Christianity

Seeing Ourselves As We Really Are

2 Comments / March 28, 2016

mirror

Would you know what you look like if you didn’t have access to a mirror? We can hardly even imagine not having a mirror available anywhere. But just think on this with me for the next few minutes, if you will–

The era is around World War II–late 30s or early 40s. The town is London. The girl is born with a club foot. Her cruel mother hates her and thinks the girl is cursed by the devil. Because of this, the mother tries desperately to hide the girl from the world and refuses to let her leave their drab, one-room apartment. In that room she has lived her whole, short life and she sits at the tiny, lone window all day, watching the world go by below her.

One day she decides to try to teach herself to walk. It is very painful and such a struggle, but she does it! She can walk across the room. And it’s a good thing, too, because finally, one day she and her little brother are given an opportunity to escape. They board a train bound for the country and head towards freedom.

On the way there, the train stops and the kids get off the train to use the bathroom. As she limps to the sink in the unfamiliar room, there seems to be another girl washing her hands in another sink right in front of her. She is shocked at just how ugly the girl is. She is by far the nastiest, dirtiest girl she has ever seen. Her hair is knotted and unkempt. Her clothing is filthy and ripped. And then she notices the girl imitating her and she gasps. That isn’t just another girl from the train. It is her! She is looking in a mirror and the ugly girl is herself.

She has come face to face with how she truly looks and it isn’t a pretty sight.

This story is not from a Christian book and there is no indication that the author is a believer, but this part of her book helped me understand this passage from James in a whole new light–

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was (James 1:22-24).

When we read the Bible, we are just like that girl looking in the mirror for the first time. We, too, get a glimpse of our true self–the sinful, dark, ugly side we’d prefer to ignore. And yet, James indicates that many of us look in that mirror and then just walk away. Why is this? I think there are two reasons, which really end up being the same thing in slightly different packages–

1. We are prideful and self-righteousness.

Pride, in essence, keeps the mirror hazy. Have you ever seen a window when the sun shines on it? What looked clean in the darkness looks positively filthy in the sunlight. Pride is that darkness that keeps us from seeing the filth. When we read the Word, some of us honestly believe we are good people and that we are making a pretty good go of this thing called “life”. We don’t really need a Savior because we don’t believe we are really that big of a sinner.

2. We love our sin.

In order for us to be changed by the Word, we need to be willing to obey the Word. This is a very tall order because it affects every aspect of our lives. We can’t approach the Word with a willing heart, because we are not willing to put what God wants ahead of what we want. Looking in that mirror will require some very painful and sacrificial change. And we don’t want it. It hurts too much. So we go on in with our devotions and Bible reading but it really never changes us because we love our sin too much and are not willing to part with it.

Both of these can be boiled down into one concept: Self-Love. We love ourselves far too much to be too fazed by the mirror of the Word.

And so many who read the Bible never change. They are the same person from year to year. And this is who James talks about–the ones who are hearing but never doing. The ones who are reading but never changing.

And this is why we need to check our hearts before we come to the Word. True and lasting change is only possible if we approach the Word of God with a heart of submission and a willingness to obey. An unyielding, prideful heart will reap no fruit from time spent in the Word.

It has been a challenge for me to think about how I approach the Word. Am I willing to see the real me? And am I willing to do whatever it takes to give up the sins that I love–whether they be how I entertain myself, how I eat, what I wear, or how I react to people when I don’t get my way?

If I can answer yes! to these two questions, then the wonderful hope in God’s Word is that we are not alone in our battle against sin. God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us. Romans 1:9-11 puts it this way–

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Life is not filled with hopeless battles that we can never win. Victory can be ours but only if we are willing to look at ourselves honestly. Victory can be ours but only if we are willing to cast aside the sins that we love.

If we do can do these two things by the grace and mercy of God, then– and only then– will we become doers of the Word, and not hearers only.

Rescued

2 Comments / March 21, 2016

rescued

Imagine you are on the ocean a thousand miles from land. You are literally dying from thirst. Your lips are parched and your skin blistered from the scorching sun. The only thing keeping you from drowning in the unfathomable depths of the endless ocean is a flimsy yellow raft. The days are ticking by and death seems close at hand.

Or imagine you are in the belly of the earth, deep inside a cave. You have lost your source of light and you have lost your way. You don’t know where to turn and the darkness is so thick you can touch it. You can’t even see your hand in front of your face for there is not a hint of light anywhere. You recognize that you are never going to be able to find your way out and you start facing the fact that you are going die a slow, torturous death in this place, leaving behind a pile of bones that someone may stumble onto some day in the distant future.

In both scenarios, all hope is gone. Your life on earth is over and you know it. You have faced the facts and are simply waiting to die.

Now, suppose that–against all odds– someone rescues you. Not only does he rescue you, but he gives his life to save you. He knew that your rescue depended upon the sacrifice of his life but he chose to save you, anyway.

How would you feel about this person?

What kind of passion would you express when you tell the story of your dramatic rescue? What kind of words would you use when describing the person who gave his life to save you?

Most people would tell the story of their rescue in great detail, infusing their words with zeal and fervor. They would try to convey –as much as words would allow– the deep, abiding love and tremendous awe and respect they have for the stranger who saved them.

And this passion is given for a temporary escape from something that’s still going to happen eventually. Our rescue hasn’t cheated death permanently–it’s just given us a bit more time here on earth.

Why do we feel such great passion about a temporary physical rescue and yet feel little or no passion regarding our spiritual rescue?

We were sinners completely without righteousness (Romans 3:23). We were headed for eternal separation from God. Eternal separation (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Our final destination was going to be hell–a place of torture and fire (Luke 16:24).

Unending punishment was certain.

We were without hope.

And then came the day long ago that God put His plan of salvation into motion. He sent His only Son to the earth as a baby. That baby would grow into a man who would die on a cross for the sins of man. He took our sins on Himself and covered us with His blood and righteousness so that we could be reconciled to the One, True God!

And then He rose again, victorious over death!

O, Death where is thy sting? O, grave, where is thy victory? (I Corinthians 15:55)

We haven’t been given temporary respite from death–we have had an eternal rescue!

And yet, most of us Christians talk about our rescue like we talk about what we are having for dinner. There is no passion, no fervor. We don’t tell our neighbors and we don’t tell our friends. In fact, some of us do all we can to avoid bringing up the subject, nervous and afraid to speak the name of Jesus.

But how can we keep from praising His name? How can we keep from singing?

Salvation is far more than an intellectual acknowledgement. Even the demons acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 8:29). Salvation is a change of heart.

If our hearts have been changed, then praise should spill forth without effort because we have been rescued! We have left the roiling sea of sin and have found the solid anchor that holds! We have left the inky, black darkness that has blinded us and have walked into marvelous light!

How can we keep from praising Him? How can we keep from singing?

I know this type of  passion and fervor in “Christianity” isn’t always acceptable. We don’t want to get too excited because we don’t want to look strange. But have you been to a sports event lately? Or a concert? Passion and zeal abide there for literally no reason. And we can’t bring some excitement to our dramatic, eternal rescue from sin and hell?

As we focus this week on the death and resurrection of Christ, let us consider what Jesus did for us and the passion we have towards what happened. Let’s ponder our wretched sinfulness and reflect on how He reconciled us to God, gave us eternal life, and saved us from eternal damnation. If we are truly saved, we will find that we can’t keep from praising His name and singing out!

 

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. (Psalm 18:49)

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)

Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. (Isaiah 42:10)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

The Line

4 Comments / March 17, 2016

line

The other morning I heard a song that started me wondering about something–

If I stood completely alone in my stand for Christ with no fellow believers to be found anywhere, would I continue to stand? If I was rejected and abandoned by family, friends, and co-workers for my faith; If I was mocked and scorned and persecuted, would I cave?

Our pastor once told the story of The Line as part of his sermon. I am going to paraphrase it here–

There was a college professor who one day came up with an interesting little experiment to try on his classes. He showed different lines on a screen in front of his students. The lines were very obviously different lengths. When he pointed to the longest line, he asked how many of the class thought this was the longest line. (Now remember, it was very obviously the longest line). Only one student raised his hand. As he looked around him, he became hesitant and slowly pulled his hand back down to his side.

What the student didn’t know was that this had been a set-up. The professor wanted to know how many would raise their hand confidently at the objective truth in front of them, even if they were the only one.

75% of the lone students caved.

Seventy-five percent!

Now doesn’t that help us understand the state of the church a bit more clearly?

We aren’t teaching our kids to be courageous! We aren’t teaching them to stand up for the truth no matter what the cost!

And forget the kids for a second. What would you have done? I would say that I don’t care all that much about man’s praise, but when I think about that scenario, I think even me, at my stage in life, may have questioned myself. We are so caught up in the herd mentality that we have lost site of what matters. We so loathe being singled out, pointed at, and ridiculed that we do everything possible to avoid it–even if it means compromise.

And it’s getting harder and harder to stand. There used to be some tolerance for people who believe the Bible to be the inspired and infallible Word of God. Now there is very little–even from people who call themselves Christians. This change in our culture certainly gives us lots of opportunities to stand firmly for Christ– or to not stand.

The thing about compromise is that once you do it once, it becomes easier and easier. For solid Christians who actually know the Word of God the first step into the murky waters of compromise feels very uncomfortable. But it gets easier and easier and if we aren’t careful, we are surrounded and immersed in it and don’t even realize it.

Jesus tells us in John 15:18-25 that the world will hate us. That we should expect this. We find similar thoughts in 2 Timothy 3:12, I Peter 4:12-14, I John 3:13. In fact this theme is so woven throughout the scriptures, that we can come to the conclusion that if we aren’t persecuted and hated by at least some of those we come in contact with we may not be walking with God the way we should be.

This is very opposite of what you hear today, isn’t it?  Instead we hear that peace and unity are the signs of a “good Christian”.  Of course, if we are hated, it should be because of speaking truth. We never want it to be for the unkind way we speak truth or for promoting our own selfish agendas couched in “Christianese”. This is how Christians get such a terrible reputation.

I remember hearing John MacArthur say something that echoes my thoughts exactly on this. I can’t quote him word for word because I don’t have it. But it was something that stuck with me and it was something like this–

I am not concerned if people hate me for speaking the truth from God’s Word because they don’t like it. But I am very concerned if people hate me because of my sin–because I’ve been rude, or arrogant, or unloving.

I wish I had his exact quote, but I just don’t. But I remember hearing him and saying–YES! This is what we Christians need to remember! It’s okay to be hated for speaking the truth but it is never okay to be hated for being unloving or rude.

It’s a convicting challenge that requires constant testing of our own hearts. If Satan can’t get us to compromise then he instead tempts us to stand for the truth in an unloving, arrogant way. We can never let down our guards. As it says in I Peter 5:8–

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Hmmm. I got a little off-track there for a moment. Let’s go back to the story of the line. Are you a little worried, like me, that you wouldn’t have the courage to raise your hand and stand for the truth all by yourself?

I remember as a teenager being so concerned about this. I would hear stories from the {former} USSR about people who would be shot or sent to Siberia for their faith and worrying that I would cave if I should ever face that same thing. But God gave me great comfort in two ways regarding this. First, in the promise that no matter what we face, His grace will be sufficient–

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (I Corinthians 12:9)

We will get the grace we need when we need it and not a moment before.

And, second, I take great comfort in the life of Peter. Isn’t it great encouragement that Peter–the man who denied his association with Christ three times (John 18) wasn’t rejected by Christ, but instead went on to do wonderful and amazing things for the Kingdom–even dying for Christ in the end? We should take great encouragement in this. For even one of Christ’s very disciples struggled with this and yet, in the end, stood strong and firm!

I hope these things encourage you, too, because I think our opportunities to stand alone are going to become more and more frequent. It is sobering and actually quite frightening. But it’s not impossible. And–as my pastor says–there is always a remnant–a remnant of those of us who believe the Bible wholly and fully. Praise God! We are never truly alone, even though it may feel like it for a moment.

Many of you are part of that remnant. Let’s encourage one another as we face the unknown. Let’s put the foolish arguments that don’t matter aside and unite in our commitment to God and His Word. Let’s stand boldly–no matter the cost.

 

Reviewing Fuller House

24 Comments / March 14, 2016

Fuller House

 

A few weeks ago a new show called Fuller House hit Netflix. After hearing mixed reports about the new show from many Christians, I decided to sit down and watch a couple of episodes myself.

Let me preface this by saying first that, yes, our family did watch Full House. And yes, even so long ago, there were some things in that show that shouldn’t have been there. They were subtle and vague but they were there.  And we Christians–myself included–overlooked them. The show was cute. It was mostly wholesome and family-friendly. We still watch the show occasionally.

I really had high hopes that this spin-off would carry on its predecessor’s traditions and believed it would since–

a) It was advertised as a family show.

b) Candace Cameron, an actress who has declared she is a Christian very openly, is on the show.

c) The original show was pretty clean and family-friendly, overall.

 

But times have changed. A lot. And I should not have had such high expectations.

As I watched a grown-up Stephanie make a crude joke about her barely covered breasts on this series advertised for “families”, my heart sank. This was not for Christian families. It was for a culture that has become totally obsessed with sex.

My heart sank further as I watched. After watching two episodes, I made the choice not to continue watching the series. However, others who continued watching shared with me that future episodes have D.J., played by Candace Cameron, getting drunk, using bad language, and dressing inappropriately. The fact that Candace does these things and also claims to be a believer should be rather disturbing.

Now before you start rationalizing why she may or may not have chosen to do these things as an actress, please don’t. I don’t care why she did them. The fact is she shouldn’t have done them. She shouldn’t even be on a show that contains them.

Why not?

Because the Bible says–

Ephesians 5:8-11: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

It also says–

James 1:27: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

These are just two verses. There are so many more verses that not only encourage but command Christians to live a sanctified and holy life that is separate from the world. What do we Christians think “the world” means exactly, if not its sexual crudeness, its bad language, and its lusting after wealth, power, and a good time?

I have no idea why Candace Cameron made the decision to be part of such a show. She may have really good motives. We all make mistakes and she is in the lime light, with hers for everyone to see. I am not judging her personally, but this does not change the fact that she has made a poor choice to participate in a show that is inappropriate for families. And the plain fact is that she will drag a bunch of well-meaning, undiscerning Christians with her into believing this kind of entertainment is okay.

It’s not okay.

It is not okay.

What have we come to that this is accepted for family viewing by Christian families? I know this show is mild compared to many on TV. And probably some of you are rolling your eyes about now. I can almost hear your muttering and grumbling as some of you reflect on how ridiculous you think I am being.

And, honestly, I can understand why. It is because most of us Christians are like the proverbial frog in boiling water, accepting more and more and more worldliness, until we are up to our eyeballs in the filth of this culture, right along with everyone else.

But when do we say enough is enough? What will be disgusting enough to make us turn the TV off? When will we value pleasing our heavenly Father more than we value our own desires?

Look, life is about choices. And this includes what we allow in our homes on that box. The TV in and of itself isn’t evil. But we have a grave responsibility regarding what is played on that screen.

I’ve made many bad choices when it comes to that box. More than I can count. In fact, I almost made another one yesterday.

I sat down to watch a movie I’ve seen many times before. It’s one of my favorites from the 90s. As I started watching, they used my Lord’s name in vain time after time in the worst way possible. And that’s when I realized–I couldn’t keep watching this.

I turned it off. The temptation was to rationalize as to why I could keep watching and I did spend a few seconds doing so, but then–

I turned it off.

And guess what? It wasn’t really that painful. Once the decision was made, I didn’t give it another thought. We can turn it off. When a show gets offensive, we can turn the TV off. We don’t have to keep watching. Our kids don’t have to keep watching.

I hope that this post will give at least some of you a reason to stop and think for just a moment about the TV shows you allow in your home. I hope that at least some of you–even one of you–will rise up and say enough is enough and stop the influx of worldly values and unrighteousness streaming into your home through that box.

Let’s stop joining this pagan culture and enjoying its fruit, but instead be the ones that stand against it, striving to live holy and righteous lives in this perverse generation.

 

Common False Gospels

8 Comments / March 28, 2023

False Gospels

All throughout history, Satan has been bending and twisting the true Gospel found in the Holy Word of God just enough to make it false. What comes from this are false, unbiblical systems that are like magnets for lost and empty souls. Some of these false gospels are very, very close to the Truth. They always use the names of God and Jesus and generally will use lots of Bible verses, which are almost always taken out of context.

Historically, the true Church has viewed the Word of God as inerrant and inspired. This has led us to understand the true Gospel by reading and studying the Word of God in its entirety and in context. (If you would like a summary of the Gospel, based on the Bible, you will find it here).

As we learn and grow in our knowledge of scripture, these false gospels become easier to spot. Of course, the really tricky thing is that some people who fall prey to these for a little while are genuine believers who are deceived. So please keep in mind–I am not judging any particular person in this post. I have no idea who is and who is not saved. But if we know someone caught up in one of these false teachings, we may want to give them a loving warning.

And remember–most people who follow one of these systems believe with all of their hearts that they have embraced truth. They are trusting in a source outside of scripture for their beliefs. This is always dangerous. Always. If we don’t have scripture as our rock, then we will have no basis with which to judge a true or false gospel. For how can we tell the false, if we have nothing by which to measure it against?  J.C. Ryle puts it this way–

“A man must make the Bible alone his rule. He must receive nothing and believe nothing which is not according to the Word. He must try all religious teaching by one simple test—Does it square with the Bible? What does the Scripture say?”

I whole-heartedly agree with him. With that in mind, let’s look at a few prevalant false gospels–

1. The Prosperity Gospel

This gospel teaches that material blessings (health, wealth, and power) come to those who believe in Jesus. If we do not have these things it is because we do not have enough “faith”. God is presented like a magic genie, whom we need to manipulate in order to get what we want.

But the Bible teaches us that our lives are not filled with material blessings when we come to Christ. Instead, it tells us that we are to not only expect various trials, but we are to rejoice in them. (I Peter 4:12-13; James 1:2-3). Our new life in Christ has nothing to do with a perfect life here on earth. While I can certainly understand why this gospel would be appealing (who wouldn’t want the promise of more money, better health, and more power?), it is absolutely false and I suspect that those who follow it must eventually find this out.

2. The Social Justice Gospel

God’s kingdom is advanced as we work together to build an equal and just society. The Christian’s main job is to help those in poverty. Social Justice becomes the ultimate priority, taking precedence over the Truth and adherence to God’s Word. The ultimate goal is to bring God’s Kingdom to earth.

But the Bible tells us that the poor will always be with us (Mark 14:7). This shows us that we will never be able to eradicate poverty. This false gospel is a bit tricky, because so much about it is good and unselfish. The problem with this gospel is that it becomes based on our good works and completely minimizes man’s sinfulness and the need for repentance.

The other very critical problem of this false gospel is that when we meet only the physical and earthly needs of the poverty-stricken, we do nothing to help them for eternity. Thankfully, I know many wonderful people in this country and on the mission field who are doing many good things for eternal purposes. The big difference between these believers and social justice “warriors” is that, while they are helping the poor, their priority is telling them about the new life they can have in Christ. There is a big difference, is there not?

And just a side note: “Social Justice” is a communist term. It is never found anywhere in the Bible.

3. The Unity Gospel

Unity is primary, above all else. It doesn’t matter if we disagree about key issues of the Christian faith, as long as we are unified, all is good. It used to be that this gospel taught that Jesus must be the central figure, but in recent years, efforts have now been made to unite Christianity with other faiths, whether Jesus is part of the religion or not. To not be unified is the greatest sin of all, trumping almost anything else.

But the Bible teaches us that true Christianity will divide. Jesus Himself said this: “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division” (Luke 12:51) He also tells us that we should expect to be hated as His followers (John 15:18-20). This means that while there will be unity among God’s people, we will never experience it with false religions (even if they hijack the name of Jesus) or with the world (nor should we desire to).

4. The “All Ways Lead to Heaven” Gospel

The followers of this gospel believe Jesus is the way for them to get to heaven, but that we need to give people the freedom to believe whatever they want to about how they are going to get to heaven. To believe in absolute truth is the greatest of sins and no one should act like they are the only ones who have the truth. People can decide that for themselves. The Bible is just a book of wisdom, from which they pick and choose the verses best suited to them.

This lack of absolute truth is the main thought of this post-modern society. But in John 14, verse 6, Jesus makes it clear that this is not the case–

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

While it is certainly true that anyone can believe what they want to about God, it will not change the facts. What we believe will be quite irrelevant when the Day of Judgment comes. When we stand before the One, True God someday, it just won’t matter what we believed. Jesus is the only way to heaven. This is what the Bible teaches.

5. The Self-Help, Positive Gospel

Human imperfection keeps us from living a satisfactory and successful life. Christ’s death proves our worth as humans and gives us power to reach our potential. The church helps us find earthly happiness, which is our main goal in life.

But the Bible tells us that none of us are righteous (Romans 3:10) and that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). The cross doesn’t prove our intrinsic worth. The cross reconciles us to God. And our goal should not be earthly happiness, which we saw in the verses from John 15 above. We also read about this in James 1 and I Peter 1. The Christian life is not about our quality of life here on earth. Now, with that said, our quality of life if we choose to submit and obey God is very much improved–but it is in the wonderful riches that cannot be measured–such as love, joy, peace, faith. These are the things that truly matter to a soul saved by God’s marvelous grace.

6. The Mystical Gospel

Salvation comes through an emotional experience with God. The church is there to help me feel close to God by helping me along in my pursuit of mystical union with God and the universe. A person’s faith is based primarily on their experience. These people expect special messages just for them from God.

This has invaded the church so subtly and entirely that I doubt there are many churches that have not been touched by it. Very familiar, famous people are promoting it under the guise of contemplative prayer and other ways. Several best-selling books have sucked a lot of people into this way of thinking. From this has come a system that has minimized the Word of God and magnified subjective experience.

But the Bible tells us–

 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17) Our experiences may or may not be truth. How do we know? We have to always hold the Word of God as our objective truth and should use it to test all of our experiences. And Hosea 4:6 says that God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. He doesn’t say that they are destroyed for lack of experience.

_______________________________________

Of course, there are more false gospels in the world today. I have just listed a few of the most prevalent. We need to remember that Satan is a master at deception. And we need to remember that he shows himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). As Martin Erdmann puts it: “Deception comes in very familiar forms because this is how you will accept it.”  This is a very profound truth that we need to always remember as we test any new thought or philosophy that comes our way–no matter how holy or good it sounds.

I believe that biblical illiteracy is the reason so many of these gospels have taken such a strong foothold in the world of Christianity. I will leave you with this quote by J.C. Ryle about the Holy Scriptures–

Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master’s book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul. Do not let newspapers, novels, and romances be read, while the prophets and Apostles be despised. Do not let the exciting and sensual swallow up your attention, while the edifying and the sanctifying can find no place in your mind.

Study the Bible. Study the Bible. Study the Bible. It is our only hope and solid anchor in this roiling, heaving sea of Post-Modernism.

Why Do You Need God?

2 Comments / February 22, 2016

Why

 

Why do you need God?

The answers to this question were all given with different voices, different words, different intonations. But they all said basically the same thing–

To make my life easier.

Words like encouragement and strength and comfort were used. We need God because He helps us get through difficult times.

This was a dialogue I heard a couple of weeks ago on Todd Friel’s Wretched Radio program. Almost every Wednesday he dedicates his radio program to talking to the lost. He calls it  “Witness Wednesday”, taking his radio show on the road and asking people what they think about God. It is generally fascinating and eye-opening. On this particular day he was asking the question “Why do you need God?” to students on a college campus.

Of course, many said they don’t need God or that they don’t believe in God. But far more troublesome to me were the students who seemed to have a basic understanding of Christianity as a religion and yet didn’t truly understand why they need God.

Instead their answers were filled with the feel-good, me-centered drivel we have all grown quite used to.

But is this really why we need God? Is it because He helps us get through tough times and makes life here on earth so much better? While I am not denying that this is true, I would like to suggest that this is not why we need God. The primary reason we need God is because we are eternally damned without Him. (Romans 6:23; Romans 3:23; Revelation 21:8)

We are born sinners. We are slaves to our sin and to Satan, living in thick, black darkness. But God sent His son to redeem us–to die on a cross for our sins, making a way for us to be reconciled to Himself. We need not be condemned forever, because Jesus died for us–in our place! What marvelous truth! (Hebrews 9:12; I Timothy 2:5) This is what Christianity is all about.

At least it used to be what it was all about.

Somehow in the last 20 years or so, it has become a watered-down, weak, ecumenical, self-absorbed religion that looks nothing like what the Bible teaches.

The intrinsic problem with this change is that there are so many who have been swept into this religion that consists of a god of their own making. When we move away from the Word of God as we strive to answer eternal questions, we leave ourselves open to lies and deadly false teaching.

As I heard the students explain why they need God, there was no mention of sin and no mention of salvation. Instead it was centered around how God helps them in their self-centered agendas. No wonder they get disillusioned later on in life when things don’t go as they planned.

This is an amazing contrast to the disciples, all who were martyred for their faith (except John, who was exiled to an island). But the censorship and persecution started for the disciples even before Jesus was crucified. As I read about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11 last week, I learned that Jesus was walking into grave danger as He traveled to Lazarus, who was located in Judea. By this time, the Pharisees were actively seeking to do away with this Man who was calling Himself God. Of course, Jesus knew that nothing would happen to Him before it was His appointed time, but the disciples did not have this same knowledge. And so as Jesus starts for Judea, the disciples fully understood that their lives could be in danger, as well, if they decided to accompany Him. But instead of turning back, this is what we see Thomas say in verse 16–

Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

The text would indicate that he honestly believed that there was a likelihood they would die with Christ on that day.

This not only shows us just how dreadful and powerful the Pharisees were but it also tells us just how dedicated the disciples were to the Savior. And I find myself wondering:  Would I have been courageous enough to follow Jesus? Or would I have opted to protect myself instead? It is sobering to think about, isn’t it?

When Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23), this does not mean that our lives will be full of flowers and sunshine. Sure we will be blessed with wonderful moments (thankfully!) but some of the places Christ leads us will be terribly difficult and we will find ourselves persecuted and hated. Are we willing to make that sacrifice to follow the Savior? Or will we walk away broken and embittered when Jesus doesn’t meet our “felt needs” or fulfill our worldly dreams?

Are we prepared to follow Jesus anywhere or will we defect when things take a painful turn? Asking this question is a great way to test the genuineness of our faith. If our faith is built on the biblical doctrine of salvation then we will stand strong in the face of persecution. We understand that we need God because He is our only hope of salvation from the sin that imprisons us! And then–as we grow in Christ–we learn that He offers us so much more than we can ask or imagine, but being rescued from our sin is always our starting point.

Will we be like Thomas–understanding true salvation and following Jesus even though it may mean suffering for the sake of our Savior? Or will we be like those college students–living with a vague, partial, and unbiblical definition of a God they aren’t even seeking?

 

What Your Tips Tell the World

Leave a Comment / February 18, 2016

Restaurant

On several occasions now, I have had my daughters share with me just how awful Christians are at tipping. Their experiences range from Christian conferences in town for the weekend to waiting on folks who pray before their meals or talk freely about their faith. Just recently, this was brought to mind again, as one of my daughters reminded me just how much she and her co-workers hate when a Christian conference comes to town.

What is wrong with this picture?

Now keep in mind I have had two daughters who work in this industry in several different restaurants and this is what I keep hearing. The wait staff at restaurants do not expect Christians to tip well. And, actually, they find Christians are often rude and unkind, as well. Those Christians that are the opposite are a welcome exception.

The thing that makes them laugh the most is when there will be a tract laying beside a dollar bill. If we aren’t going to be generous in our tipping, it would be better to leave the tract tucked away in our purse or pocket, as it simply serves to give the gospel a bad name.

Sometimes, wait staff will try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they honestly don’t know that waiters only make around $2 an hour and heavily rely on tips to survive?

You may be thinking that you will never make a difference in the life of that waiter or waitress, anyway. You will never see them again. And that may be true. But we do have the opportunity to either open or close that heart to the message of Christ. If someone later on does have an opportunity to share the gospel with that waiter or waitress, will our experience with them hinder or help that process?

It would seem to me that of all peoples, we should be the kindest and the most generous. Not only are we to be filled with the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) as we interact with people, but Jesus commands us to treat others as we want to be treated (Luke 6:31).

So let’s expand this further than simply restaurants. As we evaluate our interaction with those who serve us, whether they be store clerks, customer service reps, repairmen, bank tellers, or wait staff, how do we treat them? Do we treat them like we would want to be treated or do we give a little grunt of hello and then proceed to ignore them, or–even worse yet–to be rude and nasty?

This can be especially difficult if the person serving us is not the nicest to us.

This happened to me a few months ago. Something went wrong behind the scenes and Growing 4 Life was taken off-line. When I called the number given me in the email for an explanation, I ended up getting a rude, unhelpful guy that made my temper awfully hard to hang on to. Talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. I ended up calling a different number and getting it solved, but after it was all over, my mom asked me how I had treated the rude guy, given the message of my blog. As I was talking to this man about Growing 4 Life there was a good chance he would land there after we were done talking, if only to check on it. Thankfully, I had remembered this during my conversation and had not completely blown it– although, admittedly, I could have done much better than I did!

But just as this blog gives a message about me and I have a responsibility to behave in alliance with that message, so our lives, too, if we are Christians, give a message about us–a message that comes with a responsibility.

Many patches of ground have remained unsown because of some thoughtless Christian who destroyed the witness of Christ by their thoughtless, rude, and stingy behavior. Let us be the exception! May we instead help prepare the soil for the gospel message by our kindness and generosity, so that hearts may be open to the good news of Christ.

 

 

The Truth About Rock Music

13 Comments / February 11, 2016

rockmusic

Wait! Before you write me off as being way out there, give me just a moment of your time. Please.

Let me first say that much of what I have learned these past few weeks isn’t really new to me. I had just conveniently located it to the very back of my mind where it wouldn’t inconvenience me. It is so disturbing and uncomfortable that it was just easier not to remember.

But then came a couple of Bible studies that required some investigation into the rock scene. And, suddenly, I found myself wading through all of this stuff again. Only in the last twenty-five years it has gotten so much worse that it is mind-boggling–and absolutely frightening.

In fact, I feel like I landed in a pit so full of satanic iniquity and such wicked depravity that some of the actual photos and footage that I saw in my research will be indelibly etched on the canvas of my memory forever–it was that disturbing and heinous.

Rock music has always had a satanic influence. It does not really take all that much research to figure that out. Just google the Beatles and Hinduism and you will see it almost immediately. They were very open about their Hindu activity and even secular websites confirm this. But, as wild as the 60s were, the society wasn’t quite ready for outright false religion and songs promoting open sex and drug use and so many of their song lyrics had double meanings and hidden agendas.

Of course, all the changes in the last 50 years have made hidden agendas and double meanings unnecessary. This has happened through a very systematic hardening of our consciences. And so evil and ungodly lyrics have been eagerly accepted by a fan base that doesn’t pay any attention at all to what they are filling their brains with.

(Again, as I mentioned in Love and Snakes–I find it not only inconceivable that so many Christians are  paying such little attention to the wickedness of this music, but I continue to be astounded that there are so few of us Christians sounding a warning and when we work up the courage to do so, we find ourselves marginalized, criticized, or ridiculed by fellow believers!)

I started my study on the Billboard website with some of the songs listed as Top Ten on the pop charts over the past month. What I found were foul, crude, worldly lyrics promoting all types of sin. While some were worse than others, not ONE was promoting God’s kingdom. All were instead varying degrees of darkness.

I then moved on to the artists themselves. Who were these people that were coming into our homes and cars on a regular basis through their music?

With the 80s influences of Madonna and Micheal Jackson– who were perhaps some of the first openly satanic artists to be played on the radio– the way was paved for many more to come. Recent rock stars such as Beyonce, Kesha, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Eminem, and Nicky Manaj (just to name a few), have filled the American culture with an abundance of ungodly, crude, and sexual lyrics and, even worse, very graphic music videos. This, of course, I suspected before I started doing my research. What rather stunned me however was the plethora of satanic symbols and images. As I studied, I found that many of these artists claim to have sold their soul to the devil or to be possessed by demons. This was by their own admission, recorded on video or found in reputable sources.

Now keep in mind –this is the music that is playing on the Pop Charts of America. This is the music that is playing in our grocery stores, at our hair salons, and in our doctor’s offices. These are the artists that most American Christians are listening to.

It’s funny because when I heard Lady Gaga sing at the Super Bowl the other night, I thought, “Wow, she has a really good voice.” Sure, she looked a bit strange but she wasn’t too way out there, looking almost normal. However, unfortunately for me, I was aware of who she really is and some of the images I stumbled upon from her concerts and videos are the most disturbing I have ever seen in my life. If Satan can show himself as an angel of light then I guess Lady Gaga can also sing beautifully, even though what she has represented over the past decade in our culture is of such hideous darkness it is almost impossible to comprehend.

So why do I share this here? On a blog dedicated to spiritual growth?

I write it here because I think most of us are absolutely clueless regarding the danger this music presents to our spiritual health. We just allow this music to play in our homes and in our cars and in the ears of our kids–never giving it a second thought. The tunes are catchy and for some reason that seems to be all we need for it to get our seal of approval.

It is so easy to fall to peer pressure in this area of music. I know that I, myself, was quite guilty of this. Years ago, I learned quickly that if I mentioned my concern about rock music, I would be called narrow-minded, ridiculous, uneducated, etc. etc. Eventually, especially as my kids grew into teenagers, I got pretty tired and I let my guard down just a bit. Oh, we were still really careful, but it was truly exhausting and I didn’t want to come across as too out there for my kids’ sake and so I conveniently moved all of this to the very back of my mind. I just tried to forget all I knew. It was just easier. At the time.

I would definitely go back and change that if I could.

But fast forward my life to just a few weeks ago when I found myself up to my eyeballs in the lewd depravity of the rock music industry. I just can’t even begin to describe how awful it all is. And maybe worst of all–how precious and beautiful young girls and boys, many of them Disney stars as youngsters, are morphed into larger-than-life rock musicians that promote everything God abhors and how so many of their fans–usually tweens and teens– just follow them down into the dark pit.

How can we stand by as soldiers of the Light and not sound an alarm??

God is light. We once walked in darkness, but now we walk in the marvelous light! We are to walk as children of the light, which means we are to not only turn away from works of darkness but we are to expose them (see verses below).

If this music is something that beckons you or someone you love, may I encourage you to do your own research? I think you will be more than a little alarmed and shocked at what you will find out. And may we pray for deliverance of ourselves and our families from the evil influence of this demonic music.

 

Ephesians 5:8-13-– For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit[b] is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

John 8:12 —Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Acts 26:17-18— I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now[a] send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

I John 1:5-7 —This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

I Peter 2:9-10— But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

With Acceptance Comes Peace

1 Comment / February 8, 2016

winter night2

When you get to be my age, sometimes you look back over your past and you realize just how much you have changed in certain areas. Oh, in many ways, I am still the person I was but–praise God!– in so many ways I am not.

Sometimes it seems that all we hear about the Christian life is brokenness and imperfectness and how that unites us all. And, yes, we are all broken. I actually prefer the term sinful. It’s what we are and it is how we are born. But there is some victory over the years in the life of a servant of God who truly desires to obey the Word of God. I’d like to share one of those small victories with you today. I am not sure I was even aware of it until a conversation took place a few weeks ago.

This person was not happy with their circumstances. They kept reminding me of how unfair it all was and questioning why life wasn’t going a bit more according to their plan.

As I listened, vague memories of my own dissatisfaction with my life circumstances came to my mind. I remembered feeling much the same way about my life situation when I was a young wife with a houseful of small children and a workaholic husband. If you remember, we were building a business. And businesses take hours and hours and hours. My husband has never worked less than 55 hours a week. Many times it was more. (It probably still is). And, of course, in the beginning years, there was little money to show for it. It was a lot of hours for little reward.

I could feel myself growing slightly resentful. I’d hear of things other husbands were doing and how they were able to help their wives and I’d think to myself: That’s just not fair.

But somewhere in that time of my life when I could have grown bitter and resentful over this, the Lord opened my eyes to a wonderful truth–

With acceptance comes peace.

This particular phrase was coined by Elisabeth Elliot. I am using it because it is the simplest, most profound way to say what I learned.

My life was my life. I was not changing my husband. I knew enough to know that. So I could choose to be joyful in my circumstances or I could choose to be a miserable grump. The choice was all mine. And the ramifications of that choice would ripple out across my family.

As I understood this more fully, I came to understand that the only thing I could change was me. Was I so arrogant as to believe that I somehow I had it all together? Did I think my husband had it so easy to be married to me?

Yes, as the Lord opened my eyes to accepting my circumstances, he also opened my eyes to my own bad attitudes, unkind words, and impatience. And it was not a pretty sight.

As I started climbing out of the pit that complaining and dissatisfaction had kept me in, I started realizing just how good I had it. Sure, my husband worked long hours but he loved his family. He was there for the kids whenever he possibly could be, making it to more games and events of theirs than most dads who don’t work those same hours. We had winters together–a few quiet months each year to catch our breath and regroup as a family.

As I started to focus on the positive and not the negative, our family life changed. As I started focusing on fixing myself instead of fixing my husband, our marriage changed.

Oh, I’d like to say I never experienced defeat in this area again, but, of course, life isn’t like that. But remembering that accepting my circumstances is the key to peace (and joy, too) in my life has helped me navigate many an unfair circumstance in my life. That lesson I learned as a young mom has helped me through many difficult times.

Let’s face it–we could all have a reason to be dissatisfied with our lot in life in one way or another. And if the thing we struggle with could be fixed tomorrow, we’d find something else to be unhappy about. It is the very nature of our humanity. We actually have to work against our selfish nature to rise above it and reach acceptance.

Now, let me just add this one thing–

Acceptance is not the same thing as resignation.

Accepting our circumstances does not mean we resign ourselves to the fact that our circumstances will never change. We still pray and ask the Lord to convict those who need to change. We ask Him to turn hearts to Him or to work in an area of our life or someone else’s life that needs changed. Oh, how we neglect the power of God to change people when we don’t get on our knees with diligence and perseverance.

But while we wait for God to work, we have to accept His timing and His sovereignty in the situation and work on our own selves–humbly recognizing our own sinfulness and need for growth.

Yes, this can all be extremely difficult, but the sweet and abundant fruit we yield when we do so is so much different than the bitter, ugly fruit we yield when we don’t.

And, so, there is some victory in the life of a believer truly dedicated to God and His Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is so true, isn’t it? —

 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Word of God will change us–but only if we spend time studying it with a humble and yielded heart.

 

Love and Snakes

19 Comments / February 4, 2016

SNAKE

Once upon a time there was a young husband. His wife hated snakes with a passion. Deeply. And fully. This young man told his family just how much he loved his wife. He told his friends how much he loved his young wife. And he told his wife how much he loved her.

But one day the young wife came home to find a small snake statue sitting on her coffee table.

“What is this?” she demanded.

“Oh, I know you don’t like snakes but honey this is just a tiny, little statue. It’s not a big deal,” He rubbed her shoulders as he spoke, whispering the words soothingly.

The young wife relaxed a bit, still eyeing the statue doubtfully. She spent the next few days trying to ignore it. But every time she walked by she saw it’s beady marble eyes staring at her and she shivered. And that was when she started to doubt her husband’s love just a little.

Over the course of the next year, the husband brought more and more snakes into the house, rationalizing and explaining them away to his young wife, until one day he wall-papered their bedroom with photos of them.

The young women, unsuspecting, walked into the room after a long day and gave a little scream of shock. Her husband’s argument had always been that he doesn’t have any live snakes in their house. But no matter how he rationalized with her, she now realized that he didn’t really love her at all, but only said he did. The snakes covering their bedroom walls made that perfectly clear. For no man who truly loved her would make her live immersed in and surrounded by something that she abhorred.

That wasn’t love.

The end.

My brother, Pastor Dean, gives this illustration to explain the inconsistency of saying with our mouths that we love the Lord and yet then filling our hearts and minds with the things He hates.

My dear readers, I have a heavy, heavy burden over the entertainment blindness that is in the church. As if somehow entertainment is excluded from our call to purity and holiness. How has Satan so tricked us into believing that we can say we love the Lord and yet fill our eyes, ears, brains, and hearts with the things God abhors?

We find these things in Galatians 5:19-21–

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

And Colossians 3:5-8–

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

There are many more places in scripture that show us the things we are to eradicate when we become saved. We have left the darkness and walked into the light. So why do we think it’s just fine to bring the darkness into our homes and cars and lives, as if not doing the actual sin ourselves somehow makes it all okay? Why do we want to?

Sorcery

Sexual Immorality

Violence

Crude Language

Funny thing is–or should I say the tragic thing is–not only are Christians watching these things but they are defending them under the guise of Christian liberty. They are are actually rationalizing and explaining away why it is okay to fill our minds with the things God hates.

This has been one of the biggest puzzles I have tried to understand as a believer. How can godly people who are in a good solid church and in the Word on a regular basis justify such evil entertainment?

I think it has something to do with the hardening our consciences. See, as the young husband filled his home with snakes, he became rather inoculated to them. He stopped thinking about the offense he was bringing to his wife. Oh, his conscience was pricked once in awhile–kind of like ours is after a sermon or blog post about entertainment is pricked, but not enough to actually make changes. After all, he could enjoy the feel of snakes–the look of snakes–and his fascination of snakes without having a real snake.

Let’s continue our story for just a moment. Let’s say that the young man saw his wife’s distress and, finally faces what he is doing to the relationship. Instead of rationalizing it away, he recognizes his lack of love towards her in one eye-opening moment. He starts removing the snakes from the house. As he does so, they start to lose their appeal. He eyes the statue in his hand and starts to wonder what his fascination was to begin with. As he turns it over, he recognizes it for what it is. As the weeks slip by, he finds snakes here and there but he is quick to remove them in his desire to eradicate all snakes from his life. Not only as a sign of love for his wife, but because has grown to hate them like her.

I’d like to share a quick story from my own life about this. I’ve shared it before but it’s been a long time. In the mid-90s my husband and I had a favorite TV show we liked to watch. We’d turn it on and for 30 minutes we could forget the world and just laugh. We enjoyed that and never really thought that much about it. Fast forward 15 years to when the show came back on in re-runs. Keep in mind that in that time, we were making an effort to purify our entertainment and to live out Philippians 4:8–

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

And Psalm 101:3–

I will set nothing wicked before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not cling to me.

So one day I sat down to watch the show. And I was appalled. It was terrible. It was filled with fornication, crude language, envy, and a number of other things that all made me cringe inside. And I realized something–God was working in me! I was growing towards Him and away from the world.

I’d like to say I never struggled with this area of entertainment again, but of course I did. Of course I do. It’s a really tough area of life to navigate.

But may I suggest that we give this area of our lives to the Lord?

The other week I decided to look at the lyrics of the Top Ten pop songs chart for a Bible Study I was doing. Can I just tell you that it almost made me sick? Literally. And yet this is what Christians play on their radios, filling their minds with all kinds of evil. Allowing their kids to fill their minds with all kinds of evil.

Why don’t we care? Why doesn’t it bother us as believers? Those are the questions that I still have no answer for. However, from my own life, I have recognized one thing–

Our entertainment choices and spiritual growth are directly correlated.

Until I really gave an effort to purifying my entertainment, my spiritual growth was stunted.

I know that I am pretty alone on this issue. Our family has learned to take the criticisms and ridicule we regularly receive at not going to the popular movies filled with immorality, watching the TV shows filled with crude language, or ignoring the bestsellers that are full of sorcery. And, honestly, sometimes some of us cave to the peer pressure. It gets really old always having to be the odd one out and sometimes we blow it.

Someone accused me yesterday of thinking myself to be so righteous. At first, I was taken aback. I never want anyone to believe that about me. So let me be clear here– I am not righteous in any way, which is clear to me on almost any given day. I am just a wicked sinner saved by grace who loves her Lord. And I believe that my love for Jesus has to shine through all areas of my life–including my entertainment.

I hope that you will consider opening the entertainment room of your heart to the Lord.

 

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