So our Joshua has landed a summer job at Chick-fil-A. We’re so proud of him. He loves the idea of working and earning a paycheck. He loves the idea of grown-up responsibilities. He loves the idea of pursuing something important on his own. And, in this particular case, God has blessed our son with Christian managers, co-workers, and role models, who are – for us as Josh’s parents – the proverbial icing on the cake. (Or should I say, “the meringue on the lemon icebox pie?” Too bad that’s served only in Atlanta now.)

Please excuse my less-than-stellar photo. Josh would never approve of my photographing him at work, so don’t tell him. I had to run through the mall and hide behind a large woman just long enough to get the best shot I could. I’m certain I was inches away from being arrested.

Yes, I try to document all our family milestones. When I’m old and forgetful, I’m hoping that pics like these – even if I’m drooling on them a bit at that point – will spark a happy memory of the boy I still can’t believe I get to raise and love. Next to Jesus and Eileen, Joshua is my treasure. We are blessed, and God is good.

It seems like only yesterday that the world had to say goodbye to the well-respected founder of Chick-fil-A, Mr. Truett Cathy. In 2014 Mr. Cathy died, at the ripe old age of 93, after showing us that a billion-dollar business can happen in America without trampling on Biblical principles and ethics. Cathy ran his organization with excellence. When we lived out in SoCal – as Chick-fil-A was expanding and bringing their chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, and sweet tea to the West Coast – Mr. Cathy would fly out to each new store, preside over an overnight campout comprised of the chain’s devotees (on the restaurant parking lot), and then pray over the crowd at the next day’s opening bell. After all of that planned hoopla – brilliantly and winsomely executed – hundreds of loyal customers received hundreds of free meal vouchers to be enjoyed throughout the next year.

Truett Cathy was a leader of leaders. Sometimes he paid a steep price for his stand for decency, particularly as traditional family values came under assault, but he seemed always the optimist who deeply desired to use his public platform for good. And that he did. At the time of Mr. Cathy’s home going, award-winning blogger, speaker, and author Paul Sohn published some “Cathy quotes” which are worth remembering. I’ll pass along to you just seven of them …

“You never know how or when you influence people … We have an impact on our children by what we say, but particularly by what we do. They forget many of the things we say, but they observe everything we do.”

“Nearly every moment of every day we have the opportunity to give something to someone else – our time, our love, our resources.”

“The unexpected opportunity I enjoy most is the opportunity to turn a frown into a smile.”

“It is when we stop doing our best work that our enthusiasm for the job wanes.”

“I believe no amount of business school training or work experience can teach what is ultimately a matter of personal character. Businesses are not dishonest or greedy, people are.”

“We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed.”

“If you wish to enrich days, plant flowers. If you wish to enrich years, plant trees. If you wish to enrich Eternity, plant ideals in the lives of others.”

Why do such simple yet profound thoughts stir our souls? Because they’re substantive. In an age of feeling-over-fact, these quotes communicate objective reality and value, because they were uttered by someone who possessed wisdom and insight into matters of life and eternity. Christ said: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). Deep down, you and I long to be standing, safely, on the Rock.

Joshua, when you’re older and you realize that I posted this, know how proud I am of you.

And, for the rest of you, know how dearly loved you are by your highly-imperfect-but-hopefully-usually-smiling shepherd.

Pastor Charles

It was a real honor to travel Wednesday to our state capitol. Friends from our First Baptist Paducah family made our way to a rainy Frankfort just to be a part of Decision America Tour 2016 with Franklin Graham, who explained his sense of urgency: “We’re all here today because we know that our country is in trouble. We are in trouble spiritually, racially, economically, politically, and there’s no political party that is going to turn this thing around.”

Some 5800 concerned Kentucky citizens gathered on the capitol steps to, among other things, confess our national sins. Specifically mentioned were abortion, same-sex marriage, pride, the worship of profits, lack of concern for the poor, and an entertainment-driven culture which is obsessed with sex and violence. It was an entirely nonpartisan event, and in fact Mr. Graham convened the gathering at noon by expressing “zero hope” in both of our nation’s major political parties.

Since our church is just finishing a multi-month study of the Book of Nehemiah, we were immediately intrigued when Franklin began his presentation by telling Nehemiah’s story. I was not able to jot down his exact words, but Franklin simply reminded us that Nehemiah was spiritually moved by the desperate condition of his homeland. Nehemiah understood that his God-given mission was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and – by so doing – to restore the hope of God’s people. But it all began with crying out to God!

Franklin Graham is traveling to all 50 states to hold similar prayer rallies, to preach Christ’s gospel, and to challenge believers to take action. He is urging Christians to vote, and to live out their Christian faith in the public square – even running for political office when and where that is both possible and prudent.

At one point Franklin referred to plans of the current executive administration to erect a national monument in celebration of homosexual activism in America. “A monument to sin? That’s unbelievable. War heroes deserve a monument, our nation’s Founding Fathers deserve a monument, people who have helped to make America strong deserve a monument – but a monument to sin? … I can’t believe how far our country has digressed. I hope that the President will reconsider. Flaunting sin is a dangerous move. God’s Word tells us, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34).”

As much as the prayer rally itself, I thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship and prayer as we traveled there and back. Even before our group arrived home in Paducah, I was receiving text messages from other pastors in our area who are desiring that we come together as believing churches to pray for such a time as this. I’ll be meeting with those pastors early Monday morning to discuss the details. More to come on those opportunities; please stay tuned.

I can’t say it any better than Franklin, so I won’t even try. Mr. Graham made it clear: “The only hope for the United States of America is Almighty God.”

Pastor Charles

As part of a new nuclear energy plan, the Belgian government intends to issue iodine tablets to its entire population. After ISIS-linked terrorists communicated plans to build a “dirty bomb,” widespread fears were fueled. Again. Apparently a senior researcher at a facility in Belgium – a center which produces a significant portion of the world’s supply of radioisotopes – was spied upon by terrorist bombers. Ugh. All of this information was the fruit of a home invasion stemming from the ISIS attack in Paris last November. To make a long story short, the dirty bomb threat is also directly linked to the March attacks in Brussels.

Compounding these threats are fears over Belgium’s aging nuclear plants. Two reactors are 40-years-old. Though global experts are divided on the pros and cons surrounding potassium iodide distribution, the new plan is: give everyone a pill. Just in case.

We might or might not agree with Belgium’s pill plan, but I think we can all agree that the real power of a dirty bomb (even the threat of a dirty bomb) is its power to spread panic and fear.

I’ll remind you of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew – just in case it’s been a long time since you read it. When the great lion Aslan speaks to the creatures of Narnia, as well as the human children, everyone is comforted by Aslan’s strong voice. That is, everyone except Uncle Andrew. Says Aslan of Andrew: “I cannot comfort him … he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings.”

In no way do I mean to minimize the viable threats against us on Planet Earth. From Sharia law to nuclear meltdown, we see symptoms of a broken world. But the Church has survived, and even thrived under hardship, and she will continue to press on! No opposing ideology will stop her. The Church survived the occupation of the Roman Empire, the bizarre Middle Ages, the brutal Nazi regime, and every other oppression in between. In the Middle East, particularly, Christianity survived severe Sharia law under oppressive Islamic regimes from the Eighth through the Fourteenth Centuries. Today a revival of Christ’s gospel is happening in that very part of the world. (If you’re coming to dinner tonight, you’ll hear more about that.)

Who would have thought that the Church could flourish in China? Ethiopia? Kenya? North Korea? Pakistan? Vietnam? Even where the government can be grossly violent against evangelicals, the Church can’t be stopped.

Jesus declared (Matthew 16:18): “I will build my church.” Not “I might.” “I will.”

Thank you for bearing with my long midweek teaching series on Islam. Many dimensions of the Islamic threat make us very angry, as they should. But we must deny the “human nature” in us which wants to hate. We can be grieved for our friends in Europe, and deeply saddened by the cultural meltdown across the ocean, but you and I must love. We must love all people, and all people groups, as our fellow image-bearers. That’s God’s image, not our image.

You and I are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re on a great voyage, accompanied by none other than the King of the Universe. We can see at least some of the threats for what they are, but our trust is in Christ alone.

Our mission is self-sacrifice. Our message is unstoppable grace. All other “messages” are but growlings and roarings.

Aslan gave us our marching orders: “Be just and merciful and brave. The blessing is upon you.”

Pastor Charles

I’ll go ahead and admit it. I saw Prince live on stage back in the 80’s when I was a U.K. student. At the time it was billed as one of Lexington’s premiere concerts. Good tickets were expensive, and the crowd was wild. And I was there in the thick of it all.

At the time I didn’t think about Prince ever dying. After all, he was young and energetic and all over those specially-crafted, multi-level platforms at Rupp Arena. We were all young. Or so it seemed. And who was thinking about dying when we all felt so much alive?

Prince is dead.

That may not be a big deal to you, but isn’t the death of every cultural icon a critical moment? A wake-up call? A reminder? A bit of an APB? Soon, and very soon, each one of us will be the person of interest.

Now is the time to learn from a rock star. Life is short, and getting shorter, and personal popularity means nothing of merit when we face the Judge of the Universe. Prince Rogers Nelson must stand before the God who created him; you and I will do the same. Whether we’ve sold 100 million records or not, Ecclesiastes reminds us (3:17-20): “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work … All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

If, as Solomon also affirms (3:11), God has “put eternity into man’s heart,” then today is a great day to ask ourselves all the right questions. The questions that count. Last year Prince and 3rdEyeGirl released an electric guitar-heavy version of singer-songwriter Nichole Nordeman’s What If … “What if you’re right? And he was just another nice guy … What if he takes his place in history with all the prophets and the kings who taught us love and came in peace? But then the story ends. What then? But what if you’re wrong? What if there’s more?”

Those were sound and sobering questions – questions of eternal weightiness – not really the kind we had come to expect from a master musician and sensational (sometimes even scandalous) entertainer like Prince. Prince sang: “What if you’re wrong, what if there’s more … what if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for?”

The Bible assures us that Christian believers have “steadfastness of hope” (First Thessalonians 1:3). That’s certain hope, and enduring hope. It’s not just any hope, and it’s not just hope in anything. It is “hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Did Prince know the hope of which he sang at least a time or two? Only God knows the answer to that question. But Prince’s sudden and unexpected death compels me to ask a more important question …

Do you know hope?

His name is Jesus.

Pastor Charles

If you know me at all, you have come to understand that I am not driven by denominationalism. Christian denominations are necessary and good, but you and I are already citizens of a land where denominations will be no more.

First and foremost, we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ! I am serving a Southern Baptist congregation for Christ’s glory, and I am happy to serve in kingdom work alongside a Methodist, a Presbyterian, an Anglican, or a “non-denom” for the expansion of Christ’s glorious gospel. In a profound and eternal sense, every follower of Christ – regardless of denominational heritage or practice – is “in it” with every other follower of Christ. It is not about us, or about our individual traditions. It is only about Jesus.

That is why I often speak about us as “evangelicals” or “evangelical Christians” or “evangelical believers.” I have always liked the word “evangelical” because it reminds me of the multidenominational environment in which I came to know Christ. By that I mean that God used men and women from several denominational stripes to plant the seeds of the gospel in my heart.

In recent days, I have been disturbed by the widespread cultural (and media) use of the term “evangelical” to refer to anyone (and everyone) who self-identifies as such. That careless use of language is very dangerous and wrong-headed in my humble opinion. “Evangelical” means something. “Evangelical” does not mean whatever anyone wants it to mean. “Evangelical” rightly refers only to a person who “contends for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

“Evangelical” has nothing to do with being American. “Evangelical” has nothing to do with political affiliation. “Evangelical” is not a social classification. “Evangelical” is not a cultural trend.

If you would allow me, I would like to do something that I’ve never done before. I would like to define “evangelical,” which as a word is traced to the Greek for “good news.”

An evangelical is someone who believes that Christianity is a matter of whole-life transformation. It is more than a creed. It is an agreement with Jesus that we must be born again (converted to Christ). That we need, as a free gift from God (that’s why we call it “amazing grace”), a new heart and a new mind. That we must be spiritually regenerated. And that, following that born-again experience (whether or not one remembers the moment), the life which follows is radically changed (and radically being changed between now and heaven).

An evangelical believes the Bible. He or she has a high view of Scripture, and regards all Scripture as our ultimate authority. No other authority or opinion even comes close.

An evangelical is centered on the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are matters of historical fact and eternal significance. No redemption of humanity is possible without, or apart from, the cross. (By definition, then, any person who denies that Jesus is God – and this includes all the pseudo-Christian cults – cannot possibly be an evangelical.)

An evangelical is committed to the gospel as a lifestyle. If we belong to Christ, we live for Christ. His power in us motivates us to love and serve a lost and dying world. In the pursuit of Christ’s glory – in and through radically transformed lives, families, churches, communities, and nations – we are undaunted in passionate joy.

We are evangelicals. This is entirely good news.

Pastor Charles

Is it me, or is this the strangest chapter ever in American politics? I could cite example after example, but I won’t waste your time.

Last night in our study of Islam we took a look at the Apostle Paul’s term “futile thinking” in Romans 1:21. I tried to make the point that, since all knowledge is grounded in God, any Christ-less belief system (worldview, lifestyle, or religion) is doomed as far as eternal reality is concerned.

Romans 1 is, in fact, utterly fascinating. Paul explains that unbelievers, by nature, suppress the truth. Even what they know about God – which they’ve discovered simply by observing His created order – they choose to deny. They choose to believe lies instead. So the unbeliever swings back and forth, as necessary for his or her personal comfort, between rationalism and irrationalism. Whatever it takes to hold back the real truth of the gospel. Whatever it takes to deny Christ. So unbelieving philosophies borrow from Christian truth claims, and then use those same claims in an attempt to undermine Christianity. (It takes a whole lot of energy to deny the obvious!)

So how does this impact our analysis of the happenings on the current political stage? In this way I think: You and I are called to make certain that our thinking, no matter how pessimistic we’re tempted to become in the moment, does not become futile.

I believe that it all starts in the heart. Jesus said (Mathew 15:19) that all evil thoughts (from which speech and actions inevitably follow) begin in the human heart.

So you and I must never – in an election year or otherwise – allow our heart to become cold toward the ultimate sovereignty and goodness of our God! Politicians, even those whom we respect, will sometimes (if not often) say (and do) things that make little (if any) sense to us. That consistent disappointment can impact us in the form of general pessimism or even outright disgust. But we who know Christ must never forget who is seated on the throne of the Universe! The Lord Jesus is alive and well, and He rules over all things with a righteous plan – as well as an unstoppable order – in which we must always find refuge when things here seem downright crazy.

For the glory of Christ, you and I will guard our heart so that our mind (our thinking) will not be led down a path of doom and gloom. After all, we know who wins in the end.

There is a time for patriotism. There is a time for national repentance. There is a time for celebration. There is a time for private and corporate prayer. But it’s always time to trust the only one who can be trusted. “FUTILE: incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.” How futile it would be for us to fail to trust Christ now!

Suzanne See, an administrator for 7600feet.com, nails it: “As any Christian in Jordan or China or Saudi Arabia could teach us, we still have much to learn about how to cherish our earthly country while prioritizing our citizenship in a heavenly one.” That pretty much sums it up, friends.

Cheers!

Pastor Charles

As we prepare to wrap up this blog series focused on the work of the Holy Spirit, we’ll review just a tad. If this is old hat to you, please indulge me as I seek to help all of us get this right. We need a sound understanding of the work of the Spirit in our lives, and in our world. In fact, He has been at work from the very beginning (Genesis 1:2).

The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and rebellion. It is by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that we first come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. He illuminates, and makes real and relevant, our spiritual understanding. He witnesses with our human spirits that we belong to God the Father, as His deeply loved children. Religion says “slave,” but the Gospel says “son.”

The Holy Spirit is our Comforter. He enables and empowers our unique witness as Christ’s church, and He strengthens us to move forward with holy boldness – even in the face of intense opposition – as heralds of Christ’s magnificent truth. And God the Holy Spirit is fully accomplishing the work of sanctification within (and in spite of) each and every one of us who follows Christ.

You and I should be most grateful for what Charles Spurgeon called “a miracle of miracles, that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish’ … surely that precious word, ‘Whosoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely’ and that solemn promise, ‘Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out,’ are better than signs and wonders.”

Easter 2016 lies on the immediate horizon. As we prepare to celebrate our Savior’s glorious resurrection from the dead, we must never hold back from affirming that the main thing is still the main thing. Because we know Christ and are eternally safe in Him, the resurrection of Jesus – the greatest sign and wonder of all time – puts all of our “signs and wonders” in their proper perspective. The absolutely amazing reality is this (Romans 8:11): If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you!

There are valid reasons why you and I should be cautious whenever people credit “the Holy Spirit” with various seemingly supernatural phenomena. Some of us have been disenchanted with movements and trends which were high on emotion and low on doctrine. We should be skeptical of any experience being sought, or advocated, just for the sake of experience. You and I should be seeking experiences which motivate us toward Christlikeness, and toward a more fervent witness for Christ. All within the bounds of Scripture.

We are not free to cook up our own doctrine of the Spirit, nor are we free to ingest someone’s tasty but noxious version of “truth.” We’re never to give up our reason, or our Biblical anchor, and simply “let ourselves go.” We’re to test all things by God’s Word (Second Timothy 4:1-5; First John 4:1-6), and we’re to remember that a blank mind is never advocated in the Scriptures.

But with all of that having been clarified, we still need the Holy Spirit! I’ll close with an old quote from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “It is better to be credulous than to be carnal and smug and dead.”

Here’s to life – resurrection life – in the Holy Spirit!

Pastor Charles

It’s almost time for Palm Sunday. We remember Christ’s “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem … and the people’s cries of “Hosanna!” “Lord, save us!” The phrase erupted over and over from the passionate Passover crowds.

Since joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), we might assume that a joyful crowd – especially an ecstatic crowd shouting out to Jesus as “Lord” – is a crowd filled with the Spirit of God. After all, God’s Spirit witnesses with our spirits that we belong to Him – what could produce more joy than knowing that?

But here’s the rub. What looks like joy to us is not always the joy of the Lord. After that first Palm Sunday came Monday morning. The better-known account of Jesus’ cleansing the Temple – one of Christ’s most significant works – is recorded in Luke 19:45-46. That was the day after Palm Sunday.

The temple area – about a 10-acre space – had become an animal market. We know from Josephus and others that the family of the high priest was running a commercial operation: a cattle and banking business. Animals (needed for sacrifices) were sold at high prices, plus heavy transaction fees for currency exchange were tacked on to drive up the profits. What was supposed to be a place of prayer and quiet reflection was now a place of shouting, bickering, bartering, and utter chaos. So Jesus was moved to anger, and He violently – we deduce that from the force of the original language – turned over the tables.

Jesus displayed His righteousness. His strength. His zeal for truth and justice. By His own announcement (see Mark 11:17), Christ also opened the door of His kingdom to Gentiles. This was no ordinary day by any estimation. We know from Luke 19:47 (one verse after the temple cleansing in Luke’s account) that Jesus went on to teach “daily in the temple.” That’s why the temple had needed to be cleansed in the first place – so that it might be used for Christ’s holy purposes.

Daily Christ taught. But not for long. Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion would come at the end of that very same week. As you likely already know, the unbelieving priests, scribes, elders, and the populace in general did not (and would not) tolerate what Jesus taught. They questioned Christ’s authority and stirred up trouble. Within just a few days the tide of popular opinion would turn entirely against our precious Lord, and Jesus would choose to lay down His life for us.

We must come to terms with the fact that the Palm Sunday “joyful” exuberance was but a blip on the radar screen of human history. In large measure, it was nothing but short-lived religious, nationalistic, and patriotic emotionalism … which transitioned within hours to hateful shouts of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

If we are to serve Christ faithfully, we must be anchored in more than emotion. We need a new heart, and then – again and again – we need a renewed heart. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit! Surely you and I who are Christ’s temple (First Corinthians 6:19) need a thorough temple-cleansing from time to time. That, my friends, is the marvelous work of the Spirit of grace (Titus 3:5) on which we desperately depend.

For not entirely giving up on you and me – who are far, far more spiritually half-hearted than we prefer ever to admit – we give Christ all our thanks and praise! Hosanna!

Pastor Charles

One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit in us is His gift of the assurance of our salvation. Like David, who cried out to the Lord from the depth of his own depravity, you and I cry out to God for the joy of His salvation (Psalm 51:12). Our souls long to KNOW that we truly belong to Christ. Somehow – and I can’t fully explain something as marvelous and wondrous as this – God’s Spirit accomplishes this “blessed assurance” in the hearts of those of us who are God’s children.

That is not to say that we will never again face a subtle, or even a momentarily paralyzing, doubt. But it is to say that we can live with an abiding assurance that we are in Christ. Safely in Christ. Eternally in Christ. Paul explained it to the church at Rome like this (Romans 8:16): The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

What happens when the Holy Spirit does this in us? We can’t know all of the particulars, of course, but we can observe some of the amazing results. For starters, there is a personal awareness of God’s presence and power, such as we have not known before. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote of being “carried not only from doubt to belief but to certainty, to awareness of the presence and the glory of God.”

It’s kind of like being married. If you were ever the bride or the groom, that was not an experience that escaped your attention. You were there. It was real. It was life-changing. It was powerful. Nothing would ever be exactly the same. What Dr. Lloyd-Jones was attempting to describe, in my estimation, was an awareness of Christ even more vivid and striking than every one of our lesser joys combined.

How wonderful it would be if First Baptist Paducah were known as a people who displayed such joy! And, as a result, such power! We should pray for nothing less, friends. Such gospel power will cause people around here to take notice, and then we can point them to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And to His empty tomb! There is rampant hopelessness all around us, so we want to exhibit a sincere and persevering hope in Christ.

Last night Randy Kent shared with us about life in France. In a post-Christian culture, where overt hostility to Christianity abounds, the only “success” of the church is in the demonstration of Christlike love. Why is that love so attractive in an era of agnosticism and atheism? Because life without God is life without hope.

Back on this side of the pond, our own culture is hardening quickly. We are following in Europe’s footsteps. But let’s lean into all of that materialism, worldliness, callousness, coldness, and spiritual hardness with the unmerited love of God (Romans 5:5) “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” As our own Paul and Tina reported, when they returned from ministry in the Pacific Northwest, the love of Christ is our only hope in a barren land.

I suppose that I’m asking you to pray with me for revival. A revival of hope, assurance, and power. The hope, assurance, and power of Christ. First in us. Then in others. Let’s pray for Spirit-generated revival among the peoples of every nation on Earth.

All for the glory of our great God. (Remember: The Spirit can do in an instant what we can’t do in a lifetime.)

And what is the result of such Spirit-empowering assurance? You and I can live without fear. Doesn’t that sound absolutely fantastic? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Pastor Charles

How does God work?

When it’s all said and done, this may be the most important question facing us in this series. After all, when we speak of “signs and wonders,” our attention ought to be arrested only by the thought of God’s glory being expanded by the visible display of His power and glory. Said another way: It’s not really about the sign. It’s about the One to whom the sign points! Jesus made it very clear that lost people can get caught up in signs (Matthew 12:39; 16:4). In and of itself, a good case of “goosebumps” might not be worth the proverbial hill of beans.

My friends, Scripture continues to be God’s primary instrument for the work of transformation that is most needed in our lives. It is the Word of God that changes us, more and more each day, into the likeness of the Son of God – into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of our particular doctrine of miracles, we can know that we have lost our way if we no longer hunger and thirst to know the power of the Bible unleashed in and through us.

From the majesty of the opening lines of Genesis, to the impassioned poetry of the Psalms, to the fiery proclamations of the Hebrew prophets, to the breathtaking accounts of Christ in the Gospels, and all the way to the apocalyptic mysteries recorded in Revelation, the Bible is God’s Word. It’s in a league of its own! It has the power to mold and shape us like nothing else (Hebrews 4:12).

Is God demanding, or is He merciful?

Yes.

Is God concerned with the justice of the Old Testament, or with the “turn the other cheek” of the New?

Yes.

It is only when we read the Bible through the lens of Christ that the apparent dichotomies begin to make sense. Then we discover that the Bible is not a book of rules, but a book of life. Therein lies our only hope! The gospel. And hope for sinners like you and me is nothing short of a miracle.

I did not want to let this series pass without calling us, again, to love God’s Word.

Pastor Charles