He had
three… and outside of that there were others He likely knew well to varying
degrees (about 120 who wound up in the upper room). We could probably say Jesus
was very close to three, fairly close to twelve, and moderately close to 120.
Not bad. Not bad at all, but He was Jesus. Apparently my numbers are way too big. Okay. Who’s
out? I have more than three, just in family members.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What’s the point of all this? There is no point, really. I
write to process problems, not solve them. I just wonder if anyone else struggles
with all this too. Maybe I wanted someone to know they aren’t alone. Maybe I
just needed to vent. Life is a challenge, but God is good. I know He will help
me find the right balance. Prayers appreciated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-15160291881615526142015-02-09T11:34:00.001-08:002015-02-09T11:42:28.760-08:00When The Milk Goes Bad (An Empty Nest Poem)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When The Milk Goes Bad
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">By Mark Ford<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">02-04-15<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When the milk goes bad,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And the laundry’s
all done,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">That’s when you know…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The kids are no
longer at home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So we sit in the fam’ly
room watching TV, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But I look at her while
she looks at me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And that’s when we
know…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The chicks have all
flown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We’ve heard this was
coming for many a year,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">People older than us,
would talk of their tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We knew…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">That one day our
work would be done,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And our children would
truly be gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Only one person
knows just how this all feels,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Only she shares the
same exact cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Our children have
left us; it’s all very real,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Together we manage
our loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So now I am blue,
though I’m proud of them too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">One off at college,
the other just married,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yet wasn’t yesterday
when, we tucked them in bed…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And waited to be the
tooth fairy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This all sounds so
sad,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And now I feel bad,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But inside I do know
it is true,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">While yesterday’s
over and will not return,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tomorrow, good
things are born new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So when we buy milk,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">From this point and
forward,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We’ll look for a
smaller amount.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "American Typewriter"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And when kids come
home, though just for a visit,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'American Typewriter'; font-size: 10pt;">We’ll make every bit
of it count.</span></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-3579054468258940352014-09-03T11:13:00.000-07:002014-09-03T13:36:58.259-07:00Thoughts From an Old Fogey<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
I just wonder what would happen if, like for a month,
everyone stopped using Facebook, Twitter, email and text. Can you imagine? For
most of us the thought is excruciating. I literally don’t know if I could do
it. I’m not on FB and could easily quit Twitter, but email and text? That would
mean I might actually have to walk down the hall to one of the other offices.
What would I do if I needed to ask my wife something from one end of the house
to the other? I can’t hear her from that far away. What if I had to actually
call someone on the phone? I might not be able to hang up whenever I want. I
might not be able to multi-task. I might wind up in a conversation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are we missing something?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And how much conflict happens because of our near exclusive
use of written communication at this point. How many characters of our texts
are used to correct a misunderstanding from the previous one? How long will we carry on a text
conversation or back and forth emails all to settle something misunderstood due to the nature of written communication? I mean here we are trying to correct an error with the same tool that caused the error in the first place. Next thing you know we have a mess that might even be hard to fix with a "sit down." When will we ever realize that written communication is vastly inferior to verbal communication? We are such idiots sometimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What if we just stopped? What if we said no more texts, at
least… for like a month? For a week or two, we’d communicate less probably.
We’d just not ask or not tell or not talk. But eventually we might actually
call a friend or even stop by their house to ask a question or relay some
information. We might drop by just to say Hi or to ask verbally, face to face,
if the other person is going to this or that event or how their sick grandma is doing. We might even see something
in the other person’s eye and hear something in their voice. We might
experience a relationship that is a little more multi-sensory and perhaps soulful
than what can be gained out of reading typed characters on a phone or computer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this old fogey is as guilty as anyone! I text
constantly. I probably send and receive a hundred emails a day! For heaven's sake, I even tweet!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Am I seriously suggesting that I would stop all this? Of
course not. I mean, not to text is so 90’s.
I just can’t imagine not being able to text my wife, “Hey hon, when is dinner?” Okay, so what’s reasonably
imaginable for me on this topic? Well, maybe I could make a personal commitment
that the next time something even starts to be misunderstood, I actually call.
Could I do that? Yes. Will I do that? Only if I’m smart. Maybe I could just
remember that all this is true and therefore make a point of having more verbal
conversations one way or another. Maybe I could just keep all this in mind and
be more intentional about stopping by sometimes… and calling sometimes... and putting
my phone away sometimes while I'm talking to somebody in person.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously people… we are missing something with all our
emails and texts and postings. I see the good in those things too, believe me.
I can’t imagine having to call every person to schedule a meeting, and then
calling them all back if the last guy can’t make it at that time or whatever.
Ugh. And I realize even the Apostles used letters to communicate with the
churches. Heck, here I sit writing a blog instead of talking to someone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what am I saying? I’m saying there’s a danger here to
watch out for, and frankly, I see it exacerbated (would I use that word verbally?) in the younger generation BIG TIME. See,
they didn’t spend 75% of their lifetime without most of these things as have I. This is not all relatively new to them. They had these things through their developmental years. They’ve never experienced life without text, for instance. And folks… I don’t
know if you’ve noticed, but most younger people have at least a little bit of
trouble with face to face conversation. If you don’t know this, just try
carrying on an actual conversation with someone under twenty, and most of the
time you’ll get nowhere… unless perhaps they were home schooled (a
tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that some people still bring up their
kids in a way that is counter-cultural and thereby might have spared them from
the generality of what I’m saying).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hear ye, hear ye… all you younger people especially… This old fogey hereby encourages you to work on your verbal communication skills by leaving your phone
in your pocket more often. Consider a fast from text, email, etc. just to prove you can do it. Try talking more. I don’t know…
just think about it, will you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-22765973189846807462014-07-01T10:06:00.003-07:002014-07-02T12:28:58.497-07:00Note To Singles<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My son proposed to the sweet girl he had been courting last Saturday, on
his nineteenth birthday. My wife and I were a part of the decision and are in complete
support. We couldn’t be more excited. He believes she is “the one.” So do we. He even wrote a song for her
called, “She Is The One.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some would debate this idea. Some would say God does not
have a plan “A” for your marital future. So, does He? Is there a “one?” Or are
you “free” to marry whomever you choose, and God will help you make it work? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pastors get nervous about this question. Some are careful to
say, “No there is not a ‘one,’” and I get where they are coming from. They are
afraid of the consequences of such a belief. You see, sometimes people want to
end their marriage, because they think they married “the wrong one.” But that’s
faulty logic. Once you marry a person, he or she <i>becomes</i> “the one.” As Jesus said, “For what God has joined
together, let no man separate.” If you are married, the one you married has now
become “the right one,” regardless. If there had been someone else God had
originally in mind, that person is now cut off and no longer a possibility. He
or she is certainly no longer God’s plan for you, but now God’s plan is the
person you joined with in holy matrimony, period. [Okay, I said "period," but yes I do realize there are biblical grounds for divorce, yet the point stands that God has a way of working out a plan for you in spite of everything else. "He/she wasn't the right one," is NOT biblical grounds for divorce.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another reason people are afraid of this belief is also based
on “what ifs.” By the way, when talking about the Sovereignty of God, “what
ifs” just really are moot points. But some look at it this way: If you miss
plan A and marry plan B, then you’ve now married someone else’s plan A, which
means they must marry plan B, and now that person’s plan A is also screwed up and
eventually the whole world is marrying the wrong person. This logic kind of
cracks me up, because it completely fails to understand the fact that God can
work out His plan in spite of any of our less-than-best choices. See Romans 8:28. We will never completely understand the
Sovereignty of God, but to decide He doesn’t even have a plan in the first
place, because we are afraid of what happens if we don’t follow that plan, is
to render the whole discussion meaningless, and to leave us on our own. “On our
own” is not at all what we see in Scripture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ll say it again, if you think you have messed up God’s
plan by marrying the wrong person, you are mistaken. You cannot mess up God’s
plan. His very best plan possible for your life is now for you to stay married
to the person you married. However, this note is written to singles, because
singles like my daughter, and others who are still waiting… are on my heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so, I want to state plainly how strongly I believe that God
has someone specific in mind for every believer who He intends to be married.
It would be very inconsistent for me to say that God has a plan for your life,
yet to exclude this most important area, as if God would for some strange
reason, leave your life-partner out of His plan. No, I believe God absolutely has someone
specific in mind for each of us. I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love the story in Genesis 24, where we find out that
Abraham’s faith in God's plan had been contagious throughout his household. Abraham’s
servant, who he sent out to find a wife for his son, shared his faith in God,
and that faith centered around the belief that God had a plan. This wonderfully-faithful servant prayed, “O
Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today… now may it
be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’
and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—<u>may she be the
one whom You have appointed</u> for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will
know...” (v.14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Clearly, by faith, the servant believed that God had a
specific person in mind for Isaac to marry. He believed this and he acted on
that belief, and by the way, his belief proved to be well founded. Through the
union of Isaac and Rebekah, the nation of Israel was born.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, some would say this type of thing does not apply to the
rest of us <i>ordinary</i> believers. Some
would say that the reason this does not apply to all of us is that we are not
all Isaac, heir of Abraham, father of nations. But those same people would still
say that God has a plan for us. <i>Well, does He, or does He not?</i> Are we
less important to God than Abraham? Is God too small to have a plan for each of
us? No, I would say that <i>the difference
between Abraham, his servant, and “ordinary” believers today is simply faith.</i>
I believe God has a plan that is just this specific for each and every believer.
The only difference for us is the degree to which we believe in, look for, and
follow God’s plan. Faith is the key to experiencing God’s plan for your life, marriage included.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The prophet Jeremiah said of God, “For I know the plans that
I have for you…” and you probably know the rest. Many young believers today have
rightly claimed this verse; while some theologians have wanted to correct them,
saying that this verse was only for Jeremiah. Not so. In fact, the audience of
Jeremiah 29:11 is the entire people of God. At this point, that would be us…
the church… the true children of Abraham, adopted into the family of God by
faith in Christ. This promise about God’s good plan is absolutely intended for
each and every follower of Christ. The only question is how much you believe
that and how much you act upon it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will you have the faith of Abraham and walk out the plan of
God for your life? Or will you assume God's plans are not all that specific and
just go your own way, hoping He will bless whatever you decide? I can tell you
what most people do. Do you want the life most people have? What about when it
comes to your future spouse? I would encourage you to wait for “the one” God
has for you. Do so, and you will not be disappointed. God has a plan and His
plan isn’t just good; it’s the best.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-48548605974349239142014-06-18T10:47:00.001-07:002014-06-18T10:54:31.952-07:00Birthday Blog<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy birthday to me? Well, yes. Yes it is a happy birthday. I’m forty-four years old and happy. What is the significance of forty-four? Heck, I don’t know. But what I do know is that I’m happy. I’m not just joyful. I’m happy, too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe tomorrow I won’t be able to be happy. Maybe circumstances won’t allow tomorrow’s happiness. Who knows? As a Spirit-indwelled believer, I’ll always have access to joy, but happiness is dependent upon happenings, so tomorrow may not be a happy day. But I’m happy today, and I’m thankful for that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Bible tells me what to do if I find myself happy. <i>Is anyone happy? Let him sing praises.</i> (James 5:13b). I actually did that this morning and found it rather fulfilling. I’m happy and I know it, so I’ll clap my hands… to the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Isn’t it weird that Christians almost seem to feel like apologizing for happiness? And hey, I’m the first to remember about “taking up my Cross,” and “This world is not my home” and all of that, but gosh, if the God of the Universe cared enough to save my soul and give me hope and purpose even in this life, how can I not mostly be happy most of the time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What am I happy about? For starters, as mentioned, I know God loves me. Without that truth, everything else would be sort of empty. But since I know I’m at peace with God in Christ, I’m happy because my wife is the most wonderful woman in the world. I’m happy because my children are flat out amazing and I couldn’t be prouder of who they are in Jesus. I’m happy because my parents love me and still help me be a better person and they are there to pick me up when I need them. I’m happy because my son has met a Christ-like young lady who we all believe is to become part of our family when the time is right. I’m happy because I have a wonderful church family, many of whom really and truly love me. I’m happy because I have a staff family who respect me and support me and who have my back. I’m happy because God has blessed me with some of the most wonderful relationships anyone could ever hope to enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lord, I do praise you. My heart sings to You. My soul magnifies the God of heaven and earth, the One who lived and died and rose again. I praise you, God of Goodness and Lord of Love. You have blessed me with more than 10,000 reasons to be happy. This is a happy birthday, because of You. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you for a happy, happy birthday.</span></div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-75886973227787533462014-04-16T16:08:00.004-07:002014-04-16T17:10:59.463-07:00How Big Is My God?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lately, I’ve been struggling with my concept of God… </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">but I’m
getting ahead of myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Does anyone else ever think about how many people there are
in the world? I mean, over seven billion
now? Really? That’s just mind boggling. Think slowly… seven… billion… people. Try to imagine. The United States is a drop in the
bucket. The state of Washington, a
molecule. Longview, a
quark. My church,
infinitesimal beyond imagination… a grain of sand compared to a solar system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And we Christians and our churches say we are trying to “reach the world for
Christ?” Have you ever really thought
about that? I mean, really? Isn’t this awfully naïve? Do we need to rethink our language here? Can mere human beings really “reach the world
for Christ” anyway? Is this honestly an
empty cliché or an attainable goal? Someone hates me now, because I actually think. Oh well, read on if you dare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Jesus walked on earth, there were only about 200
million people by most estimates. Then,
things seemed doable, I guess. Just
think if we only had to cover about half of the United States. Ok, less mind boggling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By most estimates, somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000
people die every single day. That’s not
one of my favorite facts, but at the same time, considerably more than that number
are born every single day. When seven
billion people start having babies, the population explodes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to Pew research, there were 600 million Christians
in 1910 and over two billion in 2011. We
nearly quadrupled the Christians in the world! Cool! That’s an evangelism explosion, man! Problem is, in 1910 thirty-five percent of
the world was Christian. Now it’s down
to thirty-three percent. Yeah, even
though we’ve quadrupled the number of Christians, we still haven’t kept up with
the population. Sure, there are more
believers on earth today than ever before, but there are also more unbelievers
than ever before. Not exactly
encouraging, considering that means there are more people entering Hell every
day than ever before in history, or did the reader forget that’s what the Bible
says happens to people who die apart from Christ?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sorry, this is really sad and serious so far. I should have warned that this is not for the
feint of heart. Note the title of my
blog. I write to think and think to
write. Sorry for bringing you along as I
wallow in the mire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">[And in yet another corner of my mind, I tell myself, “Is
Heaven really big enough for the two billion Christians already on earth right
now? Are we going to have population
problems in the new heaven and the new earth? I was really looking forward to meeting Paul. Will I even be able to find him?” I know, I’m terrible.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are over four billion people in Asia and less than ten
percent of them are Christians. Most
have never even heard of Jesus. If one
were to think about this too long, one might wind up on a plane. But then, even
if a bunch of us learned the languages and overcame oppressive governments to
“win Asia for Christ,” and even if we could miraculously reach, say, a billion
of them in the next twenty years, how much of that would just be keeping up
with the population growth? Regardless, there’d
still be at least three billion unreached. Discouraging.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m no Calvinist (apologies to those who are), but thinking
like this does help me see their side of the truth. Either God does this thing, or it doesn’t get
done. Something needs to happen like nothing that has ever happened
before… something more explosive, even, than what happened in the first several
centuries of Christianity. One thing I
know, we can’t reach the world for Christ unless it is through a MAJOR move of God, and I’m
talking about miracles here. We can’t do
this like we've been doing it. We can't do it ourselves... not even if we tack the words "with God's help" onto the end of our sentence. Maybe it’s time we admitted only God can get this done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But now I'm back to my initial thought. I mentioned that I’ve been struggling with my
concept of God. He just doesn’t seem big
enough. The world seems so huge. What does the God who initially created just
one man and one woman think of the seven billion of us now? Seems impossible that God could care about
enough people to fill every square foot of Texas with just a few feet in
between us (yep, seven billion would fill Texas with wall to wall people). But that’s when it hits me. HE IS BIG ENOUGH! God is big enough. Here I was thinking of God as if He were a
slightly more powerful version of ME or something like that. I’m such a moron, but some of you already knew that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have you ever thought your way from inner space to outer space? I won’t even start as small as scientists now
can. I’ll just start with an atom. One
atom has a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons, with electrons orbiting
that nucleus in just such a way as to not collide. The number of neutrons and
protons and electrons determine the properties of each atom, and different atoms
come together to form molecules that, together, determine the properties of whatever
matter they compose. Put millions of
molecules together and now we can actually see what we’re talking about,
sometimes. There’s so much of this going
on in my office right now, that I can’t even get my head around it. How many atoms in my desk, I wonder? Billions, I would imagine. And I’m not even thinking about living matter,
like the cells in my body, each one a universe of its own. I’m just thinking about dead stuff: inner space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, there’s also outer space, in which inner space
gets completely lost. The moon spins on its axis
while orbiting around the earth, which is simultaneously also spinning on its axis while orbiting around the
sun in such a way as not to collide with the other planets (or their moons, each of which spins and orbits) in
our tiny solar system, which together forms a fraction of a part of one galaxy,
made up of countless solar systems, within countless galaxies in what is
perhaps, an infinite universe. How many
atoms are in the moon? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh, and by the way, my God made all that in like a couple of
days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seven billion people? There are countless more solar systems than there are people on earth… far
more stars than hairs on the heads of every person on earth. God must be looking down and thinking, “Hmm,
still just seven billion? Maybe I should
wait awhile longer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God is in control. As
Romans 8:29-30 says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many
brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called, and whom He called,
these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” I’m not interested in debating the nuances of
what this means. I’m pretty sure though,
that there’s one thing I can take from this passage without any kind of stretch,
and that is: God’s got this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am not, by any means, abdicating my calling as a follower
of Christ, to take the Gospel to all nations. What I am doing is remembering Who is in control, and Who is ultimately
responsible for those seven billion people, and it isn’t me. I don’t understand how, but God IS getting
the job done as He sees fit, and I am thankful that He’s using me to do a little
bit here and there. He doesn’t need me,
but He uses me anyway, even in spite of my momentary doubts and minuscule faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How big is my God?
Big enough.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-2836594746294823312014-03-27T15:04:00.002-07:002014-03-27T15:06:39.335-07:00What Now?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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[<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Warning:</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was home
sick yesterday and read a lot of news and watched a lot of news programs.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In other words, I actually took my head out
of the sand, and now I need to vent about what I saw when I looked around.]</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I saw a program where a random group of Americans of various
persuasions were being asked several questions by a pollster. The nuclear moment came with this question: “Do you believe America’s best days are behind her?” Nearly every hand went up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Someone will hate me for this, but I was forced to concur with the
crowd. Yes, being honest with myself, I
had to admit that this is something I have come to believe. I don’t want to believe this. I don’t know when I started believing
this. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m
honest, I believe this nation was greater at one time than it ever will be
again. I don’t think I felt this way
fifteen or twenty years ago. Thinking
back, I know I didn’t feel this way when Ronald Reagan was president. I’m not sure when I crossed the threshold of
negativity, and I’m not saying it has all that much to do with who was
president, that’s just the last time I can remember truly believing things
would be getting better, not worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would like the reader to understand what a revelation this
is to me personally. I did not know this
was how I felt. I had not come to grips
with this until last night. I’m
realizing today that this is a profound moment in my own personal history. I now see my nation, the one my grandfathers and
my dad fought for, in a state of decline that will ultimately lead to its
death, or the death of everything that makes it the country I love. I am shocked by what I just wrote, but I know
history, and I know what I’m seeing, and that’s what I honestly see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, understand that as a Christian, I can think beyond all
of this, of course. I realize my
ultimate citizenship is in Heaven, and I have a higher allegiance and a higher
calling than can be placed within geographical boundaries or nationalistic
patriotism. I’m pretty globally minded most of the time, especially as it comes
to the value of people and God’s desire to reach the world for Christ, etc.,
but even though I’m a pastor more concerned with the spiritual realm, and even
though I have an eye to the eternal, can I just put all that on hold for a
minute and talk about how I feel about the country of my birth and heritage? Yes, I can, because this is MY blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All patriotism aside, there’s also the simple fact that I
live here. My children live here. My children’s children will most likely be
living here. And I’ve always known what
a privilege it is to live here. People
fought and died to protect what it means to live here. Living here means more than we who have never
lived anywhere else realize. Our nation
has been truly exceptional and everyone in the world knows it. But I fear we are losing our exceptional
status at an alarming rate. The problem
isn’t just that less people <i>think</i> we
are exceptional, it is that we <i>are</i> much
less exceptional than we were twenty years ago. That’s a verifiable fact. That’s
the hard truth of the matter. Everything
that made the American Experiment so great, is being deconstructed while we
watch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before I digress into the myriad problems we face as a
nation, or all the ways we have chosen to erode our exceptional status, let me try to
stay on point. What happened to my
optimism? More importantly, what
happened to most of the country’s optimism? Is it just that we’ve had an extended down time and so everyone has gone
negative? I don’t think so. There were always down times. Is it all because of President Obama? No, three more years, and we can have someone
else who won’t be able to bring us real hope. See, there I go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the same show last night, another poignant question was
asked. The pollster asked, “If I were to
offer you 10 million dollars to live anywhere but America, who would do it?” Most hands went up. And he sadly said, “I think this is the first
time in my life when American citizenship had a price tag.” The truth is many or most people aren’t so sure
there aren’t better places to live right now. What if they’re right? What if we
have fallen that far already? I don’t really
think that, but what if that’s where we’re headed? Can anything be done to stop our decline?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s another blog or book or series of books, I guess, but
I’m not writing to solve problems here. I’m writing to face myself in the mirror. Maybe the first step to something greater for
me is this revelation. I have lost faith
that we can move forward. I see a nation
divided and falling. I don’t want to see
this, but that’s what I see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My tendency is to start writing paragraphs now about what we
should do next. Pray for revival…
evangelize more… maybe be more politically active, etc., etc., but no, I think
I just need to stay here for awhile in this place where I am stunned by how I
really see my own country. I don’t want
to feel this way. What now?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-15676922316424512522014-03-03T15:35:00.001-08:002014-03-03T15:37:02.828-08:00Top Ten Truths I've Learned as a Pastor<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The following is a short message I did for the ordination of our youth pastor a few weeks ago.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Top Ten Truths
I’ve Learned As A Pastor<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Presented
at the ordination of Aaronn Nelson)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since I knew brother Mark Bradley would be diligent to present a message
from Scripture, I felt the freedom to share something drawn more from personal
experience. I do believe I could support
each of these thoughts with a Bible verse or two, but since I only have about
ten minutes, you’ll just have to trust me on that. I’d like to share with our man of the hour,
“The Top Ten Truths I’ve Learned As A Pastor.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, before I share these, I want to recognize the fact that I’ve left
out some of the more obvious truths, such as the need for personal prayer and
Bible study. Brother Aaronn already knows that very well, so I’ve selected ten,
possibly, less-obvious truths I’ve learned, and as you might guess, I’ve
learned most of these the hard way… Number ten…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10.) If you play for an Audience of One, your life
will be less noisy.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Being a pastor is a noisy job.
There are many voices vying for attention, not the least of which are
those voices in our heads. Our job, like
it or not, is very much performance based.
We are constantly evaluated, if not officially, then casually, and any
one person’s opinion of us can turn on a dime.
Come in late one morning, the wrong person notices, and suddenly
everyone in the church thinks you’re sleeping in every day until 10:30. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the fact is that we <i>are</i>
accountable to the church. However, what
is our accountability to the church compared to our accountability to God? If you play well for an Audience of One, you
won’t have to worry about what the church thinks, unless your church is totally
out of tune with God, and if that’s the case, you may just want to find a new
church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ultimately, you will give an accounting to <u>God</u> for your
leadership, and if you remember that He sees the heart and knows what really
matters… and stay focused on pleasing Him almost to the exclusion of all other
voices… well, maybe, just maybe… you won’t go crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number nine…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9.) If you make your ministry about keeping
people happy, you’ll only make yourself miserable.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is similar to the first truth, but worth mentioning
separately. Understand that leadership will
almost never take you down the path of least resistance. You just need to know going in, that being a
pastor means not everyone is going to be happy with your personality, your hair
style, the way you dress, the frequency of your shaving or more importantly,
your decisions. If you try to make
everyone happy, you’ll wind up spinning around in circles until you finally get
dizzy and collapse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The eighth truth I’ve learned after 20 years as a pastor is this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8.) If someone else can do it, let them.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Conversely, if no one else can do it, then do it yourself. I really mean what I’m saying here. If someone else CAN do it, let them. There are certain things no one else can do,
because it is at the core of your calling, or they are simply not trained,
equipped, skilled or have not been endowed with the leadership to do that
particular thing. However, if it <i>can</i> be done by someone else, ask someone
else to do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The reason for this is NOT only so you can be freed up to do other
things. That’s just a side benefit. The main reason to let others do whatever
they can is because the most productive thing you can do as a Pastor is develop
other leaders… and the best way to make other leaders is to give them
leadership. As Andy Stanley puts it,
“People learn on a need-to-know basis.”
If you want to grow leaders, ask them to do things on the edge of their
ability. If someone else <i>can</i> do it, let them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number seven…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7.) If you don’t make mountains out of mole hills,
you’ll less likely make mole hills out of mountains.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Pick your battles” may be an over-used phrase, but it is still a
critically important concept in the ministry.
If you spend your time dealing with stuff that doesn’t really matter, you’ll
wind up neglecting the things that really do matter. If you spend your leadership capital on small
potatoes, you won’t have that capital in the bank when you need it for big
potatoes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The best way to be ready to deal with the really important stuff is to
make sure you let little stuff go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The sixth truth I’ve learned as a pastor is this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6.) If you risk nothing, you will gain nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the basic idea of faith in Scripture… Faith is doing what
Abraham did when he just started walking, not knowing where he was going. Faith is what Joshua and the 2<sup>nd</sup>
generation after the Exodus did, when they set foot in the Jordan, and the
waters parted, but not before they stepped in.
This principle is absolutely everywhere in the Bible. God gets involved when we get out on a limb. God steers moving objects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ll tell you what else this means, practically. If you apply this, you’ll be attempting great
things for God, and sometimes, because we don’t hear an audible voice from God…
and because sometimes, God even leads us down a road just to test us… <i>sometimes</i>, it is going to look and feel
like you failed. Sometimes it will seem like
you went through the wrong door… and walked the wrong path. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes you’ll need to realize God isn’t blessing something, and
you’ll need to let it go and go back to the drawing board. But listen, there is no such thing as failure
as long as you are risking for God. I
could preach a whole sermon on that right there, but just remember as a pastor,
that if you risk nothing, you will gain nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number five…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5.) If you avoid difficult conversations, you’ll
miss out on ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nancy Beach, a staff member at Willow Creek Church in Chicago said,
“Ministry is a series of difficult conversations.” Now, I must say when I first heard that at a
conference I attended, I thought it was kind of bland. However, after twenty years, I now see it as
one of the greatest truisms I’ve ever heard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My admonition is this: Have the one-on-one conversations.… Work through
stuff… Bring in a mediator if needed, but when there’s something sitting there,
don’t let it become a land mine. Don’t
wait for an undercurrent of conflict to explode into lightening at the worst
possible moment. Swallow hard… schedule
the meeting… go to the person and have the difficult conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number four…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>4.) If
you learn to flee sexual immorality, you’ll take away most of the enemy’s
arsenal.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know of no other potential area of sin, from which the Bible tells us
to flee. When the Apostle Paul tells us
to flee sexual immorality, the imagery is to run wildly with arms flailing in
the air, screaming the word “No.” Ok,
maybe I’m taking a little liberty there, but that’s the general idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In my opinion, when it comes to pastors, i.e. men in the ministry, there
is no other area nearly as dangerous as this.
Find every way you can to run from sexual immorality. Don’t try to stare it down. Just run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And on a practical note, I’d encourage you to read the book: “Every
Man’s Battle,” if you haven’t already… and read it again about every five
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number three…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>3.)</b> <b>If you
confess and repent regularly, sin will not gain a foothold.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You won’t be perfect, but you can have times of purity, make no
mistake. When I came here in view of a
call, I shared that at that time, as far as I knew, I was pure before God. Some people thought that was a bold claim,
but purity is something the Bible calls for, and therefore it is possible. The Devil is the one who whispers that purity
is not possible. Purity <i>is</i> possible. And by purity, I mean, that there is no
known, ongoing sin in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the very least, you can have seasons of purity, and those times are
precious. But honestly there will
probably be other times where you are just battling, and frankly, sometimes you
won’t win every battle. When you watch a
movie you shouldn’t have watched or fail to change the channel quickly enough
when the Victoria’s Secret commercial comes on… or when you lose your temper
with your kids… or respond to someone’s anger in kind… you’re going to need to
be quick to confess and repent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are not perfect, folks. You
won’t be perfect, Brother Aaronn. But if
you confess quickly and repent regularly, that is to catch yourself and turn
away from your sin in sorrow, then sin will not gain a foothold… and I don’t
even want to talk about what happens if sin does gain a foothold. I encourage you to confess and repent
regularly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Number two…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.) If you don’t know where you’re going, don’t
try to take people with you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pray, pray, pray. Seek a vision
from God. Seek His direction. Make plans and take action when you feel like
God is in it. However, and you may not
hear this anywhere else, if you don’t know where you’re going, stop leading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’m saying there’s a time to wait on the Lord. I’m saying there is a time to let things be,
if you don’t have clear direction. I’m
saying it is possible to do more damage than good with haphazard leadership. I
know, because I’ve done it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The thing to do if you don’t know where you’re going is not just take
off somewhere. The thing to do is seek
God with all your heart… and until He, at least, gives you an inch of vision,
don’t go anywhere. You won’t read this
in any book I know of, but there is a time for maintenance in our
ministries. There’s a time to let fruit
develop for a bit. There’s a time to wait on God. There’s a time to just be faithful in the
basics, while waiting for direction in the specifics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I might add that we are <i>not</i> in
a waiting time currently at First Baptist Church. Not at all.
Instead, “it’s go time.” And
we’re going to keep going until I don’t know where else to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, the number one truth I’ve learned as a pastor… is this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.) If you really care about people, they’ll
really care about you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There’s no substitute for love and relationships in the ministry. I believe God gives shepherds a heart for the
sheep. I have always had a special love
for the people God places under my spiritual care. I really believe this is a God thing, so I
don’t know how to be practical with this, other than to tell you to pray for
it. Beyond that, honestly, if any pastor
doesn’t care deeply about the people, it may be time to find a new job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, I also want to say that especially in a church or a ministry of any
size, you can’t be close to everyone.
You can’t know everyone or even most people well. And you can’t always be there for
everyone. People will sometimes ask for
more than you can give, and that goes back to some of the other truths, but
what you can do, is care, and you can show that care every chance you get. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My main point here is that if you do care and learn to show that care,
the investment will bring a return, and the positive cycle of love that is
created between a pastor and his congregation or area of ministry, can become
one of the most fulfilling parts of your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My time is up. I hope these
truths have been helpful for our newest pastor.
I’ll close by saying that I am honored greatly to be ordaining Pastor
Aaronn into the Gospel ministry tonight.
Thank you.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-11150901556194047872014-02-17T16:08:00.001-08:002014-02-17T16:16:02.398-08:00Church Is About To Get Messy<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What’s going on at the church I'm called to pastor? Well, we’re planting
a Hispanic church that will meet in our building and use our stuff. What if
they break something? What if their
children don’t know how to “behave.”
What if they don’t worship just like we do? What if there are unforeseen problems?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Church is about to get messy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We’re turning our VBS into an evangelistic event for
children who don’t know Jesus, bussing them in from tough areas in our
community, including the trailer parks around our church building. Also, now we’re not only going to serve in our
local homeless shelter, but we’re bringing more and more of the residents
(especially children) to church with us on Sundays. Who is going to supervise them? We’re
having an Easter Eggstravaganza, not mostly for our own kids, but more
specifically for un-churched kids who need to hear the Gospel. What if our children begin to be outnumbered in their own church? What if there are more difficult children than we can handle? What if their parents are worse?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What if there’s a mess?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few months ago, our youth ministry launched a weekly
outreach event called “Pause.” Already,
there are about thirty youth attending every week. We designed the event to
attract those who don’t go to church. It worked. Some of these kids don’t know
about respecting their elders. Most don’t know church rules. They don’t know
church language. They don’t know Jesus. What if they do something really bad in
our building? What if our youth pastor can’t always control them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Messy, messy, messy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In about a year, we will send some of our best people as a
team to plant a church in Woodland. Who knows who will go? What if key leaders go? What if some staff even feel called to
go? What if it costs more than we
thought? What if they wind up doing so well that they become bigger than
us? What if they don’t keep any of our
traditions or methodologies? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This could get messy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are making our music more appealing to young families who
need Jesus, a generation ignored too long by too many churches. Sometimes the
music might even seem loud. Some people won’t like it. We are also starting a
major new program for children during the worship service. What if the leaders
aren’t perfect? What if it isn’t
everything we dreamed of at first? What
if someone is negative about these changes?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Messy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ever been a part of a small group in someone’s home? We call them LifeGroups, and we just launched
this ministry a few months ago. Before, we didn’t have small groups meeting in
homes. We didn’t really have very many people learning to share with each other on a deep
level. As John Ortberg said, “Everybody’s normal till you get to know
them.” People are getting to know each
other now in our church. People don’t always like what they get to know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What a mess this could be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have four different groups going on mission trips to four
different nations within a four month timeframe. That’s going to cost a lot of
money. What if some people use their tithes to pay for their mission trip? What if our giving goes down in the church
because we are doing so much for other people outside our church? What about the needs right here? What if we give ourselves away until there
isn’t anything left? What if home base
suffers because we are so busy working out in the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Church is about to get messy…. And church is about to get
biblical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To the church, Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my MARTYRS in your home town, in
your region and even to the remotest parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
(paraphrased). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God’s power comes to those who place themselves in a
position to need it, not to those who keep themselves comfortable. Jesus said
those who want to keep, will lose, and those who give, will receive more to
give. He said those who risk for the Kingdom will be blessed with more to risk and those
who hoard will lose what they have. He said
the greatest is the one who washes disgusting, smelly feet. In essence, Jesus
said those who avoid the mess, are not really on His team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">BRING ON THE MESS.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-15015183699576829382014-02-11T16:51:00.003-08:002014-02-19T16:34:41.270-08:00The Birth Story of RiverOaks Church<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Prelude: I was recently asked to write down the birth story of RiverOaks Church, the church I founded in Wentzville, Missouri. The following is what made it down on paper, and presumably will be used in their ongoing membership class. God has powerfully affirmed my call elsewhere, but I do miss my brothers and sisters there. I pray someone will be greatly blessed by this God-story.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Birth Story of RiverOaks Church<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(A Brief Synopsis)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By: Mark Ford, Founding Pastor<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> A Comfortable
Position<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We were serving at a church in Southern Missouri when God
first led us to plant a church. I say
“us,” because the calling came to both me and my wife, Kristy. The funny thing is that we were happy right
where we were. I had finished seminary
and was doing what I wanted to do in a wonderful, growing, vibrant church. In fact, during my time there, the church had
doubled in size. The people loved us
dearly, and we loved them. I was the
worship pastor. Things were going
great. We were very comfortable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An Unwanted Yearning<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s when it hit: an unwanted yearning for more, or for
something different. We couldn’t explain
it. Both of us felt it. Suddenly, we weren’t okay with doing what we
were doing for the rest of our lives.
God wasn’t okay with us doing what we were doing for the rest of our
lives. But why? We were doing what God had called us to
do. I was doing what I had been trained
to do and what I had always dreamed of doing, and God was blessing my
efforts. Why did we have to start
wanting more? We believe this yearning
came from God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We began to talk about vision. At the time, we didn’t know we were talking
about vision. We just found ourselves
having these passionate conversations about what the church could or should be
like, and we began to realize that this new vision (seemingly out of nowhere) was
not going to fit in with where we were serving.
What could this mean? I wasn’t
even the Lead Pastor. Who was I to have
vision? Who was my wife to have a vision
for the church? Still, a vision
developed in us both. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We were incredibly restless.
What was God trying to say? We
had no idea whatsoever. We decided to
stop talking about it, and start seeking God about it. We agreed to pray and seek the Lord for two
weeks and then to reconvene. After two
weeks that included fasting and praying and studying the Scripture, we came
back to compare notes. Our conversation
went something like this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I think I know what God is saying.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Me, too.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“There is a passage of Scripture that I keep coming back to,
and it’s like part of it just jumps off the page and screams at me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Me, too.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“The passage God is using is Isaiah 61:1-3.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Me, too.” (Yes, really.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“I think God wants us to plant a church!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Me, too!!!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Preliminary Vision<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, the conversation was more complex than that, but
the point is that we had both independently come to the same passage out of the
whole Bible, and we both interpreted it to mean that God wanted us to plant a
church. We had never considered planting
a church, nor had we discussed it, nor did we even really understand what
church planting was. God spoke to us
totally out of the blue. And that wasn’t
all He had shown us. He had given us at
least a partial vision for what this church would be like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The passage God used to lead my wife and me to plant a
church ends with this sentence: “<i>They will be called <u>oaks</u> of
righteousness, <u>a planting of the Lord</u> for the display of his splendor” </i>Isaiah 61:3 (NIV). Not only did we have part of the name for our
church plant, but we had a preliminary vision as well. This thing was going to be different.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Call Accepted<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We got on our knees beside our couch right then and there,
and through many tears, together, we said “Yes” to God. We didn’t even know what we were saying yes <i>to </i>(and we knew we didn’t know), but we
said yes anyway. After that, we kind of
just walked around in awe and wonder for awhile, like Mary, “pondering these
things in our hearts.” We were clueless,
but we were called. We had said yes to
God. Now what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Others Called<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That weekend, we traveled a few hours to visit with my
parents. I needed to see what they
thought. I was nervous. Our kids were only about four and six. Did I mention we were in a comfortable
position? Well-paid and well-taken care
of, we were about to take a leap of faith into the unknown. I wasn’t sure how my parents would
react. I just wasn’t sure what they
would think or what they would say. It
isn’t always easy to let your children take risks, after all. As we walked in the door of their house, I
noticed a printout on their refrigerator door.
It was Isaiah 61:3 typed out.
Yes, really. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We sat down and began to share and it wasn’t long until
their eyes were wet with tears. I don’t
remember who said what, but the gist of it was that Dad was about to retire, and
they had recently decided they wanted to be a part of a church plant. Right then and there, with no further
deliberation, they told us they would be along for the ride. They said they would move to wherever we were
to plant and join the team. I can’t
possibly communicate how affirming that was.
Tears still come to my eyes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hurry Up and Wait<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After that, God put us through some tests. The biggest test was the fact that He gave us
no further direction at that point.
When? Where? Who with?
How? Silence. No further instructions. And then something very strange
happened. God led us to another
church. We began to assume church
planting must be down the road a ways for us. We never wavered that God wanted
us to plant a church, but with no further direction, we simply put it on the
back burner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Hazelwood
Connection<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We moved to Hazelwood, Missouri, where I served as Worship
Pastor in a larger church for the next two years. I learned so much there and even had the
opportunity to preach a few times. Those
two years would prove to be critical as God prepared me for church
planting. Also, at Hazelwood we met a
couple of families who would later help us get our church plant up and running.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While we were at Hazelwood, my parents retired and moved to
Wentzville. We would make the 45-minute
journey to see them regularly, and that’s when something happened. God began to answer the “where”
question. Over a period of months, God
led us to plant our church in Wentzville, and the back burner became the front
burner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Return of the
Call<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I shared with the Senior Pastor of Hazelwood that we were
feeling led to plant a church in Wentzville.
He was very supportive. Things
that don’t matter anymore got a little weird after that, but God had a plan in
it all, and in the end, together with my parents and two other families, we
committed to planting a church in Wentzville.
We had some of the most incredibly powerful times of prayer I’ve ever
had in my life. Desperation fuels
powerful prayer, and we knew we were desperate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our first meeting with our tiny core group happened on September
18 of 2001. My Mom (designated church
historian) still considers that the beginning of the church, and in many ways I
guess she’s right. That night, we named
the church, and in the following weeks we hashed out our vision, core values
and bylaws, among other things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leap of Faith<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I resigned from the church in Hazelwood effective January 1,
2002, officially beginning my tenure as pastor of RiverOaks Church (all four families)
on January 15. I had no guaranteed
funding of any kind. We sold our house
and planned to live on savings and maybe a second job, but God took care of us
with the tithes of those families and some other funding that came along. There was a time when we didn’t know if the
next paycheck would come, but God and His people always came through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Core Provided<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God quickly began to bring us other families who wanted to
be a part of such a venture, and our group grew from three families to about 30
people total. With those families (and
that included several children) we met for a period of about nine months. We met in homes, just like the early church, with
programs planned for the children as the adults met, and we prepared to launch
our church out into the community. We
held various outreach events and did everything we could to get out the word
that a new church was about to begin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Launch<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On September 8, 2002, RiverOaks Church held its first public
service. A mobile church at that time,
we met in the Timberland High School Cafeteria.
Children’s ministries were held in the gymnasium. Even though we had done much to get the word
out about our new church, we had no way of knowing if anyone other than our
tiny core group would actually show up.
I was informed enough to know that if that were to happen, we’d be done
before we started. Instead, our prayers
were answered, and 119 men, women and children, most of whom we had never seen
before, and who did not know each other, walked through the front door. Worship was powerful and that morning, two
individuals trusted Christ as Savior for the first time. We knew all we needed to know: God was with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That was only the beginning.
That was the birth. The next 11
plus years were the ride of my life, but I’ll save that story for the next
installment. RiverOaks Church has a new
pastor now, and is still going strong for the Kingdom. I’m so fulfilled to have founded a church
that God has used and is still using to change so many lives. May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to be
glorified through the ongoing work of RiverOaks Church. Soli Deo Gloria!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>ADDENDUM</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I'd like to add here the names of that original group. The original four families (besides my own) consisted of Gordon and Elaine Beachy and kids, Bill and Janet Bridgeforth, and Russell and Barbara Ford (my parents). Eric and Jen Peterson (and baby Amber) joined us very early as well. Huge thanks to them all for believing in our God-given dream.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-77298197532395745052014-01-27T08:59:00.001-08:002014-01-27T09:02:41.514-08:00Note To Self (and other pastors)<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Greek word translated “pastor” is </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">poimen</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, also the word
for shepherd. New Testament writers were
tapping into a well-known Hebrew (Old Testament) idiom for a person who would
be a spiritual leader over God’s people.
The Old Testament has much to say to shepherds. The book of Zechariah, especially, contains
some poignant shepherd-admonitions.
Today, in my daily study, I came to chapter eleven, verse sixteen.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>For
behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the
perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing,
but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep
and tear off their hoofs.</i> Zechariah
11:16 (NASB95) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here, God is threatening to raise up bad leadership as a
form of discipline, but in this we can assume the opposite would be God’s idea
of a good shepherd. This is a great
reminder for me and anyone else in pastoral leadership. According to this verse:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A good shepherd/pastor will:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1.) care for the perishing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2.) seek the scattered,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3.) heal the broken,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4.) sustain the one standing, and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5.) cherish (not exploit) the strong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One could write a sermon on each of these phrases, but I’ll
leave it at that. <i>Thank you, Lord, for
this sobering reminder and the fulfillment that comes in doing your work.</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-86241190810940838922014-01-13T09:13:00.002-08:002014-01-13T09:13:35.891-08:00From my wife...<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ok, my wife does a little newsletter each month for the minister's wives (and female director of music/children's ministry) on our staff. The article she wrote this month is outstanding, and I wanted to pass it on to my readers. Here it is... </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Where's the Fruit?"</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
did something kinda funny the other day. Okay more than funny…more like
air-headed.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I was all jazzed up about this new
watch/fitness device I bought. Couldn’t wait to try it out! I charged it up and
got ready to run. I was really disappointed by the end of the run, because 2 of
the 4 areas the watch was supposed to monitor couldn’t possibly be correct!!! I
had been running at a pretty good pace for a pretty good while and my watch
pronounced that I had only burned 19 calories and gone .13 of a mile. What?!? I
shared with Mark that my new dream watch was not so cool and promptly going back
to the store. That’s when a key factor occurred to Mark. My watch tracked stats by following my
movement on a GPS. The problem was…my first run with the watch on was on the
treadmill.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Hellooooooo!
Once I got past feeling like a total moron, I was really relieved. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The whole episode made me think about my walk with Christ. Sometimes, when I am
giving my very best to follow Christ I experience difficulty instead of victory
or breakthrough. Sometimes, I feel like giving up when passionate, consistent
prayers don’t seem to be answered. Like my watch…life just isn’t telling me
what I want to hear. Kinda like the first time I saw a fruit tree. I thought it
looked pretty ugly in my new yard. Just looked like a dead, knarly twig to me, but
then summer came and I couldn’t believe the amazing flowers and fruit is
produced. And to think I almost chopped it down. A great reminder that
appearances are not always what they seem. When life or the enemy discourages
us we can know our efforts to love and follow God are worth it in every way.
Though appearances may deceive us at times, God is working down deep in the
marrow of our souls to produce fruit. So don’t give up! Remain in him till your
faith becomes fruit.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
</div>
Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-776029181462083152013-12-04T16:48:00.000-08:002013-12-04T17:18:27.886-08:00The Most Repeated Error Taught Within Otherwise Solid Churches<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Think through this thought with me. I believe there is an
error that is being taught in most of our churches today. Sunday School
teachers teach it. I guess some pastors preach it. People repeat it in
theological discussions, post it on Facebook and build other teachings around
it. You’ve heard it said a thousand times: ALL SIN IS THE SAME TO GOD.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem with that statement is that it is patently false
and stands in contradiction to any honest reading of Scripture. There is
absolutely no way a person can read through the Bible and come to the
conclusion that God can’t tell the difference between one sin or another or
that God is equally offended by every sin or that His response to every type of
sin will be the same. Another untruth that derives from this false premise is that
all sin should be treated the same by people or the church. The whole of
Scripture contradicts these ideas, and so do many specific verses as I will
demonstrate shortly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But first, we must ask from whence this idea came? As far as I can tell, this idea came mostly
from a desire among church members not to be judgmental, which, of course, is a
good desire in and of itself. In fact, these days we’d rather be wrong than
judgmental. I’ll write a future blog on the common misinterpretation of what it
means to be judgmental, as that is a related but different discussion. Back to
the point, we simply don’t want to say one sin is worse than another. We want
to equate all sins, because that ensures that we cannot deem someone else’s sin
to be worse than ours. Again, this comes from a good heart. The problem is that
the idea that no sin is worse than any other sin is simply not true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But surely, since
we’re talking about Pastors and Sunday School teachers teaching this idea, it
must have come from somewhere in the Bible, right? Well, sort of. There are portions of “The
Sermon on the Mount,” where Jesus indicates that the less obvious sin, such as
lust, makes one just as guilty as the more obvious sin, such as adultery. He
says the same of hatred and murder, etc. However His point is that both the
obvious and less-than obvious are sinful and either will equally make one
guilty. His point is not that both sins
are exactly the same to God. Similarly, James
says “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he
has become guilty of all” (2:10.) The
point of these teachings is the same. We have all sinned. Sin of all types
makes us guilty before God… guilty enough to face judgment and Hell. So, in the
sense of making us guilty before a Holy God, yes, any and all sin does that.
However, neither James nor Jesus came close to teaching that all sin is exactly
the same or that all sin is the same according to God. Big difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And so someone asks: How does the Bible refute the
statement, “All sin is the same to God?”
That’s a funny question. The Bible doesn’t need to refute it, because
the Bible doesn’t say it in the first place. However, does anyone really believe
Sodom and Gomorrah would have been burned to the ground because the people
broke the speed limit or because most of them made copies of CD’s? Does anyone really believe that a perfectly just
God sees the sins of Hitler exactly the same as the sins of whatever godly spiritual
leader you respect? Is a lie or gossip
really exactly the same as mass murder to God?
Come now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what does the Bible say?
Well, Jesus told Pilate (John 19:11) that the sins of the Jews were
GREATER than his sin, because they should have known better. This alone refutes
the idea that one sin is not greater than another. The Apostle Paul said there
were certain sins that should lead to a person’s dismissal from a church body
(1 Cor. 5, etc.) Christ indicated this as well in his letters to the churches
(Revelation 2-3). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is certainly singled out as
“worse” than other sin in Matthew 12:31. In Luke 12, Jesus even seems to suggest
that there may be differing degrees of punishment depending on the nature of
the sin. In Matthew 23 and Luke 20, Jesus calls out the sins of certain
religious leaders as “worthy of greater condemnation” than the sins of others. Also
in Matthew 23, Jesus talked about “the weightier things of the Law,” perhaps
indicating some laws (rules) may be more important than others, heaven forbid
(See Leviticus.) Matthew 6 and 18 call
out “un-forgiveness” as a particularly heinous sin. And, in fact, certain sins are
consistently spoken of as being exceptionally offensive to God throughout the
Bible. There can be little doubt that sexual immorality and idolatry are
portrayed as particularly offensive to God. In short, no honest reading of the Bible
could possibly leave one thinking that all sin is the same to God. No way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As Jesus said in Luke 7:47, “He who has been forgiven little,
loves little.” Let us not rob future
believers of a powerful testimony by telling them there is nothing exceptional
for which they need to be forgiven, when, in fact, their sin might be
exceptional. Paul said, because of His previous murderous actions, “I am the
chief of sinners.” I guess he assumed
that tracking down Christ-followers and having them killed was a particularly
bad kind of sin before a Holy God. It sure felt like a worse kind of sin to
Steven, don’t you think? Yes, Paul was
forgiven more than some. That’s why he
also loved more than some.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s get practical. What am I really doing when I say that committing
homosexual acts (for instance) is no more offensive to God than a momentary prideful
thought? What I am doing is watering
down the sin of same-sex intercourse, and forgetting all that the Bible says
about it. Don’t misunderstand. Pride is certainly evil, sinful and worthy of
damnation to God, but we don’t normally elevate our sin of pride to the level
of sexual immorality in this argument. We simply can’t pull that off. Rather,
we lower our view of sexual immorality until we can view a lifestyle God called
“an abomination” as “not really that bad.”
This is exactly what is happening. Watering down sin is the end game of
our wrong thinking here. When we say “All sin is the same to God,” what winds
up happening is that we basically throw up our hands and say, “Oh well, I might
as well do whatever I want, because I’m going to do <i>something</i> wrong, and anything I do that is wrong is just as bad as
anything else, so I might as well just do what I want.” We also stop acting as salt and light in a
dark and tasteless world, because now we are all dark and tasteless. It’s all
the same. There is no purity. There is now, no “straight and narrow.” There are only shades of gray, and we are all
gray. There is no ability to walk with God, because we all have a sinful
thought or a slip of the tongue now and then, and now that is just as bad as
shacking up with a golden retriever. Forgive my bluntness, because it is
designed to drive home the point in a way that can’t be ignored. The idea that God
sees all sin the same is simply not reasonable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God killed Ananias and Sapphira for sin. He wiped out Sodom
and Gomorrah for sin. He didn’t wipe out every city nor did He kill every
church member, yet we know that every city and every member of the church had
sin. Clearly, some sin is more dangerous before a Holy God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, am I saying we should go around telling people their sin
is worse than ours or come up with lists of those sins that are particularly
bad? No. I’m not saying that at all. There
is another discussion to be had about what the world SHOULD hear us saying and
what they should NOT hear us saying. Our primary job is not to judge their sin.
In the scope of this blog, all I am pointing out is that we need to stop saying
“It’s all the same to God,” because that is a lie from Satan with pervasive
consequences for our churches and our culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All sin is damning. That much is true. Only by the blood of
Christ are any of us saved and no one is “too bad” for salvation in Christ. The
issue at salvation is not “how bad is your sin,” but “how great was His
sacrifice?” We are saved by grace
through faith, and not of works (Eph. 2:8). No one is good enough and no one is
beyond hope (See all the “whosoever’s.”)
All of that is true. But be careful, brothers and sisters. When the
world hears us saying “All sin is the same to God,” we may think they will
appreciate our “tolerance.” However, all
they are really hearing is that we worship an unjust God who doesn’t make any moral
sense. Worse, they are not hearing about the God of the Bible. Perhaps we need
to choose our words more carefully, when we are talking about our God. And that’s
a thought to think through.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2909404352171245346.post-32084347500544337522013-11-05T09:13:00.000-08:002013-11-05T09:13:36.174-08:00I Don't Know What I Don't Know
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don’t know what I once knew, because I forget stuff. I’ve
had the order of the books of the Bible memorized many times, but I’m not sure
I could get through them on the spot right now. Yesterday, in a dinner
conversation with church members, I couldn’t remember whether the Tower of Babel
happened before or after The Flood. Yeah, embarrassing. Last week, I
got mixed up between John 10:9-10 and 1 John 10:9-10. I think I even mixed in a
little Romans 8:9-10 for a nicely convoluted conglomeration of verses and an
un-sureness about where each of them came from. It was beautiful. Don’t worry,
I have it straight now… for at least another week or two until I forget again. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don’t know what I don’t know.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Earlier in my ministry, I was sure of many things. Now I’m
sure about a few things. I hold many beliefs much more loosely now and wonder
if I might be wrong much more often. Systematic theology now seems to me like a
bad idea. Many readers won’t understand. Many pastors and “mature” church
members hold to their beliefs with a fearful dogmatism that doesn’t allow them
to really consider the possibility of being wrong. Someone probably thinks I’m
in danger of liberalism now, but if so, you don’t know me very well. The point
is that <i>I don’t know what I don’t know.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Recently, I was quoting something in Greek. I thought I had
been very careful in checking my resources, but later found out I had used the
wrong form of the word repeatedly in my sermon. I have well over 200 hours of
education from Baptist universities and seminaries. I have a Master’s degree
from a major seminary and have worked on doctorates in 2 different schools,
though I am far from finished. However, not knowing I would be doing what I am
doing today, I got the “wrong” degrees in the first place. I’ve never had a
course in Greek. “Oh, well why don’t you just take one,” someone says. I may. However,
I still won’t know what I don’t know. In fact, one wonders if one wouldn’t just
be more dangerous. Debatable. <i>I don’t
know what I don’t know. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">People consider me to be smart. They do. Everyone tells me
so. Then why do I constantly feel like such an idiot? I feel like I don’t know anything. Seriously.
I certainly don’t know as much about theology or exegesis or hermeneutics as my
Associate Pastor. He has an advanced degree with emphasis on Greek and Hebrew. He
reads scholarly journals in his spare time. I read <i>Christianity Today</i>… sometimes. In all seriousness, I do try to
continue my education and am fighting my way through Bonheoffer’s “The Cost of
Discipleship” right now, but I won’t remember what I learned from it next year.
In my Bible reading, I write down amazing new insights constantly. The problem
is, I probably had those same insights a year or two ago. I forgot. At one
point I could make a great case for who wrote the book of Hebrews, but now I
can’t remember my points. <i>I don’t know
what I don’t know. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wonder if any other pastors out there can identify with
this insecurity. We are supposed to know everything… at least about spiritual
things or the Bible. Some pastors act like they do, and I don’t blame them. That’s
one way to deal with this. We feel pressured to portray ourselves as experts. The
problem is that claiming to be an expert in the Bible is like claiming to be an
expert in life. The topic is way too huge. I think that if I really worked at
it for years, I might be able to become an expert on chapter eight of the book
of Romans. That would be a high, yet reasonable goal, maybe. Then again, even
at that, <i>I still wouldn’t know what I
don’t know.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let me wrap up this anxious rant with a prayer. Father, I
come to you in all humility. My brain isn’t big enough. I need to experience
the miracle of You speaking through me. I need Your Holy Spirit to fill me with
the right words in the right situations. Please use me in spite of me. Please
make up for my pitiful weakness. I am a fool… just a baby with a power tool… a
feeble-minded pea brain, who is slightly more or less educated than the other
pea brains on earth. Teach me what I <i>really</i>
need to know, Lord. <i>You are the only One
who knows everything I don’t know. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mark Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02696384817133923012noreply@blogger.com2