The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).

I have been saddened to see Christian institutions of higher learning changing their policies when it comes to alcohol. From time to time Karen and I sent a small donation to one particular school because of the good preaching that we enjoyed and appreciated. When I heard that the prohibition on alcohol had been lifted on their faculty and staff, I could not believe it. I personally wrote to the president. My letter was kind and gracious. I asked him about their policy. One of his vice presidents wrote me a cordial letter explaining that culturally today when their staff and faculty had dinner with friends, they didn’t want their staff to be embarrassed that they couldn’t drink. I nearly had a seizure. Personally Karen and I will never send another donation while this is their policy. Over the years in my pastoral counseling ministry as well as in the lives our precious children that we have adopted, I have been an eye witness to the effects of alcohol. That’s why I am so strongly opposed to the notion that a Christian should be able to drink. For my two cents, I don’t think it is wise.

For today: Thanks for letting me share my convictions and my “two cents.” Ask the Lord to direct your decisions always.

“I have given them Thy Word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14).

Someone on the radio was making the observation that Christians have always been hated. I believe that statement is absolutely true. However, I also believe that we are living in a time when we are seeing a growing animosity toward the followers of Christ. Christian brothers and sisters around the world are being hunted down, tortured, imprisoned, even murdered, and their properties seized. Here in the United States a pizza worker (not the owner, not the manager!) was asked a hypothetical question about whether their pizza would be served at a homosexual wedding reception. What a ridiculous question to ask a young worker! For her answer, the owners of the pizza shop received death threats. Yet a reporter was video recorded visiting several Muslim bakeries that flatly refused to bake a wedding cake for such a reception. Nothing happened! There was no outcry, no protests, and no lawsuit. What a double standard! There is no doubt in my mind that the world hates us with a growing hatred. I want you to know that my heart aches for the many believers who suffer greatly for Christ, and I want to earnestly pray for them. I want to be gracious, but I also want to be bold in my stand for Christ. How about you?

For today: It is an honor to be hated by the world but loved by the Savior!

“But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

Mark and his wife Betty drove home and chatted about the evening. As the floor supervisor for his department, Mark and his wife just attended the second retirement party in less than two weeks. “Those two retirement parties couldn’t have been any more different from each other, could they, Honey?” Mark asked as he looked at his wife. “Surely couldn’t,” she responded. As they continued driving Mark said, “Ralph was always arrogant. He was more than willing to take credit for things that were not his idea. Wasn’t he arrogant tonight at his retirement party as he touted his accomplishments? On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hank gave such a sweet tribute to his wife, his co-workers, and most of all to the Lord for his success in the company. It makes me think,” Mark continued speaking to his wife, “of the children of Israel. God told them to always remember that He made it possible for them to be successful.” You and I can learn from this. Though we must be diligent in our work, it is ultimately the Lord that enables us to be successful.

For today: John the Baptist had a good perspective. He said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusts in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:42-43).

The Lord Jesus surely suffered on the cross. He suffered physically from the horrific torture that He experienced before the crucifixion as well as from the terrible pain suffered on the cross. He suffered indescribable pain spiritually as He was separated from the Father, bearing our sin and shame. But there’s more. He even suffered emotionally from the ridicule of the religious leaders and the people as they passed by. Crucifixion was a terrible means by which to die. Can you imagine the people who ridiculed the Lord Jesus? Taunting Him, they dared Him to come down from the cross. The only thing that kept Him there was the unbreakable commitment to do the Father’s will to pay the price settled from eternity past. I am so thankful that He didn’t come down from the cross. How about you?

For today: I want to be extra thankful to the Lord Jesus as I think about the severe price He paid for us.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).

We sometimes read through this section pretty quickly because we know that the three men were thrown into the furnace and that the Lord Jesus Himself came and protected them and everything turned out great. We close our Bibles and head out the door and think little about it again. Let’s stop right where we are. Think of these three young men. Kidnapped from their homeland, these young men had already experienced a great deal of hardship and tragedy in their lives. When offered the chance to bow down and worship the pagan image, they answered, “We don’t need time to think about this, your Majesty! Our God is able to deliver us, we know. But if He doesn’t deliver us and we die, then we will still not bow down and worship your gods, nor the golden image which you have set up.” Their faith cost them something. I am not sure I have ever experienced more than being laughed at. Recently Christians in a chapel service in Kenya were separated from Muslims and killed instantly by Islamic terrorists. In many other places Christians are paying dearly for their testimony. Here in our own beloved country, the tide is surely shifting away from Biblical morality, and some believers are beginning to pay a price for their faith. May we today be of great cheer and empowerment, realizing that we belong to the same God as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He will give us the same courage.

For today: May our backbones be filled with courage and our hearts filled with compassion as we live for Christ right now.