We are told in 1 Peter 2:9 that all believers are priests. One of the responsibilities of being a priest is to guard knowledge (Malachi 2:7). We worked some of that out Sunday morning, but I didn’t have time to look at the contrast between mouths that guard truth and mouths that don’t. As God’s priests how should we guard God’s truth? Let’s think the contrast found in Proverbs 4 and 5.

The writer of Proverbs advises us to be attentive to his words (4:20 aka, wisdom). This careful attention paid to wisdom is accomplished by guarding wisdom (“keep them within your heart” [4:21, see also 5:2]). The word “keep” is the same word we looked at in Malachi 2:7 (“for the lips of the priest should guard knowledge”). Now comes what I believe to be helpful contrast…

In contrast to lips that guard wisdom are lips that guard nothing but their own interests (5:3-6). He calls lips like those the lips of immorality (a personification). Notice how they are described in 5:3:

In other words, they are sweet and they are smooth; they taste and feel good. Those who choose to live immorally will have the feeling like nothing ever has been this good. They’ll shout, “I’ve never been more free to be myself! I’m really alive!” And you know what? The Bible doesn’t disagree. But look at where it all ends up…

“⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol.” (5:4-5)

Living for pleasure is like drinking poison and swallowing a Buck knife. And in the end it leads to death and destruction. It may taste and feel good now, but later it will destroy.

There is a huge difference between lips that guard wisdom and lips that drip with honey. The one who guards wisdom tells the truth in love, but the one who doesn’t lies about what’s coming around the corner if we keep going in that direction and making the wrong choices.

Grace & Peace,

Deacons are ministers of mercy. They have never been called to be the board members of the church, and I can’t find one Scriptural proof that says they are chosen to take care of the details of the building and grounds. Unfortunately this has become the modern paradigm (i.e., pattern). It is high time we get the deacons of Calvary Church out of the boardroom and building business.

We have all sorts of committees that take care things around here. For example, we have a Building and Grounds Committee that can make sure something gets fixed or the lawn gets mowed. If the deacons take over this area of serving then I have to ask the question: “Why do we need a committee to watch over the building and grounds?” And we can go right down the list.

Let’s begin with the word “deacon” itself. The term deacon simply means “servant.” They are called of God and chosen by God’s people to lead as servants. They are not called to plunge the toilet, unless of course they are either on that committee or in the immediate area! (We have a toilet plunging committee?) What I am trying to say is that a deacon can serve in a ministry of the church, but his office does not demand it.

Deacons first appear on the scene because mercy was not being adequately shown to the poor widows in Jerusalem (Acts 6). The apostles were so taking on the needs of the poor widows and because of the growth of the church they needed help. The needs of the poor were pulling them away from prayer and preparation to teach God’s Word. Something had to give. Very wisely, and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, they decided to have the church choose seven men to take care of the poor widows. Their singular job description was to serve (provide mercy through relief) those widows.

At Calvary because of their leadership abilities the deacons provide oversight for the different committees. They provide relief for me to give myself to prayer and preparation in the Word. Without these men I would be overwhelmed.

As we choose deacons this week I want us to prepare by reading two passages of Scripture: Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Read them diligently and decipher them carefully. Secondly, I want us all to continue zealously in prayer.

Grace & Peace,

I’ve been really selfish by thinking what I would do without Ben being at Calvary Church to help me. I’ve neglected to think of the impact his move would have on his mother and their daily talks. I’ve not thought long and hard about how this would affect his sisters (when he came home he usually went to their room and sat on their bed just to talk). I’ve also not thought through how this would change his relationship with his brother who was just a short drive away. And I’ve certainly not contemplated too much on the youth at Calvary. Yes, I’ve been extremely selfish. His life must go on; he must follow the Lord’s leading in his life just like the rest of us. I am both sad and enthralled at the same time.

We all must move on, one day at a time. There is much serious work to do for our great God here in Boiling Springs. I cannot forget that…I will not forget that. I have wallowed in my self-pity long enough. We will all be just fine, and moving on will not diminish the effect Ben has had, it will only enhance it. The greatest injustice we can do to his, or anybody’s, ministry is to curl up in a ball and suck our thumb. It’s time to move on, it’s time to make changes, it’s time to take risks and step out by faith. Are you ready? I am. I am so excited about the future of Calvary Church. I am just thrilled that He allows me a consistent, weekly ministry with people I love deeply. I am so thankful and humbled to exalt and adore our heavenly Father with YOU!

Let’s put our selfish interests aside, roll up our sleeves, pour our hearts out to God in prayer, and serve Him together like we’ve never done before. This will take sacrifice of our time, energies and money. We will need to look deep into our selves and repent of pride, we will need to sincerely strive to honor God in everything, and we will need to follow hard after God.

Grace & Peace,

Last week’s annual tax free weekend reminded me that it’s about time for school to start. I talked to kids who went school shopping and they told me about their school bags and new clothes. For some that is the only reason they look forward to this time of year! What has been cool about the last 12 months at Calvary Church is that as God has expanded His church we now have new kids from all over. It is so exciting to have homeschoolers, public schoolers and Christian schoolers. This adds variety and diversity to our church, and it gives us the privilege of having different views and opinions. It also gives us the chance to expand our outlook on parenting and it challenges our thinking. Finally I believe it stretches us to strive for unity in the midst of diversity.

Soon we will post the names, schools and grades of our students. We are taking a different approach to our students this year. I honestly think we missed the boat in the past because we turned the focus of praying for our students into buying gifts for them. I don’t want us to get into a competition of who gets the best gifts and in turn teach our children the greed of consumerism – I think the culture has that one handled. The focus of listing our students is so that we can more effectively pray for them. Consistent prayer is the best gift we can give the children at Calvary.

On that note I want to encourage everyone to come for our annual Back-to-School Pizza Bash. The evening will start with a pizza party at 5:30 and then at 6 pm we will have a worship service of music, special prayer for our students and preaching by Ben Linnerud. This is one of those nights you won’t want to miss.

Grace & Peace,