Out of the Box

Healthy Transitions of Life

There is a transition to life that I have never heard anyone discuss before. Not really. I have heard adults say things like, "Christmas is for kids." I have also heard the response, "I don't really need anything" given by an adult when asked what they might like for Christmas. Those phrases hint at a greater truth. When it comes to getting and receiving gifts it is a natural and healthy thing to move from joy in getting to the pleasure in giving. Luke repeats the words of Jesus that are somehow absent from the Gospels and writes, "He said "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 These words were spoken in the context of "helping the weak."  

When we are young, that is to say weak, and unable to provide for ourselves it is a great thing to get gifts. They are things we could never provide for ourselves and indicate love and selflessness on the part of our gift-giver. As we grow older we begin to accumulate stuff and are more able to work and provide some things for ourselves. The things we lack, or more aptly want, are usually just beyond our ability to save for in the short term. That is why teens seem to ask for more expensive gifts than toddlers and school kids. There is even a period of time when we are disenchanted with gifts all-together. We are old enough to afford the simple luxuries of life and those we cannot are more than our friends and family are willing, or able, to pay. Thankfully, this is about the time many young adults start families. Now their focus slowly turns from receiving to giving. Their joy comes from the responses of their children when they open their presents. The pride they feel when they know they have been able to provide happiness to their kids rivals the joy they had as children when they opened their own gifts. This also explains the pain a parent feels when they are not able to provide gifts for their own children because of unemployment, divorce, or illness.

This transition in life is natural and healthy. If an adult is stuck in the period of life where they get their jollies from gifts being heaped upon them from others, then they have not matured to the point of being "blessed." I just returned from a children's home in our city where kids spend long days without their parents. Some of whom may never wake up on Christmas morning to a Christmas tree overflowing with gifts with their names on the tags. They may never blink as a loving and giving mother and father snap their picture as they open each one. Imagine if each one of us who have been blessed reached out to someone less fortunate this year. Maybe you can purchase some toys for the children in a family whose soul bread winner got laid off or terminated this year. How about making a donation to a community kitchen or shelter for the homeless. Think of the joy you would give to someone in front of you at the grocery store if you were able to pay their bill or even pick up their tab at a restaurant. I know some who read this will not be able to help someone financially. So what about spending some time with you know that is sick or disabled? Maybe you can invite someone to your home for dinner who lives alone?

I am going to be out and about for the holidays and I don't know when I'm going to be able to blog again soon. I am going to "tweet" since I can do that on the run. If you are interested you can search on "Twitter" for Ken Duggan. There are several of you who already do that and others who maybe weren't aware that you could. Either way have a blessed and Merry Christmas!!!!   

A Great Way to End a Series

At the conclusion of the last message in the series “Better Together” the Lord impressed upon me to allocate as much time for prayer as for speaking. The message was to examine the important role that prayer plays in the role of a healthy Christian family. I decided if people wanted to pray that I would not cajole or plead for them to come forward. If this entreaty to prayer was truly from the Spirit of God then He would deal with the convicting and the drawing forward to prayer. I wanted nothing to do with the messy results of a hyped call to come forward just to satisfy my ego as a preacher. All I wanted to do was to allow people to pour their hearts out to God for their family and then for myself to fervently pray on behalf of our congregation. The results were astonishing. Without even asking people to neither bow for prayer nor close their eyes people began to stream into the aisles. There was such weeping at the altar one could imagine you were at a funeral.

 

I detect an overall desire to connect with God. I believe people are not satisfied with a faith that only resides in their heads, but one that travels into the deepest recesses of the heart as well. I have decided pride many times is the sin that so often keeps us from truly getting in touch with God. If we weep before another in deep regret over our sins or over the plight of our families we may be afraid that others might judge us or they might begin to guess what is wrong. In reality, their guesses are rarely as bad as the truth about our sins. In the attempt to "save face" before others we miss having a meaningful audience with God.    

Notable Births

The birth of a child is often reason for rejoicing in the life a young couple. While it is always news for the family and friends; some births make news world-wide.

 

According to ABC News on July 4, 2008 a 72 year old woman gave birth to twins in Mumbai, India. That hasn’t happened since Abraham and Sara.  

 

The Dionne quintuplets (5 babies), born May 28, 1934, were the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. They are the only female identical set of five ever recorded

 

The McCaughey septuplets (7 babies), born November 19, 1997, are a set of septuplets  born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines Iowa.

The siblings are the world's first set of septuplets to survive infancy. They were born nine weeks prematurely in Des Moines to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey (pronounced "McCoy"), residents of the nearby town of Carlisle. The septuplets have one older sister, Mikayla Marie (born January 3, 1996).

• Kenneth (Kenny) Robert: 3 lb. 4oz.
• Alexis May: 2 lb. 11oz.
• Natalie Sue: 2 lb. 10oz.
• Kelsey Ann: 2 lb. 5oz.
• Nathan Roy: 3 lb. 3oz.
• Brandon James: 2 lb. 14oz.
• Joel Steven: 2 lb. 15oz

On January 26, 2009, the Suleman octuplets (8 babies) were born in Bellflower, California. One week after birth, the Suleman octuplets became the longest-living octuplets in known history. The children's names are Noah Angel, Maliyah Angel, Isaiah Angel, Nariyah Angel, Jonah Angel, Jeremiah Angel, Makai Angel, and Josiah Angel.

 

It’s not always the number of babies that makes their births news-worthy. Sometimes it is a matter of sheer mass. Big babies make big news.

Just this September 21^st Muhammad Akbar Risuddin was born. He was 24.4 inches long and weighed in at 19.2 pounds. Reports are he has a strong appetite and a very tired momma. Akbar is not the biggest baby on record. No that honor goes to a baby born in Ohio in 1879 that weighed 23.8 pounds. I think his last name was Bunyan.

 

About 2,000 years ago there was a miraculous birth in a small town in Israel. It was not news-worthy because of the size of the baby. He wasn’t born with many brothers and sisters. No this was a single birth, but what a birth it was. Jesus was born in a manger to a young virgin named Mary. His birth changed the world. His death changed my life. His resurrection changed my destiny. Do you know Him?

I'm preparing for tonight's community wide Thanksgiving service. It's at a local church that isn't a part of my denomination. That is what I am most thankful for. I am a Baptist and more specifically a Southern Baptist. I am happy to be both, but sometimes I like to worship with others with different styles and traditions. Diversity is good. Some of the churches represented tonight are very traditional. Some are very demonstrative in their worship. Some pray in unison out loud and others pray in King James English. It's not only rewarding to worship with believers from other congregations, but it is interesting to watch how they react to one another. I noticed one year, while a person from another church was praying, that other members of his church joined him, out loud. I couldn't help notice the puzzled look on the faces of some of my fellow Baptists. (Since I am a professional I am allowed to watch while the rest of you are required to keep your eyes closed.) It looked as if they weren't sure whether to ask the person to be quiet or join in. At another service a dear brother in Christ made a joke about female pastors and a faint murmur went through the crowd. It seems one of the churches represented had just called a female pastor. For some unknown reason that church hasn't been represented at our community wide service since. The host church tonight has a pentecostal tradition. They are a little louder than my church and usually meet for longer periods of time. Awesome. How great if we weren't so concerned with time. When Baptists think about heaven we often wonder how you can spend so long praising God and not worrying about the mental well being of workers in the preschool. I'm looking forward to tonight where there are no time constraints and brothers and sisters from many corners of the kingdom stand together and praise God with one heart heart and mind. I look at it as dress rehearsal for heaven. Have a great Thanksgiving!

A Slippery Slope

This is a note I just received this morning. It is in response to all who believe I am too reactionary in my views toward the direction we are headed as a nation. It is an email sent to one of our members from a well known ministry offIce. It will be printed without comment.  

Name withheld,

 

We received this info at "our office" today:

Shirley Dobson will be giving a deposition today from 8:30-4:30 pm.  She is being sued by a group “Freedom From Religion” because she asked the President and other political leaders to pray for our nation…as leader of National Day of Prayer.

 

Just the beginning of fall out from the Hate Crimes Bill!

 

Please pray!

 

Thanks,

 

Name withheld

Heartbeat of the Spirit

Now that heart surgery is inevitable I have found I pay more attention to it's activity as it beats hidden in my chest. What used to go unnoticed is now reason for worry. A skip here, a vibration there and even an occasional pause sometimes startles me from my sleep. It is tough to think about your heart. When you do suddenly you are aware it's there where in the past you knew it, you just didn't think about it. You know what I mean. Kind of like your tongue. Have you ever really concentrated on your tongue. It suddenly seems to swell in size and you begin to wonder how it is contained in your mouth at all. How can you get food around that serpentine thing? And air, how can air pass by it if your nose is plugged? What has previously lived in almost total anonymity is now in your every thought. Whether it is your heart or your tongue, what was once almost totally ignored becomes your focus when pondered upon at length. And how can yo not think about things so vital to your existence?

I have also become keenly aware of something else since my heart problems have been diagnosed. My spirit. Or maybe better yet, the Spirit within me. God's Spirit. The Holy Spirit to some and the Holy Ghost to others. In my angst over my physical health I have also begun to ponder my spiritual health as well. I have become acutely sensitive when I do not feel His presence in my life. I find myself constantly checking my spiritual pulse. Sometimes I am jolted from my sleep by His seeming absence. When the pulsating power of the Spirit is irregular I become concerned about my spirituality vitality. Others have been telling me that they sense the Spirit controlling me while I preach. I'm grateful for that. I feel no different on the inside, but the testimony of others is expressing a different truth. He is there. He is active and controlling at least that part of my life. Now my prayer is that God would show His presence to me the way others have begun to see Him in my preaching. In pouring myself into my calling I have become a little dry. Kind of like when I awake from a sound sleep because the beating of my heart has taken a breather. So I am alert spiritually to feel the presence of the Spirit working in me. I am ready for God to pour Himself into me.    

A Reason to Grieve

It was not easy to find. Very little mention anywhere on the internet. Nothing on my homepage news section. So I had to go to Foxnews.com. It was hidden deep on the page two levels under politics and obscurely worded on the White House daily agenda section like this:

1805 President Obama will host a reception to commemorate the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. He will deliver brief remarks at 6:05 PM, and will be joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, civil rights community leaders and others.

Let me expand. This evening at a few minutes after 6 the president will sign the latest installment of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. He will be joined by lesbian, gay and transgendered activists to celebrate the occassion. These people are now the most protected minority in America. Look for lawsuits to be flying from the cubicles of ACLU lawyers as early as tomorrow morning.

As a Christian I am commanded to pray for our leaders and I do. I am told to love others and treat them as I want to be treated and I try. But it is getting harder and harder to turn the other cheek. I think of all our founding fathers and past presidents. How it would burden them to know that a country founded on a firm belief in the truth of God's Word has fallen so far from it's roots.

May I stately as firmly as I know how in the love of Christ. God loves every man, woman, boy and girl equally and abundantly. He loved us all so much that He gave the ultimate sacrifice to bring us all to a saving relationship with Himself. However, we must not forget that while His love for us was the motivation for His death on the cross; our sin was the ugly scar that made his painful death necessary. How it must grieve the heart of God when people flaunt, protect, and promote their sin openly before the world. It should grieve the heart of His children as well.  

Let's Not Give the Devil His Due

Eleven days from now it will be October 31. Halloween. The night before All Saints Day and thus All Hallows Eve. I approach this time with mixed feelings. Growing up I always looked forward to the grocery store setting up displays of children's costumes. Yes, I said grocery store. I grew up in Daisy, before it became Soddy-Daisy, and we didn't have a toy store. So you bought your costume at the grocery store. I was Casper one year. I went as Spiderman another. Not that these costumes would fool anyone mind you. They were packaged in flat boxes with the mask peering out through a sheet of cellophane. The picture on the box was not at all like the costume in the box. Kind of like that 7 foot Frankenstein in the back of comic books that you could order for $1. The cardboard creature bore little resemblance to the scary picture on the page. And just try and get your money back!!! I'm sorry, I had to let go of some childhood pent-up frustration. Anyway, I always liked the night of Halloween and as far as I can remember my church spoke little for or against it.

I even went to a few Halloween parties as an adult. I found out these parties were different from any other time of year only in that the guy passed out in the hedges was now dressed like Batman. It kind of lost it's luster. Then a few years ago I talked to a police detective who shared some info with me about this time of year. He told me of places where dis-membered cats were scattered around make-shift altars in woods around Chattanooga. He talked of suspicious vans that drove slowly through neighborhoods while children played alone. I began to look into these things for myself and found them to be true. I learned later that animal shelters ceased cat adoption in the week prior to Halloween for fear that they would be abused. I learned that both witches and devil worshipers understood the dark significance of this night even if the church chose to ignore it. As a Christian and a pastor I began to be convicted of not taking a stand during a time when death and darkness were being marketed to our children. After all the Bible says, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Col. 1:13 Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commanded believers to "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11.

So it has been years since our family handed out treats at the front door. Instead we began a Fall Festival at church where we give kids an opportunity to have fun in a safe environment. A place where death and darkness are not portrayed. It has been a great success. I even deliver what many have come to call my "pumpkin smashing message" on the Wednesday night before Halloween. So mission accomplished right? I thought many of the things I used to warn parents of during this season have become non-existent. I know the old razor in the apple has proven to be an urban myth, but many of the other atrocities really took place at Halloween. And recently a very prominent story about an abducted little girl has become headline news. But not around here, right? Just this Sunday morning a concerned grand-mother asked me to share this story. Her grand-daughter and another little girl were playing less than a mile from our church when a dark truck slowed down nearby. A man in a black hoody jumped from the truck as the two girls ran screaming to a nearby neighbor's house. The mother reported to the police but no one has been detained. So the battle between darkness and light, good and eveil goes on.   

I may be a little one-sided now when it comes to my views about Halloween, but I would rather err on the side of safety than give the devil his due. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21 I hope you can be at DBBC on the 28th when I share wat the Bible says about the Christians response to the occult and the history of Halloween. See you then.    

Waiting to be Moved

I want to continue the discussion I began in my last entry. If you haven't read it I will wait until you do before I continue......some of you are sure slow readers......OK that got everybody caught up? The subject is power. Not just any power, but I'm talking specifically about the power of God. I have been reading books about people's experiences and interviewing men and women about the times God has manifested Himself in their lives. I have become convinced God wants to move today as He did in the past. Too often when I hear preachers speak about the power of God it is often in the past tense. Sort of like being shown the remains of an old church as the tour guide speaks of how great things used to happen in the church centuries ago. I have even heard one Christian radio host say that we don't experience the power of God anymore because we have His Word. It's like the power and the presence of God cannot co-exist with the Word of God. I strongly disagree. I believe they work hand in hand with one another. They are two sides of the same coin if you will.

Jesus was the Word of God incarnate. In John 1 John writes, "the Word was God" speaking of Jesus. Then in verse 2 he says, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." That's the power of God. Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that  the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation." Once again associating the power of God with the Word of God. Acts 4:33 says that with "great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus". Two verses prior the Bible says that "the place where they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke Word of God with boldness."

The two were never meant to exist in a vacuum. I believe that where the Bible is taught and preached that it should be coupled with the presence of God and where His presence is known His power will be evident. A great example is D.L. Moody. Listen how remembers a day that God manifested Himself in his life.

"My heart was not in the work of begging. I could not appeal. I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York- oh what a day!- I cannot describe it. I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name...I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of HIs love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world."

I spoke to a gentleman just yesterday who was a student at Asbury College in Kentucky when the great move of the Spirit broke out unexpectantly years ago. It seems that during chapel service a young man asked if he could stand and give a testimony. In his testimony he confessed his sins and sought God's forgiveness. In moments hundreds of students filled the aisles weeping. It was not until 17 days later that this great move of God relented. The school held no classes for 10 days. The revival broke out in the city as well as on the campus.

I firmly believe God is going to do this again. He is waiting for true repentance and broken hearts. God has not changed. He wants to be known and experienced. His power has not diminished. Pray with me that we are a part of that movement of God. That we remain flexible enough to move when He says move. To be sensitive to His prompting and to stay pure in our motives. If we desire His presence then His power will surely follow.  

Real Power or Just Slick Packaging?

I am looking at the latest deluge of mass mailings on my desk. I have shared this with you before. Most of what I get is never read, examined, contemplated or even opened. You probably have the same problem. If all the unsolicited mail that I receive were never produced my world would be less cluttered and many more trees would populate the landscape. However, something more than just waste is the reason I'm ranting. Most things I get in the mail are Christian in nature. More than just Christian, I would call it the Christian industry. You know, books, art, music and movies. Wow, have we ever gotten good at packaging ourselves. This is slick stuff. You used to spot something inspirational in nature by the "cheesy" or cheap way it was packaged. Regardless of the product it seems there was always a lamb or a sword, or both, somewhere on the cover. Not now. I'm looking at some CD covers as I write. Hollywood or Nashville would be proud. Cool looking stuff with awsome graphics and thought provoking images. We have really learned to compete on the secular level for the almighty dollar.

Why is that with all our marketing prowess that Christianity is in decline in the countries that have the most to spend in marketing our message. I think I may have a clue. What I have discovered in my own life may be true for society in general. Marketing no longer impresses me. It is not so important that we can illustrate the gospel as it is that we demonstrate it in our lives. It is possible to produce a flashy package with no content on the inside. In my spiritual life I am more and more discontent with fluff. I'm looking for substance. Paul writes, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." 1 Corinthians 4:20 Mere words are not enough. Just to be fluid or persuasive in speech no longer satisfies. I'm looking for the manifest presence of God to show up in my life. I want to know that we are not just proficient at marketing the message but that the power of God in our lives convinces unbelievers that our God is real. Luke records that it was the power of God displayed in the apostles lives that led unbelievers to be saved. "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33

When faced with great trials as I know many of you are, it is the presence and power of God that gives us strength to face the uncertain. My prayer for you and me is best expressed in the prayer of Paul for the Christians at Ephesus, "that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power."  That is powerful stuff, indeed.