Do We Owe Anything To The Past ?

Do we owe the past anything?  As a believer I know scripture teaches that God forgives us of our sins and once that happens it is not Him who continues to bring those things up anymore.  I know also that there may still be suffering connecting with the consequences of past sins. There might be other things that may not have been sins but could have hurt others in our past.  I praise God for many people He has saved that have no dynamic testimony so to speak because He saved them from so many things......my children were fortunate to be in this category.  I was not. 

One of my spiritual gifts is prophecy.  It comes with an ability to quickly recognize, have a love for and desire to speak the truth.  The downside of this gift is that when I write, it sometimes may sound that I am holier than thou and have it all together.  This is not the way it is however.  I was saved when I was 21 years old and can still remember it clear as day, the place, how I felt and even the Preacher's name.  The church where my salvation experience occurred was heavily focused on Evangelism but not on Discipleship.  There were many struggles I was dealing with at the time and though my wants and desires had changed, there was little encouragement or support to help me in my new life.  After time I drifted away from church and never made it very far down the road of holiness at all.  About 16 years ago the Lord led me to join a small country church and I began to study scripture on my own and attend conferences and seminars and came in contact with some very Godly men who challenged me to grow in my faith.  It has been a long road, a slow road, a very difficult road even to get to where I am currently in my desire to be a disciple of Christ.  While I may not have much difficulty recognizing the truth, it is still very hard at times to make the changes necessary in my life required to line up with it.  Sometimes things in our past ignite our passion to help others, this has certainly been the case for me.  One of the big reasons our Ministry was created was that God gave me a desire to help others in becoming true disciples and not to have to struggle the way I did. 

So how much do we owe to our past?  Are there people from days gone by that may have been hurt by us, even unintentionally, that we need to go back to and ask for forgiveness?  I believe this is what scripture teaches.  If we think back there might be a few obvious folks that come to mind but what about others we don't even know about?   I have made attempts to meet with some folks from my past and extended invitations to others. Though this could be a painful process, it is the right thing to do and one I want to do.  There is no one I can think of I have ever hurt intentionally but there might be some who have been hurt unintentionally.  Sometimes the only way we can know, is if they let us know.     

Are You Contaminated And Don't Even Know It?

In a blog I wrote a few months ago there was a section where I talked about being "Exposed or Contaminated".  This is a follow-up to that.  Simply put how to know if we have moved from being exposed to contaminated is that we have allowed the world to change us...in some cases to even set our standards.  Generally this is a gradual process, kind of the way tv has changed over the last 30 years.  Some of the things coming on tv today...even during prime time, would never have been considered years ago because the general population would not stand for it.  It happened little by little slowly over time, barely noticeable.   I think most believer's really don't understand what holiness and sanctification is all about.  Is this because we don't spend enough time in God's Word?  That could be it but I know several brothers and sisters in Christ who have and continue to spend lot's of time studying the scriptures.  We have plenty of knowledge but not as much change in our behavior?  When is the last time we made a change in our life because of what the Bible says or due to conviction from the Holy Spirit?  It does not happen near as much as it should I can tell you that.  Deeper Bible Study and knowledge of the scripture is not enough to grow in our spiritual maturity.  It seems to me that many believers have decided that it is my *actions* that count the most.  Wasn't this the same attitude the Pharisees had as well?  Jesus came along and dealt with the Spirit of the Law instead of the Letter of the Law.  I see fellow Christians out there everywhere that watch tv shows and go to movies that is riddled with profanity and lust (though there may not be any nudity).  Here is one test to see if we have been contaminated....do we look at the rating of a movie before we decide to go see it instead of finding out for ourselves what is in the movie?  Is nudity for "arts sake" ok with you?  Is it ok to watch programs with profanity as long as we don't use it?  Is profanity, "if used in a quote" acceptable?  How do tv shows and movies that are full of sexual humor, lying and deceit line up with Philippians 4:8?  Certainly books and magazines should be included as well. By overlooking or ignoring these things in our lives we get in the way of the sanctification process.  The good news is that we can change and are not stuck in a contaminated state.  With prayer, a commitment and some work we can push forward to being the kind of people God desires us to be!

Spiritual Guardrails

The Lord has blessed me with much patience and I am thankful for this especially when things come into my life that I don't understand. Our family has experienced much of this, (things we don't understand), on a big scale over the past year but on a smaller scale it happens all the time. Right now there are several things I could think of that leave a question in my mind. As I grow older and hopefully wiser the prevalent message to me from the Master is "I want you to trade understanding for trust, you are not meant to understand everything".

Sometimes I think my life is about meetings but have realized that this is one very important key to unlocking doors. As John Maxwell says "people don't buy into ideas until they buy into the leader".

In the last week I have been on three fishing trips with three different people and have enjoyed every one of them. All three were more than just fishing trips. Went to a fellowship at one person's house to watch a basketball game with a group of people and then out to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant with another group....some of the same folks. Worked side by side with folks who camp up to the camp to help out one day and then just hung out with another group who were on spring break another day. 

Coming up in the spring and summer will be conferences Denise and I will be teaching and others we will be attending. Our prayer is that our house will sell soon though the market does not look very good. Denise will be having another surgery in June and there is a job issue to decide upon as well.

We are becoming more and more involved with the folks at the new church start we joined recently Ignite City Church and seeking to build relationships and gain their trust. The Pastor has great potential is very doctrinally sound and a great guy as well.....there are many ideas and suggestions I would like to share with him and over time intend to do this.

One of the things that has disturbed my heart lately is the lack of believers out there who seem to have no desire to seek a blameless life. Now while we will never be able to live a sinless life while down here on this earth, a *blameless* life is obtainable.  Scripture says Job did it, Titus 1:6 says an Elder must live a blameless life, Psalms, Proverbs and Philippians all talk about it as well. 

So what is a blameless life? This is one where we are concerned more about others than ourselves. It is one where we chose to perhaps pass on or give up things that may not necessarily be a sin to us but others may struggle with.  When we are striving to be blameless, we seek to eliminate a habit or action that someone might could hold against us or cause them to question our ethics. 

It is one where there is a huge distinction between us and the world...it is often referred to in scripture as one filled with holiness. Paul refers to this in Acts 24:16 that it is his goal to have a clear conscience before God *and* man. We sometimes take the attitude that God knows my heart and that is all that matters, not so. I just don't see very many folks these days trying to go above and beyond the minimum when it comes to holy living and a large part of the fault rests with my generation.

Now I am sure not knocking other strategies in the church that have led folks to salvation but is this not how things are supposed to work? --> As the church we go out after the lost, not waiting for them to come to us, share the path to salvation, the Holy Spirit convicts them, they accept or reject and then those who accept are brought into the church where they find something found no where else......which is a group of people who love each other and take care of each other and teach them how to live radically different than the rest of the world and in turn share with others the path to salvation? The blameless life is a radical life and is full of sacrifice for the greater good. It is one more concerned with love and responsibilities than our rights and privileges. 

So what are "spiritual guardrails" and how do they come into play in the blameless life? These are habits or plans of action we put into place that not only keep us way away from temptation, but steer us clear of things that call our actions into question by others.

I can remember years ago when the Holy Spirit placed on my heart one of these guardrails that I put into place and have remained committed to it ever since. I used to do some painting and often it meant I would be in a house doing a job when only the wife or woman was there. Never had I been tempted or accused of any wrong doing but the Holy Spirit said this was not a good idea. If a particular lady said I had done something with her or stolen something it would be only my word against hers. Also what if some other brother was weak in this area and saw that if it was ok for me to do it how could I say to him it was not ok?

A guardrail would be that Bosses, pastors, coaches or others which include dating couples, put a system in place and make the commitment that they will not meet with the opposite sex alone. Another one would be that an organization has more than one person handling their money.

There are programs that can be installed on our computers to protect us. Someone traveling alone staying in a hotel might ask them at the desk to turn off the cable to their room. Another guardrail might be someone with a debt problem cutting up all their credit cards.

There are certainly too many to list. Oh I have heard folks say these things are silly and I don't need to do these things....and every day another pastor or fellow brother or sister we hear about ruining their testimony because of sin. What is really being said when we say we don't need to do these things is I am strong enough on my own....when we are depending on ourselves that is right where Satan likes to have us!

Have You Been Exposed or Contaminated?

Through the years I’ve had several thoughts on this subject on more than one occasion and have even written them down a time or two. A week or so ago I heard a ten year old boy use a word in a sentence that took me back to this familiar subject. This particular child is a relative, raised in a Christian home, and one could tell that he used it freely and without remorse. Now in the last couple of years, even in my own family, I have heard this same word spoken. It really raises the hair on the back of my neck, as not too long ago it was considered profanity. Who moved it out of that category? The culture. The word I am talking about here is another word for urinating. The dictionary says in its slang form it means to anger. I believe the use of this word by believers is a symptom of another issue.

Years ago, not long after being hired on at the Fire Department, it was required of me to “rove” to many of the stations. Word came down from headquarters or from somewhere higher up that a particular person from one of the stations had been diagnosed with Hepatitis. Now I am not sure which one as there are five different types, but it was strongly advised that anyone who had spent any time at all at that station should be checked for this disease. I went to the doctor to be tested, very shortly after receiving the notice. Now while my memory is not completely clear as to how long this process took, I will never forget the conversation with my doctor. He called me into the office and said good news, while the test shows you have been exposed, you are not contaminated. While certainly I was relieved at the statement my immediate question was “what is the difference?” He said the test showed antibodies in my blood that are only present in people who had been around or exposed to hepatitis. He went on to say that with too much exposure contamination would occur. Well Doc, I asked, how much is too much exposure? He said that it was hard to say and that it varied with each person and that lots of factors figured into the equation. A person’s health and how often the exposure occurred were two critical things in how long someone could prevent contracting the disease. The last thing I remember him saying was the least amount of exposure the better, as even a person with the strongest immune system can only resist so long.

There are many things we as believers cannot prevent exposure to if we are to reach this lost world, but how much do we purposely expose ourselves to for no good reason at all? Scripture is very clear that we are to be in the world but not of the world, and this means to not be like the world. Jesus was radically different, Paul was radically different, but it seems in today’s world there is more and more gray area between who God’s people are and the rest of society. Do we really grasp the meaning of the Scriptures that say “our body is a temple”, or that “we are to be holy?” If we wouldn’t bring something into the church why would we bring it into the temple? I think sometimes we place way too much confidence in ourselves and how strong we are against being influenced. People often comment that just because they read something or watch a movie or a show on TV that doesn’t mean they will follow that example in their own life. Why does the Bible say to choose our friends carefully or to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers? God is concerned about them influencing us, not the other way around. Isn’t this another way of saying that with enough exposure you will be contaminated? Our thoughts become influenced before our behavior. Exposing ourselves unnecessarily over and over again to profanity, for example, eventually affects our spiritual discernment in this area. Our tolerance level for this creeps up slowly and without even knowing it. When is the last time we told someone who uses profanity that it offends us or that we wish they would not use that type of language around us? If someone opened a pornographic magazine in front of us would we say something? Would we be shocked, offended, or walk away? What is the difference? If we went to see a “Christian movie” and there was profanity would we be surprised? Would it bother us? Why? If the Pastor uses that kind of language in his message on Sunday would it bother us? Have we re-defined holiness instead of accepting what the Lord says it is? Aren’t we living our lives for Someone else now? Just because we are not committing a particular sin doesn’t mean we might not be hurting our Christian witness. We all have been exposed; the question is are we contaminated and if so what can we do about it? I’ll discuss this in the next post.

The Two Week Whirlwind !

Before we left for Tampa and the NAMB commissioning service, Camp MACOBA was filled with the Fowler family (Denise relatives). We had borrowed a pop-up camper from some dear friends of ours for her parents to sleep in and her sisters family stayed in tents. When they first arrived the weather was ok then cool temperatures hung around the entire rest of their trip…oh and we had a thunderstorm one day as well. A couple cords of wood were burned as folks pretty much hung around the campfire for most of the stay. One day Joseph took the kids down to the pond and got stuck so I had to hook the tractor up and pull him up the hill. During this time we celebrated Sawyer’s first birthday and that was pretty cool. Anytime Denise folks come down they like to make a visit to Rosie’s so we made that visit on Monday. We left out early on Wednesday morning while most everyone was still in bed but did manage to say our goodbyes. The trip to Tampa was eleven hours so an early start was necessary.

Our trip to Tampa was the first time I had ever been in the state of Florida. As a matter of fact I am the only one I know who has never seen the ocean and I didn’t get to see it this trip either! Oh we could have driven down to the beach but I want to make this event one where we have some time and are not rushed. The NAMB commissioning service is one I will not soon forget and it was broadcast live on the internet. We met lots of great folks and no two ministries were exactly the same. The hotel stay and meals were great. This event was almost an information overload but very helpful. I must admit prior to this past weekend I had many questions and even some apprehensions connected to the NAMB. The new leader taking over and making so many changes early on was a little disturbing along with what I had been reading and hearing in conversations around the local association. The staff down in Tampa was very good about answering all our questions and never putting us off about anything and I did my share on inquiring. I feel now that everything is going to be ok and NAMB is on the right track. Brother Harold Sellers and Ron Lynch from the Madison Baptist Association even flew down for our commissioning service and took us out to dinner. It is nice to know we have that kind of support in our local association but then again they are two fine men who have really been there for us during this whole process.

Well we are back and have hit the ground running as there is much to do. Today I will have lunch with the head of the local Christian Southern Archers. We formed a partnership with this organization last year and it has been working out well for both parties. Chris Hester really has a heart for Jesus and in helping kids and is such a fine man. Next I will be meeting with the Pastor of “Ignite” a local new church start. We recently joined this church and look forward to worshiping there and helping them in the coming year. Later on Denise and I will make a stop back at Lighthouse Baptist for church pictures so a busy day is in store.

Change Is No Respecter Of Persons……

Change is no respecter of persons. He comes into everyone’s life sooner or later and loves to catch us off guard. The world is full of things that have been brought on by his intervention and will continue to be until the end of time. Now many folks don’t like him and will take steps to slow down or just outright derail his arrival. As I have grown older, I like to sit down and talk with Change for awhile and hear what he has to say before making any kind of decision. There are times when it makes sense to allow him to come, as he will occasionally bring along some friends called Improvement and Happiness. This is not always the case however as he will also try and shake things up simply out of boredom, restlessness, for no good reason at all, or even to give some individual glory for accomplishment. Change at times will travel down a long winding road or come suddenly like a thief in the middle of the night. Shock value is often included in his methods. There are times we can see him from a great distance and can prepare, but when he shows up suddenly and uninvited, we are then forced to deal with him.

Change chose this way to visit with our family. We were on a fast road of expectation, and jubilation and steps had already been taken to travel down this new road when the train ran off the tracks. How does one with no hope put the train back on the tracks?….I don’t know. Those of us with hope know that the One watching over us and guiding us was not caught off guard by this tragedy. We trust Him so much that we believe that even this can be used for His glory and our benefit.

Change often brings along a cousin of his called Grief. Now this second cousin, on his dad’s side, can help us in the transition process. He moves in for awhile and helps us to deal with others who usually show up called Sadness, Confusion and Anger. Faith can be our best friend, especially if he has grown strong. He can stand up to many things well, but if not strong enough when stabbed over and over by Grief, can be weakened and a person scarred forever. Satan has used Grief to drive many folks away from the Lord by taking them down the “why” road and seeking someone to blame. Faith does not need all his questions answered and is more interested in restoration and recovery than blame.

I think the train is back on the tracks now, but the wheels are not moving very much yet. Bearing one another's burdens is what the church is called to do, though not practiced very much. Now one also must be receptive to those who are sincere in this area as well.

The Grief Is Still Too Near...

What can be worse than your own tragedy, one that happens to one of your children? There are many words that describe the way I feel right now; extreme sadness, sympathy, compassion but the one most prominent is helplessness. Our daughter had the healthiest pregnancy, brought the baby to full term and then the day before she was to give birth the child had no heart beat. My heart simply breaks for her and my son-in-law and for our whole family. So much I want to comfort her but yet comfort seems to have left our presence completely. My prayer last night was for the Lord to wrap His arms around her and my son-in-law and really draw them close during this time and to let us know the right things to say and do. My prayer is also for their young marriage and the stress this may bring to it. My heart is not full of why questions thought these typically accompany the grieving process early on. I have learned this does not lead down the comfort road as they most likely will not be answered. As righteous a man as Job was God did not feel the need to answer any of his questions. Sometimes understanding helps the recovery process come quicker but in this situation a lot of understanding may not be given. So then what does this leave? Only love and trust are left. Recovery is a hill that generally can only be climbed slowly and steadily and is different for everyone. Men and women for the most part do not process grief the same way. The very things that may bring comfort to a woman may make it more difficult for a man to recover and vice versa. Men often times want to quickly distance themselves from whatever it is that causes them pain while a woman may seek things to cherish and remind them of the situation. Women may want to speak about it often and verbalizing helps them in the healing process while some men do not. A common friend we all have in these situations is time. Now I don’t believe that time alone heals all wounds but time connected with much prayer and love from those closest to you it is the best remedy we have for tragedy. My heart still breaks.