A Tale of Three Kings

I was tired, weary, and defeated just to sum up a few of the massive dark feelings of the soul that night. To that point in my life, I am not sure that I had ever faced the dilemma quite like the one I was now staring down. My heart was dark and my feelings were very spiritually unhealthy to say the least. It would have been very easy to give in to defeat, pack up the tent and go in another direction with my life.

Looking back it was almost thirteen years ago on a late Wednesday night in October 1996. I had come from home from mid-week prayer and Bible study and it seemed as if the world of darkness was doing everything possible to choke the life out of me. What was so strange is that in January 1996, a very distinct directive from the Lord had told me that I would be on the current assignment for four more years. I expected a lot of great things but instead I was grappling with a storm that threatened to overpower me. A blinding and quite unforeseen trial had broadsided me and what little Christian character I had was being eroded by a lot of very carnal emotions to say the least.

I can still remember almost the exact time on that memorable Wednesday night as sometime around 10:35 or so. The house was finally quiet as Teresa and I had gotten the kids down for the night and she was in the back of the house and I was in my study in the front. I leaned back in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk and begin to encourage a dark and brooding stream of emotions. In retrospect and hopefully with an eye toward a little more spiritual maturity, I can see now that it was a shaping process of the soul that God was using to my own benefit. Spiritual growth is very necessary in all of our lives but most of the time it is very painful because it involves a pruning of the soul. But how that pruning is so conducive to greater fruitfulness!

Somehow my eyes flitted to the top of the bookshelf. Tucked in between all of the other inspirational books written by Gordon MacDonald, Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado, and a few others, I spied a little paperback that I had owned for at least 3 years. Numerous preachers had told me that I had to read Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings. I took half of their advice and bought it but never read it. In fact, as I think about it now, I can think of at least ten good men who told me that I needed to read this book. I didn’t ignore their advice it just wasn’t in God’s timing for me to read the book just yet. No doubt when I purchased the book, God knew there would come a time that I would need to read this book. I am of the opinion that this was one of the types of books that Paul encouraged Timothy to bring to him before winter (2 Tim. 4:13).

So at 10:35, I picked up that book and it mesmerized me until shortly after midnight. The impact of this little book (a little over 80 pages) has remained with me to this day. For those of you who have not read it, I won’t give you any details that will spoil it. For those who have read it before, you might want to pick it back up again! It is a tale for the ages because it exposes the fact that within every one of us is either a mad king who worships himself or there is a broken king who worships God. . . . . . and only the pain of trials can reveal what kind of man that we are. . . .

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

Book Recommendation — Blaine Allen — When People Throw Stones

Blaine Allen has managed to do it again. Allen is one of those authors that I “accidentally” found a few years ago when I was trolling our local Lifeway Christian book store. He has previously written a book entitled “Before You Quit: When Ministry Is Not What You Thought.” That book was a good one and it comes from the heart of one who obviously knows what it is like in the trenches.

His second book “When People Throw Stones” is also a very worthy follow-up to his first book. Again, you don’t have to read two pages into the book before you realize that man has worked through some acreage to be able to write as he does. Pastoral ministry is challenging at best but it can be even more of a cross when the words of critics pour out toward the man who is attempting to guide a church.

Recently I was on the other end of a pastor(s) conversation who shared with me the dilemmas they are facing in having to endure some very sharp, unwarranted, and malicious criticism from the churches they are attempting to serve. This is probably what prompted me to buy this book last week because I am well aware that at some point criticism will come the way of anyone who is diligently trying to serve God.

Why are we at this point in our society where criticism can put a pastor’s soul into wreckage? Especially in the setting of the Church, a place where it shouldn’t be. Allen gives an answer to this:

We live and minister at a time when the Western evangelical church is making a historic paradigm shift. Less and less, Scripture is our sole authority. More and more, a culture that mirrors an antibiblical value system has the final say. In the name of relevance, demographic research determines our music and the shape of our message so that we reinvent ourselves to appeal to the greatest number. Though perhaps done from positive motives, the results are staggering. The audience is not just the customer, it has been crowned sovereign kind. “Do it this way. . . We don’t like it done that way. . . Don’t forget, we can vote with our pocketbook and our feet.” Sovereign king. (p. 86)

Allen gives some insight into what happens with a pastor’s soul in the midst of having to field criticism:

It goes on day after day. Then into weeks and months. And before you know it, years pass—life with it—and you still knead the pain (of the critic and their criticism). Like a mallet you pound away. You beat it hard, sometimes harder than at other times, but always hard. First thing in the morning. Anytime a conversation shows the slightest drift in that direction you grab hold and set its course: do you know what he did to me. . . ??? Pound, pound, pound, pound.

But, do you know what you are pounding? Your own heart. With each blow, it gets harder and harder. Packed like steamrolled dirt. The air cannot get to it. The seeds of new truth won’t germinate in it. What good growth remains won’t be there much longer. The roots can’t spread. The moisture of the Spirit does not reach it. The tender shoots of truth get clobbered one by one. That’s the danger for a servant who ignores God’s roles behind the scenes (pp. 61-62).

However, Allen also goes into the other aspects of pastoral criticism. He spends a chapter on “When to Blow It Off.” In another he transparently writes “When Your Critic Speaks the Truth.” A couple of others are also worthy of mentioning: “When God Doesn’t Defend” and “When You Don’t Want to Forgive.”

He also gives a checklist of sorts to help determine some crucial things about criticism and how to field it:

· Truthfulness: Is your critic trustworthy?

· Empathy: Is your critic concerned?

· Competence: Is your critic knowledgeable?

· Factualness: Is the criticism accurate?

· Restraint: Was the delivery of the criticism restrained?

· Pain: Does the criticism hurt?

I realize the economy is shifting daily but this book might be a worthy investment of your time especially if you are on the receiving end of criticism right now. Otherwise, it might be a good book to get to read to prepare you for the future, because I have discovered that no man is immune from this kind of activity.

The Battle With The Beast of Self-Pity and Blame

I wish that I could say that when this creature appears in your life that it is indeed a wicked monster. I wish that I could say that it is a two-headed beast that issues sulfurous vapors from its nostrils. I wish that I could tell you that you could catch of a whiff of a disgusting odor that emanates from it, something you smell long before you ever see. I wish that I could tell you that it was a fire-breathing dragon whose scales rattled down a long serpentine body. I wish that if you even knew it was near that such a fear would seize you that the hair on your neck and arms would stand up and that a panic would clutch at your throat nearly immobilizing you. . . . . But sadly enough when this “beast” enters the life of a man, rarely does a sense of vigilance or concern awaken. The premonition that something sinister is about to happen is absent.

 

When this two-headed beast enters your life, he is so well-dressed and debonair, that immediately you will listen to the soothing voice that flows from his silver tongue. Surely, this “beast” means no harm. He is too presentable, too right, too becoming, too decent, too proper. He is not lewd, nor disgusting, nor improper. This “beast” generally takes your side. His advice is overwhelmingly right. But he still is a two-headed beast, may you never forget that. This two-headed beast of self-pity and blame, at times, slides into all of our lives.

 

When you sit as the minority the two-headed beast of self-pity and blame will ultimately ruin you. Self-pity wants you to feel sorry for yourself, sorry that you do not have the correct “talents”, the right “time”, the right “opportunity”, or the right “connections.” Or blame will cause you to look at the blessings of others and prescribe some “reason” as to why God is working with them and your life remains in the proverbial holding pattern.

 

Self-pity usually rears its ugly head after some great defeat and at times even after some great accomplishment. Self-pity brings on a great dirge of whining, crying, and wallowing. All over again the scene of Ahab’s pathetic misery when Naboth refused to give him the heritage is repeated. Time is spent seeking a sympathetic ear for the miserable circumstances that are consuming our lives. Never fear there are always plenty of “Jezebels” around to concoct some plan that will bring grief to everyone involved if she has her way.

 

Every able bodied man will have to fight these feelings when he stands against the enemy of the Kingdom. However, these things need not rule us.

 

Five observations come to me when I consider the battle against self-pity and blame:

 

• 1. Both are a strange form of twisted pride. (Note Proverbs 3:34; 6:16-17; 29:23 for what God thinks about pride.)
• 2. Both will foster a sense of isolation which creates a greater potential for failure. (Note the benefits of fellowship in Psalm 55:14 and Philippians 2:1-2. You need me and I definitely need you.)
• 3. Both inhibit personal spiritual growth, growth of churches, and growth of those to whom you have been called to lead. (Note Matthew 15:14; 23:16-24; Isaiah 9:16; 56:10-11.)
• 4. It will hinder a dependence on God. One will think that his own talents, gifts, etc. are responsible for growth. You are working in a spiritual kingdom and not an earthly kingdom. (Note Luke 18:11-14. There is quit a tale told here!!! Pair this text with Revelation 3:17.)
• 5. It robs the soul of faith, hope, and creativity.

 

Remember that the place you are serving has great potential for revival and church growth. It has great room for personal growth. Don’t let your heart get contaminated with the biases and prejudices of self-pity and blame.

 

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

How To Have Spiritual Growth In Your Life — Part Three — Guard the Ear-Gate

From the previous posts, we are gaining an understanding that spiritual growth will not simply happen in one’s life but it is something that has to be pursued on a daily basis. How much we pursue this goal greatly affects what sort of relationship that we will have with God.

John Bunyan, long dead, but having the ability to speak beyond his grave through his writings has greatly impacted my own personal walk with God. He is most famous for his great work Pilgrim’s Progress. However, he was written another classic work that is less recognized but almost just as significant as the first. It is entitled Holy War. You would do yourself well to read both of these allegories.

Just outside the gates of Mansoul, Diabolus sat down in a hellish huddle with his comrades and they begin to discuss the best course of action to gain access.

• They determined that it would not be best to assault the city as a group because their appearances would betray who they were.
• Secondly, they then decided that it would be best not to approach the city of Mansoul without some form of disguise.
• Thirdly, the decided that it would also be imperative that the intent of their presence into this city not be revealed because Diabolus and his comrades were certain that the “strong people” would not allow such a take-over.
• The fourth idea won out. They decided that it would be of necessity to go in and find one, Captain Resistance, and remove him through battle and then they would immediately gain control of Mansoul.

The devious demons decided that the best approach would first be to approach through the Ear-Gate. Once this was determined, then Mr. Ill-Pause, the ambassador and spokesman for Diabolus began his great piece of oration that caused the men of Mansoul to compromise the Ear-Gate. “Hath God said. . .” Shortly, they begin to eat from the fatal fruit whose lasting effects still touch us today.

“Hath God Said???” This was the first line that Satan approached Eve with on that day so very long ago yet in reality only a short time ago. The Ear-Gate was assaulted with doubt. In the end, Captain Resistance lay dead at the feet of Diabolus consumed by one of Tisiphone’s arrows. Shortly thereafter, Lord Innocency fell dead in his tracks. Once Resistance had been felled and the enemy had gained a foothold, Innocence of Mansoul was lost.

Truth has almost disappeared from the landscape of the American church today. Truth has been replaced with a sense of humanistic “fairness” that claims that one absolute truth is not good enough. Apparently, they say, because God has a sense of justice and “fairness” then He will have an alternative plan to help fix the problem of human depravity. There is only a very slight but fatal error with that frame of thought. . . . It is not based on the truth of Scripture and therefore it is wrong. A half-truth is still a whole lie. Mr. Ill-Pause has been using this line for thousands of years now with very good success.

We must be very careful to guard the Ear-Gate. What we hear has the great capacity to effect the decisions that we make in life and the very direction of our own eternal destinies.

The great question for this post: What is entering your life through your Ear-Gate? I realize that some will immediately evaluate (at least I hope you will) what this world is erroneously telling you.

The great question: What is entering your life through your Ear-Gate? Discernment is an imperative during our day. We must pay attention to the words that are being sent in our direction.

What voices are you hearing?

How To Have Spiritual Growth In Your Life — Part Two — Feast On The Word

The last post concerning spiritual growth should not be perceived to be the most important. In fact, this series will be somewhat disjointed and I will write as things come to mind during my own contemplation of what has gone into my own spiritual growth. I have come to understand that spiritual growth is a constant battle (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 4:4) and it will continue to remain until we are released from our battle. I once heard J. T. Pugh state, “There are no permanent spiritual victories this side of the Rapture.”

The second principle that I find in spiritual growth:

2. Feast on the Word

John Cumming – The empire of Caesar is gone, the legions of Rome are rotting in the dust, the avalanches that Napoleon hurled on Egypt have melted away, and the pride of the Pharoahs is fallen. Tyre is but a rock for bleaching fishermen’s nets, Sidon has scarcely left a wreck behind but the Word of God still survives. All those who threatened to extinguish it have only added to it and it proves everyday how transient is the noblest monument that man can build and how enduring is the least word that God has spoken.

Bernard Ramm in Protestant Christian Evidences: A thousand times over the death knell of the Bible has been sounded, the funeral procession formed, the inscription cut on the tombstone and the committal read. But somehow the corpse never stays put.

Augustine – The Scriptures are our letters from home.

Martin Luther – The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”

John Bunyan – I never knew all there was in the Bible until I spent those years in jail. I was constantly finding new treasures.

George Meuller – The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts.

Charles Spurgeon – Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.

Robert E. Lee – In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.

Ulysses S. Grant – Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write it’s precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.

Woodrow Wilson – I am sorry for the men who do not read the Bible everyday; I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and of the pleasure.

Dwight D. Eisenhower – The Bible is endorsed by the ages. Our civilization is built upon its words. In no other book is there such a collection of inspired wisdom, reality, and hope.

Ronald Reagan – I never had any doubt about it being of divine origin. . . . Point out to me any similar collection of writings that has lasted for as many thousands of years and it still a bestseller, worldwide. It had to be of divine origin.

Immanuel Kant – A single line in the Bible has consoled me more than all the books I ever read besides.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – The Bible grows more beautiful, as we grow in our understanding of it.

Sir Walter Scott – The most learned, acute, and diligent student cannot, in the longest life, obtain an entire knowledge of the Bible. The more deeply he works the mine; the richer and more abundant he finds the ore.

Charles Dickens – The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or will know.

Helen Keller – The Bible gives me a deep, comforting sense that ‘things seen are temporal, and things unseen are eternal’.

I am certain that I have really never truly been able to understand the value of the Word of God. In my early twenties, I discovered the depth and the power of the Word during times of forced study during my Bible College days. Since that time what I have managed to tuck away in my heart has affected my entire outlook on life.

When I first begin to put sermons together, because it was my desire for those messages to be so biblically driven, I filled those messages full of Scripture. Admittedly sometimes these early sermons had a lot of the Word in them but still in retrospect, I do not think it was too much. This Word is the only real way for me to understand what God thinks and intends for my life.

Read Your Bible

Far too many only read the Bible when they are in church. This is sad. There is a famine in the land. . . . not a famine of bread but of the Word of God (Amos 8:11). Never has a generation had so many anemic saints. They have no spiritual immunity to fight the enemy with because their “ingestion” of the Bible has been limited to milk and they have never learned to have the meat. 1 Peter 1 urges us to add, add, add, add things to our lives. By adding these things to our lives, our spiritual immunity is built up against spiritual maladies that hinder our progress.

A good plan to read through the Bible exists. To read through the Bible in one year one will have to read only four chapters every day. To fulfill this task in six months, read eight chapters a day. Another method is to take certain books of the New Testament and break it down. For instance, take Matthew 1-7 and read it every day for 30 days. At the end of that time, take Matthew 8-14 and read it every day for 30 days. At the end of a three year period, following this method, one will have read through the entire New Testament thirty times. At that point, there is no doubt in my mind that you will have such a Word saturated life that every decision you make will be filtered through the lens of Scripture.

There are numerous Bibles now that are printed as “one year” Bibles and they have been broken down with daily dates. This makes your assignment very easy. Also, a very good Bible reading program that you can find on Google is Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s chart. You can also e-mail me and I will send an Excell and Word file to you (barnabas14@graceba.net) to assist you.

M’Cheyne’s chart will help you read through the Bible in one year with the New Testament and Psalms twice.

Mark Your Bible

For years, I handled my own personal Bible with great respect (and I still do) and would never, ever would dare mark in it. I felt that to “mark up” a Bible would be anathema. At one time or another, we all have been walking across parking lots and noticed Bibles tossed up in the back window of cars. The heat and the light has caused so much damage to the curled pages that this valuable treasure is good for nothing but the trash. This nearly criminal to see how that someone would not value the words of life. How a man treats his personal Bible says far more about him than one might perceive.

I continued with this thought until I met Kelsey Griffin. His wide-margin Bible is something of a legend and at that point I understood the importance of writing in my own Bible. His Bible and his marginal writings proved to be very helpful whenever he was asked to preach or teach unexpectedly or someone would ask him a question.

After a time of trial and error with marking my Bible, I finally came up with a fairly good system that works for me. First, I would find all the doctrinal areas and mark them in red. Once this verse was underlined in red, then I would write very neatly another verse reference and the topic that I was “chaining” together directly beside this verse. By doing this, the verses would be linked together and I would have a multitude of Scriptures to follow along with. The advantage of using red would key me into understanding that this was an important doctrinal truth and when I was flipping through the pages, the red color would stand out to me. I did use David Bernard’s very handy little A Handbook of Basic Doctrines.

As time progressed, my Bibles (I probably have too many) have become very neatly marked with copious notes. I write side notes, between the lines, in the front and back on the blank pages, all of which have been helpful to me. By doing this sort of writing in your Bible, it becomes “yours” and the real value of this Bible will only come when you have passed on (what a thought).

Marking verbs can really make a chapter stand out to you. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 13 and notice what charity or love does. Take a look at Psalm 37 and mark what your responsibility is and what God’s responsibility is. My responsibility is in verse one is simple: Do not fret over evildoers and do not be envious of the workers of iniquity. God’s responsibility starts in verse two: He will cut them down like grass and wither them as the green herbs. The best way to mark this is with two different colors of ink. In my Bible, I alternately used orange and blue.

Another exercise would be to take Psalm 119 and mark all of the descriptions of what God states that the Word of God is. Notice: The Law of the Lord, His testimonies, His statues, commandments, and so on. When you begin to mark this in this manner, it provides you with a fantastic description of what the Word of God is. In this same chapter, look at what happens to the man who finds the Law of God filling his life: Your are blessed, you do not do iniquity, you will walk in the way of God and so on.

Another way to mark your Bible is by writing outlines in the margins. This causes us to “boil down” a passage of Scripture and see the lessons and principles that are brought out. By doing this, you are building your own commentary. I have also discovered that the more that I write in my Bible that more ideas come to me as to exactly what system to use when writing in this Bible.

Another way to mark your Bible is to take an entire book and place notes all throughout this book. You can mark characters, nationalities, cross-references, chapter outlines, and so on. I did this with the book of Acts sometime back and it was very helpful to me.

Another way to mark your Bible is to look for things that are emphasized, things that are repeated, things that are related, things that are alike and different, and things that are true to life.

One friend of mine has started a very noble task with his children. He has purchased several wide-margin Bibles and is writing his sermon notes and Bible studies in the margins and will present them with “his” Bible when they leave home. What an impact that could be made on a child’s life. Obviously, when they initially leave home the value of this will not really hit them but as they get older the value of this spiritual heirloom will heighten in such a way that this very well could be one his children’s most valued possessions.

Make the Characters Speak

Another helpful thing to do with this feast of the Word is to take the characters and make them walk up and down in your living room, office, or wherever you may study. Pull Joseph from the pit, the prison, and the palace and allow the descriptions you have found in Scripture to drive the conversation. Pull Daniel from his prayer room, from the lion’s den, or from the royal halls of the Babylonians and let him “speak” to you. Take a journey with Paul through the missionary trips and let the dangerous journeys encourage you to take a risk and invest your life in the Kingdom.

By making the characters speak to you, you gain insight into how they faced difficulties in life. See Elijah fighting depression, note Abraham and Sarah struggling with doubt, see Jeremiah’s weeping, and allow yourself to feel Ananias’ fear when he was to go pray for Saul (Paul). Put yourself in their shoes and see how you measure up.

Our generation needs godly heroes and the way to gain character qualities in your life is to expose your life to God’s men in the Book.

Apply Your Bible

All the feasting on the Word is worthless if you are only a “hearer” and not a “doer” (James 1:22). So I am going to leave you with a list from an “old” book entitled Living By The Book written by Howard Hendricks.

To apply the Word you have to know yourself. This inventory will help you to get a grasp on the real you.

In Your Personal Life

• What is the status of your spiritual disciplines—disciplines well known to correlate with spiritual growth, such as Bible study, Scripture memory, prayer, or the reading of devotional literature?
• What about your physical condition and habits or eating, exercise, sleep, and rest?
• What behaviors do you especially desire to overcome: a temper, a deception, or sexual lust?
• What behaviors do you especially desire to establish: patience, or hospitality, or perseverance?

In Your Family Life

• Do you have a set come-home time from work that your family can count on
• Do you “date” your spouse regularly?
• Do you disengage emotionally from work and chores in order to spend unimpeded time involved with your children?
• Are you upholding your responsibilities to your parents? To your spouses’ parents? To other relatives?

In Your Church Life

• How often do you place yourself under the instruction of Scripture?
• Do you faithfully, generously, and joyfully donate money to the cause of Christ?
• Are you praying regularly for your pastor and other church leaders?
• Do you know what your spiritual gift is, and are you using it?

In Your Work

• Do you give an honest day’s labor to your employer?
• Do you follow through on commitments you make to your customers?
• Do you read and otherwise stay up on new developments, ideas, and methods in your field?
• To the extent that you can, do you hold a steady job by which your needs and those of your family are being adequately met?
• Do you have a family budget? Do you stay within it?

In Your Community

• Do you regularly exercise your right and responsibility as a citizen to cast an informed vote?
• Do you pay your fair share of taxes?
• What is the status of your driving record?
• Do you maintain your property within the statutes of your community?
• Are you in any conscious of and involved with the poor and their needs?

There are numerous other questions that could be asked but all of this questions in this inventory are directly covered by instructions in the Word.

Now, go feast on the Word. . . . not just today or tomorrow. . . but for the rest of your life!

How To Have Spiritual Growth In Your Life – Part One – Seek Perfection

“All my life as a musician, I have striven for perfection. It has always eluded me. I surely had an obligation to make one more try.” Verdi

Quotes like these can make an incredible impression on you if you allow them to. If you mind ever gets really stretched by a new idea or new vision, it will never return to its original dimensions.

If I am not growing then I am declining. Those who quit reaching for perfection will find themselves being kidnapped by the urgent and the insignificant. This soon leads to a spiritual shallowness. This shallowness, with the progression of time, will erode the greatness out of the soul.

The question is posed, “How does one obtain such a desire toward perfection?” This desire is never easy and will always be just out of our grasp. But as we strive toward that mark that has been set up before us, great growth of the soul will occur.

These are a few of the steps that I believe helps to stretch us beyond the present and the now.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn – “The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.”

1. Put yourself on a plan for spiritual fitness.

I am amazed at the record keeping of some of my friends in the medical community. Last summer, three of these fellows were training for a triathlon which involved: swimming one mile, running 10 kilometers, and biking for 50 kilometers. Two of these men are in the early training stages for an Ironman (swimming 2.5 miles, running a 26.2 mile marathon, and biking 100 miles). Their personal records kept a multitude of stats. They kept up with all of their nutritional intake, fluids they had consumed, miles they had swam, kilometers they had ran, and the distances on their bikes. With this series of records they could see exactly how much progress or lack thereof they had made in the last week, month, and year. I was very impressed with their meticulous records.

Spiritual growth and maturity does not simply take place by osmosis. Spiritual growth and development will not take place simply because you decided to go to a personal retreat, a revival conference, or any other event. Our generation is very “event” oriented and not very much oriented toward “action.” I have attended one major conference this year and one major men’s event and both of them were extremely inspiring to me. The key word being “inspiring.” However, until I could track my time and my own personal growth after these two events then I had simply wasted my money.

Spiritual growth and maturity occurs when we do more than just show up for “church.” Spiritual growth and maturity occurs when you stretch your brain and your lifestyle into more than just “showing up.” On the other hand, I also know that inspiration without instruction will lead to frustration. I am endeavoring in the next few days to bring some plan of instruction to you that will help you grow beyond your current place now.

I am unwilling to place a yoke of legalism on your life but at the same time, we track our prayer life by a measure of the minutes that we spend in prayer. I am unwilling to place a heavier yoke of guilt on you but time spent in the Word is going to equate into how many chapters that you have read and studied. If you are not writing either in the margins of your Bible or in a separate notebook, you are fooling yourself, because you are not studying, you are simply reading. There is a vast difference!

Furthermore, I do not want to strap your budget, but if you are not buying and reading good challenging books to assist your spiritual growth, you are turning into a Big Mac or a Whopper. You may say that you love God, but your budget betrays you. Appleby’s, Ruby Tuesdays, IHOP, Outback, and Chili’s is clogging your arteries and choking your soul.

The internet has also allowed for us to tap into tremendous spiritual growth tools. For example, Google “spiritual growth” and see where that takes you.

So how do you develop a plan for spiritual growth? I am so glad you asked!!! Go to Walmart and buy a cheap monthly planner and then determine what you will do with the 168 hours every week that is allotted to you. Presidents and paupers all have the same amount of time given to them. Some of the time will be necessary for work and sleep and eating but the rest of this time should be judiciously spent. Time is the coin of life don’t let a fool spend it for you.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What hour each day will I spend on cultivating my soul?
• How much time am I willing to set aside for daily prayer?
• How many people am I going to positively influence this week?
• What am I going to say to these people when I interact with them?
• Who am I discipling at this present time? If I am not helping someone else grow, then why not?
• Am I willing to make God the center of my life and never allow Him to live on the periphery of my life?

I have a friend of mine (a pastor) who sits down on the 20^th day of every month and takes several hours on that day to map out his priorities for the coming month. In addition, he also re-evaluates his progress from last month. When we are willing to commit things like this to “hard copy” and honestly evaluate our progress. . . . then progress happens.

Commit your progress to written records. A few days ago, I mentioned to my wife (in a very serious conversation) that I wanted to preach through the Bible before I died. She told me that she thought that I had made major headway on that goal the last two times that I had preached. Yet on a more serious note, if such a goal is going to be in my life, I must know where I have preached and what I have left to preach. This is where keeping records is crucial.

Write it down!!!! From personal experience, I can tell you that this will be both encouraging and also it will be discouraging. But you need to see the big picture, if it overall is positive then keep going. . . . If the big picture is needing work, then make the proper adjustments and grow a great soul.

I will continue this trend of thought over the next several days. . . . .

Book Recommendation — Nobody’s Perfect . . . Dean Shriver

I have just finished reading an excellent book for those who are involved in ministry. Whether it is a pulpit ministry, youth ministry, Sunday School, or anything that falls in between, this book is a very helpful book. Another useful thing about this book is that it is a 2 1/2 to 3 hour book that will not hang you up for days.

Dean Shriver has written Nobody’s Perfect But You Have to Be. The subtitle is “The Power of Personal Integrity in Effective Preaching.” It packs a punch and forces anyone who is in public ministry to really take a look at their personal life.

This excerpt in the introduction is the reason that I purchased this book:

The worship service was about to begin when I saw her. I greeted her with curiosity. I knew that she was a fully committed member of a sister church in our area. During our brief exchange, she quietly said, “I simply cannot listen to that man preach.” That man was her pastor of almost two years. Why, on that morning, did she refuse to hear her own pastor preach? Was he a heretical teacher? Did he deny the truth of God’s Word? Did he habitually twist Scripture to suit his own desires? No, on that Sunday the woman I greeted refused to hear her pastor because of his actions, not his words. It had happened at a recent board meeting. In the midst of debating an issue the younger pastor exploded in anger, slandered the woman’s husband (a well-respected elder thirty years his senior), and even threatened to excommunicate him from the church. In the days that followed, the pastor continued to malign her husband behind his back. Now, at least in this woman’s eyes, the young minister’s credibility as a preacher was destroyed. On that Sunday morning, it wasn’t that she could not hear him–she would not. (From the Introduction)

This story set the hook and it really caused me to take inventory of some of the things in my own personal life. The chapters on Humility, Contentment, and Practicing Spiritual Disciplines are some of the high points.

Holiness. . . . The Great Conduit

Holiness in the life of a minister is a conduit for the work of the Spirit. More and more, we are losing sight of this incredible principle of power. Dirty lives lead to dirty churches. Dirty ministries lead to dirty disciples. When this happens, the voice of the Spirit is quenched and the once refreshing oasis is nothing more than a dried mudcake. The heat of the times has dried it out and it is cracked and broken along the edges as well as in the very center. Sadly this is where the refreshing water used to be.

Holiness in the life of a minister is a conduit for the work of the Spirit. It is imperative that my life be a holy life. Uzzah died because he touched the Ark of God. The men of Bethshemesh died because they looked into the Ark. The beasts who crossed the boundaries of the holy mountain of God were to die at the hand of Moses. What is the penalty of those who will handle the holy things with dirty hands?

Holiness in the life of the minister is a conduit for a work of the Spirit. Too often when we speak of “holiness” we immediately direct our thoughts to a particular set of standards, manner of dress, or the “do’s and don’ts” of our relationship with God. Yet, holiness in it’s purest sense is a separation to God. Holiness is cleanliness of our own spirit. A clean spirit will resist much of what is being offered by the world. Furthermore, a clean spirit will allow for a much sharper ability for spiritual discernment.

Holiness is fed with holy thoughts. This is where devotion and places of private prayer plays such a crucial role in my life. Holy motives are important also. God is going to place much emphasis on my motives. In fact, the final rewards of heaven will be most exalted if my motives are pure and Kingdom minded.

I ran up against this thought some time back and thought I would share it. It became perplexing to me that those of Saul’s ilk could prophesy with the prophets. The fact of the matter is that this was dealing with the atmosphere that he was in. I also could not understand how that very un-holy lives could be greatly used in the gifts of the Spirit. It came to my understanding that the gifts are exactly that, gifts from God. I also understood that personal talents could take some a very long way. However, the catch is this, God will not reward us for our giftings and talents but rather with the fruit that has grown in our lives.

For this reason, we cannot depend on atmosphere or talent to bring us a great move of the Spirit. The great Scottish minister, Robert Murray McCheyne, who was a great revival preacher had this to say, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” Have you read that in a “how-to” book lately? Very few in modern times, whether clergy or laity, would agree with this statement.

The church where you serve has much need of your own personal holiness. Holiness in heart, action, and practice is where it is crucial. It is very hard to lead a flock toward greater spiritual growth if personal holiness is not present in your life.

Go to any “Christian” bookstore these days and very little writing is spent in the area of holiness. Holiness has lost position to self-help, success, and “how-to” books. The latest books beckon to me, they cajole me to purchase them because this book/technique will help me to control my mind, lose weight, regain control from co-dependency (whatever that is), build a church, understand what this society is thinking and how they think, and we are hopelessly losing our way.

A very old book (written in 1879) entitled Holiness and written by Bishop J. C. Ryle listed a classic twelve point profile of a holy person. They are very simple but they are very Biblical.

1. Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find his mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what he hates, loving what he loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of his Word.

2. A holy man will endeavor to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided bent of mind towards God, a hearty desire to do his will, a greater fear of displeasing him than of displeasing the world and will feel what Paul felt when he said, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” (Romans 7:22)

3. A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith and draw from him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor to have the mind that was in him, and to be conformed to his image (Romans 8:29). It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, to be unselfish, to walk in love, to be lowly minded and humble. He will lay to heart the saying of John: “He that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked (1 John 2:6).

4. A holy man will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue. He will bear much, forbear much, overlook much, and be slow to talk of standing on his rights.

5. A holy man will follow after temperance and self-denial. He will labor to mortify the desires of the body, to crucify his flesh with his affections and lusts, to curb his passions, to restrain any carnal inclinations, lest at any time they break loose (Luke 21:34; 1 Corinthians 9:27)

6. A holy man will follow after charity and brotherly kindness. He will endeavor to observe the gold rule of doing as he would have men do to him, and speaking as he would have men to speak to him. He will abhor all lying, slandering, backbiting, cheating, dishonesty, and unfair dealing, even in the least things.

7. A holy man will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence towards others. Such was Dorcas: “full of goodworks and almsdeeds, which she did” not merely purposed and talked about but did (Acts 9:26).

8. A holy man will follow after purity of heart. He will dread all filthiness and uncleanness of spirit, and seek to avoid all things that might draw him into it. He knows his own heart is like tinder, and will diligently keep clear of the sparks of temptation.

9. A holy man will follow after the fear of God. I do not mean the fear of a slave, who only works because he is afraid of punishment and would rather be idle if he did not dread discovery. I mean rather the fear of a child, who wishes to live and move as if he was always before his father’s face, because he loves him.

10. A holy man will follow after humility. He will desire, in lowliness of mind, to esteem all others better than himself. He will see more evil in his own heart than in any other in the world.

11. A holy man will follow after faithfulness in all the duties and relations of his life. He will try, not merely to fill his place as well as others who take no thought for their souls, but even better, because he has higher motives and more help than they. Holy persons should aim at doing everything well and should be ashamed of allowing themselves to do anything ill if they can help it. They should strive to be good husbands and good wives, good parents and good children, good masters and good servants, good neighbors, good friends, good subjects, good in private and good in public, good in the place of business and good by their firesides. The Lord Jesus puts a searching question to his people, when he says, “What do ye more than others?” (Matthew 5:47).

12. Last, but not least, a holy man will follow after spiritual mindedness. He will endeavor to set his affections entirely on things above, and to hold things on earth with a very loose hand. He will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven, and to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to his home. To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of his people–these things will be the holy man’s chief enjoyments. He will value every thing and place and company, just in proportion as it draws him nearer to God.