The Forgotten Third: Developing a Biblical Relationship with God the Holy Spirit

Friends: I’ve been working on this manuscript for quite a while. And I now have a contract to get it finished! Here’s a sample of what I’m putting together for this book:

Jesus says the Holy Spirit would be “another paraclete” to His disciples. Would the term “comfort” be the first to come to mind when we think of how Jesus was to His disciples? He rebukes them for their unbelief, for their sleeping, for having no faith. He defends them when they are accused of violating sacred rules of ceremonial washing or ignoring Sabbath observance. He “comes alongside” them when their faith is too weak to exorcize a demon-possessed boy.

“Comfort” seems to imply bringing solace to one who is weeping. The disciples (during the earthly ministry of the Lord) did not know enough to weep. He does not “comfort” them – He challenges, chastises, corrects, and even cajoles them. “Comfort” is far too weak a term. And sometimes the last thing the believer needs is a sympathetic companion who wipes away his tears. We need One who is fully divine to come alongside of us and put His finger on our sins and remind our hearts, “You belong to Your Heavenly Father.” We require One who will motivate and empower us to take risks for the Kingdom of God, One who will not be satisfied with one-seventh of our week, with the leftovers of our hours and days. We need One who will be “called alongside of” us even when we ourselves don’t have enough wisdom to invite His intrusive presence.

In an age of comfort food, we need the Bread of Life broken to us by the Spirit who yearns for our sanctification. We desperately require a Defender in the face of undeserved, snarling rebukes by an unbelieving world – and in the face of deserved charges of our sins by the great Accuser, Satan himself. The Spirit is not a soothing Teddy Bear, but the Hound of Heaven who will not let us be.

Our primary need is not for Someone who will say, “There, there. It will all be okay. It really doesn’t matter.” We require Someone who will remind us that life matters greatly, that we might well die for the sake of the gospel – and we are no fools if such happens to us. We need Someone who will remind us of our sonship even when Satan, the world around us, other Christians, and even our own conduct seem to contradict the very idea that we could be loved and forgiven by God. We need to be rescued from our consumeristic culture and transformed into God-centered, other-focused ambassadors for the King. In our postmodern atmosphere where it seems no one knows who they are and have stopped asking such questions, the Spirit reminds us of our adoption into God’s family. In our subjective circles of pooled ignorance, often punctuated by “Here’s what the Lord says to me,” we need the determined Applyer of the truth of Scripture to do His mighty work in conjunction with the serious attention to the meaning of the Word. Surrounded by moral relativity and a resistance to anyone who defends the concepts of right and wrong, we desperately need the inner conviction of the Spirit who does not debate moral matters with us, but puts His divine finger on the shortcomings of our thoughts and actions. In brief, we need Someone like Jesus.

 

My Proposed Writing Projects: Would You Pray for Me?

Friends: As most of you know, I love to write. And I have a lot of writing projects that I need to, I want to, pursue. Would you consider praying for me that God would lead me in my writing? I want to maximize my energies and produce what would be beneficial to God’s people and a blessing to Him! Here are several manuscript ideas “in the works.” Feel free to leave a comment on which one interests you the most. Thanks!

Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die! This is a multi-part study of the story of Lazarus, a good friend of Jesus, who dies. And Jesus could have prevented that from happening. This study deals with the important topics of friendship, suffering, and sovereignty.

A Five-Minute Theology: Daily Devotionals in the Basics of Belief  This may sound a bit strange, but a lot can be accomplished in 5 minutes a day. My concept is 300 five-minute devotionals on the ten areas of theology (thirty each on Christology, Hamartiology, Ecclesiology, etc.). So in less than a year one can get a pretty good grasp on the fundamentals of the Christian faith. I’ll also produce 5-minute videos along the same line.

Insight from a Blind Man (A Study of John 9)  This miracle — the most detailed account of a healing in all of Scripture — provides many practical lessons for the believer.

With Friends Like These . . . Job’s Friends and Religious Foolishness  I’ve studied the book of Job — and preached on it — for years. I’m fascinated, not so much by Job’s suffering, as by the friends’ spiritually mugging him for thirty chapters! There are many lessons in this study about friendship and how poor theology can bring more hurt than healing.

Finding Deep Joy in a Sad, Shallow World (A Study of the Epistle to the Philippians) We know that the prominent word in this letter is joy. But what is joy? And how does it differ from happiness? A study of the dozen or so uses of that term will greatly help us in being a people of joy.

The Forgotten Third: Developing a Biblical Relationship with God the Holy Spirit   This project will probably be the first under contract. Christians either overemphasize or overlook the Third Member of the Trinity. If He is truly personal, He can be spoken to. If He is fully divine, He can and should be worshiped. Learning of His various ministries to believer and unbeliever is key to developing a relationship with Him, for we are to enjoy the “fellowship of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14).

Would you consider praying for God’s leading in my life and in my writing? Thank you!

 

Some Thoughts on FRIENDSHIP — From an INTROVERT! (Part 4) THE OLD TESTAMENT ON FRIENDSHIPS! (Part 2)

Two books on friendship — who needs ’em?  The answer is — I DO!  As an introvert, I try to avoid people, large crowds, telemarketers. But God in His humor has me writing two books on . . . friendship! This first book is tentatively entitled With Friends Like These . . . Biblical Friendships from Job to Jesus. We began in our last post thinking about the Old Testament on friendship.

While our study must be cursory, we noticed in the Pentateuch that Adam needed human companionship, that God actually had the Levites kill their friends for idolatry, and that two men specifically (Abraham and Moses) were called “the friend of God.”

In the History Books we mentioned the beautiful friendship between Jonathan and David and how it is perversely viewed as a homosexual relationship by some today, causing many men not to get close to other men out of fear!

Let’s take a brief look at the Poetry Books of the Old Testament this morning.  What do we see there?  The book of Job lays out for us the truth of being with a friend in pain. It also shows the danger of trying to “help” one’s friend through their pain when the helper’s view of God and reality is flawed. Job’s three friends each lecture him on his sin and his need to repent.  And they are wrong in their assessment (see Job 42:7). Theology is important, but can be used as a weapon to further hurt the wounded.

The Psalter has much to say about friendship, especially the pain of friends’ turning away when life becomes hard (see 31:11; 38:11; 41:9; 55:12-14; etc.). David declares he is “a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts” (Ps. 119:63).  The book of Proverbs reminds us that the rich have many friends (19:6).  The righteous choose their friends carefully (12:26) and we are warned that gossip separates close friends (17:9). One of the most critical points about friendship made in the book of Proverbs is found in 27:6 where we read, ““Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” None of us likes to be wounded, but there are useful wounds from those who love us which are far more valuable than empty expressions of affection. Similarly, Proverbs 27:9 says, “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.” (27:9). Very practically we are told in 22:24 that we should “not make friends with a hot-tempered person; do not associate with one easily angered.”

In our next and last post on the Old Testament’s advice on friendships we will look at the major and minor prophets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some Thoughts on FRIENDSHIP — From an INTROVERT! (Part 1) WRITING PROJECTS!

Some people are surprised when they learn that I test out as an introvert.  An “expressive” introvert.  But an introvert nonetheless. I’ve taken the Myers/Briggs, the Briggs and Stratton, and the Disc Personality tests.  And I come out as an introvert.

My daughter Amy is the same. Being around people too much exhausts us. She says she wants to buy me that T-shirt that says, “INTROVERTS UNITE!  IN YOUR OWN HOMES!  BY YOURSELVES!”  (I’d wear that T-shirt).

All of that to say that the Lord has a tremendous sense of humor.  He is working on me this year to stretch me. It looks like I’ll be writing two books on . . . friendship!  I’ve been working on the issue of friendship evangelism as I’m processing the idea of the Lord Jesus being “a friend of sinners” (Mt. 11:19).  That work is tentatively entitled Unlike Jesus:  One Area Where Jesus-Followers Excel.  I don’t know if that will be the final title (it’s kind of negative), but I’m convinced that Satan has won and continues to win a great victory by convincing believers that the fewer non-Christian friends they have the godlier they are. We confuse the command in James 4:4 not to be friends of the world with the idea that that must mean we can’t be friends of sinners.

It also looks likely that I will be writing a book on friendship in general. The working title for that second work is With Friends Like These . . . Biblical Friendships from Job to Jesus.  This project will allow me to survey friendship in both the Old and New Testaments (I’m presently working on Abraham, “the friend of God”), consider Job and his friends (who theologically “mug” him for thirty chapters), think about how Jesus was a friend to His disciples (taking particular notice of His response to His sick friend Lazarus in John 11), and include some material on believers’ being friends of sinners.

I’m going to ask you, the reader, for something very specific.  Would you pray for me and these two writing projects at least once a week over the next few months?  If you agree to do this, you may let me know privately through my email (theoprof@bellsouth.net) or publicly in the comment section below.  THANKS!

 

What Does the Lord Have for Me in 2019?

Some of you are faithful readers of this blog.A few of you have stumbled on it by accident.  I appreciate each of you and want to take today’s post to ask for your prayer for me and this new year!  I’m so thankful that the Lord is using me in various ministries and you might want to know about a few upcoming events for which you can pray.  Please let me know how I can pray for you.

Specific kinds of activities:

1. Writing projects:There seems to be good indication that I will have one (and possibly two) writing contracts for this year.  Unlike Jesus: One Area in Which Jesus-Followers Excel is something I’ve worked on for a while. We need to become friends of sinners, like Jesus, don’t we? Another book, tentatively entitled With Friends Like These, will challenge us to develop deeper relationships with other believers as well as with those who don’t know the Lord.  (I’ll announce on this blog when either of these contracts is nailed down).  Please pray for clarity of thought and a clear guidance of God the Holy Spirit as I work on these two projects.

2. Speaking Opportunities: I am so grateful for the times I get to preach God’s Word or conduct serious study sessions on various theological topics.  I’m hoping to present one or two workshops at the annual “Iron Sharpens Iron” conference at Emmaus Bible College in May. I’ve suggested several possible topics (the titles with brief descriptions are: “Learning to Be a Friend of Sinners Without Becoming a Friend of the World” Jesus’ being a friend of sinners (Mt. 11:19) and the command for us not to be a friend of the world (James 4:4) are often confused. How is it many of us need a refresher in Friendship 101? What is a biblical definition of the “world” and our place in it? “Theological Opposition: Where Should We Do Battle — and Why?” This is not the day for spiritual pacifists. As Chuck Colson used to say, “The battle is raging today all around, but many are perishing because we Christians have failed to engage the enemy at the point of attack. We not only flinch; for the most part we are not even looking in the right direction.” (Who Speaks for God?). Biblical guidelines for fighting false teaching will be discussed. “Battlin’ Brethren: Silly Squabbles Between the Saints” Learning to distinguish between the essentials of the faith and our own distinctives is crucial. The adage “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things charity” was sadly violated by J.N. Darby and his compatriots in the early days of the Brethren Movement. Their legacy, unfortunately, continues. Some recommendations for reversing the trend will be given. “A Discussion of Greg Koukl’s Book Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions” In an increasingly hostile world, this book provides practical steps in sharing the gospel without becoming obnoxious or defensive. Tactics such as the Columbo Method, Steamrolling, and the Rhodes Scholar are explained by this prominent apologist from Stand to Reason).

3. Ministry/Missions Opportunities:  Apart from several trips to work with the believers at Cedarcroft Bible Chapel in New Jersey, I’ll be speaking in a Chinese church on Easter Sunday (in English, of course!). There is a strong possibility that Linda and I will travel to Ethiopia to teach in a small Bible school there for a couple of weeks!

There will also be some opportunities to edit book manuscripts for others, plenty of tennis with my friends (some who are not yet “in Christ”), some Bible conferences, etc.

I appreciate you, my friend.  And I deeply covet your prayers for me for this New Year!

 

 

Writing Projects I’m Working on ….

One of the benefits of being retired is that I can get back into writing — which I normally love to do.  I say “normally” because I’m venturing into the world of fiction which I find really difficult.  Here are some of the projects I’m working on.

1. I just had an article posted on patheos.com which you might find interesting. It is found at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/evangelicalpulpit/2017/10/stephen-paddock-hell/  I originally entitled the article “Gambling with God: Five Certainties in the Stephen Paddock Tragedy.”  The Patheos editor thought his title would draw more interest — and it has generated 163 comments!

2.  Some of you know that I am quite committed to the idea of friendship evangelism.  So I’m working on a book entitled Unlike Jesus:  One Area Where Jesus-Followers Excel.  We are not a friend of sinners like Jesus was — and I’m praying my small effort might help to change that!  I also want to develop a four-message weekend conference on this theme.  Those four messages are just about ready.  Consider having your church invite me for a weekend!

3.  For years I have been working on a novel whose central character is Dr. Theophilus Hornby, a Bible college teacher, who solves mysteries and crimes (part-time, of course).  I find fiction really tough to do well, but I’m working on my first adventure with this sixty-some-year-old professor (who looks and acts a lot like …. me!).  [Some of you might be aware that I wrote a short novel a few years ago entitled Abandon All Hope (which is still available on Amazon.com)].

4.  I have a great interest in producing a full year DocDevos, daily devotionals in biblical doctrine.  The original DocDevos was published in 2002 by Christian Publications and was subtitled Ten-Minute Daily Devotional on the Great Doctrines of the Christian Faith.  That volume only covered the first three areas of theology (Introductory Matters, Bibliology, and Theology Proper).

5.  I would like to write several shorter (and smaller) books similar to, say, this one by the folks at the Christian Research Journal or Robert Morgan’s fantastic The Red Sea Rules.  One would be a study of the man born blind in John 9 and entitled Insight from a Blind Man.  The other might be a survey of the minor prophet Jonah and entitled Belief Contradicted by Behavior: A Study of Jonah.   Some of you know that I’ve worked a bit on helping myself and others improve their preaching, so I might expand on my little pamphlet which is entitled Ten Specific Steps You Can Take To Make Your Sermons and Preaching Better!

Well, those are a couple of projects I’m working on.  (I also want to write some Christian comedy, but that’s a topic for another day!).

Prayers are definitely appreciated, friends.  Thanks for lifting me and my efforts up before the King!

 

 

 

Time for a Great Cartoon! (writing)

As many of you know, I enjoy writing. Here are some of the projects I have recently self-published:

“Living for Jesus in an Un-Christian World: A Study of Jude”

“Saved: Rescued from God, by God, and for God”

“Whatever Happened to Heresy?”

“Top Ten Mistakes Students Make on Research Papers — And How to Avoid Them”

“Working Out Your Own . . . Faith” (a series of workbooks in basic Bible doctrine)

Here are some books and articles that I am working on:

“Christianity Is Serious — But Christians Are Downright Hilarious!”

“Jesus Matters . . .”

“Dr. Theophilus Hornby: Theologian and Erstwhile Detective”

“What Did Jesus Believe?”

“Some Lessons from Some Lifers”

“One-Year DocDEVOS”

“All God’s Creatures Got Problems”

Working on anything yourself?  I would love to hear about any of your projects.

 

 

 

 

Time for a Great Cartoon! (writer’s block)

Friends:

Some of you might want to know what I’m working on these days in terms of writing.

I recently wrote Saved! Rescued from God, by God, and for God.  A free copy is yours if you will post a comment on my blog and email me your shipping address.

Presently, I’m working on a short book called STUCK!  Five Truths to Get You Moving in Your Christian Life.  If you’ve read my posts on “Back to Basics” (my study of Titus 2), you’ve pretty much got the gist of STUCK!

I want to revise and expand my first novel, Abandon All Hope.  I need to do much more character development in that project.

Over the years I’ve been intrigued by the story of the man born blind in John 9.  So I’m working on a short manuscript tentatively entitled Insight from a Blind Man.  My wife Linda is encouraging me to develop a series of Sunday School lessons on doctrine.

I sure appreciate your prayers for me as I continue my seminary teaching and preaching in conferences and retreats over the next few months.  Please let me know what ministries you are involved in — and how I can pray for you!

 

Writer’s block!

UPDATE ON MY WRITING PROJECTS:

As some of you know, I’m on study leave this semester from my teaching duties at Columbia International University Seminary and School of Ministry (we have pretty large bumper stickers).

After serving two weeks on the OM ship Logos Hope in Singapore and Thailand, I have the rest of the semester to pursue a number of writing projects.  Here are a few of them:

1.  “Twelve Atheists Who Have Trusted Christ”:   I’ve been working on the first chapter of this book and it is tentatively entitled “C.S. Lewis: Mere Atheist.”  I’ve got a few contacts to pursue, but if you know of any believers who wandered for a while in atheism before trusting Christ, I’d appreciate contact information.

2.  “Saved!  Rescued from God, by God, and for God.”  This manuscript is with my agent waiting to be pitched to publishers.  I’m really excited about this one which is about 98% finished.  The chapter titles are:  LOST, LOVED, LURED, LEARNING, LABELED, LIBERATED, and LAUNCHED.  The Epilogue is quite challenging and is entitled LOATHED!

3.  “One-Year DocDEVOS”:  Some of you may know that one of my earlier books is called “DocDEVOS: Ten-Minute Daily Devotionals on the Great Doctrines of the Christian Faith.”  There are ten areas of doctrine in Christian theology, and the original DocDEVOS covered only the first three areas (in yellow).  I want to write devotionals for the other seven areas.  The total number of devotionals would be about 300-325.  A friend of mine refers to my original DocDEVOS as a “kind of Daily Bread with teeth.”

4.  “Working Out Your Own . . . Faith”:  I have already developed five of these theological workbooks.  These are lay-flat, fill in the blank, self-studies of the ten areas of theology.  I’m very enthused for this project.  I believe most Christians would enjoy going through these Workbooks and working out their own understanding of the truths of the Scriptures.  This proposal is also with my agent.

5.  “DocTALK” and “DocWALK” and “Heaven: Thinking Now about Forever”:  I want to check into the possibility of having these earlier books republished, perhaps with some added material (such as study questions).  DocTALK is a survey of all then areas of Christian theology and DocWALK asks the questions, “How do we put these truths into practice.  When Temptation Strikes is a study of both temptation and sin, suggesting a number of strategies in not simply avoiding sin, but of moving on in godliness.

There are other projects that I am working on, but I value any feedback from any of you on these works.  Thanks.  Larry