Friday, December 30, 2005

God With Us



God With Us
By Bill Denton


And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:14, NASB95)

The true Christian religion ... does not begin at the top, as all other religions do; it begins at the bottom. You must run directly to the manger and the mother's womb, embrace this Infant and Virgin's Child in your arms, and look at Him--born, being nursed, growing up, going about in human society, teaching, dying, rising again, ascending above all the heavens, and having authority over all things.  -  Martin Luther in Lectures on Galatians. Christianity Today, Vol. 38, no. 14.

If you would like to do away with all the reservation, hesitation, and outright unbelief in Jesus as the Messiah, then start at his birth.  Modern man has played down the meaning and implication of the doctrine of the Incarnation.  Though we are seldom aware of it any more, the “Christmas” story is actually weighty doctrine.  It is not, as many would have it, simply a pastoral manger scene suitable for a children’s play re-enactment, or for a drive-by “live” manger out in the church yard, complete with real sheep, a cow, and costumed shepherds and wise men.  No, there is far more to the birth of Jesus than such scenes tend to convey.

When Jesus was born, he was as the Scriptures say, Emmanuel, “God with us.”  If you get that one single point, if you understand that the baby born to Mary was God in the flesh of humanity, then you are prepared for all that follows.  This child, though in every appearance, a human being like all the rest of us, was in every sense God as well.  The mystery of the incarnation may still puzzle us, but once we accept this fundamental fact, the rest of the story of Jesus becomes completely understandable and acceptable.

Take the miracles of Jesus, as an example.  Believing in a miracle worker is not easy, unless the miracle worker is God, and then miracles become easy to believe because of the one causing them to happen.  Take Jesus’ offer to forgive sins.  Now, who could do that except God alone, questioned the Jews, and us.  Such a claim would be ridiculous, except for the fact that Jesus was the very one we acknowledge as possessing the power to forgive.  Take his resurrection from the dead.  Not only is resurrection from death completely unexpected, but according to the apostle Paul, it declares one more thing to us:  Jesus was the Son of God.  Start wherever you would like in the life of Jesus, and if you find it difficult to accept or believe, return to the stable where he was born and ask yourself, “Who was the child born to Mary?”

Once you settle the answer to that question, there is no more obstacle to belief.  We do not have to wait for a man to become God, for God has already become man.  All the power of divine grace, love and mercy found its grandest expression in that child.  “God with us,” is the explanation we need.  Rejoice at the birth of the Savior, who is Christ the Lord, God in the flesh.  Get this point you will then see God at work in that Jesus says and does.

© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

CrossTies Devotional Article for December 11, 2005

CrossTies Radio on the Internet is already reaching people near home
and on the other side of the world!  To listen, click on the following link.
Do us a favor and listen, then promote to your friends and family.  Thanks!
http://www.live365.com/stations/bdenton

Or, listen to the audio version of this devotional article.  Just click on the link below:
http://www.clickcaster.com/clickcast/list/400


The Indescribable Gift
By Bill Denton

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!  (2 Corinthians 9:15, NASB95)

Your standard man, at this point in the Christmas season, has purchased zero gifts. He has not yet gotten around to purchasing an acceptable gift for his wife for last Christmas. He did give her something last year, but he could tell by her reaction to it that she had not been dreaming of getting an auto emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly this gift violated an important rule, but the man had no idea what this rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him.
     Dave Barry, "Your Gift Is in the Male,"
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44760-2004Dec7.html (12-12-04)

Men are notorious gift-givers.  OK, that may be a misleading statement, because Dave Barry probably has us men pegged accurately.  We’re not all that great at buying gifts.  We think we’re being practical, the person for whom we bought the gift thinks we’re nuts.  When it comes to gift-giving, most of us men could use a little help.

I remember a time when I asked my wife what she wanted for her birthday.  She said, “Oh, nothing.”  Now, being the very logical, practical person that I am, I took her at her word.  When her birthday rolled around, there was no present.  Let’s just say that I try not to make the same mistake any more.  I read somewhere about a fellow who bought his wife a rain gauge for their anniversary.  After all, being a farmer’s daughter, she often kept up with the weather.  His gift is now one of the family jokes, and I suspect he shops with a different purpose now-a-days.  I’ve heard all kinds of gift stories.  Some of them make you scratch your head and wonder what in the world that guy was thinking about when he bought that.  Others make you smile as you realize how well-intentioned the gift was, but how far off the mark it ended up.  Some get the “Oh, no!” response as you realize the gift was really what the giver himself wanted.  And, most of these stories are tales about men’s attempts at gift-giving.

Thankfully, not everyone is so gift-challenged.  Plenty of wives have opened up a little black felt box and gasped at the sparkling gem inside.  Or, they’ve opened the door and found one of those huge red bows topping a new car.  Or, they opened a card to read a not-so-bad attempt at love poetry.  There have been children shocked when Dad actually got that new bicycle or the pony.  Occasionally, we men can come through with a great gift.

There is One who has come through with the greatest gift of all.  When God sent His Son, Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and to rise from the dead to give hope of eternal life, it was the gift of all gifts.  No gift-loaded Christmas tree has ever secreted a gift as loving, as desperately needed, as beautiful, or as magnificent.  We may struggle to give appropriate gifts, but God has come through for us with a gift for all time, for all eternity.  It’s an indescribable gift!

© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Monday, December 05, 2005

CrossTies Devotional Article for December 4, 2005



CrossTies Radio on the Internet is already reaching people near home
and on the other side of the world!  To listen, click on the following link.
Do us a favor and listen, then promote to your friends and family.  Thanks!
http://www.live365.com/stations/bdenton



Problems With Christmas
By Bill Denton

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.  (Luke 2:6-7, NASB95)

We often talk about the night before Christmas, but what do you think about on the morning after Christmas? I've been thinking about this wonderful thing called "the spirit of Christmas." Have you noticed it? Once a year toward the winter solstice, something odd happens. People's attitudes go through an annual change. People start talking about peace and goodwill. They go out of their way to give and forgive. Families get together. We call this different atmosphere "the spirit of Christmas."   -- Stuart Briscoe, “Christmas 365 Days A Year,” PreachingToday.com

Depending on who is talking, you might hear several criticisms or problems with Christmas.  As I see it, the problems revolved around three basic facts.  Some think that to bring up these things we’re being negative or picky.  Well, hold on, because that’s not true, but we do need to consider the three facts from which the problems spring.

The first is the date itself.  At best, it’s an arbitrary date.  The truth is that we just don’t know when Jesus was born.  Some believe December 25 is a good guess, others think it’s considerably off.  But, we need to avoid the extreme position of some people who do all they can to “uncelebrate” Jesus’ birth because they dislike the date.  The more important fact is that he was born, and it’s not all that uncommon for us to pick arbitrary dates to celebrate a person’s birth.  Focus on the essential truth here instead of the one nobody is going to resolve.

The second is the celebration itself.  The Bible does not tell us to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  There is plenty of emphasis on celebrating his death in the Lord’s supper, but celebrating Jesus’ birth just isn’t there.  Then again, how do we leave it out?  You can’t get to his death without first getting to his birth.  Not only that, but looking at the good news in Jesus, you will discover that everything about him revolves around five fundamental facts:  the incarnation; the crucifixion; the resurrection; the ascension; and his return.  The truth is that the incarnation of Jesus is what sets up all the others.  Now, you can eliminate a birthday party if you want, but don’t go so far that you miss the essential truth of God come in the flesh that happened at his birth.

The third is quite different from the first two.  They are more biblical or theological in nature.  The third problem has more to do with the brevity of the celebration.  Stuart Briscoe’s observation is right.  When people begin thinking about the birth of Jesus, something happens to the “spirit” of the people.  But, this may bring us to the greatest of all problems with Christmas:  it’s too brief of a celebration.  All the good-will is focused down on a week or two at the end of the year.  Briscoe’s sermon goes on to bemoan the fleeting nature of the “spirit of Christmas,” and he’s right about that.  What a difference it would be if Christ were our focus all year long.

© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Monday, November 28, 2005

CrossTies Devotional Article For November 27, 2005


Announcing:  CrossTies Radio
To listen, click on the following link, or copy and paste it into your favorite media player (like RealAudio or Windows Media Player).  Do us a favor and listen, then promote to your friends and family.  Thanks!
http://www.live365.com/stations/bdenton


Until He Comes
By Bill Denton

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NASB95)

My cousin's daughter Kathy usually stays in children's church on Sunday mornings, but one Sunday she went with her parents to the regular adult service. When Communion was served, she turned to her mother and whispered loudly, "The snack in children's church is much better. And we get a lot more juice."
Elizabeth Charles Gomes, Wyncote, Penn., Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart."

No one would harshly judge the immature words of a child who did not understand the meaning of the Lord’s supper.  But, when adult believers demonstrate an immature understanding it should give us no comfort at all.  The communion meal is a memorial pointing both back to the event that gives it meaning and forward to the event which is its intended goal.

Here’s what I mean.  The broken bread reminds us of the body of Christ.  The cup is the new covenant in the blood of Jesus.  We take these in remembrance of Jesus.  In other words, in the bread and in the fruit of the vine, we remember his body and his blood shed for us.  The meaning of the supper is found in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Paul goes further, however, and says that when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.  That’s forward thinking, future oriented, pointing toward something that hasn’t happened yet.  It is the goal of the cross Paul has in mind, and that involves our future.  The supper does not only point to the past accomplishment of Jesus on the cross, it points ahead to what he died to accomplish.

Every time we gather around the Lord’s table, we ought to think in both directions.  We think back to get the meaning.  We think forward in order to understand the “so what” of the matter.  Jesus died on the cross, a sacrifice to take away our sins.  “So what?”  He’s coming again, that’s what.  Because he’s coming again, we proclaim again and again what he did.

Why is this so important?  Not just so we don’t forget what Jesus did, but so we will also look forward to what he will yet do for us.  The penalty for sin has been paid at the cross, but Jesus will return to gather to himself all those for whom he paid the price of his death.  Every time you eat the bread and drink the wine, you proclaim what he did and point to what he will yet do.

© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Monday, November 21, 2005

CrossTies Devotional Article for November 20, 2005



Big Announcement!
The audio version of CrossTies Devotionals has been available for some time, but we’ve greatly improved the accessibility of these programs.  Now, you can listen online, download to your media player so you can take them with you or share with others, and even subscribe through RSS.  Please visit the following site and take a look (or should we say, “take a listen”).  http://www.clickcaster.com/clickcast/list/400


Eternally Grateful
By Bill Denton

“always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Ephesians 5:20, NASB95)

   Lucy asks Charlie Brown to help with her homework. "I'll be eternally grateful," she promises.
   "Fair enough. I've never had anyone be eternally grateful before," replied Charlie. "Just subtract 4 from 10 to get how many apples the farmer had left."
   Lucy says, "That's it! That's it! I have to be eternally grateful for that? I was robbed! I can't be
   eternally grateful for this, it was too easy!"
   With his blank stare, Charlie replies, "Well whatever you think is fair."
   "How about if I just say 'thanks, bro!'" replied Lucy.
   On his way outside, Charlie meets Linus who asks, "Where've you been, Charlie Brown?"
   "Helping Lucy with her homework."
   Linus asks, "Did she appreciate it?"
   Charlie answers, "At greatly reduced prices."
               Charles Schultz, “Peanuts” cartoon strip.

At any given moment, have you ever felt that you might be ‘eternally grateful’ for something?  Five minutes later, did the thought occur that ‘eternal’ gratitude might be a bit much?  I think we may be more like Lucy than we’d like to admit.

Gratitude seems to be difficult for us.  Sometimes it’s because we get to thinking that people owe us whatever they did, or whatever they gave us.  Maybe it’s because we delude ourselves into thinking we deserve whatever we got, if it’s good and positive, that is.  Whenever those thoughts intrude upon our minds, gratitude is left out.  Sometimes, gratitude is embarrassing.  We don’t like to look needy or helpless, and if we’re too grateful, it might make us look bad.  So we think.  The point is simply that expressing gratitude is tough.

Even salvation gets short-changed in the gratitude department.  “Saved?  Oh, yeah, right.  Uh, sure.  Thanks, Lord!”  No, we might not actually say that, but it’s not far from the content of our thoughts.  I’m convinced, however, that when it comes to actually living forever in heaven, and experiencing all the blessings of salvation, gratitude won’t get left out.

After all, the whole point of eternal life and a home in heaven is that sin and condemnation are dealt with and put away.  It means we’ve been redeemed, sanctified and glorified.  There is fellowship with Jesus and the Father.  There is the company of saved who share in the heavenlies with us.  There is the constant praise of God happening.  You won’t be able to forget or ignore God’s love, mercy and grace for they will be ever-present in an obvious way.

Whatever else happens forever in heaven, of this one thing I’m sure:  we’ll be eternally grateful.  This Thanksgiving Day, put salvation at the top of your list of things to be thankful for.


© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Thursday, November 17, 2005

CrossTies Devotional Article for Nov 13, 2005






Click on the link below to subscribe to Bill Denton’s “Blog,” an ‘every-now-and-then’ special article.  We will soon begin posting the weekly CrossTies Devotional Article to the Blog, so subscribers can easily and automatically download the newest article.

http://drbill.blogspot.com/atom.xml


A More Difficult Discipleship
By Bill Denton

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  (John 8:31-32, NASB95)

Today there are multitudes of men who are willing to give their minds to the Word of God to study it as an intellectual pursuit, to listen to what Jesus Christ has to say. And they may even submit themselves to the teaching and preaching of the Scriptures from an evangelical pulpit. But these people have made no response to that truth or to the person of Jesus Christ . . . . It is possible to approach the Word simply to have one’s intellect stirred, to do what the Athenians did —to listen to some new thing —without any relationship to the truth or without any impact of that truth on one’s life. Such a person may call himself a disciple, but on the authority of the Word of God, he is not. He is among the curious who sit to be titillated and tantalized without any response to the truth that is presented.
     - Pentecost, J. D. (1996). Design for discipleship : Discovering God's blueprint for the Christian      life. (Page 12).

For years, I’ve tried to get people to see that there is a difference between intellectual Christianity and real discipleship.  I haven’t always been successful.  Of course, one of the most difficult people to deal with has been myself!  It’s easy to make discipleship only a mind game.

I do fear that we have neglected serious discipleship for a milder, less threatening catechism, and I realize I’m saying this largely to folks who don’t think they have a catechism!  I think most of those folks are just unaware of reality.  When a large part of your discipleship is spent learning how to regurgitate a specific list of doctrinal items, and when one’s standing in the “faith community” depends on the ability to provide appropriate answers, then this pretty much fits.

Of course, the other end of the spectrum is a disdain for “intellectualism,” at least that seems to be the substance of some people’s faith.  They don’t seem to want to have to learn anything at all, but you know, it takes a pretty staunch mental effort to offer such a consistent resistance.  Both extremes miss the target of real discipleship.

When it comes to following Jesus, there are some things to learn.  You just can’t get around it.  Jesus’ approach to people focused on teaching.  He wanted to communicate some things that folks could wrap their minds around.  But, Jesus didn’t offer just a mental or intellectual exercise.  What Jesus taught was intended to change a person’s life.  The sad thing is that you can miss either end of things.  In other words, you can miss what Jesus taught or you can miss putting it to work in your life.  Either way you miss it.  Frankly, I think this was much of the problem of the Pharisees.  They knew a lot.  Then again, they had missed knowing a lot, too.  Worse, what they knew, they didn’t put to into their lives to be changed by it.  A disciple of Jesus must be a ‘learner’ and a ‘practitioner.’  Anything less won’t do.  Freedom is in knowing the truth so that the living of life comes within the will of the Father.  A real disciple wants to know, and wants to do.


© Copyright  2005, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for HTML formatted list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crossties-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crossties-off@list.crossties.org
 
Subscription Information for the text-only format list
 
To subscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to subscribe to crosstiestext-on@list.crossties.org
 
To unsubscribe: send a blank message from the address you wish to unsubscribe to crosstiestext-off@list.crossties.org

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Parents Impact The Lives Of Their Children

I am neither an expert on parenting, nor an expert parent. However, as a minister and a counselor, I have my share of work trying to help others wrestle their way through the very difficult task of being parents. Recently, our "Sermon Planning Committee" met to offer suggestions and help plan the third quarter 2005's sermons. I find this an excellent way to discover needs in our congregation, and to get input that helps shape my sermons so that they actually address current concerns, problems, questions, etc. Out of that meeting came a series of lessons on parenting. I'll share a few important points here.

1. The state and nature of your marriage will impact your kids. Parents need to get honest about what affects their children. Too many parents seem to think that the relationship between themselves, that is between the Mom and the Dad, somehow isn't something that greatly impacts their children. Wrong. Very wrong. Parents need to understand that children are affected greatly by whatever is happening in the relationship shared by the parents. Distant, angry, disconnected relationships that are going in different directions and do not demonstrate a solid unity are providing far greater impact on the children in that family than one might think. Parental example, agreement on discipline, family security, and a child's feeling of worth and importance are just a few of the things that are negatively impacted by their parents' relationship with one another. Moms and Dads need to consider seriously what they are teaching their kids and how they are affecting life through the state and nature of their marriage.

2. Children should not have to learn about marriage from people who act like children. Unfortunately, today's kids are learning all about marriage relationships from parents who exhibit woefully immature behavior. Anyone who has observed through the kitchen window a group of children playing in the yard might expect to see some immature behavior. One might expect to see them treat one another unfairly, to use hurtful language, to experience jealousy, or even to get into a fight. Stand in the yard and observe through the kitchen window a couple of parents inside the house and you might be surprised to see pretty much the same kind of behavior. Unfair treatment, hurtful language, jealousy, and (yes) fights are not uncommon in a lot of homes. Children are seeing these things, taking it all in, and it is giving them a terrible concept of what maturity ought to be, what a mature relationship ought to be. When they grow up, a lot of those children will resort to the same immature behavior they saw in their parents and repeat it in their own marriage.

3. Parents need to make liberal use of what I call the "Big Four." These are indispensible tools that can be used to provide the absolute best atmosphere in which children can grow into their own maturity.
A. The first is love. Parents need to love their children. It would be great if this were true, but if you will just observe parents with their children, you might get a different picture. Love is made up of several things. It is not just an emotion, though I would certainly encourage parents to "be in love with" their children on a deeply emotional level. Parenting calls for "agape" love. You can see this in 1 Corinthians 13. This love is not so much an emotion as it is an act of decision and will. It is doing what is right and best for a child regardless how you happen to feel at any given moment. Loving kids calls for words of love. I hate to say it, but sometimes when shopping, I've heard some of the most unloving words spoken to little kids by parents who are oblivious to the harm they are doing. Unkind, nasty, hateful, and even curse words are used to address and identify these children. Kids deserve better words than these. Loving touch is also needed. Children need safe, comforting arms to hold them. They need a tender hand to caress them. Babies who aren't held will fail to "thrive," something that can lead to death! Children are made to experience loving touch. Children also need the love of a parent's most valuable resource -- their time and personal involvement in the child's life.
B. The second and third go together simply because they are so often found together in scripture. Parents must grant grace and mercy to their children. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Anyone who has been a parent for a while understands that sometimes children need to get what they don't deserve and not get what they do deserve. Grace and mercy! You can learn the "grace and mercy lesson" from Hebrews 4:15-16. The passage tells us that we have confident access to God so that we can receive grace and mercy when we need it. I'd suggest we need it most when things have gone wrong, when we haven't been right or done right, when shame might otherwise cause us to hide our faces from the Father. But, because we have a great high priest who sympathizes with us, who understands what we're struggling with, he gives us access to grace so we can get what we don't deserve, and mercy so that we don't get what we do deserve. Parents need to remember what it was like to be a child. They need to sympathize because they know what it's like to face tough choices and to struggle with doing what is right. Because they remember what it was like, because they understand the fight their kids are in, they can be gracious and merciful.
C. Fourth, parents need to forgive their children. Go get your concordance out and just look up any number of passages on forgiveness in the New Testament. Read the ones that say we need to forgive so that we can be forgiven. Read the ones that tell you to forgive because you've been forgiven. Then ask yourself how those passages can be applied to everyone except our children. If you should forgive anyone, it ought to be your kids.

There's more to this series, so I'll try to post the additional information in a couple of weeks. Parenting is too important to take lightly. It's a huge job, with an enormous responsibility. One of the best things a parent can do is simply get real about the things that have a significant impact on their children's lives. Once aware, you're in a better position to do something positive about it.

Friday, March 04, 2005

A "Mars Hill" Moment

I recently had the honor and privilege of teaching for a month in Athens, Greece. My students were enrolled at the Athens Bible Institute and came from the African countries of Nigeria and Cameroon. It is such a blessing to be a small part of helping people expand and deepen their knowledge of God's word. Part of the blessing is experiencing people who are excited, diligent students who have a terrific desire to study the Bible and to then share their faith with others.

You can't go to Athens without making a trip to the ancient ruins of the old market place, the Acropolis and Mars Hill. Acts 17 relates that the apostle Paul observed the religious interests of the Athenians, even to the point of erecting an altar to an unknown god. Paul took advantage of that starting point and used it as the spring-board to tell them about the real God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Mars Hill, the meeting place of the Areopagus, was the locale of Paul's very significant sermon.

Mars Hill isn't that big. In fact, it's rather small. A friend took my picture and below in the background, you can see the ancient marketplace. It's a place where you can't help but feel a sense of history. Standing on top of Mars Hill means you're within a mere few feet of where Paul stood. It's startling to realize that you're in the place where such a significant address was made that it found room in the inspired word of God. The enormity of Paul's address is even more amazing as you look toward the Acropolis and see the ruins of the temples there.

Here is the enduring point: the world still needs to know about the "unknown God." People do not really know the Creator of the universe, the one God who possesses all authority and power. They do not know the God who is above all gods, and they especially do not know Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Two thousand years may lie between Paul's visit to Mars Hill and my visit, but the needs of mankind remain the same.

Paul and the other early disciples understood clearly the need to "go into all the world" and proclaim the gospel of Jesus. May we get a sense of that same desperate need in our own world.

You may never have the opportunity to stand on Mars Hill. Be assured, however, that wherever you stand, there are people nearby who need to know about Jesus. Don't wait until you get to Greece. Start where you are and help somebody to know the Lord.