Was Paul the Worst Sinner?

I've been reading in 1 Timothy and every time I read 1 Timothy 1:15 I struggle with Paul's confession of being the worst of all sinners. I know he was hot after the believers and wanted to extinguish Christianity, but I still don't think he was the "chief" of sinners.

You see, I know myself inside and out. I know the sin in my life and I have to confess that maybe I'm the chief of sinners. Oh, I know I haven't tried to take the life of believers, but I have said some murderous things about some of them at times. There have been times when I was wounded by the actions and words of other believers and I would not have been disappointed if my Father would have called them home that day. Now here's the really hard part to admit. Paul committed his murderous acts before he became a follower. I've committed most of mine after I became a follower. And, as bad as I think that may be, my Father has reminded me over and over that all sins carry equal penalty. All sins lead to death.

So, I'm not sure that I would personally classify Paul as the worst sinner, and maybe Paul and I can talk about that one of these days. But I do know who the chief sacrifice is! Jesus died on the cross for Paul's sin and for mine. He paid the only price that would make things right with my Father. And Jesus has done the same for you.

You may think you are the worst sinner and that God can never forgive your sin. The truth is, we probably all feel that way at one time or another. The good news is that us "chief sinners" can have a restored relationship with the Father. Thanks be to God for His unfailing love!

1 Timothy 1:15 (HCSB)
¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.

And the Two Shall Become One

Today we celebrated my wife's birthday. I doubt she would mind me telling her age, but I will refrain from it anyway. She had the joy of sleeping in as long as she wanted. When she finally got out of bed,, I prepared waffles for her for breakfast. (I actually do that every Saturday.) For lunch I grilled some zucchini and yellow squash and then we tried out the new hot dog steamer for the evangelistic block party trailer.

After we enjoyed short naps I thought we should also try out the snow cone machine. After all, it would not be good if the first time out the equipment on the block party trailer didn't work. Finally, I treated her to grilled steak, corn on the cob, and a baked potato.

The rest of the day? Well, we just sat around the house and enjoyed doing nothing together. It's a day like this that reminds me that God knew what He was doing when He ordained that man needed a helpmate and created woman. And the concept that the two would become one? Well, to borrow from MasterCard--Priceless!

Father, thank you for a loving wife who has become such a part of me that the two of us have truly become one.

What's Real Beauty?

Every morning, as I drive to my office, I have the joy of looking out my car window at the hills of Shawnee National Forest and marvel at God's creation. Recently our daughter was married in Jamaica. I had not been to Jamaica, and I have to say I again found the beauty of God's creation, this time in the sea and sky from the coast of Jamaica. Back at home I found our roses in bloom and observed up close another beauty of God's creation.

In the past month, though, the greatest joy I found in God's creation was the creation of our daughter. On the day of her wedding ceremony I took her arm to walk her across the beach to the wedding arbor and I marveled at how beautiful God had created her. Back at home I looked at pictures of the ocean at sunset and at my daughter at her wedding and the most beautiful picture of God's creation was my daughter.

I realize that, as her father, I am biased toward my daughter. I love her and I admit to my bias. But how can anything in the world compare to the beauty of mankind, created in His own image?

My daughter, son, and wife were created in His image. You and your loved ones were created in His image. I'm looking for the beauty of God in each person of His creation. How about you?

Time To Get Serious About This

I've not been very diligent in posting to my blog. I suspect it has a lot to do with what is going on in my life. It's not that there is a lot of really important stuff or extraordinary things happening in my life. It just hasn't been a priority. (I guess I could blame it on too much Facebook and Twitter posting.) So, I am going to try to do a better job at this.

God has blessed me tremendously. Not long ago I posted on Twitter that I set out to count my blessings and got stuck on the first one because it was so great: God sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. But today I'm focused on other blessings.

Several years ago our son married a wonderful Christian lady and they have given us two granddaughters. We have another grandchild on the way. They are currently enjoying time at Disney World.

God also blessed us with a delightful and beautiful daughter. Tomorrow morning we are flying to Jamaica to attend her wedding ceremony. She is marrying a young man who has demonstrated to me that he loves her deeply. Here's the really cool thing. Not only do I get to give her away in marriage, I even get to perform the wedding ceremony!

God blessed us with two wonderful children who made professions of faith at a young age. As I enjoy the Facebook postings of my son's family time in Florida, and as I prepare to fly to Jamaica for my daughter's wedding, I cannot stop praising the Lord for the blessing of loving Christian children.

Worthless Shepherds

I've been reading a chapter a day from the book of Zechariah. I just finished chapter eleven. It came at an opportune time. In preparation for 2010 I had been contemplating my ministry. I've been in the same place of service over fifteen years. What will I be doing in 2010?

As I thought about the direction I will be pursuing God reminded me that I need to be sure it is his direction. It's easy to get sidetracked. It's easy to desert God's call on one's life to pursue other goals. When I pick up a book by a well-known pastor and read how God has blessed his ministry and how I can follow his plan for success it's easy to adopt that plan.

When I forsake God's will for someone's plan I know he's not happy with me. When that becomes a pattern for my leadership of his people I suspect that he is angry. That's the word I get from Zechariah. Now, here's the verse.

Zechariah 11:17 (HCSB)
Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm wither away and his right eye go completely blind!

Leaving Loved Ones

Last weekend I had to make a quick trip to visit family. First I visited with my son and his family. Then I had the opportunity to visit with my brother and my mother. I had a quick visit with my daughter and ended the weekend visiting with my in-laws. As I drove home I realized I was already missing them.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll leave home to drive to St. Louis so I can fly out early Monday morning to go to Austin, Texas. While I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn how to better study God's Word I am already thinking about the days I'll spend away from my loving wife. I'll be surrounded by people, but I'll be lonely. It's just not fun when I'm away from my wife.

As I thought about that I wondered why it is that we can wander away from God and not think much about it. We manage to miss our quiet time with Father and get through the day okay. We can even go two or three days without serious times of prayer and Bible study and not seem to miss it.

I know God longs to spend time with us, so the problem has to be us. Maybe we don't miss Him because we don't love Him deeply enough. How deeply should one love Him? Well, maybe we need to take a serious look at the Great Commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5 (HCSB)

Love is born out of relationships. As I spend time with my family I love them more and more. As I spend time with the Lord I learn to love Him more and more. I learn to love Him with all my heart, with all my sould, and with all my strength. And then it happens: there comes that day when a day without spending time with Him is a day of loneliness.

Willfull Disobedience

Recently my son and his family came for a visit My oldest granddaughter is going to be four in December. She is a sweet girl. However, she pushes the boundaries, and at times during the visit she exhibited willful disobedience. On a couple of occasions she was told to do something and disobeyed.

That wasn't enough. After her father or her mother patiently explained why she must do it she still refused. Then they spelled out the consequences of her disobedience, giving her one last chance to do the right things. Still, knowing that there would be consequences that would be unpleasant, she was determined to have her own way.

I couldn't help thinking about our spiritual disobedience. God often asks us to do something and in willful disobedience we tell Him no. He patiently asks again, reinforcing the fact that we need to be obedient to Him. Finally, we are reminded of the consequences: obedience brings God's blessing while disobedience brings His discipline. Still, we choose to be disobedient.

It's not fun to watch my three year-old granddaughter willfully disobey her parents. It's painful for me to watch when she continues to disobey, knowing the outcome. And, I know it's painful for her parents to have to discipline her.

I don't think our Father enjoys it any more when we disobey. I think He is just as patient, encouraging us to do the right thing. But when we willfully disobey, He lovingly disciplines us.