Blog https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:39:37 -0500 http://churchplantmedia.com/ How To Be Joyful All The Time https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/how-to-be-joyful-all-the-time https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/how-to-be-joyful-all-the-time#comments Tue, 27 Jun 2023 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/how-to-be-joyful-all-the-time John Henry Jowett, one of the most admired preachers of the early 20th century who pastored churches on both sides of the pond, wrote the following: “Christian joy has no relationship to the transient setting of life, and therefore it is not the victim of the passing day….One day I am at the wedding; the next day I stand by an open grave. One day, in my ministry, I win ten converts for the Lord; and then, for a long stretch of days, I never win one. Yes, the days are as changeable as the weather, and yet…Christian joy can be persistent. Where lies the secret of its glorious persistency?” The answer to this question posed by that godly minister is found in the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi.

In Philippians 4:4, Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Rejoicing, or being joyful, is one of the main themes of the book (cf. 1:18, 2:17-18; 3:1). As he concluded his thoughts, Paul repeated his favorite exhortation “rejoice in the Lord” twice for greater emphasis. He was literally saying, “keep on rejoicing.” In other words, “Be joyful or be cheerful not some of the time, or even most of time, but all the time.” It is easy to rejoice when our health is good and our marriage is good and our kids are doing good and our career is going good and our bank account is looking good. But it is much more difficult to rejoice when things aren’t going good. Trials and sorrows and setbacks and disappointments and broken expectations in life make it hard to be joyful. Nevertheless, God commands us throughout His Word to maintain a joyful attitude no matter what happens to us (cf. 1 Thes. 5:16; James 1:2; Mt. 5:11-12; Lk. 6:22-23; Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:12-13). Our joy should remain constant in the ups and downs of life.

Paul himself was a great example of what it looks like to rejoice no matter what. He remained joyful when he was persecuted, slandered, falsely accused, mistreated, arrested, imprisoned, and even when he was facing the threat of martyrdom for the cause of Christ. Nothing could steal his joy because he was convinced that all the difficult circumstances he experienced ultimately served to advance the cause of Christ (cf. Col. 1:24). Paul singing with Silas in the Philippian jail epitomized the joy he expressed in all his letters and served as a microcosm of his life and ministry (cf. Acts 16:23-34). What we learn from Paul is that joy is not a mood or an emotion that is based on our feelings, circumstances, or surroundings. Biblical joy is based on what we know to be true about God regardless of how we are feeling or what we are facing.

You might be wrestling with how it is possible to be joyful when you are facing circumstances and situations that aren’t enjoyable (i.e. death, illness, divorce, a layoff, a rebellious child, etc.). Notice Paul didn’t exhort us to rejoice in our circumstances, but to rejoice “in the Lord.” This simple phrase holds the secret to maintaining a joyful attitude at all times. There are times when we experience sorrow, grief, and pain, like when someone we love dies. But at those times we can say with Paul that we are “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” (cf. 2 Cor. 6:10). Why? Because even though our heart may be breaking, God is still good and faithful and wise and loving and sovereign. In other words, no matter how awful things may be, there is always something wonderful about God to rejoice in. If nothing else, we can rejoice that He has mercifully saved us (cf. 1 Sam. 2:1; Ps. 13:5; 35:9; 40:16; Isa. 61:10; Hab. 3:17-18; Lk. 10:20). But beyond our salvation, we should also rejoice in all that God has revealed about Himself in His Word. We can rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness (cf. Lam. 3:22-23). We can rejoice in the Lord’s love (cf. Rom. 8:38-39). We can rejoice in the Lord’s sovereign control over all things (cf. Ps. 103:19). We can rejoice in the Lord’s wisdom (cf. Rom. 11:33). Those who know a lot about the character and attributes of God find it much easier to rejoice in the midst of hard times, whereas, those with little knowledge of God find it much harder to maintain a joyful attitude. We can’t trust someone we don’t know.

This should motivate us to develop a deeper understanding of God by studying who He said He is and what He said He can do. Read books on the character of God (e.g. Knowing God by J.I. Packer, Attributes of God by A.W. Pink, Knowledge Of The Holy by A.W. Tozer, Trusting God by Jerry Bridges). Spending time in helpful resources like these will enable you to have true joy which can be defined as a permanent, deep-down sense of peace and well-being based on your confidence that no matter how bad things may appear, you know God loves you and is in complete control of every detail of your life and is wisely and providentially working behind the scenes to bring Himself glory and make you more like Christ (cf. Rom. 8:28-29).

Again, take Paul for example. His imprisonment was God’s providential way of getting much of the New Testament written. It was during those long, lonely hours in prison when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write many of his letters, including Philippians, which is categorized as one of the Prison Epistles. Through his letters, Paul impacted far more people than he could have ever visited in person, and they continue to impact people’s lives today.

So instead of complaining about what is or isn’t happening in our lives, we should see our circumstances as God-ordained opportunities to further the gospel and in that we can rejoice. Furthermore, if our joy is in the Lord rather than in what happens to us, then our attitude should never change even when our circumstances do because the Lord never changes. The Psalmist modeled joy in the Lord and demonstrated that the secret to always being joyful is always being in the presence of the Lord (cf. Ps. 16:11; 21:6; 43:4). And if we are joyful all the time, that will set us apart from most people in the world. Nothing is more needed today than for those of us who call ourselves Christians to live consistently joyful lives in this uncertain, ever-changing age which will make us bright lights and cause people to be drawn to God and the truth of His Word (cf. Phil. 2:14-16).

In the forward to his classic book Spiritual Depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated that “There can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity….As we face the modern world with all its trouble and turmoil and with all its difficulties and sadness, nothing is more important than that we…who claim the Name of Christ, should be representing our faith in such a way before others, as to give them the impression that here is the solution, and here the answer. In a world where everything has gone so sadly astray, we should be standing out as...people characterized by a fundamental joy and certainty in spite of conditions, in spite of adversity.…That…is the picture which is given of God’s people everywhere in the Scriptures....Those men of God stood out in that way, and, whatever their circumstances and conditions, they seemed to possess a secret which enabled them to live triumphantly and to be more than conquerors.” May that be the testimony of our lives as well, on both the good days and the bad days, and whether the wedding bells are ringing or the funeral bells are tolling.

]]>
John Henry Jowett, one of the most admired preachers of the early 20th century who pastored churches on both sides of the pond, wrote the following: “Christian joy has no relationship to the transient setting of life, and therefore it is not the victim of the passing day….One day I am at the wedding; the next day I stand by an open grave. One day, in my ministry, I win ten converts for the Lord; and then, for a long stretch of days, I never win one. Yes, the days are as changeable as the weather, and yet…Christian joy can be persistent. Where lies the secret of its glorious persistency?” The answer to this question posed by that godly minister is found in the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi.

In Philippians 4:4, Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Rejoicing, or being joyful, is one of the main themes of the book (cf. 1:18, 2:17-18; 3:1). As he concluded his thoughts, Paul repeated his favorite exhortation “rejoice in the Lord” twice for greater emphasis. He was literally saying, “keep on rejoicing.” In other words, “Be joyful or be cheerful not some of the time, or even most of time, but all the time.” It is easy to rejoice when our health is good and our marriage is good and our kids are doing good and our career is going good and our bank account is looking good. But it is much more difficult to rejoice when things aren’t going good. Trials and sorrows and setbacks and disappointments and broken expectations in life make it hard to be joyful. Nevertheless, God commands us throughout His Word to maintain a joyful attitude no matter what happens to us (cf. 1 Thes. 5:16; James 1:2; Mt. 5:11-12; Lk. 6:22-23; Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:12-13). Our joy should remain constant in the ups and downs of life.

Paul himself was a great example of what it looks like to rejoice no matter what. He remained joyful when he was persecuted, slandered, falsely accused, mistreated, arrested, imprisoned, and even when he was facing the threat of martyrdom for the cause of Christ. Nothing could steal his joy because he was convinced that all the difficult circumstances he experienced ultimately served to advance the cause of Christ (cf. Col. 1:24). Paul singing with Silas in the Philippian jail epitomized the joy he expressed in all his letters and served as a microcosm of his life and ministry (cf. Acts 16:23-34). What we learn from Paul is that joy is not a mood or an emotion that is based on our feelings, circumstances, or surroundings. Biblical joy is based on what we know to be true about God regardless of how we are feeling or what we are facing.

You might be wrestling with how it is possible to be joyful when you are facing circumstances and situations that aren’t enjoyable (i.e. death, illness, divorce, a layoff, a rebellious child, etc.). Notice Paul didn’t exhort us to rejoice in our circumstances, but to rejoice “in the Lord.” This simple phrase holds the secret to maintaining a joyful attitude at all times. There are times when we experience sorrow, grief, and pain, like when someone we love dies. But at those times we can say with Paul that we are “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” (cf. 2 Cor. 6:10). Why? Because even though our heart may be breaking, God is still good and faithful and wise and loving and sovereign. In other words, no matter how awful things may be, there is always something wonderful about God to rejoice in. If nothing else, we can rejoice that He has mercifully saved us (cf. 1 Sam. 2:1; Ps. 13:5; 35:9; 40:16; Isa. 61:10; Hab. 3:17-18; Lk. 10:20). But beyond our salvation, we should also rejoice in all that God has revealed about Himself in His Word. We can rejoice in the Lord’s faithfulness (cf. Lam. 3:22-23). We can rejoice in the Lord’s love (cf. Rom. 8:38-39). We can rejoice in the Lord’s sovereign control over all things (cf. Ps. 103:19). We can rejoice in the Lord’s wisdom (cf. Rom. 11:33). Those who know a lot about the character and attributes of God find it much easier to rejoice in the midst of hard times, whereas, those with little knowledge of God find it much harder to maintain a joyful attitude. We can’t trust someone we don’t know.

This should motivate us to develop a deeper understanding of God by studying who He said He is and what He said He can do. Read books on the character of God (e.g. Knowing God by J.I. Packer, Attributes of God by A.W. Pink, Knowledge Of The Holy by A.W. Tozer, Trusting God by Jerry Bridges). Spending time in helpful resources like these will enable you to have true joy which can be defined as a permanent, deep-down sense of peace and well-being based on your confidence that no matter how bad things may appear, you know God loves you and is in complete control of every detail of your life and is wisely and providentially working behind the scenes to bring Himself glory and make you more like Christ (cf. Rom. 8:28-29).

Again, take Paul for example. His imprisonment was God’s providential way of getting much of the New Testament written. It was during those long, lonely hours in prison when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write many of his letters, including Philippians, which is categorized as one of the Prison Epistles. Through his letters, Paul impacted far more people than he could have ever visited in person, and they continue to impact people’s lives today.

So instead of complaining about what is or isn’t happening in our lives, we should see our circumstances as God-ordained opportunities to further the gospel and in that we can rejoice. Furthermore, if our joy is in the Lord rather than in what happens to us, then our attitude should never change even when our circumstances do because the Lord never changes. The Psalmist modeled joy in the Lord and demonstrated that the secret to always being joyful is always being in the presence of the Lord (cf. Ps. 16:11; 21:6; 43:4). And if we are joyful all the time, that will set us apart from most people in the world. Nothing is more needed today than for those of us who call ourselves Christians to live consistently joyful lives in this uncertain, ever-changing age which will make us bright lights and cause people to be drawn to God and the truth of His Word (cf. Phil. 2:14-16).

In the forward to his classic book Spiritual Depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated that “There can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity….As we face the modern world with all its trouble and turmoil and with all its difficulties and sadness, nothing is more important than that we…who claim the Name of Christ, should be representing our faith in such a way before others, as to give them the impression that here is the solution, and here the answer. In a world where everything has gone so sadly astray, we should be standing out as...people characterized by a fundamental joy and certainty in spite of conditions, in spite of adversity.…That…is the picture which is given of God’s people everywhere in the Scriptures....Those men of God stood out in that way, and, whatever their circumstances and conditions, they seemed to possess a secret which enabled them to live triumphantly and to be more than conquerors.” May that be the testimony of our lives as well, on both the good days and the bad days, and whether the wedding bells are ringing or the funeral bells are tolling.

]]>
The Purposes of the Proverbs https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-purposes-of-the-proverbs https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-purposes-of-the-proverbs#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2023 20:00:00 -0600 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-purposes-of-the-proverbs As a kid, I remember the first time I played the board game called “Life.” As you recall, the object of the game is to make it to retirement with the most amount of money by traveling the “path of life” in your tiny car. Happiness is achieved by successfully making decisions, getting married (which when I was a young boy was met with only one response – “YUCK”!), to have kids (double “YUCK, YUCK”), to buy a house, picking a career, to invest in stock or real estate, and the modern version even has an option to get a pet, making your tiny car, quite crowded. All of this leads up to your eventual retirement where you pay your debts, total up how much money you have left over, and whoever has the most amount of money is the winner. 

Does that sound at all familiar to you? Here in the west, in many ways, the game of life represents the reality of life where people spend their life making decisions all in the pursuit of material wealth, achievement, success, and temporal pleasure. In contrast, the Bible gives us a radically different measure of success. Success is found in living wisely in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10-11 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.” This passage, along with Proverbs 1:7, provides a prominent theme for the book of Proverbs: the fear of the Lord leads to divine wisdom for righteous living. This is reiterated by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. After spending years using his God-given wisdom to find meaning, success, and happiness in all dimensions of this earthly, temporal life, Solomon concludes with these wise words from Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Do you want true joy on earth and in heaven? Fear God, trust in the unchanging authority of His Word, and follow God’s path of life. God will hold us all accountable. Unbelievers will stand before the Great White Throne of judgment and pay the price of their sin and believers will stand before Christ at the Bema Seat judgment where they will be rewarded for the good they did to the glory of God. The path we choose and the life we live matters, both in this life and the life to come. 
 
The book of Proverbs shows us how we can have success in every aspect of life.

•   Do you want to have a joyful and fruitful marriage?
•   Do you want to raise up your children in a godly way?
•   Do you want to prosper in your career?
•   Do you want to have relationships with others that are fulfilling and godly?
• Do you want to learn how to think about and use money well so money and the possessions it buys don’t enslave you?
•   Do you want to learn how to resolve conflict biblically and how to speak to others with grace and wisdom?

If so, study the Proverbs and learn to live by them.

In today’s world when seduction, domestic conflict, financial mismanagement, substance abuse, and dishonesty seem to be behavioral and cultural norms, we must instead allow the Spirit of God to transform us with truths from biblical wisdom. If you want to learn how to live rightly, God’s way, then wisely apply the knowledge of God’s Word. And the only way to acquire this knowledge and ability to wisely apply it is with a right relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that every decision in this life is so oriented to God that every choice always strives to please Him.    

Through the Proverbs, we can learn how to reject wrong and harmful behavior. We can learn how to choose paths of thinking, behavior, and speech that please God and ultimately bring happiness from the resulting way of life that arises from faith in God (i.e. both godly character from Prov. 1: 2a, 3-5 and biblical thinking from Prov. 1:2b, 6). 

The Proverbs declare and promote the truths of God’s wisdom, teaching us how to think biblically. They also teach us how to live a wise life that WILL be pleasing to the Lord and spiritually satisfying to oneself. So, they are both a doorway and a pathway. It is a new beginning from the moment one repents of their sin, receives Christ, and chooses to follow Him; and it is a pathway that never ends as our ambition is to always please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9). As Dr. Bruce Waltke once stated in a sermon he preached at Believer’s Chapel: “The world says ‘Live and Learn.’ God is saying ‘Learn and Live.’”

What’s more, the Proverbs are not merely pithy, memorable statements of truth; they help us to see something about our lives before we actually step out into the reality of life. Dr. Raymond Ortlund provides a beautiful illustration of how we can learn and live by applying God’s truth for daily living. “Think of a proverb this way. When the Wright brothers flew their airplane for the first time in 1903, they knew it would take off. How did they know? They had built a wind tunnel where they tested different wing designs before they risked their necks in actual flight. That is what proverbs are for. We can explore a real-life situation within the virtual reality of a proverb. We can know in advance what is going to fly and what is going to crash. Biblical wisdom tells us what life is really like.” (Proverbs: Wisdom that Works, 26) 

While we are not playing the game of life, we are living the reality of life, but thankfully we have a wise and loving God who provided us the means through Christ and the Word to successfully navigate the twists and turns that we so often face. I pray that you and I will commit to read, study, and learn to live by the divine wisdom found in the book of Proverbs.

]]>
As a kid, I remember the first time I played the board game called “Life.” As you recall, the object of the game is to make it to retirement with the most amount of money by traveling the “path of life” in your tiny car. Happiness is achieved by successfully making decisions, getting married (which when I was a young boy was met with only one response – “YUCK”!), to have kids (double “YUCK, YUCK”), to buy a house, picking a career, to invest in stock or real estate, and the modern version even has an option to get a pet, making your tiny car, quite crowded. All of this leads up to your eventual retirement where you pay your debts, total up how much money you have left over, and whoever has the most amount of money is the winner. 

Does that sound at all familiar to you? Here in the west, in many ways, the game of life represents the reality of life where people spend their life making decisions all in the pursuit of material wealth, achievement, success, and temporal pleasure. In contrast, the Bible gives us a radically different measure of success. Success is found in living wisely in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10-11 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.” This passage, along with Proverbs 1:7, provides a prominent theme for the book of Proverbs: the fear of the Lord leads to divine wisdom for righteous living. This is reiterated by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. After spending years using his God-given wisdom to find meaning, success, and happiness in all dimensions of this earthly, temporal life, Solomon concludes with these wise words from Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Do you want true joy on earth and in heaven? Fear God, trust in the unchanging authority of His Word, and follow God’s path of life. God will hold us all accountable. Unbelievers will stand before the Great White Throne of judgment and pay the price of their sin and believers will stand before Christ at the Bema Seat judgment where they will be rewarded for the good they did to the glory of God. The path we choose and the life we live matters, both in this life and the life to come. 
 
The book of Proverbs shows us how we can have success in every aspect of life.

•   Do you want to have a joyful and fruitful marriage?
•   Do you want to raise up your children in a godly way?
•   Do you want to prosper in your career?
•   Do you want to have relationships with others that are fulfilling and godly?
• Do you want to learn how to think about and use money well so money and the possessions it buys don’t enslave you?
•   Do you want to learn how to resolve conflict biblically and how to speak to others with grace and wisdom?

If so, study the Proverbs and learn to live by them.

In today’s world when seduction, domestic conflict, financial mismanagement, substance abuse, and dishonesty seem to be behavioral and cultural norms, we must instead allow the Spirit of God to transform us with truths from biblical wisdom. If you want to learn how to live rightly, God’s way, then wisely apply the knowledge of God’s Word. And the only way to acquire this knowledge and ability to wisely apply it is with a right relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that every decision in this life is so oriented to God that every choice always strives to please Him.    

Through the Proverbs, we can learn how to reject wrong and harmful behavior. We can learn how to choose paths of thinking, behavior, and speech that please God and ultimately bring happiness from the resulting way of life that arises from faith in God (i.e. both godly character from Prov. 1: 2a, 3-5 and biblical thinking from Prov. 1:2b, 6). 

The Proverbs declare and promote the truths of God’s wisdom, teaching us how to think biblically. They also teach us how to live a wise life that WILL be pleasing to the Lord and spiritually satisfying to oneself. So, they are both a doorway and a pathway. It is a new beginning from the moment one repents of their sin, receives Christ, and chooses to follow Him; and it is a pathway that never ends as our ambition is to always please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:9). As Dr. Bruce Waltke once stated in a sermon he preached at Believer’s Chapel: “The world says ‘Live and Learn.’ God is saying ‘Learn and Live.’”

What’s more, the Proverbs are not merely pithy, memorable statements of truth; they help us to see something about our lives before we actually step out into the reality of life. Dr. Raymond Ortlund provides a beautiful illustration of how we can learn and live by applying God’s truth for daily living. “Think of a proverb this way. When the Wright brothers flew their airplane for the first time in 1903, they knew it would take off. How did they know? They had built a wind tunnel where they tested different wing designs before they risked their necks in actual flight. That is what proverbs are for. We can explore a real-life situation within the virtual reality of a proverb. We can know in advance what is going to fly and what is going to crash. Biblical wisdom tells us what life is really like.” (Proverbs: Wisdom that Works, 26) 

While we are not playing the game of life, we are living the reality of life, but thankfully we have a wise and loving God who provided us the means through Christ and the Word to successfully navigate the twists and turns that we so often face. I pray that you and I will commit to read, study, and learn to live by the divine wisdom found in the book of Proverbs.

]]>
Guard The Gate https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/guard-the-gate https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/guard-the-gate#comments Sun, 26 Feb 2023 20:00:00 -0600 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/guard-the-gate When I was young, I was really into sports. The walls in my bedroom were plastered with pennants from every NFL and MLB team. I never missed a Boston Red Sox game or a Dallas Cowboys game on TV and would literally cry whenever they lost. I had a monthly subscription to Sports Illustrated and would read every issue from cover to cover. I’ll never forget the day I came home from school and walked in the front door and saw the latest Sports Illustrated on the counter where my mom left all the mail. It was my first exposure to what has now become the world-renowned Swimsuit Edition and after taking one look at the cover I headed straight to my room with far more anticipation than usual to see what was in the magazine. As I began to thumb through the pages, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw; absolutely nothing! My wide-eyed excitement turned into disappointment when I discovered all the pictures of girls in swimsuits had been cut out and I immediately knew who was responsible. So I marched downstairs with my mutilated magazine and said to my mom, “What did you do to my Sports Illustrated?” My mom replied, “You know, when I picked that up from the post office today and left it on the counter for you I began to wonder what might be in it so I looked through it and was shocked by what I saw and decided you didn’t need to see any of those pictures of immodestly dressed women. So I took some scissors and cut them out and threw them in the trash!” In that moment, I wasn’t grateful for a wise, godly mom who wanted to guard her son’s eyes, but I am now.

When our kids were young, we were careful about the kinds of TV shows and movies they watched. If something inappropriate came on the screen unexpectedly we would quickly change the channel or tell them to cover their eyes. At one point, we even had a little sign on top of our TV with Psalm 101:3 on it which says, “I will set no unclean thing before my eyes.”When our kids starting using computers and the internet we subscribed to a filtering service called Covenant Eyes which our family still uses today. Services like that can be very helpful in our efforts to guard our eyes when surfing the internet. But all of us are regularly exposed to all sorts of indecent, uncensored content through social media, streaming services, television commercials, billboards, movie theaters, magazine racks in airports and the checkout lines at grocery stores, walking through the mall, working out at the gym, our workplaces, and our school campuses. Because we are being constantly bombarded by provocative images, it is vital that we learn how to guard our eyes because they are the gateway into our hearts.

Here’s the principle: What we feed our eyes fuels our hearts. Furthermore, what we feed our eyes not only fuels our hearts but it will eventually rule our hearts. But the question is what comes first, the heart or the eyes? What controls or influences what? Does the heart control the eyes or do the eyes control the heart? Do the eyes follow the heart or does the heart follow the eyes? Does what we look at influence our heart or does our heart influence what we look at? Obviously, our eyes will be drawn to what our hearts desire but our eyes also draw our hearts away from the Lord. When we let our eyes wander our heart is sure to follow. Wandering eyes lead to wandering hearts.
Let’s take a moment to develop a theology of the eyes, or what could be called optheology. Recently, my wife was dealing with some eye problems and after hitting a dead end with our optometrist, we decided to go see an ophthalmologist. Optometry and ophthalmology is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. Optometrists examine the eyes and prescribe corrective lenses for the eyes. Ophthalmologists perform corrective surgery on the eyes. For the sake of our discussion, biblical optheology is based on all the verses in the Bible that mention the words “eyes,” “see,” and “look.” The first mention of eyes in the Bible is in Genesis 3:6 which says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” When the angels rescued Lot and his family from God’s wrath that was about to be poured on Sodom and Gomorrah, he warned them, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away” (Gen. 19:17). Sadly, Lot’s wife failed to heed their warning and “looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). God told Moses to have the people of Israel sew tassels on the ends of their garments to serve as visual reminders of His commandments. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot” (Numbers 15:39). When Joshua confronted Achan for taking things God had placed under a ban during Israel’s conquest of Jericho, Achan confessed: “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it” (Joshua 7:20-21). Samson’s legendary strength was used mightily by God to deliver the Israelites from Philistine oppression but his lustful eyes hindered and limited his usefulness and eventually led to his downfall. Judges 14:1-3 records that “Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.’ Then his father and his mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she looks good to me.’” Later it says, “Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her” (Judges 16:1). How tragically ironic it was that when the Philistines finally captured Samson they gouged out his eyes (Judges 16:21). David’s failure to control his eyes resulted in him getting another man’s wife pregnant. “Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, ‘Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’ David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, ‘I am pregnant’” (2 Samuel 11:2-5). Job, on the other hand, made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman (Job 31:1). He went on to defend his integrity by saying, “If my step has turned from the way, or my heart followed my eyes, or if any spot has stuck to my hands, let me sow and another eat, and let my crops be uprooted. If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway, may my wife grind for another, and let others kneel down over her” (Job 31:7-11). In Proverbs 6:25, the father appeals to his son to avoid the adulterous woman by saying, “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids.“ Old Testament wisdom literature clearly states that “the eyes of man are never satisfied” (cf. Proverbs 27:20; Ecclesiastes 1:8, 4:8). That’s why one more look is never enough.

In the New Testament, Jesus bluntly said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29). He also said, “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34). The Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18). Peter accused false teachers of having “eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin” (2 Peter 2:14). After commanding his readers to not love the world, John said, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:16).

According to these biblical references, there is a clear connection between our eyes and our hearts. Puritan pastor, Thomas Manton said the following:

One great means of mortification is guarding the senses—eyes and ears, taste and touch—that they may not betray the heart into sin….There are no means to keep the heart—unless we keep the eye….If we let the senses wander, the heart will take fire. Above all senses, the eye must be guarded….The eye, as it is used, will either be a help or a snare: either it will let in the sparks of temptation—or enkindle the fire of true devotion. These are the windows which God has placed in the top of the building….The eyes have a great influence upon the heart either to good or evil—but chiefly to evil. In this corrupt state of man, by looking—we come to liking, and are brought inordinately to love what we behold.…These are the spies of the heart—agents to bring it and the temptation together; the eye sees, and then by gazing—the heart lusts, and the body acts the transgression (Mortified Eyes).

In his Works, Manton pleaded with his own eyes and pleaded with his congregation: “Eyes, be you faithful to my soul, that there be nothing that may stir up carnal and impure thoughts, that there be no unclean objects that may fire my heart….Therefore set a watch upon your eyes, that sin break not in upon your heart.”


Our eyes are the portal or entryway into our hearts. That’s why it is so important for us to not let any images pass through our eye-gate that will end up defiling and ultimately dominating our hearts. Looking with our eyes leads to lusting in our hearts which leads to living out what is in our hearts. In Mark 7:21-23 Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” The key to guarding our hearts is guarding our eyes (cf. Proverbs 4:24, 26). We protect our hearts by protecting our eyes. If we want to be holy as God is holy, we must be deliberate and intentional about guarding the gateway to our hearts. In a TableTalk article entitled “Guarding Our Eyes”, Albert Martin writes, “It soon becomes clear to every true child of God that if he is to be serious about personal holiness, sanctification, and growth in grace, he must become serious about guarding his eyes. As he becomes familiar with the contents of his Bible, he soon discovers the strategic place of the eye-gate in biblical revelation.”

With this in mind, let me suggest some practical ways we can guard our eyes? Generally, we should thank God for creating our eyes (Psalm 94:9; Proverbs 20:1) so we could see His glory in creation (Romans 1:20). We should also thank God for graciously opening our blind eyes to see the light of the gospel of Christ (Acts 26:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Now that we have been delivered out of darkness into His marvelous light, we should feast your eyes on God’s Word which further enlightens our eyes (Psalm 19:8) and regularly pray with the psalmist “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18) and that God would “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity” (Psalm 119:37). We need to be like Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress when he was walking through Vanity Fair he put his fingers in his ears and turned his eyes upwards to show that his trade and traffic were in heaven while He exclaimed, “Turn my eyes away from beholding vanity!”

Now let me be more specific. Perhaps a simple acrostic—FOCUS—will serve as a helpful reminder in our effort to guard our eyes and subsequently our hearts.

1. FIX your eyes on Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews exhorted us to lay aside whatever encumbers and entangles us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Staying fixated on Jesus and staying satisfied in Him will keep us from being fixated on and seeking satisfaction in other things besides Christ.

2. OFFER up your eyes for God’s holy purposes.

Paul told the believers in Rome, “Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God….For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification” (Romans 6:13, 19). Paul also told the Colossian Christians to “Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). In other words, we must consecrate or dedicate our eyes to honoring and obeying and serving God rather than serving and satisfying ourselves.

3. CONTROL your eyes.

Proverbs 4:25 says, “Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.” Paul likened the Christian life to running a race or a boxing match and he said, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). We must learn to exercise self-control over our eyes. We must not let our eyes wander or linger. We must not take that second look. We must look away, and even close our eyes, if need be.

4. Unsubscribe/Unfollow/Uninstall/Unplug.

Matthew 18:9 says “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell” (cf. Mark 9:47). Some well-intended saints have misinterpreted and misapplied this verse and literally maimed themselves. But what Jesus was simply saying is that we must remove or cut ourselves off from anything that has the potential to cause us to sin. Our eyes are constantly looking for things to lust after that will gratify the sinful desires of our hearts. The Bible warns us to “make no provision for our flesh” (Romans 13:14). Specifically, we must not provide our eyes with any opportunities to feed our flesh. We need to be honest about those things we are tempted by and be willing to get radical in the way we escape temptation. What we view on our phones, tablets, computers, and televisions is often the main source of temptation in our media-driven culture. So we need to take whatever steps necessary to guard our eyes, even it means unsubscribing from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. or uninstalling streaming services which cause us to stumble, or perhaps unplugging or disconnecting all together.

5. SET nothing impure before your eyes.

David said, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). This might be a good verse to write down on a Post-It and put it wherever we are most often tempted. Like Job, we must make a covenant or commitment to guard our eyes from seeing wickedness of any kind. The prophet Habakkuk appealed to God’s holiness and righteousness by saying, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). We should plead with God to give us His eyes.

A biblical optheology would not be complete without considering the most important set of eyes; the eyes of the Lord. The Bible frequently refers to what our eyes should and shouldn’t do, but it also mentions what God’s eyes do. Psalm 34:15 says, "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.” Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” These verses remind me of the classic Sunday School song:

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

But let us consider one more verse as we close. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” Our eyes are not supposed to roam or wander but God’s eyes do. He is not looking for anything to lust after but He is looking for anyone whose heart is fully dedicated to Him so He can help us be who He calls us to be. Guarding our eyes is impossible to do in our own strength. We need to rely on the strength and support that God provides us.

]]>
When I was young, I was really into sports. The walls in my bedroom were plastered with pennants from every NFL and MLB team. I never missed a Boston Red Sox game or a Dallas Cowboys game on TV and would literally cry whenever they lost. I had a monthly subscription to Sports Illustrated and would read every issue from cover to cover. I’ll never forget the day I came home from school and walked in the front door and saw the latest Sports Illustrated on the counter where my mom left all the mail. It was my first exposure to what has now become the world-renowned Swimsuit Edition and after taking one look at the cover I headed straight to my room with far more anticipation than usual to see what was in the magazine. As I began to thumb through the pages, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw; absolutely nothing! My wide-eyed excitement turned into disappointment when I discovered all the pictures of girls in swimsuits had been cut out and I immediately knew who was responsible. So I marched downstairs with my mutilated magazine and said to my mom, “What did you do to my Sports Illustrated?” My mom replied, “You know, when I picked that up from the post office today and left it on the counter for you I began to wonder what might be in it so I looked through it and was shocked by what I saw and decided you didn’t need to see any of those pictures of immodestly dressed women. So I took some scissors and cut them out and threw them in the trash!” In that moment, I wasn’t grateful for a wise, godly mom who wanted to guard her son’s eyes, but I am now.

When our kids were young, we were careful about the kinds of TV shows and movies they watched. If something inappropriate came on the screen unexpectedly we would quickly change the channel or tell them to cover their eyes. At one point, we even had a little sign on top of our TV with Psalm 101:3 on it which says, “I will set no unclean thing before my eyes.”When our kids starting using computers and the internet we subscribed to a filtering service called Covenant Eyes which our family still uses today. Services like that can be very helpful in our efforts to guard our eyes when surfing the internet. But all of us are regularly exposed to all sorts of indecent, uncensored content through social media, streaming services, television commercials, billboards, movie theaters, magazine racks in airports and the checkout lines at grocery stores, walking through the mall, working out at the gym, our workplaces, and our school campuses. Because we are being constantly bombarded by provocative images, it is vital that we learn how to guard our eyes because they are the gateway into our hearts.

Here’s the principle: What we feed our eyes fuels our hearts. Furthermore, what we feed our eyes not only fuels our hearts but it will eventually rule our hearts. But the question is what comes first, the heart or the eyes? What controls or influences what? Does the heart control the eyes or do the eyes control the heart? Do the eyes follow the heart or does the heart follow the eyes? Does what we look at influence our heart or does our heart influence what we look at? Obviously, our eyes will be drawn to what our hearts desire but our eyes also draw our hearts away from the Lord. When we let our eyes wander our heart is sure to follow. Wandering eyes lead to wandering hearts.
Let’s take a moment to develop a theology of the eyes, or what could be called optheology. Recently, my wife was dealing with some eye problems and after hitting a dead end with our optometrist, we decided to go see an ophthalmologist. Optometry and ophthalmology is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. Optometrists examine the eyes and prescribe corrective lenses for the eyes. Ophthalmologists perform corrective surgery on the eyes. For the sake of our discussion, biblical optheology is based on all the verses in the Bible that mention the words “eyes,” “see,” and “look.” The first mention of eyes in the Bible is in Genesis 3:6 which says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” When the angels rescued Lot and his family from God’s wrath that was about to be poured on Sodom and Gomorrah, he warned them, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away” (Gen. 19:17). Sadly, Lot’s wife failed to heed their warning and “looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). God told Moses to have the people of Israel sew tassels on the ends of their garments to serve as visual reminders of His commandments. “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot” (Numbers 15:39). When Joshua confronted Achan for taking things God had placed under a ban during Israel’s conquest of Jericho, Achan confessed: “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted them and took them; and behold, they are concealed in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it” (Joshua 7:20-21). Samson’s legendary strength was used mightily by God to deliver the Israelites from Philistine oppression but his lustful eyes hindered and limited his usefulness and eventually led to his downfall. Judges 14:1-3 records that “Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.’ Then his father and his mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she looks good to me.’” Later it says, “Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her” (Judges 16:1). How tragically ironic it was that when the Philistines finally captured Samson they gouged out his eyes (Judges 16:21). David’s failure to control his eyes resulted in him getting another man’s wife pregnant. “Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, ‘Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?’ David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, ‘I am pregnant’” (2 Samuel 11:2-5). Job, on the other hand, made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman (Job 31:1). He went on to defend his integrity by saying, “If my step has turned from the way, or my heart followed my eyes, or if any spot has stuck to my hands, let me sow and another eat, and let my crops be uprooted. If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway, may my wife grind for another, and let others kneel down over her” (Job 31:7-11). In Proverbs 6:25, the father appeals to his son to avoid the adulterous woman by saying, “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids.“ Old Testament wisdom literature clearly states that “the eyes of man are never satisfied” (cf. Proverbs 27:20; Ecclesiastes 1:8, 4:8). That’s why one more look is never enough.

In the New Testament, Jesus bluntly said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29). He also said, “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness” (Luke 11:34). The Apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18). Peter accused false teachers of having “eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin” (2 Peter 2:14). After commanding his readers to not love the world, John said, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:16).

According to these biblical references, there is a clear connection between our eyes and our hearts. Puritan pastor, Thomas Manton said the following:

One great means of mortification is guarding the senses—eyes and ears, taste and touch—that they may not betray the heart into sin….There are no means to keep the heart—unless we keep the eye….If we let the senses wander, the heart will take fire. Above all senses, the eye must be guarded….The eye, as it is used, will either be a help or a snare: either it will let in the sparks of temptation—or enkindle the fire of true devotion. These are the windows which God has placed in the top of the building….The eyes have a great influence upon the heart either to good or evil—but chiefly to evil. In this corrupt state of man, by looking—we come to liking, and are brought inordinately to love what we behold.…These are the spies of the heart—agents to bring it and the temptation together; the eye sees, and then by gazing—the heart lusts, and the body acts the transgression (Mortified Eyes).

In his Works, Manton pleaded with his own eyes and pleaded with his congregation: “Eyes, be you faithful to my soul, that there be nothing that may stir up carnal and impure thoughts, that there be no unclean objects that may fire my heart….Therefore set a watch upon your eyes, that sin break not in upon your heart.”


Our eyes are the portal or entryway into our hearts. That’s why it is so important for us to not let any images pass through our eye-gate that will end up defiling and ultimately dominating our hearts. Looking with our eyes leads to lusting in our hearts which leads to living out what is in our hearts. In Mark 7:21-23 Jesus said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” The key to guarding our hearts is guarding our eyes (cf. Proverbs 4:24, 26). We protect our hearts by protecting our eyes. If we want to be holy as God is holy, we must be deliberate and intentional about guarding the gateway to our hearts. In a TableTalk article entitled “Guarding Our Eyes”, Albert Martin writes, “It soon becomes clear to every true child of God that if he is to be serious about personal holiness, sanctification, and growth in grace, he must become serious about guarding his eyes. As he becomes familiar with the contents of his Bible, he soon discovers the strategic place of the eye-gate in biblical revelation.”

With this in mind, let me suggest some practical ways we can guard our eyes? Generally, we should thank God for creating our eyes (Psalm 94:9; Proverbs 20:1) so we could see His glory in creation (Romans 1:20). We should also thank God for graciously opening our blind eyes to see the light of the gospel of Christ (Acts 26:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4). Now that we have been delivered out of darkness into His marvelous light, we should feast your eyes on God’s Word which further enlightens our eyes (Psalm 19:8) and regularly pray with the psalmist “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18) and that God would “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity” (Psalm 119:37). We need to be like Christian in The Pilgrim’s Progress when he was walking through Vanity Fair he put his fingers in his ears and turned his eyes upwards to show that his trade and traffic were in heaven while He exclaimed, “Turn my eyes away from beholding vanity!”

Now let me be more specific. Perhaps a simple acrostic—FOCUS—will serve as a helpful reminder in our effort to guard our eyes and subsequently our hearts.

1. FIX your eyes on Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews exhorted us to lay aside whatever encumbers and entangles us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Staying fixated on Jesus and staying satisfied in Him will keep us from being fixated on and seeking satisfaction in other things besides Christ.

2. OFFER up your eyes for God’s holy purposes.

Paul told the believers in Rome, “Do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God….For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification” (Romans 6:13, 19). Paul also told the Colossian Christians to “Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). In other words, we must consecrate or dedicate our eyes to honoring and obeying and serving God rather than serving and satisfying ourselves.

3. CONTROL your eyes.

Proverbs 4:25 says, “Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.” Paul likened the Christian life to running a race or a boxing match and he said, “I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). We must learn to exercise self-control over our eyes. We must not let our eyes wander or linger. We must not take that second look. We must look away, and even close our eyes, if need be.

4. Unsubscribe/Unfollow/Uninstall/Unplug.

Matthew 18:9 says “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell” (cf. Mark 9:47). Some well-intended saints have misinterpreted and misapplied this verse and literally maimed themselves. But what Jesus was simply saying is that we must remove or cut ourselves off from anything that has the potential to cause us to sin. Our eyes are constantly looking for things to lust after that will gratify the sinful desires of our hearts. The Bible warns us to “make no provision for our flesh” (Romans 13:14). Specifically, we must not provide our eyes with any opportunities to feed our flesh. We need to be honest about those things we are tempted by and be willing to get radical in the way we escape temptation. What we view on our phones, tablets, computers, and televisions is often the main source of temptation in our media-driven culture. So we need to take whatever steps necessary to guard our eyes, even it means unsubscribing from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. or uninstalling streaming services which cause us to stumble, or perhaps unplugging or disconnecting all together.

5. SET nothing impure before your eyes.

David said, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). This might be a good verse to write down on a Post-It and put it wherever we are most often tempted. Like Job, we must make a covenant or commitment to guard our eyes from seeing wickedness of any kind. The prophet Habakkuk appealed to God’s holiness and righteousness by saying, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). We should plead with God to give us His eyes.

A biblical optheology would not be complete without considering the most important set of eyes; the eyes of the Lord. The Bible frequently refers to what our eyes should and shouldn’t do, but it also mentions what God’s eyes do. Psalm 34:15 says, "The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.” Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” These verses remind me of the classic Sunday School song:

O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above
Is looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see

But let us consider one more verse as we close. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” Our eyes are not supposed to roam or wander but God’s eyes do. He is not looking for anything to lust after but He is looking for anyone whose heart is fully dedicated to Him so He can help us be who He calls us to be. Guarding our eyes is impossible to do in our own strength. We need to rely on the strength and support that God provides us.

]]>
Savor Splendor https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/savor-splendor https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/savor-splendor#comments Tue, 15 Feb 2022 14:00:00 -0600 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/savor-splendor “We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem … There is greater healing for the soul in beholding the splendor than there is in beholding self.” —John Piper

The young adults of Lakeside did not go to the Grand Canyon, but we did visit Yosemite National Park this January. Emerging from the Wawona Tunnel to take in the sheer size and scale of Yosemite Valley, trembling before the colossal face of El Capitan, admiring the iconic stature of Half Dome, observing water droplets and rainbow mist turn to ice crystals at Upper Yosemite Falls, and standing jaw-dropped before the giant Sequoias of Mariposa Grove did anything but increase our self-esteem.

It was clear that wintery weekend that our souls are in fact starved most for sights of Splendor and glimpses of Glory that takes us beyond ourselves. Beholding Beauty does the soul well, and it is not a beauty found in the mirror on our vanity or the most-viewed videos of ourselves online!

Psalm 19 is, in a sense, a biblical trail guide to help us see the glory of God in nature and Scripture. It in, we find the twin theological truths of general (vv. 1-6) and special revelation (vv. 7-11). It is fascinating to contemplate the interplay between the two.

All people of all time and in all places can know certain truths about God because of the creation around them and their conscience within them. And this general revelation is completed by special revelation wherein God reveals certain truths about Himself through the Scriptures; especially the truths about Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior.

Open your “trail guide” and you will get a glimpse into the soul-healing glory of God.

Through a Hebrew literary device called “chiasm,” David communicates that the heavens above and the skies above emphasize the glory of God and the work of His hands. The world speaks words. Creation makes declarations. Nature proclaims the glory of God for it is the work of His hands.

Charles Spurgeon says the sun and the moon and the stars are “God’s traveling preachers.” In their interstellar circuit, they preach messages on the existence and character of God. Psalm 104:24 affirms, “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

Now into verse 2, we see that the glory of God is continuously revealed in His creation. Day to day belches (the literal Hebrew word) out speech and night to night reveals to man a knowledge of God. This means that all creation is declaring and proclaiming about God continuously, like a fresh spring for thirsty souls.

God’s general revelation of Himself in creation is not only continuous, it is universal (v. 3). There is no speech where the knowledge of the glory of God is not seen. In other words, in every language and culture and tribe and tongue, the knowledge of God is heard. It is not an audible voice, but it is a message that is understood by all. No one has gone without hearing (see Romans 1:20 “they are without excuse”).

Have you ever been overseas on a mission trip, traveled somewhere they didn’t speak English, or been in a cross-cultural context where language was a barrier? You might have every intention to get to know them, talk with them about the Gospel, and invite them to church, but not having a translator, a common language, or a way to easily communicate can be so frustrating!

But the message of the glory of God to mankind from nature reaches all nations and is equally intelligible to them all, no matter what their language is. All people of all time from all cultures and lands perceive certain lines of truth about God: He exists…He is eternal…He is all-powerful…He will judge those who reject Him.

To illustrate, David says, “Look at the sun” (not literally!). God is better known to all than everyone knows about the sun! David compares the sun to the wedding day where the groom leaves the altar at the end of the ceremony with his new bride. He is beaming! And he makes his course straight through the witnesses like the sun makes its course through our sky.

The sun is also like a mighty man, a man of valor, an iron man, an Olympic gold champion, Usain-Bolting across the sky for all the spectators of earth to watch in wonder and cheer it on around its course. Wow, look at him go! And the point is to also say, “Wow, look at the God of creation go, doing what He does so well!”

But the trail guide to glory does not stop there. David knows that general revelation—though it reaches all people without limitation—is limited to bring about salvation. But the development of this Psalm brings hope!

Apologist John Frame says, “Though nature does not itself proclaim the gospel of Christ, it serves as its presupposition, its foundation.” Noticing the glory of God in creation should lead to looking to His particular glory in His plan of salvation in Scripture.

David Haines, in Natural Theology (13-14) describes:
“To illustrate the difference between these two books, consider how a work of art relates to a biography of the artist. It is commonly known that Leonardo da Vinci never signed any of his works, and yet his works not only are among the most well-known of the Renaissance but were also revolutionary. Now, let’s say that a young man brought up in our contemporary education system has never heard of, or been introduced to, any of da Vinci’s paintings (not an unreasonable thing to imagine). Upon walking into a used bookstore (clearly lost), he sees a particularly well-done reproduction of the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper. The painting has the same effect on him as it had had on everyone since it was painted: it captures his attention. He gazes upon the painting for some time. However, after searching in vain to discover the signature of the painter, he infers that it must have been the product of blind chance, and leaves the bookstore amazed at how something so beautiful could be produced via some sort of elaborate accident.
Of course, this is not what the young man does. Knowing nothing about da Vinci, but recognizing that such a beautiful work of art could not come into existence by chance or of its own accord, the young man inquires as to the name of the artist. When he sees the painting, though he knows nothing about its creator, he is able to recognize that there was indeed an artist, and that the artist arranged the colours in just the way that he did in order to render the image in the painting. The artist is clearly intelligent, admires beauty, and is able to create beautiful things. By simply looking at the work of art, the young man is able to infer the existence of, and some basic truths about, the artist. Yet the works tell him nothing about who the painter was—da Vinci‘s paintings were not signed. For that, he needs some other source, perhaps the painter himself, or someone who knows him well enough to be able to identify him. Indeed, even if the young man came to know the identity of the painter, we would still require some other source than the painting itself—such a biography—in order to learn more about what he is like.”

Marvel at the art, but give credit to the Artist! We must always go from general revelation to special revelation, from natural revelation to biblical revelation! That is what Psalm 19 does and so should we! Grab the autobiography of God!

The main point of the Bible is the redemptive story of God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. This is the most special form of special revelation. “He is the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). Second Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This magnificent psalm surveys both God’s general revelation and His specific revelation, which leads to self-examination (v. 14). Examine yourself. Where do you stand in creation? How do you stand before the God of Splendor?

Worship your Creator. Be absorbed with sights of self no longer and learn to long more for visions of Splendor in creation and in the story of redemption. Savor Splendor.

]]>
“We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem … There is greater healing for the soul in beholding the splendor than there is in beholding self.” —John Piper

The young adults of Lakeside did not go to the Grand Canyon, but we did visit Yosemite National Park this January. Emerging from the Wawona Tunnel to take in the sheer size and scale of Yosemite Valley, trembling before the colossal face of El Capitan, admiring the iconic stature of Half Dome, observing water droplets and rainbow mist turn to ice crystals at Upper Yosemite Falls, and standing jaw-dropped before the giant Sequoias of Mariposa Grove did anything but increase our self-esteem.

It was clear that wintery weekend that our souls are in fact starved most for sights of Splendor and glimpses of Glory that takes us beyond ourselves. Beholding Beauty does the soul well, and it is not a beauty found in the mirror on our vanity or the most-viewed videos of ourselves online!

Psalm 19 is, in a sense, a biblical trail guide to help us see the glory of God in nature and Scripture. It in, we find the twin theological truths of general (vv. 1-6) and special revelation (vv. 7-11). It is fascinating to contemplate the interplay between the two.

All people of all time and in all places can know certain truths about God because of the creation around them and their conscience within them. And this general revelation is completed by special revelation wherein God reveals certain truths about Himself through the Scriptures; especially the truths about Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior.

Open your “trail guide” and you will get a glimpse into the soul-healing glory of God.

Through a Hebrew literary device called “chiasm,” David communicates that the heavens above and the skies above emphasize the glory of God and the work of His hands. The world speaks words. Creation makes declarations. Nature proclaims the glory of God for it is the work of His hands.

Charles Spurgeon says the sun and the moon and the stars are “God’s traveling preachers.” In their interstellar circuit, they preach messages on the existence and character of God. Psalm 104:24 affirms, “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

Now into verse 2, we see that the glory of God is continuously revealed in His creation. Day to day belches (the literal Hebrew word) out speech and night to night reveals to man a knowledge of God. This means that all creation is declaring and proclaiming about God continuously, like a fresh spring for thirsty souls.

God’s general revelation of Himself in creation is not only continuous, it is universal (v. 3). There is no speech where the knowledge of the glory of God is not seen. In other words, in every language and culture and tribe and tongue, the knowledge of God is heard. It is not an audible voice, but it is a message that is understood by all. No one has gone without hearing (see Romans 1:20 “they are without excuse”).

Have you ever been overseas on a mission trip, traveled somewhere they didn’t speak English, or been in a cross-cultural context where language was a barrier? You might have every intention to get to know them, talk with them about the Gospel, and invite them to church, but not having a translator, a common language, or a way to easily communicate can be so frustrating!

But the message of the glory of God to mankind from nature reaches all nations and is equally intelligible to them all, no matter what their language is. All people of all time from all cultures and lands perceive certain lines of truth about God: He exists…He is eternal…He is all-powerful…He will judge those who reject Him.

To illustrate, David says, “Look at the sun” (not literally!). God is better known to all than everyone knows about the sun! David compares the sun to the wedding day where the groom leaves the altar at the end of the ceremony with his new bride. He is beaming! And he makes his course straight through the witnesses like the sun makes its course through our sky.

The sun is also like a mighty man, a man of valor, an iron man, an Olympic gold champion, Usain-Bolting across the sky for all the spectators of earth to watch in wonder and cheer it on around its course. Wow, look at him go! And the point is to also say, “Wow, look at the God of creation go, doing what He does so well!”

But the trail guide to glory does not stop there. David knows that general revelation—though it reaches all people without limitation—is limited to bring about salvation. But the development of this Psalm brings hope!

Apologist John Frame says, “Though nature does not itself proclaim the gospel of Christ, it serves as its presupposition, its foundation.” Noticing the glory of God in creation should lead to looking to His particular glory in His plan of salvation in Scripture.

David Haines, in Natural Theology (13-14) describes:
“To illustrate the difference between these two books, consider how a work of art relates to a biography of the artist. It is commonly known that Leonardo da Vinci never signed any of his works, and yet his works not only are among the most well-known of the Renaissance but were also revolutionary. Now, let’s say that a young man brought up in our contemporary education system has never heard of, or been introduced to, any of da Vinci’s paintings (not an unreasonable thing to imagine). Upon walking into a used bookstore (clearly lost), he sees a particularly well-done reproduction of the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper. The painting has the same effect on him as it had had on everyone since it was painted: it captures his attention. He gazes upon the painting for some time. However, after searching in vain to discover the signature of the painter, he infers that it must have been the product of blind chance, and leaves the bookstore amazed at how something so beautiful could be produced via some sort of elaborate accident.
Of course, this is not what the young man does. Knowing nothing about da Vinci, but recognizing that such a beautiful work of art could not come into existence by chance or of its own accord, the young man inquires as to the name of the artist. When he sees the painting, though he knows nothing about its creator, he is able to recognize that there was indeed an artist, and that the artist arranged the colours in just the way that he did in order to render the image in the painting. The artist is clearly intelligent, admires beauty, and is able to create beautiful things. By simply looking at the work of art, the young man is able to infer the existence of, and some basic truths about, the artist. Yet the works tell him nothing about who the painter was—da Vinci‘s paintings were not signed. For that, he needs some other source, perhaps the painter himself, or someone who knows him well enough to be able to identify him. Indeed, even if the young man came to know the identity of the painter, we would still require some other source than the painting itself—such a biography—in order to learn more about what he is like.”

Marvel at the art, but give credit to the Artist! We must always go from general revelation to special revelation, from natural revelation to biblical revelation! That is what Psalm 19 does and so should we! Grab the autobiography of God!

The main point of the Bible is the redemptive story of God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. This is the most special form of special revelation. “He is the radiance of the glory of God” (Hebrews 1:3). Second Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

This magnificent psalm surveys both God’s general revelation and His specific revelation, which leads to self-examination (v. 14). Examine yourself. Where do you stand in creation? How do you stand before the God of Splendor?

Worship your Creator. Be absorbed with sights of self no longer and learn to long more for visions of Splendor in creation and in the story of redemption. Savor Splendor.

]]>
When Life Throws You A Curve https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/when-life-throws-you-a-curve-when-life-throws-you-a-curve https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/when-life-throws-you-a-curve-when-life-throws-you-a-curve#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2022 12:00:00 -0600 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/when-life-throws-you-a-curve-when-life-throws-you-a-curve Life has a way of throwing all of us a curve ball from time to time. A curve ball is some unexpected problem or twist in life that comes out of nowhere and typically throws us off our game and leaves us baffled as to how to handle it. For example, your boss calls you into his office and rather than give you that promotion you deserve, you suddenly find yourself without a job. Or you go to the doctor for a routine checkup but he tells you that your blood work reveals you have cancer and need to start treatment immediately. Or you give birth to a long-awaited child but when the nurse hands them to you for the first time you notice there is something obviously wrong with them. Or you think you are happily married when your spouse sits you down and tells you they’ve had an affair or they want to get a divorce. Or your teenager who has gone to church their entire life and seems to be walking with the Lord confesses they are doing drugs or they are pregnant or they are gay. These are all curve balls that you typically don’t see coming. 

No one faced a nastier curve ball than Job. One morning this godly man rose early to worship the Lord and intercede for the spiritual well-being of his ten children just like he did every morning. But by the end of the day, all of his children were dead, all his flocks were stolen by raiders, all his possessions were destroyed by fire, and his entire body was covered with painful boils. 

Job lost more in a day than most of us will lose in a lifetime. The only thing he didn’t lose was his wife, and based on the counsel she gave him to just curse God and die, he probably wished he had lost her too! But instead of cursing God, Job chose to bless God for all the bad things that happened to him. His initial response to his unspeakable tragedy was “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job. 1:21). He later exhorted his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity” (Job 2:10).

Job’s friends, while well-intentioned, weren’t much help to him either. Their compassion and comfort were short-lived, and after sitting in silence with him for seven days, they began to counsel Job about the cause of his suffering which put him on the defensive. For 35 chapters they debated the question, “Why do people suffer?” Finally, God had enough of their ignorant discussion and He arrived in a whirlwind and interrupted Job and his friends. He never addressed the reason for Job’s suffering. He simply redirected the conversation to Job’s response to suffering.  

Through a series of rhetorical questions and powerful descriptions of God’s sovereignty in creating the world, God essentially asked Job, “Who do you think you are to question me or try to understand my grand design in your suffering?” Job immediately humbled himself and repented. Through it all, Job learned a valuable lesson about suffering that every one of us needs to learn. When faced with trials, rather than focusing on the reason for the trial, we need to focus on our response to the trial. Instead of trying to figure out why we are suffering, we need to learn to trust God that He is sovereignly, wisely, and lovingly working out all the circumstances of our lives for His glory and for our good.

In his helpful book, Trusting God, Jerry Bridges writes the following: 

All people-believers as well as unbelievers-experience anxiety, frustration, heartache and disappointment. Some suffer intense physical pain and catastrophic tragedies. But that which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God’s eternal plan…He always has a purpose for the grief He brings or allows to come into our lives. Most often we do not know what that purpose is, but it enough to know that His infinite wisdom and perfect love have determined that the particular sorrow is best for us. God never wastes pain. He always uses it to accomplish His purpose. And His purpose is for His glory and our good. Therefore, we can trust Him when our hearts are aching or our bodies are racked with pain.

God’s purpose and plan for our lives are frequently beyond our ability to understand.  Little did Job know that behind the scenes God was teaching Satan a much-needed lesson; that when a true believer faces trials they respond with persevering faith. The real question regarding Job is not “why did Job suffer” but “why did Job worship God.”  

Satan questioned the genuineness of Job’s relationship with God. He assumed the only reason why Job worshipped God was because God had blessed Him so much. So in order to prove the genuineness of Job’s faith in Him, God gave Satan permission to do whatever he wanted to Job, except kill him. But even after Satan let all hell break loose, destroying every aspect of Job’s life, Job continued to worship God. He understood that adversity was a normal, natural part of life. He said, “Man is born for adversity; as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). He understood life is “short-lived and full of turmoil” (Job 14:1). But in spite of the adversity he faced, he expressed his unconditional commitment to God with these words, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).  

The bottom line of the story of Job is this: the way Job responded to trials in his life proved to Satan the genuineness of his relationship with God. This same principle applies to you and me. How we handle the curve balls of life is one of the greatest tests of the authenticity and sincerity of our relationship with God. To study further about how to respond to trials, read James 1:1-12.

]]>
Life has a way of throwing all of us a curve ball from time to time. A curve ball is some unexpected problem or twist in life that comes out of nowhere and typically throws us off our game and leaves us baffled as to how to handle it. For example, your boss calls you into his office and rather than give you that promotion you deserve, you suddenly find yourself without a job. Or you go to the doctor for a routine checkup but he tells you that your blood work reveals you have cancer and need to start treatment immediately. Or you give birth to a long-awaited child but when the nurse hands them to you for the first time you notice there is something obviously wrong with them. Or you think you are happily married when your spouse sits you down and tells you they’ve had an affair or they want to get a divorce. Or your teenager who has gone to church their entire life and seems to be walking with the Lord confesses they are doing drugs or they are pregnant or they are gay. These are all curve balls that you typically don’t see coming. 

No one faced a nastier curve ball than Job. One morning this godly man rose early to worship the Lord and intercede for the spiritual well-being of his ten children just like he did every morning. But by the end of the day, all of his children were dead, all his flocks were stolen by raiders, all his possessions were destroyed by fire, and his entire body was covered with painful boils. 

Job lost more in a day than most of us will lose in a lifetime. The only thing he didn’t lose was his wife, and based on the counsel she gave him to just curse God and die, he probably wished he had lost her too! But instead of cursing God, Job chose to bless God for all the bad things that happened to him. His initial response to his unspeakable tragedy was “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job. 1:21). He later exhorted his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity” (Job 2:10).

Job’s friends, while well-intentioned, weren’t much help to him either. Their compassion and comfort were short-lived, and after sitting in silence with him for seven days, they began to counsel Job about the cause of his suffering which put him on the defensive. For 35 chapters they debated the question, “Why do people suffer?” Finally, God had enough of their ignorant discussion and He arrived in a whirlwind and interrupted Job and his friends. He never addressed the reason for Job’s suffering. He simply redirected the conversation to Job’s response to suffering.  

Through a series of rhetorical questions and powerful descriptions of God’s sovereignty in creating the world, God essentially asked Job, “Who do you think you are to question me or try to understand my grand design in your suffering?” Job immediately humbled himself and repented. Through it all, Job learned a valuable lesson about suffering that every one of us needs to learn. When faced with trials, rather than focusing on the reason for the trial, we need to focus on our response to the trial. Instead of trying to figure out why we are suffering, we need to learn to trust God that He is sovereignly, wisely, and lovingly working out all the circumstances of our lives for His glory and for our good.

In his helpful book, Trusting God, Jerry Bridges writes the following: 

All people-believers as well as unbelievers-experience anxiety, frustration, heartache and disappointment. Some suffer intense physical pain and catastrophic tragedies. But that which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God; our suffering has meaning and purpose in God’s eternal plan…He always has a purpose for the grief He brings or allows to come into our lives. Most often we do not know what that purpose is, but it enough to know that His infinite wisdom and perfect love have determined that the particular sorrow is best for us. God never wastes pain. He always uses it to accomplish His purpose. And His purpose is for His glory and our good. Therefore, we can trust Him when our hearts are aching or our bodies are racked with pain.

God’s purpose and plan for our lives are frequently beyond our ability to understand.  Little did Job know that behind the scenes God was teaching Satan a much-needed lesson; that when a true believer faces trials they respond with persevering faith. The real question regarding Job is not “why did Job suffer” but “why did Job worship God.”  

Satan questioned the genuineness of Job’s relationship with God. He assumed the only reason why Job worshipped God was because God had blessed Him so much. So in order to prove the genuineness of Job’s faith in Him, God gave Satan permission to do whatever he wanted to Job, except kill him. But even after Satan let all hell break loose, destroying every aspect of Job’s life, Job continued to worship God. He understood that adversity was a normal, natural part of life. He said, “Man is born for adversity; as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). He understood life is “short-lived and full of turmoil” (Job 14:1). But in spite of the adversity he faced, he expressed his unconditional commitment to God with these words, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15).  

The bottom line of the story of Job is this: the way Job responded to trials in his life proved to Satan the genuineness of his relationship with God. This same principle applies to you and me. How we handle the curve balls of life is one of the greatest tests of the authenticity and sincerity of our relationship with God. To study further about how to respond to trials, read James 1:1-12.

]]>
It's Friday..... But Sunday's Coming https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/its-friday-but-sundays-coming https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/its-friday-but-sundays-coming#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2021 21:00:00 -0600 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/its-friday-but-sundays-coming S. M. Lockridge, a Texas-born preacher was well-known for his sermon It’s Friday…But Sunday’s Coming! In his classic cadence, he went on for an hour and half contrasting the suffering, pain, and loss of Christ’s death on Friday with the victory, joy, and hope that came as a result of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday.

When we canceled church last Sunday, none of us could have imagined what an overwhelming, nerve-racking, and heart-wrenching week God had in store for all of us.

We have all faced a myriad of emotions-fear, anxiety, sorrow, anger, pity, loss, pain, relief-to the point that many of us are emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.

This Sunday can’t come soon enough along with the joy, peace, hope, and rest that God intended for His people to experience every “Lord’s Day.” We invite you to join us this Sunday to worship the Lord and celebrate the gospel during our regularly scheduled activities: Equipping Hour at 9:00am and Worship Service at 10:30am.

In light of the staggering needs we are facing in what will be a large-scale, long-term recovery for the Houston area, we want to encourage you to do four things:

1. Bring supplies that we can distribute to the people that need them most. You can drop off your donations in the Conference Room or the foyer of the Activity Center (See list of suggested donations below).
2. Come ready to contribute above and beyond your normal offering as we will be taking a special Benevolent Offering that our Deacons can distribute to those affected by the hurricane.
3. Get in the habit of checking our website periodically to see new ministry opportunities that you can be a part of: http://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/harveyflood. As the floodwaters recede and we link up with other local churches and relief ministries, there will be tons of ways to volunteer and serve.
4. Pray that God will grant us grace to maximize this unprecedented moment in history to show and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, I encourage you to read the providential morning entry in Spurgeon’s Morning And Evening on August 31. I’m not sure how he knew it would be hurricane season in Houston!

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/2017/08/31

Praising Him In The Storm,
Ken Ramey

LIST OF SUPPLIES TO DONATE

FOOD

bottled water
peanut butter
canned meat/protein
canned fruits and vegetables
canned stews, soups, chilies
dry cereal
easy to open snacks
ready to eat produce if distributed quickly (oranges, apples)
fruit cups
another ready to eat items, pop-top cans preferred

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS

body wash
shampoo
deodorant
conditioner
disposable razors
feminine hygiene items
combs
tooth brushes and toothpaste
new pillows (not used)
blankets
towels

BABY SUPPLIES

ointments
baby formula
baby diapers
wipes

CLEANING SUPPLIES

buckets & mops
bleach
paper towels
toilet paper
laundry detergent
rubber gloves
face dust/particle masks

]]>
S. M. Lockridge, a Texas-born preacher was well-known for his sermon It’s Friday…But Sunday’s Coming! In his classic cadence, he went on for an hour and half contrasting the suffering, pain, and loss of Christ’s death on Friday with the victory, joy, and hope that came as a result of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday.

When we canceled church last Sunday, none of us could have imagined what an overwhelming, nerve-racking, and heart-wrenching week God had in store for all of us.

We have all faced a myriad of emotions-fear, anxiety, sorrow, anger, pity, loss, pain, relief-to the point that many of us are emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.

This Sunday can’t come soon enough along with the joy, peace, hope, and rest that God intended for His people to experience every “Lord’s Day.” We invite you to join us this Sunday to worship the Lord and celebrate the gospel during our regularly scheduled activities: Equipping Hour at 9:00am and Worship Service at 10:30am.

In light of the staggering needs we are facing in what will be a large-scale, long-term recovery for the Houston area, we want to encourage you to do four things:

1. Bring supplies that we can distribute to the people that need them most. You can drop off your donations in the Conference Room or the foyer of the Activity Center (See list of suggested donations below).
2. Come ready to contribute above and beyond your normal offering as we will be taking a special Benevolent Offering that our Deacons can distribute to those affected by the hurricane.
3. Get in the habit of checking our website periodically to see new ministry opportunities that you can be a part of: http://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/harveyflood. As the floodwaters recede and we link up with other local churches and relief ministries, there will be tons of ways to volunteer and serve.
4. Pray that God will grant us grace to maximize this unprecedented moment in history to show and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, I encourage you to read the providential morning entry in Spurgeon’s Morning And Evening on August 31. I’m not sure how he knew it would be hurricane season in Houston!

https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/2017/08/31

Praising Him In The Storm,
Ken Ramey

LIST OF SUPPLIES TO DONATE

FOOD

bottled water
peanut butter
canned meat/protein
canned fruits and vegetables
canned stews, soups, chilies
dry cereal
easy to open snacks
ready to eat produce if distributed quickly (oranges, apples)
fruit cups
another ready to eat items, pop-top cans preferred

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS

body wash
shampoo
deodorant
conditioner
disposable razors
feminine hygiene items
combs
tooth brushes and toothpaste
new pillows (not used)
blankets
towels

BABY SUPPLIES

ointments
baby formula
baby diapers
wipes

CLEANING SUPPLIES

buckets & mops
bleach
paper towels
toilet paper
laundry detergent
rubber gloves
face dust/particle masks

]]>
The Great Pottery Throwdown https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-great-pottery-throwdown https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-great-pottery-throwdown#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2020 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-great-pottery-throwdown This past week, the first deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded for Montgomery County. Hospitals across several US cities are working overtime to care for their patients. Medical workers are being recognized as heroes for their sacrificial service. And while recovery numbers increase, the spread of the Coronavirus continues across America. Return to “normal life” still seems so distant.

In a difficult time like this, some might ask, “What in the world is God doing?” What is God doing in our world right now? Why is He doing all of this? Is God even behind it all?

The Bible really does have answers that are true and relevant for any season—even flu season!

One of the first and most remarkable answers to this weighty question is that God is exercising complete control of all things.

So, what in the world is God doing with the world-wide spread of the coronavirus? He is demonstrating that He is in control of all things. He is working all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). He is in the heavens and He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3). He forms light and creates darkness; He makes well-being and creates calamity; He is the Lord, who does all these things (Isaiah 45:7).

My wife and daughter occasionally get me hooked into some show about baking wars, fashion design, or Minecraft building. Recently, I watched a pottery competition series. Fascinating!

Potters use what is called a “pottery wheel” to work their clay. In most episodes, the competitors make pitchers, vases, cups, plates, bowls, and various pieces that turn out quite attractive. They typically start by throwing the lump of clay down on the wheel, spinning it, and carefully working it with their hands or tools. They also add features like handles and spouts and other creative details. Finally, they send it off to the kiln to cure. When they are done, the potters present their finished works to the judges.

Now, several things can go wrong in this process. The clay could not be centered on the wheel, it could be too thin, it could collapse, it could be too wet, it could be too dry, pots could crack in the kiln, they could stick to the shelf and chip, they could get smudged, etc. The master potter knows just how to bring his plans to completion showing off his creativity and control over the clay.

In a very similar way, God is the Master Potter and we are the clay! Many times, when we think about our life, we want to be the potter and we want our life to be the clay. We prefer to be in control, especially when a microscale virus causes macroscale changes to lives across the earth! But God’s Word teaches us that He is best-suited to be in control of our lives; not us.

Job, in his deep loss and misery, says to God in Job 10:9, “Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?” Elihu tries to relate to his suffering friend Job in Job 33:6, “I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.”

Pain, suffering, and loss can help us remember and admit that we are the clay and God is the potter. Like clay, we can be stiff, sticky, and formed from the ground, but we are in His strong hands. He is shaping us into something. We are on his wheel. And we are most moldable when wet. Moist eyes can make soft hearts if you turn to the Lord. Could this pandemic be a call to worship like your heart has never known? Can you bless the Lord for both giving and taking away? Is it time to view yourself for who you truly are, a lump of clay formed from the ground?

To the one who fights against the Lord in life, Isaiah 29:16 says, “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” And Isaiah 45:9 continues, “Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

Wrestling with God and fighting against Him are two different things. Wrestling keeps things right side up; fighting turns them upside down. Wrestling keeps God as potter and us as clay; fighting treats God as clay and us as potter. Perhaps we have fought against God by complaining online? Maybe we have put our hope in getting back to normal? Or possibly we have hardened our hearts against the Lord and turned to the world rather than the Word in our brokenness?

The soft and surrendered heart says to God, “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).

This malleable metaphor of potter and clay teaches us that God has ultimate control over all things—our fallen world, its many diseases, all moral evil, and our very lives. Can you joyfully declare that there is one Sovereign in your life—God? Are you content to be a work of His hands? Have you surrendered your life to the One who willingly laid down His life for you on the cross of Calvary?

What in the world is God doing? He is exercising complete control over all things! God ordained the coronavirus. He influences our economy. He leads His homebound church. He is all-powerful and all-good forever. You can trust Him.

If you harden your heart against God, then your life will whirl wildly out of control. However, if your heart has been softened by the love of your Savior who was crushed for your iniquities, then your life will be wonderfully molded and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

]]>
This past week, the first deaths related to Covid-19 were recorded for Montgomery County. Hospitals across several US cities are working overtime to care for their patients. Medical workers are being recognized as heroes for their sacrificial service. And while recovery numbers increase, the spread of the Coronavirus continues across America. Return to “normal life” still seems so distant.

In a difficult time like this, some might ask, “What in the world is God doing?” What is God doing in our world right now? Why is He doing all of this? Is God even behind it all?

The Bible really does have answers that are true and relevant for any season—even flu season!

One of the first and most remarkable answers to this weighty question is that God is exercising complete control of all things.

So, what in the world is God doing with the world-wide spread of the coronavirus? He is demonstrating that He is in control of all things. He is working all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). He is in the heavens and He does all that He pleases (Psalm 115:3). He forms light and creates darkness; He makes well-being and creates calamity; He is the Lord, who does all these things (Isaiah 45:7).

My wife and daughter occasionally get me hooked into some show about baking wars, fashion design, or Minecraft building. Recently, I watched a pottery competition series. Fascinating!

Potters use what is called a “pottery wheel” to work their clay. In most episodes, the competitors make pitchers, vases, cups, plates, bowls, and various pieces that turn out quite attractive. They typically start by throwing the lump of clay down on the wheel, spinning it, and carefully working it with their hands or tools. They also add features like handles and spouts and other creative details. Finally, they send it off to the kiln to cure. When they are done, the potters present their finished works to the judges.

Now, several things can go wrong in this process. The clay could not be centered on the wheel, it could be too thin, it could collapse, it could be too wet, it could be too dry, pots could crack in the kiln, they could stick to the shelf and chip, they could get smudged, etc. The master potter knows just how to bring his plans to completion showing off his creativity and control over the clay.

In a very similar way, God is the Master Potter and we are the clay! Many times, when we think about our life, we want to be the potter and we want our life to be the clay. We prefer to be in control, especially when a microscale virus causes macroscale changes to lives across the earth! But God’s Word teaches us that He is best-suited to be in control of our lives; not us.

Job, in his deep loss and misery, says to God in Job 10:9, “Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?” Elihu tries to relate to his suffering friend Job in Job 33:6, “I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.”

Pain, suffering, and loss can help us remember and admit that we are the clay and God is the potter. Like clay, we can be stiff, sticky, and formed from the ground, but we are in His strong hands. He is shaping us into something. We are on his wheel. And we are most moldable when wet. Moist eyes can make soft hearts if you turn to the Lord. Could this pandemic be a call to worship like your heart has never known? Can you bless the Lord for both giving and taking away? Is it time to view yourself for who you truly are, a lump of clay formed from the ground?

To the one who fights against the Lord in life, Isaiah 29:16 says, “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me’; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” And Isaiah 45:9 continues, “Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no handles’?

Wrestling with God and fighting against Him are two different things. Wrestling keeps things right side up; fighting turns them upside down. Wrestling keeps God as potter and us as clay; fighting treats God as clay and us as potter. Perhaps we have fought against God by complaining online? Maybe we have put our hope in getting back to normal? Or possibly we have hardened our hearts against the Lord and turned to the world rather than the Word in our brokenness?

The soft and surrendered heart says to God, “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).

This malleable metaphor of potter and clay teaches us that God has ultimate control over all things—our fallen world, its many diseases, all moral evil, and our very lives. Can you joyfully declare that there is one Sovereign in your life—God? Are you content to be a work of His hands? Have you surrendered your life to the One who willingly laid down His life for you on the cross of Calvary?

What in the world is God doing? He is exercising complete control over all things! God ordained the coronavirus. He influences our economy. He leads His homebound church. He is all-powerful and all-good forever. You can trust Him.

If you harden your heart against God, then your life will whirl wildly out of control. However, if your heart has been softened by the love of your Savior who was crushed for your iniquities, then your life will be wonderfully molded and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

]]>
The Right Kind Of Concern https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-right-kind-of-concern https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-right-kind-of-concern#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2020 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/the-right-kind-of-concern It’s not surprising to us that anxiety, worry and fear are common topics.  No matter if it’s the nightly news, talk shows, radio broadcasts, Christian blogs or church sermons, anxiety, worry and fear are hot topics.  After all, we are living in an unprecedented time of global concern as the coronavirus was officially labeled a “pandemic” on March 11.  We can’t help but think of the invisible virus that has spread across the globe bringing much of our normal life to a screeching halt.  Every one of us has been impacted in some way and fashion.  Some of us have lost our job, lost our ability to return to school and even some have lost a loved one.  With all of the advice and information on anxiety that is being given to us, it’s essential that we examine it through the lens of God’s Word.  Afterall, the Bible offers us clear counsel on how to deal with sinful worry and fear.  In light of the current, global pandemic, it’s important for us to realize that not all concern is sinful.  My hope is that this article will challenge us to foster the right kind of concern and motivate the right kind of action.  To accomplish this, let’s begin by examining how the Bible talks about worry.

         The Greek word for worry is a combination of two Greek words.  The first means “to divide” and the second is “mind”.  When we put these two Greek words together, we have the Greek word “merimnao” which means literally “a divided mind”.  It carries the idea of being uneasy in one’s mind or spirit.  Typically, this word is translated into English using the words “worry”, “anxious” (Matt. 6:25; Phil. 4:6), or even “care” and “concern” (2 Cor. 11:28; Phil. 2:20).  What’s interesting to note, is that this word can be used in either a negative or positive context.  In both Matt. 6:25 and Phil. 4:6, Jesus and Paul command us not to be anxious about anything.  In these examples, this is sinful anxiety and worry.  We would define this sinful worry as an over-anxious concern regarding the future and things that keeps a person from fulfilling current biblical responsibilities.  Examples range from a person’s pre-occupation with the fear of losing a job, to leaving the stove on.  From the safety of one’s child, to the security of one’s investment portfolio.  From the fear of catching the virus, to the fear of dying from the virus.  If an individual frequently worries that they left the stove on, this worry might prevent them from doing their job effectively and to the glory of God (Col. 3:23).  Regardless of whether or not this fear is actual or imagined, it has a very real effect of distracting an employee to the extent that they are not able to fulfill their current biblical responsibility in the workplace.  So how is this different from genuine, God honoring concern?  After all, if this individual did actually leave the stove on, we would all agree that something should be done.  We shouldn’t ignore it and “let go and let God”. 

         The answer is found in the other examples of how this word is used in a positive context.  Take for example Paul’s concern expressed in 2 Cor. 11:28.  Paul was legitimately concerned for the welfare of all the churches established through his ministry.  He expresses this concern as “daily pressure” indicating the heavy responsibility and burden he felt for the growth, care and support of these churches.  The question is where does this “concern” come from? The answer is from God.  God created us with the ability to care and be concerned.  Think about it.  God Himself cares about us.  His concern drove Him to provide for us physically, emotionally and spiritually to the point that He sent His only, begotten Son as a humble sacrifice so that we might be reconciled to Him through faith alone in Christ alone.  As God made us in His image (Gen. 1:26), He also created us with the capacity to care and be concerned.  In the midst of all of Paul’s personal trials and ministerial challenges (read all of 2 Cor. 11), in verse 28 he acknowledges that he is concerned for the local churches.  Notice what Paul’s God-honoring concern drove him to do.  It drove him to pray for the churches (Eph. 1:18, Col. 1:3, 2 Thess. 1:11), to send help to the churches (Timothy and Epaphroditus in Phil. 2:23-25; Paul knew Timothy was just as “concerned” for the welfare of the church in Philippi which is why he wanted to send him; see Phil. 2:20) and to personally visit, encourage and teach them wherever he went (Rom. 1:13-15, 2 Cor. 1:15, 1 Thess. 2:1-8; 17-20).  Paul had the right kind of genuine concern, that motivated him to fulfill the one-another’s of Scripture by lovingly and humbly serving and caring for others. 

In the same way, this concern should drive us to selfless love and service of others.  The individual that worries if they left the stove on should take action to assess the situation.  What is the problem?  What does God want me to do about it?  When, where and how shall I begin?  Practically, this might involve calling someone at home to double check, asking a neighbor to help out or asking the boss for a moment to run home and check.  The motive for such action should always be driven by a desire to please God (2 Cor. 5:9) and to love and prefer others (Phil. 2:34). 

In the same way, it’s not wrong for us to take extra precautions by washing our hands more often, asking the pizza delivery guy to leave it by the door and wait by the curb, or minimize interaction with others.  It’s also not wrong to make plans using our wisdom and discernment to care for our family and future.  However, we must always make our plan with an acknowledgment of God’s Sovereignty and an attitude of humble, stewardship (James 4:13-16).  We plan with an open hand, trusting God and walking by faith.  We know that God might change our course, and we trust Him to guide and help us as we strive to follow Him wherever this new path leads.  Instead of saying “what if…” we should replace it with “even if…”  For example, “even if I get the virus, I will trust God to provide for me and I will obey.”  True God honoring concern and care should motivate us to action that pleases God and serves others because ultimately, we are focused on worshiping and obeying God above all others.  

This is the right kind of concern that is willing to maintain social distancing out of concern for those with greater health risks.  The kind of care that prays more diligently for those significantly impacted by the virus.  The kind of thoughtfulness that reaches out to someone who lost their job and asks to bring groceries over.  The kind of attention that intentionally calls everyone in their family and friend circle to personally find out how they’re doing and if there’s any specific prayer requests or needs.  The right kind of concern should always motivate the right kind of action.  May we be known by our love for one another (John 13:35) as we use this time of global concern to find ways to love and serve others.

 

]]>
It’s not surprising to us that anxiety, worry and fear are common topics.  No matter if it’s the nightly news, talk shows, radio broadcasts, Christian blogs or church sermons, anxiety, worry and fear are hot topics.  After all, we are living in an unprecedented time of global concern as the coronavirus was officially labeled a “pandemic” on March 11.  We can’t help but think of the invisible virus that has spread across the globe bringing much of our normal life to a screeching halt.  Every one of us has been impacted in some way and fashion.  Some of us have lost our job, lost our ability to return to school and even some have lost a loved one.  With all of the advice and information on anxiety that is being given to us, it’s essential that we examine it through the lens of God’s Word.  Afterall, the Bible offers us clear counsel on how to deal with sinful worry and fear.  In light of the current, global pandemic, it’s important for us to realize that not all concern is sinful.  My hope is that this article will challenge us to foster the right kind of concern and motivate the right kind of action.  To accomplish this, let’s begin by examining how the Bible talks about worry.

         The Greek word for worry is a combination of two Greek words.  The first means “to divide” and the second is “mind”.  When we put these two Greek words together, we have the Greek word “merimnao” which means literally “a divided mind”.  It carries the idea of being uneasy in one’s mind or spirit.  Typically, this word is translated into English using the words “worry”, “anxious” (Matt. 6:25; Phil. 4:6), or even “care” and “concern” (2 Cor. 11:28; Phil. 2:20).  What’s interesting to note, is that this word can be used in either a negative or positive context.  In both Matt. 6:25 and Phil. 4:6, Jesus and Paul command us not to be anxious about anything.  In these examples, this is sinful anxiety and worry.  We would define this sinful worry as an over-anxious concern regarding the future and things that keeps a person from fulfilling current biblical responsibilities.  Examples range from a person’s pre-occupation with the fear of losing a job, to leaving the stove on.  From the safety of one’s child, to the security of one’s investment portfolio.  From the fear of catching the virus, to the fear of dying from the virus.  If an individual frequently worries that they left the stove on, this worry might prevent them from doing their job effectively and to the glory of God (Col. 3:23).  Regardless of whether or not this fear is actual or imagined, it has a very real effect of distracting an employee to the extent that they are not able to fulfill their current biblical responsibility in the workplace.  So how is this different from genuine, God honoring concern?  After all, if this individual did actually leave the stove on, we would all agree that something should be done.  We shouldn’t ignore it and “let go and let God”. 

         The answer is found in the other examples of how this word is used in a positive context.  Take for example Paul’s concern expressed in 2 Cor. 11:28.  Paul was legitimately concerned for the welfare of all the churches established through his ministry.  He expresses this concern as “daily pressure” indicating the heavy responsibility and burden he felt for the growth, care and support of these churches.  The question is where does this “concern” come from? The answer is from God.  God created us with the ability to care and be concerned.  Think about it.  God Himself cares about us.  His concern drove Him to provide for us physically, emotionally and spiritually to the point that He sent His only, begotten Son as a humble sacrifice so that we might be reconciled to Him through faith alone in Christ alone.  As God made us in His image (Gen. 1:26), He also created us with the capacity to care and be concerned.  In the midst of all of Paul’s personal trials and ministerial challenges (read all of 2 Cor. 11), in verse 28 he acknowledges that he is concerned for the local churches.  Notice what Paul’s God-honoring concern drove him to do.  It drove him to pray for the churches (Eph. 1:18, Col. 1:3, 2 Thess. 1:11), to send help to the churches (Timothy and Epaphroditus in Phil. 2:23-25; Paul knew Timothy was just as “concerned” for the welfare of the church in Philippi which is why he wanted to send him; see Phil. 2:20) and to personally visit, encourage and teach them wherever he went (Rom. 1:13-15, 2 Cor. 1:15, 1 Thess. 2:1-8; 17-20).  Paul had the right kind of genuine concern, that motivated him to fulfill the one-another’s of Scripture by lovingly and humbly serving and caring for others. 

In the same way, this concern should drive us to selfless love and service of others.  The individual that worries if they left the stove on should take action to assess the situation.  What is the problem?  What does God want me to do about it?  When, where and how shall I begin?  Practically, this might involve calling someone at home to double check, asking a neighbor to help out or asking the boss for a moment to run home and check.  The motive for such action should always be driven by a desire to please God (2 Cor. 5:9) and to love and prefer others (Phil. 2:34). 

In the same way, it’s not wrong for us to take extra precautions by washing our hands more often, asking the pizza delivery guy to leave it by the door and wait by the curb, or minimize interaction with others.  It’s also not wrong to make plans using our wisdom and discernment to care for our family and future.  However, we must always make our plan with an acknowledgment of God’s Sovereignty and an attitude of humble, stewardship (James 4:13-16).  We plan with an open hand, trusting God and walking by faith.  We know that God might change our course, and we trust Him to guide and help us as we strive to follow Him wherever this new path leads.  Instead of saying “what if…” we should replace it with “even if…”  For example, “even if I get the virus, I will trust God to provide for me and I will obey.”  True God honoring concern and care should motivate us to action that pleases God and serves others because ultimately, we are focused on worshiping and obeying God above all others.  

This is the right kind of concern that is willing to maintain social distancing out of concern for those with greater health risks.  The kind of care that prays more diligently for those significantly impacted by the virus.  The kind of thoughtfulness that reaches out to someone who lost their job and asks to bring groceries over.  The kind of attention that intentionally calls everyone in their family and friend circle to personally find out how they’re doing and if there’s any specific prayer requests or needs.  The right kind of concern should always motivate the right kind of action.  May we be known by our love for one another (John 13:35) as we use this time of global concern to find ways to love and serve others.

 

]]>
Facing Trials With Song https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/facing-trials-with-song https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/facing-trials-with-song#comments Fri, 20 Mar 2020 18:00:00 -0500 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/facing-trials-with-song We are living in a time of global fear and panic.  A microscopic piece of genetic material has brought the world to its knees and has revealed that the vast majority of people in the world live without true hope and joy.  Anxiety is king! Yet how are we as believers in Christ to face such trials?  One of the means God has provided is singing truth.  I’m certain the truths Jesus sang were an uplifting reminder of God’s faithfulness.

     Matthew 26:30 “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Before Jesus endured such prayers as would turn sweat to blood, before He was abandoned by His disciples, before He endured the many humiliations and beatings on the way to the cross, and faced the full weight of God’s wrath to atone for sin culminating with the cry ““MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”, Jesus sang hymns. Facing the greatest trial in the history of eternity, Jesus raised His voice in worship!

What was this hymn?  As it was at the end of the last Passover meal He shared with the disciples, it was most likely the second half of the Hallel, Psalm 116-118.  Imagine Christ singing these verses:

     Psalm 116:3-4

     "The cords of death encompassed me
     And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
     I found distress and sorrow.
     Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
     “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

or ...

     Psalm 118:5-6

     From my distress I called upon the Lord;
     The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.
     The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
     What can man do to me?

As followers of Christ in a sin cursed world, we can rest and rejoice in the great truths of scripture adorned in music!  We have assembled this playlist and our prayer is that it encourages, comforts, and uplifts your soul that you might be stimulated to love and good deeds!

 

 Listen Here Modern 

 

 

 

]]>
We are living in a time of global fear and panic.  A microscopic piece of genetic material has brought the world to its knees and has revealed that the vast majority of people in the world live without true hope and joy.  Anxiety is king! Yet how are we as believers in Christ to face such trials?  One of the means God has provided is singing truth.  I’m certain the truths Jesus sang were an uplifting reminder of God’s faithfulness.

     Matthew 26:30 “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Before Jesus endured such prayers as would turn sweat to blood, before He was abandoned by His disciples, before He endured the many humiliations and beatings on the way to the cross, and faced the full weight of God’s wrath to atone for sin culminating with the cry ““MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”, Jesus sang hymns. Facing the greatest trial in the history of eternity, Jesus raised His voice in worship!

What was this hymn?  As it was at the end of the last Passover meal He shared with the disciples, it was most likely the second half of the Hallel, Psalm 116-118.  Imagine Christ singing these verses:

     Psalm 116:3-4

     "The cords of death encompassed me
     And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
     I found distress and sorrow.
     Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
     “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!”

or ...

     Psalm 118:5-6

     From my distress I called upon the Lord;
     The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.
     The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
     What can man do to me?

As followers of Christ in a sin cursed world, we can rest and rejoice in the great truths of scripture adorned in music!  We have assembled this playlist and our prayer is that it encourages, comforts, and uplifts your soul that you might be stimulated to love and good deeds!

 

 Listen Here Modern 

 

 

 

]]>
Does God Believe In Atheists? https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/does-god-believe-in-athiests- https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/does-god-believe-in-athiests-#comments Wed, 23 Oct 2019 23:00:00 -0500 https://www.lakesidebiblechurch.org/blog/post/does-god-believe-in-athiests- One of the most well-known British authors of the 20th century was C.S. Lewis. Countless people have been profoundly influenced by his brilliant and imaginative writings. In his early years as a professor at both Cambridge and Oxford, he readily admitted his reluctance to accept the existence of God. Yet the more he investigated the evidence, this self-proclaimed atheist found himself being convinced in spite of himself.

Listen to how he described his personal encounter with God:

"You must picture me alone in my room, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting hand of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me…I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed, perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing: the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore the Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape?"

C.S. Lewis discovered that no matter how hard you try it is impossible to escape God. You can deny Him, ignore Him, or explain Him away, but you can’t get away from Him. He’s everywhere. No matter where we turn we are confronted with the reality of His being. God has made it abundantly clear that He is there by revealing Himself in four unmistakable ways. 

  1. CREATION (Romans 1:20)

God has revealed Himself to us through the world around us. His fingerprints are smeared all over the place providing us with convincing evidence that He did it; He created everything.  

  1. CONSCIENCE (Romans 2:14-15)

 God created mankind in His image and implanted in all of our hearts and minds the knowledge of right and wrong. We all have the innate sense that someday we will be judged according to our actions.  

  1. CANON (2 Timothy 3:15-16)

God wrote the Bible to explain to us everything He wanted us to know about Him. But He can only be known personally by those whose hearts are opened by the Holy Spirit to understand His Word. 

  1. CHRIST (Hebrews 1:2-3)

God also explained Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. He is God in human form. The way a person comes to know God is through the person of Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3).

Despite all this undeniable proof that God exists, there still are many people who foolishly try to suppress the evidence. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” By refusing to admit the existence of God, we sadly consign ourselves to a meaningless existence on our own. J. I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, said it best:

"We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."

]]>
One of the most well-known British authors of the 20th century was C.S. Lewis. Countless people have been profoundly influenced by his brilliant and imaginative writings. In his early years as a professor at both Cambridge and Oxford, he readily admitted his reluctance to accept the existence of God. Yet the more he investigated the evidence, this self-proclaimed atheist found himself being convinced in spite of himself.

Listen to how he described his personal encounter with God:

"You must picture me alone in my room, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting hand of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me…I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed, perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing: the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore the Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape?"

C.S. Lewis discovered that no matter how hard you try it is impossible to escape God. You can deny Him, ignore Him, or explain Him away, but you can’t get away from Him. He’s everywhere. No matter where we turn we are confronted with the reality of His being. God has made it abundantly clear that He is there by revealing Himself in four unmistakable ways. 

  1. CREATION (Romans 1:20)

God has revealed Himself to us through the world around us. His fingerprints are smeared all over the place providing us with convincing evidence that He did it; He created everything.  

  1. CONSCIENCE (Romans 2:14-15)

 God created mankind in His image and implanted in all of our hearts and minds the knowledge of right and wrong. We all have the innate sense that someday we will be judged according to our actions.  

  1. CANON (2 Timothy 3:15-16)

God wrote the Bible to explain to us everything He wanted us to know about Him. But He can only be known personally by those whose hearts are opened by the Holy Spirit to understand His Word. 

  1. CHRIST (Hebrews 1:2-3)

God also explained Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ. He is God in human form. The way a person comes to know God is through the person of Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3).

Despite all this undeniable proof that God exists, there still are many people who foolishly try to suppress the evidence. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” By refusing to admit the existence of God, we sadly consign ourselves to a meaningless existence on our own. J. I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, said it best:

"We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."

]]>