4th Commandment (0 for 6 and Counting!!!)

I am sorry for leaving you hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for “insight” into the rest of the 10 Commandments. I realize my three avid readers have been left wandering aimlessly for a month waiting for another pearl of wisdom. At last, the time has arrived! For the rest of you...hey...this is better than a filler piece about watering your marigolds too much... be nice!
Commandment number four says “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:8-11).
There are many ways to look at this one. As is my standard methodology, I will discuss the Commandment in light of my failure to keep it. First things first, however...I must clarify how I understand this Commandment. In my simplistic ability to discern, I believe the Fourth Commandment applies to modern people in many ways like it did the Jews of antiquity. The Sabbath day, like to those of old, is to be set aside for worship and rest. Jesus clarified the meaning of the Sabbath in the same way He redefined many pharisitical definitions. One of the beautiful ways Christ did this was recorded in Luke 6:6-11 saying “And it came to pass also on another Sabbath that He entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, whether He would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, ‘Rise up, and stand forth in the midst.’ And he arose and stood forth. Then said Jesus unto them, ‘I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ And looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, ‘Stretch forth thy hand.’ And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”
I see the Sabbath as a day set aside to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the freedom from the penalty of the Law. The Jews of antiquity were burdened by a law they couldn’t possibly keep. Enter Jesus and the New Covenant. Now we can rest in Him. Every week we can celebrate Easter Sunday and retell our soul the Greatest Story Ever Told. In the process of celebrating Christ (performing sacraments, having fellowship, growing in faith with other believers, etc...) we grow closer to Him. Our heart and motives for our actions are, as always, transparent to God’s sight. In short, we need to worship with a body of believers to grow closer to God. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, as do other passages, to value corporate worship.
How have I done? Early in my pre-Christian days, I was a Christmas and Easter church attendee. I didn’t even consider the one who gave me life worthy of extra thought on Sundays. Football, sleeping in, the thick Springfield newspaper, and food were among my favorite excuses to skip worship. No real worship, no growing in faith, and, when I did go to church, I performed sacraments in an unworthy, flippant manner. In short, I was a typical, worldly church person who was far from Christ.
Fast-forward me twenty plus years since becoming a Christian and the flip side happened. I periodically have turned Pharisee. At times in my Christian walk I have kept the Sabbath in a proud way with poor motives. “Look at those men on the golf course! I’d never miss church for something so worldly!” I might say, with a heart no better than those in the Luke passage who “communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.”. Would I drive by a stranded motorist to get to church on time? “Surely they have called AAA!” my self righteous heart would likely tell me as I rush to church. I, like the rest of folks, often miss Jesus in the details of life. In this way I still fail!
Up to now in the column I am “0 for 6” on following Commandments....as are all of us. Do you see how the Commandments make a nice mirror to show us that we are hopeless without a Savior? We are so unworthy of Heaven based on what we have done. God would be completely just sending us to Hell for eternity despite what “good things” we do. What an awesome God to instead die as a substitute for us. I will forever be grateful! Will I do better on this Commandment in the future? The more I grow closer to Him, the more my impure motives are replaced, the better I will do. I’ll never be perfect this side of eternity, but I want nothing more than to live like Sunday all week long. I hope you will join me. Check your motives, evaluate your heart with Exodus 20, and join me in being thankful for a Savior all week long.

Diet update... 223.4 lbs. I have now lost 112.6 lbs. My goal is just 33.4 lbs away. God is so very good. He is worthy of me taking care of the body He gave me in a way that brings Him honor!
Prayer request...my church does VBS in the park this week and sends 50+ on a mission trip the next week. God is doing great things and we are blessed to get to go along for the ride!!!

10 Commandments Diet Plan

Today I take a brief break from our tiptoe through the Ten Commandments to discuss dieting and how my Savior relates to my diet. In the process, I will be introducing what I have come to know as the Ten Commandments Diet Plan. Before you boil me with oil or scoff at me as a heretic, hear me out.

The story of Mark Applegate’s obesity began in 1982. I had always been a pretty large kid, but really began to grow out during my Junior High years. I struggled with self-confidence issues throughout my childhood. A verbally abusive step-father saying I would never amount to anything combined with an uber-popular, athletic brother the girls swooned over to the point of asking me “why I couldn’t be cute like my brother”, among other issues compounded the weight problem. Looking back, however, excuses abound.
Fast forward ahead to 2004. I was approximately 380 pounds. I am not exactly sure what weight I topped out at, but I remember three moments in my life that really stick out relating to the extent and shame of my obesity. First I remember reading on my doctor’s chart on me that he referred to me as “morbidly obese”. I have come to learn later that this is a medical term, not a value judgment, but at the time seemed like I was being made fun of by my doctor. I had been the target of fat jokes for years, but it was particularly hurtful to see a third party writing to his peers making fun of me.

The second low point of my corpulence was subtle, yet painful. It was when I outgrew the regular scale. When the balance scale, regardless of how far I scoot it to the right, still doesn’t budge, it was a painful event. My spring scale nearly took 2 revolutions. Scales were not my friend.

The third low point was at my first cardio-stress test. As I grew into the enormous person I was, my health declined. My blood pressure was extremely high, compounded by a stressful business life and a busy schedule. Heart palpitations were common and my overall health was terrible. I finally went to the doctor to get my heart checked. I was required to get a stress test. If you haven’t been privileged to have one of these, it is when they shave your chest and tape probes all over it, then run you on a treadmill and watch your heart medically. I am a private man, and having an attractive nurse pushing my obesity from side to side to shave me was a new low point.

Upon reflection it is easy for me to see how I got to nearly (?) 400 pounds. Three reasons jump out to me....pardon their simplicity. The first reason is I love to eat. Food tastes good to me. It still does. Pretty simple... yum...I love it. I could go for an ice cream right now as I type! The second reason I gained weight is similar. I ate a lot of calories and was lazy. Liking food is one thing. Eating by the bucket is another thing altogether. I enjoyed food so much that I ate it a lot. I was so big that I was exhausted at the end of a work day. Exercise was minimal. Simple calories economics 101 says that if you put in more than you burn, you gain weight. I ate a bunch and laid on the couch a lot too. (No charge for today’s complex dietician lessons.) The third reason I gained the weight is that I just didn’t care. The stress of life combined with a low self-confidence led me to not see the value of caring for my health. Ironically I didn’t piece together how my relationship with Jesus Christ related to something as unspiritual as my weight. I was just living life without consideration to my weight. A year ago things began to change.
I want to point out three events that changed my take on my weight. First, as my health rapidly declined, fear of leaving my family behind because of premature death, was a strong motivator. Please note that I am a Christian. I am going to heaven when I die, not because of any merit in my life (actually in spite of the lack of it!), but because of the unmerited favor of an awesome God. I don’t fear dying in the least. Paul, in Philippians 1:21-6 explains the dichotomy of death writing “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.” Despite being infinitely less spiritually mature than Paul, I can still relate. Death scares me for my family’s sake. I have a beautiful and far more gracious than I deserve wife and three awesome kids. I would hate to think of them mourning over my death caused by my poor decisions.
The second watershed event in my life was crucial as well. It started when my pastor began a study on repentance of sin and personal spiritual cleansing. As you know, I have written about sin often in my column, but at times I am thick-skulled. It was during this study when I gave my life a good spiritual check up. I shaved my flabby chest, if you will, and hopped on the treadmill with the probes on. I am a pretty decent guy, by many standards. I don’t kick the cat, I pay my taxes, and I go to church as often as possible. I am a Christian, and am forgiven for all of my past, present, and future sins. Despite this glowing self-appraisal, I came to realize that there is a lot more to personal “goodness” (Romans 3:10) than repenting of the “big sins”. The more I think of how amazing of a God that I serve is, and how awe-inspiring the love of Jesus Christ dying on the cross as a substitute for the punishment I deserved, the more I want to root all the sin out of my life. My obesity, defined biblically as gluttony, is one of the many sins in my life I have targeted for battle. The thought of sinning and not esteeming the sacrifice of Jesus Christ made me sick the more I thought and prayed about it. In addition, seriously evaluating myself in the light of the 10 Commandments furthered this feeling (hence the name 10 Commandments Diet). Do I still sin? Yes. Am I at war with it on many fronts? Yes. God is wonderfully patient with me.
The last event was a Bible study led by Ken Spurgeon from Proverbs. We spent part of a couple classes discussing being a sloth. I am the poster child of “sloth-kind”. My weight, and the corresponding exhaustion, became an excuse to not serve God with all of my strength (see Luke 10:27). I want to serve Him in the best way possible. Obesity is a hindrance. Excuses abound.
How does my diet plan work? 2 steps.... First examine yourself spiritually. Compare yourself only to Jesus Christ. Hold up the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20) as a mirror. Pray, read the Bible, and root out the sin in your life. Second, eat less and exercise more. Simple economics... eat fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight. I am using Weight Watchers, and I like it. Most other diets work too. Do the math, count the costs of your sin, and lose the weight...it is that simple. Your doctor can help more with the logistics of what to eat than I can, but you have to ask. At the same time think about Jesus on the cross dying for folks like you and me. Are the “small”(?) sins like gluttony really worth it anyway???
Diet update... 230.6 lbs. Total loss 105.4 lbs since November 13th. 39.6 lbs. to go. My yearly physical this week revealed a clean bill of health with dramatic improvements in every category of health. I am off of all medications and on the road to much better shape. I appreciate your prayers!!!

5th Commandment

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12 NASB)
“3And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.' "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God," he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.’BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'" (Matthew 15: 3-9 NASB)
Today I resume our float trip down the Rio de 10 Commandments with a subject I, more so than ever, am hardly qualified to write about...the Fifth Commandment is to honor your Father and your Mother. I also want to springboard onto a rabbit trail that relates to this subject and how it relates to tradition. Join as the blind leads the blind on this one.
I am the baby of my family in more ways than one. The youngest of three kids, I became adept at whining my way into and out of trouble. My older sister, the firstborn of the Applegate brood, was a typical co-parent type growing up. I looked up to (and still do) her maturity and strength. She was the trailblazer of the Applegate kids... first to drive, get a job, and the like. She also moderated trouble among the ranks of the siblings. Next came my brother. He is a genius, yet with the “turtle-running-across-interstate” risk-taking gene. He is extroverted and winsome in personality and, in many ways, my idol. In his teen years, unable to be challenged by teachers and parents intellectually, creatively found himself in trouble often. Then came yours truly... I was the baby. I am the baby. I even married the baby of another family. My sister would usually relent rather than hearing me whine to get my way. My brother would, rightfully, whack me to shut me up, thereby getting himself in trouble. I was in a nice triangular insulation from parenting because of this arrangement. I was successful in the “kid game” if I could get in trouble less than my brother. Piece of cake.
I suspect we drove my parents crazy (and were on the short list of reasons why their marriage failed). When they would try to go on a date, we would terrorize our “babysitter of the week”. I remember vividly (as does she) when we played a game with one of them. Never play the Houdini game with an Applegate kid! A simple game... tie me in a chair and see if I can escape. The first round is easy. The second round we tied her up and left...for the afternoon. Three hours and six bucks worth of Pac Man quarters later, we freed the poor babysitter (Is that a felony Mr. Starbuck? I hope I have passed the statute of limitations!). We had a different babysitter the next week. The Fifth Commandment never entered our mind. God gave us parents, assigned them to raising us, and we would do this kind of stuff to reward them! It was, and is, so easy to sin.
This is the pin point tip of the iceberg of my breaching the 5th Commandment. But enough about me... How about you? Did you always obey the first time asked as a child? Did you bring honor to your family name through your school work, your service to mankind, and your good character...all the time? Have you ever called your parents a name to or behind their back? What was your attitude toward obeying? God’s standard is perfection, not an easy competition of behaving better than yours truly. Obeying externally and rebelling inside is not honoring your parents. I think we are both zero for the first five Commandments! Yet, despite breaking this and the other Commandments a plethora of times, God made a way for us to be forgiven. Stacks of my and your sins forgiven by an amazing God dying on a cross as a substitute penalty for the crimes we committed. All we have to do is repent (turn from them never to return) of the sins in our life, let Him be our absolute boss (Lord), and know that He is the only way to go to heaven. If you need more info about this process, email me. I am happy to help!
As for the before-mentioned rabbit trail, I direct you to the Matthew 15 verse above. There was a tradition in the day of Christ that Pharisees would dedicate things to God so they wouldn’t have to show it as an asset. It was, in a way, like a loophole in the right thing to do scale. Jesus, as he was wont to do, exposed this, and others like it. Their stuff was no more “given to God” than that “business lunch” write-off at Hammons Park was for business purposes. God cares about reality, not perception. Honoring God with our mouth while denying in our heart is as useless a screen door in a submarine (so says the song). I am trying to reign in my motives these days. I put on a decent show on the outside, but have found sin hiding in the motives. Join me in rooting this one out.

Bible verse... Proverbs 10:1. I know a story of a man who became a Christian in jail after a journey that largely began with the reading this verse.
Diet update...I have lost 97.4 pounds now, after another really good month. I weigh 239.6, about 50 pounds from my goal. I appreciate your prayers!

Me, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Family Feud

“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13 (NASB)
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment'. But I tell you that anyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother,'Raca', is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says 'You Fool!' will be in danger of the fire of Hell!” Matthew 5:21-2 (NASB)
“One hundred people surveyed, top four answers on the board...looking for the number one answer. Here's the question... 'What is the first thing you do when someone cuts you off in traffic?'” inquires Richard Karn, host of my favorite game show, Family Feud. Can you guess? What would you say? America gave these answers. Number four answer “Honk”; number three answer “Flip off the driver”; number two answer “Ignore them”; and the number one answer “Scream and Yell at the driver”. I guess all those who said “Lock and Load!” are either too busy watching Dale Jr. turn left or still awaiting parole?! I would likely fall on the number one answer except not so much audibly, but, boy, if they could hear me think!!! The road was paved for Mark Applegate...everyone else is just using my road!
As we continue our hop, skip and jump through God's moral law, the Ten Commandments, we delve into the 6th Commandment...”You shall not murder.” (The number six is shaped kinda like a bomb if you need a memory aid to remember which one it is.) If you do a quick survey of your “good-ness” using the Ten Commandments, the 6th seems like a safe one for most of us. I wouldn't have a clue how to shoot a gun, being the city slicker that I am. I am a wuss when it comes to fighting. I can't cook well enough to hide poison in my food. I can't even beat Bowser in my kid's video game! A murderer I am not...or so I thought until I read the words of Jesus in Matthew 5. Alas, Jesus clarifies the Commandment in the above verse in Matthew to include our thought life. When we hate someone , we commit murder in our heart. When we physically or mentally extend the middle finger of friendship to a driver in traffic, we are in danger of judgment. When the restaurant gives us pickles when we expressly said no pickles, and we fume...we break the commandment! When the chubby writer in the paper says something stupid, and we grumble about him, we kill him in our heart. With this in mind, we are all left like O.J. Simpson, murderers who have, thus far, got away with it. Or have we??? God's judgment is so perfect, it leaves us all in a pickle when we die. Is forgiveness available for physical or mental murderers? Boy do I have good news...read on!
I was reading yet again from one of my favorite books in Christendom, In the Grip of Grace, by Max Lucado, when he dropped this bomb on me. “Do you know what disturbs me most about Jeffrey Dahmer? What disturbs me most are not his acts, though they are disgusting. Dahmer was convicted of seventeen murders. Eleven corpses were found in his apartment. He cut off arms. He ate body parts. My thesaurus has 204 synonyms for vile, but each falls short of describing a man who kept human skulls in his refrigerator and hoarded a human heart. He redefined the boundary for brutality. The Milwaukee monster dangled from the lowest rung of human conduct and then dropped. But that's not what troubled me the most.... Not His trial, disturbing as it was, with all those pictures of him sitting serenely in court, face frozen, motionless. No sign of remorse, no hint of regret....Not his punishment, though life with no parole is hardly an exchange for his actions. How many years would it take to satisfy justice? A lifetime in jail for every life he took? But that's another matter, and that's not what troubles me most about Jeffrey Dahmer. May I tell you what does? His conversion.” (p. 35-6)
By every account I have read, Dahmer became a Christian shortly before he was killed in prison. He was treated, realized what kind of monster he was and threw himself at the feet of Jesus Christ to save him. He is, if all indications were correct, going to be sharing the same heaven as the Apostle Paul. Does that trouble you? Does it anger you? Do you doubt the power of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross? Surely a filthy sinner like Dahmer is on the fast track to Hell, if anyone is?!?! Three verses, among others, speak otherwise!
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NASB)
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NASB)
God has a tough standard. We all have broken every commandment, whether in a physical sense or an emotional/internal/thought-realm sense. There is someone that all of us hate. God treats it as murder, yet forgives completely anyone who comes to Him with a humble spirit and asks. Does he grade sin's seriousness on some sort of scale? He may but the absence of conclusive evidence scripturally leaves me to expect that either way God treats all sin extremely seriously. Our only hope is to do what Dahmer did, apparently, and throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus for forgiveness. What an amazing God who forgives wretches like me and Jeffrey!
Weekly Scripture Verse: 2 Timothy 2:15...hold me to that standard too!
Diet update: I am at 253 after gaining very small amounts in each of the last 2 weeks. I am working out 6 days a week now and still doing fine on the diet part...hopefully I am adding muscle weight. I have established a long-range goal of running a marathon within the next couple years. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

Adultery...the 7th Commandment

"Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery." Exodus 20:14
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery: But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her committed adultery with her already in his heart." Matthew 5:27-8 (KJV)
"I have looked on many women with lust. I have committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me." Former President Jimmy Carter (Playboy Magazine November 1976 as quoted on www.notable-quotes.com...I don't read the articles or look at the pictures.)
As we continue out tiptoe through the "I am a Good Person!!"-minefield that is the Ten Commandments, I point us to the Seventh Commandment which forbids Adultery. I could start with some shocking statistics about STD's, huge numbers of sexual partners of typical Americans, or statistical similarities of those who go to church with those who don't (a topic for another day). I could beat you with a Golden Club for your past indiscretions, while hiding mine. I could just pull a Nancy Reagan and say "just say no!" All would be good ice breakers. All would in a way expose the subject. Ever the one to think outside the box, I will spin in another direction. I will aim my plea at two groups...just try to hide!
To the married members of the vast audience...can we talk for a minute? How much do you love your spouse? Remember the days when things were fresh, exciting, and new? Remember fighting over who would be forced to say Goodbye first on the phone during your calls. (Maybe I am the only one that started dating their spouse when I was 16?!?!) Remember (currently, too, I would hope) when the thought of someone hurting the one you love would make you shake with anger to protect them? Remember learning what she liked, what "Hair Band" he dreams of looking like with his mullet spruced up for you, or where she liked to eat ice cream? Remember the fear of losing the one you love after the first big fight? The same God who gave your spouse to you is using them to grow you today. Stop using any character trait of theirs as an excuse to commit adultery. Men especially, you don't have to physically cheat on her to commit adultery. Pornography rates are astronomical. Love your wife. Simple. Ladies...no more romance novels. We don't look like Fabio. (I look closer to Chris Farley.) We seldom sweep you off to the sunset. Love your husband anyway. God has linked you together for His glory as a picture of what your relationship with Him looks like. Live like it.
To singles... I can imagine that it is hard. Thank God that you have more time to devote to His service. You have a special gift...undivided love and attention for God, that many married people, regrettably, don't have. Stay pure. Stay accountable to others when things are easy and when they are difficult! You will grow from the position God has put you in and God will get a tremendous amount of Glory from your life!
Lastly, to everyone who carries the banner of Christianity...prepare to be annoyed with the slightly less fat writer. Stop dancing with the Devil. Pornography is not OK. Gawking at the other sex, or the same for that matter, is not ok! Other things in our life are a slap at God as well. Think of Christ like the Bible lists as our Bridegroom. We are, presumably, growing toward Christlikeness in a way to show ourselves a Bride to Christ when He returns someday. (I know, for macho men this concept can be a challenge. ) We, as one wanting to be spotless for our wedding day, have preparation to do. Given this, why would we do things that are effectively committing adultery on our Bridegroom? Why would we do Yoga? Yoga is a highly spiritual ritual to bring about a sense of closeness with a specific Hindu Goddess. Would you make eyes at the groom's brother on your wedding day? How about Horoscopes? I can find 21 instances of how angry God is at divination. Is Jesus Christ, your Bridegroom, not trustworthy enough to trust with the future? "Oh, chunky scribe, it is just for fun!" you might say. I say you are cheating on your first love. How about that cute, chubby Buddha statue? It's not a decoration, it is competition for your affection. Might as well be a Brad Pitt nude sculpture!
A special note to Jimmy Carter... Mr. President, we all struggle with sin. Many of us, including myself at times, struggle with lust. However, it is just that... a struggle. Your sad attempt at explanation in your infamous quote not only exposes your heretical, Universalist thinking (that everyone gets to go to heaven regardless of all factors), it exposes something much more sad. It shows that you are not sorry for your sin, a sin against primarily God (Psalm 51), and that you plan to do it again. I wish you were even as good with religious doctrine as you were with the economy (said in the spirit of kindness and generosity). Repenting of sexual sin means much more than sorrow for being caught or sorrow to look like a spiritual man. It means disgust at the old self. We may fall, but it will be against our will.
God is so kind to forgive us in this area. I see this as a huge area of hidden concern to most people. God can and will forgive from past sin and grant you His Holy Spirit to help along the way, if you are willing to repent (Turn away from) adultery, in all its forms. Questions, concerns, or accountability, email me. God Bless!
Weight update... 249.4! Through God's Mercy, I have lost 15+ pounds since last we talked two weeks ago. I have lost a total of 86.6 pounds. My goal is 177, so I have 72.4 to go. Moving right along!!!

Strawberry Swipecake

Isn't it kind of funny that we hit the Eighth Commandment this week, being so close to the National Day of Mourning, also known as Tax Day. The Eight Commandment forbids stealing. Whom is stealing from whom is a matter of opinion during this fun tax season. Regardless, I would like to examine this Commandment briefly so as not to steal too much of your time.
Have you ever stole anything, regardless of value? I have never shoplifted or committed grand theft auto. Does that make me exempt from thievery? Hardly. Allow me to count the ways...and see if you relate to any of these for yourself.
I ate nearly one thousand times the body weight of a pregnant yak of ripe strawberries from the commercial strawberry field across the street from my house in the early teen years of my life. Proverbs 9:17 (Revised Mark's Childhood Version) says “Stolen strawberries (NASB says “water is”)are sweet; shortcake (NASB says “food”) eaten in secret is delicious.” We, with the owner's knowledge, swiped enough berries to feed an African nation. Guilty!
I have goofed off for countless hours at jobs I have had over the years...all of which are stealing payroll from my employer. Colossians 3:23a says “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men...”. Guilty!
I, with a partner in crime, stole the goldfish out of the 10th hole water hazard at Putt Putt golf on Prom Night 1989.

I have stolen from God by not tithing for a large part of the early days of my Christian walk. Read Acts 5 for the story of a married couple's experience with stealing from God. Seriously guilty!!
We take approximately 24000 breaths of air each day, each comprising approximately 3000 gallons of air. In a 78 year life I will have swiped 85,410,000 gallons of air. Deut. 10:14 among other places, states that everything, including my stolen air, belongs to God... I haven't even said thanks for it! Exponentially guilty!
These are a few examples, some serious, some not so much, of my lifelong relationship to the sin of stealing. I strongly believe that nearly everyone, if honest, would recognize that they have stolen something in their life. Add this one to the previous two Commandments I am guilty of breaking from the last two weeks' column, and I am typical. Does God care? Yes. Does He forgive? Depends...have you repented of lifelong patterns? Are you sorry? Have you asked for forgiveness? If these are answered correctly, I believe God not only can but will forgive this and every other sin in our lives.
I would like to also address one other aspect of stealing this week. This is sure to make some grab stones to throw at me. Nearly every mainstream world religion, and some branches of Christianity as well as many a cult, requires some “work” of ours to go to Heaven when we die. Many well-meaning people believe we must clean up our lives and do more good than bad to go to heaven. We are weighed on a cosmic “good verses bad” scale and which ever side the arrow points is where we go. Like on the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the geese that lay the golden eggs put their egg on a egg checker which determines whether they are good or bad, we are weighed as good or bad . Good eggs go to heaven, bad ones hell. This, my friends, is stealing glory from Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB) says “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” If you did anything to supplement the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, dying as a substitute punishment for the sins you have committed, you steal the credit from Christ. What kind of monster of a God would send His Son to die for you as one possible means of your salvation, to go with other potential ways? No, it took a perfect sacrifice, and He gave it. How dare we try to steal the Glory from the only one deserving! Pray honestly today... “What is my part of my salvation?”. If you answer anything more than “I submitted myself to a Holy God as an unworthy sinner”, examine yourself. Was Jesus' painful death on the cross enough? Did He need my help?
The reason I love to look at the Commandments, and will be working through them for the next month and a half, is that they make for a beautiful list of self-reflecting thoughts to consider. We aren't saved because of our skill in keeping them, that's for sure. Call out to God today, and ask for forgiveness and let Him be Boss. If you have questions, email me. I will be praying for you as always! I don't want your money, I just want to see you in heaven someday!
Weight Update...262. I lost 3.4 this week for a total loss of 74 lbs. Only 76 to go. Thanks for your prayers! God is so patient and good!
Memory Verse: 1 Peter 1:14-6.

Cookie...Me Want Cookie!!!!

“One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song?”
I love Cookie Monster! I can relate to the furry blue, snack food inhaling resident of Sesame Street. Growing up I can remember vividly holding the thermometer to the light bulb on my lamp in my living room so as to appear to have a fever so I could watch Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Villa Allegre. Looking back, I wonder if my parents were concerned with my 150 degree fevers I would get at times...but boy did I outsmart them! Regardless, I sat watching PBS like most pre-cable, faking sickness-type school kids daydreaming as I learned with the colorful creatures on the show. Funny how we learn to lie at a young age. White lies are so natural, most of us don't even think twice. Starts young and gets easier as we get better at it.
Shifting gears clumsily, a relevant verse comes to mind. Revelation 21:8 (NASB) says “But the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” 1 Timothy 1:9-10 has a similar list with liars grouped in with a list of “worse sins”.
“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong, Can you tell which sin is not like the others, by the time I finish my...uh, newspaper column?”
Today, with much clanging on cymbals, we delve into the Ninth Commandment from Exodus 20: Thou shalt not bear false witness. You ain't supposta lie, for those in bordering counties. A recent highly scientific study in Great Britain by the Daily Mail in conjunction with the WKD brand name alcoholic drink company (obviously a trusted name) asserted that the average person lies 4 times a day. 116880 times including leap days for an 80 year old lying at that rate. Please don't patronize me with your “There are some GOOD LIES” logic...we all know the difference...they are not all good and we all know it! Or consider your “Babies don't lie” rants...anyone who says that needs to put new batteries in their Wanda Wetsy doll, because their kid isn't real! They figure it out quickly! The numbers of lies start early and build quickly!
So, let's break the list from Revelation down and give a quick thumbs up/down as co-judge of the universe.
Cowardly...this is the same word as Jesus used to describe His “followers” when He calmed the storm in Matthew 8:26. Yes...they were too worried for their own well being to be a Christian.
Unbelieving...see cowardly.
Abominable...not a commonly used word beyond snowmen lexicon, but it means really bad!
Murderers...boo hiss.
Immoral persons...those sinners deserve what comes to them!
Sorcerers... take one cat whisker, one horny toad leg, and one tablespoon of Sweet and Low then throw them into the fiery pit!
Idolaters...chuck them with their little false altar to the hot place!
And ALL Liars. Wait...I lie sometimes. Hey, wait...one of these things is NOT like the others....or is it? If you are a regular of this column, like I know you four are, you know from my previous columns that King David sorrowfully announced in Psalm 51 that he had sinned primarily against God with his lulu affair with Bathsheba. The event resulted in murder, illegitimate and angry kids, and a host of other problems. David recognized that every single sin against God is a direct slap at our Creator. Multiply that 116880 times in our life. Yikes. Why God doesn't whack us after the first ten thousand or so is testimony to His patience and desire to have us in heaven with Him someday. Lying once is enough. James 2:10 (NIV) says “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Jesus died for us knowing full well we would probably hit six figures in this sin category. Consistency says “Grab a stone...let's whack the sinner!” Christ's grace says “I'll take the stoning for you!” Sure God's system will punish those bad sinners...you know, murderers and rapists. It also makes it clear liars get lumped with this group along with the rest of us. Jesus' taking the punishment we deserved is the most amazing offer of our life. Consider it wisely, then give the rest of your life saying thanks for His amazing patience and kindness! Email me questions or concerns.
Weight loss update...current weight is 265.4. Lost 1.4 pounds this week. (Is it lying to try to stand skinny on a scale at your weigh-in?) Total weight loss... 70.6 pounds. God is patient and good!
Memory verse: Galatians 5:22.

Tsunami Warning!

This week represents a shift in focus in our little column from Psalm 51, the beautiful song of repentance of King David, to a look at Exodus 20's Ten Commandments. I think it a natural, if backward, progression, as, unless we see where we stand before a Holy God, it is foolishness to repent of (turn away from) what we are unaware that we are doing wrong. In simpler terms, if you were splashing on a sandy beach and I swam out, grabbed you by the armpits, and dragged you to drier/higher ground, you would likely use a taser on me. Add one piece of information-that a Tsunami warning was just issued and soon one hundred foot waves would usher you to your Maker if you didn't find higher ground immediately-and instead of zapping me with your self-defense device you would love and thank me. Here's your Tsunami warning...Hebrews 9:27a says “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment...” . We die once then are judged by God according to a standard of absolute perfection. If we are seen by a Holy God as perfect, we go to Heaven. If not, we go to a place as real as the IRS office called Hell. Big problem! The wave is tall, our chances are that of a sand castle without someone to take our punishment. As a reminder, we are not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments as we would all perish if it were to be so. If we have broke one law, we have broke them all (read James 2:10)! They (The Ten Commandments) do, however, make a beautiful reflecting pool into which to gaze at our futile attempts at self-righteousness and realize our desperate need for a Savior....someone to somehow pay for our sins and save us from drowning in our sin debt (Romans 6:23).
This week I want to briefly hit on the Tenth Commandment...Thou shalt not covet. (We, for the next two months, will do a countdown on Exodus 20.) Coveting is wanting (badly) someone else's stuff. In my life, this one is a sort of a toughie. It manifests itself in the usual ways... “Boy would I love that Plasma TV for baseball season”, or “I sure wish I had Ken Spurgeon's stylish hairstyle!”. A new way I fail on this one recently surfaced in my prayer time in addition to these normal coveting ideas. I am not a vain person, but I would like to be in great physical shape some day. At times subconsciously, I covet the slenderness of others. (Desiring a healthy body is different than over evaluating your appearance.) In fact, I have recently came under conviction on this one as I evaluate my diet in general. As a point of review for the one or two new readers of my column who will join the three or four regulars (Hi Mom...send money!), I have been on Weight Watchers since November 13th. I have lost exactly 69.2 pounds in this time. I came to see my need to repent on this sin (strongly desiring a cosmetically ultra fit body) recently after having prayed about how my diet relates to God. I prayerfully pondered “Is God involved in my weight loss?” . “Is He causing the success, or is my diet the reason I have lost so much?” The logical extension led me to ask myself “Can I say to someone interested in Christianity 'Become a Christian to lose weight', and keep a clean conscience?” Though His Word and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God revealed to me that the answer is “yes”, but not how you might think if you watch televangelists on TV. Becoming a Christian to lose weight better is, bluntly, stupid. God is not a diet plan, He is a righteousness plan. (There is a one hundred foot wave coming, who cares about your weight anyway!) God showed me that my obesity is sinful. I won't trouble you with the plethora of verses speaking against gluttony, but trust me, they are there (Proverbs is full of them). Becoming a Christian helps you lose weight specifically because, like King David from our previous study, real Christians desperately don't want to sin. I hate my sin. I wish for all I am worth, I could eliminate it from my life! It is against the God who died to save me! Me wanting to look like a movie star is one of many violations of the Tenth Commandment. See how the mirror of the Commandments made me realize my need for Jesus? How do you look in this mirror? Have you broken this Commandment too? Remember what the James 2:10 passage said... If you broke one, you broke them all. You, like me, need Jesus. If we repent (turn from our sins and let Him be Boss) and trust Jesus alone for our Salvation, we are made to appear perfect to God when the wave of Judgment hits, not because of how great we were in our time alive on Earth, but because of how great Jesus is to take our punishment! He pays our fine, and gives us the keys to the Kingdom...what an amazing offer! Fellow Christians...Join me in repenting of this sin! Seekers...examine yourself in the mirror of God's moral standard found in a convenient way in Exodus 20. If you have questions, email me any time!
Weight Loss update I weigh 266.8. I lost a nifty 3.2 lbs this week. I passed losing 20% of my starting weight this week. God has been kind and gracious to me during this diet!
Memory verse: James 2:10.

Psalm 51: 16-7 What can wash away my sins?

“For you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Psalm 51:16-7 NASB
“You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the Court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says 'You fool' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”
Matthew 5:21-2 NASB
Holy Week 2008 is upon us. Never have I written a more important piece for your attention than this one. I sense that if I can successfully bury the Mark Applegate part from this piece and shine the light on the One deserving of praise, it will fulfill its purpose. Like a cross between the one who long ago screamed from down by the river Jordan “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! (Matthew 3:2 NASB)” and a slightly more sane version of the homeless man on the streets of New York with a “The End is Near” sandwich board duct taped to his beat up Yankees sweatshirt, I come to you with an urgent request. Use this Easter as an opportunity to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” (2 Corinthians 13:5a NASB).
As we near the completion of David's humble psalm expressing sadness, embarrassment, and fear to the Lord, we come to a critical theological point. David was guilty of breaking every Commandment (see Exodus 20) in the events surrounding his affair with Bathsheba. Some would say the biggest violation was the fact that he sent Bathsheba's husband into a position of sure death in battle with the intent of covering up his own scandal. That theological red herring aside (what sins are the most sinful?!), David knows his predicament. Murder is horrendous. There were specific sacrifices available for most sins. Some were fairly basic dove-type offerings for minor offenses. Others were “an-eye-for-an-eye” type. Many laws, many payments/offerings available to have your sin covered. Alas, scour Leviticus or any Book of Moses for anything to cover Murder and Adultery and you will quickly be redirected to stoning techniques. David knew his only hope was to throw himself on the mercy of the court and hope the Judge would pardon him. He was a perfect storm of feelings between fearful of punishment and sad that he offended God. (The terms broken and contrite fit him well.)
Exit David's courtroom scene. Enter your own. “Hey! I have never killed a fly! Take your Bible-thumping to the real sinners!” you might say. I would have too, before I realized the reality of God's standard...absolute perfection even in our “hidden life”. Jesus, in Matthew 5, rocked the entire Jewish world. Not the least of which, Jesus “tightened”, if you will, the Sixth (Murder) and the Seventh (Adultery) Commandments. Have you ever externally or internally “flipped off” a driver who beat you to the good parking at the movie or cut you off in traffic? Have you ever screamed at the telemarketer working to support his/her family for calling during supper? Have you ever wailed at a referee for blowing a call? Join me in murderer's row. By the way, reread the adultery clarification as well. How do you really feel about Internet pornography? Read Matthew 5 again. If you need a modern example for these, I recently heard a good one on wayofthemasterradio.com. Have you seen Dateline NBC's special they do about once a sweeps week called “To Catch a Predator”? It is a special where police pretend to be teen girls on the Internet. Once the guy shows up for the expected illegal sex, the police jump him. The man hadn't committed the main crime yet, but already had in his heart. Throw the book at him! No one would say “Hey, he wouldn't have done anything, except possibly trying to lie his way out of his situation.” Same with us on Commandments Six, Seven, and the rest. Great shape externally, but filthy rags on the inside!
So, why do I bring this stuff up? There is nothing in your world more important than being sure you are a Christian. I am not after your money or your anything. I just care for you. Now... I want you to temporarily delete all you ever have known about church. Find a quiet place to think for a little bit, if it helps. Why did you become a Christian? Were you always one? What was your mindset like? What were you saved from? Were you happy before, during, and after? What is your part in the process? What was the sacrifice you made, that King David (you know, the guy people call the man after God's own heart) struggled to figure out, to gain pardon for your crimes against God? Have you been Born Again (See John 3)?
As you make your semi-yearly trip into church (I am not judging you...I skipped church for nearly five years when I first got married!), think about your sin. What have you done in public and secret? What have you thought of doing? Then think of Jesus Christ. He died as your Sacrifice. He paid for our sin on the cross. With a broken spirit and a broken/contrite heart, call on Him to be your Savior and let Him be Lord (Absolute Boss) going forward. If you pridefully say you are good enough to get to Heaven, you are not contrite. Dictionary.com defines contrite “Caused by or showing sincere remorse”. Are you sorry for your sins? Do they make you sick, not for fear of getting caught, but because they are directly against such a good God? Examine yourselves this week. See Jesus on the Cross and know it was for you and me that He died.
Verse for the week: 1 John 1:9 again.
Diet update: I now weigh 268.6 after a temporary? 10+ pound flu-induced weight loss this week. I have lost 67.4 pounds which surpasses 20% of my entire original body weight. I have 83.6 pounds to go. Almost half way there! I'll change my picture when I hit 100 pounds lost. FYI, at my biggest I was an unknown weight. I had to be weighed on the “special scale” because the doctor's 350 pound scale was not sufficient. I started this diet at 336 pounds.

Thank your lucky stars

As I sit this morning eating my lucky charms cereal, I noticed that St. Patrick's Day is nearly here! Young minds wander to thoughts of leprechauns, 4 leafed clovers, and wearing green to avoid pinch-hungry friends. The holiday itself traces roots back to the Patron Saint of Ireland who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries AD. I find it particularly interesting that over the centuries the holiday has been reduced to a sort of “luck worship”. If I can just find a genetically morphed piece of yard weed (clover) or a two foot tall man in green clothes (Ross Perot?), I will have “good luck”. This “good luck” will bring me the only thing that can possibly make me happy...a pile of gold. Given this chain of reasoning, wealth/happiness equals luck

Where does bad luck come from then? Is it strictly people who find the wrong number of leaves on their clover or, by default, must have mugged the little green guy? My conclusion is that the concept of luck as a whole presupposes the lack of a bigger plan that we are all a part of. If there is a reason why we all live and why things happen as they do, it is easy to see that this plan could be bigger than individual people's luck. Some think you “make your luck” by working hard. Others think God must not like them because of a propensity toward bad luck.

I have come to believe that we live in a world that has been corrupted by disobeying God and His Word. Working hard no more guarantees good fortune than not working hard guarantees bad fortune. We all know people who are undeservedly rich or inexplicably poor. Hard work is to be appreciated, valued, and honored, but not in expectation of a guaranteed success. Not working hard is non-biblical stealing from your employer, but it also does not guarantee failure in life.

The good news is there is more to life than luck. We live in a world with a purpose. Our purpose is not to amass riches, to be able to bench press twice our body weight, or to free every animal from the dog catcher's evil grasp. Our purpose in life is to glorify the Creator of the sun, moon, and lucky stars. He deserves to be given credit for all good things and to be sought for help when times are hard. We are so very blessed to not get what we deserve (To be ground up like the powder in the bottom of a box of Lucky Charms) and get what we don't deserve (The keys to the Kingdom)! Sometimes it is not easy to see that luck is irrelevant, but the promise of God remains “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28b KJV).
The end of the rainbow does not take you to a pot of gold, it takes you to the cross.

Bloodguiltiness---not just a good Scrabble word any more!!!

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. (Psalm 51:14-5 NASB)

As we continue our excursion through Psalm 51, we come to another amazing set of verses in 14 and 15. There is an amazing amount of theology to pull from these verses but in the interest of space I would like to focus on two pieces... “bloodguiltiness” and “open my lips”.

I just arrived in town from my denomination's (SBC) associational mission trip to a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana. I will take a brief break from Psalm 51 next week to discuss what I learned about Christianity from this event. Nevertheless, I must make a brief but vital point about bloodguiltiness from what I learned. First of all, according to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, bloodguiltiness “does not necessarily signify bloodshed, but any grievous sin which, if it remains, will block God's favor to His land and people”. David was scared, rightfully, that his bloodguiltiness would cause the Holy Spirit to withdraw from him as the Spirit did to King Saul. As you may remember, King Saul went crazy after the Spirit left him unprotected, and he ended up throwing himself on his sword. Can any modern truths be positively extracted from this Old Testament story? I would suggest yes! I would like to add a very interesting set of verses from Luke 13:1-5 to the mix and relate them to my mission trip to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. The verse reads (NASB): “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Hurricane Katrina killed hundreds upon hundreds of people. The exact number is difficult due to many being washed away and the number of homeless, uncounted people who perished. Why did it happen? Was the bloodguiltiness so severe that God had had enough and thrashed the whole southern seaboard? Was the bloodguilt in Stockton, Missouri so heinous that God whacked us in May of 2003? I suggest to you that Jesus answers the question in our verse when He added “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. The temptation is to say “They reaped what they sowed and God got'em for it!” Jesus redirects the conversation to who really deserves to be whacked...all of us. Sure God punishes sin. Sure God destroyed whole towns in the Old Testament for their sin. Sure there is buckets of sin in New Orleans. But, you know what? Las Vegas, arguably more sinful than any city on earth has had one less lethal tornado in the last five years than Stockton. God hates sin everywhere. While I say comfortably and confidently that God either caused or let happen both of these tragic events, I will not point a finger at New Orleans and state that they deserved it any more than I did. A helpful analogy is in order. If you kill a dog tick, what is the punishment? Nothing but a yucky hand. If you shoot the neighbor's cat, what is the penalty? A fine with community service likely will suffice. If you shoot a homeless man what do you get? Twenty five years with opportunity for early release due to overcrowding. If you shoot President Bush what is the punishment? Gas chamber or electric chair...lethal injection even if F. Lee Bailey represents you. All involve the same offense...killing. What is the difference in them? The object against whom you committed the act. God is our Creator. He owns everything including the air we breath. He gave us all we have and sent Jesus to die for our sins as a substitute penalty-taker. All sins are a direct slap at God. Who cares how often others sin? How many times have you lied? Lusted? Stolen? Used His Holy name in vain? Wanted someone else's stuff? We all deserve to be whacked. God is so patient with me alone, needless to say others, in not giving us all what we deserve! We should not point fingers, we should introspectively say “Thank You Lord that it wasn't me!” each day we have. What a Good God who instead of whacking the majority of us instead gives us the keys to the kingdom when we die! Amazing!!!

“Open my lips” is my second point of interest. Why, fellow Christian, don't we tell others about Salvation? I can boil it down to one of three options in my life. I don't believe enough. I love me too much. I don't love others enough. The second option is my stumbling block. What is yours? Sharing the Gospel is commanded and requested in the Great Commission (Matthew 28) as well as other places in the Bible. People are walking blindly into traffic...are we going to stop them? If a child was playing with a copperhead in the back yard, would we fear hurting their feelings by telling them of the danger? No way! Why the fear of witnessing then? (I am talking to both of us!) I pray that God would open my lips to stop being such a chicken. Join me! There are people playing with snakes everywhere, not just those sinful areas like New Orleans (and Stockton). Stop pointing fingers and start repenting soon!

Memory verse John 1:1

Weight Update...I lost another 5 in New Orleans. Total weight loss is 55...God is Good! See next weeks paper for a detailed story about Katrina and our trip.

God Bless!

Mission Trip Update

I will be posting all my pictures on mypicturealbum.com, as well as other comments by Tuesday. Thanks for visiting and praying faithfully! God Bless!
-Mark

Psalm 51:13 Quid pro quo or no...

“Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will be converted to you.” (Psalm 51:13 NASB)
Short and sweet this week, unlike the usually verbose and tart prose you come to expect from your corpulent scribe. Onward we plow through Psalm 51, one of the finest in the Bible.
“Then.” Simple first word, but loaded for bear! Was David trying to bribe God? Would a quid pro quo (“this for that” arrangement) work with a God that needs nothing from us? No, he had a different thought. The past 12 verses have amounted to David begging for a restoration for failing and sinning against God by having an affair with Bathsheba, then having her husband killed to try to cover it up. David starts with “then” because he is exemplifying the right response to grace (unmerited favor). Luke 7:41+ has the Savior discussing debt to your neighbor and how being forgiven of debt in varying amounts relates to love by debtor to the one owed to. This, to me, matches David perfectly. David knows his offense was grave and that he deserves the fate of his predecessor Saul, and knows acutely that he has a hope of forgiveness with God. He also understands the importance of humility before a high and Holy God (See Psalms 18:27; 25:9; 35:13; 147:6; 149:4 among others). He is so anxious to do good things, not to earn forgiveness, but to express thanks for it. He desperately wants back his standing before God so that he can honor his Redeemer.
So...are you really saved? Do you do good things to earn forgiveness or because you are so grateful to an awesome God for saving you? Count up your sins. (Read Exodus 20 for starters.) Every lie, every lustful moment, every time you have stolen, etc.. Now add up the times you have just thought bad things. Then think of Jesus Christ dying on the cross as a punishment for your and my sins. Now ask yourself, why would Jesus die on a cross in a way that made people all around sick if He needed your help to save you? Would your helping an old lady across the street or being carbon neutral pay for the multitude of sins you have committed in your life? “Then” means “You saved a wretch like me, I will forever do all I can to bring you honor to your Awesome and Holy name, not to pay you back (impossible) or exalt myself (Isaiah 64:6).” Yikes, the first word took half a page, maybe this will be as long as the rest?!? Sorry!
“I will teach transgressors your ways...”. David knows his “testimony” has been changed by his stupidity. I believe he knows he can use his story, in a humbled way, to show others what not to do. Throughout I & II Chronicles, Judges, and I & II Kings, among others, are kings and rulers who don't learn from their mistakes. Downward spirals abound. I believe David is different. He plans on humbly exalting the Savior like he did as a boy when he whacked the Giant.
“And sinners will be converted to you.” If there was a quid pro quo to be found, it may very well have been here. “I will teach transgressors your way, and sinners will be converted to you.” When God, through a humble servant/pastor/accountability partner/ friend teaches “His ways”, sinners like us (Romans 3:23) will be “born again” (John 3). When I first grasped my own sin in a way that made sense, I ran to the One who could save me. We have dragged the term “born again” through the mud in my generation, yet Jesus clearly says in John 3 and other places that unless you are born again, you will face an eternity in a place as real as Greenfield called Hell. Don't say a prescribed prayer someone feeds you if you don't understand sin and its effects and realities. Don't walk an aisle in a church to get a better life or for fulfillment or for cash from God. Don't sign a pledge card to buy God's forgiveness. See your sins like David, REPENT from them (turn from them and forsake them...agree never to do them again and HATE them going forward), and TRUST alone in Jesus Christ to pay your sin debt on the cross to save you , and you will be born again. Trust in your good works to save you at your own peril. George Whitefield said it best saying “Works? Works? A man get to heaven by works? I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand!”. My works are like my column's name... Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64:6). Would God save me because of something (my good works) He compared to a used maxi-pad? I think not. I am the reason He sent Jesus to die, and you can get in on His forgiveness too! And for those already born again, read closely. We should give Him everything we have the rest of our lives for His goodness for saving us. David felt the same way. We owe God everything! Reread the Luke verse above, think about your sin and His forgiveness and get to work! The fields are white.
Verse for the week 1 John 1:9...read it closely!
Diet update: 285...lost 2.6 more, only 100 to go! God is Good, all the time!
Pray for our mission trip this week. I appreciate you!

Psalm 51:11-12 Verbs Say It All

“Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit.”
(Psalms 51:11-12 NASB)

When we left off we were going line by line through King David’s 51st Psalm. King David, as you recall, was confronted by the Prophet Nathan about his blatant sin against a Holy God with Bathsheba. This Psalm rightly expresses how he felt having no excuses or attempted cop-outs. As we arrive at verses 11-12, verbs capture this couplet to me.

Cast. I looked for a nice version of the Hebrew word we translate as “cast”. I checked 10 translations and paraphrases for something to grasp about the word. I say, hesitantly and with fear and trembling that Peterson’s THE MESSAGE (gasp) gives my favorite rendering of this verse and how it relates to the word “cast”. It says “Don't throw me out with the trash.” One of the most wealthy and powerful men in Earth’s history was afraid of getting cast out by God like you might a flattened and crusty toothpaste tube. “The man after God’s own heart” was deathly concerned he was about to become “the man God used to use, that is now in the burn pile outside of town where the fire never stops”. David clearly remembered running from King Saul before Saul turned sharply from anointed, successful King to raging, paranoid madman who committed suicide to avoid capture by the Philistines. Fallers from grace are often not gently placed into a pit. Often it’s more like getting cast into the pit by your hair. David was both scared of being out of God’s presence and scared to be in His presence. He clearly understood His sin and who it was against primarily…God Himself.

Side note/evangelism tip…please change the phrase “separated from God for eternity” to “go to Hell for eternity.” Why in the world would a person who hates God and are enemies of God (see Col. 1:21, James 4:4) care if they are forced to live forever without being in His presence. Duhh! (This is a highly theological yet relevant term for “He who has ears let him listen up!”) It sounds like a great thing to be separate from God until you get there and realize you don’t just party with your friends there! (For more info, search Bible for such phrases as “worm that doesn’t turn”, fire, brimstone, damnation, etc…)

Take. Take is our second verb. While I firmly believe you, once firmly and soundly saved, can not lose your salvation, nor can someone take it from you, I must acknowledge that there are a couple verses in the New Testament that make me say hmmm?!?, but this clearly isn’t one of them. David wasn’t in the same Covenant as we are. The Holy Spirit had a different role to an Old Testament King than an indwelt Holy Spirit does to a present day believer. Today the Holy Spirit, upon repenting and trusting Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, indwells you as a down payment of God’s presence in Heaven. He acts as a kind of teleprompter, a sin sniffer-outer (another highly theologically strong term), and many, many other things for a believer. To David, the Holy Spirit was an anointer, a wisdom-giver, and a protector for a King, and, therefore, not operationally the same as for us. He was afraid of falling out of God’s favor, not afraid of having God remove Himself, for a lack of a better/more sophisticated term, from David’s self. David knew first hand that one of the worst things that can happen is for God to give in and say “OK, have it your way...and take what happens as your lesson!” The thought of having God say this to me sends chills up my spine, as it would have David as well. Terrifying!

Restore. Have you ever done something really stupid to your best friend or your spouse? Finally an area I am an expert in! David desperately wants to be restored to God’s favor. Much like when I do something to make my way-better-than-I-deserve wife furious in my every day life, I yearn to make up with her so she isn’t upset with me, David, in an exponentially more profound amount wants to restore the fellowship he had with God. Nehemiah 8:10b says “for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” David wanted the joy back! Just reconciling with an angry wife or a sinned-against God isn’t enough. David desperately wants restored fellowship to as good then better than it was before, yet fears the worst.

Sustain. David wants to never do it again. He had sinned against God in a profound way and wants to stop. He needs sustaining power. Other translations call it upholding, but all point to desired holiness and help retreating from sin. Scottish preacher and evangelist Robert Murray McCheyne, as quoted in C.H. Spurgeon’s Expositions of the Psalms, writes brilliantly “I am tempted to think that I am now an established Christian, that I have overcome this or that lust so long that I have got into the habit of the opposite grace, so that there is no fear; I may venture very near the temptation, nearer than other men. This is a lie of Satan. I might as well speak of gunpowder getting by habit a power of resisting fire, so as not to catch the spark. As long as the powder is wet it resists the spark, but when it is dry it is ready to explode at the first touch. As long as the Spirit dwells in my heart, He deadens me to sin, so that if lawfully called through temptation I may recon upon God carrying me through. But when the Spirit leaves me, I am like dry gunpowder. Oh for a sense of this!” (FYI : The Spirit of God always technically dwells in a believer’s heart, but our sin breaks fellowship with Him and builds up calluses that make resisting temptation harder and harder, leaving the impression, like McCheyne says, that the Spirit has left.) McCheyne knew the Holy Spirit of God is our sustainer in resisting temptation. David wanted, and needs this help badly!
As a matter of application, where are you with God? Are you a believer who has become calloused to your sin? Do you believe at all? Do you think sin is a big deal? Look at Exodus 20 and read the Ten Commandments as a tool to check to see if you are “good enough” to go to heaven. Have you ever told a lie? Have you really wanted something someone else has? Have you ever committed adultery, or even lusted in your heart? Now reread Psalm 51 and know who your sin is against. Think of it like murder. Murder a dog, get a fine. Murder a homeless man, get 15 years. Murder the president, get the chair. Who the offense is against makes all the difference in the penalty. God is Holy. God is perfectly just. Sin against Him at your own risk. David understood the ramifications…do you?

Weight update: 287.6…lost 4 pounds for a total of 49…little over half an Olson twin. God has been merciful and so very good to me!
Memory Verse: Romans 3:10.
Prayer request: I leave on a Mission trip to New Orleans Saturday morning. We are helping rebuild a church destroyed by Katrina.