November 24, 2023

The Giving of Thanks...      A Perspective

Here we are on the day after Thanksgiving. The scales have reported my personal loss which is actually a physical net gain. The Dallas Cowboys have done it again and the stores and malls have provided a call for all to participate liberally in the Black Friday shopping extravaganza. This is Americana. These are expressions and experiences that exude the American lifestyle. However, the half-life of wealth and fashion is like a parasite on the body of America. But we must remember, beneath the beauty of our skin is the bare skull.  The banalities of our contemporary celebrity culture have produced a morality code that remains even after the religion that produced it is rejected, and is like a perfume that lingers in an empty bottle. A hint of a scent, a whiff of an odor, a trace of something promising but with no body and no real substance. I will give thanks to the Lord of all creation. I will rejoice in the King of the universe. I will trust in the One who is sovereign, and I will submit to the One who has dominion. Thomas Wolf could not comprehend what he said when he wrote- “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 the land more kind than home, more large than earth.”  We await the coming and crowning of King Jesus. Until that day let us live this day with thanksgiving. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us.  Fred

November 17, 2023

The older I get, the better I used to be. -Lee Trevino-

This week I have been at the Evangelical Theological Society national convention in San Antonio. It is a gathering of 3,000 theologians to share papers, learn, argue, and renew friendships. I have been going for many years and this year I had the blessing of seeing many of my former students who are in positions of significant ministry impacting the church. The bad news is, that means I’m getting older… But older is not necessarily bad if wisdom comes with age. As Andy Rooney reminds us, “It’s paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone. But the idea of getting old does not appeal to anyone.” I feel extremely fortunate and blessed by the Lord to have been able in invest my life into faithful men who are teaching other faithful men, who will teach other faithful men. This principle from 2 Timothy 2:2 is the Lord’s method for a ministry of multiplication. I have sought to live by this principle as a pastor and professor for the past 50 years. I have been planting trees under whose shade I shall never sit. I hope that you view your life as an investment of a lifetime and as an investment of your life into others. It may be your children, grandchildren, or others’ children. It may be through your church or some para-church organization. Giving information is good but incarnating the truth is best. The Lord desires to wrap truth around people so that others may see and learn and imitate. This is the great commission. Make Disciples! How are you doing at making disciples? Serving Him with you Until He comes for us.  Fred

November 10, 2023

Life is like a nauseating smell of cooking, escaping through a ventilator. You don't have to eat it to know it would make you vomit. ~Gustav Flambaur~

This week we have seen and smelled our culture being cooked and the smell is not good. In many states we have witnessed the people’s preference evidenced through a vote for propositions and for politicians that pontificate and propagate so as to proliferate abortion on demand and its culture of death. We have seen the assertion and affirmation of LBGTQ+ “rights.”    As Umberto Echo reminds us, “To undermine the false authority of an absurd proposition that offends reason, laughter can sometimes also be a suitable instrument.” Although this is no laughing matter, in the midst of this moral mess we are to maintain a faithful presence and a winsome witness. We are to be a fragrant aroma. In a lost and dying world that is corrupt and confused, we must provide and proclaim the only durable sign of hope; Our Savior…The Lord Jesus Christ. Always remember: Votes matter but Veto power is the Lord’s! Serving Him with you Until He comes for us.  Fred

November 3, 2023

People of Honor

A man or woman has honor if they hold themselves to an ideal of conduct and concept though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so. We are living in a day and in a time that lacks honor. No matter where you look honor is an old-world phenomena found in a bygone age. It is a concept that has been corrupted and twisted. Today, in the world of business, government, and education nobility and integrity let alone moral decency are hard to find. The world worships at the altar of celebrity and gives adulation and adoration to counterfeits because we have forgotten that glamor is not greatness, applause is not fame, and prominence is not eminence. We who are Christians must be people of honor and nobility. We are to live lives of distinction and dignity for we are looking for a destiny with Jesus and until that time as we live in this time we are to reveal and represent Him in and to a lost and dying world. Mark it well, make no mistake, the King is coming in glory and honor: Daniel 7:13-14, Jude 25, Romans 11:36, 16:27, 1 Timothy 1:17 If He is coming then, how should we live now? As Tolkien counsels us, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” As Moses commands us, “Teach us to number our days that we might present to you a heart of wisdom.” As I commend to us, Count the days and make the days count. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us.  Fred