1. The enemy delights in the downfall of Christian leaders and works 24/7 in his temptations and snares to bring disrepute to Christ and His people by targeting pastors and other leaders.

2. The heartache and fallout from the moral failure of a Christian leader is deep and broad, sometimes lasting for decades, or even a lifetime.

3. The best way to avoid all this shame and heartache is before it happens. Pure prevention is the best policy.

Considering these things, I wanted to feature a resource in this week’s e-devotion that I wrote a number of years ago. After seeing the devastation of a moral failure, as I followed a predecessor who committed adultery, I was motivated to think of as many reasons as possible as to why we should avoid that path. I hope it will be a good reminder for us all. Feel free to pass it on to others.

“40 Reasons Why I Do Not Want To Commit Adultery”by Dr. Daniel D. Henderson

1. I would violate my relationship with my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who has loved, cared, and died for me. This action would disregard the selfless and cruel death He suffered in order to give me power over this sin.

2. I would bring public shame and unnecessary disrepute to His most holy and precious name, which I have been privileged to represent.

3. I would have to someday face my gracious Savior, eye to eye at His judgment seat, giving an account for willfully squandering His abundant provision of purifying grace. At that moment of eternal consequences I would inevitably witness the results of my own disregard for the rewards of faithfulness and obedience He so desired to give to me.

4. I would choose to submit myself to a destructive process of self-deception and the dulling of my conscience, causing a lack of confidence in my future ability to walk in obedience and faith.

5. I would inflict unimaginable pain on my wife — my best friend, and my faithful and sacrificial partner in ministry and life — and would have to stare into her tear-filled eyes to explain this conscious violation of my vows and describe the stupidity of my behavior.

6. I would permanently damage my wife’s ability to trust me or believe my word. I would lose her respect in the future, giving her constant cause for suspicion and question.

7. If my pattern of deception were to continue, or if she were unable to forgive me, I would lose her as my wife and would be left to face ongoing regret, loneliness, and pain.

8. In this case, I would permanently ruin my wife’s future fulfillment, causing her to face the remainder of her life feeling the struggle of rejection and dealing with the complications of single parenting or remarriage.

9. I would violate the love and trust of my precious children. In essence, I would be telling them, “Your mother is not a worthy person. Your father is a liar and a cheat. Honor is not as important as pleasure. My own selfish satisfaction is more important than loving my children.”

10. By destroying my own example and credibility with my children, I would lose future opportunities to influence them toward loving obedience and holiness and would plant within them a potential long-term resentment and bitterness toward the Lord and the ministry.

11. I would bring continual shame to my children every time they had to explain why their father was no longer in ministry — or why he was no longer together with their mother.

12. I would create destructive and continually tempting mental memories that would cultivate unhealthy lust and negatively affect future intimacy with my wife.

13. I would squander all of the money, time, effort, and pain that have gone into my
preparation for and development in the pastoral ministry.

14. I would seriously disappoint those godly leaders who have faithfully invested themselves in me (e.g. professors, pastors, mentors, and relatives).

15. I would bring shame to the college and seminary from which I graduated, tarnishing their reputation and squandering their investment in my theological education and character development.

16. I would deeply wound and embarrass my parents, whose loving instruction, sacrificial investment, and current delight in the positive course of my life would be horribly violated.

17. I would significantly damage the solid ministry foundation and tarnish the wholesome legacy of my faithful predecessors of my current ministry.

18. I would bring long-term disrepute to the positive reputation of my church in the community, hindering future ministry to people in this area.

19. I would undermine the credibility and effort of other Christian ministries and leaders in my city, adding to the climate of mistrust that continues to expand with each story of moral failure.

20. I would violate the precious trusting relationship with my leadership board, causing difficulty for them into the future as they seek to lead the congregation and causing a potential spirit of mistrust on their part toward future senior pastors at this church.

21. I would destroy my credibility and relationship with staff members who have faithfully supported me and responded to my leadership. A revelation of duplicity at this level would wound them deeply and would hinder even their own leadership among the flock.

22. I would bring underserved difficulty and pain to my ministry successor and his family, as they would be forced to reap what I have sown in their attempt to salvage the church and clean up the mess I would have made.

23. I would deeply wound all those who have been saved, discipled, equipped, counseled, and prayed for under my ministry, causing disappointment and disillusionment for some.

24. I would create possible disillusionment in the hearts of young men preparing for ministry as they wonder about the credibility of my leadership and the viability of authentic pastoral ministry.

25. If this should become newsworthy on a statewide or national scale, I would exacerbate the growing climate of mistrust toward Christianity at an even broader level.

26. I would squander my witness to various unsaved friends, acquaintances, and neighbors to whom I have witnessed over the years, perhaps driving them farther away from accepting Christ.

27. I would be thoughtlessly and carelessly throwing away the impact of the prayers of thousands of people who over the years have wholeheartedly supported me on their knees.

28. I would be heaping significant guilt and pain on the other woman, for the rest of her life.

29. I would potentially contribute to the dismantling of her marriage, family, and
network of trusting friends.

30. I would run the risk of the complications of a pregnancy resulting from the extramarital sexual activity.

31. I would run the risk of physical consequences in the form of sexually transmitted diseases.

32. I would suffer the consequences of losing a job and creating serious practical strain on my family financially and socially.

33. I would experience the trauma of a career change, having violated the qualifications for pastoral office.

34. I would join the ranks of those whom I have previously despised and whose actions have deeply grieved me because of their violation of calling and trust through moral scandal.

35. I would live with personal life-long embarrassment and shame, as I would encounter regular reminders of my foolish and destructive choices.

36. I would be required to invest a significant amount of time and money in the process of recovery, as many hours of counseling and years of rebuilding would be required.

37. I would take myself out of the running for multiplied opportunities in the future that could have come my way, had I remained faithful.

38. I would run the risk of being permanently “shelved” in my usefulness to God and His kingdom, knowing that the overwhelming shame and personal regret could cause me to completely give up my service for Christ.

39. I would cause a countless number of people to doubt the validity of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the power of Christ as they might ask, “If it didn’t work for him, can it really work for me?”

40. I would bring delight to Satan and his demons as these enemies of my soul and opponents of Christ would exult in their victory over one of God’s called servants.

(Some of these concepts were originally conceived by Randy Alcorn in Leadership Journal.)

Copyright © 2010 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.

My dad makes no claims to perfection, nor does his son. We both have our strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Long ago we ceased demanding that either endorse the preferences of the other (Although he hasn’t given up on a few things he still believes I ought to change!). My dad has mellowed over the years. Human failure and Divine forgiveness has made him quick to admit his faults, and eager to confess his struggles and weaknesses. In those ways, and many others, I want to be like my dad. I especially appreciate the transparent manner in which he allows me to walk, unhindered, through the inner recesses of his heart.

Sunday, God willing,  I’m taking dad with me to Seminole, Oklahoma, where, not far from a church pastored his father in the early days of the last century, I will preach a Father’s Day message. In that message, I’ll speak about the ten characteristics I believe every father should possess. The text, Luke 15:11-32, is that of the Lord’s parable of the prodigal son. I’ll leave it with you to read the story, but  you’ll find a listing of these characteristics below. Of course, the father in the story is a picture of our Heavenly Father, and a model for each of us as earthly fathers.

1. He doesn’t let past disappointments alter present determination (11-13).

2. He builds into the family a sense of noble principle (14-19).

3. He believes and teaches that all problems can be solved by following God’s plan (15-20).

4. He is just,  but easily entreated for forgiveness (20-24).

5. He doesn’t dwell on past mistakes (22-24).

6. He expresses concern for family unity (25-28).

7. He rewards proper behavior (29-31).

8. He deals with each child according to his or her unique personality (31-32).

9. He does not miss an opportunity to learn, or teach a principle (28-32).

10. He is present…at home (20).

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

I love you, and thanks God for the privilege of being called your son.

Rejoice evermore!

Tom Elliff

2 Tim 1:12

One of the speakers was Phil Cooke.  Phil recently wrote the following article on transitioning and leadership.  I found it to be very helpful.  Enjoy!

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I believe Christian media is facing the greatest generational transition in the history of our industry. For the most part, the first generation pioneers like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, Robert Schuller, Pat Robertson, Paul Crouch, and others, have either passed away, retired, or aren’t as intensely involved in their ministries as they used to be. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in numerous transitions from a variety of first generation to second generation leaders. Those transitions run the gamut from easy successions to not so easy, even to the point where attorneys, contracts, and difficult negotiations were involved.

If you knew some of the stories of how messy some successions of pastors and ministry leaders have been you’d be shocked. It’s an important issue because some of the largest and most influential religious media organizations have recently been through a similar transition or will be going through one soon. The implications of these transitions are more critical than many might believe.

For instance: — It means a transition in leadership styles.

First generation leaders are often highly creative, driven, and relentless. They are founders, and the incredible energy and passion it takes to create “lift off” for an organization leaves little time for anything else. As a result, most first generation leaders don’t value teamwork, have charismatic personalities that inspire great loyalty (sometimes with egos to match), and focus like lasers, sometimes at the expense of their own families. They know what they want, when they want it, and how they want it delivered. They are specific. As a result, their influence lives long after they’ve left the day to day arena.

In fact, if the second generation leader isn’t strong enough to assert his or her authority and style, he or she could spend their leadership years living the founder’s vision rather than their own.

By contrast, most second generation leaders are more comfortable with technology, value teamwork, and legislate through consensus. They tend to be less driven, and rather than pushing so hard to create the organization, are able to re-focus management on expansion or new markets. They have a more balanced family life, and are much more comfortable with dealing with outside criticism and media coverage.

There are pluses and minuses to both styles, but because of the dramatic difference, organizations that are experiencing generational change often convulse under the stress. Managers and employees suddenly have to switch gears, adjust expectations, and change their thinking. Those that recognize the change adapt quickly, but others, stumble, and often fail.

The bottom line? It’s never too early to start working on the transition. Even when first generation leaders aren’t ready to give up the spotlight, if you don’t start moving in that direction, should disability, illness, or death stop the founder, you’ll find that financial support will nosedive if a sense of trust hasn’t been established between your donors and the next generation leader.

(For books and other article by Phil Cooke visit www.philcooke.com)

1 Corinthians 15:13-19 says: [I]f there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

Because of the Resurrection (i.e. the first Easter) we have hope!

1 Corinthians 15 is the most extensive handling of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in the entire Word of God. We must be made aware and understand some information concerning the background of this passage that we might understand it. Corinth was a Greek province or city. It had a storied past and by the time that Paul writes this letter to the church in Corinth, the province was heavily influenced by Roman philosophies and practices. Historically, the Greeks rejected any idea or belief in a resurrection from the dead.

We discover that Paul had been faced with the same unbelief and had been literally laughed to scorn by his hearers before when in Athens he had declared the fact of the resurrection from the dead at the Areopagus (see Acts 17:16-32). Historians tell us that “most Greek philosophers considered the human body a prison, and they welcomed death as deliverance from bondage.” It is this attitude that still permeated the attitudes and intellect of these Corinthians and it is this attitude that had found its way into the mind and theology of some within the church (see v. 12). It is due to this cynical attitude which had invaded the church and some within the church had even written to Paul asking him to address and answer some questions, the fact or fiction of the hope of the resurrection is one of the subjects of their questions. Because this attitude had seeped into the church that Paul addresses and faces this subject head on. In this chapter Paul points out three critical facts concerning the hope that has results from the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on that first Easter. Get your copy of the Word of God and let me help you walk through 1 Corinthians 15 and notice and think about these things (I have put it outline format to make it easier and so you can think through it clearly and move through slowly)…

I. The REALITY Christ’s Resurrection

A. The Reality is PROVEN by their Salvation (vv. 1-2)

B. The Reality is PROVEN by their Testimony (vv. 1-2)

C. The Reality is PROVEN by the Word of God (vv. 3-4)

D. The Reality is PROVEN by Eyewitnesses (vv. 5-11)

1. Also consider Mary Magdalene and the other women that found the empty tomb (see John 20). Think of the fact that this is even in Scripture. Telling that a woman or women found the empty tomb would not bring validity to their argument because in the Biblical times a woman’s word was not worthy of trust, for she was a “second class citizen” (very similar to the many Middle Eastern countries today that are dominated and run by Islamic Law which requires the testimony of two women to stand against the testimony of one man). The only way it would and the only reason it is important and the only reason it was included is that this is exactly what really happened.

2. Those on the road to Emmaus were first hand witnesses to the Risen Lord who walked with them, taught them, and ate with Him unknowingly until they saw the nail prints in His wrists (see Luke 24:13ff).

E. The Reality is PROVEN by My/Your Story. Think about your life before Christ and since coming to know Christ. I know what Christ has and is doing in me! I am different and changed. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Those of us that know Christ are excellent proof of the Resurrection.

Question: Do you want proof beyond their salvation, their testimony, the things found in the pages of the Word of God, their eyewitness accounts? Do you need more? Then look around! Look at me! Write this down, memorize this, whatever you do never forget: The greatest testimony to the validity and reality of the resurrection is a changed life! Christ has changed me! Has Christ changed you?

II. The REJECTION of Christ’s Resurrection (vv.13-19)

A. There apparently were those that were questioning and saying that there was no hope of anything beyond death. This was nothing new…

1. The Greeks had this view. Read Acts 17 and you will see this.

2. Immediately after the resurrection had occurred the religious leaders had tried deny and reject the resurrection according Matthew 28. Look at what Matthew 28:1-4 and 11-15 has to say, “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men…Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”

B. Think about this, it was a capital offense for them to allow a seal to be broken and breached; the religious leaders obviously had some sort of pull in order to keep these guards from losing their lives. They had failed in their missions! The Tomb was empty! It is out of desperation that they do this (i.e. bribing these soldiers).

Question(s): However, there are more questions provided through this explanation than answers. Why were the soldiers sleeping? (This would be punishable by death.) How could the disciples have rolled the stone away without waking them? How could all the soldiers have fallen asleep at the same time? How did they know that the disciples stole the body? Could it not have been someone else? If the story is true, why did the soldiers have to be bribed to tell it? If the disciples had stolen the body, why had they taken time to remove the graveclothes and fold the napkin (i.e. face-covering)? These are all logical and valid questions to pose to those claiming the Resurrection of Christ has not taken place.

Today people still reject the truth of the resurrection. They are still buying into the lie and story that was developed by the Jewish leaders and shared by the soldiers. Many of us know people just like that. Let me share with you an example. Richards Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, scientist, and author. In 2006 he wrote a book he entitled The God Delusion. He is an emphatic and outspoken atheist and the individual responsible with coining the term “faith-sufferer.” Dawkins and Theologian Allister McGrath debated extensively in 2007. Dawkins has openly stated that he has no need for religion and despises how that it simply weighs down the minds of children and those that believe in a “God” are ignorant and unintelligent. Dawkins has openly stated that he has no need for religion unless it can prove to him and show him that there is a God that exists. During their debate McGrath, a former evolutionist and atheist himself, pointed out that Dawkins is ignorant of Christian Theology and is unable to discuss, research or debate religion and faith intelligently. Dawkins was left fuming during their debate as McGrath pointed out that Dawkins could not disprove the belief system found in the Word of God and held by Bible believing Christians. Those like Dawkins deny the Word of God, the existence of God, the sinfulness of man, the vicarious death of Christ and His resurrection because it does not make sense, it goes beyond reason, or they are beyond that. However, it does not change the fact of the reality of the resurrection! The tomb is empty! There is hope because of the resurrection. They may reject it, but it is reality.

Look closely at 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 again. If there is no resurrection all is hopeless gloom and despair! If there is no resurrection the message of the Gospel is “empty!” Why? Because Jesus did not do what He said he would do (i.e. rise from the dead) and this means He is not worthy of trust. Therefore, there is no hope for salvation and all mankind is left in their sins! If there is no resurrection then those that have died believing in Christ and His gospel then that is pointless. Therefore, if Christ is not raised from the dead then we are part of the biggest hoax of all time! Think about it! If Jesus did not alive, the joke is on us! We are in dire straits and should be pitied! We are in big trouble! The resurrection is at the very heart of our beliefs and our faith! The resurrection is what gives us true hope! It is what our hope lies in! To go through the struggles, trials, persecutions that Christians have gone through and are going through worldwide today, is pathetic and without justification IF Christ is not raised.

III. The RESULTS of Christ’s Resurrection

A. Insures the Vindication of Himself

1. Christ needed no vindication. He did more than enough to prove that He is the Savior of the world through His teachings, compassion, miracles, sinless life, and sacrificial death.

2. But His resurrection is the ultimate proof that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, Savior of the world, and only hope for mankind!

B. Insures the Hope of the Regeneration of Mankind

C. Insures the Protection (or Security) of Mankind

D. Insures the Resurrection of Mankind that is Regenerated

1. What kind of resurrection? Just like Jesus (i.e. literal and bodily).

2. The type of body for those that will believe.

3. This means Christ’s victory over death gives all that will believe victory over death as well.

E. Insures the Consolation (or Comfort/Support) of Regenerated Mankind

1. What is it like to live for and serve Jesus?

2. Is it easy?

3. We can rest assured that we have a Savior that not only endured the pains of death. He defeated death, hell, and the grave and is alive now and forever more to love us, care for us, hear us, and care for us! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

There is the REALITY of Christ’s resurrection, the REJECTION of Christ’s resurrection and the RESULTS of Christ’s resurrection. What hope! When the Word of God speaks of hope it does not speak of it the way we think of hope. When we speak of hope as humans or as a culture we mean that we are optimistic or that we are planning to, or that we are expecting to. But when God’s Word speaks of hope it is not a maybe, think-so, desire, or optimistic thought! When God’s Word speaks of hope it speaks of certainty! Because of the event of Christ’s resurrection on the first Easter we have certainty! We have hope!

I recently read a story of a family who lived during the beginning of the 20th century. It was a true story of a father and mother lost three children in one week in the midst of a diphtheria epidemic. Only their little three-year-old girl escaped. On Easter morning the father, mother, and child were in Sunday school. The father was the Superintendent. He led the school in worship and read the Easter Message from the Bible without a break in his voice. Many in the class were weeping, but the faces of the father and mother remained serene and calm. “How can they do it?” men and women asked each other as they left the church. A fifteen-year-old boy, walking home with his father said, “Father, I guess the Superintendent and his wife really believe all of it.” “All of what?” asked the Father. “You know, Easter and all,” he replied. “Of course,” answered the father, “all Christians believe it.” “Not like they do,” said the boy. “Not like they do.”

Question: Do you have hope? Do you have certainty? Do you know for sure where you will spend eternity? If not you can be certain, you can have hope today that Heaven will be your home if you will trust in the crucified and risen Christ today!

Question: Do you need hope? Maybe you are experiencing a difficult thing in your life, marriage, church right now. Give it to Jesus! He offers you comfort and hope! Are you living for Christ? Are you close to and walking with Christ? Is there sin in your life? Give it to Jesus! Recommit your life today!

Remember: NO Consummation of the Resurrection NO Christianity! No Consummation of the Resurrection, No Salvation! To deny the Resurrection is to den Christianity. The greatest testimony to the validity and reality of the resurrection is a changed life! Maybe you want to pause today and ask God to help you be that living testimony to the validity and reality of His resurrection! Maybe you will be brave enough to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and tell you if you have been and are just that: a living testimony to the validity and reality of His resurrection! Pause now. Rejoice!  For He is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!!!

The ambiguity of the word apologetics provides the apologist with a natural icebreaker in public or private conversations on the topic: the apologist does not exist to “apologize” for being a Christian, or indeed for anything else. The assumption behind the pun is that the listeners would have a fair understanding of what apologetics is even if they cannot attach a formal definition to the concept. Unfortunately, this assumption is not always accurate.

During a conversation at a major apologetics event recently held in a large church, an attendee asked me what “apologetics” meant. I explained to her that apologetics is the branch of Christian theology that seeks to address the intellectual obstacles that keep people from taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously. I gave her some examples of questions that are important in the context of apologetics. For example, why does evil exist if the world was created by an all-good, all-powerful God? How do we know Christianity is true in light of the numerous religions that exist in the world?

I finished my answer to her by quoting 1 Peter 3:15, which instructs us to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope that is within us. Her reaction was surprising.

“Are you sure the Bible says that?” she asked.

I assured her that it does. I explained to her that the word translated “answer” in that verse is the Greek word apologia that means “defense” and from which we get the English word apologetics. She had been a faithful member of a prominent evangelical church for most of her life, and yet she did not understand the meaning or importance of apologetics in the life of the local church. Sadly, I have seen such scenarios repeat themselves so frequently that I have now come to expect them whenever I go to a new place to speak.

Even among those who do understand what apologetics is and why it is important, there are some who suspect that it is reserved for a select minority among the elect—perhaps just for those with a questioning mind, or for an intellectual elite. Tertullian’s famous question, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” 1 echoes loudly in the hearts and minds of many a follower of Jesus in our time, with the resounding answer being “nothing.” The explosion of knowledge has made it possible for different people legitimately to focus on specific areas at the exclusion of others. This has complicated the process of cooperation among experts in different fields of study, the result being that often the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. Thus, for example, it is possible for a local church to function without apologetics.

In what follows, I hope to demonstrate why I believe apologetics is absolutely crucial to both the health and the witness of the church and why it is a serious mistake for followers of Jesus to ignore it. My goal is not to cast blame, but to call upon those who are committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to take seriously the application of its truth to all areas of life. Unless the Gospel is understood at the worldview level, its impact upon those who accept it as well as its ability to change the structures of their societies will always fall short of God’s best for his people. But, as I will argue, the Gospel cannot be understood at the worldview level without apologetics.

Orders to Prepare
The first reason why believers cannot ignore the life of the mind is that the Bible itself is opposed to anti-intellectualism 2 . As already mentioned, the Scriptures instruct us to be prepared to give answers to those who raise questions about our faith (1 Peter 3:15). When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus declared that it is to love God with the entirety of our being, including our minds (see Matthew 22:36-38)—an injunction beautifully modeled for us by biblical characters themselves.

For example, within the context of apologetics, Paul’s practice of reasoning from the Scriptures when in discussion with Jews about the identity of Jesus is well known. But as we see in Acts 17, Paul was willing to depart from this practice when he debated the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens: he started from where they were in order to introduce the Gospel to them. He could not reason from the Scriptures with them since they, unlike the Jews, did not accept the authority of the Scriptures.

Similarly, Matthew 22 contains a fascinating account of Jesus’s interaction with a group of Pharisees and Sadducees, the Ivy League scholars of the day. Jesus navigates masterfully through their traps regarding the requirement to pay taxes to Caesar, the status of marriage in the afterlife, and the prioritization of the commandments given to us by God. In each case, he exposes the misconceptions that had led to erroneous interpretations of God’s Word. Jesus caps the chapter with his own question to the experts. How could King David, under the inspiration of the Spirit, refer to the Messiah as his (David’s) Lord if the Messiah was just David’s son (or descendant)? “No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Matthew 22:46).

Although apologetics is mostly associated with such penetrating thinkers as C.S. Lewis, the practice of serving God with the mind has been an integral part of the life of the church throughout its history. This is evident in the formulation of complex biblical doctrines, such as the Trinity. The precision of the words used in the creeds and the determination to avoid contradictions are impressive examples of the priority the church has always given to the life of the mind.

Indeed, biblical thinking played a foundational role in all that went into the formation of what is known as Western culture. Without the Bible, Western culture would not have the shape it has today. Notwithstanding loud protests to the contrary, it was biblical thinking that gave rise to modern science and technology. As C.S. Lewis put it, “Men became scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver.” 3 They believed the universe was crafted by a purposeful God who created humanity in his image, creatures who could (to borrow Johannes Kepler’s famous phrase) “think God’s thoughts after Him.” To Kepler, “The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order which has been imposed on it by God, and which he revealed to us in the language of mathematics.” 4

It was also the Bible that gave the world a foundation for human rights. The Bible makes the astonishing claim that what separates human beings from other creatures is the fact that they were created in God’s image. Although others may claim that all human beings should be considered to be of equal worth, only the Christian worldview provides a philosophically solid and consistent basis for such a claim. After all, we don’t all come into the world “equal” in any objective sense. My boys were born in Los Angeles, California, around the same time that the children of a famous celebrity were born. Though there was a barrage of reporters and paparazzi hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrity’s children, no one showed up with a camera at the hospital where my boys were born (though I can assure you, as objectively as a dad can, that my boys were much better looking!).

We don’t all star t life in this world on an equal footing, given the huge range of gifts and attributes people have—musical or athletic ability, good looks, and intelligence. The only basis we have for attaching any meaning to the claim that all human beings are “equal” is the biblical teaching that we are all made in God’s image. So pervasive was such thinking in Western culture that such phrases as “all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with cer tain inalienable rights” were taken to be self-evident truths at the founding of the United States.

One can only wonder what the Declaration of Independence would look like if it were drafted today, when some of our leading intellectuals are telling us that we have pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps and we therefore have no need for God. It is difficult to see how “inalienable rights,” rights that exist independently of any human authority, can be justified without a transcendent anchor.

With all its war ts, the church has, in the past, acknowledged a duty to think through issues so that it can anticipate and then answer the questions people have. In other words, it has taken its role as the light of the world much more seriously than is evident today. C.S. Lewis did not invent apologetics any more than Michael Jordan invented the game of basketball.

Spiritual Warfare
A second reason why the church cannot afford to ignore the life of the mind is that apologetics is a form of spiritual warfare. The more I study the Word of God and the nature of the spiritual problems that plague human beings, the more convinced I become that ideas are the most effective of all of our enemy’s tools. Slavery is a grievous evil, but never more so than when it is the mind rather than merely the body that is enslaved. At that point, the slave will do the enemy’s bidding without any physical restraints, for whatever controls your mind owns you.

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, the Apostle Paul says,
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

There is a strong emphasis on the cognitive aspect of our being in this passage. The “strongholds” that we are to demolish as divinely inspired warriors are arguments and pretensions that set themselves up against our claim to know God. We are to take thoughts captive to make them obedient to Christ. The word Paul uses for arguments is the Greek word logismous, which refers to “the product of a cognitive process.” 5 If that is true, it is hard to imagine Paul ignoring the claims of those who would today argue that we cannot really “know” God in any meaningful sense. He did not shy away from engaging the Athenian philosophers in discussions on such matters.

But the power of ideas is most clearly demonstrated in the absolute effectiveness of the Tempter’s strategy in the Garden of Eden. How did Satan succeed in driving Adam and Eve away from God? Not through demonpossession or illness, and not by overpowering their will: he succeeded by planting an idea in their mind. Ever since the human race bought the lie that we can actually become gods ourselves in place of God, we have been willing—even resolved—to do our enemy’s bidding. The key arena for this spiritual battle has been our minds.

If the biblical account is right, then it is not surprising that some of those who finally succeed in defying God would experience a certain degree of liberation. God has given us the ability to make real decisions with eternal consequences. When we exercise our freedom to choose, we affirm our true humanity. But if we were created by God in order to have a personal relationship with Him, then to choose against Him is to dethrone the essence of our humanity. We function at our best when we are properly related to God. From cults to distorted biblical teaching, false ideas continue to exert their power on humanity with many casualties along the way. As ambassadors of Christ in a hurting world, we play a dangerous game when we ignore the life of the mind.

The fact that the mind is an intensely active spiritual battlefield is seen in the large number of young people whose faith is shaken when they encounter ideas that challenge the truth of God’s Word. This is a familiar story on many university campuses. Biblical thinking can only regain the respectability it once had by making its case in the marketplace of ideas. When reasoned discourse takes a backseat in any culture (and reasoned discourse in turn is only possible in the context of a shared assumption that truth exists and can be discerned), the only alternative is the exercise of raw power. This is clearly seen in the priority given to court cases in the so-called culture wars without an equal emphasis on shaping public opinion through a reasoned defense of biblically sound positions.

While court cases have their legitimate role, real victory will only come when Christianity is once again recognized to be a legitimate option in public discourse. Fighting culture wars through the courts alone is at best a temporary solution; it is just a matter of time before the weight of cultural opinion lends an unstoppable momentum to false and destructive ideas. It is not accidental that Paul refers to the church as the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). When biblical Christianity is understood at the worldview level, it has the power not only to change the hearts and minds of individual adherents but also to influence the ideas that shape the opinions of a culture.

Implicit in what has already been said is the third and final reason why I believe it is a serious mistake for the church to ignore apologetics: apologetics is indispensable in the proper application of the Gospel to all of life. To flesh out this point, we will examine briefly the role the Gospel played in transforming British culture in the nineteenth century in contrast to the limited impact it has had in Africa in recent decades despite its obvious popularity on the continent.

Borrowing a Page in English
Church historian Ian C. Bradley credits the Evangelicals of the nineteenth century with the revival of a high view of morality in Victorian era Britain. 6 He argues that it was the Evangelicals who led the campaign to abolish the slave trade and who tempered the excesses of imperialism in places such as Africa and India. On October 28, 1787, William Wilberforce wrote in his diary, “God almighty has set before me two great objects; the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.” 7

It was not surprising that the “reformation of manners” would be ranked together with the abolition of the slave trade in Wilberforce’s mind. As Bradley writes,
It did not take a Saint to feel that English society stood in need of reform at the end of the eighteenth century…. There can be little doubt that there was something depraved about a society whose favourite country pastimes included hurling stakes at chained cocks and setting dogs on cats thrown into ponds, where townspeople regularly complained of being kept awake by the screams of victims of assault and rape and the cries of prostitutes, and in which an eighth of the deaths in the capital were attributed to excessive drinking. The eighteenth century was probably no more vice-ridden than any other but no other age has ever paraded its weaknesses quite so openly or excessively. 8

Despite the enormity of the task, Wilberforce and others like him succeeded in impacting their nation. So profound was the transformation of British society that Bertrand Russell, one of the most prominent and influential atheists of the last century, could later write, “It is doubtful that the method of Mahatma Gandhi would have succeeded except that he was appealing to the conscience of a Christianized people.” 9 The process of Christianization did not occur by accident but as the result of a careful understanding of the Scriptures and the application of God’s Word to all of life. The Christian leaders who had laid the foundation for the moral rebuilding of their nation understood what a community of committed believers should produce: people of deepseated character and integrity who can discern the times in which they live and who can influence others, including their leaders, not only to become believers but also to live their lives and conduct their Christian witness with biblical wisdom in spite of cultural pressure to the contrary.

That is what Wilberforce hoped would be passed along to the generation that succeeded his own. In his book Real Christianity, he exhorted parents to incorporate apologetics in the upbringing and training of their children. He wrote,
In an age in which infidelity abounds, do we observe them [parents] carefully instructing their children in the principles of faith which they profess? Or do they furnish their children with arguments for the defense of that faith? … When religion is handed down among us by heredity succession, it is not surprising to find youth of sense and spirit beginning to question the truth of the system in which they were brought up. And it is not surprising to see them abandon a position which they are unable to defend. 10
Unfortunately, his warning increasingly went unheeded as the English Evangelicals began to abandon the life of the mind and to retreat instead into an agenda which prioritized personal piety over a scholarly engagement with ideas that opposed a biblical view of the world. As author Jonathan Rice observes, they claimed “God had called them to a purely practical faith: to send forth missionaries, to help the poor and downtrodden, to better peoples’ manners. These were the things pleasing to God; not intellectual debate or true apologetics.” 11

Sadly, the result was that many of their children and grandchildren abandoned the faith once they were confronted with arguments to which they had no answers. Rice continues,
They tried to salvage the strong sense of morality, duty, hard work and self-control, but without the God who had given it to them in the first place. One of them summed it up this way in 1873: ‘Let us dream no dreams and tell no lies, but go our way, wherever it may lead, with our eyes open and our heads raised’… There is bravery and integrity in this statement, together with a horrible sense of the tragic. It is the practical creed of a man who had once known and loved God, but had lost Him, and was facing his short life alone and abandoned in a now empty universe. 12

A few years ago, Lee Strobel interviewed Charles Templeton in the course of research for one of his books. Templeton, a onetime preaching partner of Billy Graham, lost his faith while still a young man. In a discussion about Jesus, Templeton’s eyes welled up with tears, and to Strobel’s astonishment, Templeton said, “I really miss him.” 13 After years of writing books defending his agnosticism, he was still unable to shake off the allure of Jesus. He had learned to love Jesus with his heart but not with his mind. What your mind rejects, your life will eventually reject also, however close it may be to your heart.

It is often said that ideas have consequences. Such a maxim can only benefit us as we determine not to allow it to degenerate into a meaningless cliché. If we lose the next generation to secularism, other religions, and paganism, it is not going to be because we fought and lost the battle, but because we never entered the battlefield in the first place. God has given us all we need in order to serve Him effectively in this world, and our minds are an integral part of the process.

Out of Africa
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the painful effects of anti-intellectualism in the church is to look at places where the rich legacy of Judeo-Christian scholarship has not taken root. 14 A clear example of this problem is the continent of Africa, my homeland. The continent is known for its exotic wildlife, sprawling jungles, beaches, deserts, and its many cultures. But it is difficult to think of Africa without also thinking of all its pervasive problems. Drought, famine, poverty, and disease continue to claim lives throughout large parts of Africa. As a result, physical needs receive the greatest attention from those who feel moved enough to act on behalf of the people of Africa.

But despite the seriousness of the physical needs, I am convinced that the biggest problem Africa faces is ideological. In Matthew 4, Satan tries to get Jesus to turn stones into bread in order to meet his physical need. In response, Jesus says, “It is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (verse 4). The need in Africa remains the same; bread (an allegory for humanity’s physical needs) and the Word (ideological needs). This two-pronged diagnosis of humanity’s deepest needs is the key to solving Africa’s seemingly insurmountable problems.

With respect to the bread (or physical needs), trillions of dollars and untold hours of human labor have been poured into the continent of Africa in recent decades. For the record, I am grateful for those who have devoted so much of their efforts and resources to assisting the people of Africa. RZIM’s Wellspring International has played a critical role in the process and we hope to do more in the future. It is impossible to see the need and not feel compelled to do something about it as followers of Jesus Christ. But we also know that offering assistance for physical needs in Africa, though necessary, is only a temporary solution. We are also determined to address the root cause of the problem, which is ideological. God’s Word properly applied is the only hope for the world.

Reflecting on the impact of the Gospel in Africa over the last few decades, missiologist Ralph Winter laments the fact that it does not seem to have the impact one would expect it to have in places where a majority of the people claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. Says Winter, “We always used to think, ‘Even if things are not going too well in the USA, at least those millions of newly won believers overseas are flourishing in the faith.’” 15

But Winter points out that the news is not as good as we have thought. He gives some unsettling examples: Kenya, which is 80% Christian, with more than 400 denominations and “almost as many Evangelicals as in all of Europe” could not contain the outbreak of the postelection violence that claimed more than 1200 lives and left over 350,000 homeless in January of 2008. The Central African Republic is 70% Christian, and yet it also ranks among the most dangerous and corrupt nations of the world. Even Rwanda was considered to be one of the most Christianized nations in the world just before the genocide. Winter refers to this as “the nightmare of a thought that our vast global, hard-won expansion of Christianity is falling to pieces before our eyes.” His conclusion is worth pondering:
A Christianity that does not teach the Bible points the way nowhere but to New Age groping, ambiguity and relativism. However, a Christianity that only teaches the Bible is blind to all the other knowledge God wants us to discover and value. 16

A full examination of how we got where we are goes well beyond the scope of this short article. Suffice it to say that the church, for the most part, did not respond well to the assaults on the faith that gained prominence in the intellectual centers of the world in the nineteenth century. Philosopher J.P. Moreland identifies three principal areas in which the Gospel was poorly defended against intellectual attacks: philosophy, science, and German “higher criticism.” Philosophers like David Hume and Immanuel Kant insisted that God cannot be known to exist. Charles Darwin’s formulation of the theory of evolution seemed to render the role of a Creator of life superfluous, and the Bible itself came under severe attack with the rise of higher criticism in Germany that questioned its historicity. 17

Moreland argues that the church frequently responded by withdrawing from the centers of intellectual debate. Bible institutes were built to train lay believers to reach the lost for Christ, rather than to equip a generation of believers to defend their faith. As Evangelicals retreated from the broader society, an unhealthy escapism with an emphasis on End Times teaching became popular. The result was a severe marginalization of Christian ideas from the public arena. Needless to say, reaching souls for Christ is the central objective of our calling, and as Spirit-filled believers, we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons” (Romans 8:23). But in the meantime, we are to endure the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in the believers (Galatians 4:19).

If Moreland’s analysis is largely correct, then the real problem that plagues believers in places like Africa is not hard to identify. Simply stated, the version of Christianity that was planted in Africa was largely divorced from the intellectual legacy of Christendom that had produced first-rate Christian scientists, moral philosophers, political thinkers, artists, business entrepreneurs, etc. It was instead the product of a pietistic strain of evangelicalism which was already in intellectual retreat in the West by the time it was coming to maturity in Africa. In short, since the advent of the missionary movement in the latter eighteenth century, the Judeo- Christian tradition has never been rooted in Africa as it had once been in the West. The West may presently be busy hacking away at the root of its moral foundations, but Africa in one sense has yet even to break ground in order to lay down a strong biblical foundation within its many cultures.

If we do not learn to value the life of the mind, then we will be doing a great disservice to all the missionaries who have sacrificed their resources, time, health, and even lives to take the Gospel to places like Africa. In spite of the anti-intellectual flavor of the version of the faith that made it to Africa, the missionaries proved faithful with what was at their disposal. The result, according to the Pew Forum, is that there are now more than 400 million Christians in Africa, and that number is projected to rise to more than 633 million by the year 2025. 18 Far from destroying African cultures, missionaries contributed to their survival by providing them with written expressions of their languages. 19 There is much for which missionaries deserve our gratitude, and the best way to reward their efforts is for African believers to learn to serve God with their minds.

In a different context, Richard Mouw uses the metaphor of the hospital emergency room to make a similar point. 20 The emergency room is a place of much activity and haste. The moment the ambulance pulls in, life decisions have to be made, with no time to waste. But the only reason why the medical experts succeed in saving lives in the midst of the haste and urgency is because medical researchers have already spent countless hours in the labs, conferences, lecture halls, and the library.

Unfortunately, Africa is like an emergency room with a real need for hasty action and urgent care. But there is very little research at the ideological level to back up the ambulance drivers. Physical and medical needs cannot be denied, but until we recognize that the application of God’s Word to all areas of life is still the final answer to the human predicament this side of the grave, the solution to Africa’s problems will continue to elude us. The Word of God is still the answer, but it must be understood at the worldview level if we are to break down the structures of mental slavery that have oppressed so many for so long.

In December 2008, Matthew Parris wrote an article entitled, “As an Atheist I Truly Believe Africa Needs God.” In that article Parris argued that redemption, not just physical assistance, has to be a part of the process that will give rise to the kind of transformation Africa needs. He concluded his article with a powerful statement:
Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted. And I’m afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete. 21

To this sobering statement from an atheist, I would add that apologetics must be a part of the equation, for millions of Africans have already responded positively to Christian evangelism. What remains now is for the believers in Africa to demonstrate what the Gospel can do to societal structures when it is properly applied. Learning to love God with their minds is the surest way to supplant oppressive belief systems with the life-changing Word of God. I should also note that I am not offering apologetics in place of the Gospel: the Gospel is what is needed. But in the process of applying it to all of life, apologetics is indispensable.

What It Will Take
The first thing it will take in order for the followers of Jesus to turn this ship around is a sacrificial commitment to the course of truth. 22 The church must produce gifted men and women who are not ashamed of the Gospel and who will serve God with their minds as historians, artists, moral philosophers, scientists, politicians, business entrepreneurs, university professors, media personalities, etc. In other words, we must strive to raise a generation of believers who are not just professionals who happen to be Christians but diligent Christians who understand that their professions are a means to glorify God.

Fortunately, this is already happening, especially in the US, as followers of Christ respond to the marginalization of biblical ideas in the culture by making the case for the truth and centrality of the Bible. The message of the Gospel is simple but it is by no means simplistic. Proper understanding and application of its truth requires careful study and contemplation. An impassioned “What-do-I-say-when-he-or-shesays- such-and-such” approach to apologetics alone will not do: we must be willing to roll up our sleeves for the sake of truth, for no one has a greater stake in it than those of us who claim to follow him who is the Truth.

Secondly, it will take the entire community of faith working together. No one person can do this alone. Given the multiplicity of tasks that many pastors bear, pointing out the value of apologetics to them can at times sound insensitive, if not insulting. Pastors tend to be very easy targets of criticism, but over the years I have worked closely enough with a number of them to appreciate the demands their calling places upon their lives on a daily basis. There are not many pastors who are in search of extra-curricular activities to fill up gaps in their schedules.

Consequently, believers must be more intentional about sharing the available resources as we all function together as one body. The biblical mandate for individuals and churches to use their gifts for the benefit of the entire body is clear. It is up to church leaders to create the opportunities for cooperation among believers. This means that no one person should feel left out; the gifts God has given each one of his followers are equally valuable in his eyes and we must embrace them with gratitude and use them to benefit others. Not all of us are called to be apologists, and not even the most gifted pastor can play all the roles God has assigned to any local congregation. Church leaders must be willing to open the door for the members of their congregations to exercise their God-given gifts, including serving God with their minds.

And finally, it will take dependence upon the power of the Spirit of God for authentic, transformed Christian lives. This is not only the ultimate goal of everything we do, it is also the only safeguard against letting our service to God with our minds degenerate into a mere academic exercise. Just as we can use other gifts of God, like material wealth, to oppose God, we can do the same with reason. In his book Beyond Opinion, Ravi Zacharias declares, “I have little doubt that the single greatest obstacle to the impact of the gospel has not been its inability to provide answers, but the failure on our part to live it out.” 23 That is a warning worth heeding. The one Bible verse that comes close to giving us a definition of eternal life is John 17:3. It says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life is not just something that will happen some day after we die; it is knowing God through Christ, and it begins the moment we believe.

Thus apologetics is necessary for the health of the church because it helps the believer to overcome intellectual obstacles in the course of the believer’s spiritual growth. It is necessary for the witness of the church since it helps clear away the obstacles that can keep the non-believer from taking an honest look at his or her true spiritual condition. The life of the mind is an integral part of Christian discipleship, and it is indispensable in the process of applying God’s Word in our individual lives as well as in our role as the bearers of God’s light in a dark world. To ignore the life of the mind is to play right into the hands of the enemy of our souls. For the sake of our own lives in Christ, our young people, our nation, and indeed our world, we will do well to rediscover the primacy of loving God with our minds in the context of our local churches.

__________________________________________________________________

J.M. Njoroge is associate apologist at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

1 Quoted by John Mark Reynolds in When Athens Met Jerusalem (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 17.

2 A good book on this topic is J.P. Moreland’s Love Your God With All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1997).

3 Quoted by John C. Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (Oxford: Lion Hudson Plc, 2007), 20.

4 Ibid.

5 Fredrick William Danker, Greek- English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 598.

6 Ian C. Bradley, The Call to Seriousness: The Evangelical Impact on the Victorians (Oxford: Lion Hudson Plc, 2006).

7 Ibid., 93.

8 Ibid., 93-94.

9 Cited by Ravi Zacharias in “The Chimera of Pantheism” in To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview: Essays in Honor of Norman L. Geisler, Francis Beckwith, ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 317.

10 Quoted by J.P. Moreland in Love Your God With All Your Mind, 134-135.

11 Jonathan W. Rice, “An Anti- Intellectual Faith and the Tragic Consequences for Britain’s Evangelical Awakening,” Mission Frontiers Magazine (March-April 2008), 11-14. 12 Ibid., 12. 13 Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 8. 14 It is not quite accurate to assume that biblical thinking has never taken root in Africa. As Thomas C. Oden demonstrates in his book How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007), Africa was the center of biblical scholarship in the early centuries of the church. But when Christianity was reintroduced into Africa in the early nineteenth century, it was disconnected from its African heritage.

15 Ralph Winter, “Editorial Comment” in Mission Frontiers Magazine (March-April, 2008), 4.

16 Ibid.

17 Moreland, 22-25.

18 Thomas C. Oden, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 10.

19 For a detailed exploration of this thesis, see Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009).

20 Richard J. Mouw, The Smell of Sawdust (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 54.

21 http://www.timesonline. co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/ matthew_parris/article5400568. ece, accessed August 26, 2009.

22 This is by no means an exhaustive list of what it will take for the followers of Jesus to take the life of the mind seriously. More could be said in this regard.

23 Ravi Zacharias, “The Church’s Role in Apologetics and the Development of the Mind” in Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend, Ravi Zacharias, ed., (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 303

I hope and pray this finds you doing well!

We have found the last several months to be very eventful.  2009 proved to be a very productive time of ministry.  We saw right at 400 profess faith in Christ, one of whom was a young man who was a Buddhist, 18 people surrendered their life to full-time vocational ministry, 5 young men were personally mentored, dozens of marriages were strengthened, hundreds of teens were challenged and encouraged through events in PA (TeenQuest Snow & Summer Camps where we had the opportunity to minister) as well as in VA where the opportunity was presented for our ministry to write and present a conference to a few hundred teens on relationships entitled “Heart, Mind, & Body: 100% Pure” (we are now offering this to anyone else wanting to do the same conference), and again we had the opportunity to speak at Thomas Road Baptist Church for Pastor Jonathan Falwell at the Wild Fire Men’s Conference.

2009 also proved to be a very difficult time for our family.  In June of last year as you know, after returning from vacation with my her Mom, Mary, Nikki’s Dad, Ken became ill.  The doctors thought it was his gall bladder but discovered a few days later it was pancreatic cancer.  In less than a month and a half, Nikki’s Dad, a pastor in NC went to be with Jesus on July 10, the day after our 10th wedding anniversary.

2010 has started off just as busy and just as crazy it seems.  We have already had the chance to minister in three churches here in VA and two snow camps for TeenQuest in PA where we have seen over 40 people trust Christ through all these opportunities.  But it has also had some bumps already.  Just six months after the death of her Dad, Nikki’s Mom has been told she has a “mass” that is attached to one of her kidney’s (she goes February 22 for a biopsy and we would appreciate your prayers for Nikki, her sisters Christi Embler and Katie Hankins, and her Mom, Mary Hankins during this time).

Praise God!!!

Nikki and I wanted to write to you and share all that God has been doing in our lives and ministry and say thank you for loving us, partnering with us, praying for us, and financially supporting us.  Without you we could not do what we do!  Because of you, your love, partnership, prayers and financial gifts many lives have been touched, challenged, and changed for all eternity.  That is because of you.  Thank you!

I also wanted to share with you a need we have.  We are in need of a new ministry computer.  One reason is my briefcase recently ripped while walking through the parking lot on my way to meet one of the young men I meet weekly to mentor, dropped to the ground and hit hard and cracked my computer.  However, this is not the only reason I need to replace it.  This computer is several years old and no longer able to serve the needs of our ministry.  My webmaster had recently instructed me that he would like for me to get a new computer in order to be able to do some of the things that I believe God is leading me to do.  We believe God is wanting us to begin offering mentoring to pastors and men on a larger scale by way of video and/or video chatting through the internet.  Our computer is unable to do this.  The programs that my webmaster wants me to use are standard and a MacBook Pro and that is what we are attempting and wanting to purchase.  However, we cannot do that at this time, but need to.

We would like to ask you to:  #1 Join us in praying for this need, #2 Pray specifically that God would provide this need we have without us having to go into debt so we are good stewards of the resources God gives us, and #3 Consider giving a gift to our ministry above what you normally give which would specifically be for the purchase of this MacBook Pro ministry computer.  Let us know.  Thank you!

God has been doing amazing things with our ministry and again, we  thank you for all your love, prayers, and support.

I look forward to hearing from you soon!

In Christ Alone,

Matt Wilkins
Prov. 20:7

www.mattwilkins.org

Mailing address:  111 Northwynd Cirlce #1
Lynchburg, VA  24502

The earthquake that will forever change that nation came as subterranean plates shifted about six miles under the surface of the earth, along a fault line that had threatened trouble for centuries. But no one saw a quake of this magnitude coming. The 7.0 quake came like a nightmare, with the city of Port-au-Prince crumbling, entire villages collapsing, bodies flying in the air and crushed under mountains of debris. Orphanages, churches, markets, homes, and government buildings all collapsed. Civil government has virtually ceased to function. Without power, communication has been cut off and rescue efforts are seriously hampered. Bodies are piling up, hope is running out, and help, though on the way, will not arrive in time for many victims.

Even as boots are finally hitting the ground and relief efforts are reaching the island, estimates of the death toll range as high as 500,000. Given the mountainous terrain and dense villages that had been hanging along the fault line, entire villages may have disappeared. The Western Hemisphere’s most impoverished nation has experienced a catastrophe that appears almost apocalyptic.

In truth, it is hard not to describe the earthquake as a disaster of biblical proportions. It certainly looks as if the wrath of God has fallen upon the Caribbean nation. Add to this the fact that Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism — mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices. The nation is known for voodoo, sorcery, and a Catholic tradition that has been greatly influenced by the occult.

Haiti’s history is a catalog of political disasters, one after the other. In one account of the nation’s fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French. According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history — including now the earthquake of January 13, 2010.

Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God’s direct and observable judgment.

God does judge the nations — all of them — and God will judge the nations. His judgment is perfect and his justice is sure. He rules over all the nations and his sovereign will is demonstrated in the rising and falling of nations and empires and peoples. Every molecule of matter obeys his command, and the earthquakes reveal his reign — as do the tides of relief and assistance flowing into Haiti right now.

A faithful Christian cannot accept the claim that God is a bystander in world events. The Bible clearly claims the sovereign rule of God over all his creation, all of the time. We have no right to claim that God was surprised by the earthquake in Haiti, or to allow that God could not have prevented it from happening.

God’s rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.

The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake — at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense — in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.

Why did no earthquake shake Nazi Germany? Why did no tsunami swallow up the killing fields of Cambodia? Why did Hurricane Katrina destroy far more evangelical churches than casinos? Why do so many murderous dictators live to old age while many missionaries die young?

Does God hate Haiti? God hates sin, and will punish both individual sinners and nations. But that means that every individual and every nation will be found guilty when measured by the standard of God’s perfect righteousness. God does hate sin, but if God merely hated Haiti, there would be no missionaries there; there would be no aid streaming to the nation; there would be no rescue efforts — there would be no hope.

The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that the creation it groaning under the weight of sin and the judgment of God. This is true for every cell in our bodies, even as it is for the crust of the earth at every point in the globe. The entire cosmos is awaiting the revelation of the glory of the coming Lord. Creation cries out the hope of New Creation.

In other words, the earthquake reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only real message of hope. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti — and the Haitian people are the objects of his love. Christ would have us show the Haitian nation his love, and share his Gospel. In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.

Everything about the tragedy in Haiti points to our need for redemption. This tragedy may lead to a new openness to the Gospel among the Haitian people. That will be to the glory of God. In the meantime, Christ’s people must do everything we can to alleviate the suffering, bind up the wounded, and comfort the grieving. If Christ’s people are called to do this, how can we say that God hates Haiti?

If you have any doubts about this, take your Bible and turn to John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That is God’s message to Haiti.

(Taken from http://ow.ly/WA7p.  Click for more resources and information)

What he said is in large part why I am giving this message the way I am. It wasn’t the first time someone had said this. But it maybe have been the most recent and most public and most blatant. And just so you know, I wrote to Mr. Reece a long letter with my concern in the hope that I could give him another perspective.

Reece grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home, like I did. He rejected his. I loved mine and give thanks for it to this day. The background paragraph at the NPR website said that he struggled to find a different form of Christianity with the guidance of Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman, and other American writes.

Jesus Christ, Egomaniac

In the interview, Terry Gross pointed Mr. Reece to page 28 of his new book. On that page, he quotes from Jesus in Matthew 10:37-39.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Then after quoting Jesus, Reece says, “Who is the egomaniac speaking these words?” Terry Gross asks him, “Would you elaborate on that reaction?”

Reece replies, “Well, it just struck me as ‘Who is this person speaking 2000 years ago, a complete historical stranger, saying that we should love him, (who we are really incapable emotionally of loving) more so than we should love our own fathers and sons?’ It just seemed like an incredibly egomaniacal kind of claim to make.”

So in his book, he says that if Jesus talked like this, he is an egomaniac, and then in the interview, he confirms that conviction that someone who would talk like this is egomaniacal.

So here is Jesus saying: “Love me more than you love anyone in the world. If you don’t you are not worthy of me.” And Erik Reece says: “That is an egomaniac talking.”

Now Reece is not the only one who feels that way.

Like a Vain Woman Wanting Compliments

C. S. Lewis, eventually professor at Oxford and great writer of Christian apologetics and fiction 60 years ago, was slow to come to Christ. He was 29 before he was converted.

And he says in his book Reflections on the Psalms that one of the great obstacles in coming to believe in the God of the Bible was that when he read the Psalms, the constant demand from God to praise him seemed (to him) to picture God as craving “for our worship like a vain woman who wants compliments.”

In other words, he stumbled, just like Erik Reece, over the self-exalting commands of God that we praise him, and the self-exalting commands of Jesus that we love him more than we love our parents or our children or our own lives. To Lewis and Reece, this was sheer egomania.

Human Tyrants Crave Adulation

Almost seven years ago in the March 30, 2003, issue of the London Financial Times, Michael Prowse wrote the same thing from another vantage point:

Worship is an aspect of religion that I always found difficult to understand. Suppose we postulate an omnipotent being who, for reasons inscrutable to us, decided to create something other than himself. Why should he . . . expect us to worship him? We didn’t ask to be created. Our lives are often troubled. We know that human tyrants, puffed up with pride, crave adulation and homage. But a morally perfect God would surely have no character defects. So why are all those people on their knees every Sunday?

Or if he were here, he would say, “Why are these 20,000-plus students standing with their hands and their voices lifted in praise to a God and his Son who are such egomaniacs that they constantly demand that we think they are the greatest?

Why are all these young people cowed into doing just what these egomaniacs want them to do, namely, admire them and praise them above everybody else in the universe?

Until He Said, “Jealous”

My wife and I had dinner last night with Francis and Lisa Chan, and I was telling them about this talk and Oprah Winfrey came up as another example of someone who left traditional Christianity because of seeing God this way.

So I went back to my room and called up the You Tube clip of her statement and wrote it down. Here’s what she said. She was describing being in a church service where the preacher was talking about the attributes of God, his omnipotence and omnipresence. Quote:

Then he said, “The Lord thy God is a jealous God,” I was caught up in the rapture of that moment until he said, “jealous.” And something struck me. I was 27 or 28, and I was thinking God is all, God is omnipresent, God is . . . also jealous? A jealous God is jealous of me? And something about that didn’t feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love, and that God is in all things.

In Exodus 34:14, God says, “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” In other words, God demands that you and I and Oprah Winfrey give him all our worship. If we give any of our worship to another, he is jealous, and if we don’t repent, he will break forth in wrath. “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).

So Erick Reece and the early C. S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah Winfrey all turned away from the God of the Bible because they thought he was too self-exalting. Too self-centered. Too much the egomaniac.

Such a Self-Exalting, Self-Centered God

I heard Don Carson, New Testament scholar from Trinity Seminary near Chicago, say a while back that as he has done evangelistic outreach on university campuses, the questions have changed over the years. Thirty years ago they tended to revolve around historical problems with Christianity.

Nowadays it is represented by questions like, How can you worship a God who so self-exalting and so self-centered as the God of the Bible—a God who is constantly pointing to his own greatness and constantly telling people that they should recognize this greatness and tell him how much you like it?

Touching the Very Center of Christianity

I don’t think that what we are seeing here is a small, marginal, or tricky opposition to Christianity. I think what Erik Reece, C.S. Lewis, Michael Prowse, and Oprah Winfrey are seeing touches the very center of Christianity.

If you say in response: I thought Christ crucified for sinners and risen triumphantly was the heart of Christianity, you would be right. Paul said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

That’s true. But the amazing thing is that it’s the intersection of God’s apparent egomania with the human condition of sin that makes the cross of Christ necessary and makes it intelligible and reveals the deepest things about God in the death of Christ.

So we are not dealing with something small here or marginal, but something central and crucial.

God Lives for the Glory of God

I didn’t face this issue until I was about 23 years old—40 years ago now. I had grown up in a Christian home where I was taught 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” So it was clear to me that I should live for the glory of God.

But no one ever said to me that God lives for the glory of God. Then I read Jonathan Edwards’s The End for Which God Created the World, and everything changed. He simply blew me away with page after page of biblical texts showing God’s pervasive God-centeredness. That God does everything for his glory. That he is unwaveringly committed to uphold and display his glory.

And what became clear to me, and remains clear to this day, is that many Christians think it is good for us to be God-centered, but don’t feel at all comfortable with God being God-centered. We should be Christ-exalting, but Christ shouldn’t be Christ-exalting.

God’s God-Centeredness as the Test

What I have found in my own life, and in the life of many others, is that God’s God-centeredness is the test of whether our own God-centeredness is real: Do I rejoice in God’s unwavering commitment to uphold and display his glory—do I rejoice in God’s God-centeredness? Or am I God-centered only because deep down I believe God is man-centered, so that my supposed God-centeredness is really man-centeredness, even me-centeredness?

Does my opposition to God’s God-centeredness reveal that my supposed God-centeredness is just a cover for wanting myself at the center, and the use of God to endorse that because he is so centered on me?

God’s Radical Devotion to Himself

Reading the Bible with these eyes, I began to see what Erik Reece and C.S. Lewis and Michael Prowse and Oprah were seeing. God really is radically devoted to seeing himself exalted. God is radically committed to seeing that his glory is esteemed as the supreme value of the universe.

Here is a sampling of what I saw.

God creates for his glory.

Isaiah 43:6-7: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.

God elects Israel for his glory.

Jeremiah 13:11: I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.

God saves them from Egypt for his glory.

Psalm 106:7-8:  Our fathers rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake that he might make known his power.

God restrains his anger in exile for his glory.

Isaiah 48:9-11: For my names sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you . . . . For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be  profaned?  My glory I will not give to another.

God sends his Son at the end of the age for his glory.

2 Thessalonians 1:9-10: He comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all who have believed.

In all of redemptive history, from beginning to ending, God has this one ultimate goal: that his name be glorified. The aim of God in all that he does is most ultimately the praise of his glory.

All of redemptive history is bookended by this amazing purpose in God the Father and God the Son. And in the middle of that redemptive history stands the greatest event in the history of the world, the death of Jesus Christ.

And just at these points—the beginning and the ending and the middle (predestining of our salvation at the beginning, and the consummation of our salvation at the end, and the purchase of our salvation at the middle)—just at these points the problem of God’s apparent egomania finds its amazing solution.

God’s God-Centeredness from Start to Finish

Consider a passage of Scripture about each of these points—the beginning (predestination), the ending (consummation), and the middle (propitiation).

Beginning: Ephesians 1:4-6

God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace.

Before the foundation of the world, God planned a redemption in Christ with this great and ultimate goal: that we would praise his glory. And the apex of that glory would be the glory of his grace.

So from the very beginning, we see that God made his exaltation and our salvation one piece. You don’t have to choose between God’s glory and your joy, because the apex of your joy is praise, and the apex of his glory is grace.

What We Delight to Do

C. S. Lewis broke through to the beauty of God’s self-exaltation (thinking at first that the Psalms sounded like an old woman craving compliments). He finally saw something very different:

My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value. I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958, 93-95])

Lewis saw that praising God is the consummation of joy in God. Therefore, when God is pursuing—even demanding—our praise, he is pursuing the consummation of our joy.

This may feel at first counter-intuitive—that when we are small and feel insignificant, while God is great and central, at those very moments we reach our highest joy. But it’s not counter to our deepest sense of where joy comes from. John is not in thinking highly of ourselves. Joy reaches its height in moments of self-forgetfulness in the presence of beauty and greatness.

So if Jesus wants you to feel most alive, most joyful forever, what would he show you?

Ending: John 17:24

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

When all is said and done, and the history of the world is complete, and the new heavens and the new earth are established, and the infinitely joyful age to come is here, the ultimate joy, the ultimate climax of history for our aching hearts, is “we will see his glory,” and we will be transformed by it into the kind of people who can enjoy it fully and not be incinerated by it.

When Jesus says, “Love me more than you love your mother and father and sons and daughters and your own children and your best beloved on earth,” he is not hurting anyone!

Jesus Is Saying…

He is saying: If you find your ultimate joy in your most cherished earthly treasure, you will be disappointed in the end, and I will be dishonored. Because I am offering myself to you as the all-satisfying beauty and greatness and wisdom and strength and love of the universe. I am what you were made for. And I am telling you that, if you see this—if you see me as your supreme Treasure—then you don’t have to choose between your satisfaction and my glorification, because in the very act of your being most satisfied in me, I will be most glorified in you.

Jesus continues, “When I pray for you, that in the end you will see my glory, it is simply because, as God, I am infinitely glorious, and I want you to see infinite glory and enjoy it. I want you to be with me and be satisfied in me. I am not an egomaniac. I am your all-satisfying friend.”

The Great Problem of Sin

But of course, there is a great problem—and this is that we are sinners. Not only do we not want to treasure someone above ourselves, we don’t deserve that privilege. And so how will sinners like us be able to stand in the presence of God and enjoy his greatness as our all-satisfying Treasure?

Which brings us now to the middle of history and the work of Christ on the cross.

The Cross at the Center

The center of God’s plan—from beginning to end—stands the mighty cross of Christ. And in it we see the clearest statement of God’s passion for his glory—precisely and amazingly in the salvation of sinners. Romans 3:23-26:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Note the argument:

What God did: He put Christ forward as propitiation by his blood (verse 25a). Christ died to remove the wrath of God.

Romans 8:3: “What the law could not do . . . God did: . . . he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”

Why did he need to do it this way—by dying on a cross? Verse 25b: “This was to show God’s righteousness.” Why did he need to show his righteousness? Verse 25c: “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

Why does passing over sins call God’s righteousness into question? Verse 23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. “Fall short” means “lack.” We have exchanged the glory of God in every sin (Romans 1:23). Every time we sin, we say that the glory of God is not the supreme Treasure to be desired above all others. It is not satisfying. It is not to be preferred.

When God passes over that, it looks as if he agrees. And if he agrees, he is unrighteous. He is wrong. He is acting in contradiction to what is true. His righteousness—his commitment to doing what is right—is his commitment to act as though his glory is supremely valuable, which it is. His righteousness is his commitment to upholding and displaying the infinite worth of his glory. And that is what the cross does.

God Is Passionate for God

Therefore, from beginning to end—from predestination before creation to the final state of contemplation of the glory of Christ at the end of history—God is passionate for his glory.

In the center of that history, the greatest event that ever happened, the death of the Son of God for sinners like us, is the demonstration of God’s righteousness—the demonstration of his unwavering commitment to uphold and display the infinite worth of his glory as the supreme Treasure of the universe.

Forgiveness for His Name’s Sake

Which means that now when we come to him for mercy and cry out to him for the forgiveness of our sins we do it for his name’s sake—for the sake of his glory.

For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. (Psalms 25:11)

And we hear the promise from 1 John 2:12, “[Y]our sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”

The greatest news in the world is that in the death of Christ, God has made a way for his name to be exalted and my sins to be forgiven in the very same act. God is both just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

The Foundation of Our Salvation: God’s Value

And what makes this so spectacular is that the foundation under our salvation is not our value but God’s value. The consummation of our salvation is not that heaven is a hall of mirrors where we like what we see, but that we will be glorified and the universe will be glorified to the point where we can fully enjoy the glory of Christ.

Here is the end of the matter: God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is not the act of a needy ego, but an act of infinite giving. The reason God seeks our praise is not because he won’t be fully God until he gets it, but that we won’t be happy until we give it.

This is not arrogance. This is grace.

This is not egomania. This is love.

(By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org)

We spent all day Monday, December 28, my birthday, cleaning out Nikki’s Dad’s office at the church he and his wife planted 22 years ago.  Very difficult for Nikki’s Mom.  Her Mom repeated time and again the following words to Nikki and her sisters as they sorted through things, “This is the last 30 years of our life in these stacks of papers and books.  Our life has been so intertwined between family, ministry and this church.”

While helping and watching I could not help but hear my own words echo in my ear that I have shared so many times with people as I preach, “All of us one day will go out into eternity and the things of this world will no longer matter. Someone else will own the very things we own.”

It was a very difficult, yet needed time for Nikki, her Mom, and her sisters.  At the same time it wasn’t.  Grief is a strange thing.  It, like time, stops for no one.  It, like a storm on a Spring day, can blow in at any moment it seems.

This caused me to sit back and think to myself, on my 33rd birthday as we cleaned out the office (of a Pastor, the office a husband to my mother-in-law, the office of the Daddy to my wife and her two sisters, the office of a Poppa to my daughter, the office of my father-in-law and friend Ken Hankins), what will my life be reduced to and summed up as when I step into eternity to be with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Will I have made an impact?  Will I have made a difference?  Who will have been touched, challenged, encouraged, and altered for all eternity due to the life, the ministry that I have had?  Who will be the one(s) helping Nikki and Lexi clean out my office?  Who will sit with my books, study materials and touch the lives of future generations?  What legacy will I leave for Nikki and Lexi?

My father-in-law touched many lives as a husband, father, grandfather, and pastor.  Only Heaven will tell the lives he touched.  But in the eyes and lives of those four women who I had the honor and priviledge of helping to clean out his office he was truly his legacy.  He showed them what is means to love Christ, His Word, and His Gospel.  He loved them unconditionally and was committed to them.  And some day, because of the Gospel he preached, had shared with others, because of the change that the Gospel had made in His life, his wife’s life, and also his daughters lives (not to mention the hundreds of others that came to know Christ through his preaching and sharing it with them as well) this family will be reunited together someday.

Yes….now time ticks by slowly many days for Mary, Nikki, Christi, and Katie as they grieve the loss of a husband, daddy, grandfather, pastor, and friend.  Yes…Jason, Jordan, myself and many others love these women and are doing all we can to “laugh with those who laugh and cry with those who cry” (see Romans 12:15 & 1 Corinthians 12:26) but we do not shed tears for no reason or have a heart that is hopeless  (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).  Our hope, peace and joy lies in Christ, Him crucified, buried, reason and coming again (see 1 Corinthians 15:50-58)!

All in all this causes me to view the things that truly matter:  my personal walk with Christ and my family.  More than ever I want to grow in my walk with Christ.  I want to live each day showing and telling Nikki and Lexi my love and appreciation of them and the love of my/our Savior.  I want to gaurd my character and integrity.  I want to lift to lift up Jesus, love all people, reach many with the Gospel, and pour my life into a few through mentoring them and helping them in their walk and journey with Christ.  I am more committed than ever to the Glory of God, His Word, His Gospel, and His Kingdom.

What about you?  What is the take away?  What about your life?  What about your legacy?  What really matters?  Whose kingdom will you build?

As I end these reflections of my 33rd birthday, I have one line that has been playing over in my mind constantly as I have been writing this:  “Life is short, death is sure, sin’s the curse, but Christ’s the cure!”

Matthews Gospel reveals this King by showing Him to the Jews as to His Person (1–4), His principles (5–7), and His power (8–10). Matthew is seeking to prove that Jesus Christ is the King, “the Son of David.” In the first chapter, he gives the human ancestry of Christ (vv. 1–17), then describes the birth of Christ (vv. 18–25). Thus, Jesus is the “root and the offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). He is “the root” in that He is eternal God and brought David into being; He is the “offspring” in that His humanity is linked to David in His birth (Rom. 1:1–4).

Then Matthew moves to chapter 2 where he writes:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men  from the East came to Jerusalem, ^2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” ^3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ^4 And when he had gathered all  the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  ^5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:   ⁶‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” ^7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  ^8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”  ^9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ^10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ^11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ^12 Then, being divinely warned  in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”

This is an amazing picture.  Matthew has just built the case to a Jewish audience as to the validity of the Davidic lineage of Jesus, even though it may read like a phone book.  Then he transitions showing this beautiful picture of these “wise men” these scholars coming to find Jesus!  Notice, God gives them the gift of a “star” (see verse 2) which led them to His other gift “the young Child” (see verse 11) which was no mere child, but the very Son of God.   These scholars, these “wise men” then did something.  We’ve heard it, read it, and even depicted it in our Christmas plays, nativities, and Church productions this time of the year.

Look at verse 11 one more time. It reads, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

What a beautiful and teachable picture to us these men, no matter how many there were, whether two, three, or three hundred we can learn something from this amazing portion of the story of the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus.

Amazing isn’t it.

Yet in reading the above, I think to myself what can I give?  What would God have me to give?  Is there anything God would have me to give someone else?  Is there anything I can ever give Him or someone else that will really last?  That will not break?  That will not wear out?  What can I give that will keep on giving?  Is there such a gift that will keep on giving?

The answer to these questions an emphatic yes!

If you are still looking for a gift at this late hour I have discovered three gifts, three gifts like that of the “wise men,” that will last and last.  But not only will they last they will keep giving and are gifts that everyone needs.  What are they?

Gift #1 = FORGIVENESS

There are so many people that are at the throat of each other and many times it seems to be for no particular or worthwhile reason.  In all of travels and as long as I have been in ministry I have heard of some strange reasons people were upset with someone else (i.e. too educated, someone was able to have a baby while another was not, a death in the family, someone said or didn’t say something, someone had or did not have money, and so many other things).

I do not know who may be reading these words, but I would ask you:  is there someone right now you need to call, write, email, or physically go to (this would be my recommendation by the way if you can) and simply say the words, “I forgive you!” or “Will you please forgive me?”

The problem in far too many homes, families, relationships, and in many churches is there is harbored hatred and forgiveness has not taken place.

Forgiveness is a gift that keeps on giving!  When you extend forgiveness to another or receive forgiveness from another there will be peace between the two sides, peace with oneself, and ultimately peace between you and a Holy God (see Mark 1:35-16).

Give the gift that will keep on giving to someone:  FORGIVENESS.

Gift #2 = LOVE

People are starving!  Have you noticed that?  It is obvious that around the world people are starving from lack of nutrition.  However, many are not just starving for food or water, they are starving for love.  After speaking with a pastor recently, with tears in his eyes he relayed to me the heavy hearts and the lack of attention and love that many husbands, wives, and kids experience and feel even during this time of the year.

Sadly, many husbands and wives never hear their spouse say, “I love you!”  They never feel the embrace of one another.

Many children never hear a Mommy or a Daddy say, “I love you!  I’m proud of you!  You’re special to me!  I believe in you!”  They never get a hug!  They never get a kiss!  They never get tucked in at night!

The old adage is “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care!”  This is such a popular statement, but it is still true.

People are so broken, in need!  They are looking for hope, but do not know where to find it.  Those within the church, those that name the name of Christ, those who have experienced the wonderful grace and love of God because of God’s gift of His Son to us must live and extend this love of Christ to those we come in contact with, live with, and are around.

Think about it:  Do you love you spouse?  Do you love your children?  Do you love your fellow man?  How do they know?  We cannot excuse ourselves by simply thinking it is because we bring home a paycheck, keep a house clean, buy things for them, take them places, or leave them a good tip (or things like this).  Nothing can replace three simple words: “I LOVE YOU!!!!”  It is good to show, and we must show, but we must also never forget to say those wonderful and powerful words.

What about God?  Do you tell Him you love Him?  What are those ways to show God you love Him?

LOVE is a gift that keeps on giving!  Give that gift to someone this year.

Gift #3 = The GOSPEL

The greatest gift one can ever give is the Gospel!  The story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  What an amazing gift!

The Gospel will give one forgiveness of their sins, bring hope to their heart, peace in their life, prepare a path for them that allows them (yes) to escape judgment in Hell and go to Heaven.  But far greater than that, the Gospel allows one to have a relationship with a Holy God!  The Gospel, when accepted, allows one to be made righteous and become a child of God because of what Jesus, the only Son of God has done.

The question this forces me to ask myself is:  Who is it that I can share the hope of the Gospel with?  Not because I am a minister.  If we know Christ we are all ministers.  We all preach a never ending sermon each and every day!  The funny thing is this, in this sermon, we can give the invitation at anytime for someone to receive the Truth of the Gospel.

The GOSPEL is a gift that everyone needs and ultimately keeps on giving, eternally giving!

These are three gifts.  Three glorious gifts that keep on giving.  So, I encourage you this year, be like the “wise men” and give to someone else a gift that goes beyond yourself that will honor Christ and that will keep on giving tomorrow, next month, and all eternity.

Merry Christmas all!