Your Government on Drugs

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I keep hearing about the “Opioid Crisis” from both sides of the aisle.  I suppose that since it seems to have had something to do with causing it, government should do something to clean it up.  However I have little faith in government to do so, regardless of the party in power.  This is a problem, like so many others, that government cannot fix.  All it will do is further distort the doctor-patient relationship with more regulation.  I thought we were supposed to be reducing regulation.  Politicians love a crisis.  It gives them something to grandstand about and make themselves look good whether or it actually gets solved, and it usually doesn’t.

I confess to some internal conflict where drugs of any kind are concerned.  I look to places where they are unrestricted and I don’t see places I would want to live.  We do have some responsibility as a society to promote that which is good and true.  We aught not to encourage behavior that is harmful to the individual and the society.  We all want liberty, but liberty without responsibility is anarchy.

The question becomes, “how do we determine that standard in regard to potentially harmful substances that also have legitimate medical application?”  Why does a third party that knows neither me nor my doctor get any say in what we decide is best?  I am not at all sure they have that right.  For that matter, I am a reasonably intelligent person arguably competent to make decisions for myself.  If I have done my research and determined what can best meet my need, do I even need a doctor to control how I go about meeting the need?  Maybe, but I’m not entirely convinced.  Granted, I might be wrong.  I might even do myself harm with the choice I make, but that is none of the governments business unless perhaps I did so using deliberately and demonstrably false information provided by a malicious party.

Letting government regulate much of anything seems a bit to me like putting an addict in charge of the pharmacy.  It is already high on power.  It has exceeded the founders’ recommended dosage by multiples and is in danger of lethal overdose.  I hope we can get it into detox before it is too late.  Recent efforts are at least a start.

The Right Way to Preach

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Having exposure to Preachers all my life, one thing I know is that we all have an opinion about the right way to preach.  Some will take a verse or two and build a topic around them.  Others will pick a topic and pull from various places to support it.  Still others will move methodically through the scripture explaining as they go, focusing exclusively on the messages presented by the verses they cover.  Then there are those who don’t bother including any scripture at all.  Generally everyone will have a justification for their approach.  I of course have my own, which will probably mature with practice.  Opinions are just that.  I think all too often we are much to proud of ours.  For my part, if I offer any criticism, it will be of substance rather than method.  The most important questions to be asked are these:  Are you speaking the truth?  Are you doing it with love?  Are led by His Spirit in what you say?

My opinion may not be worth much at this point, but I will offer it anyway.  It goes back to the questions I just asked.  Different messages and circumstances will be best served by different approaches.  The objective is to best communicate the truth.  In either of the first two cases, one must take care to choose appropriately passages that do support the truth being conveyed.  Too often we misappropriate text to make our point that in its context actually has nothing to do with what we are saying.  When we do this, we damage our credibility with those astute enough to take note of the error or who discover it later.  This strengthens the argument for what we call expository preaching, wherein we follow the text and explain its meaning verse by verse.  Note to my educated pastor friends, I’m being intentionally high-level here.

I tend to use a blend.  I may start out with a topic and a passage that I believe to support it, but I will include as much as is practical the context and will always endeavor to explain that which we do not have the time to cover in depth.  I have in some cases ended up with an entirely different subject matter because I discovered that the passage I chose really did not say what I assumed or had been taught that it did.  Today I wrapped up a message that turned into three messages because I felt it necessary to follow the passage to it’s proper conclusion point rather than stop at a place where Jesus clearly did not.  It is certainly appropriate and exemplified within the scripture itself to pull from other parts that bolster the teaching found in the main passage.

As for using no scripture at all, truth is truth, but if we claim the Bible as our source then we had better be able to back up what we say with something that it says.  I think there are cases when using biblical truths without immediately revealing their source may serve to soften hearts that might otherwise reject what is being said, but I do not believe this is generally appropriate for a preacher in a church setting.  In so doing, we may speak the truth, but we have failed not only to back it up but also to instruct others in the use of scripture to discover the truth for themselves.  The latter may be the greater failure because we are to make disciples.  People who must always be fed will not grow to become members of a healthy church that is doing its job.  We have also diminished by example that which explains the foundation for all that we believe.  This will result in followers easily misled by anyone who can make an eloquent case, and we may find that we ourselves have been misled.  The Word of God must be our standard.

God Said, and It Was So

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Last Sunday, I was accepted as the new pastor at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple.  I am full of joy because that which God spoke to me as a little child has come to pass at last.  Despite my mistakes and all the reasons that it could not or should not be, here I am.  I am full of sorrow, because a much beloved man of God has passed away, creating the vacancy that I will attempt to fill.  I thought that at some time in the future this might be the church that I would lead, but I expected many years more learning from Pastor David Whitmore before that day came, or God called me elsewhere.  I especially wanted to learn, if such a thing can be learned, to have the love and compassion that he displayed.  He exhibited this quality, which I believe to be  most important in a pastor.  Paul taught us that without love, our best efforts mean nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3.)

I am heartened by the unanimous acceptance of the congregation and the enthusiasm with which the membership has embraced the life of the church.  I am humbled as I consider my own shortcomings and wonder how I can ever do this job.  To that I can only answer that God put me here and He will make a way.  I pray daily for wisdom, knowing how much of what really matters I still have to learn.

I thought when I sat down to write this that it would take on epic proportions, but I an reminded of what we read in our prayer group this morning, “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” (Prov. 10:19)  So I shall curb my tendency toward literary loquacity and say only this last word, Thank You, Lord! I know that You will continue to be my guide on this amazing journey that You have appointed for me.”

A brief personal update

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For those of you who follow our church, you know that we lost our pastor in May.  I have been serving as Associate Pastor since my ordination in August of 2010.  I am now performing the duties of the pastor, but I am withholding my thoughts on what the permanency of that position means to me until the decision is final.

I haven’t been sharing anything here the last few weeks because I am not sure what direction this blog will take once my status at the church is determined.  I’ve been posting many of my old sermons here as podcasts.  It is my desire to share truth of God’s word as broadly as i can and to teach principles that will improve your life.  However, I now must take care that this doesn’t become a means of vane self-promotion or appear so to others.  My efforts must be focused on helping the church to achieve its mission, which I believe has been given to it by the Lord.  I don’t know that cross posting the sermons here aligns with that objective.  The possibility remains that I will not be given the job.  If that should be the case, I remain convinced that God will finish what He started.  It will come by some other means.

In either case I must evaluate what i am doing here.  If it truly can be made to serve as a source of inspiration and blessing to others, then I will most gladly keep it up if the Lord is willing.  If it is nothing more than a platform for vanity, then maybe it’s time for me to let it go,.  I confess to being rather attached to the domain.  I’ve had a web presence here since 1999 if memory serves.  Before that I had a page with my ISP account as many enthusiasts did at that time.  It began as a personal testimony and a collection of links to other sites that people who share my situation or interests might find useful.  That was before Google ruled the search world.  I learned the basics of HTML and coded it by hand.  Now I run everything from WordPress, manage two other sites and occasionally help out with a 4th.

This site may revert to little more than a parking space for information I might need to share with others for practical reasons.  It may become a conduit for other ministry efforts in which I have some involvement.  Or if the Lord should give me further inspiration it may remain as it is with occasional posts that I hope you will find of some value.  I may continue to cross post podcasts if that does not create a problem for anyone, or i may experiment with something different.  There is only so much time in a day, and based on what I’ve been able to do with it recently, I will truly require inspiration and direction if this is ever to become much more than it is now.

How to Have a Happy Heart

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I bet Linda was rolling her eyes when she saw the title of this message the first time. I don’t think I’m an unhappy person, but happy has never been my word and probably isn’t the way others would describe me.  So you might say this message was for me too.

In the New American Standard Bible, Proverbs 15:15 says, “All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.”  Depending on how we read that, it might be kind of depressing, especially if we think of ourselves as afflicted.  But maybe how we think is the point.  Regardless of our circumstances, joy comes from the heart.  Your version might even seem to say something totally different.  We find that more frequently in Proverbs than other places.  There are reasons for that, but what’s really important is the basic truth behind the text.  That doesn’t change.  Let’s dig a little deeper here and see what we find.  I’ll be happy to hear that you were blessed by this podcast.

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The Lion's Roar
How to Have a Happy Heart
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Who You Callin’ a Fool?

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When I put this together, I was not sure yet exactly where my study of Matthew 5:21-24 would lead me.  Every time I have read it over the years, it kind of scared me a little.  Verse 22 seemed like a really harsh thing for Jesus to say.  I didn’t set out to address that particular passage, but it came to mind as soon as I set out to explore my original subject, so I read it.  I think the Lord brought me to a better understanding of what He is saying here.  As always, we need to consider the context to  understand.  This is about what is in our hearts.  Jesus shows us how we can progress from offense to contempt to complete rejection of those whom we aught to love.  This became a very personal study for me, and I pray that the fruit of it will strengthen you as well.

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The Lion's Roar
Who You Callin' a Fool?
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“Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believe”

The Lion's Roar Posted on by

Is there a person in the Bible that you especially identify with?  Maybe you feel you understand something of where they were coming from.  Maybe you are encouraged by seeing how God used them despite their flaws.  I’m encouraged by many of them for different reasons, but one of my favorites is Thomas.  Yes, “doubting Thomas.”  We’re not told a lot about him, but I think if I lived back then, that would be me.  So I studied with interest the exchange between Jesus and Thomas after His resurrection, recounted in John 20:24-29.  What I found was a blessing for all of us who believe in Jesus today.

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"Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believe"
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Oh Lord, It’s Hard to be Humble

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One day when our music leader was not going to be present, I was asked to lead the worship.  While I was preparing, I kept reminding myself, “Your job is to direct the people to worship God, not to take glory for yourself.”  That’s what led me to the topic for this message.  Humility doesn’t come naturally for us.  We might even have a low opinion of ourselves, but we want everyone else to pump us up.  Pride and humility are both attitudes of the heart.  Explore with me Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2, verses 3-11.

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Oh Lord, It's Hard to be Humble
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Is God in Your Business?

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In this podcast, I have a question for you.  Is God in your business?  When you walk out the door of the church, does He come with you, or is He supposed to stay out of sight so you can go on with the rest of your life?  We know the answer to that question.  When we turn our lives over to Jesus, it’s a lifetime commitment.  We’re not just committing to go to church on Sunday, maybe give a little money once in a while, and maybe do something nice when we feel like it.  We’re committing to give Him everything!

That means that every area of our lives is subject to Him.  It doesn’t mean we need His express approval for every move we make.  He is gracious and merciful.  He loves us and gives us the freedom to direct our lives as seems best to us.  But we should never forget that He is God.  We should at least be asking Him to guide us in our decision making.  We must be willing always to allow Him to redirect us.  To presume that we know best is the height of arrogance and can lead to big trouble.  Read James 4:13-17.

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The Lion's Roar
Is God in Your Business?
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No Apology

The Lion's Roar Posted on by

In this podcast, I want to share something with you that will bless you and may help you as you teach your children and grandchildren about God.  It is estimated that 3 out of 4 young people raised in the church leave it while in college, in part because of the intellectual challenges they find there.  No one explained to them the facts that actually support our believe.  When they encounter atheist professors, they have no defense.  In too many cases, adults have never really thought through their belief either, so how could they share with their children?  Scientists with lots of knowledge and ego to match look down their noses and call us foolish for believing in a creator, but if we look at the evidence, it takes more faith to believe there isn’t one.
Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.” (1:20 HCSB)
We’ll cover at a high level some of the reasons why belief in God is completely logical, and I’ll share some resources with you that you can study for yourself and share with others.  I know how much it helped me when I began to discover that one doesn’t have to check in one’s brain at the door of the church.  Following Jesus requires faith.  There are some things we cannot know and yet we must trust Him.  But there is much that we can and should know so that we can effectively stand against the enemy’s deceit and help others to stand as well.  Listen and be encouraged!

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The Lion's Roar
No Apology
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