Sudden Death...Sudden Glory!

Just last night, as we were in Vacation Bible School, a car accident occurred on Valley Creek Road in Leonard, Texas. It was a tragic accident as two of the passengers died and two others were taken by care flight to a trauma one unit in Dallas.

As often as we hear of stories like this you would think that it would be easier for our communities. But in reality, it is just as hard to hear of such accidents as it is any other time. It speaks of the frailty of man. One day we are enjoying life to its fullest and the next day death is knocking on our door. Life is fast; life is short; death is certain.

But what of these that died? I don't know who they were. I did find out that the two passengers killed were 19- and 16-years-old. The two other passengers were teens as well. They were not from our community, but they lived in two nearby communities. Parents this evening are grieving for the loss of these two while parents are praying for the lives of the other two. Tragic.

On the news we hear of the war front. There in foreign countries our American men and women are losing their lives for the sake of setting captives free in other nations. But let us not forget that there are others - sometimes more than we really want to know - who are civilians that are losing their lives. All of this happening because politicians who want more and more power are wanting to control more and more people and land and monies and nations. One minute a Humvee is driving down the road and the next it is being exploded by enemy gunfire or roadside bombs.

In Norway today a crazed man in a police uniform opened fire upon a government building and detonated a bomb that killed at least seven people instantly. Prior to the bombing he apparently attacked a youth camp and witnesses have been saying that they saw at least 25-30 young men and women gunned down. And why? For reasons that we may never know except that this man was on a mission to kill as many as he could before killing himself with the bomb. He is not a "suicide" bomber but a "homicide" bomber. Let's be realistic with what we ought to call him: he was a murderer.

With all of these tragedies is there any hope at all with these things happening all around us? Really, is there any hope out there? Some would say that there is hope in this or that - whatever this or that may be. But the only hope that we truly have is Jesus Christ! Read what the Apostle Paul wrote:

And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice because I know this will lead to my deliverance through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. (Philippians 1:18-21)

For Paul sudden death meant sudden glory! For many of those who have believed and trusted in Jesus as Christ, Lord and Savior they have experienced that which Paul knew that he would: For me, living is Christ and dying is gain! At the point of their death, however tragic it may have been (and every death is tragic when you consider that it is for sin that death reigns in the flesh today, whether they are 15- or 100-years-old), if any of those teenagers or soldiers or youth who were killed knew Jesus the Christ as Savior and Lord then they experienced sudden death and sudden glory. This is the hope, nay, the living hope that we have in Jesus the Christ!

Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death

“Iran’s Supreme Court says an evangelical pastor charged with apostasy can be executed if he does not recant his faith, according to a copy of the verdict obtained by a religious rights activist group.”1

Yousef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 and given the death sentence late last year. The only way he can have his sentenced suspended is to renounce his faith.

Nadarkhani, from Rasht, on the Caspian Sea, converted to Christianity when he was a teenager. Apparently, and from all accounts, he has been an effective witness and pastor in the area where he is serving. His church is believed to have about four hundred people. But Iran is a Muslim country. It’s ancient roots Armenian and Assyrian. As far as the Evangelical Church of Iran, it is a relatively new church—a product of the legacy of Anglican missionaries who were in Iran in the last two centuries. Although Iran has fairly tolerated the Armenian and Assyrian orders, they have not been tolerant of evangelical conversions. The Armenian and Assyrian orders date back to the days of Jesus Christ.

Firouz Khandjani, a spokesman for the evangelical Church of Iran, lives in exile in Eastern Europe. After fleeing from Iran to Turkey for security reasons, even his new homeland is not safe. As far as Iranian officials are concerned, he could be targeted by Iranian agents in Turkey.

Khandjani says a sort of “soft persecution” began after the Islamic Revolution, with Christians generally losing many civil rights, including access to top jobs in the country. However, since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office as President in 2005, those civil rights have dwindled even more so.

Those who know Yousef Nadarkhani say he is not likely to recant or renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. Had Yousef been the type of man to give up Christianity, he would have done it years ago.

When the early church started after Jesus’ resurrection and subsequent ascension, there arose such a strong believer as Yousef. Acts 7 records for us the first and only sermon that Stephen ever preached. He speaks of how God had chosen His people through the covenant that He made with Abraham. Stephen reminded his accusers of how Moses led God’s people out of Egypt after Pharaoh began to persecute them all the more. The Lord had used Moses to lead His people out of bondage and Moses performed many signs and miracles before the people.

Then the Israel rejected God and began to worship other idols. But the people rejected Moses’ teachings and the giving of the Law. They turned their backs on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Read how Stephen equated the Pharisees to those in the wilderness: You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your forefathers did, so do you. which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who announced beforehand the betrayers and murderers you have now become. You received the law under the direction of angels and yet have not kept it (Acts 7:51-53). These words enraged those who heard Stephen. They threw him out of the city and there they stoned him. Stephen never recanted or renounced his faith. He stood firm on the promises of God that he would be saved. His last words were: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! (Acts 7:59)

My prayers are with Yousef Nadarkhani. Whether in life or death, may he stand firm upon the same promises that Stephen did. And may we do the same.

The Walls Came Tumbling Down...In Order!

Jonathan Edwards, the famed theologian and preacher of the early 1700's in the United States of America, wrote the following account of God's providential preservation of his people when the church building he was preaching in fell:

Northampton, March 19, 1737

“We in this town were, the last Lord’s day, (March 13th) the spectators, and many of us the subjects of, one of the most amazing instances of Divine preservation, that perhaps was ever known in the world. Our meeting-house is old and decayed, so that we have been for some time building a new one, which is yet unfinished. It has been observed of late, that the house we have hitherto met in, has gradually spread at the bottom; the sills and walls giving way, especially in the foreside, by reason of the weight of timber at top pressing on the braces, that are inserted into the posts and beams of the house. it has done so more than ordinarily this spring: which seems to have been occasioned by the heaving of the ground, through extreme frosts of the winter past, and its now settling again on that side which is next the sun, by the spring thaws. By this means, the underpinning has been considerably disordered, which people were not sensible of, till the ends of the joists, which bore up the front gallery, were drawn off from the girts on which they rested, by the walls giving way. So that in the midst of the public exercise in the forenoon, soon after the beginning of the sermon, the whole gallery – full of people, with all the seats and timbers, suddenly, and without any warning – sunk, and fell down, with the most amazing noise, upon the heads of those that sat under, to the astonishment of the congregation. The house was filled with dolorous shrieking and crying; and nothing else was expected than to find many people dead, or dashed to pieces.

“The gallery, in falling, seemed to break and sink first in the middle; so that those who were upon it were thrown together in heaps before the front door. But the whole was so sudden, that many of those who fell, knew nothing what it was, at the time, that had befallen them. Others in the congregation thought it had been an amazing clap of thunder. The falling gallery seemed to be broken all to pieces before it got down; so that some who fell with it, as well as those where under, were buried in the ruins; and were found pressed under heavy loads of timber, and could do nothing to help themselves.

“But so mysteriously and wonderfully did it come to pass, that every life was preserved; and though many were greatly bruised, and their flesh torn, yet there is not, as I can understand, one bone broken, or so much as put out of joint, among them all. Some, who were thought to be almost dead at first, are greatly recovered; and but one young woman seems yet to remain in dangerous circumstances, by an inward hurt in her breast; but of late there appears more hope of her recovery.

“None can give an account, or conceive, by what means people’s lives and limbs should be thus preserved, when so great a multitude were thus imminently exposed. It looked as though it was impossible, but that great numbers must instantly be crushed to death, or dashed in pieces. It seems unreasonable to ascribe it to any thing else but the care of Providence, in disposing the motions of every piece of timber, and the precise place of safety where every one should sit and fall, when none were in any capacity to care for their own preservation. The preservation seems to be most wonderful, with respect to the women and children in the middle alley, under the gallery, where it came down first, and with greatest force, and where there was nothing to break the force of the failing weight.

“Such an event may be a sufficient argument of a Divine providence over the lives of men. we thought ourselves called on to set apart a day to be spent in the solemn worship of God, to humble ourselves under such a rebuke of God upon us, in time of public service in his house, by so dangerous and surprising an accident; and to praise His name for so wonderful, and as it were miraculous, a preservation. The last Wednesday was kept by us to that end; and a mercy, in which the hand of God is so remarkably evident, may be well worthy to affect the hearts of all who hear it.”

Shark!

I’ll never forget this day back in 1975. It was one of the most anticipated movies of all time and my family decided to go and see it on the opening night in Nashville, Tennessee on our summer vacation. We were staying near the Cordell Hull Dam at the home of a dear friend of ours. The film was Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless viewers afraid to go into the water. Of course we lived near South Padre Island and there were always sightings of sharks (well...hammerhead sharks...but nonetheless they were sharks!).

That night, as everyone was sleeping, I had a horrible nightmare. I had dreamt that the Cordell Hull Dam broke and all of the water behind the dam flooded Nashville and totally destroyed Smokey’s house. After the waters smashed everything to pieces I witnessed this huge Great White Shark eating all of my family members as we were swooshed around by the horrible currents of the water. One-by-one, first my brothers (this is another article for another day!), then my two sisters and then on to my parents—all of them, eaten by Jaws!

But the nightmare didn’t stop there. You see, after the Great White had eaten my entire family (interestingly enough there were no other people in the water, it was just my family) he turned toward me! This shark was going to eat and devour me! But before the shark started gnawing on me, my Dad woke me up from my nightmare. I was apparently screaming aloud in my sleep and was interrupting everyone else’s slumber except my own. My Dad stayed with me until I was calmed down and he took me around to everyone in my family so I could see that they were alright and they were resting peacefully.

Jaws may have been frightful to me, but nothing is more frightening than what the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Great White Shark is lethal, but nothing is more lethal than the devil. But God gives us a way to stay safe!

With the Great White Shark it is better for you to just float around and not move or wear shiny jewelry or for you to agitate it. With the devil God says to us to be sober, be vigilant, that is, we are to be aware of his practices and his ways. The devil will always try to lead you astray, but by learning the ways of God and of His Word you will be able to defeat the enemy. Read what else Peter says in 1 Peter 5:9, Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. We’re not alone, Beloved! We have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and then we have each other! Stand fast in the Lord and in His Word! Stand steady! Stand up against the wiles of the devil! Be sober! Be vigilant! Be in prayer!

Liberty & Slavery

In America we celebrate every year the liberty that we have. It is a time of patriotism, fireworks, hot dogs and apple pie. It is a time that the nation seems to come together but for a single moment. But the moment of liberty is something that has far reaching aspects in our daily lives. Liberty is the political philosophy that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will and to take responsibility for their actions. There are different conceptions of liberty, which articulate the relationship of individuals to society in different ways, including some which relate to life under a “social contract” or to existence in a “state of nature”, and some which see the active exercise of freedom and rights as essential to liberty.1


Slavery on the other hand is a system under which people are treated as property and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. Slavery predates written records, has existed in many cultures and in some historical situations it has been legal for owners to kill slaves.2 Slavery is the stark opposite of liberty. Whether we realize it or not, or want to realize it or not, slavery today is higher than at any point in human history (a friend of mine who works for the Department of Homeland Security says that the US has the highest rate of human trafficking in the world today).

Our understanding of slavery and liberty may differ. But one thing is for sure: God’s idea of slavery and liberty is exact, sure, true and proven. It is the slavery that every man faces from the time he is conceived to the time that he dies if he never trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is slavery to sin. The Apostle Paul wrote it this way in Romans 6:15-18: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. Sin is ever present in our liberated society. And because this is the case, there really is no liberty at all except to a certain class of people.

Now that sounds pretty precocious on my part to say except to a certain class of people. Be careful not to misunderstand what I mean by what I say. The class of people of whom I am speaking is every single person in the world: sinners! But there are some of us who have come to the knowledge of our sinfulness, have trusted the Person and Work of Jesus Christ unto salvation, and who are attempting to live our lives as obedient to Him. However, there are those who struggle with the liberty they have in Christ. For some reason we just continually give ourselves to the enslavement of sin. The Word of God, however, keeps telling us that we are freed from sin and that we have liberty in Jesus Christ.

Read what Jesus Christ says about liberty John 8:31-35: Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed Him, “If you continue to follow My teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are descendants of Abraham,” they replied, “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. the slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever.” Find true liberty and be freed from slavery in Jesus Christ!

Hidden Treasure

Have you ever searched for hidden treasures? Bill Fair can only wish it were his garage he was cleaning out. Hired by the Texas attorney general’s office to clean out a storage unit after a judgment against the building’s owner, the Lecompton, Kansas, man made an incredible discovery. Under piles of junk, Fair discovered a classic 1966 Shelby Mustang—one of only 1,100 ever made. Encased in rubbish for perhaps decades, the vintage sports car was pristine, according to Fair. After he reported the discovery to the Texas attorney general’s office, the car was quickly towed away where state officials hope to auction it off for around $200,000.

Carroll Shelby was a race car enthusiast and he is also known as one of the greatest car designers in the world. He had a streak in him that said speed! When AC Cars of Thames Ditton in England lost their manufacturer for the lightweight, but powerful Bristol motor in 1961, Shelby saw a great design in a car that he really treasured. It was known as the Ace Cobra. He ended up contacting Charles Hurlock, the owner of AC Cars, and talked him into continuing to build the chassis but with a certain modification: a chassis that could stand up to a good old US V-8 engine! Shelby was not sure where he would get the V-8 motor but he liked the idea and was determined to pull it off—which he did in 1962, just a year after receiving the first chassis from AC. It was a marriage of the British Ace roadster and Ford’s hot new 260-cid V-8 engine. Later there was a 289 which now put the Cobra up to 380 horsepower and crowns in the SCCA-A-production and the US Road Racing Championship.

I understand that for some this story is not really all that exciting. After all, some of you just want to have a car that takes you from point A to point B. That’s understandable. But I tell you this story for this simple reason: when a man finds a treasure he is determined to get it and to make it his very own. He’ll work hard to get it. He’ll work harder to make sure that his treasure stays in pristine condition. He’ll go as far as to keep it to himself so that no one will have the inclination to steal it or to vandalize his treasure. Shelby no doubt saw the beauty in what he found to be his treasure. His treasure was in the designs that he made and the cars that he built for speed.

And this is how the Lord would have us to be. Now don’t mistake me! He doesn’t want us to chase after something that we have made with our hands or with our minds to be the treasure that we find and keep. The treasure that He wants for us is only found in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ! Read what Paul wrote in Colossians 2:1-3: For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The true treasure that lasts for an eternity is actually knowing the One who is to be treasured.

In Jesus Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It is the knowledge of us being knit together in love—Christ’s love—and attaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding—understanding that our riches are Christ Himself. Beloved, we have a treasure that is beyond anything imaginable. Shelby dreamt of a car. Jesus dreamt of our redemption. Shelby attained his dream only for it to die with him. Jesus attained His dream only to rise again!

Good News for Those Who Are Hopeless

It appears that there is a deep depression affecting so many in the United States. This depression is not just an economic depression. In fact, that is only a minuscule part of the depression. The depression actually stems (in my opinion) from a lack of hope. There seems to be hopelessness all around us today. From factories closing to loved ones perishing from tragic accidents or diseases or even suicide, a lack of hope is surrounding us.

Over the last twelve months alone in my small town there have been five suicides. Why? Because of a lack of hope. There is hopelessness in hearing the news of these tragedies. There are people who are dying of all sorts of diseases, cancers and other ailments. And how are they fairing? Many of them are hopeless. In Arizona a 22-year-old fired in excess of 15-20 rounds from a 9mm pistol killing six innocent people including a 9-year-old girl, injuring 13 others and a United States Congresswoman. Why? According to news reports, this young man was hopeless and was planning on committing suicide after he went on his killing spree. Over and over again we are hearing of young people taking weapons to their schools and using them to kill other students because of bullying or for some other reasons. Why? Because of hopelessness.

But there is Good News this evening! It is the same news that has been told for centuries and even for a couple of millenia. The Good News is that God is not surprised at any of this. In fact, He is not surprised to hear of the tragic shootings or the car accidents or the diseases or even the suicides. He is fully aware of what is going on in our world today; He is not silent nor is He aloof or afar off. In the midst of all of this tragedy, God is still in control!

"But how can this be? These young men and women, these older men and women, these children that are dying...how can you say that God is in control of all of this? If God is in such control, why doesn't He act like it?"

The Bible answers these questions in various verses. For example:

"Because you rage against Me and your insolence has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came." (2 Kings 19:28)

"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases." (Proverbs 21:1)

These are but two verses that speak of God's sovereignty over the lives of men. In the arena of man's will raging against Almighty God He acts to bring man and his pride to a grinding halt. The politics of a man's heart will be directed as the rivers of the world in the direction that God sees fit. But there is more Good News. Not only is God sovereign over the lives of men, but He is sovereign in how He chooses to save men. And how does He choose this? Through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ! This is exciting knowing that God even has this in control! Read how the Scriptures again describe this incredible Good News:

Jesus said, "I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture." (John 10:9) 

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:11)

"Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:9-11) 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will -- the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us int he One he loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of HIm who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of His glory...For it is by grace you have been saved, thorugh faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 1:3-14; 2:8-10)

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

If you are hopeless today, rest assured that there is hope in Jesus Christ. I leave you with this thought:

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope int he Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:30-31)