Francis Chan, the wide road, the narrow road and the "carpool lane"!

I saw this on the Truth Matters blog and had to share -

Some facts on Christian persecution and Muslim propaganda!

I read this very enlightening article from Newsweek regarding persecution of Christians and the Muslim propaganda machine that keeps painting them as the victims.

Here it is - Christian persecution by Muslims

Mainstream Moderate Muslim Murderers?

If someone kills another person simply for disagreeing with their religious beliefs - is that murder?

If someone kills one citizen of a country, because another citizen of that country disagrees with their beliefs - is that murder?

If you stand by and say nothing as those who hold to your beliefs and claim to represent your religion and your God, commit these blatant forms of murder - are you innocent?

Let's face it, whether someone burns someone else's religious book out of ignorance, indifference or spite, it is at worst a matter of disagreeing over religious beliefs.

So are Muslims who say Islam is a religion of peace OK with the killing of innocent Americans and others, simply because a few people either intentionally or accidentally burned the Koran?

If you are an American Muslim and you are not outraged and publically condemning these acts, then you certainly have no idea what America is about and I suggest your religion (if this is representative of it) is a murderous cowardly one.

Should I have any reason to think you would not advocate the same kind of religious intolerance and murder in this country if you should ever gain a majority?

I pray for your conversion to Christianity, because I believe it is true, however, I could not be faithful to my religion or conscience if I murdered you for disagreeing with my religion, burning the Bible or if I remained silent while others who claimed to be Christians and Americans killed you for such things.

I must also say, I would do everything within the law to discourage such a religion as Islam from flourishing here, as the silence of its adherents prove that it is a threat to the very freedoms that we enjoy as Americans.

A God centered view of financial security!

Luke 12:32  “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NKJV)

Do you believe this?

Does your lifestyle reflect that belief?

Ouch!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Working faithfully when conditions aren't perfect!

Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap. (NKJV)

It is good to have a passion for things being just right in our homes, jobs or churches. However, it is quite clear that if we wait until conditions meet our standards to serve the Lord or others wholeheartedly - we never will!

As a Pastor, I would like to say thanks to all those who serve faithfully, even though things aren't exactly as you might want them!

To God be the Glory!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

The scariest truth in the scriptures according to Paul Washer? You might be surprised!

I saw this posted on Lane Chaplin's Blog, thought I would pass it on - enjoy!

God is for God, by Matt Chandler!

I saw this video on the Truth Matters Blog and could not resist posting it myself. Enjoy!

 

Someone Worth Dying For?

I really shouldn't listen to Christian radio. I enjoy some of the music, but I can't help being put off by the man-centeredness of so many of the song's lyrics. I heard a song this morning by Mike's Chair called Someone Worth Dying For. I don't want to slam Mike or his "chair", I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means our worth is only in Christ, but it still seems that this song emphasizes the wrong thing.

The Chorus goes like this:

Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah, I wanna believe, I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
Yeah, I wanna believe,
Jesus, help me believe that
I am someone worth dying for

Here is what the Bible says about our worth -

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Rom. 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Rom. 3:10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”

13 “Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace they have not known.”

18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Eph. 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

What is our salvation supposed to display? Is it about showing how worth dying for we are? Or, is it to show how incredibly just and merciful God is, as He saves such unworthy people by His work, for His glory?

Eph. 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Now, if we doubt God's love, His willingness/ability to meet our needs or we are thinking very low about ourselves in general, it would seem most prudent to turn our eyes from us to to Him and worship/thank the one who saved, loves and uses for His purposes - such otherwise wretched beings as us!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved." 

How sympathetic should we be when a star dies by fame and fortune?

It would be easy to say "I told you so" when we see Hollywood celebrities chase fame and fortune and end up suffering the consequences of their choices. We might think we would never use our talents and gifts for anything but God's glory. Of course most of us make such boasts without having been faced with people knocking on our doors urging us toward stardom. Should we take pride in the fact that we have not pursued worldly things/sin until they killed us, as we might judge these celebrities for doing, or should we have a more humble assessment of the difference between "us" and "them"?

Ultimately, two world views and only two exist on earth. The first one seeks life, hope and happiness in the created things and the other seeks the Creator and thankfully accepts what He provides.

Matt. 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJV)

All mankind is born pursuing the created things, in our own way, and it always leads to death -

Prov. 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death. (NKJV)

By contrast, through God's grace -

Eph. 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV)

If we know the truth about the created things and have come to believe it is better to seek the Creator - all glory goes to God, not us! Even though our "way that seemed right" might not have looked like Whitney Houston's or anyone else’s, it was to lead to our death just as certain! Rather than boast that we aren't throwing away our lives like some of those Hollywood folks, we need to humbly acknowledge that it is only God's grace that has spared us and He spared us for a reason - to do the "good works, which God prepared beforehand". We know that these works include going into all the world and being His witnesses, that others pursuing life, hope and happiness in the created things, as we once were, can hear about the one who died to deliver us from such a death!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."  

Some shopping humor!

More on Satan's weakness before God!

Yesterday's post pointed out how God, as all powerful Creator, can never be taxed or tired by battling Satan or anything else! TJ wrote a comment regarding how we may give the devil too much credit/blame and excuse our own role in our sin.

Here are his words - "Also, while I'm sure the devil is a powerful foe who without Christ's atonement for us and subsequent indwelling of the Spirit would surely devour us, we give him way too much credit for our struggles and failures. I believe that the Bible tells us our biggest problem is our own prideful, selfish, idol producing flesh."

I think he is right! We dare not deny the devil's existence or pridefully think we alone are more powerful than he. However, it is interesting to see how the scriptures suggest we deal with him as believers -

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

First, it is no accident that submission to others and accepting the sufferings of this life, is a matter of our humbling ourselves before God, and something the devil would like to help us reject!

Second, the key to faithful earthly submission and suffering, is seeing it as ultimately about submission to God, recognizing His authority to have us under people's authority and in difficult circumstances, as He wills.

Also, our being exalted/delivered form hard circumstances, must come from God, not us. However, the devil would surely like us to take a shortcut through sin and exalt ourselves! In this he devours us, as he cuts us off, even if only temporarily, from the power that comes as we trust in God and are delivered by His grace!

So, we are to resist the devil - how? Remaining steadfast in the faith, remembering God is in control, we are His in Christ and our struggles are not unique.

Finally, in God's time, not ours and not the devil's, God will deliver us, by His power and for His glory in Christ Jesus!

So, we don't blame the devil for our sin or deny that he loves to encourage us in it, but we remember that God is never the slightest bit limited, taxed or influenced by Satan, rather he allows him only as much rope as it takes for God to accomplish His will in creation and our lives, as He displays his absolute glory in, and dominion over, all things!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

A struggle between God and the Devil - really?

I heard a song this morning that caught my theological attention -

Battle by Chris August, here are a few of the lyrics -

There's a battle between good and evil
And it's raging inside of me
There's a struggle - it's God and the devil
It's Love against the Enemy

To the credit of the author, he says the battle is inside of him, not that God is actually struggling against the Devil. I do think many people envision a true fight between God and the Devil and just assume that good/love/God will win out over evil and the Devil. In reality, is God ever the slightest bit taxed by the Devil? Is God ever engaged in any kind of struggle? Can the creator of all things find Himself being worn out by one of His creations?

Absolutely not -

Job 41:11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.

Job 42:1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

Jer. 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Psalm 115:3 But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.

Acts 17:24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

Eph. 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,

Rev. 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”

Why would God create things that would appose Him and His will? I can't be sure of all reasons, but clearly it is not any sign of His weakness, nor does it suggest that he is in any kind of "struggle" - ever! What we do know is it all exists, by His hand and for His glory!

Rom. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”  
35 "Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Oh that we might know, believe and live according to - the promises of God!

2 Cor. 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (NKJV)

The incredible God centeredness of this passage is very comforting and screams of our need to know and believe God's promises!

Why  -

He will keep all His promises to us on Christ's behalf!

He is glorified through us otherwise hopeless/wretched sinners, as He keeps His promises!

He is the one who establishes and anoints us for living out His will, according to His promises, for His glory!

He will finish His work in us here and in eternity, because he has put His Spirit in us!

Our plans are often thwarted, our resources are always limited, our promises are often broken and our lives on earth are but a vapor! However, in Him, we can know, believe and be forever blessed, as God keeps all His promises to us and through us, on Christ's behalf for His glory!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Sometimes it is obvious Satan has a horse in the race!

The interaction between Planned Parenthood (planned Non-Parenthood seems more appropriate) and the Susan G, Komen Foundation this week should make it obvious that Satan is real! Consider the reality of the situation - one charity decides to stop giving money to another charity, either because of a government investigation or because of pressure from pro-life groups, we can't be sure which.

Whatever the motivation for Komen pulling back support from Planned Parenthood, the public, media and political outcry against Komen has been unprecedented. Komen is tiny compared to Planned Parenthood, they are a separate entity with the right to support who they wish and they have a different focus for their charity, so, why such outrage? If it was Planned Parenthood who was choosing not to support Komen, would  their be such a backlash? I think not, it seems plain that when it comes to those issues where moral absolutes are in question (abortion, gay rights, etc.) the voices against those absolutes are the loudest.

Imagine politicians, like Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who volunteered to make up Planned Parenthood's losses out of his own pocket, and other influential people joining hands, emptying their wallets and shouting - "not one less baby will be killed on our watch" or "we support baby killing and all who don't are evil haters"!

Consider some of the other real evil in the world: where is the outrage against child sex slavery, genocide or starvation? I propose a simple answer.

Satan does not want people getting outraged about these truly evil things, our silence on them suits his purposes perfectly. However, when it comes to abortion, Satan has a horse in the race and he cheers on his cause and stirs up his followers to do the same. Outside of Jesus Christ, we are all Satan's followers and are capable of believing and embracing incredible lies, even to the point of cheering on the killing of innocent children.

I am not advocating the movie, but in Batman The Dark Knight, there is a quote by Batman's friend/butler Alfred regarding the Joker and his motives for doing evil - "some men just want to watch the world burn"! Satan wants to watch the world burn and calling evil good and good evil is a sure way to help us destroy ourselves, as he watches and laughs. Jesus Christ will be victorious and we, his children, will share in His glorious victory, but we need not be ignorant of Satan's schemes either.

1 Pet. 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

 "Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.Used by permission. All rights reserved."

Tim Tebow showing more discernment than many popular evangelical pastors!

Several "evangelical" mega church pastors have been taking heat for embracing T.D. Jakes as a brother, in spite of what appears to be less than biblical views on the trinity and his obvious distortion of the gospel by emphasising health/prosperity. For more on this controversy - known as "The Elephant Room" follow this link.

Tim Tebow, by contrast is showing more discernment in who he chooses to be associated with. Follow this link to a story of his "passing" on an event because of theological concerns.