Month: November 2014

Give Him Praise!

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Praise & Worship

While reading Psalm 149 yesterday morning, the following stood out to me, Let the high praises of God be in their mouth (149:6a).  What does the psalmist mean by high praises?

  1. Praise is speaking or singing specifically of the greatness of God, Who He is, His attributes. Since He is the transcendent God, the God above all gods, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, then I must give Him the high praise, the highest praise.
  2. High praise means that my praise must be elevated. Weak, timid praise does not glorify my God.  I need to elevate His praise in my heart, before the hearing of men, and in priority.  Charles H. Spurgeon said, “We praise a great God! We should, therefore, praise Him with high feelings, feelings wound up to the highest point of high delight and high desire!  Our praises should climb up to heaven’s gate—running up Jacob’s ladder even as the angels did—till we cast our praises right at the foot of the eternal Throne of God.”
  3. High praise must be in my mouth. This means “in their throat.”  Our praise should come from deep within us, from a heart that adores our God and loves Him with my all!!

Psalm 149 begins and ends with these words:  Praise ye the LORD!  How do you begin your day and how do you end it?  What is found in your mouth in between the beginning and the end?  Let the saints be joyful . . . let them sing aloud . . . let the high praises of God be in their mouths (149:5-6).

Your Personal Circuit Board

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, God's Word, Health

IES Building

Recently I had a brief tour of a factory in our area that is a “full-service electronics manufacturing service provider, serving a diverse group of customers in various electronics end-markets including: commercial, military, medical, RF, flexible circuits, and backplanes.” As I entered the front of the building, I noticed that the exterior grounds were sharp and well-kept with a homey feel of white rockers lined across the front porch. The offices were neat and attractive and the factory floor negated the “five-second rule” of dropped food (otherwise translated, “You could eat off the floor.”).   My first impression was, “This is a quality place to work.”

Hand Solder

 

But what really caught my attention was the careful, meticulous work that keeps this company afloat. There before me as the factory door opened were rows of workers, many of them peering through a microscope soldering very tiny, intricate pieces to a circuit board.  As we walked over to get a closer look at an employee’s work station, he did not even look up or move to see who was around him.  He was transfixed on his work lest he lose his place.  These “hand soldiers,” as they are called, “average over fifteen years of experience in a wide variety of circuit board configurations.”

IES Capabilities

As I looked at this employee’s circuit board as well as another circuit configuration nearby, I realized that these small boards with minuscule pieces  keep commercial and military vehicles running in maximum measure. For instance, when our military troops are using Humvees in a conflict, these boards that cannot be seen are extremely vital to those vehicles’ operation in the most crucial times.

You, too, have a circuit board that needs daily meticulous work because it controls all you do.  It is your spiritual heart.  Unlike the boards made at this factory and shipped away, your heart is there to stay, but it needs careful attention.  Your “circuit board” needs to come under the microscope of God’s Word.  If not, one little drop of offense, corrupt speech, misunderstanding, assumption, deception, distraction, or hurt can short-circuit your heart and cause you to malfunction as a believer.

Therefore, let’s make application of this:

  • What does the microscope of God’s Word reveal about you?
  • Do you as a follower of Christ come under the microscope of God’s Word every day?
  • Do you take time to let the Word meticulously look into the “circuit board” of your heart?
  • Do you sit at Jesus’ feet with His Word in front of you without distraction?

You may look good on the outside, but the most important issue is what’s happening on the inside of the factory that matters.  Since . . .

  • we are in a daily battle with the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17), the world (Romans 12:2; 1 John 2:15-17), and Satan (1 Peter 5:8-9)
  • we are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ’This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself, (Matthew 22:37-39)
  • the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
  • where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21),

just to name a few, doesn’t it make sense  to make sure you pay close attention to your circuit board, the heart?

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:21-23)

Genuine Freedom

by Dale, posted in Death, Hope, Salvation

My dad had many sayings throughout his lifetime that were oft repeated.  His word-picture definition of freedom was, “I have the freedom to walk down the street and swing my arms all I want, but if I happen to hit someone, my freedom ends where his nose begins.”  Everyone wants freedom.  Toddlers want to be free to whine and cry when then don’t get their way.  Grade-schoolers want their freedom to play rather than complete their school work.  Teens long for the day they will be out from under their parent’s authority, and in their minds, to be free at last!

Truth is, freedom comes by death—death to self.  We think freedom comes when we get our own way.  That is never the case.  A toddler, a grade-schooler, a teen or anyone enjoys freedom when they die to self and come under authority placed over them.

Philippians 2:6-11 describes the ultimate, supreme display of freedom produced by death when Jesus Christ, under His Father’s authority, died for the sins of all men to ransom them for absolute, true freedom.

Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (HCS)

Christ left the glories of Heaven to take on the form of man, live a sinless life, respond perfectly to all the sinful acts of man against Him, and then be obedient to God the Father by dying the worst of deaths which included bearing our sins and enduring the forsaking of His Father.  Christ did all this for every man to have the opportunity to be truly, genuinely set free.  He died that we might live.

Today, I am enjoying freedom in the United States of America due to the thousands who have given their lives.  I am enjoying freedom due to all those who set self aside to serve for a greater cause.  For all who have or are currently serving in our military, you have died to self to maintain or give us our freedom.  From my heart, I gladly and with utmost appreciation say, “Thank you!”  And, what thrills my patriotic heart so much is to say, “Thanks, Dad, for you years in the Army, in Japan and Korea, and for serving in the Korean War.  Also, a special thanks to my father-in-law who likewise served in the Army.  Two heroes.”

Being that I have been a born again child of God since the age of five, I understand true freedom because Truth has set me free from sin, death and hell.

John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Romans 3:23-25  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.

Therefore, I am most grateful for Christ’s death on the cross.  But His life was not left on the battlefield of sin.  He went into the tomb of death, conquered its grisly hold, led captivity captive and came out victorious!   Now He lives to set men from free from sin, death and hell.  “Thank You, Jesus, for dying so that we could be made eternally free!”

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  (Romans 5:6-11)

For freedom to be maintained in America, soldiers must continue to die to self and life.  Christ died once.  It is finished (John 19:30).  He now lives forever, never to die again, to give every man who receives Him genuine, eternal freedom.

A Glorious Sunday Morning!

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Church, Joy, Music, Praise & Worship, Salvation, Thanksgiving

My hope is in the Lord,

Who gave Himself for me,

And paid the price

Of all my sin at Calvary.

Chorus:

For me He died;

For me He lives,

And everlasting life

And light He freely gives.”

This was the first song we sang as a congregation yesterday morning.  Having been out of church for the past two Sundays (Chronicled in last week’s posts), my heart rejoiced as we declared our faith in the cross work of Jesus Christ!  (Romans 3:21-25; 5:6-11; Colossians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

Next, we declared our position in Christ as complete because He has done all that is necessary for a sinner to be delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of light (John 19:30; Colossians 1:12-14).

Complete in Thee! no work of mine

May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And I am now complete in Thee.

Chorus:

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!

And sanctified! Salvation wrought!

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified, I too, shall be!

We concluded our congregational singing with “His Robes for Mine.” The lyrics of this hymn describe the exchange that takes place when in my sinful state, by faith I receive Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), the Righteous One (1 John 2:1), and for all eternity my standing before God is that I am accepted (Ephesians 1:6), clothed in Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:23-26; 5:9-11; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!

Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.

Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.

In Christ I live, for in my place He died.

Chorus:

I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:

Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.

Bought by such love, my life is not my own.

My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.

What caused such rejoicing in my heart was threefold:

  1. The doctrine in the lyrics resonated in my own heart because I know Christ as my very own personal, Lord and Savior (John 1:12; 3:16; Romans 10:9-13; 2 Timothy 1:12).
  2. There is something special about corporate worship that cannot be duplicated in the world (Psalm 100; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16; Hebrews 2:12), especially through doctrinal hymns and songs.
  3. The preparation of my own heart before coming to church. As I sat in the quiet of our family room, the sun pouring in, I read Psalm 147 and especially these words recorded in verses 1, 7a:

Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

Yes, it was glorious Sunday morning of worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24), and in anticipation of what it will be like for all eternity.  What a glorious forever day that will be!!

Friday’s Findings

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Family, Marriage, Men, Parenting, Renewal

As always, here’s a list of links found through the week that may be of help to you to instruct, encourage, strengthen and/or bring a chuckle to your day.

The Needed Couples Retreat – Here’s some thoughts about the need for couples retreats as well as addressing some possible objections.  Anyone recognize the water falls?

What the Election Reveals About Us – An excellent post in view of Tuesday’s national elections.

Doing Hard Things – Every older teen and college & career guy/gal needs to read this.  Excellent, biblical advice for our day!   I linked this during the week on my Facebook page.  Parents, make sure you read it and your teens read it.  Perhaps, read it together at supper.

Why Every Christian Needs a Church Home

The Manhunt – One of my favorite Andy Griffith episodes.  Sit back, relax and enjoy.

Thank you so much for reading my blog.  I am truly grateful that you take the time to do so.  These writing and links are from my heart.  If I can encourage you, point you to Christ, help you, strengthen you, or just put a smile on your face, this blog has been successful.  Thanks for reading!!

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 4

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Health, Trials

This past weekend we had something weather wise that is not often seen in East Tennessee.  The Lord saw fit to cover the beautiful fall foliage and the ground with a pristine blanket of white.   The colors stood out and the ground was quieted.  Two seasons came together in one.  Our lives are made up of seasons, too.  Sometimes it’s a season of joy and sorrow all mixed together in one.  Today, I am sharing the last lesson of this weekly series of what the Lord has been doing in my life through hernia surgery, through this season of my life.

Lesson #4:  Seasons of pain prepare us for the days ahead.

As I look back over my life, and I have more earthly years in my “rearview mirror” than I do out the front window, I am able to point out painful, growth markers.  These are times that God chose to send pain into my life to set me aside to teach me about Himself and me.  Some of those markers were . . .

  • The stillbirth of our daughter, Ashley Marie
  • Hernia surgery on the right side
  • Cancer and subsequent death of my parents
  • A detached retina in my left eye requiring surgery
  • Hernia surgery on the left side

I could mention other trials because life is full of them, but the aforementioned are definite times in my life when God did some deep plowing in my heart.  These were seasons of pain . . .

  • to teach me some wonderful truths from His Word
  • to correct some things in my life
  • to show me something of Himself
  • to set a course of action in my personal life, home and/or ministry
  • to turn my longings from earth to Heaven

None of us like pain, but I can truthfully say that God has used it to do some blessed things in my life.  Psalm 119:71 says, It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I may learn thy statues.  I have written in my Bible beside that verse, “2-16-03 Preached this passage as a result of what God taught me through Dad’s death.”  Even as I type this, the pain of my hernia is biting me.  Life is hard, but God is good.  “Thank You, Lord, for this pain.  Looking forward to how You are going to work in the days ahead.”

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 3

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, God's Word, Praise & Worship, Prayer, Renewal, Trials

After being in somewhat of a zombie state over the weekend due to the pain meds, I decided that Sunday night was my last round of “every four hours.”  These pain-numbing, body altering meds were going to have to go! Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the help with pain and sleep, but the side effects were weird.  In particular, these meds altered my ability to concentrate, listen, and stay awake. Some folks would say that I’m on meds all the time. J  Nevertheless, I was grateful that last Monday I could finally listen to preaching on my phone and jot down some notes in my journal.  Hence, the lesson from this hernia surgery that I am sharing today is as follows:

Lesson #3 – One of best responses to and blessings in a crisis is to listen.

That Monday morning, I heard and recorded the following statements from one of my favorite preachers, Tony Evans.

  • God brings crisis for you to know that God is real!
  • Nothing will make you seek God like a crisis.
  • Crisis make you stop praying cute prayers and makes you call out to God!
  • A truth to remember in a crisis: Heaven rules; earth never has the final word.
  • Never let your feelings sit in judgment over your faith.
  • Our God is the God of all the nations. When you have a “nation-sized” problem, you don’t want a “street-sized” God!
  • Name your crisis “Goliath” to remind you what will happen to it.

How grateful I was to be able to listen to the preaching of God’s Word and to be challenged, edified and encouraged.  You see, as a parallel to Day 1 and Day 2, a crisis, “a hernia time,” will be much more beneficial if you just make opportunities to listen.  I used my ear-buds with my phone and listened to sermons, music, and the Scripture.  How soothing, encouraging, challenging, and calming were the words of eternal Truth.  All I had to do was listen.  Times of worship occurred; tears flowed; my heart rejoiced; conversation took place between my Lord and me; and . . .  sometimes I would drift off to sleep.  But, what a way to rest!  That chair in the family room where I spent most of my time holds special meaning to me now; it is and was a place of rich communion.

So in a crisis, be still and listen.  Just be careful who or what you are listening to.  Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth (1 Samuel 3:9-10).

Here are two YouTube links of one of the many songs we love to sing at our church that sums up my post for today.

Speak, O Lord – 1  (A vast congregation of men only)

Speak, O Lord – 2 (Kristyn Getty; with lyrics)

Lessons From a Hernia: Day 2

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, Health, Trials

As noted in yesterday’s blog post, Lesson #1, I have recently undergone hernia surgery.  As I told my surgeon yesterday during my post-op visit, “Doc, I really don’t like to be around you when you start cuttin’ up!”  There have been times in my past that got in trouble for that!  Well, as the Lord would have it, this time was for my good.  These are the times when God does some work of heart and draws us to Himself for personal discipleship (Matthew 11:28-30).

Lesson #2 – He must increase; I must decrease.

The past year in ministry has been the most demanding that I’ve gone through in years.  When ministry takes the turns that it has, my automatic reaction is to work harder; to increase.  All I want to say today is, the hardest work of increase should come on our knees.  There, Christ is increased, and I am decreased.  That’s way it’s supposed to work (John 3:30).  “Thank You, Lord, for leading me beside the still waters of that passage on the day after surgery.  Sure is hard to do my work of increase while medicated and grounded.”  And . . . Christ’s ministry just kept right on going.

Lessons From a Hernia

by Dale, posted in Christian Living, Discipleship, God's Word, Praise & Worship, Thanksgiving
All my life I have lived in full speed, all-out, never-sit-still motion. Every day is an adventure. I believe in being loyal to the end and give it all you got. This can be a positive in many ways, but life lived like this can also have some disadvantages. My independency, impatience and let’s go attitude does not bode well at times with following the Lord, my Shepherd. So, when He needs to get my undivided attention to do some whittling and training, He chooses something to really slow me down. As a matter of fact, to literally stop me. Two years ago it was eye surgery. This time it is hernia surgery. So, what have I been learning in slow motion from my patient, merciful, loving, sovereign God?

Lesson #1 – You must slowdown in this busy world of good things and make time for the best thing.

When you are laid aside for a number of days, you have the opportunity to read more, pray more, listen more, worship more, think more, and prioritize more. What delight to spend a whole morning (after you come off of pain meds) in the Word, in communion with the Lord, reading books, blogs, and articles, in prayer, writing in your journal, listening to sermons, etc. All of that to say, a time like this makes you hunger for more. Because our lives are so busy with good things, we fail or are slack in the area of the best things. Therefore, such is the need to plan your week and your month to really spend time with the Lord. I don’t know what that will look like for you and your schedule, but if Christ is to be sought first (Matthew 6:33) because to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21), then what will you plan for this week, this month?

Hint: When you come to the end of this month of November, will your heart be filled to overflowing with gratitude for your God?

  • Spend a “Thanksgiving morning” reading the psalms, singing songs of gratitude, and writing in your journal what God reveals to you during this time.
  • Keep a gratitude list through the month, not of what God has done, but for Who He is.
  • Read articles, blogs, or books about giving thanks.
  • Have your family share points of gratitude at your daily meal times as well as what God has revealed to them during each day of their time in the Word.
  • As you study your SS lesson, ladies Bible study, or your regular Bible reading during the week, make a conscious effort to praise the Lord for what He teaches you. For instance, you have just answered a question that causes you to think about the greatness of God or His works, so you stop right there and have a session of praise before the Lord.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.