Heavenly Heartburn

It is my honor to announce that my brother, Cameron, is graduating tonight from Piedmont Baptist College in Winston-Salem, N.C. with a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies.

Cameron has been working faithfully for some time now to complete this degree. His dedication has caused him to be the recipient of a fine scholarship that will allow him to pursue his Ph.D., for which he had already been accepted in the doctoral program.

Congratulations, Cameron. We are all proud of you and thankful for the way that God is using you. Keep up the good work.

It happened a little over a week ago, but I am just now finding the time to write about it. My two sons and I took a field trip to our favorite haunt, St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge. It would take a whole series of posts to describe all that we saw and experienced, but it was an incredible day observing the glory of God in His creation.

We were able to get within arm’s length of baby alligators, saw some awesome sights on a hiking trail, identified over 50 different species of birds, had a nice picnic lunch, took a boat ride on the nearby Wakulla River where we saw a 12 1/2 foot long gator literally launch himself out of the water in an attempt to catch a FLYING great blue heron. We then went swimming in the 69 degree water of the springs there. We grilled some brats and sausage for supper and discovered a new dessert that was almost too good to be true, ROASTED CHOCOLATE MARSHMALLOWS STUCK BETWEEN THE SEPARATED PARTS OF AN OREO COOKIE. (Kings should eat so well.) We saw deer, a raccoon, got buzzed by a bat, serenaded by bullfrogs and illuminated by fireflies.

It was a trip that started at 7:30 A.M. and ended about 10:00 P.M. and it was non-stop, but we all decided we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Here are a few pictures of some of the things we saw.

Is God great or what?

Dr. Adrian Rogers once told the story of a young Indian prince who became the leader of his province while he was still a child. As this was during the time when India was a part of the British Empire, it was customary for such rulers to visit Queen Victoria and pay homage to her.

In an effort to impress her, he ignored the the counsel of his advisors and presented, as a gift to the Queen, a very large and precious diamond. This diamond was without question the most valuable item that was in his province.

Years went by and the prince became a man. Twenty years or so passed before he visited London again. The Queen’s counsellors told her that it was possible that this prince would request the return of the diamond. If he did so, protocol demanded that she oblige him.

Sure enough, as he received his audience with the Queen, he asked her if he could have the diamond. She commanded that the gem be returned to the prince. Upon receiving it, he turned to Her Majesty with the stone in hand and said, “Your Highness, when I gave this diamond to you, I was only a child. I did not understand the value of this gem and what it represented for the people I rule. Now that I am a man, I do realize the value of it and what it means. As a man, I now give you this stone again.”

Many of us have made commitments to God at earlier times in our lives. Perhaps at a revival, concert, youth camp or some other event, we made a “decision” for Christ that we might not have fully understood. Since that time we have come to a fuller awareness of exactly what was at stake. Maybe it is time that we renewed that commitment to God with the full knowledge of what we are doing, motivated by love for Him.

“He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

It is with a burdened heart that I write this post. I am concerned about something that is occurring among Christian blogs even as I sit at my keyboard.

Over the past month or so I have observed and even participated in an ongoing discussion among evangelical bloggers. This conversation has primarily been among those who would identify themselves in alignment with Free Grace theology or a more centrist soteriological position. These are people that I believe are sincere in what they believe and I look at them as my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Debates among bloggers are certainly not unusual occurrences. Having often engaged in them myself, I find that they can be stimulating, challenging and generally enriching when conducted in a gracious spirit.

What concerns me in this particular situation, however, is the devolvement of the dialogue into a playground brawl. I have observed name-calling, childish attempts at deceit, intimidation tactics, taunting, false accusations and even people questioning one another’s salvation. Instead of getting better, the problems are escalating, even spilling over onto blogs that are not even a part of the discussion. Not everyone involved in the debate has stooped to such tactics, but many have.

I have watched as pastors, teachers, theologians, students, authors and lay-persons alike have sullied themselves in this fray and are doing so head-long with little regard to possible consequences.

Brothers and sisters, I implore you in the name of our Lord, let us put an end to this maliciousness. I am not asking anyone to compromise their beliefs, or even end the discussion. The truth of the gospel is always worth proclaiming, but let us do so in a Christ-like spirit.

Let us keep in mind that while we may consider this to be an intramural debate, this forum is visible before the whole world. We must remember that this is being observed by those who do not know our Lord. Do we honestly think that this will have the effect of drawing them to Him?

I am sure that each person involved is convinced of the rightness of their particular theological position. That is between them and the Lord. But nowhere does God ever give us license to treat each other with such acidic behavior, even if the other person is a “heretic”.

I do not write this to sound arrogant or judgemental. This is merely a plea from my heart to those who will hear it. Let us treat one another with the same grace that God has extended to us.

“Preacher, can I please be saved?” the little six-year-old boy asked me during the invitation after yesterday’s sermon.

I instructed him to have a seat on the front pew and I told him I would talk to him after the service. When everyone was gone, he and his mother joined me in my office where I had the privilege of showing him the truth of the gospel and leading him to Christ.

As he called on the Lord to save him, he reached a point in his prayer where he said, “Jesus, I want to stop doing bad things and start doing good things.” I was not asking him to “repeat after me” or anything else. This was what was in his heart as he asked God for the gift of salvation.

With all of the debates and definitions that surround the word “repentance”, I must say that this is about as clear and biblical a definition as one will find.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still kickin’ down here in south Georgia.

 As you can see, I haven’t posted a lot this year. There are several really good reasons and a whole bunch of excuses. As with many of us, the demands of life have mandated that blogging be pushed to a back burner for the time being.

I hope to be able to get back to a higher level of frequent posting soon. In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts on the election, NCAA basketball tournament (go Duke!), theology or any other family-friendly topic.

 God bless you and keep you in His love and grace.

A busier-than-usual beginning to the year has not left me a lot of time for creative writing. I hesitate to make my first post of the nova annum political in nature, but there are a few things  that I would like to say about the on-going Republican presidential primary election.

As with most of the country, it has been with great interest that I have observed the narrowing of the field from the eight or so candidates who began the race to the two serious horses still on the track. Thanks to the 24/7 rumor news mills and the abundance of information available on the internet, I feel as though I am better informed in this election than in any I have ever witnessed.

It is also with great interest, and a degree of puzzlement, I might add that I have observed the response of a number of Christian leaders and conservative pundits to John McCain’s emergence as the front-runner for the nomination.

After much prayer and thoughtful consideration, I voted for John McCain on Super Tuesday. I realize that he didn’t win my state, but if I had to do it again, I would not change my vote. I will most certainly vote for him in the general election in November if he gets the nod as the Republican candidate.

I chose McCain because of his leadership abilities, his practicality, his willingness to say what he believes and not just what people want to hear, and his proven conservative (yes, that’s right) track-record on moral issues. I believe he will do the right thing by our military, our economy, illegal immigration and given the opportunity will appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.

Another reason I chose McCain is his ability to reach across the aisle. For too long now, our nation’s government has been grid-locked by the childish bickering and maneuvering that goes on between the two parties. I realize that there are certain core issues that cannot be compromised, but at some point, Congress must grow up and realize that on most issues, there is common ground between the two ideologies. This is what is best for the country. I believe that McCain is best suited for finding this common ground and making us a stronger nation.

Here is where my puzzlement lies with many of the conservative mouth-pieces. For years now, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, et al, have raised hue and cry about the Democrats’ unreasonable attitude and unwillingness to work together. Now, given the opportunity to support a candidate who is capable of effecting this, they choose to withdraw into their corner and pout, threatening to vote for Hillary (what?!?) or Obama (WHAT?!?) or even worse, not even vote at all. Their theory is, “We will let the country have four to eight years of liberal leadership and then they will see why we need a conservative president.” Ignoring the potential damage that this could bring to the country, they are demonstrating at best a shortsightedness, and at worst an arrogant spitefulness that shows that they value their ideas above their country. In my opinion, this makes them no better than the liberals that they so handily criticize for the same thing.

If these individuals wish to sit out the upcoming election, that is their right. I would suggest, however, that if they do so and the true liberals win, they have forfeited their credibility and have no right to complain about the leadership that the Clintons or Obama will bring to the Whitehouse.

After weighing all the issues, it is my opinion that John McCain might just turn out to be the best president we have had since Ronald Reagan. Conservative voters need to follow Mitt Romney’s lead and get behind him. Otherwise, we can prepare ourselves for the political and moral nightmare that the alternative will bring.

The only thing that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.  Edmund Burke

Due to a busy holiday schedule and fighting a bad cold the last couple of weeks, I haven’t had a lot of time for productive blogging. Hopefully, after the new year, things will settle down and return to normal (whatever THAT is).

 In the meantime, I want to wish all who come by this site a very Merry Christmas. I hope that the hope, joy, peace and love that characterizes the birth of Lord fills your life. I pray that you and your family will be warmed and filled with the bounty of God’s graciousness.

I pray for our troops. May they be successful in their endeavors, safe in their tours of duty and may our leaders agree upon a reasonable plan to get them home as soon as possible.

I pray for our missionaries. May they know the presence of their Master in a very special way. May God bless them and keep them and give them souls for their labors.

Most of all, I pray that everyone who reads this has received the greatest Christmas gift of all, the eternal life that is found only in the Jesus whose birth we are celebrating. Unto Him be all glory, honor and praise.

 Merry Christmas.

You can’t tell the Christmas story without including the visit of the wise men. They have always been favorites of mine for some reason. Every year, I would try to land the part of playing one of them in the church Christmas program and one of the first carols I learned was, “We Three Kings”.

Jesus came as the Savior of the world. We know that He will come again as King of Kings. To those of us who are believers in Him, this time of year is a wonderful celebration of the birth of our Savior. Between now and Easter we will think about His life, ministry, death and, of course, His resurrection. Our Savior and our salvation are real and that is a cause of great joy for us, is it not?

I am afraid, though, that many Christians do not celebrate Him as our king. We often think of His sovereignty in an abstract sense, some foggy concept of a future kingdom here on earth where He will rule the nations with a rod of iron.

And yet according to Philippians 2, God has already rewarded His obedience with a name that is above every name. Romans 8:9-10 states that we must believe in the “Lord Jesus Christ” in order to be saved. He is Lord and King right now. We cannot divorce His identity as Savior from His identity as King.

There are some who want Him to be the Lord over certain parts of their lives. They want His lordship to reign over their illnesses, their needs, their weaknesses and their negative circumstances, but they are not willing to submit their strengths, their abundances and their good times to Him.

The wise men came to Jesus on His terms as God had called them. They worshipped Him as He was, for Who He was. Whether or not they understood the full reason for His coming is unclear, but one thing is for sure, these men knew royalty when they saw it, and in the Christ child, they saw their King.

I hope that each of us will celebrate Him as Savior during this season but may that celebration continue throughout the whole year as we live our lives in submission to the commands of our King.

Christmas is in the air!

Most of us have many traditions that we observe during this time. Some are old, some a little newer. For the enjoyment of all and the sake of getting better acquainted with one another, would you mind sharing with us some of your traditions? Perhaps an old and a new?

 Our family has always opened one gift on Christmas Eve. (That was an old one.)

On a newer note, for the last three years we have begun using an Advent wreath. It has led to some very meaningful times of family worship.

How about you?