I had a visitor, David Cost, who works with Life On Wheels.  The same day, I had lunch with Randy Wolf.  Randy is a Gideon (who has visited our church on several occasions).  Randy volunteers at the Sav-A-Life organization just down the road from the church.  These organizations are both dedicated to helping women who are in a crisis situation with pregnancies.  They offer help and advice, especially in discovering alternatives to abortion.  Sav-A-Life is a brick and mortar building on Vestavia, while Life on Wheels has two mobile units that travel to different locations.  I applaud both organizations and those two men who dedicate their time and effort to providing help and information for women.

In case you haven’t noticed, I abhor abortion. I feel for women who find themselves in a situation where they feel an abortion is their only recourse to an unexpected and/or unwanted pregnancy.  For the overwhelming number of women who choose abortion the decision is gut-wrenching and seen as a last resort. God still loves those who had to make the decision,  as do I.  And I truly hope that their repentance comes forth and secures the forgiveness that every sinner needs. The blood of Christ covers all sin…even the taking of an innocent life. And that is what abortion does.

Those calloused hearts that cry out for abortion at any time for any reason use euphemistic language to try to lessen the horror of what they call for.  “It’s women’s healthcare” (what about the baby’s health care?) “My Body, My choice” (they’re not dissecting her body) “it is just a clump of cells” (we are all just a clump of cells). But the fact of the matter is an abortion ends a life.  An innocent life.  It may be harsh to say so, but it is murder.  There is a living human being in the womb, and some kill it.  

Some would say that we who oppose abortion are trying to force our religious beliefs on people. Science, however, says that life begins at conception. And I do know un-religious people who have enough common sense to know that and want to protect the life of the child in the womb.  Know this, though, the absence of that scientific fact would not permit me to disregard what the Bible says about the beginning of life: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 

Who has the authority to say that something God created has no worth or value?  Certainly not you or me.

Psalms‬ 139‬:13‬-16‬ NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A current philosopher wrote that if it took a promise of eternal reward to motivate someone to do good, then that someone was a (expletive) person. To me, that is just another example of someone totally ignorant about Christianity; no concept of what salvation is and what it does. Christianity is more than just a person deciding to do good, so he/she won’t go to hell. Vastly more.

In fact, if that is the only reason you decide to do good things, I’m not too sure you’ve gained that eternal life. Suppose a man offered you $50 to wash his car. You agree and wash it. When you are through, the car is clean, but you haven’t changed a bit. You did it to enrich yourself. Did you do a good thing? I suppose the man whose car you washed would say so. Are you better off after washing it? You are 50 bucks richer. But nothing has changed about you!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Christianity is about change. You are not the same person with the same worldly outlook. You have been made new, and the Holy Spirit dwells within. Whatever good you do is done for God’s glory. You love Him, you worship Him, and you serve Him.  Life is not about you any longer. You are reborn: a new person. That new person has the heart of Christ, the Mind of Christ, and the desires of Christ. Salvation is a life-changing event.

I know the philosopher thinks himself to be knowledgeable about many things. And I’m sure he is. But his statement about Christianity shows him to be woefully ignorant about that subject. Again, just another example of Satan lying to and deceiving someone. As for me …I’d rather be ignorant about the carnal mind and to know the truth in Christ.

Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.

I am very much encouraged by all the things happening in our church. There is such an awesome spirit of cooperation, work, and excitement about ministry. This year’s church picnic/fish fry was standing room only.  The awesome presentation regarding the Shroud of Turin was truly inspiring.  The next day, the Church Council met and the talk was about ministries and the community.

The Women’s Bible Study begins on July 19 at 5 p.m. It’s exciting that the ladies are back in a Bible study and their enthusiasm is catching. The Men’s Ministry is jumping in with their James 1:27 Ministry.  It is designed to, primarily, assist our widows with any home structural needs, as well as any senior adult that needs a helping hand. And, who knows, there may be a community neighbor that needs the help of a loving church.

We discussed the continuing need of the Green Springs Ministry for food and how we are going to re-emphasize that ministry.  But there was also a focus on a backpack program for kids in need in West Alabama, the Shoebox ministry, and the associational Season of the Savior stocking emphasis over the next few months.

Let me assure you that, as your pastor, it truly does my heart good to see our church focusing on ministry in the community and across our city and state. God is going to bless that! He is going to use Church on the Bluff in a powerful way!

I think you’ll agree with me that rules are a good and necessary thing. Whether it is a board game or a sporting event, rules are important. Rules prevent chaos and bring order. Rules can protect us and prevent inequality. We are a civilized society because there are rules by which we live. Can you imagine living in a culture where there were no rules?

But what about too many rules?  That can get out of hand, too, if we aren’t careful.  Too many rules can often steal some freedoms, happiness, and peace from our lives. That is nowhere as obvious as when it comes to religion.  Christianity changed our interaction with God from simply appeasing a “god or gods” to knowing the one true God.  Not just living to make Him happy and to gain His favor but knowing God personally; having a true relationship with the One who created you.

By the time of the incarnation, the Hebrew religion had become a system of keeping rules. The “rules mindset” almost begged for more rules.  Take the first commandment, for instance. (I’m paraphrasing here) Don’t work on the Sabbath and don’t require anyone else to work. Pretty simple, huh? Nope.  People began asking the religious leaders some honest questions so that they wouldn’t inadvertently disobey God.  What, exactly constitutes work?  Can we fix a meal? Can we visit with friends if we have to walk too far? Can I milk my goat? Is it ok to mend a robe that needs it? It is interesting to read some of the Hebrew laws on how to keep the first commandment.

Rules are necessary, of course.  But if we try to use rules to be closer to God we will keep making up new ones.  I always tell folks they should seek to be closer to the Lord; they need to know him scripturally. As we get to know His character and purpose, rules will follow.  Once we understand the Bible isn’t a rule book it’s a love letter we develop rules  that draw us closer to Him.

When I worked at a TV station in Dothan I learned an important lesson.  One day I woke up feeling bad.   I went in to work because I knew they needed me.  I got progressively worse as the day wore on and it got to the point where I was coughing up blood. When I told my boss what was going on and that I needed to leave and go to the doctor, she said no. She said that there was an important car dealer about to show up to do a couple of commercials.  She strongly insinuated that it may not go well for me if I deserted them in a time of need.  So I stayed and we did the commercial.  When I drug myself to the doctor, he said I had a bad case of pneumonia. The hospital was his suggestion, but I opted for penicillin shots and bed rest. 

So here’s what I learned: my employers did not care about me and did not appreciate the work I put in.  For a young 22-year-old working his first full-time job, it was an awakening.  From that day on I only did the bare minimum.  I did it to the best of my ability and worked hard at it, but did not do anything more than what was expected of me. That was not the right attitude at all…and certainly not a Christian attitude, but all it would have taken was for my bosses to appreciate my work.  And, perhaps, to let me know that on occasion.

In our world there are three things that are at the forefront of what I call the “culture clash” of morality.  Abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism dominate the differences in discussions of morality.  It boggles my mind that just one generation ago, all three would have been almost universally regarded as immoral or unnatural. What happened?

First and foremost, I believe, we allowed God to be taken out of the collective consciousness.  We are not allowed, in the workplace, recreational activity, or government, to claim our ideas and actions are based on scripture.  How that became the norm still baffles me. But I wasn’t surprised when a sitting congressman said that God did not belong in the work of the government.  Nor was I taken aback when a potential government appointee was asked if she could assure the committee that her religious beliefs wouldn’t factor into her actions. 

Proverbs 29:18 tells us exactly what happens when we remove God from the equation: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint…”. I would dare say that the world is casting off restraints like it is throwing confetti at a ticker-tape parade.  We don’t like being restrained, do we?  We are carnal-minded, self-seeking, beings who would love to act on any and every impulse we think will bring us a moment of pleasure.  Without the morality of God’s word, we rely solely on our own wants and desires, no matter how obviously warped and unnatural.

I used the word unnatural on purpose because there are a lot of folks who say that certain things are not unnatural because they happen in the animal kingdom. Two things are wrong with that statement. One, animals do a lot of things that are disgusting and we choose not to do them because they are gross.  The second thing is that I am not an animal; I am a grown human being with the ability, and I believe the responsibility, to make rational decisions for the good of all concerned…not just myself; to do what is morally right. I like how one man put it when he said: “Morality, in fact, is often the opposite of doing what comes naturally on this broken planet, and the ability to overcome natural impulses is one of the things that separates humans from animals”.

So…who sets the moral standard?  Mankind, apart from any guidance from the one true God, has historically failed in the morality department.  Why? Because “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs‬ 9‬:10‬ NIV‬‬).  Apart from God, there is no true morality.  Look around, it is pretty obvious, isn’t it?‬‬‬

When I was growing up social media was mostly talking with friends on the school bus to and from school.  During the summer, I was pretty much isolated from school friends. I had five brothers and a sister, so I wasn’t completely alone.  We had the “Library-mobile” that would stop on the old dirt road in front of the house once a month. And we had the World Book Encyclopedia. Television wasn’t a big part of our lives so it would not have been unusual to find us sitting around reading an encyclopedia. Boring, huh?

Fast forward to today. I have access to five movie channels, four television news channels, at least. And unlimited internet access.  Therein is the problem. Problem? Unlimited access to information is a problem? Yes. Absolutely. Why? Because there is no guarantee that the information is true.  There is a lot of misdirection, misconception, and outright lies to lead folks astray.  No matter your sin, perversion, mental illness, or unnatural desires…you can find people of like abnormalities and problems to boost your feeling that you do not have a problem, everyone who disagrees are merely “haters”.  People don’t get the help they need; they only get affirmation that their sin is not sin.

That is why the local church is so important. We must continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus.  He came to save us from the results of our sin. And how do we know sin?  The Bible or the opinions of like-minded sinners, seeking to justify their sin? You can find anything you want on social media…but the truth is found only in the word of God.

Of course, there is always unscrupulous, wolves in sheep’s clothing, who want to pervert scriptures to mold to their deceitful messages…but find a local body of believers who teach what the scriptures truly say about such things as homosexual relationship, abortion, transgender mindsets, and a God who loves a sinner while hating their sin.

This year the Southern Baptist Convention will again take up the question of whether a woman can be a pastor.  The issue has arisen several times before, and there have been churches that were deemed disqualified as a cooperating SBC church. The “Baptist Faith and Message” clearly states that a woman cannot be the pastor of a Southern Baptist church. This year is a little different in that it will be offered up as a constitutional amendment. That would remove any ambiguity.

So…should a woman be able to pastor a church? Short answer, no.  That is not an exceedingly popular statement in today’s world. But we must recall that God’s word hasn’t changed, and will not change, based on the opinion of any culture.  The feminist movement (joined by the LGBTQ+ movement) has done it’s best to say there is no difference in men and women; that the roles are merely a “social construct”.  Not so.

To the world it may seem like the church is saying that men are better than women. If a person doesn’t understand the Bible or know how a church is to function, they will probably come to that conclusion.  But, again, a false narrative.  Males and females are simply different.  God created them to be different.  We are to celebrate the differences.  God didn’t create two people with no differences except in their sexual organs.  He created two distinctly different types of human beings.  Because of that, He endowed them with distinct roles, both in the home and in the church.

That doesn’t make their roles any less important.  I know for a fact that many…many…churches  would have failed and faded away were it not for the women working hard to use their gifts within the church.  I applaud and respect what Godly women have done to keep churches active and useful in the community. I shudder to think what would become of this very church if the ladies suddenly decided that if they could not be a pastor, they wouldn’t be anything.

Men and women are different.  Not one better than or superior to the other.  But…because they are different, they have different roles.  Men and women should work hand in hand, using their gifts, to increase the kingdom of God. It is truly that simple.

Say good things about your Savior and His Church on the Bluff.