From victory to depression

I preached about Elijah from 1 Kings 18 & 19 last night, so he is still fresh on my mind today. It is hard for me to put so much work in preparing a sermon, and then totally let it go once it is finished. They tend to linger with me a few days until I get really heavily involved in preparing the next one. So I have an Elijah hangover today in that regard.

In 1 Kings 18 & 19 Elijah takes on the 450  prophets of Baal. He throws down a challenge to them.

1 Kings 18:23-24 "Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox, and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people answered and said, "That is a good idea."

As the story goes, the prophets of Baal call on the name of their god. They get no answer. Then Elijah calls on the name of the Lord.

1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

Elijah is used by the Lord to show forth HIS great power. Elijah calls down fire from heaven and has the prophets of Baal put to death. What a great spiritual victory! You would expect that Elijah might be really super encouraged by the fact that the Lord used him in such a great way and that he might be able to live off the spiritual momentum of that event for a long time. Yet just as soon as Jezebel finds out what has happened she threatens Elijah. Elijah, the brave man of God, runs and hides. He becomes so depressed that he asks the Lord to kill him.

What does this little story teach us? Well lots of things. Among them that if a guy like Elijah who was used so powerfully by God can get depressed to the point that he no longer wants to live, then it can happen to any of us. Notice what Elijah does in 1 Kings 19:5. He goes to sleep. Then an angel of the Lord was sent to minister to Elijah. How does the angel minister to him? The angel gives Elijah something to eat and drink then lets Elijah sleep some more.

Not always, but sometimes depression is brought about by too much activity. That could possibly be what is going on with Elijah in this story. I suggest this as a possibility because the treatment for the depression as administered by the angel does not involve counseling or any type of pep talk....the remedy is food and sleep.


I do not mean to over simplify a debilitating condition like depression. For a man in my position to do so would be irresponsible and reckless. So please do not think I am suggesting in all cases that the only thing depressed people need to do is eat a meal and take a nap and all will be better. I am not suggesting that at all, but sometimes when we get temporarily depressed it is because of over activity.

Are you getting enough rest or are you burning the candle at both ends? It will catch up with you eventually.

Jesus needed down time....so do you.

Watching closely

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."


I support Israel. The verses above govern the way I think about foreign policy as it pertains to Israel. I take the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis 12 to still be in effect today. Israel makes up the descendants of Abraham. I believe that those who bless Israel will be blessed by God and that those who curse Israel will be cursed by God. So when I say I support Israel please understand my position is not as motivated by my political views as it is my understanding and interpretation of scripture. Over the years the United States has been a strong supporter of Israel. I believe that is one of the reasons the United States has been so materially blessed in recent decades.


With the Palestinians requesting statehood before the United Nations the Israeli / Palestinian conflict has been moved to the forefront of international debate. I am watching carefully and praying intently that our government will be a friend to Israel during these days. I am praying for the Lord to turn President Obama's heart toward Israel. I am persuaded that if we are not a friend to Israel, the United States could be placed under a Genesis 12 curse. Watch with me and pray intently that the United States will bless Israel, and in turn receive a Genesis 12 blessing.

Signs of the times

Matthew 24:12 "And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.

Last night in bible study we were discussing the end times. The bible gives a description of what things will look like right before the return of Christ in Matthew 24. There are several "signs of the times" that are listed in that chapter, but one just jumped out at me in light of recent events.

The "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was just officially repealed with the United States armed forces. So now it is no longer necessary for gays and lesbians to conceal their identity. It is now totally acceptable thing for them to be gay and serve in the military. One of the local news channels sought out a lesbian sailor for an interview who was glad that she could openly declare her homosexuality and remain in the navy. This sailor made a telling comment: "Hopefully this will open the door to being able to get more benefits for gay and lesbian couples." Obviously they view the propagation of their lifestyle and philosophies as an agenda to be promoted, and this is just one building block along the way to their ultimate goal. Their ultimate goal is that the homosexual lifestyle would be viewed with total equality to traditional marriage. They will not stop until they get that. 

Proponents of  the homosexual lifestyle think they are on the side of what is morally right. They believe they are on a campaign to right a wrong in our society. We live in an age in which people call right wrong, and wrong right. It is a sign of the apostate age in which we live. It is one of the signs of the times that Jesus will return soon.

My 10 year old son asked me an odd question yesterday, "Dad, is cussing a sin?" I was rather shocked. I said, "Yes it is son, the bible says let no unwholesome talk proceed from your mouth." He said, "I knew I was right about that." I replied back, "Why do you ask?" He said, "Because one of my friends at school said he did not think it was a sin. I told him that the bible says it was wrong. He said it wasn't wrong in his opinion. But he doesn't get to decide what's right and what's wrong, God does. Right dad?" I told him, "Right son."


We don't get to make the rules. God does. And He has said homosexuality is wrong (see Romans 1:27). When we see that people in large numbers are ignoring what God has said about right and wrong, do you know what that means? I think Luke said it well:

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Look up! Jesus is coming soon!

A common theme

I am preaching messages Sunday mornings and Sunday nights that are a little different from anything I have done so far in my 11 years in the pulpit. I am preaching a series called "Life Lessons from Characters of the Bible". It is a departure from my normal approach to pulpit ministry. My favorite way to study scripture and to preach scripture is to go verse by verse through books of the bible. But I will say that it has been a blessing to do these character studies and I do see the value in other approaches to studying the bible other than strictly verse by verse.

So far I have preached about Joseph, Moses, Gideon, David, and Jonah. There is one common theme that seems to keep emerging.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are,that no man should boast before God.
 
God often chooses people to work through that are unlikely candidates. God is in the business of bringing glory to Himself, not humans. God gets the glory when something great is accomplished through someone that is not great himself, because everyone recognizes that it was not the man that accomplished it, it was the Lord working through the man. As we study characters of the bible, this idea keeps coming up over and over again. I have never done a study of any kind that has highlighted this concept in my thinking quite the way these character studies have.

It is more apparent to me now than ever that the normal course of things for the Lord is to use people who are very ordinary and very flawed when He wants to accomplish something. The characters that I have taught on so far: an arrogant man, a murderer, an adulterer, a wimp, and a disobedient man. So if you are ordinary and flawed, then you are just the type of person that God would choose to accomplish His will!!

Ministry multiplier

I have always known that ministry multiplies. What do I mean by that? When one person does ministry for another person, it encourages them in some way to minister to someone else. So in that sense ministry seems at times to multiply itself. Said another way, one random act of kindness breeds other random acts of kindness. There is a residual effect at work.

A series of events occurred yesterday afternoon that illustrate the point. If you are reading this blog I am going to assume you know my wife had shoulder surgery three weeks ago yesterday. But I understand I have some readers from outside our church, so I guess I should not assume that. She is getting better gradually, but it has been a slow process for her. Dave Barrett (a member at Bethel for readers who don't attend our church) had almost the exact same surgery done. Dave said he did not get a good nights sleep until four weeks after the surgery. He said the pain meds didn't touch the pain. So he just suffered through. I tried to tell my wife going in that it was going to be a tough recovery. Let me state plainly before God, the holy angels, and the readers of this blog that I tried to tell her. But she thought she was going to have surgery and be ready for push ups and chin ups within 48 hours, and be back to work within three or four days. So far, to her surprise, her recovery experience has mirrored that of Dave Barrett.

With Kay slowly recovering, I have taken primary responsibility for making sure there are meals for our family to eat each night. This is challenging because my repertoire is somewhat limited when it comes to cooking. Fortunate for me, my kids think McDonalds' is a five star restaurant. But last night we had a very special treat. Two precious ladies from the church made dinner and brought it by! Honey ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, dinner rolls, and brownies for desert. Can I get a witness, a hallelujah, and an amen please?

This is how that ministry was multiplied. Yesterday I had a couple of hospital visits to make and several other "loose ends" that had to be tied down before I could call it a day. I also needed to get home, pick up my son Ross and get back to the church in time for 5:00pm Upward football practice. (I am head coach of the Ravens!!). I thought to myself, "I need to get home in time to try to get something going for dinner." Then the thought occurred to me, "Wait, two of our friends from the church are bringing dinner tonight!! I do not have to worry about that. That gives me more time this afternoon." Right about that time the Holy Spirit brought to my mind one of our members who is going through a really tough time right now. She has been teaching Sunday School at Bethel longer than I have been alive. (I probably just gave it away for some of you right there). The Lord just spoke softly into my spirit and told me to go see her and encourage her....after all, you have some extra time now.

Those two ladies that brought the meal to our home last night had no idea, that in an indirect way they were helping minister to a faithful member of our congregation by their act of kindness to our family.

Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Do something randomly kind for someone else, and sit back and watch God multiply it.

Legacy

Young people do not typically think about legacy. Since turning 45 in August for some odd reason I seem to be giving the concept a little more thought than I ever have. If the Lord Jesus tarries and there is a generation that comes after I am gone to be with the Lord, what will my legacy to that generation be? I am seeing more and more it is about the impact that I can make on the lives of younger people who will be here bearing fruit for Jesus after I am in glory with God.

Sign ups for new teachers in the childrens department at Bethel have been rather slow over the summer months this year. Entering into the fall we still have less than an adequate number of adult volunteers to staff childrens ministry. In an effort to get some more workers for the harvest, Debi Tharrington who serves as Childrens Director, and I thought it might be a good idea if we have one of our faithful teachers share a word about what it has meant to teach children over the years. So Max Chappel, one of our childrens department teachers, shared a word of testimony during the morning services about what it has meant to him to teach 5th grade boys.

Something about Max's testimony really stood out to me. He shared about the impact that Mr. King (his Sunday School teacher when he was about 10 or 11 years old) had on his life. Max admitted that he was rambunctious and he knew that Mr. King wondered if any of the boys learned anything. Mr. King had no idea what he was doing when he invested in the life of Max Chappel. Little did he know that he was investing in the life of a boy, who would grow to be a man, who would then invest his life in 5th grade boys.

I wonder if one day one of the boys who have come through the 5th grade department at Bethel will be telling of the impact that Max had on his life when he was a wild 5th grader?

 Matthew 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

By investing in the lives of 10 and 11 year old boys, Mr King was laying up treasure in heaven. By investing in the lives of 5th grade boys, Max is laying up treasure in heaven. But anybody that Max is able to invest in.....Mr King had a hand in it....One day these boys Max is teaching are going to grow up, and some of them will invest their lives in others......Max will have a hand in it. This is the investment plan that keeps on giving.

Lord help me not to waste my life. Help me to be like Mr. King. Help me to leave a legacy of lives forever changed for Your glory.

Some final thoughts on humility

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

I am meditating on what humility looks like during my quiet times. I am asking the Lord to help me see where pride is at work in me. Let me tell you, it is a prayer God will answer. The last phrase of Romans 12:16 says, "do not be wise in your own estimation." Rare is the person who truly thinks that way. Most people are very opinionated. I have often said that if you get five baptists in the same room discussing anything you will have at least six opinions, because at least one will have two opinions on the same subject. It is true though, that most people think a whole lot of their opinions. I have found that a lot of people think that they are pretty wise. Why would they be so opinionated if they did not think themselves to be wise?

Now think about it. What is a person that is wise in his own estimation going to do? They are going to be pretty proud of their opinion. What is the next logical step? They will devalue the opinions and perspectives of other people whose opinions differ from theirs. The bible teaches us not to do that.

Now let me restate something that I have previously stated on this blog that I think needs to be restated at this point. We are NOT talking about doctrinal truth here. When it comes to doctrinal truth, it is not a matter of opinion. God has spoken and none of our opinons matter. The man or woman of God stands firm and unwavering on matters of doctrinal truth as put forth in scripture. What we are talking about here are things that are not black and white in the word of God, and are therefore open to opinion. Let me say that even on items that are not black and white in the word of God, there are principles in the scriptures that can be applied that help guide us as believers. The believer who desires to honor Christ will apply biblical principles in situations that the bible does not address directly.

Now with that aside, the bible teaches us that the humble man or woman does not think so highly of his own opinion. What naturally follows is an attitude of the heart that genuinley listens to others, and values their point of view, even if it differs from your own. This kind of mutual respect leads to healthy God honoring relationships. When relationships are like this in the church, it leads to a harmonious, unified body. But let a know it all enter the picture, and he can tear the church to shreds, causing division, general disharmony and leaving a wake of destruction in his path.

God, teach us to be humble so that we will have healthy Christ honoring relationships with others. May you be glorified in it.

We must never forget

There are events that shape every generation. What took place in our country ten years ago today has done more to shape life for us in our generation more than anything that I can think of. It was the date that the "war on terror" really went into full gear. I mean, we had experienced a couple of episodes here and there with terrorism up to September 11, 2001, but certainly nothing of this magnitude.

I remember where I was and what I was doing. I was in a philosophy class in at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr Bruce Little was in the middle of his lecture when someone slipped into the class and whispered something in the professor's ear. Dr Little stopped lecturing and turned on the television in the front of the classroom. We saw smoke ascending from one of the twin towers. As the reporters tried to make sense out of what was happening, we watched in shocking disbelief as the second airplane slammed into the other tower.  When the dust cleared around 3000 lost their lives that day as we entered into a new era in our history, the war on terror.

Ten years later a lot of American blood has been spilled to see to it that the war on terror is fought on foreign soil. We must never forget the people that died that day, and the people who have died in the last ten years to keep us safe and free. In spite of our problems, and they are many, I still believe that America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. The nation founded as "one nation under God" has sent more missionaries than any other nation in history to share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. So to protect America is to protect our ability to continue to carry a huge gospel witness on this planet.

Thanks to all of you who risk your lives to see that America is a safe and free. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

More on humility

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.


I am meditating on the character trait of humility from Romans 12:16 during my quiet times these last few days. The text says "Do not be haughty in mind." In other words, do not think yourself to be better than other people. The bible says that God is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34). That means he does not esteem one over another. A person's income, race, nationality, occupation, education, does not matter to Him. You have a PHD? God is not more impressed with you than someone who is a high school drop out. You have climbed the corporate ladder and have a lot of people that report to you? God is not more impressed with you than he is the lowest level employee in your company.  You have a pretty heavy bank account and can afford most anything you want? God is not any more impressed with you than he is the people who will pay for their food today with food stamps.

In the eyes of God we are all equal. Righteousness, love, faith...these are the things that get God's attention.....not the other things that are such a source of pride among people.


I have often said you can tell a lot about people by how they treat folks in low places. Watch how someone treats a server at a restaurant, or how they treat a clerk in a store. A Christian should not get nasty and treat the server or the clerk like dirt under their feet. Christians ought not to act like politicians in a social setting, only associating with those that are able to improve their social standing through the association. A Christian should not "work the room" only speaking to the most popular people in the room and ignoring the less influential ones. Humble people don't associate only with people that can benefit them in some way. The humble treat everyone equally.

Lord help us not to be "high minded" associating only with people can benefit us in some way through the association. Help us to treat people equally like you do.

Humility, the rarest of traits

Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

This passage of scripture is a call to humility. May I make an observation? It seems to be in short supply. How many people do you know that you would consider humble? Romans 12:16 shows us some ways to identify humble people. It is not an exhaustive treatment. By that I mean the verse does not tell us every way to identify humble folks. But it does give some pretty significant ones.

We are told to be "of the same mind" with others in the church. The Greek word translated "same mind" is the word "pronoontes". It literally means to "think alike". In this context it means to live peaceably or in harmony with others in the church. In order to do that, it will necessitate at times adjusting our thinking so that we can live in harmony with others in the church. Our church is filled with different people from different backgrounds. We have young, old, northerners, southerners, PHD's, those with little education, those with money, those who are poor, military, ex-military, civilians, people raised in baptist churches, people raised in other church backgrounds, people who just started going to church last month.....and I could go on and on. We are diverse. Everyone will see things differently based on their background. Background provides a lens through which we see everything and process everything. So if we are going to "be of the same mind" it will mean in the church that we may have to yield our opinions to the opinions of others at times. There are times when we do not need to budge.....but those times should only be when doctrine or truth is going to be compromised.

But most problems at churches do not involve doctrine. They involve people's opinions. We need to give ground on these items and we will if we are humble. Hard headed and opinionated people cause more strife in local churches than anything else I have seen. Don't be one of those people. Be someone who is quick to yield to the opinions of others as long as doctrinal truth is not involved.

Ask yourself, "What kind of church member am I? Am I one of the opinionated ones that thinks he/she is always right or am I pretty easy to get along with?"

Chew on these thoughts....more to follow on the subject of humility.

Moses avoided worldliness

I am meditating this morning on tomorrow's sermon. We are studying the life of Moses tomorrow and next week before moving on to study David.

Moses starts out living in the lap of luxury in Pharaoh's house hold. He gives all that up to be with his people the Hebrews. The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt and were considered by the Egyptians to be a lower class of people. They cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard their cry. He set Moses apart to lead the liberation effort. But Moses had a list of excuses as to why he could not fulfill the roll. Moses wrestled through all those insecurities and eventually went on to fulfill his divine destiny.

Moses fulfilling his divine destiny started with a choice.....it was a choice to forsake the world.

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

The world has such a strong pull. It is alluring. Most are not able to overcome the tug of the world on their heart strings. As a result they end up missing most of what God has for them. Worldliness prevents people from walking in the plan that God has for their lives.

No one achieves their divine destiny until they settle this issue in their hearts: Am I going to pursue God or the things of the world? You will waste your life if you choose to pursue the world.

By the way...you can not do both. We desperately need to have a Joshua moment who said in Joshua 24:15 when he was speaking to the people "choose this day whom you shall serve......but as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord."

Joshua was determined to not fall into the world but to follow God. We need more of that kind of gritty resolve to follow Jesus in the church today.

Put on love

I am using a devotional this year that I received as a Christmas present. It has been such a blessing. I would like to share today's devotional thought with you.

Colossians 3:14-15 Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 

We are told to put on love, as if it were a garment. How do you put on a garment? It starts with a decision. Before I put on a shirt in the morning I walk over to the closet, choose one, and make a conscious decision as an act of my will to put it on. Paul is telling us that love is the same way.

Yet our culture does not teach us that love is something you put on or take off. Our culture teaches us that love is something you "fall into" or "fall out of". Our culture emphasizes the emotional aspect. Elvis had a popular song (some of you are old enough to remember him) called "I can't help falling in love with you". The title of that song grasps the essence of the prevailing cultural ideas about love. It is something that either happens or it doesn't. If it doesn't you can't help it, if it does you can't help it either.

Totally different idea of love is presented in scripture. Scripture teaches us that when it comes to love, you can help it! Furthermore, we are commanded to help it! Love according to scripture is a choice!

The awesome thing is that when we choose love, we are able to let the peace of God rule in our hearts too! That's the icing on the cake.

Now let's face it, it is easier to love some people than it is others. When it comes to loving the unlovable, that is where God really gets involved. Is there anybody in your world you are struggling to love? Ask the Lord to help you. He will. He never commands you to do anything that He does not help you do!