…”We will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word”.

I just wonder what it would be like if for six months if all of us had preachers like those in Acts 6:4. If the preachers’ only task was preaching and praying. If deacons really did what deacons are supposed to do, I wonder how different our churches would be?

If your preacher had a week, locked away in seclusion with just his Bible and his God, no books, no internet, do you think his preaching would improve? What do you think?

Royce

No one ever cared for me like Jesus

Morning Sounds

I am a morning person and my wife isn’t so my movement in the house about daylight could easily be confused with that of a thief, carefully placed steps, opening the cabinet door purposefully, taking a coffee cup with surgical precision so that it doesn’t touch another, and then placing it on the counter as if it might explode if handled roughly. One heaping spoon of Maxwell House is met with instant hot water and then as I very carefully stir the mixture avoiding the sides of the cup the hot water dispenser groans and gurgles to quickly replenish the supply of almost boiling hot water.

Once comfortably positioned in a rocker on the front porch, a nice long sip of hot java, and the morning sounds start to gently massage my whole being and I am delightfully at peace. The assortment of birds have been hard at their morning concert long before I take my seat in the audience. A distant owl adds his haunting hoots without fail every morning. A few times each week I hear a woodpecker having breakfast in a nearby tree. I wait….and am not disappointed, for the buzz of hummingbird wings and the almost squeaky chirp as they visit day lilies, hibiscus, roses, and the two feeders purposely positioned near my morning perch.

The distant drone of a truck over a mile away slowly fades as it labors toward Arkansas. Then, right on cue, every week day, I hear the squeak and rattle of a neighbor’s garage door slowly rising. A door closes, then another, and the garage door repeats its morning ritual with its unpleasant groans. As the neighbor’s van backs into the road the familiar crunching of tires against stones reminds me of how nice it will be when our road is paved. More compressed gravel sounds and one, then another, and then another vehicle takes it’s drivers to the paper mill in Bastrop, the university class room, the hospital office, and the community center in Monroe. I hear the whurr of all terrain tires slowing to a stop as one and then another of a parade of cars and trucks stop and then go off to daily duties down Highway 134.

Finally I hear tires against gravel again and the much anticipated “flop” as my newspaper hits the concrete at the end of my driveway. I hear a faint fluttering sound as the cool breeze toys with the corners of the paper in my lap and enjoy the tinkle of a slightly disturbed wind chime. I hear a distant dog greet his master as he does every morning when he comes out of the house and starts to the car. I can imagine from hearing the pitch of his bark that he is an unattractive, pudgy faced mutt, about 20 pounds, whose only purpose is to add to variety to my morning and make his owner’s yard look bad.

After the news is digested, the cup empty, and the thermometer rises, I come back inside and carefully place my coffee cup in the sink without a sound and then quietly walk a few steps to my office to check the Drudgereport and email. The only sounds are the clicking of the keys as answer email and the occasional sound of cool air flowing from the vent in the ceiling over my desk as the air conditioner faithfully works to offset a warming morning. Suddenly I hear the vibration of my cell phone as it moves slowly to the right on my oak desk as a call comes in. I reach for it frantically so I can open it before the loud ring starts at the end of about 4 vibration pulses. It is a reminder of a noon meeting at the office.

As I am about done at my desk I hear the familiar sigh of my sweet woman as she stretches and begins her agonizing routine of getting fully awake. I soon hear the banging of a cabinet door, the clainging of a coffee cup on a plexiglas cutting board, the unmistakeable sound of a spoon rotating in a cup of hot coffee and then the nicest voice I know says “You want to go outside with me?” “Sure” I reply “Let me get another cup of coffee and I’ll be right out”.

So it goes at my house most every day and I never tire of the morning sounds that greet me. I am thankful for another day God has given as a present to be enjoyed, a time for rejoicing and gladness. When I am reminded of those in our world who are greeted with the sound of gunfire, the cry of a hungry child, the siren of a police car, or the angry shouts unhappy parents it is a fresh reminder of how blessed I am. I’m 63 and if I live 20 or 30 more years I’ll never understand why in God’s providence He chose me to be so kind to. I am very, very grateful.

His peace,
Royce

Conditional Salvation?

A gracEmail dated July 15th by elder Edward Fudge ended with this paragraph.

“Salvation is not some kind of project to which God and sinners make respective contributions.  It is God’s project, and he accomplishes it by his own power. “All that the Father gives me,” said Jesus, “shall come to me; and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me; that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who beholds the Son, and believes in him, may have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:37-40).”

I agree, what about you?

His peace,
Royce

How valuable is my relationship with God?

Perhaps no other question is as important for each of us to consider than this one, How valuable is my relationship to God? When I seriously consider the gravity of that question, and more importantly, how I honestly answer it, it is scary to say the least.

Many of us who claim to be followers of Jesus actually are not at all. We cannot live our lives as practical atheists and at the same time be authentic disciples of Jesus. Another way to understand the question I raise is to ask another, not of you but of myself. What is it that happens in my day to day living, my weekly and monthly routine, that could not happen if suddenly, and unknown to me, God ceased to exist?

I can read my Bible, pray, go to church twice each week, attend some devotionals with friends and in every way a man is usually measured I would be considered to be a “faithful” Christian. Another even more telling question I should ask is this one. What is happening in my life that is supernatural and the only explanation for it is the activity of God?

It is one thing to read the Bible, it is another to be taught it by the Holy Spirit. It is one thing to pray, often saying the same things from rote memory, not expecting an answer, and quite another to pray asking for something specific and having an answer that is clearly the work of God. I know we don’t always get remarkable answers to our prayers, but shouldn’t we sometimes? It is one thing to say we want to share our faith with others, but actually doing it and then seeing God change a life is another.

If I make the mistake of measuring my life against yours, or some other person’s, I have shown that I am a foolish man. (2 Cor 10:12) To quote Paul, “For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends”2 Cor 10:18. I believe that in proportion to how much I value God, and my relationship and standing with Him, I will actually be a disciple. It is not enough to be committed to a cause, a church, a heritage, or even a theological ideal, to be an authentic believer in Jesus Christ He must be what I value most. He must mean more to me than my family, my house, and even my church. (Matthew 16:24)

I am becoming less concerned about how I am perceived by my faith community and more concerned about what God actually knows about me and how I should live in view of that fact.  I must admit, there have been far too many time periods in my life when Jesus was relegated to someplace less than first in my daily living. One day I (and you) will stand before Him at the judgement seat and give an accounting for how I (we) have responded day by day to God’s gracious gift of life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There will be no smoke and mirrors, no bait and switch, just raw truth staring us in the face.

My goal today and going forward is to be less a hypocrite than I have been.

Your comments are welcomed.

His peace,
Royce

Here’s your sign!

I once spoke in a small church in Alabama and after my address I was approached by a man (whom I would learn later was the least spiritual church member I had met in years) and he declared I was “sound”. I am still not sure what he had in mind when he made that pronouncement but I have an idea. I didn’t know if I should consider it a compliment or not. I have since learned that most of the time the word “sound” applied to a preacher, teacher, or writer in church of Christ circles is simply code for saying “this fellow adheres to the tenants of the traditions and doctrines of the church of Christ”. I hardly fit the pattern, (no pun intended)

 

Many of those of us “with like precious faith” speak in code and for the uninformed it can be tricky. The term “like precious faith” is also a reference to compliance with church of Christ traditions first, and perhaps sometimes secondarily means what Peter intended when he penned those words in 2 Peter 1:1. The first time a gentleman used that term while speaking to me it was clear that he did not have in mind the righteousness that comes from God through Jesus Christ but rather another church of Christ. Trust me; they are not necessarily the same.

 

Following this same train of thought, what do you suppose is usually means when someone references “the Lord’s church”? My limited experience indicates that it always means only the churches of Christ. “The Lord’s church” is the church universal or “catholic” to be precise, which consists of ALL of those who have been saved. In that church there are no labels, but only that whose whole trust was, or is, in Jesus for eternal life and forgiveness of sins. I have a shocking news bulletin for you! There will be folks in heaven who were not members of a church of Christ on earth or any Restoration Movement church for that matter.

 

One of my favorite code phrases is “change agent”. I proudly wear that one myself. I was given that distinction by a fellow whose whole life it seems is given to defending a cappella singing in worship with a few less weighty matters thrown in for good measure. I dared to send an email disagreeing with him and that made me a “change agent”. I am in good company with two of the most famous being Max Lucado and Rubel Shelly. A “change agent” is not one who is leading folks into apostasy and unbelief but rather one who is preaching salvation through Christ alone sans any good works. How dare they! Recently a fellow spotted a book or CD by Lucado in a church and quickly informed the shocked brother that Lacado had “left the church”, again using church of Christ traditions interchangeably with the body of Christ universal.

 

Isn’t it odd that the labels sometimes appear to be backwards? For instance, Max Lucado preaches salvation by grace though faith in Christ alone and is labeled a “change agent” or “liberal”. While on the opposite end of the spectrum someone who teaches another gospel, which is not another, and teaches a mixture of trusting Christ and good works for salvation is called a “conservative”. That is strange to me. Is it conservative to abandon the historic, biblical, gospel of Jesus Christ just as those men Paul dressed down in his letter to the churches of Galatia? I think not. Back in the 1930’s it was “liberals” who were denying the deity of Jesus, teaching a works based salvation, and even denying the resurrection of Jesus. Now those same sorts of folks are labeled “conservative”. Odd at best in my view.

 

Time and space is limited so I will not attempt to mention all the labels people if our faith community have given each other over the last several decades. There are many of them. What are some of your favorites? Or, perhaps I am wrong, where?

 

Thanks for reading,

Royce

Lost church members, President Bush evil?, Ann Coulter said..

It is pretty clear that readers of this blog have no stomach for the fact that some church members are likely not really Christians. I know the hot button topics that garner lots of comments, like for instance weighty subjects like music in church. So I have decided to alienate the other two readers of Grace Digest by publishing a column by Ann Coulter. I am aware that it is not chic to be a conservative but then whose keeping score?

BUSH’S AMERICA: 100% AL-QAIDA FREE SINCE 2001

In a conversation recently, I mentioned as an aside what a great president George Bush has been and my friend was surprised. I was surprised that he was surprised.

I generally don’t write columns about the manifestly obvious, but, yes, the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years now will go down in history as one of America’s greatest presidents.

Produce one person who believed, on Sept. 12, 2001, that there would not be another attack for seven years, and I’ll consider downgrading Bush from “Great” to “Really Good.”

Merely taking out Saddam Hussein and his winsome sons Uday and Qusay (Hussein family slogan: “We’re the Rape Room People!”) constitutes a greater humanitarian accomplishment than anything Bill Clinton ever did — and I’m including remembering Monica’s name on the sixth sexual encounter.

But unlike liberals, who are so anxious to send American troops to Rwanda or Darfur, Republicans oppose deploying U.S. troops for purely humanitarian purposes. We invaded Iraq to protect America.

It is unquestionable that Bush has made this country safe by keeping Islamic lunatics pinned down fighting our troops in Iraq. In the past few years, our brave troops have killed more than 20,000 al-Qaida and other Islamic militants in Iraq alone. That’s 20,000 terrorists who will never board a plane headed for JFK — or a landmark building, for that matter.

We are, in fact, fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them at, say, the corner of 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan — the mere mention of which never fails to enrage liberals, which is why you should say it as often as possible.

The Iraq war has been a stunning success. The Iraqi army is “standing up” (as they say), fat Muqtada al-Sadr –the Dr. Phil of Islamofascist radicalism — has waddled off in retreat to Iran, and Sadr City and Basra are no longer war zones. Our servicemen must be baffled by the constant nay-saying coming from their own country.

The Iraqis have a democracy — a miracle on the order of flush toilets in that godforsaken region of the world. Despite its newness, Iraq’s democracy appears to be no more dysfunctional than one that would condemn a man who has kept the nation safe for seven years while deifying a man who has accomplished absolutely nothing in his entire life except to give speeches about “change.”

(Guess what Bill Clinton’s campaign theme was in 1992? You are wrong if you guessed: “bringing dignity back to the White House.” It was “change.” In January 1992, James Carville told Steve Daley of The Chicago Tribune that it had gotten to the point that the press was complaining about Clinton’s “constant talk of change.”)

Monthly casualties in Iraq now come in slightly lower than a weekend with Anna Nicole Smith. According to a CNN report last week, for the entire month of May, there were only 19 troop deaths in Iraq. (Last year, five people on average were shot every day in Chicago.) With Iraqi deaths at an all-time low, Iraq is safer than Detroit — although the Middle Eastern food is still better in Detroit.

Al-Qaida is virtually destroyed, surprising even the CIA. Two weeks ago, The Washington Post reported: “Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaida, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.”

It’s almost as if there’s been some sort of “surge” going on, as strange as that sounds.

Just this week, The New York Times reported that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in Southeast Asia have all but disappeared, starved of money and support. The U.S. and Australia have been working closely with the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, sending them counterterrorism equipment and personnel.

But no one notices when 9/11 doesn’t happen. Indeed, if we had somehow stopped the 9/11 attack, we’d all be watching Mohammed Atta being interviewed on MSNBC, explaining his lawsuit against the Bush administration. Maureen Dowd would be writing columns describing Khalid Sheik Mohammed as a “wannabe” terrorist being treated like Genghis Khan by an excitable Bush administration.

We begin to forget what it was like to turn on the TV, see a tornado, a car chase or another Pamela Anderson marriage and think: Good — another day without a terrorist attack.

But liberals have only blind hatred for Bush — and for those brute American interrogators who do not supply extra helpings of béarnaise sauce to the little darlings at Guantanamo with sufficient alacrity.

The sheer repetition of lies about Bush is wearing people down. There is not a liberal in this country worthy of kissing Bush’s rear end, but the weakest members of the herd run from Bush. Compared to the lickspittles denying and attacking him, Bush is a moral giant — if that’s not damning with faint praise. John McCain should be so lucky as to be running for Bush’s third term. Then he might have a chance.

COPYRIGHT 2008 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

Man, I feel cleansed in some odd way!

Royce

 

Religious but Lost

Religion by any name is not acceptable by the Holy God of the Bible. If you examine all of the well known religions of the world, and those not so well known, thee have one commonality. At the center is the human ego who wants to take credit, wants approval, wants “self” to be the center of attention. I know of no exception to this.

All egocentric efforts to be approved and accepted by God are in direct contradiction to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only people God approves and accepts are those who have put their whole trust in His promises, who have taken Him at his Word. All whom God accepts are accepted only upon the work and merit of Jesus whose righteous life was given for those with unrighteous lives, whose body was a perfect sacrifice prepared to die the death required of everyone whose sins offended God, and upon Whom the angry wrath of God against sin was completley exhausted, so that when He rose from the dead, death, hell, and the grave were defeated. Now God declares “right” or “righteous” those who receive His gracious offer extended in the gospel. Never has God compromised his hatred and punishment for sin, the price has been fully paid.

Of this righteousness which is by grace through faith Paul asked, “Where is boasting? It is excluded”. Or he could have asked, “Where is religion? It is uselss”. Religious but lost. Who are they? Perhaps it is you or the man who has been on the same pew with you for decades. It is really simple to understand. All one must do is honestly answer only one question. On what basis do you expect to be given eternal life? If that answer includes anything that is acheived by human effort, anything that satisfies the human ego, anything that assumes the glory that only Christ deserves, you have given a wrong answer.

Jesus made a starteling statement in Matthew 7. He said in regard to the day of judgment, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.‘ (Matthew 7:21-23)

First, consider what He did not say. He never hints that they are backsliders, that they were once saved and became apostates. He does not say they were not religious folks, or not “good” people by the worlds standards. Perhaps they were “good” people even by the local church’s standards. Just what did He say?

Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one. Not everyone who makes a profession of faith in Christ, not everyone who cries out “Lord, Lord” is saved. Also not all who do good works, even “mighty” works, or “wonderful” works are saved. And, not all the preachers and teachers will be saved. There are those who prophesy and cast out demons in Jesus name but are lost. Now, do you suppose these folks Jesus described were religious or not religious? Of course they were religious folks. They attended church, they said all the right things, they did all the right things. but were damned for hell. Why? Because they had failed to do the will of the Father in heaven. Strange you say! They had seemingly done the right stuff, perhaps they attended the “Lord’s church”, they had heard teaching, they had sung songs, they had prayed, they had given, they had taken the Lord’s Supper, but they had depended on themselves and not upon Jesus. They were religious but lost.

How many of these religious imposters are there? According to Jesus “Many”. If there are “many” who are religious actors why would you suppose that there are not some in my church or yours? It is the will of the Father in heaven that all men everywhere repent and put their whole trust in Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. Hear Jesus’ answer when asked, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28,29) And then He explained, “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

“Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life.”  At hearing these words many of His own disciples turned away, they chose religion over Jesus alone. How wonderfully clear has Christ made His promises to hopeless and helpless sinners? Again and again He makes the gracious offer of Himself. Only those who trust Him alone and forsake everything else are secure for eternity.

Jesus characterized the way to heaven as “hard” and “narrow” and said that only “few” will find that way. The contrast is the road to hell which is “easy”, “wide”, and “many” are traveling on it. Yes, more lost than saved, more who trust themselves than Jesus. Remember “There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is death.” That statement is still true in 2008.

What a sad condition! Religious but lost. “The wages of sin is death but the FREE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Please, don’t cling to good works, religious ritual, saying all the right things, being in the right church, at the expense of the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf. Throw yourself upon the mercy of God and trust Christ will all your heart. He will not always wait for you.

Great grace,
Royce Ogle

 

 

Truth

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32)

Knowing about a person is quite different than knowing a person. I know quite a lot about Sen. John McCain but I absolutley do not know him. So it is with truth. Many of us know about the truth but do we know the Truth? Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”  (John 14:6) Knowing dozens of facts about Jesus Christ, memorizing His words, bieng able to recite all of His recorded acts, does in no way mean that one actually knows Him. He went on to say in John 14:6 “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

No person will be rewarded with eternal life and become a child of the Father in heaven based on what they know but rather exclusively based upon Who they know. Many of us have taken great pride in our knowledge of the Bible, our ability to win a debate about it, and being adorned with the label “sound”. Sadly there will be people who will perish being “sound” in doctrine never knowing the Truth that sets the spirit free.

In the context of Jesus words above knowing Him (Truth) is a life and death matter. There are many imposters, many professors, wolves in sheep’s clothing, but few who know Jesus Christ. Do you know Him?

His peace,
Royce Ogle

 

 

 

When will you be here?

A full three hours before time for church Billy Spaulding’s phone rings and when he answers a teen’s voice asks expectantly “When will you be here to get me?”  This story is repeated each Sunday morning and night as children in Bayou La Batre anticipate going to the Hemley Road church of Christ where waiting for them is warm embraces, smiles, food, and unconditional love. Billy recently told me they could have 200 perhaps each time the doors are open if they had the means to round them all up and then to care for them when they arrived.

Recently when well over a dozen of the children who are regular attenders at HR were to graduate from the eighth grade, again the phones rang and rang, and Billy Spaulding and Daphne German assured each excited caller, “Yes, of course we will be there to see you graduate”. Unfortunately, most of the parents of these kids couldn’t, (or wouldn’t) make it to the school.

On Sunday morning the first two pews are packed with bright, eager faces of teens and pre-teens, anxious to sing loudly the praise songs they have been taught, and to praise the God they are getting to know. Just a few adults and one young summer intern are there to help these kids find their way in the world, and hopefully in God’s kingdom. With very, very limited resources, the folks at Hemley Road church in Bayou La Batre have accomplised the impossible again and again but are stretched to the limit. They need other adults to come along side them, they need money for food, (the kids are seriously hungry when they come), and they need  emotional/moral support. “When will you be there?”

In a communtiy where poverty is the norm, where adult illiteracy is very high, where substance abuse is also normitave, a small group of believers are loving the people, repairing homes, feeding the hungry, and making a quiet impact on their communtiy for time and eternity. Against impossible odds they have acheived so very much, but the work ahead is enormous. “When will you be there”?

If you personally, or your church or civic group, want to reach out in a meaningful way to the poor, the broken, the truely needy, please consider a generous gift, or even better perhaps, go there and see for yourself how you can make a difference.

“When will you be here?” What will you answer?

His peace,
Royce