There Will Be False Teachers and Prophets!

Mark Fox March 11, 2024

There Will Be False Teachers and Prophets!

 

 

R.C. Sproul wrote, “I doubt if there has ever been a time in church history when professing Christians have been less concerned about doctrine than they are in our day. We hear almost daily that doctrine does not matter, that Christianity is a relationship, not a creed.” And yes, we are in a relationship with Christ, but you cannot read Scripture, which is our guidebook for life in Christ, without seeing the importance given to doctrine, sound teaching, understanding truth and recognizing error. Peter wrote in his second letter, just look at the false prophets who lived among the people of God in ancient times! In the same way that false prophets infiltrated the people of God then, false teachers do the same today. Again, Sproul says, “The most destructive threat to the people of God in the Old Testament was not the armies of the Philistines, the Assyrians, or the Amalekites, but the false prophets within their gates.” Peter mentioned godly prophets, men who spoke from God, or through whom God spoke. But false prophets and teachers speak on their own and claim they have heard from God.

Some of you have heard me tell the story of Miriam, the lady in white, who paid Antioch a visit in the very early days of the church. When she showed up in a flowy white dress, I thought that was a little odd, but whatever, I am certainly not a fashion icon or expert. But when I welcomed her and she told me she was the “Bride of Christ,” that’s when things started going sideways. I said, “I’m sorry, but you may be part of the Bride of Christ, the church, but, you are not the Bride of Christ!” She smiled at me like a kindergarten teacher would smile at a 4 year old who just said 2+2 equals 5. After we sang a few worship songs, I asked if anyone had a testimony. A few people shared and then I saw the Bride stand up and say in a loud voice, “The time of the Gentiles is over!” All heads swiveled as one as every person in the congregation turned to look. “God has closed the door on the Gentiles, and they will no longer be allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Yea, I am returning to My people now,” she spoke prophetically.She continued, “Israel will come back to the fold. But the day of the Gentiles is over.” She took a breath, and I was hoping along with everyone else that she was finished, but no, she had one more shocker. “Not only that,” she said, “The Lord says there will be a plague of ants on the earth.”

There goes our church picnic at the park next week, I thought.

The Lord reminded me that day of the importance of elders, and I asked if any of them would like to reply. One of them shot to his feet and said that her prophecy did not line up with Scripture and quoted several places to show why. And, he said, there is no indication of a plague of ants happening right now or any time in the Bible.

God said to Jeremiah, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” God brought judgment on the shepherds who were not only not feeding their people, but who scattered the flock and poisoned them with false teaching. God said he would bring his sheep back to the fold, and said, “I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing.”

We hear it often today, and I repeat what I have written before. The people of God, many of them, have been scattered by no teaching or wrong teaching, and by no leadership or abusive leadership, and many have wandered for years and some have given up on the church altogether. That is not the answer. God did not tell his people in Jeremiah’s days that it was ok for them to be scattered and no longer cared for and no longer under authority. Neither does He say that today.

There are healthy churches that are led by healthy elders and populated with people who are growing in their love for God, for His Word, and for each other. Find those churches and become a member there. Submit to the elders and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And study the Word of God, which is true, so you will be able to identity error when a false teacher or prophet comes along.

 

 

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Mark Fox March 11, 2024
Mark Fox March 4, 2024

Paul the Apostle…and You

It has been stated by many that the two greatest proofs for the Christian faith are the resurrection of Christ and the conversion of Saul. You just cannot explain away the resurrection. Millions have tried, and no one has succeeded. You also cannot explain away the absolute about-face in the life of Saul. It is the most famous conversion story in church history, and the Apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, is the most influential person in church history, with the obvious exception of Jesus.

Saul’s conversion is also the most unique in history. Think about the story in Acts 9 and what happened that day with Saul. What do we know for sure that does not have to happen in order for people to be saved? A blinding light from heaven. Falling on the ground. Hearing your name spoken from heaven, out loud. Having the resurrected Jesus appear to you. Being commissioned as an apostle. Being blinded for three days. Further in the text: scales falling from your eyes when someone sent from God lays hands on you and prays. If that were the litmus test for salvation, or if any of those were required for salvation, I daresay that none of us would be eligible for heaven.

 

What are the common elements that we all share with Paul in his conversion?

First, you must have had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Salvation is not mediated through a priest, or a parent. You may have heard it said that God has no grandchildren, only children.

 

Second, you have surrendered to him, through repentance and faith, which is a gift of God.

 

Third, we have received His “summons to serve,” to use John Stott’s phrase. No one who is saved is merely an acquaintance of Jesus. “Jesus? Oh, yes, I know Him. I mean, I met Him once. Wonderful man. Great words. Love that Sermon on the Mount!”

No! Rather it’s like, “Jesus? He is my Savior and Lord. He bought me with a price. I loved him because he first loved me. I am his. Wherever he sends, I will go. Whatever he says, I will do.” That was Paul’s heart attitude after his encounter with Jesus.

Why was Saul persecuting the church? Why was he breathing murderous threats? Was it because the church sang awesome songs, listened to interesting talks, and got together to think about how to improve themselves and help others? No. Saul knew the church perhaps better than we do. He knew that if they were right, and that Jesus really was the Messiah and that salvation comes not through works of righteousness but by grace through faith, then his whole life was a pile of rubbish! That’s what he said in Philippians 3. He said that he had more reason before he met Christ to boast in the flesh than any man. But after Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus, Paul sang a different tune: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…”

You and I can meet the light of the world anytime, in the Bible. And in the lives of people who truly know him. When we do, then our lives become further proof for the Christian faith.

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Mark Fox March 4, 2024
Mark Fox February 26, 2024

Not a Myth!

Some of you have seen this; many probably have not. Finished files are the results of years of scientific study combined with the experience of years. Silently count, just once, the number of times the letter F appears, and write the number down. Got it? How many wrote down 3? 4? 5? 6? There are six. Our eye tends to skip over the “of’s.” This is part of a tract from Ray Comfort’s ministry, and he uses it to make the point that if we are wrong about the number of F’s, it is no big deal. But we cannot afford to be wrong when it comes to knowing the truth about who Jesus is, why he came to the earth, and what God will do about sin with those who do not know Jesus. And most of the world finds it’s faith rooted firmly in what Peter calls “cleverly devised myths.”

Apart from faith in Jesus Christ and belief that the Bible is the Word of God, all that the world is left with to try and understand why we are here are myths. Peter wants his readers to know in his second letter that what he is giving them is the truth, and that he and the other apostles did not come to them with cleverly devised myths. Look at that phrase for a moment. There are so many myths that the world chooses to believe, and they are easy to believe because they are clever. Otherwise they would not gain any traction, at least not for long. But they are devised, which means they are made up by people. If you go to some countries in eastern Europe and ride on a city bus in the heat of summer, as I have, don’t expect the bus to have AC. And don’t expect the windows to be open. You will be crammed together and sweltering in the suffocating heat because the people there believe any kind of manufactured and moving air will make you sick. No window fans, and all windows on cars and buses will stay tightly shut. That’s an irritating myth, but probably not deadly. One that has led to the slaughter of millions is the myth that an embryo is just a blob of tissue. Another that can have deadly consequences is that all religions are the same, just like all roads lead to the top of the mountain.

I used to teach my students about the Law of Noncontradiction in college when I had a full semester and time to develop a short course on logic and reasoning. I would ask them this series of questions: What do Christians believe about Jesus, I asked? (Son of God, Savior) How did he die? (cross) What happened three days later? (resurrected!). Ok, what do Muslims believe about Jesus? (prophet; NOT God’s son). How did he die? (He didn’t. On the day of the crucifixion, another person was miraculously transformed to look like Jesus and took his place). So, according to Islam, Jesus was not God’s Son, did not die on a cross, and was not resurrected. Can both Christianity and Islam be true? No. Do all religions teach what we need to know to be saved? No.

The Greeks and Romans of Paul’s day did not care whether their so-called gods, little g, even existed. They knew they were mythical. But the story of Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection is not a myth. One of the proofs is that ten of the eleven disciples died martyr’s death because of their faith in Jesus. Only John died of old age. RC Sproul writes, “Peter was not ready to put off his mortal tent for a myth but for that which he had witnessed.”

Jesus and salvation that comes through him alone? Not a myth!

 

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Mark Fox February 26, 2024
Mark Fox February 19, 2024

Make Every Effort to do These Things

As I thought about Peter writing this last letter to his beloved brothers and sisters scattered
throughout the Roman Empire, encouraging them to the end that he knew was coming, my mind went
to a beloved brother of mine, Burke. He was pastor of the Baptist Church in Winston-Salem I grew up
in and was there to encourage and mentor me when I came to Christ in my teens. He came to
Burlington to marry me and Cindy in 1982, and at that time he worked for the Baptist State
Convention. He turned 92 this week and is still in my life. He spoke at my mom’s funeral in 2021. I
attended his wife’s funeral 5 years earlier. His most recent letter said, “I look forward to your
Christmas letter each year because I deeply love the Fox family…you will always be at the core of my
heart.” I thank God for Burke and his heart. We get a glimpse into Peter’s heart in 2 Peter 1, verses 12-
15.
Another “therefore” starts this section and makes us look back to what Peter has already stated and
repeated for emphasis. We cannot overstate the importance of growing in godly character because it
makes us effective and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and because it
gives us assurance and confidence in our calling and election and in the glorious entrance into the
eternal kingdom that our Lord has provided. Peter tells the believers that he intends to always remind
them of these qualities of godly character. In other words, “I will not be careless or negligent about
this; I will not forget to remind you to not forget these important things!” This is an important part of
the job of pastors and elders. One of my favorite examples is where Paul wrote to Titus, pastor of the
church on the island of Crete: “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be
obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle,
and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” That’s a good list to display in your home! Great
reminders. This is an important job for parents, who spend most of 18 years and beyond reminding
their children about the things that matter most. It is an important job for counselors and mentors
and disciplers, as we walk beside someone we love, to help them grow in freedom in Christ,
reminding them about what is most important. And it is part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit! Jesus
said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all
things and bring to your remembrance (remind you!) all that I have said to you.”
And these reminders, Peter said, are just that. Reminders of fundamental truths. Any coach who has a
winning team knows that the fundamentals have to be practiced over and over. Even though
everybody on the team knows them, any slippage in executing them can end up in a loss. Peter says,
“you know them and are established in the truth.” Because he loves the people of God and because he
knows that he will not be present to love them much longer, Peter says, “I will make every effort so
that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” Peter is an older man and
facing the death Jesus told him about in that seaside restoration scene in John 21.
I love that Peter was thinking of others even though he knew he was going to die soon. Just like Jesus!
Jesus spent every minute and hour he could with his disciples preparing them for his departure. His
concern was not for his own pain and suffering that was coming, and Peter followed in his Lord’s
footsteps. He knew what we must be reminded of regularly, and that was this: we have a purpose that
goes beyond our comfort in this life and extends to making a difference in the next generation. You
moms and dads who are in the throes and sometimes the woes of raising children know that very
well. What you are doing matters for that generation you are raising and for the ones to come. And
this is true for all of us, whether we have children or not.
Make every effort to grow in these qualities and find ways to help others grow in them as well. And
hey, Burke? Thanks for making every effort to love and serve the body of Christ.

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Mark Fox February 19, 2024
Mark Fox February 12, 2024

These Things Should Mark Us

In reprimanding those who depend on their good works for salvation, Paul counters with a picture
of what a Christian is to do. He wrote that we are to worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ
Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.
When you think of worship, don’t think “standing at your pew, singing worship songs.” That’s only
a small part of worship. To become a worshipper means that our direction and our affections are
changed, not just for a few minutes on Sunday and not just in a certain location, but all the time
and in every place. Jesus teaches us that worship is not a service or a religious ceremony. It is not
dependent on a place or a liturgy or smells or bells. Worship is what Christians cannot help but do
all the time, because the Spirit of God has moved in and taken over. I saw a picture several years
ago when I visited with Hilda at Twin Lakes. She was 94, a widow, and a wonderful woman of God
who blessed me every time I went to see her. Hilda was not able to attend church, but boy, did she
love Jesus, and she talked to him all day long. She said once with a wink, “I tell the Lord, ‘Now, if I
am asking too much, you tell me!’”
“Glory in Christ Jesus.” That’s what Hilda was doing. This is just a natural outflow for those who
worship by the Spirit of God, because the work of the Spirit is to glorify the Son.
“Put no confidence in the flesh.” How can we survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of
glory died, and then pat ourselves on the back? Good job reading the Bible this morning! Great
prayer at church, you really knocked that one out of the park! You know gained you some points with
God for sure!
Kind of turns your stomach a little doesn’t it? Beware of becoming the older brother in the story
Jesus told about the prodigal son. The point of the story was not really the penitent prodigal
younger brother, but the proud, pharisaical older brother, whose confidence was in his works,
which made him a stay-at-home prodigal. The older brother, the proud prodigal said in anger to
his father, “Look, these many years I have served you,” while refusing to come in and celebrate
that his brother had come home. Then he said with disgust, “I never disobeyed your command.”
Do you see his ‘religion?’ “Look what I did. Look how many rules I have kept!” Because his
confidence was in his own self-righteousness, he felt justified in being angry with his father, even
accusing his father of not loving him enough. He was a legalist, just like many today who measure
their worth to God, and therefore what He ‘owes’ them, by their own good deeds.
Listen, the flip side is true as well. Many Christians fear God’s disapproval because they constantly
weigh whether they do enough, whether they love enough, whether they serve enough. That’s
prodigal thinking. What brought the prodigal home was not the thought that he really could do
better if he tried harder. No. What brought him home was a confidence that his father would take
him in, even if only as a hired servant. His confidence was in his father, not in his own works. What
a surprise when he was welcomed with a kiss, a ring, shoes, and a robe!
We also can come home every single day with that same expectation and hope, that our Father will
take us in, not because of our pitiful ‘good deeds,’ but because of the work completed by His Son.

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Mark Fox February 12, 2024
Mark Fox February 5, 2024

Make Every Effort to Add These!

One of the wakeup calls that happened in my life as a teenager was when my dad found out I was regularly skipping school about once a week. He sat me down and said this: “As long as you are living in this house and wearing clothes and eating food that I provide for you, you will go to school and work hard. Every day.” There was an indicative: you are loved and provided for here. And it was connected to an imperative: you will work hard at your calling which, right now, is a student. Peter says something similar to his readers, connecting the indicative to the imperative, because they cannot be separated. He says, because his divine power and precious promises and everything that pertains to life and godliness have been given to you by God…you will make every effort to grow up, become established in the truth, live a godly life, and enjoy the fruit of your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Why do some Christians think that they have to work really hard and sacrifice much to become a better athlete, a valuable employee, a talented musician, or a better spouse…but being a follower of Christ requires little because, “Hey, it’s all good! God loves me!” He does love you. And it is God’s love and Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice that saved us and calls us to grow in character and godliness and good works. The idea is captured by Solomon in Proverbs 24: I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” Solomon was talking about sloth and the price one pays for laziness in his work. But the same applies to our life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and that is what Peter addresses.

Make every effort to do these things, Peter writes. Do it now, with haste. This is urgent where other things can wait. Add to your faith these things that will require sacrifice and effort. Remember, saints, your faith to believe was a gift. You did not add that, God did. Grace is a gift that God adds every day, to build our faith and enable us to add these qualities to our faith. Remember, you are not saved by works, but you are saved to works. Why do we need to make every effort to add these qualities to our faith? Peter tells us that it is so we will be effective and fruitful in Jesus!

This list of qualities Peter tells us to work on, are “Not a legalistic code but rather the desires and features of a transformed heart.” (ESV Study Bible) If holiness were as easy as removing a TV from our homes and making sure our wives and daughters only wear dresses (neither of which are evidences of spiritual maturity), then we could all be just about perfect. But this list goes beyond externals and goes into matters of the heart. These qualities require his divine power that he freely gives to all who ask. So what are these qualities we are told to make every effort to add to our faith?

Read them in the first chapter of 2 Peter.

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Mark Fox February 5, 2024
Mark Fox January 28, 2024

That is where we belong

 

 

Where do I belong? Where do I fit in? We all want to know the answer to those questions. For some, it is a lifelong pursuit. I remember my high school days with pain, because I really didn’t know where I fit in. In my school there were five groups. At the top of the food chain were the popular kids. Some were athletes or cheerleaders, others were not. But they were the kids everybody else wanted to be like, and to hang out with. I remember a recurring dream where one of the popular guys would see me carrying my tray in the cafeteria at school, and he would call over to me: “Hey, Fox, come join us!” Then I would wake up.

Next in the pecking order were the jocks. You didn’t have to be the quarterback or the starting point guard, but if you were on the football or basketball team, you were cool and got invited to all the parties. Tennis? Umm, not so much. I played tennis in 9th and 10th grade, and we even won a city championship. But tennis didn’t cut it with the jocks.

The third group was the brainiacs, the smart kids. They were the ones who, if they even bothered to show up at the football game, brought their chemistry book with them. But at least they belonged to a group, and I wasn’t in it.

Then there was the group that we called the druggies, the ones who wore Black Sabbath t-shirts and were always smoking cigarettes in the bathroom and talking about their latest party. Those guys scared me.

Finally, we must not forget about the rednecks. These were the good ol’ boys who drove their pickups to school and backed them into a parking space in the gravel lot. They couldn’t wait for lunch break because they would eat their sandwich and Fritos outside, gathered around one of their trucks, “talking boss,” whatever that meant. I, uh, didn’t have a truck, and didn’t have the nerve to back my dad’s 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass into a parking space next to them. So, I didn’t fit in with those guys, either.

That was it, the five groups in my school. Oh, wait, there was one more: “others.” That’s where I hung out: with the rest of the losers. And to be honest, that’s where the majority of the Christians fit in. Still do. We are the “other” guys and girls. We ate together, went to church together, and sometimes prayed together early in the morning before school started. And though we knew where we fit in, sort of, mostly we knew where we didn’t fit. I had Christian friends who would have done anything to break into one of the other groups.

Maybe some of you feel that way, whether you are 17 or 37. You are still trying to figure out where you belong. I have great news! All who come to Christ by faith belong to him. We are accepted in the beloved. We are called by Christ to know him and to help others to know him, too. But our citizenship is in heaven; that’s where we will fully and finally and forever belong. I have thought about having a passport made up that says “Heaven” for my citizenship status, but my impression is that the guys at passport control are not known for their sense of humor.

Who are you? Where, really, is your identity found? That question, at least in our culture, is perhaps more confusing than it has ever been. But the Bible makes it plain. Our identity is not found in our race, or our gender, or our politics, or our education, or our athleticism, or our economic status, or our marital status, or our children, or anything else. Our identity is found in Christ: that is where we belong. In Him.

And, you know what? If there’s a football team in heaven, I’m showing up for tryouts with my new and

 

 

 

glorified body.

 

 

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Mark Fox January 28, 2024
Mark Fox January 21, 2024

Grow in Grace and Knowledge of Christ

Peter greets the readers of his second letter with, “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing,” reminding us of three foundational truths about our faith foundation. First, the faith that we have was obtained. The word picture there is of someone who has received his or her apportioned share of an inheritance. They did not earn it nor do they deserve it. They are the beneficiaries of another’s grace and mercy. God has given us faith, as Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:8-9, “this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Have you seen the commercial where Mr. Marbles the Cat is in the room when the will of his deceased owner is read? The cat is given a lifetime supply of Chewy cat food. He says, “I always loved that old man.” But then it is revealed that Mr. Marbles was also left the summer house. While the family members are groaning in unbelief, Mr. Marbles says, “You got a train set, Todd!” Ok, it’s a commercial. But this verse stirs up my mind by gentle reminder that God’s gift of faith in Christ is better than a whole universe of summer houses or train sets.

Second, the faith we have obtained is the same faith that the apostles obtained. The New King James Version says, “To those who have obtained like precious faith with us.”  Spurgeon wrote, “He tells us too, that faith is ‘precious;’ and is it not precious? For it deals with precious things, with precious promises, with precious blood, with a precious redemption, with all the preciousness of the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The same precious faith that was given to the Jews, Peter says to the elect Gentile believers, was given to you! You have equal standing with us. Every sinner saved by grace has equal standing with every other sinner saved by grace.

Third, we stand on and in “the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.” That righteousness was given to us, imputed to us by Christ’s death and resurrection, and we are in Christ because of God’s grace. 

Then Peter says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” There is a constant push by those in the world to increase in knowledge without acknowledgement of God, who is the source of knowledge. Or to increase in truth without obedience to the one wo said, “I am the truth.” Or to increase in “faith” without recognizing the only immoveable object of faith, our God and Savior Jesus Christ. If we have knowledge without God or truth without Christ, what good is our faith? I remember when I was training for my first triathlon in my early 50’s and I was a terrible swimmer. Still am. But I went to Beck Pool at Elon a number of times to swim laps because there was hardly ever anybody in the pool. I would start at the deep end and swim to the shallow end, back and forth, trying to get to the conditioning level where I could swim a mile without stopping. Sometimes I would be swimming in near-darkness, early in the morning. What if I had walked in one day when they were doing maintenance on the pool and it was dark and I didn’t know the pool was empty and I dove off the deep end…my faith in water that was not there to hold me up would be as profitable for me as those who believe in knowledge without God and truth with Christ. 

May you and I grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Mark Fox January 21, 2024
Mark Fox January 14, 2024

Only God Can Tame This Beast


What weighs less than two ounces, works almost constantly for 16 hours a day, and cannot be controlled by either man or woman? The mighty tongue. I know what Charles Wesley meant when he wrote “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” but we just couldn’t survive it. 999 of them would be gossiping or backbiting or complaining, while the one would be singing “our great redeemer’s praise.” No thanks, Charles. One is plenty. 

A family sat around the table for breakfast one morning. As was his custom, the father prayed and thanked God for the food. Immediately afterwards, as was also his habit, he began to grumble about the food and how it was prepared. His young daughter said, Daddy, do you think God heard what you said when you thanked Him for the food?” “Certainly,” replied the father with confidence. “And did He hear you when you said bad things about the food?” “Of course,” the father replied, hesitantly. His little girl said, “Daddy, which did God believe?” 

James illustrates the power of the tongue to direct, destroy, and to delight (or deceive) in his third chapter. The first word picture compares the tongue to a bit. A bit is put into a horse’s mouth so that a 60-lb kid can direct a 1,000-lb horse. One of my dad’s decisions when I was growing up was to buy a Palomino and keep him pastured offsite. I remember going over to ride Sundance on occasion. Every time I did, the horse would obey my instructions given through the bit and bridle for a little while, and I could set my watch by what happened next. After ten minutes, he would get tired of the whole thing, because he knew somehow that I was really not in charge, and he would take off for the trees. Gaining speed as he got closer, all while I am pulling back on the reins and yelling, Sundance would go straight for the low branches to try to knock me off. That horse was evil. No, he was just like me as a young man, and sometimes as an older man. He did what he wanted to do; he was not going to be controlled by someone else. When the horse submits to the bit, then the rider has control over the horse’s whole body, and the ride is a pleasure for both. So it is with the tongue.

The tongue boasts of great things, James says, and it can be used to direct a nation toward good or evil. On August 20, 1940, Winston Churchill said to the House of Commons, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” He said this to praise the courage of the Royal Air Force in their ongoing battle against German warplanes engaged in nightly bombings of the city of London. On his way to give the speech that day, Churchill was going over his speech. He had planned to say, “Never in the history of mankind have so many owed so much to so few.” His chief military assistant, Pug Ismay, said, “What about Jesus and His disciples?” Churchill smiled and said, “Good ‘ol Pug,” and he changed his speech, to “Never in the field of human conflict…” 

The tongue of one man, Churchill, directed a nation, and gave them courage in the face of an enemy. On the other hand, someone has calculated that for every one word of Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf, 125 lives were lost in WWII.

Only God can tame the tongue.

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Mark Fox January 14, 2024
Mark Fox January 7, 2024

Pursue God

Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” We exist to pursue God. And we pursue God if and only because he has put that urge in our hearts. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” What does it mean to pursue? Interesting first definition in the Oxford American Dictionary for “pursue:” “to chase in order to catch or kill.” We certainly want to have that measure of intentionality and energy in our pursuit of God. Good news, we don’t have to catch him, though, because he has already caught us. We are his and he is ours. But as AW Tozer said, “To have found God and still to pursue him is the soul’s paradox of love.” In other words, our relationship with God is not a static or completed experience but a dynamic, lifelong relationship. The pursuit of God involves a deepening understanding, a growing intimacy, and a continuous commitment to spiritual growth. We do run after him in our desire to know him, hear him, learn from him, walk with him, and be fully his. The Psalmist said it like this: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Our hearts are restless and our souls are thirsty because we were made for God, to know him and to be like him, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Jesus invited any who would be his disciples to “deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” To pursue Christ, then we must first stop pursuing ourselves. The Greek word here for deny means ‘refuse, repudiate, disown someone or something.’ It is the same word used by Jesus when he said to Peter, “you will deny me three times.” How can the same disciple who said, “You are the Christ,” call down curses on himself at Jesus’ trial and swear, “I never knew the man!” Because the heart is easily given to self-protection. We don’t want to take up our cross. Oswald Chambers said, “All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men and women are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.” The call to take up our cross indicates an absolute claim on the allegiance of the disciple to Jesus, and an absolute surrender of all that one is and all that one has, all of our resources, given gladly to the Lord. We often think of that in metaphorical terms and sing “All to Jesus, I surrender” without blinking. But not the people who first heard this call. The people living in the first century would understand, as James Edwards writes, “that their adversity under Nero was not a sign of abandonment but rather of their identification with and faithfulness to the way of Jesus himself.” When they sang, “All to Jesus, I surrender,” they meant all. Life, limb, reputation, property…all.  Billy Graham used to say, “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you everything.” But as Jesus said, the one who tries to save his life will lose it but the one who takes up his cross, dies to his self-will and his agenda will find the life he was made for!

Jesus also said to those who would follow him, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Why would Jesus say this? Because he knows that one of the greatest temptations we face is to substitute a pursuit of material gain, stuff, money and status for the pursuit of God. I pray through part of a list of prayers for pastors and church leaders written by Tim Challies every morning as part of my prayer time. This list is good for anyone to use and pray through. One day a week this one comes up under the heading, “Not a lover of money,” which comes from the list of qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3. The prayer goes like this: “I pray……that I would not make material possessions the ambition of my life. … that I would refuse to pursue financial gain above eternal things, preferring to store up treasure in heaven than on earth.… that I would not sacrifice my family or my spiritual health on the “altar” of my job.… that I would not be greedy or covetous, but instead be generous and quick to give to those in need.… that I would give a generous portion of my income to the church and rejoice when doing so.”

Jesus said we cannot serve God and money. 

We cannot pursue God if our heart’s greatest treasure is material gain. Or anything or anyone else.

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Mark Fox January 7, 2024