Beyond Mediocrity Blog

(Image courtesy of https://mtnviewbaptistchurch.files.wordpress.com.) There are a few key components to remember when sharing the Good News of God with others.  First, it is important to state that God is the Creator of all things; thus, He is the ruler of all things since He made them.  But man rebelled against the rule of God and sinned against Him.  What will a good ruler do to those who rebel?  He will most certainly not let their rebellion go unpunished, but will justly punish them.  This is who man is: a rebel.  Additionally, we have nothing good in us to cause us to return to Him.  On the contrary, man is afraid of God because we all know that rebellion must be justly punished.  And we don't want to be punished.

(Image courtesy of https://upload.wikimedia.org.) A Thought This Christmas season, let us be careful to think on the Gospel of God, brought to us in the form of Christ Jesus the baby.  Do you ever wonder why Jesus came as a baby?

(Image courtesy of http://afoodloversdelight.com.)  "Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things" (Psalm 107:8-9).  "Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: 'Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 'But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, ...

(Image courtesy of http://positivemed.com.) I stepped outside the classroom to take care of some business in the office.  When I returned later down the hall, a student lay outside the classroom on the floor, scrunched up next to the lockers.  Her teacher was attending to her, but the student was not willing to comply.  The student was depressed and had thoughts of suicide, evidenced in the cuts beneath her covered forearms.  The school staff was well-aware of her history, so she was taken down to a room to recover while her mother was contacted. But recover she did not.

(Image courtesy of http://www.mannaexpressonline.com.) "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast...

(Image courtesy of http://www.sparkpe.org.) "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?  But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day when God's righteous judgement will be revealed" (Romans 2:4-5). The apostle Paul finished his condemnation of the Gentiles at the end of chapter one; that is, those who openly practiced sin and rebellion toward God, having considered Him, only to exchange His truth for images and worldly philosophies.  Chapter two, though, was written in a different tone, as if Paul turned his head from the Gentiles to the Jews, the people who had grown up in Jewish homes and obeyed all the external Jewish customs and said all the Jewish things.  Paul rightly decreed their condemnation as well.  They who condemned others for their sin, should they think themselves worthy of Heaven?  C...

(Image courtesy of https://www.ralphkarseboom.com.) "Preach the Gospel at all times and use words when necessary." This quote has been used by many over the years to justify their fear in proclaiming the Gospel of God in speech.  "Oh I don't think we need to go around beating people over the head with Jesus," I have heard many say over the years.  "Just give 'em a smile."  But where in the world do we see such nonsense in the Word of God?  Jesus promised persecution and danger for any who would follow Him in proclaiming His message of repentance, not smiles and pats on the back.

(Image courtesy of https://terrymcbride.net.) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.... No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious...

(Image courtesy of http://kidsministryresources.com.) Until three or four years ago, I questioned my salvation.   How could God love me? I would often think to myself.   I am no good at keeping His laws.  If I was truly a child of God, I would be able to do all the things He commands of me. I used to doubt that I was even saved until a few years ago, when I encountered the Word of God head-on and was left feeling eternally joyful and grateful because of Christ Jesus my Savior.  After further reflection on my life, I have come to believe that I, indeed, submitted to Christ early in life, but I failed to receive the proper, doctrinal teaching to help me walk in newness of life. Reflecting on my own life leads me to address two concerns I call parents to be aware of today, that we may avoid the unintentional errors of those before us.

(Image courtesy of https://www.lds.org.) "Do not think I that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17).  "And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'" (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus Christ is the only person to ever live in perfect submission to the Law of God.  If you are a Christian, this should be as truthful to you as the reality that you are breathing right now.  Jesus Christ was perfect.  Not only did He keep all the external commands of God given to Israel, more importantly, because of our stone-like hearts, He did what we could not: He loved God and people perfectly . Jesus Himself says that the essence of the Law...

(Image courtesy of http://flowstatemedia.com.) The growing trend in Christianity is emotionalism.  I say "growing trend" because I have personally observed this rise in emotionalism in the church only recently, in the past decade; however, I am sure there has always been a battle to be fought against emotions in the human experience.  After all, each human - whether here today, yesterday, or tomorrow - has emotions. What I am talking about is the desire among Christian leaders to make people feel good about themselves.  Or, in some cases, to make people feel bad about themselves so that they change.  There are two examples that illustrate this point that I have experienced in the last few years.

(Image courtesy of https://luxlucet.files.wordpress.com.) The majority of Paul's letters in the New Testament to the church center-in on one thing: Jesus Christ is enough for salvation.  There is no work in the law that any can do in order to be saved. The Mosaic Law was never actually able to bring about holiness - not because the law was bad, but because man was bad, thus incapable of fulfilling it.  However, after centuries of Jewish culture grounded in God's old covenant law, Judaism's moralistic works of holiness were difficult to let go of for many people.  Jesus was, as the Scriptures said, "The stone that made men stumble and the rock that made them fall."  Many could not understand the truth that Jesus had died "once and for all."  Many continued in their works of moral goodness, which is why Paul labored so meticulously with them in explaining to them that the Scriptures they read as a list of rules to become holy were actually full of ...

(Image courtesy of http://3.bp.blogspot.com.) The phrase "God's providence" is often unheard of today in many Christian circles, although it was once commonplace in the days of the Puritans.  William Bradford wrote of God's providential hand in his  History of Plymouth Plantation , recounting the Pilgrim's peril-filled journey to the New World: "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean...."  Bradford and the other Puritans of his day were keenly aware of the sovereign will of God in their daily lives. "Self-examination" is another concept that is often unheard of today in many Christian circles.  By very definition, the word means to closely examine and analyze one's behaviors and motivations.  Each of us will greatly benefit from practicing the discipline of self-examination.

(Image courtesy of https://graceincrossville.files.wordpress.com.) "Maternity, the natural biological role of women, has traditionally been regarded as [women's] major social role as well.  The resulting stereotype that 'a woman's place is in the home' has largely determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves.  Today, contraception and, in some areas, legalized abortion have given women greater control over the number of children they will bear.  Although these developments have freed women for roles other than motherhood, the cultural pressure for women to become wives and mothers still prevents many talented women from finishing college or pursuing careers" ("Women's History in America," Women's International Center, 1995). In our hyper-sensitive "freedom of expression" societal way of thinking, this article did not surprise me.  The progressive movements toward increasing liberalism in all areas - including g...

(Image courtesy of http://lexfridman.com.) "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him" (Romans 8:16-17). "Does Paul tell us why suffering must precede glory? We can give at least part of the answer. It's found in Romans 5:3, 'And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance.' There's the clue: Suffering, or tribulation, works endurance or perseverance. Perseverance of what? Faith. How? By knocking the props of self-reliance (and trust in things and people) out from under us, and making us rely more on God (see 2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

(Image courtesy of www.kevinspear.com.) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).  "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).  "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him; yet I will argue my ways to His face" (Job 13:15). Do you trust God?  It's one thing to say you do, but it's another thing to honestly do so.  In times of plenty - bills are all payed with a little left over, everyone in the house is in good health, and work is going well - it is easy to trust God.  We praise Him happily because all our needs have been met and we feel so emotionally good that we aren't worried or concerned about much at all.  We love God!

(Image courtesy of https://img.washingtonpost.com.) "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15). "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial [the devil], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 'Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. 'And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. 'And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' Says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). "You adulte...

(Image courtesy of https://www.bhpalmbeach.com.) "The issue isn't Calvinism.  The issue isn't Arminianism.  The issue is regeneration!" Paul Washer emphatically declared in a sermon entitled "10 Indictments Against the Modern Church".  In a world full of extremes - freedom versus legalism, Calvinsism versus Arminianism, tolerance versus bigotry - it is important to stand firm on the truth, not wavering too far to the right or to the left.  Regeneration is exactly one of those truths to stand firm on, and is arguably the most important doctrine of all. Regeneration, in theology, is defined as the formation of a new heart, new mind, new passions, and new affections - having once directed all these toward sin, the believer has been re-formed through the Spirit of God to direct these toward God.  It is what happens to the Christian at conversion and what results afterward; therefore, it is the most powerful and influential doctrine revealed to man...

(Image courtesy of http://newsbusters7.s3.amazonaws.com.) "So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:15-16). "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death..." (Philippians 3:7-10).

(Image courtesy of https://www.hss.edu.) Growing up as the oldest of four children, I became the unofficial "guinea pig" in our family.  There is definitely a thing or two to be said about birth order and this is one of those things: the oldest child generally is the one the parents practice on in order to parent more effectively in the future.  Partly for this reason, and partly for the fact that I have a very strong and stubborn will, I received the just punishment for my actions more frequently than any of my other siblings (maybe even combined!).  There is an unequivocal fact that children are different from each other, not only in personality, but a number of ways.  They not only like different things, have various personalities, and possess differing talents (gifts), but they also behave differently. One fact remains the same, though: "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23) and "all are sinners from birth" (Psalm 51:5).

(Image courtesy of http://acton.org.) "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.... So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).  "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).  The other night my wife and I were watching an episode of The Andy Griffith Show  set in the town of Mayberry.  At one point during the episode, I remarked to my wife, "Sometimes, Andy Griffith reminds me of my dad.  Some of his facial expressions and mannerisms are the same."

(Image courtesy of http://prosperityedwell.com.) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). This verse can be over-spiritualized.  This verse does not apply to Christian discipleship.  Jesus hadn't been revealed at this point in time, so Solomon was not writing that if you train a child to be a Christian he will be one when he is older.  First of all, how do you train someone to be saved?  No, this verse is not speaking to Christian conversions. This proverb speaks of the never-changing attitudes of the human heart.  Though we would like to believe - and many do - that all children and adults are basically good and therefore do mostly good, this would be a rejection of the truth of God; for all humanity - all creation! - is subject to the rule of sin from birth (Psalm 51:5).  All are born in sin and all work in sin, the wages of which are death and eternal condemnation (Romans 5:1...

(Image courtesy of http://www.christianitytoday.com.) "Finding the common ground" is a phrase that makes me cringe because it seems to allude to making compromises and being fearful; yet, this is not always the case.  Finding the common ground can be beneficial; for instance, if you are trying to barter with an individual, it is helpful to find a common price on which to agree.  Furthermore, compromises are not always bad.  Sometimes a husband and wife will need to compromise on their household chores; for example, "I'll make supper if you do the dishes."

(Image courtesy of http://www.brokenbreadclub.com.) “Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

(Image courtesy of http://nogreaterjoy.org.) "'Cursed be [Ham]!  The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.'  [Noah] also said, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem!  May [Ham] be the salve of Shem.  May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may [Ham] be his slave'" (Genesis 9:25-27). During the years of slavery in Britain and the United States, some perverted individuals used the Bible to justify their actions of enslaving men and women to work for them.  While the Bible certainly does not justify slavery or racism, it does explain it.

(Image courtesy of https://image.desiringgod.org.) God possesses a sinless nature.  Therefore, He is ruled by righteousness, holiness, and perfection.  It is impossible for God to sin. Man, on the other hand, possess a sinful nature.  Therefore, he is ruled by sin and mastered by it.  The wages of such slavery is death and eternal condemnation.

(Image courtesy of http://www.history.com.) An important founder and fourth president of the United States of America, James Madison, said the following: "We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government - far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” A democratic and republican government will only ever be successful if its citizens govern themselves according to moral principles. Without order brought about through adherence to principles, a self-governing political system will fail - always.