The Scope

Who Are You?

2012-01-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Does what we do determine who we are, or does who we are determine what we do?

Is someone athug because he treats people badly, or does he treat people badly because heis a thug?

Is someone ateacher because she passes information along, or does she pass informationalong because she is a teacher?

Is someonesaved because he lives a holy life, or does he live a holy life because he issaved?

Does abeliever love God because he obeys God, or does he obey God because he lovesGod?

The fact that you are a Christian means you behave a certain way, you don't act a certain way to be a Christian. You have been saved by GRACE, but because you are saved, you LIVE LIKE IT.

Because I am a Christian, I ___________________________.

Because I am God's child, I ___________________________.

Because I am loved by God, I __________________________.

What is the result of you being who you are?

You are recognized by your fruit, according to scripture.

In comparison: Because you are an apple tree, you produce apples; you are not an apple tree because you produce apples. You were always going to be an apple tree, because that is the kind of seed that was planted. You grew up as an apple tree, before fruit appeared. Now you are a full grown apple tree, so you bear apples on you.

Some of us have been unidentifiable as to what kind of tree we are because we have failed to produce fruit. Or, in the terms I began with, being a Christian has not led us to do anything, so no one knows what we are. And a tree that does not bear fruit is not good for anything but to be cut down and thrown in the fire.

Read John 15:1-17

In Your Anger Do Not Sin

2011-12-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

Psalm 4:4 says this, and Paul repeats it in Ephesians 4:26: "In your anger do not sin." This statement is followed in both passages by the idea of not going to bed angry; or, while you are in your bed, quietly searching your heart. So then, is anger a sin?

Colossians 3:8 tells us to rid ourselves of things such an anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language. In this list, anger is connected to the acts of the sinful nature, and the opposite of the way "Children of the Light" should live. Does this mean it is a sin to get angry?

James 1:19 says we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because, "man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." Is anger a sin?

I am interested to hear what you all have to say in this regard. Anger...is it a sin?

(Try to use scripture for your answers, because we all know our emotions can control us and seem right, even when they are wrong. Saying, "I feel that..." to make a point is not going to hold water against scripture.)

Control Freaks

2011-11-25T22:07:00.001-08:00

The story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:16-22 is a story of control. Ultimately, he was willing to obey the commands of God as far as he controlled them. Jesus was pleased with his willingness to keep the commands, but found that this man had one flaw: A lack of complete surrender to God and faith in His competence to control all things, including financial provision for him if he would follow Jesus.

When we read the words, "he went away sad, because he had great wealth," we tend to be judgmental of the man for turning away from Jesus. But when it comes to issues of control, how often have we done the same thing?

"One thing you lack,..." Jesus says. What is it for you?

"Give me control of your future; your problems; your family; your finances; your actions; your will?" What is it you keep back from Him? Are you on the threshold of walking away sadly because you trust yourself more than God when it comes to one of these issues? Are you unwilling to give any one of these areas over to His control?

Which area is the biggest challenge for you? Why? What are you afraid will happen if you give up control? Is Jesus really Lord of your life if you don't surrender this area to Him? Will you surrender, or walk away, sadly?

Anonymous Confrontation

2011-11-18T12:26:00.001-08:00

I have a few opinions about things in life. You know that if you read my blog, and you know it even more if you have had conversations with me for any amount of time. I am opinionated. I confess it, and I own it. So let me give you my honest opinion about people trying to confront others by sending unsigned letters...

1. You are SELFISH. I cannot think of a more selfish, self-preserving, self-motivated action than to write a letter of condemnation to someone else without letting them know who sent it.

2. You are a COWARD. Writing the address in box letters and sending it from a generic place so no one can trace it back to you shows that you are scared and don't have the convictions of your words to stand behind them.

3. You are UNLOVING. In the church, this is one of the most damnable traits of all. If someone is truly wrong, it would be a loving thing to tell them in a loving way. A letter that looks like a ransom note is not loving. By the way, the charge you are making better be scriptural sin if you plan to rightly confront an issue in the life of another Christian.

4. I will IGNORE you EVERY TIME. Because you are an unloving, selfish coward, it is not worth the time of day for me to actually take to heart anything you try to say to me. If it was an important issue that was truly hurting my Christian witness, a truly loving brother or sister in Christ would lovingly address it to my face, with great concern for my spiritual well-being; not take pot-shots in a ransom note.

With that said...no one has sent me one of these types of notes - recently, anyway. I am not referring to a personal attack or instance of this. Someone on my worship team at my church had a cruel note sent to them by a gutless coward and I am filled with what I believe is a "Righteous Anger"! It is not for myself. It is not because my feelings were hurt. It certainly isn't because I'm afraid that what they said was true! It was an ignorant and non-scriptural "opt-ed piece" being vomited all over one of my church family members.

If this viper has the where-with-all to try to stick up for their act of cruel cowardice, I would be more than happy to explain to them exactly why they are nothing but wrong for this very stupid act. Try to stick up for yourself on this, you disreputable snake. I dare you!

By the way, you are not anonymous to God. He knows who you are, and He will protect His people. You will give account for every careless word spoken (or written). I am ready to account for what I have written here. My name is connected to it. How about you?

Told you I was opinionated.

The Holy Spirit

2011-10-13T17:41:00.000-07:00

We have been talking about the Holy Spirit in our church services for the last couple of weeks. It is interesting that Jesus told Nicodemus he must be "born from above" to see the kingdom of heaven. Jesus went on to call the experience, "Born of water and of the Spirit."

What do you suppose that means? How are we "born of water?" How are we "born of the Spirit?" If this is being "born from above," what part do we play in the whole thing?

I would suggest that baptism with water is a more important part of beginning a relationship with Jesus than we Wesleyans sometimes treat it.

I would also add that being born of the Spirit is not taught very well or addressed very much in our salvation messages. We talk about believing, but Jesus said we will not enter the Kingdom of God without being "born of the Spirit." How does that happen? Do our churches reflect an understanding or experience of life-change that evidences a "New Birth" in our people?

The Gospel

2011-09-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

We like to summarize. I believe we like it to an unhealthy extent, especially when it comes to the Bible. We like to say, "That's what the Bible is all about," or "Isn't that really the whole Gospel?" We want a bumper sticker to say it all. I believe that if that were possible, God would have given us a bumper sticker, instead of 66 books of Scripture.

So, what is the Gospel message? Is it simply, "Believe?" Is it, "Let go, and let God?" Is it possible to summarize?

Here are some vital aspects of the gospel. Which parts are necessary for people to understand and accept to be saved? Which parts do not need to be understood? Read them all. Tell me what to delete.

· God is holy. He wants holy people. He created Adam and Eve in holiness; to beholy.

· Adam and Eve disobeyed God, bringing sin and deathinto the world, tarnishing the holiness in which they were created.

· Now, we in ourselves are unholy (worse than “notholy”, we are actively “unholy” - SINFUL)

· Hell was created to punishSatan and the angels who followed him in rebellion before God. The punishment fits the crime. Sin in us has condemned all of usto hell.

· Because of God’s holiness, death has to be paid for mysin. It is the wage my sin has earned.

· Jesus is God’s Son (holy in character and action), andwas withoutsin. The spotless lamb.

· Because of His incredible love and mercy, Jesus' death paid the wage of my sin. No other payment is sufficient replacementfor what I owe; Jesus redeemed me by His blood, and thereis noother hope for freedom from hell.

· The resurrection of Jesus was the greatest victory. Because He defeated death, we have hope ofeternal life, as well! Without thistruth, we are to be pitied more than all others.

· When we realize all of these things are true(hear and understand the gospel), and we choose to believe it and receive theforgiveness available through Jesus, based on a desire to change the waywe live so as to honor Him and submit to His authority as the author of life(repent), and receive the Holy Spirit through the cleansing work of submittingmy life into His hands (as shown through baptism, where I died and He camealive in me); when we do this, we receive a new nature, eternal life, andbecome citizens of heaven.

· When this has truly happened and you have genuinelybelieved, you will never be the same, again! You are a new creation, filled with the presence of the HolySpirit of God, dead to who you were and aliveto what you are becoming.

· Now, by faith, we live in obedience to God, by the power of theHoly Spirit. When we blow it, we sincerelyask God for forgiveness, and He faithfully cleanses us. Then we continue in obedience. Ourlives are His, and not our own.

· The hope of heaven drives us to daily serve God onearth.

A Follow-Up to "Alcohol and Membership Requirements"

2011-09-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

A lot of people viewed the article I wrote on this topic some months back. One person asked a good question that I am afraid no one will read because it is an older post, so I am reprinting my response to his question here for further insight into my views on this. I want to be honest about this and admit my views have changed immensely since I was a young minister. The reasons are in this post. Here is my response to the question regarding why the church would have expectations about alcohol now that would have omitted Jesus and the disciples from membership in the church today:

Since we are talking about a form of governance and not a heaven or hell issue, I do not believe we have to qualify why Jesus turned water into wine at Cana in Galilee.

We have seen such miserable and embarrassing failures in the leadership of the church over the last 30 years that I believe we need to go the extra mile to show that we are serious about integrity and character among our leaders. In Acts 21:26, Paul had some of the Gentiles ritualistically purified to appease the Jewish community even though they didn't have to be in God's eyes. He did this in order to appease people who thought Paul was getting carried away with his freedom in Christ. Sometimes it is better for leaders in the church to submit themselves to the expectations of the whole to create a peaceful environment in the body.

Jesus made Himself submissive to even death for the sake of saving His church. He could have exercised His freedom - and been right to do so - except that no one would have been saved. Now He has called us to be servants of all; submissive to the authorities that exist.

As the church has become larger and more organized, we have seen divisions happen for all kinds of reasons. We have seen false teachers and weak-willed believers create an atmosphere of doubt about the church, our sincerity and whether anyone really believes what we say, anymore. I believe this has changed our obligation to the Lord and to the world in what we expect of ourselves to live "above reproach" in our day. I think this is "What Jesus Would Do".

If God is Good, Why...?

2011-09-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is the way many people who struggle to believe - and many who just plain choose to disbelieve - start their questions about Jesus and the Bible. The same questikon can have two completely different impacts on me. When someone is asking it sincerely looking for an answer or for help, it causes me to go right into intercessory prayer for them. When someone asks it to be confrontational and "prove me wrong", it causes me to go right into a prayer for wisdom and protection against what will obviously be an attack against me and my faith. One thing we can't let it do is turn into "fighting words", pitting me against the person I am trying to have a resaonable discussion with. I want to build a bridge for them to cross using wisdom and the word of God as the Spirit leads me, I do not just want to win the argument.

If God is Good, why is there evil? Why do babies suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people? All of these can be causes for genuine confusion for many, and I want desperately to be helpful to them. But some people are just asking these questions to make God appear to be a foolish fantasy, and they are asked with anger, mockery and pretension. This second group of people really tries my patience because they are immediately attacking my faith, assuming they already know what I believe.

In your discussions about your faith, do you find that more people are really trying to understand, or are they just trying to tell you why they don't believe and get you off their backs? Are they peaceful in their approach with you, or do you feel that they are instantly angry at the idea of God? I would love to hear from you how people have responded to your attempts to talk about Jesus with them.

What Style of Evangelism Works?

2011-09-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Many churches are struggling to get our message - the Gospel - out in a positive way. Some are using food give-away's and mission works to "Evangelize", some are still trying to get people into the church to listen to the gospel, and others are going door to door with a "confrontational" evangelism.

I am interested to hear of successful methods of evangelism - ideas that are currently working. I am not asking for how you were brought to the Lord, but how you ARE CURRENTLY, EFFECTIVELY reaching your community and seeing lives transformed.

ETERNITY; NOT THE MOMENT

2011-07-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

The 73^rd Psalm was written by Asaph, and addresses an issue that could challenge all of us at one moment or another:

PS 73:2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

PS 73:3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Have you ever felt like people who don’t care what God thinks are advancing in their lives while you, as a follower of Jesus, are suffering; struggling to get by? Asaph goes on to express how this made him feel:

PS 73:13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.

PS 73:14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.

When we are trying to tell people how badly they need Jesus, they often don’t see it because of these very things. Visibly, they seem to have it all while we have very little, yet we are saying they should want what we have. Sometimes, we even struggle to believe that they can learn anything from us. We may “almost slip”; we may “almost lose our foothold” (v.2).

So what answer does Asaph come up with for us? How do we keep from “envying the arrogant” (v.3)?

PS 73:16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me

PS 73:17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

We need to constantly come back to the Word of God, taught in the Sanctuary of God. We need to be reminded that this world is fading away, and what we are receiving has not yet been made completely known, or revealed. But the fate of those who are lost will not be changed by their money or power or fame, here on Earth. Only what we have – the Name of Jesus Christ – can change that for them.

PS 73:24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.

Asaph had the understanding of glory that waits for us after this life is through. While we are here, God guides us. When we die, He will take us into His glory. Meanwhile:

PS 73:27 Those who are far from you will perish;…

This is not something we rejoice about, but rather a reminder that we do have something that they need.

This life is not all there is. Better to suffer for a little while and then have an eternity of heaven, then to have it easy for this life, and suffer an eternity of hell.

And so, we say, along with the Apostle Peter, in Acts 3:6:

AC 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. …the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth… ."

Hope is found nowhere else, but the Name of Jesus, and the Salvation He has brought us.

Maybe you feel like your life as a Christian has been harder than many who do not follow Jesus, but don’t let your foot slip; don’t lose your foothold. Follow God’s guidance throughout your life, and come to the Sanctuary of His Word, often, to remember that this is all about eternity, not the moment.

The Inside of the Church

2011-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

I am intrigued and somewhat shocked by what some people think makes a church meeting place actually look like a church meeting place. The sense seems to be that if our worship center doesn't have certain decorations, it is not truly a worship center.

Hmm.

So what makes it a worship center? How does it have to look to be a place where we can actually worship? What artifacts do we need to create the right atmosphere so that it is actual worship and not a show? I am really interested to hear from people on this.

Alcohol and Membership in the Wesleyan Church

2011-06-11T19:49:00.001-07:00

The Wesleyan Church membership requirements for Covenant Members includes an expectation of abstaining from all alcoholic beverages, tobacco and drug use (other than prescribed medicines). Many debates have been held over this issue, and the debate continues in our generation.

First, it must be pointed out that we are not talking about how to be saved, we are talking about how to govern a body of believers, and keep godly order in the church. We need a system for leadership that promotes godliness and all of the fruits of the Spirit. One of those fruits is “self control”.

Alcohol causes unnecessary battles in the area of self-control on two levels: 1) The self-control over addiction; 2) the self-control given up when intoxicated.

Why does the Wesleyan Church have membership requirements? To call our membership to live above reproach; to live a witness to the world that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; and to call our people to holiness. Members and leaders are rightly called to a higher standard than those who simply attend. This is not to Lord anything over them as if we are better than anyone else, but to serve them by denying ourselves and living in a way that will not cause any of our brothers and sisters to stumble.

No, it is not a sin to drink. It is a sin to get drunk. It is a sin to cause our brother to stumble. It is a sin to give up self control.

It is challenge enough to control the things that we must do, like eat without gluttony, work in the worldly surroundings of American commerce without joining in dishonest practices to get ahead, and carry on conversations with our lost friends and family without joining in on gossip, slander, coarse joking, unwholesome talk and malicious anger at others for whom Jesus died. These things we face every day because we have to if we are going to be "in the world yet not of the world."

With all the unavoidable battles thrown at us from the enemy, why intentionally bring a battle into your life, your family’s lives, and the life of the church that we don’t have to face? No one HAS to drink alcohol.

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. - 1 Cor. 10:23

So for generations, the Wesleyan Church has revisited this same discussion as to why we have a membership requirement like this that is not directly spelled out in scripture. I would answer with the final thought of 1 Cor. 10:23: We are doing it, and teaching all members to do it, for the good of others. It works. I welcome your input.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF DOCTRINE?

2011-05-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

Many people say that salvation is complete at the moment you believe in Jesus. If that is the case, what is the need for and value of doctrine?

Your doctrine is the belief system by which you make all decisions in your life, from whom you will marry to what you will do for a living to what you believe is right or wrong. God's Word speaks into all of these things and more.

Paul wrote to Timothy and gave instruction about doctrine. 1 Timothy 1:9-11 says that sound doctrine has to comform to the gospel. In 1 Timothy 4:15-16, Paul warns Timothy to persevere in his life and doctrine, and so save himself and his hearers.

Most valuable to this conversation is 2 Timothy 4:2-4, in which Paul warns that the day will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. This fact comes up after Paul admonishes Timothy to rebuke, correct and encourage people with the Word of God.

Who will put up with rebuke or correction from the Scriptures anymore? The "wisdom" of the day is that we all sin, so no one has a right to correct or rebuke anyone. Is this the fulfillment of Paul's prophetic warning to Timothy coming to life in our day; in our church? In your church?

Doctrine. Does it matter? Is it extra-gospel rules, or intra-gospel necessity? Chuck Coleson wrote a book that asked the question, HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE? I might ask my question this way: "WHY, THEN, SHOULD WE LIVE LIKE THAT?"

Love Your Enemies...

2011-05-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have had some interesting back-and-forth with some people on Facebook regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden. The debate is whether there should be celebration of his death by any Christians, because that is not a Christian thing to do.

Choosing now to abstain from my own editorials, I would just welcome some scriptural insights from anyone who reads this.

I am going to frame the conversation just a bit, however.

1. Keep in mind, that Osama isn't just one man, but the representation of a religious sect and the trainer and supplier of many terrorists.

2. He wasn't killed by a person taking revenge, but a country defending itself against the ongoing attacks and calls to war that he released and for which he gladly took credit.

3. He was a man who mocked God, and had dedicated his life to killing all Jews and Christians. He was not going to stop.

Within that framework, is it biblical to celebrate his death, or is it ungodly?

God's Grace

2011-04-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

When you talk with someone who is broken by their own sin, and the guilt of their actions is overwhelming them, you might give them this kind of consolation:

"Hey, God will forgive you for these things. After all, all of us have sinned. Don't beat yourself up about it, just ask Him to forgive you, and get back in the game."

These words are comforting to a person truly filled with godly sorrow. What a joy to know that God will always forgive those who confess their sins.

Another person who has been in an ongoing pattern of sinful living is confronted for their actions with the scriptures only to have them respond not with repentant sorrow or submission to God, but more of a defiant attitude. When they use the same words as you gave the person consumed by their guilt; saying, "Hey, everyone sins; I'll just ask forgiveness for it," you kind of feel sick inside. Those words seem hollow and meaningless, and are less about grace and more about indulgence.

Have you experienced these two kinds of people before? How do you feel about them when they speak to you? Do you think they will both receive forgiveness from God when they ask? Do you believe God is pleased with both of them? What is the difference between these two people?

Levels of Sin?

2011-03-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted on here for a long time, because I am of the opinion that no one is reading this. However, I have a question that demands some open debate. I don't want to ruin anyone's day or cause them to hate me, so lets make sure this is a friendly conversation without personal insults or accusations. Agreed? Okay, then, here it goes:

Do you believe there are levels of sin? Is one worse than another? In God's eyes, if I lose my temper and treat someone unlovingly, is it the same as murdering? Is homosexuality a "worse sin" than adultery? Is unforgiveness an "unpardonable sin", since Jesus said, "if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."?

Are all sins the same? If so, explain from scripture. If not, explain from scripture. I would love some responses to this.

Creation Care

2010-07-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

I am not especially thrilled with political subjects entering the religious arena. However, some issues are important enough to make God's view known.

The Wesleyan Church is the result of God's people taking a stand on a political matter that was more than politics: Slavery. The Wesleyan Methodists believed that slavery was wrong to the point of sin. Therefore, though it was a political issue, it was also a God-issue. Jesus died to save all of mankind, and no one should be considered property - not minorities, not women, not poor people.

I am a firm believer that the time comes when the church must take a stand on behalf of mankind; the protection of people, for which Jesus died.

Recently, however, a movement has arisen among the evangelical church that has me troubled.

There are those who are teaching that Jesus died to redeem all of creation, not just mankind. They seem to believe that when Jesus was on the cross, his mind was not only fixed on saving people, but those sweat drops of blood were also for the trees and the animals. Non-human creation brought Immanuel to us as much as humans.

This is not shown in the great commission, in the sermons recorded in the New Testament, or in Jesus' own statements of why he came. It doesn't seem to have much bearing in Paul's passionate letters to the churches he planted, or Jesus' own prayer recorded in John 17.

There is certainly a need to treat all of creation with respect of its Creator. No one should be abusing animals or poisoning water supplies. There is no good reason to litter or bury toxic chemicals in backyards.

But the church has been called, and spiritually equipped, to reach lost people. We are supposed to baptize them and teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded.

We have been commanded to love the Lordl and love one another. There is no Great Creation Commission.

Respect creation, but love and serve the Creator, and His image on earth: Mankind.

Any thoughts?

CWC Distinctives in Teaching:

2010-05-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

These are some things we are focusing on as to how we teach the gospel and Christian Living in our church. For lack of a better term, I am calling them our "Distinctives". What do you think?

Training people to be followers, not just believers – John 10:27

Genuinely loving people, not just making them feel welcome – 1 Cor. 13:1-3

Knowing God/Known by God, not just knowing about God – John 10:14; Gal. 4:9; 1 Cor. 8:3; Matt. 7:23

Giving Jesus our lives, not inviting him into our lives – 1 Cor. 6:20; Acts 20:28; Romans 12:2; Gal. 2:20

Authenticity in Worship, not just singing – John 4:24; Rom. 12:1; Isaiah 1:11-20

Seeking the lost, not just waiting for seekers to come to us – Luke 19:10; Luke 15:4-7, 8-10; Though they may...Rom. 3:11

Devoted to the living word as recorded in the Bible, not just motivational speeches – 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 5:6; 1 Cor. 2:13; John 24:35; John 6:68; Matt. 7:24-27

God has prepared good works for you to do – Eph. 2:10; 2 Tim. 2:21; Eph. 4:12; Col. 3:23

Obeying Jesus because we love Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit, not manipulated by guilt to obey – John 14:15, 21, 23, John 15:10, 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:3; Rev. 12:17; Rev. 14:12

When Is It Gossip?

2010-03-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

The church always deals with that fine line between "prayer requests" and "bearing each others burdens" vs. "gossip" and "choosing sides". When does a well-intended request for prayer become a gossip item that divides and can ultimately break down trust and loving relationships in the church?

Here are a couple things I have been thinking about:

1. It becomes gossip when it is shared with new or weak Christians.
2. It becomes gossip when pray-ers tell other people, whether they are believers or not.
3. It becomes gossip when it is shared or talked about in public by the pray-ers.
4. It becomes gossip when it is a form of entertainment to talk about it.
5. It becomes gossip when it demands that the hearer choose a side instead of praying objectively.

Those are starters to "prime the pump". I would love to hear how you draw the line for yourself before you spread information you have received from someone else.

Who should you talk to? When should you not ask for prayer for someone else's personal issues? When is it appropriate to choose sides? What do you do when you feel someone else has overstepped their boundaries and entered into a place of gossip? Should you do something? How does gossip effect the church? What does it do to trust, friendship and love for your neighbor? Do you usually check your sources, or just pass information along?

The "Daniel Fast"

2010-02-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

There are two different teachings about what a "Daniel Fast" is.

Jentezen Franklin teaches about a "Daniel Fast" based on Daniel 1:8-12. This picks up where Daniel and his friends were taken into captivity, but selected as strong young men to be trained and educated as leaders in Babylon. Daniel and friends committed not to defile themselves with the food from the king's table, but to only eat vegetables and drink water.

Susan Gregory has written a book called, The Daniel Fast, based on Daniel 10:2-3. Here, Daniel committed himself to "eat no pleasant food," for three weeks. For Daniel, the food to be avoided was meat and wine. Though there are no specific foods listed that should be eaten, Gregory refers to vegetables (including fruit) and water. This seems to hearken back to the Daniel 1 passage.

Question: The passage in Daniel chapter 1 is really not about a "fast", is it? Daniel doesn't want to defile himself by eating the food from the king's table at all. This is a dietary decision Daniel is making for life, not a limited time of fasting. He asks Ashpenaz, the king's official, to test them for ten days and see what difference his dietary choice makes, but his plan is to keep eating like that for life.

Do you think it matters that Daniel 1 isn't referring to a "fast" when someone teaches that, anyway? Have you ever done a "Daniel Fast"? Like the "Trinity" or the "Rapture", the term "Daniel Fast" is never used in scripture. Does that matter?

The Practice of "Fasting"

2010-01-26T22:33:00.000-08:00

Why do you think people in the Bible fasted? Do you believe there is still a reason to fast before God, today? What is that reason? Have you ever fasted? What was the result?

I would love to hear your actual answers to these questions. I am not posting them for you to merely ponder, I would like some response to these questions.

God is good all the time. The prayer of a righteous man is still powerful and effective. His ear is turned toward His children. Where, then, does "fasting" come in?

Who Are You In Christ?

2009-12-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

As you describe your relationship with Jesus, which of the following phrases states your personal testimony?

1. I don't have a relationship with Jesus.
2. I believe in Jesus. He existed, He was a good man with important things to say. I could even believe He is the Son of God.
3. I know Jesus. I have studied about Him, believed in Him and have a good idea of what He likes and doesn't like. I pray and read His word to know Him more.
4. I love Jesus. My studies of His word, understanding of His character and acceptance of Him into my life has caused me to love Him. Just the mention of His Name brings me joy.
5. I live for Him. My belief, knowledge and love for Jesus have led me to choose to lay aside my own life plans and take up His life through me. I can say with Paul, "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Phil. 1:21

What difference does it make? Which of these is "A Saving Faith in Jesus?" Are these fair questions? Talk to me.

Faith In God

2009-11-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Some people have done amazingly stupid things in the name of "faith". Doing something unsafe, unwise or unnecessary just to prove you believe God can do something miraculous to save you from the normal consequences of your actions, is not biblical faith.

People have accomplished amazing things when acting by faith in God. Noah built an ark and saved his family - and ultimately, the world. Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac because of his faith. But these men did not just decide to do something risky and trust God to help them. God told them to do something that was impossible for them to do alone - they trusted in what they could not see. Obeying God when we don't know how everything will work out...that is faith. Faith leads to obedience, as Paul wrote in Romans 1:5:

"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."

Here's the comparison: It is not faith that causes you to give money you don't have, hoping God will repay you miraculously. Faith causes you to give whatever God calls you to give when He calls you to give as you listen to Him speak through His word and by His Spirit.

"Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written:
`He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in
their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'
Jesus answered him,
'It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
- Matthew 4:5-7

Don't confuse "acting in faith" with "putting God to the test". There is a big difference between testing God and trusting God.

Prayer Walk

2009-10-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Did you ever wonder why compassion commercials are on so often? The statistics show, we are more moved by what we see than we are by what we hear. Similarly,it is better to be out among the people we are praying for than to sit in our building praying for faceless, hypothetical or generalized people.

Do you know that there are people digging through the dumpsters in your town trying to find anything they can use, sell or even eat? It is amazing how God can break your heart for people when you actually see their needs. Child abuse, spousal abuse, human trafficking, sexual abuse, drug use, alcoholism, depression, overwhelming grief, anger - your community has its share of these things among them on a daily basis. It is different walking by a house and hearing the screams of domestic disturbances than it is praying about it from the church without definite knowledge that it is happening.

This is the reason we are beginning to join people all over the country in doing prayer walks through our community. God works through prayer. Where two or three gather in His Name, He is in their midst and when they agree together in prayer, He honors their efforts. This we know.

So, what would it take to get you to go out and pray in public? Not putting on a show or drawing attention to yourself, but praying, none-the-less. What would it cost you? What might happen? Does it matter? Will you do it?

Miracles and the Gospel

2009-10-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

We began a study on 1 Corinthians in our church at the beginning of September. We have been addressing the wisdom of God. Paul says he didn't come to the people of Corinth with "eloquent speech or human wisdom", but with nothing more than the message of Christ and Him crucified. The convincing factor was not the great arguments he made or the apologetics of the day, but the Holy Spirit making the truth clear, and the miraculous signs that accompanied the message.

We now live in a post-Christian era. People have heard about Jesus, experienced the church in one form or another, and have been left unimpressed. Even worse, many have left hurt, broken and demoralized. Their experience with the church has not been miraculous, it has been disasterous. And all the "positive-thinking" you aim at them with your motivational speeches and emotion-bending stories will not bring them into the shadow of the church, again.

It is time for the church to grab hold of the power of God, again. Jesus gave us the "Great Commission" sandwiched between these two thoughts: 1) All power in heaven and earth has been given to me; and 2) I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

We celebrate numeric growth in our own church while the church down the street dies in our shadow. And no one was saved today. Our baptismals are dry and cracked, but who would know? We haven't opened them up in years. Our Sunday Schools are dying because we don't think they are viable methods of discipleship any longer, so we gave up on them. Meanwhile, the Small Group ministries we raplaced them with are becoming a source of controversy about cliques and exclusion instead of love and inclusion. And another lost person who visited us as a "last chance" for hope just left for the last time today. She won't be back, but at least we averaged more this month than we did last month and our giving is still paying the bills.

Is the church really experiencing the effects of "All power in heaven and earth" being "with us"? Are we "displaying the manifold wisdom of God to the rulers and authority in the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10)?" What happened to the power of God and the miraculous signs that accompany the spreading of the gospel?

There are a few things that need to happen for us to return to the powerful gate-crashing force that rescues people from hell, knowing no power can stand against the church when we are bring the church!

1. PRAY!
2. HAVE FAITH IN GOD! - Heb. 11:6
3. GET YOUR MESSAGE STRAIGHT!
4. OBEY!
5. MEDITATE - LISTEN!
6. REPEAT!

I hope to address each of these items in the next few blogs. I cannot go on watching for the latest fad to drive me for a while until I realize it leaves people empty. The truth is simple: The world is lost, and will be lost forever, if we don't start calling on the One Who wields "All power in heaven and earth"; Who also, by the way, came to seek and to save that which was lost!

Is It God's Will That We Bear Fruit?

2009-08-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

As we have been discussing the will of God, I believe this is a question we must answer. As you consider this, I want to challenge you to consider it through the lens of the Bible. I know you may have different feelings or may have heard different teachings from people you respect. I am not trying to belittle your feelings or the input of other teachers, I am simply challenging you to use your knowledge of scripture; your ability to call on scripture for answers.

Here is the passage we will start with for this discussion:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
- John 15:1-8

So, is it God's will that we bear fruit?
What fruit are we supposed to bear?
What does it mean to "Remain in Jesus"? How do we do this? What if we don't? Is it possible not to remain in Him? What happens then?
Does this passage indicate that answers to prayer are conditional to keeping His Word? (If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.)

Does Jesus mean what He says? I think so. What defenses immediately go up when you read these verses? What challenges you? What motivates you? This should be a great discussion!

Continuing the Obedience Discussion

2009-07-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

One discussion has been very interesting, and unless you read the responses people give, you may be missing this one, so I'm catching you up to date...here is my latest response to this discussion:

And still, Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commands." Why?

Paul said in Romans 1:5:

"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith."

Faith brings obedience; love brings obedience.I'm not saying that obedience brings faith or obedience brings love. Faith and love are the relational motive - obedience is the outpouring of the two.

"If you love me, obey me" - Jesus
"Obedience is the result of faith" - Paul

You can see why I am still of the mind that obedience is our calling. Jesus even said of His relationship to the Father in John 14:31:

"...but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."

He loves the Father, so He obeys the Father.

Peter, when addressing God's elect, said in 1 Peter 1:1-2:

"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:"

We were chosen by God, and sanctified by The Spirit for obedience to Christ.

No, Jesus is not ticked when we don't get it all right. That is not my point. But He has called us to obedience by His Spirit's power, through faith, because of our love for Him. It is the way He has given to show our love.

Are you ticked when your kids don't show you love? When your children disobey you, isn't it more of a sense of hurt and sadness that you feel? Deliberate and obstinate disobedience may make you a little angry, but when you know that kids have to learn obedience, you discipline them because you love them, not because you are ticked at them.

Look at Hebrews 12:6-7, then:

"...because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

It is a relational comparison (and a human one) that God's word uses to describe the relationship He has with us. He disciplines, we endure - two-way street. He died and rose again for us, we obey Him - two-way street.

Otherwise, it is like Jesus said when He died for us, "I love you," and we just have to say, "Thank you." Try that with your spouse some time.

Obedience, by Jesus' own words, says more than just "Thank you;" it says, "I love you, too, Jesus."

It is the difference between giving Him my life, or just inviting Him into my life; between dying to myself, or just letting Him die for me; between claiming to believe, and living out our belief.

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
- 2 John 1:6

Reaching the Lost vs. Trying to Grow

2009-07-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Churches are trying this new thing they are calling "Ancient Future Worship", or some similar name. The three stated standards or values of the Ancient-Future movement are:

1. A return to the ancient roots of the first centuries of the church.
2. Connection of the church body to each other
3. Authenticity in a changing world.

It sounds good to start, but as you get into the decided ramifications of these values, you find that there is a great potential to bend on the hard truths that divide denominations. Potentially, this church would just not deal with these issues any longer. Does that matter? Should we be ecumenical, no matter the compromise? If someone claims to be a Christian, do we just jump in with them and allow their interpretation to coexist with ours, no matter the differences?

If you are a reader, look up Robert E. Webber on Amazon.com. He has a series of books on this concept, and actually coined the phrase "Ancient Future". The www.thebereancall.org has posted their concerns about the movement, along with the entire "emergent church" movement. Between the two of these resources, along with committed prayer, you will gain insight into the validity of this theology and make wise decisions for yourself and your family.

You Know God; Does He Know You?

2009-06-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

As a basketball fan, I know a lot about Michael Jordan. I could answer a lot of statistical questions you might or might not have about him. But if I tried to get in to see him, his security guards would ask not if I know him, but does he know me. The answer to that question is "no," by the way.

"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' - Matt. 7:21-23

If Jesus will say, "I never knew you," to some people, how can I be sure that He will know me when my time comes? The easy answer, Love Him.

But the man who loves God is known by God. - 1 Cor. 8:3

God knows those who love Him. We like to say in our church that we are not trying to teach you how to join a religion; we are trying to lead you into a relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship that He desires is one of mutual love. God showed His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. His act of love has already been carried out for every generation, so how do we show Him our love? How do we make this a two-way relationship?

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. - John 14:23-24

Jesus only gave us one teaching that specifically said, "This is how you show me that you love me," and it wasn't by singing certain songs or filling out certain formulas. You can't go down a check-list and make sure you have fulfilled your quota of good works.

To show our love to Jesus, we must live a life of obedience. If we love Jesus, we obey Him, and the love of the Father is on us. If we do not obey Jesus, we do not love Him. If we do not love Him, we are not known by Him. If we are not know by Him, we will not get in to the eternal kingdom which He has prepared for us.

A relationship is always a two-way street. God has already shown His love for us - He gave us Jesus. Will you choose to love Him back, and obey His word?

Is God's Will Always Done?

2009-06-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

"I guess if it happened that way then it must have been God's will."

Have you ever heard anyone address a situation that way? Do you agree with it?

I have a couple of thoughts on this I will post after some healthy discussion on the concept. Feel free to leave comments (On topic) by clicking the link under this post.

Don't Shrink Back

2009-06-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But
- Hebrews 10:35-39

Living by faith depends on doing the will of God. This passage leads into Hebrews 11, which we call the "faith chapter". The heroes of the faith are heroes because they did the will of God, not because they said the "believed". If Noah said he believed it would rain, but never built the ark (obeyed God's will), he would have drown with everyone else, and none of us would be here today. Abraham's faith that was "Credited as righteousness" was not in saying He trusted God, but in walking up that mountainside with his only son, laying him out on the altar and raising the knife to obediently sacrifice Isaac. We know that God had provided the ram in the bushes, but Abraham knew that if God wanted to do it, He would bring Isaac back from the dead.

We are to have that same faith in the will of God. "We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

Our faith leads us to obedience to the will of God. When we have done the will of God, we will receive what He has promised.

What is this thing that He has promised? Is it heaven? Is it rewards in heaven? what do we receive if we do God's will? What do we receive if we don't do God's will? Can a Christian continually avoid the will of God and still go to heaven?

The Will of God - Day One

2009-06-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

I want to follow through on something I promised the people at my church on Sunday Night, May 31. We had a study sheet that I never got around to filling out, leaving many blanks on the study sheet and on people's faces. The next few blogs I enter are going to be that study on the will of God - drawn out and open for discussion through the "comment" option at the end of each study entry. Anyone who reads this study may leave comments or ask questions, if you think I'm off base. It is possible that I won't explain myself as well as I think I did, and even more possible that someone might disagree with my observations. Either way, your insight and thoughtful consideration as to what I have said will be valued.

Let's start right in the nitty gritty of this issue of the will of God:

"IS IT IMPORTANT TO CARRY OUT GOD'S WILL?"

What does Matthew 7:21 say about doing God's will?

"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
- Jesus

Did Jesus mean that if you do not do the will of God, you will not enter heaven?

Many are going to say that they deserve to be in heaven because of what they did in God's Name, or in Jesus' Name. These things may seem very impressive to people, but to God there is only one thing that seems to matter: "Did you do what Jesus told you to do? Did you live out the will of God?"

If that is the measuring stick Jesus will use to separate the sheep from the goats, it becomes a truly vital thing to do the will of the Father.

Are you doing the will of God? Do you believe it is as important as what I have presented here? If not, why not? If so, how are you doing at this? What have you done this week because you believed it was the will of God for your life? Can we know God's will? How does God reveal His will to us?

Lots of questions, but all very important to answer for yourself if you have the desire to please God and spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

God Bless you as you consider the consequences of your answer to these questions.

2009-05-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"

He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, `Sir, open the door for us.'

"But he will answer, `I don't know you or where you come from.'

- Luke 13:22-25

Here is an intriguing question: Since man is saved by grace and not by works (Eph. 2:8-9), why did Jesus say to "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door?"

Just to get an idea if anyone reads this thing, I will leave the question unanswered and invite your comments and discussion on the topic.

Marriage Matters

2009-05-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female,' and said, `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." - Jesus
- Matthew 19:4-6

Key points to this scripture:

God created male and female - one of each.

It is because of this order of creation that to this day a man leaves his parents and is united to his wife - Marriage is a direct result of how God made us, and is therefore ordained and created by God, not by man.

God joins the couple together, and man must not destroy the work of God.

Key truths and interpretations:

1. God designed marriage and therefore has the right to tell us what marriage is. This is not a man-made institution, but a result of the order of creation. Specifically, one man marries one woman, because that is what God created. This is why we believe homosexual marriages are wrong. God created marriage, Himself, and has the right to set this standard. He has.

2. Not only is God's creation of marriage for a man and woman only, but only for one man to one woman. People in the Christian community who are fighting so hard against homosexual marriage had better get the same fire in their hearts to preserve faithful heterosexual marriages and fight divorce among the body of Christ with as much or even more fervor. Otherwise, your entire argument against homosexual marriages is completely hypocritical and empty.

"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." - Jesus
- Matthew 19:9

Is God Loving?

2009-04-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

I was considering some of the questions that many of us have heard:

“If God is loving, how could He send anyone to hell?”
“If God is good, how can He let children suffer from abuse, disease and starvation?”
“If God is righteous, how can He allow so many bad things to happen?”

On the surface, all of these questions sound reasonable to us. We may struggle to answer them, as believers. They may even be our questions.

Well, here is a mind-bender for us all. We are asking the wrong questions.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:8: “God is love.”

And in the 100th Psalm, David says:

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

In Psalm 119:75, the writer has an interesting frame of reference for his afflictions:

I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Here it is, then: The Bible says God is love, God is good and God is righteous, therefore He is. This means that instead of comparing God to our ideas of what is good and righteous and loving, we should study the actions of God to learn what is truly good and righteous and loving.

Let me illustrate it this way:

If you say that something is “gaudy”, because you think “gaudy” means “big and attractive,” then you may not understand why someone else becomes offended by you calling their wedding ring, “gaudy”. They think “gaudy” means “unnecessarily big and overdone – too showy.” You have two different ideas of what a word means, so where do you go to solve the issue? How do you come to an agreement as to what is “gaudy”?

You would go to the dictionary and find out how the word “gaudy” is defined.

We think we know what “love” means, but God defines “love” for us. If He does it or says it, that is the definition of “love”.

So we can’t say, “If God is loving, how can He do this or that?” We have to say, “Since God has done this, it was the loving thing to do, because God is love.”

Miss California is...

2009-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Something has to be said about Carrie Prejean, the runner up to Miss America in this year's amazingly brutal competition.

Perez Hilton in an interview with Matt Lauer on MSNBC made some of the most illogical statements I have ever heard...see the interview here:

http://poponthepop.com/2009/04/miss-california-carrie-prejean-today-show-video-interview-with-m/

Perez specifically said that he wished she would have kept her political and religious views out of the competition. WHAT?! Who asked the political question? Who set the agenda here? Hilton asked the question! Carrie did not walk out on the stage with a sandwich board on that said, "I hate gay marriage!" She did not actively oppose or organize any kind of protest against gay marriage.

Hilton also said he wouldn't want her taking about Jesus in the pageant as an example of why he thought her answer was poor. But what if she was asked, "What is you relationship with Jesus like?" How does she then not talk about Jesus?

She was Miss California, by the way, Perez. She speaks for California, who just voted for the ban on gay marriage. She spoke for the people of her state as much as she did her own "religious" or "political" views. She agrees with the majority of Californians - she represented California exactly as they voted.

Even if you support gay marriage, the tolerance mantra of the day should say that Carrie won this competition in every category. The political input came from judges with an agenda, not from Carrie Prejean! She lost because Perez Hilton came face to face with a person of integrity and he didn't like an opposing view to his own.

Jesus said to his own brothers in John 7:7:

"The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil."

and in John 15:18, Jesus tells us:

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

What we see in Perez Hilton is this hatred the world has for Jesus on display in a major way in the most unexpected place - A Miss America competition. Carrie, you have become the whipping girl for the gay rights movement - A movement that just showed its absolute hatred of Christians in the public arena; a movement that is blogging its hatred for Christians and Christianity all over the internet, led by Perez Hilton; a movement that calls Christians hypocrites and haters.

Miley Cyrus proposed to speak for Jesus in her blog, speaking of His love for everyone and His desire that everyone be happy. I know she means well, but read the whole Bible. God didn't write a bumper sticker, He wrote a thick, revealing book to show Himself and His holiness to the world. He gave us His Holy Spirit to defeat sin in our lives. Yes, He loves the whole world, so much that He died for us all, but He rose from the dead, defeating the power of sin and death that the devil held over us all.

Perez - and all who think like Perez - let me say that Jesus loves you, too. So much that He would die to set you free from sin. But He says that what you are doing is evil. He is God, the Creator of everything, and He has the right to make that call.

Watch the interview again. Never once does Carrie call Perez any bad names. She doesn't attack his character. She stands up for her right to say what she believes, she admits that she knew it probably cost her the pageant to say these things, but she is finding God's hand at work in it all, and moving forward to impact the world with the love of Jesus that has set her free. She is completely classy, and is not responding in anger.

Perez is spewing hatred for her and all Christians. He is calling her stupid, and a b***ch. He is blasting her for being unprepared and trying to portray her as completely incompetent and inept.

Tell me...which one has the "phobia"?

Four-Wheeling Theology

2009-04-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been off-road in a Four-wheel-drive? "Mudding" in a Jeep can make a mess of your vehicle. The spray of mud thrown up from your tires, splashing through holes filled with filthy water - and all through this you run your windshield wipers non-stop, trying to at least get a glimpse every once in a while of where you are going and what you might run into along the way.

Life is like this in some ways. You are trying to do what is right, perhaps trying to follow the Lord as He leads you, but the world around you is filthy, and the junk in life is splashing all over you, making it hard to see what is right. Much like your windshield, you need something to wash the mud away so you can see where you are going and be aware of any obstacles in your way.

The Bible is the tool we were given by God to clear the windshield of our lives. As the philosophies and lies of the world muddy up your views of God and of life, you need to go back to His word often and allow Him to wash the mud away from your view so that you can see things the way God does. God's vision is always clear, because sin cannot blind Him. We, on the other hand, can be, and often are, blinded by the sin around us, until we don't know what is right or wrong, anymore. Our windshield is covered with the dirt thrown at us by the world, and sometimes by our own choices splashing the mud up and getting it all over us.

How long has it been since you ran the windshield wipers to clear your windshield? You wouldn't go "mudding" without cleaning your windshield consistently, or you would crash. How long until you do this in life? Read the Bible at least once every day! You'll be amazed how much easier it is to see.

Worthy of the Gospel?

2009-04-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have." - Philippians 1:27-30

Standing firm in one spirit
Contending for the faith
Unafraid of opposition

These things are given as the result of conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. As we look at our church(es), we can use these as a method of self-evaluation. Are we existing, keeping the "company" afloat, or are we worthy of the gospel of Christ - Unified, Contending, Unafraid?

Too often, we let the opposition get the upper hand by bowing to their philosophies. "Science has shown...", "New historical evidence indicates...", "Most scholars agree..."; these are the opening lines of sentences that we are less and less willing to go against in contending for the faith. We are afraid of looking irrational or unintelligent.

In science, often all evidence is viewed through a scope of atheistic presuppositions. Is this any less a "faith-based theory" than our faith in God? When these scientists are starting from the premise that there is no God, aren't they starting with a "faith statement"? So, when they think they have "proved scripture wrong", their proof is faulty because they are starting from a faulty foundation. Much of what is actually proven true in science points to the truth that there is a God who created all things rather than proving there is no God, but many "scientists" choose not to see it.

What do you read that helps you "contend for the faith" alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ? Let me take this moment to recommend that you visit the "Answers in Genesis" website and give them some thought. These, too, are scientists, but they start from the premise that scripture is true, and show how science can be used to prove it. They have some thought-provoking and even faith-strengthening materials available. I am not in any way sponsored by them or even connected to them. I just appreciate them. You may want to visit their "Creation Museum" in the Cincinnati, OH, area.

Let's not give in to fear of confidently preaching the word; standing up for God in the power of His Spirit without apology. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Sticks and Stones...

2009-03-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

You know that "sticks and stones may break your bones" thing? Is it true that "words will never hurt me"?

The Bible talks a lot about our words. Sin has many languages: Gossip, slander, lying, unwholesome talk, cursing, coarse joking, divisiveness - even the truth, when not spoken in love, seems to be a powerful weapon we use against each other.

James speaks much about how bad the tongue (what we say) can be, in James chapter 3. Verse 6 is especially blunt:

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James also says in James 3:2 -

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

It almost seems that one of the final tests of our spiritual maturity is the ability to control the things you say.

Jesus also made a pretty bold statement about what we say:

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
- Matthew 12:36-37

If your words can acquit you or condemn you, what will be the result of the conversations you have had just today? Can we become mature enough to hold ourselves accountable for what we say today so God doesn't have to later? What's the standard by which my words can be judged?

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (emphasis mine)

Rank yourself on how you talk about the following things; A (Always good); B (Sometimes good); M (Mostly bad); C (Completely bad):

1. ____ God
2. ____ The church
3. ____ My church
4. ____ My spouse
5. ____ My children
6. ____ My extended family (including in-laws!)
7. ____ My boss
8. ____ My workmates
9. ____ My President (evangelicals?)
10. ____ Everything else

Wisdom In 2009

2009-02-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" - 1 Cor. 1:20

Imagine that all of your credit cards are carrying debt up to your total credit limit, your house payments are beyond your ability to make and you could lose your car because your payments are too high. You get called into court to explain what you plan to do to get our of this extreme debt you owe, and you answer with something like this:

"This terrible financial crisis I find myself in has only one possible solution: I am going to start spending like never before. It really is the only wise thing to do. Previously, I spent money on frivolous things, and that has to stop. I can't keep the failed practices of my past going any longer. Now, I am going to spend on important things. And I'm not just talking thousands, either. I am going to spend a cool million dollars. That is the only way I can see to get through this trying time. I know that this means that I will never pay off this debt in my lifetime, but my kids will just have to understand that I only did what I had to do to get through this moment."

Welcome to the wisdom of man. Our government is taking this exact approach to "stimulate" our economy. Finding no projects to cut in the national budget, we are adding new projects that will put us trillions of dollars in debt.

Remember when we found out the military was paying $400 for a hammer; all of those crazy amounts that were being paid for toilets and common items you and I could get for a few dollars? Well, US residents, you are now paying $2 trillion (that is $2,000,000,000,000!) for a band-aid!

I pose this question from scripture, again:

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" - 1 Cor. 1:20

And you thought the Bible was irrelevant...

Thankful for the Church

2009-02-05T08:15:00.001-08:00

In almost every Epistle of the Apostle Paul, he starts with words of thanksgiving for the church:

1CO 1:4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

EPH 1:15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

PHP 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you.

PHM 1:4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,

COL 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--

1TH 1:2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.

2TI 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

Why, then, is there such a major shift in the body of Christ to be harsh with, disgusted with and disappointed with the church? What has happened to the "love for all the saints" mentioned in Ephesians and Colossians (Above)?

Love for all the saints...does this even register with the American Church?

Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). Paul told the church in Corinth that even if they possess spiritual gifts in powerful measure, without love, they are nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The new trend is for "believers" to attempt to love the needy people in the world while harboring contempt for the church.

You cannot love God while hating your brother:

1JN 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

To the "Revolutionaries" out there: Get back to church!

Rick Warren on Gay Marriage

2009-01-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

This is so well-said, I will just add that this is our belief on the issue. I agree 100%!

I would love to hear your response to this video! Just add a comment at the link below.

A Christmas Reminder

2008-12-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

There is no question that Scripture teaches us to “receive Jesus”; to “believe in His Name”, to become children of God (John 1:12).

There are many who hear the gospel and will not receive the truth and hope being offered to them in the precious blood of Jesus. Whether you credit stubborn, hardened hearts (Rom. 1:18-22); the deceit of the enemy, Satan (Matt. 13:18-19); or the lack of the Holy Spirit making the message clear (1 Cor. 2:14); this will always be true of evangelism. Not everyone who hears the gospel is going to receive it.

To receive Jesus, we must also believe in His Name (John 1:12; 20:31; Acts 10:43). What about the Name of Jesus? What must we believe in when it comes to His Name?

Going back to Isaiah the prophet’s writings, His Name is “Immanuel” – God with Us (Isa. 7:14). Isaiah also gives a list of what His Name will be called in Isaiah 9:6: “Wonderful Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.”

Jesus is God with us; carrying all of the identity of the trinity with Him:

Wonderful Counselor – The Holy Spirit is our Counselor (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26)

The Mighty God – What Prophet would ever call a mere mortal, “The Mighty God”? Isaiah said that would be Jesus’ Name! Jesus is God, even according to the OT.

The Everlasting Father – Jesus said he was in the Father and the Father in Him. Isaiah said that Jesus’ Name would reflect His oneness with the Father.

The Prince of Peace – Jesus was the bearer of peace between God and man. This is also what His Name reflects. Without Jesus, there is no peace with God.

You cannot truly claim to believe in the Name of Jesus if you do not believe these truths about Him. His deity is articulated and proclaimed in His Name.

Book Meme - Thanks to Mark Schnell

2008-11-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

I'm game. I have been tagged by Pastor Mark Schnell, Seminary student and good friend of mine, to do a "Book Meme". This is apparently like a blogger's chain letter, except no superstitions to it. The task I have been given is to pick any book, go to page 123 and write out the three sentences following the fifth sentence.

Currently, I am reading The 10 Most Common Objections to Christianity by Alex McFarland (I was blessed to hear him speak at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism). Great Book - here are the assigned three sentences:

"You could argue, for example, that the 9/11 terrorists were liars, or at least seriously mistaken. We might say, and even be able to demonstrate, that what they believed was false, even though they believed it was true.

Of Course, you could also say that the first-century martyrs were mistaken and deluded as well."

The next task is to tag five other friends with blogs and have them do the same thing. I will have to get back to you on this one after I find those five people, and learn how to tag them.

Thank you, Mark for this wonderful opportunity.

"Christians" Defined By Their Sins

2008-10-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

Drunkard. Swindler. Liar. Adulterer. These are titles given to people because they define the lifestyles of the people. Believers in Christ are not defined by these terms. True children of God do not continue in their sinful lifestyles.

1JN 3:6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Jesus said, in John 12:46 - I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

We do not have to sin, or stay in darkness. We can't. So why are "believers" living in sin? Prominent leaders are having affairs, misappropriating funds, getting divorced.

Give me your insight. What is happening to the church? Is God powerless over your sin? He can't stop us from sinning? Your thoughts.

Study...Learn...Grow.

2008-10-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

God told us in Hosea 4:6:

HOS 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

He may have been speaking to other people at the time, but I believe the same could be said of our day. People in the church do not know what the Bible says. They often don’t even really care. They may say they care, but they don’t act on it. If we carried that inaction over to other areas of life, we could see how true this statement is:

“Caring about something demands action.”

Ladies, if your husband says he cares about what you have to say, but doesn’t show any signs of listening, do you believe him? Men, if your child tells you that she has heard what you have told her, and that she loves you very much, but she disobeys you and does something completely different than you had instructed her to do, how real would those claims of love for you feel? Would you be pleased with her?

If you care about something, you must act on it. God’s word says that His people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Let’s break that down:

“My people” - He doesn’t say “people”, He doesn’t say “lost people”, He says, “My people”. People who have believed in Him for salvation, He is talking about you! He is talking about me! A lack of knowledge will destroy you in your relationship with Him. Christians need to keep learning to build a relationship with God that survives.

“Destroyed” – It isn’t just a shame people don’t know the Lord better. It’s not just a sad statement on the church and our failures that people don’t know the Lord or His word. It is a matter of life or death; overcoming or being destroyed! That means that ignorance about God is a terminal situation. Does that matter to you?

“Lack of Knowledge” – We aren’t talking two-plus-two kind of knowledge, we are talking about knowledge of the scriptures. Knowing the word of God helps us know the person of God. We can know how to please Him, what makes Him happy or unhappy, and we can hear the Spirit remind us of all God has said. But we must make the effort to learn. (Read 2 Peter 1:5-8)

I would like to recommend that you get involved in Sunday School. This is not supposed to be just a “program” we offer. It is the tool by which we strive to gain knowledge and understanding from the word of God, and I believe it is very important for all believers; those whom God called “My people.” Hosea 4:14 says:

“…a people without understanding will come to ruin!”

Do you care? Then do something about it. God Bless.

The Economy and the Church

2008-10-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

We decided we didn't want to be a free market society. We decided we didn't want to answer for the money that we spend. We decided that the government is supposed to take care of us. We are going to the government for help, for hope. We've made mistakes and we are asking the government to pay the price for us - to bail us out.

We "disposed" of God, and put government in His place. In the words of the vernacular: "How's that working out for you, America?"

A request to His church: Would you please set the example to the world and pray without ceasing? Would you please live by faith in God, and faithfully trust Him with your future instead of depending on your 401K? We are citizens of heaven, and the world is trying to mock us for our faith as they drown in debt, fear and hopelessness. The only way this mockery works is if we continue to live no differently than the rest of the world - full of fear and hopelessness.

Continue to pay your tithe, now, more than ever, because God's blessing on His people is needed! He has always been our supply, but we forgot. Now we are being reminded in a spectacular way. Will we learn, again, to live by faith in God, and nothing else? No candidate for president can fix this if God decides not to allow it to be fixed. We need Him!

"Without faith, it is impossible to please God." - Hebrews 11:6

Jesus and Me (and Prayer)

2008-09-30T05:28:00.000-07:00

Too many leaders in the church are trying to do what Jesus didn't do - what Jesus wouldn't do.

What an incredible thing to try to be stronger than Jesus! As His disciple that is really quite disrespectful. Jesus said in His own teachings:

A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
- Luke 6:40

Some of us would think no one who follows Jesus would have to be told they are not greater than Him, yet Jesus had to say it to drive the point home to His disciples. More than surprising, this astounding statement has to be reiterated yet today to the leaders of the church. Not just the Pastors, but everyone who does the teaching, training, working and ministering among and on behalf of the body of Christ.

You may be wondering in what way today's leaders are acting like they are greater than Jesus. What are we doing that Jesus wouldn't do?

The answer lies back in Luke:

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
- Luke 5:15-16

Way too many leaders in the church are trying to minister the word of God, serve in the love of Christ, avoid temptation and evil desires, without getting away from everything and praying...OFTEN.

Too busy, too tired, too hurried...I know all the excuses. I battle with them myself. But here is the issue we have to wrap our minds around: If Jesus needed that time in prayer, and Jesus is God; then we must need it, even more so! We are not greater than Him; if we are fully trained, we might get to be like Him, but never greater.

Whether you are a Sunday School teacher, a Youth Sponsor or a Pastor, you need that time of prayer, often. If the church is going to see God's power displayed among us, her leaders need to be praying.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (emphasis mine)

Billy Graham School of Evangelism

2008-09-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just a personal review of the event I was blessed to be a part of at the end of August...

1. A great reminder of the priority evangelism should play in the life and intent of the church. It is easy to get comfortable dealing with the "stuff" the church deals with every day, and just be glad to get everything done. Evangelism is never done, nor should it be put on the back-burner for any extended amount of time.
2. A lot of people would disagree what the "gospel" is, even in the church. We need a steady input of the message that saves people for eternity...how would you explain it to someone who is lost?
What does it say to our world, today?
Why does it matter of we tell people or not?
Is it okay to be "exclusive" in our theology - Only Jesus can save?
Can you "know" you are going to heaven?
Why do people fight our message so adamantly?
3. I've said it myself before, but it was confirmed for me again at the SOE: Kids must be told the gospel message often, and commit themselves to the Lord. Statistically, most believers choose to do so by age 15! Kids and Middle School ministries are vital to evangelizing the world!
I want to use the questions raised in point two to direct the conversation of this post for the next few weeks.

A Positive Reputation among the Community

2008-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Does this mean the community has to like or appreciate everything we do? Absolutely not. It is impossible for the world to like and appreciate everything God does. Many things that happen in the church are not understood by the community, and that causes many false conceptions of what we are and who God is.

We do, however, have the ability to create a positive reputation in the community, and as it is possible, we should make every effort to accomplish this.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:18

Acts 2:42-47 shows us an example of the early church’s routine. Verse 47 describes the believers as, “Enjoying the favor of all the people.” This is a good thing.

The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of those who believe. If the community sees that gospel as hope for them, and they see Jesus loving them through us before they accept Him, we have shown them the true gospel. Christ loved us before we came to Him. He became our salvation after we came to Him. A healthy church knows that is still His way, and will work to love the community.

A Heart of Compassion for the Community

2008-05-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

Our “Neighbor” is not the same as our “Brother”. Our “neighbor”, as you will read later in this post, is anyone in need. Our “brother” is a person who is part of the body of believers.

I point out the difference because churches tend to focus on one or the other of these two groups, but not both. They may have a soup kitchen for their “neighbor”, yet make all of their “brothers” feel guilty for not giving to this need. Often, their “brother” is not better off than the “neighbors” to whom they are trying to force their “brother” to give. They may have a great program for helping their “brothers” in times of need, but nothing for the “neighbors” in the community around them.

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:10

We are supposed to “especially” meet the needs of our “brothers in Christ”.

But the Greatest Commandments are: 1) to love God with all you have, and 2) love your neighbor as yourself. When asked who his neighbor was, Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The message was that the Samaritan, helping an absolute stranger who was in need, fulfilled this commandment. We are to love all people, even enemies.

The people in our community are by far not our enemies. They are our family and friends. They are our mailmen, our grocers, and our repairmen.

If our church is to be spiritually healthy, we must have hearts of compassion for our community. Shoving the Bible down their throats all the time is not an effective way to show our love and concern for the people outside of the church. We need to use our resources to help meet their needs, just as the Samaritan gave his money to aid the injured man in the parable.

How do we develop an effective ministry to the community?

Be willing to help with no strings attached.
Pray consistently for our community and for opportunities to help.
Set aside resources for the basic needs we might encounter.
Make this a priority and prove it is a priority by our action.
Set up a system of communication to stay aware of community needs.

Scripturally Solid Teachers With God’s Agenda At Heart

2008-05-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

This may sound a little redundant, but it is really necessary to understand the difference.

There are people who teach scripture, but push a personal agenda on the hearers. These people may think the church needs to be more traditional, so they find reasons to push traditionalism whenever they can – whether it is truly the message in that passage or not. They may believe the church is too stodgy, and find reasons in scripture to go crazy in the aisles that have no inherent message of the kind.

When we study scriptures to prove a point rather than studying to find the truth, we are limiting – even thwarting - God’s attempts to communicate Himself to us. His Spirit is supposed to be the filter by which scripture is sifted for truth, not my opinion or yours. A spiritually healthy church seeks only what God desires for us, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else.

This goes for those who teach anywhere in the church, from the children’s ministry to the small group leaders to Sunday School Teachers and the Senior Pastor. It is not healthy for the church to give a platform to someone who cannot be trusted to help build up the body with an ear toward the Spirit and a heart of unity. Dividing the body with your own agenda is an errand you carry out for the enemy; possibly without knowing it; definitely without thinking.

How do we kindly make sure our teachers are well grounded in scripture and carry no divisive agendas into the classroom?

1. Have prospective teachers fill out a questionnaire.

2. Interview prospective teachers.

3. Train new prospects how to teach scripture.

4. Pair up prospects with experienced teachers as mentors.

Many churches have to beg people just to get teachers for their programs. What good is that? If the teacher doesn’t have the heart, knowledge and desire to teach, he has the potential to become an angry, bitter member, who tries to enforce an agenda because the church somehow “owes him” for agreeing to teach.

Jesus knows His body, well. He has a person to fit every need. Do we trust Him, or do we try to force a “hand” to do the “foot’s” job? That is the problem of forcing someone to teach who is wrong for the job.

A hand can’t be a foot. If we need a foot, Jesus will provide that need for His body. If we need a teacher, God has prepared someone for the job, and they will consider it an honor to serve in such a wonderful capacity!

A Willingness and Passion to Study and Know the Scriptures

2008-04-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” – Psalm 119:11

The heart’s cry of a healthy church should be that we might not sin against God. According to this passage in Psalms, the way to accomplish that goal is to have God’s word protecting our hearts and minds. The church must be passionate about learning and knowing God’s word.

This falls under the mantle of “Discipleship”, but it also requires more than talk. The word of God is living and active, according to Hebrews 4, and therefore must not be reacted to as a lifeless work of literature. The leaders of a healthy church must set the pace of passion for His word by drenching ourselves in His Word’s sanctifying power.

“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.” – John 17:17

The word “Sanctify” means to “Set apart for holy use by God.” God’s own words are what set us aside for His use. Jesus prayed this prayer for us in John 17, not just those disciples who were there.

When items were sanctified in the Old Testament, they went through a special cleansing ceremony by the priest. Since Jesus said that the word of God “sanctifies” us, He was saying that it “makes us clean for God’s use.” His word has a cleansing effect on us to wash away the dirt of the daily grind in the world. The leaders of the church should be firmly grounded in scripture themselves to lead the laity into a passionate love for the word of God.

How do leaders motivate the body to be passionate about knowing the scriptures?

1. Teach the Truth – Scripturally sound messages

2. Set the Example – Daily personal study by all leaders in the church

3. Be Accountable – Leaders asking each other about personal studies

4. Provide Study Helps – Both at church and for home study

5. Be Genuine In Lifestyle – Live out what we preach and teach

6. Live Out the Victory – Do not complain or argue among the body

7. Let God Prove Himself – Watch and Pray according to His will

When the church passionately pursues the truth in Scripture, God will reveal Himself as He is. Otherwise, we have false expectations and our foundation in like quicksand. In the story of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7, Jesus says the fool heard the word, but never acted on it. The wise builder heard the word and put it into practice. That foundation is indestructible! It is true for individual lives and for the church family.

A Definite Scriptural Context of Purpose

2008-04-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Every decision we make must be sound with scripture. The leadership of the church is responsible to set the standard in this area. We cannot depend on the majority all the time, nor can we choose to ignore the majority all the time. We must, however, carry out our God-given responsibilities as “men who must give an account to God for our actions and decisions.”

Therefore, we must be personally grounded in scripture as the leaders of the church. We do not need the best business minds of our church involved in the decision-making; we need the most scripturally sound minds of our church filling the gap. We are not to become a really effective business, as many churches have become, but we are supposed to accomplish the purposes laid out for us in the Bible as God empowers us to do so.

Each leader must keep the purposes of the church in mind when discussing ideas with the laity. Remember that these are God-designed purposes for His invention of the church. When we start trying to make something else out of this invention, we abuse God’s gift to us.

A layperson may say, “Why do we always have to sing standing up?”

A leader should respond something like this: “I don’t believe you have to stand at all. It is a suggestion, because worship is, ‘Sacrificing ourselves for the Glory of God.’ When you honor someone, you either stand or bow, so we stand, because it’s hard to sing when you are bowing.” This would show a scriptural understanding of why we do things the way we do, and hopefully put an end to any divisiveness that may have occurred otherwise.

You might also turn the layperson’s attention to John 4, when Jesus said true worshippers of God worship Him in spirit and in truth. This use of scripture to support our actions lovingly educates an obedient follower of Christ and returns an attitude of unity and peace to his heart. Additionally, scripture will foil the desires of a divisive person who thought he could disrupt the unity of the leadership.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does the church _________________ (You fill in the blank)?” Think about the activities of an average worship service…singing, offering, prayer, communion, sermons, etc. Do you know why we do these things in the context of a Worship Service? Do you think these things are a part of genuine worship? Do you see things in scripture that the church should be doing, but most don’t?

A United Heart of Passion to Carry Out Our Purpose

2008-04-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Once we have a plan of action, we must communicate the vision in such a way that people understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and even how we came to the decision.

Communication is vital to making peaceful transitions in ministry. Most people will follow if they believe in the leaders’ decisions, but they can’t believe in a decision they don’t understand.

Announcing the changes first to all the people involved in the ministry is a must. If they feel they have been forced into a programming change they will automatically go on the defensive.

First, meet with the whole ministry team and share the problems you had to address. By helping them see the problem you were trying to solve, you are able to bring them along through the problem-solving process with you, rather then creating a confrontational situation.

Then, when you make them aware of the problem-solving process you went through, you will be able to direct their hearts toward the same conclusion you came to; that these changes are for the best in the ministry and for those who are carrying out the ministry.

Always keep the desire to bring a unified heart to the table, remembering we are all ultimately answering to God for our attitudes. When the body of Christ is unified, no weapon formed against us will prosper, and the devil knows that because he knows scripture. The enemy wants to divide and conquer – therefore, we must work all the harder to unite and overcome!

A Clear Plan of Action to Fulfill Our Purpose

2008-04-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

We need, then, to develop a scripturally sound plan of action to accomplish our purposes. These plans must be the result of prayer, thoughtful contemplation, careful planning and clear communication of the plans. We must follow up on these plans and evaluate them, tweak them, and be willing to drop them when they are no longer effective.

I suggest that each leader review the ministries of the church they serve and evaluate them according to the purpose for each ministry to discover how healthy the church is.

The following are the questions a church should ask in evaluating its health:

What do we do to Evangelize, both at home and worldwide? Are we taking the gospel to the lost, or hoping they will come to us? Do lost people attend our church? What ministries are succeeding at this calling and what ministries need to change or be discontinued?
How is our Fellowship? Are new people staying? Are we family-like, or business-like? What ministry is effectively meeting this need? How do we build unity?
Where in our programming are we training people to be like Christ - Not just “telling,” but “training” them? Are we making Disciples effectively?
Are we offering enough Ministry and Service opportunities? Are people using their gifts in ministry, or are we filling round holes with square pegs? Do we run programs that meet our needs, or do we run programs because other churches do them?
Do we live out personal sacrifice for the sake of Christ? Do we truly worship God, or do we just sing about it?

Answering these questions will help determine the health of any church. At least they will know why they are here, and can plan to accomplish what they were made to accomplish.

After we have evaluated where we are, we need to address where we are going. Do we plan to maintain the status quo or do we have a vision for the future?

To look into the future, we need to understand current trends both in society and in ministry - not “fads”, but the practices of our people. What are schedules like? What is happening in the job market? Where is our economy headed? What seems to draw people in to try a new place out? What makes people keep coming back to any one location (Restaurants, department stores, etc.)?

We should also be willing to create and discontinue ministries based on needs and effectiveness. If any ministry seems to be waning, we need to ask ourselves some tough questions:

Why did we start this ministry?
Is it still a necessary ministry for our community?
If so, why is it faltering?
What do we need to do to correct the problems?
How will these changes affect the people involved?
What can we do to cause the greatest improvement with the least offense?
Can we do this with the resources we have at our disposal?
What is our plan of action and timeline for these changes?

This process will help us come up with a clear plan of action to fulfill our purpose for every aspect of the church’s ministry. Every step of the way, we must be covering our process with prayer, scripture and patience. We do not want to try to fix spiritual issues with human solutions. The only power to change lives is found in Jesus Christ, not smooth planning and programming.

The Scriptural Purpose for the Church

2008-03-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

How do you know if any invention works? When it is tested, it accomplishes what it was created to accomplish.

God created the church for a purpose. We can never accomplish that purpose if we don’t know what it is. Therefore, the first step to spiritual health is to know why we are here as a church. Then we can test our ministry to see if we are a healthy church body.

The series we have been following at our church, “The Purpose Driven Life”, written by Pastor Rick Warren, has been very timely for us in establishing the scriptural purpose for each of us. Since the church body is made up of individual parts, each of us knowing why his life matters helps us with the big picture of knowing why the church exists.

Jesus was asked what the most important commandment in the law is. His response to that question gives us two main purposes for our existence.

1. To love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength – Worship

2. To love your neighbor as you love yourself – Service or Ministry to others

Worship is a way of life. Romans 12:1 tells us to “present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is our spiritual act of worship.” Keeping myself holy in the way I live is Worship of God. Singing about it is part of the expression, but the music rings hollow in God’s ears when there is no truth lived out to back up what I am singing. In John 4, we find that we are to worship wherever we are in Spirit and Truth. In Isaiah 1, we get a glimpse of God’s view of going through the motions at church, then going back and living the same life of sin and selfishness we have always lived. Worship, then, is living a life of sacrifice to myself, and complete surrender, in love, to God.

Service is a genuine attitude before it is an effective action. We must consider others as better than ourselves if we truly are to serve them in love. If we work as for Christ and not for men, the attitude of service will be one of “being honored” to serve Christ, rather than “being forced” to serve others. Mother Theresa said that she was able to serve the diseased people of India because she envisioned Jesus’ face when she looked at the people she was helping. She was serving God, rather than men. If we love God more than ourselves, we have to love other people more than ourselves.

It was Jesus Who gave us the “Great Commission,” as well. The jobs he gave the disciples to carry out still also ring true for the church.

Go and make disciples of all nations. – Evangelism
Baptizing them – Fellowship
Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded – Discipleship

Evangelism covers not only your local community and people you know, but the entire world. Missions work and local ministry are necessary parts of the church’s effectiveness in the call to evangelism. Getting out of our comfort zone to find the lost ones that God calls is not just a nice idea; it is a command of God for those who would be His true disciples. Luke 15 has three different stories to make the same basic point. Search for the lost until you find them, then celebrate like crazy that they have been found!

How does baptizing new believers relate to fellowship? Well, if you think fellowship means eating together, it doesn’t. But if you understand the personal connection of the family-like relationship of believers, then you know that when one is baptized into the faith, they are becoming part of the fellowship of that family.

When people are baptized, they are publicly saying, “I want to be a part of the church, which is the body of Christ and the Family of God. I want to be known as God’s child.” True fellowship is attained when we see each other as family and care for each other as such. When one hurts we all hurt. When one rejoices, we all rejoice with him. We are the fellowship of believers, joint heirs with Christ, the family of God.

Christ described discipleship with excellence when He told us to teach new believers to obey everything He has commanded. Once they join the family, they need to know what God’s family looks like. They need to recognize His discipline when He is treating us like His own children. We are all learning and growing and becoming like His One and Only Son, Jesus. This is how the Family of God behaves.

Why does the Church exist? To carry out the Great Commission as we follow the Greatest Commandments.

Supernatural Activity

2008-03-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

Correct me if I’m wrong, but God is still alive and well, isn’t He? Is He the same yesterday, today and forever? Do the following words come right out of John 14:12-14 in the New International Version of the Bible?

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Jesus said these words, Himself, when explaining to Philip that he could believe in Jesus if for no other reason than because of the miracles He performed. Those miracles were a sign that Jesus was sent by God and approved by God. This reason for miracles is still valid, today. God puts His stamp of approval on a godly person or on a situation by accomplishing supernatural things in our presence – even greater things than Philip had seen Jesus do!

What did Jesus do in the presence of His disciples? (Luke 7:22)

Healed the sick
Gave sight to the blind
Made the lame walk
Restored hearing to the deaf
Cured the lepers
Raised the dead

Will He still do this? Ask Him. His word says He will. Do we believe in Him or don’t we? A spiritually healthy church sees miraculous events take place, when we ask the Father in the Name of Jesus. Does He always follow our will? Of course not! His will be done! But do we ask Him to accomplish His will through miracles like we should? Do we expect that He still might just raise the dead, if He so desires? When did you last ask Him to bring honor to His Name or stamp His approval on us by healing someone?

You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. - James 4:2-3

Why do you want to see miracles? Have you asked God? What are "wrong motives" for miracles? What makes an event "miraculous"? What do you pray fervently for God to do?

Spiritual Gifts Being Used

2008-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to pretend to be the first or hundredth or in any other numerical equation, the innovative thinker who developed this notion. All believers are called to use their spiritual gifts in ministry. Every independent being in the entire body must do his or her part for the body of Christ to be healthy.

If everyone has spiritual gifts and these gifts were given to us to strengthen the body, then for the body to be healthy, all these body parts need to be functional. This particular aspect of the healthy church is largely ignored or treated as unrealistic.

“What church has 100% participation?”

This question is supposed to be some kind of evidence that this calling by God is impossible to fulfill. Because the answer to this question is, “None that I’ve ever seen,” those who think this to be an unattainable, far-too-lofty ideal, choose to ignore the fact that unhealthy churches all over the country are squandering God’s power!

Where in the Bible do you find support for the call to "attend" among believers? The Great Commission is just that; a "commission". "Go and teach people to attend a church," was not part of that commission.

SPEAK the gospel.
BAPTIZE in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
TEACH them to obey
LOVE God with all you have
LOVE your neighbor as yourself

All of these are actions. The church is a body that acts...that does. If you in your body just sit there, doing nothing but "attending" life, you will become weak, then ill, and eventually, you will die. Unfortunately, this is happening to the body of Christ all over our country!

Here is an interesting question: "How can Jesus become sick?"
Answer: "When His body becomes unhealthy and lethargic due to inaction."

When did God ever empower anyone in the Bible and then expect him or her to waste it?

Never! The question is so absurd that even as it is read, the mind races in search of an excuse or rationalization to prove this is not an “apples-to-apples” comparison. That quest will fail, because this is an exact assessment of our failure to communicate the expectation of God that all believers are expected to take up their roles in the body and accomplish His will, together!

Because we all know more people in the church could get involved, we know we have some work to do in this area. What steps can be taken to breathe new life into the hearts of the people who have remained deaf to this call?

1. Teach that using your gifts is a doctrinal necessity. It is!

2. Require church members to be involved.

3. Have a clear plan to help people find their ministry gifts and put them to use.

4. Create ministry opportunities based on gifting – let the hand do a hand’s work, etc.

5. Communicate often the needs of the church family to the body.

6. Pray that God will send the right “Body Parts” to meet your church’s needs.

7. Consider dropping ministries that God is not providing people to accomplish.

When we are weak, we are not healthy. Everyone using his or her spiritual gifts in ministry strengthens the body. Therefore, we are healthy when everyone is accomplishing the ministry they were formed to accomplish.

Spiritually Changed Lives

2008-01-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

One major fact we cannot deny is that we cannot choose how God will work. It is not our will that He carries out, but quite the opposite. If this is true, then the only way the Holy Spirit can truly be the power source of the church is when we step back on the day’s program, and invite Him to come among us and do His will. Isn’t this what we truly want?

So then, a healthy church is identified by current examples of lives being changed. Only the Spirit of God brings about true change, so if change is happening, the Spirit must be moving. And, if the Spirit is moving, we can assume He is pleased with our body of believers, and is free to work among us.

The truth of scripture is spiritually discerned, and discernment brings wisdom and change. What a testimony of spiritual health to see lives changed!

What the should we watch for? We should expect the alcoholic to be set free from addiction. The one who is drawn to pornography should suddenly find the strength to dispose of this habit. The marriage that is in ruins can be restored, if both sides are in a true relationship with Christ. Victims will become overcomers. The heart of the greedy will become generous and giving. The trouble-maker will become the peace-maker. The desires of our hearts will become the desires of God's heart.

These are the changes that a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ will bring, because He gives us His Spirit to dwell in us.

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." - Rom. 8:9

"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." - Rom. 8:12-14

A Healthy Church

2008-01-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

As a minister, I am often asked how I would define a "successful church". The current trend is moving from judging by attendance numbers to reflecting on the health of the church. I support this transition of the standard by which churches are measured, but I also know that different people will have different ideas of what a "Healthy Church" looks like.

So, I am going to throw in my two cents about how I believe the health of a church can be somewhat defined. Some of these items are measurable, others are much more abstract and will probably only be completely known in eternity. As much as I can, I want to stick to the measurable things that will let my church judge how spiritually healthy we are.

A Healthy Church Manifests the Work of the Holy Spirit.

Lives Changing

Spiritual Gifts Being Used By the Entire Body

Supernatural Activity

A Healthy Church Knows Why it Exists.

A Clear Understanding of the Scriptural Purpose for the Church.

A Clear Plan of Action to Fulfill Our Purpose.

A United Heart of Passion to Carry Out Our Purpose.

A Healthy Church Is Grounded in Scriptural Truth.

A Definite Contextual Proof of Purpose.

A Willingness and Passion to Study and Know the Scriptures.

Scripturally Solid Teachers With God’s Agenda at Heart.

A Healthy Church Lives Outside As They Do Inside the Church Building.

A Heart of Compassion for the Community

A Positive Reputation Among the Community

A Solid Discipleship Training That Changes Lives and Lifestyles

This is a spring board for the coming writings over the next few weeks. I want to take this list point-by-point and give deeper insight into what I am claiming here, and why. As always, I will appreciate any constructive input any of you may have.

Paul the Non-baptist?

2007-11-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

There is an interesting statement in 1 Corinthians 1:17:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Paul had one task in mind when he ministered: Preach the gospel. Let's expand on this thought for a moment.

1. Paul didn't assume the Great Commission to be something he had to carry out by himself. He did the "Go into all the world" part, but not the "baptizing them" part. Why? Because it isn't the call on any one person's life to carry out all of the Great Commission alone. It is a call to the entire church body working in one accord. Paul preached the gospel, and other than a few people, let someone else do the baptizing and the "Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded" (discipling) parts.

2. Paul didn't try to impress the lost with his human insights - he simply spoke of the power of the cross. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. Without Him, we are all condemned. On the cross He took that condemnation on Himself; we are no longer condemned. If you believe in Jesus' sacrifice as the efficient full-payment for your sins, and choose to obey Him out of love and thanksgiving, you are no longer a sinner, but now are a saint.

3. Paul believed using human wisdom emptied the cross of its power. Some might say that Jesus used parables to help illustrate the message He has for the world. Since His stories helped people understand His gospel, we should use human wisdom and stories to help them understand, too. Actually, though, Jesus didn't use parables to help them understand. Mark 4:11-12 tells us why Jesus spoke in parables:

He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,
" `they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' "

The parables are clear to those who believe, but confound those who do not. Why? Because we depend on the Holy Spirit to make the word clear to us.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Cor. 2:14

So Paul was saying that trying to help people change because of human reasoning defies the message of the cross. If people could understand and change just because of human wisdom, Jesus would not have had to die. Therefore the cross was unnecessary and is "emptied of its power".

Therefore, we must pray for lost people, that God, by His Spirit, would give them understanding of the very basic truth we are teaching them. The gospel that saves stands on its own merit. You and I cannot make it better - more interesting, more effective or more acceptable.

For what part of the Great Commission do you believe you are especially gifted? To what calling is your life directed? Do you pray for your lost friends and family? Lost enemies? Do you speak the gospel truth when the opportunity arises?

Immitating God

2007-10-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God, as dearly loved children. Have you ever really considered that possibility? Here are a few truths to think about when it comes to this teaching:

1. You can't imitate God. How often does God sin? How often does He do what is right?

You are flawed and human and it is impossible for you to reach that level of perfection that only God attains. So why did He say through Paul to imitate Him? Does God give us impossible standards to live up to? I would love to get your feedback on this question before I give my thoughts on it.

2. Churches aren't teaching us to do this. We are so concerned with trying to keep people from giving up in the "race" we are all running that we make everyone comfortable with their sins and failures. The "victorious church" has given up the pursuit of holiness and accepted the chalice of defeat. We drink from it together as we claim the grace of God to excuse our sinfulness, and claim Romans 7:19 as our life's verse:

"For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing."

3. We try to get people who are not children of God to act like children of God. We have become effective at getting people to look and act right on the outside without ever challenging them to believe in Jesus for their salvation and lay their lives down for Him. Only those who receive Jesus and believe in His Name are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12)! Not everyone is God's child. Therefore, teaching people how to behave like one is an exercise in futility. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit in us - that power that comes to live in us when we are crucified with Christ - can we imitate God as dearly loved children.

4. Daily consider how you can imitate God in your circumstances.
Are things going well at home? At work? At church? In your mind and heart? Are you giving God glory publicly, or do you save that "church stuff" for Sundays and keep it private? Are you praying as fervently as you would in hard times? Are you taking credit for God's blessings?

Are things going badly at home, work, church or inside of you? How do you treat people in this moment? How do you respond to God's allowing of these events on your life? Are you working hard at your job - as unto the Lord and not to men? Are you loving your family unconditionally? Are you loving your enemies and blessing those who persecute you?

There are many more truths here. The fact is that the definition of a Christian is a "Christ follower" or "Christ imitator". If you were trying to give a quick definition of what a Christian is, I am guessing you would say, "A believer in Jesus Christ." I believe it is more than that!

How's this for a quick definition of a Christian:

A believer in Jesus Christ who lays down His life and takes on the life of Christ.

A Solid Foundation

2007-07-06T08:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever tried to describe something to someone who has never seen the item before? Once you have done your best to describe it, they have a picture in their minds of what that item looks like, whether it is a correct interpretation or not.

For instance, if I described a piano to you, I might do it like this:

A piano is a kind of wooden box with keys on it. When you push a key down, there is a hammer connected to it that strikes a wire string, causing the string to vibrate. This vibration makes a sound whether high or low, based on how tightly the string is wound. The harder you hit the key, the louder the sound will be, and the tighter the strings, the higher the sound. There are three pedals on the bottom of the piano, and when you push them, they can stop the vibrations instantly, or make them vibrate longer, depending on which pedal you push.

Now, if you have seen a piano before, you know that this description was an accurate overview of what a piano is and how it works. But in the listener's mind, they may have conjured up something like this:

The information is all included in this picture, but it obviously does not look like what you know a piano to be.

This happens when we share our faith with people who have never heard or understood it before. Their perception of Christianity gets a little jumbled and confused in the translation from our words to their hearts. Like the piano to someone who has never seen a piano, Christianity is not as basic as we think it is when heard through the ears of someone to whom the message is completely foreign.

I think many people who accept the message at first get this kind of distorted view of Christianity. If this is true, what can follow as they build on this faulty vision of God and spread the word as they have interpreted it could be a disastrous. The perpetuation of misinterpreted descriptions can create a false doctrine, or, ultimately, a completely vain faith is something that Christianity is not.

How do we battle this human weakness and dangerous challenge?

1. Lay a solid foundation. The description given of the piano is solid. It is right in every sense. But it is only the basic information of the looks and workings of a piano. It is impossible to describe a piano with words alone to effectively relate the image of what a piano is and the explanation of what it does; however we do need a foundational frame of reference from which to work. This description is a great starting point.

2. Answer the questions you can. After you have laid the foundation in their minds, they may start to ask you questions. In Christianity, we would call this exchange of questions and answers to learn the whole truth, "discipleship". 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that scripture is all from the breath of God, and is useful for teaching (getting the information out there), correcting (replacing wrong information with right information), rebuking (the "You know better than that," form of correction), and training in righteousness (teaching us a new way of life, not just informing us of information). The answers to almost every spiritual question can be found in this one standard: The Bible. Soon the piano starts to look more like a piano - Christianity starts to look more like Christianity.

3. Don't try to answer questions to which you don't know the answers. It seems to make sense...most of us wouldn't try to explain how a cell phone works, or how the internet works, but as Christians we feel we have to be able to explain how God works. Some things we can answer, because His word makes it clear, but in most things, God's ways are higher than ours and His thoughts are beyond our comprehension. Trying to explain God is a major temptation, but not ever completely possible. When the answer is "I don't know," use it.

If the person you described the piano to at the beginning of this post were to try to build his own piano, you would teach him, correct him, rebuke him and train him until his piano was an effective version of the "original". How can we do any less with the foundational truths of the bible when training people to live the Christian life?

Take it Personally!

2007-06-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

The church needs to take care of this. The church needs to work on that. The church needs to...the church needs to...the church needs to...

I've found that when people say "The church needs to do something," they mean, "You need to do something, Pastor."

Did you know there is no magical organization out there called "The Church"? If the church needs to do something, it means you need to do something. It doesn't necessarily require a program to call on shut-in's or evangelize your neighborhood. If the church needs to do something, it means you need to do something; I need to do something; or we need to do something! You are "The Church".

We have separated ourselves from the persona of "The Church" as we have dropped denominational loyalties and consistency in attendance at our home churches. We start talking about the church as an "it" or a "them" rather than an "us" or "we", and suddenly, it is not a personal issue, it is a church issue for "The Church" to worry about.

This causes our conversations to turn toward complaining about "the Church". Why "they" aren't doing this or that; or how "The leadership" does something wrong; or that "No one from the church called me when I was absent," even though your best friends called, they attend your church (therefore they are the church), but that apparently doesn't count. That's when you know that "The Church" means "The Pastor," or "The Pastoral Staff".

Here is my plea to the people of "The Church": When someone says "The Church isn't doing this or that," take it personally! If you agree, then say, "You're right, I haven't been following up on people who miss services," or "You're right, we should be bringing food to that person who is unable to prepare their own meals right now."

You are the church! When someone says the church isn't doing what it should, they are saying you aren't doing what you should! Take it personally. Don't join in on the complaining, because it doesn't make any sense.

Think of it this way: Would you even consider complaining to your neighbor that you aren't keeping your house up well enough? Imagine the conversation:

You: "My house looks awful! I don't mow my lawn, the landscaping is all overgrown and run down, and the windows are all broken out. Somebody needs to do something about this!"
Your Neighbor: "I know! And I have three trashy cars parked in my yard up on blocks. Somebody should either fix them or get rid of them!"

That is exactly what you are doing when you and someone from your church complain about what "The Church" isn't getting done. It's always going to be a problem until "The Church" steps up and does something about it, and guess what?...YOU ARE THE CHURCH!

By the way, when I say "Take it personally," I don't mean, "Be offended." I mean:

* listen to what is being said
* consider the validity of their point
* ask them what they are doing to meet that need
* ask yourself what you are doing to meet this need
* If the need is bigger than you, go to the church leadership with ideas
* Be ready to help with the need you are raising

Philippians 2:14 says to do everything without complaining or arguing. It is time to stop complaining about "The Church", and start being "The Church".

Am I wrong?

Have You Been "Transformed"?

2007-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

I found something interesting in studying the Greek word for "transformed" as found in Romans 12:2. We are called to be "transformed" by the renewing of our minds - a familiar passage to many of us church-going types. The Greek word used here has with it the idea of "metamorphosis" - Changing from one thing into something completely different. The old comparison of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, or a tadpole becoming a frog comes to mind when I think of this term. This kind of transformation happens by the renewing of our minds: God changes us into something completely different! Terms like "born again", and "new creation", come to mind.

Now, if you're like me, you have heard this in some fashion or another before. BUT, I also found out some other interesting things in this study:

1. Did you know that the exact same Greek word is used to describe what happened to Jesus when He was "transfigured"? It is true! The "transformation" God accomplishes in us by His word has the impact of completely changing us as Jesus was changed at the "transfiguration"!

2. If that isn't interesting enough, the term "transformed" appears only one other time in the New Testament (KJV, since that is what the "Strong's Concordance" I used is translating). It is in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. The NIV translates the term as "masquerades" instead of "transformed" when describing the devil and false apostles being "transformed" to appear as messengers of the truth. The Greek term there does mean "transform" as well, BUT it indicates "disguise" or "accomidating to expectations" instead of "changing into something completely different". For this reason, the NIV translation here is probably more accurate in saying the devil "masquerades" as an angel of light, as opposed to "transforms" into an angel of light.

HERE IS THE PART that has me thinking very carefully:

Are we as the church training people to "metamorphoo" (Be changed into something different) by renewing our minds, or are we training them to "metaschematzio" (accomidate to our expectations)?

If we have given them the description of a Christian - Do this, don't do this, wear this, don't wear that, pierce this, don't pierce that, haircuts, tattoos, suits coats, ect... - I belive we may have inadvertantly taught them how to be just like the devil instead of just like Christ. Masquerading as Christians; without a "Renewed Mind".

Can anything change them into something completely different other than the word of God? Could it be possible that the church isn't changing the world because the church isn't changing? Could this explain why most statistics show us that moral indicators in the church aren't much different then moral indicators of the rest of the world around us? Could this be why so many church people settle for being "sinners" when the Bible calls us to "be holy in all we do" (1 Peter 1:15)?

I believe that what is happening in our lifestyles reflect what is happening in our hearts. If there is no "transformation" inside, what we try to do for God on the outside will always fail...won't it?

An Awesome God!

2007-04-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1)
“The heavens declare the Glory of God – the skies proclaim the work of His Hands!”
– Psalm 19:1

The tallest mountain is 29, 035 feet.
Oceans cover over 360 million miles of the earth’s surface.

The sun is 93,000,000 miles away from the earth.
The next nearest star is 270,000 times further away than the sun.

1 Light Year = 5,800,000,000
The Milky Way is 100,000 light years across – that’s 588 quadrillion miles.
The next closest galaxy is Andromeda, at 2.2 million light years away…and it is twice the diameter of the Milky Way!

Isaiah 40:12 tells us that “With the breadth of His hand, God has marked off the heavens.

That means as far as it is from one end of the universe to the other is the closest comparison we have to the size of one hand of our God!

When we consider the heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set in place,…O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!
- Psalm 8:3,9

Our God is truly an awesome God!

Effective Evangelism: Start Young

2007-02-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

We hear it a lot in ministry...most people who are following Christ made the decision to do so before the age of...blank. The most recent numbers, I hear, came out to 75% before they are 13 years old, and close to 90% by the time they are 18. That says to me that children's ministry automatically steps to the front as the key evangelistic ministry in the church.

I wonder if a sweeping review of our church budgets would reflect this urgent truth? I wonder if a sweeping review of our church vision statements (goals, programs, strategies, or whatever catch phrase you may have glommed onto), would prove that we get the enormous impact of these statistics? In the priorities of your church, where does "Children's Ministry" fall?

It seems these questions should be paramount in our leadership planning and vision-casting:

How can we minister to the children of our community in the most effective way?
Are we opening the way to Jesus for the kids in our community, or are we hindering them from coming to him with our own rules and expectations?
Is our church kid-friendly?
Do our classrooms look sanitary or age-appropriate?
Are our teachers filling a spot for us, or do they love these kids?
How often are we calling the kids to follow Jesus?
How much money and time can we free up to reach more children with the love of Jesus?

I am not recommending avoiding or abolishing other ministries for the sake of children's ministry, but if your people are stretched beyond your church's resources and you have to cut something, DON'T CUT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY!

I know some of you think that a blog should be about societal trends and finding contemporary new ways to reach lost people. Let's address that way of thinking and the topic I have introduced, here.

Contemporary trends:

Single moms, child abuse, divorce in the church and outside the church at an even level, educational failings, teenage girls becoming moms, the church's anti-abortion stand, the unchurched nature of our current society, homosexual "marriages", two working parents, latchkey kids, child abuse, blended families, child pornography on the internet.

Are we addressing these societal trends from the child's view of things? We often try to deal with the adults in these issues, but what is the church doing to reach out to these kids who are suffering from their parents' bad choices, or the failure of government to educate them or keep them safe? Does the church have a role in this? Can we? Should we?

Most likely by the time a child is thirteen years old, she has had offers for some kind of drugs, some sort of sexual behavior and/or some form of minor crime. And most likely by this time, they have decided what they think of Jesus. What we used to think of as High School issues are now issues in the 5th grade or younger. We don't want it to happen or be this way, but it is, and turning a blind eye to this truth doesn't help those children.

If you don't have many children in your church, that doesn't mean that this isn't your issue. It means you need to give that much more to the cause of reaching children for Christ

Batteries Not Included?

2007-02-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

Maybe some of you have had the experience where you either give or receive a gift that requires batteries, but none were included in the package, and the giver failed to purchase any. The result is that you now have in your posession an item that looks great, is capable of great things and would really be nice to use right away, but it doesn't accomplish its purpose because the power source is missing.

In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul describes spiritual gifts. He specifically teaches these things because, according to 1 Corinthians 12:1, he does not want the church to be "ignorant" about spiritual gifts. The church at Corinth had apparently been bragging about how great they were because of the gift of speaking in tongues. They seem to have thought they were better or more spiritual than other churches because of their "gift". Because of their "ignorance", Paul makes great effort to correct this church's way of thinking and behaving.

Interestingly, while chapters 12 and 14 go into great detail about the gifts, chapter 13 cuts in with a very important qualifying factor: "Love".

In chapter 12, Paul introduces some of the power of the Holy Spirit that is manifest in us through the gifting He gives. He tells us why it is given, to whom it is given, and how it is divided among the entire body to connect us all, not to divide us. Then, after describing the amazing things God can do through us, Paul comes back in chapter 13 and starts to describe how completely ineffective these gifts - all of them - are without love abiding in us as the motivator...the batteries, if you will.

What gift do you think is the greatest? Speaking in tongues? Well, I could literally speak in heaven's own language (the tongues of angels), but if I do not love, it is just empty noise. A gong is sounded to announce that someone great is being introduced, or something great is about to happen. Imagine sounding that gong, calling everyone's attention to something great, then having nothing to offer them. That is the value of speaking in tongues without love. You might grab someone's attention, but then you have nothing to offer them. The gift you are giving is missing its power - its batteries.

Why are so many churches blowing up, today? Why is there more divorce going on inside the church than outside the church? Why are almost as many Christian teens sexually active as non-christian teens? Why are so many ministers on all levels morally failing?

Is it possible that we have forsaken our first love? We are addressing spiritual gifting to get people involved in ministry, but are we also addressing a love that puts others above ourselves? We are addressing compassion ministries to the poor and needy of our world, but what about the call to love the brotherhood of believers deeply, from the heart? We jokingly say we love some people in the church because, "We have to to get to heaven," but is that the love God has for us? We have trained leaders, organized volunteers, and made creative Sunday Morning meetings, but has the organization of the church crippled the organism that is the church; the body of Jesus Christ? Have we handicapped Jesus' actions in the world by doing so much in His Name without His Love?

You know how frustrating it is to receive a gift that doesn't have any power. I wonder how much we are frustrating God, right now? Love is a choice, not a feeling. Read 1 Corinthians 13. See if those terms describe you. Let God melt your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh, once again.

Have We Made it Too Easy?

2006-11-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

"Just say this prayer. That's all there is to it." This is the common message offered to lost people to help them accept Christ. That is the beginning, but is it really "all there is to it?"

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God!" - Mark 10:23 (NIV)

It is hard for the rich man. Is he the only one for which this thing of Christianity is difficult?

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance
that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus. - REV 1:9 (NIV)

John, the Apostle and writer of the book of Revlation, considered himself and those to whom he directed the Revelation as "companions in the suffering, kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus." If we are companions in suffering, it doesn't sound easy to me.

As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul said that in order to truly know Christ - to reach that goal - he welcomed being a part of the "Fellowship of His suffering". (Phil. 3:10) Many of us want to know the "Power of His resurrection," without sharing in His suffering, but Paul knew that a genuine understanding of Christ would have to include suffering as He did for the sake of the salvation of others.

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken
by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his
wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:3-5

To know Christ is to suffer for others; to suffer for Him; to suffer with the same joy with which we receive His blessings, because it is all a part of being a diciple of Jesus.

He came to give us life to the full - a life of meaning; of purpose. He did not come to give us an easy way out. We are supposed to die to ourselves the moment we receive Him, and daily thereafter.

This is not easy...but it is worth it 100 times over!

The Leadership Strategy of Jesus

2006-08-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

After attending a recent major leadership conference, my mind is swimming with thoughts, questions and new ideas. I keep looking at how Jesus began such an amazing organization as the New Testament Church. Obviously, the church is more than an organization, yet it must be organized to truly be effective and to please God.

So, how did Jesus start this thing and make it so strong that it has lasted through persecution, apathy and many wrong turns? From the very beginning of the church is Acts 2, Christ has been the head of the church, through easy, pleasant times, as well as embarrassing, hurtful and heart-breaking times. It has endured because He is the ultimate leader.

1. Jesus had a hand-picked team of "leaders-in-training". He obviously knew each one before he called them (See the calling of Nathaniel); something we cannot do. This does show us, though, that even though Christ doesn't play favorites, He did concentrate His greatest efforts on equipping those He knew were right for the job.

2. His trainees had only a minor understanding. They had been taught the same things that every other Jewish boy had been taught about the Messiah, how He would come, and the setting up of His Kingdom. Their belief that Jesus was this Messiah caused them to change their views on some very personal and deeply held scriptural beliefs. In other words, they were teachable.

3. He patiently taught and set the example for them to follow. He wasn't always directing His teaching at them, but they were with Him whenever He was teaching. They listened to what He said to others. They watched how He treated others. They made notes for later discussions as He went about His ministry. At first, you don't see them doing much that was useful. They were merely observing, questioning and learning.

4. Jesus took them aside for debriefing after the public teachings. When they got together after the crowds were gone, the trainees pulled out their notes and asked their questions. Jesus was sometimes amazed that they didn't understand these basic teachings and actions, but He patiently walked them through even when He felt the meaning was quite obvious. He drove home the point with them to be sure they understood.

5. Jesus challenged their faith. Without always saying what He was doing, Jesus would test His disciples' faith. He would walk on water and see if anyone wanted to join Him. He allowed storms to nearly sink them, then He would calm them with a word. He would ask them to feed thousands with food enough for only one. Pushing them like this caused their faith in Him to grow and strengthen for what was still to come.

6. He began to involve the trainees in small jobs. Find some food. Have the people sit down. Pick up the left-overs. Each of these jobs required some faith. Can you imagine asking people for food to feed thousands? How about telling them to sit down when you know full well that you only have enough food for one child? Leftovers?! One step out to look for left-overs may have taken more faith than you or I have ever practiced.

7. He chose three on which to give double the attention. Peter, James and John, seem to have been especially on the ball. Maybe it was their personalities, maybe it was their chemistry, or something Jesus knew that we don't - something made these guys stand out enough to bring them a little further with Jesus that the rest.

8. Jesus sent 72 of them with very specific instructions to go and do what they had learned so far. They went in teams of two; wise for safety, courage and accountability. They did exactly what Jesus told them to do; necessary to accomplish their mission. They were able to perform miracles in Jesus' Name; a reward for obedience and faithfulness.

9. He debriefed and refocussed them. They were so excited about what they were able to do that Jesus had to remind them that the real blessing was who they now are...that their names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That amazing truth had to be refreshed in their minds to get them back on track with their mission. Stop and celebrate the victories, then move on toward the prize.

10. He prepared them for His departure. At the Last Supper, Jesus was giving some final instructions as well as explaining what was about to happen. He wanted them to know He was preparing to leave, and that they had learned what they were going to learn from Him. In some ways, Jesus was kicking the baby birds out of the nest so that they could see it was time for them to fly on their own...yet not completely on their own; He would always be there for them.

11. He left them for a while to see how they fared. When Jesus died on the cross, the trainees found themselves without a leader for the first time. They didn't do very well at filling in the gaps Jesus left when He died and was buried.

12. Jesus came back and encouraged them, refocussed them and commissioned them. It was time for the trainees to stand on all that they had learned. It had to be enough to get a movement to not only survive, but to expand and thrive. The church did so for the first 100 years at an amazing pace, and it is still here today!

Take each of these first sentences and make them command statements instead of descriptive points. This is the leadership strategy Jesus implemeted. I think He did pretty good. How about you?

The Necessity of Creation

2006-08-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

The Bible begins with an amazing claim:

"In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth." - Gen. 1:1

Is it just a poetic view of a majorly complex moment or series of events that the writer of Genesis states because of his simplistic understanding of God? Did the universe really form itself in some extended period of time based on an explosion and gasses, and hardening, and waiting, and growing, and evolving, and experimenting, and survival of the fittest? Or did God just say "Let there be,..." and there was?

Is it even important that we hold any belief in this matter as Christians, or is this just some silly cause with which people with nothing better to do consume themselves?

Let's look at the claims of scripture about creation, and how central it is to our faith.

Man was created in God's image (Gen. 1:27). The value of mankind, of each life as a reflection of the Creator, rests on this truth. We are not mere animals. We are the image of God, Himself!

God was grieved that He had created man when He sent the flood (Gen. 6:7) His right to destroy what He had created defends His continued holiness through this flood. Otherwise, He was just a murderer, and necessarily unholy.

All of Psalm 148 is about creation praising its Creator. This is merely a poem if there is no Creator, and the statements made therein are not necessarily true. At what point is scripture allowed to lie and still be a "Holy Word"?

ISA 40:28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
ISA 40:29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
ISA 40:30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
ISA 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.

If part of this scripture is untrue, all of it is. God cannot give you rest. He cannot renew the weary. And hope in Him is futile.

Revelation 4:11 tells us that the 24 elders fall to the ground and lay their crowns before God saying that He is worthy to receive glory, honor and power because He has created all things. Had He not created all things, He would not be worthy of honor and glory and power.

And Romans 1 tells us that wicked men surpress the truth of God for a lie; that truth which has been shown through what has been made (Rom. 1:20) so that men are without excuse. In other words, it is wickedness in men that would cause us to try to prove that creation is nothing more than an accident of "Nature". God has revealed Himself through what He has created, period. He exists. Creation is His evidence that He is there, and that He is God.

This is why so many work so hard to prove that everything just happened by nature: If we can take away the testimony of God, Himself, we rid the world of the very evidence that God exists. The theory of evolution is much less a scientific effort than it is a spiritual quest. To excuse all the sinful acts that the world loves so much, mankind is pouring its best efforts into "proving" that there is no God.

And if there is no creation, there is no "New Creation" as spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17. We are still the same lost, wasted, sinful beings we have always been, and our faith is futile.

But God did create everything in the beginning, and He continues to control all of His creation. This truth is solid, and cannot be compromised.

Creation vs. Evolution

2006-06-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Why does the scientific community deny the possibility of a Creator? Is it because they believe this is a less scientific explanation than evolution? If so, does that mean they believe the theory of evolution is truly more scientific? Or is there something else at work in the effort to deny Creation? If so, what would it be?

These questions are at the core of the debate. When believers can intelligently answer them and not get overly emotional, we can carry on helpful and effective conversations with those who think the evolution theory is the intelligent thing to believe.

The next few posts on this site will be aimed at answering these questions effectively to keep a strong argument going for the truth of Creation. Watch for it.

Decentralizing = Deconstructing?

2006-02-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

The trend today seems to be moving away from a centralized "church" to a scattered smattering of lone ranger Christians trying to change their world by themselves. This trend is emphasized in a positive light in George Barna's book, Revolution.

But is it a positive thing? In an interview with Willow Creek's Magazine, "Willow" (vol. 13, Iss. 1), Barna asserts "...the role of the church is to help people honor Jesus Christ. It is meant to support each person's efforts to be Christ-like." ("Willow" vol. 13, Iss. 1, p.35) He continues to say that, "...expecting that person to be committed to that congregation leads to problems."

Is the church a bunch of individuals doing his or her best to honor Jesus Christ, or is the church one body connected by one Spirit with specific commands for organization and practice? If this trend continues, where are the individual Christ-like "Revolutionaries" going to join together for worship and encouragement? Are we more effective individually or collectively? What about unity of the believers? How will that be accomplished?

I am not advocating that the current practices of the church are flawless, nor do I think we are limited to stay within our own church walls. The heart for the lost is the heart of Christ. But Jesus was different than us in that He was calling followers for Himself. In this truth, we should consider ourselves more like the church in Acts than being "Christ-like", because we are not calling followers for ourselves, but building the church that was begun in the book of Acts.

1. It was a church united. (Acts 2:42)
2. It was a church with a mission. (Acts 1:8)
3. It was a church that was effective and powerful. (Acts 2:43,47)
4. It was a church that prayed together, daily. (Acts 3:1)
5. It was a church that took care of each other. (Acts 4:32)
6. It was a church that had accountability. (Acts 5:1-11)
7. It was a church that was organized. (Acts 6:1-6)
8. It was a church that was centralized. (Acts 8:14;Acts 14:4)

Decentralizing the church is a dangerous trend. The organized church may fail once in a while, and will always have flaws because of the human condition. But it is exactly that flawed condition that demands we be answerable and connected with each other in organized, centralized and accountable fashion. Decentralizing and the church is deconstructing the church. How dare we destroy the body of Christ in this way?

Intentionally Reflecting Jesus

2006-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

I have heard people say that we are like the moon and God is like the sun in that He gives off light and we reflect that light. We are not light in ourselves, we just reflect Him.

For argument's sake, though, let me take this analogy to task. What does the moon do to reflect the light of the sun? Nothing! It just floats in space while the sun does all the burning.

Too many Christians have taken on this aspect of this particular analogy. They let God do all the work and assume that somehow His light will just shine through us.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

I know that for some this seems to contradict not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing (Matt. 6:3), but that command was specifically about giving to the needy.

This command is more about how you live. Intentionally doing things that will bring honor to God, and show the world what matters to Him. You don't accidentally do these things. You have to look for ways to do this; pray for opportunities, then make the most of them.

What has your faith caused you to do that rips you out of your comfort zone and ignites the light you are to be in this dark world? What have you done to intentionally bring glory to God? How have you "loved your neighbor as you love yourself" in action?

Personal Info

2006-01-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Rachel and I attended my 20th high school reunion in the Summer of 2005. What a surreal experience that was! I have put on a few...hundred...pounds since I saw these friends last, but it was a lot of fun! I wouldn't have missed it for anything! It was also the first time I have been back to Alaska since I graduated, and the scenery I used to take for granted was more beautiful than I had remembered. I'm going to try to add some scenery pics from the trip, if I can ...

How political should we become?

2006-01-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

Have we become more of a political "special interest group" than a world-changing "new creation" of God? How far should we go in the inerest of trying to force a sinful world to behave with Christian values? How much time is spent trying to make people act right than we are trying to spread the good news of Jesus Christ? Is it effective in our witness to get angry at sinful behavior in a sinful society, or should we focus on showing love to the sinners who are bound by their sins? Most importantly, among believers, is it worth causing division in the body of Christ by arguing over which political party is right? Are either of the political parties right?

These are questions the church is going to have to deal with intentionally over the coming years, or we are destined to forget what we are and where our citizenship truly is. Yes, I believe America has been blessed by God, but it isn't because of our written codes or political practices. It is because the people putting those written codes into practice believed in God and desired to please Him. In the past, our leadership has operated with a genuine respect for God, from their hearts. Forcing people who don't genuinely hold God in the highest honor to act like they do is a huge mistake, because the outward actions fool only men, not God. God sent us into the world to change people, not governments. When the people are truly changed, they will elect government leaders who truly honor God, and His blessing will remain on us. The immorality that is running so rampant in America is connected directly to the rejection of God by the people. If the church is doing its job of reaching the lost and making disciples, it will be reflected in the leadership we elect.

So church, are we going to be a political party or the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world? How should we then invest our time and efforts - Fighting the lost or saving the lost?

Opening Day!

2006-01-12T13:48:00.000-08:00

This is the first post on my new blog site. I've called it "The Scope" because I plan to cover a scope of things about the Christian life, what is happening in the "Christian World", and scriptural truths that apply to current events. I plan to write often, especially hoping to have something new here every Thursday. For today, just establishing this site is my accomplishment. For the coming days, I will be attempting to make this site known to the people of Croswell Wesleyan Church, our community and my family. At the end of each post there is an opportunity to respond. I would love to hear your views on every post. For this post, you can use the response option to let me know you've found me.

As I learn more about this stuff, I am sure things will keep changing and improving. Please be patient with me as I learn.