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Neal Pollard

The righteous king, Hezekiah, was in trouble.  He was “sick and near death” (2 Kings 20:1).  Isaiah tells him to “set” his “house in order” because he was going to die.  What could Hezekiah say?  What would you have said?

Hezekiah appealed to his home in 2 Kings 20:3.  He mentions three qualities of it.  In his house, Hezekiah walked before the Lord in truth.  That suggests that he allowed God’s word to be the standard in his home, whatever the issue.  In his house, Hezekiah had a loyal heart.  Nothing more specific is said in this regard, so this could mean loyalty in any of his relationships.  Certainly, in context, it seems that Hezekiah included in that loyalty to God.  In his house, Hezekiah did what was good in God’s sight.  His morality, judgment, and leadership were aligned with Heavenly sight.

You may remember that, upon hearing this, God grants Hezekiah fifteen more years (2 Kings 20:6).  Unfortunately, he seems to have made mistakes that negatively impacted his home in that intervening period of time.  He allowed the king of Babylon to see the treasures of his house (2 Kings 20:12ff).  He also was too short-sighted to care that this decision would greatly harm his descendents (2 Kings 20:17-18), but all he got from that was superficial comfort in knowing there would be “peace and truth at least in” his days (2 Kings 20:19).

What a reminder that we can never ease up in our homes.  Those in our homes need us doing our part to keep the home like Hezekiah kept his up until the sickness that brought Isaiah to his door.  This is an ideal home.  Someone wrote,

An ideal home cannot be built with compass, rule or square

An ideal home cannot exist without our Jesus there.

An ideal home, where Jesus reigns and all on Him depend,

Alone can save our nation, doomed, from her untimely end.

Neal Pollard

In the July/August 2012 issue of Imprimis, put out by Hillsdale College, economist and author John Steele Gordon shared five “Economic Lessons from American History.”  It is a fascinating read, but this is not a review of it.  Near the end of the article, Gordon makes a point about what financial markets call a “strike of capital.”  In stressing that the stock market hates uncertainty (what financial policies and decisions government will make), corporations engage in a “strike of capital.”  Companies have plenty of money and are making a profit, but they are unwilling to invest it until they have a clearer picture about taxes, government control, and the like.  It makes perfect sense, though in the process it can impact prices, job availability, growth, and any number of related factors (Vol. 41, Nos. 7/8, 7).

While in economics this can be a prudent thing to do, it is never what God wants us to do spiritually.  What is the church’s capital?  Certainly, it is everything God gives in spiritual and material terms (cf. Eph. 1:3; Js. 1:17), but it inevitably includes the people who make up the church.  So, what is the Christian’s capital?  Essentially, it is his or her time, interest, money, ability, and anything else over which God has made him or her a steward.  Since God’s government and plan is always perfect, none of us ever has a right or reason to engage in a “strike of capital.”  We are nothing and can do nothing without Him, who gives us everything that we have in terms of our personal “capital.”  When we consider that we are to use everything to advance His cause and glorify His name, we must continually invest accordingly (cf. Mat. 6:19-21).

Could it ever be that, without consciously doing so, we are engaging in a “strike of capital”?  What we are talking about goes beyond crashes, bulls, or bears.  We are talking about eternal accountability!  God has us here to do His business.  Let us put that “capital” to use!

 

Neal Pollard

Author Jeramy Clark has written, “The tragedy of our age is that we’re at a crossroads, but all the signposts have fallen down.”  He was writing about teen and young adult-related matters, and we could talk specifically about any number of signposts.  The question is, “How do we, as parents, react to this tragedy?”

We could be apathetic, but how could we dare fail to care?  We could be dismissive, saying that sinful actions or habits are a phase or inevitable, but how could be cavalier when souls we helped bring into being are in the balance?  We could be helpless, but how could we abdicate our God-given roles?  Under-reaction is not the answer.

We could become protective, smothering, and paranoid, but that could easily stunt the emotional and spiritual growth of our children.  We could become fearful and irrational, but that is contrary to the spirit we are to possess.  Overreaction is not the answer, either.

As the father of three teenage boys, I realize how scary the process is.  I made my first “college drop” last week, leaving my oldest son at his dorm 1,400 miles from our front door.  I remember how scary it was when we started the driving process.  We are in the middle of that with our middle son.  Driving is dangerous.  If it is done incorrectly, it can be deadly.  But, what is the answer?  Don’t let them drive until after they graduate, get a job, and get married?  Is it to turn let them behind the wheel without rules, guidelines, and plenty of practice?  No!  It is to train them, trust them, and turn them loose.

It can be scary, difficult, and overwhelming, at times, to do the job God bequeathed to parents (cf. Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4).  At best, we will repeatedly stumble and fail.  There will be a measure of regret.  Our work is to instill, by example and teaching, the mind of Christ in them, and then give them grace and accountability to put it into practice themselves!  I just wish it was easier!

Neal Pollard

In Jack Hoagland’s prayer yesterday morning, he said something that struck me!  While I will not be able to quote it verbatim, in essence he said, “Please help us to pursue the world, not that we would be like it but that we would make it like Jesus.”  What a beautiful, biblical thought.  How many times have we preached and taught that we should not pursue the world.  In one sense, that is definitely true.  Some pant and long for the world.  They pursue its ways, its praise, and its gaze.  Thus, it is wrong to pursue the world in order to be like it.  But, at least as far back as Jonah, we find God commanding His servants to pursue the world to bring the world back to Him.

We need a revival of Christians pursuing the world in order to make it like Jesus!  We need to create and foster relationships with non-Christian co-workers, neighbors, and friends, with whom we can share Jesus!  That was what the early church did.  Even when scattered from their homes, they “went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).  They even managed to “turn the world upside down” with their teaching (Acts 17:6, NKJ).  Their pursuit led to the gospel being preached to every creature under heaven (Col. 1:23).

A couple of weeks ago, CHP officer Roman Gardia was sitting at his desk in East Los Angeles when he heard about a speeding motorcyclist who refused to pull over for police.  The pursuit went several miles, through multiple jurisdictions.  When he heard that the speeder was coming into his area, Gardia jumped on his motorcycle and went out onto the highway.  He slowed traffic, waiting for the suspect to approach. The suspect wove into the right lanes and Garcia positioned himself on the shoulder with his own motorcycle in the bike’s path. The suspect had to stop and get off the bike, and Gardia jumped off his own bike and tackled the suspect.  Dramatically and even heroically, Gardia pursued his man in the name of the law.

We are not police officers, trying to coerce or strong-arm people into following Jesus.  Yet, should we not imitate the spirit of this man, going after the lost with the same energy and determination?  May our daily prayer indeed be, “Please help us pursue the world!”

Neal Pollard

On July 20, Kyle Wiens, a CEO for two technology firms, told Harvard Business Review in no uncertain terms that grammar matters!  In plain language, Wiens called grammar relevant and a sign of credibility, competence, and intelligence.  He said, “In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in emails, and on company websites, your words are all you have.  They are a projection of you in your physical absence” (http://blogs.hbr.org).

I am not sure how that strikes you, especially if you do not share my affinity for “grammatical correctness.”  While I am far from flawless in such matters, I believe such really matters!  Writing makes an exact man, but poor writing can exact much from a man’s influence and effectiveness.  The same rules apply to one’s level of success oratorically.

Yet, good men with a great message have been able to rise above such deficiencies in time.  However, from a heavenly perspective, God cares about the nature and quality of the words we communicate.  Wiens is especially on target when he says that your words “are a projection of you in your physical absence.”  Applying that to wherever our words appear on the internet, this is a sobering thought.  Did you realize that you are painting a picture of yourself with your words?  They say so much about your temperament, personality, interests and passions, level of dignity and class, mindset, and degree of spirituality.  This is reflected in how you respond to others, what you articulate as items of meaning in your life, and how often your outlook is positive or negative.

God desires Christians to be salt and light (Mat. 5:13-16).  This is to prove oneself blameless and innocent, holding forth the word of life (Phil. 2:15-16).  To this end, Paul frequently challenges us to let our speech be with grace (Col. 4:6), communicating kindness, wisdom, patience, and gentleness (2 Tim. 2:24-26).  Our speech is one of the major ways we represent Christ, for good or ill.  What are your words saying about you (and Him)?

Neal Pollard

Earlier this week, NASA’s rover, “Curiosity,” landed on Mars and immediately began transmitting photos of the planet surface back to earth.  Scientists involved in this expedition are hopeful of finding clues and even evidence of past life on this planet.  Thus marked day one of a two year mission, as the rover will rove the red planet on its quest.  It weighs a ton and is the largest, most complex “mobile laboratory” ever to land on another planet.  It will scale a three-mile-high mountain over the next several months, seeking signs of life (Robert Lee Hotz, Wall Street Journal, 8/7/12, A1-2).

The Bible gives no creation account for other planets, and it is unfathomable that Curiosity will be satisfied on this mission.  What is so interesting is the great lengths men are willing to go to pursue life (Martian life, no less) on another planet, but will resist and reject the only life that counts on this one.  We know that God sent His Son to this planet to die for sinners, which is all of us (Rom. 3:23; 5:8).  Jesus came here that we may be able to go to heaven in what will be the greatest expedition of all time and eternity.  But, we must have hearts, heads, and hands open to what God offers.

Great expense, time, technology, effort, and knowledge went into this latest expedition, one that will undoubtedly prove futile.  Tragically, the majority suffers a total lack of curiosity about pursuing the life in Christ.  It is freely, universally available.  God left a Book describing what it takes to have “life indeed” (cf. 1 Tim. 6:19).  He brought the answers to us!  But, He leaves it to us to pursue it.

 

Neal Pollard

Jeremiah’s work as a prophet is something from which Christians, especially preachers, can learn so much today.  He was put down, persecuted, and pressured from every side, just as he was warned from the beginning of his work for God.  As God braces him for the challenges he would face, He tells him there is something for him not to say, be, or do.  These same admonitions can guide us as we live the Christian life.

There Is Something Not To Say (Jer. 1:7).  Jeremiah was instructed not to talk about his perceived disadvantages and shortcomings.  For him, it was his youth.  May I suggest that you can always find an excuse for not serving Christ.  All of us have deficiencies, but that is the beauty of partnering with God.  As Paul said, regarding God’s response to his “thorn in the flesh,” “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake ; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).  You can always talk about impediments.  God wants you to focus on what He can do through you.

There Is Something Not To Be (Jer. 1:8).  Jeremiah was going to be put through the ringer, so we can sympathize as he may have been filled with fear.  God anticipated as much, telling him, “Do not be afraid of them.”  Evangelism can be daunting business.  We imagine all kinds of negative responses to our overtures, and sometimes we will even experience rejection and possibly ridicule.  Let us remember what the timid Timothy was told, that “God has not given us a spirit of fear” (2 Tim. 1:7).

There Is Something Not To Do (Jer. 1:17ff).  In telling Jeremiah not to be dismayed, there is an implication that in his distress he might remain immobile.  God says, “Gird up your loins and arise.”  To faithfully serve God, we cannot let fear (or worry, laziness, apathy, etc.) paralyze us.  The one talent man was condemned, not for doing wrong but for doing nothing!  May we remember this!

In serving God, do not speak of your shortcomings, remain in your fears, or become immobilized.  The hymn exhorts us to say with another prophet, Isaiah, “Here am I!  Lord, send me!”

Neal Pollard

Entitlement  has been defined as “the fact of having a right to something; the amount to which a person has a right” (Apple Dictionary, Version 2.0.3).  Investigating its etymology, one will find its roots in the French language and the Medieval era in reference to giving a title to a chapter or book, the bestowal of a rank or office, to give someone title to an estate or property and thereby giving that one claim to possession or privilege” (Harper, 2012).  Today, the word has come to be associated with one’s sense that something is inherently owed to him or her simply because of who he or she is.  For example, the idea is, “Since I am an American, since I am married, since I am an employee of this company, since I am a consumer, or since I am a member of this church….”  Countless “then” statements may follow the “since” claims, but the idea is of an expectation which it is unreasonable for others to deny.

This sense of entitlement has grown through the past half century or more.  Peoples of a less privileged era, like those who endured the Great Depression and World War II, operated from a different paradigm and worldview.  They saw themselves more as servants and contributors, more often seeking the good of their congregation, community, family, workplace, and the like. Their focus was more on doing for others rather than having others do for them.  Perhaps it was the prosperity and cultural changes that followed the aforementioned war.  The last few generations have known relative peace, security, prosperity, and ease.  Seemingly, this has caused a growing majority to expect such to be the norm and the deserved.  Students of history know better.

So should students of the Bible.  Scripture warns against being at ease such that comfort and wants become expectations (Ps. 73:12; Isa. 32:9ff; Eze. 16:49; Amos 6:1; Lk. 12:19).  A “sense of entitlement” is a euphemism for self-centeredness.  The entitlement culture eventually chokes its citizens to spiritual death.  May we guard against approaching life with a sense of entitlement.  God says what we deserve is His wrath, but He gave us His mercy and grace (Eph. 2:3-4).  May this humble us and shape our approach to what our duty, service, and outlook should be in our every relationship.

Neal Pollard

There is a group of people right now who are probably facing as much heat and peer pressure than anyone else in our culture.  They identify themselves by race and a moral issue, one that is certainly the current focal point of the popular media.  They are conservative, black ministers who insist that they stand with the Bible on what defines marriage and, thus, are in absolute disagreement with the president on the matter of same sex marriages.  Dr. Bill Owens, Sr., founder and president of the national “Coalition of African American Pastors,” noted that the Civil Rights Movement was significant in making it possible for our president to be elected but that this movement did not involve suffering and death in order to enable men to marry men and women to marry women.  Emmett C. Burns, Jr., a very prominent black, Baltimore preacher, publicly withdrew his support of the president over his same sex marriage support.  Tony Evans, bestselling author and megachurch pastor, told NPR in forthright terms that “The Bible is clear…sexual relationships are to be between men and women within the context of marriage” (npr.org). Lorenzo Albacete points out that black religious leaders in North Carolina helped to defeat a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage and domestic partnership (www.ilsussidiario.net).  On the other coast, Dr. Ken Hutcherson, a Baptist pastor, said “that he would never vote for someone who believes in same sex marriage and abortion, ‘regardless of who it is, regardless how white they are, regardless how black they are'” (www.christianpost.com).

In a social climate polarized, sometimes blindly, along racial, economic, and other special interests lines, how refreshing to see a group of people uniting and looking past color and trying to arrive at a decision based on right or wrong rather than a lesser agenda.  While these men are tragically wrong on some fundamental doctrinal points that are of eternal importance, they are praiseworthy for exemplifying honesty on this issue.  Their spirit of courage challenges us to be loving and kind, but firm and forthright in defense of God’s will.

This is not a political commentary.  There are troubling stands taken by both our major parties.  This is about homosexuality and society. God has made His “position,” as creator and founder of marriage and the home, crystal clear.  His “creation” are beholden to follow it or disregard it to their own everlasting harm.  I am thankful for those who do not put politics before biblical precepts.  May we imbibe of their spirit when it comes to all biblical matters.

Neal Pollard

Maybe you have heard about the generous pledge made by Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos to help pass a same-sex marriage referendum in the state of Washington.  Bezos, founder of Amazon, intends to give $2.5 million to this cause.  The obvious, anticipated question is, “Where is the outrage over this decision?”  Bezos did not merely affirm his point of view about marriage, he backed it up by enriching the ability of proponents of the measure more than two-fold.  No mayors are urging a boycott of Amazon, no news stories decrying the bias or prejudice of the Bezos family.  Instead, what media coverage I’ve seen and heard has been decidedly positive.

Certainly, none of this should surprise us.  The devil has control of this world, as it has been throughout earth’s history.  The world’s course of thinking has always “won” the day with the majority.  The Bible tells us as much.  Paul wrote, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:1-3).  He also said that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Co. 4:4).

It seem to me that it is right to be outraged by the hypocrisy of the media’s handling of Dan Cathy’s statement and Jeff Bezos’ obscenely large donation, but don’t be surprised by it.  John simply says, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you” (1 Jn. 3:13).  Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (Jn. 15:18).  See, our values and convictions were not formed from our own thoughts and feelings.  We simply seek to stand by, defend, and be guided by what the Bible says on the matter of both marriage and homosexuality.  Maybe we should stop waiting for the world to accept the beliefs we hold, and instead try to lovingly, patiently teach them and know that those open to God’s will are going to accept it.  The rest will simply follow the course of this world.

Neal Pollard

The Master calleth through the word,
“Get in the harvest field!”
He says, “Go plant the precious seed,
And I’ll provide the yield!”
To whom saith He, “Go plant the seed”?
Who hath th’eternal task?
Who must give answer, “Here am I”?
For, sure, the Lord doth ask.
As we are going, we must strew
The seed in the hearts of neighbors,
With kindness and firmness and love of God,
We must be about such labors.
And, with our substance from our toils,
We must give a liberal yield,
To send our brothers and our sisters
To the worldwide mission field.
For those who tread the narrow road
In strange and foreign lands,
Who lay down luxuries and give up ease
To dirty their own hands.
By planting seed in new ground,
Where yet God’s word must go,
Pray for these harvest laborers,
Who all over the world seed sow.

Neal Pollard

“What should I call you?” I’m often asked

With such a dilemma I find I am tasked

In such a moment it is harder to teach

If that good person I hope to reach.

I tell them, “Just call me by my first name,

No need for a title, if it’s just the same.”

But if in a position on this to be a teacher,

Here’s what I say they should call the preacher.

“Preacher, evangelist, and also minister,”

Much more than that and it can get sinister.

“Pastor,” not applicable if as an elder not serving,

To wear that as title the preacher’s undeserving.

“Reverend” is a name the Bible reserves for God

So that’s really a path that no man should e’er trod.

“Father?” well Jesus has weighed in on this,

Call no man that, religiously. That name we dismiss.

“Bishop,” like pastor, refers to another role,

Avoiding that as title for preacher’s is the goal.

Titles, in general, I find unnecessary,

They help not my work, even to the contrary,

Set me up, elevate me, give me undue glory,

So instead of rambling, let me sum up this story,

A preacher’s work and his life is a blessing,

He needs no high titles or moniker window dressing.

Neal Pollard

Greek Triple jumper, Voula Papachristou tweeted herself right out of a spot in the 2012 Olympics in London.  What she said was only 15 words long, followed by three exclamation points.  But the racial overtones of her statement were enough to get her ousted from the games.  At first she sloughed it off, but then she issued a series of apologies.  None were enough to save her from being banned.

In the long ago, King David prayed, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips” (Ps. 141:3).  This should be the daily prayer we all pray.  With twitter, Facebook, and other social media proliferating our words, this prayer extends to the words we type as well as speak.  We have become too comfortable with unguarded mouths and unwatched lips.  The damage of that is immeasurable.

Please give me a mouth guard when teaching or preaching.  May I give careful thought to say what is accurate and biblically true (cf. Js. 3:1).  May I humbly correct (2 Tim. 2:25), preach with great patience (2 Tim. 4:2), and speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).  May I neither add to nor take away from that Holy Word (cf. Rev. 22:18-19).

Please give me a mouth guard when speaking to the lost.  May my speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 4:6).  May it be sound speech beyond reproach (Ti. 2:8), exemplary speech (1 Ti. 4:12), bold to share Jesus but gentle, patient, and kind (2 Ti. 2:24-26).

Please give me a mouth guard when speaking to other Christians.  May my words sustain weary brethren (Isa. 50:4).  May my words, filtered through thorough self-examination, gently restore the erring (Gal. 6:1). May it be what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29).  May I reprove and rebuke (2 Ti. 4:2), moved by transparent, known love and care (cf. 1 Pe. 2:17).

Please give me a mouth guard when speaking to my family.  May I not treat them more harshly than I treat strangers, speaking cruel, bitter, or hateful words to them (cf. Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:19).  May I not neglect to speak wholesome, encouraging words to them. May I shudder to neglect speaking constantly to them of spiritual things (Dt. 6:1-6).

Voula is paying for her reckless speech.  My fervent prayer is that I may avoid that fate eternally.  Jesus says our every word will be judged (Mt. 12:36-37).  Lord, please give me a mouth guard!

Neal Pollard

It appears that the perpetrator of last week’s massacre in Aurora sent his diary to a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado, from which college he had formally withdrawn the previous month.  It details meticulously what he intended to do.  It might have prevented the tragedy, a grievous, bitter thought in the aftermath of the carnage.  But, it was not opened until four days later!  It was found, still in the package, in the school’s mailroom.  Police said, “There were drawings of what he was going to do in it–drawings and illustrations of the massacre” (via TheDenverChannel.com).

We cannot know if the shooting could have been prevented, even if the package had been opened.  It depends on who would have opened it, when, and how motivated one might have been to alert police prior to the attack occurring.  But, in that the book was not opened, it had no chance of saving any of those who’s life was either ended or permanently changed.

There is another book that has gone unopened by the majority.  It is a book that details life rather than death.  It inspires hope and not fear.  It details, step by step, where we all came from, why we are here, what we are to do, and where we are going.  It has never failed to lead its readers to the best life now and the only desirable life to come.

If there is a tragedy greater than Aurora, this is it!  You and I have the opportunity to help people open the book by which they will one day be judged (cf. John 12:48; Rev. 20:12).  May we do whatever we can to help other people open the book of books.  May we open it ourselves, to govern and guide our own lives.  To do otherwise is the grossest neglect imaginable!

Neal Pollard

On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy gave his inaugural address as president of the United States.  In it, he ends with these famous words: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”  What a great challenge to a nation, for each citizen to see his or her responsibility and place and to center on service rather than self-service.

What about the church?  What should our disposition be?  Should we take the tack of entitlement or encouragement?  Could we not borrow a page from the late president’s playbook and reframe the question?

Ask not, “What is the church doing for me?”  Ask, “What can I do for the church?”

Ask not, “Why aren’t you serving me?” Ask, “How can I serve you?”

Ask not, “What are you doing?” Ask, “What can I do?”

Ask not, “Why aren’t you better/more?” Ask, “Where can I improve?”

Ask not, “Why aren’t you?” Ask, “Why am I not?”

May we never fall into the trap of setting up a double standard, especially if we expect of others more than we can or are willing to produce ourselves.  The old folks would call that “sweeping around your own front door.”  Jesus said it this way, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Mat. 7:1-5).

This is an oft-abused passage, but surely its application here is unmistakable. Let us recognize each other as fellow-strugglers, but also fellow-servants.  None of us have been called to walk the red carpet, but rather to use the servant’s towel.  We have been called to serve, not be served (cf. Mat. 20:28).

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!