Stonewall Jackson

My family was traveling up towards D.C. when we lived in North Carolina and on the way up I saw a sign that said something about Stonewall Jackson. I made it a point to stop on the way home and we were excited to find that we had come upon the house where Stonewall Jackson died.

I like the history of the Civil War and have visited many historical sites, but I think this site may be my favorite. The Park employees were, not only very knowledgeable, but were quite enthusiastic in showing us around and telling us the story of his death and all the strange events that surrounded it.

Here I am, not exactly standing like a 'stone wall'. 

This is the bed that General Jackson died in. The blanket at the foot of the bed also was the same blanket that covered him.











The clock on the wall also was original. The daughter of the home was 11 years old when Stonewall died. She held on to the bed, the blanket, and the clock for over 70 years. She eventually donated them to the National Park service, and came into the home and arranged the furniture exactly how she remembered it when Stonewall passed away.

What is Expository Preaching?

"A style or method of preaching God's Word which seeks to logically expose the Biblical text to the mind the will of the congregation. The man of God is to passionately open up, uncover, and lay bare the  rich truths contained in Holy Writ and then he must urge the people of God to both understand obey the truth they have just learned, doing all of this to the glory of Jesus Christ. Expository preaching is essentially preaching the Biblical text to people with accuracy and interpretation fidelity to the original meaning so that the hearers will be understanding of who God is and what he requires. Expository preaching is a sermon from a man, who above all else want to glorify his lord by studying a passage to find out what it means to God and then to persuasively proclaiming the truth, in context, to a group of His sheep with earnestness and a desire to see God exalted."

Mike Abendroth

Read more HERE.


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A Covetous Man- Tuesdays with Timothy #29

1 Timothy 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous

We live in a surreal time. A time when the smartest people in the world are the people who claim they don’t have the answers, but just more questions. A time when access to information is easier to get and more readily available than any time in history, but people are more ignorant and uniformed. A time when there are more Bibles in the English speaking world than ever before, but people are more spiritually ignorant than any other time. This is an age where individuals simultaneously decry the rampant consumerism of America while whining because we don’t have enough, or someone else has something that we don’t, and that just isn't fair.  Watch the presidential debates and it is easy to see we are a covetous people.

Covetousness is a very dangerous and sneaky sin and perhaps no other people in the history of the world have the temptation to this sin as we do in today in our land.  We voluntarily turn on screens in our homes and watch things designed by teams of people who went to college to train in the arts of tempting you to covetousness. Buy! Buy! Buy! You must have this, you can’t live without that; commercials on TV and radio; driving down the road seeing billboards, you can’t be happy unless you have what everyone else already bought. Happiness can only be achieved with the possession of more things—at least that is what they tell us. We have to be on guard against this because covetousness is a very dangerous sin; it rebels against the goodness of our God.

The man of God must not be a man given over to covetousness. The commandment (Exodus 20:17) tells us that it includes houses, women, servants, and possessions. It is to long for, desire, or crave anything that belongs to someone else. Covetousness is antagonistic to contentment because it looks at your neighbors, looks at others and desires what they have and leads the heart to an ungrateful attitude for what God has given you. The more you think about it, you see that it is a “sneaky sin” that can go unspotted, especially for a preacher, which is why Paul lists it among the area's of a pastor's character.

What is the preacher’s danger? The bigger house, the neighbor’s wife, the nicer car. But it also includes coveting wickedly over God’s heritage. Desiring our neighbor’s bigger congregation, or the nicer pulpit, the better outlines, or the top spots at Bible conferences. Men can covet their neighbors “Amens” and accolades for our peers. Everyone wants to be Elijah on Mount Carmel, but no one wants to eat raven leftovers by a creek.

Covetousness is purely a heart issue (Mark 7:21-22). When it works itself out, it will show up in a whole host of different ways. Whether adultery, idolatry, murder, theft, they all start with desiring something that doesn’t belong to you and that desire leads to wicked means of obtaining it.  For a preacher, you have the added temptations of gaining that bigger building or getting that bigger crowd. You know what phrase to throw out to get the big Amen’s. You know where to scratch the itch of your biggest givers. Every pastor must face these temptations anyway, but a covetous man will lead a congregation with him, or leave them behind for what his heart desires. Or, it will leave a man in such sin, that he destroys his ministry.

But, it is not sinful to desire to obtain something. Let's not have a false piety. Paul said it is good to desire the work of the pastorate (1 Timothy 3:1) and it is good to desire spiritual gifts (Corinthians 12:31). It isn’t sinful to desire God to bless your church or bless your preaching.  It isn't a sin to desire to serve the Lord is a greater way. Who in their right mind would not want to glorify God better today than they did yesterday? Who wouldn’t want to provide well for their family or increase and grow? It is not sinful to be industrious and strive to do better. It is desiring things that belong to others that God has not given you that is the problem. The commandment was not to covet they neighbors possessions.

The pastor cannot be a covetous man because he cannot serve two masters (Luke 16:13) since the desires for other things will conflict with his desire for the glory of God. 

The pastor cannot be a covetous man because God hates it Psalm 10:3  For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. Why would God hate this sin, so much? Covetousness is an attack on the character of God.  It attacks God’s goodness to you for not giving in to all your wants.  It attacks God’s wisdom for you since you believe you need more than you have.  It attacks God’s justice towards man, saying that God isn’t fair by giving more to others than ourselves.  It attacks God’s fidelity to his promises that He will provide our needs. Covetousness is a wicked sin that must be put to death (Colossians 3:5).

The pastor cannot be given to covetousness because he will fear man rather than God. Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. God has promised to provide what we need and commanded us to be content with what He has given us. Put our trust in the Lord and don't fear man.

Be content with what God has given you.  Look on your neighbor’s possessions with joy and gladness for them.  Thank the Lord for them, but don’t covet what they have. The earth is the Lord’s and fullness thereof.  Everything belongs to God in the end; He has allowed us to be stewards of a small portion for a short time.  Be content with what He has given you, and work hard in the job that God has given you, strive to improve and do the best you can and then enjoy everything God has given you for His glory.

A Patient Man- Tuesdays with Timothy #28

1 Timothy 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous

The pastor has to be a patient man, a long-suffering, forbearing, gentle soul. Robertson says the word means "sweet reasonableness" (Matthew Arnold), moderation.". So rather than being a striker or a brawler, a man that likes to fight, he should be a man that wants peace.

This does give an interesting paradox. The man of God has to be a man who fights the good fight of faith and earnestly contends for the faith because much of the nature of the work of the pastor is that of spiritual war, a battle against sin and a battle against the false ideologies of Satan and the world system. But he has to be a man of patience, reasonableness, and peace. If we were to look at it from the flesh, it would seem you would want a fighter to fight. God wants a gentle, reasonable, peaceful man to fight. The pastoral life is a life of paradox. He can well identify with Psalm 107:6-7 My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

The fights that Christians engage in should be fights for the honor and glory of Christ. A pastor must love the Lord Jesus Christ with such fervency, that he is willing to fight and stand, even unto death for the truth entrusted to his care. The man, who desires to see soul's saved, sinners converted, saints strengthened must so love the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word, that he will be dogmatic to the point of making enemies and watching friends leave him to stand for the truth rather than compromise. The patient man has to have a long fuse. Consider Moses as an example of a man who was both a fighter and a gentle man of peace.


(And yes, I realize I posted this on Wednesday. If this has caused a problem, let me know and I will give you a 100% refund and send you the next one for free)


DPN