I’ve been pretty busy and unable to finish anything new to post today. However, I found something worthy of sharing, something I know many of you will appreciate.
Check out the information in the video I’m attaching and let Dr. Flowers know I sent you 🙂
Have a great Monday!
Filed under Apologetics, Christianity, grace, salvation, Theology
Last week it was made public that the United States Navy had video of honest-to-goodness UFO’s. Actually, they call them “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,” or UAP’s.
Click HERE for a link to the story, along with video.
To be precise, they admitted that at least three different videos showing flying objects doing impossible maneuvers are not fake – they are actually things recorded by military aircraft, and they defy explanation.
Now, maybe you haven’t considered it, but what does this mean for the Christian? What if there are actually alien beings (from outer space) with technology superior to ours? How does that fit with out theology? Where does that fit into the Creation story?
Several years ago I read somewhere about dinosaur bones found on the moon. I don’t know where I read about it, but in response I wrote a post on my blog posing the following question:
What would be the impact on our philosophical, religious, and even evolutionary theories if bones from large reptiles were found on the moon?
Believe it or not, because of the unique title of the post, I helped further a legend on Google! Seriously, just google “Dinosaur bones found on the moon” and see if my blog doesn’t come up in the search.
But what if dinosaur bones were found on the moon? Would the theological impact on Christians be any different than fining out ET is real?
Who would be most shaken up? Would you lose your faith in God? Would you have to rethink your science? What would it do to you?
The fact is that if it would change your core beliefs, then maybe you should re-examine them right now. You don’t know what may happen just around the corner that could turn your world upside down.
Even if dinosaur bones were found on the moon, or even if alien people landed on the White House lawn to get a first-hand, up-close-and-personal look at President Trump’s tan, Christianity could stand the test.
As Steve Castlen, a friend of mine, put it:
“No it wouldn’t shake my faith because:
1. The creation itself still needs a “Creator”.
2. The fine-tuning of the physical laws still needs a “Tuner”.
3. Moral laws still need a “Law Giver”.
4. The historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection still stands.
5. And all life, even alien life cant come from non-life.”
So, what do you think? There is coming a day when the Bible predicts that the lies from the Enemy would be so strong that “even the elect” would have a hard time not believing them:
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. – Matthew 24:24
Give it some thought.
Filed under Apologetics, World View
So often, when people do crazy stuff and have their actions questioned by a believer in Christ, they respond with the creme de la creme of rebuttals: “Christians aren’t supposed to judge.”
It matters not they usually have no earthly idea what they are talking about, or where they even get that phrase; they simply respond with a pious sneer and proudly shut down any criticism from those concerned enough to say anything.
Sadly, many Christians don’t even understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). Therefore, as so often is the case, unbelievers, who only know enough about Jesus to use Him as an excuse, intimidate Christians into silence.
But what is really sad is when Christians REALLY do what we’re accused of (make assumptions from which we cast judgment).
It happens all the time… like when we see someone on the side of the road with a sign that says, “Will work for food,” or, when you are sitting in your car and a woman walks up and taps on the window, only to ask if you have some spare change.
Who are we to say that they are lying? Is it possible they really do need money for a fan belt, a gallon of milk, or a bus ticket home? Is it just possible the scruffy-looking, unkempt fellow or madam you’re looking at is, in actuality, a heavenly messenger? An angel? 
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. – Hbr 13:2 KJV
During this time of world chaos and financial uncertainty, it is far more likely that the “bum” on the side of the road is actually homeless or out of work. Who knows for what reason he/she is there? Are we to pass judgment upon them?
Maybe we should just love them and do what we can to help when we are confronted – or before. In one of the same chapters that talk about not judging another unjustly are found the following verses:
Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do for others as you would like them to do for you. – Luke 6:30-31 NLT
By not giving that dollar or two to the one who asks, are we not, in actuality, disobeying a direct command of Jesus?
Really, by not giving, are we not committing two sins? One would be that we did not give when asked; the other that we judged them unworthy. It would seem to me that it would be the better part of wisdom, not to mention a display of our faith in action, to entertain the “stranger.”
Who knows, he may actually be taking notes for his Boss in heaven.
God will be the Judge. Just be faithful.
When looking for answers to our problems, many times we ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”
A better question might be, “What did Jesus do?”
“But we preach Christ crucified…” – 1 Corinthians 1:23
Filed under Christianity, current events, Theology
It is Hump Day (i.e., Wednesday)!
So, besides using the Paint program on my computer to draw an amateurish illustrative, I have creatively compiled a collection of encouraging encouragers which may help heave your heavy heart over Hump Hill.
Filed under current events, Easter, General Observations, Humor
I did the icing. Not bad!
Today is my birthday, so I thought I would share some quick observations before all the celebrations begin.
Actually, there isn’t anything planned, just a pastor friend coming over for coffee and AT&T coming by to install internet service in our church (THAT’S worth celebrating).
Oops! Just got a text… my friend is not feeling well this morning, so he won’t be here. I guess that means I get all the coffee to myself.
First thought. I woke up this morning realizing what today was, and the first thought that came to my mind was how unfair it is that mothers don’t get any praise. I mean, if it wasn’t for mothers, we wouldn’t be here to celebrate, right? So, Happy Giving Birth To Your Son Day, Mom!
Second thought. If you don’t express what you want for your birthday, as in gifts, don’t complain if you get underwear. Granted, getting underwear as a gift from anyone other than my wife – like my daughter’s boyfriend – is always a surprise, but maybe I should have thought of something simple, like a pound of coffee.
Third (and final) thought. It might sound a little morbid, but even before I got out of bed this morning, and after the thought about mothers, a verse from Ecclesiastes came to mind.
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. – Ecclesiastes 7:1
I wonder if Solomon was a Debbie Downer at parties?
This Thursday I am going to be attending a service celebrating the life of a great man of God and former pastor of mine, Bill Stafford. You may know him as the old preacher who gave Kirk Cameron advice in the movie Fireproof. As funerals go, this is going to be a humdinger! One like I hope my funeral will be one day.
Solomon understood that what is more important, in the long run, is how you are remembered – what you’re remembered for – not simply the fact that you were born. Sure, it’s not that I want my death to be celebrated with cake and ice cream, but I would hope that when I do go to receive my final reward there are people down here celebrating a life well-lived.
We can’t help being born, but we do have a say in what we are remembered for. May this day be a reminder for me to keep preparing for that party still to come.
Filed under General Observations, Life Lessons
This morning I was blessed to wake up, smell the cooler fresh air outside, get a cup of coffee, pet George, and read Proverbs 4. On top of that, I didn’t have to drive a school bus – or punch the clock for any reason – it’s technically my day off.
But not everyone knows how to have a great Monday, so I’ve decided to lend y’all some advice.
Wake up to a catchy song for your alarm. If you have a smart phone that wakes you up, and if you can set your alarm to be a song, download Gloria Estefan’s “Conga” and shake your body out of the bed. It works! seriously!BONUS: Don’t let your wife ask you how she looks; there is no way to have a good day once that happens.
There you have it! Hope these tips help!
Filed under General Observations, wisdom
Each Wednesday night at our church I conduct what we call “Proverbs, Prayer, and Praise.” It is a unique study through Proverbs, one chapter a week.
One of the things I encourage our congregation to do is take the places where Wisdom is personified and replace the word and associated pronouns with the name of Jesus (See Col. 2:1-3 and 1 Cor. 1: 24 & 30).
This week we are working through chapter 4, so I thought I would share this example with you. When you remember that Jesus said all Scripture spoke of Him, it’s not a stretch, but a blessing!
Get JESUS! Get understanding [OF HIM]! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake HIM, and HE will preserve you; Love HIM, and HE will keep you. JESUS [is] the principal thing; [Therefore] get JESUS. And in all your getting, get understanding [OF HIM]. Exalt HIM, and HE will promote you; HE will bring you honor, when you embrace HIM. HE will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory HE will deliver to you.” – Proverbs 4:5-9 NKJV [edited]
If you would like additional information on this study, feel free to contact me.
Have a great weekend!
Anthony
Filed under Bible Study, Church
Earlier this week I posted a question on Facebook:
If I could offer you your choice – if you’d just come to church just once – of either $1,000 or a blessing from God, would you come?
I got a few responses, but one friend, Michael Wheeler, decided to probe a little, asking if I could define what a “blessing” actually is.
The answer seems obvious, but how do you define “blessing”? That word is thrown around with no real meaning. – Michael Wheeler
I gave a typical tongue-in-cheek response:
True. I know a thousand dollars would surely BE a blessing right now
Michael followed that response with how that he had asked “countless pastors and laypersons who overuse that word to define it, but have never gotten a satisfactory answer.” He then went on to say that the use of the word “sounds good,” but carries with it “no real meaning.” “Other than salvation,” he proposed, “we have no other ‘blessings’ or promised things over what unbelievers experience.”
Well, in fun I replied to Michael Wheeler’s question with:
Do you even own a box of crayons?
As expected (because Michael is usually a very serious kind of guy), he answered with:
Nope… Is that the extent of your definition of “blessing”?
That is when – after a brief distraction – I wrote the following:
No, not hardly. I got distracted by other things. I only asked that because sometimes I feel like you see things only in black and white – not as in truth claims, but in what you see. For instance, I never read fiction, but then I read “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”…it added color to the pallet of my spiritual imagination. Lewis didn’t teach me any new truth, but he added shades of color to what I could already see.
Much of what I would call “blessings” are those moments when the Spirit opens the eyes of my understanding and allows me to see the beauty of a Truth in a new shade. In some ways, it’s like God takes me into His art gallery and amazes me with a new painting of the same scene. I’m speaking in terms of spiritual imagination, of course… the box of crayons.
We are blessed every day by the goodness of God. That goes for everyone who enjoys the providential care of the Creator (it rains on the just and the unjust). But we are also blessed in that we have a Father who not only gave us salvation but continues to give us bread instead of stones. He is the one who will one day bring us close to Himself and share with us that little white stone with a name on it only the two of us will know – that’s true intimacy. So, many blessings are no less than those moments when we enter into worship – corporately or privately – and sense the real presence of the Holy Spirit reassuring us of the truth that He will never leave us or forsake us, that His grace is sufficient for every need. I could go on and on.
If I had the time to sit down do a more meticulous study of the definition of “blessing,” I’m sure you’d find the result more satisfying to your particular taste. However, what I’ve just described for you is the practical and real-world look at how I see it. Simply put, many times getting a “blessing” may be nothing more than being brought the realization of how good, merciful, and gracious our Father is. If He throws in a thousand dollars, well, that’s a bonus.
“Excellent answer,” wrote Mr. Wheeler.
That’s why I thought it would be worth sharing with you!
What do you think? How would you define a “blessing”?
Filed under Church, Love of God, salvation
If you are or have been in ministry, particularly the pastorate, you are probably very familiar with the following advice that is regularly offered to those new pastors going into an established work: “Don’t make changes too quickly.”
However, if you are unfamiliar with the above wisdom, experienced ministers are often asked by the younger ones what they should do when they start working in their first church. In response, as I remember being told me years ago, they say something like:
“Wait at least a year before you make any changes. Just spend the first year or two loving your congregation, getting to know them, and letting them come to love and trust you. Then, when they trust you, you can start making small changes and the people will go along.” – Dr. Al Goss, Pastor Emeritus, Mile Straight Baptist Church, Soddy Daisy, TN [paraphrased]
However, the above advice should be qualified. You see, Dr. Goss has been at Mile Straight Baptist for 57 years! Unfortunately, long tenures like this are practically unheard of these days. With the average pastorate lasting only 2-4 years, maybe this is one reason new pastors are so quick to get discouraged and congregations are so quick to get angry with any change.
Genuine, healthy change must be organic and occur naturally as things grow. That can’t happen overnight; it takes a little time.
But speaking of time, I’ve been at Bethlehem Baptist Church for less than TWO MONTHS and I’ve already changed something!
What happened to following the advice of my elders? What happened to following my OWN advice?
Actually, it wasn’t a huge change, but unless I’m mistaken, I was the first pastor in 230 years to get a CLOCK put up in the sanctuary! (One of our deacons heard my plea from the pulpit a couple of weeks ago and surprised me with it last Sunday morning.)
Now, as far as I know, no one here in this congregation had a problem with the small addition above the sound board, computer monitor, and digital recording system. However, thanks to social media, I did hear from one person who thought the addition of the clock was akin to blasphemy.
“That’s the wrong thing to do putting the Lord on a time clock…”
It might already seem a little petty to even be having this discussion, but I think being able to see a clock is not only a good thing, but an important addition. Believe me, God will not be put on a “time clock.”
But since this small change did elicit a negative response, I’ll give you 3 good reasons for keeping it.
Whether we like it or not, we live in a fast-paced world. It’s so face-paced, I doubt many readers of this article have made it to this point; they’ve already been distracted.
The key word, however, is RESPECT. Unless you know something I don’t know, each of us has a limited amount of time, and our time is valuable. Even though I love to talk, I must not love it too much. My job, my calling, is to deliver a message, not carry on a lengthy, one-sided discourse.
Sometimes we preachers forget that people often sacrifice other things to come hear us speak. They trust that what we are telling them is from God, will be useful, and the benefit far outweighs the cost of them being there. If I’m not aware of the time, I might end up wasting theirs.
Having a clock is a reminder that time is ticking, that every man, woman, and child has an appointment with eternity (Hebrews 9:27).
Because of this, time is nothing to be wasted, for every moment that is flittered away in the pulpit with unimportant, inconsequential nonsense is one less moment available to impact souls on their way to either heaven or hell.
In John chapter 4 Jesus asks us to look upon the fields, for they are “white unto harvest.” That only means something when you understand that harvest season is short, after that the crop can be lost.
Statistics vary, but the last one I read stated that every second 2 people in the world die. That means in one 40-minute sermon 4,800 people will go out into eternity, the majority of which are probably unsaved. The laborers need to be trained and equipped, but they are needed in the field as soon as possible.
Time is not on our side, dear friends. Wasted time behind the pulpit is wasted time in the field, and the laborers are already few.
A fellow pastor and friend in Zimbabwe shared his thoughts on Facebook, and I think they sum it up nicely:
“Having a [clock] in church is a sermon on its own. Time doesn’t stop for anyone, neither does it rewind for anyone. Leave it for Christ…” – Moses Dhaka
God is not limited by time, but we are. And since it is given to us in such limited quantity, we who ask of others their time to listen to what we have to say should be better stewards of it.
This change came right on time.
Filed under Church, General Observations, ministry
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