All Posts (Page 26)
Monthly Letter | July 2014
Dear CCW Family, I was in seminary during the days of the flower children. We wore tattered bell-bottom jeans and blue work shirts with embroidered flowers and sewn-in messages about peace. On mine, those messages were also about Christ. My boots were full leather with lots of lacing. My medallion was a fish, or a cross on a leather string, way larger than you might think. We held up two fingers to symbolize peace. Our hair was long. We were…
Reject
“The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:7-8). This is the One everyone else rejected, even when they saw Him in person and were sometimes two feet from His face. They looked the stone over and marked it unusable, not valuable, replaceable and inadequate. How could they stumble over the magnificent stone that means everything to us? How could someone like Christ be…
Monthly Letter | June 2014
Dear CCW Family, The commanding statue of Lenin in front of the Communist Headquarters building towered over us as we walked by. We entered this imposing building in what was then called Kosice, Czechoslovakia. In a short time, the building was packed with a thousand intrigued listeners, including the mayor of the city, and the television crew for the evening News. “You’ve taken the curse off this place,” the mayor said, indicating that many people had been sentenced to die…
Jerusalem Update May-June 2014
Congratulations. You are now reading the very last of our updates from Jerusalem. Why? You guessed it! We are leaving Jerusalem. I’ve finished my studies here at JUC and we’ve decided to set sail for home. For a long time, we had considered staying an extra year or half-year in order to study some more, but as things stand now, we feel that there are better opportunities for God to use us in Kansas City. We actually leave in less…
How and When Will All Israel Be Saved?
And so all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26 This phrase has often stymied students of the New Testament, and has been a verse with many interpretations. I offer mine. To adamantly conclude that I have the right one, or even one that has not been proposed by others is presumptuous. What I’m offering is merely from my Bible reading and not from diligently studying other authors on the subject, so I could likely be repeating what another has said.…
Take it Away
Christ came first to take away sin but when He comes next He will take away men—some to eternal darkness and some to life—some to healing and some to strife. What have you done with His sacrifice? Is it tucked neatly into your head like a child in her bed? A forgotten box in permanent storage labeled “someday” or “important” but nonetheless collecting dust. Have you spurned it and despised, buried the truth and set God aside—for earthy pleasure that…
Jerusalem Update: April 2014
Since arriving nearly nine months ago, never has the reality of living at the crossroads of three major world religions been so evident as it has this past month, the first time in years that Passover, Western Christian Easter, and Eastern Orthodox Easter all collided. And by collided, I’m not just speaking metaphorically. Some days we could hardly make it out of the Old City, where we live. Besides the massive influx of Jews from all around the world arriving…
Jerusalem Update: March 2014
Below are a few points from life here. But, the most important comes first: Beautiful, sunny, 70 degree weather. With flowers included. That means more picnics, more studying outside, more walks with friends, just all around more goodness. Other than the weather, life carries on as normal, except for a few changes. Bryan’s parents, sister, and 4 good friends from our church in Kansas City are here!! (Ok, actually this is the most exciting point.) They are doing a 2…
Reminding Me
I haven’t always liked “reminders.” Inherently, a reminder occurs because we forgot the first time—or the last 10 times—what we were told. Nobody likes to think he is so incapable of remembering. More than once as a boy who loved to daydream, my parents would send me upstairs to the bathroom to wash my hands for supper, yet I would brush my teeth instead. At other times they would find me several minutes later staring at the mirror making faces…
Restoring Those Who Fall
Our Statement Regarding Church Discipline Church discipline is one of the primary means God uses to correct and restore His children when they fall into sin. It is also one way in which He maintains the unity, purity, integrity, and reputation of the church. Through private or public instruction, warning, counsel, or rebuke, and even social avoidance or expulsion from membership, God corrects his disobedient children or removes those who are not truly His. Christ Himself declared the church to…
Frustration, Dadgumit
“Dadgumit,” my dad used to say. I have no idea what it meant, except that it was an indicator of frustration over something not working right. “Dingbusted” might also be heard. My father didn’t curse, but these might well be white-washed substitutes. We all know what frustration feels like. Something is just not working right, or is at least not going according to our plan. Some turn of events makes life more complicated than bargained for, or takes away something more…
Hospitality for Gospel Advance
I occasionally travel around the country in order to teach the Bible in various settings, typically staying in the home of a pastor or church members. Looking back over several years now of these experiences, I can confidently say that joyous hospitality is a boon to my ministry. One of my favorite memories of hospitality happened last year. Jim Elliff and I were teaching in Texas, staying with Mr. and Mrs. Tinkle. The fellowship around the table was warm and…
Appreciation for the First Church I Pastored
This was the first church I pastored, though I had served as an assistant in a LR church prior to this. The gracious people of this church allowed me to pastor them while I was in Ouachita University in the late 60s. It was called Washington Baptist Church of Washington, AR (just past Hope!). Washington had 400 residents at the time, and was the Civil War capital in Arkansas. Now it is a state park and well worth your time…
The Year Beginning Now — Making Plans?
You may have reason to fear the year now upon us. What is on the other side of the door? Every person has their allotment of trouble, even among believers. Will there be loss, illness, death, aggravation, perplexity? Will those you love come to distrust you? Will you sin badly, ruining your reputation? Will there be economic trials and anxiety over money? Will you lose your job, or worse, your mind? Will you be hurt deeply? Will you be in…
Our Relatives and Friends Without Christ
I once heard a professor say, “Tragedy is anything that happens to an unbeliever.” Believers have it better. In fact, all that happens to believers works out for good (Rom 8:28). The unbeliever’s supposed good times, the mercies that he receives which ought to lead him to repentance, will bring him pain. Mercies that are sinned against, augment future punishment. They are temporary mercies, but eternal loss. Among those who have mercy now are some in our own families without Christ.…
An Empty Chair at Christmas
Sometimes the hope of Christmas is, “Next year all our troubles will be miles away.” That’s what the song says anyway, but many will not have a merry Christmas just because of that. They know it is not true. Many start with and cannot get past the empty chair—where their husband used to sit, where their daughter used to climb, where grandma used to stand to reach up high. Sure, the stores have been visited, and the goodies consumed, but…