History

Wednesday Wisdom: A True Story of Revival

As you know, I stopped doing Wednesday Wisdom officially about a year and a half ago. However, occasionally, I come across something that I can’t resist sharing–like this testimony of a pastor from the former USSR. His memories of what his country was like is so eerily similar to what’s going on in America, that I thought this may help us find the silver lining to the dark cloud. Perhaps true revival will come to America, as well!

By Georgi P. Vins
(Pastor in USSR who spent 8 years in Soviet prison camps for his faith | Author of The Gospel in Bonds)

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Photo: A communion and worship service in the persecuted church in 1984 in Kiev, Ukraine (taken from The Gospel in Bonds; from the personal collection of Georgi Vins’ daughter, Natasha Velichkin; used with permission)

Revival

At the beginning of the 1960s, the Lord sent a spiritual revival among the Evangelical Baptists of the Soviet Union. The revival preceded a great assault from the atheistic authorities. Soviet newspapers and magazines spewed an endless flow of articles against believers and the Christian faith, against the Bible and God. Radio, television, and movies were used for anti-religious propaganda. Believers were fired from their jobs, and Christian young people were kept out of educational institutions.

In 1960, the Soviet leader, head of the Communist party, Nikita Khrushchev, announced a twenty-year program of definitively creating communism in the Soviet Union. By 1980, there was not to be a single Christian left, nor one church. All citizens of the USSR would have to become atheists and confess only Communist ideology.

In Evangelical Baptist churches, sermons on salvation were forbidden, and children under the age of sixteen were not to be permitted to be present at church services. As a primary measure, it was also forbidden to baptize young people under the age of thirty. This decision of the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was enforced by the KGB, the police, and other authorities.

 Unfortunately, some of the ministers of Evangelical Baptist churches, fearing persecution, accepted these ungodly decrees as the basis for their ministry and actively began to implement them in the church. The churches were going through great testings. Many thousands of believers raised their voices in fervent prayer to the Lord for help and deliverance. The Lord heard those prayers and answered His people, as it is written in His Word: “It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law” (Psalm 119:126).

A spiritual awakening began. New churches started to take shape, and groups of believers who refused to compromise with atheism proclaimed the Word of God as the absolute authority in all matters of faith and life. Young people and children attended newly formed congregations whose worship services often took place in crowded private homes or in forests. These meetings were subject to cruel disruption by the KGB and police, with the police beating up believers, and throwing them out of the meeting houses into the snow. Bulldozers were sometimes used to destroy the places where the meetings took place.

The atheistic authorities went to believers’ work places with threats of arrests and trials. But no one could stop the revival, because the Word of God says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

By 1966, several hundred independent fundamental Baptist churches had formed. Sixty to seventy percent of the membership of these churches were young people between the ages of fifteen and thirty. The hearts of believers burned with great love toward God, courage, and selflessness in ministry. My poem “Revival” was written in January of 1966, and five months later, in May of 1966, I was arrested in Moscow for taking part in the revival.

My Savior! How I love Your precious call
To slaves of unbelief, by sin defeated.
You long to bless and have each one delight
In all the joys of our eternal promise.

My Jesus! Mighty is Your matchless love,
Your hands are full of tenderness and kindness,
As constantly You lift to life anew
The sons of earth, to save them from destruction.

Our brethren You have visited once more
With Your pure flame of heaven-sent revival!
For exploits and for suff’ring You inspired
To stand for truth and infinite salvation.

When I behold the vibrant Christian youth
With glowing faces, joyous and exultant,
Their gladness like a boundless ocean’s tide,
Burst forth in ever glorious songs of triumph. . . .

And when I listen to a youthful soul
For the first time, his heart to God uplifting:
Scarce breathing then I reverently pray,
While in my thoughts the sufferers recalling. . . .

I know that not in vain their blood was spilt!
They did not bear the pain and grief for nothing.
For now I see our youth’s pure, fervent love
Their hands stretched out to Christ in supplication.

For the revival burning in our church
And for our youth rejoicing in the Savior—
We may, without misgivings or dismay,
Lay down our very lives in distant prisons.
January 1, 1966
Kiev

Leaving Jerusalem

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If you are still with me in the Bible Challenge, we are in the midst of the gripping tale of David’s life. From a shepherd boy to a King on the run, we have read all of his well-known tales. We have read of him killing a giant, committing adultery and then murdering the woman’s husband, and we have read of the heart-breaking treachery of his son, Absalom.

It was hard to pick what to write about today. But there was one obscure passage in 2 Samuel that really stood out to me. Especially in our current situation as believers.

So I am writing today about Ittai the Gittite.

Have you ever even heard of him? This is not really that memorable of a story, as “larger than life” stories go. Let me set up the background–

Absalom, over the course of a few years, undermined his father’s authority and got enough men on his side to attempt to overthrow the King. Instead of fighting his own son, David makes the decision to just abdicate in order to protect the people of Jerusalem. He pulls all of his house together, with the exception of 10 concubines left to care for the palace. Along with him, showing their loyalty and serving as his body guards and corps d’elite were the Cherethites, Pelethites, and Gittites.*

As they walked out of the city, David stopped Ittai, the leader of the Gittites, telling him to go back into the city. Here is the conversation between the two (from 2 Samuel 15)–

Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile from your home. 20 You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you.” 21 But Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.” 

Whether for death or for life, there also will your servant be.

What an incredible testimony of loyalty. Ittai chose to follow David out of the safe zone, knowing full well that it would most likely mean hardship, wandering, and even death.

This struck me, because in a lot of ways, I feel like we are soon going to be forced to follow Jesus out of American culture very soon. Oh, we may not be forced to physically leave, but the storm clouds we saw on the horizon only a few short years ago are now starting to bring fierce wind and dark, dark skies. Life is changing here. And the message is Get on Board or Be Persecuted.

Gone forever are the days of the beautiful religious freedom we enjoyed from the inception of this country. They are over. You do realize that, don’t you? They aren’t returning, no matter who is voted into office. I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but this ship has left the dock and it’s not coming back. Not without a supernatural miracle from God (My God is that big, so I don’t rule it out, but I don’t expect it either– not when I read the plan of the future as recorded in the Word of God).

I think it is time to follow our King out of Jerusalem. It’s such a heart-breaking time for those of us, the remnant, that remains faithful to the Word of God, isn’t it? We have become such a minority that sometimes we find ourselves wondering if we are even right, after all? But then we turn back to the Word and we read of church history, and we can see that this is exactly what we should expect. We Christians have really, here in America, been living a rare, cushy, comfortable existence. This has not been the norm for most of our Christian brothers and sisters throughout history, in foreign lands currently, or as recorded for the church’s future.

So are you ready to follow your King, whether it bring life or death? Are you ready for hardship, persecution, and wandering? Are you ready for slander, scathing remarks, intolerance for your views, and false accusations? Because if you have plans to remain faithful to the Jesus of the Bible, it will come. Some of you have experienced a bit of this already.

Are you going to be like Ittai– a loyal soldier for the King or are you going to tuck tale and run back into the comfort zone of the city? You will soon have to make a choice. Are you prepared?

Read and study the Bible, read biographies of great Christians who have gone before us, read classic authors of yesteryear. If you need ideas, check out my favorite books-where I have added a couple of new suggestions for you just this morning.

By reading and studying you will grow deeper, fixed roots of faith. These will hold you steady in the wind that is starting to blow. There is no time to waste. The perilous storm is almost here.

 

*As explained from the following websites: Jewish Encyclopedia and Bible Hub.

The Value in Reviewing the Past

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Most of us do not really care for history. We are taught little respect for the ways of those who have gone before us and we don’t really spend any time analyzing the mistakes and successes of our forefathers as we plan our own futures.

But as we are reading in Deuteronomy, we can see that Moses does exactly this. He recounts all that Israel has been through since they left Egypt as they now prepare to enter the Promised Land. In giving them hope and courage for the future, he is recounting the past. He talks of God’s faithfulness (Deut. 2:7; 3:3; 4:3)  and their faithlessness (Deut. 1:26, 32; 9:7-14). As he speaks of their past and their future, he keeps coming back this–Obey the Lord’s statutes and commandments if you expect to be blessed.  If you are reading the 2015 Bible Challenge along with me, you will have noticed this.

But why does Moses keep recounting all of their history? What good does that do? Let’s take a look at some reasons why it may be very beneficial to take a look back–

1. We can learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before us.

2. We can trace the hand of God’s faithfulness to those who belong to Him.

3. We can see the cause and effect of bad choices much more clearly– in other words, sin and its consequences.

4. We are strengthened as we read and contemplate the courage and fortitude of those who have gone before us.

In a lot of ways, a study of church history is a lot like what Moses was doing. When we look back at the birth and subsequent life of the church since its beginning in Acts, we can see its shortcomings, its compromise, and its sinful rabbit trails, but we can also see God’s hand protecting the Truth and providing courage and strength to the remnant that is proclaiming it, whether that remnant be great or small.

There is great value in history. I know so many of us have a distaste for this subject– mostly because of boring history teachers. I remember my church history professor in college. He was a nice guy, but he couldn’t have possibly made one of the most exciting subjects more boring. It wasn’t until I was teaching my own kids history as I home-schooled them, that I started understanding just how helpful (and fascinating!) this subject is. There is so much to learn from the past. God demonstrates this to us through Moses’s words in Deuteronomy.

Most of us are so busy that we don’t take the time to read of or think about any history at all– least of all our own. But may I encourage you to take a look back. For there you will see the faithfulness of God, guiding and directing His church and weaving the tapestry of your own life, drawing you to Himself and guiding you through both black tunnels and open field.  We have a heavenly Father who loves His church. And we have a heavenly Father who loves us–despite our shortcomings. We are blessed.

 

Deuteronomy 6:1-3  Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

 

New Isn’t Always Better (and other lessons I’ve learned about change)

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Sometimes you have to learn really expensive lessons. Sometimes you can fix it, sometimes you can’t.

But, before I talk about my lesson, first let me tell you a story–

The dark green recliner sat on the floor of our local Sam’s Club. It was a great price and we thought it would be a great addition to our living room. So we decided to purchase it. We took it home, very pleased with our bargain.

I loved that chair and spent many hours there, nursing babies and holding sick kids. I even spent the nights there when I had a horrible case of mastitis — yes, you read that right — in terrible pain with a breast infection.

About ten years after we purchased it, we moved to a new house. We took the chair with us, but relegated it to our formal living room and bought new furniture for our family room. It now wasn’t used as often. That room became our homeschooling read-aloud room and so the chair became my place to read to my kids. We read about history and God and science. We played games and argued and laughed, all while I was in that chair.

As the kids became teenagers, that room became the confrontation room. It was where we would go to talk privately with one another. The kids knew that if I asked them to go to the living room, I had something serious to discuss with them. I would sit in that chair and they would sit on the sofa opposite, as we would discuss a problem or concern together.

And, then, as, one by one, they headed off to Christian school and college, that chair became the place where I would read the Bible and pray every morning. During my busy homeschooling years, I wasn’t always able to make the time I wanted for the Lord. My time was often with the kids — teaching them to pray and to learn God’s Word. But, suddenly, one day I realized that I actually had the time to spend quietly with the Lord each day and so it was in that chair that I spent many hours reading His Word and petitioning the Lord.

Then, one day, I looked down and saw that the chair was torn.

What a sad day.

I knew I was going to have to replace it, eventually, so I started keeping my eyes open for a new recliner — a leather one this time.

The first furniture store had nothing that thrilled me. The chairs were either too soft or too hard (do I sound like Goldilocks??) or too expensive.

On a whim, I stopped at a furniture store on the way home from a soccer game. The first chair I sat in was perfect and was on sale! I sat in a few more but kept going back to the first one. Yes, that was my new chair. I purchased it and told them someone would be there to pick it up later in the week.

A few days later, my beloved green recliner was removed from my room and the new leather one was put in its place. Oh, joy!  I couldn’t wait for my devotions the next morning to sit in my new chair!

Oh, I feel foolish now. I feel foolish even sharing this story. For when I sat in that new chair it wasn’t even comfortable. I squirmed this way and that, but it just wasn’t the same. I got off of it and shifted it to the right. I tried it with the foot rest up and with it down. Nope. It just wasn’t all that comfortable. How could I have made such a mistake? I had a very difficult time concentrating on my devotions that morning.

As the day progressed, I talked myself into believing that it was just in my head and I would get used to it. After all, every piece of furniture takes some breaking in. So, with renewed diligence, I was determined to make this chair work as I sat in it the next morning. But, alas, it felt the same as the morning before. Now, what to do?

And that’s the end of the story. Because I am still not sure what I am going to do. Just get used to the chair? After all, we paid good money for it. Or bring back the old one and sell the new one at a slight loss? And while that’s a possibility, I can’t change the fact that the old one is falling apart and I am going to have to get used to a new one eventually.

There are so many thoughts that surround this incident in my life that I am having a hard time narrowing it down to just one–

1.  New isn’t always better. Sometimes we yearn for a change to happen in our life. We think “if only” or “when that happens” and then when we are finally there, it isn’t near as great as we thought it would be.

2. Sometimes change needs to occur. It isn’t pleasant or fun but it is necessary.

3. Sometimes change doesn’t need to occur but we push and push for it because we are impatient and don’t want to be labeled “stuck in the mud” or “traditional”.

4. How do we change without changing what really matters?

5. With all change comes our new normal and it doesn’t take us very long to grow used to it. I just read somewhere (and, boy, do I wish I remember exactly where!) about people’s amazing ability to get used to almost any circumstance in their lives. We start living in the new normal. I think this is the case with Evangelical Christianity. We have gotten so used to the departure from scripture, the inclusion of Catholics and Mormons under the label “Christian”, the lack of standards and morals and holiness, the feel-good and shallow worship, that we have become used to this new normal and accept it as normal. But while it may be our new normal, it isn’t anything close to biblical Christianity.

My mom mentioned yesterday, as we were driving home from the mall, that when she was a girl, it was made quite clear to her that Catholicism was not the same as Evangelical Christianity. The church taught very specifically that we do not believe the same things and that they are two separate religions (which they are). And yet, now, if you try to say that you are immediately branded as someone who causes division and disunity. Because we have gotten used to a new normal and in that new normal, we have forgotten–or choose to ignore– hundreds of years of church history. And this is tragic.

We also talked about how Christians of old were concerned about their behavior. You didn’t dare call yourself a Christian if your behavior didn’t match. And so no one assumed you were a Christian if your behavior was characterized by worldly entertainment and vices. Now, in our new normal, everything is okay and even sanctioned under the word grace. This false definition of grace will leave a lot wondering why they are still here when the rapture occurs. With true grace comes repentance and life transformation. It could not be clearer in scripture (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is a lie that we can continue in our old activities and lifestyle and be saved. And, yet, that has become normal.  See what I’m getting at here?

And here is what I’ve learned. No one wants to hear this stuff. It is negative and offensive and uncomfortable.

People may read this post but they won’t like it and they certainly won’t share it. They may even agree with it, but they won’t share it for fear of offending someone (another new “norm” we have grown used to — don’t dare offend anyone lest we be labeled or become susceptible to uncomfortable discussions).

I am weary of this new normal, quite honestly. But I do believe it is here to stay. So now we learn to live –and even thrive– in it. If we respond to this right, it could become a wonderful culture to grow in Christ.

And I go back again to God’s Word. If we know it and are studying it, then so much becomes clear that is clouded otherwise. If you want to truly thrive in this increasingly hostile culture, then study and know God’s Word. It is the only thing we have in this desert of modern Christianity. I hate to even call it Christianity because it isn’t even real Christianity. It’s some shapeless, relative, false religion that has no resemblance to Christ’s teachings whatsoever.

Do I expect this to be one of my more popular posts? No, not at all. But, please, keep your eyes open in your churches and your homes. Be discerning! Satan is using any and all means possible to deceive us and to render us ineffective for the cause of Christ. Don’t let that happen to you.

And so that is the story and my subsequent thoughts on switching a simple chair. And I don’t really even know the end of that story yet. I guess I’ll go try it again this morning and see if I can get used to a new normal!

The Parallel Mission

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Verax Institute recently did a video series with my brother, Pastor Dean Good, regarding the big picture of what’s going on in the church right now. I know that many of you not only have questions about what is going on in the big picture, but, closer to home, what is going on in your own local church.

Some of you have a vague uneasiness about the fact that clean water and feeding the poor has taken on a more important role in your church than expositing God’s Word. You feel uncomfortable that your worship service is akin to a rock concert with a brief devotional thrown in for good measure. You see worldliness in the form of drunkenness, sexual sin, and gambling being defended under the guise of “freedom in Christ” and scriptural teaching about holiness and sanctification being totally ignored.  I know there are other concerns. In fact, there are so many, I probably couldn’t list them all here. And, while we can determine from God’s Word what is wrong with some of this,  many of us can’t figure out exactly why some of these trends bother us, we just know something isn’t right.

This series of videos will help you understand what exactly is wrong and why. The first video is especially helpful in defining the mission of the church from God’s Word and from there, we can better discern what is going on with the current trends in the church.

You may not agree with everything in this video series, but I encourage you to take the time to watch it. My brother is very knowledgeable and has the gift of sharing that knowledge in a very understandable way.

1) The Biblical Mission of the Church

2) Satan’s Mission: One World Society

3) The Infiltration of the Church

4) The New Age Movement

5) The Church as an Instrument to Bring in the New Age

6) Parallel Message, Aim, and Strategy

7) Parallel Spirituality

 

So Who Knew?

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So who knew that for the past two thousand years the church fathers were so wrong? I mean if we believe what the modern day “Christian” leaders tell us, they got more things wrong than right —

–7 Literal Day Creation (Genesis 1)

Modern Approach: They had that all wrong. God just starting the ball rolling and put it in motion. They weren’t literal days.

–Women should not be in church leadership (I Timothy 2:11-12)

Modern Approach: That was all about the culture of the time and has no bearing on today.

–We should separate from the world (I John 2:15-17; James 1:27)

Modern Approach: The exact opposite, we actually need to be like the world to win the world.

–We should be holy (I Peter 1:15-16)

Modern Approach: Holiness isn’t any big deal, it’s love that matters.

–There is a literal hell (Matthew 10:28)

Modern Approach: A loving God would never send anyone to hell.

–Church is designed to grow and encourage believers (Colossians 3:15-16)

Modern Approach: The church is a very hip, safe place to bring our unsaved friends, where they won’t feel judged or uncomfortable and may (or may not) hear the true gospel.

And the most recent— Homosexuality is a sin before God (Romans 1:24-27)

Modern Approach: We may have gotten that all wrong. After all, gay “Christians” are some of the nicest people around.

Oh, dear brothers and sisters, how we have strayed so far from the Word of God. We are relying on the tainted words of so-called leaders to shape and form our doctrine. We listen to songs and popular authors and they redefine what we think about God and His Word. It happens so slowly we don’t even realize it.

In the last fifty to one hundred years, the modern “church” (and I use quotes because I do not believe it is the true church) has turned away from almost every basic doctrine of scripture. The only thing that is left is love and the cross. And some are even turning away from the cross, encompassing anyone who believes in anything as heaven-bound.

Does anyone else find this incredibly disturbing?

But it is also refreshing. And here is why–

I was thinking about this as I read this article about the Jars of Clay band, that is supposedly a Christian group. One of the group members had a series of tweets that very clearly showed that he believes scripture is irrelevant when determining morality. You can read about it yourself, but something someone said in response to him is very worth sharing here–

“This issue will separate the true Bible believers from those who put experience or personal relationships above Scripture, and while it might result in some real challenges for those who hold to the Word, this could be just what the church of America needs today: a wake-up call to arise from our apathy and man-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me gospel, and a determination to follow Jesus regardless of cost or consequence,” Brown said.

We desperately need this wake-up call. For way too long we have straddled the fence, trying to play both sides. The time for that is over. We either believe what the Bible says or we don’t. We cannot have it both ways.

John MacArthur puts it this way in the monthly letter I receive from Grace to You–

But now, with the facade of cultural Christianity crumbling, true Christianity is starting to stand out in a way it hasn’t in our lifetime. Scripture teaches and church history confront that the Body of Christ is most potent and most effective when it simply speaks and lives the gospel without equivocation or apology. With the mask of superficial Christianity gone, I believe the best days of the spread of the true gospel are ahead of us.

The gospel advances by personal testimony to Christ, one soul at a time. When the church acts like the church; when shepherds preach Scripture and confront error with clarity and boldness; when believers are sanctified, built up, and equipped in truth; people are saved. And that’s when the culture truly changes — nothing transforms the culture like genuine conversion.

For far too long we have lived in the muddy waters of a shallow Christianity in this country. As long as you said “the prayer” you can do or be whoever you like and still consider yourself saved. But this is not what scripture teaches. And as the chasm between true Bible believers and those who follow their own man-made, people-pleasing God widens,  we can and should expect that life is going to get a bit harder for us. We are no longer mainstream and we are going to need to adjust. We are quickly and consistently getting slapped with labels like “intolerant”, “prejudiced” and even “dangerous”.

Buckle your seat belt and hang on, because I am pretty sure we are in for a rough ride. But just you watch and see God work in amazing ways! I am already seeing Him work in individual lives, drawing them to Himself. He is real and alive and He is faithful!

And, in case you haven’t heard me say this before, get into God’s Word for yourself.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

If you enjoyed this post, would you consider sharing it and letting others know about Growing4Life? Thanks! :)

 

 

“This issue will separate the true Bible believers from those who put experience or personal relationships above Scripture, and while it might result in some real challenges for those who hold to the Word, this could be just what the church of America needs today: a wakeup call to arise from our apathy and man-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me gospel, and a determination to follow Jesus regardless of cost or consequence,” Brown said.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/pro-gay-jars-of-clay-singerschooled-by-christian-leaders/#D9KgrlTsxROeuJsc.99
“This issue will separate the true Bible believers from those who put experience or personal relationships above Scripture, and while it might result in some real challenges for those who hold to the Word, this could be just what the church of America needs today: a wakeup call to arise from our apathy and man-centered, what’s-in-it-for-me gospel, and a determination to follow Jesus regardless of cost or consequence,” Brown said.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/05/pro-gay-jars-of-clay-singerschooled-by-christian-leaders/#D9KgrlTsxROeuJsc.99

Losing a World

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I took one of those quizzes the other week: Which character on Downton Abbey are you most like? I wasn’t all that surprised (or displeased) that I ended up with Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess. While this woman does not always say things in the kindest way, you never have to wonder what she is thinking. I like that about her. And while I hope I am not near as cutting with my remarks and I certainly hope I am not a snob, I do want to be someone who can be counted on to tell the truth.

As I watched the final episode of season 4, I was overwhelmed with empathy for this elderly lady during a conversation she had with the American Sarah Levinson, her daughter-in-law’s mother. As was her style, she had made some sharp remark to Mrs. Levinson. In return, the woman looked Violet straight in the eye and retorted, very matter-of-factly, “My world is coming nearer. And your world – its slipping further and further away.”

Violet Crawley stared at her with eyes full of sadness as the camera faded away to another scene. And at that moment– as Violet stared–I felt a deep connection with this old woman.

The year was 1923 and the Dowager Countess was losing her world– a world of counts and countesses, butlers and housekeepers, fancy balls. A world where the classes were carefully kept separated and true feelings were hidden away and never discussed.

In its place was coming a world where anyone could make a go of it and become successful and wealthy, people could speak their mind without fear of repercussion, and men and women of different classes and even different races could be married with nary a raised eye-brow.

How heart-breaking it must have been for her, as she could see it happening and couldn’t do a thing about it. And while, especially as Americans, we see that world she lived in as stuffy and confining, for the Dowager Countess it was the only world she had ever known.

And I would guess– although I can’t be sure– that some of her acerbic responses and reactions were coming out of this realization and the helplessness that naturally goes along with it.

I feel a little like Violet Crawley. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. Maybe it’s because it’s just the nature of the world to change constantly. Or perhaps it’s because I see a very, very black sky on the horizon of our country. Maybe it’s a combination of all three.

The world I grew up in no longer exists. And, let’s face it– the world of the 70s and 80s wasn’t all that great. I don’t really look back on it and think “heaven”. But where we are now–the changes that are taking place– well, it’s a bit disconcerting, is it not? Especially for those of us who have seen it all happen.

So, what now? How do we then live?

Do we bury our heads in the sand, turn off all of the news, and live in our own small world?

Do we become acidic and irritable and grumpy?

Do we sink into a state of depression at the woes of the world?

Do we avidly watch, listen, read, and breathe the world news?

Do we volunteer for our favorite politicians or some other cause?

How do we change a world that can’t be changed? 

Look–if we are believers, we know the end of the story. We know that the world will not become a better place before Jesus Christ returns. But, instead, we can expect the worst.

So now is the time to put our armor on (Ephesians 6:12-18), prepare for battle, and know God’s Word. Now is the time to share the gospel and stand for Truth.

Let’s keep the big picture in mind. Let us forge ahead, knowing that we are led by Jesus Christ Himself. And He can’t lose. And if He can’t lose, neither can we.

And, just as importantly, let’s remember that we can be instruments of change right where we are. God is still working in a mighty way in individual lives. Just because the world, as a whole, isn’t going to get better, does not mean that your spouse, or boss, or friend, or parent won’t be saved. There is still much hope in this world and God is still quite alive and showing His power! We can still bring positive changes to a hurting and lost world. We can make our corner brighter and better by loving-kindness and by standing for what’s right.

We dare not throw our hands up in the air and say, “what’s the use?!”

I don’t know what hardships lie ahead, but I do know the end of the story. Oh, praise the Lord, we know the end of the story. This world may be slipping away, but the next one is far better. Let us be found faithful until that day comes.

 

The Football Huddle

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The team huddled closely together, taking direction from the quarterback. They all knew their job was to win. Suddenly, a player looked up to see a member from the opposing team come trotting across the field to join them. As he worked his way into the huddle, the quarterback warmly welcomed him. And while some of the team followed the quarterback’s lead, other team members wrinkled their brows in the perplexity of the situation and stood back to watch what was going on. What they saw stunned them. The opposing team member not only joined the huddle, but went on to call the plays. And the most disturbing thing of all was that the plays were designed to give the other team the win. It was a situation that just did not make sense.

Does it make sense to you?

If not, then I have a question for you– why does it make sense to invite unbelievers into our church huddles and call the plays?

Now, don’t get me wrong– I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t welcome unbelievers into our churches. It is important to first understand this fact before reading the rest of my post. I firmly do believe that when God puts an unbeliever in the midst of the brethren he should be warmly welcomed. But American churches are going beyond a warm welcome of the unbeliever. They are actually designing their services to meet the needs of them. Why?

Let’s talk about what the church was biblically  designed to be and what it has been all through the ages– until about the last thirty years.

Scripture tells us that the church was designed to be the assembly of believers. In Acts the church was referred to as a group of people with the common bond of saving faith. It was designed to edify and encourage believers. It is always referred to in this context. I, personally, know of no passage in which it does not. Here are a few verses–

Hebrews 10:25  not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Acts 2:47b  And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

All through history, the church has continued to follow that original biblical model. Until about 1980. When, rather gradually, there was a shift. This was when a church model came forth that started changing things. The vision and the thrust of the church became about evangelism. Because it was so hard to get people to witness to others in their lives at home, work, and school, they changed their service format so that instead of having to do the hard stuff to share the gospel, people could just say, “Hey, why don’t you come to my church on Sunday?”

As the years progressed, more and more churches fell to this church model, designing their whole services and programs around reaching the unbeliever. Meanwhile, their sheep were starving as they were fed a solid diet of milk. No meat was forthcoming because there was so much effort on reaching the world.

The thing that they didn’t see is that instead of winning the world, the church became like the world. In having the other team join ours, we were absorbed by them.

And that is how Satan single-handedly (in my opinion) won the battle of separatism. No longer do we believe there is any reason to stay separate from the world, even though scripture clearly states we are supposed to (James 1:27, II Corinthians 6:14-18). In fact, we have believed the insidious lie that we need to be like the world in order to win the world. A principle that is found nowhere in scripture.

Satan also won another important battle — and that is the battle for scriptural literacy. If Christians would know scripture, many of the things that split churches would be non-issues. But because most are operating out of their own opinions and many aren’t even saved — our churches are full of strife and anger and quarrels. If Christians knew scripture, they would see the need to remain separate. They would understand God’s holiness and fear Him as much as they love Him. They would grasp just what Jesus did for them on the cross. But, alas, most have no idea, because they never open their Bibles at home and they rarely, if ever, open them at church, hearing, instead, practical sermons based mostly on opinion and, occasionally, on the latest Hollywood movie.

We, the church, have lost sight of the reason we exist. We have neglected our duty to be witnesses in our everyday lives by falling back on the “come to church with me” sentence instead of doing the hard duty of sharing the gospel personally with unbelievers around us. Meanwhile, we are starving spiritually because of the lack of good, solid meat we should be receiving in our church services.

And, so, our church huddles have become full of the world. And instead of turning the world towards Christ, we have become like the world, ’til there is hardly any difference. And, instead of the term “Christian” meaning someone who has a transformed life because of their love for Christ, it is just a term– leading us to wonder who is really saved, trying to leave that judgment firmly in the hands of God while we tremble at the thought of who actually may be lost.

Somehow I can’t help but think that God must be very sad about the state of the church today.

 

Am I a Frog?

1391908_95226559frogWe have all heard of the proverbial frog boiling in the pot. You put a frog in cool water in a pot on the stove and turn on the heat. Instead of jumping out as the water grows hotter, it will lay there, seemingly unsuspecting, as the water grows hotter and hotter, not knowing that it is going to die a slow and tortuous death. Now I have never tried this. Has anyone? But if it is true, then I can’t help but thinking that perhaps many of us Christians are just like that frog–sitting in water that’s now starting to boil and not jumping for our lives. Why do I think that, you may ask?

Here are a few reasons–

–I heard a statistic yesterday that 91% of Christians no longer believe in absolute truth.

–I read recently of a Christian organization that received angry mail from Christians for their biblical stand against homosexuality.

–Thousand upon thousands of Christians attend churches where social justice (a term that comes directly from Karl Marx, by the way, and has no biblical basis) has taken top priority and doctrine has become irrelevant.

–Many believers are judged as judgemental (don’t you just love the irony??) by Christians if they stand up for what the Bible teaches.

Not convinced yet? Let me give a few more reasons–

–Entertainment in the this country is filled with everything God hates, and yet Christians, by the hundreds of thousands, waste their God-given time and money, filling their minds with sexual sin, crude and profane language, witchcraft, and dreadful violence, and see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

–It has become acceptable for Christians to hang out at bars and casinos.

Christians debate over the age of the world and its creation, as if somehow science trumps God’s Word.

Now, I do admit I am using the term Christian rather loosely. Of course, many of those who call themselves Christians are that in name only and do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But it is amazing how the culture has shifted even in my lifetime. We shouldn’t be surprised, though.

The pot was put on the stove a very long time ago. Take a quick walk through history with me. In the 30s and 40s we can see Hollywood’s push for worldly living to see that all was not well in this country. If we read anything by A.W. Tozer (who was born in 1897 and died in 1963), we can see that the church has been sick and on a downward spiral for a very long time. Everyone wants to talk about how perfect the 50s were but if you do any studying you will see that that decade was simply the beginning of the huge rebellion that would take place in the 60s, the era when the bubbles really started to form on the surface of the water. Of course, in the 70s and 80s, we grew to love ourselves and our entertainment more than we loved God. We were taught there are no absolutes and that God is irrelevant in our day to day lives, at best. And here we are, in 2013, in a culture that is drastically different than most of us remember from days gone by.

So what now?

Well, first, may I encourage you to jump out of any specific pot that is effectively killing your relationship with Christ. It may be a church that is subtly leaving the truth. It may be your TV, where the offerings grow worse and worse each year, hardening your heart. Or it may be your group of friends, who are not encouraging you in your walk with the Lord, but instead draw you into worldly living. It could be your computer, where you spend hours wrapped up in Facebook or the news or the happenings of the celebrities. Or maybe it’s the books you read or the music you listen to that is slowly chipping away at your faith. It could even be the college you attend, where God is attacked on a regular basis and you know that you are not strong enough to stand for your faith and are starting to falter.

Just jump out of that pot TODAY!  Don’t be like the frog, sitting there in ignorant naivete of his circumstances.

And, second, may I encourage all of us (including myself) to live with our armor on securely and our eyes wide open, always looking to discern between truth and error. We cannot afford to sit comfortably letting life happen to us, but instead need to be proactively learning scripture, using our hands and feet to do things that are pleasing to the Lord, and turning away from sin.

If not, we will become like that frog, slowly but surely dying a tortuous death in a pot instead of living victoriously for Jesus Christ!

 

This has been shared at the Encourage One Another Link-Up #96. 

150 years later

quoteNext week it will be 150 years since that terrible battle of Gettysburg. Over the weekend, we spent some time there visiting the  delightful little town. Only a few bullet holes gave evidence that such a terrible battle had been fought there. As we drove through the beautiful, rolling hills of the countryside, there wasn’t a sign of the tragedy anywhere. Sure, there were a few cannons and fences–but the human tragedy that played itself out those three days wasn’t seen on any of the faces around us. 150 years is a long time. Long enough to recover from the terrible human losses and financial setbacks.

As I wandered through the halls of the Visitor’s Center, those three days were played out vividly in my mind. I thought of the young boys who had given their lives by the thousands in this battle. I thought of the innocent farmers and townspeople who got stuck in the crossfire and lost everything they had. I thought of the thousands of people who poured into the town, looking for their loved ones after the terrible days were over. No matter which side you were on, the casualties were high.

I was about halfway through when I came across this quote written by a soldier named T.T. Fogle and taken from a letter to his sister: “O, sister, you folks at home have no idea what a soldier has to endure…I have been cold, hot, wet, dry, ragged, dirty, hungry, and thirsty, marched through clouds of dust, waded mud knee deep, and suffered from fatigue and loss of sleep.”

It reminded me of Paul’s passage in 2 Corinthians, where he talks about what he has endured for the sake of the cross–

in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.               ~2 Corinthians 11:26-27

That passage reminds me that we believers are soldiers in a battle. For a long time now, we have been able to hang around the edges of the battlefield, enjoying our accommodations quite nicely. But the battle here in this country is heating up considerably. It only takes a few moments of  internet surfing or tv news-watching to realize it. And we are being flanked on all sides — from the media, the lawmakers, and the so-called church, which has twisted Christianity into something that would be unrecognizable to the godly men and women who have gone on before us.

Are we prepared to fight the battle? Or are we still back in our tents playing games?

I make no prediction as to whether this country will survive this attack on its core values. That battle will be won or lost by the will of God.  But the fight, more importantly, is for the destiny of each human soul. The battle is raging in our homes, our churches, and our workplaces. Are we standing up for the truth? Are we willing to take a bit of ribbing or name-calling or even the loss of reputation to stand for what is right?

quote2I think we can join Sallie Myers, who said this a few days before the battle: “We may expect a battle both near and soon. God help us! For surely our cause is one of justice and humanity.”

The beauty and hope of this whole battle is the future! Just like Gettysburg has recovered 150 years later, so we, too, shall be fully recovered if we know Jesus Christ personally. The hope of eternity grows brighter and brighter as the battle before us grows more and more frightening. We know where we will be in 150 years. Let us hold on to that hope, as we fight in the trenches here.

To close, I leave you with this quote from the NY Times from those days, which profoundly describes the heated battle we are in for this country right now: “The contest touches everything and leaves nothing as it found it. Great rights, great interests, great systems of habit and of thought disappear in its progress. It leaves us a different people in everything.”

 

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