What's Your Testimony?

The other day we were in church and the pastor asked for testimonies. So naturally my mind began to think 'OK, what can I testify about?'. The funny thing is that I didn't or couldn't think about any particular 'thing' that God had done for me. All I could think about was the following verse.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

To be honest, at first it suprised me because I don't normally think about Scripture when I think of a testimony. But after thinking about it for awhile I was thrilled - although it may be hard to put into words why. I just know that right now in my life it's not about things - it's about Him. It's not about victories or miracles or even answered prayers - it's about dying to self so that He can live in me.

So that verse literally is my testimony. So here's my question to you - what verse of Scripture would you choose to be your testimony?

Restoration? Not for Me.

A friend of mine gave me a CD a few weeks ago and asked me to listen to it. It contained a message from a preacher and she said that there were some things in it that just didn't sound right and she wanted me to listen to it. I only got about 5 minutes into the message when the word "Restoration" started to come up. Now anytime I hear that word my ears prick up and I listen very carefully. Why? Because that is a favorite word of the false teachers. They all want to pass along some nugget of truth that is going to "restore" some blessing that you've either lost or never knew you had.

Go search the New Testament for that word. You'll see if a few times regarding things such as restoring a brother who has sinned, a withered hand restored, sight being restored or Zaccheus restoring what he had stolen. But you never see it mentioned - at all - with regard to the restoration of spiritual blessings. There is a reason for that - there is nothing to restore.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ - Ephesians 1:3

Christ is sufficient! In Him we are blessed with EVERY spiritual blessing. We have everything we need and lack nothing.

"... in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - Colossians 2:3

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." - Colossians 2:9

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:8

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" - 1 Corinthians 1:30

Restoration? Not for me. I'm complete in Him. I have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, all joy, all peace, all value, all meaning, all truth, all purpose, all hope, all fulfillment - all in Christ.

Afraid to Ask

When we read the Bible, I think that we sometimes forget that the people involved were men and women just like us. Even as I wrote that sentence, I started to refer to them as "characters" instead of people - but I realized that calling them that lends itself to the idea that they are players in a drama, or participants in a story. But they were real, breathing human beings with all the flaws and faults that we ourselves have. For example, notice the following scripture:

For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him. - Mark 9:31-32

You see, I can identify with the disciples. There have been many times in my life where I did not understand certain spiritual things, but I was afraid to ask. Lately I've asked myself why that was. What makes us afraid to delve further into things that we don't understand? Don't we want to know the truth? In my case, I think there are a couple of reasons:

The first reason, unfortunately, is spiritual pride. Spiritual pride can make a person afraid to ask questions because they don't want other people to think less about them. Think about the disciples for a minute. Don't you think that people looked at them differently as they walked with Jesus? Thought that they were more knowledgeable, more spiritual than other people because they were close to Him? Do you think they struggled with spiritual pride? Of course they struggled with it. In fact, if you go back and read Mark 9 in its entirety you'll see that while they were on the road to Capernaum they were disputing amongst themselves who was the greatest.

The second reason is lack of faith. I have been afraid to delve further into things because I was afraid of what I might find - afraid that the answer I uncovered might not fit into my nice little structured view of Christianity. I was more comfortable just going with what I'd always been taught as opposed to digging into the Word of God to find out if my tradition lined up with the Scripture.

What was in the disciples minds that day on the road through Galilee? I don't know. Was it spiritual pride - were they all afraid to be the first one to speak up and say "I don't understand what you are saying"? Or was it lack of faith? They were looking for a King to restore the glory of Israel, not a suffering Messiah. Would delving further into His statement of death and resurrection somehow shatter their views and beliefs? Were they afraid to ask because they were afraid of what the answer might be?

What about you? Have you ever been afraid to ask?

A Social Gospel? (Part 2)

Over the last 25 years, there has been a movement among American Christians to get involved in calling our nation to a higher level of morality. We are encouraged to engage our energy, our resources, our time and our money in an effort to politically change the moral climate of our country. And let me state that this desire for morality and virtue is a noble one. We should desire virtue, integrity, honesty and morality. These traits are God's will for our lives. We all support Biblical morality - what Christian could do less? It is our responsibility to address sin, to confront sin, to call it what it is, to expose it and to attack it. But that's really not the issue. It's not about whether we're against immorality - of course we're against immorality, of course we desire righteousness rather than unrighteousness. But how we get there, how we produce that morality - that is the issue.

We have to ask ourselves - is this the Christian mandate? Is this our ministry? As always, we must turn to the Scriptures to see what is said there.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

There it is, clear as a bell. Herein lies the mandate and ministry for the Christian in the world - the ministry of reconciliation to God through Christ which brings about righteousness, transformation and a new creation. God is pleading with the world through us to be reconciled to Him, and in this reconciliation - this new creation - there alone lies the ability to practice the morality, virtue and righteousness that we all long for. We can add to this the great commission, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel." If we are not fulfilling our commission then we're doing something that we have not been mandated by God to do. Anything other than this, no matter how noble, is off target.

Are we to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the sick? Absolutely! Can we volunteer in hospitals, pregnancy centers, schools and homeless shelters? Yes, yes and yes! But notice in all these cases that we are only helping, fulfilling our purpose to be the salt and light of the world - not trying to enforce morality. Moralism has never been the message of the Scriptures. Isaiah said, "All your righteousness is as filthy rags." Romans says "There is none righteous, not even one. There's none that understands. There's none who seeks after God." So whatever imaginary righteousness men have, whatever superficial morality they may exhibit - in the end it gains them absolutely nothing. Men can come through some crisis and decide to clean up their life. They can turn away from living an immoral life and begin to live a cleaner, better life - and it has no bearing on their relationship to God. Whatever somebody's external degree of morality might be, all are condemned sinners headed to hell. You might be the most moral Pharisee in Israel, you might be the most moral rabbi, you might be the most moral cleric, the most moral Mormon - unless you are reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ it will make no difference whatsoever.

So we can see how dangerous it is for us to be diverted from the singular ministry and mandate that we've been given. This effort at cultural morality has many issues -here are a few notes and comments to think about:

• It wastes tremendous amounts of precious resources, time, money and energy. It doesn't matter whether you go to hell as a prostitute or a preacher, it only matters that you go to hell. We spend all this effort to clean up America through political and legislative means - but as Jeremiah asked "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or can the leopard change his spots"? Ephesians 5:16 says, "Make the most of your time because the days are evil and understand what the will of the Lord is and don't be foolish." The will of the Lord is to preach the message of reconciliation. To do something else is to be foolish and to waste time.


• It is bound for inevitable failure because you can't do it. No one can be truly righteous and moral before God apart from the transformation of his soul by the Holy Spirit through the gospel. If you don't change the heart, all you do is redirect the sin. If some sins become illegal, then people will just commit other sins or they'll commit the illegal ones in secret.


• It fails to understand the nature of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said "My Kingdom is not of this world." There's no connection between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. To spend all your time and energy and effort fighting for some element of human society is asanine and fails to understand the nature of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is the realm of salvation where God rules over and blesses those who are in Christ. Why is it that somehow we've gotten this idea that we have to position America politically for the advancement of the Kingdom of God? They have absolutely no connection. I've heard people say, "If America keeps going the way it's going then we'll lose our freedom to preach and practice the Gospel". Let me state this clearly - there is nothing that can be done on the face of the earth by men politically or socially that has any impact whatsoever on the purposes of God in redemption.


• It fails to understand the spiritual significance of the salt and light as indicated in Matthew 5. People that promote a political and cultural solution to the problems in America today say "Well, we have to be the salt and the light". That is true. But the salt and light that Jesus is talking about are not moral influence, they are the gospel witness and the power of holy living. It is the imagery of us shining forth the truth (light) and the preservative of godly living and the manifestation of good works (salt).


• It has no New Testament model or pattern to follow except the Pharisees. They were the moral ones. Jesus said about them "When you're through making somebody a convert to your morality, you have made him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." I don't think I would be rejoicing to live in a Pharisaic dominated society - dominated by the mandates of self-righteous, cruel, merciless legalists who laid heavy burdens on people and gave them no help to bear them. There is no New Testament model for political action - absolutely none.


• It creates unholy unions in which the unbelieving and enemies of the gospel are joined together. You can find a lot of non-Christians - Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. - to agree that we ought to have a more moral country. Political alliances are then created in order to work for certain moral causes. When you create these unions you do exactly what 2 Corinthians 6 says not to do, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has light with darkness, what agreement has Christ with Satan? Come out from among them and be separated." But this is exactly what you get when you're trying to achieve something through the legal system, the court system, through lobbying or through the media - you embrace other people who agree on the issue regardless of their spiritual status. The gospel is eclipsed and takes a back seat to the aims of the organization. Once that happens, it starts to stretch the boundaries of the Kingdom of God to embrace these people who are not in Christ, and before you know it we are accepting a Gospel of Inclusivism.


• It is very selective as to the sins it attacks. You don't find people fighting against a sin like pride. You don't see a great effort against materialism, divorce or adultery. It's a fight against homosexuality, pedophilia, abortion and pornography. Those are all "big" sins that we can all agree on. But let me tell you - it does not deal with the biggest sin in the world. The greatest commandment is "To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Therefore doesn't if follow that to break that commandment is the greatest sin - to have failed to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? If you want to go after America's immorality, then let's indict the whole nation for not loving God. If we're going to call America to morality, then let's indict them where they need to be indicted and let's indict our own hearts where we need to be indicted and say we've broken the first and great commandment and we do it all the time and therefore we are all condemned to hell in desperate need of grace and forgiveness and salvation. That's the message.


• It fails to understand the true nature of spiritual warfare. To engage in human political efforts is not spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is smashing down all human ideologies with the truth of God. You have a whole world of people who think wrong. They think wrong about themselves. They think wrong about God. They think wrong about Christ if they think about Him at all. They need to think differently. They need to know the truth. They need to know the gospel. They need to know the truth about themselves, the truth about God, the truth about Christ, the truth about His work, the truth about salvation, grace, forgiveness. And it's when you bring that truth to the person and you engage in the war with their mind so that you can bring the truth to bear upon wrong thinking, that's the real spiritual war. So what is the church to be doing? To be preaching the glorious, extensive, complete and whole message of redemption in Jesus Christ and to take that great message to these people who are fortified in these ideological fortresses in which literally they're going to die unless somebody smashes the walls of those lying fortifications with the truth. It's a spiritual war - not a political one.


• It makes those we are commanded to lovingly reach with the gospel into the enemy rather than the mission field. The unbelievers, the immoral, the pornographers, the homosexuals and the abortionists all become vilified and hated within the Christian community. They become the enemies. But they aren't the enemies - they are the mission field. We need to make sure that the sinners in the world know that we love them enough to offer them forgiveness. The old adage of "hate the sin but love the sinner" still stands true.


• It reverses the divine order. That is, it makes morality the power for salvation. The idea is if we could get a more moral America, then it gives more opportunity to deliver the gospel and more people are going to believe the gospel. And that's really a reverse of the divine order. Morality is not the power for salvation, salvation is the power for morality.

So there are the problems - the reasons why I believe that it is wrong to try and enforce a cultural morality on this nation and any other. So what are we to do? Well, I could tell you what I believe we should do, but Sherry said it much better in her comment than I ever could.

Sherry's Comment:

I think it is right to vote according to the values of the Bible, not our wallets or our political party. I am not against campaigning for a Christian Candidate. I have done it. However, I know that my blessings do not come from Washington D.C., they come from the Creator of the Universe! My hope is in Jesus Christ and my life is in His hands, not the President, Congress, or anyone else for that matter.

When I read this blog this morning and the comments, all I could think about were weeds. Sounds crazy doesn't it? Let me explain:

There was a time that I had a huge yard. I desperately wanted to have a lawn that was just eye catching and felt like carpet when you walked on it (weird, I know). However, when I looked out over the yard all I could see were weeds! Have you ever tried pulling the "endless weed"? I would pull one, and it seemed like it would not only reappear in a few days, but it would bring company! I felt hopeless. I had children who played in the yard, pets whom made our yard their haven, so no chemicals were going to be used on the weeds. But how on earth would I get rid of them? One day I finally figured it out! Plant more GRASS! And so I did. I bought a huge bag of centipede grass seeds and got busy! Those grass seeds sprouted and grew and before I knew it, the grass choked out the weeds! If I planted more of the very thing I wanted and spent less time trying to pull out the very thing I didn’t want, I got better results. Go figure!

Our country is full of weeds, better known as sin. I look at our society, I see weeds of depravity, weeds of moral decline, weeds of political corruption, weeds of violence, weeds of abuse and weeds of crimes against other human beings, weeds of hate, weeds of pride, and I see the weeds that entangle the lost and keep them prisoners of the enemy. It does make you want to just jump up, run out and start snatching up weeds. But what if we planted grass instead? (1 Corinthians 3:6)

Picketing abortion clinics are like trying to pull weeds that are scattered out in a million acres, but supporting homes for unwed mothers or mentoring teens and pouring Christian values into their lives are like planting the grass.

Instead of spending time getting signatures against gay marriages (pulling weeds), why don't Christians spend more time with their spouses, have good marriages and be godly role models for their families and communities (that's planting grass).

We need to be planters. And who knows if each Christian would plant grass in their community, in their area of influence, could it be we wouldn’t have to worry so much about the weeds?

We need to take a stand in America alright, but it needs to be on our knees praying for this lost and dying world. Instead of looking at people with disgust, can we see the weeds that entangle them and mourn for their condition? Could we drop our TV remotes, movie theatre tickets, shopping trip plans, or endless hours on Facebook, or whatever seems to steal our time, and get on our faces and weep for souls? This is the watering.

A Social Gospel? (Part 1)

I'm going to try something a little different with this blog. I normally tell you what I think and then let you comment, but this time I'm going to turn it around. I have some questions to ask and then I'd like to see your comments and answers. I'll then come back in a few days with 'Part 2' and let you know what I think. I'll tell you up front that the questions - and probably the answers - may not be simple.

Several weeks ago our Sunday School class was going through the C.S. Lewis book Mere Christianity. In one of the chapters he asked the question "Should Christians try and force their morality on unbelievers?". That is a great question and it really got me thinking. We live in an age today where the Evangelical Church in general is significantly involved in trying to influence the culture in which we live. Is that right or wrong?

If that's too general a question then let's get more specific:

• Should Christians involve themselves in politics and political campaigns to try and elect officials who hold their same values?
  
• Should Christians involve themselves in the anti-abortion movement and activities such as picketing clinics?


• Should Christians campaign politically against same-sex marriage and go door-to-door to collect signatures against it?

Those are just a few of the issues, but there are many others. Like I said, the answers are not always simple and easy, but I want to encourage you to think about this. I look forward to your comments.

When Did I Get Saved?

I have thought about writing this blog for awhile, but I put it off for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was afraid that some might misunderstand what I'm trying to say. Secondly, I'm not that proud of what I'm going to tell you. The road I've traveled to the faith I have today is not a story of faithfulness and steadfastness on my part. However, after much thought I decided to go ahead, because I think the point I'm trying to make is worth the risk.

12 Years Old - I attended a "Royal Ambassadors" summer camp with other boys in a local Baptist church. The days were filled with activities, but every evening they held a church service with different speakers. One evening an old missionary was speaking and at the end of the service he gave an invitation. Although that was 34 years ago, I still have that 'picture' in my mind. Conviction came upon me and I knew I needed to be saved, so that evening I accepted the invitation and walked down the aisle.

I don't remember much about that experience - it was a long time ago. I don't remember what the missionary said and I don't remember what I said. I do remember that afterward they took us to an area for additional counseling and I distinctly remember crying like a baby. What I do know is that at 12 years old I didn't have much of a grasp of theology. I didn't know about repentance or atonement, justification or sanctification. I just knew if you wanted to get saved you 'walked down the aisle'. So that is what I did - I walked down that aisle and asked Christ to be Lord of my life.

18 Years Old - As a teenager I did my own thing. I attended church with my family, but my heart was far away from God. But after graduation from high school things began to change. I knew it was time to put away childish things. An older lady came to visit our family and we sat down to talk one Saturday evening. Even though she was an older woman and on the outside we had nothing in common, she had Christ in her in a way that I've seen few other people have. The next day I walked the aisle again to ask Christ to be Lord of my life.

33 Years Old - Over the past few years I've married and started a family. I have a good job so that my wife is able to stay home and raise the children. We attend church regularly, but God is not my priority. He is important in my life, but He is not the most important part of my life.

Then my daughter dies and my faith falls apart. I won't go into all the details of those years, but suffice it to say it was a hard, hard time. Not just because of the natural grief you experience, but because of the loss of faith. When the entire world view that you held of God is questioned - His goodness, His compassion, His mercy - in some ways that is even worse than the grief.

I questioned everything about God, even His very existence. But somewhere down deep in my soul I knew He was real. All the 'junk' got stripped away and all that was left was a miniscule faith that said, like Peter, "Where else can I go? You alone have the words of life". So again, I asked Christ to be Lord of my life.

Today - I am saved - there is absolutely no doubt in my mind. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. How do I know? Because I have examined and tested myself in the light of the truth of Scripture.

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. - 2 Corinthians 13:5

Here's my point that I want to drive home: I cannot look back and base my salvation on an event that occurred when I was 12 or 18 or 33. Even now I'm not exactly sure when and where it occurred. But the important thing is that it has occurred. I have to base my salvation on 'today'. How many people are out there today that would say they are saved because they walked down an aisle or signed a card 20 years ago - yet there is no evidence of a living faith in their life today? That is a very dangerous thing to do. It is so important that we continually examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

John Macarthur gives the following illustration:

"A family sent their child to a high school camp. At camp, this kid broke down and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The youth director told the parents that the kid had made a genuine commitment to Christ, and confessed sin and was so thrilled with a new faith. And the parents were irate because, they said, we were with him when he made his childhood decision. How dare you question the reality of that decision? And they yanked the kid out of the youth group."

Do you see how ridiculous and dangerous that is - to base your salvation on an event that occurred years ago as opposed to a current and living faith?

I hope that no one has misunderstood me. It's not my intention to belittle someone's salvation experience. Many people can pinpoint an exact place, date and time that they invited Christ into their lives, and I think that is a wonderful thing and should be cherished. However, others may find that they cannot do that. I would think that we can all agree that what is important in either case - what is vital - is the genuineness of our faith today.

For He says: “ In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:2

Truth Hurts

There is an old adage that says 'the truth hurts'. Just recently this was brought home to me in my life when I found out that something I had thought to be true about myself was, in fact, not true. Now some will say that finding out the truth is always a good thing. But if we're honest with ourselves, I think we will admit that sometimes we find out things we'd just as soon have never known. That is true in my case - finding out the truth hurt.

I learned a real lesson in this. I had an idea about myself of who I thought I really was - but it turned out I wasn't that person. With that reality comes disappointment. But truth is like that - it is not discriminating. What I mean by that is that truth really doesn't regard the results. It just shines the light on the darkness and what is there is there. We have to deal with what the truth uncovers, and many times that can hurt.

So we all have a choice to make - do we let the light of the truth uncover the darkness in our lives and then deal with it? Or do we do like Pontius Pilate?

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all. - John 18:37-38

Now what really jumps out at me from this passage is the following line:

"And when he had said this, he went out ..."

You see, Pilate asked the question and then just walked away - not waiting for the answer because he wasn't interested in the truth. He had 'the Truth' right in front of him, but he wasn't willing to address it. Many of us do the same thing - we are unwilling to let the truth in because we know it will hurt. It will not only show us things about ourselves that we don't like, but it will demand that we address those issues.

I mentioned earlier that truth shines the light into the darkness. One of the things you see in Scripture is that 'truth' and 'light' go hand in hand. One does not exist or work without the other.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” - John 3:20-21

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. - 1 John 1:6

Is it hard to let the truth and light into every area of our life - to uncover hidden sins and corruption we don't want to admit are really there? Of course it's hard. But look at the next verse.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:7

This is an amazing verse of scripture. Do you see how it works? As we walk in light and truth, sin will naturally be uncovered in our life. As a result, we are able to confess that sin and be cleansed through His blood. So in effect, the very fact that sin is being brought into the light and disposed of is a direct consequence of walking in the light and truth - it is a direct consequence of being His child!

In fact, John drives home the point in the next verse:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. - 1 John 1:8

Wow. He's saying the ability to recognize and confess your sin is a test of being a child of God, while those who do not or cannot recognize their sin show evidence that they are not His.

Does the truth hurt sometimes? Sure it does. It hurts when we think we are one thing and the truth of God shows us that we are something else. But we need to understand the process - that He is uncovering things that need to be cleansed so that we can be purified and become a vessel of honor for Him.

Staying In Our Lane

In the world today there is an all out war being waged - an assault on the Truth. One of the things that frustrates me sometimes is that I feel my part in this war is so small. This may not be true of all of us, but I think that many of us from time to time just want our voices to be heard. The Truth can seem so clear to us that we just want to shout it from the housetops so the whole world can hear it - but I don't have that ability. We look at others and see what they are doing in their lives and in their ministries and in comparison our contributions can seem so small. That's why the following scripture is so encouraging to me. Paul says that we have all been given a 'sphere' of influence - in other words, a lane to run in.

2 Corinthians 10:12-18

12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you.

14 For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; 15 not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, 16 to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

17 But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

• Recognize your lane

Look around you and make sure that you are aware of your lane. Many a person has run off chasing spheres of influence and forgotten their most immediate area of importance - their family. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters; be the person God has called you to be within your family and make sure to encourage, exhort and be a help to those around you.

If you are called to a ministry within your local body of believers - secretary, usher, mentor, teacher, etc. - then that is the lane you are called to run in. At some point in the future God may choose to expand your lane or even give you another one - but while you are where you are fight the battle there. You are called to hold that one place in the line - don't let the enemy through!

• Be content in your lane

Your lane may not be as big as someone else's, but it's yours and it's been given to you by God. Don't get caught up in comparing yourselves to others and what they may or may not be doing(in fact, Paul says he "wouldn't dare" compare himself to others). That is not your business. Do what God has called you to do and be content with it. If you are doing good and great things are happening for you - give the glory to God and don't take it for yourself. Even if it seems that 'little' is getting done - give the glory to God and thank him for the opportunity that you've been given. If you are giving everything you have in your lane then God will do the commending at the proper time.

• Give your all in your lane

Most importantly - give it your all. Don't look back at the end of the race and say to yourself 'I could have given more'. Life is so short - run the race with everything you have.

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31

Did She Know?

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” - John 2:1-5

We are all probably very familiar with the story of Jesus turning the water into wine. But it's a story that has always perplexed me. We are told in the Scriptures that "this beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee". So we know that this was His first miracle. He had never performed one previously.

So why would His mother tell the servants "Whatever He says to you, do it"? Did she expect Him to perform a miracle? Did she expect Him to make wine appear in some way? If your answer to that is "yes", then I would have to ask you another question - Why? If he had never peformed a miracle before - why in the world would she even expect one? Did she somehow know that this was going to be the site of the first miracle of His ministry?

What do you think? I'd like to hear your comments.

The Amazing Bible

The more I learn about the Bible, the more I come to understand what an amazing book it really is. The Bible was written thousands of years before we had all the scientific knowledge that we have today, and yet there is not one single statement in the Bible that contradicts known scientific facts. Contrast that with other 'holy' books like the Hindu Bible. In the sacred writings of the Hindus you find such nonsense as this:

"The moon is 50,000 leagues higher than the sun, and shines by its own light.”

“Night is caused by the sun setting behind a huge mountain several thousand feet high located in the center of the earth.”

Keep in mind that if the skeptics could find even one single statement like that in the Scriptures then the Bible would be discredited completely - but they can't. In fact, we find just the opposite. The Scriptures reveal a source of knowledge far ahead of its time - a source that could only be divine.

“He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.” - Job 26:7

For thousands of years people thought the earth had to be somehow supported by something. Yet Job - without the benefit of a telescope of modern science - said that the earth was hung on nothing. How did he know that?

“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers - Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” - Isaiah 40:22

For thousands of years people thought the earth was flat, even into the middle ages. But Isaiah somehow knew that the earth was a circle. How did he know that?

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away … I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.” Luke 17:31-34

I don't know if you've ever noticed this scripture before - but note that in the first part Jesus says "in that day" but later he says "in that night". Now he's only talking about a single event - one that would have to occur in the day and the night. He could only say that if he knew it was day on one side of the earth and night on the other side.

“Have you entered the treasury of snow,or have you seen the treasury of hail?” Job 38:22

When Job made this statement no one had yet looked at a snowflake under a microscope and discovered the wonders of it. How did he know that?

“You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen - Even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.” - Psalms 8:6-8

It would be thousands of years before scientist discovered that there are actually 'rivers' or 'channels' that run throughout the seas and oceans. How did the psalmist know that already?

“A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.” - Number 19:18

Did you know? In the Old Testament hyssop was used as a purifying agent. Science has shown that hyssop oil has been shown to contain 50% anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agents. How would they have known that then?

“He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.” - Genesis 17:12

Did you know? Medical researchers recently discovered that the two main blood clotting factors, Vitamin K and Prothrombim, reach their highest level in life, about 110% of normal, on the 8th day after birth. These blood clotting agents facilitate rapid healing and greatly reduce the chance of infection. Any circumcision done earlier requires an injection of Vitamin K supplement. How would they know that?

I've recently been studying the 'history' of the Bible, including how it was accumulated and how it was transmitted down to us. Throughout history it has been attacked again and again by unbelievers, attempting to discredit and destroy it. But it has withstood them all and continues to be the only source of truth. The evidence for its divine authorship is simply amazing.