Whom Do You Serve?

What does it mean to be a bond-servant?  Is it even something worthwhile?  Well, I guess that would depend on who you are a bond-servant to.  You see, we all serve something.  We serve God or we serve ourselves.   We love God or we love money.  We love God or we love our car.  We long to please God or we long please ourselves. 

Paul, James, Peter, Jude, Tychicus, Epaphras, Christ were all named bond-servants in Scripture.  It's not an exhaustive list, but that's a pretty good list of people to emulate.  Especially, the last one I listed.  The English word bond-servant is translated from the Greek word doulos.  The original Greek definition of doulos means slave, not servant.  When I think of a servant, I envision a butler.  The word doulos is so much deeper than someone who occasionally answers a door and keeps certain rooms in the house tidy.  Doulos means slave.  To be a slave to Satan, who is an evil taskmaster, brings up visions of a vicious slave owner, who tortures, abuses and starves his slaves to keep them under subjection to him.  He may promise good things to them, but in the end, he can only really offer them pain and death.  To be a slave to Christ, who is a perfectly holy master, brings to mind someone who loves those in his household and views his "doulos" as an extension of his family.  He has requirements for his doulos, but He desires to have a relationship with each and every one of them.  He even brings them into his household to sit at His table!

John MacArthur very eloquently explains (much better than I can ever hope to) what it means to be a slave to Christ.  And it is so much deeper than what is being preached in many churches today.  

If you really desire to serve and love Christ with all your heart, soul and mind, I would encourage you pick up a copy of "Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ" by John MacArthur.  It can be read rather quickly, but I would encourage you to read it more than once so that you will have a chance to properly digest the biblical truth contained within it. 

I am getting ready to start reading it agan!

Over the Hill? I Surely Hope Not...

I celebrated my birthday on May 21st.  It was a day marked with mixed emotions.  You see, a famous (or is it infamous) preacher from California guaranteed that Jesus Christ was returning on May 21st.  It would have been very cool if it would have happened on my birthday, but I am thankful that the Lord tarried so that this man, who has caused much confusion within the Church, would NOT be correct.  But, I digress....   It was my 40th and while it is a milestone of sorts, I don't really see myself as "that" old.   I have been blessed with a beautiful, godly wife who has helped me grow as a husband, father and most importantly in my walk with the Lord over these past 12 1/2 years.  God has blessed us with two beautiful children and I am truly grateful and thankful for the wonderful responsibility of doing my part to point them to Christ. 


I am a geek and my wife and children gave me Autobot/Decepticon cufflinks, a Darth Vader USB thumb drive and a TARDIS IPhone case.

On Sunday, our Life Group at Church threw a surprise "Over the Hill" party.   We had fun with it, and I played along but I really hope that I am not "Over the Hill" yet.

A famous contemporary writer encourages his readers to have their "best life now", I truly hope that my "best life" is yet to come! 

Welcome Georgie!

Well, we have adopted a guinea pig.  Jenni and I have been talking about it on and off for a while now but until today we have always decided to wait.  Today, we decided to start looking.  We went to the pet store today after a family outing and Jenni saw one which she liked.  She named her Georgie.  Her inspiration was the abominable snowman from Looney Tunes who liked Daffy Duck so much that he wanted to "hug him and squeeze him and name him George".   Since this pig was a female, her name was Georgie.  We all like her, although Emmi is yet to pet her.

Apes flinging poo

My pastor tweeted this last week.  "The deluded: They think that by loudly claiming to love Christ they stifle the louder cry of their practice of not loving Christ's people."

When I read this, I immediately thought of the following:

Picture an ape. The "deluded" are similar to an ape in the fact that they scream "Look at me (fist pounding their chests) and at how much I love Christ." But like apes, they fling poo at those around them (and often in their own home) and their actions reveal that their heart DOES NOT love the Church and those in it, nor does it truly love Christ.

Don't be an ape. 

If you are an ape, come to Christ, repent of your sin and start loving Christ's people as you should. 

The principle in the following verse applies...

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Eph 4:28 ESV)