Learning From The Weeper

Neal Pollard

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

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

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

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

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

What Will "Red Rover" Send Over?

Neal Pollard

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

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

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

“You Can’t Do It!”

Has anyone ever told you that you can’t do something?  Some have been told they would never walk or talk again.  Many have been told that they cannot succeed and cannot become great.  Others have been told to just give up.  I don’t know why, but people try to put limitations on us.  Over the years, people have been wrong about so many things.  Here are a few examples:

• “Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility—a development which we should waste little time dreaming about.” Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of the cathode ray tube.
•  “We don't think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out.”  Recording company expert, 1962.
• “I think there is a world market for about five computers.”  Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Chairman of the Board of IBM.

Some of us may not have a great singing voice, a strong body, or a sharp mind, but there is still no reason we cannot achieve spiritually greatness.  Who is to say you can’t be the next Paul?  Why can’t you be the next David?  What is stopping you from being the next Barnabas, Moses, Esther, Ruth, Peter, or Abraham?  Usually it is not others who are holding us back, but ourselves.

Moses was a whinny man who felt he couldn’t speak well enough for God’s work (Exodus 4).  Gideon was a man who was scared and fearful of the future (Judges 6-8).  What excuses do we tell ourselves to hide from spiritual greatness?  Thankfully, God works with imperfect and flawed people to achieve great things.  Our challenge is to put away our excuses, to ignore the critics, and to see just how high and far the Lord will take us.

Some Courageous, Unsung Heroes

Neal Pollard

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

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

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

Searching For The Outrage Over Amazon

Neal Pollard

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

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

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