"Gospel is good news, not good advice." I'm not sure who first used that phrase, but it has been sticking with me. (I think I first heard it when John Piper was defending inviting Doug Wilson to a "Desiring God" conference.)

Jared's Gospel Wakefulness, and call to Gospel Centeredness has been sticking with me too. I've been chewing on, meditating on, and trying to figure out how to explain it to others, and more importantly, how to model it.

This morning, while perusing Jared's awesome blog, I watched a Rich Mullins video that he posted. Which led me to another one. In this one, Rich talks about how God has no taste...because he loves you, and that we should be glad about that.



And that got me thinking. Isn't that the good news of the Gospel? We don't measure up, and it's OK, because God's already "knocked out about you", to use Rich's phrase.

Wow.

Now how do I live that? How do I explain that to my children?

Which leads me to my question for you. How do you teach, and by that I mean show, the Gospel as GOOD NEWS (not good advice) to children? Too many "Gospel for children" messages are object lessons that go from the concrete to the abstract. (I have learned not to use objects in my children's sermon unless the object I use represents the object it is, not something else. Kids just don't make the leap, like grown-ups do.)

Is the parable of the two Lost Sons (i.e. the prodigal son) the answer? What story do you tell? Maybe you just tell the story of Christ's crucifixion...but how do you tell a story, or explain to a four year old or a ten year old, what the Gospel really is? Or maybe the key is to show them? How do we do that? Please tell me your thoughts. I really want to learn from you!

Who has suggestions?

In his book, I Almost Missed The Sunset Southern Gospel singer Bill Gaither tells a cool story about something that happened to him when he and his wife were just starting out.

Bill and Gloria Gaither were teaching school in Alexandria, Indiana, where Bill had grown up, and they wanted a piece of land where they could build a house. Bill noticed a fifteen acre parcel south of town where cattle grazed, and asked around until he learned that it belonged to a 92-year old retired banker named Mr. Yule. Bill and Gloria visited him and told him that they were interested in his piece of land.
“Not selling,” Mr. Yule said pleasantly. “Promised it to a farmer for grazing.”
Bill replied, “I know, but we teach school here and thought maybe you’d be interested in selling it to someone planning to settle in the area.”
The old banker pursed his lips and stared at Bill. “What’d you say your name was?”
“Gaither. Bill Gaither.”
“Hmm. Any relation to Grover Gaither?”
“Yes, sir. He was my granddad.”
Mr. Yule put down his paper and removed his glasses. “Interesting. Grover Gaither was the best worker I ever had on my farm. Full day’s work for a day’s pay. So honest. What’d you say you wanted?”
And that’s how Mr. Yule came to sell the property to Bill Gaither for far less than what it was worth.

Nearly three decades later, Bill and his son were strolling around that beautiful, lush property that had once been pasture land. ‘Benjy,’ Bill said, ‘you’ve had this wonderful place to grow up through nothing you’ve done, but because of the good name of a great-granddad you never met.”

Think about all of the blessings you have now because of someone that has come before you. Perhaps your great-grandfather came to this country looking for a better life. Maybe your great-great grandmother prayed for her grandchildren’s grandchildren that she would never meet.

You already know that children are affected by how they are raised by their parents. Once those children grow up, they often treat or mistreat their own children the same way. And the pattern repeats itself through generations.

Christian singer Sara Groves sings: “Remind me of this with every decision. Generations will reap what I sow. I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know.”

Proverbs 22:1 says “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”

Character is a far better inheritance than money.

However Timothy’s grandmother left him the greatest inheritance of all. Paul wrote “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and , I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5).

Think about the choices you are making each day. Think about what they reveal the goal of your own life to be. What legacy are you leaving for those you will never meet?

"Don't cry!!! Cry out to God!"

I wrote that to myself on my to-do list today. :-)

Don't worry, I'm OK. My point, to myself, was not to get overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be done. I'm not literally going to cry.

However, I thought it might be a pithy quote worth sharing... :-)

Excerpted from today's morning devotional by Charles Spurgeon:

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."
John 7:37

Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
. . .

The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!

No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's loving voice as he cries to each of us,

"IF ANY MAN THIRST,
LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK."

Are you thirsty?

Are you looking back with regret on another wasted year, or looking forward with dread to the one coming? Do you have hope? Are you angry with life, or with God? Where do you get your thirst quenched?

We do our share of goofing around here on Thinklings, no doubt. I personally struggle to express myself most times, and it's just easier to throw up a YouTube video, poke fun at things, or re-post something a better writer has written.

But on this last day of the year, realizing we have just a few readers but assuming that not everyone who comes here is at peace with God, I earnestly exhort you to drink of Jesus if you are not a believer. No, I'm not promising you that He'll solve all your problems quickly and easily (and He's not promising that either). He will bring new problems into your life, most likely. I'm not saying He's the road to the riches, fame, and popularity that the world trumpets, deceitfully, as the way to fulfillment.

Here is what Jesus is the way to: He is the way, the only way, to our Creator God. He is the fulfillment of the deepest needs that are inherent to the human soul: the need for real belonging, for true community, for hope, for unconditional love, for real fulfillment, for the truth, for real, abundant, vibrant, life. And for life that is eternal! All of these are found in Him. He is the one, the only one, who can quench the insatiable thirst that you may feel.

At Christmas, we celebrate His coming to be with us, to willingly share our human flesh, toil and struggles. Christmas may have been a bright season for you. I hope it was. But maybe you wondered, somewhere in there, if there was any way to find something real behind all the glitzy lights and temporary treasures.

Wouldn't it be great to find that truth, here on this last day of the year? To be able to fully and joyfully celebrate, in just a few months, as if for the first time, His passion, His atoning death, and His victorious resurrection at Easter?

Jesus invites you to come to Him, and have your thirst quenched.

Of course, not everyone who is not His is thirsty. But if you are thirsty, I hope you will accept His invitation. Come unto Jesus, and drink.

Jared rightly reminds us not to "thingamitize Christmas." Christmas is about a person.

It has long bugged me the way that people can talk about "the real meaning of Christmas" without mentioning Jesus. Here are some examples:

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things -- not the great occasions -- give off the greatest glow of happiness. -Bob Hope

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. Erma Bombeck

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'. -Bing Crosby

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends. -Margaret Thatcher

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. -Calvin Coolidge

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? -Bob Hope

I love Christmas movies. They make me laugh. However, there’s one part of every Christmas movie that I always dread. Near the end, when all the comedy is over, some character makes a speech about the true meaning of Christmas. They never get it right. Here are some examples:

"Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing." - The Santa Clause
“Christmas is the season of perpetual hope” – Home Alone
“Oh, Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind...” – Miracle on 34th Street
"It's Christmas Eve... it's the one night of the year we all act a little nicer. We smile a little easier. We cheer a little more. For a couple hours out of the whole year... we are the people that we always hoped we would be. It's a miracle!” – Scrooged

For the Christian, these kinds of statements can sound good because in the back of our minds we’re thinking about Jesus. But for many Christmas is a secular holiday, and it’s very tempting to find the common denominator. We might call it “the spirit of giving”, “love”, “hope” or even family. But without the source, these things are like fallen leaves that die after they are separated from the tree. So far, only Linus got it right.
Charlie Brown yells, “Can someone please tell me what Christmas is all about?” And Linus responds from Luke 2.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” – A Charlie Brown Christmas

Christmas is about a person. It’s about Jesus. And not just because it’s a nice story. It’s about Jesus because he was born with a mission. “What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20b-21). Without the crucifixion and the resurrection, the Christmas story means nothing. (Islam affirms the virgin birth too by the way. It's the crucifixion and resurrection they deny.)

I suppose in a way Bart Simpson had it right when he said, "Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ."

People of all religions or none can come together at Christmas by watering down or redefining the "true meaning of Christmas" so that everyone can agree to it. I mean who doesn't agree with "the spirit of peace", "the spirit of hope" or some other nice sounding sentimentality? Of course, then we're not worshiping Jesus anymore, are we?

Christmas is not about a thing, an idea or even a spirit. It's about a person "Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father."

Merry JESUS CHRISTmas!

There's a story about a young lady once said to John Wesley, “I think I know what my talent is.” Wesley said, “Tell me.” She replied, “I think it is to speak my mind. Wesley said, “I do not think God would mind if you bury that talent.”

What some explain away as being forthright or honest are actually just harmful words. Have you ever confronted a person who used words to condemn others only to hear, “Well, I was just speaking my mind”? If that’s true, then someone needs a new mind! People excuse their own "bluntness" with a shrug and a comment like, "That's just the way I am." I would suggest that if that's the way you are, then you need to change.

There’s not enough space here to list all of the Bible verses that warn us against or even outright forbid us to condemn others with our words. The real truth is that words are a powerful tool. Like so many other powerful tools we have, they can be used for great good or great evil. Think about the computer, the gun, the automobile and drugs. The more powerful something is the greater good or evil it can be, depending on how it is used.

If you can communicate with words then God has given you a great tool. It can either be a blessing or a curse.

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:9-12, 17).

So how do we know what we should say or not?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

Normally, we think of “unwholesome talk” as foul language or dirty jokes. While I would agree those things are unwholesome, this verse is talking about much more than that. According to this verse, words that are unwholesome are words that do not build up and benefit others. Unwholesome talk is words that tear down or harm those who listen.

Before you speak (or write) next time, ask yourself this question: “Are my words helpful and encouraging?” and if they are not, don’t say them. I know what you’re thinking. “If those are the only kinds of words that people speak, won’t it get awfully quiet around here?” Probably. But would that be such a bad thing?

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:6

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. - Genesis 1:3.

We often (or at least I do this) will talk about conversion as a set of steps that we take toward God over a period of time. While I believe that to be true, the picture I have of the natural human condition is of being in the forest in the middle of a dark, moonless night. Have you ever been there? You haven't known the "pitch" in pitch black until you have. Without a light source of some kind, you aren't going to "discover" or "take steps toward" anything except rocks to trip over and cliffs to fall screaming from.

The light has to shine first. Without getting into soteriological debates here, I think Paul's own conversion is not an extreme case. While perhaps the volume on his was turned to eleven, what happened to Paul on that Damascus road is, I posit, what happens to every believer. Light has to shine into darkness before anything else happens. That light will not shine by us rubbing mental sticks and philosophical rocks together. Making light shine in darkness is what our God does. Only He can do that.

I wonder if Paul wasn't thinking, when he wrote the passage above, about that terrifying, holy moment when he was knocked out of darkness, made temporarily blind but suddenly able to see more than he had ever seen before, face to glorious Face with the Savior he had been persecuting and who he now would willingly serve and for whom he now would willingly suffer.

In Paul's life, God made light to shine into deep darkness.

In the final analysis of each of our lives, either the light is on or it's off. I hope that the light is shining on you and in you today.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. - 2 Corinthians 4:3-5

I've had internal debates over the years as to the propriety of marketing the gospel (which is, I think, the well-intentioned purpose behind most church marketing). I don't have a firm sense on this yet, other than that we should avoid anything that even sniffs of bait and switch in our church advertising. For various reasons, this is difficult. To illustrate, compare the Biblical calls to "taste and see that the Lord is good", and "come to Me all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest", to the more modern "join us on Sunday. We've got a kickin' band".

The call to taste and see anything besides Jesus often amounts to a veil on the gospel. Of course, just because something is a veil doesn't make it untrue: "we've got a kickin' band", "it's a great place to make friends", "we'll help you raise your kids", "we'll help you heal your marriage" - these can all be, and often are, true statements. But look at this statement by Paul: "What we proclaim is not ourselves".

The great danger of proclaiming ourselves is that we place ourselves in the forefront, veiling the gospel and adding a double-whammy to the veils already thrown in front of it by the god of this age who is hard at work blinding the minds of unbelievers. He doesn't deserve our help and, for goodness sake, we shouldn't be so willing to offer it.

Everything that's not Jesus, from the excellence of our music program to the zing in our atrium Starbucks, amounts to a proclamation of us. We can (unwittingly) become the veil that is placed over the gospel.

I do it too.

May Paul's formula for servant-proclamation and gospel-unveiling become embedded in my daily words and actions.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

2 Corinthians 4 has been much on my mind recently. Plus I've been hearing it over and over again, in disconnected settings. It's almost like someone's trying to get me to pay attention. Just last night, we had an ordination service at our church, and wouldn't you know it that 2 Corinthians 4 as the focal passage.

Just the first two verses give me enough to chew on, probably for a lifetime.

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 2 Corinthians 4:1-2

I've been through a lot of church trends in the twenty six years or so since I became a believer. I remember in particular the description someone gave me, in the early nineties, of how we should approach teaching the Bible in a "seeker sensitive" way. Basically, he suggested we leave out any hard to understand or hard to accept teachings, so as not to throw off the potential convert. Though I was intrigued by the seeker-sensitive model, a large red flag was raised in my mind upon hearing this.

Since that time, I've seen and read about a thousand examples of the Bible taught in disgraceful, underhanded ways, generally by earnest, well-meaning believers who were trying to make the message more palatable to seekers (did anyone ever think about how patronizing and condescending that is?). Bribery, enticement, bait and switch, "relevance", people asking me if I wanted to "make God the CEO of my life", etc.

Paul would have none of it. Paul preached the gospel honestly.

. . . we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth , , ,

Gosh, I hope I've never done any of that. But I bet I have.

. . . the PT Barnum pastoral tribe doesn't trust that the gospel is a compelling message. They don't trust that they can make it sound attractive and exciting just as it is. They've lost trust that it is, actually, power. If they hadn't, they wouldn't feel the need to put it inside the Trojan horse of cash and prizes. - Gospel Driven Church

Lord, kill the desire in us to practice Trojan horse gospelling.

I'll leave you with a few quotes, sourced at David Guzik's excellent commentary.

“Certain divines tell us that they must adapt truth to the advance of the age, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs . . . which simply means that a popular lie shall take the place of an offensive truth.” Charles Spurgeon

“For just as chaste and honourable women are content with the gracefulness of natural beauty and do not resort to artificial adornments, whereas harlots never think themselves well adorned until they have corrupted nature, so Paul’s boast that he has set forth the pure Gospel whereas others have offered a counterfeit Gospel decked out with unworthy additions.” - John Calvin

Kill the spirit of fear, that is.

Have you ever thought about what feelings and imagery are associated with Halloween? Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Christ and so with it are feelings of joy, victory, celebration and new life. Images that come to mind are the empty tomb, flowers and springtime. Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ and so with it are feelings of giving and of family. Images that come to mind are the nativity, Christmas trees, presents and poinsettias. The Fourth of July celebrates America’s Independence and so with it are feelings of happiness, freedom and celebration. Images that come to mind are the flag, fireworks and hot dogs.

When you think about Halloween what images and feelings leap to your mind? Kids and costumes? Candy and parties? Those are positive things. And so for that reason, I’m not one of those people who are opposed to all things Halloween. Every child loves to dress up and eat candy. (A lot of grownups do too, including me!)

But those aren’t the only images and feelings that are associated with Halloween. There’s another big one: fear. At their tamest, Halloween images are jack-o-lanterns and black cats. But normally it’s skeletons, bloody axes, ghosts and death. As a Christian and a parent I struggle with that. I know that some of you are thinking, “Hey, it’s all in fun.” Forgive me, but I just don’t see the fun in dressing up as an axe murderer or a corpse. Christmas movies are about family, love and giving. Halloween movies are about mass murder.

The point of this post is not to make a statement about whether or not your family ought to celebrate Halloween or how. That’s up to you. I just wanted to take the occasion of Halloween to remind you what God says about fear. There are a lot of scary things in this world. But responding in fear is not the way of the Christian. Please read the following messages from the God who created you:

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship” (Romans 8:15).
“God did not give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
“When I am afraid, I will trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-30).
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not made perfect in love” (I John 4:18).

These are the things we should be teaching our children all year round.

Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God. They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking. -- A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

The history of our faith is a history full of people who changed the world: Paul, Athanasius, Augustine, Luther, Zinzendorf, Edwards, Spurgeon, and more. The list could go on and on.

It's also a history of people whose fire for God burned with such an intense passion that their legacy has stayed strong through the centuries and decades, encouraging millions. I think of people like Billy Graham, our beloved C.S. Lewis, John Wesley, and Jim Elliot, to name a few.

Ours was the faith of 4th century church father Jerome, whose passion to flee youthful lusts kept him buried in his work of translating the Bible into Latin, which, unbeknownst to him, would be used by the church for the next 1,000 years.

The light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ guided Jerome's contemporary, Gregory of Nazianzus, who stubbornly held to idea of JESUS' full humanity, stating that "whatever has not been assumed has not been fully healed." In other words, if our Lord did not assume full humanity along with His full divinity, then the Gospel itself is threatened.

Christianity was the faith of the 17th century Jesuit, Pedro Claver, whose love for ill-treated slaves compelled him to meet incoming slave ships in Columbia, carry out and bury the dead bodies, and then return to the living cargo to tend their wounds and minister his understanding of the Gospel to them. When he took his vows in the Society of Jesus, he added an amendment to his name, Petrus Claver, aethiopum semper servus. Pedro Claver, forever a servant to blacks.

And like Claver, our faith was (and is) the faith of innumerable saints who considered the riches of Christ far greater than the passing pleasures of sin. Their stories may only be known by some, but their legacy has endured in the lives of their family, friends, and anyone else they have interceded for before His throne.

The one thread I have always found when learning about life-changing saints is this: they desired God. They had a passion for Him that compelled them, forced them, to spend an unmeasurable amount of time seeking His face in prayer and meditation. They had to have Him.

George Mueller was obsessed with prayer. Brother Lawrence attempted to live each second of his waking day in the presence of the Father. Mother Teresa desired "only all for Jesus."

That's the kind of passion that counts everything as loss for the sake of the Gospel.

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8 ESV).

Though it was decades ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a teenager working at fried chicken place in San Antonio. Over in the corner, the assistant manager and manager were talking. “Woo-hoo!”, the manager finally hollered. And with a big grin he slapped the assistant manager on the back and loudly said, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play!” The basic meaning of the expression was self-explanatory, but I still didn’t know what they were talking about specifically. I asked the fry cook next to me and was told that while the assistant manager’s wife was out of town, he had gone on a date with another woman. I was disgusted. To this day, the memory of his unsuspecting wife visiting the restaurant with their children a few weeks later still fills me with a sadness I can’t put into words.

The truth is this: that man was unfaithful to his wife in his heart before he ever acted on it. The fact that he took advantage of the opportunity only shows what was there all along.

It has been said that character is who you are when no one is looking. If you only do what’s right when you are being observed, then your righteousness is a façade. It’s what you do when no one’s watching, when no one will ever know, that reveals who you really are.

That’s a scary thought. Most of us like to think of ourselves as “basically good” even when we do things that are wrong. The truth is that we can deceive ourselves. “The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:4-5). “All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2). “As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of man” (Proverbs 27:19-20)

Don’t listen to the advice of Hollywood which often says, “Follow your heart.” You cannot trust your own heart. It will deceive you. An old hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Unless God himself reaches inside you and changes your heart and its desires, you will keep pursuing things you know you shouldn’t. This is why David, after he sinned with Bathsheba, prayed; “Create in me a pure heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). He knew that unless God changed his heart he would continue to sin.

If you need someone to talk to, email me at philip.schroeder777 - It's a googlemail email address.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Cor 3:17-18

There is a lot of good stuff in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4. In reading this tonight, I began thinking of Paul's description of the great transformation that every believer is going through. We are progressing, from glory to glory, into the image of the Lord. That's our destiny - to be like Jesus, conformed to his image! I love the angle Guzik takes on this:

The work of transformation is a continual progression. It works from glory to glory. It doesn’t have to work from backsliding to glory to backsliding to glory.

Sanctification can be wearisome. It can be a hard slog, but the end result . . . words fail. Praise be to God.

But how is one transformed? Notice how Paul puts it: . . . we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

There are disciplines we can, and should, build into our lives as we run the race, becoming more and more like Jesus. But I'm learning that the real center of sanctification is beholding the Lord. Following Jesus isn't "learning how to be a better Christian". It's keeping our eyes on our Savior, beholding His glory, and in that beholding, becoming like Him.

Lord, help my eyes maintain their focus on You. There are so many shiny things, including my own "good" works and "progress", that distract me.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God - Hebrews 12:1-2



Beholding is becoming, so as You fill my gaze
I become more like You and my heart is changed
Beholding is becoming, so as you fill my view
Transform me into the likeness of You

In my previous post, (right below this one, just look down) I told you what happened to the mutineers of the H.M.S. Bounty. They took some women from Tahiti and settled on an island in the South Pacific. After all but two of the men had been murdered or killed, only one man remained. He found a Bible, turned his life over to Christ and led the women and children on Pitcairn Island to become a Christian community.

It was originally written as a column for my local paper, and I posted it here at Thinklings at about the same time I submitted it to my editor.

I told my wife the story and she thought it was so cool, that on Thursday morning at Ladies Bible Study at our church, she came to my office and asked me to come tell the ladies the story. They thought it was cool too, as it illustrated what they were studying about reforming Kings who turned their people back to God's law.

I, of course emphasized that the fact that the current residents of Pitcairn Island are still Christians is a testimony to the power of God's word.

Enter Thinklings commenter Jonathan W. In only the second comment by a reader,in which he told me that most of the island's grown men (including the mayor) had been charged with sexual crimes against children going back decades.

You can go see the drama unfold as the truth does under the original post's comment thread. (Of all the articles linked there, this is probably the best one.)

Imagine my shock and dismay to learn something like that after I had written triumphantly about it here, in my local paper and shared it excitedly with a bunch of ladies in a Bible study.

I told everyone that all of the Island’s current inhabitants are Christians. Turns out they weren’t acting like it. The girls on the island were “coming of age” sexually speaking at ages 12-14, at least that’s what the residents of Pitcairn claim. Their argument in court was that because of their inherited Tahitian culture, that it was culturally acceptable. Some of the women who had been victimized for years said differently. (And for those of you who might remind me that Mary was around 14, on Pitcairn Island they weren't necessarily getting married young, grown men were having sex with girls as soon as they hit puberty, and probably some before that.)

What are we to learn from this? Does this horrible new information mean that the point of the previous post is invalid? After all, I was trying to demonstrate how God’s word changes lives, and I pointed to the fact that the island’s current residents are still Christians as evidence of that. Does their rampant immorality disprove that premise?

I don’t think so. Instead, it teaches us another lesson: just because one generation embraces the Gospel, doesn’t mean the next one will. It also shows us that religion can be empty and meaningless if it is missing the most essential ingredient.

The most essential ingredient is knowing and trusting Jesus personally. The Gospel doesn't change your life just because you hear it on Sunday. Your children may continue your religious traditions, but that doesn’t mean that they have what matters. In fact, if religion is all they have, they have nothing.

This important truth is why Moses stood on the banks of the Jordan telling the new generation what God had done in their parents’ generation. (That’s the entire book of Deuteronomy.) He also asked them to renew the covenant with God that their parent’s had made. He knew that if the new generation didn’t deliberately choose to follow God, they wouldn’t.

Again and again we see this pattern repeated in the Bible. For example, the entire book of Judges is about how one generation turns back to God after suffering for their sin, and crying out to him, and then each succeeding generation forgets about God again and “does what is right in their own eyes.” Many generations later, King Josiah rediscovers the book of the Law of God which had been forgotten in a back room of the Temple. (Ironically, that book was probably Deuteronomy, the very book whose whole purpose was to remind the next generation to remember God and to choose him for themselves.) This discovery causes him to lead his people in repenting of their sins and dedicating themselves to the LORD.

There’s a reason that Moses (yes, in the book of Deuteronomy!) says that, you are to teach your children to Love YHWH with mind, passion and action (6:4-7).

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

And at some point they must make the decision for themselves. Each generation has a choice: whether or not they are going to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before, for good or evil.

Of course, that lesson here isn't quite so shocking. It's as old as the very first "second generation" --- Cain and Abel.

On April 28th, 1789, the HMS Bounty was taken over by mutiny. Fletcher Christian led 17 other mutineers to set Captain Bligh and his supporters afloat in a small boat. The mutineers tried to settle in Tahiti. After some violent encounters with the Tahitians, the mutineers, some Tahitian men and some woman they had taken from Tahiti left on the Bounty. They eventually arrived at the uninhabited island of Pitcairn.

They burned the Bounty in what is now called “Bounty Bay” in order to hide the evidence of their crime and to prevent the women from fleeing.

There was plenty of water and food on the island and at first things were going well. However, many of the women felt like they were treated like slaves and revolted. The Tahitian men killed many of the mutineers in a revolt, including Fletcher Christian. The widows of the mutineers murdered the Tahitian men in revenge. The remaining mutineers could not get along with each other either, and so eventually due to fights, drunkenness and murder, only two men survived. One of them, Ned Young, died of Asthma in 1800, the first to die of natural causes.

This left one mutineer, and the last surviving man, John Adams, in charge of nine Tahitian women and dozens of children. Adams was a murderer and a mutineer. But he was also a man looking for hope. One day he found the H.M.S. Bounty’s Bible at the bottom of an old chest. He began to read it and his life changed. He dedicated his life to Christ and began to lead worship services on the Island. He taught the women and children of the island from the Bible.

Eventually they all became Christians.

Today the population of Pitcairn island numbers a little over 50. They are the descendants of the Bounty’s mutineers and still bear those surnames. And every person on the island is a Christian.

Though he didn’t live to see it, the way that Fletcher Christian’s people became actual Christians was through the power of God’s word.
The Bible has the power to change your life and the lives of those around you as well. “

God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what” (Hebrews 4:12-13, The Message.)

The next time you pick up a Bible, don’t just go through it, let it go through you. It might change your life.

Sources under comments...

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" (Thomas Alva Edison).

Work is a basic rule of life. But that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, work is a gift, and not just because of the money it brings. Work is an opportunity to use the gifts God gave you for a purpose!

God intended for us to work from the beginning and it wasn’t supposed to be punishment! “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis2:15). When you experience those moments of joy and satisfaction of your work, it is a reminder that God intended for it to be that way. But after Adam sinned, he was told that his work was cursed.(Genesis 3:17-19).

But just like he redeems everything else from the curse of sin, God can also redeem our work.

Our work can be redeemed from the sin of selfishness. “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). Doing our jobs in Jesus’ name means that we represent him not only in what we do, but in how we conduct ourselves.

We work not simply to support our families or to buy nice things, but also so that we might be able to do the Lord’s work by giving away some of what we earn. “He…must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28). Look around for those in need. God may have you given you that job so that you might be generous to others.

Our work can also be redeemed from the sin of laziness. “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (II Thessalonians 3:10). “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment” (Proverbs 12:11). “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). “Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare” (Proverbs 20:13).

Somebody said, “There are two kinds of people: those who work and those who take the credit. It's better to belong to the first group because there is less competition.” :-)

Work can be redeemed from the sin of envy. “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Everyone wants what the rich man has. Being rich is a blessing and a curse in and of itself. Work itself is a reward that can't be taken from you or taxed by the Gov't.

Work can be redeemed from the sin of ingratitude. We are to do the best job we can even if we work for a jerk because our ultimate boss is God, not man. “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7).

Work can be a testimony about who God is. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (I Thessalonians 4:11-12). Work is not just honorable, it is a way that God has given you to show that your whole life has been redeemed.

She stood there speechless. She knew she was guilty of living a sinful lifestyle. No one needed to tell her. She heard the whispers and could feel the stares as she walked through town. She carried the guilt with her every night when she lay down and every morning when she got up. Then the teacher had come. He said that she could be forgiven. He said that he had been sent by God to seek and save sinners. For the first time she didn’t feel like an outcast. God could and would forgive her. This was the best news she had ever heard.

It was the first time a man had ever been kind to her without expecting anything in return. In fact, he said that God expected nothing in return. She had nothing good to offer God, yet he was offering her the one thing she thought she would never have, righteousness.

So when she heard that Simon the Pharisee was having the teacher over for a meal, she had to go. What could she bring? Finally her eyes came to rest on the most valuable thing she had: an alabaster jar full of perfume. It was tainted because of what she had given up in exchange for it. But it was what she had and she was so glad that she didn’t have to feel guilty anymore. God loved her. That had been the message of the teacher and she trusted him. And she was so grateful. She wasn't God's enemy anymore, and a strange feeling arose in her: Love for God, instead of fear.

So there she was standing at his feet. She couldn’t even bring herself to say, “Thank you, Master” and present the gift. She just stood there weeping. Finally all those years of guilt gone. She was sorry for her sin, but that wasn’t new. What was new was the freedom she felt in forgiveness. Her tears fell from her cheeks. Then she realized that her tears were so many that they had been falling on his feet. She fell to her knees, overwhelmed with gratitude.

She had nothing with which to wipe his feet. She barely heard the gasps of shock when she untied her hair. Then she lovingly dried his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet and anointed them with the perfume. What else could she do? There were no words that could properly express her joy and her gratitude.

As Jesus told a story to Simon about two men who were forgiven debts, one great and one small, it occurred to her that they were talking about her. She had indeed owed a great debt.

Then Jesus spoke to her, “"Your sins are forgiven" and then, “"Your faith has saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7:36-50). And finally, for the first time ever, she had peace and that night as she lay down to sleep she felt guilt no more. She could finally rest in peace. But not in death. In new life.

And so can you.

An expensive gift did not earn her right standing with God. Her faith did. She showed love because she had already experienced God’s love. Doing good does not make you right with God. Accepting his forgiveness does. God loved you first. Jesus came to bring good news: that “whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:18a). Love God because he already loves you. “If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (I John 2:1).

So why do we do good? Not because we have to, but because we can. When you serve an employer, it's for pay. And you do what is expected, no more. But when you serve a loved one, you do it not for what you get or will get. You do it for love.

We love him because he first loved us.

Do not do good out of guilt or fear or desire to earn something from God.

Do it not to earn God's love, but because you already have his love, given through the son.

Let gratitude be your motivation for all you do. Yes, for EVERYTHING!

Whatever you’re feeling about your local or national government, Jesus has something to say to you.

Jesus was approached by both Pharisees and Herodians for the purpose of trapping him. Herodians (of the party of Herod) were the party of the establishment and therefore encouraged paying taxes. The Pharisees did not like taxes but begrudgingly went along. The Zealots openly opposed paying taxes to Rome and called on people not to. (Jesus clearly distances himself from the Zealots in his answer.)

“’Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not’ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?’” (Matthew 22:18-20).

He calls them hypocrites and they demonstrate this when they show him a coin with Caesar’s picture on it. The coin itself was considered sinful by the Jews. It bore a “graven image” of Tiberius Caesar. The inscription read in Latin, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus” and on the other side, “High Priest.” This coin proclaimed blasphemy, that Caesar was divine and that he was the High Priest. Though it broke the first two commandments according to their own interpretation, they were perfectly willing to use Caesar’s money. They hated the taxes but enjoyed the benefits Caesar provided. (Note: Jesus is the one who actually deserves those titles - "Son of God" and "High Priest".)

Tiberius was an evil man and paying taxes was not merely unpopular but opposed by many as immoral. Yet Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Jesus was teaching that the earthly government has areas that they are responsible for and so we submit, even to a government we don’t like.

Tiberius was really evil by the way. (Read that link at your own risk.) With the exception of certain South American and Middle Eastern countries, your head of state has nothing on Tiberius. Here's more info on the man that Jesus said people should pay taxes to.

In Jesus’ day the only way the people could change a government was through revolt or revolution. We should thank God for the founding fathers. Because of their brilliance and foresight, in America we can make changes without bloodshed. We can vote rulers out. We can speak freely.

Paul took advantage of the legal rights granted him as a Roman citizen. But he still gave honor and respect to those in authority, even when they were immoral. We also should take advantage of all the legal rights we have as American citizens, but do so with respect and civility.

Rulers have authority delegated to them by God. Remember, this is just your temporary country. If you are a Christian, then your permanent citizenship is in heaven.

Jesus said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. This statement is so profound. Being a citizen of the kingdom, means being a good citizen of earthly governments. But don't for a minute forget that God's rule is more important. And when we pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that should mean far more than what laws are being passed in the legislature.

So in summary, be a good citizen and obey the law. Fight for what is right using all the legal means accessible to you. But remember that victories in the political and earthly sphere are merely temporary. We have been called to build the Kingdom of God, which is far better than any earthly state. Above all remember that God is in charge and it is from him that ultimate authority flows and to him that ultimate allegiance is owed. God “changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them” (Daniel 2:21).

On April 1, 1996, a full page ad appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, and USA Today. It said: “In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country’s most historic treasures. It will now be called the “Taco Liberty Bell” and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing.”

This was an April Fool’s day joke and publicity stunt all in one. Later that day, the White House spokesman joined in. “We’ll be doing a series of these. Ford Motor Co. is joining today in an effort to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial. It will be the Lincoln Mercury Memorial,” he said.

The Top 100 April Fool's Pranks Of All Time

I know I'm a few days late, but in honor of one of the silliest holidays ever, I will list here a series of quotes about fools and foolishness. All of the quotes are real, no fooling.

“April 1 is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four” (Mark Twain).

“Wise men learn more from fools than fools from wise men” (Marcus Cato).

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes” (Winston Churchill).

“You can always tell a Texan, but not much” (Unknown).

“I bought some batteries, but they weren’t included” (Steven Wright).

“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want” (Bill Watterson).

“He who winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin” (Proverbs 10:10).

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7).

“Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent” (Proverbs 17:28).

“It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury” (Proverbs 19:10).

"Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or any passer-by"(Proverbs 26:10).

"Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool" (Proverbs 26:9) (Or on the blogpost of a Phil)

“Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac” (Hosea 9:7).

“Anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22).

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand” (Matthew 7:26).

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18).

“The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight” (I Corinthians 3:18-19).

At first Jesus looked like a failed hero. Many people believed that he was “The Chosen One”, the Christ, who would be Israel’s hero and savior. He rode into Jerusalem, and received not just a king’s welcome, but a welcome worthy only of Israel’s savior. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” the people cried. What they meant was, “Save us, Messiah that we have waited for!” They had been waiting for centuries for someone to come and rescue them from poverty, persecution and enslavement to a foreign pagan power. Could this really be the one who will lead them in victory over their enemies and restore Israel to its former glory?

Less than a week later, Jesus is crucified, just like the many failed messiah’s before him. Jesus wasn’t the first (or the last) to claim that he was the one that we’ve been waiting for. Try to imagine their sadness and disappointment when Jesus was executed as a common rebel.

But Jesus was not a failed hero. The cross was not an accident. It was not even a tragically beautiful ending to a man who came to teach peace and love, as many have portrayed him. It was exactly the end he planned on. Like many of us, people wanted to be rescued from excessive taxes, injustice and the immorality of government. But those aren't our real problems.

Think about it. Imagine the perfect politician and the perfect Government. Every law you think should be on the books is there exactly as you think it ought to be. Every Government agency is run properly. Every politician is honest. And your political ideology reigns in every policy, foreign and domestic. Every politician does what they are supposed to do...

In such a world, you still suffer the consequences of sin. People still get sick. People still commit crimes. People still sin. You still sin. And you still die. In fact, the reason the above political scenario is impossible is because of sin and its consequences.

Do you see the brilliance of what Jesus did? By dying and rising from the dead, Jesus took care of the real enemies first. The death of the only truly innocent man defeated sin. And the resurrection of that same man defeated death.

Sin and death are the biggest enemies. And because he did what he said he would do, we can believe him when he says he’ll take care of the smaller enemies too. It's like this, if I see a guy juggle six flaming swords, he doesn't need to prove that he can juggle three silk scarves. Jesus took care of the giants. Everything else is like squashing bugs.

There's another reason why what he did was so brilliant. What if Jesus had come and ruled and set up his kingship? Would the people have been satisfied? Probably. I think they would have been like some of the rabbits in Richard Adams' brilliant book "Watership Down." Our heroes, rabbits looking for a safe home, find a warren full of fat and happy rabbits. The place is paradise. Then it turns out that the reason food shows up every day, and there are no predators, is because the farmer feeds them and protects them, so that every few days, he can have fresh rabbit for dinner. The rabbits who live there don't talk about it. Because all their creature comforts are met, they choose to live with death.

Would we be the same way if we got everything we thought we wanted?

Jesus defeated your real enemies already. Because he did that, he'll take care of the rest like an elephant stomping on lego men.

"’Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Revelation 21:3-4, 6-7).