WHAT MOVES YOU?   (Jan 08)

What moved me this week? An appeal of the Bethany Police Chief and the tearful, spoken gratitude from a grieving mother seemed more than enough motivation. The body of Lauren Barnes still has not been found as this CrossTies is being written. Her young lover, and father of the child she was carrying, is suspected of taking her life and disposing of her body in a wooded area outside of our city. Yesterday morning around 300 volunteers gathered to search more than 1000 acres of heavy brush and trees in an area of the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge. Rick Crooks and I were among that group of volunteers. We were first assigned to a group of about 20 volunteers that was lead by an Oklahoma City Police Officer. Later, a group of officers from the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s department invited Rick and me to join their search team. We were instructed to be looking primarily for the body of the young 20 year old girl, along with any of her personal articles, clothing, jewelry or her purse. The morning progressed with us traversing the brush and rough terrain. When the Police Chief called the search off in the early afternoon Rick and I were not ready to quit. We stopped for a bite to eat and then drove back by the Wildlife refuge in hopes we might see some of the County Sheriff’s department still at work and be invited back into search. While the Police Chief seemed contented that a grid search had been completed, something lingered inside our hearts that the task would not be complete until the grieving family had closure.

What moved the Apostle Paul? Paul seemed to express his motivation to the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20:22-24. Warned repeatedly not to go to Jerusalem because hardships and persecution awaited him, the same Holy Spirit was relentless in compelling him to go. We must appreciate the fact that Paul was not deterred by the difficult terrain that God was calling him to traverse. He would even boldly say, "None of these things move me" (v 24, KJV). He was compelled to complete his God-given task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. The Holy Spirit had left no doubt that Paul’s finish line included, as it had for Jesus, going to Jerusalem. Paul would not be stopped.

What moves you? Even as I typed this CrossTies I am called away to minister to a family that has come by our church for help. Their needs are so many: no food, no jobs, their utilities are shut off and soon they will be retreating into the homes of relatives with an eviction coming within 48 hours. The woman could not contain her great sorrow and tears. But this families’ greatest need comes right above their signature on our benevolent forms—religious affiliation. Maybe a better question than religious affiliation would be, "How are you and Jesus doing these days?" There is little wonder why Paul could not be deterred from his mission. Others needed desperately to know about Jesus before it was too late. If he didn’t tell them, who would? If you're not motivated to traverse the rough terrain that others might be found, who will? As we began this New Year, may Jesus bless his church with the courage and motivation to tell His story to those who are hurting, hopeless and lost.

(LaurenBarnes body was found the day after this article was written. She had been buried 3 feet deep in the search area and covered with debris.)

—Bill Adcox

THE BIBLE AND JACK  (Feb 08)

Let it be known he was an uninvited guest! In our inaugural meeting, Jack had the audacity to enter my yard and then take a swipe at me, even biting my daughter, Felicia, as the tension escalated. This small purse-sized pooch had "run away" from home and then refused to be handled by the strangers at the Adcox household. The experience with Jack caused me to think of another painful encounter for many people. After almost 30 years of full-time preaching, it’s hard to convince some folks that understanding the bible has no similarity to my experience in trying to pick up Jack. After all, both packages appear small in size and easily manageable, but without proper instruction the entire ordeal has the potential to end up being a very painful encounter!

2008 is seeing a new venture around my home congregation; we’re tackling the bible with a new tool for us, The Daily Bible. This unique book, like other chronological bibles, lets you easily follow biblical history and truth from the creation to Revelation in the order of its occurrence. With 365 daily reading portions, the reader can systematically progress through the entire bible in a single year. The Psalms are grouped by themes, with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes topically arranged. The laws of Moses are easier to comprehend and the major and minor prophets don’t leave you confused wondering where their inspired teachings ought to fit into the major scheme of the whole story. The life of Christ is not merely another parallel of the gospels, but an integrated, easy to follow, account of Jesus’ life.

Throw into the mix a down to earth commentary by Church of Christ author, F. Lagard Smith, and we are looking at this being a winning combination for our congregation in 2008. The truth is that whether folks use a special study bible or their traditional bible, growing in our relationship and knowledge of Jesus is the focus. It’s not the name droppers or folks doing religious things (Matthew 7:21) who are eternally accepted, but "everyone who hears these words…and puts them into practice" (v 24). This faith relationship with Christ is so simple that it is often missed by friends and criticized as being unfathomable by its foes.

As to our meeting with the pint-sized Jack, it turned out to be a blessing getting to know his owner and our new neighbor. The neighbor did let us in on a secret: Jack just doesn’t like strangers! The scriptures are a little bit like Jack. To the casual fellow picking up the bible, the unfortunate encounter might leave that person feeling a little overwhelmed, confused, maybe even an outsider. But make the Bible accessible, especially a person's own language, and the possibilities of that type of meeting are priceless. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path" (Psalm 199: 103-104).

—Bill Adcox

A JUDAH IN JESUS' FAMILY TREE (March 08)

Family trees can be fraught with skeletons! I remember once asking my late grandmother, Bessie Blackerby-Sanner-Campbell-Robertson-Wooldridge, about doing a genealogical study on our family. It didn’t take her very long to inform me that trudging through family history was just inviting trouble. She expected I would unearth a bank robber—maybe a murderer. Oddly, a few years ago one of her cousins did a Blackerby family tree, tracing part of our "roots" back to England and found one of their cousins had become Jesse James’ stepmother. What my dear grandmother feared most was actually true.

Recently, while reading through the book of Genesis, the "family tree" of Jesus captured my attention. The New Testament lists Jesus’ pedigree through his legal father, Joseph, in the Gospel of Matthew and then the physician Luke traced his family tree through his mother, Mary. Both genealogical lists leave no doubt that Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of King David. Of interest, both lists contain some kinfolks of Jesus that might make us raise our eyebrows. Among those who immediately catch our attention are individuals like wicked King Manasseh, Rahab the harlot and a woman by the name of Ruth who was a Moabite, the notorious enemy of God’s people. While reading about some of the earliest members of Jesus’ family in Genesis I came across Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. Judah’s notable activities included the sale of his "troublesome" brother Joseph to the Midianites and his separation from his father Jacob and the rest of the family. Judah married a Canaanite woman and then he watched Jehovah God kill two of his sons because God could no longer stand their sinfulness. Following the death of his wife, Judah went with his friend, Hirah, to join the shepherds who were shearing their sheep. While on the trip he casually hired what he believed to be a Canaanite temple prostitute but who turned out to be his very own daughter-in-law, Tamar. A pregnant Tamar then gave birth to twins, Perez and Zerah, with firstborn Perez finding his place in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Reading through the book of Genesis some might mistakenly assume that Jacob’s notable son, Joseph, is the Abrahamic bloodline heir of Christ. After all, he’s the obedient, God fearing son whom God uses to save the entire Israelite family. God sent Joseph, 11th son of Jacob, into captivity and slavery knowing he would remain faithful and faithful he was! God used Judah, fourth son of Jacob, to eventually bring the Lion of Judah, Jesus—not because Judah had a higher morality or was even more obedient. Judah’s claim to fame might easily be that he didn’t mess up as terribly as his three older brothers. Why would God allow someone of Judah’s character to become mixed up in the bloodline of the Messiah? Simply said, God was keeping his word to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that through their seed he would bless the world. What a powerful testimony for us! All of those names listed on Jesus’ family tree are there first and foremost because of God’s grace. Not a person on the list deserves to stand on the same family stage with Jesus, even as none of us deserve to be found listed in the Lamb’s book of life. But maybe most assuring is the fact that some of those names found in Jesus’ pedigree, like Judah and King Manasseh, are there to forever prove that in spite of man’s sinfulness, our God always keeps his word.

—Bill Adcox

BATHTUB STORIES THAT DON'T HOLD WATER (April 08)

Most preachers are probably guilty of using a falsehood or two in their preaching, whether unwittingly or not.  Recently I heard an old illustration resurface in a new sermon. Maybe you’ve heard it---or even used it.  It’s about the invention of the American bathtub.  Let me share the great bathtub hoax as referenced by Thomas E. Woods in his book, 33 Questions About American History You’re Not Supposed to Ask. The hoax’s originator, H.L. Mencken, first published the fabricated story on December 28, 1917, at the fictitious 75^th anniversary of the American Bathtub for the New York Evening Mail.   Mencken credited England as the land where the bathtub originated and acknowledged an Adam Thompson as the American who came up with the idea to use pipe to supply water and drain the bathtub. It was then that his hoax took on its oft-repeated saga that the first bathtub, while loved by many, was rebuffed by the majority as a dangerous luxury that would undermine the republican simplicity of American society.  He claimed the medical profession even denounced the bathtub as a health hazard.  Mencken later acknowledged that his article was a hoax---“a burlesque history of the bathtub” that was filled with so many “obvious absurdities” from start to finish that any sensible person would have immediately recognized it.  Oddly, he received letters from those who sought to “corroborate” his bathtub fable as being true. The hoax spread quickly, even being shared in speeches from doctors, preachers and congressmen. It even made its way into several reference books!

Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, but heaven help us if fables are made into fact. Maybe it’s just the nature of a juicy story that makes them spread so quickly.  Did doctors object to folks taking a bath? Could it be true that on November 1, 1845 bathing was supposedly made illegal because it was thought to be unhealthy? None of Mencken’s “facts” had a shred of truth to them, yet stopping this 1917 yarn still seems impossible as was evidenced recently from a local pulpit or a quick search of sermon bathtub illustrations on the internet!

I rather doubt Mencken’s hoax has negatively affected many lives, but I know a number of other water stories that should really capture our attention. Hoaxes?  Fables? Not in the least!  Three thousand took a dip on Pentecost changing their religious direction in a day, an Ethiopian treasurer ask a Jew on a dusty Gaza Road to bury him in water, an earthquake and the sermon from a couple of preachers with bloody backs lead a Philippians jailer into his watery grave.  Life is really stranger than fiction.  Different roads. Different preachers. Different bodies of water, yet the same pattern of obedience. The same Lord. The same eternal results.  Water stories---you have to love them, especially the ones that are true!

—Bill Adcox

LEAVE GOD AT HOME WHEN YOU VACATION?  (May 08)

NOBODY'S FOOL (JUNE 08)

AUGUST CROSSTIES - DAVID'S FIVE STONES