Category: The Study

Change

Writing from Northwest Indiana:

I have to admit, change can be a hard thing to get used to at times.  It’s hard to believe sometimes that we have not been in this part of the country, the part I grew up in, since last June…just a few days short of ten months.  Our lives have genuinely changed since we have last been at Fairhaven.  Looking back, I can recollect exactly when we first started noticing all of the change…

For my entire senior year of college, I still felt like I was in college.  Yes, I knew soon after graduating I would be married, and moving almost 700 miles away to the foreign state of Pennsylvania; but I never realized how much would be different–and at that, a GOOD different.  Even up until the point I was waiting at the altar for the door to open so I could catch a glimpse of my beautiful bride, everything still felt the same.  Nothing was changing yet.  Just another event in the life of Dustin Speckhals.  We said our vows, walked out of the auditorium, shook hands, cut the cake, took a few pictures…still the same.  The change hit me, though, at an interesting time.

After our pictures were done at the wedding, we walked back to the dining room where the reception was, and I told Andrea that I was going to carry her through the crowd (yes, I admit it was a show!).  So I picked her up, carried her through the cheering and jubilant wedding crowd, and into the limo that was going to take us to Chicago.  We got into the vehicle, the driver shut the door, and the change came.  The driver pulled away, and off we went.  It was finally here!  Life was completely different after that.  All of the family I loved, some of the best friends a man could ask for, the best college teachers and mentors–they all faded into the distance.  Soon the steeple of Fairhaven faded away too, and our new life began.

Even after we came back from our honeymoon to pack our stuff up for the move in a few days, so much seemed different.  It was just like God was moving us right along to our new life together!  It never seemed quite like home during those packing day.  At least for me, it was easy to move.

Now, ten months later, we return for a visit, and ironically, not much has changed!  Sure my parents live here now, there a few new people, new family, and a new status (we have a “real life” now–no more college!), but so much hasn’t changed!  It seems like home again…not our home, but a place where we love to be, and believe it or not, were people love to see us!  The best part of all is that some of the things that are different from when we were here are great changes!  After all of that,  though…here are some things I have noticed that are different or the same:

Same

  • College students still sit in the same places in the auditorium
  • All of the verses of the songs are still sung…maybe a little bit slower tempo than our church too.
  • Same ol’ dating couples–minus a few of us who got married
  • Tom Almanza is still himself
  • Lindsey still wonders why there is no band or PE during candy sale
  • NW Indiana still looks as dilapidated as before

Different

  • A great new mother-in-law
  • Two new houses for us to visit (Leslie and Murdock side)
  • I can hold my sweetheart’s hand walking down the path
  • A few folks that were struggling spiritually when we left are making HUGE steps for God!
  • The kids are getting taller, including by little brother and sister

It is great to be back to all of the memories and people, and we look forward to the rest of our short stay here.

The New Face of Fundamentalist Christianity–Part III

Volunteer or Reasonable Servant?

I don’t think I have ever read anything concerning this subject before, but I have been pondering about it a decent amount lately.  In fact, this article is about ten years in the making.  I think it started with my parents, and some of their very wise opinion and advice in this area.  I believe that this subject is biblical, and without it, service to God can become sold out to materialism and selfishness.

Thankfully as I was growing up, I was taught a good bit about service to God: what it is and what it is not.  I believe that many in fundamental Baptist churches today are confused about what it means to be God’s servant.  Often you may hear the term “volunteer” to describe someone who does some kind of service in the church.  However, we should know that our service to Christ has nothing to do with being a volunteer.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that it is good to volunteer your time: for a good political cause, for an elderly neighbor, or for your community spring cleaning day–but not for your church.  “What are you getting at?”, you may ask.

Webster’s dictionary describes the word volunteer this way: “a person who voluntarily undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service.”  So why do we not volunteer our time at church.  The answer is simple: service in our church is not voluntary at all.  It is mandatory.

Romans 12:11 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

We know that our salvation from sin and hell has nothing to do with our works.  We can never do enough good works to please a holy God.  After being born again and becoming a child of God, we are officially enlisted into Christ’s service.  And every service to God must be done through your local church.  That is why you cannot volunteer yourself to God or your church.  As the above verse clearly states, our lives are a sacrifice to God: everything is for Him.  We surrendered all of our rights on the cross of Calvary.

A problem with many churches today, or rather many of the people in them, is that they honestly think that the church owes them something.  If the pastor does not preach on what they want to hear, they get mad at him.  If the church’s schedule does not match your schedule, then it is the church’s fault.  If the church does not give you some kind of incentive (food, recognition, etc) to come to a work night, then you just are not going to come.  What ever happened to being enlisted in God’s service.  I think one of the problems is the attitude of “volunteerism.”  Instead of imparting to God what is already his with our time, we hold it back and expect some kind of incentive.  Granted, I don’t know many people who would expect a check from the church for their giving of time; but in a more subtle way, they honestly think that they are owed something from the church, and essentially, God Himself.

The attitude we must have instead is that of a reasonable service to God.  Every hour of witnessing, ever nail that is hammered, every bathroom that is cleaned, every carpet that is shampooed: it is all our mandatory service to the Lord.  Now, all of this may sound somewhat harsh; but it is not at all!  It is a true joy when you are serving God without any strings attached!

One example many of the men from our church experience just a few weeks ago.  We had record amounts of snowfall in southeast Pennsylvania this past winter, and by the time it started melting, our gymnasium building of Mt. Zion Baptist Church started developing some leaks on the roof.  Now, it wasn’t that bad, but enough to concern the stewards (the men who are in charge of taking care of the property) of our church.  I received a call at about 1:00 in the afternoon from our head steward, asking to help shovel off the foot or more of snow off of the roof in a few hours.  And believe me–it is not a small building!  That evening I arrived at church earlier than what was planned, but already, already there were at least a dozen men there on top of the annex building, shoveling away.  For the next few hours, at least twenty of us men got most of the snow off the building.  It was great!  The best part of all, I think, is that the fathers brought there young sons to help too.  True, they did not make much of a dent in the snow, but they learned that when the church needs help, you are there.  It was pretty hard work, but we had a blast doing it too!  Working for God is genuinely a joy!  I don’t think that one of the men considered themselves a volunteer.  That is one of the reasons I like the term steward–the caretakers of God’s things, and in our case, the church buildings.  It is just part of being at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and serving God all the way through it–not because of something we get, but because of all that Christ did for us.

The main point that I would like to get across is that if your church needs your service, find every way possible not to get paid for it.  Be as generous as you can!  You will not regret it.  Volunteering is something that someone from outside of your church does when they may give time or materials, without making the church pay.  Reasonable service is for those in the church, all because it is what God demands.  If you have a talent or trade, give it to God!  Use it in your local church!

Ephesians 6:77 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

A Real Revolution

Recently, I was able to spend about an hour in a local public high school Bible club.  It was great to be able to express our religious freedom in America by bringing my Bible through the halls of the school, sit down with several students, and share with them something from God’s Word.  The experience was also eye-opening for me in regards to the mindset of many students in the American education system: and what Christians face every day with other students and teachers.

Disgusting

As I was walking towards the room I was scheduled to be at, I noticed a well-painted banner pasted to a classroom door.  As I got closer, I cringed to observe what it really was: Che Guevara’s silhouette on top of Fidel Castro’s Communist Cuban flag.  The sad part is that I was surprised.  I honestly did not think that we as a nation had gone this far.  This high school has a born-again Christian principle, with many faculty members claiming to be so as well.  The school district lies within a generally conservative area.  And to top it all of, this is the United States of America.

For those of you who may not know, Che Guevara is the typical icon/figurehead of revolution in pop culture.  His face is famously seen on many celebrity t-shirts, and his rhetoric is worshiped at the the altar of rebellion.  Che, as a man, became popular with the 1960’s hippy crowd as a symbol of anti-Americanism at its highest.

Che Guevara’s history is long and filled with plenty of drama, so I will shorten it here.  He was born to a well-off family in Argentina, became enamored with communism, especially Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union (one of the greatest mass-murderers of all time).  He later became the military commander of Communist guerrillas in Cuba in the late 1950’s.  He was basically the leader of Fidel Castro’s military arm.  Che was also the chief orchestrator of bringing Soviet nuclear missiles to Cuba in 1962, which led to the famed Cuban Missile Crisis–the time when the USSR and USA were closest to all-out war.  After the Crisis, Guevara famously said that if he were in charge of the missiles, he would have launched all of them at the US.  Later, Che traveled to the Congo, where he tried to mount a Marxist revolution, and then to Bolivia, in South America.  It was while in Bolivia that he went undercover, trying to mount another Communist revolution.  However, our CIA and the Bolivian army, led by the Cuban-American Félix Rodríguez, hunted Che down, captured, and executed him nearly on the spot in 1967.  He is buried in Vallegrande, Bolivia–a token for the downfall of Marxism, Leninism, and tyranny.  One of my roommates in college lived in the small Bolivian city where Che is buried–he said that most people there despised him also.  Here is a good article that goes into more detail about Che.

Unfortunately, Che became an international martyr for the socialist revolutionary crowd, including hippies.  That legacy has continued and expanded even to this day.  While we were in Mexico, Andrea and I saw several places that the famous Che t-shirts were sold.  And now right in our own community.  Now, I have seen many people where t-shirts around, but never posted in a school sponsored by our tax dollars.  The ironic thing is that the Che Guevara mural is posted at a high school that was a fallout shelter during the Cold War era.  If Che had his way, our country would have had to use shelters like that.

My generation doesn’t even know what fallout shelters were.  My parents were raised in a time when our nation was under constant threat from the Soviets.  On top of fire drills at school, they had fallout drills.  Dive under your desk, put your hands on your head, then head for the nearest shelter from radiation.  One of our closest threats at one time were Castro’s and Guevara’s missiles in Communist Cuba.  Just think about it, this man wanted to kill Americans with Nuclear weapons, and now, in a roundabout way, our “education” culture is lifting this mass-murderer high.

Some may say that our current President has nothing to do with Communists/socialists/Marxists.  Directly, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that Barack Obama is not a Marxist revolutionary–although I think he wants America to be more like the impoverished Cuba.  On the other hand, though, he surrounds himself with people who would lift this man up.  Not even Cuban-American’s lift him up!  They know that as a result of this “revolutionary”,  relatives, friends, and neighbors were killed.  Many Cuban-Americans fled from their loved country in row-boats, simply to escape Fidel and Che’s grasp.  Then they enter into American schools and see this evil man plastered on a door–in the very place they sought freedom!  If any of these Che worshipers were to live in Cuba for a year, I can venture to say they might change their mind.  What they do like about him though is his rebellion against the Western Culture-the culture which brought us religious freedom, democratic republicanism, freedom of speech, and a right to pursue happiness.  Freedom of speech allows communists to be brandished on doors, while the same communist would stomp all over and murder anyone who dare say “freedom of speech.”

Here are a few of direct quotes from Che Guevara:

Che lamenting the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis:

“If the missiles had remained, we would have used them against the very heart of America including New York. We must never establish peaceful coexistence. In this struggle to the death between two systems we must gain the ultimate victory. We must walk the path of liberation even if it costs millions of atomic victims.”

Che on his commitment to his cause:

“In fact, if Christ himself stood in my way, I, like Nietzsche, would not hesitate to squish him like a worm.”

…what a depraved person.

I pray that our country can turn around.  As we continue to head down the path towards less of God and the Bible, we will further head down the path of less personal freedom.  Personal freedom and the Bible always will go hand in hand–to separate the two is impossible.  Without one, you cannot have the other.  Do you want to see a change in our government to conservatism?  Embrace God and His Word–a real revolution!

Happy Purim!

While I am not Jewish, neither in nationality nor religion, this year I am remembering Purim!  Since childhood I have thrilled to hear the story of Esther, and how God miraculously saved His Chosen People from the plot of Haman in answer to their prayers.  On the other hand, inspired by my sister at  http://pickmeuppapers.blogspot.com, I recently read The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom, the story of a dear Dutch family who risked their lives to hide Jews during Hitler’s reign of cruelty in Nazi Germany; through this, I was inspired to care more for God’s People and their plight.  So today I am celebrating Purim with two thoughts: First, I have a great God who cares for me and answers my prayers, and second,  the Jews, God’s precious people, have been hurt so awfully through the ages, but God always delivers them.

Hamantaschen are Jewish cookies served at Purim. The word literally means "Haman's ears" or "Haman's hat." My mom first introduced them to me, wanting to serve them to her fourth grade girls' Sunday School class when telling them the story of Esther. She always tried to make the story come alive to them! We made peach, cream cheese, and blackberry fillings.

There are many amazing things about the story of Esther, but one of the foremost is how God worked miraculously in answer to the prayers of His people.  Esther was chosen queen although she was a Jew living in a foreign land, ruled by a foreign people.  While in the palace, a wicked man named Haman conceived the plot to exterminate all Jews because of a personal grievance with one Jew named Mordecai.  While all the Jews prayed, and after fasting for three days herself, Esther risked her life by going before the king without being asked for.  The fate of her people was in the balance, and her own life also; the stakes were high.  And I see an indispensable lesson here.  When faced with threatened extinction of the whole Hebrew race, and death for herself, Esther went first to God.  And she did not quickly mutter a prayer, but rather gave herself to three days of fasting and praying.  I believe in those three days she resigned all claim to her own dreams, desires, cares, and even breath of life.  She lay all at the Lord’s feet, willing to endure anything He asked of her, yet imploring His aid, and determining to do what was in her power to do.  She did, and our righteous God, who never left His people desolate, heard those prayers and miraculously saved His Chosen Ones.

Proverb 34:15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

It was such a great salvation that day that Israel’s enemies were smitten instead of Israel!  Mark that down as a prayer answered!  My youth pastor once even recommended the use of a “Purim Book” to record prayers answered!  Our God is wonderful God!

This was not the first time God’s People had been threatened, neither was it the last.  Throughout history they have been attacked time and again, and yet miraculously they have survived.  There is no reason a small ethnic group as the Jews should ever have endured so much and even returned after centuries to establish their own country…no reason except for a God who is behind them.  We may never know why God chose them to have special dealings with, them to guide to a Promised Land, them to give His own Son unto, but of one thing we may be sure: He will not be overcome.  One man called them the “Apple of God’s Eye.”  And as such, I will stand with them, for I would never wish to be counter a Living God.

I have recently been exposed to three separate accounts of the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.  The truths were overwhelming; I will never understand the demeaning of fellow human beings for the simple reason of skin color or race.  And as to the blatant, unashamed murder of so many thousands of precious lives…why, it is beyond my comprehension except to say it was the power of sin unleashed. My heart went out to those people, and could not understand how others, so many others stood by watching, doing nothing.  Then, to think of the people themselves, their lives reduced to mere survival, acting as vicious animals, scratching and tearing one another simply to stay alive, I saw the utter depravity sin is.  But where Christians revealed the light of the Gospel, even amidst horrid conditions, there was love and unselfishness, brotherhood and singing hearts.  Where human feet tread hard, icy, ground, “beautiful” Christian feet walked with Christ.  Where human bodies ached from disease, starvation, and hypothermia, Christian hearts soared to see God’s Hand at work even in prison camps.  And what was the difference?  The Light of Christ shone through His servants; where there were no Christians, the Light did not shine and sin wreaked havoc.  I prayed that day that God might use me –if it be, in a horrible place like that –but that I might never hinder His working.