I pledge allegiance…

I pledge allegiance…

It is interesting to know that the pledge to the Bible has a uniquely Southern Baptist origin. In 1924 a young pastor named Homer Grice was called from his church in Washington, Georgia to lead Southern Baptists in the Vacation Bible School movement, which was spreading across the nation among many denominations. Dr. Grice served as director of the newly-created VBS Department of the Baptist Sunday School Board. He took two verses of Scripture (Psalm 119:105 and 11) and linked them together, creating the pledge to the Bible, which was introduced in 1925 to Vacation Bible Schools.

“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.”

Why promise to be bound by or completely devoted to the Bible? Because it is there where we discover what God desires, and His Word can’t and won’t affect our lives unless we read and meditate on it regularly.

In Deuteronomy, Moses pens the laws for ruling the nation. Referring to the king, he says,

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

The king was to be a man of God’s Word. He was to have a copy of the law made for his personal use, keep it with him at all times, read from it every day, and obey it entirely. Through this practice he would learn respect for God and others.

2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” Because God will examine what kind of workers we have been for Him, we should build our lives on His Word and build His Word into our lives. The Word alone tells us how to live for Him and serve Him. Steady and careful study of God’s Word is absolutely necessary for the believer; otherwise we will be pacified into neglecting God and our true purpose for living.

Merely knowing the Bible is not enough. We have to allow it to work in and change our lives. When we say we follow Jesus, we must live by His standards, and His standards are found in His Word.

God’s Word is not just for our information…it is for our transformation!

The Purpose of Scripture

I recently had the privilege to write a devotion for our congregation, and I thought I would share that here.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

A family member once told me in a discussion we were having, “The Bible is just a collection of good moral stories. There’s no truth in the Scriptures.” I was much younger then and struggled with defending my faith without becoming angry, so I quickly rebutted, “Good morals don’t get you into heaven!” Needless to say it just escalated from there…to be young and foolish. As I think back on that time and the things that were said, I remember being shaken by the assumption that the Bible was just a book of stories with no real truths contained within it.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable” which means the Bible is completely trustworthy and unfailing as well as useful to us. The book of Hebrews tells us that God’s Word is living and active, so what is it that Scripture actually does for us? Nothing if we don’t plunge ourselves deep in it. We have to read, study, and apply God’s Word for it to be useful. But we don’t read and study Scripture merely to increase our knowledge, it is to make us complete and equip us for every good work.

God didn’t save us simply to leave us on our own. It is through Scripture that God reveals Himself to us. Scripture is useful for teaching God’s truth. Scripture is useful for confronting our sin. Scripture is useful for correction. Scripture is useful for helping us mature in our relationship with Christ. According to 2 Timothy it doesn’t stop there. The purpose of Scripture is to prepare and equip us to do the work God has set before us.

The late Bible teacher, H. A. Ironside, told of visiting a godly Irishman, Andrew Frazer, who had come to California to recover from tuberculosis. The old man could barely speak because his lungs were almost gone. But he opened his worn Bible and, until his strength was gone, he simply, sweetly opened up truth after truth in a way that Ironside had never heard before. Before he knew it, Ironside had tears running down his cheeks. He asked Frazer, “Where did you get all these things? Could you tell me where I could find a book that would open them up to me? Did you learn these things in some seminary or college?” Frazer answered, “My dear young man, I learned these things on my knees on the mud floor of a little sod cottage in the north of Ireland. There with my Bible open before me, I used to kneel for hours at a time, and ask the Spirit of God to reveal Christ to my soul and to open the Word to my heart. He taught me more on my knees on that mud floor than I ever could have learned in all the seminaries or colleges in the world.” (H. A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies[Loizeaux Brothers], pp. 86-87.)

If you are like me, you have a number of Bibles around your home, but do you allow the Scriptures to be useful to you? Let me encourage you today to consistently read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word.

Self-Imposed or God-Centered Goals?

Self-imposed or God-centered? This is a question I frequently ask myself. Am I leaving God out of my goal-setting?

“The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s men. The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”  “It is,” he answered. Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him. Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?” But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died.” 2 Samuel 2:17-23

David had been anointed king over Judah, and after Saul’s death his son, Ish-Bosheth, became king over Israel. Abner, commander of Saul’s army, and Joab, commander of David’s army, struck a deal. They decided to have some of the young men from each army get up and fight hand to hand. So twelve men stood up for Ish-Bosheth and twelve for David. After the battle, Asahel, another of David’s leaders, began to chase after Abner. He relentlessly pursued Abner. Abner warned Asahel to turn back or risk losing his life, but Asahel refused to turn and died at the hands of Abner.

Persistence is a good characteristic if it is for a deserving cause. But if the goal is personal gain or esteem, persistence is no more than obstinacy. Asahel’s obstinacy cost him his life. Before we decide to pursue a goal, then we need to make sure it is worthy of our devotion. Goals are only worthy of devotion if God is included in our planning.

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.” James 4:13-16

As a Christian, there is no point in making plans as if God does not exist. He is and should be at the center of who we are, and our future is in His hands. Make sure that what God desires is at the core of your planning.

How will you react when and if God steps in and completely rearranges your plans?

Balance the Load

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

Christians should never think that they can be totally independent and require no help from others. If a Christian knows someone who needs help, then it is their responsibility to humbly and gently reach out to that person.

I should confess that I tend to get a little over zealous when it comes to carrying each other’s burdens. My immediate response when I know someone is in need is to jump right in and “fix” the situation, especially because I am inclined to be very relational and respond out of emotion. And if I can’t fix it, then I feel I’ve failed. I had to recognize that I have been working from a distorted view of what it means to carry each other’s burdens (I’ve recognized it but am still a work in progress).

Galatians 5:14 says, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” How does that love manifest itself…by carrying each other’s burdens. If a burden is too heavy for a brother or sister to carry, then help them steady the load, or if a brother or sister stumbles, then pick them up. Carrying will look different depending on the burden. My “fix it” solution is not going to be healthy for every burden. As a matter of fact, it will probably be beneficial to only a few burdens. I do think there is a very simple footprint we can follow: listen to the person who is suffering…hear what they are saying without formulating a “plan of attack”…just simply listen; pray for the person and situation…I don’t mean a quick “check it off your list prayer”…I mean fall on your face before your Heavenly Father and share the brokenness you feel for your brother or sister; and help where you can…physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually.

There are people in my life that I want to help by carrying their burdens. Do you know someone who needs help? Is there a Christian brother or sister who needs encouragement?

God’s Word Is Piercing

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:15-17

I can take very little credit for the what I am about to write. My thoughts today are completely inspired by what God has been showing me through the words of one of His servants.

I believe God is always trying to grow and mold us into the image of His Son, but there are stretches when I find I have a difficult time hearing Him because I am allowing my circumstances, life stressors, and the enemy to drown out His voice. That is where I have found myself over the past few months. I have been listening to everyone and everything but God. That started to change for me yesterday (Sunday) morning during our church’s worship service.

We had a beautiful worship service where we observed the Lord’s Supper. I could hear God beginning to whisper to me as the music played and as His Word was read to us by our Pastor (Byron). I felt a stirring in my heart that I haven’t felt in a long time. I was being broken. By the end of the service I was in tears, but I felt like God had more to say to me. That evening Byron had the privilege of speaking at a community-wide Thanksgiving service. Although our church was still having service, I really felt God pushing me to go to the community service because He hadn’t finished using my Pastor to reach me. I knew that God had more for me.

I was obedient and attended the community service, but this time God didn’t whisper, He spoke to me LOUD and CLEAR. The verses shared by Byron from Colossians were written to me for “a time such as this.” I had to repent and confess before God that I wasn’t letting the peace of Christ rule my heart. I had been permitting my heart to be the center of conflict. I was so thankful for what God was revealing in me, but He still wasn’t finished. Byron continued in Colossians, and he spoke directly to verse 17; “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Doing “all in the name of the Lord Jesus” means bringing honor to Christ in every aspect of our daily lives. If I was letting all this conflict rule my heart, then I certainly had to admit that I wasn’t bringing honor to Christ in my daily life.

God has pierced my heart so deeply. I have never felt so much pain and joy together in one moment of my life. I am grateful for a merciful and loving Father who always wants what is best for me and for a Pastor who allows God to use him as an instrument to share His Word and His hope.

I have been saved for many years but until the day Christ returns, God always has more for me to learn!

Do You Feel Abandoned?

“During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.” Exodus 2:23-25 (NIV)

There are so many times in my life that I can recall feeling that God was so far away. Far enough away for me to assume that He had just abandoned me. He had just left me to wallow in all my sufferings. Why would the God I love so deeply just walk away from me? Why wasn’t He rescuing me?

God is still in the rescue business, but it doesn’t always come in the moment we want it. God had promised to bring the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, and the people had waited for a long time for that promise to be fulfilled. But God rescued them when the time was right. God knows the best time to act. When you feel that God has abandoned you in your times of suffering, remember that God’s timing is not set to our schedule. He knows what’s best. Trust in Him.