In that day!

In our Wednesday evening Bible studies we are just starting a series on the Names of God. A study of this type is not meant to become a series of etymological digressions or a broad excuse of rabbit trails, but it is a powerful study into the character and the vast attributes of our God.

As I was studying for tonight's thought one of the key verses is found in Isaiah 12. The whole chapter is only six verses long and is such a wonderful declaration of God's remembrance and restoration. Of course it is following fast upon the thoughts found in Isaiah 11 where we read.....

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

The chapter then goes on to describe a regathering of the people of Israel. Then chapter 12 comes in with a certain optimism. In that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee. (Isaiah 12:1b)

Then again in verse four,

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Now I do understand a distinction must be made between Israel of the Old Testament and the church of the New Testament. But there is the matter of Isaiah's prophecy of this "rod" and "Branch" in 11:1. This is Christ. In many ways we see a prophetic glimpse into the coming Savior who would not only offer redemption to Israel, but also to me, a Gentile!

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3)

For us as New Testament believers, that day has already come. I will praise Him! I now say, "Praise the Lord!" For today I can call upon His name and can declare to the world His doings among His people. I am ready and willing to make mention that His name is exalted.

As Peter tells us in his first epistle,

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: (1 Peter 2:9)

As Paul declares in Ephesians,

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:16-18)

We as believers in the promised One of God, the Messiah, the anointed and holy One sent down from the Father should respond with enthusiasm as Isaiah put it in verse five:

Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Let it be in this day we praise our great God for such a great plan that demonstrated His awesome power and delivered unto us His very presence all granted in the Person of Jesus Christ, the rod, the Branch, the Savior. In this day!

Did You Know?

I was made aware of this video short by one of our church members recently. The components struck me as "wow factors" and of course I immediately think of how these things are impacting the shape of Christianity, our missions endeavors, the way we approach the world as a whole and even the smaller cluster of that population within our local regions.

I also thought about how this is shaping end times and bringing about more possibilities than we could have even imagined 10 years ago. Check out the video and see it through a Biblical Worldview.

Amazing Techno Animation

Signs of the times! This is pretty neat. The music is not so "cool," so if you wish to mute feel free. However, we are coming into an age where a picture of your face on a computer can be used to do some pretty amazing things. (Kind of scary too!) Here is a case in point. Pretty neat animation and some pretty cute kids too.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 12)

I come to the conclusion of this series I have been running on the shape of ministry through the pages of Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, specifically, 1 Corinthians.

The whole series has been a personal viewpoint of how Paul did ministry, expressed ministry, and challenged me as a minister to view my own understanding and performance. There are obviously many other passages we could go to and study, but this book was for me a challenge. Ministry is about a heart and soul dedicated and sold out for Christ. Ministry is about forgiveness and forthrightness. Ministry is about transparency and honesty. Ministry is about people and less about pride.

The passage I want to conclude with is thus:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

What a classic passage of Scripture! Paul grants to us a new lease on living. We are given such great contrasts between corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortality. We are shown the stark reality of death but the greater conquest of Christ over death. We are given "new revelation" that death holds no power over the forgiven soul and the grave is not a place of repose or cessation.

The law brought death's sting, but Christ's death destroyed death's law. Death and the grave hold no more power and we have victory, catch that, VICTORY!

Notice then the conclusion that Paul grants us in verse 58, "Therefore....BE."

Be what? Here then lies ministry. As ministers of the Gospel and the message bearers of Christ we are to be.....

Steadfast - firmly or solidly in place (also found in Colossians 1:23 and 1 Peter 5:9)

Unmovable (immovable) - without shift or change (only place in NT where this form of the word is used)

Always abounding - has an attachment to have abundance in growth and thus to be abundantly growing. Under that idea specifically here Paul is emphasizing the idea of being outstanding, to excel, to be prominent in that growth. (Used other places but a good example is found in Colossians 2:7 of the abounding of thanksgiving.)

We could spend a lot of time discussing the further implications these terms bear, but I will leave that to you. The issue then goes to what are we to be steadfast, unmovable and abundant in? Answer: "The work of the Lord."

Another passage that comes to mind is Ephesians 4:12 - the work of service, the work of ministry. The job of pastor/teachers is to equip the saints to do their labor of love (of course we as pastors are in that category of saints as well).

"The work of the Lord."

What is your work? Where do you labor? What do you find to be your place and practice of service?

The implication is that we all are to be doing something. Thus we all are to be ministers of some sort. We all have a toil to perform and a job to accomplish until the day we are called to glory either through grave's door or by means of Christ's coming back for His chosen people. So....What then is your task? Of course we all the the Great Commission to fulfill, but specifically, what is your ministry to the body of Christ?

The challenge is granted and with it Paul then offers this word of encouragement as well, "your labor (toil) is not in vain (futile) in the Lord (when done for and because of Him)."

Ministry is many things, but it is ours to do. Ministry has many challenges and sometimes is not as noticed or seems not as important as others, but it is handed to us by the Lord of our life and lover of our soul.


Whatever your "ministry," do it unto God and not unto men. Your labor is not futile, empty, vain if it is done for Christ. He is our ministry. We labor for Him because of Him, and through the power He affords us.

Now that is Ministry!

Red Neck Skeet Shoot

For all my southern friends and those who love to golf. Here is a great combination of two of our favorite past times. Enjoy!

Too Young to Stop

A few weeks ago I posted a YouTube video of Marlow and Francis Cowan. Here is a follow up interview that was done once they found out what a sensation they had become. What a blessing and encouragement to hear these people give praise and glory to God for the abilities and talents they have been able to use over the years.

Codex Sinaiticus

I heard this morning on our Christian AM station that there is a new website for the oldest existing copy of our Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus. Go HERE to see the website for yourself and to browse through digital pictures of the actual manuscript. I love the fact that we can know for certain that what we have in our Bible is truly God's Word. So much verifies the veracity and the integrity of our modern translation which we posses and read.

Here is a brief description from the website:

Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book.

Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint, that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.

The significance of Codex Sinaiticus for the reconstruction of the Christian Bible's original text, the history of the Bible and the history of Western book-making is immense.

Don't Judge Too Quickly

What old people do for fun

I know....you have seen this before. But I came across it again and just thought I would revisit it.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 11)

It has taken me some time to come back to this thought due to church commitments and then other personal matters, but also because I did not want to come into this next passage flippantly. We have been going through 1 Corinthians and seeing how Paul handled this thing called "Ministry."

I am a minister of the Gospel. I am a minister in my church. I am a minister at home and wherever I find myself. To be a minister is not something that comes with one approach and only one manifestation. To be a minister in this thing called ministry means that I have to be in control of my flesh, and be controlled by the Holy Spirit. But Paul also leads us to see that ministry is also about being controlled by Love.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

If I wish to speak to the needs of man and I have no love for him then it does him nor me any good. It is simply a lot of noise making. It may even sound pretty, but in the end it does not give us any melody or do much for harmony.

If I wish to proclaim the wonders of God's written word so as to impart understanding to the masses and even if my ability in faith is capable of hurtling mountains from their moorings and have no love, I am nothing.

If I gave everything I owned to feed and clothe the poor and even gave my own body up to be burned for the cause of Christ and yet have not love, it profits no one.

So many times I can get caught up in the doing and Paul reminds me that the doing is not as important as the decision to love those to whom we are doing it for and to. The messages I preach and the programs I organize will not avail to anything unless we have love for these people.

A minister is one who speaks, imparts God's Word, demonstrates faith, shows surrender, and reveals character by LOVE not titles, degrees, and even years of resume experience.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)

The Christian life is a life of relationship. Imagine the relationship one would have with his or her spouse if love was ever in question. The divorce rate of our country is reflective of man's opinion of love. We move from one love to the next, from one desire to the next. The consumer mentality of our love lives is evident in the material greed and the moral degradation all around us.

But notice what Christ said...."A new commandment."

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25)

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; (Philippians 1:9)

Why do we not get it? The image of Christ is at stake. The purpose of the church is brought to bear. The power of the Spirit is made anemic when we choose not to love. When we choose not to love we choose to not care for and demonstrate the sacrifice of Christ, the magnitude of Christ, the preeminence of Christ by our love. When we seek to deny love we proclaim self as supreme and man as superior. We announce weakness as victorious and pride as the winner.

This thing called ministry is about how we love and if we love. It has never been about who. For even our worst of associates and our most dreaded of compatriots is brought into the circle of those with whom we are to demonstrate love as God has commanded.

Of course that is not easy. But what in the Christian life has ever been "easy?" That is why the Christian experience is a race, a battle, a field plowing experience. We wage war against the natural man everyday and we do not like being told what to do let alone who to love and how to love. We want to pick our vices and pick our friends. We want to choose our associates and compliment our likes and dislikes by the people who share in the same.

To love the unlovable and not get anything in return? Unheard of! To simply do it because God said so? Now wait a minute! I did not sign up for that kind of ministry. I want to do it my way and get something tangible for it.

May we soon remember that God got a raw deal when He chose to love us. Christ suffered immeasurably when He chose to love us. The Holy Spirit is even grieved at times with us as our indwelling representative of God when we choose to refuse to love and obey.

Ministry is about loving others as Christ loved us. May we choose wisely and quit with all the loud banging and haughty mindedness that is ruining the church. May we show love, live love, give love, and have love one for another.

Now that is ministry!