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This week my wife and I had the opportunity to take a much needed anniversary vacation trip. We have had the joy of enjoying many of the wonderful and delightful pleasures that the Lord has given to His humans. The great outdoors, good food, rest, and relaxation.

As I reflected upon the fun we have shared, a thought came into my head that I know the Lord Jesus put there. Every truly enjoyable activity was designed and created by Jesus. He gave us the fun things in life.
We easily forget this. Why? Because we have an enemy in this world that doesn’t want us to have any fun, unless we have it in a certain way. He is a master of traps, tricks, and treachery. Everything he offers is a trick of some kind. And he is very proficient at what he does.
Indeed, most of the time the old worm doesn’t have to lift a finger. Our sinful nature gets us headed in the wrong direction easily. He just ensures the world system is sufficiently effective for entrapment, and waits for his traps to spring.
Ask the Lord for keen eyes and descerning hearts. With the right detection equipment in place, you can avoid the pitfalls and enjoy the pure pleasures of the things God has made. Effortless entertainment is empty, but wonderful is worth work.

Today I had the wonderful delight to preach at the church I pastored for 14 years in Graysville, TN. It was such a great day, and I loved getting to see all of the folks again!

I have a link below to the video. The quality is a bit rough, but I wanted to post it anyway because it was such a sweet time with this church.

This morning I have the joy to, with the Lord’s blessing, go up to Wayside Baptist where I pastored for many years. The Pastor, Bro John Dalton, has invited me up to speak in one of the services for Homecoming. I am truly excited. As I have been preparing for this, my mind has asked the question, may I ever feel that I can do this? In other words, will I ever feel equal to the task of standing behind that sacred desk? I have spoken to these same people in this same place literally hundreds of times before.
It is not nerves that give me hesitation. I am looking forward to the event, not shrinking from it. My confidence level is as strong as it can be. I have worked over the message for many weeks. And yet, I am painfully aware that I will never be good enough to feel up to the challenge.
But, all of this is a very good thing. Why? When I am weak, He is strong. If I felt adequate on my own, I would be deceived. If I felt I was able to bring to the table what was needed in the hour of the message, all we would hear is me. No, to be truly prepared, I must be acutely aware of my dependence upon the Holy Spirit of God.

The other day my wife had a minor operation done. We went to the new Erlanger East hospital to have it done. Her doctor, a Christian woman, did a great job. We were in and out in a matter of a few hours. Afterward my wife had no post-surgery eating restrictions. So, we immediately turned the car toward Chick-fil-A. The service there was, as always, excellent. There were no less than 20 cars in the drive-thru the whole time we were there, but we had our food promptly.
As I thought back over this experience I asked myself, how often do we think about Christ’s satisfaction with our service? Just as I was satisfied by the service my wife and I were given, the Lord should be satisfied with what we do for Him.
As you serve in the church, and minister to your family, consider the quality of service you provide to the Lord. Will you serve with highly educated and professional deportment like my wife’s doctor and hospital support staff? Will your ‘customer service’ match with what we experienced at Chick-fil-A? The Lord God is far more than a Divine Customer. But we should consider the quality of our service to Him above all else.

I know of only one bad thing about heaven: Some people won’t be there.

I know of only one good thing about hell: Some people won’t be there.

One of the most encouraging things about the nature of Almighty God, is that He is active. Yes, He rests, but even in resting He is doing something. But, He never turns off, goes to sleep, or ceases to care. He doesn’t take a vacation from being God. Anytime I’m discouraged, or feel like I want to stop, I remember this. Of course, I’m not Him, so I can’t keep up His pace. But, l can trust His power, and more than that I can trust His activity.
That is an important concept, trusting His activity. It helps us remember that no matter what we do, God has done more behind the curtains than we may ever know. Every ministry is but a small visible indication of a far larger invisible reality.

At church this morning I praised the Lord to see an in-person choir once again. It has been a long time since I have had that experience. And it was so fitting in my mind to see this on Resurrection Sunday. But, I will not at this time start a discussion about covid and when it is or is not appropriate to have a choir.Instead today I would like to highlight how that the restrictions associated with the covid pandemic are a great illustration of the need for revival in many Christian hearts. Just as covid has hampered our normal ways of doing things, times of spiritual lethargy can do the same.
Revival occurs when Christians return to the spiritual zeal and steadfast love for Christ that had once characterized their lives.
Though many are reluctant to accept it, evangelism will occur when the church is healthy. In our day we have fallen into the trap of thinking we can have paid ministers to save the lost while the rest of the church languishes in spiritual laxity. This is, and always has been, a lie.
The lost get saved when the church gets healthy, strong, and bold in Christ.

Christ the Lord is risen today! Please ask the other followers of Christ you know to join with us in prayer for revival in the US church today.

Take a look at my post on the Devotional from Mark 9:38: https://www.lognewant.com/2016/01/mark-938.html?m=1

The disciples didn’t want to let just anyone speak for Christ. But it was wrong for them to stop this individual.
However, Jesus did set a standard that we should be careful to observe. He said those who are not against Him are for Him. So how do we apply this today?
I see hosts of people taking to social media to pontificate about one spiritual subject or another. Are these people ok? I mean is it ok to speak the truth by yourself?
I think the key Jesus is giving us here is compatibility. For example, we can ask three things:
1. Is the person’s message consistent with the true purpose of the gospel?
2. Is the person a member in good standing of a local, bible-preaching, church?
3. Is the person reasonable and teachable, or antagonistic and obnoxious?

I fear that, all too often, Christians (or at least those who claim Christ) are guilty of the same virtue-signaling, shaming, and gossipy social interaction we see so commonly online. We must ask ourselves, if I wouldn’t say it in my Sunday School class, or in public to someone’s face, why am I saying it online?
We must always remember that though we are in this world, we are not of it. We don’t necessarily need to cut ties to our social media, but we must carefully consider the message we are sending to this lost world.
If you are going to be ignored or attacked, make sure it is because of too much Christ in your message, not too much of you.

The preaching of the gospel is a command. We don’t do it because it is effective, or because it is relevant, or because it is timely for our generation. All of these things are true. But, we do it for only one reason. Jesus told us to.

This whole process is new to me. I’ve never had a ministry I had to promote quite the same way as this. But, I am committed to not marketing. Too often we fall into the marketing trap in ministry. Instead, I want to inform and promote interest by offering a benefit to those I am ministering to.
Please pray for me as I navigate this.