Growing 4 Life

What is the Gospel?

4 Comments / April 14, 2014 June 27, 2016

With Easter almost upon us, it may be a good time to review just what the true gospel of Jesus Christ is, as written in the Bible. The other day I heard a supposedly Christian young man on a radio program answer a question about how he would share the gospel. It got me thinking about my own answer to that question, as he proceeded to give all of the selfish, shallow reasons why someone should “follow” Jesus.

Maybe it’s a good idea to first talk about what the gospel is not–

The gospel is not an all-encompassing panacea, solving all of our worldly problems.

The gospel is not our guide through life’s trials and tribulations.

The gospel is not to fill us with a sense of purpose.

The gospel is not designed to teach us that we are beautiful and worthy.

The gospel is not an insurance policy to protect us from a hell.

So exactly what is the gospel?

The gospel is the term used in scripture to depict God’s plan of salvation, available to all mankind. The plan of salvation cannot be understood unless we first understand that we are sinners (Romans 3:23). We cannot truly understand salvation until we truly understand our need to be saved. Repentance of sin is absolutely necessary for true salvation. In fact, without it we cannot even be saved (Luke 13:5).

Once we understand our sinfulness, we can then understand the quandary we are in. We can never be good enough to meet God’s standards (Isaiah 64:6). God cannot tolerate any sin and we can never be perfect (Isaiah 59:2). So how can we be at peace with God?

The answer is in the marvelous plan of salvation, designed by our loving heavenly Father, who sent His son Jesus to make himself a propitiation for our sins by dying on the cross. That is a big word, but it basically means that Jesus bore God’s wrath for our sins, indeed making a way for us to be reconciled to God (I John 4:9-10).

But it did not end there. Three days later, Jesus Christ rose from the grave, victorious over sin and death (I Corinthians 15:55-57). He has promised that those who accept this free gift of salvation will live with Him forever in heaven, where He has prepared a place for us (John 14:2-3).

Salvation comes when we believe with our hearts what the Word of God says (Romans 10:9). Of course, with true belief comes the transformation that can only come from the Holy Spirit’s working in us, paired with a deep desire to please God with all of our being.

Wonderfully, when we do put our faith in Jesus Christ and experience His life-changing power, we do get the benefits of peace, guidance, and purpose that come along with being a true Christian. But these are not the reasons we follow Jesus, they are only by-products of the choice to put our faith in Him.

So, why am I writing this? Most of my readers already are familiar with the gospel. Isn’t this a bit redundant?

I don’t think so, and here’s why: If you aren’t caught up in a few lies about the gospel, chances are pretty high that many others around you are. Mark 13:22 tells us that in the last days even the elect would be deceived, if possible. I believe we are living in those days. And that means there are a lot of variations on the true gospel.

It has been twisted into various forms. A few popular ones I can think of are the self-centered form — we come to God for material wealth, answers to selfish prayers, or happiness. We expect Him to fix our lives just the way we want. Another very popular form is filled with “extra-biblical” things we need to do in order to be saved — such as pray to Jesus’s mother or special saints, witness door-to-door, or follow certain rules. Any time there is anything other than faith in Jesus Christ alone, the true gospel has been twisted irreparably.

My dear friends, I pray that you know Jesus as your personal savior today. If you do not know Him, then I pray that you will soon! How I wish I could truly express the deep love I feel for Him and what He has done for me. The older I get the more I realize just how sinful I am. While I can see myself becoming more like Jesus in certain areas (an outworking of the Holy Spirit in my life), my eyes are also opened a little more each day to the depth of my sinfulness. Oh, how thankful I am for the sacrifice Jesus made for me! Jesus just grows sweeter and sweeter to me each year. How I long for you to have that salvation, and the peace and joy that comes along with it, as well!

If you do know Him, then I pray that you would want to share this with your world. Don’t be shy! Easter week is a great week to share the gospel with your circle of unbelieving family, friends, and acquaintances. Many are terrified by what they see happening in the world and even their communities. Many are without hope, seeing no sense of purpose or reason to what’s going on in their families, their work places, and on the news. But if you follow Christ, you have answers! Don’t be afraid to share them.

I end here with the chorus of a familiar hymn that reminds us of the great blessing of the cross. May we live in the victorious glow of it each and every day–

Calvary covers it all
My past with its sin and stain;
My gilt and despair Jesus took on Him there,
And Calvary covers it all.

Oh, praise God, Calvary cover it all!

If you like this post, I would appreciate it very much if you would share it with others. That is the only way I know of getting the word out. Thanks so much! :)

The Dialogue Deception

2 Comments / April 9, 2014 April 9, 2014

I don’t really consider myself a deeply philosophical person. I cannot look deep within movies and books and find themes. Nor do I really want to.

But I can spot a big fat lie when I see one. And it is about time someone exposes this one–The Dialogue Deception.

We have heard this typical excuse for the lack of discernment for years now. But with the current fascination Hollywood has with biblical tales, it has become even more prevalent.

“I know it misrepresents scripture, but it starts a dialogue.”

Come again?

It starts a dialogue?

SO you mean to tell me that we cannot talk about the marvelous gift of salvation without a movie? We can’t start a conversation about the eternal stuff of life without some help from Hollywood? Do we realize how pathetic that sounds?

It’s not that we can’t, we just don’t want to.

You see, many years ago, right around the time I was in college, we were sold another big lie–we need to be relevant to reach the world. Now, nowhere in scripture can this be found (those who want to use I Corinthians 9:20 as a defense for this philosophy clearly do not understand context), and yet, the church as a whole, desiring for an excuse to continue in their worldly ways, jumped on this bandwagon in full force.

Fast forward thirty years. We are in a culture that literally hates true, biblical Christianity and anyone that follows it-– for Christianity actually has the audacity to follow a Book that includes absolutes and moral standards and teaches that there is a literal hell and only one way to heaven. These are in direct opposition to the post-modern philosophies so prevalent today.

And so, with our minds firmly sold on the relevance lie, we recognize the possibility of looking very uncool if we clearly state we believe in God’s Word. And cool is everything. Look– I am right there with you. It is so much easier for me to casually mention a movie about God than to ask the question “If you die tonight, do you know, without a shadow of a doubt, where you would go?”

And so we skirt around the issues and casually try to work our way to the plan of salvation. The funny thing is that we see none of this skirting the issues in Paul’s epistles, or even the life of Jesus. They were straight forward and to the point. Loving, yes. But never vague. And certainly never needing a helping hand from a worldly practice (unless publicly denouncing it) to start a dialogue.

In all of the days of my almost fifty years, I have never seen the world so lost. The consequences for leaving biblical standards are tremendously painful. In just my little world alone, I know of many who have walked into the gay lifestyle, a few suicide attempts, and countless struggling marriages–and that is just the very small percentage of situations that have made their way to my ears. People and even entire families lie broken in the ash heaps of these sinful choices. This world is hurting!

Do we really need a movie to talk about the hope that is within us?

I don’t think so. In fact, I think that this lie of dialogue is hurting Christians far more than it is helping unbelievers. With each step away from a commitment to biblical doctrine and the inerrancy of scripture, we find ourselves with harder hearts and a growing lack of discernment.

Satan is no fool. He knew this would be a very effective way into the church and he was right.

It is time for thinking Christians to stand and fight. Let’s have the courage to stand for the Truth. And let’s bravely start the conversations that offer hope. Yes, that means we may be ridiculed. But we are talking about eternity here.

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So What Is Your Life’s Project?

2 Comments / April 3, 2014 April 3, 2014

What is the main project of your life? The answer to this question is a very important one. There are really only two answers to this question–

Your Happiness

God’s Glory

If we are a believer then, according to scripture, our life’s main project becomes bringing glory to God in all that we do. If we are still in darkness and unregenerate, then our project is, by default, our own happiness (which takes its form in many different ways, depending upon our personalities).

The problem is that many of us Christians tend to behave like we have not been transformed by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. Most of us still tend to default back into the “my happiness” mode. Of course, it doesn’t help very much that much of the Christian media is pushing us to keep our own happiness as our primary project.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I recently read a book entitled Under His Wings. The only thing I knew about this story was that it was about missionaries in Vietnam during the war there in the 1960s. I don’t even know how I found it on Amazon or why I was looking for it. But I can tell you that this book has presented a great challenge to my “American” view of godliness.

I won’t tell the story here (you can read it for yourself here) but the thing that struck me most was the fact that these people went willingly into a very dangerous country because of their love for Christ and their desire to share the gospel with the lost. They gave up conveniences, comfort, health, family, and eventually their lives for this purpose.

After I finished reading it, I felt so ashamed. These missionaries soldiered on through major illnesses and serious problems as they continued on about the Father’s business.

Me? I cave at the smallest thing. I give God my excuses as to why I can’t do this or that or why I haven’t been able to make time to pray. I was disgusted with myself after reading that book. And I have to ask myself a question: am I as impassioned to give God glory and to share the gospel with the lost as these amazing missionaries? I know the answer is no.

And I become fully aware of just how much my life focuses on my own happiness rather than on God’s glory. It is a constant battle for me.

But a sense of comfort comes in the fact that it is a battle. If there is no battle in the heart of a believer between their selfish desires and the desire to please God, it is an ominous sign that perhaps we are not saved at all.

But while a battle is a good sign, it doesn’t change the fact that, more often times than not, my life’s project is definitely my happiness.

Sometimes after I read a story like Under His Wings, I am tempted to conclude that there are just some super spiritual people out there. People who are just really special. They are the ones who will be wearing the most decorated crowns in heaven.

But is that true or have these ordinary Christians just completely and utterly surrendered their lives to Jesus?

And then comes the next question– if I am not called to the mission field (and most of us are not), how does selling out completely for Christ look right where I am right now?

Perhaps it isn’t just the big things we do and life-changing decisions we make. Instead I believe it is the small ways we are faithful each and every day– resisting the temptation to yell at our spouse or our kids; smiling while we do the work we have been called to do; spending time studying God’s Word on a daily basis; taking that opportunity to share the gospel with that person sitting on a park bench or in the doctor’s office. It’s how we make a choice to not watch a movie or TV show everyone is watching because we know it would not please our heavenly Father. It goes on to include how we spend our time and our money. Being sold out for Jesus encompasses everything. After all, surrender means sacrifice. And true sacrifice occurs every single day in the life of a Christian. It’s not about that mission trip that was a week of our life or the few hours we spend in church on Sunday.

And so, perhaps by the faithful and sacrificial things we do each day, people will see that our life’s project is to bring glory to the great God who saved us. And As we fight the battle between our flesh and our new life every day, may we stand strong in the power of His might! For my weakness is made strong by His strength! (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Searching for Spring

Leave a Comment / April 1, 2014 April 1, 2014

Totally spontaneous post here but today was a bit more seasonable and, between the weather and my illness, I have been yearning for a little sign of spring. I mean when it is time for spring, even winter weather can’t hold it back–not forever, anyway. And so I took my camera with me on a little walk outside to see if I could find some proof that spring is definitely on its way. I thought I’d share a few shots with you. I find them a wonderful reminder of Ecclesiastes 3– to everything there is a season. So thankful for the season of SPRING!

De-Sensitized

Leave a Comment / April 1, 2014 October 22, 2017

SO…I spent most of the past week battling some type of cold or flu. Not sure what it was, but besides making me all around miserable and even a permanent resident on my sofa for a couple of those days, it also made me lose all sense of taste and smell. While I can recall having bad colds and flus before, I cannot ever recall losing almost all sense of taste and smell. It’s actually really weird.

It first started with my morning coffee one day last week. It just tasted…off. I dumped it down the drain and tried a different k-cup. Maybe the first one was old. But, no, it was the same thing with the second cup. Coffee is usually one of the first things to go when I have a cold, so I wasn’t all that surprised. But then my fruit-infused water tasted off and basically anything I put in my mouth had no flavor. I could just barely taste salty and really sweet things.

I am still not tasting very well. It makes it very easy not to eat. Maybe someone should look into this for a new weight loss technique?

But, of course, as usual, it got me thinking. Why doesn’t anything taste good? Because I’m sick. Why can’t I smell anything? Because I’m sick.

And I started thinking over the years of my life and how my hunger for God’s Word has grown in the recent years. As a young person, I had a really hard time sitting down to read the Bible. And I wonder if I wasn’t a little like my physical body–so sickened spiritually by all the junk I was taking in or the sinful habits that had ensnared me, that I was de-sensitized to the beautiful, life-changing Word of God.

I think sometimes we wonder why God’s word doesn’t “taste” good to us (Psalm 119:103). We sit down and try to read it and we find it dry and boring. I have been there. But now I realize that it is me– not the Bible– that is the cause of my lack of interest.

If we are making a conscious effort to please God, with a humble heart and a deep desire to be holy, then, while we will make mistakes and still sin (obviously), God’s Word will fill a deep hunger inside us that will be nonexistent otherwise. And it will taste wonderful. Like life-giving water.

I’m still growing and still learning, so this is just a theory. I still have some days where I am reading the Bible and I grow disinterested or distracted. But, after this week’s experience, I may just take my spiritual temperature on those days because I know it is my problem.

You know I believe a very large part of the problem in the modern day church stems from biblical illiteracy. If we don’t know our Bibles we can not really even know God, we won’t be able to discern and defend truth, and we will fall prey to any wind of false doctrine that comes along. If Satan can trap us in a sinful habit or busyness or worldly entertainment, he knows it will diminish our hunger for the bread of life.

Wow. The things you can learn from being sick. I’ll just think about this while I sip my coffee that still tastes like…not much of anything. I am very much anticipating the return of my taste buds!

SEE–

2 Timothy 3:16

Hebrews 4:12

Psalm 119

James 1:21-22

My Four Mirrors

2 Comments / March 27, 2014 March 27, 2014

When I had babies so many years ago, I don’t think that I fully realized something.

Wait– let me rephrase that. I know that I absolutely did not realize something.

Each one of my babies– in one way or another– would mirror some of my own worst sinful traits and most annoying habits.

They say that kids change you. And that is certainly true. And, quite honestly, I expected to be changed. It was coming face to face with my own sin on a daily basis that I wasn’t quite expecting.

I have great kids. I am so blessed. But almost every day, I will spot a bit of selfishness or anger or backbiting or gossip, and, while with my mouth I am “encouraging them” to stop what they are doing, inside I am frustrated because I know–as sure as I know the sun will rise again tomorrow– where they learned that behavior.

It is rather interesting to me that, as parents, we often have the toughest time getting along with the kid(s) that are just like us. Could it possibly be because of this dynamic? These kids that are like us force us to come face to face with our sin almost every day. And we don’t like that. It irritates and frustrates us. Our pride is hurt over and over again, because we know we haven’t conquered this sin in our lives and now we’ve condemned our children to struggle with it for the rest of theirs.

Could that possibly be part of the reason?

Whatever the reason, I do believe that, instead of growing frustrated, we need to humble ourselves and recognize the sin in our own lives, while we do the necessary task of raising our children.

How important it is that we do not pretend we are perfect while we discipline our children, while all involved — children, spouse– knows full well we are not.

Life is changing now for me. My kids are young adults and my role looks quite different. And the mirrors grow so much clearer. I can see some of the struggles and battles they are going to face because of the example I set. And I feel like a failure.

But, then I remember God’s grace and the victories over sin I have experienced through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. No, not perfection, but victories. I am not the same person now that I was twenty years ago. God is slowly, but surely, sanctifying me and making me look more like Jesus.

And I know that, through their obedience to God’s Word and the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, my much beloved children will also have that same victory in their lives as they mature.

Now my main job is to pray.

If you like this post and believe it would be an encouragement to others, I would very much appreciate if you would share it. Thank you! :)

But Why, God?

2 Comments / March 24, 2014 March 24, 2014

Something terrible happened over the weekend to a really nice family. I don’t know them all that well, but I do know that, from my purely human point of view, they certainly didn’t deserve this tragedy in their lives.

I found myself really questioning the goodness of God as I tried to sort through all of this in my mind. Bad things happen to godly people. We know this is a fact of life. And, yet, sometimes, it just hits us and our spirit cries out to the Lord, asking “But why, God?”

It wasn’t that I was questioning Him. I know (in my head) that He is good all the time. And I know that He loves this family and that hasn’t changed because He has allowed this tragedy in their lives. But my heart was having a really hard time wrapping itself around the why. What good purpose could this possibly have?

I don’t have the answer to that. Just like good purposes and lessons learned do not always show forth through the hard moments and difficult times in my own life, I may never know why this family has suffered so.

But God knows. I try to remember that He sees the whole tapestry, while I only see a tiny speck of it. One tiny dot in the scope of all of time in the whole world. I can’t help but realize that I really know nothing and should not judge God based on my very limited perspective.

As I was pondering all of this, I just “happened” to read the following in a *fiction book I am reading–

“See, typically we measure goodness by whether we like something or not. I like this, so it’s good. I don’t like that, so it’s not good. We can do this with God, pretty easily, in fact. If He does something we like or agree with, then He’s good. If He does something or allows something we don’t like, we’re not so sure anymore. We won’t usually say it out loud; that would be impolite. But we can go there in our hearts. And once we do, we start to pull away from the Lord . Do you think that could have happened here?”

And this–

“God doesn’t just do good, Shawn. He is good. His goodness flows from his very nature. Because we don’t always understand what He’s doing, some of it doesn’t seem good to us. But that’s where our faith comes into play. We must believe, as Paul says, that God is working all things together for our good. In time, His goodness and good purposes will become clearer to us. But it can take time.”

Wow. A sermon to me right in the middle of a novel, just when I needed it. And people say there is no personal God? I beg to differ.

Of course, that last sentence — about His purposes becoming clearer in time–while that is sometimes true, it isn’t always true, is it? Sometimes we will never find out this side of heaven.

But how convicted I was by that first thought— Wasn’t I judging God’s goodness based on my perception of what is good? Only God knows the ramifications of any tragedy. He knows whose hearts will be touched and what seeds will be planted. He knows the spiritual growth that will take place and the relationships that will be changed. We can’t see it all, because we are limited by time and our own perspectives. I keep coming back to that word “limited”.

And I realized something — how dare I judge God based on my own limited and humanly flawed knowledge? How dare I? Who do I think I am, anyway?

I remember a friend once saying that she believes it is actually a sin to question God and to ask why. I am not sure about that, but I do believe that if we don’t come to a place of utter submission to His will after our initial and natural questioning, we will struggle all of our lives in our relationship with Him. It is about sovereignty and submission. Very very unpopular words in this culture we find ourselves.

And, interestingly enough, as I was thinking through all of this, another friend who is going through an extremely difficult time in her life shared with me a really amazing way she has seen the Lord take her tragedy and bring someone to Himself because of it. Now if that isn’t an encouragement to keep trusting, I don’t know what is.

But, no matter what outcomes we do or do not see, scripture teaches us that we are to keep submitting and trusting, knowing that our heavenly Father loves us and will keep us in His care, no matter what we face (I Peter 5:7; Lamentations 3:25; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

*Walsh, Dan (2010-06-01). Homecoming, The: A Novel (Kindle Locations 3581-3584 & 3588-3591). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Setting Our Husbands Up for Failure

4 Comments / March 17, 2014 March 17, 2014

My husband and I were able to enjoy a nice getaway for a few days. We felt it was important after this really busy winter and before our normal “even busier” spring. And, while we enjoyed one another’s company, the hotel and the weather were not stuff that dreams are made of.

Let’s face it, many of us wives dream of romance. We want romantic hotels and upscale restaurants. We want sunshine and flowers and walks in the warm summer rain. We want the white horse and the deep stares into our eyes and the “happily ever after.” We want gallant knights who rescue us when we are in distress.

Instead we get normal guys who are often the cause of our distress, freezing temperatures with an even colder wind, and no horses at all. Happily ever after just doesn’t exist.

And yet we just keep trying to find it. Like somehow our lives can match the romance novel we just read or that movie we watched last week. Could that be a hint as to why we struggle so?

I believe it is. I believe we have been given a false picture of what true love and marriage are in many of the books we read and the movies we see. I believe this is especially true of the Christian romance novels that have flooded the market.

I made a choice many years ago to cut way back on these because I realized that I was setting my poor husband up for failure. He just couldn’t ever come close to the wonderful, selfless heroes I would read about and it would end up frustrating both of us. Oh, I didn’t long for anything specific, I was just filled with this vague sense of dissatisfaction about our marriage.

You know, we hear about the hopelessness we women feel in the face of this sexual, pornographic world. Photos are fixed and flaws covered up. We live in a world obsessed with physical beauty and we women feel we can never, ever measure up.

Have you thought about the fact that perhaps your husband feels the same way, because of what you choose to read or watch? Hopeless. Like he can never be good enough.

We have to be so careful. A chick flick is not wrong in and of itself, but when we base our hopes and dreams for our marriage relationship on it, it becomes a problem.

The truth can be hard to hear but here is what I have learned about marriage–

~Marriage is really, really hard.

~I am married to a sinner and so is my husband.

~During those hard times, you will have a desire to just leave. But you don’t because you made a commitment and you know the price would be way too high.

~There is no Hollywood, romance novel “happily ever after.”

~Each stage offers its own unique challenges and struggles.

~The work and the effort is so incredibly worth it.

As I grow older, I still have to catch myself sometimes. Are my expectations realistic? Or are they just the stuff that romance novels are made of? As hard as it is to believe, flowers and diamonds are never mentioned in the Bible. No, the Bible instead very simply commands husbands to love their wives (Ephesians 5:25, Colossians 3:19).

Are you loved?

Does your husband work hard to provide for the needs of you and your family?

Does he take care of you when you are sick?

Does he come home after a long day and play with the children?

Does he share his heart and world with you?

Does he offer to watch the children for an hour or two while you take a much-needed break with girlfriends?

Does he get up at night with the kids, help you vacuum in a pinch, or change the oil in your car?

This is love, my dear friend. This is selfless, genuine love.

Oh, how mixed up we become if we are not careful.

There is nothing wrong with romance. And, while it is probably a good addition to any relationship, in the end romance isn’t the core of any relationship. True love is about selflessness and sacrifice. If we have that in our husband, may we be thankful. It’s all about perspective. Perhaps “happily ever after” does exist, after all.

What Is One Life Worth?

2 Comments / March 13, 2014 March 13, 2014

I watched one of those old disaster movies the other day– you know where the world is ending and they have to decide who are the lucky ones who will be saved. This isn’t really my normal style of movie, but I had watched it years ago and a bit of nostalgia nudged me to watch it again. At any rate, in this particular movie, when the announcement was made that a random lottery would be held to save humanity they added this caveat — Anyone over the age of fifty will not be entered into the lottery.

Funny. When I watched this movie the first time I didn’t give a second thought to that sentence. But this time, it really hit home because I am approaching 50 rather rapidly. And my thoughts started turning. Is that what our society really believes? That anyone over fifty isn’t worth saving?

These thoughts came to my mind again this week as I did some transplanting in my greenhouse. I naturally go towards the stronger, taller plants and throw the small, frail-looking ones in the trash. I only need so many plants and when the germination rate is high, I have to pick which ones I am going to keep. Whether or not it was the movie that made that day’s transplanting extra hard, I am not sure, but I found myself feeling rather badly for the small plants and transplanting a few of them just to give them a shot. I know, I know. That is really strange.

But it was with remarkable clarity that I suddenly realized that this is why we should never view humans in the same way we view animals and plants. The Bible tells us that we have been designed by God in His image (Genesis 1:27) and we are each fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14). We have eternal souls, unlike other forms of life on earth. Whether we are still within the warm womb being shaped or approaching our 90th birthday does not make us any less valuable in God’s eyes and should not make us any less valuable to each other.

But when a culture makes the switch from believing in a Creator to believing that we all just happened by chance, how we view humanity inevitably changes. Because, in this system of belief, everything is simply a bunch of cells that “just happened” to form plants and animals and people (and they say believing in God takes faith?!), the view of the human race naturally becomes equal to that of any other life on this planet. We are no different than dogs or the whales. All are equally important.

Interestingly enough, there are a few ways we have seen this belief take shape. Some people actually elevate animals as more important than humans. Have you run into any of those people who “save the whales” one day and hold a sign for abortion the next? But the fruit of this belief that is even more evil (if that’s possible) than animal elevation is the belief that human life is only worthwhile if it is productive. This is why a society will eventually allow for the practices of infanticide and euthanasia.

You can see it coming. In fact in some ways and in some countries it is already here. Much of our society does not give a second thought to aborting an imperfect child already. There is also very little value placed on those who are languishing in nursing homes and have become a large “drain” on society. Self-inflicted euthanasia is already a popular reason to travel to the countries of Switzerland and Belgium. In fact, just recently, Belgium even lifted their age restrictions to include suffering children. (See article here) If this is allowed, how close is it until we go to the next step of forced euthanasia? I can’t imagine it will be very long.

And I believe that this all stems from man’s belief about origins. But should we be surprised? It makes complete sense from a worldly perspective that man would try to eliminate all accountability that would keep him from living the way he wants to live. Unfortunately, the consequences of that type of life are very, very high and there is a plethora of negative effects that have been the result of this effort to convince man he is nothing but a bunch of cells. It is not simply coincidence that the amount of fatherless children, divorce rates, and abortions have sky-rocketed in the last fifty to a hundred years.

So what can we do?

First, we need to know why we believe what we do and why it is not the fairy tale the world tells us it is. We need to know God’s Word and what it says about man and his sinful state. We need to understand why it is impossible, not only to believe in evolution, but to believe in anything but a young earth (hint: death cannot come before sin for the gospel to be true). I am so very grateful for men like Ken Ham and his ministry, Answers in Genesis, who, unapologetically, stand for a young earth. He has great resources on his website and I highly recommend it.

Second, we need to be willing to speak up as God gives us opportunities. I mentioned in a recent blog post, that we are probably not going to be changing our culture anytime soon. But does Jesus Christ ever mention anything about saving the culture? I can’t think of any verses that call us to do this. No, instead, we are to focus on preaching the gospel and winning disciples (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Mark 13:10). We need to take this more seriously! I need to take this more seriously. We’ve been stone-walled into silence in many ways. Oh, we won’t get hauled off to prison or lose our lives, but a threatened reputation and ridicule are still very effective ways to get people to keep their mouths closed, are they not? Think about how Christians are portrayed in almost any Hollywood movie and the reputation they are given in the press and in politics. It is no easy thing to stand up for Christ. And it shouldn’t be. We have been a bit spoiled in this country with just how accepted Christianity and the Christian world view has been. But no more. That means now is the time for boldness and courage! (Joshua 1:9)

And, finally, I think we need to be careful how we value life. How important it is that the world doesn’t “rub off” on us in this area. Let’s not forget that all people are valuable to God– not just the ones who contribute to society. Precious children, who, with their imperfect bodies and minds, teach their parents invaluable lessons, as well as the elderly souls who are nearing the end of their lives. Our senior population has been pretty much left in the dust, haven’t they? Once they can’t function as a normal human being they are put in a home and pretty much forgotten. But let’s remember that one day that will be us. And the example we set will most likely be followed.

Oh, may we stand boldly and set a good example for future generations. May all who come behind us find us faithful! I conclude with the lyrics from this old song—

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful!

Poisoned Brownie

3 Comments / March 10, 2014 March 10, 2014

There are many different types of poison. Some poisons kill suddenly and ruthlessly. But for those who want to kill in a less suspicious way there are less violent substances (for example, arsenic) which kill slowly and painfully with little suspicion aroused. If you google arsenic poisoning, you will find a bevy of awful physical symptoms that accompany this type of poisoning.

Now let’s say you were given a brownie that was 99% full of the best ingredients. It looks amazing and wonderfully delicious. It was made with the most expensive cocoa on the market, freshly ground flour, and fresh eggs from a local farm. Would you eat it?

What if I tell you that it also contains 1% arsenic. Would you still eat it?

You wouldn’t? Why not? Because it’s poison, you say?

Exactly. It contains poison and no thinking person is going to purposely consume poison, no matter what package it comes in.

So, I can’t help but wonder why so many of us, while not willing to consume poison physically, are so willing to feed our minds poison?

Think for a minute about some of the latest “Christian” books, movies, and even music that have gained popularity. Are they pure or do they contain things that change your view of the gospel or of who God is?

Many–certainly not all–are filled with arsenic. New age teachings, prosperity gospel, and downright lies are laced throughout all of that “good” stuff they also contain. Sure, some of it is good. How else will Satan make it attractive to believers?

But just like arsenic will slowly kill you, consuming poisoned “Christian” resources and entertainment will also weaken your faith.

Can you take something good from the consumption of these items? Sure. Of course. The brownies are also full of good ingredients that will help give your body nutrients (okay– so that might be some wishful thinking–maybe I should have used a salad as an example, instead! But you get what I mean, right??) So why wouldn’t you eat that brownie?

Because you– like me– realize that there are many other brownies in the world and the risk is just not worth it.

It is really the same principle.

Here is the thing: while I believe that I know basic biblical doctrines and principles quite well, I would never trust myself to be so discerning that I could pick through the poisoned buffet of today’s Christian resources. Before I will pick up the latest, greatest best seller, I will go through these five principles of discernment (I Thessalonians 5:21)–

1. Is the Bible the final authority for the author/preacher/musician or is he/she more prone to weaving in modern day philosophies and “proofs”? (2 Thessalonians 2:15 and 3:6; Romans 16:17-18)

2. Does the person in question live a holy and pure life? (I Peter 1:15-16; I John 2:3-6)

3. Is their book or podcast or CD a Best Seller or #1 in the secular market? (John 15:19)

4. Has their message changed over the years to become more “palatable”, making it less biblical?

5. Who are their best friends? Who do they quote? What do these friends and quoted people stand for? (Proverbs 12:26; 2 Corinthians 6:14)

Does this take work? You better believe it does. But shouldn’t we want to know? Don’t we care enough about our spiritual welfare to do this work?

Destroying Christianity in America has been a huge under-taking by Satan. He has done it very methodically and very surreptitiously. Many Christians are filled with unbiblical thoughts about God, His Word, and the plan of salvation and do not even realize it. But it is what Satan is using to obliterate true Christianity in this nation. I believe that with all of my heart. Sure, there is some pressure starting to build from the outside world but that isn’t what will ultimately kill Christianity in this nation (and, actually, persecution is what will probably revive it– but that is a different post for another day).

This reminds me of what Moses tells the Israelites over and over again in Deuteronomy. I recently read this book and was really reminded of how seriously God takes mixing in other forms of worship and idolatry in our worship of Him. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. And the Israelites paid dearly for this compromise.

Do we think we are somehow more spiritual and less susceptible than these men and women who ate manna directly from the hand of God or saw water miraculously spring forth from a rock?

And, so, perhaps we should make an effort to avoid poison in all of its forms.

And, on a side note, I realized something recently. As I have gotten together with a group of ladies to study–really study– the book of I Peter, I realized that I do not know God’s Word near as well as I thought I did–or should. Perhaps it is time to turn back to the Bible in our Bible studies? I am amazed all over again at the power, wisdom, and true light contained within the pages of scripture. Let’s not get distracted.