A Night to Remember!

As you can tell from these pictures, we had a great time at our monthly fellowship supper—maybe the best yet! Of course, Kevin got lost enroute but after several cell phone calls, he made it just in time to eat (vintage Kevin)! Cassie, even though she goes to her Doc today to learn when her cervical fusion surgery will take place, came and, I might add, her smiling face, exuberant personality, and optimistic outlook lifted the spirits of each of us. Shamona shared with us that she took another step toward becoming qualified for SSI, which will be a HUGE benefit for her, especially with her medical needs. Please pray that her application will quickly pass through the bureaucratic "red tape". On another note, the Whites are leaving for a week on the Outer Banks! We trust that they will have a safe and wonderful trip! As you might imagine, Travis ate enough for six but that is probably not newsworthy because he does that every time he eats! Oh, yes, there is one more thing: Dudley is having trouble getting Debbie to obey his orders! If I understood correctly, the next time she disobeys, she has to have a pastoral consult! Please pray that she obeys!! We did continue our study of the Revelation, looking not only at the picture John "painted" of Jesus, but also at the two Isaiah painted (Isaiah 6 & 53). Those of you who missed this event, well, what can I say—you were missed and you missed! Enjoy the pictures!

Fig Leaves or Rose Petals?

Thursday morning, August 7, 2008 [Another HOT one but a cool spell is on the way!],
Another quote from Mason's book (p. 37): "When Adam discovered he was naked, he hid from the Lord. But when Job was faced with his nakedness, he worshipped, and this is what sets the fallen man apart from the redeemed man." Hmmm. . .
Truthfully, there is a side of Adam's attempting to hide from God that is almost comical—he used of all things, fig leaves. Yes, I know that fig leaves are larger than rose petals but they weren't large enough to hide the "private" side of Adam's life from God, or anyone else, for that matter, but when one is "running scared" any old hiding place will do, I suppose (or so we think).
There is, however, a side of Adam's attempting to hide from God that is very serious—we still attempt to do it, even though we KNOW it is futile. There is, however, a reason for our inane futility: we haven't learned that Jesus ended our need to hide from God. Peter said it quite clearly: ". . .and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24; NASB).
Paul said it this way: "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Colossians 2:13-14).
You see, unlike Adam, when we find ourselves doing the most despicable act we could ever imagine, we can run TO Jesus and be received with open arms—accepted and loved without condition—having NO reason to hide and EVERY reason to embrace Him.
After all, He did take ownership of our sins, was punished to the full extent of the Law's requirement, took them away, and promised never to remember them again—A DONE DEAL!
Hallelujah for the cross and for the Christ of the cross! Maybe it is time for us to scatter some rose petals!

Torn Robes, Shaved Heads, and Prostration

Wednesday afternoon, August 6, 2008 [HOT AS BLAZES!]
Back to Mason's book, "The Gospel According to Job," at least for a perspective or two-
This is what Mason has to say about worship (p. 15): "Think of Mary at the foot of the cross: was it a sweet and mystical experience for her to stand there and watch her son die? No doubt years later, looking back on that day, she had more tender feelings. But at the time, surely, it was hellish. And so it will be for us whenever we make direct contact in our daily lives with the central object of mystery in Christian worship, the cross. It is marvelous to meditate on the cross and to be flooded with peace and joy. But that is the Holy Spirit showing us the effects of the cross; it is not the cross itself. It is wonderful to be filled with mystical rapture at the thought of Calvary. But more wonderful still, because more worshipful, is the moment when the rough wood touches our flesh and the nail bites. Real worship has less to do with offering sacrifices than with being a sacrifice ourselves. 'Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,' urges Paul, 'for this is your spiritual worship' (Romans 12:1)."
Sometimes, I wonder just how far we can stray from the truth. On the one hand, most Protestants sincerely believe that worship is directly connected to emotions. On the one hand is the group who believes that the higher the emotions run, the more worshipful is the "worship". On the other hand, is the group who believes that emotions are contraindicated in true worship; consequently, the more stoic the service, the more worshipful the "worship". And, yes, there are those who fit somewhere in between these two extremes. But what is the truth about worship?
Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, genuine worship does, indeed, stir the believer's emotions, but stirred emotions are not the evidence of genuine worship. The evidence of genuine worship is found in what happens in the heart of God, not in what happens in us. You see, genuine worship is NOT about us; instead, it is about Him. It has nothing to do with whether we sing, dance, clap, shout, run around the building, cry, laugh, or sit quietly; instead, it has to do with whether He is singing, dancing, clapping, shouting, running around Heaven, crying, laughing, or sitting quietly.
This is what Mason said (p. 5): "Perhaps there is not better test of true faith than when worship tears its robe, shaves it head, and falls prostrate on the ground.
This is what Job said in what was probably the highest moment of worship in his life: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away: Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21)!
Maybe we would do better with much less of what we think is worship and a lot more of "torn robes, shaved heads, and prostration" before Him.

Foreordination & Predestination, continued

Tuesday morning, August 5, 2008 (sunny and muggy),
Your responses to yesterday's perspective have motivated me to follow it with this, also from Gerstner's, "A Predestination Primer": "Thus, when I drop a piece of chalk, foreordination generally and predestination specifically are being carried out. The chalk's dropping is an instance of foreordination proper. It is a part of that totality of things which have been eternally decreed by God. But since the chalk is inanimate and not a free moral agent it does not belong to the domain of predestination, properly speaking, but rather to foreordination, properly speaking. It does not will to fall. It does not choose to drop. It is acted upon and not acting. It, therefore, does not pertain to predestination but it is a part of foreordination, merely. When, however, we consider my dropping the chalk, we have an instance of predestination. Unlike the chalk, which does not decide to fall, I am a free moral agent, who does decide to cause the chalk to fall. Being a free moral agent, I come within the domain of predestination. Thus when we speak of the chalk's falling, we speak of foreordination; and when we speak of my dropping the chalk, we speak of predestination."
Got it? Good!

Now listen to what Paul had to say, "He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:5; NASB).
Got that? Even better!

Now listen to what Mac has to say (for whatever it is worth!): Had God failed to foreordain and, thus, predestine that some of the human race be His children, all of us would be eternally and hopelessly lost!

Foreordination & Predestination

Monday afternoon, August 4, 2008 [RAINING!],
The following is what Dr. John Gerstner had to say about "foreordination": "'Foreordination is the comprehensive, all-inclusive term. This informs us that there is nothing at all in the whole universe which is exempt from this pre-ordinating of the Eternal God. Thus, if it be a stone or an animal, if it be a man or an angel, if it be in this world or some other, if it be in the past or the future, if it be in heaven or in hell, it makes no difference what it is, where it is, when it is—'foreordination' teaches that it is the outworking of the eternal God." [John H. Gerstner, A Predestination Primer (Winona Lake, Indiana: Baker Book House, 1960), 4]
This is what he had to say about "predestination": "Now when we come to the doctrine of predestination, we come to consider a part, and only a part, of 'foreordination.' As we said, 'foreordination' pertains to everything, but predestination pertains only to a part of the total whole—a very small part of the total whole. As far as importance is concerned, however, and especially importance for us, it is incomparably more significant than anything else which falls within the foreordination of God. Predestination is that part of foreordination which deals with the actions of free moral agents, be they angels, men, or devils. This doctrine teaches that God foreordains specifically the actions of free moral agents." [John H. Gerstner, A Predestination Primer (Winona Lake, Indiana: Baker Book House, 1960), 5]
Suppose, if only for a minute, that God from the foundation of the world has predetermined your actions, that He has foreordained not only that you travel a certain road, but also the steps you take along the road.
Now, before the "minute" is over, tell me what you are feeling.

Blessings and wonder,
Mac

Days Gone By--way by!

As I said yesterday, this matter of time is quite significant. In the black & white picture you can see yours truly (left) and Al Coppedge (right). We were in High School in the black & white picture, visiting Emory University (I was dating Annis, pictured next to me and Al was dating my sister, Kikky, pictured next to him). In the color picture, almost 50 years later, we were having lunch together this past Friday at "Sticky Fingers" here in Macon. Al and I attended Asbury College together for a while; after which, he went on to Scotland to earn his PhD degree and, then, to return to teach at Asbury Seminary, where he continues to teach today. Annis and I eventually married and Al and Kikky eventually didn't. I don't know why, but I thought you would want to know all of this, so I told you. Now you know. Oh, and by the way, I have never even been to Scotland but I have been to Miami, and notice that more of our foreheads are pictured in the color photo than in the black and white (I have no reason, as to why; maybe it is because we both attended Asbury College). Did you notice Al's white buck shoes?

Time's A Wasting?

 

Friday evening, August 1, 2008
That is correct; it is August 1, 2008! How can time be passing so quickly? But then, what is time, when you have been given Eternal Life? Yes, I am well-aware that we all live within the parameters of "time" but do we have to live, as if we are its slave? As I sit here in my office, looking through one of the windows, the small lake is as still as a mirror and the leaves on the trees are just as still, as if they are posing for the sun to paint them a multitude of shades of green. In fact, everything is still and quiet; it is as if every created thing is standing at full attention waiting on Someone to give it direction, to tell it what to do next. For the moment, it seems like time is standing still; however, I know better. I have lived too long to be so easily fooled.
Just now, a white crane is making her way along the banks of the small lake, slowly, ever so slowly, searching for food, for supper, and then, without notice, she flies to the other side, slowly landing on the green lush shoreline to continue her search. No hurry. No fretting. Just being what she was created to be—nothing more, nothing less. Then it happens: she catches her prey and flies away for the night. I get the feeling that she knows better than I that her Creator will take care of her every need. To be sure, she is, certainly, no slave to time! Much to the contrary, time is her slave; she makes time work for her, not the other way around.
Why do we humans have to mess things up so badly? Why do we insist on living at the speed of light? Why can't we understand that we miss most of life, when we are traveling so fast? It is as if we think we are wasting precious time, when we sit and wait and watch. Don't we remember how much time Jesus spent sitting, watching, and waiting—just being still. There is not one account of Jesus racing around like "a chicken with his head cut off," trying to keep the next appointment—not one! He didn't even get in a hurry when His close friend was dying and needed Him! Surely, we do not think He was wasting precious time.
And then, as if out of nowhere, the entire scene is interrupted: a foursome comes racing around the cart path, as if a bear were chasing them, attempting to finish 18 holes before dark! Frogs leap into the water, turtles fall off the log, and a hoot owl hoots! Go figure! I can promise you this: they will barely remember (if that) playing the last three holes, which makes me wonder why they took the time to play in the first place. I guess they have a church meeting to attend and they cannot afford to miss the "brownie" points.
There really is a time for everything and NOW is the time to let time work for you, rather than you working for it, even being its slave. Stop, wait, be still and know that He is God! Truthfully, there is no other way.