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Lawrence Taylor: “As easy as football is to me is as hard as life is.”

Posted by ronmoore on February 3, 2012

 
As the New York Giants prepare for Super Bowl XLVI, some of their former stars are resurfacing. Who can think of the Giants stars without thinking of L.T.?

Lawrence Taylor was one of the greatest football players in NFL history. The 6’3’’, 237 pound New York Giant linebacker played in ten Pro Bowls and was voted the Defensive Player of the Year three times. The defense he led, coined the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew,” was a major part of New York’s victories in Super Bowl XXI and XXV. The Hall of Famer was selected to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team.

But after Taylor retired from football, his life began a downward spiral. A series of bad decisions and destructive actions have tarnished his reputation and embarrassed his family. Two years ago Taylor was charged with sexual misconduct and patronizing an underage prostitute.

Here’s what L.T. told Showtime’s Inside the NFL:

“What was I thinking? According to my wife, I wasn’t thinking . . . You know, we as boys we think that we can do certain things, and we still want to have the same life we did when we was younger, you know? Sometimes my decision process is not very good. I make mistakes, and I make bad decisions,” said Taylor, his eyes seeming to glisten. “Do I wish this had gone another way, that day had never happened? Of course I do. The embarrassment I gave my family, the embarrassment of myself.”

Then Taylor got to the crux of the matter.

“I know everything about football, I mean as far as defense and stuff . . . I can see the play before it happens . . . I know how to manage a football game.” Then Taylor lamented, “The problem with me is sometimes managing my life . . . as easy as football is to me is as hard as life is to me.”

Managing life. That’s the challenge, isn’t it? Keeping our marriage intact. Being the mother we need to be. Being the father that God expects. Balancing busy schedules. The demands of work. Dealing with burdensome debt. Handling our finances wisely. These are issues that weigh heavy on us. We know that one bad decision or a series of bad decisions can put us on a slippery slope.
 

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The Wrath of God

Posted by ronmoore on February 1, 2012

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness….

Let’s be honest…the “wrath of God”—God’s holy displeasure on sin— turns people off. The skeptic says, “That’s why I don’t want to have anything to do with God. Who wants to serve an angry deity?” The liberal says, “I don’t believe that part of the Bible. Paul is hung up on the Old Testament God. The God of the New Testament is a God of love.” And the evangelical is not much better. Many ignore this teaching so “seekers” won’t be offended.

So how do we understand and explain this emotion of God that is seen throughout Scripture?

We have to consider God’s righteousness. Not as many people have a problem with that. Righteousness means that God acts in a way that is always right. He is the final standard for what is right. The word “righteousness” originally described a river reed that was used as a construction tool to judge the horizontal straightness of walls and fences. God chose the term to use metaphorically of His own nature. He is the “straight edge” by which all things are evaluated.

When we agree that God is righteous, then it is easy to understand His wrath. In fact, wrath of God is a demonstration of the righteousness of God. Let me explain it this way.

My wife, Lori, and I have four children. We love them with a deep love. And I have a certain standards regarding how my family should be treated by others. If I ever saw a person a person trying to hurt Lori or one of my children, my deep love for them, and my standard of rightness in how you treat my children, would result in wrath. If anyone in my family was being physically attacked, I would go after that person with vengeance and beat them to a pulp. My anger against the attacker would be the demonstration of my deep love and would be a result of my (imperfect) sense of righteousness.

And so it is with God. We have to understand that God action is always the action of all his attributes. You can’t carve God up like a Thanksgiving turkey and just take the parts you want. All his attributes work in harmony together. They exist and function as one.


He does not divide Himself to do a work but works in the total unity of His being.
-A. W. Tozer

So the wrath of God is right in sync with His righteousness. A loving God could not stand by emotionless without reacting to evil. God’s wrath is a demonstration of His righteousness.
 

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Romans: Blueprint of Salvation – Reality of Rejection | January 29, 2012 Service

Posted by ronmoore on January 29, 2012

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Romans:
1:1-17—Setting the Stage: The Theme
1:18-3:20—Sin: The Problem
3:21-5:21—Salvation: The Cure
6:1-8:39—Sanctification: Christian Growth
9:1-11:36—Sovereignty of God: Christian Defense
12:1-15:33—So What? Practical Application
16:1-27—Signing Off: Personal Greetings

Romans 1:16-17
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Justification—Declared “Not Guilty”
Sanctification—Christian Growth
Glorification—Eternity in resurrected bodies

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

He does not divide Himself to do a work but works in the total unity of His being.
-A. W. Tozer

Romans 1:19
since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.


God is not dependent on man to deliver His message.

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

God has made Himself known to all people through natural revelation.

Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, every man is without excuse.

Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.


Romans 1:22-23
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Romans 1:24, 26, 28
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

Psalm 81:11-12
“But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

Hosea 4:17-19
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone! Even when their drinks are gone, they continue their prostitution; their rulers dearly love shameful ways. A whirlwind will sweep them away, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

Acts 7:41-42
That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.

Romans 1:24
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

  • The majority of cohabitating relationships either break up or marry within two years. (Case for Marriage, 38)
  • The rate of divorce in cohabitating couples is 50% higher than couples who have not lived with each other before marriage.
  • After ten years only 15 out of a 100 cohabitating couples are still together. (PreachingToday.com, Terry Mattingly, Washington Bureau religion column (8.21.02)

Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Romans 1:26-27
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Romans 1:28-31
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Romans 1:32
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 2:5
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.


There will be a day of judgment.

Will you trust in Jesus?
 

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Journey Thru the Bible | Knowing God Question

Posted by ronmoore on January 27, 2012

Hi Pastor Ron!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question again… I’m looking forward to sharing your response with my small group. I already posted this question in the small group’s “Knowing God” discussion board.

So here it is…

I’m in the middle of reading chapter 5… am I understanding correctly that in the Triune of God, Jesus is the Word and therefore the work of God?? So, Jesus is then the agent of creation? And then that is also the reason why Jesus took human form too??? Because he is the “work of God”???

I know I mentioned this to you after class but I just wanted to share again that… MAN am I LOVING this book!!! The more I am learning about God the bigger God continues to get. It is amazing! GOD IS AMAZING!!!

Thank you, in advance, for your insight and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Jill

Jill,

Thanks for your email. Really glad you and your small group are reading through Knowing God. Very cool. So to answer your questions….

You are right in saying that Jesus is the Word of God and that Jesus is the “agent” of creation. In Genesis 1 we are introduced to God the Father (1.1), God the Holy Spirit (1.2) and as God’s Word goes forth in Genesis 1:3 we are introduced to God the Son. John tells us that “the Word” (Jesus) was with God in the beginning and, in fact, “was God.” John then confirms that Jesus was the “agent” of creation when he writes, “through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).

I would not describe Jesus as the “work of God.” This phrase seems to say that Jesus was created by God. But Jesus—God the Son—is not created, rather he, like God the Father and Spirit, is an uncreated and eternal.

Jesus is not only the agent of creation, but the agent of our re-creation. In Jesus, God become man (Incarnation). Jesus was fully-God, fully man. Man is a sinner and cannot save himself. The penalty of his sin resulted is spiritual and eternal death. But God so loved the world that He sent His Son to remedy the situation. Only the death of Jesus could pay the penalty. Being God His death was not for His own sins and being man He could die as a perfect substitute on man’s behalf. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

God is amazing! And you are right—the more we learn about Him the bigger and more amazing He gets.

Thanks for your great questions.

Ron
 
 

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Journey Thru the Bible | Exodus 2:18, 3:1 Question

Posted by ronmoore on January 26, 2012

Jennifer asks:
A family discussion came up about Moses’ father-in-law. Exodus 2:18 says his name is Reuel, but as you move on to Exodus 3:1, his father-in-law is Jethro. Is it the same guy, different names or two different guys and we just missed something?

Jennifer,

Great observation! Reuel means “friend of God.” His other name, Jethro, means “his excellency” and probably was a title as opposed to a given name. Great question!

Ron
 
 

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What you don’t say is just as important as what you do say

Posted by ronmoore on January 25, 2012

 
Information is power. Sharing it, or not sharing it, can change the course of a person’s life. Refusing to share needed information is as much of a sin as sharing false information. That’s what pro wrestler Andre Davis found out.

Davis, better known as “Gangsta of Love” in wrestling circles, knowingly had sex with numerous women and didn’t tell them about his HIV-positive status. “I am a loving and compassionate man,” Davis said. “I am not a monster.” But the prosecutor disagreed. “He’s a manipulative man and a liar,” the prosecutor said. “What about the poor…victims.” The judge agreed with the prosecutor, and on Monday, January 23 sentenced Davis to 32 years in prison.

Remember, what you don’t say is just as important as what you do say.
 

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Video Blog: Should we allow the Spirit to empower us, or follow the will of God in the flesh?

Posted by ronmoore on January 24, 2012


 
 

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What are you chasing?

Posted by ronmoore on January 24, 2012

 
Muhammad Ali just turned 70 years old on January 17. There’s a big birthday bash in Las Vegas on February 18. I am sure you’re invited. Let me know how it goes. Whether you love him or hate him, Ali has become a sports icon appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated thirty-eight times!

Today, the man who branded himself with his non-stop poetic boasts, seldom speaks. Decades of battling Parkinson’s disease drastically diminished the body that floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. Age, disease, and a brutal sport have taken their toll.

Several years ago, not long after Ali retired from the ring, sportswriter Gary Smith caught up with the former champion at his home. Ali escorted Smith to his training facilities in a barn-like structure next to his farmhouse. Leaning against the walls were mementos of Ali in his prime. There were photos and portraits of the champ punching and dancing, sculpted body, championship held high in triumph. But on the pictures were white streaks—bird droppings.

Smith said that Ali looked into the rafters at the pigeons who had made his gym their home. And then Smith said, maybe as a gesture of closure or a statement of despair, Ali walked over to the row of pictures and turned them, one by one, toward the wall. He then walked to the door, stared at the countryside, and mumbled something so low that Smith had to ask him to repeat it. Ali did.

“I had the world,” Ali said, “And it wasn’t nothin’. Look now.”

The fleeting illusive power of man is nothing. Whatever you are chasing and however good you’re feeling about it right now, one day you’ll agree with Ali. But God’s power in your life changes everything. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Make sure you are chasing the right thing today.
 
 

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Romans: Blueprint of Salvation – God’s Plan Revealed | January 22, 2012 Service

Posted by ronmoore on January 22, 2012

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Romans 1:8
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.

The gospel is God’s good news to man regarding the provision of His Son as the payment for sin and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable obedience.

Luke 2:10-11
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Romans 1:1-5
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

Romans 16-17
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

1. The gospel is the work of the Trinity—God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Romans 1:1-2
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Romans 1:2-4
The gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

2. The good news is not new news.

Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Isaiah 7:14—Virgin Birth
Micah 5:2—Born in Bethlehem
Malachi 3:1—John the Baptist preparing the way
Isaiah—Ministry of Jesus

Isaiah 35:5-6
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy

Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Luke 24:25-27
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

3. Jesus is the only one who can make the gospel possible.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

4. The gospel is the power of God for salvation.

Romans 1:16-17
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Salvation

  • Justification: An instantaneous act of God in which He sees our sins forgiven and the Christ’s righteousness belonging to us and declares us righteous in His sight.
  • Sanctification: The progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and more like Christ in our actual lives.
  • Glorification: The final work of God in salvation when he gives all believers of all time resurrection bodies.

Salvation

  • We were saved: Justification
  • We are being saved: Sanctification
  • We will be saved for eternity: Glorification

5. The gospel is by faith from first to last.

The gospel is good news…has it become for you the power of salvation? Have you trusted in Christ?
 

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Video Blog: Is the Holy Spirit’s Ministry different in the New Testament vs. the Old Testament?

Posted by ronmoore on January 20, 2012


 
 

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