Pursuing the Wandering Christian

In C.S. Lewis’s classic series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucie wander into a magical world called Narnia. It was created by the powerful and mysterious Aslan, but is currently ruled by an evil witch, Jadis. The four are staying in the house of the Beavers when Edmund wanders off. Let’s listen to how they think they can help him, but how Mr. Beaver suggests best helping find Edmund. While Peter thinks they need to immediately go and find Edmund, Mr. Beaver urges them to find Aslan, the only hope for Edmund who has wandered off to her - to the white witch. 

God's Perfect Timing

 "Timing is everything." It's an old adage, and certainly guilty of overstatement. Yet, the Bible affirms the benefit of timing things well. For instance, Solomon reminds us that "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply - and how good is a timely word!," (Proverbs 15:23). Think of how good, "Will you marry me?" fits when it is spoken to the right person at the right time.

As good as humans can be at saying or doing the right thing at the right time, God is infinitely better. While God is not limited by time or space, He is by no means unfamiliar with the concept of time. He invented time, and the progression of moments serves Him and His purposes.

What is the Fear of the Lord?

If I were to simply ask, “What is fear?” most of us would not have an issue answering that question. Fear is that emotion I feel when I’m scared of danger, or a problem bearing down on me. It could be a real danger: perhaps a snake has slithered across my foot; or it could be a perceived danger: perhaps the snake is a harmless black racer and is very unlikely to even bite me. So, a swamp filled with mosquitoes biting me is a fear of real danger. A sign telling me there are a lot of mosquitoes who may bite me is a perceived danger (thanks Congaree National Forest for the warning!).

Further, if I were to ask who is the Lord, few Christians would stumble to find the answer. The Lord is God, the One and Only. The Lord is the Almighty Creator, the incarnate Savior, the Comforting Spirit: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in One Godhead. He is the Lord.

But, if we put both fear and the Lord into a phrase and ask its definition, many do stumble. What is the fear of the Lord? As I have briefly researched, the modern consensus seems to be a brief or prolonged journey that arrives at similar conclusions. Fear of the Lord is not fear, but something like awe, respect, worship, and love. Now, because of Jesus, praise the Lord, I do think we worship God with reverence and awe, and I do think we love God because He first loved us in Jesus Christ. But, if “the fear of the Lord” should be translated “the awe of the Lord” or “the love of the Lord,” then Bible translators have done a consistently lousy job translating the words into fear.

On the basis of linguistics, biblical theology, and logic, I’m going to argue that the fear of the Lord means fearing the Lord as in a settled emotional trembling at His Person and Presence. This fear, because of Jesus, need not remain the only emotion we habitually experience. Instead, when we come to God by faith in Jesus, and are adopted into God’s family, we combine fear and love. We fear-love God. It’s what Augustine will call a filial fear. We do not graduate from or leave fear behind, discarding any fear we experience in God’s holy presence, but we couple that fear with hope and love in Jesus. The by-product of this fear-love is habitual right-walking with God, right-worship of God, and enduring happiness.

Fear of the LORD

 Fear of the LORD, a Study on Fear from Genesis 42

There are many things that scare us. Human beings have all varieties of fears. Some are quite silly.

As a kid, I watched Arachnophobia, the movie about the fear of spiders. Still makes me jump thinking about them sneaking onto me when I am sleeping or dropping onto my hand when I turn out the light.

Maybe you have acrophobia, the fear of heights. Someone might say they don’t mind the heights, it’s the falling and hitting the ground that scares them.

Others it’s aerophobia, aquaphobia, or astraphobia, but flying, water, and storms don’t sum up everyone’s fears.

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WERE AFRAID OF AS A KID?

In Genesis 42, we dive into the middle of the epic of Joseph. So far, Joseph has been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and his father Jacob believes him dead because his sons deceived him. While Judah shipwrecked his life, Joseph was purchased by a wealthy Egyptian, the captain of the guards. He endured slavery and then wrongful accusation and imprisonment. Then, Joseph was brought out of prison into the very presence of Pharaoh, where he interpreted dreams and planned how to save Egypt from disaster. Pharaoh promoted Joseph to second-in-command, and Joseph helped Egypt prepare for the famine by storing up grain during the years of great harvests. Now, the famine has come, and today the brothers will come to Joseph. We will see the family’s many fears.

Redeeming the Food Pantry

At Redemption Church in Jacksonville, FL, where I currently serve as pastor, for several years we had a partnership with a local food pantry that supplied groceries to those in need. This organization excelled at efficiently providing quality food. At least 100 families would monthly receive a lot of quality, fresh produce. However, from an eternal perspective, there was little produced. People receiving food stayed in their cars. They were often warmly greeted, but there was very little interaction. The goal was to put groceries into a trunk, not to get to know people or point them to Jesus. When I came on as pastor, one of the things I wanted to do was to redeem the food pantry. I had two goals: evangelism & discipleship.

Striving for a Legacy: Farewell Sermon from Thomas Brooks

Thomas Brooks as a puritan preacher and a Navy chaplain in the 1600s, serving in London, England for many years. Many of his works are available online for free or very inexpensive. An excellent collection is available here: Thomas Brooks.

In his farewell sermon, he purposed to leave his congregation with a charge to pursue lasting, godly legacies. That is, individually and corporately, what commitments will leave a lasting impact. Interestingly, a legacy can also be defined as an amount of money or property left to someone in a will (Oxford Languages, "Legacy"). This Puritan Pastor left spiritual property to help his congregation make a lasting impact before they departed from this world.

What follows are the 27 legacies from Thomas Brooks, preached in 1662. They can be found the "The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks." The italicized words are my own brief commentary.

7 Questions About the Birth of Jesus

Imagine for a moment that you were present the night that Jesus was born. Perhaps you were a shepherd or a resident of Bethlehem who heard the baby crying in the night. What do you think you would’ve thought about the significance of that night? Why was Jesus born?

One of the most unique aspects of Christmas is that Jesus came and was uniquely born to save the world. The uniqueness of His birth is both mysterious and necessary for our salvation. Tonight, we dive deeper to understand why Jesus had to be born just the way He was.

Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices

In 1652, Puritan Pastor Thomas Brooks published a wonderful help to Christians striving by God's grace to put sin to death. His work was called Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices. It has been treasured by sin-fighting Christians for centuries. In it, he candidly and pastorally helps Christians see the strategies Satan often uses to tempt or lure us into sin. Paul warned the Ephesian Christians, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil," (Ephesians 6:11, ESV). The schemes are the devices Satan uses against Christians. Brooks' work aimed to expose those devices and provide remedies or helpful combat strategies against them. 

What is the Abomination of Desolation?

 Jesus said some pretty interesting things. He did not mind shocking his audience. After meeting a wealthy, respected, religious seeker, Jesus said, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God," (Matthew 19:24). The disciples were so perplexed at this statement they asked in astonishment, "Who then can be saved?" (Matthew 19:25). Earlier, when some kind friends brought a crippled man to Jesus, Jesus looked at the man and declared, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven," (Matthew 9:2). The religious leaders murmured, "This man is blaspheming," (Matthew 9:3). Suffice to say that Jesus does not mind saying some things that are at least interesting and sometimes perplexing.

So, what does Jesus mean when He says, "When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains," (Matthew 24:15-16)?

Psalms and Prayers - A Family-Equipping Wednesday Night Model

What does your church do to draw closer to God as a family on Wednesday nights? I grew up in Baptist churches, and for as long as I can remember, Wednesday nights have gone something like this:

- Maybe a dinner for those who can get to church early enough

- A kids program, like AWANA (or going way back, RA's or GA's)

- Adult Bible studies or a prayer meeting

- Youth group activities.

I am not criticizing the wonderful work done through programs like these. Praise God for corporate prayer and focused Bible studies. Praise God for good children's and youth programs in which children and youth are helped to understand that God loves them from the Bible. AND, for us at Redemption Church, we came to realize that the programs were dividing us a little too much.

40 Best Books

Recently, a friend challenged me with a question - what are the 30 best books you would recommend for a pastor? I started thinking about those resources that God has used to particularly bless my life, marriage, walk with Jesus, preaching and teaching, compassion for others, and personal holiness. 

Here are the 40 books I came up with, and may they bless you: 40 Best Books.

Teaching the Kids to Navigate Life God's Way

 Life presents many challenging situations. Like a fork on a hiking trail, a difficult choice can be navigated one of two ways - God's way or some other way. Learning how to navigate life God's way is so vital, God gave us an entire book of the Bible to reveal such wisdom. The book is Proverbs. Solomon was the main contributor, as God's Holy Spirit inspired him.

If you would like to teach your children how to navigate tough choices in the areas of love, childhood, money, words, work, and the heart, then use this family devotion series to have important Bible studies with your kids. Each study should take about 10-15 minutes. Each night, we sang "Proverbs 3:5-6" by the Rizers (see video below), and listened to half of an Adventures in Odyssey episode.

Link for Devotional Guide: "Navigating Life God's Way" - A Family Devotion Series from Proverbs

A Question of Authority

How should Christians respond to evil generally and specifically? Jesus encountered evil men intent on publicly shaming him. What did He do? How did Jesus navigate that conversation? Today, Christians can learn a lot from Christ how to deal with real evil. And this is a necessary subject because evil persists until Christ returns. Whether considering the happenings in the United States or from countries around the world, Christians must first acknowledge Jesus as the second Person of the Trinity; and second, Christians must learn from Jesus how to navigate conversations with evil people.

For the full sermon, "A Question on Authority" from Mark 11:27-33, click HERE.

Pilgrim Songs: A Family Devotion on Worship from the Psalms of Ascent

The Psalms of Ascent (120-134) contain rich imagery and powerful notes as we are led to praise God through a variety of life situations. What does it look like to trust God with our anger? How can a life be truly blessed and built to last? When is a family happy? Where does God treasure most of all places on this earth? How can we worship as we go through life's journey?

These songs explore these questions and many more. Like the pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem, this devotion series helps parents take their children through what it means to worship God in various aspects of life. The series can be accessed HERE.

Psalm 125, a Reed Family Devotion

Have you ever tried to lead your family in a meaningful, spiritual, not-pull-your-hair-out, devotion time? Megan and I both have tried many times, and had numerous mishaps, with a few epic fails. And, we have had some successes (still mixed with some funny not-so-amazing moments). 

Here is a family devotion we had on Wednesday, April 21st. https://youtu.be/gd5ej39Lv4g. 

From Psalm 125, How Does a Christian Endure Wicked Government? This family devotion included singing, talking about good rulers versus bad rulers, learning to trust God and not be afraid, and a unique game of UNO.

Resurrection for Real - A Devotion from 1 Corinthians 15

There are many incredible stories that capture our imagination: a young boy discovers he is a wizard, a simple man learns the ring his uncle gave him has terrifying magical powers, a boy gets bitten by a spider and becomes a superhero, and a girl gets on a spaceship only to find out that she will become a Jedi. Can you name these stories?

"Be Not Far From Me" - A Devotion from Psalm 22

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Do you know who said that? If you said, "Jesus" you would be right. If you said, "David" you would also be correct. If you said, "me" then God bless you and keep you through your dark days.

One of the best things about the Bible is that it presents life as raw and real. The Bible does not ignore pain, suffering or evil. In fact, Jesus Himself experiences pain, suffering, and agony to the utmost - and it is not pointless! Today is called 'Good Friday' because today is when Christians particularly celebrate the Friday about 2,000 years ago when Jesus died an excruciatingly painful death on a Roman cross. He did this to forgive our sins. It was not a good day for Jesus (in one sense), but it is a wonderful day for anyone who believes in Jesus. Click HERE for a devotion.

Why the Gospel?

Why does God proclaim the gospel to mankind? What is the goal of the gospel?

In God's kindness, He reveals His plans and works to us in 66 books that we call the Bible. This compilation has a central, unified story: God rescuing a people for Himself forever. How God rescues His people (and from what) is the climax or good news of the story. In a word, God's rescue plan is the gospel.

Talking About God - A Family Devotion Series from Psalm 105

How do we talk to people about God? Why is it important? Psalm 105 helps us sing to remember the many ways God made promises and kept promises to Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. Specifically, God did amazing things to give the Israelites the land He promised.

To access the "Talking About God" family devotion series on Psalm 105, click HERE.

The God of Wow - A Family Devotion Series from Psalm 104

It can be exciting and frightening as a parent to try to lead your family in a devotion time. Despite the apprehension, it is thoroughly worthwhile to forge this habit into your family life.

To that end, here is a link to a family devotion series I led my family through. 

"The Gift of Natural Worship" (Psalm 104)