Here’s how the Bible describes some of the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21)

Have you ever wondered what was going through Joseph’s head when he heard all this for the first time? Perhaps, being a good Jew, his mind raced to the Old Testament passage of Deuteronomy 23:2 which states:

“One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

It was no small thing for Joseph to take Mary as wife. He risked having his descendants excluded from the assembly for 10 generations! God was asking him to step out in faith and trust Him. Joseph’s character is seen in the fact that he acted in faith and obeyed.

He was addresses as “Joseph, son of David.” (v. 20) Do you think he got that a lot? How often was this common carpenter linked to the greatest king Israel ever had? While it’s true that David was his biological ancestor, such a link was probably not often associated with him. There was no royalty, no crown, no obvious link to the throne.

The angel had interrupted Joseph’s contemplation of ‘hushing up’ the whole issue of Mary’s pregnancy. He sought to ‘put her away secretly’ and not make her a ‘public example.’ While we applaud Joseph’s intent, and understand that his motives were honorable (he was a ‘just man’) we find that not only was God’s intent that he should go ahead with marrying Mary, but that this birth would be the most public event in human history. There would be no privacy, no secrets, no dodging the public eye. This birth was going to be angelically announced.  And the baby would grow to be a man whose birth would always be shrouded in doubt and suspicion (see John 8:41). But the message to Joseph was clear: “Don’t be afraid”

What is it that God is calling you to do today? Is there a temptation, no matter how noble, to take the path of least resistance in your life and avoid a decision that could be misunderstood or hard to explain? Is there a fear of what might happen if…?

Take a lesson from Joseph. Though the results of obedience may be difficult, the consequences of disobedience are even more so. As a Christian, I am also the son of a King, and the message to me is the same, “Do not fear.”

That’s the wonder of Christmas.

Here’s a radical statement outlining God’s plan regarding family structure, human sexuality and procreation. Caution, this will be offensive to some:

Married couples have sex, the wife becomes pregnant and has a child.

Let’s illustrate it this way:

The statement above, the unchallenged norm amongst humanity until just recently, is now under attack on every level. Many of the major news headlines this year can be directly linked to an attempt to render this concept antiquated and intolerable. The year 2015 so far is shaping up to be a banner year in its attack on biblical sexuality. Let’s take a look at these elements one at a time:

• Married Couple – Until June 26, 2015, the United States as a nation understood a married couple to be a union between a man and a woman. Five people in black robes gave us a new definition which now says otherwise.
• Sex – It is my belief that this gift of God is the current god of America. Everything else in this article points to sex as being the highest and loftiest goal of mankind. It can be enjoyed by anyone with anyone at any time. God’s gift of sex, which is for pleasure & procreation, has become America’s object of worship.
• Pregnant – This, of course, can only happen in women. Women who were born women. Women who have sex with a man. This seems basic but it’s true.
• Children – God’s design for humans was to be born into these little communities called families. Families are Dad + Mom + Children. There’s lots of variations on that theme, but the nuclear family is the foundation.

While the above is probably not new information for most, it’s the lines in between that I think are most under attack. The cause and affect relationship illustrated by the orange arrows between the blue circles is a given from God’s perspective. He has a solid line from one of these concepts to the next. Satan’s goal is to cut each line. Here’s what I mean.

The first line is between married couples and sex. God’s design was for those who have entered into a covenant relationship with one another to enjoy sex. And since He is the Creator, He gets to define what marriage is. Therefore, God designed sex to be between a married man and a married woman (who are, by the way, supposed to be married to each other). Our society now no longer sees marriage as necessary for sex. Sex is seen only for the pleasure it brings, and since the average American is an above-average Hedonist, this only makes sense. We’ve severed the line between marriage and sex.

The second line is between sex and pregnancy. The norm is that sex leads to pregnancy. Of course, this can’t happen between same gender couples. And really, claiming that members of the same gender can have sex is a little like saying that members of the same gender can marry. “Sex” and “Marriage” are, by definition, things that happen between a man and a woman. Lust, however, is possible between any two human beings and is universally condemned in Scripture.

In 1916, ninety-nine years ago, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States.  The next year she was deemed guilty of maintaining a public nuisance and sentenced to jail for 30 days. In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood.

What Sanger, and others like her, have sought to do is remove the consequences of sex – namely pregnancy. What God gave as a gift to married couples as a pleasurable way of procreating slowly digressed into the multi-billion dollar sex industry we see today. Sex sells. It is a hobby to participate in and nothing more. When it accidently leads to more we have a severing of the third line:

The third line is between pregnancy and children. Sanger, whose life-work was to sever the line between sex and pregnancy founded Planned Parenthood which has been all over the news lately for the work they do to sever the line between pregnancy and children. The abortion industry, responsible for the death of over 55 million Americans since it’s legalization, stands in direct opposition to God’s consequence for sex – children (not all consequences are bad, by the way).

What we’re missing is an understanding that God intended for all the results of sex to be pleasurable. Children are designed to bring pleasure to their parents as they grow and become part of the family. But now, children are viewed as an inconvenience to be raised by video games so that mom & dad’s careers won’t suffer. How we’ve missed God’s design for our pleasure!

Think about a few of the news stories from this year:

• Gay Marriage ruling
• Bruce Jenner’s confusion
• Planned Parenthood abortion revelations

All of these are an attack on biblical sexuality and the plan of God which was that married couples have sex, the wife becomes pregnant and has a child. That statement, and God’s design, are under attack. It’s all about sex now. You can be whatever sex you want, have sex with whoever you want, not worry about the consequences of the sex you have with whoever you want, and don’t you dare say otherwise.

I think we’ll find that following God’s plan will work better, don’t you?

The pursuit of holiness is nothing short of a pursuit of the heart of God. God, who is holy, created man, and then placed upon him this mandate, “Be holy, as I am holy” (I Peter 1:16). The statement was made  with the full knowledge that those He was addressing were fallen. Depraved. Broken. Needy. Decidedly ‘unholy’.

And yet the statement was made, and it has not been revoked. As Christians, we’re tasked, as fallen, yet Spirit-filled creatures, to so mimic our Creator that we take upon ourselves the very nature of God Himself. We are to be like Him. We are to put away, put to death, and put off everything that smacks of the ‘old’ us – the ‘before Christ’ us, the ‘it’s all about me’ us. And we are to take on, put on, clothe ourselves with everything that is Him. Not I, but Christ. I have been crucified with Him. This life I now enjoy is His. He lives in me.

So why does my dead, crucified self put up such a persistent fight against the new self that has been provided for me by my resurrected Savior? Why, when I’ve been given the command to be holy, and then been given the Spirit by which I can be holy, do I not always walk in holiness as I ought?

As I was pondering this question, the answer came to me somewhat out of the blue. Here’s the reason:

Holiness in inconvenient.

And in the day in which we live, there is no greater sin than the sin of being inconvenienced. There are probably millions of people in our country today whose jobs depend on our demand for convenience. From retail stores that stock  more items than anyone could possibly need, to all the varieties of restaurants, to companies that offer every type of service imaginable – we are a culture of convenience.

And then I, as a 30-something Christian husband and father, am confronted with the clear, unwavering, unflinching demand of Scripture to be holy. And immediately I have a problem. It’s not easy to be holy. Fact is, it’s rather hard. And that’s because sin (the archenemy of holiness) is so close, so near, so accessible, so available, so attractive, so deceptive, and so addictive that to my fallen frame it’s nearly impossible to dodge all those land mines in any given day.

J.C. Ryle, who lived in the 1800’s wrote something about the danger of allowing even the smallest of sin in our life:

“There is nothing finer than the point of a needle, but when in has made a hole, it draws all the thread after it.”

This is what sin is in the heart of holiness. It starts small, almost imperceptible, but if left unchecked, will eventually penetrate the heart. And when it does, it can draw all sorts of sin in with it. So how do I defend myself against such assault?

The key to holy living is to learn to embrace inconvenience. It is inconvenient for me to set boundaries in my life that dictate how I interact with a woman not my wife. It’s inconvenient (and sometimes awkward) to deny to help a woman when to do so would put me in a compromising position. It’s inconvenient to have parental controls on my TV so that I can’t even watch a program without my wife putting in the password. It’s inconvenient to have web filters and accountability programs on my computer which sometimes filter out content that is actually ok to see but got flagged for some reason. It’s inconvenient to deny social engagements (and suffer through the subsequent conversations from those who don’t understand why I can’t attend). It’s inconvenient to get rid of your smartphone and opt for a basic one because of the temptation that rides along in your pocket all day. These are just a few examples, but they illustrate my point: holiness is inconvenient.

So the question is, are such drastic measures really that necessary?

Consider Jesus’ statement:

“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire” (Mark 9:47).

Now that’s inconvenient. It’s also worth it if holiness is your one true desire.

The cry of my heart is that God would grant me the strength and desire to pursue Him and His holiness with all my heart. After all, if I’m going to follow Him, He will at some point lead me to the cross upon which He died.

And dying on a cross is inconvenient.

Last year I read something that changed the way I look at faith, and look for faith. A friend of mine chronicles every year the faithfulness of God, and the faith of God’s people as they live out their relationship with their Savior. I was so moved by reading his account that I decided to try it myself this year. I kept a BY FAITH file easily accessible on my computer in 2013 and determined to recount the faithfulness of God as I was able to observe it lived out in the lives of those I rub shoulders with at Shenandoah Baptist Church where I serve as Associate Pastor. I also included one entry near the bottom on a more personal note.

 I trust that the following account will be an encouragement to you, and more importantly, a testament to the faithfulness of our God. Would you join me in 2014 in recounting the faithfulness of God as you see it unfold?  I am praying that God would make me even more sensitive to His faithfulness in 2014 and that my list for next year will be twice as long.

By Faith the people of Shenandoah implemented LifeGroups on January 13^th with a desire to make disciples through Bible teaching, caring, community, and ministry.

By Faith the gospel was given out on Sunday morning, January 27^th in every class and message including Nursery, Children’s Sunday School classes, LifeGroups, Awana Club, Beginner’s Church, and morning sermon. God saw fit to bring two children to Himself through the Beginner’s Church message showcasing His power in our midst.

By Faith a Men’s Discipleship Group met for 8 weeks beginning on March 7^th for a time of intensive study and application of Biblical discipleship with the goal of becoming more committed followers of Jesus Christ and leading others to do so also. Each man committed to discipling at least 2 other men throughout the course of the year.

By Faith the Faith & Fellowship LifeGroup began a Mailbox Club to follow-up with children who have come through VBS, the Happy’s ministry, Camp Eagle, and other ministries for the purpose of seeing them grow in Christ and in their new-found faith.

By Faith our congregation was led through a “God is…” study on Sunday mornings beginning in June. As a result of the message on “God is Love” Cheryl Wolfe professed faith in Christ.

By Faith the Children’s Ministry undertook “The Totally Wrong VBS” from June 16-19 studying through the lives of Joseph, Job, Jonah, & Jesus. Attendance grew each night as the gospel was clearly presented. The grand prize of 2 free weeks of camp was given to Tyler & Ashleigh from Augusta, GA. They attended Camp Eagle the very next week where Tyler made a profession of faith on Tuesday night and Ashleigh on Friday. Our offering for the week, which will go towards the building of the Kabin Girls Home in Thailand, came in at $1,500. By Faith, a couple in the church was prompted by the Lord to double the children’s offering bringing our total offering to $3,000!

By Faith JR Clarke battled through a diagnosis of cancer throughout the first half of the year. His thyroid was removed, nodules evaluated, and follow-up conducted. A radiation treatment was prescribed based on the possibility of lingering cancer. A group of men gathered in his home to pray over him before the procedure, and on June 25^th he was declared cancer-free.

By Faith Mary Wall smiles.

By Faith the people of Shenandoah gathered together for four days in September for the LifeAction Thirst Conference. With an emphasis on personal revival, thirsting after God, and brokenness, our hearts were revived as we saw the Lord at work. A testimony service held on the evening of September 29^th confirmed the work the Lord had begun in many hearts.

By Faith Jane Snyder encouraged me on November 4^th without knowing that her words were a direct answer to prayer. Her assurance of her prayers and appreciation were Holy Spirit sent. She spoke God-given words that ministered to my heart.

By Faith the 40^th Annual World Missions Conference was held November 6-10 “For Generations Yet to Come”. The Children’s Conference saw Missionary involvement to be exceptional and impactful. Average attendance was 68 children and 25 leaders & helpers each night. Our offering for the printing of the Good Shepherd booklets through CEF Poland came to $1,234 which will print 1,542 booklets. This amount exceeded our goal by over $200. The final impact of this conference will be seen in the years ahead as God calls from our midst those children He desires to serve Him on the Mission Field.

By Faith the Elders of Shenandoah unanimously called Tim Ragan as the new Student Ministries Pastor. They determined that even though Tim lacks the experience they would normally like to see in a candidate that the potential for ministry through Tim was too high to overlook. With a clear understanding of the challenges ahead, the elders believed God’s answer to this vacancy was found in this young man.

By Faith the people of Shenandoah committed to give $428,203 in the year 2014 to World Missions through the blue card offering. Believing that this is what God would have us give, and confident of His provision, we joyfully commit to pray for our missions staff as we support them financially throughout the year.

By Faith Nathanael Gay endured a spiritual, emotional, and physical battle which began in October. This battle resulted in anxiety attacks, weight loss and sleeplessness. Confident of the Lord’s presence, power, and victory, Nathanael reached out to many for intercessory prayer on his behalf. The elders of the church laid hands on him in prayer on December 2^nd and a group of men gathered in his home on December 5^th. Nathanael’s faith in God’s deliverance has been evidenced to all who have ministered with him and prayed for him during this time.

By Faith the Furnace Room ministry met throughout the year during the morning service time to pray for our Pastor, musicians, children’s workers, and church members. These times of fervent prayer were always a blessing to those who prayed. The eternal impact of this ministry will only be realized in heaven.

By Faith Robert B. Hall finished his race on Tuesday, December 17^th, 2013. Grandpa Hall leaves a legacy of faith in his God and love for his family. He was always in attendance at band concerts, soccer games, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings. I’ll miss hearing his oft-repeated greeting of “Hey pal, what do you know for sure?” Today he is enjoying seeing with his eyes what his heart always knew for sure. I’ll see you someday, Grandpa. I love you.

By Faith I believe the best days for Shenandoah Baptist Church are yet to come.

I’ve been studying the concept of Biblical mystery lately and it is a fascinating study. If we understand ‘mystery’ in the Biblical sense to be ‘hidden truth’ then we see all throughout the Scripture opportunities for us to wonder at what He has not yet chosen to tell us. As James MacDonald says, “Mystery says, ‘this far and no farther.’” There is certainly a lot that God has chosen to reveal about Himself, and yet we also come to understand that Holiness is often clouded in mystery. In particular, after studying the Throne Room scenes of Scripture, one is left wondering who exactly is on the throne? Is it God the Father or God the Son? (Rev. 4:2; 5:1; 5:6-8; 20:11; John 5:2, Heb. 4:16, 12:2 provide some food for thought on this subject)

Mystery is part of the deal as far as God is concerned with letting us in on the truth of what heaven is like. Mystery breeds faith, hope, longing, and maybe best of all – anticipation. Christmas morning is a fun time for kids both because they look forward to receiving presents as well as the anticipation that comes from wondering at what’s under the wrapping paper.

God can chose to wrap Himself in mystery and reveal what He chooses when He chooses. Truth is God’s and He conceals or reveals it at will. But at the same time it is a very dangerous thing when sinful men attempt to do the same.

Romans 1:18 soberly states, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…” God’s wrath is on display toward  the ungodly. And what was their crime? They ‘suppress the truth’. In other words, they attempted to hide the truth that God had chosen to reveal. In this case it’s the truth of who He is as revealed through creation.

Truth belongs to God because God is Truth (John 14:6). When He hides truth it’s called  mystery and creates anticipation. When man hides truth it’s called  sin and creates wrath.  Jack Nicholson once famously shouted the words,  “You can’t handle the truth!” He was right. Truth is not ours to mess with.

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded,
 for a thousand generations,” ~ Ps. 105:8

Psalms 105 and 106 are beautiful for many reasons. They teach us two very important lessons about God. Psalm 105 teaches us that God is present even when we can’t see Him. It starts with several verses praising Him for His awesomeness and for the awesome things He’s done. Then the psalmist reminds us that God “remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations.” The reason may for this reminder may be because for much of the rest of this 45 verse psalm we read about how God’s people lived in slavery in Egypt – oppressed, mistreated, and seemingly abandoned. There were whole generations of Israelites who were born, lived, and died in slavery. Perhaps while in the mud pits they recalled this verse – about how a God who claimed to be their God had once promised the father of their nation – Abraham – a land, a seed (deliverer), and a blessing. They looked around and saw none of the three.

These were those who were living in the middle of the promise. They were born after the promise was given, but died before that promise was fulfilled.

The psalmist, though, in verses 23-41 lists nineteen specific actions that Jehovah God did for the nation of Israel to bring them out of Egypt and into the land He promised. The next verse is very instructive, as it gives us the reason for God’s intervention. “For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.”

Even when God seems absent, He is acting in accordance with His promise.

A look at Psalm 106 continues this theme of God being a covenant making and covenant keeping God. The lesson here, though, is that God keeps His covenants even when – and especially when – we give Him compelling reasons not to. In fact, between verse 6 and 39, the psalmist lists 29 sins that the Israelites had committed against God. This angered God so much, that in two separate instances, it was a man (Moses first, then Phineas) who pleaded with God to relent from the harm He intended against His people. In the end, “he took note of their distress when he heard their cry; for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.”

Even when we give God reasons not to, He acts in accordance with His promise.

We are a people today who are also living in the middle of a promise. We’ve been told that Christ will return for us, and yet there have been hundreds of generations who have been born, lived, and died between the time the promise was given and its fulfillment. We find ourselves today, “in between.”

We are in the middle of the promise, but we are not alone.

We have been given a great commission, but also a great resource. And the difficulty of the mission is implied by the greatness of the resource – “I am with you always”.  Interesting. Old Testament heroes, called upon to do incredibly difficult things, were never given this promise. Moses, David, Daniel, Nehemiah & others operated without this assurance even though their lives were marked by doing difficult things for the Lord.

Our task? Disciple the world. Our resource? The Spirit of God resident within every disciple. The purpose? To accomplish the task of world evangelization.

 Luke 19:20-27 records a story Jesus told about a servant who was labeled as “wicked” because he squandered the one mina his master gave him to manage. The other servants had invested the master’s resources and were commended for doing so. But this servant – the wicked servant – wasted what his master gave him.

So what will we say if one day we stand before our Master and have no disciples to show for our efforts? If wasting a small amount of money makes a servant ‘wicked’, what does wasting the Spirit of God make me? The inevitability of this interaction is assured, for we will all stand before Christ one day. What will that conversation be?

The promise of His return is not yet fulfilled, but it will be. It certainly will be.

Bad news seems to be inevitable. It seems like sooner or later, everyone gets some bad news in one shape or fashion. From job layoffs to cancer – bad news reaches us all.

It was no different for two ancient kings of Israel.

Hezekiah received some bad news via a pretty reliable source. The prophet Isaiah told him, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.” (II Kings 20:1) I think that qualifies as bad news.

Then, a few years later, another king – Josiah – was told of impending doom on Jerusalem decreed by the Lord as a result of Israel’s constant idolatry. He said, “My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.” (II Kings 22:17) More bad news.

Both men, though, got through to the heart of God the same way. Both men were able to modify the pending destruction on themselves and their city by use of the same means. What was it?

Tears.

After Isaiah gave Hezekiah his death sentence, Hezekiah prayed and wept before the Lord. Josiah acted similarly and asked God to reconsider. What was God’s response? In the first case, God told Isaiah to go back to Hezekiah and tell him, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you.” Josiah was told, “because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord . . . and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you.”

This leads me to wonder how many prayers go unanswered today because of the dry condition of our eyes. How many wayward children are still wayward, how many marriages still struggling, how many churches still lifeless – all because there was no desparation in prayer.

Of course it’s important to remember that David also wept over the life of his newborn baby boy who later died. Tears aren’t an automatic ticket to get whatever we want from God. But it is worth noting that not only does the Lord hear our prayers, He also sees our tears.

“Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” (Psalm 112:1,7)

The theme of my blog is simple: follow

If fact, the subtitle under my name on the home page simply means “I follow.” The Greek is simply a justification of the 4 semesters of undergraduate study which I invested.

As I recently read, “We all look like sheep from the front and shepherds from the back. In other words, we’re all following someone, and we’re all leading someone else.” (Breen)

It is a pretty simple concept – follow – but it is also one that I have been contemplating over the past three and a half years or so. As proof, I offer an article I originally wrote in the fall of 2008 when my life was in a state of flux due to a job change, school change for the kids, and soon-to-be church and house change. It reads as follows:

In the blank pages of my Bible in the front and back, I have written down quotes that have stuck with me over the years. Most of them were spoken in a sermon, and I jotted them down so that I could go back and read them again and remember what they were. Several of them are from current or former Pastors. A sampling includes the following:

“It’s not how loud you shout or how high you jump, but how straight you walk when you hit the ground”

“We don’t need a God who gives us everything. We need a God who is our everything.”

“A preacher should be just as concerned with what his people do with the sermon on Monday as he is with how he gives it on Sunday.”

“Jesus chooses men not on the basis of what they are, but on the basis of what He can make them.”

“You can never have freedom from Christ. You can only have freedom in Christ.”

“Worship always originates with God. He reveals Himself, and we respond. That is genuine worship.”

“Wind watchers will never be wave walkers” (Matt. 14:30)

I feel so blessed to be able to learn God’s word from men who are older and wiser than me. I’m grateful for Godly examples to follow – which brings up a quote that is both simple and profound, and exactly what I needed to hear tonight. Dr. Charles Petitt was speaking at a Missions Conference and spoke from Matthew 16:24 which says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Such a familiar verse, and yet so ignored. Remarkably enough, it wasn’t the first two parts of this verse that got to me, it was the last, “follow me.”

I’ve gone through a lot of change in my life over the past 6 months, but to my knowledge, God has not rescinded that call for me to follow Him. It is not always an easy thing to do. Many times my mind and attention wander to less eternal things. Many times my focus is on things which simply will not last. I’m caught focusing on the physical temporal instead of the invisible eternal. And so, the next quote that needs to go in my Bible, but more importantly lived out in my every day life, is this:

“follow, follow ……. follow, follow, follow…….follow, follow, follow, follow, follow.”