Author: preacherpollard

Neal Pollard

Our community is experiencing unspeakable grief.  A young man became a hardened, merciless killer overnight in our city, killing at least a dozen and injuring several dozen more.  Grief and confusion abound.  People are struggling for answers.

It is transparently clear that this exemplifies a symptom of sin-sickness in society, but that observation will not bring back a single victim or undo this horrific crime.  What we have right now is an opportunity to share with the fearful and hurting the God of all comfort.

Paul so describes Him in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. In those few verses alone, Paul uses the word comfort 10 times. Look at the different ways Paul assures us of God’s comfort, which will help us in traumatic circumstances like these.

God’s comfort is comprehensive (3).  Apart from Him, man is ultimately comfortless. He is the God of all grace (Rom. 15:5), but He’s also the God of all comfort. Nowhere else we go to find it is legitimate, apart from Him. The Bible uses two metaphors to describe His comprehensive comfort, first of a shepherd (Isa. 40:11) and the second is that of a mother (Isa. 66:13). This is fitting, since God is both gentle and strong, nurturing and protecting.

God’s comfort is plentiful (5). Jesus said He came to bring us abundant life (Jn. 10:10). Abundance is a key word in 2 Corinthians. It means to be more than enough, with some left over. We may often see abundant poverty and suffering, but even when there’s suffering, hardship or trial we can be confident that “God’s grace is sufficient for us” (2 Cor. 12:7).

God’s comfort is located (5). Comfort literally means “to call to one’s side.” If all comfort is available only in God, it makes sense that we must answer the call to walk by His side to have it. Paul says God’s promises are fulfilled through Christ, including the promise of comfort (1:20).  So, I must be in Him and right with Him to have comfort through Him.

God’s comfort is effective (6). It is effective in the patient enduring of what we suffer.  God will deliver us, but biblical comfort is not simply an emotional sedative or anesthesia. David Garland has said, “God’s comfort strengthens weak knees and sagging spirits so that one faces the troubles of life with unbending resolve and unending assurance.” We can be like the little boy, separated from his mom in the mall. He was looking around for her and getting scared. He began to cry because everyone was a stranger, everything looked so confusing, and every store was packed.  He didn’t have his Mom. Suddenly, his mom found him and picked him up. He stopped crying, not because his surroundings changed, but because of whose arms he was in. What makes God’s comfort effect is that God’s the one offering it!

May we find comfort from the God of all comfort at this trying time!

Neal Pollard
OK, so you’ve probably not spent a whole lot of time pondering that as a practical quandary in your life.  I’ve never met anyone who owns a pet monitor lizard.  But, in Woodland Park and not all that far from us in Denver, a six foot Nile monitor lizard–lovingly called Dino–escaped from his owner and is now on the loose!  Teller County sheriff, Mike Ensminger, is warning area residents to lock up their cats, small dogs, and to keep an eye on their small children.  They can be very hostile, have very sharp claws and strong jaws, and as they are not native to Colorado may get pretty agitated looking for that next meal.  You might want to look carefully under your bed and look under your stairs until this thing is captured.

I have not heard from the “pet’s” owner, but there must be some level of concern.  He left Dino on a leash, certainly never thinking that it could wiggle (or gnaw?) itself free.  But, that’s what happened.

Have you ever experienced something in your life that got away from you, moved beyond your control, and turned potentially harmful.  Maybe it was a word or conversation that you later regretted.  Perhaps it was a foolish decision, an unwise purchase or investment, a toxic relationship, or impulsive choice.  It could be any number of things, but it is certainly not amusing!  It can be damaging and destructive.

Many of you may be saying, “This wouldn’t have happened if this guy had never made a monitor lizard his pet.”  That’s frankly my basic response.  While lizard-lovers will castigate me for saying so, all of us will agree on this.  The best way to avoid the devastating consequences of rash, volatile decisions is to think through it.  Galatians 6:7-8 reminds us that, positively and negatively, we reap what we sow.  My dad told us, “Many people sow their wild oats, then pray for a crop failure!” The only proven way I know to keep from bad fruit is to never plant “bad fruit seeds” in the first place.

The logic for lizard-leashing is more sound than the rational for religious rebellion.  Mistakes will happen.  Let’s avoid those that wage war against the soul (cf. 1 Pet. 2:11).

Neal Pollard

When someone is given the title “Bible scholar,” they bear a lot of responsibility and should have a better grasp of what the Bible says before accepting such academic recognition.  Such is the case with Rachel Havrelock, interviewed by Jennifer Viegas of the Discovery Channel.  While she at times said things that seemed to honor scripture, other times reflected a bias that was either the result of her views or the views of those who interviewed her.

She contended that there is a misconception that the Bible is “meant to present a very conservative, traditional viewpoint.”  One wonders what she means by that.  What is a conservative, traditional viewpoint?  What would one call an alternative to this viewpoint?  She also said, according to the interview, that Jesus’ primary concern was spreading a social gospel.  See Luke 19:10, 1 Timothy 1:15, and a host of similarly worded passages.   Sure, the people wanted bread, but Jesus was more interested in giving them the bread of life!  She credits Paul, through a genius marketing ability, for causing early Christianity to spread so furiously.  One wonders what to do with the first twelve chapters of Acts.  Her last response is most telling, for what it says and what it implies.  Asked what Bible-related myths she thought most needed “busting,” Havrelock turned on that hanging curveball by saying, “It’s commonly thought today that the heterosexual family, with a mother, father and children, was the only family unit sanctioned by the church. The early Christians instead put more emphasis on community that allowed for gender equality and where everyone was equal in the eyes of God.”

Friends, we do not have the right to arbitrarily and subjectively reconstruct who we think or would like the historical Jesus to be.  It seems that history continuously finds man trying to remake God into his image (cf. Gen. 1:26-27).  While it seems that “experts” like Havrelock might fancy themselves as being unpredictable and untraditional, she seems to fall in line with so many of her peers and predecessors.  What would truly fit that description would be someone interviewed by a major media outlet having the courage to say what the Bible actually teaches without the dross of cultural pressure or personal, philosophical bias.  It is not likely that the Discovery Channels or MSNBCs of the world has great interest in finding such true scholars.  Those truly interested in learning more about the historical Jesus know just where to find Him.  He is in the book most scrutinized and criticized, but which shines truth more brightly every day!

Neal Pollard

The Lord teaches with great clarity what a person must do to receive the benefits of His grace.  Repeatedly, the New Testament makes clear that belief in essential for being made right (Rom. 10:10a), to come to God (Heb. 11:6), and to be saved (Ac. 16:31).  Yet, faith or belief is not possible without the Word first being taught (Rom. 10:13-14, 17).  One must be accurately taught, and an honest heart will be open to God’s conditions.  We cannot begrudge God for setting conditions for us to receive what all of us needs but what none of us deserves nor what any of us can earn.

The New Testament reveals conditions other than faith. The Bible ties repentance to forgiveness of sins (Ac. 2:38; 5:31), life (Ac. 11:18), faith (Ac. 20:21), salvation (2 Cor. 7:10), and not perishing (2 Pe. 3:9).  These are all inescapably essential.  Further, Scripture shows a connection between confessing faith with Christ and salvation (Rom. 10:10).  The Ethiopian eunuch gives us an example of this (Ac. 8:37).  Added to these conditions is one other, clearly revealed condition strangely disputed by much of Christendom.  Baptism is inseparably tied to the following: forgiveness of sins (Ac. 2:38), sins being washed away (Ac. 22:16), being in Christ (Gal. 3:27), being in the “one body” (1 Cor. 12:13), the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and newness of life (Rom. 6:1-4), and salvation (1 Pe. 3:21).

Despite the unfathomable controversy in the religious world over the role of baptism in salvation, it is not, in my estimation, the hardest “step” in God’s saving plan.  While getting people to hear is hard, getting them to believer is harder, and getting them to submit to baptism is harder still, could anything be more difficult than repentance?  Repentance literally means to “change one’s mind” and “feel remorse, be converted” (BDAG, 640). Friberg and Miller add that its strict meaning is to “perceive afterward, with the implication of being too late to avoid consequences” with “a religious and ethical change in the way one thinks about acts” (260).

What a wrestling match!  It’s difficult to change our minds, which implies admission of wrong.  When we see only too late that we are sinners lost in sin, to both feel sorrow and resolve to make it right requires exceptional humility and tenderheartedness.  To change our ways, to turn away from sin and to God, is exceptionally difficult.  Repentance is involved in receiving salvation, but it is necessary for one after receiving it.  It is a lifelong process, requiring honesty, self-examination, self-denial, and sacrifice.  Yet, however difficult it is, in view of what God is offering it is worth the strain and effort!  How true are E.M. Bartlett’s words: “Just a little while to stay here, just a little while to wait, just a little while to labor in the path that’s always straight. Just a little more of trouble in this low and sinful state, then we’ll enter Heaven’s portals, sweeping through the pearly gates.”

Neal Pollard

I have concluded that worry is wasted energy.  Taking Gary to register for his fall classes last Thursday, we left at a time when Houston was experiencing a series of severe thunderstorms.  Our 5:50 AM flight from Denver to Houston left the ground closer to eight o’clock.  That meant that our hour connection time had long since evaporated and United was good enough to book us seats on the next flight to Mobile, Alabama.  Since it’s approximate 84 miles between each gate at Houston, it took us a while to get over to the gate for our connecting flight.  When we got there, the Customer Service desk was about 84 miles long!  Gary and I pitied them as we walked to B84, only to find out our new flight was canceled.  That kicked off over two hours of phone time with United’s Customer helpline.  Bad weather caused massive delays, cancellations, and out of place planes and crews.  We needed to get Gary to College Bound and the clock seemed to be sprinting.  We checked everything–Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Atlanta, Birmingham, Huntsville, Jackson, Meridian, Gulfport, and Montgomery (our final destination).  Nothing was there!  We were on award tickets, which further complicated what seats were available.  I have not always been patient in such circumstances, but I strove to handle each phone call or face to face with service or gate agents with a smile and sympathy.  When it seemed we’d have to take up residence in Houston, a sweet lady at B17 (which is approximately 484 miles from B84) found two seats on our original connection flight.  It had been sitting at the gate all this time (over at A12; you can do the math).  So, with just three hours of delay, Gary and I boarded the plane and even got much better seats.  I was able to visit with a religious man reeling from a recent, unwanted divorce and Gary was able to talk about the church to a “really pretty” young woman.  Everything with the weekend worked out just fine (I will tell you later about the nearly three hour delay while the ground crew changed a tire on the connection back to Denver).

What’s the point of this meandering musing?  What would worry have done in this case?  Gotten us to our destination faster?  Resolved the situation at all?  Yet, too often, these kinds of stressful situations bring out our worst.  We lose our temper.  We rail at others, and usually our victims are as powerless as we are.  We blow out our Christian lights.  I pray that I have been sufficiently reminded of the futility of worry for the next time an opportunity arises.  Instead, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).  Jesus calls worry futile (cf. Lk. 12:25; Mt. 6:25-34).  Let us trust that He knows best!

Bennet Cerf tells the story of something he witnessed on a bus ride somewhere in the south.  “In one seat a wispy old man sat holding a bunch of fresh flowers. Across the aisle was a young girl whose eyes came back again and again to the man’s flowers. The time came for the old man to get off. Impulsively he thrust the flowers into the girl’s lap. “I can see you love the flowers,” he explained, “and I think my wife would like for you to have them. I’ll tell her I gave them to
you.” The girl accepted the flowers, then watched the old man get off the bus and walk through the gate of a small cemetery.”

Have you ever done a “random act of kindness”?  Or, have you been the recipient of someone else’s kindness?  Maybe someone bought your meal at a restaurant, paid you an unsolicited, unexpected compliment, or helped you with your luggage or packages.  These acts can be the fuel that lift your spirits so high.

May I suggest that kindness is not as random as it is a deliberate practice.  The specific impulse of the moment might be without much forethought, but kindness is born of a generous, unselfish heart that is conditioned by love and occasioned by opportunity.  The fact is that much more kindness is needed in our selfish world.  Instead of waiting for others to lead the way, we need to initiate words and deeds of kindness wherever we are whenever we can.  Few things can show Christ to people better than kindness.  Paul urges, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted…” (Eph. 4:32).  God’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, “but kind to all” (2 Tim. 2:24).  Somebody out there is a potential recipient of your unexpected kindness!  Why not perpetrate a not-so-random act of kindness!

Neal Pollard

Those who believe in God do not like the name, and apparently those who do not believe in God like it less.  Those of us who believe Genesis 1:1 to be scientific fact see the huge “discovery” unveiled at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, to be yet another in an endless line of attempts to disprove God.  Several scientists with an evolutionary bias are going to some lengths to show the name a misnomer and totally inappropriate to describe this subatomic particle.  It got its name because it theoretically holds together the electrons, protons, and neutrons that make up atoms.  Some scientists would say it makes atoms, thus the use of “God” as an adjective.  6,000 scientists had been working toward the July 4, 2012, imposed deadline.  They feverish did their research and released their results.  Two independent tests were conducted to cross-check each other’s work.  According to a Washington Post report, “the particle is thought to create a sort of force field that permeates the universe, imbuing everything that we can see and touch with the fundamental property known as mass” (Denver Post, 7/5/12, 12A, Vastag and Achenbach).

The “Higgs Boson” or “God Particle” is thought to be key to “scientists’ understanding of how the world came into being” (ibid.).  While I will leave the more technical and detailed explanations to those qualified to make them, here is what still seems to be a germane observation.  This is yet another elaborate, but failed attempt to find and submit an explanation to others about origins, an explanation that does not include God.   It fails for this fundamental reason.  Even if this particle works exactly as is contended, it leaves a simple question unanswered.  Where did that particle originate?  Did it spontaneously generate, or exactly how did it come into being?  Put another way, “Who created it?”  Slice matter down to its tiniest dimensions and you retain the dilemma.  Is matter eternal or was it created?  No credible person would suggest matter is eternal.  Thus, the “first question” will remain unanswered until God is given due credit and recognition.  However, that will lead to philosophical dilemmas about morality, accountability, divine sovereignty, and more.  So, that implication will no doubt keep the majority of men busy in their laboratories until the day Christ comes again.  Thereafter, theories will give way to unmistakeable proof.  But, then, it will be too late to act on it.

Neal Pollard

Maybe you didn’t don a black robe and make a landmark decision as an entire nation waited.  So, your name didn’t appear atop the leader boards of high-profile soccer, golf, or tennis matches.  You weren’t named to the London Olympics.  Your name wasn’t on Forbes list of the richest people in America, and maybe not even Bubba’s list of the richest people in your neighborhood.  You weren’t named to the All-Star team.  Your marital situation was not noteworthy enough to be a hot topic on the news and tabloid TV shows.  You weren’t given a trophy at the BET Awards. But, you still could be marked for greatness.

The word “greatness” appears over 30 times in Scripture.  Did you know it was used positively of a man only once?  In recounting King Ahaseurus’ reign, the book of Esther mentions a book of chronicles of the kings of the Medo-Persian empire in which was recorded “the full account of the greatness of Mordecai (Est. 10:2).  This seems to have stemmed originally from Mordecai’s heroic act of thwarting two of Ahaseurus’ doorkeepers, who plotted to kill the king (6:2ff).  Mordecai was given a place of prominence in the king’s court (8:15; 9:4).  Yet, he was a man understood that a place of greatness, were it bestowed on one, was to be used for God’s glory and His purpose (cf. 4:13-14).

Under Christ, we can accomplish much for Him with our talents and abilities.  Jesus encourages as much (Matt. 25:14-30).  Yet, Paul gives us proper perspective about greatness in 2 Corinthians 4:7.  “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”  2 Corinthians four talks about the power of the “Word of God” (1), the “truth” (1), the “gospel” (2,4), preaching Christ (5), “the knowledge of the glory of God” (6), what Paul calls “this treasure” in verse seven.

Today, greatness is best found not in saving the lives of heads of state.  It is certainly not in winning fleeting fame in pursuits that will ultimately perish.  Greatness is found in sharing God’s Word with the world.  You may never have your name on a trophy or plaque on this earth, but you will have your name in God’s record book.  That Hall of Fame will, on the Judgment Day, be known to all people of all time–what a stage!  Just remember, whatever you do for Him, that the greatness is of God and not from ourselves!

Neal Pollard

He Never Attended A Bible Class

But He Was A Christian

His Daily Speech Was Coarse And Crass

But He Was A Christian

He Was Savvy In Business, His Portfolio A Win

The Church Took His Portion, Ignoring His Sin,

He Felt Safe And Sure That The Lord Would Let Him In,

So He Smiled And Said, “I’m A Christian!”

He Never Cracked Open His Bible To Read

But He Was A Christian

To Christ A Lost Soul He Never Stooped To Lead

But He Was A Christian

He Was Cold With The Brethren, Aloof From The Lost

Nobody Could Tell He Had Counted The Cost

He Could Gossip And Be Cutting, He Fussed And He Bossed

This Alleged Christian.

He Had Believed And Repented, Was Immersed The Same Day

Yes, He Was A Christian

Attended The Right Church, He Worshipped The Right Way

This Brother, This Christian

But One Day He Died And When He Opened His Eyes

He Found Himself Tormented To His Great Surprise

And He Cried Out To Christ With Lamentable Cries,

“I Was A Christian. I Was A Christian.”

Then The Lord With Compassion And Pity Replied

To This Christian:

“Why Did You Make Light Of That For Which I Died,

Dear Lost Christian?

You Lived As Though Believing ‘Once Saved, Always Saved’

For Holiness And Righteousness You Never Panted Or Craved

And Decided To Think, Talk, And Live Like The Depraved

Depart From Me, Dear Lost Christian.”

Oh, Let Us Take Seriously Our God-Given Task

And Be Christians

As We Walk In The Light, In His Grace We Can Bask

And Be Christians

But A Genuine Article, Inside And Out

We Must Live Like The Savior, And Live Without Doubt

So In Heaven Forever We Can Sing And Shout,

“I Was Truly A Christian!”

Neal Pollard

The Colorado wildfires are certainly on our minds here in the Front Range.  Tyler King gave an excellent devotional talk last night, giving three ways we can be resilient and keep our fire burning.  Several weeks ago, someone used an earlier wildfire to allude to James’ inspired words about the tongue being a fire.  That set me thinking.  It is interesting to see how the Bible uses the imagery of fire.

• Fire refines and fire destroys.  Zechariah 13:9 spoke of a third of God’s people refined by the fire of trial and made stronger.  Peter speaks of a faith refined by the fire of testing (1 Pet. 1:7).  Yet, Jesus recalls how the inhabitants of Sodom were destroyed by fire (Lk. 17:29).  The fire of judgment is connected with judgment and destruction (2 Pet. 3:7).
• Fire brings comfort and fire brings pain.  Peter warmed himself beside slaves and officers at a fire in the high priest’s courtyard (cf. Mk. 14:54; Jn. 18:18).  The natives started a fire on Malta out of kindness to bring warmth and comfort to those shipwrecked, including Paul (Acts 28:3). In teaching about eternal punishment, Jesus spoke of a furnace of fire associated with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mat. 13:42ff).  Jude uses fire similarly in Jude 7.
• Fire gives life and fire brings death.  Controlled or prescribed burns reduce “fuel” for bigger, hotter fires, germinate desirable trees that renews forests, improves wildlife habitats, improves forage for grazing, and prepares fields for planting (treesearch.fs.fed.us and bugwood.org).  But, scripture and observation show that uncontrolled, unmanaged fires bring opposite results (Joel 1:19-20; Ps. 83:14; Jer. 21:14; Js. 3:5).

There are certainly other contrasting uses of fire, in scripture and in life.  As nine major fires blaze throughout the state today, hundreds of homes are destroyed, lives are threatened, and fears are fueled.  Spiritually, fire can have a positive effect, too.  Even the threat of it can be a deterrent in keeping us faithful.  As we witness the fearsome effects of these physical fires, may we ponder the dichotomous use of fire in scripture.

Neal Pollard

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, John Quincy Adams was asked how he was doing.  He replied, “John Quincy Adams is well. But the house in which he lives at present is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering up on its foundation. Time and the seasons have nearly destroyed it. Its roof is pretty well worn out. Its walls are much shattered and it trembles with every wind. I think John Quincy will have to move out of it soon. But he himself is quite well, quite well.”  The son of our second president and himself the sixth president, he was extremely accomplished.  He had excelled in just about every arena of political life, but he was devoutly religious, too.  Once, he wrote his son Charles and said, “So great is my veneration of the Bible and so strong is my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it is of all books in the world, that which contributes most to making men good, wise, and happy.”  He was vice-president of the American Bible Society for five years.  While he was confused and ever-changing in his religious views and thinking, his famous words above reveal great clarity and biblical sense (some material via uua.org).

We spend so much time trying to preserve and maintain the dilapidated house of the body, giving relatively little thought to the resident within it.  The apostle Paul said it well when he wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).  At times, we forget that we are “moving out” of this old body while the soul will never die nor be destroyed.  “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50a), and our present bodies are not engineered for eternity.  Solomon wrote, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecc. 12:7).  We are marching toward the decline and demise of the physical body, but the soul of man never dies!  May we give due and proper attention to body and soul, considering this outcome.

Neal Pollard

Samantha Smith made worldwide news in the early 1980s when she wrote the Soviet president, Yuri Andropov, pleading with him to end the “Cold War.”  Her letter was reprinted with Russia, Andropov replied and invited her to his country, she and her parents visited the communist country, and she was an instant celebrity there.  She became a peace activist, calling for the United States and Soviet Union to end the threat of nuclear war.  In 1985, at the height of her very public campaign, she and her father were among eight people to die in a plane crash in her home state of Maine.  She was an optimistic and enthusiastic advocate.  She reached millions in life and was remembered by millions more in death.  The Soviets posthumously issued a postage stamp in her honor and named a mountain after her.  Her mother, Jane Smith, started The Samantha Smith Foundation, “dedicated to fostering international understanding,” to reach out to especially children from the Soviet region and participate in various exchange program activities.  Jane wrote, “Each generation contributes a building block for the next generation.  As individuals, we are particles of earth from which the blocks are formed.  I hope Samantha and Arthur have helped us realize how important each one of us can be.  Samantha couldn’t accept people’s inhumanity to one another.  She stood fast in the belief that peace can be achieved and maintained by humankind. Our Foundation named in her honor will work in that spirit” (www.samanthasmith.info).

What a difference one person can make!  Samantha was only 13 when she died, but she was a factor in reconciling to warring nations.  Christ came to this earth to bring peace between God and man (Eph. 2:14-17).  Having brought us together, He expects us to reconcile the world to God (2 Cor. 5:19-20).  Perhaps you think you cannot make much of a difference in this world as only a single Christian with whatever your perceived limitations.  Just remember how much one person can do!  There was the apostle from Tarsus.  There was Alexander Campbell, Marshall Keeble, Gus Nichols, and many others.  There is you and there is me.  Who knows the good we can accomplish as ambassadors of Christ?  Let’s work our hardest to find out!

Neal Pollard

It was hard to believe that the infamous center of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, Rodney King, is dead and that he was only 47.  The acquittal of four white LAPD officers, charged with police brutality after pulling over King following an eight mile pursuit, sparked looting and violence that eventually left 55 dead, 2325 injured, 1573 buildings destroyed, and a total estimated cost of $1 billion dollars (AP Report, 4/26/12).  While it seems like the police officers indeed used excessive force and two of them were charged with civil rights violations by a federal court, the man they pursued was neither innocent nor a moral bastion.  King, famous for his plea during the riots–“Can we all get along?”–may have felt partially responsible knowing that he chose to drive drunk and evade police for fear of violating his parole on a theft conviction that had already earned him two years in jail.  The twice-divorced King, engaged to a juror from his civil case against the city of Los Angeles, admitted not long before his death to still drinking and doing drugs “occasionally” (Jennifer Medina, NYTimes.com, 6/17/12).  He spent most of his life after his brush with fame in and out of jail and rehab centers, including time spent in prison for assaulting his former wife and his daughter (ibid.).  It all ended Sunday morning, June 17, 2012, when King was found dead in the pool he built behind the house he shared with the aforementioned Cynthia Kelly.

A man who seems to have been the victim of excessive force on an occasion that he could have avoided had he not driven drunk or reached speeds near 100 should vividly illustrate a basic truth for all of us.  We cannot escape the consequences of our own character.  King would not have been at the center of this controversy had he respected God’s Word and authority in His life.  He shows how immoral choices lead to unforeseen consequences.  The police and perceived prejudice were key to the riots, but King was culpable, too.  It was his immoral choices that landed him in the middle of a situation godliness would have avoided (Rom. 13:3; 1 Pet. 3:17).

Suffering is an inevitability of life (Job 14:1).  But, some suffering can be avoided if we will choose the better way.  Solomon rightly declared, “Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful (KJV–“transgressors”) is hard” (Prov. 13:15).  King could have left a better legacy, but such required better choices.  May we be remembered as those who left a smoother path for others while being regarded as people of upright character.

Neal Pollard

Like many of you, I have an eclectic taste in music.  Among those tastes I find very palatable is classical music.  Some of the recent additions in my iTunes collection include Corelli, Locatelli, Tartini, Bizet, and Grieg.  While the author of the piece is responsible for creating it, those who play the piece must work together to faithfully execute the notes and nuances intended by the one who composed it.

The word “orchestra” is from a Greek word originally meaning “to dance.”  It refers to a “a large group of musicians playing classical music, consisting of sections of string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players, and directed by a conductor” (Encarta World English Dictionary).  Have you ever watched an orchestra play?  Each musician has different skills, levels of ability, and background.  You can see their varied personalities exhibited as they play.  There is a flute player on one end of the orchestra and a violinist on the other, with perhaps a pianist somewhere in the midst.

There is a sense in which the church must function as an orchestrated group.  We do not need to worry that we are not like someone else or that we lack their charisma, personality, or talents.  Paul urged Corinth, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,’ is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be?” (1 Cor. 12:13-19).  Let us look at ourselves as one member of this grand orchestra, important and unique.  We are not more prominent that the next member, but neither are we less essential.  Working together, we can beautifully accomplish the work of the Conductor!

Neal Pollard

As this in Future Preachers Training Camp week here at Bear Valley, “preacher stuff” is on my mind.  Even doing my morning devotional, which included today reading the book of Malachi, a short section of scripture stood out to me.  In the book of Malachi, the book whose date is closest to the first century, God is declaring His faithfulness and righteousness while charging Judah with shallow and insufficient living as the children of God.  God was doing His part, but His people were not.  In chapter two, Malachi specifically addresses the Levitical priests.  The priests in Malachi’s day were not honoring God like their forefather Levi did.  In verses five through seven, Malachi depicts the ideal priest.  He then tells them that because they had wandered far from that ideal, God was rejecting them.

Here is Malachi’s eightfold description of an effective priest:

• He Has Great Reverence For God (2:5)
• True Instruction Is In His Mouth (2:6)
• Unrighteousness Is Not Found On His Lips (2:6)
• He Walks With God In Peace And Uprightness (2:6)
• He Turns Many Back From Iniquity (2:6)
• He Preserves Knowledge (2:7)
• Men Seek Instruction From His Mouth (2:7)
• He Is The Lord’s Messenger (2:7).

Today, all Christians are priests of God (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6).  We offer up the sacrifice of self (Rom. 12:1).  But, more than that, as Christians we should be bearing these marks God held up as needful for His priests.  Reverence, integrity, honesty, truth-speaking, evangelism, influence, and example all should characterize us as we go about our daily lives.  Yes, it is a true need for preachers to possess these traits, but it also needs to characterize each of us who have been redeemed by Christ.  How are you doing in fulfilling your life’s spiritual purpose?  Why not refer to these eight traits as a measuring line and a constant challenge to live on a higher plane?

Neal Pollard

We are told by some in society that true courage is what is required to love yourself, do your own thing, and be who you are.  Those with a certainly world view and philosophy would tell you that the mother who aborts her helpless unborn child, the young person who chooses to tell family and friends about a homosexual relationship, one who walks out on a marriage in difficult (or not so difficult) time, one who validates another person’s sinful choices, or the like is “courageous.”   The majority has always favored and encouraged sinful lifestyles.  But, the majority are on the “broad way” to “destruction” (Mat. 7:13).

Is it courage to choose to walk a way God has warned against walking?  Is it courage to choose whatever way feels or seems good to us (Prov. 14:12; 16:25)?  Is it courage to put a wall between ourselves and God (Isa. 59:1-2)?  Courage is defined by God differently.  Courage is standing up for God’s Word without fear (Phil. 1:14). Courage involves taking personal risk in order to do what pleases God (cf. Mark 15:43).  Courage involves sticking it out despite opposition and persecution from the world for doing what God says is right (John 16:33). Courage is not giving up, but doing what is right even when it means suffering for it (Acts 23:11).

Let us refuse to let the world define courage for us.  The world’s values are usually backward (cf. Isa. 5:20).  May we have the courage to let God tell us what it means to be courageous!