Jul 18

Missed Opportunities!

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It looked like they were going to do it again!  The United States Women’s Soccer Team was only four minutes away from winning their record setting third World Cup title.  Eyes all across this country were glued to the television set anticipating a celebration like no other in women’s soccer history.  What they saw instead may have been the most disappointing loss in the history of the U.S. women’s soccer team.

On two separate occasions, the United States looked like they were going to be victorious.  The first was in regulation.  The U.S. had a one goal lead with nine minutes left, only to let Japan tie up the game.  In the extra time period, the U.S. again looked as though they would hoist the World Cup trophy.  With four minutes left to play in the extra period and the United States clinging to a 2-1 lead, Japan did it again; they tied up the game in the closing minutes of play and sent the Women’s World Cup final to penalty kicks.  Unfortunately, for the U.S., their luck ran out.  Japan beat the United States on penalty kicks securing a marvelous run to the World Cup title.  For the U.S. all that was left was what might have been.

Anyone who watched this match knows that the United States should have won.  They completely dominated the majority of the match.  Regrettably, they fell short because of missed opportunities.  In the first half, the U.S. had several opportunities to score and put the game away.  Instead, they missed those opportunities and allowed Japan to stay in the game and eventually win.  I believe when our girls look back on this loss, they will be reminded of all their missed opportunities.

I’m afraid that many of us do exactly the same thing every day of our lives.  We miss opportunities that could impact and change the outcome of something far more important than a soccer game.  We miss opportunities that could change the outcome of people’s lives.  The apostle Paul said, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10).  Paul stressed to the church at Galatia the importance of making the most of opportunities to do good.

Every morning we wake up to a new day, we have multiple opportunities to do things for others.  Maybe it is something small like being kind to them, or asking them how they are doing.  Perhaps it’s something bigger like helping them through a difficult time in their lives or teaching them the Gospel of Christ.  It doesn’t matter whether or not we consider it big or small, when an opportunity presents itself, let’s make the most of that opportunity.  We will never understand the impact our actions and words can have on the outcome of someone’s life until we are willing to take those opportunities and use them for good.  I don’t want to look back over my life with regret and remember all the missed opportunities I had to change the outcome of someone’s life.  I want to know that I made the most of those opportunities presented to me.  Friends, let’s make the most of our opportunities, you never know, you may have an opportunity to affect someone’s eternal destiny.

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Jul 12

Grumbling and Complaining

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Last Sunday afternoon Miranda and I loaded up the church van with seven of our young people and headed to Freed-Hardeman University for HORIZONS 2011. A couple of hours into our five hour trip, somewhere around mile marker 251, the church van decided it would completely shut down and refused to go any farther. For the next two hours, our group stood on the side of Interstate 40 and waited for help. Finally, a friend of mine arranged for some of his family to come and pick us up and take us to their church building to wait until brother Tony Williams could get there with the other church van. Around 5:45 p.m., about the time we should have been rolling into Henderson, we were finally back on the interstate headed west for FHU. At 10:00 p.m. eastern standard time, we arrived on the campus of Freed-Hardman University. We were only four hours behind our estimated arrival time.

I tell you all this not to complain, but rather to brag on our young people. Not once, I repeat, not once, did any one of our young people ever complain about what had happened. Even while standing on the side of Interstate 40 in 99 degree heat, we never heard one negative comment. As I reflect on our adventure to HORIZONS 2011, I am reminded of the words of the apostle Paul when he said, “Do all things without grumbling or complaining that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:14-15).

Our trip to HORIZONS last Sunday was nothing like any of us expected. We didn’t plan on our van breaking down, standing in the sun for 2 hours, or missing the Sunday night activities at HORIZONS. However, everyone had a great attitude and despite what happened on Sunday, it was a fun trip. In fact, we all agreed our trip last Sunday was the best trip any of us have ever had in a church van. It was an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Now that’s Something to Think About!

On I-40 where the church van broke down. Take a close look at the sign in the background!

Jun 16

The Gospel and Honduras

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In a few days 32 of us from Karns will be traveling to Honduras for a medical/evangelistic mission campaign. This is nothing new for Karns or most churches for that matter. Mission trips are a part of most churches’ summer activities. However, have you considered why many people are willing to travel overseas and share the Gospel of Christ? Below are a few reasons why I want to go and be a part of this mission experience.

Evangelism Is A Command. Before Jesus left earth and ascended back to heaven after His resurrection from the dead, He told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Matt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15). Jesus was not presenting an option to His disciples; He was presenting a command. This command was to go and share with others all Jesus had done through His death and resurrection. Jesus literally wanted His disciples to be witnesses (Acts 1:8) of the things they both had seen and heard. Friends, evangelism is a command we are expected to keep.

Evangelism Helps Save Others’ Souls. Perhaps the reason that Jesus stressed evangelism to His disciples was because He knew there was no other way to come to the Father except through Him (Jn. 14:6). Unless one repents of his sins, confesses Christ as the Son of God and is baptized into Christ, he will be eternally lost (Mk. 16:16). When we go about teaching others the Gospel plan of salvation, we help those individuals gain knowledge about a relationship with Jesus Christ. That knowledge can then lead a person to obedient faith. It is only through faith and obedience that one can come to have a relationship with Jesus. James said, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Jam. 5:19-20). When we take time to evangelize, we can help others find a saving relationship with Jesus.

Evangelism Increases The Church. What most people fail to understand is that the church is not some fancy building people go to on Sundays, but rather the church is the people. When we go about teaching others the Gospel and they obey it, the church grows. Think about the early Christians in the book of Acts. They were very evangelistic. The Bible says that 3,000 people obeyed after the first sermon was preached (Acts 2:41). By our standards today, this would be a mega church; however, this was not good enough for the early Christians. Those 3,000 went out and proclaimed Christ to their friends and neighbors and the church continued to grow. After a great persecution was brought on the church in Jerusalem, the Christians were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). These Christians didn’t allow this persecution to be an excuse for quitting. Instead, they witnessed and testified concerning the Christ just as Jesus had told them (Acts 1:8). The church will grow when evangelism becomes a part of our daily lives as Christians.

Evangelism Brings About Joy. I do not know of any greater joy than seeing people obey the Gospel after having been taught the truth. The joy and excitement they show is priceless. I can’t count the number of young people I have witnessed put Christ on in baptism and come up out of the water with a sense joy and excitement. I recall one young person in particular who was so excited, he began to splash the water around him and yell, “Yes, Yes, Yes!” When that takes place, there is no greater joy! Of all the things that you and I could do, evangelism is one that can bring a great sense of joy to our lives.

I am excited about the work we will be doing in Honduras next week. However, we don’t have to go to Honduras to evangelize. We can simply walk across the street to our neighbors and talk with them about the Gospel. Have you taken time to share with others the story of Jesus and His love lately?

Now that’s Something to Think About!

Jun 07

What’s Your Nineveh?

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Has someone ever asked you to do something that you did not want to do? When I was in graduate school I had a couple of professors who asked me to write a 25 page research paper. Let me tell you, I did not want to write a 25 page research paper. I was busy with my job and trying to build a ministry at the congregation where I worked. I didn’t have much time to do the research required to write that kind of paper. So you know what I did? I wrote the paper anyway. Why? Because I knew I had to write the paper in order to receive a grade and pass the class. Sometimes we are called to do things that we don’t want to do, but we do them anyway because we know that’s what is in our best interest.

Unfortunately, there are other times that we are called to do things that we don’t want to do, so we just don’t do them. Jonah was a man who was called by God to do something that he did not want to do. In chapter 1 beginning with verse 1 we read, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying…” (v. 1).

Who Was Jonah?

Jonah was a prophet of God. We understand that a prophet was one who spoke on behalf of God to his people.  Jonah was God’s spokesman to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) about 800-750 B.C. He prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II who reigned from 793-753 B.C. The interesting thing about Jonah is the only other time we read about him in the Old Testament he had prophesied to the king of Israel about overcoming the oppression they had suffered at the hands of Hazael and Ben-hadad. The only other time we read about Jonah, he was prophesying good news. No doubt Jonah was a popular prophet. Now, God was calling him to go to the people of Assyria, the capital of Nineveh, and speak out against their wickedness. He did not know what kind of reception he would receive, but he was pretty sure it would not be the kind of reception he was use to.

The City of Nineveh

Nineveh was a great and populous city (3:3). It had 120,000 inhabitants. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The nation of Assyria was a very wicked nation. They were known for their cruelty to prisoners. In fact, they were so wicked, the Bible records that their wickedness reached God (Jonah 1:2). Nineveh was such a wicked city that the king of Nineveh himself, referred to the men of Nineveh as wicked and violent (3:8).  Listen to how Nineveh was described in the book of Nahum. “What sorrow awaits Nineveh, the city of murder and lies! She is crammed with wealth and is never without victims. 2 Hear the crack of whips, the rumble of wheels! Horses’ hooves pound, and chariots clatter wildly.3 See the flashing swords and glittering spears as the charioteers charge past! There are countless casualties, heaps of bodies-so many bodies that people stumble over them. 4 All this because Nineveh, the beautiful and faithless city, mistress of deadly charms, enticed the nations with her beauty. She taught them all her magic, enchanting people everywhere” (Nahum 3:1-4).

The leaders of conquered cities were often tortured and horribly mutilated before being executed. They tortured adults by skinning them alive and leaving them to die in the burning sun. They were truly an evil people. However, the interesting thing was that God loved the Assyrian people even with all their wickedness. He wanted Jonah to go and cry out to them about their wicked ways.

Jonah Tried to Run From God

God called Jonah for a mission and Jonah ran. He ran down to Joppa and boarded a ship to Tarshish. Most scholars believe Tarshish was on the southern tip of Spain, on the edge of the Mediterranean world.  Tarshish is about 180 degrees in the opposite direction of Nineveh. It was known as a place where the presence of God was absent. Apparently, Jonah thought that he could escape to this place and avoid what God was calling him to do. It seems that Jonah either doesn’t know or just doesn’t remember the words of David when he said, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there” (Psa. 139:7-8).

Jonah doesn’t want to answer this call from God. As we continue reading we find out that Jonah would rather die than go to Nineveh to preach (v. 12). However, God wouldn’t allow Jonah to die b/c He had an assignment for him. The fish that swallowed Jonah was part of God’s grace. Grace on the part of Jonah and also grace on the part of the Ninevehites. God was calling Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.

What Is Your Nineveh?

Many times we are just like Jonah.  Think about what it is that God is calling you to do right now that you just do not want to do?

  • Evangelsim – God has called each of us to be a witness for Jesus (Acts 1:8). He expects us to tell others of His son and the salvation that can be found through a relationship with Him. Are you answering God’s call to evangelize or is this your Nineveh?
  • Selflessness/Generosity – God has called us to be generous toward others (I Tim. 6:17-18) and toward the Lord (I Cor. 16:1-2). Are you answering God’s call to be selfless and generous or is this your Nineveh?
  • Action – God has called each of us to action. Unfortunately, many Christians make excuses instead of answering this call. Are you active in serving the Lord or are you a person who has an excuse for your lack of service (LK. 9:59-62)? Is action your Nineveh?
  • Forgiveness – God has called each of us to forgive those who sin against us (Matt. 6:14-15). Have you forgiven those who have wronged you or hurt you? Is forgiveness your Nineveh?
  • Repentance – God has called you and me to repent of our wrong doing. The Bible teaches that unless we repent we will all perish (Lk. 13:3). Have you answered God’s call to repent from the things in your life that hinder your relationship with Him? Is repentance your Nineveh?

Perhaps you would rather try to run from God than answer His call. If you learn anything from Jonah learn this: You can run from God, but you can’t outrun God. Jonah found out that he had to answer God’s call even though he didn’t want to. The day will come for you and me when we will stand before God in judgment and be faced with answering His call, whether we want to or not!

Now that’s Something to Think About!

May 27

No Greater Joy…

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Last weekend Miranda and I traveled to Middle Tennessee for a couple different reasons. First, Miranda’s great aunt had passed away, so we went back to attend her funeral and be with family. However, the funeral was not our only reason for going back to Lewisburg. You see, we had already made plans to be in Lewisburg last weekend because of graduation. Several of our former students reached this milestone, and we went back to celebrate with them.

As I sat through the ceremony and watched these kids who I had spent almost six years working with, I couldn’t help but be proud of them and the young people they have grown up to be. Watching the ceremony and talking with the students afterward, I was reminded of something the apostle John wrote in his letter we refer to as 3 John. In speaking to Gaius, John said, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (v. 4). Just as John was proud of those converts and believers he had worked with, I, too, was proud of these students and many others we were fortunate enough to see while we were there. Seeing who they are and what they are becoming is such a blessing to my life.

Many of you who are parents have experienced similar feelings. You are proud of your children! Have you ever taken time to stop and realize it’s the same way with God? As our heavenly Father sits on His throne in heaven, David tells us He looks down upon the “Sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God” (Psa. 14:2). Just as I was proud of those students and many of you are proud of who your children are and what they have become, God is also proud of His children (you and me) when we do good and become who it is that He wants us to be. When we choose to put Christ on in baptism, our Father is proud. When we choose to live a life of service to others, our Father is proud. When we choose to tell others about His great love, our Father is proud. When we choose to live a faithful life to Him, we bring Him no greater joy!

As I traveled back to Knoxville on Sunday afternoon, I reflected upon my life. I thought about the joy I felt watching those students become young people I and so many others were proud of. Then I asked myself the question that each and every one of us should ask ourselves, “Am I living my life in such a way that my heavenly Father can look down from heaven and be proud of me?” If the answer to that question is no, then we have something to work on. May we all live in such a way that brings joy and honor to our heavenly Father…for there is no greater joy!

Now that’s Something to Think About!