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Daily Bible reading and prayer
I struggle with this and hope the day comes when I discipline myself to spend at least half an hour daily reading the Bible and another half hour in prayer. I remember at Pensacola Christian College seeing this sign on the door of one our floorleaders:
Have you been with the Holy of Holies today?
It’s very convicting, especially when you consider it’s a criminal offense in much of the world to have a copy of the Bible. There are also thousands of language groups, including the Sabüm of southeastern Asia, who don’t even have a translation of the Bible in their language.
Maybe I should get the Bible on CD.
I found my Bible!
Online, they have the large-print edition of the New Open Study Bible (King James Version, of course). Yes, having a large-print edition is ostensibly a sign of getting old, even though I’ve worn glasses for 25 years, but I like this version. A lot. Now all I have to do are two things: try to fine either a hard cover or (preferably) a genuine leather cover and then get the funds to buy it.
My prior NOSB was a high school graduation gift from my pastor. It was used a lot over the years and had personal information in it along with autographs from these pastors: Dr. Johnny Pope, Jonathan King of the Roloff Homes, Dr. Phil Shuler, Dr. Gary Coleman (the pastor of Garland, Texas’ Lavon Drive Baptist Church and not to be confused with the child star of Diff’rent Strokes), Richard Martin (the father of my wife’s maid of honor and who currently pastors in Kerrville, Texas), Pastor Tim Stowe of Beeville Baptist Church and the late Dr. Jack Hyles* of Hammond, Ind.’s First Baptist Church. Alas, those are all gone: during a move, the Bible was packed into a box and placed in our basement. The basement flooded, and the Bible was destroyed.
I like this Bible because it has lots of great historical information about Biblical events, and it also contains great maps, outlines and something I personally like: the transliterated original names of the books in Hebrew and Greek.
* Dr. Hyles passed away on February 6, 2001, on my 28th birthday. I obtained his autograph in 1994 while he was preaching at San Antonio’s Liberty Baptist Church. He showed up on stage during the final stanza of the final song before his sermon, preached on regaining one’s first love and even signed a few Bibles afterward. My brother-in-law, Joe, told me it was a rarity since Dr. Hyles often left the church immediately after preaching. Why? I’m guessing he had a busy schedule. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of Dr. Hyles now, but it was a treat to get his signature. I remember later getting Dr. Pope’s autograph and he did a quick double-take when he saw Dr. Hyles’ name (Dr. Hyles presided over the marriage ceremony of Dr. Pope and his wife).
Seeking the kingdom of God
If there ever was a place in the Bible to park and ponder, it would be Matthew 6.
Here at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about the priorities in life.
Yes, it would be nice to have millions in the bank, a pantry and refrigerator that never seemed bare and a car that never broke down, but that’s life.
When dealing with life’s struggles, Jesus says this in Matthew 6:33 about worrying:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (King James Bible)
In other words, trust in God, go where He leads and He’ll take care of the rest.
Prayers for Farrah Fawcett, Corpus Christi, Texas' Favorite Daughter
Here at My Two Shekels, we’re praying for you, Ms. Fawcett.
Links to cool Bible sites
The Chinese Bible, both long-form (used in Taiwan and Hong Kong) and short-form (used in the mainland)
Hebrew Old Testament (includes translation)
Greek New Testament (the Textus Receptus)
German Bible (the Martin Luther translation, courtesy of the University of Michigan)
Spanish Bible (Reina Valera)
Revisiting Jonah: God wants the whole world to be saved
NOTE: This column was originally published in Saworship.com.
By Richard Zowie
At Pensacola Christian College I met many different people, some so out there they made even me look normal. Despite PCC being conservative in its outlook and somewhat independent Baptist in its theology, many students at PCC came from various denominations. A few students had very odd theological viewpoints.
Here’s one example: I heard of students who believed the blood Jesus shed on the cross was sufficient only to pay for the sins of those who become Christians. In other words, Jesus didn’t die for those who reject Him, only for those who accept Him. Furthermore, God selects whom He will save, gives them irresistible grace while those He chooses not to save have no choice but to reject him (or what I like to call irresistible disgrace).
How do I say this nicely but with the utmost respect…hmm, let’s see…
HOG WASH!
Forgive me for sounding close-minded and dogmatic, but I find this belief to be abhorrent. It would take a separate column to cite scripture (such as the obvious one, John 3:16) showing that God loved the entire world and that Jesus’ death was for everybody—whether or not they accept Him. When God and Jesus collectively decided unfathomable eons ago that Jesus would die for our sins, it wasn’t for a select, elite group of believers. It was for everybody.
Here’s a quick analogy: let’s say a prisoner decides to go on a hunger strike. He tells the warden he won’t eat, and the warden knows this prisoner well enough to conclude he won’t back down. Despite this, the warden still arranges meals for the prisoner. This could be for two reasons. One, the warden hopes the prisoner might somehow change his mind or, two, the warden wants the prisoner to realize his refusal to eat is his choice and not to be blamed on the prison’s denial of food for him—an ostensible violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
With that, wouldn’t it be difficult for God to condemn someone to a Christless eternity when He never gave them the chance or choice to accept Jesus? If Jesus’ blood wasn’t available to the lost, then they couldn’t be justly condemned when not given a proper choice. To me, it is tantamount to writing a software program where the computer will always answer “No” when asked if it wants to become a Christian, and then holding them culpable for their “response”.
What I find especially dangerous about this crazy theological notion is that it makes Christianity seem like a country club religion to outsiders. Why entertain any ideas of taking a path to heaven when it’s only for a select, elite few? Christianity is anything but that and is open for anyone: rich, poor, morally upright, depraved criminals, New Yorkers, New Zealanders, the cultured, the primitive. Absolutely anybody. The song “Whosoever will” doesn’t contain the line “Some restrictions apply” but means what it says—if you want Jesus in your life, He’ll gladly take you.
Previously, I explored the life of Jonah, and I’d like to do so yet again. The Book of Jonah, if indeed an autobiographical work, is perhaps the bravest book in the Bible; it’s a confessional piece written by a disgruntled, possibly prejudiced man. God called Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, a cruel nation hated by the Israelites.
We know from the book that Jonah refused and ran, only to be brought back on course by God using a giant fish. Jonah finally preached and the Ninevites, much to his chagrin, repented in stark, collective humility.
Call Jonah the most ungrateful soul winner. His sour attitude is even worse than that of a person who, after winning a $300 million lottery, grouses about how much in taxes they’ll have to pay.
Jonah 4 tells us that this grumpy prophet, whose name in Hebrew translates somewhat ironically as “dove”, became angry with God for sparing the Ninevites. The prophet left Nineveh, ventured out to its eastern realm and sat down under a shelter, vainly hoping he could witness the city’s destruction.
As Jonah watched, God prepared a gourd to provide further shelter for him. Verse six tells us the prophet was “exceeding glad” for the shelter. But then God brought about a worm to “smite” the gourd, causing it to wither away.
Jonah suffered the ultimate pity party. He hoped God would take his life so he didn’t have to witness the sparing of this detested nation. If it wasn’t bad enough God was sparing the destruction of more than 100,000 people, Jonah now felt the scorching sun beating down upon him and taking away the comfort the gourd had provided. When Jonah told God of how angry he was that the gourd had died, here’s what God said to him in verses 10-11:
“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
“and should not I spare Nin’eveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
The last two verses represent one of the key themes of Jonah. God essentially said this: “Jonah, how could you possibly get so upset over the destruction of a inanimate plant but yet be so calloused and hope that I would destroy more than 120,000 people? These are people who were so wicked that they had virtually no way anymore to distinguish right from wrong.”
And so we have the vital Gospel message: God cares for the entire world and NOT just for the select few. This is why God lays it on the hearts of some Christians to serve in the mission field, others to give comfort to the homeless and others to visit jails and tell inmates of God’s power. This is also why God lays it on the hearts of Christians to embark on seemingly suicide missions to witness to primitive cannibals or in parts of the world where espousal of Christianity is a capital offense.
Although many will reject Christ’s sacrifice, God wants everybody to someday dwell in His eternal kingdom; Jesus’ blood was shed for everybody. This is a message Jonah learned the hard way, and I hope it’s something that student at college now understands.
If you need prayer or guidance, feel free to email me at mytwoshekels@gmail.com or leave a comment on this blog posting.
Playing Jonah is no fun at all
NOTE: This column originally was published in Saworship.com.
By Richard Zowie
Some of us just insist on learning the hard way. A roommate of mine at college told me about how, after high school, he went against his parents’ wishes and attended a secular university. “Ryan” wanted then to follow the money and become an architect.
He only spent about a month at this university in the northeastern United States. He dealt with liberal professors and roommates who liked to get friendly in the room with members of the opposite sex. Ryan called this brief time of ignoring God’s will and going to this liberal state university “playing Jonah”. He’s now married with children and serving as a pastor in New England.
(This is not to say that no Christians should attend state or liberal colleges, but rather they should follow God’s path for their life).
Jonah, one of the Old Testament’s minor prophets, presents the classic example of what happens when a person decides to directly disobey God. It’s a good book to read for anyone who wishes to do something they know goes abrasively against what God wants for them in their lives. Jonah took a simple command from God and disobeyed it, with startling consequences.
That command was to go to Nineveh and call it to repentance. Both the Bible and history tell us that Nineveh was a wicked city. Specifically, God describes the its wickedness in Jonah 1:2 as having “come up before Me.”
Jonah hated the Ninevites and probably relished the idea of God destroying them. Perhaps the prophet’s rationale was “God will destroy it if they don’t repent. If I don’t go there and preach against their wickedness, they’ll have no way of repenting. Therefore, all I have to do is not go and they’ll be destroyed.”
With that, Jonah forsook going to Nineveh and boarded a ship to Tarshish. Jonah knew he’d been given a command from God, but he chose to ignore it. We do this sometimes, don’t we? We directly disobey God, knowing we’re treading onto dangerous ground. We tell ourselves that we’ll deal with the consequences when they come, unaware that sometimes the consequences can border on much more than we can bear.
But the ship fell into a terrible storm. The ship’s captain warned Jonah that the ship could sink at any moment and that everyone on board would drown. The captain noticed something different about Jonah and consulted him for advice on how to save the ship. On the prophet’s instructions, the crew tossed Jonah overboard. He knew this would save the ship, and he might’ve thought this would be the end to God’s way of getting his attention.
He was wrong.
The Bible tells us in Jonah 1:17 that “—the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
It must’ve been terrifying for Jonah to descend into those gigantic jaws, travel through the fish’s* esophagus and into its stomach. Stomach juices generally contain hydrochloric acid, a very caustic substance that helps to further break down food in the digestion process. The smell in the stomach, needless to say, must’ve given new meaning to the word foul. Jonah had absolutely no access to fresh air, and I can imagine that he suffered some severe headaches. Jonah also had company in the stomach, sharing cramped space with all the other dying and partially-digested fish, plankton or whatever else this whale liked to snack on. Worst of all, as he dealt with the perpetual seasickness for three days and three nights as the whale swam around in the sea, he also had to deal with the uncertainty of total darkness. Most likely, Jonah quickly realized that such an unpleasant experience could’ve been avoided if he’d simply done what God had told him.
Jonah spent a lot of time in that fish’s stomach contemplating his actions and praying to God. Jonah 2 gives us a glimpse at the prayer of Jonah. I can imagine that it was an experience that he didn’t care to ever have to go through again. It obviously was terrible, since Jesus compared it in Matthew 12:40 to the three days and three nights he spent in the grave.
Finally, God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out. After God again commanded him to go and speak to the Ninevites, Jonah obeyed. He went on a three-day journey to Nineveh and preached to the Ninevites, telling them that their city would fall unless it repented of its sins. They repented, and Jonah’s reaction is the subject for a future column.
God had to use the ultimate case of seasickness — the stench and seclusion inside a fish’s stomach — to get Jonah’s attention. One older staff member at college spoke in Sunday school once about how God had to take his beautiful young wife to get his attention about serving Him. I also recall a prominent evangelist who was a very successful athlete in high school. This evangelist said that God had to take his legs in a mine explosion in Vietnam to get his attention about living for Him.
If you have gone away from the Lord there is hope! God is not a God of “I told you so” or “if you would’ve just did what I said six months ago.” God wants the best for you, He wants you live the abundant life He called you to live. God will never give up on you, remember God gave up everything for you (His Son Jesus) so we may live. Find godly men and women to gain wisdom from and be blessed.
* The Hebrew word translated “fish” in Jonah is דג,or dag, which means “fish”. (Some might remember the Philistine god, which had a fish tail, was called Dagon). In the King James Version, Jesus talks in Matthew 12:40-41 about how as Jonah was in the belly of the “whale” for 3 days and 3 nights, he (Jesus) must also be buried for 3 days and 3 nights in the earth. The Greek word translated whale, κητος, or ketos, is somewhat of an ambiguous term that, according to Strong’s Concordance, can mean whale or huge fish. Fish continue to grow as long as they live, evidenced by catfish that become big enough to swallow a human being. In the ancient world (and even in 1611, when the KJV was first published), zoology wasn’t as advanced as it is today, and my understanding is at the time whales were considered to be fish. I think the idea behind the term “whale” is to describe a fish that was so big it was the size of a whale. Who knows, perhaps it was even a whale shark (which, despite the “whale” adjective, is actually a fish).
Josiah's Decision
NOTE: This column was originally published in Saworship.com.
By Richard Zowie
Without naming names, there have been celebrities and athletes in the news lately who have had various scrapes with the law. Instead of having the courage to take responsibility for their actions, they choose instead to blame their mistakes on various things: a lousy childhood, a traumatic experience, a deprivation of a pleasureful activity for too long, the pressure of fame, and on and on. The list could go on for so long that I’d have to briefly rename this column “My Million Shekels” to try to cover it all.
These arguments are, obviously, ludicrous. I know of a man, a quiet, ultra-unassuming man who grew up in a physically- and emotionally-abusive home. With this type of upbringing, “Phillip” had all the reasons in the world to turn into an abusive parent toward his own children. And yet, all three of Phillip’s kids tell me the same thing: except for some well-deserved spankings, their father never laid a hand on them.
Phillip is a stellar example that, despite the lousy hand of cards life often deals out, we don’t have to sink down to the level of those who mistreated us. He reminds me a lot of King Josiah of Judah in the Old Testament. The story of this king can be found both in II Kings 21-23 and II Chronicles 33-35. Both Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and father Amon were horribly wicked men. Manasseh repented and reconciled with God at the end of his own life. However, II Kings 21 tells us that Amon (who likely was influenced by his father’s ungodliness) was as evil and was murdered by his own servants.
Josiah became king at eight, inheriting a country where his father had been murdered and where his father’s loyalists had killed — in ostensible retribution — his father’s murderers. Even children of this age can learn quite a bit through what they see and hear, and Josiah had every opportunity to become an ungodly man.
He didn’t. The writer of II Kings, echoing the description of II Chronicles, wrote in 22:2 that Josiah “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” Opportunities to be ungodly abounded in both directions, but Josiah purposed to keep his eyes on God and press forward. Josiah immediately set about living for God and seeking out His will.
The passage says that by the fourth year of his reign, this young king went about ridding Judah of the ungodliness that had plagued the country for years. He tore down the altars honoring false gods, ridded the country of the priests of these gods and forbade the worship of Molech. (People offered sacrifices to this idol by placing their young children into the red-hot arms of the idol; the children burned to death).
In a move that would certainly be politically incorrect by today’s standards, Josiah also tore down the dwellings of sodomites. These dwellings were next to the house of the LORD and must’ve stricken Josiah as especially sacrilegious.
During his reign, Josiah worked to rebuild the temple. During the building process, somebody discovered the Torah. The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament, and it contains the Mosaic Law in which God gave his commandments and various laws to Israel. The laws were read, and what Josiah heard caused him to rend his garments in anguish. He led his nation in a spiritual revival that included the reinstitution of the Passover. II Kings 23:22 says that there hadn’t been such a Passover like this since the days before Judges, a span of several hundred years.
Josiah’s persistence to be a godly king amazes me. It’s possible that godly priests influenced him to live for the Lord, but Josiah still had the choice to make — live for the Lord or follow in the well-trodden footsteps of evil that his father and grandfather had followed? Despite all the temptations and appeals of sin, Josiah chose to do what was right.
Interestingly, Josiah holds a place of honor in history, ironically, with his ungodly father and grandfather. Matthew 1:10-11 tells us that Josiah was an ancestor of Jesus Christ through his legal father, Joseph.
People are born every day in the world under terrible circumstances. Some are the children of criminals or drug users. Some grow up in single parent homes due to one parent leaving. Some grow up abused while others have parents who live completely godless lifestyles. Josiah shows us that despite the environments we grow up in, we do have a choice and we can make the decision to live for the Lord. We are more than conquerors through Christ!
What are you leaning on?
Note: This column originally was published in Saworship.com.
By Richard Zowie
Perhaps the biggest responsibility we as men have is that of leadership. Even if we’re not married and have no children, we potentially can still face potential leadership positions in all we do.
Despite the constant need — now more than ever — for godly Christian men, from time to time Christians fall in their walk and cause damage to their testimonies. We know of such men who have fallen, praise God, He is a God of restoration!
It is a tragedy that Christians fall away from their walks from God, and I think there are two reasons why it happens. (1) Some grew up in Christian homes but chose to follow worldly pursuits once they left the nest and ventured out on their own. (2) Some have lived for God for many years but then chose to leave their churches and ignore God. This isn’t necessarily a mid-life crisis, since this doesn’t exclusively happen to middle-aged people.
For years I’ve wondered what makes people decide to part ways with God. I think a bulk of the problem lies with King Joash in the Old Testament. This Israeli king’s story is told in two places, II Kings 11-12 and II Chronicles 22-24.
Joash’s father, Ahaziah, died when Joash was a baby. His grandmother, Athaliah, wanted to rule Israel, so she attempted to have Joash and his siblings in the royal nursery murdered. His siblings died but Joash was rescued by Jehoiada, the high priest of Israel.
Eventually, Athaliah was murdered when the nobles of the nation recognized Joash as the rightful heir to the throne. Joash was still young, so Jehoiada took the adolescent king under his wing and taught him how to live for God. Though the Old Testament doesn’t give specifics, I can imagine Jehoiada saying the following to Joash: “Joash, this is right, do this…this is wrong, don’t do this. Remember to destroy the false idols and drive out those who worship false images.”
Joash flourished under Jehoiada’s tutelage. II Chronicles 24:2 says that as long as Jehoiada was alive, Joash did what was right in the sight of God. One specific the Bible gives is that Joash worked to refurbish the temple, which had fallen into bad disrepair.
Once Jehoiada died, Joash regressed. He allowed idol worship to flourish in the kingdom. Joash soon proved himself a weak and unpopular king: after servants in the kingdom conspired together and murdered him, he was buried not in the sepulchers of the kings but in a common grave. Ironically, Jehoiada was buried in the sepulchers normally reserved for the kings.
Things got so bad during Joash’s reign that Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son, even talked to Joash and asked him why he was going against everything he’d been taught. Even though Zechariah probably grew up as a close friend of Joash’s, the king had him killed in the Temple of God. Joash had regressed to a point to where not even God’s sanctuary had any reverence to it.
The big question we as readers would have is “What went wrong in Joash’s life?” I think it all comes down to his trying to live on borrowed convictions. He spent his life doing what he was told by Jehoiada that he never took the time to develop his own beliefs. I wonder if Joash spent too much time just going through the motions whenever Jehoiada taught him about godliness and leadership. It’s one thing to learn from a great mentor, but it’s another thing to actually pay attention and apply what you’ve learned.
As much of a failure as Joash was, he provides men with an excellent lesson on convictions. From him we can learn how to develop convictions, maintain convictions and the result of having solid convictions.
Developing convictions requires three basic things: First, listen to the advice of elder Christians who’ve been around the block a few times and might have insight on different areas in life. Second, study the various doctrines of Christian faith and various things about life. Besides reading the Bible and other books, ask the Lord for His guidance. Third, don’t just develop a conviction based on how you were raised or based on what someone says; instead, investigate what the Bible says about a given subject.
Once convictions are developed, they must be maintained. Maintaining a conviction consists of recognizing the difference between a preference and a conviction. For example, I’m not a big country and western music fan. My wife, on the other hand, likes it. While I don’t like it, I don’t consider it sinful. Country stars like Clifton Jansky are Christians and use their music to glorify God and try to spread the Gospel.
For me, my dislike for country music is a preference, while my dislike for the ecumenical movement is a conviction. I believe, and verses like John 14:6 support it, that belief in Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Faith in Jesus Christ is a strong conviction for me. Preferences can be flexible, while convictions should not.
Once you develop your own convictions and maintain them by knowing how to distinguish them from a preference, be prepared to defend them. The stronger your convictions, the more likely you’ll face conviction. When you face persecution, be firm but polite.
As we read about the end of Joash’s life, we see the results of his lack of solid convictions. His own servants conspired to kill him. He wasn’t even buried in the sepulchers of the kings but in a common grave and his own son had similar convictions. Joash ultimately was a failure as a king and not much better as a father.
This entire story of the rise and fall of Joash, along with his character flaws, poses a question to all men: What are you leaning on?
How does God view what we'd call "time"?
I understand that time does not exist to God the way it does for us, the analogy given in the Bible of a thousand years being as a day to God and a day being a thousand years.
Still, while I’m eons from understanding God’s mind, I wonder how He sees the events that transpire on earth…
We look at a timeline of the past, present and future. Is it possible that God sees our world and, in his “timeline”, everything is happening at once?
Right now, I type at my computer in May 2009; perhaps as God sees me typing he’s also seeing Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, David fighting Goliath, Jeremiah begging King Zedekiah to heed common sense and obey King Nebuchadnezzar, Malachi penning the last of the Old Testament, Jesus being born, working miracles, crucified, risen, Paul writing the New Testament, Christians being eaten by lions, Martin Luther hammering his 95 Theses at Wittenberg, and so forth?
In God’s economy of “time”, is human history all happening at the same time?
Sometimes I picture God viewing a giant matrix of images with the very first one being the creation of the world and the very last one being Satan’s defeat at the end of the millennial reign.
I could be wrong, but it’s always a pleasure to take a break from life and use the mind God gave me to imagine.
Is the National Day of Prayer Biblical?
Here’s what Matthew 6:5-8 (KJV) says about prayer:
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
With this, can the National Day of Prayer really be reconciled with scripture?
Thoughts?
New look to the blog…for now
I didn’t like the previous look, since it looked a little too pastel. This is the theme that I chose because, frankly, I disliked it the least of the other WordPress themes. They don’t have one that focuses on God or Christianity or even religion, so I chose this one. It’s actually the third format I’ve tried in the past two days and is an improvement over the others. It’s plain and a little boring, but it has blue (my favorite color) and one thing I adore about blogs–contrast. (When it comes to text on a blog, I prefer black or very dark fonts with a nice white background).
Someday, I’d like something perhaps with clouds, crosses, royal blue or purple and accents of gold. That may have to wait until the day I have money to customize this blog.
What do you think, reader?
Before He Speaks: the Christian parody of Before He Cheats
I love this video, just because I know from my Baptist background it’s so true! One pastor used to talk about a look he’d receive from his wife while preaching that usually meant one thing: you’re in big trouble when we get home!
The Perfect Perspective on Pastoring
Sorry about the alliteration…that’s a homage to the Christian circles I grew up in. The idea is that a sermon outline should have points with alliteration to make them easier to remember. I’ll never forget how at Pensacola Christian College, Pastor Jim Schettler (who now pastors at First Baptist Church of Santa Maria, California) used to preach on “The Four Fatal Phrases of February.”
Speaking of pastoring, as the church I attend looks for a pastor, I really hope they find one with the right perspective on the job. Ken Collins, on his website, wrote How to Pastor a Church. This is priceless advice that more pastors need to follow–especially when you take into account how Satan works non-stop to make as many churches and pastors as possible fail and fall from the ministry.
And you know something else? I’m finding that as a Christian and a writer, it’s also very applicable to my own life as well.
Challenges of being a missionary
A friend of mine, one of the best roommates I had at college, is living overseas and working in education. The country where he lives includes a culture that does not like directness. I know this from another lady, whom I knew professionally, who worked there. She said the custom over there is to work through intermediaries.
The roommate said because saying “Yes” is so common over there, it’s not unusual for you to lead scores of people to the Lord one night and the next day they’re back at their churches worshiping in the same old way again.
This reminds me a little of when I’d go to Seville Square in downtown Pensacola, Florida, to witness and talk to the homeless down there–along with anyone else who wanted to talk. I can’t tell you how many times I had this conversation:
Me: Sir, if you died tonight, do you have any idea where you’d go?
Person: No.
Me: Sir, can I tell you about Jesus? Have you ever asked him to come into your heart?
Person: Oh, yeah. I’ve prayed many times for him to forgive my sins and come into my heart?
When I was at Pensacola Christian College, Pastor Jim Schettler suggested this great approach to witnessing in tricky situations. Instead of asking people if they’ve accepted Jesus, ask them something that requires more of a response: “Who is Jesus and what does he mean to you?”
Songs I'd love to have played at my funeral
My wife has asked me to not request any “Weird Al” Yankovic songs since she feels that would be too farcical. So, for now, I have a short list of songs I’d like to have played/sung at my funeral. I’m in good health and not dying, but I figure it’s never too early to have something in mind:
“Jesus is the Answer” by Michael W. Smith (a great song that reminds us God’s in control in this insane world)
“Farther Along” an old Southern Gospel hymn by J.R. Baxter and W.B. Stevens, it’s an encouraging song reminding us that someday in heaven, God will provide answers for all those heartaching questions.
“The Golden City” — not sure exactly who sings it, but it’s a song reminding of us of the beauty of eternity and how all this suffering is only temporary.
And, of course, “Amazing Grace”. I’m not Scottish, but the way it sounds on bagpipes is beautiful.
I’ve also told Jennifer this request: nobody wears black. Colors I’d rather have worn: royal blue, kelly green, scarlet red, purple and yellow. Bright colors. Black is too somber.
Richard's Two Shekels 