Pastor Bob’s Blog

Last Sunday a wonderful family visited Abundant Life Church.  What struck me was how straight they had their priorities.

They’re weighing several job offers in different towns, including Athens.  Instead of jumping on the highest paying offer, or the one with the best benefits, or the one with the most impressive title, they’re looking for the  church God has called them to, and will take the job that’s in that town.

If they’re called to our church family, great!  If not, we’ve still been blessed with the opportunity to see how a job search is supposed to be conducted.  As Kenneth Copeland has taught for years, find the church God’s called you to, go there and roll your sleeves up, and the job of your dreams will follow.

My prayer for this family is that they be led by the wisdom of God to the church they’re called to.  Once they’re involved there, they can’t help but prosper!

To anyone who follows my blog, I pray you’ll have a very happy Thanksgiving.

We had a powerful Holy Spirit moment at church on Sunday.  A member of our worship team had gotten revelation as she was preparing to come to church that each time she takes a breath, the Lord is breathing life into her.  Isn’t that awesome?

So as you take a breath, say, “Thank you Lord for giving me breath.”  Feel your heartbeat, and say, “Thank you Lord for my heartbeat.”  Think of the hand that’s covering your heart, and say, “Thank you Lord for my hands.”  Remember the ears that are hearing what you say, and say, “Thank you Lord for my ears.”  Then be aware your mouth is speaking the words you hear, and say, “Thank you Lord for my mouth.”  Your brain is helping you form the words, so say, “Thank you Lord for my brain.”  Your eyes are taking in all around you, so say, “Thank you Lord for my eyes.”  You’re standing on your two feet, so say, “Thank you Lord for my feet.”  If you’re a born-again Spirit-filled believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, say, “Thank you Lord for saving me and for filling me with your Spirit.”

And remember that your breath, your heart, your hands, your ears, your eyes, your mouth, y our brain, and your feet are instruments of worship and of ministry.  So say, “Thank you Lord for letting me minister in Your Name.”

So rejoice - and be thankful!!

Yesterday we witnessed one of the marvels of the American republic.  Although they differ on almost every issue of importance, President Bush and President-Elect Obama met to discuss the orderly, peaceful transfer of power on January 20.  It is one of the blessings the Lord has given us, to hand off authority without bloodshed.

Many evangelical Christians are wary of the president-elect.  Some of his vocal supporters pushed an agenda of unrighteousness, and the positions Mr. Obama took during the campaign seemed to mirror that agenda.

I don’t want to minimize the apparent differences we have with his stated opinions on issues of life and righteousness.  We need to be vigilant.  Yet we must also be mindful that God is still on the throne, and His Word says that the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and that He turns it (the king’s heart) wherever He wills.  (Proverbs 21:1).

We also must be mindful of this admonition:  “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”  (Acts 23:5 NKJV).  In that passage, the Apostle Paul had just spoken some strong words to Ananias, not knowing he was the high priest.  The words of Exodus 22:28 leapt to Paul’s lips, just as they should to ours.

Let’s also remember this.  During the years of his ministry, the Apostle Paul was living under the ungodly pagan authority of the Roman empire.  Wickedness in Roman society and among Roman leaders was no less prevalent than it is today.  Yet the Apostle Paul wrote this to the church at Rome, the seat of the empire’s authority:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  (Romans 13:1 NKJV).

We have marching orders straight from the Word of God:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV).

Let us pray that the Lord turn the president-elect’s heart to rule righteously in the fear of the Lord.  Let us pray that he selects godly counselors.  Let us pray that the Lord give the president-elect and his advisors the wisdom of God.  Let us pray that the Lord give this nation and the church peace, quiet, and prosperity, and that we may live godly and honestly without interference from our government.  Let us pray that in the next four years a revival of the gospel sweep this nation, and that many people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

At all times - first of all - let us pray!  And when we pray, let’s pray in faith, not doubting, but believing we receive.  Pray!

For some time now, messages preached on Sunday have been available on our web site (theabundantlifetoday.org) a day or two later.  They’re still there, but you can now subscribe to a podcast and have them delivered automatically when you open iTunes on your computer.

The podcast is known on iTunes as The Abundant Life Today.  In iTunes, you can search for “abundant life today,” and look for a little picture of me (you might have to click on “see all” to find it).  When you find it, click on “subscribe.”  When you sync your iPod with iTunes, the podcast will be loaded onto your iPod.  How cool is that?  God’s word in a portable audio format.

Wouldn’t it be great if God had a podcast?  Each time I’ve read the accounts of God’s giving the engineering instructions to Noah for building the ark, and of His giving the instructions for building the temple, I’ve thought how overwhelming that would have been to remember all the details.  Or think what it would have been like to be one of the prophets who had to deliver a precise word from the Lord.  In any of those accounts, wouldn’t it have been great to sync your iPod and be able to listen to the instructions or the word all over again?

I spoke again with Van Crouch yesterday.  He was in great spirits.  His recovery has been miraculous - bless the Lord!!  He says he is now (11 days after surgery) where he was expected to be at six weeks, if I understood him correctly.

Not surprisingly, he had a funny story.  While he was in the hospital, he was pretty well sedated.  Before he was discharged, he had to complete some paperwork.  A few days after being discharged, he had a visit from someone he thought was going to talk with him about home healthcare.  They talked for a bit, but she just stared at him.  Finally, she asked him, “Are you terminally ill?”  Surprised, he said, “Oh goodness no.  I just had knee replacement surgery.”  She shook her head because she was from hospice.  Apparently, as he filled out the paperwork under the sedation, he checked that he wanted to talk with someone about “hospice” instead of “home healthcare.”

Rev. Crouch’s rapid recovery is to the praise and glory of the Lord!

Those of you who were in church on Sunday know that Rev. Van Crouch was having knee replacement surgery on Monday morning.  I spoke with him this evening.  He answered the phone in his hospital room, “Maternity Unit.  Dr. Crouch speaking.”  Needless to say, he’s maintained his sense of humor.  We chatted for a bit, he told a joke, and we said our goodbyes.

The bottom line is that he’s doing great - all to the glory of God.

This morning I read with both sorrow and determination a story on the front page of The Columbus Dispatch.  It reported the results of a large study of religious beliefs held by people in the United States.  The study was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Society.  What were the results?

Seventy percent of Americans believe there are many paths to eternal life, not just the way of their own belief.  For Christians, that alone should be cause for concern and kindle our desire to evangelize.  What really struck me, though, was that fifty-seven percent of self-described Evangelical Christians also believed the “many paths” deception.  The percentage was higher in mainline denominations.

Jesus couldn’t have made it much clearer.  He told His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6 NKJV).  Jesus didn’t identify several ways.  He said He was the only way.  He told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  (John 3:3 NKJV).

John was the disciple who had the clearest revelation of the love of God.  He’s the one to whom Jesus entrusted His mother when He hung on the cross.  By the Spirit of God, John wrote this:  “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”  (1 John 4:14-16 NKJV).  Because God loves us, He made one path - Jesus - for us to walk to be saved, to fellowship with Him, to be part of His family.

The great Apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, gave us the roadmap to God:  “. . . if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  (Romans 10:9 NKJV).

Will all those Christians who believe people can get to heaven without Jesus lose their salvation?  Not if they believe Jesus is the son of God, if they have made Him their Lord, and if they believe in their hearts God raised Jesus from the dead.  No, they’ll make it to heaven.

But if we followers of the Lord Jesus Christ don’t believe what Jesus said, we will not have the fervor to speak the truth to our family, to our neighbors, to our co-workers, and to others who are destined to perish eternally.  It’s so much easier to flow along with the society around us than to swim upstream with the truth.

If we believe people can be saved by being a good person, or by praying to some great universal spirit, or by walking in the woods and experiencing good karma, or by affiliating with a false god, then we relieve ourselves of the pressing business of sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God and making disciples of those around us. If we really love our family, our neighbors, our co-workers, and others we come into contact with, we’ll want to tell them the truth.  We’ll want them to know that without Jesus, they’re lost.  We’ll want them to know that no one is in hell because he’s a bad person, a murderer, a rapist, a liar, a cheat, a drug dealer or user, or an adulterer, any more than anyone is in heaven because he’s a good person, has been faithful to his spouse, did lots of good deeds, took a bath at least once a week, went to church, or prayed to some universal spirit.

No!  As Christians, we’ll want to tell people the good news that God loves them, that He’s not red-in-the-face angry with them, and that the only sin that is keeping them out of the kingdom of God is the sin of rejecting the one way - Jesus.  Once they’ve been born again, and become new creations in Christ Jesus, God will help them break free from their sin and live holy lives - just like He did and does for us.

I can hear it now:  “But that’s so narrow-minded.”  Hey, I didn’t create the universe, I didn’t make the rules, and I didn’t write the Bible.  Jesus Himself said:  “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  (Matthew 7:13-14).

Imagine your dearest friend is drowning, and is being swept along by a rapid river.  You have it within your power to extend a securely fastened vine to your friend.  You cry out to your friend, “Grab the vine and I’ll pull you in.”  But to your horror, your friend bypasses your secure vine to grab a little limb, believing it is as secure as your vine.  The limb gives way, sending your friend to a watery death.  Would it be your fault that your friend didn’t grab your secure vine?  No.  Were you narrow for only offering the vine?  No!  Would you be grieved that the friend perished because he believed that there were many ways to be saved, including an insecure limb?  Yes!

How do you suppose our Heavenly Father feels when so many are lost in the deception that there are many paths to Him - especially when His children believe it and are telling those drowning in their sin that they can grab on to insecure branches instead of the One Secure Vine?

Pastors, we need to do a better job of teaching this to our churches.  Those fifty-seven percent of evangelical Christians and the rest of the Body of Christ need to hear the truth from the pulpit.  Then all of us as believers in the Lord Jesus need to rekindle our passion for souls, to turn the tide of what the Pew Forum study shows.  We need to share the good news!!

A few years ago, my wife and I got to know a wonderful student at Ohio University named Jen.  She was active leading Bible studies for Campus Crusade for Christ, she worked for our law firm (yes, I’m a lawyer and a pastor), and she babysat our daughter.  After graduation, Jen moved to France to teach, and has since moved to Japan.  Jen’s blog has allowed us to keep track of this remarkable young woman even though she’s halfway around the globe!

What’s that have to do with anything?  Just as Jen’s blog allows her to stay in touch with countless friends around the world, my prayer is that this blog will help me fulfill the call the Lord has placed on my life - way beyond the sound of my physical voice.  As a pastor and teacher, I’m responsible for training ministers - the saints in my church.  (Ephesians 4:11-12).  Also, before He left earth destined for His seat at the right hand of the Father, Jesus commanded us all to make disciples of all the nations.  If a little blog can help me to train ministering saints and to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the nations - without ever leaving Athens -  then let’s blog on!

As I blog, my prayer is the same as David’s:  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditaiton of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”  (Psalm 19:14 NKJV).