KERSTETTER COMMENTARY

Our Responsibilities, Not Our Rights

2011-08-04T18:38:00.003-04:00

In commenting on adiaphora, that is, those things that are indifferent or neutral--not inherently good nor bad from Romans 14:13-23, William Barclay writes: "Life must be guided by the principle of love; and when it is, we will think, not so much of our right to do as we like as of our responsibilities to others. We have no right to distress another man's conscience in the things which do not really matter. Christian freedom must never be used as an excuse for rough-riding over the genuine feelings of others."

He continues: "The tragedy is that in so many cases it is little unimportant things which disturb the peace of the brethren, matters of law and procedure and precedent and prestige. A new age would dawn in the Church if we remembered that our rights are far less important than our obligations, if we remembered that, while we possess Christian liberty, it is always an offence to use it as if it conferred upon us the right to grieve the heart and conscience of someone else. Unless a church is a body of people who, in love, consider one another it is not a church at all."

[William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, Rev. Ed. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975), 190, 193.]

"O Lord, may we--Your Church, Your body--focus upon our responsibilities to You and to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and not our 'rights'. Help us by Your Holy Spirit to love one another and so fulfill the law of Christ. Then, and only then, will we experience true freedom, genuine liberty. In Jesus' strong name. Amen."

The Antidote to Worry

2011-08-04T18:21:00.003-04:00

"It is hard not to worry, for man is characteristically a creature who looks forward to guess and fear. The only end to that worry is the utter conviction that, whatever happens, God's hand will never cause his child a needless tear. Things will happen that we cannot understand, but if we are sure enough of God's love, we can accept with serenity even those things which wound the heart and baffle the mind."

[William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, Rev. Ed. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975), 200.]

"Heavenly Father, please help us all to trust your heart even when we cannot see your hand. Grant us faith to rely fully upon You even when challenging circumstances confront us and suffering smites us. Even when we may not understand "what?", "when?", "where?", "why?", or "how?", help us to rest in the assurance of "Who." Thank You for being the Sovereign Lord who loves Your children beyond what we could ever imagine. Amen."

Law and Gospel

2011-08-04T18:15:00.002-04:00

In the context of discussing the Word of God as Law and Gospel, Michael S. Horton, writes: "The law's imperatives tell us what must be done; the gospel's indicatives tell us what God has done." [The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 138.]

Prayer and Faith

2010-07-15T20:44:00.001-04:00

“It is not the intellectually great that the church needs; nor is it men of wealth that the times demand. It is not people of great social influence that this day requires. Above everybody and everything else it is men of faith, men of mighty prayer, men and women after the fashion of the saints and heroes enumerated in Hebrews, who “obtained a good report through faith,” that the church and the whole wide world of humanity needs.
Many men, of this day, obtain a good report because of their money-giving, their great mental gifts and talents, but few there be who obtain a “good report” because of their great faith in God, or because of the wonderful things which are being wrought through their great praying. Today, as much as at any time, we need men of great faith and men who are great in prayer. These are the two cardinal virtues which make men great in the eyes of God, the two things which create conditions of real spiritual success in the life and work of the church.”

Source: E. M. Bounds. The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 20. [Chapter 2, “Prayer and Faith (Continued)” of “The Necessity of Prayer.”]

Defeat Awaits a Non-Praying Church

2010-07-15T20:24:00.002-04:00

“The church more than ever needs profound convictions of the vast importance of prayer in prosecuting the work committed to it. More praying must be done and better praying if the church shall be able to perform the difficult, delicate, and responsible task given to it by her Lord and master. Defeat awaits a nonpraying church. Success is sure to follow a church given to much prayer. The supernatural element in the church, without which it must fail, comes only through praying. More time, in this busy bustling age, must be given to prayer by a God-called church. More thought must be given to prayer in this thoughtless, silly age of superficial religion. More heart and soul must be in the praying that is done if the church would go forth in the strength of her Lord and perform the wonders which is her heritage by divine promise.”

Source: E. M. Bounds. The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 211. [Chapter 14, “Wonders of God through Prayer” of "The Possibilities of Prayer."]

What Christianity, the Church, and the World Needs Today

2010-07-15T20:05:00.003-04:00

“Christianity needs today, above all things else, men and women who can in prayer put God to the test and who can prove his promises. . . . These are the sort of men and women needed in this modern day in the church. It is not educated men who are needed for the times. It is not more money that is required. It is not more machinery, more organization, more ecclesiastical laws, but it is men and women who know how to pray, who can in prayer lay hold upon God and bring him down to earth, and move him to take hold of earth’s affairs mightily and put life and power into the church and into all of its machinery.
The church and the world greatly need saints who can bridge this wide gap between the praying done and the small number of answers received. Saints are needed whose faith is bold enough and sufficiently far-reaching to put God to the test. . . . Never was the church more in need of those who can and will test Almighty God. Never did the church need more than now these who can raise up everywhere memorials of God’s supernatural power, memorials of answers to prayer, memorials of promises fulfilled. These would do more to silence the enemy of souls, the foe of God and the adversary of the church than any modern scheme or present day plan for the success of the gospel. Such memorials reared by praying people would dumbfound God’s foes, strengthen weak saints, and would fill strong saints with triumphant rapture.
The most prolific source of infidelity and that which maligns and hinders praying, and that which obscures the being and glory of God most effectually, is unanswered prayer. Better not to pray at all than to go through dead form, which secures no answer, brings no glory to God, and supplies no good to man. Nothing so hardens the heart and nothing so blinds us to the unseen and the eternal, as this kind of prayerless praying.”

Source: E. M. Bounds, The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 197-198. [Chapter 12, “Answered Prayer (Continued)" of "The Possibilities of Prayer.”]

Prayer and Purity

2010-07-15T19:56:00.005-04:00

"A prayerless spirit has no affinity for a clean heart. Prayer and a pure heart go hand in hand. Purity of heart follows praying, while prayer is the natural, spontaneous outflowing of a heart made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ."

Source: E. M. Bounds, The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990), 158. [Chapter 3 "Prayer and the Promises (Continued)" of "The Possibilities of Prayer."]

"Heavenly Father, may prayer and purity permeate my life so that You are pleased. Amen."

Can You Believe?

2010-07-15T19:32:00.005-04:00

"Perhaps you will say that you cannot believe. Even such a statement is a symptom of your lost condition. If you do not believe, it is because you will not believe. . . . Your hard heart says that you cannot believe but the core of that hard heart is a will that is determined not to believe." (Donald G. Barnhouse, Romans, 2.1.59)

Upon reading this statement, I was reminded of an intellecutally stimulating, apologetic-type conversation I once had with a self-professed agnostic. He was thoroughly familiar with the Bible and had even taught it during his career days, yet he commented to me that he "could not believe." I replied, "You could not or would not?" He said, "I can't believe." I quipped, "You can't or you won't?"

"Lord, thank you for the privilege and opportunity of being used by You to share Your wonderful truth with others. Thank You that Your word goes forth and accomplishes what pleases You and it does not return void. Holy Spirit, change the heart of the atheists and agnostics into Christian theists. Amen."

Prayer for Purity, Humility, Love, and Faith

2010-04-10T00:57:00.003-04:00

Thou who art over us,
Thou who art one of us,
Thou who art—
Also within us,
May all see Thee—in me also,
May I prepare the way for Thee,
May I thank Thee for all that shall fall to my lot,
May I also not forget the needs of others,
Keep me in Thy love
As Thou wouldest that all should be kept in mine.
May everything in this my being be directed to Thy glory
And may I never despair
For I am under Thy hand,
And in Thee is all power and goodness.

Give me a pure heart—that I may see Thee,
A humble heart—that I may hear Thee,
A heart of love—that I may serve Thee,
A heart of faith—that I may abide in Thee.

[Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, Trans. by Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc./Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1964), 83.]

Are You Lonely?

2010-04-10T00:48:00.003-04:00

“Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.” [Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, Trans. by Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc./Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1964), 72.]

"O Jesus, my dear Christ, thank You for being forsaken by God and man (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; cf., Psalm 22:1) so that I would not have to remain lonely eternally. Thank You for being the 'something,' or rather, the 'Someone' 'to live for, great enough to die for.' You lived and died and live now for me, why shouldn't I live and die for You? Amen."

To Die Rightly is The Hardest Thing of All

2010-04-10T00:32:00.002-04:00

“The hardest thing of all—to die rightly.—An exam nobody is spared—and how many pass it? And you? You pray for strength to meet the test—but also for leniency on the part of the Examiner.”

[Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, Trans. by Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc./Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1964), 68.]

"Heavenly Father, may I 'work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.' (John 9:4). May I be able to say with the Apostle Paul: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4:7). May I be able to say to You when I see You face-to-face, as did my Lord Jesus, 'I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given me to do.' (John 17:4). And oh, may I hear those precious words from my King one day: 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world' (Matthew 25:34). Amen. So be it."

Speaking and Silence

2010-04-10T00:28:00.002-04:00

“Only tell others what is of importance to them. Only ask them what you need to know. In both cases, that is, limit the conversation to what the speaker really possesses.—Argue only in order to reach a conclusion. Think aloud only with those to whom this means something. Don’t let small talk fill up the time and the silence except as a medium for bearing unexpressed messages between two people who are attuned to each other. A dietary for those who have learned by experience the truth of the saying, ‘For every idle word. . . .’ But hardly popular in social life.” [Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, Trans. By Leif Sjöberg and W. H. Auden (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc./Faber and Faber, Ltd., 1964), 34.]

Always Remember From Whence God Has Brought You

2010-04-10T00:02:00.004-04:00

I love the letter that an old Puritan, Thomas Goodwin, wrote to his son.

"When I was threatening to become cold in my ministry, and when I felt Sabbath morning coming and my heart not filled with amazement at the grace of God, or when I was making ready to dispense the Lord’s Supper, do you know what I used to do? I used to take a turn up and down among the sins of my past life, and I always came down again with a broken and a contrite heart, ready to preach, as it was preached in the beginning, the forgiveness of sins. I do not think I ever went up the pulpit stair that I did not stop for a moment at the foot of it and take a turn up and down among the sins of my past years. I do not think that I ever planned a sermon that I did not take a turn round my study table and look back at the sins of my youth and of all my life down to the present; and many a Sabbath morning, when my soul had been cold and dry, for the lack of prayer during the week, a turn up and down in my past life before I went into the pulpit always broke my hard heart and made me close with the gospel for my own soul before I began to preach.” [Quoted in William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrews Press, 1960), 53-54.]

"Lord, help me to never forget where you brought me from and where You are taking me. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me from my sins and switching me from the broad road toward hell to the narrow road toward heaven. I feel like a turtle on a fence post: I know I didn't get here by myself. "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:10) Amen."

What is "worship"?

2010-04-09T23:42:00.002-04:00

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” (William Temple)

A Lustful, Lecherous Heart

2010-04-09T23:40:00.001-04:00

“One of the most powerful stories I have ever heard on the nature of the human heart is told by Malcolm Muggeridge. Working as a journalist in India, he left his residence one evening to go to a nearby river for a swim. As he entered the water, across the river he saw an Indian woman from the nearby village who had come to have her bath. Muggeridge impulsively felt the allurement of the moment, and temptation stormed into his mind. He had lived with this kind of struggle for years but had somehow fought it off in honor of his commitment to his wife, Kitty. On this occasion, however, he wondered if he could cross the line of marital fidelity.
He struggled just for a moment and then swam furiously toward the woman, literally trying to outdistance his conscience. His mind fed him the fantasy that stolen waters would be sweet, and he swam the harder for it. Now he was just two or three feet away from her, and as he emerged from the water, any emotion that may have gripped him paled into insignificance when compared with the devastation that shattered him as he looked at her. ‘She was old and hideous . . . and her skin was wrinkled and, worst of all, she was a leper. . . . This creature grinned at me, showing a toothless mask.’ The experience left Muggeridge trembling and muttering under his breath, ‘What a dirty lecherous woman!’ But then the rude shock of it dawned upon him—it was not the woman who was lecherous; it was his own heart.” [An autobiographical excerpt quoted by Ian Hunter in Malcolm Muggeridge: A Life (Toronto: Totem, 1981), 40.]

Jesus said: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)

One of my professors used to say: "The only man who does not deal with this temptation to sin is the one who is six feet under (i.e. dead) or the one who is lying."

"God, have mercy on me, the sinner--the one with the lecherous heart! Thank You for Your forgiving and restraining grace."

Understanding Evil In Our Own Hearts

2010-04-09T23:27:00.003-04:00

"The person who understands the evil in his own heart is the only person who is useful, fruitful, and solid in his beliefs and obedience. Others only delude themselves and thus upset families, churches, and all other relationships. In their self-pride and judgment of others, they show great inconsistencies." (John Owen, Sin and Temptation)

"This same point of recognition also awakened the slumbering spirit of journalist Terry Anderson, who had been held captive by terrorists in Lebanon. Anderson said that during his captivity he saw much in his captors that he hated and despised. The more he saw them and talked to them, the more he was repelled by them. 'Yet,' he added, 'in a strange way there was nothing in them I had not also seen in myself.'" [Quoted in Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God?, Dallas: Word, 1994), 143]

"The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)

"He who steals my purse steals money; he who steals my time steals my life."

2010-03-04T20:38:00.005-05:00

"While engaged in his study and writing, he was reluctant to be disturbed by casual visitors. When such appeared, [Andrew] Fuller would block the door with his massive frame, deal with them as quickly as possible, sometimes by pointing to a plaque on the wall reading: 'He who steals my purse steals money; he who steals my time steals my life.'"

[Quote about Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) from H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1987), 182.]

The Prayer Life of Jesus

2010-03-04T20:24:00.004-05:00

"Since Christ was God, why must He pray?
By Him all things were known and made,
Omniscient and omnipotent,
Why need He ever ask for aid?
Ah! but He put His glory by,
Forgot a while His power great,
Humbled Himself, took human form
And stripped Himself of royal state.

For Christ was also Man; to feel
Man's strongest tempting, and to know
His utmost weakness, He became
Like other men and suffered so.
And touched with our infirmities,
For those few years like us to be,
He still remembers we are dust,
Since He was tempted like as we.

But well He knew the source of help,
Whence comes all power, strength and peace,
In blest communion with His God,
Care and perplexity would cease.
When all earth's sorrow and its sin
Too heavy on His spirit weighed,
Quiet and solitude He sought
And to His Father prayed."

--Annie Johnson Flint

I Know No Other Jesus

2010-03-04T20:12:00.003-05:00

"I know no other Jesus
Than He who died for me;
The Saviour of lost sinners,
The Christ of Calvary.

I know no "ideal" Jesus
That human minds invent;
The only Jesus Christ I know
Is whom the Father sent.

That human Christs could save me
Is inadmissible;
My Jesus is the image
Of God invisible.

My Christ is God incarnate
And of the Virgin born;
He left a crown of glory
To wear the plaited thorn.

The Infant of the manger,
The village Carpenter,
The Teacher sent from heaven
To men to minister;

The true historic Jesus,
Who died and rose again,
He is the only Jesus,
That I proclaim to men."

--James M. Gray

"The Little Hurts" by Edgar A. Guest

2009-12-08T13:57:00.004-05:00

Every night she runs to me
With a bandaged arm or a bandaged knee,
A stone-bruised heel or a swollen brow,
And in sorrowful tones she tells me how
She fell and "hurted hers'f to-day"
While she was having the "bestest play."

And I take her up in my arms and kiss
The new little wounds and whisper this:
"Oh, you must be careful, my little one,
You mustn't get hurt while your daddy's gone,
For every cut with its ache and smart
Leaves another bruise on your daddy's heart."

Every night I must stoop to see
The fresh little cuts on her arm or knee;
The little hurts that have marred her play,
And brought the tears on a happy day;
For the path of childhoord is oft beset
With care and trouble and things that fret.

Oh, little girl, when you older grow,
Far greater hurts than these you'll know;
Greater bruises will bring your tears,
Around the bend of the lane of years,
But come to your daddy with them at night
And he'll do his best to make all things right.

"Heavenly Father, thank you for my four precious children. As their earthly father, please use me to lovingly console their tender little hearts whenever they are hurting. Thank you for protecting them by preventing them from getting hurt even worse than they do sometimes. Please take up the slack where I lack and transfer their allegiance from me, their earthly father, to You, our heavenly Father. Amen."

It has been given back.

2009-12-08T13:27:00.004-05:00

Never say about anything, "I have lost it," but only "I have given it back." Is your child dead? "It has been given back." Is your wife dead? "She has been given back." "I have had my farm taken away." Very well, this too has been given back. "Yet is was a rascal who took it away." But what concern is it of yours by whose instrumentality the Giver called for its return? So long as He gives it you, take care of it as of a thing that is not your own, as travellers treat their inn.

Epictetus, from The Manual.

"And he [Job] said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.'" (Job 1:21)

Heavenly Father, may I be a good steward of all that You temporarily entrust to me. May I never cling covetously to Your creations but view them as momentary gifts that constantly remind me to worship You alone, the Creator. May I always bless Your name--when You give and even when You take away--regardless of the means by which You choose to do so. Amen.

Ovid on Birth and Death

2009-12-08T13:23:00.002-05:00

"To be born, is to begin to be
Some other thing we were not formerly:
And what we call to die, is not t' appear,
Or be the thing that formerly we were."

Ovid, from Metamorphoses, Vol. 4, Book XV.

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

2009-12-08T13:16:00.002-05:00

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

"Remember" by Christina Rossetti

2009-12-08T12:52:00.003-05:00

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that I once had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

"More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of."

2009-12-08T12:45:00.004-05:00

"If thou shouldst never see my face again,
Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?"

From "Idylls of the King" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

"On Another's Sorrow" by William Blake

2009-12-08T12:37:00.004-05:00

Can I see a falling tear
And not feel my sorrow's share?
Can a father see his child
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd?

Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan an infant fear?
No, no! never can it be!
Never, never can it be!

And can he who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small bird's grief & care,
Hear the woes that infants bear,

And not sit beside the nest
Pouring pity in their breast;
And not sit the cradle near
Weeping tear on infant's tear;

And not sit both night & day
Wiping all our tears away?
O! no never can it be!
Never, never can it be!

He doth give his joy to all;
He becomes an infant small;
He becomes a man of woe;
He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not thou canst sigh a sigh
And thy maker is not by;
Think not thou canst weep a tear
And thy maker is not near.

O! he gives to us his joy
That our grief he may destroy;
Till our grief is fled & gone
He doth sit by us and moan.

"The Old Time Family" by Edgar A. Guest

2009-12-04T17:56:00.003-05:00

It makes me smile to hear 'em tell each other nowadays
The burdens they are bearing, with a child or two to raise.
Of course the cost of living has gone soaring to the sky
And our kids are wearing garments that my parents couldn't buy.
Now my father wasn't wealthy, but I never heard him squeal
Because eight of us were sitting at the table every meal.

People fancy they are martyrs if their children number three,
And four or five they reckon makes a large-sized family.
A dozen hungry youngsters at a table I have seen
And their daddy didn't grumble when they licked their platter clean.
Oh, I wonder how these mothers and these fathers up-to-date
Would like a job of buying little shoes for seven or eight.

We were eight around the table in those happy days back then,
Eight that cleaned our plates of pot-pie and then passed them up again;
Eight that needed shoes and stockings, eight to wash and put to bed,
And with mighty little money in the purse, as I have said,
But with all the care we brought them, and through all the days of stress,
I never heard my father or my mother wish for less.

"Hard Luck" by Edgar A. Guest

2009-12-04T17:45:00.003-05:00

Ain't no use as I can see
In sittin' underneath a tree
An' growlin that your luck is bad,
An' that your life is extry sad;
Your life ain't sadder than your neighbor's
Nor any harder are your labors;
It rains on him the same as you,
An' he has work he hates to do;
An' he gets tired an' he gits cross,
An' he has trouble with the boss;
You take his whole life, through an' through,
Why, he's not better off than you.

If whinin' brushed the clouds away
I wouldn't have a word to say;
If it made good friends out o' foes
I'd whine a bit, too, I suppose;
But when I look around an' see
A lot o' men resemblin' me,
An' see 'em sad, an' see 'em gay
With work t' do most every day,
Some full o' fun, some bent with care,
Some havin' troubles hard to bear,
I reckon, as I count my woes,
They're 'bout what everybody knows.

The day I find a man who'll say
He's never known a rainy day,
Who'll raise his right hand up an' swear
In forty years he's had no care,
Has never had a single blow,
An' never known one touch o' woe,
Has never seen a loved one die,
Has never wept or heaved a sigh,
Has never had a plan go wrong,
But allus laughed his way along;
Then I'll sit down an' start to whine
That all the hard luck is mine.

What Will Your Library Do With You?

2009-11-17T21:47:00.004-05:00

I once had a professor to say, "I can tell a lot about a preacher by looking at his library." Generally, I would agree. When I think about personal libraries, I am reminded of this ditty:

Be a little careful about your library.
Do you forsee what you will do with it?
Very little to be sure.
But the real question is,
What will it do with you?

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Heavenly Father, dispenser of all knowledge, thank you for the library which You have entrusted to me. May it grow in volume as You see fit. Most of all, may You use it to influence and mold me, my family, and others, more into the image of Christ Jesus the Lord."

What is Your One All-Consuming Passion?

2009-11-17T21:07:00.002-05:00

“A zealous man in religion is preeminently a man of one thing. . . . He sees only one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up for one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies, whether he has health, or whether he has sickness, whether he is rich, or whether he is poor, whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offense, whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish, whether he gets honor, or whether he gets shame, for all this the . . . man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one things is to please God and to advance God’s glory.”

Source: J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion (London: James Clarke & Co. Ltd., 1959), 130.

Reminds me of:
Q: "What is the chief end of man?"
A: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

Lord Jesus, please help me always to keep my preeminent passion as pleasing God, my heavenly Father. Protect me from double-mindedness and distracted by peripheral matters. Regardless of my life or death, health or wealth, fame or shame, may I be "Ablaze for Your Glory!"

Does Christ live in the parlour of your heart?

2009-10-27T19:22:00.004-04:00

"Rest assured, Christ will not live in the parlour of our hearts if we entertain the devil in the cellar of our thoughts."

(Charles H. Spurgeon, commenting on Psalm 5:6, in The Treasury of David, I.47)

"Lord Jesus, please make yourself at home in the living-room, and indeed every room, of my heart. Please forgive me for every time I have ever entertained sinful thoughts. Root out any pernicious thought in the cellar of my mind. Thank You, sweet Jesus. Amen."

Flattery is Fatalistic

2009-10-27T19:11:00.004-04:00

"A clerical sycophant is only fit to be a scullion in the devil's kitchen."

(Charles H. Spurgeon, commenting on Psalm 2:10, in The Treasury of David, I.18)

"Heavenly Father, may I, as clergy, not be guilty of trying to curry favor from others. Deliver us from flattery and fawning before famous people in order to procure personal pleasantries. Please spare me from stooping to such a slavish spot in Satan's kitchen."

Application of Yourself and the Text

2009-10-27T18:50:00.005-04:00

"Apply yourself wholly to the text,
Apply the text wholly to yourself."

--J. A. Bengel

"Lord, aid me in applying myself totally to the biblical text and applying the biblical text totally to myself. Help me avoid the perilous pitfalls of, on the one hand, applying myself only partially and half-heartedly to the biblical text and, on the other hand, of applying the biblical text hypocritically and only to others who seem to need it more than I do. Amen."

Are God's Children Starving Even While Seated at His Table?

2009-10-09T23:38:00.006-04:00

"There is today no lack of Bible teachers to set forth correctly the principles of the doctrines of Christ, but too many of these seem satisfied to teach the fundamentals of the faith year after year, strangely unaware that there is in their ministry no manifest Presence, nor anything unusual in their personal lives. They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy. I trust I speak in charity, but the lack in our pulpits is real. Milton's terrible sentence applies to our day as it did to his: 'The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed'. It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the kingdom, to see God's children starving while actually seated at the Father's table"

- A.W. Tozer

"Lord, as the hungry sheep stare up, use me to serve them scrumptuous and satisfying portions from Your delectable word. Help Your preachers faithfully feed Your flock as we feast at the Father's fine table. Surely, if we gorge ourselves on God's good word then we would not be guilty of gluttony. May we taste Your savory sweetness and see that the Lord is good. In Jesus' Name. Amen."

Pilgrim, Are You Progressing in Piety?

2009-10-09T23:24:00.005-04:00

"Young converts are prone to depend too much on joyful frames, and love high excitement in their devotional exercises; but their heavenly Father cures them of this folly, by leaving them for a season to walk in darkness and struggle with their own corruptions. When most sorely pressed and discouraged, however, He strengthens them with might in the inner man. He enables them to stand firmly against temptation; or, if they slide, he quickly restores them, and by such exercises they become much more sensible of their entire dependence than they were at first. They learn to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and to distrust entirely their own wisdom and strength, and to rely for all needed aid on the grace of Jesus Christ. Such a soul will not readily believe that it is growing in grace. But to be emptied of self-dependence, and to know that we need aid for every duty, and even for every good thought, is an important step in our progress in piety. The flowers may have disappeared from the plant of grace, and even the leaves may have fallen off, and wintry blasts may have shaken it, but now it is striking its roots deeper, and becoming every day stronger to endure the rugged storm."

-Archibald Alexander

"Heavenly Father, when the storms of life assail, may Your gracious will prevail. When You are growing us in grace, give us faith to trust You, even when we cannot see Your beautiful face. Rid us of self-reliance and root us in God-dependence. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Sermonettes or "sweet but substanceless snacks"

2009-10-09T23:05:00.004-04:00

“Much of what emanates from modern pulpits would not be recognized by history’s great preachers as being Bible-based and glorifying to God. Rather than the spiritual meat the Body of Christ needs–marked by doctrinal clarity, a sense of gravity, convincing argument, and a proper focus on Christ–entire churches are being administered a sweet but substanceless snack by their pastors. Consequently, congregations leave the sanctuary malnourished and ill-prepared to stand firm when their faith is challenged.” - Alistair Begg

Sermonettes produce Christianettes. (I heard one preacher add: "who smoke cigarettes" to this sad but true axiom.)

"Lord Jesus, please help me consistently prepare and regularly present a full-course meal through the whole counsel of God from the inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God in order to equip the saints of God to do the work of God by the Holy Spirit of God for the glory of God the Father. Amen."

Preacher, What Is Your Biggest Problem?

2009-10-09T22:46:00.007-04:00

“A preacher’s biggest problem is how to toughen his hide without hardening his heart.”

—Vance Havner

While in seminary I remember hearing this little ditty: "A Preacher should have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros." In other words, he should be thoughtful, tender-hearted, and thick-skinned.

Unfortunately, too many preachers (and Christians) have the mind of a child, the heart of a rhinoceros, and the hide of a child. In other words, they are shallow, jaded, and touchy.

"Holy Spirit, cultivate in me the proper balance of head, heart, and hide. In Jesus' name. Amen."

Do You Need A Vacation?

2009-10-09T22:42:00.001-04:00

"A vacation is what you take when
you can no longer take what you've been taking."

--Earl Wilson

Preacher, Are You a People-Pleaser?

2009-10-09T22:17:00.004-04:00

The Man, His Son, and the Ass
(A fable by Aesop)

A man and his son were driving an ass to market, where it was to be sold. “Have you no more sense,” said a passer-by, “than to trudge along, letting your ass go without a load?” So the man put his son on the ass, and they went on. “You lazy young rascal,” said the next person they met; “aren’t you ashamed to ride, and let your poor old father go on foot?” The man lifted off his son, and got on himself. Two women passed, one saying to the other, “Look at that selfish old fellow, riding while his little son follows on foot!” The man then took the boy up behind him. The next traveller they met asked the man whether the ass was his, and on being told that it was, he said, “No one would think so, from the way you use it. Why, you are better able to carry the ass than he is to carry both of you.” So the man tied that ass’s legs to a pole and, staggering under the weight, they carried it into the town. There they were greeted with so much laughter that the man, infuriated, threw the ass into the river and, seizing his son by the arm, set off home.

Moral: He who tries to please everybody pleases nobody.

J. Harold Smith said it this way: “Every preacher who trims himself to suit everybody will soon whittle himself away.”

What is Preaching?

2009-10-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

“Preaching is not the art of making a sermon and delivering it. Preaching is the art of making a preacher and delivering him.”

—Bishop Quayle

Hast Thou No Scar ?

2009-10-09T22:06:00.001-04:00

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die: and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I
swooned:
Hast thou no wound?

No wound, no scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And, pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole: can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?

—Amy Carmichael

Happy Birthday Melissa Ward Kerstetter

2009-04-25T19:30:00.003-04:00

Melissa, my wonderful wife, I thank our Lord Jesus for you (Phil. 1:3). I am glad beyond measure that "the LORD God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" (Gen. 2:18) in reference to Adam, but in application to me, because He could not have given me a better "helper." We complement one another quite well. Indeed, my fountain is blessed and I continually rejoice with you--the wife of my youth (cf. Prov. 5:18).
Thank you for being my wife and the Mother of our four precious children. You are beautiful physically on the outside but even more attractive spiritually on the inside (cf. 1 Peter 3:3-6). May God grant you many more birthdays as you serve Him faithfully each day. I love you with more than words and I will always love you!

Happy Birthday Charis Dawn Kerstetter

2009-02-03T16:56:00.009-05:00

Charis, you were the first arrow God added to your Mom and Dad's quiver (cf. Psalm 127), back on February 3, 2000. I will never forget seeing your face for the very first time through my tears of joy. You are already fulfilling your name--"grace dawning" or "the dawning of grace." Aren't you glad that your Mom and I didn't give you the middle name "matic"? Although with your effervescent personality, we would not have missed the mark. You bring so much joy to our family and are a good help to your younger sisters and brother.
May God continue using you to shine the light of His marvelous grace into the broken lives of many people. May God sharpen and hone your musical ear and train you with a musical eye so that you may glorify Him through music, just like your Mom does. Our prayer is that you will serve God always with every ounce of your strength and every breath of your being. We are so proud of you and we will always love you!

God Calls Me as Full-time Pastor-Teacher

2009-02-02T16:32:00.002-05:00

On February 2, 2009, God called me to Pastor the people of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Valdese, North Carolina. I echo the words of the Apostle Paul: "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into ministry . . . . Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen" (1 Timothy 1:12, 17).
Although God called me to a public preaching ministry in January 1993, which has led to many sermons in different settings (e.g., church buildings, classrooms, a court room, and even a pharmaceutical company) and locations (e.g., NC, SC, GA, and NY), this is my first full-time ministry opportunity as Pastor-Teacher.
May God grant me heavenly wisdom (Jas. 3:17-18) as He leads me by His Spirit into shepherding His sheep (1 Peter 5:2-4) and "equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-12). Heavenly Father, glorify Yourself in and through me as you conform me even more into the image of Your unique Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ (cf. Romans 8:29).

Happy Birthday Noah Glenn Kerstetter

2009-01-27T17:11:00.001-05:00

Noah Glenn, our one and only son, Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Whenever I was cutting your umbilical cord, the Doctor pointed out that it was tied in a knot, which is rare and even rarer that a baby survives whenever this occurs. Your Mom and I were extremely relieved and grateful to our Lord Jesus for knowing you, forming you, sanctifying you, and ordaining you in the womb before you were even born (cf. Jer. 1:5).
Contrary to what most people ask, we did not keep trying until we got a boy. Your Mommy and I had decided even before we got married, that, Lord willing, we were going to have four children--regardless of the sex of the baby. We are thankful to our Great God that He has loaned you and your three older sisters to us so that we could be good stewards in rearing you all in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
Noah, may God use you as "comfort for those who are in the valleys of life" (Psalm 84:6). May you experience the Lord not only as "the God of the mountains" but also as "the God of the valleys" (cf. 1 Kings 20:23-30). May you "gain Christ and be found in Him . . . know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings" (Phil. 3:8-10)

What are You Worth?

2008-10-01T11:12:00.003-04:00

A couple days ago a woman told me that she lost $25,000 due to the one-day record drop in the American stock market. I was imagining what it would be like just to have $25,000 to lose. For various reasons we Americans live in uncertain financial times. There is plenty of blame to go around in these turbulent times.

While reflecting on the current economic crisis and how we all are being influenced by it (psychologically, theologically, emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc.), I asked myself some questions: "What would I do if I lost everything? As many others have experienced already, what would I do if I lost my job? What if I had no savings, no investments, no money? How would I provide for my six-member-family?"

As John Henry Jowett wrote, "The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost all our money."

This prompted me to ask myself: "What am I worth? Financially, if I lost everything, what would I be worth?"

What are you worth? If you lost everything, what would you be worth?

These questions probe beyond the surface of our lives and expose the deep-rooted conceptions that we have about ourselves and conceptions others have about us in relation to our sense of personal value or worth in correlation to how much money or "stuff" we own. Does your worth depend upon how much money you have? Must one have money in order to have personal dignity and worth? Sadly way too many people judge their own worth and the worth of other people based upon what their net worth is.

Scripture guides us here: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)

On the one hand, it is possible to be rich with worldly possessions yet be bankrupt spiritually. On the other hand, it is possible to have little or no earthly possessions yet be filthy rich spiritually.

It is far better to be poor with Christ than to be rich without Christ (see Proverbs 28:6). I had rather be a garbage man with Christ than a multi-billionaire without Christ (see Psalm 84:10). My personal convictions are expressed in the famous hymn:

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Refrain:
Than to be the king of a vast domain,
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to His holy name

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

So, what is my answer to my poignant questions: "What am I worth? If I lost everything, what would I be worth?" By God's amazing grace, limitless love, and enduring mercy, I am extravagantly rich--and always will be--not because of what I have done but purely because of Jesus and what He has done on my behalf. My sense of value or worth is tied to Jesus Christ and His relationship to me--and nothing else.

Thankfully, God does not value us based upon what we have or don't have. God does not love us based upon what job we perform, whether we own or rent a house, whether we own several vehicles or none, whether we have fat banking accounts or none, whether we are formally educated or not, whether we are married or single, male or female, older or younger, or for any other reason one can fathom, except Jesus Christ. In fact, God loves us and Christ left heaven and came to earth, died on the cross, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and ascended to heaven for us because we are sinners and need Him as our Savior and Lord. He loves us for His glory and for our good.

So, what are your answers to the personal questions: "What am I worth? If I lost everything, what would I be worth?"

"Babies Don't Keep"

2008-09-24T17:03:00.004-04:00

Mother, of Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-- Author Unknown

"A Mother's work is never done." True indeed. All the loving Mothers that I have ever known have at some point grappled with walking the fine line between balancing household responsibilities and spending quality time with her children. I am not advocating irresponsibility and a filthy house, but I have never heard an older Mother or GrandMother say that she wished she would have spent more time cleaning her house whenever her children were younger. On the other hand, one-hundred percent of the time I hear the Mother say that she wished she would have spent more time with her children whenever they were younger. Unfortunately, too many Mothers learn this foundational lesson later in life, if they ever learn it at all.

This poem is for my wife and all Mothers who are enjoying the time you do have with your sweet babies and wish you had even more time with them. Remember, as you have heard a thousand-and-one times, "Enjoy 'em while they're young because they grow up fast."

Sovereign Ruler

2008-09-17T16:51:00.002-04:00

Sov’reign Ruler of the skies
Ever gracious, ever wise;
All my times are in thy hand,
All events at thy command.

His decree who form’d the earth
Fix’d my first and second birth;
Parents, native place, and time,
All appointed were by him.

He that form’d me in the womb,
He shall guide me to the tomb;
All my times shall ever be
Order’d by his wise decree.

Times of sickness; times of health;
Times of penury and wealth;
Times of trial and grief;
Times of triumph and relief;

Times the tempter’s power to prove;
Times to taste the Saviour’s love
All must come, and last, and end,
As shall please my heavenly Friend.

Plagues and deaths around me fly;
Till he bids, I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.

--John Ryland (1753-1825)

Prayer for the Home

2008-09-17T16:43:00.004-04:00

Lord, this humble house we’d keep
Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place.

—Edgar A. Guest

Watch Your Table Manners

2008-09-15T11:10:00.001-04:00

One day at lunch time my four young children sounded like a gaggle of geese: "I want . . . !" "I want . . . !" "I want . . . !" "I want . . . !" Squawk. Of course, I am certain this happens only in my household and not in yours.

Therefore I wrote a little poem to help them learn (hopefully) what I have told them countless times about proper etiquette and table manners, etc.

"I want . . . !"
Doesn't get;
"May I please . . . ?"
Your needs are met.

May God imbed in the hearts of all my children this appealing principle.

How have you taught or are trying to teach your children good manners?

Happy Birthday Moriah Faith Kerstetter

2008-08-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

Seven years ago, August 7, 2001, God chose to bless our family with you Moriah Faith. Daddy and Mommy love you sweet girl and we always will. As you grow, may you live as one who has been "chosen by the LORD (YHWH or Jehovah)" by "faith" so that others "may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for granting us the pleasure and responsibility of raising Moriah to love You and to worship You forever. May she always choose to walk in Your way and teach others about your grace through faith. We once again place her into Your loving care and ask You to use her in whatever way pleases You. Amen.

Happy Birthday Hannah Grace Kerstetter

2008-08-01T06:45:00.000-04:00

Four years ago, August 1, 2004,God "graced" our family with you Hannah Grace. Daddy and Mommy love you "baby" girl and we always will. As you grow up, may the Lord Jesus use you to minister a double portion of grace into the lives of all those you will meet.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for loaning Hannah Grace Kerstetter to us. We are humbled and blessed with the sacred responsibility and awesome privilege of raising her to trust and obey You. May she glorify You and enjoy You forever. Please help us be good stewards of the great gift You have lavished upon us. We re-present Hannah to You and ask You again to use her for Your glory. Amen.

Coram Deo

2008-07-10T16:08:00.004-04:00

For those of you who may not know, "coram Deo" (see blog subtitle) is a Latin phrase which means "before (the face of) God."

1 Corinthians 10:31: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (NKJV)

In the Beginning Glenn Created A Blog

2008-06-30T22:45:00.005-04:00

This is my first post on my first ever blog! I know that I have much to learn about this hyper-fast growing genre of technology but I look forward to it.

As I embark upon this technological journey, I re-offer to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, all that I am or ever aspire to be.

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips [and my fingers on the keyboard]" (Psalm 141:3)

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart [and my blog-posts]
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14)

Heavenly Father, may you use my feeble writings, as a blessing and encouragement to my family (spiritual and biological) and friends, as a faithful testimony to those who do not know You as King of kings and Lord of lords, and as a creative outlet for me to proclaim Your name to the nations. Indeed, may You use my writings in the way that will bring most honor and glory to You, for You alone are worthy of all worship and praise both now and forever. Amen.