What If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth?

Monday was a sad day around my workplace.  A man I've known for 23 years lost his mother. She lived a good, long life.  Nevertheless it was and is sad.  I will have fond memories of her.  Add to that a couple workplace killings in Alabama and Oklahoma.  Then the realization of a friend of my wife being declared terminally ill with just 2 months to live.  The old saying is two things are certain, 'death and taxes.'  Well, the one thing more certain than taxes is that after death we will all stand before our Maker and give an account of our life.  It will all boil down to one question.....but I'll save that for last.

Friends, Jesus was not simply a good man who wants us to be nice and treat people kindly.

He proclaimed that He was God, very God, that He and the Father are one (John 10:30), that He is the exact image of His nature (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15), that no one gets to the Father but through Him (John 14:6), that all of us

like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6), that He Himself bore iniquities and will justify many (Isaiah 53:11), that none of us is righteous (Romans 3:10), that all our works are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), that unless we believe that He is God we will die in our sins (John 8:24), that the wages of sin is death, physical and spiritual, but that the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23).

There is no second chance, for it is appointed for a man once to die and then the judgment (Hebrews 9:27) where Christ will appear a 2nd time without reference to sin for those who eagerly await Him (Hebrews 9:28), those whose sins have been washed away by the blood of the Lamb. Not so for the one who rejected His word.  They can expect..... a fearful expectation of judgment for those that go on sinning willfully after receiving the truth (Hebrews 10:26-27), of which you are if you have read this blog or known me for any length of time at all.

The death rate remains 1 out of every 1. The reality of sin is that 1 out of every 1 is held captive by the power of sin. The offer of forgiveness of sin and freedom from its power is found in Christ alone (Acts 4:12). Sin requires a wage (Romans 6:23) and all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Yet if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive them and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Then how do we know we have passed from death to life? By keeping His word and walking as He walked (1 John 2:5-6).

There is a 2nd death (Revelation 20:6,14) where this happens; "the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8) All that can be avoided. Only then will any living person be fit for heaven and not only gain it at physical death but live life abundantly until that final breath is drawn. (John 10:10)

Did you catch that list?  Unbelieving is right there with murderers.  Immorality and liars are side by side with abominable.  Belief is trusting something can bear your weight, hold up a load. Saying that plane will get you across the Atlantic is quite different than stepping onto it and buckling a seat-belt for takeoff. Saying you believe in Jesus is quite different than actually letting Him take your load of sin and bear that awful weight.  Saying you believe in Jesus is much different than placing every ounce of energy into understanding Him and following His commands.  Saying Jesus is too narrow and you'll make it another way is looking God in the face and saying "you're a liar!"

So the question begs, the same question Jesus posed to His followers 2000 years ago.

"Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15)  

...and will you reply as Peter? "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16)

Because the death rate is one out of every one.

He must increase ~

Kevin

A Disease Called Silence

There exists a world where disease is spreading rampantly. Daily, it claims its victims and ravages them from the inside out. Neighbors and friends fall prey to the devastating effects of this war while the vast majority does nothing to stop it. It’s slowly taking over loved ones and won’t stop until it overtakes the children. There is a form of resistance but, when compared to the general population, they are in the minority. Will the battle ever end or will the denizens of this world ultimately be destroyed? Sadly, this world being described isn’t hypothetical or imaginary. Nor is it a distant land yet to be discovered. No, it’s the very world we live in and, as it stands, we are slowly destroying ourselves. Thankfully, there’s  hope in the form of a cure. All we have to do is stand up.

You may be scratching your heads right about now, wondering what I’m talking about. Please read on and allow me to clarify. The world I’m referring to is called the church. It’s filled with people who call themselves Christians. The purpose of this post isn’t to differentiate between false converts and genuine Christians. Instead, I’d like us to focus on what I feel to be an even more pressing issue. After all, it’s to be expected that local church attendance will spike around Christmas and Easter. It’s even expected that some of the people in the pews may not really know the Lord regardless how long they’ve been going to church. What isn’t expected is that those who truly know Christ would sit down and forget to stand up. We’re called to teach all nations of Christ (Matthew 28:19). In a world that hates us (John 15:18) and is at war with God (Romans 8:7), we’re called to be the resistance (1 Corinthians 1:23). As for the final outcome, we know that not all will believe and that there will be an ultimate eternal darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth for all who don’t know Christ.

Ask yourself when the last time was you were presented with an opportunity to preach Christ crucified. Did you take advantage of the opportunity or did you remain quiet? Did you stand up for Christ or did you sit down? What about the time before that? In fact, when was the last time you stood up at all? There are a number of reasons why we may remain quiet when opportunity presents itself. Some may get nervous. Others may have a fear of public speaking. While both of these are valid concerns, where do they stack up in the grand scheme of things?

Life isn’t lived inside a bubble in complete isolation from the outside world. For every action taken, not only does one need to accept the consequence on his life, but he also needs to accept responsibility for the impact it has on the lives of those around him. What will it take for you to see the importance of this subject matter? How many people will miss hearing the gospel unnecessarily? How many will die of the disease called silence? How widespread will the pandemic have to be before you become aware? If you are already aware, who will have to die before you care?

Sadly, evangelism has steadily been reduced to the other guy's job. It's taken a back seat to the

struggles of daily life and the already tight time constraints. As the bride of Christ, my fear is that we've simply lost our evangelistic fervor. How can this be when Scripture tells us the very souls of men are at stake? I love the way Charles Spurgeon had a zeal for evangelism. He understood God's sovereignty yet he also understood God's natural method for bringing new saints to Himself. Spurgeon said, "We believe in predestination; we believe in election and non-election: but, notwithstanding that, we believe that we must preach to men, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ye shall be saved,' but believe not on him and ye be damned."

There will come a day when the unsaved will hear of their inability to save themselves. Would you rather they hear it from you first or from God Himself on the day of judgment? Evangelism is a joyful privilege that encompasses our entire lives. It's an opportunity to preach Christ crucified and extend the offer of eternal life to all who will believe. Is there no sweeter encouragement?

~ Travis W. Rogers

Man vs. God

I’d like to share a story with you. Though it’ll probably enrage many, I ask that you reserve judgment until the end. It’s a story of a school bus filled with kids on their way home from a tiring day at school. All was normal in the world. The driver was making her way down the winding country roads. The elementary aged

children were playing with their friends while trying to avoid the attention of the driver. Parents were waiting at home to greet their children. Sadly, the bus wasn’t the only vehicle on the road. What nobody knew, nobody could have predicted, was that the town drunk had gotten started early that day. It was barely into the afternoon and he was already completely intoxicated, focusing intently on the road ahead of him. In an instant, life got turned upside down. The screeching of tires pierced the ears of anybody within range. Though the car was smaller, the impact couldn’t have been more precise. The car was already a mangled mess as the bus began to roll a seemingly infinite number of times down the adjacent hillside. For the solitary witness, it was a nightmare that had become reality. He got out of his car and ran full speed down the hillside, desperately praying he wouldn’t break an ankle before reaching the bus. As he approached the wreckage, it was lying on its roof and flames were beginning to roll with billowing smoke coming from the windows. The only thing he could think to do was rip open the back door and climb in. Some of the children were beyond hope but, much to his surprise, he found most of them to be alive and pleading for help. Before he could think, he had two children, one in each arm, and was jumping out the back door. Upon bringing them a safe distance, he returned to save more. The smoke was getting thicker and it would be only minutes before the flames overtook the children. He had to act fast. After he had saved another four children, he looked at the bus one more time. He knew he could easily save the remaining ten if he acted quickly. However, instead of racing for the coughing and crying children on the bus, he put his arms around the six he had saved and began to walk back up the hillside where he loaded them in his truck and brought them home. Not once did he look back. Not once did he ponder whether he should save the rest. Not once did he regret his decision. He could’ve saved them all but that simply wasn’t his intention. He saved as many as he wanted and that was just going to have to be good enough.

Where do you stand in regards to this story? Do you praise the man as a hero or do you condemn him as a monster who left children to die unnecessarily? Maybe you fall somewhere in the middle. Thankfully, this isn’t a true story. Instead of being found in the latest headlines, it resides nowhere other than my brain and this blog. Truth be told, that’s not even an honest declaration. In reality, though I embellished a bit, it’s the foundation of an old theological argument against the doctrine of election. I know, shocking! Perhaps you’ve even heard the argument from someone else. Many who despise the doctrine of election love to use a similar story, placing God as the main character who is saving children from a burning fire. The claim is that, if God could save everybody yet chose to let them perish while only saving some from the flames, it would make Him a monster. The next claim tends to be that a monstrous God should never be worshiped. In and of itself, I could agree with the last claim. However, is there really any validity in correlating God to the hero/monster in the above story? Is there any relation at all or is this a case of apples to oranges?

Unfortunately, too many would say the above story is accurate. I believe this is the direct result of knowing neither the righteousness of God nor the wretchedness of man. So long as man exalts himself to a loftier position than he ought, he will always demote God to a position other than that which He deserves while denigrating the Most High. Scripture speaks loudly of both God’s character and man’s status.

Deuteronomy 32:4 - “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

Isaiah 6:3 - And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”

Ezra 9:15 - O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this.”

Numbers 11:15 - So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Romans 7:24 - Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

James 2:10 - For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

No, the story told above shouldn’t be taken seriously. If you hear somebody telling it, stop them any way you can and preach the gospel for they either do not know Christ as they should or they don’t know man as he is. A better analogy would be one of the same bus on the same road. Yet, instead of being filled with children on their way home from school, it’s filled with heinous convicted murderers being carted off to death row in a maximum security prison. Instead of being a drunk driver, it’s an interception with a prison break in mind. The mastermind behind the ordeal leaps into action. Everybody is confused. They never saw it coming. In fact, for the most part, the mastermind is so quick, they still don’t realize what’s happening. Yet, here we are again at a crossroads. The mastermind can break all sixteen prisoners out but he chooses to only grab six. There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason behind who he selected but selected they were. The remaining ten sit in silence as they too don’t even realize what’s happening. They don’t even realize six of their fellow prisoners are no longer with them. The six who were broken out are stashed away at a safe house, given new identities, and are now walking amongst the world, minding their P’s and Q’s in an effort to avoid going back at all costs while forever indebted to the mastermind.

Surely, we aren’t thanking the mastermind for breaking out those who were convicted of murder. Nobody in their right mind would think this was a righteous move. In fact, most would be thankful he only snagged six instead of pulling out more. If the mastermind were ever to be discovered and captured, most reasonable people would demand he be put up on trial and convicted of his crimes. Are we now putting God on trial? Are we demeaning His character even in this story? While not all the details match up perfectly with God’s redemptive story, the concept is still there. Simply put, prior to regeneration, we more closely resemble the convicted murderers than we do the sweet and innocent children. As it stands, God took guilty men and set them free. He chose to save some while leaving others to perish. If one wants to tout fairness, instead of

crying over God not saving anybody, he should be seething over the fact that God, in His own infinite wisdom, chose to save ANYBODY! After all, we were guilty! We were wretched! We were vile! We hated God, cursing His name and trampling His goodness under our feet. We were bound for death row but He chose to take us off our collision course, give us new life, and abide with us forever. What a gracious God we serve!

It continues to amaze me that He would ever choose to save those who never would’ve chosen Him if the roles were reversed. For those who still despise the doctrine of election, it’s okay. So long as you trust that Christ is God, born in the flesh (Colossians 2:9), lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), died a horrific death (Matthew 27:26), rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4), and ascended to be seated at the Father’s right hand (Mark 16:19) for all of eternity in order that you might be saved so long as you trust in Him (Ephesians 2:8), it really doesn’t matter whether or not you believe in the doctrine of election. You’re a part of it regardless and for that you can be thankful. God is good and, though we can now call ourselves saints (Ephesians 2:19), it’s only because of what He first did for us.

~ Travis W. Rogers

Doctrine's Destructive & Divisive Nature

We care neither for devout dunces nor intellectual icebergs.

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Doctrine is a killer.  Those who staunchly promulgate doctrine are often cold hearted, ice cold killers.  In today's world they thrive in internet discussion groups.  But that isn't enough, they stalk about Facebook pages seeking whom they may correct.  They aren't content railing on their own pages but must scour the web looking for theological fallacies, which in most cases are just inside the mirror. They are theological bullies, blasting their shotguns often and everywhere, spraying bullets far and wide. They are the self appointed defenders of Almighty God, who needs their help.


Often they come under the guise of love as they insist on telling the truth. Like Theological Thors they come flying onto your computer screen or flashing upon your smartphone where they deal a crushing blow with their theological hammer.  Why?  Because the world is so messed up and Christianity has gone so awry.  These theology hounds are desperately needed to straighten out the skewed beliefs of the masses.  

Such men and women think it is their sworn duty before God to swoop upon the dolts of Christianity who are not willing to label every Arminian a hell bound heretic headed for eternal damnation.  They love to pounce upon the guy who says as a baby believer he did not understand the Trinity.  They annihilate the mature saint who is unsure if the bible teaches preterism or premillenial dispensationalism.  Depending on what camp you are in (or worse yet, you don't have a position) they drop their hammer and tell you you're an idiot and how can you possibly be saved believing such things.  They accuse people of not rightly understanding the gospel, as they have a firm grasp on it now, when they came to faith decades ago, insisting without a doubt that you weren't saved back then.  Because after all, the thief on the cross could have given a clear gospel presentation that even Calvin would be proud of.  The theology ogres are heavy on truth and bereft of love.  As my wise pastor has said, "There is no truth in you if you are devoid of God's love." Check it out here http://thegracelifepulpit.com/Sermons.aspx?code=2013-07-14-PJ

So is doctrine in fact destructive?  Should we just love Jesus and leave all this theological hair splitting behind?  I mean after all didn't Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners and hang out with winebibbers? Didn't He embrace everyone with an all-encompassing love?  Gentle Jesus meek and mild?  Or is the Thor approach more biblical?  Do we need more theological superheroes? Maybe we ought to be thankful and listen to these theological Hulks.  Since the error is portrayed as so deep and so crucial, maybe it's best to have these guys and gals thrashing about the internet, making Christianity stronger. They're doing us a service, bringing us closer to Christ.  Or are they?

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance. ~ 2 Timothy 3:10

Wait a second, as the Theological Superheroes start charging me! Are you saying doctrine isn't important? Get ready for a Hulksmash pal!  No, not so fast. Doctrine matters.  Greatly!  As we see above it was not only commendable but crucial in the life of Timothy and Paul.  The problem isn't with right doctrine but wrong actions.  Pride.  High-mindedness.  Contempt. Basically an attitude of 'you're wrong, I'm right and I must show the internet world just how smart I am.' Trouble is while you flex your theological muscles your hard black heart is popping out of your chest. The mass of believers who watch such silly displays shake their heads at the pious antics of glaring immaturity.  Worse, the unregenerate sinner who still shakes his fist at Holy God laughs and becomes more content in his rebellion, even plotting his excuse before his future Judge.

If you're a theological superhero, do you really want that on your resume when you meet your Judge?  

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 

~ 1 John 3:14

Lest you mistake me, we must speak truth.  We must rightly divide the word.  (2 Timothy 2:15)  We must stand for the inerrant, infallible truth of scripture.  We ought to come alongside brethren when error is present.  We must contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)  We must present the rich truths of doctrine found within Holy Writ.  But if it is from a harsh stance where all we do is bash and crash then we have serious, serious problems.  We have forgotten the sins we were saved from. (Titus 3:3 2 Peter 1:9)  So I point to the Spurgeon quote that heads this, we cannot be intellectual icebergs and far be it from us to be devout dunces.  We must know our bible.  We must remember ourselves. We must have compassion on the brethren.  

Doctrine matters, immensely!  The Apostle Paul would not have mentioned it more times in the pastoral epistles than you have fingers if it wasn't.  So before the "I just wanna love Jesus" crowd gets too puffy chested, shake yourself and study doctrine because correct doctrine leads to correct practice which leads to greater doxology.

So in the end, doctrine is not destructive, unless it's in gross error (see TBN or just about any other "Christian" television station).  What is destructive and divisive is the proud Thors and Hulks that stomp around the internet looking to promote their knowledge while claiming to promote Christ.  What's destructive and divisive is the peacocks that strut their theology and trample their brother.  Sadly, when you try to point this out you just get lined up and pile driven as if you were the opponent in an Ultimate Theological Cage match.  You end up bloodied but somewhere behind the adoring Theological Superheroes is a loving Father ready to begin the school of understanding with a walk to the divine woodshed.

So if you find yourself, bashing the brethren take a step back and remember that Christ had mercy on you when you were deep in sin and destined for destruction.  Think about the fact that trials and sufferings are part and parcel of the Christian life.  Take heed that your lack of compassion may only be a prelude to some deep, dark trials that will soften you and temper you in order to make you look like Christ.

Friend, your theology ought bring you to the ground in humility not lift you up to some lofty position of authority.  You see, you don't really know you're bible until that clanging cymbal and banging gong go silent. When you stop parading yourself and puffing yourself up, when you stop behaving rudely, you will not only gain some ears but you will prove your theology is pure and true.  Unless you pour contempt on all your pride and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, all your words will be nothing more than judgment building up for you to hang your head in shame later.

You, like me, were an enemy of Christ, held by the curse, totally depraved, unwilling and unable to come to Christ apart from the electing love of the Father, the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, and the redeeming love of Christ, our Good Shepherd.  That being so are you and I in a position to tread upon our brethren and blaspheme our God by bashing through walls and dropping our hammers on every brother or sister who doesn't think just like us?  Who may be undergoing some immense trial?  Who is at a different point along the journey? 

So then, would it not be better if we reasoned together and spoke the truth in love? 

He must increase
~ Kevin

Musings of a Madman or........

          I will extol You, my God, O King,

         And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 

         ~ Psalm 145:1

Can you say that?  If you are one who is offended by Christianity or laughs at it, bear this out. Don't quit on me.  

If you profess to trust Christ for forgiveness of sin and deliverance from it, this ought to be your cry too but I get a little closer....  

Is that you in happy times, joyful days, triumphant moments OR can you extol your God and King when you are in the pit and the walls are crumbling down?

I've had lots of time to dwell upon life, especially these last few days.  I have looked back at who I was before Christ knocked me off the pedestal of self.  I have looked forward to what is in store for me.  I have looked right in front of me and wondered, what is it all for?  Who is God?  Who am I?  Is He trustworthy? Has He really said and will He really do?  And in short, He has spoken and He is true. Therefore, I shall extol my God and King and I will bless His name every day.

              Every day I will bless You,

         And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 

~ Psalm 145:2

           What else can I do? For,         

         Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,

         And His greatness is unsearchable.

                      ~ Psalm 145:3

But, but.....you say.  You don't know how difficult my life is.  You don't know what struggles I have just to make ends meet.  You don't understand the hurt of missing that promotion.  You have no clue of the spiritual wasteland I reside in.  You cannot fathom my disability.  In fact, you have no clue how it feels to be tethered to a pole with a short chain that restrains me from normal life.  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.

I have been up and I have been down.  I have enough grey hair and aches along the way to reveal some battle scars, along with some extra shine on my head to boot.  Yet as I heard recently, sometimes God has to hurt us to save us.  Sometimes the Lord has to break us to make us, stretch us to strengthen us.  He must turn the heat up high in order to burn away the weight that keeps us sinking fast.

My question to you dear reader is this, is He refining you in the difficulties of life or is He wooing you to Himself?  

Either way, have we surrendered to Him or are we still proudly clinging to our own weakness.  Are we flexing our muscles in front of a circus mirror, hiding the fact that we're frail and weak? Are we pompously standing before that mirror admiring our falsified image?  Or will we step away from imaginary friends and look in God's mirror and see who we really are?  What we really need?  The One who can truly make us look magnificent.....IF we humble ourselves and submit to His transforming grace?

Though sometimes difficult I still praise Him in the storm.  I declare His mighty deeds, even when the cacophony of voices shout, "NO!  Are you crazy?!"

         One generation shall praise Your works to another,

         And shall declare Your mighty acts. 

~ Psalm 145:4

I have no other option.  I served myself half a lifetime and I have served my God the other half. There is NO comparison!  None!  I'd rather go to heaven with one eye.  I'd rather live my life with one leg.  To be without my Rock and my Redeemer for one moment would be worse than a thousand glorious days under man's praise.  Therefore, I shall praise my King to my children and pray like mad that they do the same.  This chain of violent rebels has been broken by a Mighty God and it must remain unbroken in it's current state.  The only legacy I can leave my children is a father that fears the Lord. I'm talking about a reverential awe.  I am determined to live before my God in such a way, always by the power that works within me, that my posterity will turn to God instead of away from Him, unlike previous generations claiming His favor when in actuality they awaited His righteous wrath.

         On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

         And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

         Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

         And I will tell of Your greatness.

         They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness

         And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

         ~ Psalm 145:5-7

What else could I do?  What will you do?  Will you focus on the glass half empty?  Will you fix your eyes on your troubles?  Will you foolishly attempt to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps or will you, will I, seek the One who holds all power, the One who gives life and takes away life, the One who can move a mountain with a thought or still a storm with a word?  Will we fix our eyes on the One who can make a blind man see?  A deaf man hear?  A lame man walk?  A dead man rise?!  Will we focus on the forest ahead of us and miss the majesty of the tree before us?  The glorious King of all has made each moment.  He has crafted each trial.  He molds and moves the clay.  His ways are altogether righteous. Will we question His goodness?!

The LORD is gracious and merciful;
         Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
The LORD is good to all,
         And His mercies are over all His works.
                   ~ Psalm 145:8-9

Dear friend, His word is true!  What shall we give in return?

         All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,

         And Your godly ones shall bless You.

         They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

         And talk of Your power;

         To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

         And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

         ~ Psalm 145:10-12

   
What are we making known dear ones?  Are we a wreck and a joke that a sinful and rebellious world laughs at?  Are we more prickly than a porcupine on a bad hair day?  Have we become rougher than 40 grit sandpaper in our treatment of others that they wonder what kind of God we serve?  Do we gripe and complain more than a soccer player who tripped over his own foot in the penalty box?  Do we take 4 steps in the lane, get tapped on the hip and cry foul, foul!? We blaspheme the greatness of our God and King.  We make a mockery of His true character.  We even bring into question our attachment to the Vine.  

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
         And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
 ~ Psalm 145:13

Since we His godly ones will receive an unshakable kingdom, how shall we live?

When we are weak do we mediate upon such truths as this.....               

The LORD sustains all who fall
         And raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
         And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
         And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
         ~ Psalm 145:14-16

Never have I lacked His blessing and never has any true child of His.  He withholds that which will harm us and He gives us that which will strengthen us.  Will we look to Him?  Will we acknowledge all comes from His hand and all is good?  Will we align our hearts with His and accept what He brings?  We can you know, because

             The LORD is righteous in all His ways

         And kind in all His deeds.

             The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

         To all who call upon Him in truth.

              He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

         He will also hear their cry and will save them.

              The LORD keeps all who love Him,

                ~ Psalm 1455:17-20a

Oh weary saint, Oh believing Christian, we must count His word true and certain, more certain than the sunset or the sunrise.  He is faithful.  He will do it.  He is too holy to sin, too holy for one unrighteous act, too perfect to give a snake when His child asks for a fish or a stone when he asks for bread.  He has promised to perfect us to the end.  We must not shrink when the fire gets hot and our flesh says, "fail!"  He who has saved us will sustain us and He is able to make us stand in glory!  Do we doubt that?

And to my friend who has read this far yet lives in unbelief, obstinate rebellion, convinced of his lack of need in such a God, such faith, these things are not so for you.  Despite the claims of a "better place" or to "RIP" the opposite is true of you. It was true of me!  But God!  He saved me with a mighty hand. He can save you.  Believe His truth,

         But all the wicked He will destroy.
         ~ Psalm 145:20b

Do not mistake that to be wicked is to be some vile criminal portrayed in society.  The Glorious King requires perfect obedience, perfect righteousness. He does not grade on a scale.  He does not weigh your good and your bad. You cannot go to another place and purge away imperfections in order to be granted access to his heaven later.  No, no.  It is appointed for a man once to die and then the judgment.  Sin brings death.  All have sinned.  Sin has been atoned for in the perfect righteous act of Christ on the cross but it must be applied to each individual by confessing your sin before the Righteous Judge and believing in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Simply believe. Simple belief is followed by active obedience, an active pursuit and passion for God. The world and the devil scares us away as if this is bad or this is a sorrowful path.  It is quite the opposite.  It is a path that involves joy unspeakable and rewards unimaginable.  The truth is at this point, you are a vile criminal in God's eyes, for you have transgressed His holy law.  You do not have to be destroyed.

Will you believe?

It is good to give thanks and to meditate on His goodness so as long as I have breath I will do as follows.  Will you join me?
    
        My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
                   And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.
                         ~ Psalm 145:21

He must increase,
Kevin

A Personal Diversion; The State of the Union, Clan McDonnell Style

I am taking liberty to digress for one blog post and give an update and perspective on where my family is in our decade long trial.  I thank my blogging brothers in advance for allowing me to divert for a moment.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

And He delights in his way.

When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong, 

Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

~ Psalm 37:23-24

Well, the cats out of the bag on my wife's blog.  Here is a bit of what she disclosed to her peeps which I in turn disclose to my great peeps.  Some of you may say "whatever!" and quickly turn away. Others, my dear friends who have stuck closer than a brother, sweet saints whom I've never met but have pleaded before the throne for us, may just be encouraged by what follows.  Either way, say this I will whether 2 or 200 read it or give it a care because say it I must.

I point to the verse above as it has directed me since my father died in 1991 at the young age of 57 and by doing so missed half of my life and the good stuff at that.  I clung to it because it was glaringly true to a young believer in Christ who didn't know much but that rang true at what was then my darkest hour.  23 years have only proven that biblical truth absolutely trustworthy and wonderfully comforting.  He always has and always will.....HOLD MY HAND and keep me from falling headlong.

What is below is from my dearest sweet bride, the love of this earthly life, this gift from above so graciously granted to me so many years ago....

"Ok Kiddies, it's time you found out! This past Monday we spent the day down in LA doing tests and a procedure.

    The tests results aren't back, one was an ultrasound for lumps around my rib cage which has us a bit freaked.  That's the bad news?  We won't know for sure if it is bad news until we talk to my GP but I have the scans and there is something there. Nuff said about that.

     Now for the good news, the procedure was on my back again.  Doc shot me up with 5 needles of Novocaine at the spot where my disks are rubbing. He put his hand on my shoulder in the OR and said, "Dear if this works we will put you out for the next procedure and fix it all." He's a sweetie, he was trying to take my mind off of all the pain I was in to relax me.  I have to lay on a pillow, on my stomach which makes the back arch and hurt more. Also there was no pain relief provided as he needed me to know if it worked or not.  I didn't expect any real relief from the procedure, perhaps just a few hours like the dentist.  But, here we are on Wednesday and I am still feeling less pain then I was in when I went into the OR.

     Praise the Lord I found my smile, my hummer and my whistle which has been missing all these long painful years.  Course it will most likely wear off today BUT Doc will be taking care of setting up the surgery soon.  If not this week then on the 31st he will start the ball rolling.  I have waited this long, what's a few more weeks?  These socks (pictured on her blog) are a present for him, a small token to say thanks, our hand dyed, he wears nothing but brown so I think he will like them. During the surgery he will cut open my back at the spine then cut and cauterize the nerves in question.  The only problem with this? I have a great immune system and they will grow back within 2 years.  I'm going to ask him to take as much as he can out of there.

     Once this has been achieved successfully, after I back off of the pain meds I'm on as proof of the success...  the insurance will FINALLY grant the final surgery. Well, I will still have to have another MRI which will have to show more damage.  The last one was at least a year ago and for sure things have gone down hill really fast this past year.  I'm confident that the next MRI will show something different.  THEN I can have what I have needed all this time.  Ya know... Doc knew when I walked through his door last year that I needed this surgery.  He talked with me for 5 minutes and said oh, you have Facetitis and need this surgery.  The insurance on the other hand, they want to keep money flowing through the system so they keep me in the system.  It's really sick, in any other country, I would have been walking a week after the initial contact with him.

     All that to say CELEBRATE WITH ME!  The end of this nightmare is now in sight."

       
Here is another truth that has not only brought great comfort but has been often an earnest cry...(thanks Pastor Don Green!)

         The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
         Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
         Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
         ~ Psalm 138:8

I will add none of this has been done lightly.  We, should I say I??, have banged on every door imaginable, Western Med and otherwise and believe me we preferred otherwise and pursued it aggressively.  I have often wondered if the end of the trial was near.  Often when the smoke grew thick and the rain poured down....as my dear wife's heart nearly fainted and mine was near crushed.......I clung to Christ thinking "must hold on a little longer", "perhaps it's thick because we're almost to daylight."

Funny as I pulled into church a few minutes ago we finished a message that closed saying "all of us are in one of three places, the middle of a trial, the end of a trial or about to enter a trial."  I sense we're closer to the end but if not, IF NOT, God is big enough and great enough to keep us moving through the trial.

But God, we shall see.

I cannot lie to you.  I would not have chosen this trial.  I preferred it never started, ended quickly, was a distant nightmare that wasn't reality.  But God!  He knew I needed this.  He knew we needed this. Again, we may have many more miles to traverse, we don't know.  But God!

In His glorious, sovereign purposes He has taken me, my wife, my children, to places we did not desire to go yet to places we surely had to go through.  I know I personally went in quite smart, quite firmly attached to the truths of sovereignty yet utterly lacking in the compassion and understanding of one broken and crushed under the weight of a trusting faith in a trustworthy God.  I see things differently now.  I'm a lot less cold and a lot less selfish.  But God!  He still has some work to do on me as some of those nasty barnacles still cleave to my soul.

So I write this to let you in a little, to seek your prayers for us still, and to point you to not just a good God but a great and glorious God, a Savior, my Lord who does all things well.

He must increase
~ Kevin