Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a fascinating article on the subject “Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches.”  It suggests that churches grow during recessions because people who are “shaken to the core” by economic distress turn to the Lord for help and encouragement.  Many churches in the New York area are experiencing a surge of growth; and nationwide, churches of all sizes are presenting programs of practical advice for people in fiscal straits.

The article goes on to observe that many of the great revivals of the 19^th century occurred during economic panics.  The famous Fulton Street Revival (also known as the Businessman’s Revival), started in Manhattan in 1857 as businessmen began gathering for noontime prayer.  It swept over the nation and is remembered as one of America’s greatest revivals, leading tens of thousands to Christ and creating a host of para-church organizations.

David Beckworth, a professor of economy at Texas State University, had done research showing that during each recession cycle between 1968 and 2004, the growth rate of evangelical churches jumped by 50 percent.

I’m not ready to pray for recession; I’m praying that we’ll get out of it.  But I’m encouraged to know that God works all for good, and if it takes a recession to bring a revival it may well be worth the cost.

To read the entire article in the Times, click here: 

I’ve been working on my sermon series for 2009, which is a year-long sequence of messages on 100 different Bible verses everyone should know by heart.  Three of the first four verses come from John’s Gospel (John 1:1, John 1:14, and John 3:16).  As I prepared these messages, I recalled the old advice to new converts to read John’s Gospel first.  The apostle John uses the simplest words in the language to convey the deepest thoughts in the universe.

You can read through the Gospel of John in about the time it takes to watch your favorite hour-long television show (it took me 54 minutes).  Here’s a very simple outline to help you in reading through the Fourth Gospel.

1. Prologue:  John 1a
2. Jesus’ Public Ministry (largely in Judea) – John 1b-12
3. Jesus’ Private Ministry (largely in the Upper Room) – John 13-17
4. Jesus’ Death and Resurrection – John 18-20
5. Epilogue – John 21

It’ll be 54 well-spent minutes this Christmas Season!

In today’s sermon, I refered to a book that was written exactly 100 years ago, in 1908, by William E. Blackstone, entitled “Jesus is Coming.” According to John Walvoord, “More than any other single book, it proved a study in eschatology which served to introduce the twentieth century as a time for intense study of prophecy.”

Chapter 17 of “Jesus is Coming” is very short. The chapter heading is “A Practical Doctrine,” and here Blackstone provides a list of 40 ways in which the truth of the Second Coming should affect our lives.

This book is available on-line, and I thought you might like Blackstone’s list of the 40 ways in which the doctrine of the Second Coming can strengthen, improve, motivate, and encourage us in our daily life. Just click this link:http://www.raptureready.com/resource/web/web17.html

I wasn’t able to cover 40 points today, but for my sermon on five ways we’re impacted by the truth of the Second Coming, hit this link: http://www.donelson.org/pocket/pp-081214.html.

If you are looking for a devotional book for the coming year or needing a gift for another, please check out my newest release, My All in All. Several years ago, when I was worried about a particular matter, I read 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your care on Him, for He cares for you.” I was struck by the power of that word ALL. The verse would have read perfectly without it; but by including it in the text, the Lord expanded the promise to infinite levels. Then I noticed that this little word ALL is in many of the other great promises and commands in the Bible. Doing a search, I found nearly 6,000 ALLs, and from those I selected 366 for this book.

I believe that the remarkable inclusion of this little word in so many verses is a reflection of the all-qualities of God–He is all-powerful, all-knowing, always present, and so forth. When you see that little word ALL in a verse, it is the Lord’s way of assuring us that His omni-attributes are available, and that He is ALL we need in ALL situations.

I hope My All in All will be a great blessing to you. You can order by clicking this link; I’ll be glad to sign and personalize each book as you would like.

During my trip to Rome this fall, I was eager to track down the remains of the Apostle Paul. He was beheaded in Rome in the mid-60s. As it turns out, his body seems to be in one place and his severed head in another.

His body: The Vatican announced two years ago that the sarcophagus of St. Paul has been re-discovered under the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. I think this is very likely a true find. The basilica was built over previous ancient church that dates from the late 300s, and presumably the resting place of Paul was an honored spot in the early centuries of the church.

His Head: Paul’s scull, however, is another matter. It’s reputed to be in a container within a brass cage suspended above the altar of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (see picture). I think this is possible, too, and I spent a good deal of time last October peering up at that gilded cage and wondering about it. Peter’s head is supposed to be up there, too. But I can’t determine why the head of Peter would be enclosed in a container beside Paul’s head. Peter wasn’t beheaded, but crucified.

I’ll keep researching it. None of it really matters much, I guess. But it’s one of those questions that plays along the edges of my brain.

PS – If you’re interested in what became of the Twelve Apostles, it’s hard to beat this old book by William S. McBirnie: http://www.amazon.com/Search-Twelve-Apostles-William-McBirnie/dp/0842358390

This has been a draining week, and I awoke this morning in the lowest spirits I’ve felt in a long time.  I was later than usually getting to my Quiet Time, but I dutifully started reading where I left off yesterday, near the end of 1 Corinthians 14.  Coming to chapter 15, I started reading about Easter—1 Corinthians 15 is called the “Resurrection Chapter” of the Bible.  I noticed an item in verse 5:  The risen Christ appeared to Peter.

This thought came to me:  My mood is not as hopeless as Peter’s on the Saturday of Crucifixion week.  My despair is not as deep.  My pain is not as great.  My loss is not as severe.  My circumstances are not as crushing.

It turned out all right for Peter, and it will for us. The realities of the risen Christ mean that problems are temporary and that better days are ahead.  On difficult days, one must focus on the Risen Christ.

PS – For further encouragement, there is a very uplifting article on the front page of today’s New York Times.  Composer Elliott Carter celebrated his 100th birthday last night at Carnegie Hall, and the program included a 17-minute piece for piano and orchestra that he composed last year, at age 98.  In fact, since turing 90, Mr. Carter has poured out more than 40 published pieces.  Maybe we’re not as old as we think we are!  Maybe there’s still lots of fresh surges up in our minds and down in our hearts.  You can read the entire article here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/arts/music/12carter.html?hp 

A headline in this week’s London Telegraph says “Words Associatd with Christiaity and British History Taken Out of Children’s Dictionary.” The word “saint” is out, but the word “celebrity” is in. Words like “aisle,” “biship,” and “chapel” have been replaced with words like “blog,” “broadband,” and voicemail.” The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multifaith society. But one objecting professor summed it up perfectly when he said, “The word selections are a very interesting reflection of the way childhood is going, moving away from our spiritual background and the natural world and toward the world that information technology creates for us.”

You can find the entire article here.

I love great creation hymns like “All Creatures of Our God and King” and “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” and “Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.”  One of the newest is called “Creation Sings” by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend.  You can listen to it here:  http://www.gettymusic.com/creationsings.asp. 

There is a much older creation hymn that is little known and seldom sung, but the words are quite vivid and wonderful.  It’s from the pen of a great American Christian educator, Sewall Sylvester Cutting, who wanted to show the power of God in nature, science, providence, and grace.  Cutting was born in Windsor, Vermont, in 1813, and enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a pastor, an editor, an educator, and a denominational leader.  On January 16, 1882, while in his son’s home in Brooklyn, he suffered a paralyzing seizure.  He lingered for about three weeks before passing away.  I confess I’ve never heard this hymn sung, but the words vividly portray our Lord’s great power as Creator.

God of the world, near and afar,

They glories shine in earth and star;

We see Thy love in opening flower,

In distant orb Thy wondrous power.

God of our lives! The throbbing heart

Doth at Thy beck its action start;

Throbes on, obedient to Thy will,

Or ceases at Thy fatal chill.

God of eternal life!  Thy love

Doth every stain of sin remove;

The cross, the cross, its hallowed light

Shall drive from earth her cheerless night.

God of all goodness!  To the skies

Our hearts in grateful anthems rise;

And to Thy service shall be given

The rest of life, the whole of heaven.

Three times in the Bible, prayer is likened to incense.  We see it at the beginning of Scripture, in the very middle, and at the end of the Bible.

1.  This subject is introduced in Exodus 30, when God commands that an altar of incense be made for the tabernacle, and at the end of the chapter He gives a specific recipe for how the spices are to blended.

2.  At mid-Scripture, we have Psalm 141:2:  “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”

3.  And in Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4, we read that our prayers ascend to heaven like incense; and we’re even told that, figuratively speaking, God collects our prayers like incense in golden bowls.

So how is prayer like incense?  I need to give that more thought, but here are some initial ideas:  (A) Its raw material comes from God; (B) it is ignited in a burning censer (our hearts); (C) it’s pleasant to our senses and improves our environments, (D) it ascends upward naturally, and (E) it pleases the heart of our Heavenly Father and perfumes heaven.  In my book, that makes it one of the most vivid pictures of prayer in all the Bible.

PS – The above copy of the Jewish Altar of Incense is from the replica of the Tabernace found on the grounds of the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.   Years ago, Katrina, the girls, and I attended a performance and found it deeply moving.  More info is at www.greatpassionplay.com. 

Friend Jane Greenway pulled me aside one day and explained the virtues of oil paintings. “They are pleasing on the eyes,” she said, “and they relax the mind. There’s something about oil that enhances the beauty of a home.” She and Patricia Woods gave me an oil of an old church and another of a small flock of sheep along a country road.

Since then, Katrina and I have slowly been collecting oil paintings. We don’t pay a fortune for them, so we have to scout around for moderate pieces.

On occasion I’ve bought inexpensive paintings from street artists overseas. I found the above (left) painting in Rome this fall, and we’re having it stretched and framed during the 60% off sale at Michael’s. It’s a little French bistro with a table ready for Katrina and me (I think we’ll have quiche).

One of my favorite Tennessee painters is Ken Simmelink, from my hometown of Elizabethton (www.kens-paintings.com). His Appalachian Autumn hangs over my desk at home, and his Roan Mountain Memories hangs in my office at church.

There are three small paintings in my study that I value more than all the rest. They were done by my mother, and they’re quite good. Two are of flowers, and the third is a seascape.

I wish I were a painter, but I can only try to paint with words. But when my mind tires of that, I glance around the walls to rest my eyes and relax my mind