Scripture
Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD ’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!
~Psalm 117, NLT
Quote
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
~Paul of Tarsus
I read Steve Lawsons commentary {Holman} on Psalms and as a whole, I think it is good but he is a Piper fan and he begins his commentary on Psalm 117 with a Piperism…“Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.” Sounds good doesn’t it–it is bologna. Piper is full of it. Put your eye glass on some of his followers and you will understand what I am talking about. Folks, Jesus made it clear that His purpose in coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. It is strange to me that Jesus didn’t talk that much about worship. The N.T. only recorded three occasions: Jesus speaking to the devil when He quoted Deuteronomy 10:20…‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’... Jesus speaking to the Pharisees and Scribes….‘And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ...then there is Jesus speaking to the woman at the well in John chapter four. Guess what, Jesus never said anything that remotely resembles Piper’s quote. You do the math: How many times does Jesus talk about obedience? A lot!
You can’t get the Piperites to walk across the road and share the gospel. Many of the ones I have known rob God on a consistent basis. They don’t tithe, they don’t witness, they don’t give to missions and they don’t do missions. Their affinity is for worship. They love conferences and warm fuzzy feelings. Yes, ultimately, like in heaven, worship will be the focus but this is earth, not heaven. This earth is littered with lost and hurting people that God expects us to reach or at least make some attempt to reach with the gospel. He certainly intends for us to love them and minister to them through missions and evangelism. I am sure that Paul would back me up on this statement: you can stand in a sanctuary or an auditorium and sing praise songs celebrating God glorious grace all day long but if you do not scatter sharing the gospel as you go, you are living in perpetual disobedience. You can have the Piper followers, they are all smoke and mirrors, I will take the followers of Christ who share His burden for a lost world. God has a burden for the world and He expects us to share that burden: this is what Luke 15 is all about: does our love for the lost sync with the Fathers.
- No, I am not worried about my popularity. I am not seeking David Platt’s approval: I could care less what he thinks. I am worried about a lot of things but that is not one of them.
- Wow! What a week. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends and I am exhausted. Today is also jam packed. GOLDEN GIRLS at 9:00 and then I will be going to Huntsville for Mrs. Seaver’s COLS at 12:00. They had to carry Larry Garner back to the hospital last night so I will be checking on Larry. His white count bottomed out.
- The LORD providentially guided us yesterday: we got to minister to two families. It is a good feeling to know that God is guiding you by His grace.
- June dropped me off at the FIDDLERS CONVENTION last night and I rode home with Hannah and the girls. Joe David called just before we got on the Interstate and told me the game was tied in the 11th inning. I told him that I was fasting from sports on account of Larry but asked him to keep me informed. Then a few minutes later I get a text that we have a man on first, then he steals second and then there was a long pause and then…game over, we win! The Yankees are hard to beat but when you get down 8-3,it is border line impossible. We have to win game three. The Yankee’s are always a threat.
- Saw my good friend Rex Looney and his wife Mitzie at the Fiddlers Convention. Rex told me that He reads the blog everyday. I thanked him as well I should. It is people like Rex that keep me going.
- I am very tired and there is no telling how many mistakes I made in this blog. I was too tired to proof it.