Sumthin's Gotta Hold-a-me!

The Bible quite frequently (and with good reason) uses warfare to describe the attributes of the Christian life. I am not talking about the life of someone who simply verbally claims to be a Christian. I am talking about about people who truly strive to live their lives according to the example that Jesus set for mankind. There is a difference. Please understand what I am trying to say before you get all self righteous and condescending.

Of course I know there are hypocrites in the faith. Of course I know you know who they are and take every opportunity to point them out and hold them up as examples of what modern day Christianity really is. That, my friend, is not the Christian I am talking about. There is no spiritual warfare involved with those who pretend to be one thing and really are something else altogether.

When the Bible talks about the Christian life and uses battlefield metaphors to describe it, it is talking about genuine Christ-like faith. Those who truly understand that on the one hand we are to love those around us and do our best to woo them with the good news of the gospel. Yet, on the other hand we are not to condone their sinful activities. To do this takes balance, courage, patience, humility, and the power of the Holy Spirit. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit because we have an enemy that is constantly at war with those who try to live Christ-like in this broken down sinful world.

In 2 Cor 10:4, the Bible speaks of strongholds. Strongholds in the life of a believer is a place where a weakness has developed because of unbiblical thinking patterns. Satan exploits the believer in these areas because he knows it is the quickest way to cause the believer to act in a way contrary to the example Christ set.

No one ever sinned without first thinking about it. Sometimes a person will think long and hard about it, sometimes, the reaction time is very short. No one has ever sinned without first thinking about it. I know, I said it twice because I wanted you to catch that. The area of strongholds is the mind.

Allow me to give you a bullet list of some areas of unbiblical thinking that tends to cause the believer to act contrary to the example Christ set.

I deserve to be happy - no, God wants you to have joy
I can be a part time Sunday only Christian - no, you have been bought with a price, you are not your own
There is no punishment for sin - no, God chastens his children
Christian living is something we "DO" - no, it is what we "ARE" what we do comes out of what we are.
Living a holy life is just too hard - no, I can do all things through Christ. Christ liveth in me.
If I live the life of a sold out Christian I will not have any friends - no, you will have God as a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

The biggest reason so many Christians fail to live the life Christ expects us to live is because we think in an unbiblical manner. There are so many other things I could add to that list above and I am sure you can too. My point is that true warfare that tears down strongholds is a battle that rages in the minds of believers.

Its time that true believers stop allowing themselves to be the victim and start being the conqueror God expects them to be. Our Christian lives are unfruitful and boring because we are not thinking with a biblical worldview. Reject those thoughts that oppose the centrality and supremacy of Jehovah God. Get yourself out of the middle of the universe and put God Almighty in His rightful position.

He Is Not Here - Did You Just Miss Him?

I have had three brushes with "earthly fame" in my life. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with someone we might call "famous" in the eyes of the world.

I was traveling back from a business trip and just got in to the baggage area at the Hartford Airport. Standing just five feet from me was Pat Boone. Now to some of you the name Pat Boone does not mean too much. He was a Christian entertainer that was quite popular back in the 70's. I was so excited to to see this outspoken Christian man that had achieved fame. I wanted so badly to go up and shake his hand and tell him how much I appreciated his stand in Hollywood. I was too embarrassed or scared or whatever. I missed my opportunity.

Another time, at another airport, in another country (England) we were in the gate area at Gatwick airport waiting for our trans-atlantic flight. I had gone to find some drinks for the family when I heard this commotion. When I got back to the family I saw Elton John had just passed by where the family was sitting and went through a door into a lounge of some sort. I was off doing something else and missed him.

I was twelve years old. One of my teachers in public school had an after school job as supervisor of a city park that had quite the facilities. He invited four or five of us guys to come to the park that evening and hang out while he worked. This park actually had a professional boxing ring and we could not resist. The gang was in the ring bouncing around having a blast when all of a sudden the doors to the gym burst open and this group of large black men came into the gym shouting and yelling at us to get out. The main guy was shouting to us "get out of my gym before I hurt you." As we ran ran past him he stuck his humungous boxing glove right in my face as though he was going to punch me and then...smiled at me. That did not make me feel any better. I ran for my life and went straight to Greg our teacher. We told him what had happened and he burst out laughing at us. He said to us, "Don't you know who that is? That is Cassius Clay." Because I had no clue who he was and was so scared I did not get a chance to enjoy that moment either.

These stories are all true and serve to remind me of the story in scripture where Mary and other women ran to the grave only to hear the angels say, "He is not here, He is risen from the grave." They had just missed him.

Now I do not intend to equate these three worldly famous people to the Lord Jesus Christ. My stories are intended only to illustrate the fact that people can "miss" the Saviour for many of the same reasons I missed these wordily superstars. I missed Pat Boone because I was too embarrassed. I missed Elton John because I was busy doing other things. I missed Cassius Clay because I did not recognize who he was.

We are celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ this week. He offers eternal life to all who receive his gift of forgiveness through his death, burial, and resurrection. Don't miss your opportunity to meet him.

Biblical Gray Areas: What Should I Do?

Dr Mike Bere

If the Bible was written to be a complete book of commands for us to live by it would have to be so big that no one could possible read it all. Think about it for a minute: it would have to cover every single possible situation, in every culture, in every time period. If it were to do that there would be so much of the book that we could not possible understand. Because God is infinitely wise He did not saddle us with a book that would be too cumbersome to be effective and beneficial. Instead He gave us a book that contains principles and precepts. Sure there are commands and prohibitions. For the most part, however, God gave us a book of practical principles that if we study and pray will guide us into right living.

If you are faced with a situation where the Bible does not give a direct command to "thou shalt" or "thou shalt not" what do you do? Is it left to the individual believer to decide based on what he feels is right or wrong? Can something be right in this situation but wrong in another?

Far and away the most beneficial class I took while at Bible college was a class called "Social Ethics" taught by Dr. Mike Bere. Dr. Bere developed a study of six principles that if correctly applied can help any believer in any situation make godly and righteous choices.

For this reason, our church is hosting a Bible conference April 25-27. It is a free to all conference with a meal provided on Saturday and Sunday. A conference notebook will be supplied for note taking as well. Contact me for more information. We would love to have a good number of people show up to tie advantage of this teaching. I believe it will change your life.

Dr. Mike Taylor
281-725-4097
miketaylor627@gmail.com

It Is Well With My Soul

In troublesome times, whether it be a physical trial, a financial crisis, an accident, disease, or another difficult circumstance, Christians often quote this verse to try and bring some comfort, "All things work together for good..." If it is not given in genuine spirit filled concern or received with genuine spirit filled humility, it can come across as a trite cliche. Of course that would never be one's intention.

As is so often the case some people rip verses out of context or ignore the surrounding verses completely and come up with a misunderstanding of the proper interpretation or application of the verse altogether. This is one case where it really pays to keep reading. The above quote is part of Romans 8:28. Lets take a look at both verse 28and part of 29 and see if there is not deeper truth that will help us understand this verse better.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son..." Rom 8:28-29A

All things work together for good in order that we might be conformed to the image of Christ. There are a lot of ways that we can be Christlike. One that stands out in my mind is that we have a passionate desire to do the will of God, as did Jesus. When he was in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me." Some may argue the proper interpretation of that phrase. Was Jesus afraid to die? Was he asking the Father to let him out of the impending crucifixion? Its not my purpose to discuss this here because of the subsequent dialogue. In Luke 22:42 Jesus goes on to say, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."

Jesus was absolutely determined to live according to the will of the Father. He came to earth as a man in order to fulfill the Father's will. He was sinlessly obedient to the Father's commandments all his life in order to fulfill the Father's will. 

I might goes as far as to say that we are never more in the image of Jesus Christ than when we are fulfilling the Father's will.

In our church we sing a wonderful hymn titled, "It Is Well." The story behind this hymn is repeated often in our churches. It is a wonderful and convicting story of Horatio Spafford and his wife Anna. As the story is normally told, with Horatio delayed in America Anna and their four daughters were on a trans-Atlantic voyage to Europe when their ship sank. Anna survived but their four daughters tragically perished. Horatio set sail for Europe to get his wife. When his ship reached the area of the Atlantic where it was thought Anna's ship went down Horatio penned the words to the famous hymn, "It is Well."

Often the story stops there and no other details are offered. Please allow me to give you a few more details surrounding the story of the Spaffords. Prior to the shipwreck Horatio and Anna's four year old son Horatio Jr. died from Scarlet Fever. They lost nearly all their fortune due to the Great Chicago Fire. After the loss of their son and four daughters God gave them three more children. They named another son Horatio but he too died at four years of age with Scarlet Fever. Talk about tragedy. These events would have destroyed most people, but not the Spaffords. They moved to Jerusalem and started a ministry to the poor and orphaned children.

Can you imagine after all they had been through and they desired to serve God. Out of such tragedy they still desired to do the will of the Father more than anything else. They truly were the image of Christ.

Great Opportunity

I just wanted to let you know of a unique opportunity to help a "starving artist." My son, JB, is trying to raise funds for his debut album through a program called Kickstarter. This program allows people to promise a donation to help the cause. The money is only collected when the full amount of the project has been raised. There are varying rewards for varying sized donations. You can go to the link below and read up as well as listen to a very short video clip to gain a better understanding of how it works.

Here is the link, just copy and paste in your browser:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2114277219/sketches-a-new-classical-guitar-album

As a father I am extremely proud (and biased) of JB's gifted classical guitar playing. He has worked extremely hard and long to get to this point in his career. I can promise the CD will be a very good one. Hope you take the time to check out the project. If nothing else, share the link on your social media sites to help the cause! Than you.

Breaking News

Breaking News: There is a definite and aggressive spirit in this world that is trying to take you captive! This spirit wants to dominate every area of your life. This spirit wants to cause you to think with a worldly mindset and not a spiritual one.

Think about this. Most people live with the basic premise that the world revolves around them. I think I can prove it to a degree. When things go wrong financially how do you initially react? "O man, what am I going to do?" "How am I going to fix this?" "This really upsets ME." You see when problems or crises arise it reveals our true character. It reveals our truest thoughts. Life is about us.

Egocentric living (ME as the center of the universe) is the first opening a person gives to this spirit that is trying to capture him.

The Bible repeatedly tells us to be more concerned for others than ourselves. A few references will suffice. This principle is one of the foundational principles of the faith.

Php 2:4 - Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Romans 15:1  - We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves.
1 Cor 10:33 - Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Second, the Bible teaches us that God is to have the preeminence in all things. 

Col 1:18 - That in all things he might have the preeminence.

Everything we do should be about Christ and his glory.

Col 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

In the King James version the word "spoil" is a military term meaning to take captive. When a conquering army won a battle they would "spoil" the defeated enemy, many times taking all their wealth and making them slaves. That is exactly the intent of this spirit in the world today. This spirit wants to make you its slave doing its bidding. Take a look a round and observe how many people you know who are addicted to something. It could be pleasure, substance, power, material possessions, TV, etc. Addictions are everywhere and come in all shapes and sizes! These addictions prevent man from allowing God to have preeminence in his life. 

The way this spirit gains inroads into a person's life is through his mind. We must practice biblical thinking in order to not be taken captive. Jesus was our example while he was on the earth. He fought off the spirit by keeping his mind focused on scripture and the words of His father.

Php 2:5 - Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...

We need to have the mind of Christ in order to have a biblical mindset.

Please Send Flowers

Just this past week a family friend, a man we always called our uncle, died after suffering a long battle with a debilitating bone disease. A few days leading up to his passing the family all began to post funny stories and memories of how he made their lives much richer. It was a very uplifting and enjoyable thing to see.

It got me thinking about the funeral. I won't be able to attend but I am sure there will be heaps of flowers present at the service because he was loved by so many. Those flowers will decorate the occasion and make the grave look beautiful. Each card will come with a note, a sentiment of love and sorrow. Then the flowers will fade away and be forgotten. Don't misunderstand me, I am not against sending flowers for a funeral. I want you to think about this though. Why don't we send flowers (so to speak) while the person is alive? Why don't we send notes of encouragement to the people that have affected our lives as a way of encouragement? Why can't we send a text, shoot an email, tweet, or heaven forbid pick up the phone and actually call the person?

Years ago I heard a sermon preached on this subject and it really hit home with me. I started telling people how much I appreciate the influence they have had in my life through the years. It is not always mushy and dramatic. It is not often very overt and public. But the people that have influenced me the most know what impact they have had.

I have had a few people come to me and say something similar about what I mean to them. It has a profound impact on me. It makes me want to invest my life even more in others. It serves as a motivation for me to be always ready to encourage and edify others.

Now these folks could have waited until my funeral to speak out and tell others what I had done for them, but it would not have blessed me.

My wife is crafty. Or should I have said she is a crafter? She spends hours every week making beautiful cards for birthdays, anniversaries, or just cards of encouragement. She makes and sends close to 200 cards a year to our church family, our missionaries, as well as family and friends. She knows the importance of encouragement.

Who has impacted you? What have they meant to you? Why not send your "flowers" on ahead where they can do the most good?

Post Holiday Blahs

Well the holiday has come and gone. All the decorations are put away. The gifts have been exchanged, opened, enjoyed, and the wrapping paper is in the trash. That highly anticipated thrill has peaked and diminished.

Now what?

Now we have to wait for another year to enjoy this fabulous holiday once more. After all, Valentine's Day only comes round once a year.

What? You thought I was speaking of another holiday?

Why do we wait for Valentine's Day to come around before we demonstrate our love for our mate? Why does it take a holiday (man made by the way) for us to fork over foot rubs, flowers, candy, or some other nicety? Every day should be Valentine's Day in a truly good relationship.

If you think about it, there are real benefits from celebrating this national holiday. Why not enjoy those benefits all the time? Why wait for a whole year to enjoy?

Let's start a new tradition. Why not set aside a day a month to do something special for your spouse? Pick a day (preferably close tom payday) to do something for your mate that says, "Hey, I love you." See if you don't improve your relationship right away. You don't need to spend a lot of money. You don't need to make complicated plans or take complicated trips. Just do something that lets your spouse know that you are thinking about them in a special way. Do this for one year and evaluate the results. If I am wrong I will send you a box of candy! (With prepaid postage of course! What, do you think I am made of money?)

Mercy!

I have been studying the life of Joseph in preparation for preaching a new series. There are many things we can learn from his story. I am so thankful that God has chosen to show us the truth about Bible characters. We see the good along with the bad. They are real to us because we can relate with their inconsistent actions. Yet because of God's mercy we see they were blessed and protected by the hand of the Almighty. I surmise that if God can do it for these guys He can do it for me too.

We know from Joseph's story that he was highly favored of God, given special dreams and revelations, and was elevated to one of the highest positions of authority in one of the world's most powerful nations. And yet, he came out of a dysfunctional family, was boastful about the gifts of God, and may have even antagonized his brothers with boastful claims. Generally speaking a good man? Yes. Perfect? Far from it.

I can't help but recall the verse in Psalm 103:10 - "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."

If God chose to deal with us directly "after our sins" we would all be destined for a Christless eternity in hell. Thats what we deserve for our sins. Romans 6:23 - "The wages of sin is death."

God chose to deal with our sins through Jesus' atoning death on the cross at Calvary. Isaiah 53:6 - "The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Therefore the remaining part of Romans 6:23 says, "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Wow, what a blessed thought. God deals with us in mercy!

Joseph's story is one that portrays great mercy. His brothers sold him into slavery and would have killed him had God not intervened. They intended great evil against him but God in his mercy saved Joseph and eventually used Joseph to save the lives of his brothers and their families.

I am so thankful that God deals with me in mercy and not according to my sins.

Music Fills the Air Again

Since our son JB has been away at college our house had become a little quiet. When he was home JB would practice his guitar for hours on end and fill the house with beautiful music. When he went off to school there was a void around here.

No more!

Micah, our soon to be 14 year old, has been playing the cello and the house is once again filled with music. He is really doing well too. He practices two or three times a day for an hour each time.

Its amazing how music can affect the mood in a house. Its hard to be upset when you are singing or humming along with a song. Try it and see. It just seems to lift the spirits. The Bible speaks of this when it says to speak to yourself in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord (Eph 5:19).

When we lived in Ghana Kim and I built our own house. The entire place was built with hand tools because there was no electricity. The cement blocks were even made by hand. The concrete was mixed by hand and poured one pan full at a time. It was extremely hard and labor intensive. There was a young man we hired who was a carpenter. His name was Vince. He claimed to be a Christian and he loved to talk about his Lord. Vince worked very hard and long hours. Even when he was working hard and drenched in sweat Vince would constantly be singing or whistling as he worked. He was the epitome of a joyful soul. In fact, most of our work crew would sing as they worked. It was really quite a thing to hear and see. I learned a valuable lesson from these men.

Next time you are tempted to be discouraged or upset, sing, or whistle. See if it does not change your attitude a bit. If it works I want you to think of Vince!

Choose Well My Friend

There is a cute commercial airing these days by a cable tv company. It shows a person that makes a bad choice to switch away from the cable company that sets off a chain reaction of events that ends up with a catastrophic result. The commercial is cute, yet poignant.

Has there been a time in your life when you kind of woke up to the realization that things are not going too well? Maybe you are having financial or health problems. Maybe relationships have fallen apart. Have you ever wondered, "How did I get here?" I want to tell you that it probably just didn't happen suddenly. We are a product of the choices we make.

Seldom do things come crashing down around us for no reason. I am aware that sometimes it happens that way. A car accident can change a life. A company can go out of business. There is nothing premeditated or planned about that. Most of our trouble  in life, however, stems from bad decision making. Our health falls apart because we choose to eat poorly or engage in other activities that foster health problems. Our finances crumble because we have never learned the discipline to make good financial decisions. We choose to not humble ourselves and walk away from arguments and strife. When we layer bad decision upon bad decision the result can often be catastrophic.

Maybe right now your life is ok. Maybe you are not in crisis mode. What can we do to prevent future crises? Well, you can't make decisions that have not been presented to you. In other words, you can't do anything about the decisions you will make tomorrow or the next day or the next day. You can only make good decisions at the present moment.

So here is my solution. Make a good decision with the next opportunity. Start now making decisions that will foster better circumstances. Decide right now that you will make a healthy choice in your eating habits. Make a choice that will build a relationship rather than bring strife and division. Choose to be financially responsible. If you start making good choices now you will reap the benefits down the road.

By God's Grace - NO!

There was a man named Paul. He was a mighty man who experienced miracle working power. He was a chosen vessel to be a specially called man to do some very important work for God. He raised the dead, healed the sick, was miraculously swept away and saved from certain danger. There were many things about his life that we would perceive as favored of God.

This man was struck with a malady that he termed a "thorn in the flesh." It troubled him deeply. So deeply in fact he prayed specifically three times for God to remove this thorn from him. God's answer to him was a very blunt - NO. God said that His grace would have to be sufficient for Paul. This very important man who at times selflessly and sacrificially served humanity was told that God would not heal him of this thorn.

As we look at this story with a Biblical viewpoint we learn somethings about the grace of God.

By God’s grace he gives us what we need.
Perhaps Paul heard those words - NO - he remembered the Psalmist when he said, "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." (Psa 84:11) God is a good God that wants us to live abundantly in this world. God blesses his children with all they need live that abundant life.

By God’s grace he withholds what we do not need.
Most of us in America have far more than we need. Most of us in America are trying to get even more than we got! Most of us in America have so much that it weighs us down and keeps us from being used of the Lord they way He would like us to be used. I am reminded of that verse in 2 Tim 2:4 -  "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." Too much stuff tangles us up to the point that we are not ready soldiers.


By God’s grace he withholds that which is not good for us.
We often see things that we really would love to have. Often these things are not necessarily "immoral" or "bad" things. These things can be good things in and of themselves but not be good for us. You see, God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. He sees the big picture while our perspective is limited by time and vantage point. We are here on the earth while God is high above the earth. We are finite (limited in time) while God is infinite. A college professor of mine once made this statement that has stuck with ever since. He said, "To God history is an eternal present." God sees all of eternity at the same time. He knows what we need. He know what we do not need. He knows that if he gave us something (even a good thing) it would adversely affect us and thereby denies that thing to us.

You see, God answers our prayers with a NO because of His grace. God wants the very best for us and by denying our requests he lines things up so that we can receive that very best. So the next time we receive an answer of NO from God - be thankful for His grace in your life.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

The Christmas decorations have been taken down and packed away. There is nary a trace that a holiday even happened around here. I suppose there is a bit of sullenness that accompanies the period of time right after Christmas. After all, Christmas can be such an emotionally stimulating celebration. I mean there is family, and meals (lots of meals!), and gifts, and old Hallmark movies and commercials...well you get the picture.

Emma (L) - Dani (R)

This year was special for our family. We had all five kids including our three married children and their spouses with us. I feel having them all here was the best gift Kim and I could have received. We likely will not enjoy this situation very often since there are those other guys (in-laws) that will require the presence of the kids for the holidays. This year, however, was made even more special because we got to celebrate with two very new granddaughters, Emeilia Grace (Emma born in August) and Christina Ana-Danielle (Dani born in November).

Yes the house was packed. But it was fun. I love the fact that our kids love to be home for the holidays. I love the fact that they laugh and carry on and eat. Then they laugh some more and eat some more. Man can they eat!

There are so many of us that the gift opening becomes a rather chaotic exercise in which we kind of get lost in a sea of wrapping paper. We have a blast enjoying the mess.

I am so thankful God has blessed our family with such a loving spirit.