Let Us Weep for the Lost!

I read one of the most convicting quotes from Charles H. Spurgeon this evening and felt compelled to post it and comment on it. Here's the quote:

"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

I have to confess that my heart was pierced as I read these words, thinking of those who I know that don't believe. Do I share with them the words of Scripture regarding their eternal destination? Do I present to them the free offer of God? I don't want to be counted amongst those who relish the thought of someone spending an eternity in hell, I want to be in agony over the thought!

What about it brothers and sisters? Are we wrapping our arms around the knees of those walking to hell? Are we imploring them to turn away from the path of destruction and receive the gift of eternal life by repenting of their sins and submitting to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives? Why not?! As Spurgeon says, if to hell they must go, then let it be over our fallen bodies, over our protests and despite our groans of terror for them! Let us gladly accept the mocking and the accusation of being fools if it means we faithfully proclaim to them the Gospel, the only message they will ever hear that can save them from the fires of hell.

Oh what fools we truly are if we think keeping silent will win us any good will! I don't want the good will of someone determined to go to hell. I want them to think me a Bible thumping fool! I want them to remember that I shared the Truth with them. And o what a joy God uses me as the tool by which He saves even one of these!

Be Ready! A Study of 2 Timothy 4:1-2a

I was contacted yesterday at work and asked whether I’d be willing to supervise a Nerf war we have at our church every other month for the kids and teens. Part of my responsibilities included providing a Bible study and so my panic mode set in immediately because I had to be at church by 6:30pm and I did not leave work until 5pm! Luckily, more likely providentially, I was able to look at some of my notes and come up with a quick study.

The following, then, is what I presented to the young people…I think we had a total of 16 present.
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Be Ready!
A study of 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Ask the following series of questions:
• How many of you have ever told someone else about Jesus?
• Why do we share the Gospel with people?
• What kinds of reactions have you experienced from people when you share the Gospel?

It is not always an easy thing to share the Gospel is it?

And yet, we are commanded to do so, are we not?

The Great Commission which Jesus gave to the church is that we were to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:19

A few things about this great passage that we must understand:
1) It is not just to the disciples at the time of Jesus, but to all disciples during all the ages. And who are the disciples of Jesus? We are, if we profess Him as Lord and Savior of our lives.
2) This command is not just for professional missionaries…the phrase “go therefore” can be understood to mean “as you are going.” So in your every day life, as you go about your regular things, do these things!
3) Note how Matthew ends this passage. Amen. What Jesus has just finished saying, he emphasizes…let it be as He is saying.

So we are to go about proclaiming His Truth, when it is easy and when it is hard.

Our text this evening is from 2 Timothy 4:1-2a, or as much of it as we can get done in the time we have.

Let us pray.

Read the following:
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5

This is a very important command from Paul to Timothy isn’t it?

And while Timothy is a pastor, I say that this passage applies to us all. We may not preach the Word from a pulpit, but when we share the Gospel we are communicating from the Word of God. So it is important for us to understand this very serious command.

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom”

Wow…based on this sentence, how important do you think it is for us to pay careful attention? (share example of student teaching and test preparations)

Notice that Paul writes, therefore...what is he referring to?

Look with me quickly at 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (read)

BECAUSE of this, BECAUSE the Bible is God breathed! This is not any ordinary book we hold in our hands…it is the very Word of God. If God is real, brothers and sisters, then it is so very important to pay close attention to what He has to say don’t you think?

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season”

Do you think it is possible to preach the Word and it not please God? YES! We know this because of what we read here. Paul encourages Timothy to be ready!

What do you think this means; to be ready in season and out of season? (discuss)

Certainly it means whether people want to hear it or not…but if you are to preach in season and out of season, when people are receptive and when they are not…what must you do to be ready? BE READY!

In other words, STUDY! Know the Bible! You won’t always have the Bible with you, nor will you always have time to study right before you share with someone will you? Especially for those, like us, who share mainly with our friends and family, right? When are we most likely to have to share? Whenever, right? (use examples)

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This was as far as we got in the study...there were some good questions asked and when I prompted them for discussion the young people participated well. The age range was from 5 to 17. Quite a diverse group!

Personal Update

Well my hope was that by now I'd be able to post that I'd lost so much more weight, but unfortunately this is not the case. I actually remain exactly where I was before. This is not to say that I have not lost weight, only that I have lost and then gained it all back! :-)

I am still, however, planning on being down to 250 lbs. by my birthday so please keep praying that I will have the discipline I need. Yesterday I did limit myself to just watermelon for lunch and dinner because I felt I needed to sort of get rid of all the toxins from my trip to S. Cali where I was treated to alot of really good food...why can't such food help us lose weight? lol

So I will post another update on November 1st and let us pray that the news will be good indeed. In addition, the Lord willing, I have decided to discipline myself to post more regularly as well. I will post once on Monday and once on Friday, which are also the days when I weigh in.

Current weight: 268 lbs.

God bless!

Pyromaniacs: A few pithy thoughts on doubt

Friends and family...you HAVE to go to this link and read the latest!

No excuses! :-)

Pyromaniacs: A few pithy thoughts on doubt

Partiality in the Church: Brief Thought

As the title specifies, today's post is a very brief sharing of some thoughts I've had over the years. These thoughts come to me time and time again and today I thought I'd just let them out and see what others think.

Anyhow, in my church we are studying through the book of James on Sunday morning and our pastor is doing a really good job. I missed out on his messages regarding chapter two but I plan on going back and listening to them since they can be found online (see here). Our pastor has asked us to read through James every week while we study the book so I have been doing so and every time I read a specific passage I come back to those thoughts that refuse to leave me alone. Here goes:

"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should some into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 'You sit here in a good place,' and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at my footstool,' have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?"
- James 2:1-4

Now then, let me begin by saying that these are, of course, my own personal thoughts. It seems to me, however, that these words appear to be among the most ignored words of Scripture! Experience and observation has shown me that most pastors/churches do the very thing this passage warns against. Rarely do I find that the poorer folk are the ones in leadership or the ones with whom the pastors mingle with the most. And yet the people I've come into contact with who show the most sincere faith and desire to learn are often the ones our society would consider poor.

Before I say anything else I want to share one example. I could, in truth, share examples from most of the churches I've been in but this one will suffice: Many years ago while I was going to school we attended a SBC church that was made up of mostly farmers, students, and para-professionals. One day a real live doctor came and began to attend. Within weeks this man and the pastor were golfing buddies, and within the same amount of time this doctor was teaching from the pulpit. Mind you, my experience with this man gave me no reason to expect that the honor of the pulpit should be bestowed upon him, but this was what happened. Now then, is it just me or was this man shown partiality and made to sit in a good place? And why was this? Merely because the title "Dr." was before his name. Guess what? Within six months or so, probably sooner, this doctor was no longer attending our church.

As I said, I could give examples of this from almost all of the churches I've attended. Why is this? Why do servants of the Lord, those to whom the sheep are entrusted, why do they do this? A man with money comes into a church and within weeks is teaching Sunday school, or even worse, he is addressing the congregation from the pulpit! I cannot tell you how much this hurts my heart.

But hey, maybe it's just me. What do you think? Do you see this happening?

God Bless!

The Death of a Coworker

"...for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."
- James 4:14

One of my co-workers passed away last night at the age of 59. He was a good man, a man of character and one difficult to dislike. I must confess that his death has struck me in a very powerful way. You see, only two days ago on Tuesday I worked with him and he was his usual cheerful self, working hard on cleaning the carpets at the library. Then yesterday I greeted him in the morning and thought nothing more of him until later in the day (at around 10:00am) I went to the employee lounge and saw him sitting on the couch breathing heavily and with his head on his hands. Another co-worker was already calling for assistance and so we walked him upstairs to the main level and had him sit in a staff area until emergency personnel could arrive. I sat with him during that time, rubbing his back since he said it hurt, and just talking to him and trying to encourage him. I even joked with him that he'd be back later in the day or the next day and he could finish cleaning up the library. During that time I felt a strong desire to pray with him but I did not respond in obedience to this prompting and prayed silently instead.

This morning we were informed that he'd passed away in the night and I was in total shock. I feel badly for his family, especially his young children. I have been told that he had a son who is about 8 years old and I already knew he had a daughter in her early teens, along with some older children. I pray that all of his chidlren will be comforted by friends and family and, far more importantly, that the Spirit will comfort them and bring salvation into their lives. I myself was about 8 years old when my father passed away and it was a terrible event in my life, it tore a wound in my heart that has never completely healed. It is never easy to lose a parent, of course, but I can't imagine anything more damaging than to lose a parent when still a child, a child old enough to understand. So while my prayers are with all of this family, I feel a particular need to pray that this boy not go through the bitter feelings that I experienced up until my early twenties.

Ultimately, the death of this man has also led me to contemplate eternity. You see, what saddens me the most about this whole situation is that this man died without Christ. He was a good man, but he did not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of his life. And you know what? In the three years I knew this man, not once did I share my faith with him. Oh I spoke about my faith, but I never witnessed to him. I never explained the gospel to him. God wanted obedience from me and I offered sacrifice...what wretched creatures we are who call ourselves Christians and don't proclaim the Good News with boldness! But this is not about me, it is about my co-worker. Please pray for his family my brothers and sisters...pray that his death would be the catalyst by which salvation might come into the lives of his wife and children. Times like these can be so confusing, but nevertheless, our God is a holy and just God.

To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.