Lovin' Tellin' The Story

How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years. Luke 1:18 Have you ever been just plain confounded, or shocked at the way God chooses to answer your prayers? Make no mistake about it, God hears and answers our prayers. My question is, how do we respond to His answers? In the first chapter of Luke's Gospel he gives us something that none of the other gospel writers do, an introduction to John the Baptist's parents, Zacharias (Zachariah) and Elizabeth. He does this in the context of telling of the miraculous circumstances surrounding the birth of the forerunner of Christ. We are told that Zacharias and Elizabeth are a godly and righteous couple who, despite their close walk with the Lord, have not been blessed with children. The feeling that we get from the chapter is that this lack of children had been a matter of fervent prayer for these two for who knows how long. In the end, however, Zacharias is performing his priestly duties in t...

Photo courtesy of Czarephani I was contemplating the idea of change today when the Lord gave me a beautiful metaphor that I think is worth sharing. You see change is one of those things that, even though it is inevitable, we often resist it. Sometimes it is good to resist change because it is for the worse but the opposite is also true and if change is for the better and brings us closer to the will of God we need to do it whether we like it or not. Change though, however necessary, can break people and organizations if not done with care. This is where the metaphor comes into play. My grandmother on my mother's side of the family, Mimi to be exact, used to weave baskets. She made big baskets, small baskets, round baskets and square baskets. There were all kinds and made out of all shapes and sizes of wood slats. One day I was with Mimi and Pop-pop down at the lake house and she was going to teach me how to make a basket. Well, the first thing that we had to do was take all t...

It always amazes me how much the prophets of the Old Testament have to say to us in American today. Honestly this should be no surprise because we know that the Word of God is "living and active" and even though it was written thousands of years ago it is just a applicable today as it ever was. This morning part of my Bible reading was Ezekiel 27 and 28 which is a lament over Tyre and a prophecy about the overthrow of the king of Tyre. The words of God through Ezekiel are haunting, especially when you look at them in light of where we are in the United States in 2011. Chapter 27 is a lengthy description of how prosperous and great the city of Tyre was in its heyday. It was a powerful merchant city that had influence and connections all across the Mediterranean and Middle East. Their merchant ships carried all kinds of riches and good across the trade routes and it seemed as if none could touch them. However, we see in verse 27 and following that none of that will stand wh...

This weeks song of revival comes to us from one of today's foremost worship leaders, Chris Tomlin. The lyrics speak truth about who Christ is and the nature of revival in God's people. Pay close attention to the chorus; Let the glory of  Your name be the passion of the Church, Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns, Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives. Indeed, we are waiting on Jesus because He IS "all to us." May this be a song of a revived Church of Christ. Godspeed, Christian

Photo courtesy of GeoDum Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and have put right before their faces the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be consulted by them at all? Ezekiel 14:3 Let's be honest with each other for a moment. We all have idols in our hearts, do we not? If we look very carefully at out lives I think each of us will find that at times there is something (or somethings) that gets in between us and God, something that takes our primary focus off of Him. Maybe I'm the only one that struggles with this, but I believe that even the most spiritually mature among us deal with the issue of idolatry at one time or another. I am certainly not saying this is the constant state of affairs but occasionally it pops up. There is a reason that the first two commandments address this problem and it is because God's people, almost from the very beginning, have been guilty of idolatry. By the time the prophet Ezekiel emerges onto the ...

Photo courtesy of Catalin82 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me. Ezekiel 3:14. When we look at the pantheon of Christian virtues holy anger is probably one that most people miss, or have a hard time placing alongside things like meekness, love, generosity, patience and peace. I freely admit that the Bible is full of admonitions to not be angry. Ephesians 4:26 tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger. Colossians 3:8 tells us to put it aside, and James 1:19 explains that we should be slow to anger. However, I firmly believe that anger coming from the right place, in the right time, for the right purpose is a powerful characteristic of a godly watchman. Look again at Ephesians 4:26 it says, Be angry, and yet do not sin ; do not let the sun go down on your anger. Equally as clear as the instruction to deal with anger before the sun goes down is the statement, "Be angr...

Music is an important part of our spiritual life. It is by far the most commonly used tool in worship. With that in mind I would like to start compiling some great selections that I think carry the message of revival or contain revival truth. These may be classic hymns or, like this one, contemporary songs that are drifting to us over the airwaves of Christian radio. Today's song is by the Robbie Seay Band. The thing that struck me the most when I heard it was the cry asking the "God of Heaven" to "come down." That is indeed what we are seeking in revival. I also like the element of hope and the connection that the band makes between hope and God coming down. Many of us have come to believe that God visiting us in revival is the ONLY real hope for our nation. Enjoy! Christian

Photo courtesy of Mattox               If you look in Ezekiel chapter 3, which is where we will spend the bulk of the time from here on out, you will find the commission that God gives the prophet beginning in verse 10.   In this verse God tells Ezekiel; Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely. In this short phrase I believe we find the second crucial characteristic of a godly watchman: listening. If we understand our duty to be warning God’s people and acting as “voices crying out in the wilderness” then it only makes sense that we must take time to listen for the message that God is trying to get across. For me, as a preacher, this is sometimes difficult because I love to talk. However, if I am faithfully going to communicate the message God has for His people then I must discipline myself to be still before God and hear His voice.    ...