WAKE-UP CALL

I’m an eclectic reader. I scribble notes when I find something that deserves more thought or deeper consideration.

Today was a long-needed ‘clean my study’ day!  I’ve been eliminating piles, sorting books, clearing my study carrell and sorting through various piles of articles, notes, clippings, jokes, memes and cartoons in hopes of establishing a friendlier [and less cluttered] workspace.

Mission accomplished!

I now have a GREATLY REDUCED pile of clippings that I don’t know what to do with. I’m eliminating one of those clippings by writing this blog. 😊

I apologize for not knowing the source for the information that I’m about to share.  It’s a half-page of handwritten notes that I copied from somewhere or something.  It’s clearly a fragment from a frequent topic I write about: the decline of Christianity in America. 

If you just rolled your eyes, you might be best to bail out now and save yourself some potential aggravation.

Here are the things that caused me – sometime during the past year – to scribble on the back of a piece of ‘scratch paper’:

Ø  88% of those raised in Christian homes in America leave the church when they leave home.

Ø  In America, it now takes 85 Christians to bring one person to Christ per year!  [Based on church reports:  An average church of 85 people tends to report one convert per year!]

Ø  In recent decades not one county in the United States could report a percentage increase in church attendance.

Ø  Christianity is increasing around the world but has been consistently declining in America for over fifty years.

Ø  In 1900, there were twenty-seven churches for every 10,000 Americans.  In 2000, there were twelve churches for every 10,000 Americans.

Ø  Less than one out of every four born-again American adults have shared their faith with a non-Christian in the past twelve months.

If these propositions have any semblance to an accurate portrayal of Christianity in America, then we have serious problems that need to be addressed!  You must  evaluate the authenticity of these reports.  I can’t verify their source, but my perception tends to confirm these observations! 

Upon returning from three years of living and teaching in northeast PRC, I painfully watched my home conference close the church that I led upon my return to the conference after attending seminary in Kentucky [1976].  At this time [2015], I had accepted a part-time ‘commuting pastor’ role in Kittanning, PA.

My appointment in 1976, to the Jeannette, PA Free Methodist Church was complex, challenging and fraught with complication!  I was twenty-three. I had led a small, rural church in the Hoosier Mountains of southern Indiana for a year and a half. I was highly educated. I was passionate and full of unrealistic expectations!

For those interested, I have written about this experience in a blog titled “HOW TO GROW A PASTOR”  -  Hal-lelujah!: HOW TO GROW A PASTOR

At Jeannette, I found myself leading a small congregation of about forty who were mostly older. We had a brand-new building on twelve acres in the middle of a growing neighborhood, however, the conflict over building had split the congregation!  However, with God’s help, the church began to grow as new converts joined us! Within two years I was preaching to over one hundred. It was exciting – of course!

A somewhat humorous story springs from this period. I was gone a great deal of the time, leaving my relatively new wife at home with our six-month-old son, Travis. One night I came home to find my suitcases on the front porch and the door locked!  When I called to Debbie, she shouted through the door: “If you want to be married to the church, you can just live in the church!”  It was – needless to say – a WAKE-UP CALL!

Some of my most effective ministry took place during this period. However, the opposition from the membership was cruel and controlling. So much so, that I requested a move after two years.  Within a very short time the congregation drifted back to forty!

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And now, thirty-four years later, the conference had closed the church and was selling the building and property!  Something in me wanted desperately to contact my superintendent and volunteer to try to revive this place of ministry! But, of course, doing so was totally unrealistic! And besides, in addition to reverse culture-shock, our lives were devastated by the fact that our son, Travis, had just died of cardiac arrest! I voluntarily retired a year later!

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WHY DO CHURCHES CLOSE?

The answer is simple!  In almost every case, churches close because they can no longer pay the bills!  They simply run out of money!

BUT WHY DO THEY REALLY CLOSE?

Because they lose their vision and get distracted and/or divided! 

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My experience has taught me that satan takes notice of growing churches! He finds a way to divide congregations. Conflict arises. Attendance drops. Tension fills the air.  Hostilities are exchanged.  Bitterness pervades the relationships that continue to strive for survival. 

In a message I gave recently at a church I had previously led, I included the following comment:

“I have learned a great deal about the devil’s tactics over the years.

For instance, do you realize that he leaves a great many churches alone? It took me a while to learn this, but many churches rarely have any spiritual opposition from Satan.

Why?

Because they’re not a threat to his kingdom!

o   They’re not growing by convert growth.

o   They’re plateaued or dying.

o   They don’t care about their community.

o   They’re in a state of internal conflict.”

I never want to be a part of a church that is not a threat to satan and his kingdom! We’re not propping up an institution! We’re the living body of Christ! We are His representatives intended to influence those who are lost and distracted! 

Broken churches lose their sense of mission!  Conflict passion replaces evangelism passion!

In American culture, we’re SURROUNDED with distracted people who are living with a false sense of security!  They think they’re good people – and indeed, in many ways, perhaps they are! But they’re NOT people on a mission for God! They’re NOT serving His purposes! So many pseudo-Christians have been inoculated with an infection-belief that they’re spiritually safe and secure and headed for Heaven. But in reality, they ignore God almost completely, fail to engage with His Word and make no effort to influence others to find their purpose in Him!

And churches decline – then close!

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CAN THIS TREND BE CHANGED?

Absolutely!  It IS CHANGING in some places across our country!  New ministry forms are surfacing that are genuinely making a difference in people’s lives! Some of these, we might barely recognize as part of the Church! Different methods and forms are being utilized that would likely feel strange to those of us who have been raised in the church. 

I can testify that creating change in the church is one of the hardest things to do on this planet!  It seems as though conservative, legalistic, predictable people have been most likely to align with Christianity throughout the last seventy years!  Creative individuals, innovators and inventive thinkers have been restricted, persecuted, excluded and ridiculed.  We’ve chased the ones away who could have been a catalyst for dynamic change and authentic renewal!

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WILL THE CHURCH REALIZE THIS AND ADAPT?

Remember Winston Churchill’s famous and brief speech?

“Never, never, never give up!”  😉❤️

Churches with people who sincerely love God and desire His will may be able to adapt and change to reach the lost with the transforming truth of the Gospel!  They will be people who care less about things being pleasing to THEM – but actually care about their family members, their neighbors, their co-workers and their friends and their future destiny!  They will be people who desperately want as many as possible to see and hear the Truth and adopt it into their lives! 

I want to be part of that movement – do you?

MY FRIEND EDDIE

Eddie was one of my church friends when I was a teenager.  His family was deeply invested in the New Brighton Free Methodist Church, just like mine! We saw one another on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and at other youth or church events. He was three years older than me, but when I hit high school, we began running around together. He had a VW  ‘bug’. Four of us would run the country roads on Sundays and then rush to get back in time for the youth group meeting at 6:30. We kept bathing suits in his car so that if we came across a pond or creek – we could swim.

Eddie was a daredevil! He would try anything! We got stuck in fields and backwoods areas frequently but always managed to get out. Being older, he would pick me up – with a few select friends – and we would fly to Beaver Falls for lunch. [We had over an hour for a lunch period since our school had no cafeteria.]  It was always an exciting and dramatic hour as we flew down country roads to try to get back to school on time!

Eddie was a good friend, but not necessarily a good influence. 🙄

During my senior year, Eddie’s number came up and he was drafted into the Army. As his departure date drew closer, he became very serious and started to withdraw from us. Despite his wild side, Eddie was not a fighter!  I believe that he really struggled with his impending future.

His parents had a party for him at their house in Beaver. Eddie spent the entire time upstairs with his family. His departure date was close. Some of us went to the Pittsburgh Airport to see him off. It was back when you could go out on a roof and watch the plane board.  He never looked our way or waved.

I graduated that spring and went to Roberts Wesleyan College in North Chili, New York.  In January, I began the second term of classes which included General Psychology.  There were very few professors that I didn’t care for, and this class was taught by one of them. 

I received a call from home one day telling me that Eddie had been killed in Viet Nam! I was devastated! I went to my class but was totally distracted. The professor noticed it and called me out for daydreaming. I ended up failing that class and had to repeat it with the same professor!

I would later attain a M.A. in Counseling! It was a little embarrassing to have failed General Psych!

I struggled for the rest of that semester! Suddenly, the war in Viet Nam took on a personal meaning for me! Of course, I went home for the funeral. Our pastor was a staunch, stern man named C. D. Weinel.  He had proven his love for the youth of the church by having a ‘Rap Session’ with us on Wednesday evenings. He promised that nothing we said there would be shared outside that room! We trusted him. He never broke his word.

He maintained contact with Eddie and counseled with him during his last days at home. Their correspondences indicated that Eddie had put his trust in Christ for his salvation. He shared some excerpts from Eddie’s letters and they were very encouraging.

I still think of Eddie from time to time. I’ve run my fingers over his name on ‘The Wall’ in Washington numerous times! I was thrilled when they brought ‘the travelling Wall’ to East Liverpool while we were there. I visited it several times that week!

He was one of the many casualties of a confusing and complicated war.  I’m thinking of him again on this Memorial Day! I take comfort in the fact that someday I will have the opportunity to enjoy his friendship again!

Rest in peace Edward Allen Bischoff!  YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

GOD’S RESPONSE TO AN EVIL KING

I typically try to inscribe three chapters a day in my granddaughter’s Bible. This morning it was my delight to cover I Kings 17-19.

After trudging through chapters about the early kings of Israel and Judah, these three chapters give a delightful break!

The last king mentioned is Ahab.  He is described:

Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before GOD than anyone yet – a new champion in evil…He made the God of Israel angrier than all the previous kings of Israel put together.  [I Kings 16:30,33]

 

[All quotes from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted]

Upon reading of the continual descension of the faithfulness of israel’s kings, it would be appropriate to ask the question: HOW WILL GOD DEAL WITH SUCH AN EVIL KING AS AHAB?

The answer to that question is clearly given in chapters 17-19.

God responded to the evil king Ahab – and his even more evil wife, Jezebel – by sending an unknown prophet, Elijah, to Ahab with a message.

It’s a perfectly logical response!  Ahab is the epitome of evil!  Elijah is a picture of humility, submission and obedience to God! 

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For those who haven’t read these chapters recently, here’s a synopsis:

God sent Elijah to tell Ahab that as punishment for his evil ways, Israel would experience a three-year draught with absolutely no rain!

After delivering this message, God sends Elijah into a wilderness area near a stream and has birds bring him food to eat every morning and evening!  This sounds preposterous, doesn’t it?  But my response is one that comes from a chorus I learned when I was young:

“God said it!

I believe it!

That’s good enough for me!”  😊

When the brook dried up [due to the draught], God sent Elijah to a nearby village where he was to meet a woman.  Upon his arrival, Elijah found a woman preparing to bake a loaf of bread for herself and her son from the last of her flour and oil. Elijah asks her to first make him a bisquit and then prepare the rest for her and her son.  She explained to him that she sincerely expects that they will then die of starvation.

However, Elijah assures her that her jar of flour and bottle of oil will not run out until God sends rain on the land and ends the draught.  Elijah was cared for by the widow after that until her young son became sick and died.  She carried him to Elijah in anger that he had died.

Elijah prayed earnestly for the boy and he came back to life!

When three years had passed, God sent Elijah to talk with Ahab.  Ahab and his servant, Obadiah, had been vigorously searching everywhere for Elijah!  Obadiah was a God-honoring man who had protected a large group of prophets during the draught by hiding them away and bringing them food and water. 

AN INTERESTING FOOT-NOTE:

I find it interesting that God had planted a righteous man in close proximity to King Ahab!

I wonder how many world leaders have godly men or women in their midst as an influence?

A couple of years ago, I came across a news report about a Chinese evangelist named Zhou Jinxia who was arrested after trying to share the Gospel with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.  ChinaAid says Jinxia frequently holds evangelistic signs outside a gate the couple regularly passes through. She is described as “an unbreakable, irrepressible Christian woman.” 

God always has a plan!  God plants Christian people near world leaders all of the time!  😉

Elijah meets Obadiah and has him deliver a message to King Ahab. Ahab is to call all of the people of Israel – including the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah together at Mt. Carmel.

When this gathering takes place, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest to see whose God is the real god!  Elijah challenges the Baal prophets to build an altar and make a sacrifice BUT NOT TO LIGHT IT ON FIRE!  They are to pray for their god to light the sacrifice on fire!

Being a gentleman, Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first!  He teases them as they pray and cry out to their god all day long! Then, he builds his own altar using twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  He prepares the sacrifice and then drenches the altar with buckets and buckets of precious water.  Finally, Elijah prayed:

“O God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make it known right now that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I’m doing what I’m doing under your orders. Answer me, God; O answer me and reveal to this people that you are God, the true God, and that you are giving these people another chance at repentance.”

 

Immediately the fire of God fell and burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench.

All the people saw it happen and fell on their faces in awed worship, exclaiming, “God is the true God! God is the true God!”   [I Kings 18:37-39]

 

After killing all of the prophets of Baal, Elijah prays for rain! He repeatedly sends his servant to the cliff to look out over the sea.  Repeatedly the servant returns with a report of no sign of clouds.  But finally – the seventh time – the servant returns and reports that he sees a cloud…very small, no bigger than someone’s hand, rising out of the sea,

Elijah warns Ahab to run for cover because a great storm is about to arrive.

There’s more to this story, but I’ll let those of you who are interested to pick it up and read it in I Kings 19.

 I suppose you’ve gotten the message.

 WHAT IS GOD’S RESPONSE TO AN EVIL KING?

 A RIGHTEOUS, HUMBLE AND OBEDIENT SERVANT!

Someone just like you or me!  Someone who believes and obeys God!  Someone who acts when God speaks!  Someone whose influence is impeccable!  A man or woman of courage and conviction! 

Don’t dare limit what God could accomplish through you – if you would just submit to His leadership in your life!  

A FATHERS INFLUENCE PARTICULARLY ON SONS

A quick review of Israel’s development:

o   Slaves in Egypt

o   Delivered by Moses

o   Conquered Canaan with Joshua

o   Ruled by judges for at least 200 years

o   Period of the kings: Saul, David, Solomon

o   The kingdom divided into Israel (north) and Judah (south)

Faithful to God’s prediction, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, became the king of Israel; however, eleven tribes rejected him and walked away.  They chose Jeroboam to be their king and Rehoboam continued to rule over just the tribe of Judah.

When reading through this period there is a troubling, recurring phrase. The following is in regards to Abijah, the son of Rehoboam.

“He continued to sin just like his father before him.”  [I Kings 15:3]

Now, Abijah had free will! His father had died and he became king. But, his father’s influence had been so strong – so influential – that Abijah simply followed in his father’s footsteps!  Unfortunately, Jeroboam’s example was a bad one!

The above verse end by lamenting:

“He [Rehoboam] was not true-hearted to GOD as his great grandfather David had been.”

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You may have seen pictures or scenes of a little boy trying to keep pace with his father’s footsteps or clomping about in his father’s shoes.

If a father is available, there is a natural alignment with the son because of the shared sexual identity.  Typically, this will continue into the young teen years.

I’ve spoken many times of the phenomenon that often takes place around puberty when a child begins to turn to the opposite-sex parent [if available].  I’ve assumed this to be a God-designed transition with the purpose of allowing the opposite-sex parent the opportunity to guide the child through the process of understanding and relating to the opposite sex.

If this is an accurate portrayal, then one can only imagine the impact that can result from having a father who:

§  Is largely absent [or simply not there due to divorce, death or other reasons]

§  Tends to think that parenting is part of the mother’s role

§  Is hyper-focused on career, hobbies and personal pursuits

§  Is angry, disconnected, distant and distracted

Much of the disfunction we see in American culture could very well be linked or explained by these realities.

God intended for children to be raised in a home with a mother and a father. Their roles are variant but essential! Their dual-engagement with children is vital!

We must remember that the image of God is reflected in both the male and the female:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

[Genesis 1:26-28  NASB]

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The example the father sets for his children is powerful and formative! If this role is magnified it can be massively influential. However, if it is ignored or abused, it can be gravely impactful in negative ways.

Counselors can help to rectify some of the damage done by an absent or distracted father, but the haunting longing for what should-have-been will travel with those children throughout their lives. Only God – the Heavenly Father – can bring total healing to those wounded hearts!

Heavenly Father:

We value the intimacy You imply by making Yourself known to us through this familiar term!

You created us!

You offer us redemption!

You love us persistently!

You give us gifts!

You know the number of the hairs on our heads.

You long for us to follow and honor You!

Bless and challenge the men who read this blog!

Help us to step up to the challenge of being godly men!

Lead us.

Guide us.

Use us.

Grow us into Your image!

 

Enable us to be difference-makers in our home and culture!

For Your Kingdom’s sake.

Amen!

CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SIN

^{[All quotes are from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted.]}

^{I Kings 11:1-5} King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel, “You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites.

 

^6-8 Solomon openly defied God; he did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He went on to build a sacred shrine to Chemosh, the horrible god of Moab, and to Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites, on a hill just east of Jerusalem. He built similar shrines for all his foreign wives, who then polluted the countryside with the smoke and stench of their sacrifices.

 

^9-10 God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders.

 

^11-13 God said to Solomon, “Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I’m going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won’t do it in your lifetime. It’s your son who will pay—I’ll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won’t take it all; I’ll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem.”

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Clearly, Solomon disregarded God and chose the pleasures of sinful behavior instead. He put his love for women above his love for God! He willfully disobeyed and disregarded the God of his father, David!

AND THERE WERE CONSEQUENCES!  The nation of Israel would be divided as a direct result of Solomon’s sinful behavior! Yet, out of respect for David, God promised that Solomon’s heir would retain control over one of the twelve tribes. 

This was God’s declaration, and the following chapters give the details of these promised results. 

Let’s be clear: God is willing to forgive sin! He is not willing that any should perish! [II Peter 3:9]

However, we must often deal with the consequences of our sin!

This fact has been evident from the very beginning!

When Eve and Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God cast them out of the Garden – never to be allowed to return!

Now we can assume that forgiveness was an option, although we have no record of them ever pursuing it. But it is clear that the consequences of their sin were real and had a dynamic impact on the rest of their lives!

^{Genesis 3:22} …God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.

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There are plenty of other examples of Biblical characters who had to suffer the consequences of their sin.

§  Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of his anger with the Israelites.

§  Samson’s remarkable, God-enabled strength allowed him to do incredible things, but his love for foreign women was his downfall and eventually brought about his premature death.

§  The children of Israel were chronic rebels and God eventually allowed them to be captured and carried away by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

§  Peter denied knowing Jesus three times in a short period of time on the night of Jesus’ trial. Although forgiven, imagine the reaction Peter had for the rest of his life when he heard a rooster crow!

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However, even though we may frequently suffer the consequences of our sin, God has promised us resources to assist us with the friction that these consequences create.

Consider Hebrews 4:14-16 [NASB]

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Never underestimate the power of God’s mercy and grace!

Jesus was tempted just as we are! He understands the power of our opposition! And He does not leave us without resources!

RECEIVING MERCY

The Hebrew word for mercy, chesed, signifies lovingkindness and covenant loyalty. God’s mercy is not earned; it is freely given out of His lovingkindness, even when people are unworthy or faithless.

RECEIVING GRACE

God’s grace is fundamentally His benevolence, love, and mercy extended to people who do not deserve it [that's us!]. It is not earned by human effort or good works but is a free gift from God, reflecting His loving character and generosity (Ephesians 2:8-9).

NOW – the above verse from Hebrews tells us that “…we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”

As a result of this,…let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

SUMMARY

Even when we have sinned and are dealing with the consequences of our sin, we can still have hope because of the immeasurable goodness of a God who sympathizes with our weakness and – in spite of our sinful thoughts, words, actions – stands ready to offer us His lovingkindness [mercy] and patience [grace] to enable us to recover and restore His kingship in our lives! 

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Thanks be to God for His lovingkindness and faithfulness in rescuing us from the powerful influence of sin in our lives!

 

God sees us!

God understands our weakness!

God forgives us!

God restores us!

 

AND,

God offers us mercy and grace as we deal with the consequences of the dreadful impact of our sinfulness!

 

MAY GOD’S NAME BE FOREVER PRAISED!

AMEN!

COMPROMISE

Before King David died, he made certain that Solomon was appointed as king in his place!

Solomon, at that point, was fully dedicated to the Lord God! He fulfilled the wishes of his father, David, and established his kingdom with the full acceptance of the people of Judah [southern kingdom, 2 tribes] and Israel [northern kingdom, 10 tribes – eventually known as Samaria].

Early in his rule, God gave him a dream in which He said: “What can I give you? Ask.”

Solomon’s response to God in this dream was beautiful:  I Kings 3:6-9 TM 

[All scripture quotes from The Message Bible unless otherwise noted]

“You were extravagantly generous in love with David my father, and he lived faithfully in your presence, his relationships were just and his heart right. And you have persisted in this great and generous love by giving him—and this very day!—a son to sit on his throne.

 

“And now here I am: God, my God, you have made me, your servant, ruler of the kingdom in place of David my father. I’m too young for this, a mere child! I don’t know the ropes, hardly know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of this job. And here I am, set down in the middle of the people you’ve chosen, a great people—far too many to ever count.

 

“Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?”

God’s response was one of great pleasure:  [vs.10-14]

God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon’s response. And God said to him,

 

“Because you have asked for this and haven’t grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I’ll give you what you’ve asked for—I’m giving you a wise and mature heart. There’s never been one like you before; and there’ll be no one after. As a bonus, I’m giving you both the wealth and glory you didn’t ask for—there’s not a king anywhere who will come up to your mark. And if you stay on course, keeping your eye on the life-map and the God-signs as your father David did, I’ll also give you a long life.”

 At the end of chapter four, Solomon’s wisdom is described in remarkable terms:  [vs.10-14]

God gave Solomon wisdom—the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn’t handle. Solomon’s wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations. He created 3,000 proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005. He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Sent by kings from all over the earth who had heard of his reputation, people came from far and near to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

All of this causes us to be quite impressed with this young leader!  But as I was reading through these passages this morning I noticed a verse that indicates a chink in Solomon’s character. 

Solomon loved God and continued to live in the God-honoring ways of David his father, except that he also worshiped at the local shrines, offering sacrifices and burning incense.  [3:3]

It’s a minor observation – hardly worth mentioning, right?

It may be an indication that Solomon was a people-pleaser. He didn’t want to offend any of the groups who believed in these shrines; so he participated in their worship, even to the extent of offering sacrifices and burning incense.

We’re immediately reminded of the first two commandments:  [Deuteronomy 5:7-9]

No other gods, only me.

 

No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God.

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King Solomon began building the Temple in the fourth year of his reign and completed it in his eleventh year.  At that point, the [unknown] author of Kings made an astute observation about Solomon:  [I Kings 11:1-8]

King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel,

 

“You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites.

 

Solomon openly defied God; he did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He went on to build a sacred shrine to Chemosh, the horrible god of Moab, and to Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites, on a hill just east of Jerusalem. He built similar shrines for all his foreign wives, who then polluted the countryside with the smoke and stench of their sacrifices.

 

Obviously, God saw all that Solomon had done and reacted:  [I Kings 11:9-13]

God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders.

 

God said to Solomon, “Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I’m going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won’t do it in your lifetime. It’s your son who will pay—I’ll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won’t take it all; I’ll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem.”

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COMPROMISE IS OUR ENEMY!

In the very beginning, Solomon harbored a small space for compromise. It grew and multiplied until it replaced his deep devotion to God!

We’re all susceptible to this kind of undermining! We weaken the foundations of our love for God and devotion to His ways by holding on to certain practices or beliefs. At first, they don’t seem so bad. It may be ‘just our little secret’.  But, over time, they grow and begin to take on greater power and influence in our lives.

The end result can be tragic – THE LOSS OF OUR FAITH AND THE DISCREDITING OF OUR WITNESS!

Compromise has no place in a Christian’s life! Our dedication to God and His ways must be absolute! God will only accept first place in our lives! He must be on the throne!

If compromise has been part of your life, you are not deceiving God! He knows!

We must confess these secret desires or practices and terminate them!

We must daily declare our loyalty to God by devoting ourselves fully to His ways! 

Perhaps without realizing it, this wise man – Solomon – passed on devastating circumstances to his heirs.  The degeneration of his faith precipitated the utter failure and godlessness of the next generation! We must be diligent to pass on faithfulness, integrity and devotion to our follow-up generations!  Their destiny depends on our consistency!

IS YOUR NEW LIFE EVIDENT?

Debbie and I live on a wooded hillside overlooking two ponds. Our home is surrounded by trees of many kinds, but mostly pines. It is a constant job picking up branches and raking pine cones and needles! But the upside is that I feel like I wake up every morning in the Appalachian Mountains! We love it – in spite of the constant yard work!

Every spring I notice the new growth on our pines. It’s a sprig of light green at the end of every branch! It starts out about a half-inch long and then gradually grows with the spring to become an extension of the branch for the new year! The bright, light green stands in contrast to the darker green of the rest of the tree! The new life is clearly evident - even on our oldest pines which are my age!  

 

This has recently caused me to wonder about my own life. Having reached the mid-70’s, is there still new growth evident in my life? After meditating on this for several weeks, I’ve concluded that with us, it may be a matter of choice.

I suppose there are a number of options we can choose as we age. When/if we step out of the workforce, we may cease to grow in knowledge and experience. It is common to feel ‘put-out-to-pasture’ for retirees. The drive to continue learning and giving can diminish.

I can speak to a tendency to withdraw and isolate – made even stronger when handicaps such as mobility, health, hearing or vision challenges persist. But still – the choice remains.

If we ask the question: ‘Does God initiate new growth in our lives with every new year?’ – the answer likely varies.

My bias is that He does!

However, we must accept and respond to the growth opportunities that He provides and initiates!

Allow me to illustrate:

When I was a young pastor, I tried to be faithful to visit my elderly parishioners – especially shut-ins.

 

I had vowed to take good care of this group because my own grandmother had been ignored by the church as she grew older and unable to attend regularly! She purchased a wooden communion cup holder from Rex Humbard Ministries. When he served Holy Communion on television, she prepared her own communion and took it with him!

 

I didn’t want my older members to be forgotten!

 

But visiting them was sometimes hard. Many had lived hard lives with many disappointments. They were tired and overcome with physical challenges and sorrows. They were discouraged, alone and forgotten.

 

So many times, I heard the comment: “Pastor, I don’t know why the Lord doesn’t just take me home?”

 

Being young and filled with hope and expectation, these were hard words to hear. Repeatedly, I expressed my opinion to them with a simple statement that I believed to be true: “If the Lord wanted you to be home with Him – He’d have taken you! Since He’s left you here, it must mean that He still has work for you to do.”  And then I'd encourage them to look around to see what they could do to serve Him.

 

I meant it as a challenge, of course, but I don’t recall that it ever made a difference in the lives of my older members.

Life has a way of rounding out our experiences. Now, I’m that older person! My hearing capacity is about 25% what it was when I was the young pastor! This makes social settings confusing and stressful for me! I admit that I often simply choose to avoid these uncomfortable situations.

My comfort place is my study. I pray,  read, write and send out notes from that space. I occasionally am asked to speak at a few select churches. I enjoy these opportunities, but my anxiety level escalates significantly as a result. 

So, all of this contemplation leaves me with the initial question: “Is there indication of new life evident in Hal Haire?”

It’s a personal question, I realize that. I know what I want the answer to be. After years of recruiting, training and deploying leaders, I want the answer to be a hearty ‘YES!” And I’d like that new growth to be evident to others – just as the new growth on our pine trees is so clearly evident!

I want to keep growing and learning. I want to stay in the mainstream. I have a desire to stay relevant and engaged. I want to be an available resource to my God! I want to remain deployable!  I’ve never charmed to the thought of being predictable!  I’ve been a catalyst throughout the years of my active ministry; I want to maintain that role throughout my life!

So, today, I’m waiting before the Lord of my life inviting Him to show me the new things He is calling me to. What new knowledge does He want to initiate? What fresh direction does He desire me to move into? What new arena might I become involved with that would allow me to increase His influence?

I hope that whenever you look my way, some of that bright new green will always be reflected! And I pray this to be true for you, as well!