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Articles from September 2014

53 Years

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GEToday is my parents’ 53 wedding anniversary.

It is clearer to me today than ever before of what a picture of enduring love looks like.

It’s more romantic than storybook fables and youthful infatuation filled with dreams of grandeur.

It’s more romantic than a white picket fence around a dream house.

It’s more romantic than a passport filled with vacations stamps from get-a-way locations around the world.

It’s like this picture… A picture of two real people. Two real people who have sought to live their days in the light of gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Two people bound by a covenant they made to each other and guarding that union to let no one tear apart or destroy. Two people obeying their God for better or worse, in sickness or good health, regardless of riches or poverty. A man and a woman following through to completion of what God joined together.

Happy Anniversary.

For the Furtherance of the Gospel

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God sovereignly and supernaturally supervises all seasons of suffering in our lives for His glory for the furtherance of the Gospel and the encouragement of other believers.

Join me on September 26, 2014 at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Twin Falls, Idaho at noon as churches gather together to pray for pastor Saeed and the persecuted church. May the Gospel go forth.

“…that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,  and that most of the brethren , trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment , have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.” (Phil 1:13-14 NASB)

  “Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol , behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.”
(Psalm 139:7-12 NASB)

#FreeSaeed #Pray4Saeed

#pray4saeed

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SilasJailPrayer Vigil
Noon on Friday, September 26, 2014
Lighthouse Christian Fellowship
Twin Falls, Idaho

Join me in prayer for Saeed Abedini, American pastor jailed in Iran for past two years. Christians in the Twin Falls area are invited to devote the lunch hour on Friday, September 26 as a time of prayer. The community will gather at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship at noon on September 26 for prayer. If you are unable to attend, please consider gathering with other believers in your workplace and pray for the persecuted church around the world while asking God to give strength and boldness to the suffering saints, enduring the shame of the cross.

#FreeSaeed #Pray4Saeed

Message from Naghmeh Abedini

May the gospel go forth! There is more information here about location and times of prayer vigils in your community or how to organize one if there is not one already scheduled.

Praying

contact me for more information.

Divorce, A Financial Drain on Local Governments

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CitizenLink reports that “family breakdown” costs taxpayers approx $112 billion per year in America. Read that sentence again…

That’s $1 trillion per decade.

Part of this financial burden on the government comes from professing born-again believers. I respect that there are real people with aching pain walking through some of their darkest days. When there is a lack of biblical preaching on this matter we should not be surprised that the financial expense on the court would be drastically increased.

What if the church spoke into this matter with care and boldness once again?

There’s no doubt the taxpayer will have a bill to pay as the family continues to breakdown. But what if the church took responsibility of this critical matter? What if the state let churches issue their own marriage licenses and divorce had to be achieved through the church where the marriage took place?

At least the church would no longer be a financial burden to taxpayers for marriages they performed. Marriages would have increased accountability. Churches would have increased responsibility. Government could spend money on civic needs rather than paying the ever increasing bill of “family breakdown”.

Can you imagine if just Christians stopped divorcing… not that that is a radically biblical expectation. The financial burden on the taxpayer is among the last reasons for the church to put greater investment into family strength, but it is at least a reality of the day we are in where family breakdown is showing to be a great burden.

The primary reason for the church to always speak into this matter is because this godly relationship is ordained of God as a representation of the Gospel.

Hey, husband and wife, this is a good day to speak the Gospel into your community by not being a financial burden to your fellow taxpayers.

 

Three Minutes To Get Their Attention

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DirectMailMail targeted to pastors is among the most interesting advertisements I get. Likely because I’m a pastor. It is interesting how direct marketing really is direct. I just received an advertisement claiming that “70% of people give a preacher 3 minutes or less to get their attention.”

Wow, that’s a lot of pressure.

It’s possible that’s true. I don’t find any science data to back up this claim, but if it’s true, what should I do? Show a clip from a popular movie? Tell a story? Give every one in the audience a $5.oo bill? Or maybe as Martin Luther was once pressured to tap a good barrel of beer so people would come with all their hearts and hear?

I suppose every public speaker should give careful consideration to how they speak. I want to be a clear communicator and help the listener hear and engage with God. But not as a circus leader.

On to the better news of this direct mail… If it only takes three minutes to get their attention, it won’t matter if I preach for 45 – 50 minutes this coming Sunday.

I like Luther’s reaction to people pressuring him to give them what they want… “The gospel is like unto the rain which, falling upon a river, produces little effect; but descending upon a dry, thirsty soil, renders it fertile.”

 

The Sock Monkey

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the mirror sock

The next time you have a craving for Chunky Monkey ice cream be sure to stop by the Sock Monkey first and get you a pair of socks to keep you warm while enjoying said ice cream. I’ve shared a link to the Sock Monkey before but now he’s been published. Check in on the “mirror sock” .

 

Free Will

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Why don’t we call it what it is? “subverted, perverse, fickle, wavering…” I know why, Free-will sounds so much more attractive to our subverted, perverse, fickle, wavering, sinful nature.

“The very name, Free-will, was [extremely unpleasant] to all the Fathers. I, for my part, admit that God gave to mankind a free will, but the question is, whether this same freedom be in our power and strength, or no? We may very fitly call it a subverted, perverse, fickle, and wavering will, for it is only God that works in us, and we must suffer and be subject to his pleasure. Even as a potter out of his clay makes a pot or vessel, as he wills, so it is for our free will, to suffer and not to work. It stands not in our strength; for we are not able to do anything that is good in divine matters.”

Martin Luther – Table Talk

Katherine Von Bora

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The first of “50 People Every Christian Should Know”, Warren Wiersbe publishes a short biographical sketch of Katherine von Bora. I did not recognize the name immediately, but within moments I recalled the beloved wife of that courageous reformer, Martin Luther. I enjoyed the short essay on Katherine more than I first expected. I expect that there is more to the great reformer in Katherine than is commonly known.

In this biography, Wiersbe addressed Luther’s love for Katherine as an adoring kind of love. If you’ve ever read a biography on Martin Luther you would recall that he was likely a difficult man to get along with. Making the relationship with Katherine endearing.

Because Luther refused to receive money from books, Katherine accepted that she would likely live in some level of poverty. When they met, Luther was already in trouble with the Roman Catholic Church for his teaching and publications that called the pope into question and the churches methodology as in conflict with Scripture.

Katherine was a manager of Luther’s affairs with care and dignity. She was a productive gardener. She managed a successful farmers market of sorts that helped her barter for other needs the family needed.

Katherine not only took care of their children, but also extended family’s children and others in the community. Luther regularly had other ministers living in their home as well.

The Table Talk of Martin Luther, is still among the most successful publications of Luther over the years. It is largely a collection of conversations between Martin and Katherine around the table at meal time. I have just started reading it.

It must have been a complicated thing to be married to such a man as Martin Luther. Wiersbee, shared some insightful conversations between them.

Luther about Katherine: “Have I not at home a fair wife, or shall I say boss?”

His nickname for Katherine was, “Kitty, my rib.”

They regularly bantered about the timing of meals and the food getting cold. Katherine would say; “Doctor, why don’t you stop talking and eat?” He would often reply, “I wish women would repeat the Lord’s Prayer before opening their mouths.” All sources lead one to believe that Martin Luther adored his “Kitty, my rib.” All sources lead one to believe that Kitty loved Martin.

I’m glad to know more of Katherine von Bora. She’s an example of a godly woman. You should get to know about her too.

Katharina-von-Bora

A Word to Husbands

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Of all the instructions in the New Testament about marriage, no where is a wife commanded to “love her husband.” It would be wrong for a wife not to love her husband, but we only find the command verbalized to men. Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives…”

For a man to neglect his duty of loving his wife is first a dishonorable act against God. But, not only is it dishonorable to God, it is disruptive to his wife, it causes confusion in the home, and it leaves the Lord’s church anemic, powerless.

I recently read an updated version of William Gouge’s book, Building a Godly Home. In it, William Gouge examined the duties of men and women in the marriage. This powerful exhortation was an influence on my message Sunday night at the Southern Idaho Bible Lecture Series hosted at Eastside Baptist Church.

It’s important that men hear this and hear this often. Husbands, love your wives. Be watchful over your household, men. Have a high minded view of your wife, not a worshiping view, an affectionate view. She has a role of submission, give long-suffering affection as one equal in many respects, but in her state of office, subordinate.

A corrupt view of this is for a husband to think of his wife as second in class or inferior in status. It is neither. It is one of duty. A wife has a duty, a husband has a duty, children have a duty. These duties are not about chores, they are more about affection for the other and the duty each has before God. If affection is absent from a husband toward his wife he will likely give his affection to another.

Here are some practical ways husband can show their love to their wives.

  • Husband, you must be kind and thoughtful to your wife. Not effeminate, because you are masculine. Not brutish, because she is feminine.
  • Husband, you must be courteous to your wife. Say thank you and please, often.
  • Husband, you must reject being aloof. Be personal and engaging. look your wife in the eyes when you talk to her.
  • Husband, you must be humble. Not fake and patronizing, genuinely humble.
  • Husband, consider your wife first. She must get your first, best and engaging time.
  • Husband, you must not lord over your wife with unfair demands and strictness.
  • Husband, encourage your wife in good things.
  • Husband, don’t discourage your wife with ingratitude.
  • Husband, instruct your wife in private and exhort her in public.
  • Husband, give helpful instruction to your wife. Don’t shy away from addressing your wife about her clothing and presentation. She may need to hear from you that she is showing too much sensual skin. She may need to know from you that her Facebook profile picture is too sultry and inviting. She may need to be talked to about how she interacts with others in her social practices.
  • Husband, don’t make your wife go to many social events without you. If at all possible help meet her social needs with you present.
  • Husband, treat your wife with respect.

I like to put it this way: No other man gets the chance to win my wife’s heart, no one.

There are more intelligent men than me, but no other man gets a chance to win her heart with his intelligence. There may be funnier men than me, she may laugh with others but no man gets a chance to win my wife with laughter. There are surely more romantic men than me, but no man, in real life or fiction, will overtake my wife with romance. There are kind men all around, but no man wins her heart because he’s more kind than me toward her. There are generous men around her, but no generosity is greater than mine toward her. There are poetic men, but no poet wins her.

Because I’m commanded to love her, I put my best attention toward her in this matter. That means, I’m the most romantic book she’s ever read, I’m more generous toward her than anyone she knows, I strive to cause laughter and joy in conversation and experiences in life, I’m the poet who woes her with roses and violets.

Husbands, provide for your wife. Provide for her spiritually, emotionally, socially, mentally, and physically.

You do this til you die! Now, go love your wife.

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