We are so utterly ordinary and commonplace, while we profess to know a Power the twentieth century does not reckon with. But we are ‘harmless’, and therefore unharmed. We are spiritual pacifists, non-militants, conscientious objectors in this battle-to-the-death with principalities and powers in high places. Meekness must be had for contact with men, but brass, outspoken boldness is required to take part in the comradeship of the Cross. We are ‘sideliners’ – coaching and criticizing the real wresters while content to sit by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. The world cannot hate us, we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous!

– Jim Elliot

This month of December is unique for us in one way, and because of that, we especially ask your prayers over the next 4 weeks if you think of us. Our schedule is as follows:

– This weekend, December 3-4, preaching at Grace Church, Mt. Pleasant, Texas

– December 10-14, Madison, Alabama, preaching 3 times at Grace Baptist Church, Madison

– December 16-21, New York City, with Linda, and preaching at Grace Baptist Church in the city on Sunday, December 18th

– Home for Christmas December 22-26th

– Amarillo Texas December 27-January 6th, where I am scheduled for eye surgery on both eyes, which will be done on December 29 and the second surgery on January 5.

This is a busy schedule this time of the year, and we truly need and ask your prayers.

Warmly yours with thanks, and praying you are experiencing the presence and love of Christ our Lord.

– Mack and Linda

Don’t Take the Bible for Granted

William Tyndale, from his prison cell in Vilvorde, Belgium, wrote to the Marquis of Bergen, the governor of the jail where he was being held captive before he was strangled and his body burned. Listen to what William Tyndale wrote; ‘I entreat your lordship, and that by the Lord Jesus, that if I must remain here for the winter you would beg the Commissary to be so kind as to send me, from the things of mine which he has, a warmer cap; I feel the cold painfully in my head. Also a warmer cloak, for the cloak I have is very thin. He has a woolen shirt of mine, if he will also send it. But most of all my Hebrew Bible, Grammar and Vocabulary, that I may spend my time in that pursuit.’ How one’s emotions are stirred in read those words! What a price some men paid that we might have what we take for granted, the word of God in our own language.

– Geoff Thomas

This month of December is unique for us in one way, and because of that, we especially ask your prayers over the next 4 weeks if you think of us. Our schedule is as follows:

– This weekend, December 3-4, preaching at Grace Church, Mt. Pleasant, Texas

– December 10-14, Madison, Alabama, preaching 3 times at Grace Baptist Church, Madison

– December 16-21, New York City, with Linda, and preaching at Grace Baptist Church in the city on Sunday, December 18th

– Home for Christmas December 22-26th

– Amarillo Texas December 27-January 6th, where I am scheduled for eye surgery on both eyes, which will be done on December 29 and the second surgery on January 5.

This is a busy schedule this time of the year, and we truly need and ask your prayers.

Warmly yours with thanks, and praying you are experiencing the presence and love of Christ our Lord.

– Mack and Linda

Don’t Take the Bible for Granted

William Tyndale, from his prison cell in Vilvorde, Belgium, wrote to the Marquis of Bergen, the governor of the jail where he was being held captive before he was strangled and his body burned. Listen to what William Tyndale wrote; ‘I entreat your lordship, and that by the Lord Jesus, that if I must remain here for the winter you would beg the Commissary to be so kind as to send me, from the things of mine which he has, a warmer cap; I feel the cold painfully in my head. Also a warmer cloak, for the cloak I have is very thin. He has a woolen shirt of mine, if he will also send it. But most of all my Hebrew Bible, Grammar and Vocabulary, that I may spend my time in that pursuit.’ How one’s emotions are stirred in read those words! What a price some men paid that we might have what we take for granted, the word of God in our own language.

– Geoff Thomas

Jesus is an Adam because he was made like us in every respect, apart from sin, and is the head of a new humanity. He is second because no man between Adam and Christ entered the world without sin. He is second also to remind us that he entered the world without sin himself. He is also second to remind us that he entered a fallen world, not the pristine world of the first Adam. Christ is last because there is not, and need not be, any like him who followed after him, since he reverses what Adam did in his sin and also accomplishes for us what Adam failed to do.

— Sinclair Ferguson

Jesus is an Adam because he was made like us in every respect, apart from sin, and is the head of a new humanity. He is second because no man between Adam and Christ entered the world without sin. He is second also to remind us that he entered the world without sin himself. He is also second to remind us that he entered a fallen world, not the pristine world of the first Adam. Christ is last because there is not, and need not be, any like him who followed after him, since he reverses what Adam did in his sin and also accomplishes for us what Adam failed to do.

— Sinclair Ferguson

‘For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.’ – 2 Samuel 19:6

All men are tempted by the big three- women, children, and power. We see the big three and the damage they can do in the life of King David. We saw last the folly of running red lights. God put before David at least nine ‘stop lights’ to keep him from his adulterous liaison with Bathsheba, but in his folly, he went for it and brought devastating consequences upon his family and kingdom.

Men battle not just the folly of other women or the pursuit of power, but also the folly of failing to fill the holes they eventually see in their children. Take David’s dealings with his son Absalom as a sad example. I see at least seven holes in Absalom’s life upon which David failed to act.

Hole number one. Samuel tells us that David had many wives (2 Samuel 5:13) though he does not give us the exact number. Scripture records eight of them and one, Maacah, was the mother of Absalom (2 Samuel 3:3). Absalom was born long before David’s adultery with Bathsheba but David’s problems with women did not merely begin there. Absalom would have witnessed his father’s undisciplined life with many different women. Take away- your children are not stupid. They see what you are doing. They are watching your every move, how you get too close to women who are not their mother.

Hole number two. Half brother Ammon lusts after half sister Tamar (Absalom’s full sister) and rapes her. Absalom plots vengeance against Ammon, eventually murdering him. While justly angry at Ammon’s violating of his sister, Absalom’s fratricide was unjustified. David did nothing to stop Absalom. Take away- teach your children to appeal to God ordained authority to right the wrongs they see or experience. They must never gain the idea that vigilante justice is acceptable.

Hole number three. After discovering that Absalom had committed fratricide, David did nothing to discipline his son. The narrative of the text is now making clear that David favored Absalom over all his other children. He mourned the departure of Absalom and was glad that Ammon was now dead (2 Samuel 13:39). Take away-never play favorites with your children. Never allow them to engage in vengeful actions against anyone, especially their siblings.

Hole number four. David was conned by Joab, his nephew, the captain of David’s army. Joab sent a widow woman from Tekoa to set up David with a bogus story about one of her two son’s killing the other son, asking David to protect her son against retribution, something he agrees to do. She then draws the noose around David’s neck by challenging him for being inconsistent. If he would protect her son from retribution, why would he not protect his own son and bring him back from exile? Take away- do not spare your children the discipline they need. Do not indulge them in their wickedness. Stop it early. It is much easier to discipline a three year old that a sixteen year old.
Hole number five. Absalom was a strikingly handsome man who lived a privileged life as the king’s favored son. The long story of Absalom (taking up seven chapters of 2 Samuel) reveals how David repeatedly coddled and indulged his son. After David foolishly recalled Absalom, though still requiring him to live away from the king, Absalom demanded that Joab visit him. When Joab was slow to answer, Absalom had Joab’s field burned, destroying his crop of barley. Joab caved. So did David, granting Absalom full access to his presence. Take away- failure to do the difficult business of discipline, leaving unchecked the undisciplined life, will lead inevitably to more and more outrageous demands and family disruption.

Hole number six. Daddy David allowed Absalom access to opulence. Though Absalom has a long history of irresponsible and reckless behavior, David still allows his favored son a chariot, horses, and a posse of fifty men. Second Samuel 15 reports that Absalom hung out daily with his posse at the gate, siding with the people as they came to present their cases before David, suggesting not too subtly that he would make a much better king than David. Thus Absalom stole the hearts of the people from the king. David seemed to not know how to form the word ‘No,’ on his lips as he spoke with Absalom. The favored son wanted to leave town for Hebron and David let him go. This, of course, is the time and place where Absalom raised the insurrection against his own father, usurping the kingdom from him. Take away-the grace of expanding freedom is fine when you are dealing with an obedient child; but when you have one who is serially disobedient, manipulative, and deceiving, you have no choice but to hem him in with the law. ‘No, you cannot go there. No you cannot have a car. No, you cannot wear that short dress.’

Hole number seven. We read in 2 Samuel 18,19 the story of Absalom eventually being killed in battle and the kingdom restored to David. However when David hears that his favored son, the one who has caused him untold heartache, is dead; David weeps profusely, uncontrollably, and unwisely. Joab severely rebukes David, suggesting that David would be happy if all his people and faithful leaders were dead, as long as his beloved Absalom was still alive. Take away- do not allow yourself to be blinded by your children’s rebellion. Behavior you would never approve in others, you may possibly allow in your children, perhaps because you are misguided, thinking that you are to be your child’s best buddy. Don’t go there. When law nor grace have worked and your rebellious older child is utterly disrupting your family life; in order to save the rest of your children and to maintain the peace in your family, you may have to remove the wayward child for a season from your home.

And last but certainly not least, you must never forget to pray for your children, asking God the Holy Spirit to take out the rebellious heart that loves sin and hates God, what I like to call the cobra heart (Psalm 58:4); and to give them the heart of Jesus in regenerating grace. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Pray for your children. Evangelize your children. Ask God to give them a new heart which loves God and hates sin.

– Al Baker

‘For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased.’ – 2 Samuel 19:6

All men are tempted by the big three- women, children, and power. We see the big three and the damage they can do in the life of King David. We saw last the folly of running red lights. God put before David at least nine ‘stop lights’ to keep him from his adulterous liaison with Bathsheba, but in his folly, he went for it and brought devastating consequences upon his family and kingdom.

Men battle not just the folly of other women or the pursuit of power, but also the folly of failing to fill the holes they eventually see in their children. Take David’s dealings with his son Absalom as a sad example. I see at least seven holes in Absalom’s life upon which David failed to act.

Hole number one. Samuel tells us that David had many wives (2 Samuel 5:13) though he does not give us the exact number. Scripture records eight of them and one, Maacah, was the mother of Absalom (2 Samuel 3:3). Absalom was born long before David’s adultery with Bathsheba but David’s problems with women did not merely begin there. Absalom would have witnessed his father’s undisciplined life with many different women. Take away- your children are not stupid. They see what you are doing. They are watching your every move, how you get too close to women who are not their mother.

Hole number two. Half brother Ammon lusts after half sister Tamar (Absalom’s full sister) and rapes her. Absalom plots vengeance against Ammon, eventually murdering him. While justly angry at Ammon’s violating of his sister, Absalom’s fratricide was unjustified. David did nothing to stop Absalom. Take away- teach your children to appeal to God ordained authority to right the wrongs they see or experience. They must never gain the idea that vigilante justice is acceptable.

Hole number three. After discovering that Absalom had committed fratricide, David did nothing to discipline his son. The narrative of the text is now making clear that David favored Absalom over all his other children. He mourned the departure of Absalom and was glad that Ammon was now dead (2 Samuel 13:39). Take away-never play favorites with your children. Never allow them to engage in vengeful actions against anyone, especially their siblings.

Hole number four. David was conned by Joab, his nephew, the captain of David’s army. Joab sent a widow woman from Tekoa to set up David with a bogus story about one of her two son’s killing the other son, asking David to protect her son against retribution, something he agrees to do. She then draws the noose around David’s neck by challenging him for being inconsistent. If he would protect her son from retribution, why would he not protect his own son and bring him back from exile? Take away- do not spare your children the discipline they need. Do not indulge them in their wickedness. Stop it early. It is much easier to discipline a three year old that a sixteen year old.
Hole number five. Absalom was a strikingly handsome man who lived a privileged life as the king’s favored son. The long story of Absalom (taking up seven chapters of 2 Samuel) reveals how David repeatedly coddled and indulged his son. After David foolishly recalled Absalom, though still requiring him to live away from the king, Absalom demanded that Joab visit him. When Joab was slow to answer, Absalom had Joab’s field burned, destroying his crop of barley. Joab caved. So did David, granting Absalom full access to his presence. Take away- failure to do the difficult business of discipline, leaving unchecked the undisciplined life, will lead inevitably to more and more outrageous demands and family disruption.

Hole number six. Daddy David allowed Absalom access to opulence. Though Absalom has a long history of irresponsible and reckless behavior, David still allows his favored son a chariot, horses, and a posse of fifty men. Second Samuel 15 reports that Absalom hung out daily with his posse at the gate, siding with the people as they came to present their cases before David, suggesting not too subtly that he would make a much better king than David. Thus Absalom stole the hearts of the people from the king. David seemed to not know how to form the word ‘No,’ on his lips as he spoke with Absalom. The favored son wanted to leave town for Hebron and David let him go. This, of course, is the time and place where Absalom raised the insurrection against his own father, usurping the kingdom from him. Take away-the grace of expanding freedom is fine when you are dealing with an obedient child; but when you have one who is serially disobedient, manipulative, and deceiving, you have no choice but to hem him in with the law. ‘No, you cannot go there. No you cannot have a car. No, you cannot wear that short dress.’

Hole number seven. We read in 2 Samuel 18,19 the story of Absalom eventually being killed in battle and the kingdom restored to David. However when David hears that his favored son, the one who has caused him untold heartache, is dead; David weeps profusely, uncontrollably, and unwisely. Joab severely rebukes David, suggesting that David would be happy if all his people and faithful leaders were dead, as long as his beloved Absalom was still alive. Take away- do not allow yourself to be blinded by your children’s rebellion. Behavior you would never approve in others, you may possibly allow in your children, perhaps because you are misguided, thinking that you are to be your child’s best buddy. Don’t go there. When law nor grace have worked and your rebellious older child is utterly disrupting your family life; in order to save the rest of your children and to maintain the peace in your family, you may have to remove the wayward child for a season from your home.

And last but certainly not least, you must never forget to pray for your children, asking God the Holy Spirit to take out the rebellious heart that loves sin and hates God, what I like to call the cobra heart (Psalm 58:4); and to give them the heart of Jesus in regenerating grace. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Pray for your children. Evangelize your children. Ask God to give them a new heart which loves God and hates sin.

– Al Baker

‘David sent messengers and took her . . . he lay with her.’ – 2 Samuel 11:4.
When Israel clamored for a king, Yahweh relented and gave them Saul, but after Saul’s disobedience, God promised another king after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). When Paul the apostle was addressing the Jews at Pisidian Antioch, reviewing the salvation history of Israel, he referred to David as a man after God’s own heart, one who would do His will (Acts 13:22). So, how could a man after God’s own heart, who wrote these marvelous Psalms, who expressed a profound depth of holiness and zeal (Psalm 22, 47, 63), fall into the grievous sin of adultery and then exacerbate the problem by having his adulteress’s husband murdered? The answer-David ran nine red lights God had graciously put before him.

Red light number one. Israel was in the midst of war with the nation of Ammon when the Arameans sided with Ammon against Israel. David gathered his army and crossed the Jordan River at Helam and routed the Arameans (2 Samuel 10:15-19). The Ammonites had not yet been conquered so the war continued, but David was not there in the war theater. It was the spring of the year, after the rains, when the roads are dry, that armies would typically move out of camp and face their enemies. David stayed home. He sent Joab to conquer the Ammonites (2 Samuel 11:1). In other words, David was neglecting his kingly responsibilities. Take away-stay in the fight. Stay busy. Idle time in hotels, coffee shops, or restaurants are breeding grounds for licentious behavior.

Red light number two. ‘Now when evening came, David rose from his bed,’ (2 Samuel 11:2). What? Why is David in bed at 6 p.m.? Why is he not managing his kingdom, meeting with his key men? Answer-because David is the king and he can do whatever he pleases. If he wants to slack off his work routine, no problem. He knows the peace and prosperity of the kingdom is due to his able leadership (apparently he has forgotten that all he has and is is from God’s benevolent hand). Take away-Get up early. Never sleep past 6 a.m. Do the hard and most important tasks first. Never be enamored with your position, money, or power. It can vanish quickly like the frost at noon day.
Red light number three. David walked around on the roof of his house. Is it too much to imagine that due to the height of a king’s palace, towering over other nearby buildings, that David had observed lurid scenes before? Again, David has too much time on his hands. He reminds me of prideful Nebuchadnezzar who is walking around on the roof of his palace and sees the vast city he has constructed and congratulates himself on his mighty accomplishments (Daniel 4:28-33). He suffers insanity for a season, as a consequence. Maybe David was looking for something. Maybe he had seen Bathsheba before. Take away-eschew pride. Resist it. Run from it. Resist also the fleshly impulse to look for the other woman at work, lingering at the break room, hanging out at her office, taking her to lunch or for a cup of coffee. Eschew brazen pride. It is a killer of men, their wives, and their children.

Red light number four. David saw a woman bathing. He also noticed that she was beautiful. It is one thing to see a beautiful woman and re-direct your eyes to the task at hand.. It is another thing to linger with your look. Take away-a lingering, lustful look may very well be what catapults you into the bed of destruction.

Red light number five. David sent for her. He could do that because he was the king, and people do what the king commands them to do. He saw her, lusted after her, and sent for her. Take away-all the prayer and praise, all the writing of the Psalms were no match for the pride of the king. He was going to do exactly what he wanted to do. All your Bible reading, all your prayer, all your meetings, all your profound and moving times with God are no match for your lust if you keep running red lights.

Red light number six. David was told that the woman is Bathsheba, the wife of another man, and by the way, not merely the wife of any man, but the wife of one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39) Talk about treachery! At the very least, since Bathsheba was married to such a humble faithful servant of the king, surely David should have backed off. Take away-the more red lights you run, the easier it becomes to run the next one. You just don’t consider, at this point, that you are running rapidly to rapacious disaster.

Red light number seven. David sent messengers. He had already done that once. He sent them again. This time, however, it was not to inquire but to take. While they were on their way, David had a few minutes to think about what he was planning to do. He could have stopped. He could have contemplated how this would destroy his family and credibility in the kingdom, but after running seven red lights, he is gaining speed toward destruction. Take away-unchecked lustful passion will overpower sound thinking every time.
Red light number eight. She came to him. There was still time to call it off. Yes, there was this beautiful young woman, whom he had just seen naked, one for whom he was lusting mightily, but he could still have walked away, sent her home without touching her. Take away-men who commit adultery are like sheep being led to the slaughter. They may be powerful men in business, church, or government but they can be woefully weak in the presence of a beautiful woman.

Red light number nine. He lay with her. He did it. He committed adultery and now everything will change for David, Bathsheba, their respective families, and the kingdom. Take away-you never sin in a vacuum. Libertarianism is not the real world. Your actions do matter to your nation, community, church, and most of all, to your family. How many children have been emotionally and spiritually traumatized by the sexual sin of their parents.

Are you too close to someone other than your spouse? Run for your life. Flee to Jesus. Ask Him for mercy. Don’t be a fool. I promise you, you will regret your actions for the rest of your life. Can you be forgiven? Of course you can, and some of you have fallen into this sin and you know you are forgiven, been restored to your loving Saviour. But the consequences remain. They will never leave you in this life. Don’t go there.
– Al Baker

‘David sent messengers and took her . . . he lay with her.’ – 2 Samuel 11:4.
When Israel clamored for a king, Yahweh relented and gave them Saul, but after Saul’s disobedience, God promised another king after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). When Paul the apostle was addressing the Jews at Pisidian Antioch, reviewing the salvation history of Israel, he referred to David as a man after God’s own heart, one who would do His will (Acts 13:22). So, how could a man after God’s own heart, who wrote these marvelous Psalms, who expressed a profound depth of holiness and zeal (Psalm 22, 47, 63), fall into the grievous sin of adultery and then exacerbate the problem by having his adulteress’s husband murdered? The answer-David ran nine red lights God had graciously put before him.

Red light number one. Israel was in the midst of war with the nation of Ammon when the Arameans sided with Ammon against Israel. David gathered his army and crossed the Jordan River at Helam and routed the Arameans (2 Samuel 10:15-19). The Ammonites had not yet been conquered so the war continued, but David was not there in the war theater. It was the spring of the year, after the rains, when the roads are dry, that armies would typically move out of camp and face their enemies. David stayed home. He sent Joab to conquer the Ammonites (2 Samuel 11:1). In other words, David was neglecting his kingly responsibilities. Take away-stay in the fight. Stay busy. Idle time in hotels, coffee shops, or restaurants are breeding grounds for licentious behavior.

Red light number two. ‘Now when evening came, David rose from his bed,’ (2 Samuel 11:2). What? Why is David in bed at 6 p.m.? Why is he not managing his kingdom, meeting with his key men? Answer-because David is the king and he can do whatever he pleases. If he wants to slack off his work routine, no problem. He knows the peace and prosperity of the kingdom is due to his able leadership (apparently he has forgotten that all he has and is is from God’s benevolent hand). Take away-Get up early. Never sleep past 6 a.m. Do the hard and most important tasks first. Never be enamored with your position, money, or power. It can vanish quickly like the frost at noon day.
Red light number three. David walked around on the roof of his house. Is it too much to imagine that due to the height of a king’s palace, towering over other nearby buildings, that David had observed lurid scenes before? Again, David has too much time on his hands. He reminds me of prideful Nebuchadnezzar who is walking around on the roof of his palace and sees the vast city he has constructed and congratulates himself on his mighty accomplishments (Daniel 4:28-33). He suffers insanity for a season, as a consequence. Maybe David was looking for something. Maybe he had seen Bathsheba before. Take away-eschew pride. Resist it. Run from it. Resist also the fleshly impulse to look for the other woman at work, lingering at the break room, hanging out at her office, taking her to lunch or for a cup of coffee. Eschew brazen pride. It is a killer of men, their wives, and their children.

Red light number four. David saw a woman bathing. He also noticed that she was beautiful. It is one thing to see a beautiful woman and re-direct your eyes to the task at hand.. It is another thing to linger with your look. Take away-a lingering, lustful look may very well be what catapults you into the bed of destruction.

Red light number five. David sent for her. He could do that because he was the king, and people do what the king commands them to do. He saw her, lusted after her, and sent for her. Take away-all the prayer and praise, all the writing of the Psalms were no match for the pride of the king. He was going to do exactly what he wanted to do. All your Bible reading, all your prayer, all your meetings, all your profound and moving times with God are no match for your lust if you keep running red lights.

Red light number six. David was told that the woman is Bathsheba, the wife of another man, and by the way, not merely the wife of any man, but the wife of one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:39) Talk about treachery! At the very least, since Bathsheba was married to such a humble faithful servant of the king, surely David should have backed off. Take away-the more red lights you run, the easier it becomes to run the next one. You just don’t consider, at this point, that you are running rapidly to rapacious disaster.

Red light number seven. David sent messengers. He had already done that once. He sent them again. This time, however, it was not to inquire but to take. While they were on their way, David had a few minutes to think about what he was planning to do. He could have stopped. He could have contemplated how this would destroy his family and credibility in the kingdom, but after running seven red lights, he is gaining speed toward destruction. Take away-unchecked lustful passion will overpower sound thinking every time.
Red light number eight. She came to him. There was still time to call it off. Yes, there was this beautiful young woman, whom he had just seen naked, one for whom he was lusting mightily, but he could still have walked away, sent her home without touching her. Take away-men who commit adultery are like sheep being led to the slaughter. They may be powerful men in business, church, or government but they can be woefully weak in the presence of a beautiful woman.

Red light number nine. He lay with her. He did it. He committed adultery and now everything will change for David, Bathsheba, their respective families, and the kingdom. Take away-you never sin in a vacuum. Libertarianism is not the real world. Your actions do matter to your nation, community, church, and most of all, to your family. How many children have been emotionally and spiritually traumatized by the sexual sin of their parents.

Are you too close to someone other than your spouse? Run for your life. Flee to Jesus. Ask Him for mercy. Don’t be a fool. I promise you, you will regret your actions for the rest of your life. Can you be forgiven? Of course you can, and some of you have fallen into this sin and you know you are forgiven, been restored to your loving Saviour. But the consequences remain. They will never leave you in this life. Don’t go there.
– Al Baker