Today I attended the funeral of Larry Markum who served as a Pastor, Missionary, and Church Planter. I was amazed by the number of friends and family who attended from several states to pay tribute to his life and testimony. When I moved to Northwest Arkansas, Bro. Markum called me up just to have prayer with me, and he called me periodically just to check in. The service was moving, a blessing to everybody who attended.

Earlier this week, my wife and I watched parts of the funeral of Jill Attebery, whose life also impacted so many. Angie and I had a conversation about these events in which we grappled with the question, “What would be said about me at my funeral if I died today?” It’s a huge question.

I remember listening to the funeral of W. A. Criswell online and Dr. Mac Brunson spoke of the word “influence” being made up of two words meaning “in flow.” That is, our influence speaks of those who are “in the flow” of our lives.

Let me ask you, who is downstream from you, and how are your choices each day affecting them? What kind of influence do you have and what kind of mark will you leave on the world you leave behind? All of us will leave some kind of legacy. What would you want to be said of you at your funeral?

Al Mohler published a blog article today entitled Is the Abortion Argument Changing?. It’s excellent. At the end, he references a sermon by Russell Moore that makes the argument that Joseph (Jesus’ step-father) was a “single-issue evangelical.”

I’m fairly progressive. I’m quite forward-thinking. But when it comes to the issue of life in relationship to politics, elections, legislation, etc., abortion is still a deal-breaker for me. Am I a narrow-minded single-issue evangelical? Absolutely. Why? Because the whole time we’re focused on…

• The environment.
• Unemployment.
• Taxes.
• Welfare.
• Healthcare.
• The war.
• Foreign relations.
• The economy.
• Defense.
• New energy sources.

God is focused on the innocent. He always has been. He always will be. We can say “just look beyond this one issue.” As far as I’m concerned, that’s like asking the guy who is having a heart attack to focus on his runny nose. We have a problem for which God will surely pour out His wrath. They are ultimately his babies, after all.

And here’s another point: Abortion IS Racism! Read or watch…

Today, I attended the funeral of a 16 year old girl named Crystal. She was killed in an auto accident this past Monday. I had met her only once - she was the sister of a young lady for whom I had conducted the wedding last month. Some of the photos that scrolled by on the screen were taken at that reception. It was a very moving service, and a chilling reminder of the brevity of life.

Biblical authors often spoke of this fact. Job declared that we were like a vapor or a mist. James quoted him and embelished. Moses, in the only psalm credited to him, said that God had numbered our days. The author of Hebrews declared that it is appointed to man once to die. Life really is short. Unfortunately, it’s shorter for some than for others, but thank God we have this life. No matter the number of our days, each one can be precious when we’re redeemed by Jesus.

Every time we say goodbye to a loved one, especially one so young, we should be reminded to make the most of today’s opportunity to live for Christ and to enjoy our loved ones to the full.

I’m not going to be preaching at Bethel today since I’m in St. Louis visiting my in-laws. My Father-in-law, however, did ask me to preach for him at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri. I’m going to be speaking from 1 Corinthians 3:10-17. The message was inspired by the second half of my Bible study lesson this past Wednesday night from Zephaniah. Let me share with you some of the principles I plan on teaching today at Lindsay Lane…

1. Our foundation matters the most. You can’t build anything on a faulty foundation - it has to be torn down so that you can start all over. Paul asserts that Jesus Christ is the only proper, only possible foundation for a life that counts for eternity.

2. What we build on the foundation of Christ matters almost as much. Of course we’re to be concerned with the foundation we have in life more than anything else. We need to be making sure that everybody has a relationship with Christ and is going to heaven. But what’s next? We don’t just get raptured as soon as we’re saved, so what is this life for?

3. We’re all going to build something. We have this life, we have time, we have our bodies. So we’re going to use our time on earth, in this body, to do something, to build a life. The only problem is, much of what we build will be useless as eternal building material. It will rot away, be thrown out, or worse yet be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ.

4. We can build something that lasts. When we build lives properly on the foundation of a relationship with Jesus, what we build lasts. Are we building heavenly lives?

5. All that we build eventually passes through the fire of Jesus’ judgment. That’s not meant to scare us, but to encourage us. The judgment seat of Christ will be commencement day, a final graduation ceremony for all those who name the name of Christ. But what special achievements for the glory of God will we have to show for the energy we’ve expended on this earth?

6. We will all enter eternity, prepared or not. We Baptists are bad about assuming that to be “prepared” for eternity means to be saved. I have recently come to believe that there are many saved people in the world who are not prepared for eternity. They are going to heaven, but they are not ready to enjoy it. Their lives are too wrapped up in sin. They have too many compromises remaining, too many unshaped areas, unharnessed opportunities, and too many undeveloped heavenly qualities.

7. We can judge our lives here, or pass through God’s fire someday. I once wrote a short blog article entitled “Prune Thyself!” It had to do with the fact that we have a choice. We can either prune ourselves in this life, or God, the husbandman (vinekeeper) will prune us someday. The impurities will be removed, and it will be painful, either way. We can go through the painful pruning process now and be ready for heaven, or we can endure it at that fiery judgment seat someday, suffering the loss of some of our enjoyment of glory.

Heaven is a free gift, but our degree of enjoyment of it rests upon how much we decide to prepare ourselves for it in this life. Tough truths, but life-altering nonetheless. Are you preparing for eternity? That’s not simply a question of your salvation. Rather, it’s a present, active question. Are you actively, now, in your life, preparing daily to be a permanent resident of heaven? Is it going to be the place you’ve longed for? Or will you miss this world too much?

I was deeply moved by today’s reading from J. Sidlow Baxter’s devotional, Awake My Heart. He speaks of the mysteries of life, what W. A. Criswell used to call “the imponderables of God.” Baxter mentioned birth, life, personality, human experience, Satan, eternity, etc. All of these are unexplainable. We can begin, but we can never conclude any definition of them.

Baxter goes on, however, to quote an unnamed old Puritan as saying, “Never let what you don’t know disturb your faith in what you do know.” Further, Baxter proclaims that “breaking into all this mystery comes a glorious, transfiguring fact which not all of these problems can discount: it is THE FACT OF CHRIST. He is a certified historical fact; a supremely significant fact; an experientially realized fact….”

We live in a highly skeptical age. To deny this is to prove that one has his proverbial head in the sand. We live in the age of the offensive atheist, exemplified by authors such as Richard Dawkins, who espouses a near hatred of conservative Christianity and writes it off as idiotic nonsense that should be put to an end. In the mix, Christians find themselves wavering and doubting.

So, what do we do with our big questions? I don’t know about you, but I believe God can handle our biggest questions. He has answers. Whether He will provide them or not is within the divine prerogative of God. But in the midst of all of the mysterious, imponderable concepts of spiritual, eternal things lie the rock solid, unbreakable truths of Christianity. In the words of Paul, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

Isn’t summer supposed to be our vacation from the busyness of life? This summer, for the Cox family, is flying right by in a whirlwind of activity. We’ve traveled to see family in three different states (Missouri and Georgia for Angie, Kentucky for me). We’re getting ready to spend a week at church camp. And then, it will be time for Angie to return to work, for me to get busy with a new church year, and for Ella to begin Kindergarten.

In the midst of being busy in these bigger ways, I’ve also found ministry to families and needs to be rather pressing lately. My phones are ringing off the hook and I’ve done more “people work” in the last few weeks than ever before. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I’m very thankful to be needed, to be used in God’s hands, and to watch God at work in people’s lives. On the other hand, I hate what Satan is doing to the people around me that I love so dearly. It has certainly caused me to have an appreciative perspective on my own life. God has been so gracious and merciful to me, especially when I’ve least deserved it!

I will also say that the pressing nature of many of the issues I deal with drive me to my knees. I feel the continual need to remain constant in prayer so that my own spirit is not dragged down by the multitude of problems in the world. Depravity, and its results, can be draining on our frail emotions and if we aren’t careful, we’ll be tempted to despair. But then there is that verse in Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” More than conquerors, winners, valiant victors in the war called life. And why? Because Jesus died and rose again!

Last night, I saw the inside of the new Busch Stadium as we watched the Los Angeles Angels topple the Cardinals 10 - 6. We did, however, get to see three Cardinals homeruns, including one by Sir Albert! It really is true that there isn’t a poor view in the park. We were in the third tier over the third base dugout, but we could see the game very well and our view of the St. Louis skyline was breathtaking!

My love for baseball has waned in recent years, and attending this game both helped and hurt. On the one hand, I’m terribly annoyed at the price of seeing a game for the average family. If you have the average 2.5 kids, you can expect to drop at least a hundred bucks for the tickets, and possibly another hundred for food, souvenirs, and some of the family activities available. It’s no wonder people are cynical about the salaries of players and the bankrolls of owners.

Nonetheless, on the field, it’s still the old game it used to be. There’s still something a bit magical about the bright green, perfectly manicured grass, the larger-than-life image of the players, and the thrill of watching a homerun fall into the stands. Plus, you can’t beat a stadium hot dog (though the price of $5.75 is a bit much)!

If I could sum up what it’s all about (the game, the parks, the players), I’d have to say… advertising! From an hour before the game until the last pitch was thrown, there were special promotions and activities on the screen, “sponsored by…” There are digital scrolling billboards throughout. The scenery is plastered with the names of big businesses such as banks, stock brokerages, and restaurant chains. The stadium included a Hardee’s, Big Mac land (a McDonald’s promotion), and even a Build-A-Bear workshop tailored especially to the St. Louis Cardinals fan base!

At the end of the day, I’d summarize my experience as absolutely awesome! The skies were clear with a temperature of 65 and a slight breeze blowing. The hot dog was juicy, yet crusty. The view was great, and even riding the Metrolink was a neat experience. Would I do it very often? Everyday!!

This past Sunday, I began preaching in Genesis with chapter one, verse one. The message started a lengthy commitment to preaching all of the word. I don’t think I’ve ever been as satisfied by a message in all of my ministry. I had studied and prepared for about six weeks for just the first chapter of Genesis. So how was it? Exhilarating!

The choir was tuned up and did an awesome job. Singing Shout to the Lord with them was great. They also sang a favorite of mine, There Are No Orphans of God.  Angie (my wife) and Tamara (the Choir Director) sang Nothing But A Miracle Will Do. These special numbers highly exalted the King, but it was the congregational song How Great Thou Art that moved my heart most deeply. I’d been studying about the magnitude of creation, the vastness of the universe, and the miraculous nature of all that God brought into being. So when we sang “I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed” I did something rather unorthodox, especially for me. I stood. I stood in reverence and fear of the awesome God we serve. I was overwhelmed emotionally and spiritually. The Spirit of God moved in my heart in that moment, and I stood, raising my hands high toward the God of heaven, not caring what anyone in the auditorium thought! It was unabashed worship, and it ought to be that way all the time!

I can’t wait until Sunday, to move on to the next passage. The Word of God is so inexhaustible, it seems I’ll never preach the unsearchable wisdom of God in this one short lifetime, but I’ll live and die trying!

Last night, the local association officially voted to name Larry Hendren the new Editor of  The Baptist Banner, which will free up that much more time each month for me to spend doing the things that matter. Please keep praying that I’ll have all of my priorities right, spending adequate time in prayer, in study, with people, and with my family. And may God get the glory as we learn to fear Him, love Him, and stand in awe and reverence of Him!

Today was kind of tough… for Momma anyway. We saw our little girl “walk the line” to graduate from Preschool. The theme was What A Wonderful World, which all nineteen graduates sang together. They actually played Pomp and Circumstance as they marched in. She got a diploma and an award for Developing the Most in Confidence throughout the year. We’re so proud!

Angie handles moments like these with a mothering sadness. Her little girl will never graduate from Preschool again. I, on the other hand, handle things a bit differently. While Mamma shed a few tears, I was frustrated that the camera wasn’t working quite right. For me, it’s just one more step toward adulthood, which is the goal. I know that the time will fly and I’ll be crying at her wedding far too soon. Nevertheless, I tend to look forward to each next occasion while Angie wants to hang on to her little girl.

One thing I know, I’m going to enjoy another graduation someday. I’m not referring to Ella’s High School graduation, though I know I’ll enjoy that too, but the day I “walk the line” at the judgment seat of Christ. On the one hand, I view that day with trepidation - there is so much more to be done here in this life. On the other hand, I can’t wait for the eternal reward God has promised to all who place their faith squarely in Him alone.

Our little baby is all grown up… or at least about to head for kindergarten, but I feel that we have so much work to do. If she’s out of the house by eighteen, then we only have fourteen more years to prepare her heart to be forever sensitive to the Savior’s voice. We want to pray her into the family of God, model a genuine love for Jesus, and watch as she surrenders herself to His will daily. May God so prepare us for our graduation day!

This week is very monumental for me. I am preparing to begin preaching through the entire Bible this Sunday morning. It has been a ministry-long dream. Since reading the autobiography of Dr. W. A. Criswell, who preached through the Scriptures over an almost eighteen year period at First Baptist Church in Dallas, it has seemed an unreachable and impossible task. I can’t tell you how much I’ve thought and prayed about this assignment.

In my mind, I’ve tried to place myself into the shoes of my church members, some of whom may not survive to hear the end of it all in the Revelation. Won’t we get bored? Won’t we get bogged down in the law, the plans of the tabernacle, the genealogical tables? Will people really be interested? Will the messages be relevant to my life? Nobody has asked any of these questions yet, except for me, but they have lingered in my thinking.

Then I think on the positive side. God’s Word is the source of all the divine wisdom we have at our disposal. He grows people through His Word. My calling to ministry is a call to shepherd God’s people by feeding them the truth of God. No book is more special, no other subject matter is appropriate. Why not preach “all the counsel of God?”

One dominating thought, however, is “what if I mess this up?” What if I don’t cover enough material? Life is too short to rely on “do-over’s” and I will probably get only one or two shots at a series like this in my lifetime. From that thought flows the bottom line issue - I have only this life to spend for God’s glory. This may very well be the last series of sermons I ever preach. Will it be worth it in the end? Absolutely! My life and the lives of the people God assigns to me to shepherd will be forever changed and enriched by hearing the whole counsel of God.

The question I’ve come to grips with is, if preaching through the entire Bible in a single series was the only feat I ever accomplished, it would be worth it - I would have to do nothing in addition to it to have fulfilled my calling as a Pastor.

Already, I’ve become familiar with the greatness of modern science. Many Christians today are at war with the scientific community over evolution, the Big Bang, and other modern ideas. I’m not threatened by these, but rather encouraged, albeit for a strange reason. Both of these theories, hard to swallow as they are, actually substantiate the greatness of the Bible. Let me explain…

The Big Bang proposes that the universe is not infinite, that it had a beginning in time. Until 1913, the world thought the universe was infinite, that it had no beginning and would have no end. But because of the discovery that the universe is expanding rapidly, we can postulate that if you work backwards, everything was once together, before the expansion began. In other words, the universe had a starting point. What baffles modern scientists is, what then? What did things look like before the universe began its explosive expansion? To this the Bible says, in the beginning… God!

And what of evolution? Why in the world would I appreciate this crazy and impossible to believe prognostication? Because evolution is really a fragment of a larger idea that there is a logical progression to the development of life on this planet, and that development concurs with the first chapter of Genesis in its order and structure. The only differences are that what science assigns to billions of years really happened in six literal, twenty-four hour days. First the rocks, then water, then marine and plant life, then the beasts of the earth, and finally man. I was taught in Astronomy 101 that all of this took place over about thirteen billion years. The Bible declares God did it in six days. I choose the Bible, but I stand amazed at science’s validation of the order of creation. I’m no more impressed with the Bible, I’m just more impressed with scientists.

Ultimately, what I’m discovering is that Genesis was never intended to be a science or history textbook. It was not intended to stir up debate over the literal nature of the word “day” or whether there was a gap included for the geological ages. Rather, Genesis’ creation account is a hymn of praise to the Creator! Don’t miss this. The story of creation wasn’t given so that we might use it as a source of scientific data (though I believe its perfect, literal accuracy). It was given that we might know our Creator, be impressed with His creative acts, and choose to serve and glorify Him for eternity!

What an awesome discovery for me! I can’t wait to share it all with the congregation of Bethel Baptist Church. Please pray that I will have the necessary time to invest in the study of God’s Word so that I might not fail to present the whole counsel of God with pastoral wisdom and compassion. Pray that I’ll always see the relevance of each passage to our daily living. Pray that lives will be changed for the glory of God as we “journey through the word” together!