Serving the Purpose of God

Dispelling a Myth About What God Will and Will Not Do

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 20:56:00 +0000

The countdown is on--less than two weeks before my open-heart surgery on June 16th to repair an aortic aneurysm and to replace a leaking valve. I’ll be in the hospital at Athens Regional, Lord willing, for about a week and then at home recovering for four to five weeks. When I was diagnosed with this aneurysm two years ago we always knew that this was a future possibility, depending on how fast it grew, and it has reached the point where in consultation with my surgeon and as a result of praying, we believe now is the safest and best time to address it and get it behind us. The surgeon is confident that I should do fine and it was encouraging to hear him say to us, “I realize I’m not the only One in that operating room.”

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul teaches the church at Corinth and by extension us something that really flies in the face of what a lot of people believe about trials and difficulties that we go through in life. How many times have you said to someone or someone said to you, “You know, God doesn’t put on us more than we can bear.” Their and your heart is in the right place, but it’s not biblically true. Listen to what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.” Paul clearly tells the Corinthians and us, “God put on us more than we had the strength to carry.”

Therefore, the Biblical truth is that God delights in giving us more than we can handle! Why? Well, listen to how Paul continues, “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.” God delights in putting on us more than we can handle because in those despairing times all we have left is to trust in God and not ourselves. And that’s where God wants us—trusting in Him and not ourselves. Then notice the security and confidence that flows from that in v. 10, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.” Our hope when God puts on us more than we can handle is in trusting in the God who has raised us from the dead through the power of the Gospel.

But that’s not all the text says. Others have a part in sustaining us in those hard times. Verse 11 says, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessings granted us through the prayers of many.” The prayers of others for Paul were vital and they are for us as well.

Thank you for how you have prayed for and supported our family and please continue to do so. And when we get on the other side of this, we will give thanks for all that God has done.

Dang, Russ Wilson!

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 22:36:00 +0000

Let me say this up front: I like Russell Wilson or @dangeRussWilson as he is known on “the Twitter” ;) He did go to NC State for three years, but realized that was a huge mistake and transferred, so that’s not a strike against him any longer =) (I bleed Carolina Blue). Since his emergence on the field and spotlight of the NFL, I have admired his play. He plays hard. He never gives up. He can make unbelievable plays with both his arm and his legs and knows when the situation calls for each. I enjoyed seeing him win his first Super Bowl two seasons ago. And I enjoyed even more seeing him lose his second this past season when he and the Seahawks lost to my Patriots. However, even in that loss he was impressive. He didn’t make excuses. He stepped up as a leader and took the blame, whether he deserved it or not. That’s what leaders do. They take the blame when things go wrong and they give credit to everyone else, but themselves, when things go right. Russell Wilson is a leader on the field.

Even more importantly, Russell Wilson is a leader off of the field. I don’t know Russell personally, but I feel comfortable calling him my brother. Why? Because we share, I believe, the same faith. We’ve both been saved by faith in the same Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I have loved how Russell Wilson has been unashamed of that faith commitment throughout his spotlight in the NFL. I was super impressed when losing the Super Bowl in the most gut-wrenching of ways, Wilson, while disappointed in the loss, was quick to remember and voice that his identity was not found in how many Super Bowl rings he has on his fingers, but rather is found in one King who gave His life for the forgiveness of his sins. Nothing can change that, not even the worst of disappointments and heartaches in life, of which losing the Super Bowl is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

I really like Russell Wilson for all of those reasons, which is why when I read a tweet on his Twitter feed last week, I was so shocked. Here’s the tweet that surprised me:

Thanks for the early showing of #50ShadesOfGrey late last night.. #EmeraldCity 🗻🚁 👀👀👀👀 Great movie.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 13, 2015

Now this obviously is a movie that has created a lot of buzz in the culture in which we live. And Russell Wilson made a decision to go and see this move, which as a grown man he has the right to do so. But what shocked me about this tweet was that this, as far as I know, is a brother in Christ who is tweeting this. As a follower of Christ, he made a decision to watch this movie and then not only to watch the movie but to publicly endorse it as “great.” Now, I’ll just be very blunt and say that I don’t see how any follower of Christ could honestly describe Fifty Shades of Grey as “great.” It is a movie and novel that exalts actions that the Bible clearly labels as sinful. Therefore to make the decision to see such a movie that goes so far over the line between what is acceptable and unacceptable for a Christ-follower to watch is disappointing, but then to endorse it as “great,” is even more mind-boggling.

And I wasn’t the only one who noticed the glaring inconsistency of what this Twitter status communicated compared to the public persona that Wilson has created of himself up to this point, which is that of a fully committed and faithful follower of Jesus Christ. By and large the responses on his Twitter feed to this status were that of shock and disappointment. And the shock and disappointment seemed to be across the board from those who, like myself, would call themselves a committed follower of Christ and those who clearly would not. Everyone saw the inconsistency here and dare I say it, the hypocrisy. “How can someone who is a Christian see and endorse such a movie, with such clearly explicitly sinful content?”

And it seems that Wilson quickly saw the backlash on this Twitter feed and replied, but did so in a way that, in my opinion, did not make the matter any better, but even worse:

Saw a movie filmed in the town I call home. Provocative/disturbing no doubt but that does not make me less Faithful. Have a blessed day! 😇
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 13, 2015

Here, he agrees that the movie is both shocking and disturbing, which I’m sure it is by all accounts. However, he espouses the view that the action to watch the movie and endorse it did not in any way make him less faithful.

As Christ-followers, none of us are perfect. That’s not who we claim to be. I am not perfect. I sin every day. And so does every other Christian. I do and say things that can be hypocritical and betray my faith commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, when we find ourselves having made a bad decision, a sinful one that brings shame upon ourselves, but even more importantly upon our Savior, we have a decision to make. We can attempt to excuse our sin and justify ourselves, which in my opinion is what Russell Wilson chose to do. Or we can confess our sin, our mistakes and rather than justifying ourselves, run once again in faith to the one who has justified us—Jesus Christ. Jesus has died for all the sinful failures like Russell Wilson, Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele, and myself. Through His perfect life lived, sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, and glorious resurrection, all sinners who come to Him by faith get the privilege of being treated as if they had never sinned before a holy God and as if they had lived a perfectly righteous life. Why? Because Jesus took all of their sin and gave to them all of His righteousness.

And so if I could say something to Russell Wilson as a fellow brother in Christ and even as a pastor it would be the following: “You’ve shown you are a sinner like all of us and make bad, foolish decisions. But now show that you are a Christian. Own up to it, just like you would on the football field when you throw an interception. And show all those who follow you, both those who do so because they are rooting for you and those who do so waiting to watch you fall, where, even we as Christians, run to when we fall—back to the cross.”

Russell Wilson made a bad decision earlier in his life—to go to NC State. (I'm just kidding about this part, I hope you all realize that) He realized it was wrong and made a better decision. He transferred. On a much more serious note he’s made another bad decision and in a very public manner through social media where he gets to influence millions of people every day. I just want him to use that public persona and platform in this instance as a great opportunity to communicate gospel truths to a watching world. That truth is that as Christians, we are not perfect. However, by God’s grace, we know where to run to when we aren’t. And as people see us running there, maybe they will run there with us.

A Step Ladder and the Great Commission

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:43:00 +0000

Last night our church kicked off our first night of VBS and it was great night of ministry. However something funny happened during the evening that after thinking about it became instructional for us as followers of Christ and as a church. There was a light bulb that needed to be changed in the stairwell leading up to the fellowship hall. I was asked if we had a step ladder or stool somewhere so that we could get the bulb changed. I thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t think we have one anywhere.” However in the back of my mind I could have sworn there was one somewhere. Later that evening I was talking with my wife, Holly, about needing to get a step ladder or stool so we could get that bulb changed before then next night of VBS. Much to my surprise she said, “You have one in your office.” At first I thought she was mistaken but then she said, “It has a bunch of papers and stuff on it, but there’s a step ladder in your office.” And she was right. Just to the left of my desk is a small step ladder and it did have stacks of papers on it.

Now why is that instructional for us as followers of Christ and as a local church? For three years that step ladder had been in my office and for three years I had used it as a makeshift shelf to hold papers and other stuff. I had gotten so use to using it for that purpose that I had completely forgotten what it actually was and how it was supposed to be used! So much so that I didn't even realize I had a step ladder in my office! Our lives as followers of Christ and our life as a local church can be like that step ladder sometimes. For years we go on living our lives or operating as a “church” in ways that God never intended our lives to be used for or in ways for the church to operate. That doesn't necessarily mean we are using our lives or living as a church in bad ways or not doing good things. There was nothing inherently wicked about papers sitting on the step ladder in my office. However it wasn't being used how it was designed to be used and therefore things, like replacing the bulb, were left undone, the very things that a step ladder is designed to help fix.

If we were to take an honest look at our lives individually as followers of Christ and collectively as a local church, how much would they resemble that step ladder in my office? Are we living our lives and living as a church for the purpose for which God designed us to be used or are we doing a lot of good things, but not the best thing, the very thing God has purposed our lives individually and collectively to accomplish? God has designed us and His Church to live lives as followers of Jesus Christ making disciples of our neighbors and the nations for His glory.

The light bulb is now changed because the ladder was used how it was designed to be used. The question is, "Will our neighborhoods and the nations be changed because our lives and our church is used by God the way it was designed to be used?"

A Rare Moment On the Soapbox

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:20:00 +0000

I rarely do this, but let me vent about something I recently witnessed on television. I’m not just venting. I have a point to make so bear with me. A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, I sat down to watch some T.V. as I usually do after the Sunday morning service. This is usually a time where I will watch some sports and doze in and out of sleep from time to time. Well, on this particular Sunday afternoon, it was sort of a dead time in the sports world. Nothing was coming on that interested me until later in the afternoon. Therefore, I hunted something to watch. I stumbled upon a well-known preacher and his Sunday morning service and figured I’d listen to his sermon. I’ve listened to this preacher before and typically enjoyed his sermons though it had been a long time since I had listened to him. And he is a man who has an exceptional ministry and who by and large is a much better preacher than I am. However, I must have just caught the program on the wrong day because what I watched/listened to for the next thirty minutes was not what I had tuned in to see.

I had chosen to watch/listen to channel because I knew this man to be a man of the Word and so I wanted to hear a good message from God ‘s Word, something that preachers rarely get to do or make themselves to do. However, what I got for the next thirty minutes was a talk on the current state of our economic status as a country and basically a political diatribe against our current administration’s economic policy with a story or two from the Bible thrown in for good measure. I concluded after listening to the sermon that I could have received the same message by watching the Fox News Channel. At least there, I would have not been disappointed with what I heard because that’s what you go to Fox News to hear.

And that’s my point. You don’t come to church or listen to a preacher to hear a political diatribe or to hear what you could hear at someplace else in the culture whether it’s from the entertainment industry or political pundits. You come to church and you listen to a preacher to hear something or someone different. You come expecting to hear a word from God through the Bible. You come expecting to hear a message that you cannot hear anywhere else because the only place God has entrusted that message to is His Church and the men He has given as undershepherds to proclaim that message. And that message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ found in the story of the Bible, God’s Word.

I hope and pray that is what you come to hear each week at wherever you attend church. And I hope and pray that if that’s what you desire to hear week in and week out, that you will never leave disappointed. However, if you do, and I was the pastor who disappointed you in that way, let me know so I can kick my own self in the rear end.

Ok, I have descended from the soapbox.

Heave IS for Real, But The Book Is Not

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:20:00 +0000

Keep this in mind as the movie Heaven Is For Real is released this week.

A New "Normal?"

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 19:56:00 +0000

Hopefully by now we’ve all recovered from all of the eating we’ve done over the past few weeks between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Usually a few days after eating “holiday food” during Thanksgiving and Christmas I am just ready to go and get some fast food from somewhere. Give me a cheeseburger! This time of the year is unique in that we eat certain foods and amounts of certain foods only at this time of the year. But after a while, we get tired of it and just want a sense of normalcy. We want to just eat the kinds and amounts of food we are used to eating. We want the living room back to how it usually is decorated and all the furniture in the right place. And if we’re honest, we want it just to be our family again. We have people overload and just want it quiet and calm and normal.

Likewise, from a ministry perspective this time of year gives a local church unique once in a year opportunities to reach out to our community with the Good News of the Gospel. Both the kinds of outreaches we do and the “amount” of outreaches we do intensify during this season of the year.

However, there’s a difference in the feasting on ministry and outreach that we do that is unique to this time of year as opposed to the feasting we do on food and other unique aspects of the Holiday Season. The Thanksgiving and Christmas food along with the decorations, presents, as well as the family and friends we spend time with are all not the norm. We only do this once a year. And then we return to normalcy. And when it comes to the ministry opportunities we engage in over these months, there is sometimes a sense when January 1^st rolls around of, “Glad that’s behind us, now things can get back to normal.” But what if that is the “normal” for the local church and Christians. Is it possible that what’s abnormal are the other eleven months of the year where we don’t put in the same intentional effort in prayer, giving, sharing, planning, sacrificing to reach our community and the world with the Gospel?

Maybe as we approach a new year and make new resolutions that one of the ones we need to make, maybe the most important one as a local church, is a commitment to a “new normal” when it comes to ministry and outreach to lost people. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” Christmas is about Jesus coming to save sinners, but He didn’t just come to save sinners for the month of December. Therefore, throughout the entire year, every month and every day of our lives, let us live and love, give and go like Jesus came to save sinners and intentionally pray and work to join Jesus in pursuing sinners in need of a Savior.

Identifying Sick Churches & Moving Towards Healing

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 15:46:00 +0000

Thom Rainer, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian resources has recently written a series of helpful posts on how to identify whether or not a local church is sick (here)and then what it will take to see her become healthy once again (here).

Thom estimates that about 40% of churches in America are in the very sick stage, which is one stage away from dying.

The following are the indicators to tell if a church is very sick:

Significant numerical decline over the past ten to twenty years. Most of the time we measure worship attendance for this metric.
Prolonged times of apathy. Occasional times of intense conflict. The church seems more apathetic than anything else, but conflict can arise with surprising intensity.
The church is not known in the community. Ask a clerk at a store in the community. You may be surprised how few even know the church exists.
New members are rare. The exodus clearly exceeds the inflow.
Revolving door of pastors. Frustration and conflict limit the years of pastoral tenure.
The “good old days” are typically twenty or more years in the past. There has been a long season since anyone felt really good about the church.

In the follow up post, Thom lists four steps forward for very sick churches. They include:

The church must admit and confess its dire need. Most churches move toward death because they refuse to acknowledge their condition. Sometimes a single leader will be used of God to move the church in this positive direction.
The church must pray for wisdom and strength to do whatever is necessary. The change will not be easy. Many will resist it.
The church must be willing to change radically. Frankly, this point is usually the point of greatest resistance. The church has to change decades of cumulative problem behaviors in a very short time.
That change must lead to action and an outward focus. When a church begins to act positively with this radical change, it has essentially become a new church. It is not the church of old that refused to change and move forward.

The task of seeing a sick church become healthy once again is a large one, but Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

A Present Lesson From a Past Pain

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 04:44:00 +0000

We are currently holding a series of meetings entitled, “Revival & Revitalization: Whatever You Ask.” Our focus is to seek the Lord for revival in our lives individually and revitalization as a church collectively, to be willing to do whatever the Lord asks of us related to both of these areas. What is “Church Revitalization?” Church revitalization is simply being used of the Lord to take a dying, struggling or plateaued church and see it infused with new life and new effectiveness in reaching its community and world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In thinking recently about Church Revitalization and what it takes to turn a church around and see new life breathed into it, I was reminded of a very personal story that I think sheds light on two specific essential components to any attempt at Church Revitalization. I want to share that personal story and then point out these two necessary components from that story that relate to Church Revitalization.

I have Crohn’s Disease. If you don’t have any idea what that is, then you can find out here. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was in middle school. I’m approaching 40 so I can’t remember the exact age. I fought off and on battles with the disease throughout middle school with many different medication treatments etc., with not so nice side effects. In High School I was fairly fortunate because the disease went into remission and I was able to enjoy most of my High School years free from any major flare ups.

However, that all ended shortly after I graduated from High School. The disease began slowly coming out of remission and before long I was in a full blown flare up and things began to escalate rather quickly and severely. To make a very long story short I began living in very intense pain most days. I got to the point where eating was no longer just not fun, but in some cases just not worth it. I began losing weight at a quick rate, to the tune of between 60-70 pounds over a six to eight month period. I was malnourished and in pain most of the time.

Things were not good and getting worse. And my mother knew it better than anyone. She’s the one who took care of me. And you can imagine what that would be like as a mother to be watching your only son wasting away from a disease that was attempting to take his life. The doctor that I had at that time was not a very aggressive doctor when it came to treating Crohn’s Disease. He was fairly adamant about sticking to a philosophy of treatment that centered around medication. The only problem was that I had tried about every medication there was and nothing was working. As a matter of fact my health got to the point that unbeknownst to me my mother went out and purchased a burial plot for me in the event she lost the battle of fighting for my life.

But even though things were horrible and getting worse, thankfully I had a mother who would not give up on her son. She took me back to the doctor who had originally diagnosed me with Crohn’s Disease some six or seven years prior. He examined me. My mom explained to him how things had progressed and the frustration we had with our current doctor. And she explained to him that she couldn’t just watch her son die. There had to be something else that could be done.

Thankfully there was. The doctor explained to her that it was possible that we could go in and remove all of my large intestine along with anything else that was contaminated with the disease (and there were other things). My way of living would be altered for the rest of my life due to having to remove multiple digestive organs. But, he felt like if we did this then I could start anew and have a real chance to survive and live. And so that’s what we did. In October of 1996, seventeen years ago (Praise the Lord!) I went into a 8+ hour surgery that did in fact alter my life permanently but spared my life. Now, I’ve had surgeries since then and probably will have surgeries at some point in the future. But the point is that I’ve lived for seventeen years. And in that seventeen years, God has saved me through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve gotten married to the most amazing woman in the world. God has given me three beautiful children. God has allowed me to be a pastor for the past twelve years and make such amazing friends in so many places and see lives changed. And my mom has been able to watch and enjoy all of it and never used that burial plot she purchased for me seventeen years ago.

There’s one point of the story I left out, which I’ll share now and then I’ll point out the two necessary components of Church Revitalization that are connected with this personal story. What I left out was that when we had that conversation with the doctor who originally diagnosed me with Crohns and he told us of the one option that was available to us, my mom asked him this question, “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?” And I don’t remember the exact words of his answer (remember, I’m close to 40), but it went something along these lines, “Because Philip and you had to be ready for something so drastic. The more dire the circumstance, the more open Philip would be to do what was needed to live and that would make the entire process easier and successful.” You see in my story in order for me to live there were two things that were needed. First, I had to have a mom who would not give up on me and who refused to sit around and watch me die. And thank the Lord, I did. Secondly, I had to come to the point where the pain of change was actually less than the pain associated with staying the same, which in my case was dying.

What does this have to do with Church Revitalization? Statistics tell us that as many as 80% of churches in North America are plateaued or declining, which is just a nice word for dying. What will it take for those churches to live and not die? It will not happen unless, by God’s grace, there are those two same needed components. First, there must be leadership that refuses to sit around and watch the church die. And that leadership starts, I believe, with your pastors and staff. They must resist the temptation to just throw up their hands and say, “There’s no hope” and watch the church shut its doors. Secondly, the church must come to the realization that the pain of change and what it will cost to see revitalization take place is actually much less painful than the pain associated with watching and experiencing the slow death of the church body. Ed Stetzer, local church pastor and President of LifeWay Research says it this way, “People never change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.” And it’s the same with churches. Churches never change until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.

And so if you are a pastor of a church that needs revitalization, don’t quit. Keep fighting for the life of Christ’s church because He is. And if you are a member of a church that needs revitalization, which pain is better? The pain of staying the same or the pain of change?

"Lord, Why Was I a Guest?"

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 16:17:00 +0000

There will be no patting ourselves on the back for our faith in heaven.

Don't Waste Your Aneurysm

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:51:00 +0000

I know that’s not very creative. If it sounds familiar it should. I’ve borrowed it from John Piper’s little booklet, Don’t Waste Your Cancer which he wrote during his battle with prostate cancer. It’s a great little booklet that looks at ways you will waste your battle with cancer if you don’t look at it through the lens of Scripture. Well, I don’t think I could improve upon that title so forgive me for borrowing it for my purposes here.

Last September we found out that I had an enlarged aortic root or an aortic root aneurysm. My cardiologist referred me to a cardiothoracic surgeon for what I thought was just to jump through some hoops for life insurance companies and I left the appointment having just heard that more than likely I would have to have open heart surgery sometime in the near or distant future. I was floored and I don’t get floored easily. I had not brought Holly along with me because I thought the appointment was just a formality. I was wrong. That day was a day of numbness to the news. That night was a night of panic. No literally, I thought I was going to have a panic attack. I laid my head down that night to fall asleep and it literally felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I’m sure it was mostly psychosomatic, but still it wasn’t a fun night. The next morning was one of fear and tears. I finally “lost it” while taking a shower. I composed my tears by the time I made my way into the kitchen to fix my breakfast, but once I sat down, the fear and emotions began to well up once again. Holly noticed and asked me what was wrong. And I said something to her that I’ve maybe said once or twice to her before in our twelve years of marriage—or maybe never. I said, “I’m scared.” I wasn’t scared of the possibility of surgery. I’ve been through multiple major surgeries before. Though as I learned more about what all was involved in open heart surgery, I became a little fearful at that as well. No, that morning my fear was not for me. My fear was for my family. What would happen to them if I fell in the 5% category of people where something goes wrong during or after the surgery? I was terrified for them and thought of leaving my wife and three children without a husband and father. I hope I am no longer “fearful” of that because we are not supposed to be afraid. One of the most common refrains from God is, “Fear not.” However, while it may not be “fear” any longer, it will never be less than shear brokenness at the thought of my family—wife, children, mom, etc., having to deal with that kind of loss.

In a month we would do a repeat CT scan to see how much the aneurysm had grown over the past year. (Random thought: six months ago I would have mistyped “aneurysm” nine times out of ten, but now it’s as memorized as “Philip”) The scan showed that it had grown from 4.3/4.4cm to 4.6/4.7cm. Five centimeters is the cutoff mark for surgery—the point at which the risks of letting it stay there are greater than the risk associated with surgery. The plan of action was to wait six months and repeat the scan, see how much it had grown and go from there.

The next six months got easier—especially the first five. We went on with our lives though never a day would go by that I didn’t think about it. Still doesn’t. But it got easier to deal with and “put on the back burner.” Then March rolled around and the anxiety and curiosity and all sorts of other emotions crept back in. We waited for what seemed like forever for a “date”—the next CT Scan date. Finally, April 10^th was the day. My mom and her husband, as well as my grandmother came into town to be with us for whatever news we received. Our church family now and those from every other church family we have ever been a part of waited anxiously, as well as our biological families. On April 10^th we would have the CT scan and then immediately go over to the doctor’s office to get the results and go from there. The day before the surgeon’s office called and said that my surgeon would be in surgery that morning and so he would have to call us with the results. I know that’s a small thing, but it seemed like just one more thing that was making us wait.

Finally around 9:50am on April 10^th I had the CT scan. CT scans are a breeze, minus the fact that you feel like you are peeing on yourself. Thankfully, you are not. We left and headed back home and waited. And waited. I called the surgeon’s office around 12:30 to see if he had read the results and thankfully, he had. Now, here’s how we had been praying. “Lord, our first choice is that you will just take this aneurysm away. Let the CT scan show that it’s gone, vanished. That would be really nice. Lord, our second choice is that you would stop it from growing, forever. And lastly, Lord if it’s your will that it has progressed to the point of needing surgery, may the surgery go well, during and after, and give us grace to sustain us whatever may happen.” We were trusting in His power to heal me, but resting in His wisdom should He choose not to do so.

Back to the results. The surgeon said that there had been no change in the size of the aneurysm. As a matter of fact the scan actually read that it might be a little smaller, though he didn’t believe it was getting smaller. It definitely wasn’t any larger and so we would wait a full year, repeat the scan and go from there. Now, I like to believe that the Lord made it smaller. Maybe He didn’t, but He could have. Another explanation for the potential “decrease” is that there is some human error involved in this in terms of reading the scans and one radiologist may look at it one way and another one a different way and get a slightly different measurement.

I had taken this phone call in the bedroom and so I went into the living room where my mom, step-dad, grandmother, and Holly were waiting. I told them the good news and we were all very relieved and thankful. However, there was another emotion I felt, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at the time. The next morning I figured it out. And I hope you won’t think I’m crazy when you read what I’m going to share next. I came to realize that for some reason the other emotion that I felt was disappointment. WHAT? Now I wasn’t disappointed in the fact that my chest would not have to be cracked open, at least for another year. No, it wasn’t that. But what was it? I definitely wouldn’t want to think that the disappointment was due to the loss of attention and concern from others over my condition. That can happen. I made sure that wasn’t it and it wasn’t’.

So, what was the cause of this disappointment? Now we get back to the title of this already way too long post, “Don’t Waste Your Aneurysm.” What the Lord had done over the past six months was given me this aneurysm to make me utterly dependent on Him. At the time I was writing a sermon from Genesis on the passage of Jacob wrestling with God. It’s better to label that passage, “God Wrestles with Jacob” because it’s God who picks the fight with Jacob, not the other way around. And in picking that fight with Jacob, God was beating something out of Jacob—Jacob’s independence and self-sufficiency and lack of faith in God and too much faith in himself. With this aneurysm, God was/is doing a thousand different things in my life and the lives of others. I don’t think anything we go through in life that passes from the hand of God or through the hand of God is ever given to us just to accomplish one thing. But one of the things was definitely using the aneurysm to beat self-sufficiency and independence out of me. Unfortunately it’s not the first time God’s picked this fight with me. Evidently I’m a slow learner. I hope that is changing.

But that was definitely the product of these past six months. Utter helplessness, and complete dependency on God to help us either by healing me or sustaining us through the worst possible outcomes. And a part of that dependency on Him was expressed through dependency upon His people, the Church. We did not share everything right away with everyone. However, around February we decided it was time to let everyone else know—church family, other church families, extended families, Facebook friends, everyone. Why? It was getting closer to the next scan and people deserved to know. But personally, selfishly, I was tired of bearing the burden without the full support and prayers of God’s people. And so we shared it far and wide because we wanted people to pray with and for us. And they/you did. And it was a very tangible expression of the dependency upon God that God was gifting us with over the past six months.

And that kind of dependency is a sweet, sweet thing. I probably would have said early on that this aneurysm was a bitter providence of the Lord. And in many ways it still is. But I can also say now that it is a sweet providence of the Lord because of the dependency it was instilling in me and the self-sufficiency it was beating out of me. And that’s just what God brings afflictions in our lives to accomplish. I hate the phrase, “God never puts on us more than we can carry.” Why do I hate it? Because it’s a lie! It’s taken from a misunderstanding of a passage from 1 Corinthians about temptation to sin, not suffering. Here is what is a much more biblical thing to say: God delights in giving us more than we can bear. Why? Listen to how Paul in 2 Corinthians 1 answers that question:

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 ESV)

Paul says they were burdened beyond their strength. They had more on them than they could carry. And what was the purpose of that: to make them rely not on themselves but on God who raises the dead. Satan doesn’t want us to rely less on ourselves and more on the God who raises the dead. That’s a desire that God has for us. And so the afflictions that Paul refers to here were afflictions given to him from the hand of God in order to beat self-reliance out of Paul and instill in Him a more sure God-dependency.

Charles Spurgeon who dealt with much physical and emotional affliction said this,

“I dare say the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness. . . . Affliction is the best bit of furniture in my house. It is the best book in a minister's library.”

Why? Because sickness ,or any other kind of affliction, teaches us to be less independent and more God-dependent. And that’s just what the Lord had been doing with me for the past six months. And as much as I didn’t want my chest to be opened up and go through the physical pain of the surgery along with the recovery, still I knew that as difficult as it might be it would mean more of God’s purpose in this aneurysm of teaching me to rely less on myself and more on the Lord.

That was the reason of the disappointment that I felt. I was happy that I was not going to go through surgery. But I was disappointed because it felt like this bitterly sweet providence of God was being removed. And if open heart surgery is what it takes to make me more dependent on God and less on myself, then open heart surgery is a blessing not a curse. I know that sounds crazy, but I hope it doesn’t. Because I don’t feel crazy.

And so now we wait another year and do this all over again, with all the accompanying emotions. And life will go on and we will think less about it but never a day will go by that I don’t think about it. I will know every day that I am never more than 3/10ths of a centimeter from having open heart surgery. So, in a sense it is still a bitterly sweet providence of God that I hope will continue to beat the self-sufficiency out of me and instill greater trust in my Savior, my Lord, and my God. And when April 2014 rolls around, we will still be praying the same thing: God we trust in your power to heal me but we rest in your wisdom should you choose otherwise. And if He chooses otherwise, I pray that I will welcome the painful journey of open heart surgery as a welcomed friend and blessing from the Lord. For in fact, as Paul says, “On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.” Whether that’s in this life or the next is not up to us.

And so I want to close with two thoughts. First, from Paul in that same passage in 2 Corinthians 1: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." (2 Corinthians 1:11 ESV)

Secondly, Don’t waste YOUR aneurysm.

In Honor of My Granddaddy

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:11:00 +0000

This was originally posted five years ago, shortly after my Granddaddy's death. Today is the 5th anniversary of his going home to be with the Lord and I miss him, but I still adore the goodness of God even in the midst of the sorrow.

April 11, 2008

Sarah Edwards was the wife of the great pastor/theologian Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards died from a smallpox vaccination. Sarah wrote these words to their daughter shortly after the death of their husband/father:

“My very dear child! What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and He has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be. Your affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards.”

I adore the goodness of God in all the years that he gave my granddaddy to me and my family. I do hurt at his death. I hurt in a way I have never hurt before. It's a hurt that seems to cut both ways. In a sense, you want it to go away or ease up. But, in another way--just as fervent--you don't want it to leave because the depth of the hurt is an indication of the depth of the love and I never want that love to be minimized or forgotten.

However, even through the hurt I do, by God's grace adore the goodness of God that we had my granddaddy for so long. I adore his goodness in using my granddaddy to bring me to faith in Christ and for setting such a marvelous example of a loving grandfather and faithful pastor. Granddaddy wrote in one of his sermons, "As times got harder for Paul, Jesus got sweeter." And it was so with my granddaddy as well. The harder things got, the sweeter Jesus was. He did not articulate it maybe the same way I do, but he treasured Christ in and through all things. He loved his family. I adore the goodness of God in giving me and our family our Granddaddy for so long.

I adore the goodness of God this past week as well in the prayers and kind words of church members and family and friends. I adore the goodness of God in being able to be a small part of my Granddaddy's memorial service, which was spectacular. I adore the goodness of God of being able to weep with my family and to do so as a family. I realized or was reminded this week of just how much I love my family and how much I want to show that more from now on.

One of the most cherished graces of God to me this past week came the day of the funeral. The family time for visitation was from 10-2pm. I was in the church with some other family members: my mom, two uncles, grandma, and other family. I had purposefully tried to not see my granddaddy at the visitation the night before or at the funeral home on Saturday. I just didn't want to remember him that way. But it was inevitable that I would see him sometime in the week. I did several times. I found myself looking at all the flowers that had been sent and I began to weep and tried to hold it in and just let it out quietly. My uncle Larry noticed me and came to my side. He came to my side and put his arm around me and hugged me and let me weep on his shoulder. It may not have been special to him, but it was a priceless gift from God to me.

Our family has wept and we will weep. I don't know if I realized just how much I loved my Granddaddy. I do now--now that I know he will never call me again on a Sunday night to ask me how my day went or he will never say again to me on the phone, "Can I do something?" which meant he was about to pray with me. I'll never again here him say, "You tell Holly and the girls that some crazy guy said hello and that he loves them." He'll never ask again, "How's the boss?" which meant, "How's Shadow doing?"

But in and through all of those "never agains" God is good and kind and right in all that he does. One day, because of the work of Christ in the life of my granddaddy and in my life, we will see each other again and I know that when we see each other, he will give me a great big ol' bearhug just like he gave me as a little boy and we will adore the goodness of God in the face of Jesus Christ forever and ever.

Jesus Is the Son of God In Power

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:48:00 +0000

I'm reading Russell Moore's Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ and I thought this was very timely for this week of remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Part of the curse Jesus would bear for us on Golgotha was the taunting and testing by God's enemies. And he drowned in his own blood, the spectators yelled the words quite similar to those of Satan in the desert: 'Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.' (Mark 15:32) But he didn't jump down. He didn't ascend to the skies. He just writhed there. And, after it all, the bloated corpse of Jesus hit the ground as he was pulled off the stake, spattering warm blood and water on the faces of the crowd.

That night the religious leaders probably read Deuteronomy 21 to their families, warning them about the curse of God on those who are 'hanged on a tree.' Fathers probably told their sons, 'Watch out that you don't ever wind up like him.' Those Roman soldiers probably went home and washed the blood of Jesus from under their fingernails and played with their children in front of the fire before dozing off. This was just one more insurrectionist they had pulled off a cross, one in a line of then dotting the roadside. And this one (what was his name? Joshua?) was just decaying meat now, no threat to the empire at all.

That corpse of Jesus just lay there in the silence of that cave. By all appearances it had been tested and tried, and found wanting. If you'd been there to pull open his bruised eyelids, matted together with mottled blood, you would have looked into blank holes. If you'd lifted his arm, you would have felt no resistance. You would have heard only the thud as it hit the table when you let it go. You might have walked away from that morbid scene muttering to yourself, 'The wages of sin is death.'

But sometime before dawn on a Sunday morning, a spike-torn hand twitched. A blood-crusted eyelid opened. The breath of God came blowing into that cave, and a new creation flashed into reality. God was not simply delivering Jesus--and with him all of us--from death, he was also vindicating him--and with him all of us. By resurrecting Jesus from the dead, God was reaffirming what he had said over the Jordan waters. He was declaring Jesus 'to be the Son of God in power' (Rom. 1:4)

What I Wish I Had Said

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 21:10:00 +0000

Every pastor has experienced that moment either as soon as he descends from the pulpit or maybe when he gets to the office on Monday morning when he thinks back over his sermon and realizes he forgot to say something or wishes he had said something differently. Well, I had one of those moments this Monday morning.

We've been going through the the book of Nehemiah for the past three weeks on Sunday mornings. This past Sunday we looked at Nehemiah 2:11-20. It's the account of Nehemiah walking around the city to inspect the condition of the walls and then exhorting the people to rise up and build. I pointed out from the passage the need to face reality when God sets out to restore or rebuild His people. If you are truly serious about rebuilding your church or your life, you have to be brutally honest with yourself as to what current reality is and then move on to what needs to be done to change that reality.

So what is it I wish I had said or wish I had said differently? Well, I mentioned that facing reality as a church, a follower of Christ or an someone who doesn't follow Christ is uncomfortable or hard not because we don't know what we will find when we do, but rather because of what we know we WILL find when we do. We will find lives and churches that aren't what they should be and that can be uncomfortable, even scary. But here's what I should have done a better job of stating: "Because of Christ, facing reality doesn't have to be uncomfortable or scary." Facing reality is uncomfortable or scary because of either the guilt of our sin that we find there or the seemingly impossible journey it will take for us to see a new reality come to fruition.

However, because Jesus lived perfectly on our behalf and died perfectly in our place and is risen from the dead, and has ascended to the Father, we do not have to fear facing reality because of the sin or disobedience or lack of passion for the things of God that we will find there. Jesus already faced that reality for us and has taken our guilt for it and through his life, death, and resurrection has paid the penalty for that sin. Therefore we can face reality and be honest about where we have sinned and disobeyed and do so with full confidence that through faith it is forgiven in Christ. We don't have to be afraid of the reality of what is.

Likewise, we don't have to be afraid of the seemingly impossible journey it will take for us to see a new reality come to fruition. Change is hard and uncomfortable. It stretches us. Whether it's you as an individual or you as an entire church family change can be frightening and seem impossible to achieve. And it is on our own. But notice what Nehemiah says in Nehemiah 2:20, "The God of heaven will make us prosper and we his servants will arise and build." The people no doubt had to get up and work and sacrifice, but it was God who would make them prosper. A New Testament equivalent might be from Paul in Philippians 2:12-13, "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Yes, change is hard as individuals and as a church. The journey can be awfully long and uncomfortable. But God will work in us to will and to work for his good pleasure. How does he do that? It's because His Holy Spirit lives within us. Well, how does his Holy Spirit live within us? It's because his Son lived and died and rose again for us, to forgive us of our sins and give us new life--a life that is available to us by faith, a life that can face reality without fear and face the journey of change as well. We don't have to be afraid of the reality of what needs to be.

Well, that's what I wish I had said or at least wish I had said better. And I could beat myself up over it and as a pastor it's tempting to do. BUT, I don't have because Jesus has lived, died, and rose again for all the things I wish I said or wish I had said better, but didn't.

40 Years Is Long Enough

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Church or Coffee?

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:18:00 +0000

While in North Carolina for Thanksgiving this past week I ran across a church sign (at a very large church) that gave times for "Blended Worship" and "Bold Worship." What does that mean, if anything, to unchurched, lost people? "Worship" in and of itself would be confusing not to mention trying to decipher what "blended" is versus "bold." Are we talking about church or coffee? We should be strange and misunderstood where the Bible commands us to be, but in our attempts to reach lost people are we putting up needless barriers? Or, maybe we're not aiming at lost, unchurched people at all and just don't want to admit it.

Pastors Should Be Jerks

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:08:00 +0000

I recently came across this quote from John MacArthur. We need more pastors to be jerks.

"I'm not here to preach you sermons so you can have more information. As much information as I give you that's not what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm not here to offer you some oratory upon which you can render a criticism and an evaluation. I am basically here to jerk you out of your complacency week after week after week after week after week and yank you back to a God consciousness. I'm here to pull you back into Scripture. I'm here to pull you toward heaven. I'm here to refocus your thoughts. I'm here to shift your gears off of whatever it is you think about all week. Everything from your job to your family issues to the neighborhood to fixing the fence to the TV sitcoms and whatever it is you occupy yourself with; I'm here to jerk your mind back to spiritual reality so that you can fix yourself on God. And that's why we don't forsake the assembling ourselves together. You don't need to come to church every single Sunday morning and every single Sunday night to accumulate more information but you need to be jerked back to spiritual reality. And I'm the jerk.”

Is This the Best Way to Say This?

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Let's think about this, indeed. This is a pretty popular slogan among churches these days and has been for quite some time. And the idea behind it is commendable. The motive is honorable. It is indeed the case that far too many churches are content to just be the church on Sunday mornings and never actually live sent lives in their communities. There is much more to being the church then just gathering together on Sundays. We are to live as a sent community of believers to be salt and light in the world, making disciples of our neighbors and the nations as we go about our lives each and every day. I am all in favor for that biblical truth.

However, when we toss around so frequently slogans such as "Don't go to church. Be the Church," are we not communicating something that is fairly unbiblical? Likewise, when churches actually cancel their Sunday morning gatherings occasionally to go and "be the church" is that really a practice we honestly think that Paul or Timothy would have ever signed off on? It seems to me that when we use phrases and practices such as this that we are implying that "the Church gathered" is somehow inferior to "the Church scattered." It is as if we should not be as excited and awe-inspired about what goes on Sunday mornings when we gather together as the Church as we are about what happens throughout the week when the Church is scattered.

Yet, when we look at the New Testament and the references to the "church" I think we will find that there are far more occasions where it is the church "gathered" together than the church "scattered" together. The majority of the epistles were written to the church gathered together. The letters to Timothy were written to Timothy to help him in leading the church gathered together. As you look throughout the Book of Acts, yes there are occasions where individual members of the church or a couple of members from the church are out doing ministry, but predominantly when the church or group of believers are mentioned they are mentioned as being together and worshiping together.

The Church scattered is a vital component to the missional identity of the Church. And it is one that is far too often neglected. However, the fuel for the church scattered throughout the week in our individual callings and areas of ministry influence is what happens when the church is gathered together each week. It is as we come together--not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together--addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,singing and making melody to the Lord in our hearts (Eph. 5:19), praying with and for one another and the Gospel ministry God has called us to, hearing from the Lord from His Word reminding us of the realities and glories of the Gospel, that we are encouraged and refreshed to scatter out across our streets and across the oceans to make disciples of our neighbors and the nations, being the Church.The "church gathered" cannot rightly be called the church if it is not also the "church scattered." Likewise, the "church scattered" is unable to rightly be the church scattered if it is not also the "church gathered" together on a weekly basis.

Jeff Purswell writes,

By definition, to be the church is to gather in God’s presence and to worship God together. And when we begin singing, we join the glorious worship that takes place unceasingly before the throne of God.

This is true regardless of how we feel, who leads worship, what songs we sing, or how we think worship went. There is something incredible happening on Sunday morning!

Be the church and go to church. Something eternal is going on in there. Don’t miss it.

May we never think or inadvertently imply that this is not being the Church...

Preaching: Before and After

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:11:00 +0000

I'm currently reading Mark Dever's and Greg Gilbert's book Preach: Theology Meets Practice. In Chapter 8: "Delivering the Sermon" I came across some of the most helpful advice for before and after delivering the sermon.

Before...

"Is there anything quite like the few seconds right before you open your mouth and begin to preach? The music is done, everything is quiet, all eyes in the building are on you. You step to the pulpit, open your Bible, lay out your notes on the podium...and pause. Or at least I do. For just two seconds--maybe three--I pause before I begin speaking and let my eyes scan the congregation, maybe even make a split-second's eye contact with some people...It's to remind myself why I'm there, to press into my own heart one last time the enormity of what I'm doing. 'These people,' I think, 'belong to Jesus. They are His. He loved them, He spilled His blood for them, and He has put all the resources of omnipotence behind his determination to bring them safely home. And now, for the next hour, He's putting them...in my hands. To teach them and encourage them.'"

And after...

"Few preachers who preach God's Word feel great when the sermon's done. I'm usually thinking about everything I didn't have time to say or even a few things I did say that I wish I hadn't. Then the time for the benediction slips up on me, I give it, and then I sneak to the back door to talk with people as they walk out. Sometimes people come to talk, and I'm humbled and encouraged by the ways they say the Lord used the sermon in their lives. Other times no one says much of anything, which bothers me more than I wish it did.

But the immediate feedback--as much as we crave the instant gratification--isn't the point. A pastorate is made up of a lot of sermons, and the fact is, most of those sermons are going to be singles rather than triples or home runs. But that's fine. If the Lord is so kind as to give you even a long string of singles, that's purely of His grace, and your congregation will benefit and grow from that. You score runs with a string of singles. So don't worry if you haven't hit a home run in a while--and if you hit one today, don't get cocky! Either way, go home, rest, thank God for the grace He gave you to teach and encourage His people again, take some time off, and then start the whole process over the next week. Our God is a good God, and week after week, sermon after sermon, He will give grace and strength and insight to the men who preach His Word."

Good, good stuff.

Church: The Most Unlikely Place For Father's on Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:45:00 +0000

I came across an interesting statistic in relation to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in a recent USA Today article. The article was based on a recent survey conducted by Lifeway Research. The survey had to do with the highest attendance days in churches in America. Ninety-three percent of pastors surveyed said that Easter was one of the top three high attendance days. Eighty-four percent of pastors surveyed said that Christmas was one of the top three high attendance days. Fifty-nine percent of pastors said that Mother’s Day was one of the top three high attendance days in the life of the church.

Now what about Father’s Day? Only four percent of pastors surveyed said that Father’s Day was one of the top three attendance days in the life of the church each year. Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research, said, "Clearly, mothers want to be present for the affirmation that is typically offered in most churches, but families also are present knowing their attendance will honor their mother. Many families make church attendance on Mother's Day nearly obligatory. The attendance difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day is telling. Either churches are less effective in affirming fathers, or families believe Christian fathers don't value their participation in worship services."

Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research wrote, "It seems that on Mother's Day, moms say, 'Let's all go to church.' But on Father's Day, dads say, 'I'm going to go play golf,' " I think the research possibly says something pretty revealing about the difference in the spiritual health of mothers and fathers. Mothers generally want to be in church on Sunday, with their children. Fathers on the other hand, for the most part, don’t want to be in church with their children on Father’s Day.

Therefore, I want to encourage you as Fathers and Grandfathers to stop that trend this Father’s Day. Dads, Granddads, would your children or grandchildren pass out if you picked up the phone and said, “Hey, I’d love it if you and your family would come and go with me to church this Sunday?” Children and Grandchildren, would your Dads and Granddads, pass out if you picked up the phone and said, “Hey, I’d love to have you join me at church this Father’s Day morning?”

Why don’t you call them and find out? See you on Father’s Day!

Being a Mom: The Hardest & Best Job In the World

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:03:00 +0000

“The hardest job in the world is also the best job in the world. Thank you, Moms!”

That’s the closing line in this advertisement by Proctor & Gamble for the upcoming Summer Olympics in London. 2.6 million people have watched this video online. One of those commented, “Watching this and thinking, ‘Will I ever be a good mother?’”

As much as I liked the commercial, I thought it was potentially more discouraging to mothers than encouraging. Why? I completely agree that being a mom is the hardest job in the world. Having been raised by an exceptional mom and now being married to an exceptional mom, there is no doubt it, it is the hardest job in the world. But is what makes it the hardest job in the world the fact that you have to do laundry, take them to school, and bandage up their wounds? No, what makes it the hardest job in the world I think has more to do with the fact that you do all of those little things and rarely do you hear, “Thank you, Mom. I love you.” What makes it the hardest job in the world is watching watch those little, or formerly little ones, go through sickness and heartache that you can’t heal. What makes it the hardest job in the world is watching them grow up and make bad decisions that you can’t change.

And is it really true that what makes being a mom the best job in the world the fact that your child competes and succeeds in the Olympics and that makes it all worth it? What about those kids who grow up and just do ordinary stuff the rest of their life? Sometimes, what makes it the best job in the world is the fact that your kid is still living. Sometimes what makes it the best job in the world is that your child grows up and learns from their mistakes. But sometimes they don’t and they never get it together.

But it’s still the best job in the world because for the most part, mother’s never stop being moms. They keep doing it and loving. What other job is there where you put so much into it and potentially get so “little” out of it but you keep the job? In any other job like that , a person would just quit, but not moms. That’s the greatest proof that it’s the best job in the world.

Why do moms do that? 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 says, “Be we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become dear to us.” It’s because children are dear to their mothers. It’s because moms are affectionately desirous of their children. Therefore they give themselves away no matter the outcome or result. And that’s a small, but beautiful picture of God’s love for sinners through Christ: affectionately desirous and self-sacrificing for our good.

Therefore, to all the moms this month who have raised just ordinary kids, like me, you really do have the hardest and best job in the world and we are glad you never quit. And to all of us ordinary kids who have been raised by these extraordinary moms, “rise up and call her blessed.”

There's Something Behind Those Trees

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:53:00 +0000

We've been going through the Book of Philippians on Sunday mornings since the beginning of this year. We are currently making our way through Chapter 3. Chapter 3 contains some of the more memorable Pauline passages. It is in this passage that Paul states,

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Paul states in this passage that he used to see things a certain way, but now because of Christ, he sees them in a completely different way. In vv. 5-6 of Chapter 3, Paul lists the things that used to be important to him in life, areas that he found the most pride in. However, now, because of the surpassing value of Christ, being accepted by God through the perfection of Jesus Christ and not his own, and knowing Him more and more, he sees all of those things as filthy trash.

I attempted to illustrate this transformation as I ended the sermon one morning, but I ran out of time to really develop it. So I thought I would take a moment to do a better job at it. I'm sure you've had the experience that I mentioned to our congregation that morning. When you move somewhere different and especially if you move there during the summer months you find that all of the trees are in full bloom and completely leafed out. Therefore when you travel down the interstate most of the time all you see is the barrier of beautiful trees that line the parallel sides of the interstate or the back rode that you are traveling down.

But what happens when Fall and Winter roll around? Those beautiful trees begin to go through a kind of death and the leaves begin to fall off and before too long all of those beautiful trees are barren. And then as you drive down those same highways or country roads you are treated with a whole new scenery. This is especially surprising if it's your first winter there. As you are driving down those same roads that you drive down everyday you notice that behind those trees, which are now barren and see-through, is an amazingly beautiful house or scenic view that is just breathtaking.

Now, the beauty of that house or that landscape has always been there. It didn't just appear. But this is the first time you have been able to see it because nothing is blocking your sight now. Then as Spring and Summer come back around the trees begin to bloom again and the leaves return and the roads are lined once again with sight of just those trees. But you can't drive down those roads the same way any longer. Why? Because you've seen what's really behind those trees. No matter how beautiful and green they may be you know that behind those trees is something much more beautiful and satisfying and you never forget that.

Living life before coming to faith in Christ is like driving down the road and only knowing the scenery of those lush trees that line the highway or the country roads. Those "trees" are what makes up our life, what our world revolves around. For some of us those "Trees" may be sinful things that we fill our life with and for others of us those "trees" may be good gifts from God that we have turned into ultimate things, even idols, that we have built our life around. It may be our family, our job, our health, our retirement. That's all that we can see and we become used to that and satisfied with it.

But then something happens. A kind of death happens, not to the trees but to us. Through faith in Christ we die to our sin and the world and all that stuff that our lives centered around becomes crucified to us and we to it as well. And by the grace and kindness of God through faith we are able to see the beauty and all-satisfying reality of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection for our sins and the new life He gives to us and the hope of enjoying His presence forever and ever. Now like the beautiful house behind the trees or the scenic landscape, the beauty and reality of Jesus Christ has always been there. We just couldn't see it because of our sin. But now our eyes have been opened and we see it and we love it.

The result is that we now travel down the road of life completely different. Oh, the trees (sinful temptations and idols) bloom again. But we do not fall for or become satisfied with their beauty. We've seen what's on the other side of those trees and He's captivating. We can't get the beauty of Him out of our heart. He's unforgettable and clear as day even though we can't see him now. And we can never be the same and we know that one day, we will see Him as He is, and we will be like Him.

As Times Get Harder, Jesus Gets Sweeter--In Honor of My Granddaddy

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:13:00 +0000

This was originally posted four years ago, shortly after my Granddaddy's death. Today is the 4th anniversary of his going home to be with the Lord and I miss him, but I still adore the goodness of God even in the midst of the sorrow.

April 11, 2008

“My very dear child! What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. O that we may kiss the rod, and lay our hands on our mouths! The Lord has done it. He has made me adore His goodness, that we had him so long. But my God lives; and He has my heart. O what a legacy my husband, and your father, has left us! We are all given to God; and there I am, and love to be. Your affectionate mother, Sarah Edwards.”

"Inconceivable!"

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:17:00 +0000

That's one of the most memorable lines from The Princess Bride. That line, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means," could be used equally as well with how a lot of people use different scripture verses. One in particular that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 10:13. There Paul writes,

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

Now, more times than not you will hear Christians use that verse in the context of hard and difficult times that a person may be going through. They will say something along the lines of, "Now just remember that God has promised not to give us more than we can handle." The intent behind the words are loving. The person is trying to encourage the person who is suffering that they can get through whatever it is they are going through.

The problem of course is that 1 Corinthians 10:13 is about resisting temptations to sin in our life and not on handling suffering and difficult times. The promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is that when temptations to sin come in the life of the believer, God will not leave them without a way to endure that temptation and thus avoid giving into the sin. God will always provide, in the face of temptation, an option for the follower of Christ to choose that does not involve sin and thus is pleasing to God.

But there is another problem with the thought of, "Well God does not put more on our plate than we can handle," besides it not being what 1 Corinthians 10:13 is talking about. The problem is that the reality is that God, more times than not, does indeed put more on our plate than we can handle and He is good and kind to do so. Why is that? Listen to what Paul writes to the same church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 1:8,

"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. "

Paul here writes that the suffering that they were going through was much more than their plate could handle. They were given suffering and hardship to endure that was beyond their ability to handle to the point that they thought they were going to die. But then notice what he says next: "But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." Did you notice the aspect of intentionality behind the "bigger than our plate" suffering and hardship that we sometimes endure as followers of Christ? The suffering that they were enduring was given to them "to make them rely not on ourselves."

Our default mindset as sinners when confronted with suffering and hardship is to seek to rely on ourselves in order to survive it. Now who would want to make us rely on God instead of ourselves? Well, it surely would not be Satan. He would not bring suffering in our lives for the purpose of making us rely on God instead of ourselves. No, he wants us to rely on ourselves instead of God. He is perfectly pleased with that kind of idolatry. It is God who wants to make us rely not on ourselves but on Him. He is the one who brings suffering in our life that is more than we can handle for the purpose of teaching us that we can't handle it on our own and that we must rely or trust on Him. We need the power and ability of the one who raises the dead to carry us through suffering and hard times in our life. God is kind and gracious to bring/allow suffering into our lives to wean us off of relying on the idol of self so that we will start trusting in His power and strength to enable us to persevere through the worst of suffering in our lives.

Therefore, the next time someone says to you in the midst of your suffering--with the best and most loving of intentions--"God has promised not to put more on our table than we can bear," you know better. Introduce them to the God who loves us enough to put more on our table than we can bear so that learn to trust and rely more on Him and all that He is for us in Christ!

Nothing New Under The Sun

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Solomon write in Ecclesiastes 1:9,

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See this is new'? It has been already in the ages before us."

It seems like we live in the age of the "new" in regards to the life of the church. But is there really anything "new" that has never been tried before?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones seems to think not. In his classic Preaching and Preachers he writes,

One of the advantages of being old is that you have experience, so when something new comes up, and you see people getting very excited about it, you happen to be in the position of being able to remember a similar excitement perhaps forty years ago. And so one has seen fashions and vogues and stunts coming one after another in the Church. Each one creates great excitement and enthusiasm and is loudly advertised as the thing that is going to fill the churches, the thing that is going to solve the problem. They have said that about every single one of them. But in a few years they have forgotten all about it, and another stunt comes along, or another new idea; somebody has hit upon the one thing needful or he has a psychological understanding of modern man. Here is the thing, and everybody rushes after it; but soon it wanes and disappears and something else takes its place.

This is, surely, a very sad and regrettable state for the Christian Church to be in, that like the world she should exhibit these constant changes of fashion. In that state she lacks the stability and the solidity and the continuing message that has ever been the glory of the Christian Church."

Yep, nothing new under the sun, even in the life of the Church. Stick to what's worked for the past 2000 years. Let God's Word do God's Work in God's time and God's way.

The Stupid, Illogical and Deadly Words of a Pro-Death, Err, Pro-Choice President

noreply@blogger.com (R. Philip Blinson) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Roe vs. Wade. President Obama celebrated this day while those who champion the cause of life viewed it with much sadness and hope for a different future in regards to the issue of the legalized killing of unborn babies.

Two statements from the President's remarks yesterday are particularly noteworthy. They are noteworthy in the sense of how stupid, illogical and deadly they are. The first is how the President chose to conclude his remarks on this anniversary. He states,

"And as we remember this historic anniversary, we must also continue our efforts to ensure that our daughters have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill our dreams.”

First of all, last Monday when we as a nation celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a historic anniversary in the truest sense. That was the remembrance of a life that is rightly celebrated. However, the 39th Anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that has seen over 50 million unborn babies killed inside their mother's womb is not historic, Mr. President, it's tragic.

Let me interpret what our President meant in the quote above. The President desires that "our daughters have the rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons to fulfill our (their) dreams." Well, whatever could the President mean by that? I mean I think as a nation we have come a long way in equality in the workplace with women having just as much opportunity to excel in whatever they choose to do.

Here is what President Obama really said in those remarks. "It's unfair that our sons can have sex and not have to worry about the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. If they get a woman pregnant, they can just desert the baby and the mother and continue to pursue their dreams and aspirations. However that is not so with the woman. If she were forced to have this baby all of her hopes and dreams could be crushed by having to be a mom. I mean let's be real, no woman really aspires with all of her heart and soul to be just a mother. Therefore, in order that our daughters are not hampered with the responsibility of being a mother that would crush their greater aspirations, we must continue to condone their right to kill unborn babies in the womb so that they can have the same sexual freedom as our sons."

Stupidest words ever spoken by a President of the United States of America. Makes me long for the days of such cogent thoughts as, "That depends on what the definition of 'is' is."

But the other remark the President made in his speech is where he gets real illogical. I have heard him and other Pro-Death, err, Pro-Choice advocates make similar statements. Here they are,

"While this is a sensitive and often divisive issue, no matter what our views, we must stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, reduce the need for abortion, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption."

Why must we do that? If abortion is not morally wrong and thus an inferior choice to adoption, planned pregnancies, etc., why do we need "to stay united in our determination to prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, reduce the need for abortion...promote adoption?" If there is nothing morally wrong with abortions (if abortions are not in actuality the brutal killing of another defenseless human being) then there is no need to work for the alternatives. You see, the President's conscience tells him otherwise, along with any other Pro-Death, err, Pro-Choice advocate. The reason we must work towards these other alternatives is because deep down we know that the choice of abortion is not just inferior to the alternatives of adoption and planned pregnancies, it's nothing less than the continuation of the Holocaust of our generation--the court approved poisoning and dismembering of babies in their mother's womb.

Stupid, Illogical, and Deadly, Mr. President.