3000th Hit!

I hit a small blogging milestone today with hit number 3000. Someone from Dallas, Texas did a Google search as follows, "are there any awana programs in denver colorado". You can see the result of their search here. Hit number 3000 occurred at 8:34 pm and lasted less than a second. I obviously did not make much of an impression! Thanks to everyone who occassionally takes a look my way. It's amazing to see the locations from around the world that have stopped in--sometimes regularly.

By the way, my very first post was on June 13, 2006.

How to Have Joyful Relationships - Part II

Philippians 1:9-11

This passage builds on the first eight verses that provided an indication of what our relationships should be like in the church. You can read my notes from Philippians 1:1-8 here. I believe that verses 9-11 indicate a maturing progression that should be occurring within our "church" relationships.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God".

The Definitions:

• "love" = agape, sacrificial love
• "knowledge" = practical understanding of spiritual principles
• "discernment" = ability to make correct decisions
• "approve" = to affirm after having thoroughly tested
• "excellent" = worthwhile, vital, different
• "sincere" = pure, unmixed, genuine
• "blameless" = not stumbling nor causing to stumble
• "righteousness" = fairness, justice
• "glory and praise of God" - the ultimate purpose of man

The Progression:

1. We must be spending intimate time alone with God receiving His undeserved love and affection so that we will, "abound more and more" in sacrificial love. Only when we are saturated in the love of God can we progress in our relationships beyond selfish and superficial connections. If you doubt the importance of love--simply read the Gospels.
2. We will understand how to apply spiritual principles into our lives and the lives of others only when we love sacrificially. Otherwise, we are working from our wounded and selfish inclinations and are prone to make great mistakes. Knowledge without love quickly becomes cold legalism.
3. Notice that Paul doesn't say that when we lovingly speak knowledge into someone's life that we will be able to confront their failures. No, he says instead that we will be able to, "approve the things that are excellent". The result of Godly knowledge and discernment mixed with agape love is an incredibly positive approach to pointing out what is right in people's lives--not what is wrong!
4. The process of speaking positively into someone's life progresses to our own sincerity (purity, perfection) and blamelessness (lack of stumbling). We become better people and look more like Christ when we lovingly encourage.
5. The result of this sincere love is righteousness, justice, fairness. We seem to truly want the very best for those around us when we we're focusing on what they are doing right--and not so much on their faults.
6. The final progression is the ultimate goal of man--to praise and glorify God. God is glorified when we are lifting each other up rather than dragging each other down.

It is from this platform of harmonious and loving relationships that the Gospel is most effectively proclaimed!

My Favorite Blogs...

It's time for another installment of "My Favorite Blogs". I did a list quite some time ago and I thought it would be a good idea to once again list the blogs that I read. I will also go ahead and rank them in order of preference. I'll limit myself to ten, even though I peruse the contents of many more each day. In fact, I have about 30 blogs that I frequent with some regularity. I read several bloggers who are not SBC but my 10 favorites are all SBC. I think that it is awesome that through blogging we have the opportunity to read the thoughts and musings of the great diversity that exists within the Southern Baptist Convention. I found it extremely difficult to limit myself to a "top ten". Nevertheless, here it is...

#1 Wade Burleson - Grace and Truth to You - link
#2 Ben Cole - Baptist Blogger - link
#3 Marty Duren - SBC Outpost - link
#4 Art Rogers - 12 Witnesses - link
#5 Kevin Bussey - Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee - link
#6 Albert Mohler - Albert Mohler - link
#7 Taran - Coffeespoons - link
#8 Bart Barber - Praisegod Barebones - link
#9 Geoff Baggett - Along the Shore - link
#10 Bowden McElroy - Counseling Notes - link

From Pastor to President?

I have been watching the gathering of Republican and Democratic candidates for president with great interest. I have to be honest--I have not been impressed! That is until today, when I was reading Tim_Ellsworth's_blog and discovered that Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, has thrown his hat into the ring. Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist pastor who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Newsweek has an article and some video that you can see here. Governor Huckabee could be the light in the darkness for conservative Christians in the 2008 presidential election.

How to Have Joyful Relationships...

Philippians 1:1-9

Our churches should be filled with SLAVES, SAINTS, and SERVANTS (v1)

Paul and Timothy are bond-servants (slaves) who do not have any rights except those that are given to them by their master (Jesus). The letter is written to the saints (holy ones) at Philippi. Note that their "saintliness" is because of Christ and not because of their own self-righteousness. Included in their number are some overseers (bishops/pastors) and some deacons (servants). These officers are listed
after the saints because they are the servants of the saints. There is no room here for prestige or position--just humble service!

Our churches should be marked by GRACE and PEACE (v2).

Grace is simply "unmerited favor"--getting more than we deserve. Peace is "the absence of conflict". Those that God would bring into the church should be treated to grace and peace--not legalistic rules and conflict! The world will flock to our churches for grace and peace! They don't seem to be too interested in our fights!

Our relationships in the church should be marked by . . .

• Pleasure with God (v3). Can you thank God for everyone in your church?
• Prayer (v4). Do you pray joyfully for all of the members of your church?
• Participation (koinonia) in the Gospel (v5). Are you "sharing in" the gospel as well as "sharing" the gospel?
• Positive Affirmation (v6). Are you reminding the members of your church that God is still perfecting them?--He hasn't given up!
• Partaking of Grace (v7). Are you filling your plate and the plates of others at God's buffet of grace?
• Passion (v8). Are you passionate for the members of your church? The word for "affection" in verse 8 is the strongest possible Greek word to convey compassion!

Our relationships in the church should be abounding in LOVE! (v9).

Paul uses the word "agape" here and indicates that the seed of healthy, nurturing relationships in the church is agape (sacrificial God-like) love. One can only distribute agape love by receiving regular doses of the same from the giver of love--God Himself! We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:7-8). Are you spending intimate time with God each day?

The Koran Affirms Jesus...

Lee Turner has written a brief article for Pulpit Helps that details how the Koran both affirms and denies the unique nature of Christ.

The Koran rejects the biblical Jesus in four ways:

1. Jesus is not God (Surah 5:72-73).
2. Jesus is not the Son of God (Surah 9:30).
3. Jesus is not a member of the Trinity because there is no Trinity (Surah 5:76).
4. Jesus did not die (Surah 4:157).

The Koran affirms the biblical Jesus in seven ways:

1. Jesus performed miracles (Surah 2:87).
2. Jesus was strengthened by God through the Holy Spirit (Surah 2:87, 2:253).
3. Jesus is called a Spirit from God (Surah 4:171).
4. Jesus is repeatedly called the Messiah (Surah 3:45).
5. Jesus is declared to be righteous (Surah 3:46).
6. Jesus is called the Word of God (Surah 4:171).
7. Jesus is declared to be like Adam (Surah 3:59).

--Pulpit Helps, March 2007, volume 32, number 3

Global Warming on Mars...

Evidently for the past three Summers in a row, the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mar's South Pole have diminished in size. The obvious conclusion--any warming that has ocurred on Earth in recent years is more likely to have been caused by the Sun than human causes. From my observation--the ice cap in my front yard is still a good month away from completely melting...

Read more at NationalGeographic.com.