The Journey

Full

2012-01-27T09:04:00.005-06:00

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” (John 1:16–18, ESV)

These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead.” There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness of atoning efficacy in his blood, for “the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” There is a fulness of divine prevalence in his plea, for “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” There is a fulness of victory in his death, for through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for by it “we are begotten again unto a lively hope.” There is a fulness of triumph in his ascension, for “when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men.” There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times; a fulness of comfort in affliction; a fulness of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore. “It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this “fulness” is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel—God with us.

Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Fornicating on the Battlefield

2011-12-01T07:42:00.002-06:00

by Tony Anderson

When I ask men about their sexual behavior, most guys are surprisingly honest when anonymity is a factor. We’ve spoken about porn, oral sex, prostitution, lust, marriage, thoughts, immorality, intimacy, desires, homosexuality, masturbation, sexual abuse, incest, greed, and idolatry. I’ve eaten meals with pastors, executives, bankers, doctors, religious people, church planters, frat guys, students, entrepreneurs, traffickers, and average guys that work 40 hours a week and stay relatively pure.

The Majority of Us Are Sexually Broken

Most of us had absent fathers. 1 in 5 of us were sexually abused. Every one of us has learned the art of concealing sin. Around 80% of men in the church are currently using pornography. Some of us don’t need a girlfriend because we’re in full-fledged relationship with our hand or laptop. And some of us know the feeling of cold emptiness after leaving a strip club or a brothel. Some of you men know what it's like to go to sleep next to an empty shell of a woman that used to be your wife because your infatuation with photoshopped women has extinguished the intimacy. You’re no longer lovers, you’re roommates with children. Some of you are fathers that see your sexual sin manifested in your children, but you’re too fearful to expose it in your own life regardless of the damage its doing to your marriage and family. “What if coming out with this stuff makes things worse?” is the only question you’ve thought of.
I know where you’re at. I know what you’re thinking. And I know the lies you’re deceived by. I’ve been where some of you are.

You Love Porn...And Jesus?

A good friend of mine has battled sexual addiction all of his life. He’s a graduate of Bible college and is part of a healthy church. He’s got a lovingly invasive community and has had numerous Godly mentors pushing him towards Jesus for the last 7 years, but he still uses pornography every chance he gets—disabling the X3 watch on his phone and computer. If he’s alone for longer than 30 minutes with an internet connection, he begins searching for filth. He still habitually masturbates. He lies about his sin. He conceals his secrets. He manipulates Christian women into sinning with him, then he lies about that. He exemplifies the epitome of selfishness and a lack of self control.
But he also calls Jesus his Lord…Are you that guy? It’s sometimes an anomaly to me when men can be sexually enslaved while following Jesus, yet that’s what the overwhelming majority of them tend to be living. Can the two coexist? Are they diametrically opposed? Isn’t one the antithesis of the other?

Still Enslaved

I’m not going to quote your favorite authors or offer free accountability software. I don’t have a PDF to read or an invitation to a men’s conference. You’ve probably already tried those things. You’ve read books and made countless commitments, which you’ve broken. You’ve tried accountability. You’ve gone through a “freedom season.” You’ve confessed your sin. You’ve been rebuked. You’ve disconnected the internet. You’ve been kicked out of the house. You’ve destroyed the computer. You’ve memorized the Word of God. You’ve pleaded with Jesus to remove the thorn in your flesh. You’ve shouted, screamed, and wept. You’ve tried everything and you’re still shackled.

A Different Kind of Image

Just imagine for a moment that this is reality: You’re on a battlefield. It’s dark. Chaotic. Cold wind is whipping your face. The stench of death fills the air. Corpses of demons lie all around you and the field is soaked in blood. You can hear the sounds of armor and weapons colliding while sparks are flying. Screams pierce your ears.
You see chiseled, powerful beings radiating in white and they’re destroying shadows, gripping the throats of principalities and slitting them with iridescent blades. But you’re without armor. You wonder how you got to this place and why you came unprepared.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

Men that you recognize are rushing the opposite direction—spears aligned, ready to throw. Swords sharpened, shields fixed, helmets lowered they’re ready for battle. They’re calling for you to join them. They’re rushing for the the front lines—they’re unafraid. They know they’ve been given victory.
But not you. You’ve got your pants down around your ankles. You’re roaming in circles looking for the seductress that’s calling you by name. You can’t wait to fornicate on the battlefield.
And all the while, the kingdom is coming. The lost are being found. The sick are being healed. Demonic assignments are being cancelled. The veil is being lifted off of false religion and the persecuted church is exponentially growing in the face of opposition. Jesus is authoritatively mediating a covenant—the Spirit is interceding for the children of God, breathing life into dry bones.
You? You want an orgasm.

A Reminder of Who You Are

You are God’s child
John 1:12
You are a friend of Jesus
John 15:15
You have been justified
Romans 5:1
You’ve been united with the Lord and are one with him in Spirit
1 Corinthians 6:17
You’ve been bought with a price…you belong to God
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
You’re a member of Christ’s body
1 Corinthians 12:27
You’ve been chosen by God and adopted as his child
Ephesians 1:3-8
You’ve been redeemed and forgiven of all your sins
Colossians 1:13-14
You are complete in Christ
Colossians 2:9-10
You have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus
Hebrews 4:14-16
You are free from condemnation
Romans 8:1-2
You cannot be separated from the love of God
Romans 8:28
You are free from any condemning charges against you
Romans 8:31-34
You’ve been established, anointed, and sealed
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
You were washed…you were sanctified. You were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God
1 Cor 6:11
You are hidden with Christ in God
Colossians 3:1-4
God started this work in you, and he will bring it to completion
Phil 1:6
You are a citizen of heaven
Philippians 3:20
You haven’t been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind
2 Timothy 1:7
You are born of God, and the evil one cannot touch you
1 John 5:18
You are a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of his life
John 15:5
You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
John 15:16
You are God’s temple
1 Corinthians 3:16
You are a minister of reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
You are seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm
Ephesians 2:6
You are God’s workmanship
Ephesians 2:10
You can approach God with freedom and confidence – not because of your obedience, but because of Jesus’ obedience
Ephesians 3:12
When you are faithless, he will remain faithful, because he cannot deny himself
2 Timothy 2:13

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? (Hebrews 12:1-5).
You've been eating with the pigs long enough. Come home, son.

Click here to see the original post at the Resurgence website.

Top 10 Reasons To Watch "The Playboy Club" on NBC

2011-08-23T13:09:00.005-05:00

Hugh Hefner defines class and sophistication.
It's about time we had a show that glamorizes the porn industry.
Finally something to compete with "family" television programming like "Jersey Shore".
Young girls will find new purpose as they aspire to be Playboy bunnies.
The Hefner empire needs more money.
It's not porn if it's on network television, right?
Young ladies will finally learn that looks are all that matters.
What else are you going to do, read a book?
It's great sermon research for my next series "The Play-Christian Club".
It's a show that feeds the idols of sex, celebrity, and money all at once.

Obviously this is a sarcastic response to the upcoming network television show "The Playboy Club". Porn is destroying lives, the lives of those who make it and the lives of those who consume it. The pornification of America is a cancer that is sweeping though secular society as well as the church of Jesus Christ. If you struggle with porn you are not alone, please take a moment to read Mark Driscoll's free resource "Porn Again Christian". This is a frank commentary and recommended reading for adult men and women.

Did Michelangelo really carve the Statue of David?

2011-08-13T16:14:00.003-05:00

A guest blog by Stacey Leighty

Someone recently told me: “I’m too logical to believe there is a God.” This statement has been weighing on me ever since. Mostly because I consider myself to be an extremely logical person (what with being a math major and everything) and I believe in God. All of my ponderings have led me to the conclusion that I’m too logical to believe there is no God. Follow my thought process, if you will.

For some reason, I started thinking about the (new) seven wonders of the world – here are just a few of them:

The Great Wall of China – built between 5 BC and 16 AD, it’s the world’s longest manmade structure. But, how do we know it’s manmade? Were any of us there when it was built? How do we know that rocks didn’t just fall into place over thousands or millions of years to create this wall? Sure, there were eyewitnesses to the building process, but I’ve never met them either. How do I know they’re trustworthy?
Christ the Redeemer Statue – a 130 ft. tall concrete and soapstone statue towering over Rio de Janeiro. It was designed by Heitor da Silva. I didn’t know who designed it before I looked it up, but I knew there was an artist/designer. It will be illogical to think otherwise.
The Taj Mahal – built between 1632 and 1648, it’s a mausoleum commissioned for an Indian emperor’s wife. It actually incorporates quite a few different architectural styles in its design. But, again, how do we even know that there was an architect?
Petra – an ancient city in Jordan literally carved out of the rock. Who carved it? Would it be logical to assume that years of wind and water somehow carved out beautiful, inhabitable buildings in the stone?

So, here’s the conclusion I came to: I believe that all of these “wonders” had a builder or artist or architect for one reason – they exist. Their mere existence points to the fact that they were indeed built or designed by someone. I see a building and I know there was a builder. I see a piece of art and I know there was an artist. Yet, we see all of creation around us and some would say that there is no Creator? How can this be? The human eye is more complex than any of these wonders, and yet it’s logical to believe that it came into existence by mere happenstance? That, in my opinion, is illogical. I think it takes far more faith to believe that everything we see around us came into being with no Creator orchestrating it all.

Don't Think Now, Take The Road

2011-06-18T06:54:00.002-05:00

“He (Jesus) said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:29–30, ESV)

The wind was actually boisterous, the waves were actually high, but Peter did not see them at first. He did not reckon with them, he simply recognized his Lord, and stepped out in recognition of Him and walked on the water. Then he began to reckon with the actual things, and down he went instantly. Why could not our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves as well as on the top of them? Neither could be done saving by recognition of the Lord Jesus.

We step right out on God over some things, then self-consideration enters in and down we go. If you are recognizing your Lord, you have no business with where He engineers your circumstances. The actual things are, but immediately you look at them you are overwhelmed, you cannot recognize Jesus, and the rebuke comes: “Wherefore didst thou doubt?” Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognizing Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him.

If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say—‘Well, I wonder if He did speak?’ Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on Him. You do not know when His voice will come, but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon. It is only by abandon that you recognize Him. You will only realize His voice more clearly by recklessness.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Discipline of Prayer

2011-05-24T16:25:00.002-05:00

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV

Prayer has always been an integral part of my life. Talking with God about my life, interceding for others, and praising Him has come natural to me since the day I came to Jesus. I have been serving the Lord for over 15 years now and I can truthfully say I have spent time in prayer almost every day.

It was through a prayer of surrender that I came to know Jesus as Lord of my life. Once Jesus was part of my life so was talking to Him every day. I have missed on occasion, but those days are usually my toughest, loneliest, and most unproductive because I have not spent time with Jesus, my best friend.

In ministry it is easy to get so bogged down in what needs to be done that we can neglect the one that all our efforts are supposed to be for. it's like the father who works 80 hours a week so his kids can have the best of everything but all his kids really want is to be with Him.

God loves the wonderful things His people do in His name to further the Kingdom but business of any kind is never an excuse for not spending time with God. We must remember that we are workers in the Lord's field. Let us also remember to pray to the Lord of the harvest.

There are many lessons on prayer and I am sure that another is not needed here. Prayer is not something learned, prayer is something practiced. I have five main things that have kept my prayer life consistent for 15 years.

Schedule time for prayer
Pray in the morning
Be genuine
Find a consistent place to be alone with God
If you miss a day, don't beat yourself up

This might seem over simplistic or leaving you wanting more instruction but prayer is wonderful in that it is something unique that you and God share. Your prayer time will not be like my prayer time and your prayers will not sound like mine or anyone else.

A word to my friends in ministry. Pray before you get to work or at least pray before your expected office hours begin. I have found that as I sacrifice my time to the Lord in prayer He honors that time with more of His presence. Everyone else in your church must make time to pray. How can you lead them in this discipline if you refuse to practice it yourself?

Prayer is foundational for everyone. The habit of prayer is not always easy but it is always beneficial. Commit to make prayer a priority. You'll be glad you did.

Back to the Future

2011-05-03T12:37:00.000-05:00

I recently completed my sixth class in my Assemblies of God ordination studies. The class was on the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses. The study was encouraging, enlightening, and full of hope.

The Old Testament points to God's plan of redemption for fallen humanity as far back as Genesis 3:15, where God says to Satan, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” In God's Son, Jesus, victory over sin and subsequent death has been granted once and for all. Jesus crushed Satan when he rose from the dead and His victory has been imparted to those who by Faith receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior.

Throughout the Pentateuch we are reminded of who we are in God's plan, His standard of holiness, and how desperately we need a Savior. God's law as expressed through the ten commandments and Leviticus 19 can never be satisfied in our efforts or desire to please Him. The law exists to point us to our profound need of a savior.

The wonderful instruction, commands, promises, and blessings found in the first five books of the Old Testament set the foundation for our faith in Christ. The first step in coming to saving faith in Jesus in acknowledging our sin. We know what sin is because it is outlined in the Pentateuch. Without acknowledging sin we cannot acknowledge our need for a savior. Paul said in Romans 7:9, “I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ” It is in our realization of how sinful we really are that drives the consuming need to look to our Savior.

When I came to Christ over 15 years ago and picked a Bible for the first time I didn't start reading in Genesis, I started in John. As I matured in my faith I began to study the Old Testament and my eyes were opened to see Christ everywhere in the Bible, not just the New Testament. I want to encourage you, if you have never studied the Old Testament, particularly the Pentateuch, to commit to doing so. I believe that this trip back to the future will open your eyes to the love and provision of God and His wonderful plan for your life.

The Plan

2011-04-30T12:01:00.001-05:00

April ended with a wonderful South Texas District Council. We had wonderful speakers for every service and the Spirit of the Lord moved in the hearts of those in attendance. Stacey and I are truly blessed to be part of a wonderful fellowship.

Thursday morning during the prayer service the Spirit of God spoke a powerful and timely word into my heart. The Spirit said to me, "I have given you the vision, and I will lead you in my plan to see the vision fulfilled.” I just began to weep before God as He also reminded me of Jeremiah 19:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

As many of you know I am a detail guy, someone who likes to have a plan and follow it. By God’s grace he has given me many great visions for His will in my life and I have been privileged to see some of them come to fulfillment. As I reflect on those victories I see that it was never my plans that led to eventual success. It is only when I surrendered to God’s plan that success was realized.

As Stacey and I began this new missionary endeavor God gave us a vision of a church in Stuttgart full of military families growing in grace, sharing their faith, and daily worshiping God. So I formed a plan to get us there, my plan, not His. That Thursday morning in prayer at council God showed me my foolishness, and I was broken.

The new plan is this, trust the Lord and His plan as He chooses to reveal it to me in prayer and His Word. My daily goal is to walk in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This time the vision is too big for my plan and the stakes too high to fail. God has called us and given us a great vision and He knows the plans He has for us. Our only job is to follow the plan.

Tips for Staying Fit on the Road

2011-04-16T14:21:00.001-05:00

About 3 years ago I weighed 280 pounds. The bottom came while trying on size 50 pants and they were not fitting. I decided in the dressing room to lose weight by exercising and eating right. I lost 80 pounds in about eight months, getting as low as 199 pounds.

I put about 30 pounds back after a year following several missions trips to Germany and Romania. I have been between 215 and 230 ever since then. My goal weight is between 190 and 200 and I have yet to keep it there for any length of time. But recently I have rededicated myself to the effort and am well on my way to reaching this goal.

Of course being on the road 80% of the time makes staying fit and eating right a real challenge. I am currently making some progress in reaching my weight goal and thought the tips I have learned over the years night help others. If you are interested in maintaining your current weight or losing a few pounds I hope the following tips help.

Pray - Food can be an idol, it is for me, and I need the power of the Holy Spirit to empower me to gain the victory over my idols. Pray daily for the Holy Spirit to guide your food choices.
Eat In - This can be tough for an itinerating missionary, but make a deal with yourself that you will not eat out unless it is a special occasion, or in the course of building a ministry relationship.
Good Choices - When you do go out remember that you eat to live not live to eat. It's easy to lose control at a restaurant so try and look at the menu online and research the calorie and fat content before arriving. That way you will know what to order before the smells and pictures hit you.
Brand Loyalty - Seek out restaurant chains that have several healthy options but keep in mind not everything on the menu is healthy. Some examples include: Subway, Genghis Grill, Chipotle Grill, TGI Fridays, Soup or Salad, Jason's Deli, Panera Bread, Applebee's, Orange Leaf Yogurt.
No Red Meats - This is a must if you are trying to lose weight, there are some benefits to eating red meat but the negatives outweigh the positives here. Instead eat chicken, turkey (best choice), fish, and once in a while lean pork.
Drink Water - Your body is mostly water and many times when you feel hungry you are just thirsty. Before snaking (healthy of course) drink a tall glass of water and two tall glasses at every meal. Cut out sodas (including diet) all together.
Portion Control - Most restaurants serve way too much food with your order. My number one way to not eat it all is to ask for a take out container right away and split my meal (if I am not sharing with my wife, also good) and take it home or to the hotel for lunch the following day. Never eat until stuffed only until you are no longer hungry.
Join a Gym - Joining a good gym with plenty of weight machines, aerobic options, and locations close to your home is an important step in getting fit.
Schedule Workouts - When can you dedicate 60- 90 minutes a day three times a week to working out? Look at your calendar and see what days you are most likely available. If you are a morning person go in the morning, if not, then in the evening. Be sure to give yourself at least one day in between workouts to recover.
Strength Train- Aerobic activity helps you burn calories while active, but strength training keeps you body burning calories 2 to 3 hours after working out. More is not better here, you are looking for 14-18 reps with moderate exertion levels. If you are unfamiliar with strength/resistance training getting a trainer for a few weeks is recommended.
Free Training - This is a term I use for training when you are traveling. I hate to run but it is the one thing I can do wherever I am. Get a good pair of running/walking shoes and pack workout clothes. Make every attempt to stay on schedule no matter where you are. Choose a hotel with a fitness center (most offer this amenity) when traveling. You can also visit a park and play basketball or Geocache as a family.
Stay Active - Leading an active lifestyle on days you are not working out will accelerate your fitness and weight loss levels. Play golf, walk, go to the park, and other activities will help you lose weight faster.
Shop Smart - Choose foods that will strengthen and build your body, not make you feel sluggish and tired. Avoid processed food if possible. If you cannot buy fresh all the time get frozen not canned veggies. Pay attention to portion sizes and nutritional information. Try to plan out balanced healthy meals for your family.
Pack Your Snacks - One thing that really works is buying road snacks at the market before your trips. Convenience stores don't often have a wide selection of healthy snacks so buy ahead and back a grocery bar with nutrition bars, nuts, fruit, and water.
Be Persistent - If you slip, get up, analyze why you slipped, and develop a plan not to slip again. This is a marathon not a sprint so once in a while you are going to stumble. Being healthy and fit is not a fad, it's a life choice.

I hope this serves as a blessing. I am not a fitness guru or a expert, I am just a guy who struggles in this part of his journey with the Lord and has learned some things along the way. I am convinced that bringing discipline to this area of my life brings glory to God and refusing to do so brings dishonor.

Philippians 3:19, Matthew 6:25, Romans 8:12-14

Three Keys in Missions Giving

2011-04-08T14:01:00.001-05:00

At a national conference, a pastor of a large and growing church asked a colleague for some counsel: “We are starting another building program, but we have many financial problems. We are constantly in debt and under pressure for more money. What is our problem?”

After asking a few probing questions, the colleague correctly diagnosed the twofold difficulty: First, the pastor was not teaching his people to tithe and give offerings and alms as directed in Scripture. Second, he did not regularly promote missions in his congregation with such things as missions conventions, faith promise giving, and adding new missionaries and projects to the church’s support list. In other words, the troubled pastor had overlooked three key principles related to missions giving:

Missions and world ministries outreach is not an optional program. Every local church, regardless of its size or income, is part of the active body of Christ and must share in the task of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19–20; Mark 16:15–18).
Part of a church’s spiritual program is to develop a missionary vision and program. A well-planned missions convention can become one of the spiritual highlights of the year.
When churches begin to give to missions or increase their missions giving, the general income of the church usually increases as well.

One particular congregation was giving only $255 annually to missions. Within six years, however, it had increased its annual missions giving to $43,000. At the same time, the annual amount the members gave for local operating expenses and ministries increased to $46,000. Moreover, this church had been burdened with a debt of more than $80,000. Yet during the time of missions growth, the church paid off its debt in full and purchased a parsonage for its pastor.

Kilpatrick, J. (2006). Church Administration, Finance, and Law (48–49). Springfield, MO: Global University.

Is He Risen In You?

2011-04-07T07:25:00.002-05:00

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1, ESV)

Do you remember the day you gave your heart and life to Jesus? The day that you cried out to Him in complete surrender and asked Him to fulfill His promises in you? That is the day of your death, the day you died to yourself. Or did you?

So many people in churches today come forward and make a decision to be a Christian, come to church, volunteer, make friends, sing cool songs, do the right thing, etc. There are very few who come forward to die. There is no acknowledgment of guilt, no repentance, and no death.

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8–9, ESV)

The blame for most of the false or weak conversions in our churches rest primarily on the pastors and spiritual leaders in our churches. In an effort to see our altars full we have watered down the message of the cross. The message of the cross calls us not to just raise our hand in our seat, or say a prayer, but calls a man to come and die.

After three days Jesus rose from the dead and He is now at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints. Has Jesus risen in you? Is He the author and director of your life? Does Jesus and your relationship with Him take priority over every other thing? In order for Christ to rise to this place of prominence in your life you must share in His death.

Examine your heart and ask Christ to put to death every thing that is not of God in your life so that the life of Christ may rise up in you.

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13, ESV)

Do You Now Believe?

2011-02-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

“Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32–33, ESV)

‘Now we believe.’ Jesus says—‘Do you? The time is coming when you will leave Me alone.’ Many a Christian worker has left Jesus Christ alone and gone into work from a sense of duty, or from a sense of need arising out of his own particular discernment. The reason for this is the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. The soul has got out of intimate contact with God by leaning to its own religious understanding. There is no sin in it, and no punishment attached to it; but when the soul realizes how he has hindered his understanding of Jesus Christ, and produced for himself perplexities and sorrows and difficulties, it is with shame and contrition he has to come back.

We need to rely on the resurrection life of Jesus much deeper down, to get into the habit of steadily referring everything back to Him; instead of this we make our commonsense decisions and ask God to bless them. He cannot, it is not in His domain, it is severed from reality. If we do a thing from a sense of duty, we are putting up a standard in competition with Jesus Christ. We become a ‘superior person,’ and say—‘Now in this matter I must do this and that.’ We have put our sense of duty on the throne instead of the resurrection life of Jesus. We are not told to walk in the light of conscience or of a sense of duty, but to walk in the light as God is in the light. When we do anything from a sense of duty, we can back it up by argument; when we do anything in obedience to the Lord, there is no argument possible; that is why a saint can be easily ridiculed.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Heal the Sick

2011-02-18T08:12:00.000-06:00

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ” (James 5:13–14, ESV)

It is the responsibility of the sick to call the elders of the church. When a person is so ill that he or she cannot go to church, they want the people with the most faith in the church to come and pray. Normally, when the illness is not major, the rule is ‘pray for each other’. The elders will act just like the disciples in Mk. 6:13 who must have learned it from Jesus, and anoint the sick person with oil as they pray, so their prayer is not only heard, but physically felt. The important fact is that the prayer is to the Lord and the anointing is done in the name of the Lord. It is the Lord, not the power of the prayer or the oil, who will raise him up. And that is just how James promises that the Lord will respond to the prayer offered in faith. This is not a ‘hope so’ or ‘maybe’ prayer, but a prayer which shows secure confidence that God will heal because the elders have first listened to God and have received this confidence in their hearts. It is close to Paul’s gift of faith in 1 Cor. 12:9. Such prayers take time; they are not a quick ritual or routine.

Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Jas 5:13–18). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

The God of the Irresistable Future

2010-12-31T08:53:00.001-06:00

"The God of Israel will be your reward." - Isaiah 52:12

Security from Yesterday. “God requireth that which is past.” At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise from remembering the yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God’s grace is apt to be checked by the memory of yesterday’s sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them in order to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual culture for the future. God reminds us of the past lest we get into a shallow security in the present.

Security for To-morrow. “For the Lord will go before you.” This is a gracious revelation, that God will garrison where we have failed to. He will watch lest things trip us up again into like failure, as they assuredly would do if He were not our reward. God’s hand reaches back to the past and makes a clearing-house for conscience.

Security for To-day. “For ye shall not go out with haste.” As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, unremembering delight, nor with the flight of impulsive thoughtlessness, but with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays present irreparable things to us; it is true that we have lost opportunities which will never return but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ.

Leave the Irreparable Past in His hands, and step out into the Irresistible Future with Him.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Test of Loyalty

2010-12-18T08:44:00.001-06:00

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28, ESV

It is only the loyal soul who believes that God engineers circumstances. We take such liberties with our circumstances, we do not believe God engineers them, although we say we do; we treat the things that happen as if they were engineered by men. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, and that is to our Lord. Suddenly God breaks up a particular set of circumstances, and the realization comes that we have been disloyal to Him by not recognizing that He had organized them. We never saw what He was after, and that particular thing will never be repeated all the days of our life. The test of loyalty always comes just there. If we learn to worship God in the trying circumstances, He will alter them in two seconds when He chooses.

Loyalty to Jesus Christ is the thing that we ‘stick at’ to-day. We will be loyal to work, to service, to anything, but do not ask us to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Many Christians are intensely impatient of talking about loyalty to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more emphatically by Christian workers than by the world. God is made a machine for blessing men, and Jesus Christ is made a Worker among workers.

The idea is not that we do work for God, but that we are so loyal to Him that He can do His work through us—‘I reckon on you for extreme service, with no complaining on your part and no explanation on Mine.’ God wants to use us as He used His own Son.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The Bow in the Cloud

2010-12-06T07:11:00.000-06:00

"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth." -Genesis 9:13

It is the will of God that human beings should get into moral relationship with Him, and His covenants are for this purpose. ‘Why does not God save me?’ He has saved me, but I have not entered into relationship with Him. “Why does not God do this and that?’ He has done it, the point is—Will I step into covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.

Waiting for God is incarnate unbelief, it means that I have no faith in Him; I wait for Him to do something in me that I may trust in that. God will not do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man has to go out of himself in his covenant with God as God goes out of Himself in His covenant with man. It is a question of faith in God—the rarest thing; we have faith only in our feelings. I do not believe God unless He will give me something in my hand whereby I may know I have it, then I say—‘Now I believe.’ There is no faith there. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved.”

When I have really transacted business with God on His covenant and have let go entirely, there is no sense of merit, no human ingredient in it at all, but a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and the whole thing is transfigured with peace and joy.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

5 Ways To Get The Most Out Of A Sermon

2010-12-02T13:49:00.000-06:00

The Art of Listening might well be the most the important skill a Christian must develop, because Christianity is at its essence all about the Word of God. In fact, God himself is the Word (John 1:1) and the Word became flesh (John 1:2)—safe to say that if God is the Word then how we use our ears is pretty important. Furthermore, you can only come to faith through hearing (Rom. 10:14) and then you grow mature through hearing (Matt. 13:23).

The Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord (1 Sam 3:21).

Do you get it? Seeing God happens through hearing. Our vision is through our ears. My friend, if you have either not yet come to Christ, or you have but are frustrated, confused, and not really growing, then I would bet big money that your problem revolves around not listening as you should. Here are some tips on listening well to a preacher, or to the Word of God in any context:

1. Get in range regularly

The reason Zacchaeus collided with Jesus was because he climbed the tree. If the soil is not in range of the sower then it isn't going to receive any seed. This first point isn't rocket science: you need to be regularly exposed to God's word. Try to do a few minutes of personal time each day with the Bible, and obviously ensure you are at church each Sunday. Get in range.

2. Be expectant to receive

The good news is that the Word of God is supernatural stuff. It is living and active and burrows right inside us, doing us good (Heb. 4:12) and it will always achieve its purpose (Isa. 55:11). So listen expectantly. If it is a topic or preacher that you are not too excited about, then pull yourself together and get excited—the issue is the pizza, not the delivery boy or the box it comes in.

3. Understand it

The Parable of the Soil (Matt. 13:23) stresses the importance of not just hearing but understanding. Take notes, listen again to the download, discuss it at small group, go over the Scriptures again. One way or another, check you that you 'get it'.

4. Mix with faith

Hebrews 4:1-3 speaks about two groups of people who heard the same message. One group benefited big time. The others thought the message was useless. What was the difference? Only one group mixed the incoming word with faith. As you listen, be assured that God has your best at heart, and set yourself to receive the word and to obey it with joy and conviction. Not because you 'have to' but because you 'get to.' God isn't looking for blind, begrudging obedience. He is looking for faith!

5. Actually do it

The difference between the foolish and wise builders in Matthew 7 was that one put the word into practice and one didn't. If you don't actually obey the word then your life and faith will be built on sand. You will continuously be unsure that 'Christianity really works.' So, if you hear a message on forgiveness but do not forgive, then your house may fall flat. James says that you will be a like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like—you will be insecure in who you are and in who God is. Obey. Put it into practice. Then you'll grow.

From the Resurgence Blog, written by PJ Smyth

Authority and Independence

2010-11-02T07:40:00.001-05:00

"If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments." John 14:15 (R.V.).

Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of oneness of spirit. That is why when Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF—you do not need to unless you like. “If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself”; let him give up his right to himself to Me. Our Lord is not talking of eternal positions, but of being of value to Himself in this order of things, that is why He sounds so stern (cf. Luke 14:26). Never interpret these words apart from the One who uttered them.

The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. Jesus Christ will not help me to obey Him, I must obey Him; and when I do obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean, but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I shall discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When once God’s Redemption comes to the point of obedience in a human soul, it always creates. If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Crushed

2010-09-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” -Colossians 1:24, ESV

We make calls out of our own spiritual consecration, but when we get right with God He brushes all these aside, and rivets us with a pain that is terrific to one thing we never dreamed of, and for one radiant, flashing moment we see what He is after, and we say—“Here am I, send me.”

This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and makes those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.

I wonder what kind of finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you, and you have been like a marble and escaped? You are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you, the wine would have been remarkably bitter. To be a sacramental personality means that the elements of the natural life are presenced by God as they are broken providentially in His service. We have to be adjusted to God before we can be broken bread in His hands. Keep right with God and let Him do what He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Dead Lions

2010-09-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

“But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.” -Ecclesiastes 9:4, ESV

There are those in this world who chase after power, money, and the admiration of man. The world hails them as visionaries, role models, and as kings here on earth. They are as the mightiest of all beasts, the lion. But one very important truth escapes them, they too will come to their natural end. The lion and the dog must one day die.

The Lord was the greatest person to walk the face of the earth, yet He was regarded as lower than a dog as He was led to the cross. There are men that will set themselves up as lions and they may rule here and now, but there will be a day when those regarded as dogs will rule over the dead lions. To be regarded as a dog by the world but to know in your heart that you are a lion in the eyes of the Lord is one of the true joys that come from understanding our identity in Christ.

Thank You

2010-09-20T14:12:00.001-05:00

Once in a while I hear from one of our former students. I received this message a couple of days ago and I wanted to share it with everyone. It is not a testimony of our ministry as much as it is of God's wonderful grace and powerful calling upon the hearts of His people. Though this letter is to me as you read it you will see the real hero is Jesus. I have omitted certain personal details and the students name.

Hey Pastor Matt!

I'm just going to cut it to the chase

Thank you.

Since I was eight you've encouraged, mentored, and challenged my walk with Christ. I think sometimes when people are raised in church we turn on autopilot and sometimes check out and I believe that was me. I knew that God was real and that He loved me and stuff but I don't think I knew who God was.

I've even had to step down (from ministry) a few times because my walk with Christ was...pretty much non existent. I clung to a mask of smiles and handshakes covering a life of sin, and filth. I was living in sin and also mocking God with my presence in the church.

Thank God for my parents, who fear the Lord, for showing me Jesus even when I spat in their faces.
And thank you, for calling me out, for your boldness in what you minister to us because its God's convicting Word and nothing less.

My moms greatest fear was sending me off to college, she even tried to "Marry me off" but it was only Jesus Christ that could save me. He did! Believe it or not, on August 8th 2010, I fully surrendered my life to Jesus. I cant believe that I sat in church all theses years and played an act, but He is faithful and He still pursued me. and I just wanted to let you know that.

Jesus is moving at my school. I'm involved in some Campus for Christ ministries, but its the people, I have strong sisters and brothers in Christ that have been my iron sharping me. We know in our hearts that God has called us to do something big, so please pray for us.

But thank you. Thank you for your faithfulness and your love for Jesus, because you have been my role model all these years and great will be your reward in Heaven.

I just felt the need to tell you...so thanks again.

"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15 (NIV)

Reflecting on 9/11

2010-09-11T08:03:00.000-05:00

On September 11th, 2001 almost 3000 people died at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania. I remember getting ready for work that day, like any other day, when live coverage on the Today Show broadcast the horrifying video of planes cutting through the twin towers. I stood slack-jawed in unbelief at what I was seeing. Several minutes later the World Trade Center came crashing down in a plum of fire, smoke, and toxic ash.

Later reports came in of plane crashing into the Pentagon, the Pentagon! The country was bracing for the worst, how many planes were out there and where would the next crash be? Next the report came in of a plane that was possibly heading for the White House crashing in a field in rural Pennsylvania. That was a tense day with everyone hoping that the senseless violence had ended.

The days following 9/11 we saw the best of American charity, brotherly love, and solidarity. Churches were packed the Sunday following the attacks. Men and women from all over the country volnuteered to help at ground zero. Thousands of American young men and women enlisted in armed services eager to defend our country. Many of us prayed fervently, for the victims, their families, and for America.

Today the news is dominated by war on two fronts, the growing intolerance for Muslims, and the pitiful financial state of our nation. How did we get here? How do we get out of the mess we are in? When can we get back the way things were before 9/11? These are the questions I find myself asking but there are no real answers.

What is the best way I can honor the memories of those who perished on 9/11? I believe it is to live a life free from the fear of terrorist attack, support our troops, and most importantly pray for our nation. I pray for the recession to end, for troops to come home and lasting peace, and for the threat of terrorism to be wiped from the earth. Most importantly I pray for revival.

I pray that God's people would rise up and take hold of their mission to bring the Gospel to every soldier, Muslim, and neighbor. I pray that idols of greed and gluttony that consume America be crushed. I pray that we could love men and women who worship other gods without compromising our Faith in Christ, and show them Christ by how we love one another. Jesus is Lord and He is the answer.

My Joy ... Your Joy

2010-08-31T06:52:00.002-05:00

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ” -John 15:11, ESV

What was the joy that Jesus had? It is an insult to use the word happiness in connection with Jesus Christ. The joy of Jesus was the absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice of Himself to His Father, the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do. “I delight to do Thy will.” Jesus prayed that our joy might go on fulfilling itself until it was the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?

The full flood of my life is not in bodily health, not in external happenings, not in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with Him that Jesus Himself had. The first thing that will hinder this joy is the captious irritation of thinking out circumstances. The cares of this world, said Jesus, will choke God’s word. Before we know where we are, we are caught up in the shows of things. All that God has done for us is the mere threshold; He wants to get us to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim Who Jesus is.

Be rightly related to God, find your joy there, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Be a centre for Jesus Christ to pour living water through. Stop being self-conscious, stop being a sanctified prig, and live the life hid with Christ. The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing wherever it goes. The lives that have been of most blessing to you are those who were unconscious of it.

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

The World Is Filled With Boys Who Can Shave

2010-08-25T11:41:00.002-05:00

Check out this article recently published in the Washington Post by one of my favorite authors, preachers, and church planters, Mark Driscoll

What's Your Purpose?

2010-08-07T07:51:00.000-05:00

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” -Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

Recently, a 29 year-old nurse, Melanie Stevens, found a cello lying beside a trash bin and put it in her trunk and left it there for a couple of days. She decided she wanted her boyfriend, a cabinetmaker to put a hinge on the front of it and to install little shelves inside so she could use it as a CD case.

What she didn’t know was that this instrument was a A 320-year-old Stradivarius cello valued around $3.5 million. As it turns out, the primary cellist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic left the instrument outside his home and a bicyclist stole it. No one knows why he later abandoned it, but he did and as fate would have it, Stevens found it.

Luckily, before her boyfriend got a round to making the CD case, Stevens saw a news report about the missing cello and returned it. The cello made in 1684 was one of about 60 made by Stradivari in his Cremona, Italy works. The Los Angeles Philharmonic bought it about 30 years ago. According to Associated Press, Robert Cauer, a Los Angeles-based instrument restoration specialist says the valuable instrument is damaged but repairable and should be back in service by this fall. Cauer added the prospect that the prized instrument could have been turned into a CD holder “is so abominable, I get sick when I hear it.”

Imagine something worth $3.5 million dollars being used to store CD cases, Cauer is right, it is abominable. A noble instrument like this one was designed for a much higher purpose than holding recorded music, it was made to create it. I wonder what Stradivarius would think about this?

God has created you. He created you for a purpose. I am confident that He wants you to fulfill the purpose for which you were created. Too many people settle for the common the ordinary, when God had much more in mind when He created them. They become CD racks, when He designed them to be a unique, one of a kind masterpiece.

Are you fulfilling the God’s purpose? If not, will you make a commitment today to discover His purpose and fulfill it?

Wilson, J. L. (2009). Fresh Start Devotionals. Fresno, CA: Willow City Press.

Are You Really A Christian?

2010-07-23T10:59:00.001-05:00

Jonathan Edwards sought to promote vibrant Christian faith through teaching people what the “marks,” or signs, of godly living actually are. He did so not merely because he was really smart and liked categorizing things, but because he wanted Christians to experience the joy of true Christianity and then spread that joy to others. In short, he was a missional pastor before the vodcasts and fauxhawks.

1. You Love Jesus

In his 1741 text Distinguishing Marks of a True Work of the Spirit of God, Edwards laid out a number of negative and positive signs that distinguished a true work of God from a false one. Though Edwards focused in this text on revivals more broadly, his words apply to individuals seeking to discern whether they know the Lord.

The first of these signs was a “raised esteem” for Jesus Christ. The point of this first sign is that when the Spirit moves in a person’s heart and awakens them to faith and repentance, their view of Jesus changes. The nominal believer respects Jesus, but does not reverence or exalt him. The true Christian takes delight in Jesus, a delight that is often palpable and contagious. As we serve on mission for God by promoting the gospel, we should expect to see a “raised esteem” for Jesus Christ, the author of our redemption.

2. You Hate Sin

The second sign of a “true work” is an increased hatred for sin and defeat of sinful practices.

When the spirit that is at work operates against the interest of Satan's kingdom, which lies in encouraging and establishing sin, and cherishing men's worldly lusts; this is a sure sign that 'tis a true, and not a false spirit… So that we may safely determine, from what the Apostle says, that the spirit that is at work amongst a people… and convinces them of the dreadfulness of sin, the guilt that it brings, and the misery that it exposes to: I say, the spirit that operates after such a manner, must needs be the Spirit of God (Works 4, 250-51).

This point, like the others, is both profound and simple. One of the clear signs of a work of God is increased hatred for sin. Our eyes are suddenly opened to see the dreadfulness of one’s condition. Where before one had spotted weaknesses and flaws, but always had excuses at the ready to cover up those personal blemishes, now the Spirit shows the sinner just how degraded and evil he is.

3. You Love God’s Word

The third sign of a “true work” is a love for the Bible. Edwards tied this love for Scripture not to simple literary appreciation for its contents, but to a Spirit-given hunger and thirst for the Word of God:

That spirit that operates in such a manner, as to cause in men a greater regard to the Holy Scriptures, and establishes them more in their truth and divinity, is certainly the Spirit of God... The Devil never would go about to beget in persons a regard to that divine Word, which God hath given to be the great and standing rule for the direction of his church in all religious matters and concerns of their souls, in all ages. (Works 4, 250)

Many people respect the Bible. It is known as a “holy book,” a sacred text. But few people view it as the actual word of God that God himself “has appointed and inspired to deliver to his church its rule of faith and practice” as “the great and standing rule for the direction of his church.” Where a person’s heart flames with love and holy “regard” for the Scriptures, the Spirit has worked.

4. You Love Truth

The fourth sign that marked the presence of a “true work” was a heightened love for truth and the things of God.

An awareness and responsiveness to divine truth was a clear signal that the Lord had moved in human hearts. So where people came to see “that there is a God” and that he is “great” and “sin-hating,” and that they themselves have “immortal souls” and “must give account of themselves to God,” the Spirit was working true conversion.

Edwards rightly noted that the Spirit does not lead believers into error. Therefore, when we hear news of conversion, whether mass or individual, we need to listen for resonances of the truth in the testimony of the convert. Do they love the truth more? Do they love God more? Do they subscribe to sound doctrine, and root their faith in it? Missional Christians seek to hate sin and to lead others to do the same.

5. You Love Believers

The final positive sign in Edwards’s taxonomy of the Spirit’s “true work” was love for one’s fellow Christians.

Many people who profess Christ lose their footing on this final point. They may well appreciate fellow church members and contribute in some way to their well-being, but they have not been filled by the Lord with a holy love for fellow Christians, and thus they do not serve them. True conversion will cause stable couples to take in young Christians hungry for discipleship. It will lead Christians to give generously to missionaries and fellow believers (see 2 Corinthians 8). It will drive older believers to spend time mentoring younger ones (see Titus 2).

In the end, the way one cares for one’s fellow members says more about our testimony of conversion and our understanding of gospel mission than we might initially think. True Christians serve their fellow members out of love, as a response to the grace of Jesus.

(Taken from the Resurgence Blog, Adapted from Chapter Three of Jonathan Edwards on True Christianity from The Essential Edwards Collection)

I Will Serve The Lord

2010-07-09T08:55:00.002-05:00

"You are not able to serve the Lord" -Joshua 24:19

Have you the slightest reliance on any thing other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural virtue, any set of circumstances? Are you relying on yourself in any particular in this new proposition which God has put before you? That is what the probing means. It is quite true to say—‘I cannot live a holy life’; but you can decide to let Jesus Christ make you holy. “Ye cannot serve the Lord God”—but you can put yourself in the place where God’s Almighty power will work through you. Are you sufficiently right with God to expect Him to manifest His wonderful life in you?

“Nay, but we will serve the Lord.” It is not an impulse, but a deliberate commitment. You say—‘But God can never have called me to this, I am too unworthy, it can’t mean me.’ It does mean you, and the weaker and feebler you are, the better. The one who has something to trust in is the last one to come anywhere near saying—‘I will serve the Lord.’

We say—‘If I really could believe!’ The point is—If I really will believe. No wonder Jesus Christ lays such emphasis on the sin of unbelief. “And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” If we really believed that God meant what He said—what should we be like! Dare I really let God be to me all that He says He will be?

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Judge Yourselves That Ye Be Not Judged

2010-06-12T08:28:00.005-05:00

“Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.” — Daniel 5:27

It is well frequently to weigh ourselves in the scale of God’s Word. You will find it a holy exercise to read some psalm of David, and, as you meditate upon each verse, to ask yourself, “Can I say this? Have I felt as David felt? Has my heart ever been broken on account of sin, as his was when he penned his penitential psalms? Has my soul been full of true confidence in the hour of difficulty as his was when he sang of God’s mercies in the cave of Adullam, or in the holds of Engedi? Do I take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord?” Then turn to the life of Christ, and as you read, ask yourselves how far you are conformed to his likeness. Endeavour to discover whether you have the meekness, the humility, the lovely spirit which he constantly inculcated and displayed. Take, then, the epistles, and see whether you can go with the apostle in what he said of his experience. Have you ever cried out as he did—“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Have you ever felt his self-abasement? Have you seemed to yourself the chief of sinners, and less than the least of all saints? Have you known anything of his devotion? Could you join with him and say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”? If we thus read God’s Word as a test of our spiritual condition, we shall have good reason to stop many a time and say, “Lord, I feel I have never yet been here, O bring me here! give me true penitence, such as this I read of. Give me real faith; give me warmer zeal; inflame me with more fervent love; grant me the grace of meekness; make me more like Jesus. Let me no longer be ‘found wanting,’ when weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, lest I be found wanting in the scales of judgment.” “Judge yourselves that ye be not judged.”

Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

FaceSpace - The Pastoral Repsonse to Social Networking

2010-06-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”” -Ephesians 5:11–14, NIV

Social networking has changed the way we communicate with each other inside and outside the church. In the last 5 years these sites have opened a window of our personal lives to the world, revealing the good, the bad, and at times, the ugly. As electronic communication devices get smaller and easier to use and the influence of social networking grows we will see the line between virtual and physical relationships continue to blur.

The advent of social networking has been a great leap forward in personal communication. We can simultaneously communicate with hundreds, even thousands of people in seconds, alerting them of what is happening in our personal lives, business, church, or school. We are able to reconnect with old friends, classmates, and family members. Social networking has also expanded the influence of music and art giving artists an avenue to affordably expose the world to their creations. The effects on the church have been profound as well. Many churches have learned that to communicate with people effectively they must employ the use of social networking sites. This medium for communicating allows churches to "get the word out" to hundreds at once making it effective and easy.

As the church continues to use social networking to reach out to congregations as a whole and members of our congregation connect with each other, problems do arise. Like any good thing, social networking can be misused, abused, and transformed into a bad thing.

The nature of social networking lends itself to the easy dissemination of gossip and slander. God's Word tells us that “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. ” (Proverbs 16:28, NIV). Gossiping in the virtual world is as much a sin as gossip in the physical.

Another aspect of social networking that is both good and bad from a pastoral perspective is the view of a church member's life as presented on their profile page. A profile page is a window into who people really are, what they are doing, and what motivates them. This is good in that it helps a pastor see where people really are, physically, emotionally and spiritually. This is bad in that it can be extremely frustrating and defeating to see people praising for the Lord on Sunday morning and then see what they are doing throughout the week, especially Friday and Saturday night.

Living a double life as a Christian is not a new concept. Jesus said “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. ” (Matthew 6:24, NIV), He was talking about money but His meaning was more broad reaching to anything that we worship or serve more than the triune God. Social networking just reveals what has been going on for thousands of years and pastors can no longer fool themselves that everyone who comes to church on Sunday morning is living a holy life before God the rest of the week.

Some pastors have reacted by burying their head in the sand and deleting their Facebook or Myspace account, trying to revert to the ways things were before, see no evil, there be no evil. They wish they had never taken the red pill and been exposed to the reality of a church where not everyone lives happily ever after. Of course this does nothing to serve the kingdom, in fact it is a disservice to the kingdom.

Down and dirty is where Jesus served during His earthly ministry. He did not turn a blind eye to the sin of the hypocrite or Pharisee, He confronted, rebuked, and extorted these men and women to live a holy life by the grace of God. I believe that we are to do the same. We are to expose virtual sin and hypocrisy just as we would if we were present during the act. By doing so we proclaim the Word of God to those who perishing that they may hear and be saved by the grace of God.

Pastors need to embrace social networking, it's not going away. Use this tool to further the kingdom of God by examining where your congregation is and tailor your messages to address their issues and struggles. Hold members of your church accountable for what they post and how they conduct themselves online and encourage them to do the same for others. Finally, guard what you post and share online because you will be judged more harshly than anyone.

The Sin Bay, What Does The Bible Say About Pirating Software?

2010-05-20T12:20:00.008-05:00

Last year Microsoft made $13.7 billion. Big budget movies like Transformers 3 and Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince made $300 million each. The music industry made $10.4 billion. With all these people getting rich, what is wrong with downloading software, movies, and music from illegal pirating websites? If I download a copy of Microsoft Office will Bill Gates go hungry?

There is no question that pirating software (making copies of illegally or legally obtained media in your possession for further distribution regardless of financial gain) is against Federal Law. But many have convinced themselves that pirating music, movies, and software for personal use is not a violation of the law. Some also reason that the law is overly restrictive and senseless and have decided that they will not obey it. Even more are compelled by their sense of need for whatever they are stealing that they ignore their conscience and take whatever they want.

Of course whatever your reason for stealing intellectual property, it is still stealing. Exodus 20:15 clearly says "You shall not steal." Stealing is taking the property of another without permission. When you make or receive a copy of any intellectual property that you have not properly paid for you are taking from the creator of that property the right to receive compensation. This is the textbook definition of stealing.

Our opinions o f whether or not copyright law is right or wrong is irrelevant. The fact is that it is the law and we are admonished in Scripture to "be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient" (Titus 3:1). Pirating software is illegal in the United States and whether or not we agree with this law or not Scripture instructs us to submit to these laws. Paul tells us in Romans 13:1 “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1) Paul is saying that we obey the authorities because they receive their authority from God alone.

What really drives the pirating community is greed. Christians and non-Christians alike have convinced themselves that their need for a song, movie, or software title far outweighs whatever God has to say on the subject. They have “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.” (Romans 1:25) God has spoken in regards to stealing and obeying the authorities but some have exchanged that knowledge for the lie that it isn't stealing, or they are not hurting anyone, or that God doesn't care about pirating, or these industries are ripping us off and deserve it.

Of course these are all excuses that allow us to keep doing what we know is wrong. We are good at justifying our sin. However, God desires that we would simply repent of our sin and turn to Him. Do you really need that song, movie, or program that badly? Is separating yourself from God worth it? If you are pirating software, music, or movies delete them today and commit to live above reproach in this area of your life.

Out of the Wreck, I Arise

2010-05-19T08:04:00.003-05:00

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? -Romans 8:35

"If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial, be strengthened." -George Mueller

God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says—“I will be with him in trouble.” It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man’s life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are “more than conquerors in all these things.” Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately actual; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our ingenuity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.

“Shall tribulation …?” Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may—exhausting, galling, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.

“Shall anguish …?”—can God’s love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?

“Shall famine …?”—can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?

Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God’s character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it—the love of God in Christ Jesus. “Out of the wreck I rise” every time.

Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

Getting a Hold On Grace

2010-05-15T07:02:00.003-05:00

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ” -Romans 5:1–3, NIV

"Just as the sinner's despair of any hope from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in the believer's growth in grace." -A.W.Pink

The concept of grace is defined as God’s active involvement on behalf of his people. In the New Testament Divine grace becomes embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, who demonstrates visibly the dynamic nature of God’s grace and fulfills in his ministry of redemption the old covenant promises relative to God’s gracious dealings with humanity (Jn 1:14, 17).

God’s grace manifested in Jesus Christ makes it possible for God to forgive sinners and to gather them in the church, the new covenant community. During his ministry, Jesus repeatedly pronounced the words of forgiveness on a great number of sinners and ministered God’s mercy to a variety of desperate human needs. Through teachings such as the father’s forgiveness of the prodigal son and the search for the lost sheep, Jesus made it clear that he had come to seek and save those who were lost. But ultimately it was his redemptive death on the cross that opened wide the gate of salvation for repentant sinners to find access to God’s forgiving and restorative grace.

This simple truth is formulated in the doctrine of justification by faith through grace (Rom 3:23; Ti 3:7). According to this teaching, God’s gracious provision of the substitutionary death of Christ enables him to pronounce a verdict of “just” or “not guilty” on repentant sinners and to include them in his eternal purposes. As a result, they enter into the realm of God’s gracious activity, which enables them to implement the process of individual sanctification in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

God’s grace manifested in Jesus Christ also makes it possible for God to bestow on believers undeserved benefits that enrich their lives and unite them together in the church, the body of Christ. Their acceptance on the basis of grace endows them with a new status as children of God, members of the household of God, so that they relate to him as to their heavenly Father (Gal 4:4–6). Consequently, they become members of a community where race, class, and sex distinctions are irrelevant, since they all became equal inheritors of God’s age-long promise to Abraham of universal blessing. In order to enrich their individual lives and to assure the usefulness of their participation in the life of the new community, the Holy Spirit graciously energizes believers with a variety of gifts for the performance of ministries designed to benefit the church (Rom 12:6–8).

Finally, God’s grace manifested in Jesus Christ makes it possible for God to cause believers to reflect his grace in their character and relationships. The uncompromising condition for receiving God’s grace is humility (Jas 4:6; 1 Pt 5:5). Such humility in relation to God enables believers to practice humility in regard to other people. From a position of grace, they can set aside selfishness and conceit in order to treat others with deference (Phil 2:3–4) in an attitude of mutual servanthood (Eph 5:21), and in a spirit of mutual forgiveness (Mt 18:23–35) so that even their communication can exhibit divine grace (Col 4:6). Since the grace of Jesus Christ constitutes the existential context of the lives and relationships of believers, they are exhorted not to pervert the grace of God into ungodly practice (Jude 1:4) but instead to grow in the grace of the Lord (2 Pt 3:18).

The essential meaning of grace in the Bible refers to God’s disposition to exercise goodwill toward his creatures. This favorable disposition of God finds its supreme expression in Jesus Christ. By its very definition, this grace is rendered fully accessible to all humans with no other precondition than a repentant desire to receive it (Ti 2:11–12). As a result, the human condition of alienation from God and from his purposes becomes replaced with access to the otherwise unapproachable majesty of God represented by a throne, so that his grace may become available to meet human need (Heb 4:16). The tragic alternative to receiving God’s grace is to remain in hopeless alienation or to pursue sterile attempts to merit God’s favor through human efforts doomed to futility (Rom 1:21). God’s unconditional acceptance of sinners may be conditioned only by their rejection of his acceptance.

Because Christ represents the fulfillment, the embodiment, and the dispenser of divine grace, the early Christians freely referred to God’s grace as “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This grace was conceived as being so basic and so pervasive to their individual lives and to the existence of their communities of faith that they naturally coupled the traditional greeting of shalom (“peace”) with a reference to the grace of Jesus Christ. This is the reason for the repetition of numerous variations on the basic greeting formula found in almost every book of the NT, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (2 Thes 3:18).

Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (551). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

Who are the ‘super-apostles’?

2010-02-24T06:34:00.002-06:00

"I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance. How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!" 2 Corinthians 12:11–13 NIV

The ‘super-apostles’ are Jewish missionaries who have arrived at the church in Corinth since Paul left. On the surface they are knowledgeable, good-looking and eloquent. Underneath, they are devious and domineering.
The ‘super-apostles’ manage to mislead the Corinthians, because the Greeks like their gods to be powerful and perfect. They find it almost impossible to accept a God who gets crucified, and Paul (whom one person described as having a bald head, bandy legs and beetle brows) is a most unlikely apostle!

Although the ‘super-apostles’ present themselves as Christians, they have reworked the gospel for their own ends. The content of their message and the style of their ministry is not at all true to Christ and his gospel.

If all this sounds familiar you may have been watching a little to much Trinity Broadcasting Network. This television station was founded on the "super apostle" prosperity teaching "Name it Claim it". They look right, act right, and seemingly preach right, but there is one thing missing, doctrine.

This was the same thing that Paul was writing to the young Corinthian church about. They had traded solid Biblical teaching in for a Gospel that was more appealing to them. They supported the "super apostles" financially and followed the false gospel they preached to the point where some had begun to slander their real pastor, Paul.

As a pastor for 15 years I have seen this in the church time and time again. Men and women who connect with the teaching of a television evangelist, begin following his/her ministry, and then leave the church because their pastor is not that person. This is not God's plan. While some teaching on the television is solid (this is the exception) God has intended for his people to be part of a local body of believers.

I commend the spiritual hunger of believers that watch TBN but I want to encourage you to guard your heart and your doctrine closely. Don't trade the truth for a lie. Test what the evangelist and even what your pastor is teaching by confirming their words with God's Word as revealed in Scripture.

Food Inc.

2010-02-13T08:25:00.000-06:00

Last night I watched a movie that was sincere, eye opening, and a little frightening. Food Inc., a documentary released last year is now out on DVD. This film exposes the way food is controlled, produced, and subsidized in the US.

One contributer in the movie is the author of the book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser. I read this book several years ago and it changed the way I eat. The book takes the work of Schlosser a step farther examining the impact of the food industry on people, the environment, and the global impact of food production in the US.

I don't make a habit of recommending movies on this blog and I am not starting that habit today. I believe every Christian should see this movie because it will educate them as to how to become a better steward of their money, body, and the environment. We are stewards not only of our finances but of our body and environment, all three belong to God and the care of them has been entrusted to us. We should take care of what we put into this body that is not our own but is dedicated to the worship and service of Christ.

Eyes on Heaven

2010-01-29T09:51:00.001-06:00

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self his being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith. Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect, and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which stands the celestial city; he sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with him, and made to sit together with him on his throne, even as he has overcome and has sat down with the Father on his throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth. Hush, hush, my doubts! death is but a narrow stream, and you shalt soon have forded it. Time, how short—eternity, how long! Death, how brief—immortality, how endless! I believe even now I eat of Eshcol’s clusters, and sip of the well which is within the gate. The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

"When the world my heart is rending
With its heaviest storm of care,
My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,
Find a refuge from despair.
Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me
Till life’s pilgrimage is past;
Fears may vex and troubles pain me,
I shall reach my home at last."

Adapted from "Morning and Evening" by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I hope you found as much blessing and encouragement in this devotional as I did.

Backsliding

2010-01-16T15:44:00.004-06:00

I heard the story of a little girl who fell out of bed in the middle of the night. She cried out and her mother came running to her bedside.

Her mom asked, “What happened?” The little girl replied, “I think I stayed too close to the place where I got in!”

That happens to a lot of us, as well. We fall because, like the little girl, we are staying too close to the place where we got in. After committing ourselves to Christ, we never go forward spiritually. We never make that complete break with the past, and we end up slipping back into our old sinful behavior.

Backsliding is a powerful word, and a misunderstood one. It can happen easier than some people think. Falling away, or backsliding, is something that we, as Christians, need to constantly be aware of. That’s because if we are not moving forward in Christ, we are naturally going backward. There is no standing still, we are either progressing or regressing.

The Lord says “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22).

From the blog of Greg Laurie, http://blog.greglaurie.com

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/9/2010

2010-01-09T06:36:00.002-06:00

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/8/2010

2010-01-08T06:07:00.000-06:00

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/7/2010

2010-01-07T06:06:00.002-06:00

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/6/2010

2010-01-06T06:06:00.000-06:00

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/5/2010

2010-01-05T06:10:00.000-06:00

Week of Prayer Devotion for 1/4/2010

2010-01-03T20:39:00.003-06:00

Heart Rending

2009-12-18T07:34:00.001-06:00

GARMENT-RENDING and other outward signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulations—for such things are pleasing to the flesh—but true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the article of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven.

HEART-RENDING is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating, and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone.

The text commands us to rend our hearts, but they are naturally hard as marble: how, then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary: a dying Saviour’s voice rent the rocks once, and it is as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us hear the death-cries of Jesus, and our hearts shall be rent even as men rend their vestures in the day of lamentation.

Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

When Was Jesus Born?

2009-12-14T08:17:00.003-06:00

There is simply no clarity regarding the timing of Jesus’ birth.

The Scriptures do not speak directly to the issue, but the presence of flocks in the field has caused many to question the traditional December date of Christmas. This is because grazing in the field seemingly indicates a milder climate than that of winter, although there are reports of occasional breaks, for upwards of a few weeks, in the rainy winter season.

Commentator William Hendriksen raises an interesting point as well: “At this season of the year many roads in that region are impassable. No government would have forced people to travel then to the places where they must be registered" (New Testament Commentary: Luke, vol. 11, 150).

On the other hand, theologian Darrell Bock shows that while “some Jewish traditions argue for grazing in the period from April to November,” others note “that these restrictions are limited to sheep ‘in the wilderness’” (Luke 1:1-9:50, 226-227). Furthermore, a section of Talmudic literature (M. Šeqal. 7.4) “implies year-round grazing, because the Passover lambs graze in February, which has the harshest weather of the year. Thus, this reason for rejecting the tradition is not definitive" (Ibid., 227).

The traditional December 25 date of Jesus’ birth originated during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine (A.D. 306–337). As Bock describes, the December 25 date coincided with a pagan feast of Saturnalia, or the rising of the sun from darkness. . . . But the tradition for the date may go back even further, since it may be mentioned by Hippolytus (A.D. 165–235) in his Commentary on Daniel 4.23.3. . . . However, Hippolytus’s meaning is disputed, as it is unclear whether he is referring to the date of the birth or the date of the conception. If it is the latter, then a December date is presented, but the reference is unclear. Alongside the possible third-century testimony for a December date stands Clement of Alexandria’s testimony (ca. A.D. 200) for an April/May date (Ibid., 227)

Without a clear date for Jesus’ birth, it seems the early church simply seized the opportunity that the pagan feast of Saturnalia provided. The feast celebrated the return of the sun after weeks of ever-increasing darkness, which parallels the biblical metaphor of Jesus illuminating our dark world. Furthermore, Saturnalia included the sharing of gifts, which corresponds to the gifts given to Jesus by the Magi and the gift of salvation Jesus gives.

In the West, the date of December 25 was established by the time of Augustine. Unlike the Western Church, the Eastern Church observes Christmas on January 6, as the day that both Jesus was born and the Magi visited him.

Additionally, determining the year of Jesus’ birth with exact precision is incredibly complex. The two gospels that speak in greatest detail about Jesus’ birth (Matthew and Luke) are unclear on this point. Therefore, it seems most wise to say that it was 5 or 4 B.C., as those are the years nearly every evangelical scholar accepts after looking at all of the evidence.

In the end, the year and date of Jesus’ birth are apparently not a significant issue because God did not find them valued enough to clarify in Scripture, which simply says it happened “in the fullness of time.”

Taken from the Resurgence Blog

Delays in Answered Prayer

2009-12-09T07:54:00.001-06:00

“Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! ” (Isaiah 30:18, NIV)

God often delays in answering prayer. We have several instances of this in Scripture. Jacob did not get the blessing from the angel until near the dawn of day—he had to wrestle all night for it. The poor woman of Syrophenicia was not answered for a long while. Paul sought the Lord three times that “the thorn in the flesh” might be taken from him, and he received no assurance that it should be taken away, but instead a promise that God’s grace should be sufficient for him.

If you have been knocking at the gate of mercy, and have not received an answer, can I tell you why you have not received the answer you desire? Our Father has reasons peculiar to himself for keeping us waiting. Sometimes it is to show his power and his sovereignty, that men may know that Jehovah has a right to give or to withhold. More frequently the delay is for our profit. You may be kept waiting in order that your desires may be more fervent. God knows that delay will quicken and increase desire, and that if he keeps you waiting you will see your necessity more clearly, and will seek more earnestly; and that you will prize the mercy all the more for its long tarrying.

There may also be something wrong in you which must be removed, before the joy of the Lord is given. Perhaps your views of the Gospel plan are confused, or you may be placing some little reliance on yourself, instead of trusting simply and entirely to the Lord Jesus. Or, God makes you tarry awhile that he may more fully display the riches of his grace to you at last. Your prayers are all filed in heaven, and if not immediately answered they are certainly not forgotten, but in a little while shall be fulfilled to your delight and satisfaction. Don't let despair make you silent, but continue in earnest supplication.

Adapted from Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

To Drink or Not To Drink

2009-11-28T17:09:00.003-06:00

The question of whether or not Christians should drink alcoholic beverages has come up a lot lately in the church where serve as the Executive Pastor. This can be a tough question to answer because the Bible does not say "do not drink" in those exact words. The Bible does warn us of the dangers of using alcohol even in social situations and states many times that drunkenness is a sin. In their position paper on the subject of alcohol use the Assemblies of God makes a very convincing argument for abstinence from alcohol. I am in complete agreement with this position and have committed to practicing and teaching abstinence as Christian response to this important question.

I encourage you to read the AG Position Paper by clicking on the link below and the corresponding scripture references. Lay your understanding on this matter at the foot of the cross and ask the Lord to reveal His understanding to you. Please post comments on the results of your Bible study and what God has revealed to you.

Abstinence From Alcohol Position Paper

Black Friday

2009-11-27T04:41:00.003-06:00

It's that time of year again. The blessed time of year when we celebrate the birth of our homeless, impoverished savior with unbridled consumerism. I can't help but think this day, aptly named Black Friday, is the exact opposite of how the Lord would want us to kick off the Christmas season. I can't imagine Jesus had Black Friday in mind the day he came to earth as a man.

I have had the misfortune of participating in a Black Friday shopping event once in my life about 8 or 9 years ago. It was a frigid mid-western November morning as I gathered with my family to go out and get some "door busting" deals. I was not prepared for what I experinced.

We arrived at the local big box store and assembled outside with about 300 other men, women, and children to wait for the doors to unlock. When the store employee near the door the crowd moved in and began pressing the people at the front of the line into the doors. Once the he unlocked the doors they burst open and people rushed in and complete madness ensued.

Immediatly men and women were giving each other icy cold looks and actually yelling at one another. People were shoving and running to find the best deals and fill their carts with products. I saw a fight almost break out over a $50 shelf stereo system, I was run over by one of those "I can't walk to shop scooters", and because I was so deer in the headlights amazed at what was going on I forgot to grab something. I knew at that moment as I gazed glassy eyed at the madness that this would be my last black Friday.

As sick as the spectacle of that one Black Friday made me I wonder what Jesus thought of it? Did he say "Ah, yes, this is how I envisioned that the day of my birth would be celebrated, people behaving badly to get good deals on stuff people don't really need, and going deeper in debt in the process." I don't think so. If Jesus were here on earth physically today I think he would flip over the tables of what has become modern Christmas tradition.

As followers of the one that was born on Christmas morning we should evaluate how we celebrate Christmas according to what Jesus thinks about those celebrations. For most of us what we during the Christmas season and how we do it has been dictated to us through traditions that have nothing to do with Christ, or the Bible. Can't we do it differently?

What can you change in your Christmas tradition to make it more pleasing to the Lord? I believe that if we desire to discover the mind of Christ on this subject that the way we do Christmas is radically going to change. I for one am ready to make Christmas about Jesus once again.

Grow Up

2009-11-05T10:32:00.003-06:00

"About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. ” (Hebrews 5:11–14, ESV)

As preachers we may fail our hearers through not clearly presenting scripture but the primary reason that people have "dull hearing" is because of their own opinions, ideas, and understanding about Biblical truth without a foundation in the Scriptures. Our understanding of God's Word should come from the careful study of the text not our own uninformed and uninspired ideas and notions.

The Greek word for "dull" in this passage is "nothros" and it simply means lazy. "Dull hearing" today could be called selective hearing. Even the most dedicated and mature of Christians are prone to the trap of only hearing what we want to hear. God has spoken to me many times about things I may have enjoyed doing but were in the way of my relationship with Him.

I have pretended to not hear or not understand and as a result my spiritual life suffers. Failure to obey our conscience in response to Biblical teaching is what dulls our hearing. Our sensitivity to His voice will become weaker and weaker until we have become deaf to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We may still come to church, sing songs, and even give but we cannot receive from Him because we cannot hear his voice.

Our churches are filled with men and women who still need milk not solid food. They may have been in church for 10 years but they have never matured. It's unnatural, if we were talking about their physical growth we would label them freaks. Growth is the sign that something is alive. Death is the end of growth.

Why do men and women still need milk? Because they have have spit out what was fed to them at some point in their walk. They exercised selective hearing and dulled their conscience and as a result growth has stopped. Because the growth has stopped their relationship with Christ is dying. Another reason is that an increasing number of believers are depending solely on the church for spiritual nourishment. Maturity is going to be stunted if you only eat once a week.

The author of Hebrews writes in Chapter 6, verse one "Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity" We can only move past elementary teaching and move towards maturity through obedience to what we learn in our elementary years. As we are obedient to God's Word and His will for our lives He will mature us and we will grow and bear fruit in his world.

"Constant Practice" means we mature by spending personal time with God on a daily basis through reading His Word and prayer and being obedient to what He reveals to us during those times. We also mature by worshiping and fellowshiping with other believers. Make up your mind today to grow up and be all that God wants you to be.

Samaritan Health Care

2009-10-31T08:45:00.007-05:00

Health-care reform is on everyone's minds right now. Politicians can't seem to agree on what needs to be done. The American people don't know what they want. Health-care professionals want reform but not at their expense. I wonder what the mind of God is regarding health-care reform. We can find out through the careful study of His Word.

I believe we can find the answer in Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:25-37. This story's central truth that we are to "love our neighbors as ourselves" which Jesus cites as the second most important commandment in all of the the law. Loving our neighbor is also at the core of the health-care-debate.

The teacher of the law asked Jesus "who is my neighbor?" At the time Jews did not consider Gentiles to be their neighbors. The purpose of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is to show that God has chosen His people to be a blessing to those in need. It is the obligation of every Christian to serve those in need with the resources and love God has given them.

Health-care coverage for everyone in America regardless of immigration status, race, or age should be the objective for all Christians. As the story of the Good Samaritan so wonderfully illustrates nobody is exempt from our help if we have the ability to help them. Unfortunately, the church abdicated it's role to helping people a long time ago and governments have stepped in to fill the vacuum of need around the world.

Government run health care may be our only option in the wake of the huge mess that greed and selfish ambition at the expense of those less fortunate has bought us. The church, though obligated to care for the poor, the sick, the fatherless, and the widow cannot possibly do so. The many trillions of dollars simply does not exist even if every dollar given in church offerings is designated to the cause.

As Christian Americans, I believe we should support the effort to provide health-care for everyone within our borders. I also believe that we should pray that God would direct those making these important decisions to follow His will in this matter. We should be careful to practice loving our neighbor every chance we get and remember that nobody is exempt from our care and compassion.

Most importantly we should not forget that we are foreigners in this world. The first commandment is to "love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind." The health-care debate is secondary to our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Getting our hearts focused on eternity puts the problems of these last days into perspective.