Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
This year I am learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I mean Jesus does not necessarily call me to comfort. He calls me to obedience. If God would lead his own son to the cross then where might God lead me? Maybe to the same place. Jesus said to be his disciple we had to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. Again no where does it mention comfort and safety. People said to me growing up that being in the center of God’s will is the safest place to be. When I read Paul’s writings and all of the things that happened to him I question that. Wasn’t Paul in the center of God’s will? So then is it the safest or just the right place to be! Wasn’t it uncomfortable for Abraham as he followed God not knowing his destination? Wasn’t it uncomfortable for Paul, for the disciples to follow Jesus? Wasn’t it uncomfortable for Jesus to die for us so that we might go free? So again I am learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I want my life to glorify God and I want to live the rest of my days living open-handed to ALL people (Duet. 15:11). Love Loud, Risk Often, and Live Courageously!
To My Friend Sam Griffin
To My Friend Sam Griffin,
I say my friend but in reality if you knew Sam he was your friend as well. I told him Monday that he never knew a stranger because Sam made sure that he took the time to talk to any and everyone. Lora, Sam’s caretaker jokingly said she would drop him off and sit in the car and wait because she knew he wanted to talk to everyone in the bank, church office, or the wherever he went. Sam always brought us donuts from Krispy Kreme when he would visit the church office. Sam Griffin was one of the godliest, nicest, and most generous men I have ever met. He was always smiling and he loved life! His goal in life was to be a witness for Jesus, who he no doubt knew as his Savior. Today at noon, Sam went to be with Jesus and to be re-united his wife whom he loved so much. Sam lived life and if you took the time to talk with him, he would share some of his life’s adventures with you. Sam was a great baseball player and shared with me once that he had the chance to play pro baseball but they did not offer him enough money. He went to work instead and made more money. Sam still had the original letter in the envelope. He would always jab with me how he pitched against Maryville College and beat them and I would fire back how I pitched against Carson Newman and beat them. Today my heart is sad and yet filled with joy. I will miss Sam and I will miss having lunch with him on Thursday along with Ray, Steve, and the others. Yet my heart is also joyous because Sam is home! Thank you Sam for blessing my life and thank you Sam for everything you have done for Chilhowee Hills. As a pastor I would say if we had more Sam Griffin’s then this world would be a better place. Then I stop and say I’m glad there was only one and I’m blessed to have known him.
Mark
Letter to the Church
Wow! What a wonderful Sunday! I am still pumped up about everything that God did and is still doing. Praise God for this wonderful church family! And thinking about last Sunday, even on a very hot afternoon, we had a great time at the 4th of July Cookout. I want offer a special thank you for those who worked so hard to organize, set up, cook, bring food & drinks, serve and clean up! We couldn’t do it without you! The bonds of fellowship increase when we take time to relax, serve and share together as a family. If you missed this one, please try to join in on the next event in the fall.
We are in the middle of the summer vacation season and fun is at the top of most agendas. Let’s have a blast, be safe and remember the Lord in all we do. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve you and grateful for our many blessings as a living, active church body. As gratitude to God is displayed in obedience to His word, one thing we need to do is take His word out into our community and the world. For the last several weeks 13 of us have gone into the community to meet new friends and to share the gospel with our neighbors. Last week we picked up almost 40 bags of garbage. This Wednesday night we are leaving the church at 6:20 to prayer walk the neighborhoods. Let’s continue to LOVE LOUD!
Many of you are aware that I will be away from you for just over a week, as Steve Loope and I go to minister in Leon, Nicaragua. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve in this capacity, as well as serving here. Steve and I also want to thank everyone who made this trip possible for both of us. We will be speaking and sharing the gospel with thousands of people. Please be in attendance as Pastor Mateo will definitely bless you this Sunday with a word from God.
In closing I want to say I love you and I love serving alongside you. God is doing amazing things here at CHBC and my prayer is that you listen and obey. As I said Sunday, lukewarm people call radical what Jesus expected his followers to do. We’re not looking for radical, just obedience. Please pray for Steve and I as we are gone and please pray for Carrie as she takes care of the 4 kids alone for a week. Share Christ this week and LOVE LOUD!
Mark
FAQ Notes
Ok here are my notes from Sunday. Several people asked me to post them so enjoy!
First question- how old is the earth? First let me say that for the first 18 centuries of church history the almost universal belief of Christians was that God created the world in 6 literal days roughly 4,000 before Christ and destroyed the world with a global flood at the time of Noah. Today there are two camps of belief-young earth that believe the earth is around 6,000-10,000 years old and the old earth camp that says the earth is about 13.4 billion years old. I believe the bible clearly teaches that God created the world in six literal, 24-hour days. The Hebrew word for day is “yom.” In the vast majority of its uses in the OT it means a literal day; and where it doesn’t, the context makes this clear. Those who believe in an old earth will say the bible also says a day is like a thousand years and the word “yom” can refer to an unspecified time like saying I played baseball back in the day. When you look at the context of Genesis 1 it clearly shows that the days of creation were literal days as it says, “so the evening and the morning were the first day.” When these words are used with the Hebrew word “yom” (38 times) it always refers to a 24-hour period.
You can also read the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11, which support the young earth view as the details cannot support millions of years. Also when you read Exodus 20:9-11 you see this blocks all attempts to fit millions of years into Genesis 1. What about carbon dating? It is man made and not correct. What about fossils and other scientific evidence? First understand that Noah’s flood would produce exactly the kind of complex geological records we see worldwide today: thousands of feet of sediments clearly deposited by water and later hardened into rock containing billions of fossils. This would not have been just rain but earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc. Water covered the whole earth for a year. There are other things you must consider like God creating Adam and Eve as adults. If a doctor had examined them, they would function like adults even though they were a day old. The same would be true for the universe. There is also scientific evidence for a young earth view including continental erosion, fossil remains, and subterranean fluid pressure under the earth, global cooling, and lunar recession.
Let me explain lunar recession. The gravitational pull of the moon creates a tidal bulge on earth that causes the moon to spiral outwards very slowly. Because of this effect, the moon would have been closer to the earth in the past. Based on gravitational forces and the current rate of recession, we can calculate how much the moon has moved away over time. If the earth is only 6,000 years old, there’s no problem because in that time the moon would have only moved about 800 feet. But most astronomy books teach that the moon is over 4 billion years old, which poses a major dilemma-less than 1.5 billion years ago the moon would have been touching the earth. You can also use anthropology and the human population growth to show that the earth is about 6,000 years old.
- Second question-what about dinosaurs? The word dinosaur is not in the bible but the Hebrew word “tanniyn” is translated sea monster, serpent, and most commonly dragon. These creatures are mentioned nearly 30 times in the OT and were found both on water and land. Dinosaurs were created on the 6th day and could not have died off before men as scientists claim because death came as the result of sin with mankind. Job 40:15 describe a creature that many scholars believe was a sort of dinosaur. While the bible does not discuss the issue (as the bible doesn’t mention gravity either), dinosaurs likely died out sometime after the flood due to maybe a combination of dramatic environmental shifts and the fact men would have hunted them. BTW, the word dinosaur wasn’t even invented until 1841. Here is the bottom line; lack of mention means little, other than dinosaurs didn’t come into the history of man in a way significant or necessary to record.
- Third question-what is the gap theory? The gap theory is a view that God created a fully functional earth between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 with all animals, including dinosaurs and other creatures we know only from fossil record. Then the theory goes something happened to destroy the earth completely (some say it was the fall of Satan) so that the earth became without form and void. At this point, God started all over again, recreating the earth in its paradise form as further described in Genesis. First let me say there are not 2 different creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2. Genesis 1 shows us the creation of the world and Genesis 2 gives us greater detail regarding the creation of man. There are no contradictions!
There are many problems with this view. First in Gen. 1:31 God says his creation was very good. He would not have said that if evil had already entered the world via Satan’s fall in the gap. Also if this gap explains all of the fossil records then disease and death must have entered the world ages before Adam fell into sin. But the bible tells us that it was Adam’s sin that introduced death and disease to all of life (Romans 5:12). On that note if Satan’s fall or sometimes in this realm called Lucifer’s flood caused all of the fossil records then the global flood must have left virtually no trace? How could that be possible for water to cover the earth for a year and there be no evidence? If the flood was local, how did water cover the highest peak and why didn’t everyone go to land? If his fall caused the world to be void and God to recreate then why didn’t he fix all of the problems? Is he not smart enough? The gap theory is inconsistent with a literal 6-day creation, as we have noted. Also it is grammatically unsound to read these verses in Hebrew or Greek for they’re to be a pause or gap. This is a twisting of scripture.
- Fourth question- does the bible say anything about a pre-Adam race? There is no Biblical evidence that God created any other humans besides Adam and Eve. 1 Corinthians 15:45 calls Adam the first man and when you read Genesis 2:5-8 it says quite plainly that before God created “the man whom he had formed,” the very same man he placed in the garden, there were no men upon the earth to cultivate the ground. God created Eve because it was not good for man to be alone! With this question always comes another question. Where did Cain get his wife? Cain’s wife was a descendant of Adam. In Genesis 5:4 the bible says Adam lived to be 800 years after Seth was born and he had sons and daughters. The next verse says he lived to be 930 years old and God commanded him to be fruitful and multiply.
So Cain’s wife most likely was his sister. Ok I thought God’s spoke against incest? It did later. The law had not been given at this time so there was so sin. Also this close to the creation of mankind, sin had not genetically changed us like it has now. To marry your sister and have children would give the offspring major biological deformities.
- Fifth question- why did God kill the first-born of Egypt in the plagues? Context is everything in biblical interpretation. The ancient Egyptians served many false gods. The plagues that were set upon the people of Egypt were relative to the gods of the land demonstrating that God was the true God and that their gods were weak, ineffective, and false. So with the 10th and final plague came death of firstborn. The Egyptians served the god Min, the god of reproduction. Isis, goddess who protected children and Pharaoh was considered a god. So the death of the firstborn was not only a final blow to Pharaoh and all of Egypt demonstrating the powerlessness of Pharaoh and the truth of God’s word, but it was also used as a prophetic typology. Remember all of the Jews who had the blood of the lamb placed on their doorposts escaped this judgment. This is foreshadowing of the blood of Christ who is called the Lamb of the God.
This was a representation of the gospel message that the true first-born Son of God would die for the sins of the world and all that are covered in the blood will be saved from their bondage of sin. God could have killed the first born of Israel as well but in his grace spared those in the blood just like he does today! As you read the bible you see the first of everything was God’s! That was mean! There was always a warning and because Pharaoh or you and I do not heed it, then there are consequences. The same is true for men today they have to choose.
- Sixth question- why did God require animal sacrifices in the OT? God required animal sacrifices to provide temporary forgiveness of sins and to foreshadow the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Animal sacrifice is an important theme found throughout Scripture because without the shedding of blood there is no remission/forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22). When Adam and Eve sinned, animals were killed by God to provide clothing for them. They tried leaves but it wasn’t suitable-none of what we can do ever is. If they could then so could we. There has always been the need for blood and sacrifice. Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord. Cain’s wasn’t acceptable because it was fruit and Abel brought the firstborn of his flock. After the flood receded, Noah sacrificed animals to God.
Why animals? What did they do wrong? Nothing! That is the point. Since animals did nothing wrong, they died in place of the one performing the sacrifice. They were a substitute. Jesus also did no wrong but willingly gave himself to die for the sins of mankind. Jesus took our sins upon him and died in our place. Animal sacrifices have ended today because Jesus was the ultimate and perfect sacrifice. John the Baptist said in John 1:29 Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Jesus was the ultimate sacrificial substitute once for all time.
- Seventh question- what is the difference between Sheol and Hell and Paradise and Heaven? There are different terms used in the Bible for heaven and hell-sheol, Hades, Gehenna, the lake of fire, paradise, and Abraham’s bosom. The word paradise is used of Jesus in Luke 23:43 when speaking to the thief and he says today you will be with me in paradise. The word peridismo is a Persian word that speaks of a private garden of the King. Abraham’s bosom is used once in the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. This word was used in the Talmud as a synonym for heaven. The Greek word Gehenna is used in the NT for hell and the Lake of Fire mentioned only in Revelation is the final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all the unrepentant.
The Hebrew word for hell is Sheol and it simply means place of the dead or the place of departed souls. Hades is the Greek translation, which also means place of the dead. The KJV bible translates Sheol 31 times as hell, 31 times grave, and 3 times as pit. Sheol is a word associated with ground, death, and corruption. Some argue this is different than hell but Job 26 describes the dead as continuing on in a place known as Sheol. They are conscious. Isaiah 14 describes the dead being stirred up implying that Sheol is a realm of many departed souls. Ezekiel 32 describes the punishment for sin resting on the bones of those who committed them in Sheol. As you read Deuteronomy 32 you see Sheol is a miserable place for the wicked.
When people die the saved go to heaven/paradise and the unsaved go to hell. After the return of Christ and the Millennium, the unsaved will be thrown into the lake of fire and the saved will spend eternity in New Jerusalem, the New Heaven and the New Earth! There we shall ever be with the Lord.
FAQ-Blog Answers
Question 1-is there any sin that God will not forgive? For the child of God, there is no unforgivable sin. All sin was forgiven at the cross when Jesus said it is finished (John 19:30). That statement meant that the penalty for all sin was paid in full. God’s forgiveness is available for all who will come and ask. When we sin, the Holy Spirit will convict us and convince us that we have sinned. We cannot lose our salvation but we can lose fellowship with God and the joy of our salvation which we can remedy through confession of sin and repentance (1 John 1:9). What about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Briefly put, the blasphemy of the Spirit, which is the same as the unpardonable sin, is the state of continued unbelief. There is no pardon for a person who dies in unbelief. Continual rejection of the Holy Spirit’s promptings to trust in Jesus is the unpardonable blasphemy against him. Read John 3:16 and John 3:36. The only condition wherein someone would have no forgiveness is if he is not among the “whosoever believes in him,” for it is he who rejects the son.
Question 2-will God continue to forgive you if you commit the same sin over and over again? First before you read my answer get your bible and read Psalm 103:12; 1 John 1:9; and Matthew 18:21-22. Now it must be noted that it is not biblical for a person to sin habitually and continually as a lifestyle and still be a believer (1 John 3:8-9). This is whyPaul admonishes us to “examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith; test yourself. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5). As Christians, we do stumble, but we do not live a lifestyle of continual, unrepentant sin. All of us have weaknesses and can fall into sin, even if we don’t want to. Even Paul did what he didn’t want to because of the sin at work in his body (Romans 7:15). The response of the believer is to hate the sin, repent of it and asks for divine grace to overcome it (Romans 7:24025). Although we need not fall because of God’s sufficient grace, sometimes we do because we reply upon our insufficient strength. If you are living in continual habitual sin, then you need to do a heart check and make sure you have surrendered to God’s amazing grace!
Question 3- is their a difference between sin and abominable sin? The word abominable means detestable or morally disgusting. It is usually used with the sin of homosexuality and also with the sin described in Proverbs 6:16-19. According to Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century, the “7 deadly sins” are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth. Although these are sins they are never given the description of seven deadly sins. Yes nearly every sin could be placed under one of the seven categories, but we must realize these seven sins are no more deadly than any other sin. behind this question, is the question-are all sins equal to God? Read Matthew 5:21-28 where Jesus equates committing adultery with having lust in your heart. This doesn’t mean that all sins are equal but Jesus is telling the Pharisee’s that sin is still sin even if you only want to do the act, without actually carrying it out. Jesus taught that our actions are the result of what is in our hearts. All sin is equal with regard to eternal consequences and salvation. All sin, no matter how small, is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, there is no sin too big or detestable that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for all of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). So are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. In severity? No. In penalty? Yes. In forgivability? Yes
Question 5- did Jesus sin when he drove out the moneychangers in the temple becuase he was angry? The answer to this question is no. God is holy and therefore is righteous in his wrath toward sin. Jesus did not sin becuase the intent wasn’t to harm and destroy the person but to punish the sin and restore the house of God to the house of prayer and worship that it was intended for it to be. God always has a righteous wrath toward sin, it is part of his nature.
More Scripture
Well our fast is over and I pray that you heard from God as we prayed for revival both personally and for our church. God is moving and doing supernatural things. Some of these things we have seen and some we will see shortly I believe. It is so exciting to be a part of CHBC! Below are some more passages that people have emailed to me. These passages touched them while they were fasting. Enjoy!
Isaiah 58
1 Corinthians 14:25
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Ephesians 4:11-16
Psalm 23:5
Psalm 119:142-144
1 John 2:14
Hope in the Overcoming Savior!
Jesus says in John 16:33 that in the world we will have trouble. Then he says be of good cheer? How? The reason we can be of good cheer is because Jesus has overcome the world and through the cross offers us hope and salvation! So when trouble comes we need to focus on God and not on our current circumstance. As a church, we began to pray for revival last night and I want to share some of the verses that several members sent to me early this morning. I hope they will be an encouragement to you today:
John 4:31-38
Proverbs 25:28
James 1:5
Jeremiah 5:21
Titus 2:11-15; 3:4-8
Isaiah 53:12
Psalm 2:8
Psalm 5
A Funny Mother’s Day Story
Well I hope all of you ladies had a great Mother’s Day and I pray that all of you dad’s are recovering from one day of doing what our wonderful wives do everyday! I wanted to share with you a very funny story that I hope will make you laugh and brighten your day. Yesterday I used a story from an 8 year old girl who wrote her mother a Mother’s day card. Here is what it said, “Happy Mother’s Day! I got you some candy. I know it is good because I have already eaten 3 pieces!” After a great service, my wife Carrie went to get our children out of the nursery and Action Kids. My daughter Regan had made a bag of goodies for Carrie in her Bible Fellowship class. She asked Carrie to look at it and pulled out a card, a water bottle, and a small box of chocolate. Carrie went to open the chocolate and it was just wrappers. Regan replied, “Sorry Mom, I was hungry!” Carrie and I had a good laugh and I thought why not throw the box away? She wanted her mom to know she had gotten her a box of chocolate but she ate the candy because she was hungry. That’s the life of a mother. That is why we love you. You take the empty box of chocolate and love it like it was full. Maybe if we all lived that way the world would be a better place. I know it is Monday but allow me to say once more…Happy Mother’s Day!
Love Loud Update
This Love Loud series has been great! I wanted to update you on some things that happened. Last week the church gave our friends from Invisible Children $725 dollars. The best part of the story was Callum, from Scotland, was having trouble with his credit card. Instead of sending his new card to San Diego for him to use it was sent to his home in Scotland. However, since we took up the offering he has enough money to get home! God is good! As a church we sponsored 43 children with Compassion International from Leon Nicaragua. Compassion’s goal for us was 12 so we blew them out of the water with your generosity. Last night we collected 282 pairs of underwear, 22 pairs of socks, and 4 t-shirts. Richie Patton and I were able to deliver them this morning to Lost Sheep Ministries, Angelic Ministries, and Teen Challenge. All of them were blown away, Angelic Ministry was totally out so now they have some to give away tomorrow. Thank you for what you do. Find what God is calling you to and Love Loud!
Hard Monday
Today has been a difficult day. I started this morning holding the hand of a beloved friend and church member as he was told his wife had passed away. Later in the day I hugged a young man as he found out the girl he had been dating for the last three years had been found dead in her dorm room this morning. Death is in the air. However hope was in the midst! Both of these beautiful women were daughters of the King-Jesus Christ! Both of these women today are completely whole, perfect, and in the presence of God. What they had believed in faith their eyes now see in reality. My heart breaks for their families. I pray for my friend Steve as he has lost his life companion, lover, and friend. My heart also breaks for these parents who have lost their college-aged daughter. But God is with them and I pray the Holy Spirit gives them peace that passes all understanding! Please pray with me for these families. The death of a Christian is a beautiful thing. These ladies are not lost, we know exactly where they are. They are in heaven! Susie no more arthritis and no more hearing difficulties! Bree no more seizures! 1 Corinthians 15:54-55, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”