TAKE A LOAD OFF!

"God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, . . . has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

Very few professing Christians are actually engaged in consistent, intentional evangelism. Explanations are endless: fear of confrontation and rejection, insufficient biblical knowledge, busyness, lack of training, no confidence, extreme shyness, and void of spiritual giftedness just to name a few. Yet, what if the real reason has more to do with wrong expectations and misplaced burdens?

No doubt Jesus called his followers to evangelize others. Speaking to the townspeople of Lystra, Paul and Barnabas said, "We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them" (Acts 14:15). Solomon exhorted, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls" (Prov. 11:30).

The problem, however, is not is recognizing the call to evangelize others; it is in perceiving the true definition of evangelism. Christians do not have the ability to "save" anyone. Jesus himself said definitively, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn. 6:44). Clearly, Jesus is the one who saves. However, professing Christians engaged in witnessing often burden themselves, perhaps unintentionally, with "securing the decision." Nothing less, in other words, is success except making sure the person prays to receive Christ as Lord. Although genuine repentance of sin, belief in the atoning death and resurrection of Christ, and complete surrender to Jesus is certainly the goal of evangelism, the misguided pressure to say the right words and make sure a person "gets saved" is a foolish, unnecessary, and heavy burden that Jesus never called his followers to carry.

Evangelism is a cooperative work. With love, sincerity, and passion, the follower of Jesus engages in the ministry of reconciliation by bearing witness to the person and work of Christ (Acts 1:8). He or she shares the gospel of salvation (Rom. 1:16). The nature and law of God, sin and condemnation of man, sacrificial death and miracle resurrection of Jesus, and the redemption and new life of the sinner frame the conversation. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, convinces the unsaved person of the truth being shared by the witness and then brings conviction of sin and persuasion of the need for salvation. The grace of God enables the sinner to believe, repent, and surrender his or her life to Jesus as Lord. If a person willfully and knowingly resists and rejects the grace of God that would save him, he is not rejecting the witness; he is rejecting Jesus (Jn. 3:18).

Consequently, the Christian's responsibility is to bear witness. Jesus' responsibility is to save. After Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, he ascended back to heaven. Prior to leaving, he left his disciples definite instructions: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mat. 28:18-20). Why would Jesus say he would be with his disciples always? Because they had no power in themselves to save any person. Their job was to disciple (lead) people to Christ by bearing witness and then teach those who become followers of Jesus how to live faithfully to Jesus. Jesus, present with his disciples always, would hold them accountable to being his witnesses and then do the regenerating work of salvation in those who believe the message of reconciliation spoken by his disciples.

So, Christian, take that foolish, unnecessary, and heavy load off your shoulders and simply go into the world, bear witness of the gospel, and depend of Jesus to save all who believe (Jn. 3:16).

MOTIVE MAKES MASTERY

How silly we often prove ourselves to be! How? By reading a Bible verse, passage, chapter, or book and, along the way, appraising the text as right or wrong, relevant or irrelavent. Professing Christians are called to ...scholarship: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV).

This biblical command not only means we are to do our best as led by, enlightened by, and enabled by the Holy Spirit to master scripture intellectually but also to become skilled at obeying and living according to scripture. Ask yourself an important question: Do I read the Bible as its pundit or as its pupil? Pundits are critics and faultfinders; whereas, pupils are learners and apprentices.

In his book "The Knowledge of the Holy," A. W. Tozer said,

The scholar has a vitally important task to perform within a carefully prescribed precinct. His task is to guarantee the purity of the text, to get as close as possible to the Word as originally given. He may compare Scripture with Scripture until he has discovered the true meaning of the text. But right there his authority ends. He must never sit in judgment upon what is written. He dare not bring the meaning of the Word before the bar of his reason. He dare not commend or condemn the Word as reasonable or unreasonable, scientific or unscientific. After the meaning is discovered, that meaning judges him; never does he judge it (29).

The writer of Hebrews, declaring the absolute, infinite, unrestricted power of the Bible over the human being, said definitively, "The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, NIV). Therefore, sitting down to the Bible as its self-appointed assessor and magistrate is moronic; moreover, it's an act of personal irresponsibility.

What kind of Bible scholar have you been? Moreover, what adjustments do you need to make and steps do you need to take to become the Bible scholar God commands you to be?

WHEN HUMAN REASONING REAPS HEINOUS IDOLATRY

"No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mat. 11:27).

 

Who is God? What is God like? These are among the most dangerous questions people can contemplate when their full intention is to answer from their own mental capacity, ability, imagination, and reasoning. To begin with, God is infinite and man is finite. Then there is the matter of humanity's innate sinfulness. The human mind being finite and sinful, therefore, possesses absolutely no ability in and of itself to accurately describe or define God. Decades ago A. W. Tozer said rightly, "A god begotten in the shadows of a fallen heart will quite naturally be no true likeness of the true God."

 

Yet, is this not exactly what many contemporary professing Christians have habitually done in an attempt to have God and church the way they want both? To justify one hour services or less, they propose that God is well satisfied with their church tradition. To rationalize lack of personal evangelism and witness, they explain that God knows these are not their talents and gifts. To feel good about sleeping in on the Lord's day, they suggest that God sympathizes with their need for rest on their only day off from work. Skipping Sunday evening services and Wednesday prayer meetings are simply a matter of God knowing his or her need for "family time." To perpetuate an ever-growing addiction to "social" drinking, some professing Christians arrogantly tout, "Well, Jesus turned water into wine!" Adulterous affairs are often passed off as justifiable because, as the offender explains, "God wants me to be happy." To console their grieving heart over the death of relative who never showed any real concern for God while alive, a person will insist that "God is a God of love and wouldn't send his or her loved one to hell." Every era of time has had its share of professing Christians who are experts at fashioning for themselves a god that is not the true God, thereby, shamefully proving themselves to be idolaters.

So, then, how do we correct this hideous idolatrous thinking and behavior? Moreover, how can we come to know our incomprehensible God? First, we must make sure we are truly Christian by having genuinely repented of our sins and trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Second, we must give up all silly, sinful notions of having God and church the way you want them. Third, we must go to the source, the Bible. Jesus said, "No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mat. 11:27). In the scriptures, we find that God has revealed himself through his written word and the living word, Jesus Christ. Study the whole Bible and, especially, the person and work of Christ. You'll discover God's attributes, God's character, and God's will. This is the way God has chosen specifically to reveal himself to his true children.

Tozer also said, "Perverted notions about God soon rot the religion in which they appear." Determine to know God and love God as he truly is and not as your imagination says he is or as your sinful desires want him to be.

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FALSE CONVERT

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away" (Heb. 2:1).
 

Picture an empty boat on a lake drifting in every direction but going nowhere in particular. Okay, at some point in your life, you prayed a sinner's prayer, received baptism, and placed your membership in a ...local church. Question, and be honest: Does your life within your church and outside your church indicated that you are steadily drifting away from Jesus or surely growing closer to Jesus? (Heb. 2:1-4).

Many professing Christians are trusting their prayer, baptism, and church membership to get them to heaven while, by all indications, their lives reflect an overpowering motivation to please themselves and to have life as close to the way they want it as possible. In truth, they are and have been drifting away from spiritual things because they've never really been committed to following hard after Christ and to paying careful attention to biblical truth. The only difference between this person and someone who cares nothing for Christ is he or she attends church from time to time.

True saving faith results in a resolute determination to grow steadily in spiritual maturity. The Christian will deliberately practice the biblical spiritual disciplines, wholeheartedly practice purity and holiness, and bravely practice the presence of God in the moments of life.

So, are you steadily drifting away from Jesus or surely growing closer to Jesus? The honest answer indicates the true condition of your heart and the truthfulness of your profession of faith in Christ.

YOU CAN DO IT!

"I know that You can do all things. And that no ​purpose of Yours can be thwarted (Job 42:2)."

On June 7, 1913, Hudson Stuck, an Alaskan missionary, and three companions became the first mountain climbing team to ascend Mt. McKinley, the highest point on the American continent at 20,320 feet. Read their story here.

​​Can you imagine being one of first persons to accomplish such a feat? I wonder how many people tried to end their dream before it ever got started. You've known nay-sayers haven't you . . . "that's crazy talk," "it's impossible," "only a fool would attempt such a thing," "you can't do it."

​​According to their success, these men overcame their own negative fears and the killjoy remarks of skeptics. Stuck and his cohorts dared to dream and drove themselves with tenacity toward the dream God had put in their hearts.

Well, guess what? You can too. Has God planted a dream in your heart? Have you tried to forget the dream, but it just won't go away? Have you been carrying around some aspiration for too long because of paralyzing fears and pessimistic opinions of naysayers?

Do some homework: comb through the Bible searching for any command, principle, or example that warns against what is in your heart--what you find will tell you whether God will or will not sanction your dream; seek the counsel and prayers of a few folks that you know walk close to God on a daily basis; determine not to allow the destructive criticisms of doubters to ​​influence you more than the promises of God; ask God to confirm your dream and give you peace to proceed or either to assure you that your dream is not in his will for you; pray, pray, and pray some more; and, finally, remember that if God places a dream in your heart, he also equips you with the resources and strength to see it through.

​​The only person who can kill a dream God plants in you is you. Now, go with confidence and do what God has placed in your heart.

The Impact of a Good Soldier's Legacy

“They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course” (Joel 2:7).

In today’s news, we read that Frank Buckles, the last surviving U. S. veteran of World War I, died peacefully in his sleep yesterday, February 27, 2011, at his home in West Virginia. He was 110 years old. Born in Missouri in 1901, Buckles went from one recruiting station to another after the war broke out trying to join the military and defend his country. Finally, an army recruiter signed him up in August 1917 even though he was only 16 years old and sent him overseas to serve as an ambulance driver. During World War II, Buckles was on business in the Philippines when he was captured by the Japanese. He spent 42 months in prison camps as a civilian POW before being released. Recently, Buckles said in an interview, “I knew there'd be only one (survivor) one day. I didn't think it would be me” (msnbc.com news services, 2/28/2011).

This brave old soldier’s life should rightly be honored by all. His love for America caused him to lie about his age to get into the battle that was coined “the war to end all wars.” Being the last World War I survivor is a powerful reminder to all of us that it really does matter how our lives end; especially, the memory that we leave behind. Buckles left an impressive legacy of love and selfless service to his country.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we could learn a lot from Buckles’s story if we’d pay attention. We represent America too, but we are also soldiers and ambassadors of another country called the Kingdom of God. Our war is spiritual in nature with the goal of seeing as many people out of this world receive God’s gracious gift of salvation through faith in Christ and spend their lives in service to him. Our commanding officer, Jesus, has charged us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is our supreme duty and privilege as soldiers of heaven’s kingdom. We should perform our duty with bravery and valor.

Our status as Christ’s representatives is unmistakable: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Since we represent the King of this heavenly kingdom, it is our duty to image his character and speak his message with the utmost integrity and honor. The apostle Paul represented his Lord with great poise and commitment and left a great challenge for every Christian when he said, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20).

All of us will one day come to end of our life. Our legacies will already be formed and will live on in unalterable shape. In other words, they will be what they are whether good or bad, positive or negative, helpful or hurtful. Therefore, what we do right now with each day matters more than we imagine. Our moments of prayer and Bible study are indispensable. Our extended sessions of silence and solitude before God listening for his instruction are life-altering. Our experiences of worship, fellowship, and service can impact heaven’s kingdom for good. When we faithfully and obediently herald the message of the gospel, our efforts carry the potential to reflect our Lord’s own life and work.

Will it be said of you that you charged forward like a warrior for Jesus? Will your legacy include news of you scaling walls of opposition like a soldier? Will you be remembered for never swerving off the course of strong and steady faith in God? Let these words from an old soldier rally your heart: “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3).

Paul died a heroic, old soldier in Christ’s army. Among his last words to his protege, Timothy, are some I definitely want to be able to say with assurance at the close of my life: “The time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Friend, live the Christian life with truth and honor; serve the Lord Jesus with passion and obedience; fight the war of faith with tenacity and hope–it matters that you do this; it matters more than you know.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank you for the example in the Bible of others who have lived and served you faithfully. These valiant old soldiers are an inspiration to me to follow in their footsteps. I do want to give my life in service to Jesus Christ who gave his life for me. Strengthen me in every way necessary to follow through. Grant me courage, boldness, endurance, desire, and wisdom to fulfill your will for my life, to leave a lasting legacy of meaningful Christian service, and then, when my life is over here on earth, receive me into your presence in heaven where I shall serve you with equal passion for all eternity. In Jesus' name, amen.

Dear God: Fix Our Mess, But Don't Fool With Our Means

"Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear" (Luke 8:37).

Jesus and his company of disciples climbed out of a boat on the east side of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Gadarenes. Suddenly a naked man apparently out of control ran at Jesus and fell at his feet. Word was the man lived under guard in the cemetery among the tombs of dead people. The townspeople, out of fear, banished him to solitude and bound him with chains and shackles. He often brokes his chains and raced off into the wilderness screaming unhuman sounds and shrieks. The man was sick. When asked, the man gave Jesus the name he had assumed, Legion, because he was possessed by many demons.

Jesus was standing before one man but confronting as many as six thousand of Satan's demons begging him not to cast them into hell, but rather to allow them to leave the man and enter a herd of pigs grazing nearby. When Jesus gave his permission, the demons exited the man and entered the animals spiralling them into lunacy and sending them over a cliff, into a lake, and to their death. The pig farmers who witnessed what happened ran all over town telling what had happened.

By the time a crowd gathered, the man was sitting at the feet of Jesus, fully clothed, and completely normal. He wanted to join Jesus' company of disciples; however, Jesus told him to go home and tell every one what God had done for him. While he was going on his merry way, the townspeople, in gang-like fashion, insisted that Jesus leave town. According to their wishes, Jesus and his disciples got in their boat and left in the same fashion in which they had arrived.

In this account of one experience in our Lord's ministry on earth, we learn several sad realities about ourselves that often keep us from experiencing God in greater ways:

First, we often become too easily accustomed to living with fear. How long had that man lived in those tombs possessed by demons? Instead of confronting Satan's activity among them with faith in God's power, those townspeople handled the situation in their own way-- putting the man in a place where they did not have to look at him every day. Their actions neither solved their problems, nor alleviated their fears. Actually their actions made their problems and fears into a bigger mess.

It happens in our lives too when we run from our fears instead of face our fears. Listen, Jesus is not afraid of even what we fear most. He is Sovereign God over all that is-- that includes heaven, hell, and earth. There is not one single demon or Satan himself that does not tremble at the name of Jesus. How much more does all of hell stand attention and beg in the presence of Jesus? The psalmist reminds us, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears" (Psalm 34:4). We should call upon our Lord and face our fears with God's power.

Second, we often don't want to upset things or get radical in our faith. Those townspeople had learned to tolerate and live with demon activity among them. They had even hired men from among them to stand guard to make sure the demonic activity stayed in the tombs and didn't get near them. They had no problem with buying or making new sets of chains and shackles every time the man broke a set. Forming a search party to go after him and bring him back to the tombs when he fled into the wilderness in a demonic rage had become an accepted way of life. Day in and day out they listened to the terrible screams coming of the cemetery.

They had the situation under their control just the way they wanted it. If things could be changed, fine, but don't upset the apple cart by asking them to walk away from what had become comfortably under control, and live out of their comfort zone with radical faith in Christ. This is a 2000 year old story, but it paints a perfect portrait of twenty-first century people. In the words of Jesus himself, "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples" (Luke 14:33).Yes, God calls us to a reckless abandonment of our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Third, we might be okay with change as long as it doesn't change our livelihood. Apparently raising pigs provided a good living for the townspeople providing them with not only food but a source of income as well. When Jesus sent their money-makers over a cliff in a demonic craze, all they could see was their livelihood being flushed down the toilet-- or better said, drowned in the sea! I wonder how many people have missed their heavenly calling because they were too tied to their earthly career. How many churches have missed revival because the people have a death-grip on the status-quo? How many people have settled instead of soared? The fear of change alone has limited many lives and killed more potential than any other thing on this earth. These townspeople had God walking among them more than capable of meeting their needs, yet the change that Jesus brought with his presence was more than they were willing to endure.

We're the same way. Change is okay as long as it doesn't mean we have to live with uncertaintly, get uncomfortable, make a drastic move, do the unusual, spend more than a little, or rise above our reason. Too many people today want to believe they're going to heaven, but they don't want God fooling with their lives. Therein, lies the explanation for why we fail to see great moves of God in our lives, families, churches, communities, nation, and world. We need to go back to the very beginning-- to the experience of salvation.

Contemporary evangelism has reduced becoming a follower of Jesus Christ to a marketing strategy of getting people to assent to a few pre-packaged biblical truths, walking down the isle of a church, praying a sinner's prayer, signing a commitment card, and then going back into their world to think the same, talk the same, and live the same as they did before they quote "got saved."

None of that is in the Bible in precept, principle, or pattern. Biblical converstion to Christ is radical, earth-shaking, and life-changing. Men and women in the Bible who came face to face with Christ became competely undone. They fell prostrate at his feet, grieved and waled over their own sinfulness. Afterwards, they walked in this world dripping with the power and unction of the Holy Spirit. Many Christ-followers through the ages have given their own lives, rather than deny their love and commitment to their Lord. Hear the words of Jesus with your heart: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24).

So, what matters? Not what we think, but what Christ wants us to thinks; not what we say, but what Christ wants us to say; not what we want, but what Christ wants us to want; not what we do, but what Christ wants us to do. Open your Bible and ask the man at the tombs, Simon Peter, the woman at the well, Zacchaeus, or Paul how drastically Jesus changes a person's life when he becomes Lord. You might be surprised, or better still, you might be changed.

Prayer: Father in heaven, I've grown way to accustomed to managing my fears myself. I've organized my life myself and gotten bitter when anything came along upsetting what I've put in place. For too long, I've had my life all figured out the way I wanted it. Now, I'm afraid that some of it or none of it is the way you want it. I repent of the sin of selfishness and arrogance thinking I was supposed to be in charge instead of you. Forgive me and change me. Come now, clean up my mess, and radically fool with my means. I surrender everything, including my will, to you. Revive me and make me your instrument of revival in this world. In Jesus name, Amen.

Embrace the Journey Boldly

Here's a little food for thought from a recent Sunday School class on the text, Mark 12:13-40.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" (12:17).

How do you do with confrontation, face it, shy away from it, or avoid it altogether? As Christians, we have to be ready for the confrontations that will surely come. Ducking for cover is no longer an option. When you said "yes" to following Jesus, your life took a turn down the difficult road of conflict- external and internal. You will have to make the choice to do things God's way a gazillion times a day.

In the text, Jesus is being set up to make the wrong choice by his adversaries, the Jewish leadership. If they could get him to advocate not paying taxes to Rome, they could have him arrested. But look closely. Jesus is on a mission from heaven, his destination is mapped out, his heart is dead-set on a Cross. Jesus came to die for your sins and mine. He's focused on his journey, so he passed this test with flying colors.

Look what he tells us to do: give to God what is God's. We owe God our lives, our devotion, our greatest efforts. Yes, you owe God this: to stay focused on your journey of faith and do it well. Three convictions will help you prepare for confrontation and boldy embrace your journey with Christ:

1) Know where you stand with Jesus (12:13-17). How many voices are trying to get our attention in this world? Think about the numbers of things that are competing for our devotion and participation in this world. The religious leaders' question was skillfully devised to make Jesus have to choose between allegiance to Rome or to God, the Father. What are you devoted to right now that is stealing your devotion to God? What are you participating in right now that is keeping you from being involved in Godly pursuits? What attitudes, beliefs, or actions in your life right now are dividing your allegiance to Christ? Other things creep in and get us sidetracked when we don't know where we stand with Christ.

2) Know why you stand with Jesus (12:28-31). The Jewish leaders had literally taken the commands of God and saddled them with so many do-s and don't-s that no one stood a chance of satisfying God. They were being crushed under the weight of a distorted religion. These leaders asked Jesus another loaded question. He answered them in a way that even they could not argue with.

He reached back to Deuteronomy 6:4, quoting from what came to be known as the Shema, the Jewish confession of faith. To this day, the Shema is still used in Jewish synagogue services. To the Shema, Jesus attached Leviticus 19:18, so that the greatest commandment became two that equal one: love God with everything you've got, and love people like you love yourself.

Can the answers to the confrontations we face in life be that simple? Can embracing the journey of faith boldly and doing it valiantly really just boil down to that four letter word, love? Can choosing God's way over the world's way really be just asking ourselves in those stressful choosing-moments: What choice shows best that I love God and love people? Love is why we're alive in the first place. Remember, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son" (John 3:16). Love is why we have a chance to stand with Jesus. Remember, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

3) Live out what you know about Jesus and why you stand with Jesus (12:38-40). Nobody likes when people say one thing and do another. The people you and I know have no problem recognizing what is corrupt and dirty, even when it comes dressed up and looking like a million bucks. Listen, the Jewish leaders were supposed to be God's agents to change the culture to reflect God's standards and lead people forward along the journey of faith, but instead they were the problem. They made everything about themselves rather than about God.

We are just as capable of making the same mistake on our journey of faith, and often times we do. I constantly remind myself that I am one step from stupid all the time. God wants people all around us to get on the journey with him, and do it well- and he want us to be change-agents to help them. What do you do that conflicts with what you say? Do you say you love Jesus, but then prove otherwise by your actions? Do you call yourself a follower of Christ, but then spend more time walking away from him, rather than with him? Doing the journey of faith well requires living out what we know about Jesus and why we stand with Jesus.

Remember, along our journey of faith we're going to have to choose God's way over the world's way multiple times every day. It's all about giving to God what is God's. So, let's choose well.