Remembering A Dark Past

Yesterday, millions of Americans celebrated the annual observance of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the announcement of slavery's abolition in the state of Texas. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln almost three years prior to this date, it was not until June 19, 1865 that the first official declaration of freedom for all slaves was made in Galveston, Texas. On that day, General Gordon Granger and 2,000 of his men arrived to take possession of the state and enforce the law that Lincoln's signature had put in place three years earlier.

This is a day that brings joy to every freedom loving American. However, it is also a day that brings to memory one of the darkest parts of our great nation's history. Though not every slave was treated as badly as others, most accounts and photos we see from the 1850's and 1860's tell a grim tale of human oppression.

The basic problems are these:

1. A slave's person is deemed the property of another human being.
2. A slave's will is completely subject to the "owner's" authority.
3. A slave's labor is obtained against their will by coercion.

Truly, one of the most sinister and perverted states of mind any man can have is to view another human being created in the image of God as his own property. Consider these basic Bible principles:

1. Since all human beings are created in the image of God, they are all equally worthy of our respect (Genesis 1:28).
2. All human beings are loved equally by God (John 3:16).
3. Every man and woman is to love their fellow man as themselves (Matthew 22:39).

It is difficult to imagine very many scenarios that violate more principles of God's word than the practice of slavery. And though this nation has come a great distance in the past 150 years, the problems of racism still exist (and perhaps always will). As long as there are men and women who will not demonstrate love and compassion for everyone on an equal plane, this will always be a problem -- amongst all races.

At the very least, let's do our part to show the world that the people of God will not only speak about "the golden rule," but will actually live it as well. The next time you hear someone use a derogatory racial term, let them know (kindly) that you do not concur. The next time someone stereotypes a certain group or tells an off-color joke about a certain set of people, don't laugh (not even that nervous and uncomfortable laugh). This is an area where we can have a significant impact on a regular basis.

Let your light shine every day.

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Life Can Be Hard, But God Is Good

HE IS STRONG in our weakness.

HE IS COMFORT when we're in pain.

HE IS LOVE when we need acceptance.

HE IS PEACE when we're haunted by fear.

HE IS PROTECTION when we're in the midst of trouble.

HE HEALS OUR WOUNDS when someone or something hurts us.

HE IS JOY when our hearts are grieved.

HE IS OUR FRIEND when we need acceptance.

HE IS OUR POWER when we are helpless.

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Keeping It In Perspective

Earlier this week, I received a phone call from my brother-in-law, Ben, who lives in Tennessee. Ben had received a call from his brother, Dave, in Florida who had made an interesting discovery.

Dave had been making an effort to find my parents' address on WhitePages.com. He typed "Roark" into the name field, and their ZIP code into the address field. He found what he was looking for, but also came across an additional entry with my name listed.

This in itself was not an interesting discovery since Kelly and I did indeed live and work in this same Tennessee town for two and one-half years. The intrigue begins with the job title listed under the entry with my name. It still had me listed as an employee of the West Fayetteville church of Christ, but with the job title listed as "false teacher" (click on the image above to see the screen capture).

Apparently, anyone with internet access is able to submit a name and job title. Dave was somewhat hesitant to let Ben call me with this piece of news, but being my best friend and brother-in-law (some say we were separated at birth), Ben knew exactly how I would take it: with great amusement.

Now, don't get me wrong...being labeled as a "false teacher" is no laughing matter -- especially if there is any validity to such an assertion. Understand, however, that when someone anonymously submits someone's name with that label to a website, that can be somewhat difficult to take seriously. It shows a genuine lack of character and courage, to say the least. And so, one might have to say in a situation as this, "consider the source."

While Ben and I were having a good chuckle over this, he asked if I could think of anyone who might be behind this. My answer was that I had only one or two guesses (after all, I'm not all that well-known!), but it would be impossible to say with any degree of certainty. Besides, I was not overly concerned with the situation in the first place.

Had this situation arisen in my younger days, I may have been hurt, angry, and on a mission to find the culprit. Now, at the advanced age of 30, I've found it much easier to keep situations like this in its proper perspective. For this, I give God the glory...

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:14-26, ESV

When we allow the Spirit of God to operate and mold our lives through the Scriptures, the difference will be plainly evident.

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Love's Lists

Read 1 Corinthians 13, and notice the description of what love is and is not.






Love is/does:

Patient (v. 4a)
Kind (v. 4b)
Rejoice with the truth (v. 6b)
Bear all things (v. 7a)
Believe all things (v. 7b)
Hope all things (v. 7c)
Endure all things (v. 7d)
Never ending (v. 8a)


Love is not/does not:

Envy (v. 4c)
Boast (v. 4d)
Arrogant (v. 4e)
Rude (v. 5a)
Insist on its own way (v. 5b)
Irritable (v. 5c)
Resentful (v. 5d)
Rejoice at wrongdoing (v. 6a)


Thus, when we find ourselves reflecting some portion of the latter list, we can know assuredly that our actions are not according with love. Let us strive day by day to implement more characteristics from the former, and less from the latter.

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A Spiritual Barometer

Heaven. It's a place that has become a fairy tale to much of our world's population. Yet for the fruit-bearing child of God, heaven is a place one thinks about every day.

Truly, there is much we do not presently know about this place called heaven. I am not sure it would be possible for our finite minds that are so transfixed on an earthly existence to grasp the entirety of heaven's contents. The Lord does, however, utilize what might be termed "accomodative language" in helping us attain just a glimpse of what heaven is like.

Thus, many of these descriptions should not be taken literally. Rather, understand them as they are intended -- physical descriptions of a spiritual realm. God is Spirit in a spirit world (John 4:24). These pictures should motivate us to set our sights on making heaven our eternal home.

Heaven is...

• A place where God dwells (Matthew 7:21)


• Where Jesus has gone to prepare (John 14:1-3)


• A city, a country (Hebrews 10:34; 11:14-16)


• A place of glory, peace, and rest (Romans 2:1-22; Hebrews 4:9)


• A place of righteousness (1 Peter 3:10-14)


• A place of indescribable joy and happiness (Matthew 25:21-23)


• A vast, huge place (Revelation 21:16)


• A city made of pure gold (Revelation 21:18)

Now, that sounds like a wonderful place! Just consider the fact that these terms and phrases cannot begin to describe what awaits the redeemed (2 Corinthians 12:4).

How often does heaven "cross your mind"? Once per month? Maybe once every week on Sundays? To be certain, there is no formula or quota on our heavenly thoughts. However, the extent to which your mind is"set on things above" (Colossians 3:2) may be an effective barometer for gauging your spiritual condition.

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20 Ways To Simplify

Most of us think we are pretty busy. Most of us are right. While busy can mean productivity, busy can also mean a life that is “out-of-whack” in terms of priority.

Yes, work begets more work, hobbies beget more hobbies, stuff begets more stuff until the point where we step back in the one free moment we might have during a week and realize…. “It’s time to simplify!!"

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). The more “stuff” we have crowding our lives, the more danger we put ourselves in of dividing our loyalty that rightly belongs to the Lord.

Here is an excellent list of 20 ways to simplify, compiled by Dr. Steve Stephens:

1. Eliminate ten things from your life.
2. Cut back on T.V.
3. Escape to a quiet spot.
4. Set your own pace.
5. Get rid of clutter.
6. When you bring in something new, throw out something old.
7. Do only one thing at a time.
8. Say “no” at least once a day.
9. Enjoy the little things.
10. Take at least four breaks per day.
11. Determine what really matters.

12. Make peace with all people.
13. Tell the truth.
14. Appreciate beauty.
15. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.
16. If you don’t have time, don’t do it.
17. Have a plan for everything and put everything in its place.
18. Share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions with a friend every day.
19. Allow time to pray.
20. Thank God for what you have.

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Brotherly Love Conquers All

Tomorrow night (Friday, September 28th) at 8:00 p.m., the West Virginia Mountaineers will take the field at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. They will line up against the South Florida Bulls in what is being hyped as one of the biggest games in all of college football this season, and as one of the biggest games in the history of the Big East conference.

The University of South Florida is an institution comprised of more than 40,000 undergraduate students in Tampa. It also happens to be the university my wife, Kelly, and I attended. We have been devoted fans of the Bulls (especially football and men's basketball) since our time there in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

Obviously, Kelly and I are "pumped" for Friday night's showdown on ESPN. We are in the middle of ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) country here, but we have at least two WVU Mountaineer fans that I know of here at Cold Harbor. I have been preparing both of these brothers for their defeat over the past two or three weeks, but I am not convinced they are ready to handle the deep depression that will set in when the clock reads 0:00 and the point total under "Bulls" is higher than that under "Mountaineers" (sorry guys, had to say it!).

I write all that to say this: No matter how passionate we may be about a sports team or any other interest in life, there ought to be nothing that supercedes these two things:

1. Our love for God
2. Our love for our fellow man

While we should be good and kind to everyone about us, our Christian brothers and sisters should occupy a unique reservation in the love we bestow (Galatians 6:10). Would you believe churches have been split and preachers have lost their jobs due to arguments about football games?!?! 'Tis true! What a tragedy when brethren place greater value on their allegiance to a sports teams (or anything else) than on their relationship in Christ.

It is so rewarding to have Christian brothers like Joe and Steve. We can enjoy the rivalry on the field, all the while maintaining our love for and commitment to Christ and one another.

Friend, never allow anything this world has to offer come between you and your Lord, nor you and your brother!

ps -- be sure to turn on ESPN2 tomorrow night @ 8:00 p.m. to see the Bulls stampede!!

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Clothed With Humility

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5, ESV

Good guys, and bad guys: Every movie has them. If you have "a team," every game has them. Life itself has "good guys and bad guys," too.

Men and women who have considered the evidence, and therefore, have faith in the God of the Bible understand the very simple choice in life every individual must make: Serve the Lord of all goodness and love, or the great deceiver who tempts and destroys in this realm and that which is to be. It comes down to good guys and bad guys. And although God "made man upright" (Ecclesiastes 7:29), we have all sought out many schemes. We have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Our own pride led us away from God, and that puts us on the side of "the bad guys."

Truly, God stands in opposition when we allow pride to chart life's course. The potential for the happy ending is there, though! The latter part of the statement from First Peter chapter five above reveals, of a truth, that God will bestow his kindness (i.e. grace) to those who will draw near to him in self-resigned humility. A chance to be on the side of "the good guys." A chance to serve God in humility, to be sure; but also an opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of how to treat our fellow man with respect and dignity.

The instruction given in the God-breathed statement above is to "clothe yourselves" with humility when it comes to our dealings with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Certainly, the same applies to our treatment of the entire human race. In the original language, the phrase, "clothe yourselves" is a term (engkomboosasthe), occurring only this once in the New Testament. It is a verb formed from kombos, which means "a knot," or "a buckle." As the verb occurs here in First Peter, it means, "to attach," or "to fasten." As Ceslas Spicq points out, "It evokes the large apron that workers or slaves fitted or fastened to their tunics to protect them."

Such an apron was one of the primary ways in which slaves (indentured servants) were distinguished from freemen during the first century. The idea, then, is that every Christian ought to present himself to his neighbor in a spirit of modesty and self-denial gained by an attitude that is firmly fitted with the "apron" of humility."

How many problems (both within the church and without) would be averted if every man would so clothe himself?

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A Cure For Worry

This one's for me.

Well, truthfully, every one of these articles apply to me just as much as anyone; it's just that this one is especially needed on my part.

Kelly and I are sitting at almost ten months since we placed our house in Tennessee on the market. We were surprised when we hit the three month mark and no offers had come in. Well, seven months after that three month mark, nothing has changed. There sits a great house with not a single offer to date.

Would I be lying if I told you Kelly and I have not worried about this situation very much? Yep. No doubt about it -- that would be a "whopper." We have talked and fretted about it ad nauseum.

Why do we worry, you and I? Is it not because situations and circumstances sometimes fail to go according to plans -- OUR plans? Sure enough. That really is what it comes down to -- that and the fear of what may be.

God's word tells us how to combat that ever so natural urge to worry in Philippians 4:6-7...

• Unloading -- by prayer (v. 6a)
• Committing -- by supplication (v. 6b)
• Praising -- with thanksgiving (v. 6c)
• Leaving -- the burden with God (v. 6d)
• Getting -- God's peace in return (v. 7)

Now, to put that into practice!

r2

I've Heard Of Wolves In Sheep's Clothing, But This...

Most students of the Bible are well acquainted with Jesus' words regarding wolves in sheep's clothing (see Matthew 7:15-20), but have you ever heard of pigs in tigers' clothing? I didn't think so.

Well, prepare to be amazed. Inset at right is a photo taken at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand (near Bangkok). These photos have been used in an email hoax to go along with a fabricated story about a mother tiger whose prematurely born tiger cubs all died after birth.

According to the ficticious tale (which is passed off as genuine, by the way), the keepers at a zoo in California (they didn't even use the real location) were trying to save the life of this mother tiger who went into deep depression after the death of her cubs. When they were unable to find any orphan tiger cubs, in desperation they wrapped piglets in tiger skins and encouraged her to nurse these little pigs in tigers' clothing.

As already noted, this is an inaccurate account of what the photo actually portrays. The zoo in Thailand where these animals truthfully reside is known for "creating successful relationships with animals of different species." Since this facility may more accurately be described as part zoo, part circus, these relationships are strictly for entertainment value. This same attraction features basketball playing elephants.

By the way, the mother tiger was herself nursed by a pig as an infant. This explains very well why she views pigs as family instead of prey -- companions instead of pork chops!!

Now friends, if a tiger and five helpless little piglets can live peaceably in the same envirnonment, surely so can we! The Bible says...

"If possible, so far as depends on you, live peaceably with all."
Romans 12:18, ESV

A wise person once said, "Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it." If you have lived on this planet for more than five minutes, you are well aware that conflict will arise even amongst the best of friends. God is looking for peacemakers. Those who cope with conflict in a Godly manner are the true peacemakers, and the Bible says they are the ones who shall be called "sons of God" (see Matthew 5:9).

R2