I've had it on my heart the past couple of weeks to post again. I didn't know what I was supposed to be posting and all of a sudden it came to me, rather God reminded me, of this poem I wrote a few years ago. I've read it a few times to folks, and if you're reading this and you happen to be one of the folks that has heard it, please know that God has put it on my heart to post this. It's kind of long but I pray that it blesses you and encourages you.
You may think that God's a fake,
But for Heaven's sake,
Stop that tired debate,
You can't grasp that,
To which you can't relate,
Things don't happen,
Because of fate,
It's El-Shadai,
My Adonai,
You can try and try,
To simply rely,
On things of this world,
But you'll cry and cry,
You become hypnotized,
Instead of baptized,
Backsides,
To the fire,
Then you realize,
How you lived your life,
And you're traumitized,
The terror in your eyes,
Won't give you wings to fly,
So hold on tight,
You've got a bumpy ride,
Once so alive,
Now you're crushed,
Soulless,
And ready to die,
Going straight to hell,
To be deep fried,
In anguish,
Torture and pain,
Where evil reigns,
And you're chained,
To the depression,
That you contain,
No way to escape,
Attempts to are in vain,
You're slain,
The tears that stain,
Your face remain,
To remind you of happiness,
That you extinguished,
In plain,
View of the One who sustained,
The Truth you know,
But chose to profane.
That's just one side of the tale,
While one man wails,
And fails,
His earthly test,
Another digests,
What's best...
THE WORD OF GOD!
He doesn't digress,
Or stress,
He's blessed,
He manifests,
Love and compassion,
Not distractions,
Or reactions,
But his interactions,
With other factions,
Earn him a place to hang his hat,
And chat,
With angels who are scat-,
Terd through heavenly realms,
Singing hymns,
To the great I AM,
So lift your chin,
Then fall to your knees,
To the One who fulfilled,
Hundreds of prophecies,
It takes testes,
To believe,
In what you can't see,
So man up to the challenge,
And be all you can be,
For Christianity,
And remember,
You and me,
WE represent God's family.
Tonight,
Pucker up,
And kiss the light,
Because your plight,
Is almost over,
Before you,
Dressed in white,
THE Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ,
Recites,
What might,
Take away the night,
From your life,
Did you live right,
Was HIS will your light,
Was HE in your sight,
Did you place someone,
You like,
Above the One who gives eternal life,
Were you ruined,
To pursuing,
The way of life,
God was booing,
Or were you chewing,
The gristle,
And the fat,
That Satan spat,
To get you off track,
I don't know that,
But I do know,
The more we sit in silence alone,
Longing to condone,
The acts we have shown,
We realize,
We haven't grown,
No seeds have been sown,
No minds have been blown,
We've helped no one,
Find their way home,
The tools were all here,
As we tremble in fear,
Because this world sneers,
At our every tear,
Dropping at Your feet,
Only wishing for relief,
From all of our grief,
Brought forth by Your Truth,
Which we stomp on with our feet,
We grind our teeth,
And begin to seek,
A sneak peak,
Into heavenly realms,
So we can come back,
Know what we lack,
And have the knack,
To attack,
These traps,
That bound these lost souls.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Let me start this off by saying that it has been a LONG time since I last posted. There are a couple of reasons for this...one is I don't want this to turn into me simply running my mouth off about all of the things that I don't like or agree with...and two I am a husband, a father and I work full time to support my family and all three of those things must come first. As God leads, I post what He puts on my heart to post. That all being said...here goes...
A couple of years ago I went to this church that I instantly fell in love with. When I walked in, the church folk were very friendly, they were playing some contemporary Christian music, the folks were all pretty young looking (especially the pastor, who seemed to be my age)...it just had this feeling of wonderfulness attached to it for me. As the praise and worship began I was like "Yo! this place is where I want to attend!"...I fell even more in love with the church when the pastor began preaching. He delivered a wonderful sermon! He spoke with words that were relevant to me and I felt as close to God as I had in a long time, all because this man and this church had made me feel pretty comfortable and spoke with the same words I used (please be aware that there was no cussing involved...I can hear folks now reading what I'm not typing). I came back home and and began telling everyone I knew how on fire this place was and why I thought more churches needed to be like this church. I was literally more excited about this church that I had visited once, than I was about the one that I was a member of! How sad is that...but that's another blog for another time!
I went back to that church about a month ago. I walked into the church and was bombarded by the same friendly folks I was the first time I went there. I heard contemporary Christian music. I saw the same pastor (mind you he was still just as friendly as he was the first time I met him). I walked into the sanctuary and saw the same layout as the last time. The stage looked the same (only a few of the faces were different from what I could remeber). I was excited to be ministered to again! I couldn't wait to hear what this guy was about to say. When the worship began...I heard what I believe was a Newsboys song being sung by the worship leader...I was totally stoked! I sang, but rather quietly as I didn't know the song all that well...but still I was excited! After the first song was over and the congregation wasn't showing the life that the worship leader thought they should have been showing...it happened.
The lady came from behind her keyboard and began talking saying all kinds of things. And in closing her passionate exclamations (rather pleas to get the church folk in a worshipful frenzy) she said these words, which I in all likelihood will never forget..."Church, if you can't come into God's house and act like a fool...where can you act like a fool?"...I thought...no she didn't just say that! Sadly enough though...she did.
That COMPLETELY ruined the rest of worship as it was painfully obvious that this worship leader didn't care what she was saying as long as the people sang loudly and gave the appearance of "true" worship...more importantly, I saw nods of approval from all over the sanctuary. Suddenly this on fire church, was beginning to feel dead. (I know, I know, I should be giving scriptures to reference as to why this was a problem for me, but you know, I'm hopeful that common sense is enough here...if it's not...read the book of Acts and tell me if those folks in the first church were running around acting like fools.)
After the worship was over (I can't lie, I was thankful for it coming to an end) they had a new pastor being, for lack of a better word here, sworn in. I was like man, I get to see a new pastor sworn in...that's pretty special (despite what I just heard from the worship leader)! As I waited while the main pastor addressed his flock, I was still thinking about what I just heard the worship leader say. I just couldn't shake it. The next thing I know I hear the pastor asking the new pastor who is about to be sworn in to come on down from off the stage. As I'm looking for one of the guys up there to move, it becomes obvious that this new pastor is a woman. Now I'm totally thinking..."HELLO?! 1 Timothy 3 does not say "If a woman desires the position of bishop she must be the wife of but one husband" does it? NO!!!!!! It says just the opposite...that a MAN must be the HUSBAND of but one wife...then it goes on to list out a whole bunch of other qualifications...none of which say anything about a woman being a pastor. The gentleman who took care of the ceremony for this new pastor read from 2 Timothy 4 where it states "for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." The sad part is that this other "pastor" totaly missed the next line where it says to be watchful in all things. My question here is what was it Paul said a womans place was in the church...let's see 1 Timothy 2: 11-12 state "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." I can hear the arguments coming..."Well those are Paul's words" or "That was a different time"...my words to that are so what? You're right if you say that those are Paul's words...but they are in God's Holy and Inerrant Word...He (meaning God) would not allow it to be in there if it did not come from Him! And we do live in a different time, but God does not change and neither does His word. People change (or so we think) over time...to use an evolutionists favorite word...we seemingly "evolve" into creatures more and more selfish. Satan is making sin more and more available to God's people by providing all sorts of sinful materials in all sorts of mediums! And we, God's people buy into it hook line and sinker. We think it's sexist to not have women in pulpits. We think it's not politically correct to allow women to teach or to be over men. We, we, we...it's all about us! We've gotten so far from what God's word says on issues that we've actually begun to replace His word with our word. Our word is the final authority on all issues. Period.
Now back to the ceremony...
As the lady came down from the stage, she was met by the leadership of the church and a standing congregation all in favor of this woman taking over a ministry position. The gentleman began talking and he said something that appalled me as much, if not more than what I was witnessing now and heard earlier by the worship leader. He said (admittedly, I can't remeber his exact words but it was something like the following) do you really want your children learning from a man or woman who has only been self taught the word of God? Wouldn't you rather have someone who has spent a ton of money on school and been taught by professors what the Word of God says and means? Hang on a minute...let's look through Acts and see where the apostles went to seminary. Hold on...I'm being told we can't do that. Why not? Oh that's right...they didn't have seminary back then...so how in the world did those crazy apostles learn the Word of God? Oh wait, I'm being told that the Holy Spirit played a role in it. Not just A role...it was the WHOLE role! Why do we feel like in our generation we need to be taught by folks who have a degree? Maybe these folks who feel this way haven't read Jesus's rebuke of the Pharisee's in Matthew 23: 15 where it states "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." I think we do this in todays church by majoring in the minors. We teach all sorts of stuff that is in the bible, except Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is offensive to the world! Matthew 23: 27-28 speaks to this by saying "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." See when we as believers begin replacing God's Word with our own thoughts and feelings (or trustinng our own hearts) we end up just like the scribes and Pharisees being spoken to in Matthew chapter 23.
Anyway as this little ceremony is going on, I felt EXTRMELY uncomfortable. I mean I was with a good friend of mine and I didn't want to embarass him, but I could not bring myself to stand in support of what was going on. I believe that it is biblically wrong for a woman to be in the role of a pastor. I also don't think that is my opinion, I believe God's word is clear on this and I believe I fall in line with God's word. I can already hear the label of sexist being applied to me. that's alright...I'm comforted by Matthew 10:22 where it states "And you will be hated by all for my name's sake."
I could keep going with the sermon, and some of the stuff that was said in it, but really, it won't make anything that was said during the worship service or the pastor cermony go away. The damage is done. I pray that God would take what He is being given in that church and raise a crop of believers who are deeply in love with Him and His word...but my fear is that this church has been so compromised with complacency that it lacks the ability to discern correctly the things of God. I know I'm not perfect and I know I have a long ways to go. But praise be to God that I am surrounded (by my church family and the folks my wife and I look to as mentors and even some of our friends) who love the Lord God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind (Matthew 22: 37...a little paraphrased).
I am so thankful that God has called my family out of a luke warm church and into a church that passionately embraces God's Word. My heart breaks for those folks that are stuck in a church that places more emphasis on missions, youth groups, outreach, building plans, comfort, relationships, small groups, the community at large, other countries, etc, etc, etc...before the Word of God! If God is second, how can the church expect Him to still lead, to still provide discernment, to still participate with the people. Moreover, how can the people still expect God to change their lives when they are more dependant on books written about God's Word rather than God's Word? I told my wife the other night that you can live off of Milky Way's and water for a good while...but eventually, you are going to need something with real nutrition in it or else your body will begin to breakdown. So it is with your spiritual life...you can grow a little bit from other people's writings (I guess this is possible) but eventually you are going to need God's Word to begin to transform your life. Someone's insight into scripture is not the same as God ministering to your soul through His word!
I pray that whoever is reading this has been blessed. When God places something else on my heart to write about I'll post again. Until then, please pray that God continues to grow my family and that He remains the center of our focus.
Until next time...
A couple of years ago I went to this church that I instantly fell in love with. When I walked in, the church folk were very friendly, they were playing some contemporary Christian music, the folks were all pretty young looking (especially the pastor, who seemed to be my age)...it just had this feeling of wonderfulness attached to it for me. As the praise and worship began I was like "Yo! this place is where I want to attend!"...I fell even more in love with the church when the pastor began preaching. He delivered a wonderful sermon! He spoke with words that were relevant to me and I felt as close to God as I had in a long time, all because this man and this church had made me feel pretty comfortable and spoke with the same words I used (please be aware that there was no cussing involved...I can hear folks now reading what I'm not typing). I came back home and and began telling everyone I knew how on fire this place was and why I thought more churches needed to be like this church. I was literally more excited about this church that I had visited once, than I was about the one that I was a member of! How sad is that...but that's another blog for another time!
I went back to that church about a month ago. I walked into the church and was bombarded by the same friendly folks I was the first time I went there. I heard contemporary Christian music. I saw the same pastor (mind you he was still just as friendly as he was the first time I met him). I walked into the sanctuary and saw the same layout as the last time. The stage looked the same (only a few of the faces were different from what I could remeber). I was excited to be ministered to again! I couldn't wait to hear what this guy was about to say. When the worship began...I heard what I believe was a Newsboys song being sung by the worship leader...I was totally stoked! I sang, but rather quietly as I didn't know the song all that well...but still I was excited! After the first song was over and the congregation wasn't showing the life that the worship leader thought they should have been showing...it happened.
The lady came from behind her keyboard and began talking saying all kinds of things. And in closing her passionate exclamations (rather pleas to get the church folk in a worshipful frenzy) she said these words, which I in all likelihood will never forget..."Church, if you can't come into God's house and act like a fool...where can you act like a fool?"...I thought...no she didn't just say that! Sadly enough though...she did.
That COMPLETELY ruined the rest of worship as it was painfully obvious that this worship leader didn't care what she was saying as long as the people sang loudly and gave the appearance of "true" worship...more importantly, I saw nods of approval from all over the sanctuary. Suddenly this on fire church, was beginning to feel dead. (I know, I know, I should be giving scriptures to reference as to why this was a problem for me, but you know, I'm hopeful that common sense is enough here...if it's not...read the book of Acts and tell me if those folks in the first church were running around acting like fools.)
After the worship was over (I can't lie, I was thankful for it coming to an end) they had a new pastor being, for lack of a better word here, sworn in. I was like man, I get to see a new pastor sworn in...that's pretty special (despite what I just heard from the worship leader)! As I waited while the main pastor addressed his flock, I was still thinking about what I just heard the worship leader say. I just couldn't shake it. The next thing I know I hear the pastor asking the new pastor who is about to be sworn in to come on down from off the stage. As I'm looking for one of the guys up there to move, it becomes obvious that this new pastor is a woman. Now I'm totally thinking..."HELLO?! 1 Timothy 3 does not say "If a woman desires the position of bishop she must be the wife of but one husband" does it? NO!!!!!! It says just the opposite...that a MAN must be the HUSBAND of but one wife...then it goes on to list out a whole bunch of other qualifications...none of which say anything about a woman being a pastor. The gentleman who took care of the ceremony for this new pastor read from 2 Timothy 4 where it states "for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." The sad part is that this other "pastor" totaly missed the next line where it says to be watchful in all things. My question here is what was it Paul said a womans place was in the church...let's see 1 Timothy 2: 11-12 state "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." I can hear the arguments coming..."Well those are Paul's words" or "That was a different time"...my words to that are so what? You're right if you say that those are Paul's words...but they are in God's Holy and Inerrant Word...He (meaning God) would not allow it to be in there if it did not come from Him! And we do live in a different time, but God does not change and neither does His word. People change (or so we think) over time...to use an evolutionists favorite word...we seemingly "evolve" into creatures more and more selfish. Satan is making sin more and more available to God's people by providing all sorts of sinful materials in all sorts of mediums! And we, God's people buy into it hook line and sinker. We think it's sexist to not have women in pulpits. We think it's not politically correct to allow women to teach or to be over men. We, we, we...it's all about us! We've gotten so far from what God's word says on issues that we've actually begun to replace His word with our word. Our word is the final authority on all issues. Period.
Now back to the ceremony...
As the lady came down from the stage, she was met by the leadership of the church and a standing congregation all in favor of this woman taking over a ministry position. The gentleman began talking and he said something that appalled me as much, if not more than what I was witnessing now and heard earlier by the worship leader. He said (admittedly, I can't remeber his exact words but it was something like the following) do you really want your children learning from a man or woman who has only been self taught the word of God? Wouldn't you rather have someone who has spent a ton of money on school and been taught by professors what the Word of God says and means? Hang on a minute...let's look through Acts and see where the apostles went to seminary. Hold on...I'm being told we can't do that. Why not? Oh that's right...they didn't have seminary back then...so how in the world did those crazy apostles learn the Word of God? Oh wait, I'm being told that the Holy Spirit played a role in it. Not just A role...it was the WHOLE role! Why do we feel like in our generation we need to be taught by folks who have a degree? Maybe these folks who feel this way haven't read Jesus's rebuke of the Pharisee's in Matthew 23: 15 where it states "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." I think we do this in todays church by majoring in the minors. We teach all sorts of stuff that is in the bible, except Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is offensive to the world! Matthew 23: 27-28 speaks to this by saying "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." See when we as believers begin replacing God's Word with our own thoughts and feelings (or trustinng our own hearts) we end up just like the scribes and Pharisees being spoken to in Matthew chapter 23.
Anyway as this little ceremony is going on, I felt EXTRMELY uncomfortable. I mean I was with a good friend of mine and I didn't want to embarass him, but I could not bring myself to stand in support of what was going on. I believe that it is biblically wrong for a woman to be in the role of a pastor. I also don't think that is my opinion, I believe God's word is clear on this and I believe I fall in line with God's word. I can already hear the label of sexist being applied to me. that's alright...I'm comforted by Matthew 10:22 where it states "And you will be hated by all for my name's sake."
I could keep going with the sermon, and some of the stuff that was said in it, but really, it won't make anything that was said during the worship service or the pastor cermony go away. The damage is done. I pray that God would take what He is being given in that church and raise a crop of believers who are deeply in love with Him and His word...but my fear is that this church has been so compromised with complacency that it lacks the ability to discern correctly the things of God. I know I'm not perfect and I know I have a long ways to go. But praise be to God that I am surrounded (by my church family and the folks my wife and I look to as mentors and even some of our friends) who love the Lord God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind (Matthew 22: 37...a little paraphrased).
I am so thankful that God has called my family out of a luke warm church and into a church that passionately embraces God's Word. My heart breaks for those folks that are stuck in a church that places more emphasis on missions, youth groups, outreach, building plans, comfort, relationships, small groups, the community at large, other countries, etc, etc, etc...before the Word of God! If God is second, how can the church expect Him to still lead, to still provide discernment, to still participate with the people. Moreover, how can the people still expect God to change their lives when they are more dependant on books written about God's Word rather than God's Word? I told my wife the other night that you can live off of Milky Way's and water for a good while...but eventually, you are going to need something with real nutrition in it or else your body will begin to breakdown. So it is with your spiritual life...you can grow a little bit from other people's writings (I guess this is possible) but eventually you are going to need God's Word to begin to transform your life. Someone's insight into scripture is not the same as God ministering to your soul through His word!
I pray that whoever is reading this has been blessed. When God places something else on my heart to write about I'll post again. Until then, please pray that God continues to grow my family and that He remains the center of our focus.
Until next time...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Give Me Your Eyes
"Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten,
Give me your eyes so I can see."
Brandon Heath
I bought this guys CD the other night after listening to this song of his called "Give Me Your Eyes". It blew me away! Maybe this isn't profound to anyone else but me, but my goodness! Should this not be our prayer? How often do we in this life pass others by that truly need to hear of the goodnes that is Jesus Christ? The answer is all too often! We all get so consumed with our own little slice of life that we forget all others around us...to say that this isn't you...is more than likely a lie (please know that I recognize that there are certainly exceptions to this rule...but they are truly the exception rather than the rule).
***Side note to the above...I don't believe that we are supposed to excuse ourselves from our families for the sake of everyone else...if you have a family...I believe that you are responsible to your family first then others.***
Certainly there will be people that read this that think they are doing everything right. If that is you...God Bless you...but I know for me, I am off alot of times in what I need to be doing. Don't get me wrong...if God leads me to witness to someone, I am faithful to do so (for the most part) but I often wonder how much more effective I could be for His kingdom? If He called me to leave the United States and go to some foreign country with my family...would I be faithful like Paul and the other disciples and follow obediently or would I be like Jonah...disobedient? I would like think that I would be like Paul...but in my heart I fear I would be like Jonah. I am just being honest in that. I love my wife and my kids and the fear of going to some other country terrifies me...especially taking them along with me. The future is definitely a scary thing...but guess what...Hell is scarier! Through God's strength only I believe in the end I would wind up doing what He called me to...but it would be extremely hard.
Have you ever thought about why we can share with people, who we are listening to on our Ipods or what our favorite sports team is (go Cleveland Cavaliers!!!) and why it is so hard to share the gospel of Christ with others? This question has been on my mind and then I listened to this song and something started clicking for me...then as I started typing this...something else hit me...I believe the reason that sharing the gospel of Christ with others is so hard because 9 out of 10 times we are doing in our own strength...our flesh is leading us. Last year I had the opportunity to witness to 3 or 4 Jehovah's Witnesses. They were coming to my neighbor's house and never talking to anyone, but the fact that they were there...bothered me! I would be cutting grass on Saturday morning's and see them pull up in their Toyota Avalon and pile out like circus clowns toting their false bibles and wearing their Sunday best. Instantly I was infuriated that these people were talking to my neighbors about a Jesus that was a lie! That went on for a few weeks and finally after praying about it (admittedly, I should have prayed more) I went over to them as they were leaving. I shook their hands and asked them if they were Jehovah's Witnesses. They said they were. They asked if had a religious belief and I told them that I was a Christian. For the next few weeks we engaged in dialogue that was seemingly a waste of time. Then it hit me...I wasn't really angry that these liars were trying to witness to my neighbor...I was angry that I wasn't doing it myself!
Another Saturday I saw my neighbor outside playing with a little boy in her driveway. I went over and started talknig to her and God opened a door and I walked through it. We talked for maybe 30 to 45 minutes. I'm happy to say that as a result of that conversation the Jehovah's Witnesses no longer come to her house...but please know...that is God's doing...not mine. To Him be the glory for that victory!
See, I think it is hard to share Christ because we pick and choose who we want to save rather than letting Him lead us to who He wants us to talk to. We need to be Holy Spirit led in our witnessing just like everything else. You could turn someone completely off to Jesus if God hasn't led you to them. I think it is entirely possible for you to plant seeds on these interactions, but how much more could come out of these engagements if God led you...SPECIFICALLY YOU...to an individual for you to witness to? That's the man I want to be. I want to be so obedient that when God tells to go to someone I go. I don't want to do things out of step with Him. I want to be the brush God uses to paint the picture of salvation in someones life. I want to be a tool used by Him and for Him all the time.
The song I quoted is important to me and as I am typing this my wife is growing exceedingly annoyed because it has been playing for about 30 minutes (with no end in sight). I want this to be a picture of my life. I want people to look at me and be able to say that God has His hand on my life and that I was obedient to Him...even at the cost of my life (right after I typed that I hear Satan whipering in my ear...Do you really mean that?)! I HATE Satan and pray that as a result of being used for Christ I am able to give him an ulser that causes him unbearable heartburn! I hate heartburn almost as much as I hate sour beef!
I pray that this year I am given Christ's eyes for people (cause last year...I really didn't like people). I also pray that more and more Christians adopt this trait and that we are no longer bashful with our faith, but bold and strong! Sharing with the people that God would have us share with...and guess what...if all of us Christians are sharing with people...everyone will be reached!
Be blessed!
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten,
Give me your eyes so I can see."
Brandon Heath
I bought this guys CD the other night after listening to this song of his called "Give Me Your Eyes". It blew me away! Maybe this isn't profound to anyone else but me, but my goodness! Should this not be our prayer? How often do we in this life pass others by that truly need to hear of the goodnes that is Jesus Christ? The answer is all too often! We all get so consumed with our own little slice of life that we forget all others around us...to say that this isn't you...is more than likely a lie (please know that I recognize that there are certainly exceptions to this rule...but they are truly the exception rather than the rule).
***Side note to the above...I don't believe that we are supposed to excuse ourselves from our families for the sake of everyone else...if you have a family...I believe that you are responsible to your family first then others.***
Certainly there will be people that read this that think they are doing everything right. If that is you...God Bless you...but I know for me, I am off alot of times in what I need to be doing. Don't get me wrong...if God leads me to witness to someone, I am faithful to do so (for the most part) but I often wonder how much more effective I could be for His kingdom? If He called me to leave the United States and go to some foreign country with my family...would I be faithful like Paul and the other disciples and follow obediently or would I be like Jonah...disobedient? I would like think that I would be like Paul...but in my heart I fear I would be like Jonah. I am just being honest in that. I love my wife and my kids and the fear of going to some other country terrifies me...especially taking them along with me. The future is definitely a scary thing...but guess what...Hell is scarier! Through God's strength only I believe in the end I would wind up doing what He called me to...but it would be extremely hard.
Have you ever thought about why we can share with people, who we are listening to on our Ipods or what our favorite sports team is (go Cleveland Cavaliers!!!) and why it is so hard to share the gospel of Christ with others? This question has been on my mind and then I listened to this song and something started clicking for me...then as I started typing this...something else hit me...I believe the reason that sharing the gospel of Christ with others is so hard because 9 out of 10 times we are doing in our own strength...our flesh is leading us. Last year I had the opportunity to witness to 3 or 4 Jehovah's Witnesses. They were coming to my neighbor's house and never talking to anyone, but the fact that they were there...bothered me! I would be cutting grass on Saturday morning's and see them pull up in their Toyota Avalon and pile out like circus clowns toting their false bibles and wearing their Sunday best. Instantly I was infuriated that these people were talking to my neighbors about a Jesus that was a lie! That went on for a few weeks and finally after praying about it (admittedly, I should have prayed more) I went over to them as they were leaving. I shook their hands and asked them if they were Jehovah's Witnesses. They said they were. They asked if had a religious belief and I told them that I was a Christian. For the next few weeks we engaged in dialogue that was seemingly a waste of time. Then it hit me...I wasn't really angry that these liars were trying to witness to my neighbor...I was angry that I wasn't doing it myself!
Another Saturday I saw my neighbor outside playing with a little boy in her driveway. I went over and started talknig to her and God opened a door and I walked through it. We talked for maybe 30 to 45 minutes. I'm happy to say that as a result of that conversation the Jehovah's Witnesses no longer come to her house...but please know...that is God's doing...not mine. To Him be the glory for that victory!
See, I think it is hard to share Christ because we pick and choose who we want to save rather than letting Him lead us to who He wants us to talk to. We need to be Holy Spirit led in our witnessing just like everything else. You could turn someone completely off to Jesus if God hasn't led you to them. I think it is entirely possible for you to plant seeds on these interactions, but how much more could come out of these engagements if God led you...SPECIFICALLY YOU...to an individual for you to witness to? That's the man I want to be. I want to be so obedient that when God tells to go to someone I go. I don't want to do things out of step with Him. I want to be the brush God uses to paint the picture of salvation in someones life. I want to be a tool used by Him and for Him all the time.
The song I quoted is important to me and as I am typing this my wife is growing exceedingly annoyed because it has been playing for about 30 minutes (with no end in sight). I want this to be a picture of my life. I want people to look at me and be able to say that God has His hand on my life and that I was obedient to Him...even at the cost of my life (right after I typed that I hear Satan whipering in my ear...Do you really mean that?)! I HATE Satan and pray that as a result of being used for Christ I am able to give him an ulser that causes him unbearable heartburn! I hate heartburn almost as much as I hate sour beef!
I pray that this year I am given Christ's eyes for people (cause last year...I really didn't like people). I also pray that more and more Christians adopt this trait and that we are no longer bashful with our faith, but bold and strong! Sharing with the people that God would have us share with...and guess what...if all of us Christians are sharing with people...everyone will be reached!
Be blessed!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Appearances
So, the other night as my wife and I were reading our bibles, Matthew 3: 4 struck me. It states that "Now John himself was clothed in Camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey." The part that struck me came in two parts...the first part was that he was obviously dressed distinctively different than the culture around him (as I type more and more in this, I may end up stepping on my own toes and frustrating myself with my own comments!!). I don't believe that the people in the villages and towns around him were dressing in the matter that he was...I mean if they were...there would be no need to call out his appearance because it would be the same as everyone else...right? There was an obvious distinction in John the Baptist...and everyone else. The second part of this reading that struck me was Matthew 3: 5 and 6. It states in these verses "then all Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." I was blown away at this! I mean here is a man (in John the Baptist) that by all accounts is the polar opposite of what society in his day was (at least in the appearance aspect) drawing huge flocks of people out to him. How is this possible? Why didn't John the Baptist change his appearance to draw even more people to him? Why didn't he begin talking with the latest slang that was considered "cool" by the youth to try and win their hearts to Christ? Why didn't he water down his message to make his preaching more "politically correct"? He didn't do these things because he knew who God was and there was nothing he could do in his own strength that would draw anyone to God! There was no point in him polluting a perfect message...in all honesty...if he had changed anything about himself, he may have made himself of as much use as the Pharisees!
This all leads up to a few thoughts these verses gave me. Hopefully this will all make sense when I am finished with it (but it may end up jumbled together and not very concise)!
Does anyone else think that there is a problem that the church looks as worldly as it does? I mean, I'm speaking to myself here, not just whoever is reading this. So many Christians support the ungodly! Aspects of this include, clothes, music, movies (generally the stuff we buy and the people we support)...the list could go on forever! Why do folks in the church become so consumed with their worldly appearance that they basically discontinue their Chirst like appearance? I think it's to fit in. Romans 12: 2 starts off by saying "And do not be conformed to this world...". Does that sound like we should care what the world thinks of us? Absolutely not! So many Christians derive their self worth from their clothes, that if they aren't dressed to the nines or wearing the latest fashion, they feel they aren't anything important! Oh how Satan has blinded them! What was John the Baptist wearing again...camels hair and a leather belt around his waist? C'mon...does it sound like he was concerned with his outward appearance? Not at all! He was focused on the mission he was given...lifting up Jesus Christ! I know that we live in a different society...but our mission is the same as his...spread the good news! I want to talk to the ladies for a moment...
Ladies, there is no need for you all to wear half of the things that you wear! The clothes that you all seem to wrap yourself up in could very much be a stumbling block to alot of men! In Romans 14: 13 we read roughly halfway the verse "not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." Ladies...when you have wrapped yourselves in jeans so tight that your backsides wiggle around like two midgets wrestling in a sackclothe bag...that could very easily make a brother stumble! You have caused him to lust after you. If this brother is a married man he has cheated on his wife! That would make you a mistress! Jesus's words in Matthew 5: 28 state "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart." You all know when you walk out the house that men are generally stimulated by sight, so why would you place clothes on yourselves that could make a faithful husband, become a cheating husband?
There is so much pollution that has captivated our churches...the above is simply one of them...Another one is that males are no longer dominant in our churches or the home. The male influence has become somewhat of a fictional story. See...BET and MTV (and the media in general) have painted men to be either gangsters, sissies or general screw ups (but never men in love with Christ). There is no real in between for a man in todays society. I fell in love with the mentality that I saw on BET in all the rap videos! So I began trying to make myself one of those guys...not realizing that those guys aren't what they portray themselves to be on television...but at 10-12 years old all I knew was that their videos matched the lifestyle I heard them rap about and I thought they were cool. These days...you have guys claiming to be Christians, that teen agers think are cool, winning television shows that would have caused Moses to break another set of the 10 commandments (American Idol) only to come out and say that they are homosexual but still born again (Clay Aiken)! What kind of garbage is that?! The "homosexual christian" does not exist because it can not exist. Yet these are the images and lifestyles that American men are exposed to and since a majority of the men in this country are not true Christians...they think these things are possible! Gods word condemns the homosexual lifestyle...man is the only one who approves it! I feel like I'm rambling here...but dag on it...I'm irritated that men haven't stood up and been pillars for the faith the way that they should! Again...men become so consumed with appearance (some of the times it's a womans) that they can't find their self in Christ. We are told by the media all of the things that we should be, that we forget what the bible says we should be. The bible says in James 1: 27 "to keep oneself unspotted from the world"...sounds to me like we as men need to become more concerned with what God thinks of us, than what general public thinks of us.
Why are brothers and sisters being led astray like they are? Alot of it has to do with little to no teaching that leads to conviction and alot of teaching that leads to growing numbers and money in communion plates! Here is probably my biggest problem...obviously...if the men and women in the church are living contrary to God's word, they are doing so because the pastor of that church is not teaching God's word in it's entirety. They are preaching a version of the bible that is seeker friendly and watered down and basically useless (I say basically because I came from a church that taught grace and love and everyone was excepted...but there was no judgment...I made it out of that teaching to experience the whole counsel of Gods word and I'm sure that that there are others...but this type of teaching is a trap from hell because many people become complacent and stagnant yet are constantly being told that they are okay with God). So many churches are letting heretical teachings into them (labrynths, contemplative prayer, universalism, ecumenicism, humanism, etc...) that the congregations end up suffering! Moreover, the congregations end up fully embracing the teaching that they are being taught! In 1 Timothy 4: 1 and 2 we read " Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving head to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron..." and in 2 Peter 2: 1-3 we read "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." and finally in 2 Peter 2: 18-22 we read " For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and , "a sow having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
I believe the above is happening because people are lacking the desire to please God because we are becoming increasingly selfish. I hear professing "christians" say all the time say that they know they are selfish. They make these statements while being puffed up with pride (almost like it makes them look good). All the while making themselves look like the very people that we are not supposed to resemble. It saddens me to think that more times than not these are the type of "Christians" being released to the world to proclaim how great God is...the part that is sickening is that these folks have no real clue who God is...yet they purport to be His followers!
This brings us back to the original point I was initially trying to make before being hijacked with a million thoughts...and if I wrote them all...I would turn this simple little blog to one of epic proportions. Christians need to seriously consider all facets of their life before going out into the world. We should be more intersted in resembling the humble than the proud. Christ's disciples were more intersted in being with Him than at the market...contrast this with us...are we more intersted in being with our families teaching them the ways of Christ...or would we rather be shopping trying to blend into the world? The answer is obvious to me...
If Christians were truly focused on Christ, we (they, as I did not vote for the evil man about to take office) would not have elected a man to the presidency that fully supports the slaughter of innocent children and who is passionately embracing the homosexual agenda. This man was picked and endorsed by many simply because of race. There was another presidential candidate running for office named Alan Keyes, who embraced Christian principles, but he was not supported by many of the very people who voted for Barack Obama. Why not? He is of the same race as Obama...could it be that the church no longer desires to turn to God fearing men but rather the ungodly? It is simply because Christians would rather be of the world than in the world. Whatever the color of the Christian here in America, there is a real need for an understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us all. He did so much more for us than possibly lower our taxes or fix our economy...he forgave our sins and died to make us right with God (so long as we accept that gift).
John the Baptist is a wonderful character in the bible to study. He was not concerned with culture. To use a term that we use now a days...he marched to the beat of a different drum...and rightly so because he was called by God...as are all of us Christians! So why are we not at the very least speaking out against the things in this country that are offensive to our faith and are wretched in the sight of God?
I think it's because we fear being looked at the way that Stephen was looked at in Acts 7: 54 or Paul in Acts 22: 22 and 23. Thankfully, Stephen and Paul weren't afraid to be outcasts for the sake of Christ.
Be blessed.
This all leads up to a few thoughts these verses gave me. Hopefully this will all make sense when I am finished with it (but it may end up jumbled together and not very concise)!
Does anyone else think that there is a problem that the church looks as worldly as it does? I mean, I'm speaking to myself here, not just whoever is reading this. So many Christians support the ungodly! Aspects of this include, clothes, music, movies (generally the stuff we buy and the people we support)...the list could go on forever! Why do folks in the church become so consumed with their worldly appearance that they basically discontinue their Chirst like appearance? I think it's to fit in. Romans 12: 2 starts off by saying "And do not be conformed to this world...". Does that sound like we should care what the world thinks of us? Absolutely not! So many Christians derive their self worth from their clothes, that if they aren't dressed to the nines or wearing the latest fashion, they feel they aren't anything important! Oh how Satan has blinded them! What was John the Baptist wearing again...camels hair and a leather belt around his waist? C'mon...does it sound like he was concerned with his outward appearance? Not at all! He was focused on the mission he was given...lifting up Jesus Christ! I know that we live in a different society...but our mission is the same as his...spread the good news! I want to talk to the ladies for a moment...
Ladies, there is no need for you all to wear half of the things that you wear! The clothes that you all seem to wrap yourself up in could very much be a stumbling block to alot of men! In Romans 14: 13 we read roughly halfway the verse "not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." Ladies...when you have wrapped yourselves in jeans so tight that your backsides wiggle around like two midgets wrestling in a sackclothe bag...that could very easily make a brother stumble! You have caused him to lust after you. If this brother is a married man he has cheated on his wife! That would make you a mistress! Jesus's words in Matthew 5: 28 state "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart." You all know when you walk out the house that men are generally stimulated by sight, so why would you place clothes on yourselves that could make a faithful husband, become a cheating husband?
There is so much pollution that has captivated our churches...the above is simply one of them...Another one is that males are no longer dominant in our churches or the home. The male influence has become somewhat of a fictional story. See...BET and MTV (and the media in general) have painted men to be either gangsters, sissies or general screw ups (but never men in love with Christ). There is no real in between for a man in todays society. I fell in love with the mentality that I saw on BET in all the rap videos! So I began trying to make myself one of those guys...not realizing that those guys aren't what they portray themselves to be on television...but at 10-12 years old all I knew was that their videos matched the lifestyle I heard them rap about and I thought they were cool. These days...you have guys claiming to be Christians, that teen agers think are cool, winning television shows that would have caused Moses to break another set of the 10 commandments (American Idol) only to come out and say that they are homosexual but still born again (Clay Aiken)! What kind of garbage is that?! The "homosexual christian" does not exist because it can not exist. Yet these are the images and lifestyles that American men are exposed to and since a majority of the men in this country are not true Christians...they think these things are possible! Gods word condemns the homosexual lifestyle...man is the only one who approves it! I feel like I'm rambling here...but dag on it...I'm irritated that men haven't stood up and been pillars for the faith the way that they should! Again...men become so consumed with appearance (some of the times it's a womans) that they can't find their self in Christ. We are told by the media all of the things that we should be, that we forget what the bible says we should be. The bible says in James 1: 27 "to keep oneself unspotted from the world"...sounds to me like we as men need to become more concerned with what God thinks of us, than what general public thinks of us.
Why are brothers and sisters being led astray like they are? Alot of it has to do with little to no teaching that leads to conviction and alot of teaching that leads to growing numbers and money in communion plates! Here is probably my biggest problem...obviously...if the men and women in the church are living contrary to God's word, they are doing so because the pastor of that church is not teaching God's word in it's entirety. They are preaching a version of the bible that is seeker friendly and watered down and basically useless (I say basically because I came from a church that taught grace and love and everyone was excepted...but there was no judgment...I made it out of that teaching to experience the whole counsel of Gods word and I'm sure that that there are others...but this type of teaching is a trap from hell because many people become complacent and stagnant yet are constantly being told that they are okay with God). So many churches are letting heretical teachings into them (labrynths, contemplative prayer, universalism, ecumenicism, humanism, etc...) that the congregations end up suffering! Moreover, the congregations end up fully embracing the teaching that they are being taught! In 1 Timothy 4: 1 and 2 we read " Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving head to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron..." and in 2 Peter 2: 1-3 we read "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." and finally in 2 Peter 2: 18-22 we read " For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and , "a sow having washed, to her wallowing in the mire."
I believe the above is happening because people are lacking the desire to please God because we are becoming increasingly selfish. I hear professing "christians" say all the time say that they know they are selfish. They make these statements while being puffed up with pride (almost like it makes them look good). All the while making themselves look like the very people that we are not supposed to resemble. It saddens me to think that more times than not these are the type of "Christians" being released to the world to proclaim how great God is...the part that is sickening is that these folks have no real clue who God is...yet they purport to be His followers!
This brings us back to the original point I was initially trying to make before being hijacked with a million thoughts...and if I wrote them all...I would turn this simple little blog to one of epic proportions. Christians need to seriously consider all facets of their life before going out into the world. We should be more intersted in resembling the humble than the proud. Christ's disciples were more intersted in being with Him than at the market...contrast this with us...are we more intersted in being with our families teaching them the ways of Christ...or would we rather be shopping trying to blend into the world? The answer is obvious to me...
If Christians were truly focused on Christ, we (they, as I did not vote for the evil man about to take office) would not have elected a man to the presidency that fully supports the slaughter of innocent children and who is passionately embracing the homosexual agenda. This man was picked and endorsed by many simply because of race. There was another presidential candidate running for office named Alan Keyes, who embraced Christian principles, but he was not supported by many of the very people who voted for Barack Obama. Why not? He is of the same race as Obama...could it be that the church no longer desires to turn to God fearing men but rather the ungodly? It is simply because Christians would rather be of the world than in the world. Whatever the color of the Christian here in America, there is a real need for an understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us all. He did so much more for us than possibly lower our taxes or fix our economy...he forgave our sins and died to make us right with God (so long as we accept that gift).
John the Baptist is a wonderful character in the bible to study. He was not concerned with culture. To use a term that we use now a days...he marched to the beat of a different drum...and rightly so because he was called by God...as are all of us Christians! So why are we not at the very least speaking out against the things in this country that are offensive to our faith and are wretched in the sight of God?
I think it's because we fear being looked at the way that Stephen was looked at in Acts 7: 54 or Paul in Acts 22: 22 and 23. Thankfully, Stephen and Paul weren't afraid to be outcasts for the sake of Christ.
Be blessed.
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