Reminded of the Enemy

Recently, I was reminded that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ still has a real enemy that is watching very closely and is still very much opposed to any good thing that may happen.

Sometimes, I must admit, even as a pastor, I can get so caught up in doing all the things that the ministry requires (studying, preparing, visiting, counseling, discipling, administration, overseeing, getting a vision, guiding the ship, etc, etc....) that I can easily forget this is no ordinary work that I am involved in... this is spiritual work! A spiritual work that has real life & death consequences... a spiritual work that can't be accomplished without the power of the Living God working in and through me... a spiritual work with a REAL SPIRITUAL ENEMY who desires nothing but to see me fail and to see this church go belly up!

A Doctor doesn't have to think about a real, personal enemy out there who is watching and striving to undo any good that he may do.
A Business man doesn' thave to worry about a real, personal enemy who has work in his own company who is bent on seeing him fail miserably.
Bankers and Lawyers don't even consider in all that they do, that there may just be someone out there who is trying to block, stop, undo, and mess up the work that they are trying to do.
But as a Pastor... as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ... I must remember that all of this work is first of all HIS work, without Whom, everything is in vain anyway. But also, I must remember that I do have a real, personal enemy out there who wants me to fail and who wants to keep the church from doing what God has called us to do at all costs!

2008 Pastors' Conference in Jacksonville, FL

I am currently in Jacksonville, FL attending the 22nd Annual Pastors' Conference. This is actually my first year being here. I've wanted to come for a long time, but never had the opportunity until now. And I must say that I have had a great time so far. For anyone wanting to grow in their faith and to do ministry, this is like Disney World. There are so many good seminars to go to... covering every subject from Preschool to Music to Administration. It is just an awesome learning experience. I have been blessed so much from being here. I appreciate our church so much making it possible for me and Andrea to come and learn. I already have several ideas that are brewing in my mind that I believe will greatly bless our church when I return. If we come back next year, I would love for more of our leaders to join us so that they too can be richly blessed!!

Christianity: Is it your life or just a part of your life?

I know it has been a while since my last entry, but as I'm sure you know (if you know me personally or you read my wife's blog) I have been out of town. But I'm back now, and I wanted to share what God is doing in my life a little bit... maybe to encourage you... maybe to get you thinking... or simply to share what's going on in my heart and mind.

Something that I know (and have known) in my mind for a long time, but need to be reminded of for practical reasons... is that the Christian faith... My Faith... should not be just a part of my life, but in reality IS my life. As a Christian, I am a Christian no matter what... regardless of where I am or who I'm with. I guess I have been thinking about this lately because I have begun to question how I spend my "off" time. For example, what do I do when I go home after dinner, 0r what do I do on my day off, or what is my mind-set when I'm out on a date with my wife.

Now, before you get terribly worried that Pastor Travis is leading a double life and doing horrible things in my free time, I'm not. But in all honesty, there are times when I believe there is too much separation from my ministry or "my job" and the rest of my life. For example, when I go on a date with my wife... am I just as intentional about trying to share my faith and having a witnessing encounter with the waitress in the same way as I would be if I was out to lunch with church member or co-worker? Or when I'm at home after dinner and my kids are in bed, why am I choosing to relax by watching some meaningless, pointless movie that is doing absolutely nothing for me spiritually... as opposed to watching a movie with a Christian message that will encourage me or even sitting down with a great Christian book that will feed my spirit while I relax? How did great men of God in times past relax and unwind, before all the technical luxuries we have today like Direct TV? How did they spend their evenings?

Something I believe that the Lord is reminding me of again is, that it is WAY too easy for anyone in a vocational ministry like myself... to separate my ministry from the rest of my life. I can put in 50 hours of "work" (aka ministry) in a week no problem... and then do absolutely nothing spiritually uplifting for myself or in service for someone else and still think pretty good about myself. "Wow... I put in 50 hours this week... I've spent 20-25 hours in the Word of God, I've spent 7 hours or more prayer... wow, look at me." But wait a minute...what about those other hours... what about all that other time? Why am I compartmentalizing my life? My Faith is all of my life... Jesus Christ is my Total life... not just the 40-50 hours part for which I'm being financially supported for by my church. Why am I not reading my Bible on "my" time? My church members can't read their Bible while they're "working." Why can't I spend time in prayer or in silence before the Lord on "my" time? My church members can't spend time in prayer or in silent meditation if they're busy at their jobs (unless of course, they have a special job). This is something that the Lord is dealing with me about right now.

But what about any of you who are Christians, but are not full time/vocational ministers? Are you compartmentalizng your life? Do you give Jesus Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and thats it? Or if you're really spiritual, Sunday mornings AND Sunday evenings + Wednesday nights... but that's all? What about in your "down" time? What about when you're relaxing in your easy chair? Are you meditating on God, or listening for Him? Or are you just vegging out in front of that one-eyed monster like every other person? Do you have any form of ministry to others outside of the appointed "church" times of Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday nights? Is Jesus really your life or just a part of your life? Just something to think about.

2008 - A New Year - Another Resolution, or Just a Repeat.

Well, it's 2008... another year has come and gone. Wow, time is really flying. Sometimes it really boggles my mind how fast time is moving. I hope I can quickly get to writing "2008." Something kind of funny about that happened to me about 4 months ago. I can't remember what I was signing or where, but when I wrote the date I wrote "2004." Why? I have no idea... all I could do was laugh about it.

So, it's that time of year again... time for new year's resolutions. My new year's resolution isn't really a new one... just a revived one from the past. I need to eat better! No, seriously... I really do. In the past 3 months, I have really let myself go without restraint. In fact, in the last 4 months, since Andrea and I have moved here, I have gained like 6 lbs. Of course, it doesn't help very much when you have a church full of so many good cooks like we do!

But what has really been getting me is a resurgence of fast food, late night snacking, and drinks (like Mt.Dew, Coke, Pepsi, etc.) Back during the summer, I had cut out all 3 of those things except for Sundays, when I allowed myself one free day to eat what I wanted. But the rest of the time, I was incredibly disciplined... and in 3 months time, I had lost like 10 lbs! I really did feel great.

But recently, I've really let myself go... eating burgers and fries 2-3 times a week, snacking on chips, chocolate, peanut butter, and really anything at like 9 or 10 pm at night. And I have virtually stopped drinking water, concerning which I was drinking a gallon per day back in July.

So, there it is... my revived New Year's resolution. I don't look forward to the battle, but I know I really need to do it! Pray for me! :) ... No seriously... pray for me!

"Germy Bugs"

Well, it's 3:2o AM and I'm here typing a blog... why? Because of "germy bugs" as Caleb likes to call them. Last night around 3 am, Caleb came running into our room crying because he had thrown up in his bed and had to again. Well, he only threw up once and then seemed to feel a lot better during the day, though he still didn't have much of an appetite. So, I thought he was all better. But then again tonight around 1:30 AM, the same thing again... he came running to our room again crying because he was sick again. So, right now, he's resting on the couch watching Nemo and trying to go back to sleep while I type this blog (in a different room).

I'm pretty familiar with stomach viruses, especially the 24 hour kind. I probably got one once a year when I was growing up. Seriously, I had them on a regular basis. But I've never seen one like this, where you throw up once... go 24 hours nothing... and then all of a sudden you throw up again. (By the way, if you have weak stomach skip down to the next paragraph). And what really concerns me about this is the nature or consistency of his throw up. Not intending to be too gross... but his didn't look like it came from the stomach, it came from deeper than that... like it should have gone the other way if you know what I mean.

I intend to call the Dr.'s office tomorrow to see if something is going around, and if there is anything to be concerned about. I hate throwing up with a passion, so it breaks my heart to see my little boy hurting like this. I really hope none of the rest of us get it, especially little Taite. Things like this are so much easier to handle when you're able to at least partially communicate with your children.

Can't Judge a Book by its Cover - Literally!!

So, I received this book in the mail today, A New Testment to be specific. It was entitled, "The New Testament: Recovery Version." What was this? I had never heard of it before. So, I read the card that came with it.

"Dear Pastor...
As noted in the preface, the Recovery Version 'embodies extensive research into the meaning of the original text and attempts to express this meaning with English that is to the point, easy to understand, and readable.' Complete with over 9,000 explanatory notes and over 13,000 cross-references, the Recovery Version crystallizes the understanding of the divine revelation possessed by God's people throughout the past centuries."

I thought, "Wow, this sounds pretty good. This must be some new version that really opens up the original languages to the English reader." So, I turned to a very familiar verse John 3:16 and read:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life."
That sounds pretty good. Whoa... wait a minute. Let's reread that. "that everyone who believes into Him..." Now, what does that mean?

Ok, so now I'm officially suspicious. Where did this "new testament" come from? Who published it? It was distributed by "Bibles for America," but I have never heard of them before. But there is another reference... "Living Stream Ministry" But I've never heard of that before either. But then I got a real big clue. In the front of this "new testament" it is written, "outline, footnotes, charts, and references written by: Witness Lee"

For all of you who do not know, Witness Lee is associated with a cult called "The Local Church," which was founded by Watchman Nee. It sounds thoroughly Christian... even on the website, the statement of faith sounds orthodox and true. But that is because they use the same words but change the meanings. When you really dig into what they really believe, you discover that there are some major problems with their teachings.

For example: The Doctrine of God
Their view: They believe in Modalism (Modalism is the teaching that holds that God is not really 3 distinct persons, but only one person who appears to people in different "modes" at different times).
The Truth: Modalism is heresy. God is indeed One God, but is revealed in 3 distinct persons, and has been since all eternity.

Another example: Doctrine of Jesus
Their view: God as a man; after the resurrection He became the Holy Spirit or the "Lord Spirit"
The Truth: Jesus was the God-Man, but he was still distinct from both God the Father and God the Spirit. Jesus did not turn into the Holy Spirit; He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples, while even now He Himself is at the right hand of the Father in glory.


G. Richard Fisher, nicely sums it up in his article, "Watching Out for Watchman Nee"
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/n01.html

A few of the problems in Nee's teachings:

Nee outlines no method of Bible study and interpretation and appears to deny evangelical hermeneutics. In his book Spiritual Authority, he sets himself and his elders up as the unquestionable authorities. By all appearances, Nee saw himself not as a servant but as a guru.

One gets the impression from Nee that the Bible was not nearly as important as Christians generally consider it. In his book The Ministry of God's Word, Nee says, "Words alone cannot be considered God's Word." In this book, Nee becomes very philosophical, mystical and incoherent. He says that only as we deliver the Word in terms of the "reality behind it," using what he calls "Holy Spirit memory" and "presenting the pictures as well as speaking the words" will the words be correct; otherwise they are not real.

Nee overemphasizes emotions. In The Ministry of God's Word, he claims that the effectiveness of a preacher's delivery is a product of his emotions. If a preacher does not feel emotionally charged in delivery, "the Spirit is stuck" and the "Spirit is inevitably arrested," Nee says. He continues, "The Spirit flows through the channel of emotion." Then he arrives at a strange conclusion: "Nose in the Scripture stands for feeling. Smelling is a most delicate act, man's feeling is most delicate." Therefore, Nee says, a preacher in speaking needs to "mix feelings with the words spoken, else his words are dead. If our feeling lags behind, our words are stripped of the spirit." To say as Nee does, on page 210, that the Holy Spirit only rides on feeling is dangerous.

Nee uses terms imprecisely. One example is his writing about a minister's receiving "revelations" in his "Holy Spirit memory" and those revelations being remembered in us by the Holy Spirit. This sort of metaphysical mumbo jumbo is impossible to understand, since there is no direct scriptural reference to a "Holy Spirit memory."

When a Christian begins to see Nee as a guide in determining the value of other Christian writers, or sees Nee's writings as a key to spirituality, that person is headed for trouble. Nee's presuppositions are suspect in light of the Word of God. His books provide grist for cult groups such as The Way, The Alamo Foundation, the Children of God and other groups. The astute believer should watch out for Watchman Nee.

Merry Tossmas

This is pretty good... Check it out.

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000005834.cfm