The Light Has Come!

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Holiday

–December of 2009

The Light Has Come!

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness could not extinguish it” (John 1:5)

In a great piece of music, the composer often begins by stating the themes which he is going to elaborate in the course of the work. That is what John does in the opening of his gospel. Light is one of the great words upon which John builds his testimony of Jesus. John describes Jesus as a light that has come into the world to illuminate the life of every man. Another one of John’s key words is darkness. John saw a darkness in the world that was very real and very hostile to the light. This darkness represents evil. Sinful people love the darkness and hate the light, because the light exposes their wickedness. John takes these two themes and shows their natural opposition. He portrays a universal battleground where the forces of dark and light are arrayed in eternal conflict.

This conflict is played out in the pages of sacred history. The Old Testament lets us witness everything from individual struggles with evil to heavenly warfare for the soul of a nation. In the New Testament this conflict emerges with intensity around the cradle of the incarnate Christ as the forces of darkness unleash Herod’s sword in a futile attempt to eliminate the light. The ultimate battle, however, was staged on the Cross of Christ. The rulers of this age and the powers of darkness thought if they could only nail Christ to the cross that darkness would win once and for all. In fact, it proved to be just the reverse. Out of the darkness of His death came the blinding light of His resurrection victory. The light of this good news exploded out of the confines of Palestine and across the known world like a quickly spreading flame until, in a few decades, the gospel had impacted every major population center of the Roman world.

The powers of darkness responded with persecution and torture. But wild beasts and boiling oil couldn’t put out the light and the blood of the martyrs only fueled the flame. When persecution from without did not succeed, the forces of darkness turned inward and awful darkness settled down over the church. But out of the heart of that darkness, reformation fires began to burn and the light prevailed. Every counter move by the forces of darkness to extinguish the light only brought revival fires that would break out and save lives, transform nations, and change the course of history.

Even in this present moment the darkness of the day is no match for the One who is “God of God, Light of Light.” As you gather with friends this Christmas season, light a candle and lift your voice in praise, for light has come into the world and the darkness has not and will not overcome it!

“Back to the Bible”

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Church, Theology

–November of 2009

“Back to the Bible”

In the June 21, 1900 issue of The Revivalist Martin Wells Knapp laid out his case for starting a new Training School for Christian workers. The heart and soul of his argument was the need for a school devoted solely to the study of God’s Word.  Knapp decried the “deplorable ignorance” of most Christians (including ministers) of the Bible.  Knapp went on to say that in this new school the Word of God, “will be honored as the great Mississippi River of research and spiritual culture, into which all others (academic studies) are but tributary streams . . .”  The school’s motto, Back to the Bible, was prominently displayed on every brochure and building alike.  It became the central focus of education on the Hilltop.

Knapp was not the first one to make this appeal.  Erasmus, the great Renaissance scholar and reformer, lifted the cry “ad fontes – back to the sources.”  Erasmus wanted the pure Word of God unencumbered by the abuses of a wayward Church.  Other reformers, like Martin Luther, sought to untangle the Church from unscriptural traditions so that it might once again rest on “sola scriptura – scripture alone”.  These are but two examples of the many who have called the Church back to the Bible in areas of faith and practice.

The Church has always had a tendency to collect extra baggage along the way like a boat collects barnacles on its underbelly. This is not the result of evil intent but the result of good people zealously trying to live out their walk with God and guard the faith for future generations.  It happens when, out of a proper concern for truth and sound doctrine, good people become unable to distinguish between matters of primary importance from matters of secondary importance. Nevertheless, the end result can be a church that has replaced the authority of God’s Word with the deadening weight of traditionalism or worse just trivia.

On the other hand, there is another ditch the church has fallen into that is quite the opposite of the one described above. It is the work of misguided zealots who seek to cleanse the church of all forms of tradition, regulation and application of scripture. Their dislike for “the traditions of men” and appeals to “grace alone” can actually create an environment of disdain for scriptural authority and end up yielding chaos, ambiguity and a state of “every man doing what is right in his own eyes.”

Neither extreme promotes spiritual health or progress.  The answer for both lies in Knapp’s motto, “Back to the Bible.”  In my next article I will explain what that entails.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen!

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–October of 2009

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen!

I Peter 1:6-7

The day of trouble eventually ends up on everybody’s calendar.  It doesn’t discriminate on whom it visits or how it comes.  It may be a phone call, a letter in the mail, a pink slip or a diagnosis.  It may involve your work, your family or your money.  But it will surely involve your mind and your spirit with nagging questions like, “Why me, why this and why now?”  The very fact that troubles come upon good people has puzzled saints from Job to John the Baptist.  There are no easy, all-encompassing answers, but there are insights into why God’s people face trials.  The Apostle Peter offers some amazing insight into trials in the opening verses of his first epistle.

Trials meet needs in our lives

Peter reminds us that life today is a school in which God is training us for usefulness in eternity.  Trials discipline us, prepare us for spiritual growth, build faith and teach us important lessons about the ways of God.  The phrase “if need be” indicates that God knows there are times when we need to go through certain trials to experience spiritual growth that would not come otherwise.

Trials are tailor made

Peter speaks of “manifold” trials.  The word manifold means variegated or various.  God matches the trial with our immediate need and present strength.  Just as He knows what we are able to bear, He also knows exactly what irritant we need in order to experience genuine growth and transformation.  At times He uses a hammer – a swift blow or series of blows that bring a quick and needed submission. At other times He uses a file – a more lengthy process of scraping and eating away at the rough edges of our life until He has shaped us into His will.  And when necessary, He will use the furnace.  The furnace attacks with ruthless fury until every ounce of impurity is consumed and nothing is left but pure gold.

Trials are not meant to be easy

Peter said that trials produce “heaviness.”  It’s a word that means to experience grief or pain.  It is the same word that was used to describe the sorrow that Jesus experienced in Gethsemane.  It is also the same word used to describe what one feels at the loss of a loved one.  No one should ever minimize the sorrow that trials can bring or speak of it in a cavalier manner.  The grief and sorrow are actually a part of the process.  A trip into the valley of sorrow has a way of cleansing the soul and reorienting life

Trials are timed and tempered by God

Peter tells us that trials last only “for a season.” Warren Wiersbe said, “When we walk through the furnace of trouble, God keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat.”  Troubles last just long enough to remove the dross and purify the gold.

Saints and scholars still cannot adequately explain the nagging problem of trials to anyone’s satisfaction. And in all probability some of what I have said will not help the one undergoing present trials. But the testimony is unanimous from those who reflect on their years of walking with God that everything that truly enhanced and enlightened their spiritual existence came through pain and affliction and not through pleasure or times of happiness.  Though we can’t explain them, we would be immeasurably poorer without them.

How to Handle Hurting Words

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–September of 2009

How to Handle Hurting Words

Read II Samuel 16:5-14 & 19:15-23

The humiliation of David’s temporary exile in the face of Absalom’s anarchy had to be one of the lowest moments of his long reign.  But insult was added to injury when, as he fled Jerusalem, a man named Shimei followed him shouting curses.  The accusation was that David was getting what he deserved because he was a murderous man – guilty of the “blood of the house of Saul.”

Shimei couldn’t possibly have spoken more unjust and hurtful words. If David was innocent of anything it was the blood of Saul.  He had spent years in exile to keep Saul from killing him. He had refused to speak evil of Saul, or take advantage of Saul’s fractious kingdom, or even lay a hand on Saul even though the Lord delivered Saul into David’s hand again and again.  If anything in the world was untrue, this charge was untrue!

Why Shimei’s Criticism?

The Bible tells us that Shimei was of the house of Saul.  So when Saul’s kingdom ended it brought about the demise of all the influence, power and financial advantage Saul’s relatives had enjoyed for years. Shimei just couldn’t let it go and was still carrying the old family grudge.  David’s misfortune gave Shimei the opportunity to vent all those years of stored-up malice. The timing and boldness of Shimei’s remarks were fueled by three things: first, he thought he could verbally assault David safely since David was fleeing for his own life; second, he knew the taunt about Saul would hurt David the most at this particular moment; and third, he believed that God was now on his side.  Shimei was sure that David was fleeing for his life because God has deposed him!

David’s Response

David refused to say anything to Shimei!  He did, though, speak words of restraint to his inner circle who wanted to remove Shimei’s head.  David’s silence toward Shimei and his response to his friends offers some valuable insight on how we should respond to hurting words or unfair accusations.

1. Develop a tough hide.  One can’t have a china-doll fragility about every little thing someone says (Eccl. 7:21-22).  One of the benchmarks of spiritual maturity is that we have gained enough confidence of who we are in Christ and of His unwavering love for us that the actions and words of others no longer have the power to devastate us. Disappoint and hurt? Yes!  Devastate? No!

2. Keep things in perspective.  David realized that Shimei’s cursing was nothing in comparison to the big issues surrounding Absalom’s treason. Unfair criticism from a sour old man can look fairly small in light of some of life’s more serious issues.

3. Learn to hold your tongue.  Not every criticism deserves an immediate answer.  In most cases, a hasty response to criticism causes one more distress than the actual criticism itself (Prov. 15:28, 26:4 and 29:11). Saint Augustine once prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.”  Neither is it necessary to say something even if you feel your words can fix the other person. One must carefully avoid a false sense of responsibility to fix someone else’s problem.  God is far better equipped to intervene and do the fixing.

4. Try to understand where the person is coming from.  Shimei was a descendant of Saul.   Saul’s loss of the throne brought significant loss to all his relatives including Shimei.  Even though David was totally innocent of any wrongdoing toward Saul or his family, Shimei still focused his anger on David because he was a visible reminder of what Saul’s descendants used to have and had no more.

5.  See God’s hand behind it.  David told his followers that Shimei’s cursing may well be from the Lord.  He was truly innocent of the blood of Saul, but he was not innocent of the blood of Uriah.  David’s keen sense of his own failures made him very open to God’s using whatever means necessary to make him a better man (Rom. 8:28).

6. Exercise forgiveness and move on. As the story makes clear, David returned to Jerusalem victorious. Shimei met David’s retinue with great humility and an abundance of apologies.  Shimei expected and deserved death but was given grace and forgiveness (Eph. 4:32).

There is one sure thing about life, and that is that sooner or later someone will offend you.  How one handles these offenses has a profound impact on one’s own spiritual advancement and the progress of those around them.  Too often Christians become stuck in a place of woundedness and become dysfunctional as they relive the experience over and over again.  David teaches us to deal with it and move on!  Paul would tell us to rejoice in such a trial because it gives us opportunity to learn many things about ourselves as well as to experience the grace of God.

My ninth-grade English teacher, Miss Splawn, was often frustrated by a boy in our class who talked incessantly. In despair she would say aloud to the whole class, “I can’t stop him!  I can’t kill him! I guess I’ll just have to let him talk on!”  We can’t stop the hurting remarks that people are going to make about us, nor can we “take off the head” of everybody who unleashes a volley of criticism at us.  But we can hold our tongue, learn the lessons that are there for us and ultimately exercise the liberating power of forgiveness!

The Educated Christian

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Education

–Summer of 2009

The Educated Christian

I hear the question every year.  “My son or daughter has been accepted into a big state university with a full scholarship how can I afford not to take it?”  Even while they ask it, their face gives away their fears of the secular peer pressure, liberal teaching, and immoral influences that are sure to impact their child.  But the institutional prestige, the cost savings and the career possibilities are just too alluring so the majority of Christian parents will make a decision that will cause 52% of their Christian young people to loose their faith forever!

The average state university faculty will be a colorful mix of lesbians, evolutionists, pro-abortionist and humanistic teachers who have a high tolerance for anything but fundamental Christianity and will use their professorial trust and well-honed arguments to effectively brainwash the minds of teenagers who are not fully mature – spiritually or mentally.

But isn’t education neutral?  No!  Institutions and educators have a philosophy that drives what they do and teach.  Secular humanism that extols the goodness of man and denies the existence of God is the driving force behind most state and private universities.  Christian colleges have an educational philosophy that drives what they do and teach as well. It too is not neutral. They seek to develop in their students a deep love for God and a desire to serve others with an education that has a strong Biblical worldview.

God’s Bible School and College has always had an educational philosophy that was distinctly Christian.  A few years ago, Dr. Ken Farmer and I were sitting before the Higher Learning Commission answering questions about God’s Bible School and College. They asked us this question. “How would you define an educated person?”  A thoughtful response to that has now become how God’s Bible School and College views an Educated Christian.  The full statement is as follows:

An educated Christian is a faithful servant whose knowledge, values and skills center in. . . .

 1. Loving God: Knowledgeably, personally loves God and His truth, manifestingthis love by living according to biblical precept.

This attribute may be made apparent in the following ways. The educated Christian:

  • Understands and loves the Bible, applying it by allowing it to shape his/her   worldview;
  •  Demonstrates ability to talk intelligently about God and His working in his/her life;
  • Understands loving God, applying this understanding in all relational interactions;
  • Possesses a substantive grasp of orthodox theology.

 2. Loving Others: Lives out love for God in loving others, manifesting this love in compassionate service.

This attribute may be made apparent in the following ways. The educated Christian:

  • Understands how to love others and contribute to their lives;
  • Develops and uses spiritual gifts, especially in discipling and mentoring others;
  • Participates in Christian service, indicating a biblical ministry philosophy and passion;
  • Engages his/her community through civic involvement;
  • Understands interpersonal relationship skills, demonstrating this understanding through mature, gracious and professional interaction with others;
  • Understands the importance of cooperation and works well with others.

 3. Loving Learning: From a basic general knowledge and through a Christian worldview, eagerly acquires, applies, and communicates knowledge.

 This attribute may be made apparent in the following ways. The educated Christian:

  •  Demonstrates critical, logical thinking ability, including the ability to differentiate between uncompromisable absolutes and peripheral matters;
  • Possesses a biblical worldview and underlies and informs engagement with knowledge;
  • Possesses a broad-based general knowledge, including understanding of and appreciation for the fine arts, literature, history, science, math, and current events;
  • Possesses a deeper knowledge in his/her selected field of study;
  • Communicates effectively in speech and writing;
  • Seeks knowledge eagerly, committed to a lifelong pursuit of personal development.

 Pastors and parents are the most influential people in advising young men and women on the college they should attend.  It is my prayer that neither group will take that job lightly.  The choice that is made may well determine not only their future vocation but their eternal destiny!