It's All Greek To Me

On Thursdays I speak in chapel at the Hughson Christian School. It’s my old education institution of the fourth grade. It was just me and Joanne Dee in the fourth grade. Mrs. Gillaspie was our teacher. She also had second and third graders. Mr. Gillaspie, her husband, taught us Bible about one day a week. It was almost twenty years ago that I was in fourth grade there, and Mrs. Gillaspie is still teaching! Mr Gillaspie, however, was taken from this world after being hit by a drunk driver while on his postal route.

Mr. Gillaspie was a very special person. When I think about him today I think of a person that cared about me. It wasn’t a job… it was him being who he was. One memory I have that I will never forget is when he took me and a couple other guys backpacking for a few days.

Now I fill Mr. Gillaspie’s shoes once a week, to the best of my ability, by teaching thirteen third through eight graders Bible. I feel like I owe it to him. What better way to honor the life of someone than to try to pick up where he left off and keep his work moving forward. So Mr. Gillaspie, if you have internet up there, I hope you’re proud of me.

That was just the introduction! This segment is something I’d like to call, “It’s All Greek To Me.” I’ve only had these kids for about four sessions including today. The first fifteen minutes of class we’ve been learning the Greek alphabet. Yes, the Greek alphabet. We have a club called the “It’s All Greek To Me” club. Entrance into the club is simple. You must be able to recite the entire Greek alphabet from memory. Today almost half the class entered the club after only four weeks!

What about you? Can you join the club? You better get started now or these kids are going to be giving you a run for your money. They are quickly putting the tools in their belt to be able to do excellent Bible study by looking up words in original language sources. If third through eighth graders can do it don’t you think you can? Come on and join the club!

Excel Still More

            Jesus is perfect, man is not. There is no room for improvement with Jesus, there is for man. No matter how good we are right now, we can be better.  In a passage that is often neglected, or quickly read past, for fear of addressing false ideas on individual predestination, there is a great lesson we must learn, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren ” (Romans 8:29, NASB95). God predetermined before he created anything in this world that it was going to be those who were becoming “conformed to the image of His son” that would be His saved people. What that means is we are in a constant process of pressing the clay of our lives into the perfect mold of Jesus. We are constantly pushing the clay into the mold and never completely getting there. It’s when we keep pushing though that Jesus fills in the gaps with regard to our justification before God. This is a process that is unending until the day we die!

            No matter where you are at spiritually in your relationship and work for the Lord - You can do better! You can excel still more! Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica praising them every chance he gets about the great things they are doing. Even in all of that he says, “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more ” (1 Thessalonians 4:1). He also says, “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more ” (1 Thessalonians 4:9–10). Did you catch that? He says you are doing a fantastic job at walking in the instruction of the Lord, but excel still more! You are doing a fantastic job in love towards the brethren, but excel still more! You can do better!

            You might be the best song leader that this church has ever seen, but you can excel still more! You might be the best encourager this church has ever seen, but you can excel still more! You might be the biggest giver this church has ever seen, but you can excel still more! You may attend assemblies more that 25% of the congregation, but you can excel still more. You may be the best person at studying in the congregation, but you can excel still more. You may be the best Bible class teacher the church has ever had, but you can excel still more. Are you getting the picture here? No matter what work you are doing, no matter where you are spiritually, you are not perfect (because God alone is perfect) and you have room to excel still more! 

            T.F. Hanson, a creative engineer, says “progress infers change, since things cannot get better if they remain the same” (Engineering Creativity, pg. 13). Excelling still the more infers that even if what you are doing now “works” you have to take risks to do better. We don’t like taking risks most of the time, we just like staying with the old tradition. We know it works, we’ve been doing it that way for X number of years. Yes it may “work” but it may not be the best! We can excel still more if we are willing to change! Einstein said after the first atomic explosion, “Everything has changed, except the way we think."

Thomas Edison said, “Human inertia is the problem, not the invention. Something in man makes him resist change.” This quality is good when we are talking about people trying to change the things of which God has given to us, because if He gave them they are perfect; the design of the church, worship, salvation, etc…! But when it comes to matters of expedience this mindset is one of the biggest enemies of the church. A lack of desire to excel still the more, an unwillingness to change, an unwillingness to push beyond our comfort zones in the way we think about something “working.” God expects better of us. He demands us to “excel still more!”

What are you going to do to excel still more in your walk and work with the Lord? Take an inventory of where you are. Write down these questions and then answer them (be specific i.e. “I worship whenever I can” is not specific):

1.      How often do I worship with the brethren?

2.      How many people do I talk to at worship? Are they the same people every time?

3.      Do I participate in the worship?

4.      Do I participate in the teaching program?

5.      Do I participate in the church work through programs like Monday Night for the Mast?

6.      How many people have I tried to have a spiritual discussion with in the world?

7.      How many people have I invited to worship?

8.      What do I do to grow my relationship with my spouse?

9.      What do I do to build up my family?

10.  What do I do to be an influence for Christ on my job?

11.  What do I do to see that the churches work is done?

Now look over the list and your answers. Set a goal that is an excelling of where you are now. For instance, “How often do I worship with the brethren?” You may answer once a week. Set a goal to worship two or three times. Go through the entire list this way. Now when you are finished you need to make a commitment that you are going to excel still more so you can meet those goals. As you analyze the list you may find that you don’t know how to excel. You need information, you need instruction, and you need to be equipped to meet those goals. That is where your church leadership steps in! The function of the leadership is to equip you for service (Ephesians 4:11ff). Simply go to one of the elders, deacons, or minister and tell them you need help. If they can’t provide the help individually they will all be sure that you get what you need; that you are equipped to excel still more. Now GO do it!

Excel Still More,

Caleb O’Hara

The Changing Culture

            Times are different from what they once were. It used to be that everyone pretty much assumed everyone had good intentions. It used to be the case that you could leave you home and not lock the door, expecting fully that everything would be just the way you left it when you returned. It used to be assumed that when you got married you stayed married. It also used to be the case that everyone believe the Bible was from God, even if they didn't follow it and accept it. These days are passed, and it's time for us to realize it.

            The largest group inside of Christendom that has realized this is a movement called the Emerging Church Movement. This movement has some major flaws and as a whole is entirely heretical (many more details forthcoming). The problem is that when they are the only people addressing this situation (the change in culture) they get to dictate the response to it. It is time for the Lord's people to step up, acknowledge the change in culture, and figure out how to keep on sounding the unchanging message to the changing culture. If we fail to do this the others who teach a Gospel of full embrace of the culture, which is not really another Gospel, will continue to set the pace for those looking towards Christianity.

            What are some ways we can better understand our culture and address it? First of all, our culture is media saturated. Don't believe me? Internet, Sattalite HDTVs, IPhones, IPods, Laptops, Desktops, TV's in the car, TV's on airplanes, everywhere you turn you are hit hard with media. Our culture suffers from media overload. There is so much information thrown out that people cannot possibly take it all in. That being the case, they surely aren't going to give material a second glance if it is not presented in such a way as to catch their attention. We must find ways to utilize media and communicate God's message through it, instead of having an attitude that media is just bad. When you get down to it, words are media. The printed page of the Bible is media. If media is inherently bad then the Bible is inherently bad – none of us are going to say that are we?

            Second, we have to start addressing the questions people are asking. People today question whether or not truth exists. They question whether Jesus was a real person. They question whether or not the Bible is really God's word, or just a bunch of man's stories. They question the very concept of exclusion. All of these fundamental questions must be addressed. We have to start putting more effort into confronting these questions so that we can lead people to the One person they desperately need – Christ.

            Your challenge is to start thinking about the culture you live in. Instead of merely being upset about it, start thinking about how to reach it. What can you do to better communicate God's message to the culture where you live? How can you cut through the media fog with the crystal clear message of Christ?

Sow the Seed,

Caleb O'Hara