What I learned from my Pastor ~ Jan. 24

Revelation 6:1-8 introduced the four horsemen in colors of white, red, black and ashen. There are many interpretations for these but the meaning as explained by Pastor Jack was: conquest, war, faminie, and death.

He pointed our the devasting consequences of sin but so often people would rather rather rationalize sin instead of confess and forsake it. A mathematical way to see the effects of sin is as follows:

Sin ADDS to our troubles.

It SUBTRACTS from our energy.

It MULTIPLIES our difficulties.

It DIVIDES our interests.

And it's WAGES are death.

In summary on the topic of coming judgment and eternity, "If what the Bible says is not true than it doesn't matter, BUT if what the Bible says is true that nothing else matters."

Wise words for us all.

The Shack

I read The Shack last year. Not because it seemed like the best book around, but because I believed so many Christians were caught up in the frenzy of this book without considering the heretical nature of it. I had read many Biblical reviews and critiques of the book, but felt compelled to "read it for myself" in order to thoughtfully engage fans of the book. I haven't seen as much hype about it lately, but enjoyed this perception from Albert Mohler.

I am especially thankful today for a church and pastors that care greatly about Biblical doctrine and discernment. This is a treasure that I am realizing more and more people do not possess. True love comes from truth about God.


Here is an excerpt of some thoughts from Al Mohler on The Shack:

When it comes to The Shack, the really troubling fact is that so many readers are drawn to the theological message of the book, and fail to see how it conflicts with the Bible at so many crucial points.

All this reveals a disastrous failure of evangelical discernment. It is hard not to conclude that theological discernment is now a lost art among American evangelicals — and this loss can only lead to theological catastrophe.

The answer is not to ban The Shack or yank it out of the hands of readers. We need not fear books — we must be ready to answer them. We desperately need a theological recovery that can only come from practicing biblical discernment. This will require us to identify the doctrinal dangers of The Shack, to be sure. But our real task is to reacquaint evangelicals with the Bible’s teachings on these very questions and to foster a doctrinal rearmament of Christian believers.

The Shack is a wake-up call for evangelical Christianity. An assessment like that offered by Timothy Beal is telling. The popularity of this book among evangelicals can only be explained by a lack of basic theological knowledge among us — a failure even to understand the Gospel of Christ. The tragedy that evangelicals have lost the art of biblical discernment must be traced to a disastrous loss of biblical knowledge. Discernment cannot survive without doctrine.

Entire article located here.

What I learned from my Pastor ~ Jan. 17

Yes, I have fallen behind in posting. But I am determined once again to catch up....

Revelation 5 was the text for the sermon that was centered on worship. Pastor Jack pointed out that the Lamb is worthy to open the scroll because of 3 things: Who He is, What He did and What He has.

The choir of worshippers begins with the creatures and the elders, then moves to the angels and then finally to all creation saying,

Blessing and honor and glory and dominion to the One seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

We are going to be worshipping for eternity in heaven , we should probably spend some time practicing now. Amen?.

What I learned from my Pastor ~ Jan. 10

All week I have been intending to get this posted, but couldn't quite find the time to pull it off. So....before I head off to church today and hear a great sermon from Revelation 5, I am determined to post a few notes from last week!

Pastor Jack conveyed the powerful truth that the throne of God is the center of attention in heaven, and the center of direction for what happens on earth. He pointed out that there are many interpretations of who the 24 elders and the 4 creatures are, but what they are doing is the point not to be missed. They never cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD God Almighty, who was and is and is to come." They also cast their crowns before the throne saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created."

As Christians our primary work is worship and everything else flows out of that. It's about God's glory -- that's it! Pastor Jack then quoted Norwegian theologian, Ole Hallesby, suggesting that as we pray (say for instance for healing) it should be along these lines:

"Lord, if it be to your glory heal suddenly. If it will glorify you more, heal gradually; if it will glorify you even more, may your servant remain sick awhile; and if it will glorify your name still more, take him to yourself in heaven."

My first finished book of 2010

Sometimes the Rock Must Crumble by Jess Kuhl was a short but powerful book written by a friend of a friend. I don't personally know the Kuhl family, only through stories our friends, Jim and Lynda Henry, have shared with me. We probably would have met them if we hadn't been in the hospital with Timothy in November, but that's another story....

The story was of one man's journey through the loss of a child and the "gut-wrenching" things he came to face in the process. One of the first questions Jess posed in the introduction was: "How can I balance my need to be "the rock" with my own grief, the intensity of which I could find no adequate way to express?"

Good question. One very practical way that Jess suggested was accountability in a strong men's group. A place to be real, vulnerable and honest is a key in this process.

The providence and sovereignty of God are big concepts. Comforting at times, but downright scary at others. Most people like control and Jess writes, "Above all else, I've come to accept how much in control God is. So many times Christians claim Christ as their Savior but not as their Lord."

He also points out that the greatest insight or gift that his daughter's death has left him with is to try to be a part of people's lives, more fully and more openly than he might otherwise have been.
In closing, Jess points out that "no one said our walk with God would be easy. To be a Christian means accepting that sometimes pain is part and parcel of our journey." When he finds himself slipping back into the "why" of Maura's death, he goes back to the foundation. Back to trust. To the fact (and comfort) that God is control.

He recommends asking yourself the the following questions for whatever hardship you are currently facing:

Are you surrounding yourself with love?
Are you allowing yourself to be loved to even crumble every once in a while?
Do you take time to laugh?
Are you present with your spouse? Your kids? God?
Are you getting what you need out of your church?
Are you putting what you need into your church?
How is your relationship with Christ? Do you have one?
Do you know Jesus can calm your storms?

Thanks Jim and Lynda for recommending this book.

What I learned from my Pastor ~ Jan. 3

Pastor Jack's typical schedule is to preach a communion or topical message on the first Sunday of the month and through a book of the Bible the remaining weeks. He often rotates between the Old and the New Testaments.

The text for "The Best Inheritance" was Romans 5:18-19. Pastor Jack reminded us that every single person in the human race has Adam as their biological father. Thanks to Adam's investments of transgression and disobedience, my (and your) inheritance is condemnation and a sin nature. But.....we can have a new father, a spiritual one, by receiving Christ. He has reversed the consequences of the inheritance received from Adam. His investments on our behalf are obedience and righteousness leading to the best inheritance of justification and eternal life.

We are all in one of 2 places with 1 of 2 fathers: alive or dead, in Adam or in Christ. If we have received new life, we are to walk in new life. To stress the importance of walking in new life, he closed with these 2 powerful statements.

"We have made conversion a mental act, expressed in a prayer, rather than a life act, expressed in obedience. Jesus did not ask people to just change their thinking and agree with Him, but to change their lives and follow Him. He didn't call us to merely believe in a new way, but to live in a new way. To believe in Christ is to begin the Christian way of life." (Source unknown)

"No man can know Christ truly except he follow Him in daily life." (Hans Denk - 16th century Anabaptist reformer)

Next week: Rev. 4 -- God reigns in heaven.

Thanks again, Rachel, for the inspiration for these posts!

Happy New Year

It is 2010.

It is the year I will turn 40.

I have been married for 15 years.

I have 5 kids ages 12, 10, 8, 3, and 2.

I have learned much in the past 39 years.

I hope to learn even more in the coming years that God grants me.

I have a family blog: http://www.hubertfamily7.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to my new one.

My hope is that it will inspire me to chronicle, journal and reflect on knowledge gained and wisdom applied.

I also pray that it will encourage you in your journey of learning.