Get Ready to Get Old

Within the last ten minutes I have crossed paths, and had two brief conversations with, two elderly gentlemen who love the Lord.  They both are long-time members of our church and are a constant source of encouragement to me.  They have a heart for others, and the joy of the Lord is their strength.  Though one of them is approaching ninety and the other is well past ninety, they have a youthful zeal that many a fraction of their age lack.

What is their secret?  Obviously the main one is that they both enjoy a close walk with the Lord.  As I said, the joy of the Lord is their strength (Neh. 8:10).  But more specifically, it can be said that they honestly believe (and rightly so) that the Lord has a purpose and plan for them to fulfill even as they are well into their twilight years.  They are absolutely convinced that as long as they are alive, they have something further to contribute to the work of the kingdom.  They are "not lagging in diligence" but are "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Rom. 12:11).  As I spoke with these gentlemen, one was headed out with a handful of Gospel tracts to a nearby nursing home.  The other was preparing to place inserts into two hundred and twenty bulletins in preparation for this Sunday's worship service.  

God tells us in His Word, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25).  These men believe that and live accordingly!

This all fits very well with a blog I read on the Internet just two days ago.  It was a blog written by Jay Adams, the "guru" of biblical counseling, who just turned eighty.  He just started blogging ... at eighty years old!  Gotta love it!

Dr. Adams begins the blog with the following:

Eighty years old!  I truly never thought I'd live this long.  It makes me wonder what the Lord has in mind for me to do during the last few years that I have left.  Surely, without some worthwhile project or projects, I'd dry up and blow away.  Whether writing these blogs is or is not a worthwhile activity I shall find out in time.  For the moment, in addition to teaching at my church, this is my major activity.

I find it interesting how Dr. Adams acknowledges the need to have something worthwhile to occupy his time and energy.  He goes on to speak about the physical limitations that he has as an older person.  He can't walk as well or hear as well.  He can still drive but would prefer not to.  He thanks the Lord that his mental faculties are still intact.  He then goes on to say:

At eighty, I ought to have some sage advice to give to the young.  Let's see, if I were to pick one thing only, that might be of importance, what would it be?  Hmmmm . . .

I know one!  Prepare for old age.  True, you may never make it; for there are former students of mine who have died already.  If you don't have some activity that you can engage in for the Lord, you will probably end up a sour and regretful old person.  There's always something one can do so long as he has control of his basic faculties.  If he is bedridden, he can pray. . . .

Let me stop right there, because in addition to the two fine men I interacted with this morning, there are several other godly people in our congregation who are infirm and laid up in bed.  But they are some of the greatest prayer warriors I know.  Thus their contributions to the body of Christ and the advancement of His kingdom are beyond our ability to estimate.  They are a vital part of the work that God is doing in this generation because of their positive, God-oriented outlook.  They think the way that Dr. Adam's thinks at this stage of his life, asking the same sort of questions that he asks in the closing paragraph of his blog:

What is next to do?  To learn?  To experience?  That orientation, I think, has kept me current as I can be - given my physical limitations.  Inwardly, I don't think of myself as old.  I just think, "Here's another day - what shall I make of it?  How shall I use it to honor God, and how can I be a blessing to someone else?"  So long as I can continue that orientation, I think I'll be able to carry on reasonably well for another few years.  If God wills.  We're all immortal until God is through with us. . . .

Amen, Dr. Adams.  May your tribe increase!

Forced to Die

My heart raced slightly when I read the AP headline, Virginia Inmate Forcibly Carried to Death Chamber.  What would it be like to know that you are going to die, and no amount of resistance on your part will keep the inevitable from happening?

Such was the case with Edward Nathaniel Bell as the door between his cell and the death chamber opened. He planted his feet and thrust back his hips, refusing to move forward.  But six burly guards pulled him through and lifted him up on the gurney, where he would receive the lethal injection.

Ten years earlier, Bell was convicted of shooting down and killing a police officer during a foot chase.  Bell was supposed to be executed last year, but Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine held off the execution while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a Kentucky case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injections.  The court upheld the method in April.  

The following month, the court granted Bell a temporary reprieve to consider whether his lawyer did a poor job representing him.  The court later dismissed his appeal.  

Shortly before his execution, Bell met with four of his five children, his sister, and two women with whom he had children.  He didn't request a special last meal because he remained hopeful till the end that he would receive a pardon.  So he had a cheese sandwich, just like the rest of the inmates.

A half dozen protesters assembled outside the prison during the execution.  Beth Panilaitis, the executive director for Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said, "One of the scariest parts of the death penalty is that it's hard to ever be certain.  And ending someone's life takes away any opportunity to correct any wrongful conviction."

After being forcibly carried into the death chamber, Bell insisted that he was innocent, saying, "You definitely have the wrong person.  The truth will come out one day.  This here, killing me, there's no justice about it."

As I read this article, I could only begin to imagine what it would be like to be dragged to one's death.  To be forcibly executed.  To know that my demise is inevitable, that no matter how much I might resist, I will be overcome.  The gavel has fallen, and now my sentence will be carried out.

Yet this is the fate of all who are outside Christ, only their execution is not over in a matter of seconds or even minutes.  Theirs is an eternal death.  And there is no ten-year-gap between the sentence and the execution.  It all happens in one fell swoop.  Behold the ominous depiction of this event by the apostle John near the close of God's Book:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.  And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened.  And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.  And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.  The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.  And they were judged, each one according to his works.  Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

- Revelation 20:11-15

What Edward Nathaniel Bell experienced was the first death, which is physical.  What every person outside of Christ will experience is the second death, which is spiritual.  Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell" (Matt. 10:28).

On Judgment Day, no one will be able to claim his or her innocence. For the God that passes judgement is omniscient; He knows all.  "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13).

If you are reading this and want to know how you can be saved from God's holy wrath against sin, please click here.  If you know that you are saved, let us remember what we have been saved from and that we are ambassadors for Christ whom He has commissioned to share the Good News of salvation.  We are God's "rescue team" who are to be out in the world, "pulling [people] out of the fire" (Jude 23).

The Evolution Debate

Each week Focus on the Family sends out a Pastor's Weekly Briefing filled with all sort of newsy tidbits.  There were a couple pertaining specifically to evolution that I found interesting:

• A new Zogby poll shows 78 percent of U.S. voters want both sides of the evolution debate brought up in the classroom - up nine points from a similar poll three years ago.  The poll, commissioned by the Discovery Institute, found both Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly support discussion for and against evolution.  "Many Darwinists are trying to paint supporters of academic freedom as some kind of crazy, fringe element.," said Candi Cushman, education analyst at Focus on the Family Action.  "The truth is, the majority of parents want their kids to examine all the scientific evidence, to engage in critical thinking and to have classrooms that are academically challenging - not controlled by political correctness.
• A Gallup poll released this week shows that 39 percent of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not.  Another 36 percent don't have an opinion either way, CNN reported.  An earlier Gallup poll on this issue, that was conducted in May 2008, found that 44 percent believe God created human beings within the past 10,000 years.

Considering these statistics, it's amazing that the theory of evolution continues to be pushed so hard in the public school system and that creationism or the teaching of Intelligent Design is deemed to be not only religious but ridiculous.  Just recently, comedian Ben Stein backed out of giving the commencement address at the University of Vermont because of complaints about his view of evolution.  UVM President Daniel Fogel, who chose him based on a warm response that Stein got at an on-campus lecture last spring, says he was deluged with e-mail messages from people who find Stein's views of science offensive.  Incidentally, Stein responded by describing the brouhaha over his selection as commencement speaker as "laughable," calling the whole episode "pathetic."  In a phone call to the Free Press, Stein said that describing his views as "antithetical to scientific inquiry" was "a wildly unfair characterization."  Later in an e-mail Stein added, "I am far more pro-science than the Darwinists.  I want all scientific inquirty to happen - not just what the ruling clique calls science."

The suppression and criticism of creationism is not so much a scientific issue as it is a spiritual one.  Darwinism is but a modern manifestation of man's attempt to do away with God.  This is what lies at the heart of evolutionary teaching.  

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Professing to be wise, they became fools. . . .

- Romans 1:18-22

Pray for Christian students and teachers who are subjected to criticism and secularism in the classroom.  Pray for their faith not to waver and to remember that God makes the wisdom of this world foolish and saves those who believe the "foolish" message of the cross (1 Cor. 1:18-21).  Pray, too, for those deluded by the lie of evolution, that they would come to a knowledge of the truth.

Stimulus Bill: Milestone or Millstone?

Just for kicks, I'm doing something a little different for this blog posting - something wild and dangerous.  I'm venturing into the political arena (dangerous enough), but more than that, I'm also getting a public opinion poll (more dangerous still).  It has to do with the stimulus package just approved by President Obama and (barely) both houses of Congress.

While catching up on the news, I came across a headline that read "Obama: Stimulus Bill 'Major Milestone' for Economic Recovery."  But when I first glanced at the headline, I thought it read "Obama: Stimulus Bill 'Major Millstone' for Economic Recovery."  Clearly, some see the stimulus bill as a major milestone, whereas others see it as a major millstone!  Without a doubt, the passage of this legislation was a major victory for President Obama.  The economic stimulus is a 787 billion-dollar package that Obama says will "put people back to work doing the work America needs done."  Senator Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, who was a leading architect of the proposal, said that the stimulus package "will create millions of good-paying jobs and help families and business stay afloat financially."  Yet a virtually opposite prediction was voiced by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who said, "A stimulus bill that was supposed to be timely, targeted and temporary is none of the above."

So there you have the contrasting opinions of the powers that be. What's your opinion?  

Cassel a Hot Commodity

Though the contract has yet to be formalized, word has it that quarterback Matt Cassel has accepted the Patriots' non-exclusive franchise tag and the one-year, $14.65 million that goes with it.  To put this into perspective, Cassel's new salary is the average of the top five highest-paid players at the QB position.  And of course it's a slight raise over the $520,000 he made last year ... and just a wee bit more than most of us made last year!

Basically the way the "franchise tag" works is that each NFL team can designate one player as its franchise player.  Typically this is a player of great skill and/or of great importance to the team that they don't want to lose when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.  By "tagging" him as their franchise player, the team can retain him while seeking talent through the NFL draft or other acquisitions without exceeding the NFL's salary cap.  

Having been designated a "non-exclusive franchise player," Cassel is free to negotiate with other teams.  If another team makes an offer, the Patriots have the right to match that offer.  If they don't and thus lose Cassel as a player, they are entitled to receive two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Regardless of how you feel about "franchise tags" or the incredible amount of money that professional athletes get paid, this whole scenario with Cassel presents us with some contrasting spiritual parallels worth considering.

We are bought with a price.

God's Word says that we, as believers in Christ Jesus, were "purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).  The apostle Peter reiterates this, saying that we were not redeemed "with corruptible things, like silver or gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18-19).  We tend to think that $14.65 million is a lot, but it's nothing compared to the infinite worth of Jesus' blood.

The price is not based on our performance.

Starting fifteen games in Brady's place, Cassel led the the Patriots to a 11-5 record.  He threw for 3,693 yards, a club record for a first-year starter, and 21 touchdowns while completing 63.4 percent of his passes.  This performance made Cassel a "hot commodity" in the NFL and a 14-million-dollar man.

Yet the price that was paid for us has nothing to do with our performance; rather, it has everything to do with Jesus' performance.  Scripture informs us that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are mighty ... that no flesh should glory in His presence.  But of Him you are in Christ Jesus. . ." (1 Cor. 1:27, 30).  Elsewhere Scripture reminds us, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6).

So much for us being a hot commodity!  The price that was paid for us has nothing to do with our performance or how impressive we are in God's sight.  It has everything to do with God's love and grace toward unworthy sinners like you and me.  

Everyone on God's team is a "franchise player."

Each team in the NFL gets to designate one franchise player per year.  As was already stated, this is the player considered to be one of the most valuable or most important on the team.  But when it comes to God's team, the Church, every player is equally valuable and important.  Each one was purchased with Christ's blood.  God intends nobody to be a bench-warmer.  Everybody has a vital role to play.  The apostle Paul presses this home with the use of an analogy, comparing Christ's body (God's team) to the human body:

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  So it is with the body of Christ. . . .  Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.  If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear?  Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?  But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.  How strange a body would be if it had only one part!  Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you."  The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.  And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. . . .  So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.  This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. . . .

All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it.

1 Cor. 12:12, 14-25, 27  NLT

Furthermore, unlike Cassel, all the players on God's team are exclusive franchise players.  That is, we cannot negotiate or be bought by another team.  We belong to the Lord who has purchased us permanently and exclusively, forever and ever!

Matt Cassel is amazing.  But to be a Christian is even more amazing.

Waiting on the Lord

I just came back from a conversation where a Christian brother said these refreshing words:  "We're just going to wait on the Lord."  He was talking about a situation in which he and his wife could easily get alarmed, thrown into a frenzy, and start racing around trying to find a resolution.  But seeing the temptation for what it is, they are resisting the impulse of the flesh and listening to the voice of Truth.

I have no doubt that many of you have found yourself in a similar situation.  Perhaps you are in one right now - a circumstance that can throw you into a dither, get you all worried and worked up inside.  Yet in the midst of your inner storm, the voice of Truth whispers,

Be still and know that I am God . . .

Cast all your care on Me, for I care for you . . .

Trust in Me . . .

Commit your way to Me . . .

Delight yourself in Me . . .

Rest in Me, and wait patiently for Me . . .

Several months ago I posted a song that my cousin wrote with this theme in mind.  I think it is a good time to post it again.  I pray it will help you to wait on the Lord.

Keeping Phelps in Perspective

By now most everybody has heard of Michael Phelps "faux pas" (called such by Austin Murphy of Sports Illustrated), which came to light this past Sunday, when a British tabloid published a photo of him using a bong - a device used for smoking marijuana.  Phelps issued a prompt apology, saying, 

I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment.  I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me.  For this, I am sorry.  I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.

While not wanting to doubt this young man's sincerity, I'm not going to hold my breath regarding his promise that "it will not happen again." Why?  Because in 2004, when Phelps was 19 years old, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.  (He pleaded guilty and was ordered to serve 18 months probation, fined $250, plus had to speak to high school students regarding the dangers of alcohol, and he had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving meeting.)  When he was questioned about the incident by Matt Lauer on The Today Show, Phelps said this was an "isolated incident."  While smoking marijuana and driving under the influence are not exactly the same thing, they are both irresponsible and reckless acts of behavior.  Therefore, I won't be surprised if such a thing "will not happen again," despite Phelp's pledge to the contrary.

What's so interesting about this is that an athlete that is rigorous in his training for an athletic competition can be quite undisciplined in other areas of his life.  Yet the Scripture makes it clear that such a thing is possible.  Paul wrote to Timothy, "Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Tim. 4:7b-8 ESV).

Michael Phelps has won 14 career Olympic gold medals, the most by any Olympian.  By the end of 2008 he held seven world records in swimming.  In 2008 Sports Illustrated magazine honored him with the "Sportsman of the Year" award.  These are remarkable achievements, to be sure.  But they will go no further than this life.  Not to be morbid, but eventually they will rust ... and the body of Michael Phelps will rot.  Bodily discipline is important, and tremendously beneficial, but its contributions to our well-being are temporary.  The bodies of the world's best athletes will eventually return to dust.  

As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field so he flourishes.

When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,

And its place acknowledges it no longer.

But the lovingkindness of the LORD

Is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him

And His righteousness to children's children,

To those who keep His covenant

And remember His precepts to do them.

- Psalm 103:15-18

However beneficial and rewarding bodily exercise may be, it cannot compare to the eternal worth and value of living to God's glory.  Is God impressed with Olympic gold medals?  No, but He is pleased and delights in each life lived to His glory.  My point here is not to criticize or sit in judgment over young Michael Phelps.  Here is a young man who is beset with more temptations and opportunities to sin than we realize.  He needs the Lord!  Furthermore, his discipline when it comes to physical training serves as a wonderful model of the kind of commitment we should have when it comes to training ourselves for godliness.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's okay to love sports and to admire accomplished athletes.  But in light of eternity, do they matter all that much?  One hundred years from now, will it really matter who won the Super Bowl or the World Series?  Yet how easy it is for us to get caught up in sports fanaticism and to idolize sports heroes.  "The best of men are men at best."  The only real Hero who will never disappoint us is Jesus Christ.  God accepts sinners like us and Michael Phelps because of what Jesus accomplished, not because of what we have accomplished.