February 25, 2022

"To lose the earth you know for greater knowing; to lose the life you have for greater life; to leave the friends you loved for greater loving; to find a land  more kind than home, more large than earth..." ~Thomas Wolfe ~

Living during a medical pandemic, military conflicts, and surrounded by political duplicity we should not be surprised if we feel a sense of angst and anxiety. Angina is constriction of the heart and anxiety is constriction of the soul and spirit. However, it is also natural for Christians to desire that which Thomas Wolfe so eloquently describes. We as Christians know of and long for a better place, a better world, a kinder place, a perfect world. But we also know that we are living right here and now for a purpose and that purpose is to “know Christ and make Him known.” As you can see, this includes an inward orientation toward self, and an outward orientation toward others. Imagine what would happen if each of us - if every Christian in America, shared the gospel message with one person every month. Imagine if only 1 percent of those people received the gift of eternal life and then were discipled and began to mature in their faith. Millions of new Christians would be available to repeat the process. Do the math! The apostle Paul desired to go and be with the Lord. But he realized there was work to do, to disciple the Christians at Philippi. So, he knew he would stay and be engaged in fruitful labor for the Lord, Philippians 1:21-26. (By the way...he also was in jail evangelizing the praetorian guard! Philippians 1:13) In our world, we truly live “under the sun” and we clearly live “East of Eden.” But we await the day of eternity and wait for the eternal kingdom. We live in this world and we long for the next. It is truly a Tale of Two Cities. And as we wait to leave one and go to the other it is my hope that in this life and the next - let it be true, “It is a far far better thing I do than I have ever done. It is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

February 18, 2022

Seeing the Big Picture

Well, it finally happened. Both Marsha and I have had Covid involving a few weeks of waves of symptoms, including for me the loss of taste and smell. For me, Covid has been a moderate inconvenience but for our country, it has been a major catastrophe. For almost a million people the loss of life and for millions of others, the loss of livelihood. We have entered into a “New Normal.” In the midst of all the physical destruction and devastation of Covid, we must be careful not to become myopic and only see the draconian governmental overreach, medical confusion, and the predatorial instincts of Big Pharma with a variety of economic impacts. As Christians, we must never forget, and we must always be mindful of the Spiritual perspective of reality. As we read the newspapers and hear the news, we must be mindful to reframe reality from a Biblical perspective. The whole world lies in the lap of the evil one…. The god of this world is blinding the eyes of the unbelieving…. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers.  Who is the one who hates Israel, denigrates the Bible, who desires that the church be silenced and limit its impact upon society, who wishes to destroy all sense of morality and sexual decency, and deny the right of life to the unborn? And do not forget - he is the great deceiver and the father of lies. The Church is not only in a Covid crisis or a cultural war. The Church is in a cosmic battle. It is important to know your enemy. •      THE WORLD is our External Foe •      THE FLESH is our Internal Foe •      THE DEVIL is our Infernal Foe Game On Christian! Eph 6:11-18 Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

February 11, 2022

Post Pandemic Disorder?

Everyone is talking about how tired, how weary, how fatigued we are after living the past year or so with “Covid.” All the political, social, and physical changes and demands have caused many to  feel “burned out.” It’s hard not to think about these aspects given the 24-hour-a-day news cycle of commentary and entertainment that is centered around the Covid contagion, the cultural corruption, and terrestrial and extra-terrestrial conspiracy concepts. This echo chamber of spin distorts our thinking and destroys our confidence as we percolate and incubate considerations in our deliberations that make us fatigued and fearful. Perhaps it is time to elevate the horizon of our thoughts and move from the language of the street and listen to the oracles of heaven.    I am not advocating that we be so heavenly-minded that we are no earthly good. However, I am advancing the idea that True Truth trumps Fake News every time. The timeless truth of the Word of God can transform us. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. Psalm 119:9 Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred

February 4, 2022

If only I …

Sound familiar? I cannot tell you how many times over the past 45 years as a pastor and professor that I have heard these words from others. In fact, I have invoked them a time or two myself. If only I had not chosen so poorly, decided so wrongly, acted so stupidly, spoken so quickly. I guess all of us know how this feels and perhaps have had to endure the consequences of our actions. But when our stupidity is actually sin it is important to make sure we find forgiveness through confession to our gracious God - our faithful Father. I can only imagine what the Apostle Paul felt, being known as the number one Christian killer. How many lives did Paul destroy in his ignorance? How much hardship did he create for families by his errant beliefs and evil behavior? However, when Paul came to know Christ, a whole new world opened before him. He finally had the key that unlocked all his theology of the Old Testament. He found the Messiah. Or more accurately, Messiah found him! And that made all the difference. Paul’s perspective was now, “...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil.3) Imagine all that Paul needed to forget? Can you imagine all that he looked forward to? It’s never too late to start doing what is right. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. (Ecclesiastes 10:10) If only I …. Serving Him with you until He comes for us, Fred