May 28, 2021

How Do We Manage Crisis to Avoid Chaos?

Paralyzing doubt, deep-seated confusion, and profound discouragement is what many people experience each day. The Psalmist resonates with that reality. Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah. Then I said, "It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed." Psalm 77:7-10 Sometimes this is how we feel even though we know better. We know better because we know Nothing can Negate God‘s Promises or Nullify His Plans. The Psalmist continues as he stands at the cliff of despair leaning over a precipice of spiritual disaster to remind himself of the faithfulness of God in his own personal history and the history of Israel as a nation. In the midst of life’s ups and downs that we all experience, we must always remember and realize the presence of God in our life. As we recall His faithfulness in the past it will give us confidence in His presence and faithfulness for the future. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

May 21, 2021

“A House of Fragile Things”

We live today in a house of fragile things and that House is the Church. It is filled with fragile people in pews and fragile pastors in pulpits. Fragility takes many forms. Many are fragile with regard to all of life due to the insecurities of the day we are living in. (Covid has done significant damage in numerous ways to our country and our culture as well as to the church.)  Some are fragile psychologically though you might not know it or notice it. Their fragility is acute when just the right pressure is applied. Our fragility is manifested physically with the onset of age bringing its difficulties to the body and some to the mind. Annual visits to the doctor multiply into more frequent visits to many different types of doctors.  All of this reminds us of the reality of “the fall” in the garden of Eden, the death sentence pronounced to each of us, and the fragility and futility found in “living life under the sun.” The disturbing difficulties in life become the vexing vicissitudes of life that can leave us swimming in a pool of angst and anxiety. Jesus spoke in the midst of another troubled time and another corrupt culture which was in a frightening freefall of morality and courage. His words of True Truth were important then and they are important today. Jesus proclaims: “I will build My church and the gates of hell will not prevail.” (Matt. 16:18) But that does not mean that the devil will not try, nor that we will not feel the evil effects of his efforts against our efforts for Him. Jesus promises: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33) Jesus pronounces: “Do not let your heart be troubled or be fearful.” (Jo 14:27) This double imperative, this pair of commands to His followers then and His followers today, asks us to live today and each day by faith. Faith in His person, His power, and His plan. The world may be falling apart, but it is a great time for the church to come together. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

May 14, 2021

“Leadership is about empowering other people as a result of your presence and ensuring that impact continues into your absence.” ~ Frances Frei ~

Tomorrow is a big day. It is graduation day for Grace School of Theology. I will have the privilege of participating in the graduation exercises and “hooding” my doctoral students and giving the dedicatory prayer. I have invested my life in these students as a professor, mentor, and friend. Many of them are involved in ministries around the world. Many are impacting hundreds of people and together thousands of people by preaching and providing the truth of God’s word to hurting and confused people. My life has been a ministry of multiplication as illustrated in 2 Timothy 2:2 – And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. The Lord has allowed me over the past forty years to build into the lives of some faithful and very talented men and women. And because they are so talented, I have often reminded them, as I remind myself, of the advice Jeremiah gave to Baruch; …are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them… I do not seek to be famous, but I do desire to be faithful. Faithful to my King who will be coming soon to evaluate my life and ministry. The best way I know to leverage my life and make a difference is to make disciples. (Matt 28:19-20) At my graduation day, I wish to be found giving my life for the King who gave His life for me that I might spend eternity serving Him. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

May 7, 2021

Material Progress Often Produces Moral Regress ~ Hesiodos 700 BC ~

Talk about being prescient, perceptive if not prophetic! The arc of morality is not only curved and crooked it is bent and almost broken. Who would have imagined that the Secretary of State of the USA would decree that all embassies of the USA may fly the gay pride flag beneath the flag of the USA and yes…even on the same flagpole? Who would have imagined that parents have the right to allow their 5-year-old child to change their gender identity and set them up to have medical procedures to forever mutilate their bodies and further confuse their minds? Who would have imagined it would be illegal to tell a homosexual or lesbian “your sexual orientation is a sin and there is a way to help heal you?”   Who would have imagined that our technology not only theoretically allows but has actually performed the uniting of human genes with monkeys, let alone pigs to form chimeras for the goal of harvesting organs for humanity’s good? The world has been confused before, as it is today. In fact, from the beginning, Adam and Eve became confused when they challenged God’s word and doubted His goodness. Today we show the same confusion when we fail to discern the difference between God and creation, the division between man and animal, and the distinction of man and woman in marriage.  There is no doubt that we are acquiring scientific knowledge faster than we are acquiring wisdom. The real problem is - we are not looking for wisdom. We are only asking, “Can we do it?” and not asking “Should we do it?”   There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Proverbs 14:12 Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred