2012

As 2012 has already started, I reflect on 2011 as everyone else does and probably thanks the Lord for it being over in some regard. We all have things we wish we have done better or relationships we wanted reconciled or something to that extent. I look back and I see good and not so good things. But the past cannot be changed. The Lord's mercies are new every day...not just every year. One of the goals (NOT resolutions) I have this year is to blog more. I have certainly been more inspired to do so this year. I do have a lot to look forward to this year, but can only do things one day at a time. Another goal I have is to read chronologically through the Bible with my church this year. Our pastor, Wayne Marshall, and others will bring the Word on Sunday and Wednesday services from a passage we read from the previous week. Right now I am in Job and the more I read Job, the more I start to see how thankful I am for God's sovereignty in our lives and the tapestry of our universe. I look forward to reading how the events of the Old Testament lead to the cross of Christ. I will post again next week.

Experiencing God Here and Elsewhere

As I write this blog, Rachel and I are getting ready to leave for New York this Sunday and we are super pumped about getting to experience God through our vacation and mission trip. I have been working toward preparing myself to be ready spiritually for this trip. This trip is huge for many reasons. Firstly, this is our first mission trip as a married couple, we have been married four years. Also, we are taking Evelynn with us. My prayer is that she will learn the importance of sharing Christ with others and learn about Christian community as we meet with the Longview Heights youth. Our first week will be spent with friends as we catch up with some great people. The other goal is to have an Evee focused week in which Rachel and I will be reading Tedd Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart. I have heard awesome things about this book and look forward to some great family worship together. I have in my devotional times been going through Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry Blackaby. This devotional started being one we did at my job starting my shift, but now has become a daily early morning discipline for me. God has been using this book to really deal with me so that I may experience Him in a deeper way. I have been dealing with strongholds that this book has really brought out not to mention things like trusting God in all circumstances, which I have a hard time doing. I am praying through some things now that I hope will come together soon as I seek God's will and more importantly, His face. Blackaby says that experiencing Him is simply meeting Him where He is working. I want to experience God and not be complacent anymore. More blogs will come, especially while in NY.

Family Life and Faith

More important than being a seminary student and a minister of the gospel is being the spiritual leader of my home. If I have all the knowledge I can have and still not be the man God called me to be, my knowledge is worthless. This includes how I lead my family toward Christ by being the provider and guider of spiritual truth. My wife and I have been investing in our daughter with love in spiritual truth. We have been specifically using 2 items in teaching our daughter the Bible and core spiritual truths. The first one is the Jesus Storybook Bible. This Bible has several pictures to keep her attention and tells the stories of the Bible in a way that captivates her. She makes sure her mom or I read her a story from her copy of God's Word before bedtime. It is a blessing to know that our 3 year old enjoys her time hearing how God worked in days past.
The other resource is called the Truth and Grace Memory set. This is a set of books that teach biblical truth through the Heidelberg Confession, which is like an earlier version of a Baptist confession. This set is put out by Tom Ascol of Founders Press and the 3 book set costs $20. The first book aims at first verses of songs like Doxology and Jesus Loves Me and questions about creation and why God made people and other things.
Teaching our daughter is vitally important for my wife Rachel and I as we long to see her grow strong in the Lord and to keep His commands.
My charge to the men who read this blog is simple...train your children to fear and hear God. Do what Moses charged the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6 in the Shema.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Value of Research

Over the past few years, one thing I have been convinced about is that doing your own research on a topic or person can prove to be more helpful than plain ol' hearsay. I have heard people praise or criticize on a subject and not have first hand information and it usually gets them into trouble. I have done it myself and it has caused me to be more careful on what I say about a particular subject. For instance, the big debate in theology today is the issue of Calvinism. Obviously this has caused GREAT division in our churches, especially in Southern Baptist life. The theology in this philosophy is either praised or shunned with not much middle ground. But there are also a lot of misconceptions between that of Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism. I was actually told that a prominent SBC pastor and seminary president was a hyper-Calvinist. But as I had heard some of these allegations, something just wasn't right. I had heard many a sermon by him and that didn't add up to what he preached, knowing that this man had a genuine heart for world evangelization. So I took it upon myself to research the topic of hyper-Calvinism and did the resume fit the preacher. Come to realize that these allegations WERE NOT true. Most Calvinists I know have a heart for the world and are very active in evangelism, unlike the hyper-Calvinists that think that we shouldn't evangelize because God has already predestined everyone. Has not Christ given us the Great Comission? Did not Paul tell us that the feet of those who bring good news of salvation are beautiful?
Here's the point...before you show your "intelligence" through what others have told you, know the Word of God. If you don't know what you believe and you consider yourself a mature believer, you must examine yourself. Don't know the Bible for the sake of knowledge but to grow in relationship with your Heavenly Father. When someone preaches truth from the pulpit, do what John says..."test the spirits" to measure what is truth. When someone gives you information, research it...don't take it as gospel. It will save you trouble in the long run.

Soli Deo Gloria

Disciple Now 2011-Part 1

This has been the best DNOW weekend I have been a part of in the ones I have worked. The theme for this weekend was "Unified" and our theme verse was 1 Peter 3:8: "To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit." Because of our identity in Jesus, we can put aside the things that often divide us and be unified in Christ and what He has done for us and in us. Ben Rutherford and I led a group of 7th grade guys at the home of Bobby and Tammy Knighton. I am forever grateful for them opening up their home to us and their hearts as well. God has taught me so much this weekend so this will be the first part of several blogs highlighting the weekend. The first small group study came from 1 Peter 2:9-10. I shared with my group about how God has chosen those who follow Him for the purpose of His glory. Because we have been chosen, we are a community of priests who are called to be holy as God is holy. Because we are chosen, we are called to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us from darkness into marvelous light. We are in Christ and ought to be for Christ. For me, being a young pup in the ministry, this means that my identity is not in others' ministries or my preferences but in Christ alone. When I am feeling bad about myself, this is a reminder that my identity is not in circumstances but in Christ, my Rock and my Redeemer. In the next blog will be highlighting the messages preached by our DNOW preacher, Andrew Arthur.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Spirit-filled Life

One of the first big truths I learned as a young Christian was how to live a Spirit-filled life. In 2001, I started being discipled by David Anglin, one of my heroes of the faith. He took me through a discipleship notebook and this topic was covered. In 2002, I hit a rather rough patch and began to isolate myself from God and other things. I recall getting a cup of coffee at Starbucks and Dave knew I was struggling but I wasn't ready to open up. But God was breaking me to the point where I needed to confess and get out some stuff. And I came to realize what was going on...I was not walking in the Spirit. The things intellectually I had learned were becoming heart truth. I confessed these things to Dave and he encouraged me and challenged me in these truths.
     Nine years later, I am reflecting on the work of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit-filled life and reading a book by Chuck Swindoll called Embraced by the Spirit which is a great reminder that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit in salvation and that the Holy Spirit helps to live a dynamic life that we can not live on our own. The Spirit confirms with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16-17). When we become followers of Christ, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, which means that the Holy Spirit lives in us. He convicts us of sin, He leads us and directs us in our relationship with the Father and Son. But we are not just to be indwelt with the Spirit, but we have the command to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). How are we filled with the Spirit? Here are some truths of Spirit-filled living:

1. Confess all known sin to God (1 John 1:9)- This confession is not just for general sin but to be specific in where you have sinned. It is tremendously important that we keep our sin account short and restore fellowship with God. When you have confessed, forsake your sin and trust the Spirit when times of temptation come to flee from sin and kill sin in your life. John Owen, Puritan theologian writes, "Be ye killing sin, or sin be killing you."

2. Ask God to fill you.-If the desire of your heart is to live this Spirit filled life...ask God to fill you. This desire comes from God and we have the responsibility to live a life empowered by the Spirit. Therefore, ask and it will be given to you.

3. Spend time in the Bible.-God's Word is vital in the Christian life. This is one way how we know God and his character. He speaks to us through His word and we respond by what He says to us in His word.

4. Pray.-This is another form of communication with our LORD. He communicates through His word...His followers communicate to Him in prayer. I usually use the ACTS prayer strategy in time of prayer. It's not the only way to pray but it does help me not to solely focus on my needs but to give God the honor He deserves.

A-Adoration-Praise for who God is
C-Confession of known sin...ask God to make known sin you don't see
T-Thanksgiving-Thank God for what He has done
S-Supplication-Pray for needs and our daily bread

These are truths I have learned over the years and I hope they are of benefit to you. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Brightness of Christ

Last week, I began teaching the men of SafeHaven of North Mississippi through the book of Hebrews. Going into the study, I wanted to kick myself after reading this glorious book over and over again. My thought was, "What in the world am I thinking teaching this?" If you have ever read Hebrews, it has a lot of difficulties but it exalts Christ higher than Moses, higher than the angels, and higher than any sacrificial system. God really blessed in a neat way. Last night, I finished chapter one and we talked about the brightness of God's glory...Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 1:3 tells us, "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power..." Christ is coequal with the Father. They share the same attributes...like holiness, omnipotence(all-powerful), good, loving, just...just to name a few. Christ fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament that is revealed in Hebrews 1 and the rest of the book. Another gleaning we got last night is that God is sovereign and all-powerful. I talked about how those attributes go hand-in-hand and what that means for our salvation...past, present, and future. We can know God and He keeps us by the word of His power. John 10 tells us that no one can pluck us from His hand. Our salvation is secure because "He had made purification for our sins" and "sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high"(Hebrews 1:3b). Today, remember who God is and who Jesus is and that The Trinity is awesome.