The Cross

2 Corinthians 5.21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The cross exposes the true nature of sin. When we see the perfectly innocent Son of God being tortured on a cross, we must realize that something is seriously wrong with us. Sin reached it’s climax at the cross. There the human heart was laid bare and its corruption fully exposed. The cross demonstrates that sin is not to be taken lightly. We can’t just dismiss or hide behind excuses. Sin is a very serious matter to God. He didn’t wink at sin or pretended it was insignificant. It cost the life of His one and only Son. Lord Jesus, Thank you for your love and sacrifice. Thank you for forgiving me of all of my sin. Thank you for your righteousness. I trust in you and no one else. There is none like you. Amen!

The Baptism of Paul Harvey

Years ago the Guidepost Magazine printed an article titled “My Quiet Heart.” In the article, the famous radio legend Paul Harvey described his baptism. I liked it. Maybe you will too. Paul Harvey writes … “Seemingly, I had everything for which a man could ask. Everything, that is, except a quiet heart. Something was missing. This emptiness was still within. March of last year Angel and I were vacationing in Arizona, and one Sunday morning decided to attend services in a small church on a hilltop. Inside were a dozen or so worshipers on wooden, folding chairs, a scene reminiscent of ones I had seen many times as a youth. ... The minister preached about baptism, and my attention began to focus on the simple eloquence of this country preacher. I twisted in my chair. "Submission to God" the minister said. He asked those who wanted to be baptized to join him. I found myself by his side. The preacher said there was nothing magical about the water. Yet as I descended into its depths and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened. A cleansing inside and out. No longer were there two Paul Harveys – just one happy one. I felt the fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit. Afterward I cried like a baby. I looked at Angel and her eyes were shining. The change in my life since this simple act has been indescribable.”

I love my guitar

I love my guitar. Brian Paterson and I played tonight. He came to the office and recorded my song on his 6-track recorder. It's a song I wrote about 15 years ago called Country Feeling (It's going to be a big, big hit some day). It was fun recording it. We smiled and laughed as we played around with the effects on his recorder. Then we took turns playing. Brian is very good. I like to watch him play because I learn from him. We played some Christian music and yes, we did play a little Led Zepplin (but we didn't think about the words). It is 1am and I am wide awake. I've been in the garage playing my guitar. When I was a teenager I used to play till my fingers bled. I would play all night long. I can't do that anymore but I still love to play.

The Whisper Test

In "The Whisper Test," Mary Ann Bird writes: I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. When schoolmates asked, "What happened to your lip?" I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me. There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored -- Mrs. Leonard by name. She was short, round, happy -- a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test. ... Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back -- things like "The sky is blue" or "Do you have new shoes?" I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, "I wish you were my little girl." God says to every person deformed by sin, "I wish you were my son" or "I wish you were my daughter."

Legalism does not make you more spiritual, it makes you more sinful.

Romans 7.7b-11 7b I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. Notice v.7 says the law has a legitimate purpose. It reveals sin. It defines sin e.g., I wouldn’t have known what coveting was if I didn’t know commandment #10 “Do not covet”. I may have thought coveting was a virtue rather than a vice if the law did not forbid it. So the law was needed to give us clear instruction. But, something sinister happens that the same time. Sin exploits the law. For example, I was walking up the stairs in Harris Hall at Marshall University and saw a sign which said “DO NOT TOUCH, WET PAINT.” What did I do? I reached out and touch it and it was wet. When the law forbids something it arrouses my interest and I want to do it even more. Sin is personified in Romans. Sin is a force, it is a principle. Sin is a law at work in the members of our body. Sin exploits, it seizes opportunities. Sin springs to life. Paul is not talking about sins (plural). He’s talking about sin (i.e., our sinful nature). The legalist misses that and focuses on a list of sins (plural). They say don’t do this or don’t do that. Don’t drink, don’t dance, don’t chew or go with girls that do. This just arouses more sin and creates more problems. Legalism does not make you more spiritual, it makes you more sinful. It puts you in bondage to the law of sin and death. Sin is a dynamic force that seizes the opportunity afforded by the commandment and produces in me ever kind of covetous desire. So the law not only reveals sin, it revs up sin! When the commandment comes sin springs to life and I die. What I thought would bring life actually brought death. That’s why we need to rely on the Spirit and not on flesh (or willpower). If we walk in the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of our sinful nature. We have been released from the law so that we can serve in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the written code. God said “I’ll put my law on your hearts. And I’ll write them on your minds. I’ll take that heart of stone out of you and I’ll put a new heart in you that is sensitive and tender. And I’ll put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Magic Elevator

An Amish boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again. The boy asked, "What is this, Father?" The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't know what it is." While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, an elderly lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then as these numbers began to light in reverse order. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24 year old woman stepped out. The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son, "Quick!! Go get your Mother."

Disconnected

As I was traveling to Columbus I was talking to my kids on the cell phone and we were disconnected. I hated that feeling. I couldn’t wait to get back in range for my cell so I pulled off the road and called them back from a pay phone. Dads can be physically, emotionally, or spiritually disconnected from their children. It’s an awful feeling. What do you do when you get disconnected? You get back on the phone and try to reestablish communication. I want to be physically present, emotional available, and spiritually connected to my children.

If you don’t talk to yourself your self will start talking to you

Romans 6.11 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The word “count” means to consider. Believe it! You are really dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Count on it. Think about it. Talk to yourself when you are tempted to sin. Say to yourself, “I died to my sinful nature. I can’t live this way anymore. I am a new person with a new life. I belong to Jesus.” You must to go on pressing yourself and talking to yourself saying “I know who I am. I am God’s child.” Keep talking to yourself. Be vigorous and relentless in your thought life. Consider yourself dead to sin. Talk out loud if you have to! I have become increasingly aware of the power of thoughts through my training and clinical experience with Cognitive Behavior Therapy. When I am upsetting myself with disturbing thoughts I sometimes say aloud “Tell me something good.” Most of the time this is an automatic response and I’m not aware I am doing talking out loud. It is kind of weird if you are standing beside me. I had to explain it to my children but they still think it’s a little strange. The other day I was upsetting myself with worrisome thoughts and I said “Tell me something good.” Shayna overheard me and said, “I love you Dad.” I said, “Thank you Shayna that is something really great for me to think about.” If you don’t talk to yourself your self will start talking to you. Your old self will start saying things like “It’s really not that bad. Other people do worse things. Nobody will find out. God will forgive me. It’s all under grace.” These thoughts will make you vulnerable to sin. So take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5). If you don’t think by design you will think by default and your old sin nature will take over your heart and mind. That’s why your have to count yourself dead to sin.

Starbucks with Fred

I went to Starbucks this morning. Fred Peatros and I met and talked about anything and everything. I love talking to Fred.

Caller I.D.

We were in a restaurant in D.C. when a cell phone rang. It was a man’s phone at the table next to us. He looked at the number on caller ID. I could tell he didn’t want to accept the call by the look on his face. I thought he was going to let it go into voicemail but he finally answered with an unenthusiastic “hello”. I’ve seen other people check the caller ID and answer on the first ring with an enthusiastic “Hi Sweetheart! I’m so glad you called!” If you know someone who is reluctant to accept your calls when they see your number on Caller ID try this. Dial *67 and then dial their number. When the call goes through your number will show up as an “unidentified number.” They will think it’s somebody important and answer it. I’m so glad that we don’t have to play those games with God. God always answers on the first ring and he is so happy to hear from us. He never lets it go into voice mail. You always have a direct line to God. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Landslide

I just learnend Landslide. Two songs in one night. I love it! The girls are still not asleep. They are talking in the tent.

Fleetwood Mac

I was strumming my guitar tonight and heard it - Fleetwood Mac's Leather and Lace. It's a great song and so easy to play. It's amazing how three simple chords with words can be so good. I just need Stevie to sing it with me. I love to play the guitar and sing. I play a little almost every day. There was a time when I stopped playing. But ever since Brian Patterson got me a new guitar - I play daily. I am learning some Christian songs but I still like other types of music. I still love Rock and Roll. I play for my wife and kids. I play for my small group. And once a month I play for patients on the 5th floor of St. Mary's Hospital. I just enjoy playing no matter where I am. I played Leather and Lace 25 times tonight on the back porch. I just play it over and over until it feels natural. I like it like that.

Happy Birthday Amber!

We celebrated Amber’s 13th Birthday party today. There are 8 girls camping out in the back yard in a tent and I’m sleeping on the back porch. Amber had a great party. She got nice presents. We laughed and played games. My favorite was when we played Flashlight Tag and Ten Can Alley. It was a great time. We love Amber so much. We love Tori and Shayna. God has bless us and we are happy!

42 Kids Mauled by Two Bears

A bald headed DJ introduced Grand Funk Railroad last night. A comedian dressed like Barney Fife made everybody laugh when he cracked a joke about the bald headed DJ saying "He used to use head and shoulders but now he uses mop and glow!" Everybody laughed. The DJ laughed - we all did. One time children laughed at Elisha's bald head and two bears mauled them. Here is the story. 2 Kings 2.23-25 23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. When I get to heaven I'm going to ask God why.

AA meetings and the 12 Steps

Great meeting tonight. God saved me and sent me to AA to get sober and stay sober. My friends in AA are open and real. They talk about their problems. AA is not just about drinking, it's about thinking. Its about life! The twelve steps are my road to recovery. I recommend them as a road map to recovery from whatever you are struggling with. Since you may not struggling with alcohol I substituted the word "sin" for "alcohol" and "Jesus Christ" for “a Power greater than ourselves” because Jesus Christ is my Lord. Below are the twelve steps we use in recovery. 1. We admitted we were powerless over sin – that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that Jesus Christ could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to sinners, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. These are the steps I took and I continue to work the maintenance steps (steps 10-12). I feel so much better today because Jesus Christ set me free.

Grand Funk Railroad

Allen (my brother-in-law) and I went to see Grand Funk tonight in Ashland. It was great being with Allen and we both enjoyed the show.

The Wrath of God

I heard about some men who were hunting in the prairies of the western plains. In the distance they saw a prairie fire approaching them. A strong wind was blowing their direction and the flames were traveling across the prairie at great speed. They could not out run the fire. So one of them bent down with a match and set fire to the prairie – he burned out a great big circle. Then hunters stood in the burned out spot and when the prairie fire reached them they escaped the flames. When you come to the cross you are standing in a place where the wrath of God has already burned. Jesus absorbed the wrath of God. So as long as you are near the cross you are safe from the wrath to come.

The Perfect Man

The girls and I went to the movies this evening and saw a chic flick - "The Perfect Man" starring Hillary Duff and Heather Locklear. We enjoyed the movie. We've done a lot of things together during the past week and a half. I have enjoyed every minute.

My favorite book is Romans

Paul’s letter to the Romans is a Christian manifesto. Its influence has been tremendous throughout the history of the church. Romans influenced early church fathers such as Augustine and great reformers like Knox and Calvin. Martin Luther called Romans “the purest gospel.” When I was 18 I felt that God wanted me to preach to gospel. I went to college to study the Bible at David Lipscomb University. At that time I thought that my salvation depended upon me. I became discouraged and fearful because I was not able to keep God’s law. I felt so much guilt and shame that I was spiritually paralyzed. One evening I drove outside Nashville in the country and went up an old dirt road. I got out of the car, closed the door, fell down on my knees and prayed “God if this is what it takes I can’t do it. I want to be preach the gospel but I cannot be good enough. I cannot live up to this standard.” It was right after that moment of despair that the Holy Spirit began to teach me what grace is all about. I began to study the book of Romans. I was a member of the Ashwood Church of Christ (now the Woodmont Hills Church). I listened to Rubel Shelly preach through the book of Romans. I can remember sitting in the pew with my Bible in my lap, reading the book of Romans and studying along as Rubel preached and literally feeling the burden of guilt just being lifted from me. I felt like I had met Jesus for the first time. The next Semester Howard Horton offered a course in the book of Romans. I sat on the front row and I literally consumed the book. No other book in the Bible has impacted my life like the book of Romans. Jesus is on every page.

Bad Dreams

I am waiting on my coffee. I had weird dreams last night and I'm glad to be awake. Some dreams feel so real they frighten me. I feel relieved when I wake and realize that was only a dream. This morning is one of those mornings. Protect me from sin O Lord. Protect me from myself, the world, and the evil one. Gaurd me. Help me to walk with Jesus today.

Thanks Fred Peatross

Thanks to Fred Peatross who set up my blog. Fred has inspired me over the years with his writing and teaching and friendship.

Trip to Washington D.C.

Kim, the girls and I enjoyed our trip to D.C. The Lincoln Memorial and the Holocaust Museum were my favorite sites. I was impressed with Lincoln's faith in God. Inscribed on the south wall of the monument is the Gettysburg Address. Etched into the north wall is Lincoln’s second inaugural speech. I was inspired by his faith in the God of the Bible. The Holocaust Museum spans three floors of the building. It presents a narrative history using more than 900 artifacts, 70 video monitors, and four theaters that include historic film footage and eyewitness testimonies. It was impossible for us to absorb all of it - no one can understand the horror those people suffered, except those who suffered. The exhibition is divided into three parts: "Nazi Assault," "Final Solution," and "Last Chapter." The narrative begins with images of death and destruction as witnessed by American soldiers during the liberation of Nazi concentration camps in 1945. It was overwhelming. At this time I am studying Revelation. I'm presenting two views. The traditional historic view and the premillennial view which includes a future period of tribulation using John MacArthur's commentary. MacArthur believes that the tribulation period will be worse than the slaughter that took place under Hitler. It's disturbing to think about it. I am so grateful for Jesus Christ. I am grateful that my wife and children and family are saved. No matter what happens in the future Jesus will save us. Anyway, the kids really enjoyed going to Six Flags. We rode fast rollercoasters and enjoyed the water park. Kim, the girls and I had a great vacation. The best part of the trip was just being together as a family. We will always remember it. Jeff