" DOES HE FEEL THE NAILS, EACH TIME I FAIL?"- or Church signs: clever lines that rhyme? or Bad theology time after time???

I look at 'em.. well.. it's more than "look at 'em" it's more like "look for 'em".. I enjoy reading the signs of the churches that I pass on my way to wherever..lately I have been driving back and forth to a job that is pretty far away.. down little country back-roads- so I pass a LOT of old country churches. I love them! Sometimes , the signs tell me: " Established in 1873" , or " Gospel Singing This week- All are invited". "Pray for Our Nation" is a popular "posting"- and a GOOD ONE- we need to pray... without ceasing!You can always tell when a community is about to vote on the sale of Alcohol- That's when the CREATIVE stuff gets put on the sign..." Be not decieved- Wine is a mocker"... I saw one church sign that tried to get the voters to think WWPD- What would Paul Do? They summed it up like this :" PAUL VOTED NO".( I actually think Paul would have voted NO to using that Store brand Grape Juice for Communion- ca'nt you guys spring for some WELCH'S?). cool stuff.. you gotta admit.. Here's another one: " Walmart is not the ONLY SAVING PLACE", or how bout,"This is not your Aunt Gertrude's Church" ( hey !!!!wait a minute...MY AUNT GERTRUDE was a baptized, catechised, and sanctified Presbyterian- I WANNA GO to her church, thank you very much)... sometimes these signs make us smile, or laugh, or even CRINGE... yep sometimes the most blasphemous lines are posted on these structures ... like this one, " He feels the Nails, every time I fail" This is probably the worst.. because it goes against the very heart of the Gospel; The TOTAL PRICE was paid on the Cross- remember" It is FINISHED" ? This idea that Jesus suffers( or is sacrificed) over and over again for our sin is nothing short of heresy.. Dear Reader, IT IS DONE... The Lord Jesus took ALL of The Father's wrath upon Him , HIS blood was poured out and the Price was paid... there is NOTHING you can do to add to that payment- If you trust in Jesus alone for salvation, you need to get your eyes off yourself.. and look to Jesus... " stop thinking about what YOU DO.. it's not about that.. it's ALL about what HE HAS DONE...Once an old man at an airport was being witnessed to by some young enthusiastic college students. They were convinced that if someone was a true Christian, they would know the time and place when they trusted Jesus. They asked the elderly gentleman, " Sir, WHEN you were SAVED??" the old man thought for a minute.. scratched his head and said, " I think it was about 2000 years ago"!!! Dear Friends, this gentleman was SO right.. that's when it ALL happened... That perfect Lamb was slain and He secured the salvation of HIS people- Thats when we were saved.. and thats when He felt the nails... but He felt so much worse than the nails.... HE felt the Wrath of the Father.... for us... I LOVE those Church signs .. but sometimes I want to stop and "re-arrange some of the letters" how bout this... " Jesus Said........ It IS FINISHED" hey, I know it does'nt rhyme.. but it's a beautiful message, the most wonderful message that has ever been proclaimed...

" The Shack" Part Three( More Mysterion Please)

I was thinking about my friend, Harold recently- He was the FIRST Christian brother who tried to tell me about Mysterion. You see , Harold and I were members of a church that was having some struggles( news alert- that happens sometimes) Some disagreements caused a rift between a couple of the Elders- and it was bothering Harold( by the way, I NEVER called him by his first name- he was older than me.. and I AM a southern boy- he was a MR. )Well, One Saturday night I was at Harold's house and we were talking about the recent problems at our church and he remarked, " You Know, we are having Communion at Church tomorrow.. and I really believe that God is going to do something miraculous.. and heal the relationships of those men" You see, Harold KNEW something.. He knew that God does something special for us when we celebrate HIS SUPPER.. it is a nurturing, faith strengthening ordinance- and that God wants to use that time to heal us and to meet with us in a special way.. it's a MYSTERY-mysterion.. or a Holy Secret that God reveals to His people. I did'nt know about "Mysterion".. I thought that Communion was just memorial... an empty symbol that just reminded us of Jesus' sacrifice.. I did NOT know that God wants to use it strengthen, heal , and nurture us.It's not only a Gospel Mystery, holy secret- It's also a Sacrament( more about this later).Thats the problem with so many believers today- they do'nt have a SACRAMENTAL VIEW of the CHURCH- thats why SO MANY are running to " The Shack" and all the books that seem to "bash" organized "religion"... They ARE looking for something that helps them to "connect" with God on a deeper level, they are longing for a "taste" of Heaven in this life, they know that their worship time at the church has not "fed " this hunger... so they run to and fro looking for something else.. they sense that something is mising at "church" and THEY ARE RIGHT.. and We( the Elders) of the local Churches are to Blame.. we have not properly encouraged a Sacramental view of the church. The Word, Sacramentum can refer to a Pledge, a downpayment, a sample, an oath, or a Holy Secret. In Reformed circles, we refer to Baptism and The Lord's Supper as sacraments. Augustine said that they were" Visible signs of an invisible grace" We believe that there is something special that happens when we participate in the sacraments. Remember when Paul told the church that they better be careful about celebrating communion( do'nt be using grape juice... not really.. just kiddin) Paul told them that their improper attitude caused some to "be sick.. and even some have fallen asleep( died)... DEAR READER.. if this was an EMPTY SYMBOL ,.do you think that people would be getting sick and dying??? NO... it is not empty.. it is filled with POWER... and it is one of the ways that God uses to strengthen us, to empower us, and to heal our wounded souls.. we in the Reformed Churches have said that we believe these things .. but we have not shown it by our actions... many in Presbyterian churches in this country celebrate communion only 4 times a year! Is this acting in accordance with the admonition of Jesus to " celebrate this often until I Come" ??Is this consisitent with the teaching that "we are feeding upon Christ SPIRITUALLY" with the Bread and the Cup- If We think "sacramentally" we will begin having Communion more often in our local churches... Believers will be strengthened by God, the "thing" that they have been longing for will be in their hands. as they feed upon Jesus and he gives them more Grace, more power, and a sense of His prescence.THIS IS WHAT"S MISSING... and we ( Elders, Pastors, leaders) are to blame... We MUST TEACH the truth about Communion, and we MUST observe it often- we told people that Worship at the local Church is the time when they will be strengthened and fed... and we have given them only appetizers: A few really upbeat modern sounding "praise songs", some "special music", a little of the Word, and a closing hymn... we leave them hungry...they go away yearning for more and we deny them the great feast that Jesus wants to give them- a SPIRITUAL FEEDING upon his BODY AND BLOOD"( Ok Bible scholars, I am NOT talking about transubstantiation NOR Consubstantiation.. GOOGLE some of this stuff- it will be fun).. NO WONDER people are TIRED of going through the motions. No wonder that they are longing for more... When God's people are FED and strengthened by the Sacraments(along with the WORD, and Prayer), they will experience the "more"... they will have a supernatural sense of HIS prescence..Their souls will be healed... and they will be equipped to "work through" the challenges that we face in loving each other with a forgiving, agape love.... THOSE ELDERS that Harold was praying for??? They eventually reconciled... I Believe the seeds of healing were planted that Lord's Day during Communion.... and Harold???? well.. he went to be with the Lord many years ago... and He is havingTRUE Communion with the One who gave His Body and Blood so that we might be forgiven and live forever... it's a Holy Secret.... but God has told you ALL about it... He spoke to us through His Son many years ago... and he is still speaking ... He is whispering this Holy Secret, this mysterion; to you right now... can you hear Him???

" THE SHACK" PART TWO( WHY SO MANY RAN TO THE SHACK)

In last weeks episode, we saw that all the fuss over " the Shack" was really unfounded- it's a Novel.. and I reminded you that YES, the author wrote the book as a way to deal with the questions, "Where is God when things are tough?- and "Does God REALLY love me?" The author did some creative maneuvers to show us that God is RIGHT THERE with us no matter what, AND YES , HE LOVES US WITH ALL OF HIS LOVE! I told you in part ONE that I enjoyed "The Shack".. SO.... here's part two- if you are going to read the book, you might want to change the channel.. because I have got to get a little specific about some things- do'nt wanna spoil it for ya!.. ok, I will look away for a sec.... ok..back...- I warned you-here goes:The Writer of the Shack ( and lots of other Authors I have been reading lately) have "problems" with "organized Religion".. you have heard the arguments: Too INSTITUTIONALIZED... too much like a business,,, blah , blah... People ran to "the Shack" because they believe that the "traditional", organized Church is too much like.. uh... well.. it's too much like an ORGANIZATION... but I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU- we ca'nt escape the fact that THE BIBLE TEACHES AN ORGANIZED CHURCH- yep.. I said it( well, I actually typed it) .. Now Dear Friend, you are going to have to do some work here for me, help me out - get your Bible out.. and research this.. remember Gentle Jesus , Meek and Mild?? He taught that believers would be part of an ORGANIZED group that would NEED to EXERCISE DISCIPLINE( ok.. I will "give you this one: Matthew 18).. yep that's right.. brothers and sisters WILL SIN( disappoint each other, gossip, go on EGO TRIPS in the Church... ok .. think about that person at Church that did YOU WRONG... insert their SIN here_______.) SO... Jesus says that you have to work together to RESTORE your brother and THAT TAKES ORGANIZATION... yep.. we gotta work together- ALSO be sure to read ALL the scriptures that TALK ABOUT: ELDERS, DEACONS, directions on HOW to USE MONEY THAT'S Collected, directions on how to observe the LORD's Supper, How to obey THOSE THAT ARE OUR LEADERS in the CHURCH( ok.. another free one - Hebrews 13: 17)... WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE Happening DURING A WORSHIP SERVICE!!!SOUNDS uh... well.. sounds ORGANIZED to me- (I am glad that these guys writing these books criticizing organized "religion"are not against ORGANIZED PUBLISHING FIRMS who publish their books.. we'd miss out on some good reading..). Get the IDEA???Dear Friends, The NEW TESTAMENT IS CLEAR : Believers are supposed to be part of a LOCAL body that meets together for Worship, they are to have "leaders" : Teaching elders, Ruling Elders, Deacons,.. SORRY FRIEND.. having coffee at Starbucks with fellow Jesus followers, talking about " The Shack" is NO SUBSTITUTE for the ORGANIZED,LOCAL BODY of Christ- !Friends, we are going to have problems with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are still sinners. Why do you think that the New Testament is filled with admonitions about LOVING each other, being patient with each other, forgiving one another?? It's all part of HIS plan. It did'nt start with Constantine helping Christians build cathedrals after legalizing Christianity.. really it did'nt... .It's all in HIS WORD.. and thats another thing.. ( I'm "ranting" huh?).. The author says that we put God in a box- by insisting that OUR PARTICULAR INTERPRETATION of the BIBLE is correct. He says that we should'nt do that.. we are "putting God in the pages of a Book" .. but let me tell you something friends.. the writer of the Shack presents the TRINITY in HIS novel.. WHERE DID HE GET THE IDEA for this ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS?? HIS INTERPRETATION ??? HE APPEALS TO SCRIPTURE TO TELL US WHAT GOD IS LIKE!!! why should we trust his interpretation of this doctrine?? the Jehovah's witnesses have THEIR own ideas about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...The writer believes the "Traditional" "orthodox" teaching of the Trinity that is taught in the Scripture AND was "formulated" at the Council Of Chalcedon( 451 a.d.- thanks Mr. Mac).. Wait.. whats that word?? COUNCIL?? sounds like an ORGANIZED meeting to me.. with leaders... and an agenda....can anything good come out of organization?? Dear Friends.. We MUST work together as believers.. in Worship, in service, in ministry, AND IN formulating what we believe about the Bible... . I am so Blessed to be a member of a Church that has a Confession of Faith.. it's not enough to say " I believe the Bible"- EVERYBODY says that.. we have to discover what we believe about specific doctrines and join with like-minded believers.. it's essential for our growth and for the growth of the Kingdom... I KNOW exactly what so many Shack "fans" are saying when they complain about "traditional" Church services being dead, cold,and powerless- believers have not"connected with God" in a meaningful way"In the NEXT installment( sorry, ...) I will tell you HOW THE LOCAL CHURCH MISSED THE MARK, what needs to be done to bring power, meaning and life-giving GRACE back to the local congregation. ok... here's a hint: " MYSTERION" ... yep that's your clue.. and remember Greek students : Granville Sharp's Rule is very helpful when you leave " the Shack"

HARRY POTTER SCARED ME TERRIBLY( SO I RAN INTO "THE SHACK")

Do you remember??? It was'nt too many years ago. Everyone was warning us about the EVIL Harry Potter.. Remember Harry Potter wanted to take over our minds and make us worship MAGIC and The Devil... Man, They( you know , "They" do'nt you?) said that NOONE should read it.. TOO DANGEROUS- all those witches, and warlocks, and magic talk. I remember being at a friends house one evening. We were all just hanging out with our kids, watching TV.. it was a great family night with friends. We watched " The Wizard of Oz" on TV.. some of the Little ones enjoyed listening to " Sleeping Beauty" before Bed.. and some of the older kids were telling us how far they had gotten in " The Chronicles Of Narnia".. it was a great night.. and then , some one mentioned the dreaded " P" word- POTTER... well, before you could say "ding dong the Witch is dead", one of the adults launched into a diatribe against HP.. Man, I was so scared , I did'nt even read it... I heard SO many scary theories about how my mind was going to be exposed to all sorts of terrible influences... I had no Idea that I would hear similar warnings about a book called "the Shack": " Heresy" is the word I heard most often! Now I am an ultra-conservative Presbyterian Elder- Jesus ONLY-Virgin Birth- ok... just think of ALL the "check List words " that scream EXCLUSIONARY to the liberal evangelicals and insert them next to Clay Callaway.. You get the idea??? So one evening , I was thinking about re-reading " The Lion , the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and FORGET about " The Shack".. but I could'nt.. I had to see what the Buzz was all about.SO I read it... I was afraid.. and my fears were confirmed... in a good way. NOW, I want YOU to read it.. so I am not going to go into great detail with this review- do'nt wanna spoil it... so here goes- " The Shack" is a NOVEL.. ok it's not a book of Systematic Theology.. The main character , Mack visits GOD in " The Shack" so that he can be reminded of something.. and that something is that no matter what you have gone through, GOD LOVES YOU and HAS NEVER FORSAKEN YOU! NOW I know you are saying.. " WOW , Clay.. sounds so deep.. well.. it IS and we all need to be reminded of this profound truth.. The Reformer Martin Luther said that "Christians should preach the Gospel to themselves every day" Simple and yet so profound.. we need to remind ourselves of the wonder of it all.. Thats the message of " The Shack". Now , the author uses some creative ways to help us to "get it" . lots of people were frightened by this "creativity"and starting throwing the "heresy" word around.. especially when the author was heard in an interview, supposedly denying the Penal Substitutionary Atonement( google it)..The author, William P. Young, had several tragedies in his life.. This book is a product of his "working Through" the "where was God?" question. Remember that as you read it. I enjoyed the story..My faith in the Sufficiency of Scripture has not wavered because I read " The Shack", If anything- it has been strengthened.I KNOW what the Bible teaches about God's omniscience, His Immutability, His Sovereignty, - I can read a novel that at times seems to question my views about these attributes- without apostasizing.. really I DID! If you decide to read this book, watch out. Lots of people are screaming.. telling us that we should'nt read this author because some of his views on God are suspect.. let me tell you something.. the APOSTLE PAUL read NON- CHRISTIAN authors.. and QUOTED them. Epimenides was a 6th century religious reformer( not a Christian) and Poet that Paul mentioned in Titus 1:12.- Man, I hope "Epi" did'nt have any witches in his poetry..Paul was'nt afraid of Epimenides.. Paul knew the truth... All of the C.S. Lewis fanatics who proudly recommend his works need to go back and read some of his musings that at times sounded like "open Theism"( google it")- He talked about Budhists who were "living so in harmony with the Spirit of Christ" that they might be in Paradise with us who are Christians."He would not pass your litmus tests".Many of the Early Church Fathers that we quote had some wacky( yep, I typed wacky) views.. but we appeal to them as an "apologia" for our doctrinal distinctives- Origen was certainly a neo-platonist. Tertullian believed that the 70 weeks of Daniel were fulfilled by the FIRST advent- sorry , Pre-trib rapture" friends.. Tertullian would not enjoy your church movie night screening of "left Behind" .. although , I am sure that he would have loved Kirk Cameron...Ya get my point? NOT EVERY WRITER is going to agree with our view of "orthodoxy".. but you know what?? we can still read them.. we can look for kernels of truth in their works.. God can use so many things to teach us... even stories written by authors who are "un-orthodox", neoorthodox, or just plain unbelieving!!! I can se that my "review" will require at least two more installments,so stay tuned to this channel- NEXT, I will address some of the inconsistencies of the story... but let me say this: DO'nt Be Afraid to go to the Shack.. Harry Potter's not there...There's no Lions, Witches, Wardrobes, Wizards, ( oh I forgot.. they're ok.."- sometimes) but I tell you what you will find there.. a good story that reminds you of some Good News; Your Heavenly Father Loves you ; No matter what is going on in your life- He has never and WILL never forsake you; He became a Man and kept the Law for His people and suffered the punishment due to your Sins... that's not a "scary" story.. that's the most calming, healing story that has ever been written, and it was written in RED

THE "SHARPENING" of HISTORY???

" If you dip into any college, or school, or parish, or family-anything you like-at a given point in it's history, you will always find that there was a time before thatpoint when there was more elbow room and contrasts were'nt quite so sharp; and that there is going to be a time after that point when there is even less room for indecision and choices are even more momentous. Good is always getting better and bad is always getting worse: the possibilities of even apparent neutrality are always diminishing. The whole thing is sorting itself out all the time,coming to a point,getting sharper and harder" C.S. Lewis- "That Hideous Strength"

Do you agree with this??? I would like your thoughts!!! Discuss this amongst yourselves... I have given you a great topic!!!

Adult Subject Matter- THE DEATH OF MARILYN CHAMBERS

A few days ago the "adult"film actress Marilyn Chambers died. She was 56. Her body was discovered by her daughter.Like MOST of the individuals in her industry, she battled drug and alchohol addiction. At this writing , the cause of Death is unknown- WHAT A SAD STORY! Most men in their 40s and 50s know who she was and what made her famous.. and thats another Sad Story.. that so MANY knew SO MUCH about her- Now this is a "family Friendly", reformed Christian blog.. so I will spare you the details of her career.. google the name and you will be shocked.. or maybe you wo'nt be shocked( The possiblity that you wo'nt be shocked is ANOTHER SAD STORY)! Marilyn Chambers became famous for her involvement in the "world" of Pornography- an industry that treats Women as objects !IT glorifies some of the most degrading and horrific acts known to Mankind- and yet ... we heard about Marilyn when we were growing up.. She was on TV shows, talking to Tom Snyder on the Nightly colorcast,being interviewed by "mainstream" journalists"! There she was.. smiling.. talking about how "liberated" she felt doing what she did on film. Everyone was laughing( was'nt that HILARIOUS that she was the girl on the Ivory snow Box.. and then she became an x-rated star!!)it was the nervous laughter that sends a message. Here's the message:," Well, we KNOW WE really should'nt be talking about this kind of thing.. it's REALLY not a healthy view of sexuality... but hey.. we have got to get this ALL out in the open.. it helps us as a society to freely and comfortably talk about these things.. if only we talk about it a little more.. we are sure we will get COMFORTABLE!" WELL, we talked about it- we were exposed to images on Television that helped us to "lighten up"! We became so sophisticated... the Porn industry became a multi-billion dollar industry. Millions of women have been subjected to abuse and humiliation.. and millions of men( and women) have struggled with an addiction that tears apart the very soul. Marriages destroyed, Careers ruined , lives lost.. ALL of this because we became DE-SENSITIZED.Thats the REAL SAD STORY!. the "things" that used to make "us" cringe , have now become so "matter of fact" , SO MUCH a part of OUR LIVES! One if the most popular shows for TEENAGE girls a couple of years ago was the program, " the Girls Next Door", which chronicled the life of Playboy Founder , Hugh Hefner and his THREE live-in girlfriends( who were all about 60 YEARS YOUNGER than Hugh-baby).....there we were again.. watching, laughing,( that nervous laughter?? nope.. not anymore) We have become so NUMB.. we drown out any remnant of a conscience with our noise... and our toys.. we do'nt want to think about the way that WE have compromised. we do'nt want to think about what is right or wrong. Just have Fun, Life's too short, Eat Drink and be merry... Be merry,... that's what Marilyn Chambers and all the other porn actresses tried to do.. but it did'nt work! I remember Tom Snyder asking Marilyn about her belief about GOD and if she believed- or thought about the afterlife- She replied that She just did'nt think about that"kind of thing". I think that her reply was a lie.. just like all the lies she told about the joy and liberation she felt doing pornographic films. She tried to numb the pain with drugs and alchohol.. deep inside, She KNEW that what she did was wrong- it was not a healthy way to live- and WE KNOW that our compromising is wrong.. this "mainstreaming" of unhealthy sexual imagery has left us enslaved, empty, and broken. Behind many Doors in America, families are suffering because we have "lightened up". Children are being neglected and abused because we became "sophisticated" about Sexuality! The SAD STORY is that WE did this to ourselves.. we turn away from our Creator who wants to give us a healthy view of sexuality- that it is a beautiful gift from God to be shared between One man and one woman.we do'nt want HIS guidance.. we are so sophistcated.. we have "lightened up"... thats the REAL Sad story...Marilyn Chambers left a daughter, I pray that SOMEONE who knows the Savior will come into her life... and show her what real love is.. and what it TRULY means to Live a Life of Liberation.. ONE SAD STORY jus might have a happy ending.. or a happy beginning

" LETS MAKE A DEAL( Carol Merril, Where are you? It's Easter)

Husain Ismael Jabar is an Israeli -Arab who lives in the village of Abu -Gosh near Jerusalem! Jabar is a businessman and every year at Passover he gets a GREAT DEAL on all the leavened products in Jerusalem. As everyone knows, only UNLEAVENED products can be kept in the house, business, store, etc. during Passover! Jabar helps out his Jewish neighbors!He purchases ALL LEAVENED PRODUCTS( any product derived from flour of the five species of Grain) for approximately $20,000! The amazing thing about this deal is : ALL these leavened products in all the stores,businesses, homes, restaurants, etc. are worth in excess of 150 million dollars! Better than E-bay, huh?? He does'nt even pay for shipping, well, actually he does'nt even have to go and move it to his warehouse.. he just hands over a check for 20 grand to a Rabbi ;they give him a paper saying that he is the owner of ALL that is Leavened- and he sells it all back to them at the end of passover- Let's make a Deal! ( hey Monty, I'll take what's behind door number 3- I hope it's a year 's supply of Bagels).. yep, it's a pretty good arrangement that they have going with Mr. Jabar- ALL THE leavened products are gotten rid of( well, in a way), just as the Jewish Law commands. This is called Mechirah and it's the way that the devout "dispose of" their leavened products without.. well... without having to lose anything- The families sign over their leavened products to the Rabbi's who in turn sign them over to Jabar- at the end of Passover, Jabar gives it all back, paperwork signed, checks swapped- everyone is Happy! The DEMANDS of the LAW are satisfied, Yahweh is pleased that they got rid of the unleavened bread( in a way,, they really did.. did'nt they??),Man, that was a great Passover- My conscience is clear- I bet Jehovah really ,really loves me a lot now! ...... You know when I first heard this reported on NPR, I laughed inside a little, "those Jewish families, playing their little game with God.. acting like they are GIVING UP something to show THEIR DEVOTION...it's like they are winking.at God. all the while saying.. Yep, we are doing what we are supposed to"!A little paper shuffling and all is right with the Kosher world" I started thinking though... I AM JUST LIKE THOSE PEOPLE... I play my little games with God-thinking that if i do SOMETHING- He will be pleased with me! He will love me more.. and not be angry with me.... a little paper shuffling, pretending that I am really doing good.. uh.. "what's that???, no these are not LEAVENED bread crumbs on the front of my shirt.. I do'nt know what you are talking about.. nope.. not me"... the PROBLEM is that ALL this thinking is about WHAT I DO!!! AND THATS THE PROBLEM! I can play my little games, I can go down the "checklist", I can strive to earn HIS FAVOR.. but the truth is.. He LOVES ME!!! Because of the CROSS, my SINS were paid for.. JESUS DIED FOR ME!! I ca'nt do anything to make him love me more or ..love me LESS, I already have ALL of HIS LOVE! He ROSE again to free me from Sin and death! I do'nt have to play any games, or try to earn His love... He is RISEN.. He is Risen Indeed!!!.... Allright Carol Merrill, show us whats behind Door # 3... could it be an empty tomb??