This week’s Pulse is a moving story from Haiti that I have copied from Albert Mohler’s blog, www.albertmohler.com.  Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his blog is the most popular Christian blog, according to technorati.com.  As someone with a heart for adoption and who himself has been adopted (by my Father in heaven – see Galatians 4:4-7), I found this story particularly poignant.   

Arno was inseparable from Mr. Penguin. The little Haitian boy was almost three years old, and the plush penguin with the word “love” inscribed upon it was his most treasured object. The orphan and his penguin were always seen together.

The boy had been given the penguin just after his birth. A Dutch couple was in the process of adopting him almost from the start of his life — they had been matched to him when he was only two months old. The penguin represented a promise.

The process of adoption took two years — the length of time considered adequate to determine that no living relatives might claim him. According to official estimates, there were over 50,000 parentless orphans in Haiti before the earthquake came and orphaned many thousands more.
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“Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.’” (1 Samuel 15:12)

I’ve been preaching through the life of David on Sunday mornings, and as I was talking about King Saul this past Sunday, this verse in particular stood out to me.  Saul has just finished leading the armies of Israel against the Amalekites, and as the prophet Samuel goes out to find him, Samuel is told that Saul is busy setting up a monument in his own honor.  All throughout the Old Testament are examples of the people of God erecting monuments and markers to God that commemorate places where God does something meaningful, so that future generations would be reminded of what God had done (e.g. Genesis 28:18-19, Joshua 4:2-9).  But this is the first time I ever came across a man of God – the King, no less – erecting a monument to himself!  Saul’s goal, obviously, was that future generations would be reminded not of what God had done, but what HE had done, and of the great leader HE was.

I find this story to not only be an indictment against Saul for just how unfit he was to be the king over God’s people, but also a great metaphor for what can happen when we are as insecure as Saul was about who God is and who we are in Him.  Read more »

The story goes that there once was a man who, in order to seek God’s will for his life, was fond of opening up his Bible and reading whatever verse he first laid his eyes on, so that he might obey it.  One day, as this man was going through a particularly difficult time with his family, he sought the Lord for guidance.  Opening his Bible and pointing, he found his finger resting on the second part of Matthew 27:5, which read “Then Judas went out and hanged himself.”  Puzzled by the Lord’s directions, but still hungry for a word from God, he called a “do-over” and flipped to another page, where his eyes fell on the latter half of Luke 10:37:  “Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”  Flustered, but chalking it up to coincidence, the man decided to give his method one last chance.  Saying a quick prayer, he flipped the pages and inserted his finger between two of them, pointing to the end of John 13:27.  There, staring up at him, were these words:  “‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him.”

Beginning this month, I have challenged our church to make a greater effort to memorize Scripture, so that we might be people who are led and transformed by the truth of God’s Word.  This month’s verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” which reminds us that the sins of past have been forgiven and that we now belong to Jesus and have His Holy Spirit giving us new spiritual life (among many other benefits of salvation).  However, as the above story reminds us, one of the greatest cautions with Scripture memory is the folly of taking verses out of context, so that they speak things which they were never intended to speak.  Read more »

Today’s guest blogger is Jim Quigley.  Jim has been a part of NewLife since August, after moving up from New Jersey.  As we continue our focus on Scripture memory in 2010, Jim is going to share with us about the blessing this practice has been in his life.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”   (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Like any discipline, Bible memorization is an activity that is not always enjoyable or easy.  But memorizing Scripture is crucial to going deeper in your relationship with Christ.  We can see from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that knowing Scripture will help us to teach and train better so that we can serve the Lord better, being ready to do every work God has in store for us.  Knowing God’s Word is essential in spiritual warfare as well.  In Ephesians 6:10-17, the Lord has provided us with plenty of armor to protect ourselves from the enemy, but only one weapon:  the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  We don’t need any other divine weapon.  No Golden Gun of God or Javelin of Jehovah, just the Word of God.  Once you wield the Sword of the Spirit, temptations are cut down, demons flee, and the prince of darkness himself is defeated.  The Word is so strong that even the enemy tries to use it against us with malicious intent to get us to fall.  Take, for instance, when Jesus is tempted by the devil in the desert (Luke 4:1-13).  Satan on his second temptation quotes Scripture in hopes that Jesus would buy into his lies.  Jesus counters this temptation (and the other two as well) with Scripture and with each swing of the Sword, Satan concedes and flees.  What is also important from this is that Jesus could have said ANYTHING and it would have been Scripture for us.  But instead, He chose to use existing Scripture as a model for us when we are tempted.  Memorizing Scripture will help sharpen our Sword so that we can use it to ward off the enemy. 
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Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

So… how’s your New Year’s Resolution going?  Still going strong?  If you’re anything like me, you know how difficult it can be to sustain any change, no matter how minor or important, for much longer than the time it takes to type this line.  On January 1st I find myself writing down all of the things that I want to do differently in 2010, on January 8th I’m still working on half of them, and by January 15th I’ve lost the list and can’t remember what it was I wanted to change in the first place!  Like most people, however, the more accountability I have, the more successful I will be.  If I try to go it alone, I am probably doomed, but if I go with others, I am more likely to make it. 

All of this is to first of all say a big CONGRATULATIONS! to all who Read more »

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

It was one of those unexpectedly precious, heartwarming moments that melt a father’s heart.  My family and I went this past Saturday to an event a local church was doing that included a nativity scene and a “re-creation” of a 1st century village where the kids could do a number of Christmas crafts and have their picture taken.  My boys are 4, 3, and 1, and the older two, Ryan and Will, had a great time going from table to table making cookies, ornaments, and other Christmas decorations, while we tried to keep Nate (our one year-old) from destroying the village and eating the glue.  After the boys had made their crafts, we entered the sanctuary and headed up to the front, where a teenage boy and girl welcomed us and recited their lines about their wonder at God having chosen them to be the parents of the Messiah, Jesus.  Meanwhile, baby doll Jesus laid quietly in the straw between them.  After the teens were done saying their lines, we thanked them and exited the sanctuary to gather our crafts and head for home. 

Then, all of a sudden, Read more »

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:1-11)

I love this story.  I shared some thoughts about this passage in my sermon on grace a few weeks ago, and I want to revisit John 8 today, especially the words Jesus says to the woman caught in adultery.  Most people remember this story for his words to the Pharisees – “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  With those powerful words, Jesus forever leveled the playing field, so to speak, by putting saints and sinners alike in the same boat – sinners in need of forgiveness, unqualified to condemn another. 

I’m most struck, however, by what Jesus says to the woman.  Read more »

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2)

One of the blessings of pastoring a church made up of a younger crowd is that the number of weddings I officiate over the course of a year greatly outweighs the number of funerals.  In my pastoral career, I have actually only officiated one funeral, while playing a part in three others.  A verse that I’ve found appropriate to share on at funerals, no matter if the deceased was a committed Christian or not, is Ecclesiastes 7:2, which I’ve listed above.  It’s a simple verse, reminding us that every life ends in death, and that we would be wise to live in the light of that.  “Begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey puts it in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  Given that one day your life on this earth will be no more, how would you want to be remembered?  And how should you be living today in order to make that goal a reality?
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Desperate – (adj) having an urgent need, desire, etc

Despair – (n) loss of hope; hopelessness. (v) to lose, give up, or be without hope

There is a fine line between desperation and despair, between (as the dictionary puts it) having an urgent need and giving up hope.  Desperation, on the one hand, is an essential (but difficult) place to be in for the disciple of Jesus.  Despair, on the other hand, is a terrible and deadly place to end up.  I have found in my short life that God often wants to bring his children to the point of desperation, to a place where they recognize that they can not make it on their own strength, but that they are utterly dependent on Him for everything.  However, I have also found that Satan is always lurking right around the corner, whispering in our ears, and doing his very best to turn that desperation into despair, to cause God’s children to lose hope and turn away from the only one who can save them.
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Matthew 10:8 - Freely you have received, freely give.

Is there a crazier juxtaposition in the world than Thanksgiving and Black Friday?  On the former day, we are encouraged to reflect on what we are thankful for, to enjoy what we have, and to develop an attitude of gratitude.  And then, millions of people set their alarms for some ridiculous hour so that they can push through the crowds the next morning in order to get the best deals on toys and goods for the holiday season.  In the blink of an eye, gratitude turns to covetousness; thanksgiving to full-blown consumerism. 

Now, I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to go out this Friday and save money on gifts for the loved ones in your life.  I am saying, of course, what most of us know to be true, that the Christmas season has the frightening ability to inspire the worst in us – greed, the lust for that which we do not have, impatience with the traffic and crowds, and a general stress with the busyness of the season.  Thanksgiving may last for a day, but the feelings of gratitude can fade quickly in the bright lights of the holiday season.

So why not decide to take a different path this year?  Read more »

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