Building Wisely, Part 5

Greetings! We were so blessed to have had my son and daughter-in-law with us last week. It was a great time of ministry, and we’re seeing God do so much in our community. Thank you for praying for us!

We’ve been talking about building wisely. One of the questions we’ve addressed focuses on why we do what we do. A lot of us are capable of doing a lot of things . . . building a lot of buildings . . . starting a lot of programs . . . doing a lot of things that look good. Believe me, if all it took were money to do effective missions, Haiti should have been saved fifty years ago. Likewise, if all it took were toothpaste, food, or beans and rice, Haiti would be the “pearl of the Antilles” that it once was.

It’s not simply a matter of what we’re doing; it’s also how and why we do it. Here’s a standard of judgment that can be useful: Am I bringing glory to God, and am I bringing increase to His kingdom? I believe we should seek to glorify God in all things, and as laborers in His field, we should be seeking to bring increase to His kingdom. In order to do that, we’re going to have to build wisely.

I’d like us to consider 1 Chronicles 28:9. This passage is regarding King David, and as you know, he wanted to build a “house” for the Lord . . . a resting place for the Ark of the Covenant. God basically said, “No, I’ll give you the plans, but you’re not the one who’s going to build it because you’ve been a man of war and have shed blood.” But here’s what David says to Solomon, and I thought it was profound. David said, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father.”

Let me stop right there; I’m going to boast about one of my children for just a moment. I read a Facebook post the other day from my youngest daughter, Jessica. She said, “I want to thank my Daddy, Emory Goodman, for teaching me how to love God, love others, and live life to the fullest.” It brought tears to this old man’s eyes; it just really touched my heart. I thought to myself, “Wow, praise God, she got it!” Listen to me, parents, they’ll get it; trust me. They’re gonna get it! We are responsible to teach them to serve our God. It’s up to us to be sure we’re serving the right one!

“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind.” That’s another sermon right there! Serve God with a loyal heart and a willing mind for the Lord searches all hearts. That’s not for you and I to do. We can’t do it no matter how good we think we are at it. Like I said before, half the time we don’t know what’s in our own hearts! Maybe that’s why we focus so much on the speck in our brother’s eye and don’t seem to notice the big ‘ol beam in our own.

The Lord searches all hearts and understands the intent of the thoughts. The Word of God is quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword even to the dividing asunder of the spirit from the soul, bone from the marrow, thoughts from the intents of the heart (derived from Hebrews 4:12).

If you seek Him, you will find Him. If you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. “Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it” (1 Chronicles 28:10).

I want to say this for those of you who are involved with the Lord’s work, which ought to be every one of us, regardless of vocation. Whatever God has called you to do, be strong and do it! Don’t be weak and quit. Get the job done! Finish well! You started good; finish well! You started on fire, don’t burn out. Keep the flame burning (that is on you to do). You can do that by encouraging yourself in the Lord on a regular, daily basis. Refresh your memory as to why you’re where you are and Who it is that has called you. Keep your eyes on the prize! Look beyond the cross. Be strong and do whatever it is that God has called you to do.

Vickie and I pray for you on a regular basis, and we are excited to see and hear what God is doing in your lives as you continue to build on Him!

Grace and peace,

pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 2

Greetings from the beautiful Dominican Republic!

In the last blog we focused on the ability of God's power to transform us. We're going to pick up there and talk a bit about how that translates into making us a new creation!

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." That is one of those simple verses we've known for so many years, and yet, ponder the words carefully: a new creation. "Old things are passed away and a few things have become brand new, and you get to choose what things you want to be made new. Now, if you don't want those things to change, then you're okay. You just come to therapy every Sunday." NO, that's not what the Word says! It says that all things are made new! That's radical transformation . . . not evolution! A Christ-less Gospel is a powerless Gospel, and it would appear that society, particularly modern society in America, tends to gravitate towards this mindset. That, in turn, leads to a form of righteousness, but it denies the power of Christ. When all you have is a form of righteousness that denies the power, that equates to nothing more than religion!

Every major religion in the world has the ability within it to make a person "better." If that is all it's about, you might as well convert to being a Muslim or a Buddhist. Now those are some peaceful people! I've hung around Buddhist societies before. Do you know one of the things that a Buddhist notes about Western culture? They believe that if a person loses his temper or gets frustrated in a grocery line, it is a clear sign of weakness. You or I might think that someone is just being short-tempered, but the Buddhist is probably thinking, "This one is weak." They tend to lean towards the belief that if a person is strong, then those deficiencies in behavior will not surface. There is something to be said for that . . . I mean . . . come on, if we can't even bear to wait for three minutes in a grocery line or at a red light, who then shall stand in the day of adversity? But the transforming power is not simply about becoming "better people." Having the power of the Gospel activated in our lives gives us the ability to demonstrate God's miracle-working power.

So many times the Church attempts to try and meet the needs of the world using worldly means. This is not to say that feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are not valid or great works to pursue. A good question to ask ourselves when pursuing those types of works is: "Am I doing this for God's glory and for His alone?"

Jesus came preaching the Gospel. It was not a message of how to evolve, how to better your life, or even how to become a more acceptable person. He came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and it was not a message of simply being rescued from something, it was a proclamation that God's Kingdom was and is yet at hand. He was making very, very clear to us that not only can man be saved from something, but that he can be saved unto something!

There's a whole new life available to those who want it. We would do well to evaluate our own lives. I would challenge you right now, very quickly, to look back and consider what a difference Christ has made in your life. Somebody might say, "Well, I wasn't that bad of a person to begin with." Another one might say, "I was a nice person then, I'm a nice person now, and I just want to be nice." You know, I've read a lot of books, and I've read the Bible quite a bit in the last thirty years. I've also read a lot of characteristics about men like John the Baptist and even Jesus Himself. Through all of that studying and reading, not even once have I ever read that, "Jesus was a very nice person." I've never seen it. "John the Baptist: he ate locusts, wore camel hair, and he was a very nice man." No, I don't read "nice" in any of the descriptive terms. I don't mean to insinuate that gives us a right to be rude; I believe that Christians never have a right to be rude.

The American church, frankly in my opinion, has become "too nice" in an attempt to be socially accepted. We want the world to like us, so can't we all just be nice? "Well, it's those Christians that are so intolerant." Tell that to the Mayor of Chicago. It's the Christians who are supposedly intolerant, but in the meantime, if you believe in the sanctity of marriage, "You are not welcome in our city." Just as bad, there are those who call themselves Christians and take on the posture of, "Right on, brother."

I'm going to pause here and carry on with this same train of thought in my next blog as there really is not a good stopping point, but there is much more to be said along these same lines.

My prayer is that we will wake up and stop trying to placate the world or be swayed by society's opinion. Let's refocus and get back to the principles and morals proclaimed throughout the Word of God!

~ pg