Life Here and There

“People never crumble in a day. It’s a slow fade.” ~ Casting Crowns

How true! Failures of a spiritual or moral nature happen as we chip away at our own integrity, as Satan gains one little foothold after another, and as sin creeps up behind us. It happens little by little.

Everybody, but especially ever man ought to watch this teaching video by Casting Crowns explaining how their song, Slow Fade, illustrates Psalm 1.

Or here’s a link to Casting Crowns – Slow Fade Teaching Video.

As Isaiah put it, God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts are above our thoughts. He is holy, transcendent, distinct, and set apart from us. And He is, as Noah put it, the “Judge of all the earth,” and He will “do right.”

But we often answer wrongly on His behalf. Let me say that I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t always explain things well. As a Pastor, I always like to think I have an answer, which sometimes prevents me from being honest enough to say, “I don’t have a clue why God has decided this, but He is right.”

Here are some reasons why God’s judgment is such a tough subject…

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This is our morning paper’s headline: Walmart Not Immune. This has been kind of a dark day in northwest Arkansas. Many woke up today with no place to go. They will receive two months of severance pay, but the ripple effect of the layoffs has yet to be determined, and it may simply be a sign of things to come.

The headline grabbed my attention because these recent layoffs have made people within our local economy feel the way we do when any tragedy strikes… vulnerable. It’s a harsh reminder that the world’s largest retailer is not immune to the effects of the economy. It also reminded me of an eternal truth… none of us are immune to sin and its effects either.

We’d all like to believe that everything will be just fine at the end of this life – that no matter what decisions and choices we make here, we’re somehow safe into eternity beyond the grave. But the Bible is clear that all of us are susceptible and guilty of sin. We all face a consequence of sin – separation from God for eternity. “The wages of sin is death…”

“…But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You can be granted eternal immunity in only one way – by placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the only payment for your sin. Embracing the cross and Jesus’ resurrection from the grave is our God-given inoculation against the eternal effects of sin upon our race.

If you haven’t already, would you turn to Jesus now from your sin and self-dependence and trust Him as your only hope of eternal life? He offers full forgiveness and immunity from the penalty of sin forever, and He invites you to have a personal relationship with Him forever. Contact me if you have any questions at all.

Everything you say and do comes from the heart… everything! That’s exactly what Jesus said, along with Solomon and other biblical writers. And that’s what Andy Stanley tells us in his book It Came From Within.

Most of us like to think like the Pharisees, that our problems have to do with what goes into our bodies, but Jesus challenged that thinking with the revolutionary thought that the only things that ever get said or done are those things that are lurking inside of us. Our words and our actions originate deep inside, in the heart.

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From the Series JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORD: The Book of Numbers

Based on Numbers 15-18

ONE GREAT TRUTH: The whole human race is lost, wandering apart from God, as the consequence of sin, but God is on a search and rescue mission for all of us!

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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…

Yesterday, I preached about depravity. We’re journeying through the entire Bible and I came to the passage where Moses comes down off the mountain and the people have made a golden calf. God prepared him with the information, but Moses was still utterly shocked at their rebellion. That’s how we approach the subject of depravity – we can hardly believe it. I mean, sure, people mess up, but totally wicked to the core from birth?

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What does that mean, anyway? Actually, it means “come by here.” We didn’t sing Kumbaya at camp this week, but God definitely showed up! This was my first experience with church camp… ever! I’d been to Conservation Camp in elementary school and hated every minute of it. This week was vastly different. For one thing, thirty-six people got saved!

As I reflect on camp, let me just share the highlights… The quiet mornings by the lake while the kids slept were great. Waking up by singing the song “Climb, climb up breakfast mountain” was quite nice too. Teaching the college-agers brought about some good discussion. I enjoyed watching activities such as human foosball and playing softball. I was encouraged by fellowshipping with members of other churches. Most of all, I loved the worship time. It was awesome to watch kids “own” the service and take their needs to the altar, many of them inviting Christ in as Savior or rededicating themselves to a thoroughly Christian walk.

What did I not enjoy? Only the noises and odors that are the natural result of sharing quarters with a bunch of boys!! Nonetheless, the cabin was comfortable enough and we really weren’t in it much anyway. I’m definitely going back next year, the Lord willing, and I hope to take twice as many campers with me!

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!

Today marks our tenth anniversary as a married couple. I’ve done quite a bit of reflecting back on that very special moment when we were pronounced husband and wife by my father-in-law. I showed up at the church a few hours before the wedding and it was pouring down rain. I wanted to wait until it slacked off and until I could be sure I wouldn’t see Angie a moment too early. She was inside wondering if I was re-considering!

I wasn’t re-considering, and I haven’t since. I wouldn’t trade the last ten years for anything in the world. We’ve had a precious daughter, served a couple of great churches as Pastor and wife, Angie has earned two degrees (I’m on the very long-term educational plan), and we’ve made a whole lot of great friends along the way. We’re thankful to God for the fruitfulness of these years and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the decades to come.

A marriage, when lived out biblically, is designed to show the world how much Jesus loves His church and how much they can accomplish together in the redemption of lost mankind. I wouldn’t dream of putting forth the image that we have one of those perfect, never-had-an-argument, syruppy-sappy, always romantic relationships. If you do that, nobody believes you anyway and you probably get on everyone else’s nerves. Nonetheless, I’m proud of the marriage we have. We don’t ever have to question one another’s faithfulness and commitment, and we’re slowly learning to communicate and to compliment one another in a way that glorifies God. I’m so very thankful for all God has blessed us with… to Him be the glory!