From the Mouths and Pens of Youth

One more reminder of the schedule for Hope for Eternity, which will be held in the sanctuary of Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church.

7:00 P.M. Wednesday, April 23
Hell: Thinking the Unthinkable

7:00 P.M. Thursday, April 24
Hell: Biblical Basics

7:00 P.M. Friday, April 25
Hell: Everlasting Destruction

10:30 A.M. Sunday, April 27
Heaven: In the Presence of the Lamb

6:00 P.M. Sunday, April 27
Heaven: Being Made Like Him

And in case you need some encouragement, how about these invitations from some young people in our congregation?

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Listen to this radio ad.
It will air three times a day this week on WWKI.

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Read an editorial published this week
in the school paper, the IUK Correspondent.

Students ask about hope for eternity
By Candace Jones

Finals. Looming finals. Are they really worth all the pain? Every semester we reach the crunch time just when we feel like a week-long nap would be better than big tests. But what if a crazed senior decided to forgo their finals and spend their last week watching reruns of Happy Days. Would it be so bad?

Well it all depends on your level of preparation. If you’ve been making a solid A+ in every class, no problem. But for the rest of us, let’s say for a senior with a GPA of 2.0, the effects could be disastrous. Picture them finding a letter from IU Kokomo, and opening it to realize the truth. Their GPA has dropped below a 2.0, and during their last semester they flunked out of college. Four years (or five, or ten) have passed, and they have nothing to show for all their work.

“Well what a lovely thing to think about right before finals,” you may say. But like it or not, the point is the same-- finals matter. When we aren’t prepared, it shows, and we can flunk out of everything we’ve been working for.

Recently a group of students went around campus and surveyed others on their views of heaven and hell. You may have seen us roving the halls with clipboards, speaking with anyone who would talk to us. The questions were brief, the answers were multiple choice, and we really wanted one thing--their honest opinion. Why did we go to the trouble of asking 100 students about eternity? In short, we were concerned about finals.

For oddly enough, everyone believes that life has its own final too. Atheist or Christian, Muslim or Zenist, everyone has an opinion about what the afterlife is like. When the questions started cranking, the answers would come, and there are certain significant points to note. For instance:

• Nearly three-fourths of the respondents (73 percent) thought that hell was an eternal place of judgment. Some students called it “a ticket for being judged,” or “contrary to what heaven would be,” even “a toilet bowl for all eternity.” But very few (only 4 percent) thought that they personally would be sent to hell when they died. Clearly, for many, flunking this final was out of the question.

• A significant majority (69 percent) believe that we will be judged by God for our behavior in this life. And if judgment has any connection to being in hell, we must find a way to avoid it.

• When asked how someone might get into heaven, the students had something of a variety. Around a quarter attributed it to religious or personal duty, and a sixth were not sure, or said that everyone is going to heaven. The rest, 58 percent, said that one must trust in Jesus Christ to get there. For this majority, then, it’s safe to say that we humans are not A+ students. We have to have help to make it.

And interestingly, the ratio of those who thought they would go to heaven versus those who said they were going to hell was 17-to-1. Is this ratio true to life? Are most of us going to end up in heaven?

The Lord Jesus Christ had a different message; He said expect the ratio to be the other way around, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matt 7:13-4 NIV). If so many of us want to go to heaven, why was Christ so sobering? Because we are not preparing for the final.

The survey ended with this question, If what you believed about the next life was wrong, would you want to know? 66 percent said yes. This is important enough to think about right now. But are we really doing anything to prepare for this final? Are our beliefs about eternity right? Are they wrong?

The students who participated in the survey were invited to come to a free series of talks April 23 to 27, called Hope for Eternity. The Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church in Kokomo is bringing Edward Donnelly, a special speaker from Ireland, to discuss this very subject. He will give five talks about heaven and hell with follow-up discussion afterward. Everyone is invited to attend. If you have been wondering about eternity, come prepare for the true final, and not flunk out of life.

In the end, the analogy doesn’t wholly fit. In college you could miss some finals and scrape by. You could even flunk out and go on to do great things. But we cannot flunk out of existence and go on. And no one is getting a 4.0 GPA on life. Be prepared for the end, listen with an open mind and heart, come to Hope for Eternity, and find hope to live by, now and forever.

Sycamore Reformed Presbyterian Church is located at 300 E. Mulberry St, Kokomo. For more information call (765) 864-0850 or visit www.hopeforeternity.info.

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This Sunday I found a note scrawled in crayon on my desk saying, "Please use this to help pay for Hope for Eternity advertising." On top was a ten dollar bill. The young people want you to come. Will you?

Heart Ache

Not that I consider my life very dramatic, but last week did have its fill of heart-stopping and heart-wrenching moments:

• An IRS audit for my mother's 2006 taxes saying I owed over $25,000 was sent to me. Whoa! Fortunately, a CPA check over the records revealed they had only counted the gains but not the losses on her investments. Never had I felt so relieved in writing a tax check for "only" $500 after the corrections were made and then hearing the CPA tell me the 2007 return was fine.
• I have stood by the bedside several times of Bill Scott, a member of our church and the first fruits of our Rescue Mission ministry, as his health had diminished to the point he was placed on a ventilator last Wednesday. As he had requested not to be placed longterm on life support, the doctors weaned him from the ventilator this weekend and we prepared for the worse. Yet for the second time in a month the Lord has revived him from the brink of death. He even said last night that "the Lord has resurrected me from the dead." A visit today found him once again joking wryly with the nurses.
• Two former members of the church, both who have been excommunicated previously, are interacting with me and asking about restoration. As they have brought great pain to us, have experienced severe personal providences since leaving the church, and struggle with shame and confusion, I find communicating with them heart-wrenching. I hope for their restoration yet wonder about their sincerity.

So I would be the first to admit this shepherd was feeling a little emotionally drained already. Then came the appointment my heart was truly dreading. I had to meet with Lindsay.

For the past two months our oldest daughter, a freshman at a local university, has been auditioning at four music schools. Last Thursday was decision day, so she, Miriam and I met in my office for the final discussion and prayer. Through His kind providences, the Lord had made it clear to all of us that Geneva College was where He was leading her. She shared the message from a preacher friend and the Scriptures God had used to confirm this direction (most notably Mark 10:29-30) to her mother and me. We granted her permission and affirmed the same sense we had of the Lord's leading. The crying and praying came all at the same time. The thought of not having Lindsay around each day, her sweet spirit and beautiful music missing from our home, is almost too much for her mom and dad to bear.

Yes, we know our children are being raised in order to be sent (Psalm 127). We rejoice in belonging to a church that has such a fine institution as Geneva with faithful congregations in the area who will care for her. We have confidence in God's leading and our daughter. We understand there are much greater pains others endure. I am happy and excited for you, Linds.

Yet that still does not take away this ache in my heart.

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The above painting was posted by permission of the artist, Natalie Thoman. You can view and even place an order for her work here.

Advertising the Gospel

I have been to the conferences that tell you how to market the church, and have seen the efforts by churches in the community to do so. However, beyond informational uses such as a Yellow Page ad, sign in the front, or a webpage, we have not made advertising a big effort of ours during the history of our congregation. I am uneasy with promoting the church, as the marketing efforts that are commonly used by churches appear to practice the oneupmanship that is contrary to our Lord's injunction to be humble and not seek the chief seat. As the Cambridge Declaration states, "In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God."

But with just over two weeks remaining before our Hope for Eternity Outreach on April 23-27 will be held, as you can see below we are pulling out all the stops in advertising to get the word out. Let me tell you some of the things we are doing, then end by briefly explaining why I believe this is different than marketing the church.

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Ten of us watched Saturday as Robert Jones went "way up in the middle of the air" on a mechanical lift to hang the banner pictured above on the side of our building announcing Hope for Eternity. This banner is designed similarly to the billboards that are now around town.

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4000 copies of the premier edition of our newsletter have almost all been distributed in neighborhoods, workplaces, on campuses, sent via mail, etc. We have also uploaded it online, as we are seeking to combine traditional media with old forms. For instance, we are asking the young people involved in the campus ministry to create an event on Facebook and use their walls to make it known to their friends.

By the way, many have commented on the incredible graphic artwork of our newsletter, billboards, and other pieces of media. Susan Spiegel has given her efforts and talents to producing these high-quality works. Having a talented graphic artist in our midst has been a blessing!

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Our college students surveyed 100 students at IUK using the survey below. One of them will be writing an article for the school paper to publish the results. Even if those who took the survey or read the article do not come to the outreach, we hope they will be stirred into considering what takes place after this life.

1. Which statement best describes what you think about hell?
A) Hell is a place of eternal judgment.
B) Hell is a place where I will have a good time with my friends.
C) Hell does not exist.
D) Hell is a waiting place to some other part of the afterlife.
E) Other: Hell is _______________.

2. If a person wanted to go to heaven, how do you think he could get there?
A) He should try to be a good person.
B) Everyone is going to heaven.
C) All he needs to do is be faithful to his religion.
D) He should trust in Jesus Christ to get there.
E) I’m not sure.

3. How will our actions in this life impact the next? A) Our efforts in this world will help us move to a higher level.
B) We will be judged by God for how we lived our lives.
C) Our good works will outweigh the bad.
D) Since there is no afterlife, our good works just help others now.
E) Other: _______________.

4. What do you think will happen to you when you die?
A) I’ll go to heaven.
B) I’ll go to hell.
C) I’ll no longer exist.
D) I do not know.
E) I do not care.

5. If what you believed about the next life was wrong, would you want to know?
Yes
No

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We have recorded a radio ad done by a young boy in the congregation who has demonstrated a real heart for this outreach. Several times a day during the outreach week it will be airing, with him asking the listeners questions about eternity and inviting them to come.

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I could share other things, but back to the question at hand. Is not all this just a slick marketing campaign by the church? Perhaps some will accuse us of that. Yet I see a vast difference between marketing the church and advertising the gospel. Advertising can be used for self-promotion, but it is better used to serve others by making them aware of what they need. With the opportunity for the community to hear Pastor Ted Donnelly from Ireland preach three times on the topic of hell and twice on heaven, we want to do everything possible to let people know they need to hear these massages.

Afterall, we may not be able to perform signs and wonders as the apostle of old did to draw people to the gospel, but can we not use signs to encourage people to wonder about their eternal destiny?

Help in the Pit

Many thanks to you who have prayed for the situation regarding my mother and sent messages. Though she remains in the deep pit of her depression, God's sustaining graces have been evident to me.

At the risk of blogging too often or too much about this experience, I thought I might offer some key resources the Lord has helped me with through this time. Never did I imagine a few years ago I would spend so much time in psychiatric hospitals or be confronted with decisions about medications and ECT. Yet apparently these decisions are before more and more Americans.

According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, adult use of antidepressants almost tripled between the periods of 1988-1994 and 1999-2000, with ten percent of women 18 and older and four percent of men taking them. Americans spend 86 billion dollars annually on antidepressants alone. So it is likely you know someone who is taking common antidepressants such as Prozac or Lexapro, or antipsychotics such as Zyprexa. I am aware of several people who have even had their family doctor, during fairly routine appointments, offer to write a prescription for antidepressants after making some expression regarding their emotional state. Despite the rise in medications and treatments, the number of Americans reported as suffering from depression is also on the rise, with nearly 19 million Americans estimated to have it. So I imagine you are dealing with it in one place or another.

If the only ones you listen to are doctors (particularly psychiatrists), the media, or the patients themselves speaking about medications and treatments, you can begin to think that the use of antidepressants is an exact science. However, that is far from the case. Why not check out the following resources to approach it from a more Biblical perspective?

• Psychobabble - This book by Dr. Richard Ganz, former clinical psychiatrist turned pastor, addresses the modern practice of psychology from both his experience (which is fascinating) and more importantly from the Scriptures.
  
• Spiritual Depression - Though nearly forty years old, this book by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, a former medical doctor turned pastor, is a wonderful treatise on dealing with the soul. Since I have blogged on this before, you can go here if you want more of a review.
• Blame It on the Brain? - Dr. Edward Welch, whose doctoral work was on brain physiology, in his books addresses many social ills from the Scriptures while exposing the underlying worldview of secular approaches to counseling. He is always clear and practical.
  
• St. Anne's Public House, an audio/internet magazine addressing cultural issues from a Christian perspective, did an issue on psychiatric drugs that you can listen to here. The interviews with experts are extremely informative and, without being completely "anti-medication," point out the problems with the modern approach to treating mental illness.
• One of the psychiatrists interviewed is Dr. Peter Breggin. Though not a Christian, Dr. Breggin has practiced for over forty years and does not prescribe common medications. His website has many helpful resources and shows the harmful impact of these medications on both the physiology and psychological well-being of people.
  

If you know of others, please feel free to share them.

However, be warned that I reserve the right to delete. Sadly, many in the pit of depression have fallen even further, with the cure becoming worse than the original problem. When dealing with issues of the soul of deeply troubled people, we must take special care not to put stumbling blocks before people.

Love Never Fails

Tending to the situation regarding my mother has kept me from several extracurriculars the past three weeks, of which blogging is one. However, yesterday I was able to bring her back to her assisted living home. Thank you to all who have prayed and/or written, as it has encouraged me. Though my mom remains much the same, she promised not to run away again so we hope that will be the case. A blog is brewing on lessons the Lord is teaching me from this, but I don't have time to pull it together now.

Instead, how about a few nuggets of some of the encouragements and even laughs God has sent our way even in the midst of struggle?

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We are entering into the active phase now of our Hope for Eternity Outreach that will be held the last week of April. Our featured newsletter on the theme of "Heaven & Hell" is at the printers, and we'll be distributing it in neighborhoods over the next few weeks and sending people to it at our website. As you can see in the pictures, two billboards have gone up already that seek to use common questions or misconceptions to create interest, and two more will soon follow. Lord willing, a large banner should hang from the side of our building announcing it this next week. Efforts at community bridging have been encouraging, as a number of families attended a family dinner we hosted last week. We took a step of faith regarding the financing of this outreach, and the Lord has already provided almost all of the extra funding needed. Seeing the Lord answer prayer gives joy as He promised (John 16:24), and we are growing in our longing to see fruit borne. Already this has helped us as a people to be more active in our witnessing.

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Just discovered this morning my son Trevor is now taller than me by half an inch. We had just measured him no more than six weeks ago and that was not the case! Hopefully the extra height will help him as he plays basketball next Monday down at Conseco Fieldhouse for the Indiana Christian Basketball Alliance's all-star game. All I know is that I'll keep pointing out that cross-stitch hanging on his bedroom wall from my Aunt Barbara that used to hang in mine as a boy: "A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow."

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This past Lord's Day we celebrated the resurrection by having the baptism of a young lady from our college ministry whose testimony of transformation we have watched happen over the past months, so that was exciting. Meditating on how Christ was Raised for Our Justification from Romans 4:25 and observing the other sacrament of the Lord's Supper were especially strengthening.

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My good friend Keith Magill sent me an e-mail that addressed me as "Very." Amused, I noted fifteen minutes later he sent an apology, saying his voice technology had heard my name incorrectly. Of course I could not let that go, so I sent him the following:

Deer Teeth,

Know prop phlegm. Eye under sand.

Luvs,

Bear E

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Last Friday night I spoke to the Purdue college ministry of the Lafayette church on love in personal ministry, particularly sharing the lessons God has taught me through the life of Bill Scott. Bill is an elderly member of our church who was a former Rescue Mission resident and a double amputee. He is currently in a hospital in Lafayette, and after hearing about Bill several students went on Saturday and Sunday and sang psalms to him. Bill was actually despondent and had been saying he wanted to die to the nurses on Saturday, but Sunday after these times and some help eating by deacon Jason Camery his spirits have revived. The nurses spoke of how they and other patients were uplifted by the young people's singing, and a visit yesterday found Bill still somewhat disoriented but smiling and interacting more. Love never fails!

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Certainly God's love never fails. Thank you for these reminders, O Lord!

Coming Down from the Mountain

From February 28 through March 1, I attended the annual meeting of our presbytery in Orlando, Florida. Though I must honestly confess that I normally have a fleshly aversion to these all day, dawn-to-dusk-plus meetings, last week's presbytery was an exciting affair. A few highlights:

• Several pastoral candidates preached, and each message was as crisp and clear as the Florida sunshine. Jason Camery, an intern in our congregation, did an outstanding job. It is a joy to see the Lord raising up men for the ministry.
• Many encouraging reports were given from congregations who are seeing the Lord's blessing upon them. Some of our more rural congregations who have gone through periods of dryness are seeing new families and opportunities; three congregations are building or have found better facilities to house their expanding ministries; our two newest works have gifted men establishing them and seeing fruit; even two very old, small works whose future is uncertain were given the careful attention and respect they deserve.
• Dr. Roy Blackwood, founder of the Second RPC of Indianapolis and one whose vision has led to the establishment of churches throughout our presbytery, resigned so that he might give more care to his wife. Friday evening a touching memorial that included a reception and sharing memories of his influence by the presbyters was held. As one of "Roy's Boys," it strengthened me as I was reminded of the privilege of knowing this man whose vision and love have helped me profoundly.
  

As we enter into presbytery, we constitute our meetings in prayer and sing psalms that remind us that Christ is the King of Zion. These meetings by representatives of the church are times spent with Christ on His holy mountain, the New Jerusalem. I could not help but think of how like Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, we were allowed to see and share in the glory of Christ during this time.

However, upon my return home, I was also reminded of what happened as soon as the disciples came off the mountain with Christ. They were immediately confronted with the brokenness of this world as a man brought to them a lunatic son who threw himself into fire and water (see Matthew 17:9-20). On Sunday night my mom, whose struggle with depression I have chronicled before (see "On Depression" or "Mourning atop a Blue-Green Hill"), ran away from her assisted living apartment. She is absolutely certain she hears people talking about her, plotting to arrest her for staying in her apartment, and no amount of talking or reassuring her will convince her otherwise. So she keeps a bag packed all the time, and this weekend decided it was time to go. Fortunately some unidentified man saw her walking alongside the road and brought her back in his truck. These last two days have been spent trying to reason with her, working with the staff, making yet another one of the endless adjustments to her medication, and deciding on her future care.

Why share this? Why tell you of how helpless I feel? Why take such a personal matter and make it known? Two reasons. First, to warn you to believe. Having watched my mom descend into the pits of depression over the past twenty years, and having been her chief caretaker the last three, more than ever I believe the ultimate cause of these things is her inability to believe in the gospel. Over and over through those years she has hardened herself to the proper response to God's offer of forgiveness and life, quietly but stubbornly and persistently rejecting what has been offered to her. In turning to pills to deal with the anguish of her soul (even as new research is raising questions over the effectiveness of clinical drugs in treating depression), she abused them and her mind has been so altered that it has become the playground of demons. If you have anyone in your life heading toward this hellhole, warn them to seek the Christ who can take even demoniacs and put them in their right mind.

The other reason? To plead with you to pray. When the disciples asked why they could not drive the demon out of the boy, Jesus rebuked them for the littleness of their faith. He then said with faith as small as a mustard seed, they could say to "this mountain" to move, and it would move, for nothing in Him was now impossible. Could it be that rather than just a simple proverbial statement, the mountain to which Jesus was pointing to was the one they had just come from? Could it be that He was saying the glory they had just witnessed up there, through faith and prayer, is now mobile and would come down to the rest of the earth? So even as I am tempted to give up, might I ask that you pray earnestly that my strength would be renewed and that God's glory would come down?

A Son of Abraham

As I grew up outside of Christ and His church, never venturing beyond the bounds of the South and Midwest, my view of the world was extremely limited and ill-informed even into my young adult years. I knew little of other lands and peoples, relegating them to history books and looking with suspicion at the occasional foreigner who crossed my path. My only exposure to other nations seemed to be quadrennial in nature, where during the Olympics, in my sports-crazed, American ego-centric ways, I would watch television hoping the USA would trounce anyone not wearing red, white and blue. Foreign lands seemed to be just that. Foreign and other-worldly to me. You could have rightly accused me of being xenophobic, but I was so ignorant I would have had no idea what it meant.

Yet this past week the Lord has reminded me again and again that He has not just changed my mind about people from other lands. He has blown it away. For one of the wondrous aspects of salvation is that you immediately become part of the family of God, a family that is nation-encompassing in scope. The believer in Christ becomes a child of Abraham, the father of many nations. The incredible event at Pentecost was not only the number of those saved, but that they were men from "every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5). An awe is seen in the early church over the way the Lord had brought salvation to the nations of the earth (Acts 11:18). And centuries later little old me, still living in the Midwest but with an eye now that is able to look beyond it, is connected to believers all over the world simply because I belong to Christ's church. For just this past week I was privileged to experience:

• A young lady named Juliann I had known as a girl in the Elkhart congregation sent a letter sharing about her Scriptural translation work in Papau New Guinea.
  
• Several college students in our congregation church shared with me desires about traveling and/or doing mission work in places as diverse as Israel, Mexico and Australia.
• I continue to rejoice in working closely with Bill VanDoodewaard, our pastoral intern from Canada, and learning more about the church there.
  
• Daniel, a young man who grew up in our congregation, was here last week with his wife and new son sharing how they will be leaving for Africa for mission work in the wilderness next month. As I spent some time with my pastor and mentor Dave Long a few days later we spoke of how he will be visiting them in April.
  
• We spent more time planning for our outreach in April when a pastor from Ireland will be here preaching in Kokomo.
• We prayed yet again for the work of the church in Australia, where another son of the congregation lives and a dear friend of mine pastors.
  
• Yesterday Vic Bernales, a seminary student from the Philippines, preached here. Later that night, his family stayed with us and in my office he spoke to our mutual friend Ojie Bicaldo in Davao City in Mindanao over my computer on Skype.

"Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples" (Psalm 96:3). What a privilege being a son of Abraham in the age of Christ is!

John Frum Day

It was the day after Valentine's Day. John Frum Day, that is. It is celebrated every year on February 15th. Missed it, you say? You should thank the Lord.

In the tiny South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanautu, John Frum Day has been celebrated for over sixty years now. It is a ritual of one of the so-called "cargo cults" leftover from World War II. American soldiers by the tens of thousands came into the Pacific Theatre of WWII and its many islands, dropping in from planes overhead and being dropped off from massive boats by sea. As they brought with them their western machines, jeeps, radios, food items, riches, etc., the local villagers living in grass huts with their ancient superstitions thought the gods had arrived. In many cases, villages began worshiping military leaders and praying that these "gods" would bless them with all these wonders they were seeing. When the war ended and the soldiers disappeared, the islanders kept praying for their return. As the years passed by with no return of these wonders, most of these cargo cults faded away with the disillusionment of unfulfilled expectations. But the John Frum cult remains, even being featured on the Vanuatu's travel bureau website.

Every February 15th, in the village of Lamakara, islanders gather to honor John Frum. Men march in order with bamboo sticks carved like rifles with bayonets, while other natives dress in bright colors and do special dances. Flags from America are flown proudly, be they Stars and Stripes or Confederate ones. A chief visits a volcano and speaks to John, who supposedly now lives there, and tends to a special house or temple to John. Other celebrations ensue. Every Friday is also a religious day, as locals gather for a time of hymn singing and drinking to John. Though no naval record points to an actual sailor with this name, locals claim a man decked in naval attire with this name promised that he would return with planes and boats loaded with goods if they would pray to him. Though he has not yet kept his promise, sadly the islanders have maintained theirs.

As I read about this in the Smithsonian (you can go here to read the full story), the exact name of the island caught my attention and reminded me of another John who had gone there nearly a century before. The island this cult resides on is Tanna Island. This is the island that John G. Paton, known as the missionary to the New Hebrides (now called Vanuatu), first went to from Scotland in his mission work. After being there for three months, he tragically saw his wife and then newborn son succumb to illness. Paton continued to minister to the natives there, but ultimately he had to flee Tanna for his life. He eventually resettled on the nearby island of Aniwa. Though the people of Aniwa were just as cruel and cannibalistic as those on Tanna, it was here that the Lord blessed Paton with success. After many years, the entire island embraced Christ.

Several lessons are to be gained from this fascinating history:

• Why did one island become so enthralled with Christ and another similar in nature generally reject Him even to this day? Nothing but the sovereign grace of God can explain that.
  
• One common objection raised against Christianity is "What about those who have never heard about Christ?" A careful look at the history of the church will show that in those places where the gospel is lacking, most often there was a prior rejection of it. This should serve as a warning that God will turn His attention away from those who resist Him.
• People naturally prefer the gods of their own making over the true knowledge of Christ.
  
• As the Westminster Confession of Faith states, wherever God constructs a true church, Satan erects a nearby synagogue to mislead people.
  
• The foolishness of idolatry should not decrease over time just because it becomes more culturally acceptable. Even the Smithsonian can go to this remote island and refer to this John Frum religion as a cult. Why can it not see the same in Mormonism, whose roots are just as bizarre?
  

The chief of this religion was asked by the reporter why he had not given up hope in John Frum's apocalyptic return after sixty years. His answer, which serves as the conclusion to the Smithsonian article? "Christians have been waiting 2000 years for Jesus to return to earth and haven't given up hope." Hear in that answer the knowledge of the gospel he is rejecting? And according to this article, sounds like this very chief is being threatened as the gospel is now triumphing, turning "John Frummites" into Christians. Hallelujah!

"For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods." -Psalm 96:4

Seeing the Unseen

Tragically, last week an unusual storm system for the winter produced at least 68 tornadoes in the south, leading to widespread destruction and the loss of life through states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. Even as we pray for those who are dealing with the aftermath of this worst outbreak of tornadoes in twenty years, have you noticed what people are saying regarding the unseen source of these storms?

Of course, many of our modern prophets such as Senator John "Elisha" Kerry (friend of Al "Elijah" Gore) quickly arose to proclaim to us the reason these tornadoes were sent was because of global warming. Do these men not appear as hypocritical televangelists, flying around the world in private jets with red-faced anger, warning the masses of the great apocalypse that is coming unless we all repent of our sin of driving an SUV? Is not their message a twist on the psalm, "Who understands global warming's fury as they should?" One wonders how many carbon credits (I prefer the term "carbon indulgences") Archbishop Gore thinks it takes to stop a tornado from forming. I imagine more than I can buy. These men would do well to recall Churchill's words when asked what qualities being a politician requires: “The ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.”

On the other hand, at least one politician was reported as pointing to another source. The New York Times quoted Governor Phil Bredesen of Tennessee as saying that these whirlwinds were a display of the "wrath of God." However, they later corrected their article as this quote was not from this year, but occurred in 2006 when Governor Bredesen stood beside the ruins of a home that had been stricken by a tornado. Most likely the Times, whose own public editor was not ashamed to admit their liberal bias, made this error in their rush to made the honorable governor appear foolish in his assessments.

These examples demonstrate how one's worldview, with its inherit presuppositions, impacts everything we see. Believe in a naturalistic universe, and you will credit an amorphous Mother Nature's hot flashes as the culprit behind a tornado even as you mock supernatural explanations. Believe in a Creator, and you understand why even insurance policies will still not cover certain "acts of God." Theologian and philosopher Cornelius Van Til said, "I could believe in nothing else if I did not, as back of everything, believe in this (Creator) God. Can I see the beams underneath the floor on which I walk? I must assume or presuppose that the beams are underneath. Unless the beams were underneath, I could not walk on the floor."

Instead of giving carbon the credit for these tornadoes, God does not back away from taking it. Through his prophet Isaiah He proclaimed to a disobedient people, "From the LORD of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire" (Isaiah 26:3). He took his true prophet Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind (II Kings 2:11), and spoke to another one named Job from one (Job 38:1), all the while claiming His power over winds and every other act of nature.

We have been sowing the wind as a nation for quite some time now. Is it not about time we finally see we are reaping the whirlwind He promised He would send (Hosea 8:7)? We better, for think upon what yet another prophet named Nahum was saying when he declared, "In whirlwind and storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust beneath His feet" (Nahum 1:3).

Mercy with a Bite

Ever noticed how often Jesus would meet a request for help with silence, a hard question, a reproach, an impossible demand or even an apparent refusal?

The Syrophoenician woman's story in Matthew 15 is a case in point. She cried out to Jesus for mercy for her oppressed daughter. Yet Jesus at first did not answer her (Matthew 15:23). When she kept up the noise He told her He was only sent for Israel (Matthew 15:24). When she bowed and begged He told her His bread was "for the children, not the dogs" - a Gentile dog like her being implied (Matthew 15:26). Ouch! Finally, as she persevered with Him, her request was granted.

Other notable examples can be found in Jesus commanding His disciples to give food they did not have to the five thousand (Matthew 14:15-16), asking a blind man what he wanted done (!) and a paralytic of thirty-eight years if he wished to be well (!!) (see Luke 18:41 and John 5:6 respectively), and seeming to put off His own mother when presented with a wine shortage (John 2:4). Why did Jesus do this?

To stir up faith. He commended the woman above for her great faith (Matthew 15: 28). Mercy assistance doled out, no questions asked, leads to loss of dignity, obscures the real source of the problem, and misses the opportunity to get people to contemplate why God has put them in that situation in the first place. For the Lord wants them to seek the true mercy of Christ, which is the forgiveness of, and freedom from, sins.

To that end, being a downtown congregation that regularly gets asked for help, from families without any food in the house to the druggie asking for twenty bucks "so I can visit my grandmother in the hospital in Indianapolis" (translated "so I can buy my next hit of crack"), we slow them down by asking some questions.

Since several have asked us recently about how we handle mercy requests, I thought it might be of some help to others to post below the general procedure we ask when someone calls or stops by. In each instance from Christ's life I referred to above, note that even as He heals and feeds Jesus is directing them to Himself as the source of true spiritual health and food.

Psalm 136 tells the people of God 26 times that the Lord's "mercy is everlasting." What a sweet refrain! Yet read it and remember that the Lord's mercy is praised in the context of Him sending plagues, overthrowing kings, and rescuing His people from adversaries. That's mercy with a bite!

Reformed Presbyterian Church

Mercy Request Policy

When someone outside the church contacts us via phone or personally about helping them with shelter, food, clothing, bills or monetary needs, please follow the procedure outlined below.

1) Ask the following questions, being sure to write down the information.

• Name?
• Contact info?
• Particular need?
• Family structure?
• Job?
• Do you receive government assistance?
• Why has this need arisen?
• Have you asked any family members for help?
• Do you belong to or attend a church? If yes, why are they not helping you?
• Have you approached any government agencies, Rescue Mission or other churches for help already in this area? If so, why did they deny you?
• Why did you contact us?

To be honest, not only does this help us assess the need, but it will often reveal those who are merely panhandling and tends to chase away those wanting a quick buck (Do not be surprised if they hang-up or leave angrily). Also, if in this process the questions reveal obvious sin (i.e., "my live-in boyfriend used the money for drugs"), immediately ask them, “Have you ever considered that your need is the consequence of the spiritual problem of not obeying God?”

2) If they continue to seem responsive, then ask, "If we assist you, are you willing to receive instruction from God's word?"

If they are not, we warn them that their hunger or need is God getting their attention about their sin and they are ignoring His message. We then politely tell them we will not be able to help them if they will not listen to the Lord. Jesus fed the 5000 only after they had listened to Him for many hours.

3) If they do agree for spiritual instruction, tell them you must talk to the deacons to see how we can best address their need and that we will get back to them as soon as possible (try to make it that same day if possible). Make it clear that you are not authorized to give them money at any time.

4) Contact deacons Ron Visser or Robert Jones at the Mission to have them checked through the database to see if they have received help or if these men know the individual or family (often they do). Then formulate with Ron or Robert the best plan for meeting the need and/or speaking to the person.

5) Usually a deacon will then contact them on behalf of the church and arrange for bringing the food, giving the ride, helping with a bill, etc. We always go with more than one person to meet the need and give them a church brochure, share a testimony, and invite them to church.

6) Always pray for the person(s) at our next gathering.

Some Mean Preaching

With all our talk in Reformed circles about the importance of preaching, might not experience call that into question? Might not some disagree simply by observation?

Please understand. If you told me Reformed churches are concerned about the importance of teaching and I had to measure that by what takes place on Sunday morning, I would believe you. But preaching? It's not that we don't exegete the passages. We do. It's not that we don't have all our Westminster t's crossed and i's dotted. They are. It's not that the sermons are too short. They're not! So what's wrong?

Martin Lloyd-Jones in his book Preaching & Preachers reminds us that a sermon is not:

• an essay (written to be read rather than proclaimed),
  
• nor a lecture (a talk on a topic rather than a message from a text),
  
• nor a commentary (a running explanation of each verse rather than a "burden of the Lord" on the heart of the preacher).
  

Yet experience shows that we Reformed pastors often can use the Scripture more like an encyclopedia than a sword; our podiums can seem more like lecterns than pulpits many times. Why do we Reformed preachers have this tendency to go for the head but not the heart? Looking at my own struggles in this area over the years, though many reasons exist, it fundamentally boils down to one issue. Fear. We are scared.

Scared of what? All sorts of thing. We are scared that begging people to be reconciled to God sounds Arminian. We are scared that emotion violates decency and order. We fear certain truths might offend some of our respectable members. And perhaps most of all we are scared of love, of open and passionate expressions of love for Christ and His people. Yet is that not to be the goal of all our instruction, especially preaching (I Timothy 1:5)?

Say what you will about the video below, call me what you will for highlighting it, but a little more of the type of love exemplified in it, seasoning sermons from Reformed pulpits, would go a long way in capturing hearts in this sleepy generation.

The Fountain of Youth

"A willing people in Thy day of power shall come to Thee,
Thy youth arrayed in holiness like morning dew shall be."
Psalm 110, from The Book of Psalms for Singing

Over 150 students from at least twenty colleges and young professionals packed themselves into the facilities of the Sangralea Valley Camp January 18-21st for the annual Covenanter Young Adults (CYA) Winter Conference directed by pastors Dave Long and Jared Olivetti. Though the outside temperatures were near-zero with biting, frigid winds, indoors the warmth of God's Spirit overcame it all.

We enjoyed rich teachings from Pastor David Hanson as he spoke four times from the book of Job on the theme Triumph through Tragedy. His insights brought clarity to the structure of the book and discourses between Job and his friends, drew out helpful distinctions in the subtle yet profound nature of Job's complaints, and left us with the proper sense of awe over the Lord's absolute yet caring rule over His people as He responded to Job. David did a tremendous "job on Job."

Many other highlights could be noted. Touching testimonies of suffering and loss in our main meetings were given that made the subject more real (and tears flow). Workshops on a variety of topics from spiritual gifts to "Weird Worship?" touched on topics of interest to the young people. Feeding so many was handled superbly by Michelle Baumgardner, Heidi Larson & Co. at the camp, and at Sycamore RPC following worship by the ladies of our congregation. A "Stump the Pastors" session Sunday afternoon, where six pastors fielded questions from the conferees ranging from topics as diverse as birth control to video games, brought forth some solid answers, honest admissions, and good laughs.

Yet I want to point out the highlight for me (and I am sure the other pastors). It was the heart of the youth. An earnestness and passion for God and His truth were clearly evident.

• They sang and sang throughout the weekend, not just when they were "supposed" to sing but asking to sing more psalms after we were done and spontaneously starting to sing on their own if a session started late. They expressed again and again their love for God's word sung.
  
• When asked in our congregation's "Family Worship" following the Fellowship Lunch time to describe what the Lord is doing in the church in their region, one young person after another eagerly stood up to explain Christ's work. From old works to new, from local congregations to foreign missions, these young people know what is going on in the church and have a heart to see it strengthened and multiplying.
• One fervent prayer followed on the heels of another during a time of prayer Sunday evening as they sought God's blessing on the church. Presiding over the meeting, I almost felt I had to break in to end it so we could proceed. Maybe I should not have!
• During a time of sharing, there was nothing forced but insightful, excited expressions of lessons and new life the Lord had given to them.
• In informal times, they enjoyed one another while exhibiting godliness, sought counsel and asked questions pertaining to godliness, and served one another in godliness. That can mean only one thing. God was there!
  

Yes, as Psalm 110 indicates above a fountain of youth has been discovered. It is in the church, where the living waters of Christ's Spirit are poured out on young people who serve Him gladly and willingly. How thankful I am that I was able to drink from it this weekend.

Cell Phone Etiquette 101

My father-in-law Ron likes to call himself Jethro on occasion. This is done in honor of Moses' father-in-law who (Ron is always glad to remind me) gave wise counsel to his needy son-in-law. As such, he delights in correcting me on matters of etiquette and grammar. If my elbows are on the table at mealtime or I say "The time went quick" instead of "quickly," I'm sure to hear about it. Though it has always been done in good humor, as a young man I have to admit it rather annoyed me. Yet these days I get a kick out of it and am even thankful for it, as I also have to admit that I now speak more deliberate. Or is that "deliberately?"

Anyway, call me Jethro if you must, but many of you need to learn some etiquette yourself when it comes to the cell phone, and I am here to offer it. For UCPS (Ubiquitous Cell Phone Syndrome) has changed our culture drastically. Everywhere you go people are interrupting conversations to yak to someone else on their cell phone, running into things as they try to walk and text (or worse yet driving into things!), or giving the appearance they belong in an insane asylum as they talk to an ear bud that only half the people observing them can see. So here's my small effort to correct the problem. In all seriousness I offer the following as some guidelines for proper cell phone etiquette.

First of all, get a grip. Too many people, especially young ones, act as if their cell phone is a hot line to the White House. Every single time the things rings, beeps or vibrates, they interrupt all conversation or forget anyone else is around to answer anyone who calls or to check the latest "HT" text message (that means "Hi There" in cell phone text language for my older readers). Get a grip! If you miss a call, you will live. Quit acting like you are having a seizure as you hurriedly try to get your phone out of your pocket or purse. Control the phone. Don't let it control you.

Honor the conversation you are already in. To text or answer your phone in the midst of conversation is to be rude, like letting a little kid burst in and interrupt a conversation every minute or two. Don't kid yourself into thinking the others with you do not see the frequent checking and semi-hidden texting you are doing. If you are in a conversation or group and the phone rings, you are not obligated to answer it. Is that not why you have voice mail? If you are expecting an important call, let those with you know and then ask permission or excuse yourself to answer it.

Turn it OFF in worship and important meetings. Yes, I know you can set it to vibrate so the ring does not disrupt everyone else in the sanctuary, office or classroom. But the vibration still disrupts you and your ability to concentrate. If you feel that buzz in your pocket while listening to a sermon, you are going to wonder who it is and struggle with the urge to check. How can you then do that and at the same time be loving God with all your heart in the sanctuary? How can you give your full attention to the lecture in the classroom while texting? Sure, if you are a doctor on call you need to answer. But so many of us are demonstrating with how we use our cell phones an empty self-importance (maybe we should call them "self phones"?).

Avoid godless chatter and endless gossip. The ability to communicate easily increases the temptation to justify ungodly behavior. God's command to "let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear it" may not be listed on your Verizon of Cingular bill, but it is still part of the package for you. If we were to take a recording of your last week's cell phone conversations and make them a public record for parents, elders and even the friends you were talking about to hear, would you be ashamed? Well, they may not be listening to your conversations, but God is and will judge you accordingly.

Parents, keep tab. And young people, welcome this. When I was young, and I wanted to communicate with friends, I had to call their home with the likelihood being great that my friend's parents would know we were on the phone. They often answered! Today, in too many cases young people can carry on secret conversations with who knows whom without parental knowledge. As a result, the immature are developing inappropriate intimacy at too young an age and too quickly. In some cases this has ended in tragedy. Waiting until the child has shown appropriate maturity before allowing them their own cell phone, discussing their conversations, asking them to show their call logs occasionally, scanning your phone records for strange or oft-repeated numbers, removing privileges over infractions, etc., are means parents must employ to train their children in this powerful technology. Young people, the Proverbs exhort you to give your heart to wisdom (1:4), counsel (8:32-33), and your parents (1:8; 2:1; 4:1). You should welcome rather than fight your parents' input into godly communication skills.

Before I even started writing this, I bet myself that someone had already written "The Ten Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette," and lo and behold, Google proved me right. So you can go there for another's opinion. But remember, I'm acting here as Jethro giving counsel, not as Moses giving laws. And besides, I only gave five!

___________________________________________

P.S. For a comprehensive essay on the impact of cell phones on our culture, read "Our Cell Phones, Ourselves" by Christine Rosen.

Hope for Eternity

After a three-month hiatus from the blogosphere, today marks my return. Lord willing, I hope to write Monday mornings and then post. So if you are interested in tuning into a weekly column with this shepherd's perspective on life, I hope to meet you here.

My absence from blogging was semi-intentional. I rambled around the countryside a bit last fall to speak at several churches and a college retreat . Ministry with young people, from a growing academy to a budding college ministry, with some coaching for my sons' basketball teams thrown in, has taken a great deal more time. Yet far and away the most time consuming activity (that caused me to set blogging aside for a while) has been planning for what we are calling Hope for Eternity.

On April 25-27 & 29th of this year, Irish pastor and author Ted Donnelly will be here at the Sycamore RPC sanctuary in Kokomo for a series of evangelistic meetings we are calling Hope for Eternity. Ted will speak three times on the subject of hell Wednesday-Friday, then on Sunday the 29th twice preach regarding the topic of heaven. God has blessed Ted with a wonderful ability to communicate eternal truth and we want many to hear him. So we have been spending the past year, and especially this fall, getting ready. How?

Well, first by praying people will come and think upon where they will spend eternity. Too often portrayals and comments about heaven and hell are cartoonish and glib, and people do not seriously consider their eternal destiny. To ask God to bring His knowledge and fear upon the people in this area, we have and will continue to host a series of prayer events leading up to this outreach.

Next, by making people feel welcome here. Our deacons and youth have been working on the building these past months to ready it for more people, with a new boiler a major, necessary project. Also, thanks to the help of Susan Spiegel, please notice we have spruced up our website to help make this event known. The Lord answered some long-standing prayers and an exciting new tutoring ministry by our own youth to the needy in the neighborhood of the building began this fall in order to serve them and build relationships. Several neighborhood events, such as a block party and game night, were held to do the same. We are developing a deeper love for the people around us and we hope the Lord will bring them to us and, more importantly, to Himself.

Finally, we are simply inviting people to this event. Again through Susan's artistry, we developed a newsletter called Hope for Today that features articles, testimonies and pictures of our congregation. We are distributing them to 2000 households every two months and they contain an invitation to the outreach. Word-of-mouth, billboards, invitation cards, and other media will be used, as we believe our whole community needs to hear these messages.

So please know our invitation is sincere and deliberate. Please come April 25-27 at 7:00 p.m. and April 29th at 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to hear these life-changing messages.

Mosquerading

Destroy and root out the abominations, idolatry, and heresy of the Turk, the pope, and all false teachers and fanatics who wrongly use Thy name and in scandalous ways take it in vain and horribly blaspheme it...in persecution they believe they render Thee a divine service.

This prayer is from Martin Luther's small book A Simple Way to Pray. Luther's book was written in request from his barber about how to pray. Luther took the Ten Commandments and Lord's Prayer and offered prayers based on them to serve as a pattern for how we might pray. The above quote is from the petition "Hallowed be Your name." The "heresy of the Turks" to which Luther refers is their religion of Islam, which teaches that the name of Jesus is decidedly not "the only name given under heaven by which men must be saved" (Acts 4:13). Heard or uttered any bold prayers like this in church lately?

Might want to start. For the Muslims are starting to pray to Allah in churches in the United States. This was brought close to home recently, as a Protestant church here in Kokomo has opened its doors to allow a gathering of Muslims to use its building. According to two trustworthy witnesses who were there, at a public meeting explaining this to the congregation a few weeks ago the pastor invited the Muslim leader to pray. At the end of his prayer offered in Arabic, the Muslim restated it in English and clearly called for Allah to bring victory over those who were not following him. Many of the duped churchgoers there bowed while he was praying, arguing later, "We all worship the same God any way."

Sorry, but that's not what the Apostle John said. "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son" (I John 2:22). To the Muslim, they may want to persuade you all day long they respect Jesus as a prophet, but to them He is definitely not the Christ.

The lazy, gluttonous, post-Christian West does not understand the mindset of the Muslim. The sincere Muslim wants and preaches a worldwide spread of Islam. As a book like Robert Spencer's The Truth about Muhammed shows, embedded in the very root of Muhammed's life and teaching in the Qur'an is the belief that there must be constant warfare and struggle - jihad - to establish Islamic rule over the nations.

You might want to go to this website, watch the trailer for the movie Obsession: Radical Islam's War against the West, then consider purchasing a copy. A professional and expertly-done news documentary, it contains clip after clip of sheiks and Muslim clerics who have been videotaped or televised in various countries preaching about bringing Islam to the West. Watching such things as thousands chanting "Death to America!," children's shows seen on Arabic television with seven year-old girls citing passionately poems about being a martyr for Allah, and Muslims in public in London and New York burning American flags and encouraging the bombing of the USA has quite a sobering effect. And if that's sobering, then seeing the documented deception of Islamic leaders using the West's freedoms, media and naivety against us gives you the nauseousness of a hangover.

Does not the covenant God both promise and show us in His word that when His people no longer honor Him, He will bring a more wicked nation against them? Read Genesis 28:49-52 of how "a nation from afar...a nation whose language you do not understand...a nation of fierce countenance" will be brought against those who turned from the Lord. Read Habakkuk who foresaw the horror of the Babylonians coming against Israel for doing that very thing. Then, when you have sought to console yourself by saying that was Israel and God does not treat other nations that way, read Amos' warning to six other nations besides Israel, read Obadiah telling of Edom's destruction, read Nahum telling of the end of Assyria...

Yes, we have a great military and most of these nations appear too backward to be of consequence. But as Obsession shows, the Allies did not think Hitler was much to worry about either. And Hitler was a godless man in one nation with few sympathizers on our soil. This Islamic movement has the sanction of Allah himself and is multi-national. They are already here converting churches into mosques. Is it not time that we long to see it turned the other way around?

So let our trust be not in our military (Psalm 20:7), but in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as we pray as Luther:

Dear Lord God, convert and restrain them. Convert those who are still to be converted that they with us and we with them may hallow and praise Thy name, both with true and pure doctrine and with a good and holy life. Restrain those who are unwilling to be converted so that they may be forced from misusing, defiling, and dishonoring Thy holy name and from misleading the poor people. Amen.

By an Autumn River

Green murky waters flow quietly,
Leaves from trees upriver carried twirling along.
Slowly they pass by the stranger on the bank,
Leaning against the trunk that's strong.

Lips closed as prayers move upward,
Silently...slowly...barely adrift.
With struggling faith, they fall back to earth,
"Lifeless, futile, a rejected gift?"

Across the stranger's gaze a sole leaf,
Tongue of fire from the sun-soaked season,
Floats down and joins with other pilgrims.
"Traveling assuredly, yet without reason?"

A far-off destination suddenly perceived,
Comforts the one resting 'gainst the tree.
For mysterious Water carries both to distant field,
Preparing soil for a harvest yet to be.

(Composed on the banks of the Wildcat during the Sycamore RPC Annual Camp-out)

Modinity

With the heat blazing away today (my Firefox Weather buttons show a severe weather alert because the heat index is to break 100 this week), did you know the the sun itself was used as a harmful illustration of God in church history? And do you know this same belief is commonly taught and accepted uncritically in evangelical circles today?

In the third century a man named Sabellius from Libya began to teach that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit do not refer to three distinct persons in the Godhead. Rather, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were just different names for the one true God. Sabellius taught that God existed in different forms or modes (this teaching became known then as Sabellianism or Modalism). Sabellius' teaching explained that God existed as the Father in the Old Testament, then changed forms by becoming the Son in the period of the Gospels, and then, following His work on the cross and returning to heaven after the resurrection, He came back as the Spirit.

To illustrate, Sabellius used the sun. Sabellius said that the sun's essence or core is like the Father, the sun's light rays are like the Son of God, and the heat from the rays like the Holy Spirit. How confusingly close to the truth his teaching is, yet what a dangerous denial of the gospel. For note how this teaches that the Father becomes the Son, and the Son in turn becomes the Spirit. Just as we would use the word "sun" to refer to:

1. the object in the sky during the day ("The sun rose this morning");
2. the light that helps us see during the day ("The sun is bright today");
3. the warmth we receive ("I got too much sun on the beach"),
   

so Sabellius used the name Jesus to refer to the Father or the Son or the Spirit.

Through the influence of the church father Tertullian, who developed the phrase Trinity (Trinitas in the Latin) to explain that God has existed eternally as three persons, Modalism was denounced by the church as a heresy (Since Modalists like to say the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible, for fun let's call their teaching "Modinity" - One God in Three Modes - which is not even in the dictionary). The Scriptures teach that Jesus has existed eternally, as has the Father and the Spirit. It is Biblical to say " The Father is God" or "Jesus is God," but it is heretical to say that "Jesus is the Father" (you can see an example of this here). And it is not only heretical, but, like being out too long today in the sun, it is dangerous.

How so? A modern proponent of Modinity is found in the movement referred to as Oneness Pentecostalism (this United Pentecostal website shows the beliefs outlined above). Even though Oneness advocates use the name Jesus abundantly, going so far as to only baptize in his name (their modalistic thinking forbids them to baptize in the Father and Spirit's name), in actuality they are denying the eternal existence of the Son. Men like T.D. Jakes and much of what appears on TBN then teach that Jesus does not now exist as the Son of God, but as the Spirit. The denial of Jesus as a truly eternal mediator between God the Father and man is a denial of the gospel, placing souls in eternal danger. The emphasis their theology drives them to place on the Spirit's work apart from the Father and the Son manifests this danger in their lifestyles.

For these teachers' focus on the Spirit invariably leads them to exhort their followers to pursue the gaining of wealth, the healing of illness, and the seeking of miraculous signs as indicators of the "blessing of Jesus." If one does not receive these things, then the diagnosis often is that they do not have faith. Imagine my horror at learning this week of a young girl in our community who has had her eardrums damaged because another family member, motivated by these teachings, had "popped her" with both hands on the side of the head trying to give her a dose of the Spirit. This type of teaching was also undoubtedly behind the strange case in Bloomington of an attempted exorcism that made the national news recently (At least their website smells modalistic. Ever notice how hard it is to find out in writing what these groups actually believe?).

The 72nd Psalms says that "Long as the sun His name shall last." Modinity would claim their "Jesus-only" teaching fulfills these words. Yet it is a lie, for in actuality they are really saying "Long as a light bulb His name lasted." The Son of God exists now, fully God and fully man, at the right hand of the eternal Father. Only by His exercising the word of His power does that blazing heat outside come from the sun He made (Hebrews 1:3). Though that sun will one day cease, the light from "the throne of God and of the Lamb" (that's the Father and Son in distinction) will give His people light forever (Revelation 22:3-5).

Christian Man, Christian Love

My wife is away for a few days, having taken the younger three with her to spend some special time with grandparents in Michigan. Funny how the older I get, the more I miss her companionship when it's not immediately present. Yesterday morning, when the hummingbird hovered by the hanging basket of petunias on our front porch that she's always tending, I noticed a pang when I was not able to show her. I feel a bit like I'm riding a tandem bike by myself. Yeah, I might be able to get around, but I'm pedaling hard and not nearly enjoying the ride as much.

This hit home when I pulled a book off my shelf and had a note card she had written many years ago, serving as a now forgotten bookmark, fall out. She had written the following quote to me when I was going through a struggle in the ministry. Though again I felt that pang of her absence, reading it again encouraged me and made me thankful for the little sermons she preaches in her quiet way that no one else but me gets to hear. Yet I will share this one with you. Yes, it is from the mouth of another, but you can understand how passing through her heart and lips into mine sweetens its message.

The Christian man ought to be of a courageous spirit, in order that he may glorify the Lord by enduring trials in an heroic manner. If he be fearful and fainthearted, it will dishonor his God. Besides, what a bad example it is...Moreover, unless your courage is kept up Satan will be too much for you. Let your spirit be joyful in God your Savior, for the joy of the Lord shall be your strength...Moreover, labor is light to a man of cheerful spirit; and success waits upon cheerfulness. The man who toils, rejoicing in his God, believing with all his heart, has success guaranteed. He who sows in hope will reap in joy; therefore, "beloved," be thou strong and very courageous. -Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, May 11th.

By the way, she also put the "beloved" in quotes just like that for me. Hard to be down for long with love and exhortation like that.

How I hope you have Christian love - be it a spouse, a parent, a mentor or a friend - exhorting you on like this in your life.

And please hurry home, Miriam.

Laughing at Limericks

Not much time to blog these past few weeks, so why not share a summer laugh or two?

One of our family's summer highlights was our church's family conference known as Covfamikoi (the name is a loose acronym from "Covenant Families" with the beginning letters of the states in our presbytery tacked on the end somehow). Along with the great teaching, hearty psalm singing, and rich fellowship, the 400-plus conference participants enjoyed such things as recreational activities, a concert by New Song from Geneva College, and a talent show by the conferees themselves. The conference also sponsored a limerick contest, with the submissions and winners read at the talent show.

The winner was Anna Roberts from Bloomington, with this clever turn-of-phrase poking fun at the RP family tree (she gave me permission to share it here):

The Reformed Presbyterian family tree

Is very close-knit in its ancestry.

Everyone is related,

Our cousins have dated;

So what's your connection to me?

Somewhat out of character (at least for those who do not know her dark side like I do), my wife also got into the act. Her inspiration came from some posters that suddenly appeared all over campus one day. You see, at last year's conference a close-up picture had been taken of Dave Long thoroughly enjoying an ice cream cone. Head cocked to the side, tongue extended, eyes dreamily half-closed - you "get the picture." Some of the college students enlarged this flattering picture of their mentor into posters and pasted them everywhere. So Miriam's following entry took third place:

There was once a pastor named Dave,
Chocolate ice cream cones he did crave.
Yet one day while a-lickin'
The camera was a-clickin,
So now in public, Dave tries to behave.

These laughs reminded me, as a math teacher turned pastor, of one of my all-time favorite limericks:

There was a young fellow from Trinity
Who found the cube root of infinity.
But it gave him such fidgets
To add up the digits,
He chucked math and took up divinity.

Have any limericks you would care to submit?

A Little Help Singing the Psalms

I must have been sleeping when they made the announcement. And it must be my lack of web-savvy that kept me from finding it on Crown & Covenant's website. So I'll ask you. Did you know that all the tunes for The Book of Psalms for Singing are in digital format on the internet? If you did, why didn't you tell me?

Thankfully my pal Ed Blackwood finally did. So in case you were in the dark like me, be sure you are awake now and are paying attention. Even if you have trouble finding things on the internet like me, you can do this. All you have to do is either click here or type in www.psalter.org on your browser line and - voila! - all the tunes are at your disposal.

What a great service! Families can get help singing them in their home in worship. Presenters can become proficient in their skill. Pastors can readily hear whether their congregation can handle a tune come Sunday morning.

And just for a little further encouragement in not only properly pitched but balanced a capella psalm singing (distinguishing between public and private acts of worship, being charitable toward those who differ, etc.), how about this gracious quote from Spurgeon on Psalm 144:9-11?

"The Old Testament dispensation abounded in types, and figures, and outward ritual, and therefore music dropped naturally into its place in the “worldly sanctuary”; but, after all, it can do no more than represent praise, and assist our expression of it; the real praise is in the heart, the true music is that of the soul. When music drowns the voice, and artistic skill takes a higher place than hearty singing, it is time that instruments were banished from public worship; but when they are subordinate to the song, as here, it is not for us to prohibit them, or condemn those who use them, though we ourselves greatly prefer to do without them, since it seems to us that the utmost simplicity of praise is far more congruous with the spirit of the gospel than pomp of organs. The private worshipper, singing his solo unto the Lord, has often found it helpful to accompany himself on some familiar instrument, and of this David in the present Psalm is an instance, for he says, “I will sing praise unto thee,”—that is, not so much in the company of others as by himself alone. He saith not “we,” but “I.”

So sing with joy unto the Lord!