Month: July 2016

 

I just can’t fathom it.  Recently while walking through the halls of a local hospital, I saw a warning sign that left me extremely troubled.  The big, bold print said, “Elderly Abuse.”  There on the sign were phone numbers for help as well as clues of such abuse.

This world is full of sinful verbal, mental, and physical abuse hurled at children, teens, adults, and the elderly by selfish, sinful people.  In particular, the elderly are just “in the way” for many younger people as well as a financial burden.  They are “plastic throw-aways.” Jeremiah 17:9 tells us the reason for such abuse:  The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.  How strong are Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 15:18-20a, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.

How should we treat our aged parents, elderly family members, and senior citizens in general?

1. We must love them.

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another (Romans 12:10).

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).

Through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13).

2. We must respect them

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. (1 Timothy 5:1-2)

3. We must always honor them.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12).

Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth (Ephesians 6:2-3)

4. We must listen to them

Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old (Proverbs 23:22).

5. We must not cast them aside.

Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent (Psalm 71:9).

6. We must not deride them.

The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures (Proverbs 30:17).

7. We must provide for them.

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1Timothy 5:8).

8. We must treat them with dignity.

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair (Proverbs 20:29).

9. We must speak words of grace, kindness, and forgiveness.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:30-32).

How interesting is the reversal of roles.  When we were young, our parents took care of us.  When we grow older, we take care of our parents.  How you treat the aged will be determined by your own relationship with God the Father as well as your respect for the Word of God.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another (Galatians 5:16-26).

On a side note, don’t forget, you may be old and alone someday.

For more on this subject, check out my wife’s blog post from October 2015:

Do You Despise Your Mother

All of sudden the fire alarms in the hospital began to go off with a such a harsh noise that pierced our ears—-Code Red in the OR!! We walked through the cafeteria, down the hall, around the corner and into a pre-op room closing the door behind us.  My wife and I had come to be with a dear lady from our church while she went through surgery.  How glad we were to get into the room and away from the noise.

When the alarms were silenced, we heard one nurse out in the hallway say, “Well, it was in the OR, but I didn’t see no smoke.”  It was as if this was a common occurrence at the hospital.  Although the alarm was working very effectively, it seemed that no one around us was alarmed.

Immediately, I was reminded of the mind-set of our country.  God has sounded the alarm over-and-over again in His Word and through His heralds, but we just continue to go our own way because “we didn’t see no smoke.”  May I remind you, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark, either.

America had better wake up!  To further this thought, I share the following with you from John Piper, Will America Be Judged?  Warning . . . this is very raw and straight forward.

The reason the gospel of Jesus is precious is that it offers joyful rescue from furious judgment. The Bible speaks of the “fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). And the Bible exults that “Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

It is God the Father himself who sent Jesus to rescue us from his own wrath: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . Therefore we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:8–9).

How the Scriptures Speak of God’s Judgment

There are at least five ways the Bible talks about God’s judgment.

1. In judgment, God hands over the impenitent to hardening in this life.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. . . . Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. (Romans 1:18, 24; see Romans 11:7–8)

2. In judgment, God punishes nations in history, both Israel and others.

“You [Jerusalem] shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury.” (Ezekiel 5:15)

“My sword descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.” (Isaiah 34:5)

3. There will be a final judgment of all people at the end of history.

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)

4. The death of Jesus was God’s final punitive judgment on all who believe in Christ.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)

“By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” (Romans 8:3)

5. Individuals are sometimes judged in this life, but, for Christians, all judgments are disciplinary, not destructive.

An angel of the Lord struck Herod down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. (Acts 12:23)

Many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. . . . But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:30, 32)

This means that all of us should live sober lives of faith, and holiness, and serious joy. “If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile” (1 Peter 1:17).

Does God Judge Nations Today?

But what about judgment on nations today? What about America as a whole? Are there biblical pointers to how God deals with nations today?

First, the Bible portrays God as sovereign over the nations and ruling them for his purposes. This includes ethnic peoples as well as the political states that emerge around them: “Kingship belongs to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he rules over the nations” (Psalms 22:28).

Second, the Bible portrays God’s relation to nations as tolerating sin up to a point, and then bringing calamity. God said to Abram that his descendants would spend 400 years in a foreign land as slaves (Genesis 15:13). Then God would “bring judgment on the nation that they serve” (Genesis 15:14). Why such a long delay before God gave the promised land to Israel? God answers, “Because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16).

In other words, there was a level of corruption that would be reached among the nations of the promised land that would justify God’s judgment on them when Israel returned from Egypt.

So God taught his people not to say, “It is because of my righteousness that the Lᴏʀᴅ has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, “it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lᴏʀᴅ is driving them out before you” (Deuteronomy 9:4).

Third, numerous texts in the Bible mention the kinds of iniquity God has in mind when he says, “the wickedness of these nations.” Judgment to Israel and other nations is threatened for arrogant hearts (Isaiah 2:11; 3:15; 13:11), idolatry (Jeremiah 16:18; Ezekiel 23:20), bribery (Isaiah 1:23), extortion (Ezekiel 22:12), and the oppression of the poor (Isaiah 10:2; Malachi 3:4).

The Sequence of Sin in Leviticus 18

But there is a remarkable sequence of sins in Leviticus 18:20–25 that sounds very much like the progress of iniquity in the modern Western world. Moses writes that by these iniquities “the nations, which I am driving out before you, have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (verse 25).

What brought the nations of Canaan to that point of judgment? Here are the sins Moses was referring to:

1. Adultery.

Verse 20: “You shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife . . .”

2. Child sacrifice (we call it abortion).

Verse 21: “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

3. Homosexual intercourse.

Verse 22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

4. Bestiality.

Verse 23: “And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it: . . . it is perversion.”

In the West, we have moved to the point of open approval of adultery, child-killing, and homosexual intercourse. Will the open approval of bestiality be next? Probably. Last week, the Huffington Post reported a woman finding on her boyfriend’s phone pictures of him having sex with her dog.

Fifty Years from Now?

Our reaction to this is probably about the same as most people’s reaction to so-called homosexual “marriage” fifty years ago. Is there any good reason to doubt that in fifty years the laws against bestiality (zoophilia) will have fallen the same way laws against homosexual intercourse have fallen in recent years? (And as for “marriage,” Wikipedia already has an entry on “human-animal marriage.”)

It would not be unwarranted, therefore, to suppose that God would bring to ruin the nations that follow this course of corruption the way the Canaanites did.

Of course, history is not a straight line of inevitabilities. God himself may step in and bring to his church a great revival of radical obedience, and a great awakening to the countries of the West. He is able. He has done it before. We should pray that he does. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us (Romans 12:19).

Even if the present rush to increasingly public and approved iniquity continues, the gospel of Christ remains the power of God unto salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16). No individual in Christ needs to fear God’s judgment. We may be killed proclaiming biblical holiness, as Paul said inRomans 8:36, but in all these things we will be more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Many years ago, while in the midst of enjoying and appreciating another blessing from the hand of God, a friend said, “I just love clippin’ grace-coupons!”  How true!  Every day of our lives, we as genuine disciples of Christ are showered by many grace blessings, and we have a promise that it will continue throughout all eternity.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

This past weekend, my wife and I have had the joy of clippin’ many grace coupons and rejoicing that Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).  Let me share some of them here for God’s glory and your encouragement:

Friday

• Hosting the teens from our church for a cookout and game night! What a special group of young folks . . . and they can eat!!  We played volleyball and ultimate football and then gathered around the fire for dessert and a time in the Word!  Thank You, Lord for Your grace in providing our home, this ministry, and these precious kids!

Saturday

• Running 4.5 miles on the Tweetsie Trail with my son-in-law. He ran almost 9 miles. (There is a major age difference, you know!)  What a blessing to share in this early morning time with him.  Thank You, Lord, for the grace to run, to see Your awesome creation, and to share it with family.
• Hosting a baby shower in our home. What a blessing to sit in my study and hear these ladies laughing, praying, sharing, and rejoicing!  My wife had everything decorated so beautiful! Also, it was a sweet reminder of our dear Ashley who has been in Heaven for 29 years.  She was stillborn on the same date as the shower, so Denise and I celebrated life and death all in the same day.  Thank You, Lord, for Your grace in giving this precious new mother a child, for us to have a place to host this event, and for the awesome reminder of Your sufficient grace many years ago.
• Family time with Andrew & Alli at one of our favorite Appalachian music spots, Carter Fold, Hiltons, VA.  Fiddlin’ Carson Peters, a 12 year old who plays beyond his years, was the entertainment.  Hard to beat Rocky Top and Orange Blossom Special, but the best was hearing Carson and his band sing “Beulah Land” and “Give Me Jesus.”  Thank you, Lord, for Your grace in giving us this blessed time as a family and to hear a young man acknowledge before a large crowd his faith in Christ alone!

Sunday

• Praying with a group of men to begin the day, teaching Sunday School, worshipping with God’s people, congregational prayer at the altar, preaching God’s Word, fellowshipping with fellow believers, picnic in the gym, and the thrill of baptizing two precious children who recently trusted Christ as Savior! Thank You, Lord, that by Your grace, You are sustaining and providing for the ministry at Boones Creek Bible Church, and You give us the privilege of serving here with such an awesome group of people!!

Monday

• Watching 30 plus kids leave for Junior Camp and Teen Camp at the Wilds! Thank You, Lord, that by Your grace, You provided for these young folks to go, gave them safety in route, and have sustained The Wilds for over 47 years ago to be a place that “uses the unique benefits of Christian camping, to serve people by presenting the Truth of God with the love of God so lives can be changed to the glory of God.”
• Celebrating Independence Day at our neighbor’s lake house with 50 or more folks! What a special day to fellowship with new friends, catch up with some old friends, eat extra-good food, gather to pledge our allegiance again to our great flag, pray, and enjoy a boat ride on Cherokee  Lake!  One of the highlights was meeting a 90 year-old gentlemen who served with General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines in World War II.  Thank You, Lord, that by Your grace, You have given us kind, gracious neighbors, a free country in which to live, and a beautiful day to take it all in!!

What grace coupons will you clip today?

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

 

On this Independence Day, I gladly raise my flag, put my hand across my swelling heart, and sing our National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” with gusto and a tear or two streaming down my cheek.  My parents taught me to love this land, to respect its flag, to stand for the Constitution, and to learn of its great history.  I remember standing in grade school to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing “My Country, Tis of Thee.”  Certainly, I did not understand the full meaning of it then, but I sure do now!

As I watch the deterioration of our country due to the selfish heart of man, an entitlement mentality, the disdain for Christ and His Word, the lack of respect for authority, the undermining of marriage being between one man and one woman, the collapse of the family/home, and the decreasing influence of the church, my heart can become sad, fearful, and distraught.  We are a soft nation.  We are a misled nation.  We are a sinful nation.

But . . . there is hope!  Every one of our country’s ills can be cured by the Gospel!

For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.  (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)

Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.  (Psalm 33:8-12)

There Is Hope

Who Will Go To America