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Neal Pollard

The Agony of Deceit is a book edited by Michael Horton written to expose the fraud of so many televangelists out there.  Yet, his book is not entirely written in fury and rage against the perpetrators of the deceit.  He also focuses on the responsibility hearers have in being discerning.  Horton writes, “A lot of people, I think, who watch Benny Hinn or watch the TV evangelists more generally, think that what they’re saying is authoritative–after all they’re on TV and they’ve written books. And we’ve lost the capacity to think critically and to weigh people in light of what the scriptures teach” (as quoted in http://www.religionnewsblog.com).  It is all the more amazing that Horton edited this book 20 years ago.  Televangelism may have lost some steam, but Horton’s observation is timeless.  Any time and place where people are not in the Book and do not see the Bible as an objective, authoritative standard that could not be more relevant and meaningful to their lives, people are rife to be religiously deceived.

Look at how often New Testament writers warn churches and individuals about the danger of being deceived.  Paul warns Ephesus, “Let no one deceive you with empty words” (Eph. 5:6).  Paul warns Thessalonica, “Let no one in any way deceive you” (2 Th. 2:3).  Paul warns Timothy, “But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Ti. 3:13).  Paul tells Titus, “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers” (Ti. 1:10).  John tells the chosen lady and her children, “Many deceivers have gone out into the world” (2 Jn. 7).

Why all the warning?  God knows that intellectual laziness regarding scripture makes us quick and easy prey for deceivers.  He knows the agony that falling for such will bring into our lives, especially in light of eternity.  The antidote to deception is reception (Js. 1:21–“in humility receive the word implanted”) and conception (Ps. 119:104–“From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way”).  Maybe we would not ever think ourselves capable of falling for a Benny Hinn, but we must guard against those much more subtle, crafty, and nearer to biblical truth who nonetheless are teaching error.  Information and perspiration leads to transformation and away from spiritual deformation.

Neal Pollard

I find it interesting that one of the first Khmer words I ever learned was the word for “I” and “me.”  This makes sense.  To say, “My name is Neal,” I had to learn to say “Knyom chmuah Neal.”  When trying to stumble through songs written in Khmer, I happened to learn my first Khmer word by sight.  When written, it looks similar to an upside down, backward apostrophe.  When the congregation is singing, I always chime in when I see the “knyom.”  I see it and know it better than any of the others.  Only yesterday, on my third overall trip to Cambodia and eleven days into seeing and hearing and trying to speak Khmer on this trip, I finally learned the word for “you.”  It is “nyet.”  The word is shorter and easier to say.  I am still amazed that it took me so much longer to learn to say it.

Look back at the last paragraph.  I used some form of the word “I’ 17 times, but the word “you” only twice.  It is human nature for us to be more inclined toward “me” and less inclined toward “you.”  So many are so caught up in talking about “I,” “me,” and “my” that they cannot see others, let alone Christ. It is all about “me” (my family, my children, my interests, my wants and desires, and my will).  Yet, that is so contrary to the biblical model for behavior in a Christian.  Apparently, Euodia and Syntyche were “me-deep” in self (Phil. 4:2).  When we are caught up in ourselves, we are ineffective at holding up the Light of the word to those in darkness.  Paul’s inspired remedy for this problem is found in Philippians 2:3-4.  He essentially says, “Consider others are better or more important than self.”  Show interest in the other person.  Focus more on them and less on yourself.  More importantly, focus most on Christ.

The word needs far less “knyom” and much more “nyet.”  Most of all, it needs “Pray Yesu.”  Let us do our part!

Neal Pollard

We are having a wonderful time!  That is not as much of a “slam dunk” as it may sound.  The heat is oppressive, so much that we are constantly uncomfortable and sweating.  Though there are “western restaurants,” the food is often not nearly “up to par.”  We cannot speak the language that all those around us are speaking.  We are all separated from most of our closest friends, family, and loved ones.  In fact, we are thirteen hours ahead of the Mountain Time Zone, so we do not have many hours of the day when we are both awake at the same time.

So, how could we be having a wonderful time?  Upstairs, Sheryl, Kathy, and Teri are teaching the Christian young women who are students about to graduate here or are members of the local church.  Wes and Justin Guess, a preacher from Mathis, Texas, and fellow Southwest graduate of Phanat Ouch, are studying with three non-Christians in the office of the school.  Quinton Decker and I have been studying with several others non-Christians in the kitchen.  In the main room, Bob Turner is teaching the male students about to graduate.  The same gospel that has called us out of darkness and into the light is proving its power as it meets open, tender hearts.  I am in great hope that many of these young men and women, who were contacted through friendship evangelism, will obey the gospel.  The gospel, when taught, works anywhere there is a person open to it and willing to obey what it says do.  That fact alone is so powerful it eclipses any heat, rain, discomfort, culture shock, and the like.

Thank God for His eternal wisdom!

Neal Pollard

Though this is my third trip to Cambodia, I continue to see and watch new things develop and experience some things for the first time.  As we are spending more time in the villages apart from a church building, we are seeing “native habits” like I have not in previous trips (just ask my wife or Wes).  But I am also seeing an exciting development.  The church is growing and it reminds me so much of what I read in the New Testament.

First, there is a similarity in the general circumstances of both groups.  The early church relied a lot on “slower” means of transportation to carry the gospel, and that is typical here.  While not as many walk from place to place here as in some, other impoverished countries, many of the people (especially in the
villages) could not imagine taking a plane trip, riding a train, or riding in some types of vehicles.  But, they are taking the gospel as they go.  The early church faced stiff opposition from the religious majority and such is the case here where 95% of the population is Buddhist.

But the greatest, most exciting comparison concerns the way the church has grown.  The church began in Siem Reap just a few short years ago, in 2006 or 2007.  As conversions continued, there was a need and opportunity for a Bear Valley extension school to begin.  Because of this, 16 individuals are about to graduate and go to different parts of this country with the gospel.  But this is not a commercial for the BVBID.  It is about what this congregation has done.  One of her students went out to nearby Leang Dai, where some of the early Siem Reap members called home.  Slowly and amidst great persecution and opposition, the Leang Dai congregation has taken root with conversions in the nearby Sum Roun and Saray villages.  Efforts are going on elsewhere, but another student went a different direction and taught his family and friends in Takam village.  20 baptisms occurred there on one Sunday to begin the church several weeks ago.  As this first group graduates and goes to their home villages or works together to plant a church in a given area, the gospel will keep spreading.

Acts 1:8-11 recounts the departing charge of Jesus for His followers, to start where they were, go nearby, and then ultimately spread out to the farther reaches with the good news.  They did that and the church was planted all over the known world of their day (Col. 1:23).  Do not be surprised to see the same, what with all the ambitious, zealous seed planters who have found out who they are, why there are here, and where they are going.  What can we do, in the little corners of each of our worlds, just by taking to heart what these dear brethren have– to the same extent and with the same zeal?

Neal Pollard

Our Savior walked the earth 2000 years ago.  To comprehend such a length of time and the changes that have occurred since then, the change in world powers, the civilizations that have risen and fallen, and the things invented and destroyed, one needs a giant imagination.  Entire libraries could be filled with the books which have been written about that span of time.  Languages have been invented.  Whole peoples have come into existence.

One of the most fascinating side lines of Bible history concerns the contemporaries of Shem.  Kevin Bacon has nothing of this son of Noah  In the January 9, 1884, edition of Gospel Advocate, B.W. Lauderdale, made a very interesting observation:

Methuselah was contemporary with Adam 243 years, and could learn from him the history of the world for over 900 years.  Methuselah was also contemporary with Shem 98 years and could transmit to him the history of the world for 1656 years.  Further, Shem lived 502 years after the flood, and was contemporary with Abraham 149 years. (Abraham was born 352 years after the flood.) (Lipscomb 20).  That means that Shem, being contemporary with Abraham as well as with a man who was contemporary with Adam, had access to 2000 years of history.

Did Methuselah converse with his great grandpa, Adam, in the two and a half centuries of time they shared?  Did Adam recount the fall, the walking, talking serpent, and the angels guarding the garden?  Did he talk about attending the first funeral?  What tales of creatures and civilization did Methuselah have for Shem?  Did Abraham sit at grandpa Shem’s knee and hear him talk to the man who talked to the man who lived alongside the first man?  Shem could touch two millenia of time by his contact with just two individuals–Methuselah and Abraham.

Foremost, the Bible contains the mind and will of God and is full of teaching and instruction concerning everything we need for life and godliness.  It contains that which will some day be used to judge mankind.  This fact concerns heaven and hell matters.  Yet, in addition to that, it contains truths and facts that fascinate to no end.  I have known some interesting characters in my life, including a man who conversed with several presidents, war heroes, and movie stars.  That man, an elder in the Lord’s church for many years (and still alive today), worked as a young man interviewing Civil War veterans’ widows and spent time excavating fascinating archaeological finds.  He is a reservoir of history and interesting information, but what must Shem have been like as a conversationalist?  He had firsthand exposure to living history from the first man at the beginning of time to the man who was the father of the Jewish nation.

Neal Pollard

Nigeria has suffered from a spate of building collapses due to builder negligence.  In the Lagos suburb of Bariga, a building collapsed due to the contractor using bamboo as rebar in the foundation.  A three-story building built over a drainage channel in Orile-Iganmu caved in and killed five people. The country has no enforceable national building code, often uses unskilled laborers, has negligent inspection practices, and generally lacks a uniform checks and balances system to hold builders accountable.  This has led to widespread concerns that a great many more buildings, often on shoddy foundations, will eventually buckle (allafrica.com).

Entire lives and even institutions are the same way.  Godless communism is a sandy foundation since it does not honor hard work or achievement, thus killing incentive, ethics, and ultimately morality.  Godless capitalism is as shaky a foundation, where greed, lust, and avarice blind people to their moral responsibilities in pursuit of materialistic goals.  Godless autocracy will cause a society to crumble as it is rife for corruption, violence, and mass abuse.

Spiritually, it makes all the difference what the foundation is.  Build on anything other than Christ and His Word and the result is eternal ruin.  One may enjoy temporary success, in this life.  However, there will be forever to pay for choosing the wrong platform on which to build a life or a religious institution.  Paul said there is no other foundation than Christ (1 Co. 3:11).  Jesus said the lasting foundation upon which He would build His church was His divine identity (Mat. 16:18-19).  Paul told Timothy “the firm foundation of God stands” (2 Ti. 2:19).  Deviate from that material and ensure foundation problems.  It matters upon what we build our lives, both now and especially in the end.

Neal Pollard

The “Bike To Work” crowd means business.  They have a web site, a strategy group, a mission statement, and an acronym (BTWD–Bike To Work Day).  Their aim is to “reduce congestion and improve air quality.”  They probably also want participants to enjoy biking and get healthy, but the main interest appears to be environmental.  I am not writing this to be critical, though for six and a half miles I had to dodge ten times the regular number of bicyclists on the Bear Creek Trail.  I admire their dedication and the success they have enjoyed in getting so many to become involved.  They had food stations set up along the trail, they got media attention, and they were organized to the point to setting up a registration process online or physically in downtown Denver.  They proclaimed today the annual “Bike To Work Day” and they followed through to be sure everyone knew about it.

This initiative may or may not enjoy huge success in meeting their objective, but if they do not it will not be from lack of trying.  They will undoubtedly win converts to their cause, and they already have.  The thing that strikes me is that they truly believe in their cause, and their efforts prove it!

The early church was all about the business of spreading the good news about Christ. It made it into their conversations (Acts 8:4) and to the top of their priority list (cf. Mat. 6:33).  They turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).  They were able to get the gospel to every creature under heaven (Col. 1:23).  They did it without media attention, though profane and secular writers certainly took notice of them (often contemptuously).  They had limited resources, community support, history, or respectability.  But, they grew, which a cursory study of Acts readily shows.  What they had was a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3) and a life with Christ at the center.

How is our fervor for the Lord?  Are we ready to do what it takes to “get the word out” and convert as many as we can?  How deeply do we believe in the cause we sing, pray, and preach about each week?  Whatever else we may hope to accomplish individually or as the church, our main interest should always be the souls of mankind.  We will never have to tell anyone what our emphasis is.  It will be obvious!  May we have the fervor of our first-century counterparts and get out the word about the Lord!

Neal Pollard

Spirit Airlines made a decision a few months ago to charge up to $45 for carry on luggage on their flights.  In an industry that is in terrible shape, this was a move that produced outrage in even those who have never flown with this carrier.  For people already perturbed about the nearly industry-wide decision to charge for checked bags, this looks like just another way airlines were trying to squeeze money out of passengers.  Despite this attempted grab at more of passengers’ money, Spirit is struggling mightily, canceling flights and struggling to pay employees.

Meanwhile, Southwest continues to be the only major carrier not charging for those checked bags.  They have widely advertised this decision.  The end result of this policy is not surprising to me.  While even some of their own insiders were wringing their hands about passing up over $750 million by not charging for checked bags, Southwest has earned $1.8 billion dollars instead.  According to Harvard Business Review, Southwest has never lost money in 37 years of operation.  The other major carriers are operating in the red, but Southwest continues to operate in the black while paying their employees relatively well.  Amazingly, Southwest has not suffered from their lack of greed, but Spirit has suffered despite theirs.

There is a valuable lesson or pair of lessons to be learned by all of us from this.  Those who keep their fists tight find it difficult to receive, while those who practice generosity often find that such a practice “pays.”  Biblical stewardship seems to work this way.  Givers receive in good measure (Lk. 6:38; Mal. 3:10).  When we are stingy with our time, our praise, our efforts, our involvement, or any other resource God has blessed us with, we are the poorer for it.  Hoarding does not benefit the hoarder!  Giving blesses the giver.  The airlines teach us this, but before that God did the teaching.  Through Solomon, He says, “There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt. When those riches were lost through a bad investment and he had fathered a son, then there was nothing to support him. As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand” (Ecc. 5:13-15).  In Luke 12:15, warning against covetousness, Jesus taught that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.  Let us learn that we will not ultimately prosper who greedily seek after self, and God will not let us lose for choosing be generous givers in every form.

Neal Pollard

Chinese officials call those years “three years of economic difficulty” and “three bitter years.”  The years were 1958-1961, the years of the great Chinese famine.  To tell you how bad it was, three out of seven people who died of famine in the 20th Century died in China during those three bitter years.  Most observers believe the cause of the famine was the government’s attempt to set up Communism and communal farms.  No one could grow private garden plots. The granaries of just two locations, Henan and Hebei, held enough grain to have saved each of the 30 million people who died in the Great Chinese famine.

Over eight centuries before Christ, God punished wicked Israel with a drought that led to severe famine (1 Kings 18:2).  It was three and a half bitter years (cf. Luke 4:25-26; Jas. 5:17).  According to 1 Kings 17, Elijah flees to a brook by Cherith and then on to Zarephath where God miraculously provides for him, a widow and her son until he is sent by God to end the drought and famine.  While Israel suffered mightily, Elijah enjoyed Divine providence in the midst of the bitterness.  The widow of Zarephath not only shared in receiving that provision, she apparently learned some things from it, too.

She learned it takes faith to obey the word of the Lord (1 Kings 17:10-13).  She did not learn this faith from royalty like wicked Ahab, who married one of her fellow Sidonians.  She did not learn it from her neighbors, who worshipped Ashtoreth (cf. 1 Kings 11:5; 16:31).  She did not learn it from her Jewish neighbors in Palestine, who at this time could not themselves easily decide between Baal and Jehovah (1 Kings 18:21).  She learned, as we must learn, that we must be faithful to God even when our leaders, neighbors, and spiritual brothers and sisters are not willing to do so.

She learned it takes faith to overcome fear (1 Kings 17:13).  This was literally life and death for the widow.  To obey God’s word meant making starvation a seeming certainty.  No one should blame her for expressing her rational fear to Elijah, but ultimately she was willing to believe his word.

She learned it takes faith to enjoy the blessings of God (1 Kings 17:14-16).  Was she tempted to turn down the offer?  It’s very possible.  Maybe she was so desperate and so aware of her plight that she felt she had nothing to lose by giving Elijah food.  Whatever was the case, she was blessed by obeying God.  He kept her and her son alive.

Famines strike children, the elderly, and men most acutely.  It lowers fertility and, of course, causes plain old, awful starvation.  But there is another, more serious, kind of famine described in Amos 8:11.  It is spiritual starvation, but it does not strike the Christian who has Jesus for the “bread of life” (John 6:35).  Those who follow Him are spared eternal hunger (Revelation 7:16).  I read a report indicating that 10 million people in rich, industrialized nations go to bed hungry every night–in the midst of plenty.  When we partake of the Bread, we will have plenty, like Elijah, in the midst of those spiritually bitter years.

Neal Pollard

This year’s Future Preachers Training Camp took a field trip, complete with a few unscheduled stops, up to visit the Conifer church of Christ.  The preacher there is a special young man named Andrew Lemus, a 2007 graduate of the Bear Valley Bible Institute.  It was our privilege to sit and listen to him tell about his background and what impression the school made on him.  It was a very moving story and as moving a class.  He told us about his incredible search for truth, starting from a Catholic upbringing to a search within protestant denominationalism and the community church movement.  He could not find the truth.  He turned to the internet and was taught the truth by a brother in Christ who hails from New York City.  Andrew showed up at a congregation of the Lord’s church in his native California, asking to be baptized for the remission of his sins and to die to self and live to Christ.  From there, he developed a zeal for knowledge and a quest to learn more and more.  He also developed an interest in a young lady, the daughter of one of the preachers, who eventually became his wife.  Her encouragement spurred him to enroll at Bear Valley in the fall of 2005, just a year after his coming to Christ.  Though he had no interest at first to be a preaching, desiring instead to learn enough to go back and evangelize his non-Christian family, the study of God’s Word filled him with a desire to share those truths with as many people as possible.  To make a fascinating, wonderful story short, he, Aimee, Andrew, and Annabella are working with a church planted in 2007–the Conifer church of Christ.  He is doing an outstanding job!

As I thrilled to hear his story, it struck me.  Andrew’s thirst for Bible truth led him to the Lord and through such salvation.  He simply wanted to obey that Word and share it with others, seizing on the theme verse of the school (2 Timothy 2:2).  Andrew is still a young man, with an overflow of biblical conviction and boundless passion.  Who knows what great good they will accomplish and have already accomplished?  That is always the question.  When someone reveres God’s Word and follows it as their pattern for living and when someone with that maintains a good and honest heart, God uses them mightily!  That is the power of the word and the willing heart.

Neal Pollard

The second week of June always marks an exciting time at Bear Valley and for me personally.  That day is always the official start of our Future Preachers Training Camp.  The campers all arrive, some of them even coming in on Saturday, and the excitement is evident on their faces as well as the faces of our members.  They come from near and far, tied together by an interest in growing in their public speaking skills and by the fact that they are teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18.  During the week this year, they will sit and learn about how to write and deliver a sermon, how to use the library resources, elementary Greek, Christian evidences, basic hermeneutics and exegesis, and grief counseling.  They will take a field trip up to Conifer, Colorado, to hear from one of our graduates tell about how the Bear Valley Bible Institute has prepared him to work with the church in a small town.  They will spend hours each day working on their sermons.  They will try their hand several times at “extemporaneous speaking.” There will also be time every day for recreation and a few special times to enjoy some recreation at local venues.

It amazes me the way this congregation supports the camp.  The snacks donated, attending the “Speaking From The Heart” and “FPTC Gospel Meeting” sessions, the teens c0-participating in several events through the week, taking campers to lunch on the second Sunday, and the continuous vocal support of these special young men is overwhelming.  I am also amazed at the dedication and growth of these young men, often from the time they arrive to the time they leave and also as we see several of them year after year.

We will have 43 young men in camp this year, coming literally from coast to coast.  Some will be athletic, others will be more bookish and interested in indoor activities.  Some will be confident and outgoing, others reserved and shy.  Some will be big for their age, others small for their age.  This year, they will represent not just multiple racial ethnicities but also nationalities. But, if past years indicate anything, they will be one big, tight-knit group bound together by the experiences of the week.

Please pray for the success and safety of everyone involved in the camp this year.  Our adult volunteers include Jason Chesser (Wetumpka, AL), Bud Woodall (Vinita, OK), Jessie Agnew (Hobbs, NM), Darrick Shepherd (Newton, KS), Nathan Liddell (East Alameda church of Christ, Aurora, CO), Pooh Duke (Old Hickory, TN), Tony Johnson (Greenbrier, AR), Anthony Warnes (Miller St., Wheat Ridge, CO), Kathy Devenport (Hattiesburg, MS–kitchen), Brett Petrillo, Dennis King, Jack Wilkie, Alex Warnes, Jordan Wise, Butch Plummer, Anna Wilkie (kitchen), DeAnn Wilkie (food boss, camp mom), and me (Bear Valley church of Christ, Denver, CO).  Our teachers will be Andrew Lemus (Conifer), Wayne Roberts (Parker), Michael Hite (BVBID), Denny Petrillo (BVBID), Chesser, Woodall, and Agnew.  Ready or not, here it comes!

Neal Pollard

It is fascinating to study about the development of the “traditions of the elders” (cf. Matt.15:3).  These traditions were revered by the Jewish religious leaders, the elders, scribes,chief priests, lawyers, and judges.  The common people were compelled to follow these traditions as being on a par with the written Old Testament.  It is thought that the “restoration movement” following Babylonian Captivity gave rise to the order of men who would become these religious scholars so revered by the time of Jesus.  The scribes took their marching orders from the praise given to Ezra in Ezra 7:10, that he “had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.  The scribes who succeeded Ezra focused on those three “mandates”–the Midrash (the study of Scripture), the Halakhah (the obedience of Scripture), and the Haggadah (the oral teaching of Scripture).

Edersheim has some interesting observations about corruption in those last two areas. He says,

It is sadly characteristic, that, practically, the main body of Jewish dogmatic and moral theology is really only Haggadah, and hence of no absolute                     authority. The Halakhah indicated with the most minute and painful punctiliousness every legalordinance as to outward observance, and it explained                 every bearing on the law of Moses. But beyond this it left the inner man, the spring of actions, untouched. What he was to believe and what to feel,                       was chiefly matter of the Haggadah (73).

He continues, “And here we may mark the fundamental distinction between the teaching of Jesus and Rabbinism.  He left the Halakhah untouched, putting it, as it were, on one side, as something quite secondary, while He insisted as primary on that which to them was chiefly matter of Haggadah” (ibid., 73-74).  This is what caused these men to lead themselves and others to major in the minors and minor in the majors (Matt. 23:23-24).  They so jealously guarded their tradition that they were nearly neurotic about hand, cup, pitcher, and pot washing while “neglecting the commandment of God” to “hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:1-8).

Jesus was not anti-obedience (Matt. 23:3). He was, however, against a superficial observance of the law where one’s heart was far away from God (cf. Mark 7:1ff).  They transgressed God’s commands for the sake of their traditions (Matt. 15:6).  They set aside God’s commands to keep their traditions (Mark 7:9). They invalidated God’s word by their traditions (Mark 7:13).  They emphasized the externals, but left the internals “untouched.”  It was through this mixing of priorities that they could rationalize putting the sinless Son of God on the cross.  That is how serious this crowning of traditions can be.

Let us be careful to be obedient to the will and word of God.  Christ’s salvation is for the obedient (Heb. 5:9).  Yet, let us not put such stock in our convictions and conclusions about what is wise, how we would do it, and what seems best that we come to possess hearts that, in fact, are far away from God and lead us to transgress and set aside God’s Word through our spirit and attitude.  If we have to distort truth, resort to unethical behavior, or outright engage in immorality in order to preserve our traditions, we have missed it somewhere!

Neal Pollard

Surreal is an overused and misused word.  But inasmuch as the word is synonymous with weird and freakish, it applies to a video I saw recently on the news concerning Ardi Rizai of Sumatra, Indonesia.  Nothing is more strange and bizarre than the sight of a child in diapers alternating between drinking a bottle and taking a drag off of a cigarette!  It appears that the two year old has had to split celebrity with a four year old Indonesian boy smoking clove cigarettes and cursing with the encouragement of surrounding adults.  Little Ardi was given his first cigarette at 18 months, and quickly became addicted.  He had been smoking as many as 40 per day, but has cut back to 15.

Twisted and dark hearts can corrupt little minds so quickly.  Have you ever had the heartbreaking experience of hearing an innocent child cursing to the amusement of parents?  I cannot understand what would motivate parents and caregivers to push little children toward evil in an already sinful, fallen world.  This story ranks up there among the most irresponsible parental behavior of which I have ever heard.  Yet, it is a reminder of what a small child can learn, pick up, and do proficiently.  He looks like a midget as he sits there and puffs.

A two-year-old child can be taught to pray, can learn Bible facts and memorize Bible verses, can be shown how to shake hands with an adult, can master a pretty large repertoire of “church songs,” can sit in Bible class, and thereby have a strong spiritual foundation.  When tempted to sell short those little, impressionable minds, take a good look at that picture of Ardi. But also remember that we are stewards of these eternal souls housed in little bodies and equipped with virtually boundless potential.  Jesus wants little children to come unto Him (Mt. 19:14).  Today, that means pointing them in the proper spiritual direction and helping these dear little ones to maximize their potential for good.  We can as easily teach a toddler to love the Lord as to light up!  May we treasure our tiniest and teachable trusts and shape and mold them to be the best they can be for our God.

Neal Pollard

Recently, I witnessed something I have seen before but that never gets easier to watch.  A person who on several occasions has had something negative and disparaging to say about another person when he was not around was speaking to him, using sweet, flattering and complimentary words.  The same person has used similar words in speaking to me.  It left me cold, certain that I cannot trust the kind words this person directs my way.

By definition, one is two-faced who is “marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another” (Princeton University, Wordnet).  One etymology source says the first recorded use of “two face” was in 1619, though nothing more is said of that record (www.etymonline.com).  But, many scholars see the origin of the concept in Roman mythology and the god Janus for whom the month January is named.  He is said, as a symbol of change, to see into the past with one face and into the future with another face.  His faces pointed in the opposite direction (en.academic.ru).  Apparently, the concept morphed from looking two directions to showing two sets of feelings, being duplicitous, deceitful, and hypocritical.

When you do a New Testament word study, the word most closely akin to “two faced” is “hypocrisy.”  In fact, the word itself is simply a transliteration (writing or printing out a letter or word using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or language) of the Greek word.  The original word first was theatrical language meaning “playacting.”  Thus, the verb form of the word, found in Luke 20:20, is used to describe how the scribes and high priests pretended to be sincere in order to trap Jesus.

Such a practice is dishonest, for it makes the subject of the hypocrisy think you feel or believe one way when in reality you do not (cf. Mt. 23:28).  Such a practice is harmful to influence, because in showing others your “second face” you reveal yourself as not genuine, trustworthy, or honorable (cf. Gal. 2:13).  Such a practice is sinful and, thus spiritual darkness.  Peter says to “put it aside” (1 Pet. 2:1).

Let us be careful that we do not confuse attempted tact and diplomacy with dishonesty, evil influence, and sin.  Let us keep our ethics aboveboard and our integrity intact.  Let us have one face, the same face, for everyone wherever we are and to whomever we speak.

Neal Pollard

Armando Galarraga is a name that even those less than die-hard or fantasy league players may not be familiar with, but he came one out from throwing only the 21st perfect game in the history of Major League baseball.  In fact, thanks to the unflinching and unforgiving eye of video technology, we all know that the Detroit Tigers’ pitcher did better than that.  With two outs in the ninth, the Cleveland Indians’ batter hit a ground ball to the second baseman.  Galarraga ran to cover first base, taking the throw clearly before the Indians’ runner reached the bag.  Jim Joyce, serving as first base umpire and possessed of many years experience, called the runner safe.  Thus ended Galarraga’s bid for one of baseball’s most elusive achievements.  The call by Joyce was so bad, however, that he personally apologized in person to the entire Tigers team and did the same, in tears, to the young man whom he effected by his blown call.  Baseball fans and sportswriters, apparently to no avail, have pleaded with baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, to overrule Joyce’s miscue and award Galarraga the perfect game he earned.

Perhaps, though without national media scrutiny, you have been unfairly treated, maybe accused of something you did not do or wrongfully deprived of what is rightfully yours.  Such a miscarriage of justice can cause us to feel righteous indignation.  However, in the spiritual realm, none of us can claim that we have lived our lives entirely without imperfection.  The message of the Bible is that all of us have sinned (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Ecc. 7:20).  Without doubt, we all repeatedly struggle with falling short of what God expects us to do and doing what He has called sin (Js. 4:17; 1 Jn. 3:4).  Thankfully, however, there was One who was able to go from “wire to wire,” from birth to the grave to resurrection to heaven without committing sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 4:15).  It is by His perfection and only by it that we can be “perfected,” made right in God’s eyes.  When God sees the blood of His Son applied to our sins, He sees the blood rather than our sins!  Praise God for His plan that called for His perfect Son to execute that plan flawlessly!  Though we could never do it for ourselves, we can choose to follow and serve the only One who could!

ANIBAL ARCHILA

Neal Pollard

Journalists distinguish themselves and often become legendary for getting right in the middle of the action to report on the news.  Occasionally, this can cause them to become the news.  Several media personnel have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan since these conflicts began.  Danger can often go with the territory.  While others are fleeing it, reporters must rush to it.  The case of Anibal Archila is particularly tragic as he was reporting the volcanic eruption of Pacaya on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Guatemala. Wikinews reports, “Fellow worker Vinicio Fuentes said that Archila couldn’t escape from the rain of volcanic stones, but his cameraman and another group of local reporters could. Archila was found with several lava and rock injuries on his body. Archilla was lying in a fetal position, still holding his video camera” (http://enwikinews.org).  He died by being what his job called for him to be.

We may be inclined to think Archila foolish for putting himself in harm’s way or to even think his death was in vain, but there is a principle to consider here.  He might have saved his life by running away from this breaking news story, but by doing so he would have been revoking and renouncing his very identity as a journalist.  It is sobering for me to consider that, though we have enjoyed religious freedom in our nation for a couple of centuries, the moral decline and political trends may make Christianity increasing unpopular in the coming years.  By being a Christian, we may find ourselves pressured by adversity and in a position to make a decision–either to revoke and renounce who we are or to rush to defend our Lord and His cause.  People may think us foolish and wasteful for putting our lives on the line, but we must make the difficult choice.  Even in this present hour, when physical death or injury is not so likely, we must have the courage to make the right decision.  Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30).  Let us be willing, every day and by the choices and decisions we make, to take any risk for the One who gave everything for us.

Neal Pollard

Hollywood has tried over and over to capitalize on the proverbial idea that “revenge is sweet.” The hero or heroine of the story has suffered greatly at the hands of a villain and may have to pursue the offender for an entire movie. But, in the end, they get to exact their revenge. The message so often portrayed is of the satisfaction this brings the victor. Think of how many movies employ this basic message.

The mantras are many: “I don’t get mad; I get even.” “Nothing inspires forgiveness quite like revenge” (Scott Adams). “Sweet is revenge–especially to women” (Lord Byron). “Revenge is sweeter far than flowing honey” (Homer). “All the old knives that have rusted in my back, I drive in yours” (Phaedrus). They speak of the basic passion and unchecked desires of men enslaved to their flesh. There is no more worldly, sensual response that exacting revenge on one who has harmed us.

When I think of Bible characters most bent of revenge, Joab comes to mind. This son of Zeruiah was a professional soldier, but he repeatedly took the liberty to execute vengeance even when it was not his job to do so. He avenged his brother Asahel’s death by murdering Asahel’s killer (2 Sam. 3:27). He was the “logical” choice for David to employ to arrange the murder of Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. 11:16-17). Though David explicitly asked Joab to “deal kindly” with his rebellious son, Absalom, Joab made himself judge, jury, and executioner by brutally murdering the helpless son (2 Sam. 18:5,11-14). After David replaced Joab with Amasa as commander of his army, Joab executed revenge by treacherously killing Amasa (2 Sam. 20:10ff). The dying David addressed his son, Solomon, and gave him various charges and duties. Among them, David stated, “Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace” (1 Ki. 2:5-6). There was probably a grab for power involved, and certainly David was not the best example of leadership before Joab’s eyes. But, there was the distinct motive of revenge tinging Joab’s actions. There is no indication that his violent vengeance ever brought satisfaction, but it is unmistakeable that he who lived by his sword was destined to die by it.

When someone embarrasses us publicly or betrays our trust, friendship, or secrets, our anger may tempt us to take revenge. When someone hurts us, our natural instinct is to lash back at them. We may be afraid of losing face with others or we may just simply smart from the sting inflicted. Whatever the provocation, revenge is not the answer. Vengeance is a divine possession (Heb. 10:30). May we never be guilty of attempted robbery, trying to take from God what belongs to His perfect wisdom and judgment.

Neal Pollard

Neil Hanson conceived an intriguing book idea and the end result he describes in its introduction:

They are of different nationalities, backgrounds, personalities, and

circumstances. They are not cliched stereotypes: Iowa farm-boys,

chirpy Cockneys, Prussians with bristling moustaches.  They are

young men, barely beginning life’s journey, each with their own hopes,

fears, ambitions and dreams. Their tracks, faint as smoke in the wind,

intersect time and again, but they are united only in death, for each

was killed on the Somme, within gunshot sound of each other, and

each–like 3 million of their fellows–has no known grave. They

disappeared as completely as if they had “gone through a mirror,

leaving only a diminishing shadow.” No trace remained; the war had

claimed even their names. Their story is the story of the Unknown

Soldiers” (Unknown Soldiers, xiv-xv).

Hanson chose German Paul Hub, Briton Alec  Reader, and American George Seibold.  Somehow, it becomes more gripping when these “unknowns” have a name.  Eventually, many of the countries involved in World War I had organized tributes to those who died without proper burial and consecrated tombs to symbolized all those brave, but anonymous, soldiers who fell in war.

General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, a post-war organization of veterans, decreed General Order No. 11.  It read,

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing the flowers,

or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their

country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city,

village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of

ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange

such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit

(www.history.com/topics/memorial-day-history).

Known originally as Decoration Day, Memorial Day grew out of the respectful desire to honor the dead by maintaining and sprucing up the headstones of those who fell in combat.

As time passes, fewer people are aware of the roots of this holiday and people in fewer numbers turn out to graveyards and cemeteries to perform these tasks.  The sacrifices of our war dead can come to be taken for granted and forgotten.  This is tragic, whether we know the name of the soldier whose remains are interred in that grave or not.  They have given the ultimate to preserve our freedoms, rights, and privileges.  We are the ready recipients of such blessings, and it is fitting for us to remember these heroes.

Somewhere in Palestine, and many have tried to pinpoint rocks and caves as the precise spot, there is the tomb that held Jesus from Friday night to Sunday morning.  While Mary, Peter, John, and others visited that tomb, they found no dead to commemorate.  Thus, there was no need to decorate or memorialize it.  Instead, we memorialize the death, burial, and resurrection through the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. Christ’s sacrifice gives us every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).  We are saved because of what He gave (1 Tim. 2:4-5).  May we never let the passage of time cause us to forget or neglect. May we ever honor and revere the Hero of Calvary.

Neal Pollard

One of my very favorite writers, David McCullough, once wrote,

Imagine a man who professes over and over his unending love for a

woman but who knows nothing of where she was born or who her

parents were or where she went to school or what her life had been

until he came along–and furthermore, doesn’t care to learn.  What

would you think of such a person (Brave Companions, 222).

McCullough was talking of Americans who have no interest in our nation’s rich, incredible history.  If one is ignorant of the unbelievable twists and turns in the road this country has taken from British territory to world superpower, he or she is deprived of a necessary context to appreciate what we have and who we are today.  Such ignorance will also seem to rob them of the gratitude and respect for the sacrifices of our forebears.

More incredible is the case of one who professes love and loyalty to a Christ about whom they really know little or who care to know little.  They assemble with others once or twice a week to sing to Him, pray to Him, and memorialize Him, but they spend no time reading about Him or developing a real, intimate relationship with Him.  Such a person cannot fully appreciate His body (the church), His authority (in worship, in doctrine, and over their personal ethics and morality), or His purpose for their lives.  No amount of talent for singing, eloquence of speech, or pious appearance among others assembled can make up for a Sunday through Saturday spent disconnected from Him.

Jesus warned against a religion of lip-service and feigned devotion, when the heart was not in it (cf. Matt. 15:8-9).  He preaches the importance of an inside-out religion (Mark 12:33).  The great preacher and apostle Paul, while speaking of some others whose motives were muddled and whose practice was at odds with their profession (cf. Phil. 1:15-17), could say of himself, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil. 3:7-10).

To truly love and appreciate Him, you must come to know Him!  It must be a passion and a burning desire.  You cannot count of trying to ignite a flame only when you are assembled on Sundays and Wednesdays.  If it is the exercise of a few hours a week, at best you will be like the person describes by McCullough.  But, if you can develop a yearning and practice like Paul’s, you will be deeply in love with the Savior and you will enjoy the most satisfying relationship it is possible to have in all time and eternity.

Neal Pollard

‘Tis a rarified, but golden treat,

To find one who hears whose lips will not repeat.

Who knows the art of being discreet,

To know such a friend is very sweet.

Whose self-control their mouth equips,

Who in temptation never trips,

And betrays a secret or blithely quips,

My words are not safe on such loose lips.

A crack of character, such indiscretion,

A sin of heart and mouth that needs confession.

When friends a secret shares with you in session,

Lock up thy jaw and make the right impression!