Uncommon Faith

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”  Andy Dufresne – The Shawshank Redemption

What is it about hope that springs eternal?   You might even ask, what does that really mean?  Dictionary.com says this:

People will keep on hoping, no matter what the odds.  For example, I keep buying lottery tickets–hope springs eternal.  This expression was coined by Alexander Pope (An Essay on Man, 1732) and quickly became proverbial.

That’s fair enough.  We all want to have hope in something.  I’ve never had hope in winning the lottery but many do.  If I played the lottery I would never expect to hit it someday and then, bam, just like that I’m on easy street.  However, many people think this way.

I try to be more concrete in my thinking but in order to be more “concrete” I need something stable.  The lottery example is nothing more than a “wish” or a “pipe-dream”.  Sure enough, it happens on occasion for people but the odds are better you’ll be eaten by a Great White Shark.  Even if you don’t swim in the ocean.

Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?  Can reeds flourish where there is no water?  While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.  Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish.  Job 8:11-13

The Scripture paints a masterpiece word picture.  It’s really easy to see what is being said here.  Without God what hope do you have?  It gives us a grim reminder that life is temporal, and destruction can come upon us like a flower being cut down or plants withering away.

Wow, that’s pretty depressing.

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.  Isaiah 8:17

This turns a corner.  We see a glimmer of hope, although at times the Lord may hide his face from us, if we are trusting in Him there is a great hope.  Hope that is real, must depend on the object of our hope.  Outside of the everlasting love of the Father, there is only false hope.

But that’s not so for us…  if we are in Christ.  That is our great hope.  He died and rose again and sits at the right hand of the Father.  Don’t allow your circumstances to dictate your true hope.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of JesusChrist from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  1 Peter 1:3-5

Did you catch that it’s a “living” hope?  Why was Peter stressing this so much?  Because his readers were experiencing great suffering through persecution.  While there are times we suffer greatly through no fault of our own, extreme physical trials are faced or just the circumstances of life, we must remember we have a Savior that has not abandoned us.  He is there to walk us through the worst of life.

May we cling to this hope.  Because He who began a good work in us will see it to completion.

Kevin

The demands of pastoral ministry are high, not only as it relates to the potential workload but especially to the character of the men that are called to it.

I’ve embarked on a journey.  I have no idea where it will end up but I know where I don’t want it to end.  In disgrace.  I will remove myself quickly if I ever bring reproach to the name of Christ.  That is a higher responsibility to me than holding onto an idea that I have about myself or my “potential”.

No, there is a lot at stake here.  There are many that have shipwrecked their own “faith” but have also ruined their reputation and sullied the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are “posers” out there; those that profess to be something they really are not.

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12 

My youth is not in question, but how about the rest of this?  This is serious business.

Matthew Henry lays it out so beautifully:

Those who teach by their doctrine must teach by their life.  Their discourse must be edifying; their conversation must be holy; they must be examples of love to God and all good men, examples of spiritual-mindedness.  Ministers must mind these things as their principal work and business.  By this means their profiting will appear in all things, as well as to all persons; this is the way to profit in knowledge and grace, and also to profit others.

Many men can say one thing, or be something in certain settings, but how does he live in private?  Is his personal life, the same as his ministerial life?  Is he a man you want to emulate in all manner of living?  This is the true test of the man.  The character of this man is revealed in private.  Ask those closest to him how he lives?  Here you will find answers.

In Dave Harvey’s book Am I Called? he says this about a man’s ordination service where the pastor’s wife was asked to speak about her husband:

She shared about the effect of her husband’s gospel-inspired example upon her and the kids.  She said, “He’s the same at home as he appears at church; no double standards, no duplicity.  If you shot footage of our family, you’d see no surprises.”  The wife’s words testified loudly to the man’s life.  They spoke volumes to the church, both about the man’s leadership and about the God this man was called to represent.

This is a high calling and one that should be embarked upon with great concern and caution.  May the Lord give grace to those whom He has called to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable in His sight.

Kevin

Having a good reputation in life is a good thing.  I’m not sure anyone tries to have a bad reputation.   Perhaps it just happens, but there are a thousand little decisions that lead to a reputation.

There is nothing Christian about what I’ve said above.  This could apply to anyone, but for the Christian and more specifically and especially for the leader it’s not only demanded but a qualifier to be a church leader.

“The pastor is called to model his message.  His leadership is authenticated through character.  The pastor leads through his life as well as his lips.”  Dave Harvey from his book Am I Called?

Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.  1 Timothy 3:7

This is not a stand-alone requirement for eldership, we are well aware of all the preceding lists of 1 Timothy 3:1-6 and Titus 1:5-9.  If a man leads his family well or is able to teach, it does not release him from needing to be well thought of in his community.

Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.  Proverbs 20:11

The danger has a trickle-down effect, it effects, or should I say, infects the congregation.  We as believing people must hold these leaders to a higher standard.  They are accountable to God and they are accountable to the local church.

“Whatever the leaders are, the people will become.” John MacArthur

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.  Luke 6:40

Dave Harvey asks the question: “Is he godly?”

We don’t have to look further than his reputation from the outside, to get an idea what goes on inside.  How a man acts matters.  Poor behavior can occur in public or private but if there is a tendency to be a public nuisance how much easier does this transfer over to private hypocrisy?

Unbelievers may disagree with what a man teaches or preaches, but they will never condemn his life if he lives out what he professes.  Godly men are known in the community because their reputation has already confirmed them.  Strive for godliness and a good reputation will follow.

Kevin

What is self-image?

self-im·age

/ˈˌself ˈimij/

We all have ideas about who we are and what we are like.  In a sense, we are legends in our own minds.  Now I know that is an attempt at self-deprecating humor in many instances, but I think it’s accurate.

We believe things about ourselves that we think are true.  And even MORE importantly we believe we know things about others that we think is true.  In some cases that’s correct and in other cases it’s not.   We all form opinions based on observational evidence around us.

The human mind has a tendency to think highly of itself and less highly, or sometimes judgmental toward others.  I do it.  You do it.  Don’t you?  Be honest here…

“We” and by we, I mean all human beings, have a tendency to judge others by what we think is right.  To illustrate my point, let’s say I have a standard by which I live.  I believe this is the BEST way to live.  You live differently than I do and you think your way is the best.  Who is right?

Is it simply a matter of “to each his own”?  As long as we aren’t hurting each other right?  But what if we are hurting each other?  Was Hitler correct in his thinking?  He thought it was okay, what he was doing, didn’t he?  He even had the support of his government and by all means, he had the support of the populace.  Did personal thoughts, government or majority make his viewpoints correct?

Unless you are a sociopath or some Neo-nazi you’ll recoil at what I just said.

In those days there was no king in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  Judges 17:6

It really comes down to an objective standard of truth.  A revelation, if you will, of what is always true and what is always right and what is always WRONG!

There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?   James 4:12

Try as you might you just can’t achieve this outside of a consistent, ever present, Sovereign.  A Creator that never varies.  He is always the same, yesterday, today and forever.  Feel free to argue this if you like, because you are left with very few choices.  Random chaos or order.

Even if you deny the existence of the God of the Bible, you will live as if He does exist.  You cling to absolute beliefs, but you can’t justify them.  You can try, but unless you can acknowledge an Absolute, you have no basis for your belief.

Our ideas of our self-image are distorted by sin.  We look into a mirror and we look to our good points.  We try and think the best in ourselves and belief in our goodness, but measured against a perfect standard the flaws are evident and obvious.  If we will be honest with ourselves and place our imperfections against the law of God, we see our need for help.  This help comes from another.

Jesus Christ is that “other”.  He is the perfect judge, the perfect sacrifice, the perfect redeemer for those that recognize not only their imperfections but just how hideous they actually look to a Holy God.

Don’t walk away from here today without thinking about where you receive your self-image.

Kevin

Here I am…  It’s Thursday and it’s relatively normal.  Whatever “normal” means.  I’m going about my day, thinking about things, working, mostly thinking about things.

What do I think about you might ask?  Nothing really important, probably the same things you think about.  Life, family, work, the upcoming weekend, the upcoming trips I’m forced to take.

My life is terribly mundane and boring for the most part.  And I’m thankful for that.

I have an amazing wife.  (Jen, did you catch that).  I have four children that love me and I love them.  It’s still a thrill for me when I come home and the two little ones yell out, “Daaaaad!”  And then run toward and almost knock me over with their 35-pound frames.

Life is good, as they say…

Oh, sure I suppose Jen and I wrangle a little bit over a thing or two, but nothing serious.  Eventually, she recognizes that I was right.  😉  After 27 years and 258 days of marriage, we have things mostly figured out.

As I’m thinking about what to say today, I thought, “you know, I’ve got it good”.  Since my blogging reboot, I’ve tried to be “positive”, “devotional” and mostly up-beat.  Christianity should be “up-beat”, and full of joy, so when I’m thinking about how to apply biblical truths to everyday life I think about stuff, or I think about the Bible and say, “how does this apply?”

I could go a dozen directions here but let’s borrow a phrase and live a victorious life, but not in the way you might think.  I don’t mean, the promises of health, wealth and material possessions until all your personal desires have been fully satisfied.  Let’s be a little more theologically correct than that and besides if that’s your benchmark you’ll never make it.

Victorious living comes in the person of Christ through redemption bought and paid at the foot of a bloody cross.  It is here our salvation has been purchased.  It is here we can rejoice at the mundane-ness of life, at the beauty in the simplicity of living with those you love and you are thankful for every breath you’ve been given.  I don’t need more “stuff” to experience that.

I and you can rejoice even when it’s not always going so well.  Because the victory is already won.

Be gracious to me, O LORD!  See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.  – Psalm 9:13-14

The psalmist was victorious even in his affliction.  I’m not here to paint the perfect picture of my family and say it’s the “be all end all” of the substance of my life.  Yes, that is a wonderful blessing, but he points to something even better.  Salvation.

If something happens to my picture perfect family unit, I above all have Christ.  I love my family, don’t misunderstand me here, but Christ is my greatest treasure.  And what’s so awesome and cool, is that my wife says the same thing.

Kevin