The Recovering Legalist

by Anthony Baker | October 9, 2015 · 9:33 am

Proper Fear and Persuading Others

Not long ago I preached a sermon to my congregation, the following text being one of several that I used.

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…” – 2 Corinthians 5:11a

There is so much talk about terrorism these days, so much talk about fear, yet very few talk about the fear of God. Why is that? After all, aren’t we commanded to fear the Lord? Isn’t it the wise thing to do?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10

The problem is that we get so distracted by the common, temporal fears of this world and forget about the eternal. Our minds are so cluttered with all the stresses of this life that we forget about what comes after.

Both of the previous verses also talk about “knowing” and the “knowledge” of God. In the first passage (2 Cor.5:11a) the Apostle Paul is essentially telling the Corinthians: “Hey, it’s because we know who God is and what He’s capable of, not to mention the fact that we must all stand before Him one day (5:10), that we do our dead-level best to tell it to you like it is!”

In the second passage, wise King Solomon is telling anyone who will listen, “The more you know God, the better you’ll understand how life works.” Knowing and understanding who God is will produce produce fear: terror in His enemies; reverential fear in those who love Him.

Jesus said: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). [emphasis added]

So, while ever-present bad news will tend to make us want to run and hide or take matters into our own hands, keep everything in its proper perspective. Those who serve the Living Savior; those who are reconciled to God by the atonement of the cross of Christ; those who were once strangers, but now have been made children of the Father, can find peace and rest in the fearfully omnipotent hand of our faithful Creator.

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” – 1 Peter 4:19

The only ones who should be living in terror, in fear of what may come today or tomorrow, are those who have never known God, have forgotten God, or worse, mock Him (Romans 1:18-32).

When we persuade others to fear God in the proper way, they will come to know His love and love Him in return. Then, instead of living in terror, ironically, “perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18).

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” – Romans 8:15

Are you living in fear? Can you call God “Abba, Father” (Daddy)? A proper relationship will produce a proper fear; terror is the product of rebellion.

If you don’t fully understand what I’ve written, or if you’d like to know more about how to live in peace without terror, click on the Eternal Life tab at the top of the page and follow the instructions.

Shortage of Common Sense

The following (edited) devotional was originally written in 2013 and re-released just yesterday on ProverbialThought.com. Amazing how little things have changed.

Common Sense

Some things make perfect sense. Some things are so sensible that everyone agrees, hence the term “common sense.” However, there are some things that people find hard to understand, even though anyone with common sense would think it makes perfect sense.

The following proverb should be a no-brainer.

“When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.” – Proverbs 16:7

Pleasing Ways

Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? Not the movie with Charleton Heston; I’m talking about the actual Ten Commandments found in the Bible.

If you haven’t read them in a while, why don’t we refresh ourselves with a few of them?

Don’t steal
Don’t murder
Don’t commit adultery
Don’t lie about your neighbor
Honor your father and mother
Don’t sit around desiring what’s not yours

If you want to live in such a way (ethically speaking) that will please the Lord, the above list is a good place to start, wouldn’t you think? What is more pleasing than not stealing, not murdering, not lying, not envying, etc.?

Peaceful Enemies

Believe it or not, doing what pleases the Lord (like not committing murder, not stealing from your employer, or not sleeping with your boss’s wife) is actually a good way to get ahead in the world. Common sense, wouldn’t you think?

I have worked with many atheists and agnostics, some of which hated what I believed, but none of them ever fired me for being a bad employee. Most gave high recommendations to my next employer. In one sense they were my “enemies,” but all in all they were peaceful. Why? Because my ways pleased the Lord.

Nonsense

What I found totally nonsensical, however, was a story relating to the Ten Commandments being posted in a public school. I can’t remember where this took place, exactly, but I do remember the reason the lawyers gave for removing the list from view…

“If the Ten Commandments are allowed to remain, then children will be tempted to do what they say.”

So, what were they saying, that if the Ten Commandments were left up someone might actually be tempted not to steal, not to lie, etc.?

Here’s a question… Which is more pleasing, a) NOT committing murder, or b) gunning down students and teachers?

I guess there’s a shortage of common sense these days.

2 Comments

Filed under America, Bible Study, blogging, current events, wisdom

Tagged as biblical wisdom, Oregon, proverbs, Ten Commandments

by Anthony Baker | October 7, 2015 · 9:23 am

Roseburg Realities

So much has been said about the tragic murder of 9 innocent students and teachers in Roseburg, Oregon, that probably nothing I can say will be new.

However, I feel I must say something. Why not just point out a few realities?

Innocent people were murdered.
Innocent people are murdered every day in the womb, just not by a gun…but we can’t “politicize” that.
The President said that “political will” was to blame for “allowing” another shooting.
“Political will” was responsible for no one being able to shoot back.
Most people who use guns to kill other people are not “mentally ill.”
Most people who own guns never kill people.
“Though shalt not kill” was too offensive to post on the front door.
The first chapter of Romans has never been more true in America.

“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.” – Romans 1:28-31 NIV

Forget God, mock God, and run God out on a rail as a nation, and this is what you get – depravity. What more should we expect?

Guns don’t kill people; sinful, angry, prideful, self-centered, wicked people do.

2 Comments

Filed under America, current events, General Observations, Life/Death

Tagged as God, murder, Oregon, Roseburg, Shooting

by Anthony Baker | October 4, 2015 · 1:12 am

Preparing for an Encounter

Like many pastors, whether they’d admit it or not, I’m still in my little study/office with an open Bible, a note pad, some colored pencils, coffee that’s no longer hot, and a deep, yearning desire to hear from God.

It’s after midnight, and while many folk are already in bed, still partying, or watching another increasingly perverted installment of Saturday Night Live, I’m wiping away tears as I beg for the souls of lost young men and women, boys and girls, and adults who think there’s nothing left to hear that will change their minds about Jesus.

I know that I’m only human, but the task before me is inhuman; it is more than I can accomplish in my own strength with my own words. But I must try. I must depend on God’s endless grace and mercy. He called me, but He will empower me, speak through me, for I am but a vessel.

Nevertheless, I struggle, for the words I choose to say must adhere to a universal Truth, the gospel that transcends cultures and circumstance. It can’t – it MUST NOT! – be a message relevant only to those here in America, but a message of Truth that could fit right in to whatever culture in which it’s shared. Otherwise, instead of a universal Gospel, all I have is my opinion on an Americanized gospel which will be irelevant to some who may attend and hear nothing more than me pontificate.

The eleven o’clock hour at church, for many, is just another box on a list that must be checked off in order to earn a few religious brownie points. Rarely does one come, so it seems, expecting an encounter with the Living, Holy, Creator God. If I stand and preach in my own strength, with my own words, there’s no reason for any expectation.

But if I’m broken, humble, obedient, and yielding, not to mention passionate for the heart of my Saviour, and faithfully expound the Word of God, the universally applicable gospel of Jesus Christ, the Hope that is the same no matter where in the world a person is from, will be preached and, should the Spirit move, lives will be changed. That is my prayer.

There’s never enough study and preparation time, so for many like me, the dark and quiet loneliness of Sunday morning is the time to wrap things up, settle my heart with God, and pray, if nothing else, that I’m not a hindrance to the glorious work set before me.

Dear Father, may we experience an encounter with you. Where we will gather, please be in our midst. May we as Saul, as Ananias, as little Samuel, hear You call our names. May we also, with obedient and submissive hearts, say, “Here I am, Lord…what would you have me to do?”

May it happen around the world!

3 Comments

Filed under Countries, Culture Wars, God, ministry, Prayer, Theology, Witnessing, World View

Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gospel, preaching, spirituality, Sunday, Universal truths

by Anthony Baker | October 1, 2015 · 3:13 pm

Oregon

Can my opinion change the way people think or how they react to a given situation? Only if they are willing to listen.

Listen to me, people. Even though many will jump at the opportunity to use today’s tragedy in Oregon as a tool to remove weapons from the hands of law-abiding citizens, don’t jump on the wagon; think differently.

Sadly, the most insidious determiner behind today’s loss of life is not the fact that someone was able to get a gun; it was the depravity of sinful man. And, sadly, that simple, yet profound element will be overlooked, denied, and even mocked.

Today was not the result of a gun problem, but a heart problem. It always is. But no one wants to face that, do they? It might bring up a subject much worse –

God.

2 Comments

Filed under America, current events, Uncategorized

Tagged as Guns, Oregon, Shooting

by Anthony Baker | September 30, 2015 · 12:53 am

Water on Mars – a Response

OH NO! What Will We Do?

Recent word from NASA is that there is water on Mars, and that life on Earth probably came from there a long, long time ago – at least that’s the idea. I mean, it’s just too crazy to believe in a Creator, but life coming from non-life and then traveling through space in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, and secure domestic tranquility is perfectly plausible.

Just watch as Shepherd Smith on FOX News gets giggly as he and Corey Powell (Discover Magazine) mull over the thought that we all might be Martians.

Unfortunately, what is worrying some Christians (and getting atheists excited) is the idea that if life is found on Mars, then the veracity of the Bible will be called into question. In other words, why put your faith in Jesus Christ if the scientific community can find communities of little green men (or bacteria) alive on places other than Earth?

Don’t worry, dear believers, everything will be OK; nothing has changed.

Keeping the Rumor Mill Going

My response to the whole “water on Mars” thing is a post I published five years ago. The title – Dinosaur Bones Found On the Moon – was provocative enough that it’s still one of the most popular Google searches that leads people to my blog!

So, without any further ado, let’s go back to 2010 for a little perspective.

“Dinosaur Bones Found On the Moon”

What would be the impact on our philosophical, religious, and even evolutionary theories if bones from large reptiles were found on the moon?

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.

Well, to be honest, this was originally just a test to see what kind of headline really catches people’s attention. Did it yours? If so, then why?

Even if dinosaur bones were found on the moon, or even if alien people landed on the White House lawn (really, could they even do that without getting pegged by surface-to-air missiles?), Christianity could stand the test. As a friend of mine (Steve Castlen) 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, can’t 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.

3 Comments

Filed under Apologetics, World View

Tagged as alien life, Life on Mars, Mars, NASA, Water

by Anthony Baker | September 29, 2015 · 1:52 pm

Coffee…Better Than Beer

National Coffee Day!

Did you hear? Did you know? Today is Nation Coffee Day!! It might be Tea Day in other places, (I don’t know) but it’s the day of the roasted, ground, and steeped coffee bean here, and praise God for it!

When did National Coffee Day begin? I have no idea, nor do I care. All I know is that I woke up this morning to the news of today’s significance and rejoiced, offered to exchange gifts of sweetener and cream, and wore a #2 filter on top of my head.

So, celebrate along with me! Go enjoy a hot cup of coffee somewhere, especially at one of the wonderful establishments where free cups of coffee are being served – yes, places are doing that!

Responding to the Legalists

“Oh, but Anthony! You shouldn’t drink coffee, my liberal, over-gracious, backslidden friend (my friend in private, at least; not in public…Doctrine of Separation, you know). Coffee is no different than any other drug; it’s just as bad as drinking beer. You may even lose your testimony if you continue to promote the drinking of such an addictive, dark, seductive liquid!”

Well, in response to those who are so legalistic that you won’t even give us a break when trying to enjoy a cup of … let me take a sip … store-brand instant meant to taste like instant Folgers, let me just suggest a few reasons why coffee is at least a better drink to consume than beer.

Coffee costs less than beer, which means I’m being a better steward with my money.
Coffee never gives you a “coffee gut.”
Drink too much beer before driving a car and you’ll get somebody killed, or at least you may end up in prison. Drink a few coffees before driving and everyone benefits: you get where you’re going quicker, happier, more aware of your surroundings, no one dies (unless hit by a drunk driver), and no one goes to prison – unless you’ve had TOO much coffee, and then road rage might be an issue, depending on the caffeine level of the brew.
Drinking beer can lead to spousal abuse. Drinking a seriously good cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain might make you slap your mamma.
Coffee will wake you up and help you conquer the day; beer will turn you into a stereotypically worthless brother-in-law who won’t get off your couch and get a job.
Smart people who sit in a cafe drinking coffee tend to have calm, stimulating conversations which further increase what intellect they already have. On the other hand, smart people who sit around drinking beer kill brain cells and laugh about it, especially when somebody falls off a stool, beats up somebody for rooting for the wrong football team, or thinks the Irish Setter is an Irish redhead.

So, thank God for grace and coffee grinders, then celebrate this wonderful man-made holiday!

Keep your brain cells! Have some coffee!

3 Comments

Filed under Alcohol, America, current events, Food, legalism

Tagged as Coffee, Food, Humor, Legalism, National Coffee Day

by Anthony Baker | September 28, 2015 · 12:09 am

I Step Out

Guided by the Wind…

Listening to His voice…

Foundation never failing…

I step out, carried, led…

And if I fall,

I’m already in His hand.

Broken: Hope for the Hopeless, Depressed and Discouraged – #Sermon of the Week

This topic is near and dear to my heart, for I, too, have struggled with depression. God bless the pastor who is willing to follow the leading of God and relate Biblical truth to this issue.

Let my friend, Chris Jordan, know what you think of his post and sermon. I know it will be an encouragement to him.

Perception and Reality

The Way We See It

If I have heard it said once, I have heard it said a thousand times, “perception is reality.” And each time I hear it, besides vomiting a little in my mouth, I ask, “Oh, really?”

“All the ways of a man [are] clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits” (Proverbs 16:2).

What is it with man’s twisted view of reality and truth? Where do we get the idea that reality is what we perceive it to be? Is truth really relative to our own perception of the way things are? Just because a person believes something to be true doesn’t make it true, only believed.

Have you ever argued with someone who is color-blind over the color of a tie? Have you ever tried to convince someone dying of thirst that it’s not really water, but a mirage? Have you ever tried to convince a 3-year-old that germs are real and that hands need to be washed before eating? Some people think they know what they see, but they don’t.

Clean Drunks

Several years ago I was unfortunate enough to transport a bunch of college kids to a sorority party. It was unfortunate because long before some of them ever got on the school bus they had already been drinking.

The place they were going to was up a mountain. About 5 minutes into the trip, about the third or fourth curve, one girl decided to vomit on the window, down the inside wall, and between the seats. It was all liquid, all alcohol, and all nasty.

A few minutes later she felt she was ready to go party some more! I mean, hey, in her eyes she was perfectly clean! The only problem was that we (everyone on the bus) could tell she was soaked…in other words, we weighed the “spirits.”

(FYI, when attempting to be a gentleman, please remember to wear rubber gloves when holding the arm of a drunk college student as she stumbles out of your bus. Just saying.)

God Sees Everything

When it comes to self-perception, reality is what God sees. He not only sees the outside, but the heart is bare before Him. As the proverb says, a man may consider himself clean, which is his own perception of reality, but the Lord knows what’s really going on.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart“ (Hebrews 4:12).

It is foolish for men to try to justify their sinful, dirty actions before a holy God. It is foolish to depend on our own perception of what is right and wrong. Our eyes only want to see what makes us look good, not evil.

That is why we need God’s wisdom.

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The Recovering Legalist

Proper Fear and Persuading Others