By Spence Hackney on 1/30/2006 7:49 AM

What is the fate of the millions of people that have never been formally exposed to the Gospel?  What of the minions who it seems never got to make the choice to allow Jesus Christ to become Lord and Savior in their lives?  This is a question that I have struggled with for years.  My wife and I have discussed it together on several occasions.  My gut wants to carve out a separate path for them that would somehow give them a second chance.  I don't want the teenager in Iran to be held accountable for his unbelief in the same way that the preacher's son is.  I will say up front that my compassion begins to override my beliefs here and I want to start making exceptions for people that haven't had all the chances that I have had.  It just doesn't seem fair that the Iranian kid is judged by the same standards that I am. This came up again in my devotional time this morning.  I read Romans 1:18-21:The wrath of God...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/29/2006 4:43 PM

I am just getting around to editing all of our Christmas pictures and sending them to Snapfish.com so Tara can order prints.  I am a man, like fast cars and big trucks, have cleaned a buck, and yes I know how to run a trot line...but I am sitting here with tears in my eyes.  I really am the luckiest man that has ever lived.  I have a beautiful and compassionate wife, a funny son that is full of life, and another healthy boy on the way.  Here is what Solomon says about these treasures that I love:Children's children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.  (Proverbs 17:6 NIV) A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.  (Proverbs 12:24 NIV) I have both of these crowns.  What more could I ask for? ...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/28/2006 5:07 PM

I just finished the video of our Katrina mission trip video for church on Sunday.  You can see it here.  There are things I would change about it, but it made my wife cry, so I guess it will do!  ;-)

By Spence Hackney on 1/27/2006 8:16 AM

I just got back from our morning men's Bible study. We are on chapter 10 of John Eldredge's Wild at Heart that discusses man's relationship to women. A peculiar thing happened, instead of talking about what the text or the Bible said about the subject, everyone just started to talk about their own opinions and experiences as to what makes a...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/26/2006 8:18 AM

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) NRSV Today I went through a sermon by Dr. Bill Bennett called Don't Be a Dud - Be a Dad...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/25/2006 7:12 AM

I was cooking through the intro of Romans this morning looking forward to getting to the "meat" that follows and I was stopped in my tracks by verse 7:To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints" - Romans 1:7 NIV Think about this...Paul uses this verse to address his message to all Christians, not some particular group.  He makes no distinction at all in the Christians he talks to.  Considering this, he makes two points about all Christians 1) they are loved by God and 2) they care called to be "saints."  What?  I am just a normal guy living in Wilmington, NC, I am no saint.  Mother Theresa is a saint, maybe Billy Graham, all those guys on the walls of the cathedrals qualify.   What is Paul saying? I think in a very real way we are all called to become saints, to become "perfect" in our faith.  God wants us to set our eyes no lower than pure truth, perfect sinlessness, and absolute obedience.  Of course he knows us, so he is ready to forgive us when we falter, but perfection is the target.  Did you catch the key thought in that last sentence....that he...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/24/2006 8:11 AM

In my last post I mentioned that while I feel that the "fruits" of my faith are growing, I consistently have difficulty with the quality and regularity of my devotional time.  After writing this post, I went to read the excellent "Day by Day with Jesus" devotional by Dr. John Killinger for January 24.  The scripture for this devotional is Matthew 7:13-23.  Verse 16-18 in the NRSV reads reads:You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Maybe God is trying...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/24/2006 7:34 AM

While looking for something else during my devotional time this morning I ran across a sheet that Marty Dupree at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina gave me some time ago.  It is titled "Preparing for Personal Revival" and gives some practical questions to guide one's spiritual development. I read through the questions and of course found that I am doing well on some and not on others.  However, the one that really gets me is "Are my personal devotions consistent and meaningful?"  I wish I could answer yes to this, but I really can't.  I struggle with this.  It seems that I am always distracted by something else (like writing this blog post) and that I can never quite find something to read in God's word that captivates me. I just don't think it should be like this.  I really do believe that God's word is "God-breathed " (2 Timothy 3:16)...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/23/2006 8:48 AM

We made it back!  When we got in I was dying to see my family.  It was about 8:00 and my son usually goes to bed around 9:00 so I was desperate to get home.  I grabbed my bag and ran to the car and found that my battery was dead.  My heart sank!  I started trying to get the battery jumped and it was so dead that the motor wouldn't turn over.  About that time, Jerry and Devin (who has kids at home that he wants to see too) came up and started to help me.  We got the car running and I went around to grab my bags and they had already loaded them for me.  Then I went to put the jumper cabled up and Jerry grabbed them and said that he would take care of it and told me to get going. What an amazing thing to have friends like this.  Devin wanted to get home as bad as I did but he took the time to stop and help me.  He knowingly put my first.  They showed me Christ list night and I want soon forget it.John 15:12-17 NIV  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one...

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By Spence Hackney on 1/21/2006 3:20 PM

It is finished!  We seriously went above and beyond today too (check out the pictures).  We made this elaborate plan on what we were going to do today and when we got to the job site it all changed.  Bonita's son Scott was there when we arrived.  He apparently is a builder and wanted us to rip all of the old siding off of the house.  We basically ripped everything off of the inside and outside of the house.  All that was left was the studs and some exterior OSB.  Smacking the old board with a sledgehammer was a hoot!