Category: Uncategorized

Neal Pollard

When Paul talks to Titus about salvation, it is no surprise that he deals with the work of Christ.  He gave Himself for us.  This so firmly implies the cross that one who has cursory knowledge of the New Testament knows what Paul means.  There are four beautiful qualities of God’s grace revealed by Paul here.

GOD’S GRACE IS EVIDENT (11).  It has appeared to all men.  Through the Bible, people of every land and language have heard the message of grace!  It is an unprejudiced, impartial gift, in that it is for all men!

GOD’S GRACE IS EDUCATIONAL (12).  Grace is not cheap!  It has a definite purpose, to teach us!  What it teaches us is sacrifice and self-denial.  To enjoy the benefits of grace, I must deny sin and live righteously.  I cannot go my own way, doing my own thing.  Grace teaches me differently.

GOD’S GRACE IS EXPECTANT (13).  That is its effect upon me.  G.W. Knight writes that “our expectant waiting for the blessed hope is spoken of as the appearing of ‘our Savior'” (The Pastoral Epistles, 326).  What He did at the cross leads us to look ahead to what He is going to do at the second coming.  I am looking for the fruition of grace, the future impact of grace upon my soul!

GOD’S GRACE IS EMANCIPATING (14).  It redeems us, meaning it set us free and paid the ransom for our captivity to sin.  It purifies us, meaning we are free from the stain and filth of sin.  Appreciating this wonderful freedom, we will be His and His workers in this world!  We are freed to serve Him, but what wonderful freedom!

God’s grace is sufficient because He is the one offering it.  It is so wonderful, but it does so much for our good.  It should move us to give ourselves totally to His service!  Thank God for His grace.

Neal Pollard

It was a special, feel good story whose cast of characters included men with names like “Pops,” “Candy Man,” “Mad Dog,” “Cobra,” “Crazy Horse,” “Matt The Scatt,” “The Frying Dutchman,” “The Hammer,” “Scrap Iron,” and “The Caveman.”  They had several feel good stories among their number. One of them had overcome a childhood disease, osteomyelitis, and wore a brace until he was 12.  One of them co-authored a book with a U.S. poet laureate.  One of them is said to have hit a home run while in the minors that went out of the stadium, landed in a coal car of a passing train, and was picked up in another state several hundred miles later.  They even had a theme song that captured the fact that even though they were quirky and not without a few colorful characters, they were a tight-knit bunch.  The Sisters Sledge hit, “We Are Family,” perfectly described the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team that won the World Series.  It had only one Hall of Fame player, Willie Stargell, but most of the rest of the team came together to have the best season of their career in 1979.  It is still one of the most memorable teams in all of sports history.

“Family” is a word with definite, strong connotations.  For many, the word evokes feelings of warmth and sweet memories of bygone days.  For some, it includes the presence of small and growing children who seem to enter a new phase of development weekly, if not daily.  For others, that brings back to mind a stage of life now long past.  The very name, “family,” brings sights, smells, and sounds into play to help us conjure up our personal pictures.  Uttering the word “family” may make eyes roll or light up with joy or both.

The New Testament, in several places, teaches the idea that the church is the family of God.  Paul tells Timothy we can can how to behave in God’s house (1 Tim. 3:15).  That extends to how we treat each other in our various age groups and both genders (1 Tim. 5:1-2).  Paul instructs Titus on how the older men and women and younger men and women are to act, emphasizing how the older are to teach the younger (Ti. 2:1ff).  Peter tells younger members how to treat the older members (1 Pet. 5:5).  The Ephesian epistle reveals how this spiritual family loves and is loved (1:4,15; 2:4; 3:17-21; 4:2,15; 5:2), accepts (1:6 + 4:2), supports and unites (note the use of the word “together” throughout the epistle; 1:10, 2:5, 2:6; 2:21; 2:22; 4:16), and unites (1:22; 4:1-3; 4:24; 4:32).

The ’79 Pirates have nothing on us, the church.  We are family!  This is not an organization with a paid, professional speaker, a board of directors, and a fraternity, club, or party bound by ideas and ideals.  Is that how you would describe your physical family?  No, it is how Lanny Wolfe described it.

We’re part of the family that’s been born again,
Part of the family whose love knows no end;
For Jesus has saved us, and made us His own,
Now we’re part of the family that’s on its way home.
And sometimes we laugh together, sometimes we cry;
Sometimes we share together, heartaches and sighs;
Sometimes we dream together of how it will be
When we all get to heaven, God’s family.

Neal Pollard

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”  Emerson was talking about integrity and fortitude.  Your past and future are not nearly as key to what happens to you as your character.

The history of humanity, of the family, of the church, and of the individual has always been filled with challenges of adversity, trials, threats, and fears.  It will continue to be that way until our Lord returns.  Life is about loss as much as it is about gain!  Pain and hurt are tenured professors in the classroom of experience, as surely as are joy and success.

How will we handle the hardships and disappointments of life?  It depends on what is within us.  More than that, it is determined by Who is in us.  Paul could say, “Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20; cf. Col. 1:27; Rom. 8:10).  He is also emphatic that the Holy Spirit is in each of us as Christians (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 3:16; etc.).  As we fill our hearts with His Word, we are shaping and molding our character to overcome our past and prepare for our future (Ps. 119:11). We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2).  As we are “renewed in the spirit of [our] mind” (Eph. 4:23), we better equip ourselves to face what we have to face in life.

That does not mean we become infallible or perfect.  The fact of our humanity ensures that, unfortunately, we will continue to sin and fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23).  But, churches, homes, and individuals have character.  The question always is, “What kind of character?”  That is determined by what (and Who) lies within us!

Neal Pollard

I had a good brother make an appointment with me yesterday to ask me that big, sobering question.  He wanted to know what I thought the church’s single greatest need was.  How would you answer that?  It is hard to settle on just one response, isn’t it?  You could say “leadership.”  You could say “belief in the inspiration and authority of scripture.”  You could say “more commitment.”  But, what do you think of this answer?  Our greatest need is divine dependency.

When setting our church budgets and personal budgets, when planning our lives, when seeking to save the lost, when considering church leadership, when approaching the Bible, or any other matter, do we rely more on self or God?  Spiritual growth, it seems to me, is interconnected with a growing dependency on Him.  It is how we survive the storms, cull sin out of our lives, reach out on those limbs of faith, and leave our comfort zones to perform greater service for the Lord.  If we limit ourselves to just what we can see and produce, we will dream and act so small!  If we include God in our plans or, more accurately, if we insert ourselves as tools in God’s hands to accomplish His plans, we will accomplish to His glory far more than we ever imagined.  Paul said, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).  Fill a church with people who are painfully aware of their limitations and God’s limitlessness, then turn the world upside down!  He will not penalize or punish us for tapping into His reservoir of blessings and resources!  He will show us just how much we can do when we totally, utterly depend on Him!

Neal Pollard

It was one of the lead stories on “Good Morning America,” the new “J Crew” ad featuring a mom painting the toe nails of her five-year-old son.  The image is accompanied by a quote from the mom and company designer, saying, “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink.  Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”  Of course, the media has seen to it that “experts” weigh in on this from both sides.  Some say the boy will need psychotherapy, while others decry concerns calling it harmless fun.

Radical feminism, for those who study it, is openly determined to feminize the male species in our society.  F.L. Morton and Rainer Knopff, in Revolution and the Court Party, write,

“Contemporary (or second wave) feminism has been aptly described as “Marxism without economics,” since feminists replace class with gender as the key social construct. Of course, what society constructs can be deconstructed.  This is the feminist project: to abolish gender difference by transforming its institutional source–the patriarchal family”‘ (p. 75).

Such ideology stems from the preconception that long-established, male-dominant cultures and ideas (like the Bible) have unfairly shackled women through elevating the male as head and leader.  An agenda has been underfoot for a couple of generations to dismantle the traditional family concept that puts the man as “head of the house.”  A part of this organized movement has been the blurring of gender and sexual lines, a confusing of roles and identities.

Apart from whatever other problems you may have with this advertisement, consider carefully the biblical angle.  That gender identity and role is vital to God is abundantly clear from Scripture.  From the beginning, God made us “male” and “female” (Mt. 19:4).  Under the Old Law, God wanted gender distinction and called attempts to blur it “abomination” (Dt. 22:5).  In the New Testament, we have the divine arrangement with the man as spiritual leader, loving his wife as himself, caring for her, and providing for her and the rest of the family (Eph. 5:22ff; 1 Tim. 5:8).

How does that align (or fail to align) with the advertisement in question?  While it cannot be proven to be an overt undermining of biblical roles, it might well be an attempt to encourage a blurring of gender identification.  As the father of three sons and the son of my father, I cannot imagine us sitting down to paint nails together.  In fact, you do not know how difficult it was for me to even try to imagine that or type it.  Why?  The very notion is unnatural!

As much as ever, we need strong families where mothers encourage the feminization of their daughters and fathers encourage the masculinization of their sons.  More than that, we need to be teaching each gender to embrace the roles God gives them.  Therein lies the moral fiber of society.  Radical feminism would destroy it!

 

Neal Pollard

Today, I took a trip down memory lane back into my boyhood past.  I saw the graves and home places of my ancestors.  I visited with older relatives on my father’s side.  In fact, this preaching appointment has proven a literal family reunion.  Shaking hands with people at church services yesterday, people of all ages–most of whom I have never met and the rest of whom I have not seen since I was a pre-schooler–walked past me telling me that we are related and what the connection was.  I believe half this congregation of 200 are relatives of mine.  It really heartens me to know that so many of my family members here are Christians, faithfully attending a very good congregation.

Today, I heard many stories about family members through the years.  Some of them have made me proud to hear while others, honestly, made me a little ashamed of those members of my family.  Some of the most encouraging stories were of those who had made some very bad decisions in the past, but whose repentance is both full and obvious.  Yet, through it all whether good or bad, these are inescapably, irrevocably my family.

Today, I thought about the congregations where I have attended and have served in my ministry.  The latter have usually been many miles (or states) away from my physical family.  In many respects, the church has become my family is the truest sense.  They have become surrogate parents and siblings.  That is exactly how Paul described them in 1 Timothy 5:1-2.  Peter did the same in 1 Peter 5:5.  We are part of the same “household” (1 Timothy 3:15).  Sometimes, this family falls short of our expectations and hopes.  Other times, members of this family far exceed them.  Still other times, family members make mistakes (don’t we all?) but recover from them in exemplary ways.  How many of our family members have overcome a shaky, shady past to be shining lights today?  But, through thick and thin, happiness and sorrow, our fellow Christians are family!  There is a much bigger picture than each of us as individuals or any crisis, issue, trial, or temptation.  As that familiar church song puts it, “We’re part of the family that’s on its way home.”  Let us not forget that as we live with and love one another.  We’re part of a family.  Inescapably.  Irrevocably.  Irresistibly!

 

Thom Vaught (Special guest Bread Blog Baker today)

For generations man has questioned what a soul is worth.  We can now say definitively that a new base model Soul costs just a little over $13,000.  However, a fully decked Sport model will set you back around $18,000 at full sticker price.  Certainly the Kia Motor company introducing the Soul meant no disrespect for the human soul.  Its name was meant to show the passion they have for automobiles as well as a homophone for the capital city of their home country of Korea.

Moving from the material to the spiritual it may seem illogical to question the price of a human soul.  However, during Christ’s ministry that very question was posed by our Lord to His disciples (Matthew 16:26).  He asked what would be gained if they were given the whole world in exchange for their souls?  Given the perspective of eternity, nothing is gained by forfeiting one’s soul even in return for the whole world.  This makes the soul valuable beyond measure to the person in question.

If the soul is priceless to the individual, what is it worth to another?  In other words, what is the fair value or price someone is willing to pay for your soul?  In order to make an honest assessment, you must consider the price paid in order to redeem your soul.  In that endeavor, God has spared no expense giving His best (Romans 8:32).  God allowed His only Son to come to earth and face a cruel death because of the value He placed upon your soul.

The fact that the Creator of the universe places so much value on your soul, should affect how you value souls as well.  When we take the heavenly perspective in evaluating the worth of the souls around us, it changes the way we think about souls.  Both your soul and the souls of those around you are priceless and Jesus paid the ultimate price to prove it.

 

Neal Pollard

Have you thought about all the advantages and blessings we enjoy these days?  We still live in more comfort and ease than the rest of the world here in this nation.  Without the stressors of persecution, privation, and peril, we have spawned quite a few philosophers–even in the field of theology.

Certainly, you see the dramatic changes and shifts in our culture brought about by new, succeeding world views and philosophies from modernism (denial of the Bible’s inspiration, miracles, etc.) to situational ethics (course of action depends on the situation and as long as love in the motivation the action is acceptable) to relativism (what’s right for me may not be right for you and vice versa) to pluralism (many paths up the mountain; i.e., many ways to view and follow God) to humanism (essentially, man is the highest authority left to determine his own way) to hedonism (pleasure is god).  Today, the post-postmodern thought sometimes called “emergent philosophy” is a direct descendent of these other ancestors.

In the wake of these ideologies, a culture has adopted a thoroughly secular, skeptical, and sensual point of view that affects how they view matters like God, the Bible, “church,” and Christianity.  The media normally depicts these in a roundly negative way.  Many average people, no longer having any religious affiliation, are traveling the road of life like one in a fast car at night without headlights.  They are hurtling toward eternal lostness without the benefit of the light of truth.

How do we reach such a culture?  What nuances, innovations, and techniques have the finesse to steer them toward the light?  May I respectfully say that while many have tried to ask the question in this way, it misses a timeless, powerful affirmation of scripture.  We may not enjoy or appreciate that affirmation, we cannot deny it without denying Scripture.  Paul wrote the church at Corinth, steeped in many of the same mindsets we face today thanks to Greek philosophy and Romanic culture, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.  Paul essentially says that you cannot find God through worldly thinking, whether you want signs of worldly wisdom (22). Then he says, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are” (26-28).

What do we have to offer the world?  It sees the message of the cross as either stumblingblock or foolishness (23).  Only those who hear the clear call of the gospel, who are seeking and hurting and receptive, can see the power and wisdom of God (24).  Usually, those folks are found numbered among the wise, mighty, or noble, as the world sees it.  The plain and simple message of Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2) is enough for the honest-hearted searcher (cf. Lk. 8:15).  That must be the drawing power, at the end of the day, and whatever approach we use to do that must not subtract or detract from that message!

 

Neal Pollard

With the snowfall overnight, I chose to run on the treadmill at the gym.  Over the course of a longer run it becomes necessary to find diversions.  I spend a lot of time looking up at ESPN on the TV, I try to find music on my Ipod that keeps me pumped, and I people watch as they come into or leave the gym.  Near the end of today’s run, I saw two women leave.  One of them hopped into her car and lit up a cigarette.  Here in the rarified air of Colorado, after a workout, that seemed like a baffling move.  How could one dirty their lungs after exercising presumably strenuously in the supposed motivation of improving the health?  It will give me plenty to ponder as I eat a bowl of Blue Bell tonight.

Seriously, it is an eye-opening illustration of ways we often shoot ourselves in the feet.  We pray, maybe fervently, for wisdom, then we turn around and speak or act without restraint and self-control.  We attend church services out of a love for the Lord but also a conviction that it will make us spiritually stronger, then we leave and may find ourselves thinking, talking, or acting in ways that displease the Lord.  We sing “Purer in Heart, O God” and “Nearer, Still Nearer,” then we allow our hearts and minds to drift far from Him for the next several days.  We all must guard against our own version of the “after-workout smoke.”

It is imperative that we partner our prayers, Bible study, worship, service, and other Christian duties with transformation.  These exercises are divinely designed to draw us closer to Christ, to make a difference in who we are, and to produce a better us.  Perhaps it is after we have engaged in them that we need to be most vigilant to guard against spiritual laxity and laziness.  I enjoy the many spiritual highs of Christian living, but I must realize that I can fall from those heights, too.  So I pray, “Lord, keep me from spiritual letdowns.”  Let me be steady and strong, and let me build wisely off of those spiritual highs!

 

Neal Pollard

Most languages and cultures have them.  Idioms, “A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words” (Mac dictionary), are commonly used but rarely analyzed.  Think about some you have heard and used all your life:

• Water seeks its own level
• It is raining cats and dogs
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• A picture paints a thousand words
• Back to the drawing board
• Beat a dead horse
• Can’t cut the mustard
• Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
• Everything but the kitchen sink
• Hit the nail on the head

Obviously, you could come up with hundreds more.  To take the words literally and at face value is absurd, yet they picture and illustrate concepts and ideas.  This is a literary device you will find many times in scripture:

• “A house divided against itself falls” (Luke 11:17).  Today, that means that without unity there will be failure.
• “Can…the leopard (change) his spots?” (Jer. 13:23).  Today, we use that idiom to express the idea of how difficult it is for a person to change.
• “Keep me as the apple of the eye” (Psa. 17:8).  We take this to mean one who is most cherished.
• “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings” (Psa. 17:8).  Today, this is used to depict one helping and protecting someone less strong or capable.
• “Go the extra mile” (cf. Mat. 5:41). Today, we say this to express doing more than is expected.
• “Do not cast your pearls before swine” (Mat. 7:6).  Do not give what is valuable to one who does not appreciate its value.
• “Break bread” (Acts 20:7).  That means “partake of food” or “eating of a meal.”

The study of idioms in the Hebrew and Greek is a rich, broad study.  They are found repeatedly throughout Scripture.  The presence of idioms there is but one example that shows the necessity of the student being ready and able to attempt to interpret what is read.  Some people do not like the word “hermeneutics,” and not just the people who think it sounds like an obscure branch of science or math.  Many who know what it means (and it means the “science or method of Bible interpretation) disdain the idea that the Bible must be interpreted, preferring instead to believe that each person approaches the same text but may draw any number of valid conclusions.  This boils down to the belief that there is no objective standard of truth, no pattern to be found.  They see the whole Bible as little more than a collection of quaint wisdom, idiomatic expressions, and inspirational material.  While it is wisdom (never quaint!), inspirational, and rich with literary devices, it is infinitely more.  It is a God-breathed volume (2 Tim. 3:16-17) that guides the obedient to heaven while condemning the rebellious to hell.  We should be “in the Book” every day, not as critics but as disciples, drinking up its truths and demonstrating them in our daily lives!

(with thanks to http://www.idiomsite.com and “Bullinger’s Figures of Speech Used in the Bible,” p. 837ff).

 

Neal Pollard

Coloradans who embrace the outdoors can connect with what I am about to describe.  There is a feeling that comes on a sunny summer day up in the mountains as you begin a hike, feeling alive with good health and experiencing the chill of the air so much a byproduct of the altitude.  As you walk through the canopy of trees on the trail, you enjoy the increased heart rate as you climb, perhaps hearing the sounds of birds or chipmunks and having sensory overload as you walk through a flower-bedecked meadow or catch a glimpse at the first majestic, snow-covered mountain.  You may see a stream rushing with water the result of the melt-off of the snow.  You smell the penetrating odor of conifers and other tree and plant life.  Taken together, these God-produced sights, sounds, and smells are enough to leave you feeling refreshed.  The purity of undisturbed nature paints a picture of God’s power and love.

A Christian has the potential to bear that unique aroma (cf. Phil. 4:18), that lovely appearance (cf. Isa. 52:7; Phil. 4:8), and clarion sound (cf. 1 Cor. 14:8).  Our presence in a room should make a noticeable difference, not that we draw attention to ourselves but that our distinctiveness is seen, heard, and felt by our Christlikeness.  When people expect pride but they see meekness and humility, when they expect vulgarity but they are met with pure speech, when they brace for retaliation but they are met with forgiveness and understanding, when they are stuck in the darkness but are met with light, it is so often refreshing to them.  No, many will not appreciate it (cf. Titus 1:15), but those worthwhile will.  They will see the purity of true, Christian living, borne out in the attitude, the speech, and the conduct, as a breath of fresh air!  May we order our lives that people see that in us today and every day!

 

Neal Pollard

When I was a boy living in Cairo, Georgia, my family took several trips to a place in Florida called St. George Island.  It was a beautiful strip of land wedged between Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  We would sit out on the porch of our hotel room at night and look at the vast array of stars with the ocean roar providing the sweetest background music.  We would comb the beach for shells and sand dollars.  We would get in and play in the water.  One year, when I was about eight, I was pushing the limits of safety by wading deeper and deeper into the water.  The waves were growing larger and larger, and I was having fun riding them up and down as they came past.  I remember looking back and waving at my parents, then turning around in time to misjudge the height and force of the incoming wave.  In a split second, I was underwater.  I remember seeing the water rushing and sea creatures beneath my feet.  I remember the feeling of terror and disorientation.  In what seemed an eternity, I was able to get to the surface and get back to water shallow enough to put down my feet.  Over 30 years later, I remember that vividly.

It often comes to mind when I read some inspired statements made in the Old Testament.  Facing the exile of his people and the devastation wrought by the Babylonians, Jeremiah wrote, “Waters flowed over my head; I said, ‘I am cut off!'” (Lam. 3:54).  David described his response to his sin in similar fashion, and though not mentioning water he paints a picture that makes me think of it when he says, “For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me” (Ps. 38:4).  Life can so overwhelm us, knock us off our feet, and disorient us!  It can hurt, frighten, and confuse us.  What do you do when that happens?  Prayerfully, you must try to get back on your feet and get your head on the right side of the water.  We need divine help in such times.  Like the Psalmist says, though, God “stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves, and the tumults of the peoples” (Ps. 65:7).  God will buoy us up and deliver us through the crashing of the waves that go over our heads.  We must never doubt that or give up when covered up!

 

Neal Pollard

Dan Williams sends out a very good daily email called “Preacher Stuff,” and today’s edition included an article by the Wall Street Journal entitled, “Why Do We Let Them Dress Like That?”  It is incredible to find a secular, media source taking a decided stance on a moral issue.  Jennifer Moses, a secular Jew, writes with her theory for why teen and pre-teen girls dress so immodestly these days.  She cites the experience of her own generation, the generation currently raising children, as being the first “to have grown up with widely available birth control…the feminist and postfeminist and postpill generation…and now…scads of us don’t know how to teach our own sons and daughters not to give away their bodies so readily” (wsj.com).  That girls today complain to their mothers that it is no big deal or just the style is no different from what other generations of teens have said to their parents, reminds Moses.  Yet, saddled with guilt, struggling with denial, or longing to bond with their daughters, she thinks this contributes to the ever-lowering of modesty standards.  And, with salacious, saturated sexuality on display everywhere you look, the pressure to conform mixed with parental baggage continues to trigger an increasing trend to take the foot off the brake and put both feet on the accelerator.

Christian parents are striving to raise godly daughters in the midst of this generation.  Jesus called His day an adulterous and sinful generation (Mark 8:38), an unbelieving and perverse generation (Luke 9:41), and a wicked generation (Luke 11:29).  From what we read of His day, surely our own qualifies as the same.  Few with influence in society at large encourage our girls to cover up, minimize provocativeness, or hide their sexuality from public view.  For that, Christians must heed the urging and instruction of Scripture.  Certainly, Paul (1 Tim. 2:9) and Peter (1 Pet. 3:3) remind Christian women that their focus is not to be merely on the external but to be modest and discreet.  The Lord does not want males or females accentuating their physical but rather their spiritual–the hidden person of the heart. Repeatedly, New Testament writers condemn “sensuality” (Mark 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; etc.).  Immodest clothing–be it brief, form-fitting, or the like–is unquestionably sensual.

Having a rational, reasonable explanation for the current immodest trends of society might appeal to our minds, but the Lord wants to reach our hearts.  We are here for the purpose of leading other people to heaven.  Everything about us ought to be a force that attracts people’s hearts to the Lord, not lures them away from Him!  Let us, men, women, boys and girls, be a source of light in a world of darkness (cf. Matt. 5:13-16)!

 

Neal Pollard

The word is out about the death today of Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor.  Movie critics, while saying that she was far from the best actress who ever performed, talk about how she was able to be successful on film through childhood, teen years, young adult, and into midlife and they talk about how naturally she connected with audiences through her physical beauty.  She was an award-winning actress, but she was probably more noted for the exploits of her private life than for anything else.  Today, Hollywood overflows with men and women engaged in the grossest of immoral behaviors, but she could certainly be considered a pioneer for such in relatively tamer times.

John Harti, at Today.com, in reviewing her life on and off-screen, reflected on her luring actor Eddie Fisher away from his wife and into a marriage with her (already her fourth), leaving Fisher for the already married Richard Burton (number five), and having a final tally of eight marriages, seven of which ended in divorce.  She was pregnant by Michael Todd before she made him husband number three, still being married to Michael Wilding.

While it is certainly social propriety to speak respectfully of the dead, Taylor’s legacy does not parallel that of men and women who have striven to respect God’s Word concerning marriage and morality.  One is left to think how responsible she was in helping create the terribly immoral culture that endemically permeates Hollywood today.  She was far from the first to have a prurient private life, but she did much to move such muck and mud from the mum to the marketplace!  Her behavior signaled, or at least accelerated, the trend in contemporary culture to glamorize and even idealize sexual lifestyles that flouted the biblical pattern for such behavior once held in much higher regard.

It is sad to know that she has made the transition from time to eternity.  As far as is known, she was not a New Testament Christian (her conversion to Judaism many years ago was much-publicized).  She seemed impenitent and lacking remorse for wielding such a toxic influence regarding marriage and sexual purity.  Yet, this is another firm reminder for us to look to the only proper place for guidance and truth regarding such matters.  Whatever the world validates and defends, our stand must be with God’s Word.  Try as many might, Matthew 19:9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21, and Hebrews 13:4 cannot be expunged from His inspired will.  Joe and Carolyn Barber, so long and faithful as members here at Bear Valley, are looking at 61 years of wedded bliss, a lifetime spent working together and being together and loving it.  They will never garner the attention of tinseltown stars and starlets, but they are the kind of people whose behavior in this realm should be displayed, written about, and showered with attention.  When I think of Ms. Taylor’s legacy, it simply makes me sad.

 

Neal Pollard

Can you believe that I routinely have locals ask me, “Where are you from?!”  They very often say, “You aren’t from around here, are you?”  Usually, this inquiry from them comes on the heels of my speaking, so I know exactly that to which they make reference.  When I lived in Virginia, people wrongly assumed I had a North Carolina accent.  Here, they have the audacity to think it a Texas or (gasp) Oklahoma drawl.  I very proudly correct them, saying that my twang is distinctly south Georgian!

Fortunately, few people have every told me that I should not speak with an accent.  It would be terribly difficult for me to accommodate that request.  The Lord is not concerned with the geographical, dialectical tendencies of my talk, but He is concerned about my speech!

Paul told a church to pray for him, “that I may make it (the mystery of Christ, v. 3) clear in the way I ought to speak.  Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.  Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Col. 4:4-6).  The subject of the context is evangelism, as Paul speaks of their praying for him to have an open door to teach the word (v. 3) and is concerned with conduct toward outsiders (v. 5).  According to this text, what is the way I ought to speak to non-Christians?

I should speak clearly (4:3). I should not leave vague or false impressions about what the Lord says or expects in His Word.  I should not compromise and I certainly should not get in over my head.  I need to study God’s Word carefully and regularly, then share it clearly.

I should speak wisely (4:5, 6). My entire conduct must conducted in wisdom.  It is possible for me to exercise foolish judgment and wind up not speaking in the way I ought to speak.  Paul connects speech and conduct here, saying in the same context that we should work to “know how you should respond to each person.”  That tells me at least two things.  First, if there is a way I should respond, there is a way or ways in which I should not respond.  Second, I need to realize that not everyone is the same.  Wisdom demands that I know very well my audience and respond as the situation or individual warrants.  Peter’s sermon to the Jews on Pentecost was totally different from Paul’s approach to the Gentiles in Athens.  Jesus handled the Pharisees in Matthew 23 much differently than He did the woman at the well.  Oh, how we need wisdom in speaking to non-Christians!

I should speak opportunistically (4:5). Making the most of the opportunity suggests that there may be times that are not good opportunities.  But, making the most means doing the best I can to get a person closer to obedience to Christ.  Experience tells me that abrasive, confrontational, and prejudicial tactics sabotage opportunities.  Paul is about to coach on how one makes the most of opportunities in the next verse.

I should speak gracefully (4:6). What does it mean for my speech to be with grace?  Dunn says “grace” here “certainly echoes the normal usage of χάρις in relation to speech, that is, ‘graciousness, attractiveness,’ that which delights and charms (NIGTC, 266).  That does not hint at compromise, but certainly means courteous and gentle.  Listening to Wayne Nelson preach at Bear Valley last night (http://bvccsermoncast.blogspot.com/), I thought how he absolutely epitomized this principle.  Who knows how many non-Christians will hear his lesson?  If they are reachable, his kind, caring speech will certainly aid that process.  I want to overflow with kindness, patience, and genuine concern when speaking to non-Christians about the gospel.  In fact, doing so is downright biblical!

 

Neal Pollards

Trials, inevitable to every individual, nonetheless come in every size and intensity.  Our fellow human beings in Japan are being subjected to an enormous burden that it difficult to imagine bearing.  Not only have thousands been ushered into eternity, but millions have been impacted in life-changing ways.  From threats of danger to subjection to daily privation and hardship, they are being severely tested.  Isn’t it amazing to see how bravely and stoically they are responding?

It is hard to know how an individual or even a group will respond to the trials of life.  There are, however, some common reactions to be found.  Consider a few.

Some blame.  In the book of Job, there were several who responded to Job’s crisis by turning to blame.  Job’s wife blamed God.  Job’s friends blamed Job.  Blame is a common response to trial.  One enduring a trial may blame other people and often they blame God.  Since there is hurt, they reason, someone must be to blame.  Yet, this does not solve the problem of trials.  It can lead to bitterness, loss of faith, and self-centeredness.

Some break.  This can take many forms.  It may be rebelliousness and sinful behavior or it may be a lost or damaged faith.  Satan believes that even the most seemingly faithful individuals, like Job, will break when subjected to severe enough trials (cf. Job 1:9-11).  Many do fall beneath the load of trials, lose their way or their trust, and let trials win over them.  It is understandable that trials would tempt us in this way, but this does not resolve the issue either.  It, too, misinterprets the cause and is ultimately hurtful to self and others.

Some bear.  How some bear up under the trials they face amazes me!  If you have seen the stories or footage of the Japanese standing in line for many hours waiting for a pittance of food or witnessed the lack of looting we are accustomed to expecting, you, too, have likely been touched at the brave, strong way a people has responded to the unimaginable circumstances they face.  I think of certain heroes of faith I have seen tackle their trials with unbreakable faith.  Like Job, they must live in the wake of a loss or losses that staggers our imagination to consider having to endure ourselves.  Whether it is recurring health issues, persecution, emotional pain, material loss, or some thorn in the flesh, some “endure.”  While these may not understand the trial and while such a response does not solve the problem of trials, this is the way the Bible encourages us to cope with life’s tests.  By hanging on and holding on, we, while growing stronger for the journey, are being better fitted for heaven.  Spiritual growth occurs, experience and perspective is obtained, all while strength is supplied by God to handle it all.

I do not relish or welcome trials.  Yet, they will come.  We are, right now, preparing ourselves for how we will respond when trials do come.  Let us ever build on the rock (cf. Mat. 7:24ff)!

 

Neal Pollard

With an earthquake registering about 9.0, countless aftershocks, a devastating tsunami that spanned nearly 5,000 miles of ocean, millions of Japanese without drinking water and electricity, running out of food, hundreds of thousands left homeless, fuel shortages, and a nation last week among the world’s financially better off now on the brink of economic collapse, one is left to think of several passages of Scripture.  David wrote, “Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am” (Ps. 39:4).  A later psalm says, “O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man is a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow.  Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke. Flash forth lightning and scatter them; send out Your arrows and confuse them.  Stretch forth Your hands from on high; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters…” (Ps. 144:3-7).

Today, my family and I stood on the Santa Cruz wharf in California, watching the high, choppy waves pound the shore.  Just three days ago, it was the site of the fingertips of the tsunami’s reach.  Yet, dozens of boats were destroyed and dislodged as if they were tiny toys.  Staring at the vastness of the sea and sensing its power, I am reminded that we are frail and dependent upon the Lord.  God’s power is boundless while natural disasters like the one gripping not just one country but threatening many others teach us our many limitations.  How amazing that despite our frailties and God’s endless strength, He made us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27) and He thought so specially of us in sending Christ to die for us (cf. Ps. 8:4; Heb. 2:6ff).  Christ is preparing a room for us in the Father’s house (Jn. 14:1ff).  We are vulnerable, but through Christ we can be victorious (1 Jn. 5:4).

 

Neal Pollard

We have three branches of government, a democracy, and a constitution.  We are governed by a representative government whom we help elect.  However, there are nations right now that are kingdoms ruled, some at least in a token sense, by kings.  Nations for centuries upon centuries have known the rule of kings.

God was the first king of Israel, and He wanted it that way forever (cf. 1 Sam. 8:7).  But, He knew that Israel would want an earthly king (Dt. 17:14ff).  At the end of the rough and rocky road better known as the period of the judges, the people used the excuse of Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah, to clamor for a king to judge them (1 Sam. 8:5).  Yet, Israel either states or implies several things in what they say next.

• They wanted a worldly king (1 Sam. 8:5; 20a).  They wanted a man like the other nations had over them.  No mention is made of his spiritual leadership or godliness.  In fact, the nations all around them were guilty of the most heinous, unrighteous behavior imaginable.  But it did not matter.  Whether peer pressure or envy, Israel wanted what the world had.
• They wanted a king in place of God (1 Sam. 8:8).  They already had the supreme Sovereign reigning over them, but they were dissatisfied.  They wished to pledge their allegiance to another.  God tells Samuel that this is just another example of the rebellion that had marked them since Egypt.
• They wanted a military king to provide them earthly security (1 Sam. 8:20).  Incredibly, Israel chose to ignore the greatest victories in history, from the departure from Egypt to Jericho to Ai and even the exploits of Samson a few generations before, in favor of a mere man who they felt would give them greater earthly ease.

Every time I read about this dark period in Israelite history, I think about my relationship to God.  What kind of king do I desire?  What sort of reign and rule do I want in my life?  Am I more interested in being led by the world?  Am I placing something or someone else upon the throne of my heart?  Am I more focused and interested on earthly security or eternal security?  These questions are not ones I can ask just once and be done with it.  Repeatedly, there will be a tug at my heart and a test of my loyalty.  Hopefully, through spiritual growth, I can settle in my heart the Lordship and Kingship of God!  I can say of God with the Old Testament writers, “There is none like You” (Dt. 33:26; 2 Sam. 7:22; Jer. 10:6).  We can read scripture and see that this King will be the ultimate, eternal victor and will reward His faithful subjects (1 Cor. 15:23-28).  Loyalty will be rewarded in unprecedented fashion (Mt. 25:34ff).  That’s the King I want!

 

Neal Pollard

A few years ago, Robert Samuelson wrote an editorial about Europe’s economic failure.  This was written before the housing bubble burst and the stock market had its huge plunge.  He believed that their shrinking population and longer living elderly population was seriously threatening their existence.  They wanted to live in both the worlds of socialism and democracy.  They wanted welfare and economic freedom.  Basically, people want things to continue going on like they are.  But, Samuelson called that complacency and wrote, “The status quo isn’t sustainable.”

That’s true, no matter what the subject.  You are not going to stand still very long.  If you do not make progress, you will go backwards.  If you are not growing, you are dying.  If you are not getting stronger, you are getting weaker.  It is easier for us to see others making the fatal mistake of complacency, but it is harder to see it in ourselves.

This satisfaction with the status quo is so popular because it is easier.  It is the path of least resistance, requiring the least effort, change, and challenge.  Someone has said, “Complacent people are like water, following the easiest course–which is downhill!”  But, our focus must be on the windshield, not the rearview mirror, as we head down the road (cf. Phil. 3:13-14).  The Bible is fairly replete with warnings against apathy and complacency (see Isa. 32:9-11; Prov. 1:32; Zeph. 1:12; etc.).  There are biblical warnings against those whose status quo is pretty focused on this life and this world.  It can include those who want to live in both worlds, who profess to be Christians but who do not really want Christ to transform their whole lives.

Are we going to be satisfied with the status quo, when it comes to church growth, evangelism, Bible knowledge, personal spirituality, or church leadership?  A high jumper broke a track meet record in the event.  A reporter asked, “How did you jump so high?”  He responded, “I just threw my heart over the bar and my body followed it!”  Let us have our hearts on helping the church grow, reaching the lost, and growing in our own spiritual service because the status quo isn’t sustainable!

 

Neal Pollard

DON’T:

1. Play politics (local or brotherhood)

2. Ride hobby horses

3. Forget your family

4. Look for the perfect church

5. Saddle yourself with debt

6. Be a slave to your passions

7. Be lazy

8. Be cliquish

9. Move into a glass house

10. Allow indiscretions with the opposite sex

11. Be satisfied with your level of competence

12. Cater to your audience’s desires or weaknesses

DO:

1. Be genuine

2. Be balanced

3. Be responsible

4. Be content

5. Be sensible

6. Be disciplined

7. Be productive

8. Be friendly

9. Be yourself

10. Be pure

11. Be hungry

12. Be convicted

THE EFFECTIVE PREACHER SHOULD:

1. Pray fervently!

2. Encourage (Acts 4:36)

3. Visit

4. Be organized

5. Study with diligence

6. Learn to love people

7. Be patient–it takes time

8. Do the work of an evangelist

9. Have hobbies

10. Take family vacations

11. Keep his heart right

12. Always be God’s man!!

“But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).

[This is the last week of my first time teaching Preacher And His Work in the Bear Valley Bible Institute.  As I wind down that class, the above, which was published in the POWER publication, Southaven, Mississippi, several years ago, seems a fitting summary of what seems to me a proper philosophy for the gospel preacher.  Hope you find it helpful]