ResponsiveReiding

Where are you going?

September 4th, 2025

Those of you old enough to remember Harry Belafonte, may remember his hit song of 1959 (yeah, I’m THAT old). Not only do I remember the lyrics, I remember laying down on the floor in our house on Milburn St., in front of the TV, and hearing another singer crooning that song. And I remember weeping at it. I was probably around 11 years old.

The opening lyrics were simple; they were a father singing to his daughter:

Where are you going my little one? Little one
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you’re two, turn around and you’re four
Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of the door

I’m not sure why they hit me so profoundly at the time. The closest I come to knowing my own heart at that time, was the realization, even then, that life would not continue always as it was right then. That I would change. My parents would grow older. That the closest of all relationships would stage after stage, morph. And I didn’t want that. I wanted the security of things remaining as they were. A reasonable desire, but an unreasonable expectation.

Many years later that song would haunt me as I experienced my own “little one”, my daughter. The truth of – before you know it – your own dearest one would turn 2 so quickly, then 4, and then…out of the door. It makes me misty even to contemplate these words again, even as my “Bug”, my daughter is a grown woman with a wonderful family of her own, and her own little ones who every time she turns around, are getting older, almost magically and imperceptibly. All too fast. And yet, this is the way of life. It always was and will be until Christ returns. And the question the lyricist first asked, is the same one Scripture itself puts before each one of us even now.

Let me ask you reader – where are you going? And if you can hear the words of the Heavenly Father asking that question, it takes on eternal significance.

So it is we read in Proverbs 4:25 “Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.”

When contemplating any course of action, it only makes sense to ask: “Where will this take me? What is the end of what I am contemplating?” In either word or deed.

But of course, this also begs the question of whether or not I am on my way to anywhere at all?

If one were to pursue a career as a lawyer – they would plot out a course that would take them there. The right undergraduate courses in college, and then Law School. Then setting their sights on passing the Bar, and then – then the practice of Law itself. It is the same with anything in life. To be a teacher, a race car driver, an electrician – name it. But as the old saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it – too.

Setting a course in the natural is one thing – but how many actually contemplate setting a course toward Heaven? Do we imagine we will just stumble in there someday? That “being” a Christian is the end game, the goal itself? Do we forget Jesus words: Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV) — 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Why do so few find it? Why do so few enter in? Because so few are actually looking for it and seeking to enter in.

If you are aiming at entering heaven, keep your eyes on that destination, and make the decisions which coincide with going there. Keep looking for the door of that Great City. Keep your eyes fixed on what you intend to do and be there – and who you are longing to spend eternity with.

No one will get there by accident. Only those who inquire as to The Way – Jesus – and who order their lives to go there to be with Him and the Father.

Where are you going?
Confession is good for the soul

August 11th, 2025

A play on words here if you will. The confession I’m talking about is confessing the great doctrines of The Faith, once and for all given to the saints. Keeping major themes in our hearts and minds by memorable means was a concern of Peter’s in chapter 1 of his 2 letter. And it remains a concern for all of us who shepherd God’s people.

One of the gifts I am ever grateful for is how I was raised learning the great hymns of the faith that stated and restated the grand Biblical themes in ways which make them so easily re-countable.

While what I have below may serve this purpose in the best way, I pray it can be useable if sung on a somewhat regular basis so as to cement them more easily in the mind.

This, can be sung to the tune of “Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness.”

1 –

Lord I confess, you are God alone

Sov’reign o’er all on thine eternal throne

In pow’r creating, in love redeeming

In grace bestowing the faith to believe

2 –

Lord I confess, my guilt and my sin

Nought could I do, your favor for to win

By grace you found me, from death you raised me

New life you gave me in Jesus The Son

3 –

Lord I confess, Christ Jesus as Lord

Sacrificed Lamb, salvation to afford

Who died on Calv’ry to make atonement

Whose blood alone has sufficed for my sin

4 –

Lord I confess, my hope in The Son

Both God and Man, incarnate and to come

Born of the virgin, perfect and sinless

He bore your wrath on the Cross in His death

5 –

Lord I confess, both Father and Son

And Holy Spirit, ever three in one

One God eternal and uncreated

Who was and is and forever will be

Swinging for the fences?

July 28th, 2025

“Swinging for the fences” is a baseball term. It embodies the idea of the batter swinging the bat with all his might every time he steps up to the plate – always aiming at hitting a home run if possible. In baseball, I suppose it is a useful and universally true maxim. But it might not be the best metaphor in other places – such as preaching.

In both my own experience and in conversation with others – those of us who preach and teach come to realize pretty quickly in our endeavors that this preaching thing is a very strange beast to ride.

Most men I know want to do it well. We study. We critique ourselves (I hope). We seek outside critique (I hope even more). We prepare as best we can. We listen to others who we think do it well. We strive after maximum impact every time we step into the pulpit. We try hard. So far so good.

But this idea of swinging for the fences when we preach might need some examination.

For instance – what is our actual aim when we preach? And how are we measuring our success, or lack of it, in preaching? Compliments? Tears? “Whoosh” moments? Personal vigor? Congregational response while in the act? Email follow ups? Conversions? If we’ve swung for the fences, how do we know when we’ve hit the home run? How do we even define the home run?

All of us can probably remember a sermon or two, that looking back over time, have stuck with us. They’ve had a singular and lasting effect on us. They stand out. And we can want to preach that kind of sermon too. That’s not bad in and of itself in that we always hope to be effective. But I want to argue that if we locate our effectiveness in hitting sermonic home runs – we might need to rethink some things. Not the least of which is – especially as pastors – preaching and teaching the same congregation year in and year out. Unless there is an unusual move of God, extraordinary actually, our people are not going to leave each week saying “Wow! That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard – my life is changed forever.”

Not gonna happen. Not gonna happen.

May I suggest to you that the fences we need to be swinging for are located more in faithfulness to the text, than in anything else. That we hit the home run when we best preach what the text is getting at. When the Biblical point of the passage is brought home with as much clarity as possible. And that, irrespective of the subjective responses – our own OR other’s. Feelings aside.

In fact, what I am driving at most in this short missive is the idea that Jesus pressed on Peter in John 21:15-17 – “feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.”

In other words, our ministrations in the Word are first and foremost wrapped up in the daily, weekly, year after year – common feeding God’s people his provided means for their spiritual health and welfare.

Neither Anthony Bourdain (when he was alive), Wolfgang Puck, Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentis, Bobby Flay, Jamie Oliver nor Gordon Ramsay ever imagines they will cook up and serve up a meal so transcendent that the ones eating it will never need another meal again as long as they live. It will instead be eaten, hopefully enjoyed, digested, and not to be indelicate – cast out into the draught.

So it is with our sermons. The home runs are not in singular sermonic events, but in the faithful preparing of that which nourishes the soul on a consistent and regular basis – a sound, spiritual diet. That alone sustains the soul. It is in the regular care and feeding of souls in the exposition of God’s Word that the game (if you will) is won.

My dear brother – feed his lambs, tend his sheep, feed his sheep. Take the superstar pressure off of yourself. Get up to bat in the pulpit each week swinging for these fences.

Be more concerned about regular scriptural and spiritual meals at home, than making a fast break for home plate.
A balm in Gilead

July 16th, 2025

In Jermiah 8:22, the prophet is groaning over the suffering of God’s people as a result of their sin. To make matters worse, he knows the cure to their ills, but they won’t take the physic.

Sometimes it is a hard pill to swallow, this medicine called repentance.

Jeremiah isn’t wondering out loud to God as to whether or not there is help to be found. No, he is crying out to his people to remember that there IS help to be found. That God delights to forgive and restore. There is indeed a balm, a soothing medicine for their woes. “Wake up! Is it because God hasn’t provided a balm for us that we smart so? Isn’t there help in what he has already given us in faith and repentance – in Gilead?” In the proverbial place that represents God’s lush and full promises.

We however, use this phrase differently most times. We tend to cry it out in times of suffering and distress. After long seasons of suffering, pain, confusion, doubt and trial, we might question – “do you see and feel my pain God? And is there no healing medicine to be found?” I’ve been there. Maybe you have been too. Maybe you are there right now. And it is why I recommend this little but powerful book to you – Christ and Calamity: Grace & Gratitude in the Darkest Valley by HAROLD L. SENKBEIL

Harold Senkbeil, former pastor and Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary has written one of the sweetest, Christ centered and useful books for Christians in calamity I’ve ever read. I will read it again. And I will send copies of it to a number of people.

Senkbeil does not write from an ivory tower. Chapter 1 begins this way: “Calamity is everywhere around us. But recently it came home to roost at my house. My wife, Jane, whose health had been declining for decades, was hospitalized twice in the middle of the covid pandemic, and then she was released on home hospice care. For the next fourteen months our lives became a slow slog toward the inevitable end. It wasn’t all horrible. We had the help of a caring hospice team, and we had each other. Best of all, we had the promises of a very gracious God.”

The book is brief, and can be easily be consumed in one or two sittings. But I would counsel you not to do that.

The very short 11 chapters are meant to be read more like a series of meditations. One a night seems best. For although his writing style is extremely accessible, the depth of each portion is hidden deceptively under his easy prose. But he is keenly aware that the soul in crisis cannot easily take in huge chunks of deep counsel. Sometimes medicine needs to be easy to sip rather than to gulp.

The contents run as follows:

Invitation to the Reader

Prayer in Time of Affliction

i Your Calamity

ii When You Are Faithless, Christ Is Your Faithfulness

iii When You Cry Out, Christ Is Your Advocate

iv When You Are Afflicted, Christ Is Your Comfort

v When You Bear Your Cross, Christ Is Your King

vi When You Are Weak, Christ Is Your Strength

vii When You Are Sad, Christ Is Your Joy

viii When You Are in Darkness, Christ Is Your Light

ix When You Are Alone, Christ Is with You

x When You Are Dying, Christ Is Your Life

xi Christ Is Your Victory

Invitation to Prayer

Prayer for Any Time

Prayer for Morning

Prayer for Evening

“Jesus, Priceless Treasure”

If I were to highlight the key features, the words which come most readily to mind are:

Readable.

Realistic.

Christ-centered.

Gentle.

Biblical.

Healing.

If you are one who is in crisis, or know someone who is, please minister to yourself or them by securing this exceptional work.

There is indeed a balm in Gilead. His name is Jesus. And Christian, he is with you in the midst of your storm.

Christ and Calamity: Grace & Gratitude in the Darkest Valley

HAROLD L. SENKBEIL
Matthew’s short biographical sketch of Jesus

July 9th, 2025

Let’s revisit something we’ve considered somewhat before.

Sometimes when reading the Bible, we can be dismissive of things like genealogies and other things which seem to be of no importance. It is true, not every part of Scripture holds equal importance. Israel’s dietary laws don’t have quite the accessible impact of Genesis 1:1 or Rom. 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But just because we do not catch the use of something right away doesn’t mean God was careless in including it. It just means we don’t get it yet. He does not speak superfluously.

So it is with this opening chapter of Matthew. In it, Matthew is establishing some foundational truths about the identity of Jesus that inform everything else in his Gospel. We don’t want to miss them.

Let me suggest just a few things here.

In the first place, Matthew is establishing Jesus’ authentic Jewishness.

In the 2nd place, Jesus’ lineage makes Him fit to sit on the throne of David, to be King of The Jews should they recognize Him as such.

So Matthew’s aim in this entire 1st chapter is to answer the question – Who is Jesus?

1 – vs. 1 / a. He is the King of Israel. God’s perfect ruler.

b. The Fullness of the promise given to Abraham in person.

2 – vss. 2-16 / In every way a partaker of our humanity. And yet without sin.

3 – vs. 17 / a. The Promise of the Father.

b. God’s Presence with us in our exile.

c. The Accomplish-er of our Salvation – our Messiah.

4 – vs. 18 A participant in our shame, without sin or shame of His own.

5 – vs. 19 / Undesired.

6 – vs. 20 / Unaccepted apart from divine revelation.

7 – vs. 21 / Savior.

In the third place, we see Jesus as descended from kings, scoundrels, nobodies, men, women, Jews, Gentiles, faithful, faithless, a prostitute, nomads, warriors, prophets, farmers, those who lived in ease, those who lived in poverty, those who accomplished much, those who left nothing behind but their names. The shunned and the accepted, the steadfast and the mercurial, the creative and the dull, intellectuals and uneducated commoners.

Christ Jesus came in the likeness and lineage of fallen, broken, sin-cursed humankind. There are none who cannot be touched by Him, nor reconciled to the Father through Him. The miracle of the incarnation. What a Savior!
Say what?

July 7th, 2025

A fun little musing on something we can’t know, doesn’t really matter, but might be somewhat useful.

We are curious critters. Sometimes that’s great, and sometimes it is a waste of time. And this is no less true for those of us who read and study and labor to understand the Scriptures. Especially when we spend too much time wondering about questions the Bible never sees fit to give us answers to.

What DID Jesus write on the ground in John 8 when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him?

What did Lazarus see or experience during his time in the grave?

What were the things Paul said he heard when he was caught up into paradise which “cannot be told, which man may not utter”?

And of course the main point we need to fix on is that if such things were necessary for us to know, no doubt our gracious Heavenly Father would have recorded them for us. He didn’t. So while we might find our curiosity a bit too piqued over such matters, we can confidently lay them aside until all will be revealed later.

But let me toss one more out to you. In the process, perhaps I might suggest a way we can make good use even of such nagging inquiries. The text that grabbed my thoughts today was Revelation 21:14 “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

John is seeing this extraordinary vision of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. In the process, he notes that at the 12 gates of the city, he saw inscribed the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. Then, he sees the 12 foundation stones on which were inscribed, the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. The inscriptions actually recorded 12 names, not just a reference to the 12.

So here’s the question: Was Judas’ name found on one of the stones? Or was his name perhaps replaced by Matthias as elected to take his place in Acts 1? Or was it perhaps Paul – as one “untimely born” (1 Cor. 15:8)?

Of the commentators who decide to weigh in on the question, most make no guess as to who it is, but tend to assert that it cannot be Judas for sure.

Here’s the fun part. But why not Judas? Why can’t Judas’ name be there?

The argument against his inclusion is obvious – he betrayed Jesus! He was an evil man! A satanically inspired traitor! We won’t have it.

OK, so think with me for a moment.

What of the 12 Tribes? Which of those stand out for their fidelity to God and his covenant? Who can even point to the piety of the 12 men from which the tribes derive their names? Were they good and upright and faithful? Didn’t the majority of the tribes end up irretrievably decimated by the Assyrians? And the other 2 – sent off into the Babylonian captivity. Were they some sterling examples?

I think not.

And what of the other apostles?

Impetuous, thrice-Christ-denying Peter. Doubting Thomas. The raging sons of thunder. Simon the Zealot? Yes, all but Judas recovered to serve their King magnificently. But even then, Peter’s little dust up in Antioch wasn’t exactly a shining moment.

Now am I suggesting that the others deserved this honor in a way Judas did not?

No.

What I am suggesting is that God makes trophies even out of his enemies. That by his grace and power, he uses even the most heinous and grotesque and wicked acts of men, to serve his great plans and purposes in Christ.

That in no wise justifies or excuses them, nor their actions in any way, shape or form. But what it does signal, is that in his sovereign glory, he could use the most singularly wicked man in all of history, to accomplish his pure, holy and wondrous ends in redemption. So much so, that he can demonstrate his holy supremacy by not having to sweep Judas under the rug – but permanently use him to memorialize his wonder, power and glory – his triumph over all.

Judas was there at the beginning. He was a part of the founding apostolic college. He was as much chosen as the others. He was sent out like the others. Jesus used him as much as the others. He was one of “the twelve.” And Christ is as glorified in his triumph over Judas’ wicked machinations as he is in triumphing over all sin and wickedness. And Judas’ name there, lets none of us forget how great Christ’s glory truly is, over all sin and darkness – even when manifested in its highest degree.

Is Judas’ name there? I don’t know. No one does. But if it is, what an eternal testimony to overcoming power of Christ in redeeming us. His kingdom is founded on his triumph over sin.

Glory!
An Abomination

June 16th, 2025

The word abomination as used in the Bible, refers to something that is loathsome, polluting, detestable. It is most often associated with the pagan religious practices of the nations God drove out before Israel. In the New Testament, especially in the Revelation, abomination is connected with the woman who rides “a scarlet beast”. She is denominated as “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” Babylon being the embodiment of the world system in opposition to God’s righteous rule – and all that comes from that opposition and rebellion.

But seldom do we see present day, practical and tangible examples of such abominations. Enter, my tenure serving as a local funeral home for several years in my younger days.

One of my responsibilities when working “calling hours” was to help people of a certain religious persuasion, process “Mass Cards.” These instruments, in varying denominations were secured with a donation to the society or group desired in the name of the deceased. Once “enrolled” – certain rites or services were then to be carried out either for a certain amount of time, or perpetually on behalf of the deceased.

Because few people from my background believed me when I made certain claims about this practice – the blatant selling of blessings for dead people – I had to provide proof. I give you just one example below.

Now at first blush, one might label this as mere Roman Catholic bashing. Not true. Many in Evangelicalism today sell blessings too. Mostly to the living, but who knows? Whoever does it, the abomination is the same.

Cover image:

Interior:

Disclaimer:

Did you catch that underlined portion? If they don’t get the money, “the use of this folder is spiritually void and of no benefit to anyone.”

And they say the selling of indulgences and the like is dead. Not so. You can actually void the spiritual benefits you want for your deceased loved one, because you didn’t pay up.

That my friends, is what an abomination looks like. And I do not care under what banner such horrors are peddled.

Oh that we would look to Christ and Christ alone. And remember that salvation is all of grace. And that we can say on the authority of God’s Word alone, irrespective of any institution or personage: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

Our spiritual blessings are in Christ – and are already ours in Him. No one needs to pay one red cent beyond the priceless blood of the Lamb of God.
Back to Basics

June 6th, 2025

Many are familiar with J. I. Packer’s magnificent book “Knowing God.” It is a classic which stands alone in modern Evangelical writing. Having sold well over a million copies in North America alone, many have found it a foundational source of sound, Reformational and Biblical theology.

With all I owe to that book as formative for myself when I first read it in the early 1970’s, Packer’s God’s Plans for You – should be on the bookshelf of every Christian. Better, it ought to be read by every Christian. More than once.

When make my poor attempts at writing poetry, I have a device I refer to constantly. Usually down the left column of a yellow legal pad, I write the alphabet. One letter on each line. I refer to it constantly in finding rhyming words. A primitive but useful tool for me. And it reminds me also each time – that every word written in the English language is comprised of those same 26 letters. They are the most basic building blocks of communication. Nothing is written apart from them. We need them and refer to them in every word we speak, read or write. They are indispensable.

Now there are certain truths which occupy a similar role in our thought processes. Fully aware of them or not, there are foundational concepts which form the lens through which we view and interpret everything. This is true in the world around us, and, more importantly, in regard to our understanding of God and his relationship to this world, ourselves and all of life.

What Packer’s exceptional volume – God’s Plans for You – does, in my humble opinion, is serve as a sort of theological alphabet of Biblical Christianity.

I first read this treasure several decades ago, and just finished (perhaps) my 3rd reading of it today. And I am more convinced of its usefulness now than in my previous journeys through its profound pages.

Laying down the essentials of Biblical Christianity in a most thoughtful, concise and clear fashion, I would plead that individuals would pick it up afresh and read it thoughtfully and carefully. More. I would l really encourage church leaders to begin study groups around it. I cannot think of something more useful for new Christians in building a Biblical mindset and worldview.

I commend it to you with the utmost earnestness.
Iron Sharpens Iron

June 2nd, 2025

When my wife and I ride out the coldest part of the winter in Texas, I have the joy of meeting each Wednesday morning with a disparate group of men for conversation. Some of these men are professing Believers, most are not. So conversation ranges widely.

Among these newly acquired friends is Rabbi Andrew Bloom of Congregation Ahavath Sholom in Fort Worth. Not a Messianic gathering, but a mainstream conservative Jewish Congregation.

Rabbi Bloom is a real joy to interact with. We all deeply appreciate his friendship, insights and energy. And late in 2024, he released a book titled: Technology and Theology: How AI is Impacting Religion. It is a truly relevant topic. I am glad for his leadership in addressing it.

Chapter 13 of the Rabbi’s book is titled: “AI and Education: Transforming Torah Study and Religious Learning”, and serves to explicate a principle in Jewish education called “chevruta.” Bloom writes: “Jewish education has always placed a premium on the study of sacred texts, with Torah study forming the bedrock of Jewish intellectual and spiritual life. This is the reason that Jews have always been known as “the people of the book.” He then teases out how due to the principle of chevruta, the Rabbins consider only private study of Torah, without the active give and take of a student/teacher relationship, an unwise way to study. That Biblical study without others to challenge one’s understandings and to shape constructs, theories, etc., is deficient. Hence Bloom’s observation “Torah study is not merely an intellectual exercise; it is a spiritual and moral pursuit that requires human interaction, mentorship, and reflection.” And his concern that “In the context of AI, there is a risk that students may prioritize speed and convenience over the deep, reflective study that is central to Jewish learning. Thus, losing out on the deeper meanings of the text.”

I think he is really on to something here. Something our Proverbs passage above alludes to. An idea rounded out later in Proverbs 18:1: “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” And something which our access to powerful software tools, the internet and electronic libraries can easily lead pastors and teachers to become reliant only on our own opinions and insights, without examination or analysis by others who might challenge constructs, assumptions and conclusions.

The argument? The issue I would like to emphasize here is to encourage those of us who preach and teach, to develop relationships with other pastor/teachers with whom we can regularly interact as an outworking of iron sharpening iron. To not be interpretive Lone Rangers. To have our thoughts, musings, insights and opinions measured both against the scholarship of previous ages, and that of others actively working with the Biblical texts today.

If there is one thing I have learned over my own years in ministry, it is, if I have stumbled upon an interpretation of a text which I cannot find some substantiation for by scholars of previous generations or peers – then it is not to be trusted. To hold myself suspect. And in this way, to help protect those under my ministry from my own temptation to be singularly myopic.

And I would encourage my fellow preachers and teachers to do the same. Let’s give those under our care the benefit of more than ourselves – but riches out of the treasury of the greater Church.