How Does God Speak to Us?

Have you ever heard a voice from above that gave you a powerful message? Let me share my experience. When I just a kid, I was out in the hog house doing chores and as I walked out of the building I heard this voice from above that said, “Shake baby shake, I said shake baby shake!” Since no one else was around, I was a bit inclined to tremble/shake a bit, but then I looked over to where Dad had parked the semi just a few feet away from the hog house. I then realized that when he had shut it off, he had turned the key too far and the radio was playing a song by Jerry Lee Lewis. After that there was not much “shaking going on” on my part. - The subject of voices, dreams, and other forms of extra-biblical revelation often comes up as I minister. A number of questions come up in this discussion. One of the first I try to address is, “does God have the power to give extra-biblical revelation?” My answer is an emphatic, “Yes, God does have the power to reveal anything He wants to any way He wants.” If God can use a donkey to speak to Balaam then He can use Jerry Lee Lewis to get me to shake, but there is another important question we must consider. How authoritative would any vision, voice, or dream be? - Let me share another of my personal experiences. I had a dream about rats just before a neighbor came over with his pay loader to bury some junk piles. Sure enough as he was pushing those piles around, rats came running out. So was my dream prophetic or was I subconsciously thinking about rats as I slept because I already knew there were rats living in those junk piles that we were getting ready to bury? - These sorts of questions are real challenges we face as we begin to deal with extra-biblical revelation. How do we know if this is a specific message from God or something subconsciously manufactured within our own mind? Let us not forget Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Furthermore, not only do we have to be concerned about our own hearts deceiving us into thinking something has come from God, we also have to be worried about the devil and his ministers trying to trick us. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) - So how do we know that what we are receiving has really come from God? The answer is actually fairly simple. Trust the sufficiency of the Bible. When we go to the Bible, we know that we have God’s word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Not only are we assured that scripture comes from God, but that it is sufficient to thoroughly furnish us unto all good works. - Many do not want to give up the idea of extra-biblical revelation because so many of their beliefs are based on things outside of the Bible. I would argue that most cults and many false doctrines would fall apart if extra-biblical revelation was not embraced. Let us trust the sufficiency of scripture.

Should We Horde The TV?

My wife has been decluttering- getting rid of things that we seldom use so that we do not become like the people on that hoarders show. The only time we have seen Hoarders is when we have been away from home or watched it on the internet, because we do not have TV reception in our house. Thus as my wife has been decluttering, she has suggested getting rid of the TV. I have argued that without the TV, we could not watch anymore VCR tapes. Of course if we got rid of the TV, we would not have to hoard all those old tapes. - Really it is not a bad idea to have a house without television because so many of the programs on today are completely ungodly. I would not want our children to be able to watch whatever happened to be on. Does that mean that all TV is sinful? Not at all; in fact, part of the reason I do not want to get rid of the VCR is because I still have some tapes in that format that can be used for ministry. - The television is one of those electronically animated inanimate objects that has the potential to be used for good or evil. Thus some have chosen to not even have one in their homes and I can definitely see the wisdom of that decision. As I consider the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5 (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like) I realize that all those things are promoted as good by many TV programs. By getting rid of the TV, you are able to get rid of a source of such influences. Further, it is so easy to waste a lot of time in front of the set. - But what about the people who discipline themselves to not use the TV as a time waster and are careful not to watch filthy content? I do believe it is possible for a mature Christian to do that; however, for others it may be best to get rid of the source of temptation. - For those who do decide to get rid of the TV, let me encourage you to do so, but let me also give a very important warning. Just because you have gotten rid of a powerful source of temptation, do not think that you no longer have to worry about adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like in your life. Paul wrote about these things in his letter to Galatians and that letter was written thousands of years ago- long before TV was even an issue. - The point that I am making is that as Christians we have a lot of liberty, but we should not use that liberty as an excuse to sin (Galatians 5:13). The liberty to watch TV can become liberty to sin if we end up watching shows that lead us to sin (Matthew 5:28- But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.) We also have the liberty to get rid of the TV, but if we use the excuse that we are “godly” because we do not have a TV, yet continue to sin, then we have used that liberty as an excuse for our ungodly sinfulness. - As Christians, we should have high standards for our conduct, but let us never make a manmade rule or point of conduct into an excuse to violate the clear expectations God has set out for us in His word. Regardless of how set apart we are in some of these areas of liberty, let us make sure we are truly set apart from sin and unto God.

Look Out for the Bad Guys!

The other day one of our little boys came into my office and announced that he was going to the bank. They often play make believe, but I realized that we do not live that far from the bank, and they might actually decide to walk over there some day. We then had a long talk about the danger of getting run over by cars if you go near the street. - Because we live in a sin cursed world, we also had to have another discussion. I warned them about “bad guys.” No doubt, it is a blessing to live in a small town like Bancroft, but from time to time we hear news stories about children being abducted and abused and sometimes it happens in a small town area. I wish it was not necessary to warn my little boys, but because of sin it is. Thus a few days later when we walked up town, the two older boys were very careful to hold on to their little brothers hand so a bad guy did not get him. - I do not want my boys to live in constant fear, but I do want them to understand the reality of evil. Though I want them to be aware of the special dangers posed by a “bad guy,” I also want them to understand when they have done something bad. I want them to understand that they should always tell the truth and that lying is bad. I want them to know that they should not steal anything that belongs to someone else. - I do not just want to adjust their behavior though. As they grow older, I want them to understand who God is and His role in their lives and even in their sin problem. I do not expect them to understand all about Christ’s payment for sin when they are toddlers, but as they get older I want them to grasp sin’s reality not just in the life of the “bad guy,” but in all our lives. - Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” - Some people think that hell is just for those who have done something really bad, but the truth is, all of us have sinned, and even if you do not think your sin was all that bad, Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death. As we consider the condemnation for our sin, listen to what God‘s word tells us about not believing in Jesus Christ: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) - Jesus is telling us that if you do not believe on Him, you do not have to do something really bad to be condemned- you are condemned already. The reason we are already condemned is because all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God and sin has passed onto all of us from the time that the first man Adam sinned. You see hell isn’t just for kidnappers and guys like Hitler, it is for all people who have not had their sin paid for. - That reality brings us to Christ. He is the only one who can pay for our sins. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

What Should I Wear Today?

My wife was all excited. She is able to fit into her jeans again after having our big baby boy. He weighed over 11 pound and at the end of her pregnancy she could not even fit into her maternity pants. Fortunately she had a couple of skirts she was still able to wear. - I am glad that I do not have to deal with the fashion struggles that she recently had. I still have shirts that I wore two decades ago, so I have to be careful not to continue to wear something that is totally out of style. I have a tendency not to be concerned enough about what I wear, while it seems that some people’s lives actually revolve around fashion. Though my wife is not preoccupied with fashion either, she can at least help me match my ties. - I get a lot of encouragement in reading about John the Baptist. He wore leather and camel hair. These were not the fancy clothes of the day. I once heard a preacher emphasizing how we should make sure and wear good quality wool suits. Though I have no objection to owning quality clothes, why should we judge someone who wears a polyester blend? In fact, the scripture condemns such judging. James 2:2-4 is quite direct on this matter when he says, “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” - As with so many things in the Christian life, people have a tendency to go to extremes in the area of clothes- either not caring at all about what they wear or becoming preoccupied with fashion. Though James gives a warning about judging concerning dress, Paul also gives guidance in the area of fashion as he specifically addresses women. I cannot help but think that the feminine gender had a great interest in fashion even back then. Consider what Paul had to say, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array” (1 Timothy 2:9). - Much is said about clothes in this little verse. First, Paul is pointing out that women should adorn themselves with their clothes. That word adorn has the idea of decorating. In other words, there is nothing wrong with a woman wanting to look nice- in fact she is told to take care to adorn herself, but she is also given guidance about how to do it. She is to do so with modesty. Typically when we hear of modesty we think of not being risqué, and though that would definitely be included, the meaning goes much further than that. - The Greek word translated “modest” here is only used twice in the Bible and the other time it is translated “of good behavior.” Strong defines it as “decorous“, which means “in good taste.” In other words though we should not be risqué, we should also be dressing in a manner that is culturally acceptable. For example my second cousin recently sent me a picture of our families together in the 1970’s and I must say the shiny polyester orange of that era is not as culturally acceptable now as it was then. Further it is not good behavior nor good taste to dress risqué. - I believe the point Paul is making is that we are to dress within our culture in an acceptable manner without having to have the most expensive and extravagant clothes, hairstyles, or jewelry. In other words we should dress nice, without being lewd or preoccupied by our wardrobe.

Abounding as Needs are Met

In Philippians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul showed that he understood what it meant to abound and to suffer need. We are so blessed in this country that few people here really know what it means to “need” food. Sure we might have times when we are hungry because we cannot find a drive thru restaurant, but few have to worry about starving to death. - Still, most of us know what it means to live on a budget. In other words, we do not have a limitless supply of money to buy whatever we want to. That is actually a good thing, because it teaches self control and responsible stewardship. - Part of our stewardship as a family involves keeping a small emergency fund set aside. This fall we were grateful that we had it because both vehicles ended up needing repairs, a couple of us visited the hospital for minor issues, and a new baby was added to our family. In spite of all these challenges, by God’s grace, we have been able to pay all our bills. - Our story probably sounds quite familiar to many of you who are going through similar times in your home, but our story took an interesting turn about a week before Christmas. Our new baby had a slight tongue tie. It was not serious enough for the local doctor to even be concerned about it, but it was causing serious problems with his nursing. - We found a specialist in Lincoln, NE that could do a minor surgery, but it would cost $250 plus the expense of driving out there. After talking it over, we decided that even though finances were tight, we should go ahead with the procedure and trust God with the rest. As we made that decision, we received a gift of $50 in Bancroft Bucks. Then while we were gone to Lincoln, a couple of men stopped by with another $50 in Bancroft Bucks. Then the next day a lady stopped by with a bunch of groceries and a $150 gift card. The Bancroft Bucks and gift card replaced the $250 we spent on the surgery. - We were overjoyed that our only expense for the procedure was our cost to drive out to Lincoln which came close to $100 in gas. Then the next day we received an envelope with our typed address and no return address with a $100 gift card to Fairway. - We were praising God for His provision through the loving charity of others, but it did not stop. We also received another $50 gift certificate for gas and another Johnson’s Grocery gift card. Further, we also received gifts from other individuals. What a wonderful Christmas it has been. The Miller family knows what it means to abound. - Philippians 4:12-20 says, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” - I want to thank God and all those He used to help us abound.

The Best Gift

When I was a child we would get a couple of huge toy catalogs. We would go through and pick out our favorite items so that we could pass a list on to Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa with hopes that they might fulfill our desires. Recently our little boys found one of the small toy catalogs that came in the mail. They were enjoying looking at all the pictures but had not get grasped the idea of asking to have the items they saw. For now the catalog itself is a satisfying gift for them. - When it comes to Christmas shopping, I must buy for young and old alike. It is easy to find gifts for little boys who get excited about looking at bright pictures on pieces of junk mail, but it is much harder to find a gift for my mother who already has almost everything she needs and doesn’t really want a lot of extras. - You see my mother has reached the contentment that comes with maturity. When I say that I do not just mean the physical maturity of aging, but the spiritual maturity of godliness. The Apostle Paul had reached such a place in Philippians 4:11 when he said, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” - My little boys are pleased with almost any gift and my mom doesn’t really want much more than time with family. Both are easily satisfied. On the other hand, so many people are so preoccupied with what others have that it can end up ruining what could be an otherwise joyous holiday. - Rather than coveting the possessions of others we are to covet the best gifts. “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31) The next chapter makes clear what those best gifts are. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) - The word here translated “charity” is “agape“- the wonderful Greek word for selfless love that gives to others. Jesus Christ set the perfect example of this love when He died on the cross to pay for our sins. “Greater love (agape) hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) - His death provided the means for us to have the best gift of all- a gift that is completely free- the gift of eternal life after death by having our sins forgiven. “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” (Romans 5:14-15) - When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our Savior, we get the free gift of salvation. It is far better than anything in the Christmas catalog or anything our neighbor has. When we accept His free gift we should realize that we are getting something really special. Once we have Jesus as our Savior, we never have to worry about Him leaving us. Other gifts will get broken or lost. Other gifts will lose the excitement as they age. If we put our hope in other things we will quickly lose our contentment and want something better, but when we receive Christ, we get the best. His gift is one we can really be content with. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

The Truth About Christmas

A few weeks ago our little boys looked out the front window and saw the beautiful Christmas lights in and on our neighbor’s house across the street. One of them got all excited and said, “they have Christmas!”
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Not long after that we went to the open house at our local bank and the boys got free coloring books. One of them saw a picture of Rudolf the red nosed reindeer, and since he is young enough that he doesn’t know all his animals well, he asked if it was a horsey. When I told him it was a deer, his older brother asked, “we shoot him?”
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Now before you start to think that we have been training our children to kill Rudolf, understand that we come from a family of deer hunters. Although I have not hunted for a few years, my brother did this year and my boys heard me talking to him about it. Furthermore, when they pretend that their sticks are guns, we often tell them to shoot deer instead of people. Thus our boys are much more familiar with the pursuit of the whitetail than they are with the legend of Santa and his reindeer.
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We do not emphasize Santa much in our home. For our boys, he is the man at the bank open house who gave them their candy canes. The same boy who wanted to shoot Rudolf saw a figurine of Santa and said, “he give me candy.”
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I want our boys to view Santa for who he really is- a local man who dresses up in a funny outfit with a fake beard because he likes kids. I do not want them to think that he really lives up at the north pole or actually has a sleigh that flies through the air. I want them to know that the gifts they got at Christmas time came from Grandma, not that man who gave them candy. I want them to know that the man who was dressed up did give them a candy cane and that they should say thank you.
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In other words, I want my kids to know the truth about Santa Claus instead of trying to deceive them. I want my kids to know that they can trust what I tell them and that I am honest with them. I want them to be excited when they see reindeer at the zoo, but not expect them to land on our roof.
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As they hear stories from make believe I want them to know the difference between fun and real. I want them to believe the real stories from the Bible. I want them to know that Jonah really was swallowed by a whale, but that Paul Bunyan is just for fun. I want them to know that Samson did have super human strength, but Super Man is just comic book fiction. I want them to know that the Apostle Paul really did survive a shipwreck and was stranded on an Island for a time, but that Gilligan is just a funny made up character.
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I do not just want my children to know that I will not lie to them, I want them to know the difference between truth and fiction. Then I want them to understand the important truth- that God sent His only begotten son into the world so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I want them to know that Jesus came into this world to die for our sins. That really is the true meaning of Christmas.