Monday, January 17, 2011

Too Blunt or Just Honest?

There have been times when I have been accused of being too frank and forthright when speaking with people. I suppose that is true, in fact, I’m sure it is true. Maybe it comes from my relative youthfulness or perhaps it’s just my nature. Either way, it is true. And whether it is considered a vice or virtue, I guess depends on each individual person. Personally, I appreciate frankness in conversation. Having been a pastor now for several years and having been to many conventional meetings and been privy to quite a few discussions, I must say that I get frustrated and exasperated with a lot of double talk or cleverly devised speeches which perhaps give a glimmer of understanding to those in the know, and keeps in the dark those who are not in the know.
I think the real problem these days is that in many people’s opinion, truth is highly overrated. Why should we be worried about the truth as long as everyone is comfortable and feeling good? Why risk offending someone or upsetting the apple cart with truth when everything is moving along like a well-oiled machine? Truth can be so inconvenient and problematic. So, why is truth so important?

First, our God is a God of Truth. Deut 32:4 states, “A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.” Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth….” Even the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of Truth…” in John 14:17. On the other hand, Satan, the enemy of God is said to be devoid of truth and is the father of lies. (John 8:44) So, truth is at the very heart of the character of God, whereas deception and falsehoods characterize our enemy.
But not only is truth at the very heart of the character of God, but truth is also important because truth liberates. It is truth that sets men free in more ways than one. Again, Jesus said in John 8:32, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Truth has a way of breaking the bonds that enslave us, especially the bonds of sin.
Truth not only liberates, but truth also sanctifies. In fact, before ascending back to His Father, Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” Truth not only frees us, it makes us clean and holy. Truth helps us to get rid of the vile junk in our hearts and lives and conforms us more and more into the image of Christ. We desperately need the truth of God’s word and loving brothers and sisters who will love us enough to speak it to us.

And finally, truth unites. Truth is the only enduring, unshakable foundation upon which real and legitimate unity can be established. As Paul told the Ephesians, “There is one body and one Spirit,…one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;” (Eph 4:4-5). To attempt to establish unity upon any other ground is to build on shifting sands.

So, can I be too frank or to blunt sometimes? I’m sure I can be. However, I would much rather err on the side of being too straightforward than to one day stand before my Lord, and have to answer for being deceptive and misleading because I did not speak more plainly the truth. Should truth be spoken in love? Absolutely, but it still must be spoken. May we endeavor to always be a people who hold to truth with the utmost steadfastness, and may West End Baptist Church always be known as a true church of the living God, “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1 Tim.3:15)

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2011- New Year's Resolution

This year my biggest new year's resolution is to do a better job in leading my family in the worship of God. For years I have struggled to have regular devotions with the family with little success. The consistency was just not there. Looking back on it, I probably underestimated the spiritual battle that I was facing in trying to actually lead my family in worship.

But this year I'm more determined than ever. By God's grace, I AM going to lead our family in taking time to focus on God daily. My plan was to simply use the M'Cheyne Reading plan and simply read one chapter a day with the family. But after thinking through this a little, reading through an entire chapter straight from the Bible, which is written on a high school reading level, I thought this might be tortuous for my 6 and 4 year old. So instead, what I started doing about a week ago was reading through the Bible and breaking up the chapters into small "bitesize" chunks. And then from that, having a few questions for the kids about the content of the passage, along with one or two truths that we can glean from the passage. And then to finish it, I have a suggested prayer which is based on the Scripture reading. For any adult this would sound very elementary, but for a 6 and 4 year old, I think this will work out nicely. (Below is a sample of the Family Devotional)

The other thing I want to do regarding the family and worship is to have a special time on Saturday night in which we read the Bible, sing, pray, etc in order to prepare our hearts for going to worship the next day. I confess that I was inspired in this direction from a wonderful book that Andrea and I are reading entitled, Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship. We want to really train our children to really worship the Lord, to really look forward to going to worship and participating with the family of God. And for families with children, preparing on Saturday night in spiritual & practical ways, it simply is a must. So that when Sunday morning comes, we all can be in the right frame of mind, rather than being rushed, frazzled, and frustrated.

So, that is my biggest new year's resolution this year. The other one is to be more consistent in blogging. Not that I don't write enough in my job, but I think blogging or journaling can also a good spiritual discipline.

Sample
Jan. 2 – Gen 2:1-3
Questions to ask the children.
1. What did God do on day seven? (He rested)
2. Did God need to rest? (No.)
3. So, what does it mean that God rested? (He stopped working because His work was complete).
4. And what does the Bible say God did to the seventh day?
(He blessed it and sanctified it; i.e. made it holy or special)

What truth(s) can we glean from this passage?
God demonstrated for us that rest is good and appropriate. God knows how much we need rest and time to worship Him. This is why He provided one day out of seven to be a special day of rest and worship. So important was it, that He included it in His Ten Commandments. (Ex. 20:8-11)

Suggested Prayer
Dear God, thank you for giving us a special day each week to rest and worship you. Help us to keep it each week in a way that honors You and blesses us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.