Scripture – Page 14 – John Markum

From my personal devotions: Psalm 112

Posted on July 12, 2011 by johnmarkum

I started this blog to give people in my church, family, and friends in ministry a means to better connect with me, and hopefully (more importantly) with God. Along those lines, about a week ago, I thought that it might be a good idea to start sharing some of my thoughts straight out of my personal time in God’s Word with my blog viewers. There’s nothing particularly special about what I think, of course. But I hope that as I try out this newer idea that it could serve as an encouragement to many of you, and perhaps for some viewers who may be unsure of where to start in the Bible for your quiet time with God, this can be something that you do with me.

Psalm 112 –

Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

My Observations:

Joy, fear of God, and obedience all go together. (v. 1)
My children’s generation will be affected by my obedience to God. (v. 2)
When I walk with God, I have light even in dark places. (v. 4)
3 Words describing those who walk with God: generous, compassionate, righteous. (v. 4)
Bad stuff still happens to righteous people (v. 7), and
by the grace of God, they inevitably win anyway. (v. 8 )
God deals with my adversaries for me. (v. 10)

Blessings,

John

Church and the subject of “Sex”

Posted on July 10, 2011 by johnmarkum

“Now concerning the matter you wrote to me; it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. But since there is so much sexual immorality, every man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.” I Corinthians 7:1-2

Earlier today, I taught a group of about 30 single adults on the subject of sex. I make it a point of taking an entire lesson to deal with this subject, with this group, at least yearly. Truthfully, it isn’t talked about nearly enough in most churches.

In a culture that is so bent on the topic of sex in soap operas, sitcoms, commercials, billboards, music (yes, including country), movies, netflix, and the internet, the Church so often is silent on the subject. If it ever does come up, it’s in a youth Sunday school class, where the bottom line is simply “DON’T!” I grew up out of well meaning churches like this. And looking back, the best reason given to me as a teenager to wait til marriage for the privilege of sex was to avoid STD’s.

But is that really it?!? Is that God’s motivation for telling over-hormonally-charged teens and single adults to not engage in sex outside of marriage? Is there nothing else? Couldn’t protection and being “careful” who you sleep around with keep you out that kind of trouble? If so, isn’t God kind of… out-dated, when it comes to sex and relationships?

First of all, yes, God does actually warn about STD’s… seriously, check it out here. But there’s much more. God created sex (Genesis 2:21-25). We, humans, didn’t just discover it one day, to the complete shock and amazement of our Creator. The way some Christians approach the subject, you would think that sex was invented by Hugh Hefner.

Sex is a gift from God that is too beautiful and vulnerable to be fully appreciated outside of the safety of a committed relationship… marriage. And don’t tell me you’re in a committed relationship if you’re single. The only real commitment that a dating couple has to each other is “I’m not going to date anyone else… for now.” Commitment is more than a feeling. It is an action. If you say you are committed to someone, prove it. Marry them! In nearly every incident of premarital sex that has crossed my path I’ve made one of two observations:

Sex before marriage:

Ruins good relationships, or
Prolongs bad relationships.

Additionally, the more a person sleeps around outside of marriage, the more they tend to have a diminished view of their self worth and the more likely they tend to be in making more poor choices regarding their sex life. And in the couples I’ve counseled who have slept together before marriage and ended up getting married still, nearly every couple wishes they had waited.

I know, I know… that sounds hard. But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. And a happy, healthy, long-lasting marriage might be the most worthwhile thing in the world, humanly speaking. So certainly it might require the patience to wait for one of the greatest privileges that come with the safety of marriage. It might be old-fashioned. But even your great-grandparents got some thing right.

God is not a cosmic kill-joy. He simply places a high value on the privilege of sex. I’ve never met a married couple who waited, who told me “I wish we had not waited.” But I know many, many people who would say, “I wish I had.” Don’t be one of them. Make your love life count. You won’t regret it.

Blessings,

John

Preaching – part 1

Posted on July 4, 2011 by johnmarkum

I want to share over the next several blog posts on the subject of preaching. As the pastor of our Saturday night service I preach every week, and frequently on Sunday mornings as well. This is by no means the end-all discussion on the subject, just a few thoughts I have as it regards to how God leads me and what I’ve experienced in 6 years in full time pastoral leadership. And to be clear, I don’t think for a second that I have “arrived” and possess all the answers on this subject. But whether you are a preacher with significantly more experience, a Bible college student preparing for ministry, a member/regular attender at your church, etc. I hope these thoughts can be encouraging and insightful to you.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread to the hungry. It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Isaiah 55:10,11

It’s amazing how different some messages feel from others when you get done preaching:

Some messages feel great! People are getting saved, others are coming back to Jesus, and the feeling is electric. The Spirit of God is so powerful and obvious that it seems like you could have read a Dr. Seuss book and people still would have gotten saved. When the service is over you feel like running down the middle aisle and spiking your Bible in a victory dance. Ok, I’m exaggerating… a little. But every preacher hopes to feel God move in such a way, and to get to see immediate results from the preaching of the word.

Other messages feel tough. There is no great awakening taking place tonight. No mind-blowing stats to share at staff meeting this week. You still preached the Word, but it was difficult and you walk away wondering if it made any difference at all for anyone.

According to God in Isaiah 55, it did. Because His word is never ineffective. It always does what He sends it out to do. Yes, as church leaders we are suppose to “prove ourselves unashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” But God takes full responsibility for the results of sending His word out. Just as the rain waters the earth and returns to the heavens, when God’s word falls on people, it brings fruit that will return to Him.

Knowing this is extremely liberating and empowering to me as a pastor. One one hand, God promises the results when His word is preached. He has this under control. I need to give my best efforts, after all this is my calling from God. But in the end, He gets the responsibility and the credit for what happens when His word is preached.

But it’s also empowering because if God promises the results He desires, then I can boldly stand and preach because it isn’t ultimately up to me anyway. My faith is not in my ability to preach it, but in the power of the word. I can preach in confidence because I know my source is reliable.

Yes, there is much more to preaching than simply quoting God’s word. More on that later. But in the end, His word is the only thing that has the power to speak to the heart and effect change in someone’s life. Our job as preachers is to present that word clear, and compellingly to the audience God brings us.

Blessings,

John