How can a sinful cultures fascination with zombies point us to God?

At church we are currently in a series on Romans. In Romans 11:33-36 Paul talks about how all things are from Jesus and through Jesus and to Jesus. Which makes me ask "all things?" Now I am not a fan of horror movies or books or anything of that genre. As a Christian I think I can justify that by pointing to God's call for us to dwell on things that are beautiful in Philippians 4:8. But I can't help but think that even in the culture's fascination with zombies there is a great reminder for us. I don't know much about zombies but I do know they are the living dead. How can that point us to God. We live among a people that the Bible tells us is spiritually dead (Rom. 8:10, Eph. 2:1). Even though they are spiritually dead they continue to live physically in this world. If nothing else I believe the world embraces the idea of zombies because they are in a spiritual sense like them. And like zombies moving together, they serve their father the devil without even being conscious of it. Rather than simply being repelled by the things in our world perhaps we should ask if the base things we see are perhaps a reflection of what is already in the heart of men. This should make us grateful that we have been made alive in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:11). Perhaps even this could be an entry into a conversation that could help someone come to new life in Christ. This is one more backhanded way our sinful culture can remind us to live a life focused on God. What are some other ways our culture's fascinations point out their fallen state and remind us to look to God?

How Bullying Reveals a Recognition of God

As I finished up the topic of bullying yesterday I realized that there was one thing I had not covered that could be a comfort to those who are being bullied.

This has to do with bullying that is verbal in nature. If someone is making fun of you or calling you names their intention is to make you feel bad. Think about it. If we are nothing more than animals at the end of a long process of evolution name calling should have no impact. It should not hurt if our existence is merely accidental. But it does hurt. It is an attack on our dignity. The very fact that verbal bullying hurts should remind us of why it hurts. You see verbal bullying hurts because it assaults our dignity. Our dignity exist because we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Man often ends up acknowledging the creator in backhanded ways. Verbal bullying attacks a person with the intent of tearing them down. It matters because we are made in God's image. If the person being bullied could just realize this then they might realize also that if we are made in His image there is no better place to be then in His hands. If you are one of those being bullied today, turn to Jesus, repent of your sins against Him and seek Him as your Lord and master. The only life worth living is the life that is lived focused on the one in whose image we are made.

The Real Needs Bullying Reveals

In the grocery store, on the news, almost everywhere you turn you find the topic of, "Bullying" is getting big coverage. It seems to come in waves. Usually the topic comes up when someone is killed or commits suicide because they have been bullied. It is such a big deal the U.S. Government has gotten in on addressing the issue with a web site, http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/.

Bullying is really an issue of the heart. None of the web sites I looked at was able to give real answers. Why? Because people can only impose physical restrictions on other people. The issue of bullying can arise from a variety of sources, but at the end of the day someone is becoming more popular or powerful at someone else's expense. In a society that has largely turned its back on God it is no wonder that bullying and other issues like it will be on the rise. Bullying grows when pride grows in our hearts and we think more highly of ourselves than we aught to think.

This happened very early on in the Bible when Joseph was bullied by his brothers for his dreams and his favored status. How did Joseph handle such mistreatment? He recognized that God is sovereign and He must have allowed it for a reason (Genesis 50:20). Without a relationship with a sovereign God there would have been no way for Joseph to see things through the way that he did. He embraced what God placed before Him and in the end He was used mightily by God to save many people's lives. God used His brother's bullying and evil intent to move Joseph to Egypt and put him in a position of power.

The most effective means of dealing with bullying is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. For the one being bullied they can run to Jesus and find in Him a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Often in the context of a Christian home or Christian community of believers the bullied person can find others who really care about them and will love them.

For the bully the most effective way to overcome the pride that often drives bullying is to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their Lord and God. The movie, "To Save a Life" deals with passive bullying. It recognizes that the only way to effectively deal with bullying is to deal with the heart. The most effective way to deal with the heart is to introduce someone to Jesus Christ. He takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Anything short of this sort of transformation is simply a band-aid on something that’s broken. Become an agent of change. Get your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and reach out in love to the those who are hurting others and those who are being hurt. Introducing them to Jesus is the best and most effective means of real heart change.

Is it really the recessions fault?

An AP article posted on Yahoo news blames the recession for a marked decline in marriages. The article, "Recession rips at US marriages, expands income gap" imagines a link between the recession and lack of marital commitment. This is a false equivalency. During this same recessionary period people are spending money on things that they want. They make iPads one of the best product intro's ever for Apple. They make the iPhone 4 its fastest selling phone ever. They are continuing to go to movies (we are just finishing September and total box office for this year is approaching last years total ticket numbers). Wine sales are up this year over last. All of this to say that as a people we are doing what we want to do.

The primary reason that people are not getting married is because they do not want to. In our society we seem to realize that this might not be a good thing over all. Certainly it can't be our fault. Let's blame it on the recession. The fact that we don't want to make the commitment of marriage can't be the reason.

The real problem is that people no longer seem to have an aversion to adultery. The atheistic philosophies of our schools and universities have successfully eradicated any sense of moral commitment to marriage. This aversion to marriage is paraded across our TV and movie screens as well. The entire society is beating a drumbeat of me, me, me, me. When our focus is what is in it for me a commitment to someone else fails the "me" test. With no morally compelling reason to commit it is no wonder that marriage is in decline. This should be alarming to us because it signals a real failure of the christian community to be salt and light in our society (Matthew 5:13-16). When you look at the Matthew passage salt and light is not something that we become. Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In other words without us the world has no salt to bring flavor to life and without us the world has no light to truly see by. God has called us to Himself and placed us where He has placed us for a reason. We must see this and embrace the reality that is before us. Do you know someone who claims to be a Christian that is living with someone else or considering doing so? This might be one of the most difficult things you have ever done, but you should reach out to them in love. Don't condemn but point them to Christ. Help them to realize their need of repentance. Help them to see that to actively engage in pursuing sinful actions against God is to hold the cross of Christ in contempt. Be broken for them because this is where the hardest of hearts come from. Make sure that they know they are loved and that their heart and life should be focused on the Lord Jesus. Do we want to see our society regain its moral bearings? It must begin with individuals caring enough about others to help them catch a vision for pursuing Jesus Christ.

Guarding Against the State god of Evangelism

I want to clarify up front that I do believe that street preaching done right with a real gospel message can be effective. However, we have a group of people that show up in our town to street preach that are marked by their condemnation. They seek to condemn almost anyone that walks past them and I have yet to hear them speak of the marvelous grace that is ours in Jesus. There is something these street preachers do that is a form of idolatry. They use video cameras for legal protection, and they make sure to mention that they are free to preach, because of the the free speech protections provided by the constitution.

Lets think about this for a moment in the light of scripture. Paul was a roman citizen (Acts 16:37, 22:25). By law he had the right to not be arrested and beaten. He may have had protected freedom of speech. We never see Paul exercise his Roman rights when he is out preaching to the masses. Paul only brings up his rights when he is in close contact with his Roman guards. Why? Well it seems pretty clear that the gospel does not need the protection of man. We should not depend upon the state to be our guardian before the world. The gospel and the gospel alone should be presented. To present the gospel along with a message that we bow the knee to the state in order to preach the gospel is confusing. What marks effective street evangelism?

First the world needs to know that the thing that drives us is care and concern for their eternal destiny. This love for them is driven by the unmerited love we have received from God (1 John 4:10).

Second they need to understand that there is a sin problem that separates them from God and eternal life (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

Third they need to know that grace is available to all of those who will repent of their sin and accept Jesus as Lord and God (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This is the core of the gospel. It starts in the love we have received from God and ends in the love that can be received by any repentant sinner. To add anything man made like freedoms or rights to this gospel message just confuses it, muddies it and weighs it down. So keep your eyes focused on the King of our future Kingdom when you step out into the kingdoms of this world. If we are aliens and strangers with God focused minds and hearts then we will return bearing God focused sheaves with us (Ephesians 2:17-19, Hebrews 11:13-16).

A Hitch in the day

Today is Monday and it is the official pray for Christopher Hitchens day. I would encourage anyone to pray for Christopher Hitchens. I personally hope that the Lord convicts him of his sin and changes his heart on his deathbed just before he dies.

I don't want other Christians to know if Christopher Hitchens came to Christ in the end. Why? Because too many of us cannot be trusted with that information. There would be smear campaigns geared at discrediting his books and his atheistic thinking. Far too much time would be spent on discussions of Mr. Hitchens deathbed conversion. No instead we should be taking the time that we would spend on something like that and spend it on sharing the gospel with other atheist and unbelievers that need to know Jesus.

The other reason I don't want us to know if he ultimately comes to know Jesus is that his logic is already faulty. In an article on today's prayer vigil for Christopher called, "Atheist Christopher Hitchens to Skip Prayer Day in His Honor" there are several quotes that point to the reality of what is missing from his base arguments. The article says:

As for his work, Hitchens says he would be happy to be recalled simply as one of those "who are attempting to uphold reason and science against superstition."

Where his logic breaks down is that I too would like to uphold reason as well as logic against superstition. You see we both look at each others belief as superstition. He would denigrate my belief in God. I would point to his belief in evolution and faith in the infallibility of science and say that that belief is faulty.

As late as the 16th and 17th century spontaneous generation of living things from non living things was believed by all scientist of any merit. One scientist even published directions for creating mice from dirty underwear and wheat in 21 days. This idea of spontaneous generation of life from non living matter had been in existence from the time of Aristotle. Oh yea I almost forgot Evolutionist still believe this one. I guess I need to find another superstition that they no longer hold to.

While this might bring a chuckle from some and groans from others the point is that this is what Hitchens and others like him do. They set Christians up to look superstitious or like nut cases and then they lampoon them in the name of science. What I am wanting you all to see here is that they think that they are doing the world a service. The reality is that they are living out what Paul said in Romans 1. They suppress the truth and become futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts are darkened (Romans 1:18, 21). We must have grace toward them just like God had toward us when we were like them.

Right now Christopher Hitchens is moving very rapidly into an eternity of bearing the wrath of God. This is something that I do not wish on anyone. Even if you missed praying for Hitchens on the official prayer day, pray for him now. We have an irresistible almighty God who can overcome and save even the hardest of hearts. Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust Him because He can save Christopher from the wrath to come.

Sad reminders of the worlds need for Jesus Christ

There was an article online about a child prostitution ring that was being sentenced yesterday in England. What was interesting is that while all of their names seemed to be Islamic there was no mention of their nationality in most of the articles. I finally tracked down an article titled, "Iranian Traffickers Sold Underage ‘Virgin’ Prostitutes to Rich Arabs Visiting UK". Apparently the perpetrators were all from Iran. The article went on to say:

The facts and evidence are incontrovertible – although we will inevitably be subjected to the tired, misdirected accusations of ‘racism’ and ‘Islamophobia’ for reporting them – Islam places a special focus and value on sex with children.

From the ‘Bacha Bazi’ boys of Afghanistan to the underage brides of Pakistan, Nigeria and Malyasia and elsewhere. From the sexual grooming of non-Muslim underage girls in Northern England, to the the ‘virginity repair’ and FGM surgery industry that is seemingly being allowed to take root even in developed countries; case after case has emerged of the wholesale abuse of non-Muslim and Muslim children by Muslim men and their apparent obsession with sex with virgins.

Not all Muslim men indulge in this disgusting practice, of course, but there can be no denying – even from the most fervent leftist Useful Idiots – that these practices are intrinsic to and supported by the religious scriptures and jurisprudence of Islam.

Even worse, they are effectively facilitated and enabled by the blind eyes turned by the ‘laissez-faire’ multiculturalist movement and liberal western politicians, with keen eyes on the Muslim vote and their addiction to Saudi petrodollars – particularly galling considering their tendency to proclaim the rights of children at every given opportunity.

It’s time for some very long sentences indeed and/or some swift deportations. It’s time to stop the dilution of Western values and the importation of criminals.

The article is incredibly sad because the harm that is done to young girls and boys by perverse men. What is the answer? Jesus Christ. Without Him all we can do is pass laws that change actions. But for men to stop engaging in perverse acts they need changed hearts. The only way that their hearts will be really changed is by Jesus Christ. It should be patently clear that Islam has not changed the hearts of men. It is Christ alone that brings true transformation. So what should we do? A member of our church said to me the other day that she has only shared her faith with probably 20 people this summer so how can that make a difference. It makes a difference for the 20 who heard and just think what a difference could be made in the hearts of people across our nation if every Christian could say that they have effectively shared their faith with 20 people in the last 3 or 4 months. What kind of change would that bring? The kind of change that will only happen when we begin to live a God focused life.

Are we burning the Koran or the Cross?

The news media has been heating up over a proposed Koran burning. It is planned to be held on 9/11 at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fl. In a Foxnews.com article published on August 19th Pastor Terry Jones talked about the threats they have received and the reasons that they continue to move forward with the event. He cites things "like 9/11, Fort Hood, and the honor killings" as a reason for them to continue with their plans. The following is a quote from the article:

"We have thought about it, about the danger in holding the controversial event, and we realize that whenever we made this step, that this kind of thing could happen," he said. "But we feel it's that important, and the times call for some kind of radical measure in standing up."

New York Mayor Bloomberg made a statement today defending the right of the church to hold the burning. His reasoning is based on the first amendment right to freedom of speech. He compares this to the freedom of the Muslim community to build a mosque near ground zero. He said:

If you want to be able to say what you want to say when the time comes that you want to say it, you have to defend others, no matter how, how much you disagree with them.

While on the one hand I agree with the freedom of speech position, I must look at this from the perspective of how someone leading a God focused life should look at this. To begin with Pastor Terry's position strikes me as being clearly focused on making a stand. But a stand for what? The kingdom of God or the kingdoms of this world. Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). That if His kingdom was of this world His servants would fight for Him. Should we fight for anything? You could make the case that we should be the defender of the defenseless and the helper of the helpless. But is the church called to be the defender of freedom of speech or personal rights? This seems to be the God given responsibility of the state, not the church (Rom. 13:1-4).

We should ask ourselves this question:

• Will this action cause Muslims to be more open to the gospel?

If it does not advance the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of other people is it really an activity we should pursue or support? I think not. In reality Jesus said to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors (Matt. 5:43-44). How is Dove World Outreach Center doing this? Looking at another interview posted on Foxnews.com Pastor Jones seems intent on pointing out the wrongs that he would like to see righted. While I think we all would like to see Muslim women treated better, it seems a far cry from the calling of the church, to demand Christian actions from Non-Christians. Jesus told his followers to deny themselves take up their cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). Jesus essentially told us to forget about our personal rights.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:35-36

Is the existence of the Koran a real threat to the gospel? NO! The very gates of hell cannot prevail against the rock of the church (Matt. 16:18). What will make the biggest difference in the life of muslims around the world is grace filled God focused lives. When Muslims see Christians really embracing and living the love of God and demonstrating God's grace toward them then we will see hearts change. When we burn Koran's are we really burning our Christian witness to the grace we have received? Are we laying down the cross in that fire and picking up our rights instead? If we would see Muslim women treated better it must begin with changed hearts and that begins with a gospel presentation, given by a grace filled vessel.

Why no peace for followers of God

There is an article on Foxnews.com titled, "Obama Condemns 'Senseless Slaughter' of Israelis, Vows to Sustain Peace Talks". There have been almost countless attempts at peace in the middle east. Go back to the Romans in the time of Christ for the first versions, or perhaps we need to go back earlier then that. But the fact remains that there is no peace in the middle east. Why? Fundamentally the issue is spiritual in nature. The Jews claim a divine right to the land that they believe was granted to them by God. There is language that supports this view in the Old Testament. But even Jeremiah talked about how there would be no peace (Jeremiah 8:11). There will not be peace in this world until the Prince of Peace finally sets up His Kingdom here on Earth.

I bring this issue up because tonight while out street witnessing we encountered some opposition. Some people did not want to hear the truth about the pending judgment we all face if we do not know and accept Jesus as our Lord. Jesus knew that when we took a stand in the public square for Him we would no doubt face opposition (Matthew 5:11). The unsaved man has no interest in spiritual things because he is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3). We all were before we were made alive in Christ. If we realize what a great gift we have been given in Christ then we will begin to see the dilemma that faces all of those who do not know Jesus. This eternal damnation that awaits them should burden our hearts for them. We must realize that the utter terribleness of a never ending eternity suffering God's wrath is what awaits all unbelievers. Do we care? Is there a burden in our hearts for their salvation. If there is you will soon begin to see the persecution and reviling that comes to those who stand for Christ and reach out in love to the lost and dying world. May God grant us all a clearer vision of that which is coming so that we will be more diligent to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:9-10).

Do you know legalism when you see it? (Part 2)

The reason I did this post in two parts from the out set is that there are two aspects to legalism. The one we touched on yesterday is the hypocrisy of self-righteousness. This form of legalism can creep into a Christian's life through the pride of the flesh. The second form of legalism has to do with salvation and can literally corrupt it and keep one from truly knowing Jesus. Because this second form can condemn people to an eternity under the wrath of God it is important to be able to distinguish it.
What is it? This form of legalism is like the legalistic righteousness of the Pharisees. It is external in its form and lacks any internal structure. A passage that comes to mind is Luke 11:42. Here Jesus affirms that tithing their spices was right but out of balance. Jesus is addressing their legalism He is pointing out that their physical actions are not sufficient to earn them salvation. It comes back to the focus of the heart. In the case of the Pharisee their heart was looking for the adoration of men. They did their deeds for the people but clearly thought that jumping through external hoops was their ticket to paradise. This is no different than any of the man-focused works-based divisions of Christianity today. The people caught up in these sects do things in order to be right with God. They might say a certain number of hail Marys or go to confession. They might be found knocking on your door putting in time as part of their required good works. You will find these people doing lots of good things. Often they do more good things than the people who are truly following Christ (which is tragic). But the problem they have is found in their dependence upon their actions to be part of their justification before God. We are justified before God because of the work of Christ on the cross alone. When we add any work to that dependence on Christ alone it no longer remains a dependence on Christ alone. By making a frail human work part of the requirement of salvation we make salvation ultimately dependent upon the work of man. If salvation depends on man in any way there is no longer any assurance of salvation available. You can never be sure in this case because what you are depending on may change because it is rooted in man and man is ultimately mutable (changeable). The other problem with this is it places a love for man's ability alongside of a love for God's ability. This is placing a love for man's ability on par with God, which is pure idolatry. It is idolatry to divide a hearts affection. No man can serve to masters (Matthew 6:24). We must realize that the appeal to include a dependence on something within man is spoken of in the Bible. Repeatedly the Biblical authors point out that the heart of man is corrupt (Genesis 6:5, Psalm 14:1, Hebrews 3:12). We must realize that what we view about salvation must be shaped by scripture alone. When God and a desire for Him grips your heart you will see only Him as being the author and finisher of your faith. This heart for God would want to do all that it can to embrace with all energy the relationship with God. At the same time this heart will realize that the only reason it does these things is because of the work of God in it. Even John Wesley acknowledged this truth. In an interview with Charles Simeon when asked if he depended on an works in addition to Christ he said, "No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last." (Entire interview can be found here). It is with full confidence in the reforming power of the Holy Spirit to shape our hearts that I say the God focused heart will see Christ as the only means by which we are saved. Don't allow legalistic righteousness to fool you. Press on with friends depending on legalistic righteousness (Matthew 23:15). They need desperately to come to depend on Christ alone.

Prop 8 - Winning battles and losing the war

Last week the news was falling all over itself to report on the overturn of proposition 8. I am not sure how this is being reported in the rest of the country so if you need to get up to speed here is an article from the San Jose Mercury News titled, "Federal judge strikes down California's ban on same-sex marriage". 50 years ago we would have said universally that homosexuality is sin and it was viewed by most people as morally reprehensible. Today this is no longer the case. Today people see pedophilia as morally reprehensible and sin. Will this still be the case 50 years from today? It is a legitimate question in the light of how our culture has changed in the last 50 years. What has happened that has brought about the changes that we see today. 50 years ago the 1960's were kicking in and free love with a strong dose of independence was the siren call many could not resist. The moral walls of our society began to crumble. What caused the walls to be so weak in the face of the immoral tide that struck it? I did not live then but I think that the roots of the problem can be traced to the church of the early twentieth century. From what I can tell in church history there was a strong reaction to the neo-orthadoxy coming out of Germany's seminaries and universities. Two things happened. Neo-orthadoxy called into question the literal inspiration of scripture and saw inspiration as being something more personal that happens when the word of God becomes inspired for me (This is a broad simplification because of space. E-mail me if you want to discuss this.). The second thing is the conservative church over-reacted to what they saw as a liberal take on inspiration. Another thing was coupled with this. The church was hit with a widely distributed set of books called, "The Fundamentals". This produced a conservative swing that put up code of conduct fences and condemnation fences. Phrases like, "I don't smoke, I don't chew and I don't run with boys that do" were byproducts of this conservative swing. I think it was during this time that some denominations developed the theology of secondary separation. In a nutshell they separated themselves from anyone that did not adhere to their brand of doctrine. Some denominations still hold this view to this day. What happened is, we added a whole bunch of things to the Christian life and walk that were not scripture, but were held in the same regard. This did not have the intended effect of strengthening the church. Quite the opposite happened. The young people growing up in this environment in these churches saw right through the hypocrisy of it. Essentially the moral strength of the word of God was gutted by man insisting on adding his two bits to the pot. Since the churches moral base seemed to many to be arbitrary the next logical decision was that anything goes. People started crossing lines that were clearly spelled out in scripture. Line after line was crossed. The church retreated from this onslaught. Usually she demanded more and more that her position on all these added things was the right one. When she seemed to be losing the culture she resorted to politics. The church began to be seen as political -- seeking to legislate her version of morality. This brings us to today with a society that is rapidly sliding toward an ancient Roman style of life. Rome was marked by open pedophilia, gladiatorial games and meaningless marriage. The church as it appears to the world is a moral mess. She has very little integrity left. She pats herself on the back when a bunch of conservatives in California rallied the people to make a state constitutional amendment even in the face of great opposition. We won that social battle but we lost the court battle at this point, and it looks like we could lose the war.
And yet there is still hope. I see a fresh desire for God, a renewed embrace of God's word and a greater compassion for the lost. God is moving in people everywhere to ignite a passionate fire for Him in their hearts. The only way that this war will be won is in the hearts and minds of people. They have to meet the awesome God of the Bible Jesus the Christ (Psalm 24:1-5). Their moral foundation needs to be in the bedrock of His word and His word alone (Hebrews 4:12). Is this a daunting challenge? NO! God used 12 men to turn the world upside down. With God anything is possible (Mark 10:27). Be encouraged. Don't be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:12, 2:15). Keep your eyes on Jesus and show the world around you the magnificent God that you serve. Helping others to embrace a God focused life will bring them freedom from slavery to sin and give them the greatest possible future they could ever hope for. So seek the Lord and take Him with you into the world.

God's pours out grace in abundance

Tonight we were able to share our faith for several hours at a local street fair where God has graciously allowed us to have a booth. Our goal in going there is to simply spread the seed of the gospel and pray that the Lord of the harvest will cause it to take root and bring souls to Him. God was abundantly gracious to us. A great group of like minded people joined us as we proceeded to share the gospel through tracts and personal evangelism. God brought many to hear. The number of people coming to us was so many and so continuous that we were looking at 9PM and tear down time and it really seemed like almost no time at all had past. I am amazed at the overwhelming number of people that He brought to us tonight. We did nothing to deserve this or merit it. We did nothing clever. There was no advertising gimmick. We simply have set up a booth at the street fair like we have for the last four years. God sent the people. All I can say is the we serve a God who does so much more than we could ever ask or think. He is magnificent and merciful. Pray for the many people who heard the gospel tonight. Pray that God will bring a great harvest to Himself for His glory. Pray that God will protect our souls from pride. That He will help us to keep our eyes on Him the author and finisher of our faith. Pray that He would be the apple of our eye and that we would remain focused on Him and His glory.

Why do people kill people?

An article today on Foxnews.com titled, "Jamaica's Bloody Lesson On Guns" talks about how banning guns for citizens does not keep them out of the hands of criminals. Even if the criminals are on islands with no easy access to areas where gun controls are not in place. Every time I see one of these articles it seems to me that they always overlook the most important part of this problem. People kill people because the heart of man is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9, Genesis 8:21). Taking away an evil persons means of producing evil does not stop the intent to produce evil. What must be dealt with is man's desire to do evil. There is only one person that can deal with man's evil desire and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. If we would see people stop their evil ways we must introduce them to the one who conquered sin, death and evil for all time. If we would seek to live a God focused life we would find that God begins to change us so that we might be more effective in helping to really help introduce the seeds of change in the hearts of others.

Grassfire or misfire???

I receive e-mails from a political action group called grassfire because I signed a petition at the urging of a friend a few years ago. I received a new request to sign a petition on May 17th. It was for another group called the Media Research Center. Here are the opening lines of the petition request.

The Media Research Center has just launched an important
petition opposing Comedy Central's plans to air a cartoon
series about Jesus Christ called "JC" where he would move
to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow."

I'm urging all members of our team to read the details
below and then sign this important MRC petition.

Before you just close this window I really want you to read this and consider what our response as Christians ought to be. I looked up the source material on the Media Research Center web site. The first is an article called "Jesus, Mohammed, and Comedy Central". The second is the actual petition that you can sign called, "Petition Opposing Comedy Central’s New Faith-Bashing Show and the Anti-Christian Double Standard". These are links that will take you to these sites if you so desire.

To begin who are the people who are promoting this hatred of Jesus Christ. And make no mistake they are bashing the Jesus of Christianity not the Jesus of Mormonism or the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witnesses (I know these are both cults but this is an important distinction). If they were bashing the Jesus of these cults they would not cast Jesus as the Son of God. The people at Comedy Central that are planning on making this cartoon series are natural men. They are spiritually dead. They are pagans and we can expect them to do pagan things. The truth is they hate God and the idea of God for good reason (Romans 1:18-25). They are under God's wrath for their unrighteousness. They cannot truly understand a Christians reaction to these things because our reason for not liking them is we have been made spiritually alive and they are spiritually dead (1 Corinthians 2:14). They particularly hate Jesus because He will ultimately testify of the evil of their deeds (John 7:7). In short we should expect the unsaved pagan world to hate Jesus and ultimately to hate us (John 15:18-19, 1 John 3:13).

This presents a dilemma for us as Christians seeking to live a life that is focused on God. The unsaved world has a certain amount of respect for Muslims because their faith is not a true faith. Their faith is a faith that claims you can repent and do good works that will appease their god. In a sense they make man powerful and able to influence God. The Muslim makes demands that comedy central not do something and they capitulate because there is no real condemnation from Mohammed or Islam. We are called by Christ to be different. In Matthew 5:39 Jesus called us to not resist the one who is evil...but to turn the other cheek. The actions of Comedy Central are evil and have a blasphemous and evil intent. Surely they have slapped all of us as Christians. Should we be responding by demanding to be treated with the same respect as Muslims and other cults? Wouldn't Jesus have us turn the other cheek? Paul in Romans 12:19 calls us never to avenge ourselves but to leave it to the wrath of God. After all vengeance is God's and He will repay.

The second part of our dilemma is how do we love these folks at Comedy Central? In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus clearly calls us to love our enemies. He wants us to be different from the world. If you read the petition you will find that it is not different from the world. It is demanding that we be treated like the rest of the world. It asserts our rights and makes accusations. I do not see how anyone at Comedy Central will feel loved upon receiving this petition. We have an opportunity before us to do something different from the world and yet it looks like we are going to botch it. What we should be doing is seeing this as an open confession of their sinful hearts. Then we should figure out how to reach out to these guys and demonstrate the love of Jesus to them. At this point we would be demonstrating a trust in the ability of the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sins (John 16:7-11). Brothers and sisters lets not start a grassfire on this one. I believe it will only be a misfire that is bound to backfire. Lets instead seek to live a God focused life and realize that He has got this under control. This should free us to love those who are doing this evil in a way that perhaps might bring them to the feet of Jesus. After all isn't that what were here for anyway?

When religious faith enters politics

There is an article on FOX news today about an Alabama candidate running for governor of the state. The ad titled, "Ad Questioning Candidate's Faith Jolts Alabama Governor Contest" deals with some comments that are apparently taken out of context. The candidate is really upset by this because he is a really committed Christian and takes his faith very seriously. As the story unravels through the article it begins to point out that there may be some collusion between this republican candidate's republican opponent and the democratic opponent. Of the two republicans apparently the democrats want this guy the least. What do we say about something like this? Well I for one would rejoice over the fact that my faith is so apparent that it matters. It would be great to know that Jesus has so affected my life that the unsaved world rejects me. In Matthew 10:37-38 Jesus talked about how people who claim to follow Him are not worthy of Him if they do not love Him more than all others. He then goes on to call His followers to take up their cross daily and follow Him. The question I see in the midst of this is: If we are living a God focused life, has it so affected our attitudes and actions that the world finds love flowing out of us, but rejects us because that love is so clearly rooted in Jesus Christ?

Evangelistic fundamentals

This post I would like to look at a few things that are important when sharing the gospel. In order to show the importance of getting the gospel right I am going to bash what is probably a sacred cow for many people. Lets look at the, "Four Spiritual Laws". I personally used this method in the past and have seen many use it. There are several problems with the message here that are important because they put roadblocks to repentance in the gospel message.
It begins with God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. This is a problem. Everyone you talk to loves themselves and they have a wonderful plan for their lives too. If God has a wonderful plan for their lives then God is on the same page as they are. This is misleading at best. Romans 1:18-21 tells us that the unsaved man does not want God. They do not honor God or give thanks to Him. Malachi 1:4 says that God is angry with the wicked forever. So to tell someone that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life is a lie because if they reject God He will be angry with them forever.
So this brings us to important point number 1 which is ironically point number 2 in the four spiritual laws. Fallen man must first and foremost recognize that he has a problem with God. He has sinned against God and needs to be reconciled to God or face His wrath forever (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Jesus never shied away from talking about hell. He talked about it more than He talked about heaven. This is the present potential state of the unsaved person we are witnessing to. The other thing that is really important here is that Jesus pointed out to people that the sin problem was a personal problem. In other words Jesus made sure that His hearers understood that the problem of their separation from God was a personal one. They are not just a part of a group. They have personally sinned against God. It is not just an issue of being unable to know and experience God's love and plan. They are in very real danger of eternal damnation because of their personal sin and rejection of Jesus. It is only in recognizing their separation problem and the seriousness of it that we have any hope of introducing a real solution to them. It is like Jesus said He did not come for the well but for the sick (Matthew 9:12).
This brings us to point number two. When someone clearly recognizes that they are sick or in need then we introduce them to Jesus. Jesus is the answer to their separation from God. The 4 Spiritual Laws would have us looking to get God's love and this great plan. I think this misses the whole point of Jesus death. Jesus died so that we might be reconciled back to God. It is not about getting God's love or some great plan. We get God. Sure we get His love in the mix but the reason Jesus died was to reconcile man back to God (Romans 5:8). The Gospel is not about God accommodating Himself to men and their plans with a big showering of love. The Gospel is about taking men who hate God showing them they are sick and in need and introducing them to the one who can heal them and make them acceptable to God. This is the Gospel it is God focused and it brings people to repent of their sin and place their faith in the Lord of all Jesus the Christ (Romans 10:9-10).

Evangelistic motivation

As I reflected on the past two blogs and a thoughtful comment from Dwayne that added some great clarity I thought I might pursue some other aspects of this topic that I think are really important. From the perspective of living a God focused life what should be someones motivation to share the gospel. In many ways this is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to the focus of our theology. If you follow a man centered view of God then your motivation will be something like this:

Man is responsible before God for his sin and man is in need of a Savior. Jesus told us to be the ones to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19) so it is my responsibility. If I do not go then they will not hear and they might go to hell if I fail them so I must go. I don't want to see people in eternity looking at me and asking me why I did not tell them. 

In this scenario God is simply a responder to man. He stands on the sidelines and waits to be called in to play and do His part. In this situation if I fail to tell someone then their eternal damnation might be on my hands. The main motivation in this situation is guilt and/or fear.
In a God focused God centered scenario it might look something like this:

Man is responsible before God for his sin and rejection of God. Man is dead in his sins (Ephesians 2:1-3) and he hates God being presented to him in any way even though he desperately needs Jesus (Romans 1:18-20). The reason that the natural man hates God is because God would dethrone the god of self from our lives. The main way in which God does this is through the work of evangelism (Romans 10:13-17). The Holy Spirit uses the words of men to communicate the message of salvation found in the Bible to hearts of the fallen (Ephesians 2:5). This communicated word of God brings about a work of redemption that leads to repentance. It is through this manifest grace and faith that one comes to Christ and is saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). God began the work and he will complete it (Philippians 1:6). My role in evangelism is simply the sower of seed (Matthew 13:1-23). Truly if God did not intervene in preparing hearts no one would ever come to Him because no seed would ever take root (Ezekiel 36:26).

In this scenario God is the initiator and the central player. He does not stand on the sidelines but is in play in all people's lives at all times. He even sustains my breath as I write this (Daniel 5:23). What then is my motivation to share the good news? When I look at God's creation and realize who saved me it is incredible. Just think the one who made all of the most magnificent most majestic and most awe inspiring things that we see is more magnificent than all of them put together. This utterly inspiring and incomprehensible being not only has forgiven me and saved me but has adopted me as His child and desires for me to know Him. I can hardly contain the thought. He has others that He is calling. They need to hear. He has asked me to be a messenger just like He has asked all believers. He asked me! I used to be a rebel against Him and He wants me to represent Him. I feel completely inadequate to be that representative but He promises that the Spirit He has sent to indwell me will be the one to apply the word to the hearts of others. How awesome is that! So I prepare as best as I can, to be a faithful and good representative and I go because He has called me to. We have this incredible privilege to share this great news with people who are in desperate need. My motivation is a great honor that is bestowed on me that I do not deserve and a great love that has been poured out on me that I can't comprehend. There is no guilt. There is no fear. There is only the joy of sharing this news and the anticipation of the joy that someone else will get to experience as well. So join me in the God focused evangelistic quest as we share the marvelous message of redemption that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Evangelism comaraderie

As I reflected on the evangelism confusion that seems to exist in the church I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the camaraderie that exist with others who share their faith. We seem to be a small group and I pray that God will burden more for the work that needs to be done. But there is a precious fellowship and joy that exist with those you run across who also share their faith with others on a regular basis. Last evening as we were handing out tracts and sharing our faith we were joined by people from at least 4 different churches in the area. It is excellent to share in the bond of fellowship with people who want nothing more than to help others discover the marvelous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His exaltation is our goal and we pray that His name was magnified. So if you have a desire to share your faith, get some training in Biblical evangelism. There are several different groups you could get help from. The Way of the Master with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron has a training that I think is available for free if you cannot afford it. They can be found at http://www.biblicalevangelism.com/. Find a friend and begin to team up to share with others. If you do not have a like minded friend begin to share and God will soon bring you in touch with others that share their faith as well. Keep your eyes focused on the King of kings because He is the one who brings the harvest. Ask Him to send forth laborers into the harvest (Luke 10:2) then go out there and join them. You will never regret it.

Evangelism confusion

Tonight we were out sharing our faith at a local street fair. We have a booth that our church pays for and the reason that we are there is to share the gospel. I thought I would relate one instance in particular. I shared the gospel with three young men. I use a very interactive question and answer type of dialog in order to engage them and walk them through the gospel. There was a young man who would come up from time to time and then he would go away. After sharing the gospel with them and making sure that they were clear on the salvation that has been offered to them in Jesus Christ I sent them on their way. The thing that makes me pause is that within a few minutes the guy from the edges of the conversation comes up to me almost crying in gratitude for me sharing the gospel with his friends. He was so glad that I had given his friends the gospel message. Now don't get me wrong. I am excited to be able to share the gospel. But there is nothing special or magical about me or my words. This young man who was so grateful could have been the one to share the gospel with these guys. I bet if I had pressed the issue I would have found out that he really did not understand how to share the gospel. Oh I am sure he could give his testimony. I do not doubt his genuine gratefulness. To be honest I do not think that the problem really is his.
What I have found is that there is an overwhelming rejection of personal evangelism among most people that call themselves evangelicals. This rejection has been initiated and fostered by pastors. Dozens of pastors have asked me with an air of incredulity, "Does that really work?!?" The resounding answer is yes it does. The other common thing is that people are claiming to go out to do evangelism but what they are really doing is name it and claim it theology on the street. They go out and pray for healing of headaches and backaches etc. So they spend a lot of time looking for just the right person and are not really equipped to share the gospel message. They may not even know how to share the gospel message. When you live a God focused life you are going to come to understand that healing evangelism and lifestyle evangelism are poor substitutes for evangelism. The God focused life causes us to realize that we have met and know the most incredible being that has ever existed. Why would I want to share anything less than the way to know Him. The gospel message in a nutshell is this: In order to know Jesus people must recognize that they have sinned against God and are in a desperate situation without hope apart from Jesus. People need to know that they must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus. People will not get this from watching us or having us pray for healing. Anyone can do it, you just have to have the reality of how magnificent Christ is burned into your heart by constantly gazing at Him. People really do need to hear this message and someone really does need to tell them. Who will tell your friends? Will it be you? Or will you wait for someone else and be really grateful that your friends finally heard? Will they ever hear? What's it going to be?

Why sin becomes acceptable

Roman Polanski broke his silence today. After 33 years from his Swiss Chalet house arrest he tells the world he just wants to be treated fairly. He sites technicalities that he believes gave him the right to flee. What is never mentioned are the facts of the case. He fails to talk about the crime of raping and sodomizing a 13 year old girl after giving her champaign and drugs. He was convicted of the crime. He underwent the evaluation at a psych ward and then split the country when they case was going to be revisited for additional sentencing. So now he says he wants to be treated fairly. Fairly!?! If it was my daughter that he did this to I would want him to be treated fairly too. Fairly severely for what he did. You see after time passes we start to add in all kinds of additional excuses and reasons that things are the way they are. The reality is that the unsaved world wants to do the same thing with God. I share my faith with people one on one on a regular basis. One of the things that always strikes me is how often people will say they are going to heaven without Jesus. When you ask them why the answer is almost always the same.
Well god is a good god right and after all I have done a lot of good things in my life...
Men fail to grasp the seriousness of their sin. The fail to look clearly at the facts of their case. There is a Holy God who cannot allow sin in his presence. They have sin. If the sin is not paid for there is no righteousness that can blot it out. We do not want to think about that. Just write the person off that is caring enough about you to warn you and then go your merry way in the safe haven of the fallen world. Our own extradition to stand before the judge of all men is coming when we die. At that point no justification or excuses will matter. At that point we will be dealing with facts. We made our own gods, we lied, we hated, we lusted and coveted things that were not ours, we violated the Lord's day and took His name in vain, etc.. The judge will judge righteously and fairly. Those who spurned the offer of salvation that was made available to them in Jesus will face a sentence that is based on their wages of sin that they earned. Let's realize that sin in any form is an abomination to our Holy God, Jesus the Christ. If we would know Jesus better we must come to grips with the awfulness of sin. A God focused life is the best way to become sensitive to the sin that so easily besets us.