Design of the Week 01/30/08 – Pro Life

January 30, 2008 at 2:39 pm | In Designs of the Week | Leave a Comment
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This week’s design is the Pro-Life design. It came from the simple thought that our parents had to be pro-life or we wouldn’t be here. It is something that most of those who are pro-choice seem to forget. If it wasn’t for the choice that our mothers and fathers made to keep us and not have us murdered in the womb, we wouldn’t be here.

 Sadly, about 3,700 unborn children are killed every day by abortion in the US. Those who support abortion often bring up the “what-ifs” about rape and safety of the mother. The statistics show that an overwhelming number of abortions have nothing to do with rape or safety of the mother. Most of the abortions performed in the US have to do with convenience and with social pressures. A large number of abortions are performed on young, unmarried women. These abortions are performed either because the women are unable to afford another child, or because they don’t want a child. This is sad enough in itself, but what about the underlying cause? What about the sin? They are unmarried. This means that they are fornicating or committing adultery. So, on top of the sins they committed to conceive the baby, they are adding murder to get rid of the evidence of their sin. To me, that’s extremely cold hearted and evil. 

Some of the abortions are performed on married women who say that they’re just not ready to start a family yet. WHAT? If you’re not ready to start a family yet, then do something to keep from getting pregnant, but don’t kill your baby just because you want to cop out and say that you don’t think that you could provide the best for your baby. Take some responsibility for your actions!

 

The sad truth is that abortion has helped to completely change the mindset of Americans. Many of us have become so accustomed to the murdering of unborn children that it doesn’t sicken us anymore. It is pushing us closer to an amoral society where nothing really matters and you can do whatever you think is right.

 

As Christians, we have to defend the truth of the Bible, including the sanctity of life and the life of the unborn.

Recognizing the church

January 28, 2008 at 12:49 pm | In Christianity | 1 Comment
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Not too long ago, I started attending a home church. It is a small gathering of 5 people who get together, study God’s Word and pray for each other. We are planning on doing some things this year, but for right now, we are just meeting and praying together.

Recently, someone made a comment to me that made me wonder how others view the church and what it is supposed to be. I was told that I was “on their heart” and that they were concerned for me. They reminded me that I should not forsake the assembling of the body. They knew about my attending this home church and wanted to “encourage” me to keep looking for a church that had “30, 40, 100; even 1 million people” in it so that I could truly worship with others. They said that while my studying the Word was good, if I were at a church that had more people, I could enjoy that “corporate worship” and the presence of God that comes from it.

Even as I listened to this “encouragement” I had to bite my tongue. I know that I can be critical and I was trying to understand the spirit in which the statements were made. I’ll be totally honest though. I was aggravated and upset by the comment. It did get me thinking though…

What I thought about even as I ended the conversation was this: What makes a church? What is it that truly makes a church? Is it the building? Is it the worship? Is it the programs? Is it the number of people there? Some of these questions might sound trite or unnecessary, but after the conversation, I began wondering if they weren’t more important…

What is it that makes a church? According to the concerned caller, it was the number of people and the “worship atmosphere”. Obviously, people who are in churches with less than 30 people (which in rural Alabama is many of them) can’t really get into the presence of God because there just aren’t enough of them. All of those home churches in China, Romania, and Bulgaria where people are being persecuted and KILLED for their faith can’t be real churches that know the presence of God because they don’t have enough people. Since they don’t meet God’s quota for the number of people required to make a church, they just miss out on the presence of God. Maybe when they stop hiding in the basements of houses or running from the police, they’ll just settle down and grow large enough to finally “sit in God’s presence” and begin to understand what being a Christian really is about. It aggravates me and makes me sick just writing that…

I wonder where my concerned caller got God’s quota from? Was it the Bible? Who was it that decided that 30 was the minimum number you could have to experience the presence of God? (I have to tell you too, that I’m getting really tired and fed up of all the “spiritual phrases” and Christianese that today’s churches seem to spew out, but that’s another blog).  Who defines what a church is? Jesus does. In Matthew 16:18, He tells Peter that He will build His church on the confession that He is the Christ. The word that He uses for church is the Greek word ekklesia. This Greek word means a meeting, assembly, gathering or congregation; but it doesn’t say how large. So, does God have a quota? Actually, I believe He does. In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says that where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in the midst of them. Seems to me that the minimum number of believers needed to be in the presence of God is two. So, if there is five of us meeting together to study the Word and pray, that meets God’s minimum…

If we meet God’s minimum for Him to be present and He is among us, then are we missing something? Is there some kind of mystical worship service criteria that we don’t meet (that isn’t found in scripture)? Where does it say that we have to sing 5 songs and dance and shout to worship God? Isn’t studying His Word to find the truth and then applying it to our lives in the effort to be more like Him and to truly represent Christ to the lost worship?

Is all of this because I don’t go to a brick building with a lighted sign out front that declares it as a church? To be totally honest, there are many “churches” that don’t look anything like the one that the Bible describes. There are others that do. But is the building and the sign and the board of directors what makes the church? Or is it the people in it who live their lives according to what the Bible says, even when it means giving everything up in order to be obedient?

I was talking to a friend of mine who recently said that they wonder if the Church (the Body of Christ) is going to be found in the buildings. They don’t think that what we call church (especially in America) is moving in a direction that glorifies God and that, because of that, many people who are looking for God and can’t find Him in the buildings will begin to move out of those buildings and seek Him elsewhere, maybe even in home churches…

What does the church look like to you?

Design of the Week 1/21/08 – Cover Up

January 22, 2008 at 1:07 pm | In Designs of the Week | Leave a Comment
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This is the first of a new weekly feature I’m hoping to start. In it, I’ll present a featured design from my shop and just explain a little about where it came from and what it represents.

 

The first featured design is the “Cover Up” design. This design shows sin as a black pill. It is being coated by a bright orange liquid representing compromise. The idea came from the fact that it seems more and more that the church and those preaching the message want to sugarcoat sin and make it “okay”. No one seems to want to speak out against sin or stand up against what the bible says is wrong.

 

Instead, we just want everyone to come to church and feel good about themselves and the fact that God loves them. We want to coddle them and pet them and tell them that everything will be okay, even though they are living in sin. We have come to the point where the church’s message is no longer effective in changing the lives of the lost. I believe that this is because it hasn’t been allowed to change a lot of the lives of those going to church! If the Word truly had made a difference in the lives of many of those who profess Christ, what would the church look like? Would it look like it does now? Wouldn’t whole towns and cities be radically changed? There are twenty or so churches in my hometown, which has a population of about 7-10,000 people. If there are an average of 100 people in each church (there are some that have much more than that), that’s 2000 people that profess Christ and claim to know who He is and live for Him. How long should it take for the entire city to be reached and changed? A month? Two months? Surely it shouldn’t take longer than that!

 

It is my desire to see the church stand up and stop using man’s ideas of how God should be and what it means to be a Christian. It’s time we went back to using what God said He is like and what He said a Christian is…

 

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the design or the message behind it!

You go and then come back and tell us…

January 21, 2008 at 6:22 pm | In Christianity | Leave a Comment
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Exo 19:9 The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

Exo 20:18 All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.
Exo 20:19 Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
Exo 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.”

In this part of scripture, God is preparing His chosen people for what’s to come. They have just come out of Egypt and have traveled to Mount Sinai. They are being readied to enter the land that God promised Abraham 430 years ago. Moses tells all of Israel to consecrate themselves and then brings them to the mountain to present them before the Lord. No one is allowed on the mountain except Moses and Aaron. The people see all of what is going on and they tremble and stand at a distance. Then they say something that is very telling:

“Moses, you speak and we’ll do whatever you tell us, but if God speaks to us, we’ll die” (paraphrasing).

This really doesn’t make any sense does it? If they will die when God speaks to them, what’s protecting Moses? Why wouldn’t Moses die? Was he somehow different? While that’s a possibility, scripture really doesn’t say. But looking at what has already happened and what was going to happen, I think that there is another reason they said this that makes more sense.

The people didn’t want to be responsible. See, if Moses speaks to them and they disobey (which happened very often) then they could claim that they misheard. But can you say that to God? If God spoke to them, then they were directly accountable to God and no one else. They couldn’t say that they didn’t know or that they didn’t realize what was going on because God told them directly. They were basically trying to make Moses the scapegoat. “You go talk to God and then tell us what He said”.

Moses responds with something equally interesting. He tells them not to be afraid because God has come to test them so that they might fear Him and not sin. How can you not be afraid and still fear God? It’s really easy. To fear God means to respect Him. It means to understand that while He loves you and died for you, He’s still God. It means that His Word is the most important thing in your life. It means that you’ll obey it no matter what it means, because to disobey it would be grievous to you.

Did Israel fear God? At times they did. Did they respect God? At times they did. But much of the time they traveled to the Promised Land was spent griping and complaining about how much better it was in slavery than it was to be free.

Is it any different today? Do we act any differently than Israel did? We gripe and complain all the way through the journey from where we are to where we’re going and many of us do return to Egypt. We return to those things that held us captive because we’re comfortable there. We like it there. We’ll die there, but at least we’ll be comfortable.

We go to church and praise and worship, but is it glorifying God? Does it glorify God when we sing to Him about how much we love Him (often more like a boyfriend than our Lord) and then go out and sin like crazy? Does it glorify Him when we talk Christianese and shout things like “Glory to God” and “Praise Jesus” and then so twist His Word to suit ourselves that it looks nothing like what scripture actually says? We go to church and sit and listen attentively (most of the time) to the preacher, but then what? Many people don’t take their Bibles anymore and those that do often don’t follow along. We have our “Moses” and he (or she…) talks to God and then tells us what He said. Is that what God wants? Didn’t He do away with that when He rent the veil in the temple? Is that scriptural?

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t get together with other believers. The Bible says that you should. But what should be happening when you do get together? Should it be a lot of pomp and circumstance? Should it be a show that entertains people with video clips and “relevant issues”? Or, should it be a place where the Word of God is handled like it should be? As something more precious than all the gold and silver in the world. Where the truth is presented in purity without being made to “fit” into the lives of people in today’s society. Reading preachers of the past like Spurgeon, Wesley, and Mather, you see the reverence they had for the Word and for the God who wrote it.

Sadly, I don’t see that much at all today. Now, it’s all about being the biggest and the greatest.

What do you see?

Upcoming stuff!

January 20, 2008 at 3:52 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
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To everyone who reads my blog (if you’re still here…:) ), I apologize for not being consistent in posting. It’s something that I’m working on. Speaking of working on stuff, I’ve got some new things that I’m really excited about!

I’m going to start posting about my t-shirt shop along with national and world events. When I started this blog, I looked at it as a way for me to just share what I’ve learned from the Bible and how it applies to the world around us. Since then, I’ve realized that all of that is only part of it. I wanted to write about what I’m doing as well. The shop that I’ve started is to help evanglize the world. I have a burden for the lost and part of that has manifested itself as my shop. I will try not to make it just a shop blog, but I hope to have pics and videos of things that go on. This year, I’m hoping to start being at different area events as well as being more aggressive about reaching the lost. I hope to have more participation with others, here and in person!

I’m expecting this year to be completely different from any other year, and looking ahead to whatever God has for me! I hope that you will have the time to be a part of it all!

Here’s to a great 2008 and a closer walk with God for all of us!

Praising God!

January 16, 2008 at 12:09 pm | In Christianity | Leave a Comment
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The Bible says to stand when you’ve done all you can do. I heard a wonderful scripture from Isaiah that says that the one who walks in darkness and obeys the voice of His Servant should trust in the Name of the Lord and rely on His God.

I can say, by the grace of God, that I have been able to do this. In August of last year, I lost my job. I won’t go into details except to say that there were disagreements between myself and some of the other employees as to the working conditions of the company. Since that time, I have been unable to find a job. I have been applying to everything that I can find that I think that I have a remote possibility of getting hired for. Not too long before I got laid off, I had been praying for God to increase my faith. Well, He has been. It may not have been the way that I liked or expected, but it has been happening.

Not only that, but I have taken the time that I now have to open an online t-shirt shop that focuses on the truth of the Word and evangelism. I have also spent much more time in the Word than I was before and have learned so much in the past five months that I am ashamed that I wasn’t doing it all along. I have been able to make a commitment to study the Bible inductively for the next 10+ years with a few friends who have the same hunger and desire that I do for God’s Word.

For that alone I praise God. But, when I add to all of that the fact that my bills have been paid for every month with only half of what I was making, I just stand in awe. Also, I had the opportunity to spend time coaching my daughter in soccer and watch her take third in the Area tournament. I have seen God provide in ways that just amaze me. The view of God that I had and who He is has been changing and expanding more and more every day. I am continually finding little things happening that can only be God.

Of course, my flesh has been screaming the whole time. I have had thoughts that ranged from “Just run back home” and “Go ahead and borrow some money from family” to “Lord Jesus, please come back today”. I have been more and more concerned as the day draws closer to my unemployment ending. I sometimes find myself worrying that I’m doing something wrong or that I am not going to find a job and end up homeless. Those moments don’t last long, but they’re there. Until I remember that the Word says that God will supply my every need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And that it says that I don’t have to be anxious for anything, because with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I can let my requests be made known to God.

I truly don’t understand what will happen today, or tomorrow, or the day after. But, I know that God is in control and while it isn’t as terrible a dilemma as some are facing even as I write this, in the end it will glorify God and He will be lifted up.

If you read this and get a chance, I would appreciate a little prayer that everything that I would do would be for His glory, regardless of anything else that happens….

Thanks.

Covenant

January 12, 2008 at 10:01 am | In Christianity | Leave a Comment
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From the time that man was created, God established a covenant. All throughout the history of Israel, God made covenants with His people. When the fullness of time had come, and Jesus came to earth, it was to establish a new covenant; an everlasting covenant.

As time has marched on, it seems that God’s people have not only forgotten that God is a covenant God, and that He has established a covenant with all those who accept Christ, but it seems that we have forgotten what a covenant is.

If you turn on the television today and watch any of the preachers, eventually (more often sooner than later), you’ll hear about the blessings of God and how they are just waiting for you to “tap into”. It’s like they’re just hanging in mid air right ahead of you and all you have to do is pluck them up and take them home. Is that what covenant is about?

For instance, there are certain scriptures that people quote all the time. One of them is Deuteronomy 28. I hear people always talking about being blessed in the city and blessed in the field. They talk about being the head and not the tail, the top and not the bottom, the lender and not the borrower. All of these things can be found in verses 3-14. The odd thing is that they forget a few things. One thing that I never hear when I hear people quote this is verse 1. Deuteronomy 28:1 says:

       “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. “ 

This is the most important verse of the passage!! In the first verse, God uses covenant language to tell the Israelites what the conditions were. It says if you diligently obey the Lord and are careful to do ALL His commandments THEN verses 2-14 apply to you. I can honestly say that I have never heard this quoted when people talk about the blessings in Deuteronomy 28. Why not? I believe it’s because we don’t want the covenant; we just want the blessings. We don’t want the truth or the work or the obedience; we just want the result.

There is something else that I never hear when people talk about this chapter. They talk all the time about the 14 verses of blessings, but no one seems to remember the 54(!) verses of curses that will come from disobedience to God’s commandments. We pick and choose what we want to believe and how we want it to work when God has already laid all the ground rules and determined exactly what needs to happen and how.

If we really understood covenant, things would be different. See, when two people (or families, or tribes) wanted to make a covenant, it wasn’t a light-hearted undertaking. First, they would sit down with each other and determine the different terms of the covenant, by using if/then phrasing. They would say things like:

            “If you do this, then I’ll do this.”

            “If I do this for you, then you do this for me.”

It would go back and forth until both parties were satisfied with the terms. When they were both satisfied, they would then proceed to a designated area and take animals and cut them in half. (Do you realize how much work it would take to cut rams, bulls, goats, and sheep in half from head to tail? Without power tools?) They would then lay the halves of animals across from each other on a path, allowing the blood to pool up in the path between the animals. Then both members of the covenant (or the representatives of the parties involved) would start at the ends of the path and walk to the middle through the blood. When they got to the center, they would often cut their palms, and clasp hands. They would then look each other in the eye and, in the presence of those gathered, would reiterate the terms of the covenant. When this was done, the covenant was sealed and the only way out of the covenant was death (‘Til death do us part…). If you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain, you died. This was back in the day, though, when a covenant actually meant something.

If we really understood what being part of a covenant meant, I think that we would see our relationship with God differently. We would see it as truly precious because of what the covenant means. Instead, we try to claim the blessing part of the covenant without really understanding the part that we’re supposed to play in it. If you read through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, you’ll see covenant language throughout. In the New Testament, you’ll see it in John 8:31-36. You’ll also see it in Romans 10:9-10.

There are two amazing things about the covenant that God has made with Christians. First of all, it’s that He even made the covenant with us. Second, it’s the amazing way that He ended the old covenant. In Leviticus, it says that without the death of one party, the covenant is still in effect. For the covenant that God made through Jesus Christ, one party had to die. That party was God and it happened when Jesus died on the cross.

Are you a part of the covenant? If so, what are you doing to hold up your end of the bargain?

Remembering Dates

January 10, 2008 at 2:55 pm | In Christianity | Leave a Comment
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If I toss out dates like December 7th, 1941 or September 11th, 2001, people will know what I’m talking about (at least some people will know…). We recognize those dates as important in American History. These are dates that have shaped the days that we now live in. Just in case some of you don’t know, December 7th, 1941 was the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. September 11th is, of course, the day that the Twin Towers of the World Trade center were attacked by domestic planes hijacked by Muslim terrorists. Dates like these we remember. But what if I threw out January 22nd, 1973? Would you know that date? This date may have shaped our lives more than any other date in American History including the wars that were fought in and by this country…

On January 22nd, 1973, the Supreme Court decided to uphold a ruling made by the Texas District Court that a woman had a right to choose whether or not she could abort the child within her. The decision was made on the basis of the rights of the mother to choose what to do with her body. Not only that, it has caused a divide in the country that continues today. There are supporters of the issue who say that the decision is Constitutional and is valid with concerns to women’s rights, freedom, and privacy. There are also many against the decision who say that it cannot be inferred from the Constitution and that it completely disregards the rights of the unborn child.

I disagree with the decision. I believe that children are unique people at the moment of conception. I believe that abortion is morally wrong. I also believe that it is physically dangerous. There are people that have had an abortion and died from it. There are some who have had an abortion and have never been the same physically.

The stats released from various surveys, studies, and polls show some shocking statistics. In the US, there are approximately 3,700 abortions a day. A DAY! 52% of all abortions are for women under the age of 25. 37.4% of all abortions are performed on women who say they are Protestant and 18% are done for women who are “born again”/Evangelical. There are two statistics that really caught my attention though…

64.4% of all abortions are performed for never married women! Not only that, but 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (the baby is inconvenient or unwanted). THIS IS DISGUSTING! What this is basically saying is that it’s not about the safety of women, but it’s about whether or not women and men can sin their hearts out and not have to worry about the consequences. This is about the freedom to fornicate and live in sin and then go ahead and kill the baby so that you don’t have to take responsibility for your actions! 1 Corinthians 6 says that fornicators and adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God! Paul reiterates this in Galatians 5:19 when he says that those who practice immorality, impurity, and sensuality will not enter the kingdom of God!

When did life come to mean so little, that men and women would just take a life and not even think twice about it? Where did we lose the idea that life is precious? When did we lose the fear of God? THIS IS MURDER! Jesus says in Revelation 21:8 that murderers and immoral people will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone. How could we ever think that this is acceptable? And yet, we have millions of people who support this. We have presidential candidates who profess faith in Jesus but support the murder of children. Some are even bragging that they are more pro-abortion than others! How many future preachers have we killed? How many future inventors and presidents and leaders have not even been given the chance to live because of someone else’s selfishness? Those aborted the first three years the law was in effect would be my age now. They could have been helping our country to grow. They could have been doing a lot of things, but they were never given the chance…

Sadly, there are many that say they are Christians who support this. I wonder if they really know the Lord. Abortion is murder and murder is a sin. Ephesians 5 says that immorality and impurity are not even to be named among us. It also says that we are not to be partakers in the sins of others, and that we are not to be “partakers of the unfruitful deeds of darkness”, but to even expose them!

If the church would stand up and have some backbone, if we would actually be obedient ourselves to the Word of God, then the world would have no choice but to see Jesus for who He really is and they would fear His wrath and tremble before Him. They might actually understand that they are sinners who need to be saved from eternal damnation. They might actually start to believe what the Bible says when they see it lived out in front of them!

It is my prayer that, this year, the evil of abortion is overturned. The truth is no longer avoided or sugarcoated, but that it is proclaimed with the power and authority of the Word of God. It is my prayer that we will no longer murder the unborn because of our selfish pleasure. But, to be honest, that wouldn’t be enough. I also pray that the church would start taking an active role in teaching abstinence. That we would learn and then teach others about what a covenant is. That we would raise up children who not only know what the Word of God says, but they know how to live it out. That’s what the church needs to be doing! Will you be a part of it?

Is anyone wrong?

January 8, 2008 at 12:53 pm | In Christianity | 18 Comments
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I’m sure this sounds like a stupid question, but is anyone wrong today? Does anyone do something wrong nowadays? Does anyone make mistakes? Does anyone mess up or do things they regret anymore? Can we tell anyone that they’re wrong anymore?

I know that it sounds silly, but I really do have a direction for this. It seems that today, if any speaks out against something because it’s not biblical, they’re intolerant. If someone stands up for the truth found in the Bible, they are bigots or they’re being “exclusive”. If a Christian were to say to someone else, “that’s a sin and it’s wrong”, they would be attacked by a number of different “equal rights”, “freedom of speech”, and “civil liberties” groups for what they said. And if they say it to a Christian brother or sister, it’s magnified 10x over. When I see stuff like this happen, it’s so sad that it’s funny…

For instance, if I were to tell someone that homosexuality is a sin and it’s wrong, I would be looked at as intolerant and be told that I wasn’t portraying what Christianity is all about because I’m not being “loving”. There would be a line of people a mile long ready to give me their opinion on why I’m not being a Christian and how I need to change my point of view to match with today’s society. Sadly, many in this line of people would profess to be Christians.  If I were to stand up for the truth in the bible, like Leviticus 18:22 where it says that homosexuality is an abomination, I would be viciously attacked by those who promote the homosexual lifestyle and are happy with their sin. If I were to say that “anyone who preaches another gospel, whether from man or from an angel” (Mormonism, Islam) is to be accursed, I would be seen as intolerant, exclusive, and not practicing Christian love.

Or, if I were to say that Mormonism is a cult and is not a religion that’s even closely based on the Bible, I would be called a bigot. I would be told that I just don’t understand the Mormon “faith” or that I must have been confused about one point or another. I would be told that Mormons believe in the same Jesus I do and that there is nothing but trivial differences. All of this would be said even though Mormons worth their salt know that they believe that Jesus is a created being who came about when “God” (also a created being) came to earth and actually had physical relations with Mary to make Jesus. They would also know that they believe that Jesus and the devil are spirit brothers and that the only reason that Jesus is our Savior is because “God” liked His plan for salvation better than Lucifer’s plan. They would know that Joseph Smith (the founder and first “prophet” of the Mormon religion) started Mormonism because he believed that there was no other church that had gotten it right and that all others were apostate. They would know that Joseph Smith received his “revelation” from the “angel” Moroni. They would also know that the LDS church believes that they are the only church that will enter heaven, and that if they’ve lived up to the Mormon doctrine, they will be judged by Joseph Smith and, if found “faithful”, will receive their own planet to be “God” over, just like our “God” (or “Heavenly Father”) did.

If I were to stand up in any number of churches and preach a message about sin and justice, and talk about hell and judgment and sin, I would not be asked back and would be looked at as a poor representative of the Christian religion because I didn’t make people feel good or tickle their ears or give them life tips and positive thinking training.

I know that I said that it’s so sad that it’s funny earlier, but the more that I think about it, the more that I get aggravated by it all. There are a number of people (including pastors and teachers) in today’s church that spend all their time talking about the love of God and how He loves everyone and, like a doting father, just wants the very best for each of us. They talk about how God wants us to be blessed and how we need to be doing everything we can to get people into the church. They talk about how we are to be prosperous and “living large” and if we’re not, well then there’s something wrong with our faith.

And if anyone were to bring up something that might exclude people or might cause people not to come to the church or feel comfortable about themselves where they are, then that person is being critical and judgmental and just needs to take the time to know God’s love.

I just want to scream when I hear stuff like that. To me, it shows that people are more concerned with feelings and what they want in their lives than with the truth of God’s Word and what it really says. We seem to have a huge problem in Christianity today that is the result of a lack of diligence. We have become so focused on what God gives that we have completely lost sight of who God is. We have this “judge not lest ye be judged” attitude. If we were ever to say something to someone that might be judgmental, then it will come back on us and we’ll get judged too. To be honest, I think that we need that. Most people will quote Matthew 7:1 so quick that it will make your head spin, but most of them don’t even know about John 7:24 which says, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge by righteous judgment”.

As Christians, we not only bear the image of God and the message of His plan of salvation, but we bear the responsibility of living it out in truth in front of the world. See, the Bible says that I am not to judge by my own judgment, but I am to judge by righteous judgment. The only One that has righteous judgment is God. That means that if I look at the Word of God and see that something in your life is not lining up, I have a responsibility to tell you. People quickly throw the “love” card up in your face when you talk about something that steps on their toes, but they don’t seem to realize that it’s LOVE (agape) that’s making you do it!

Yes, I know that one of the two people reading this is probably saying, “Well, what about the whole thing about a speck in your brother’s eye and a beam in yours”. I completely agree that we need to check our lives first and on a daily basis to make sure that we line up with the Word. But, we shouldn’t do that and neglect of helping others with their lives.

When you look at the life of our Lord and Savior, there are many things that you can say about Him. One is that He was exclusive. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me”. I don’t know about you but that sounds pretty exclusive to me. That means that if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, as portrayed in the Bible, as the Lord and Savior of your life, you won’t enter the kingdom of heaven. If you follow your doctrines to the letter and don’t believe in the biblical, historical Jesus, you won’t see God. If you profess to be a believer in Jesus, but it’s a Jesus of your own making, you won’t go to heaven. Just this one statement by Jesus cuts out a huge percentage of the world’s population! I don’t know the exact percentages, but let’s say that 30% of the world professes Christianity. That means that 70% of the world is excluded from heaven by that one statement! If we look at some of the other things that Jesus said, the figure increases due to the fact that many of those who profess Christ are only giving Him lip service…

If you’ve read all this and you’re thinking right about now that I’m the most judgmental, close-minded, intolerant person you’ve ever heard of, then you’ve misunderstood my intent. I don’t write this just so that people have a bad view of me. I really can’t help what you think of me or what I write anyway. I’m really not intolerant (by the correct definition), but I am uncompromising, and I have a burden for those who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord to stop making a mockery of His sacrifice on the cross. It saddens me to see those who declare that Jesus is their Savior live like hell and think that it’s ok, all the while portraying a false image of Christianity. It hurts me when I see and hear pastors, preachers, and teachers spend thirty minutes (because that’s all we can take anymore) preaching on the way to better your life and how to think positive, and neglect taking the time to tell the people what they really need whether they want to hear it or not!!! As a matter of fact, I think that it would be BETTER if those who profess Jesus and live like the world would just be honest and say that they’re not Christians.

The Bible says that people didn’t like Jesus because He spoke the truth. It says that they won’t like us either if we’re really doing what we’re supposed to. Jesus Himself said that they hated Him and they will hate us for His Name’s sake.

It’s my prayer that if you read this and it just totally ticked you off, that you would look at your life and make sure that you are living it the way that the Bible really says you’re supposed to live. If you are and you’re still mad, feel free to post or email me and let me know. It may not change anything but, then again, it might. I am not saying that I’m perfect, or that I’m always right. But I know the One who is and I know that His Word tells us exactly what we need to look like. If you or I don’t line up with it, or we don’t like it, that isn’t going to change His mind….

Christian Character

January 2, 2008 at 12:03 pm | In Christianity | 4 Comments
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I’ve been thinking about something and just wanted to put it up here for you. It is something that bothers me and has affected me more than once.

What is the true character of a Christian? What does a real Christian look like? How do they act? How do they talk? How do they think?

The quick, Sunday school answer is: “like Jesus”.

I know that this is the answer, but it just leads me to more questions. How did Jesus act? Was it just love the He walked in, or was it holiness, justice, and righteousness too? How did He talk? How did He think? Are Christians today acting like, talking like, and thinking like Jesus?

Sadly, I can say that many Christians are not. We call ourselves Christians, but we hardly look like Christ at all. We lie, cheat, and steal. We grab for power in the church. We talk nice to people in their company, but when they aren’t around, we talk bad about them. We misquote scripture, if we even know it. We have a self-centered view of Jesus, and the sad thing is, if our Jesus doesn’t match up with the real Jesus, we cling to our Jesus.

I know many Christians who are nice people. They would give you the shirt off their back or their last dollar. But does that make them Christians? I know many who can quote scripture and expound on it to great degrees. Does that make them Christians? I know people who have made it their lives to study the love of God and try to walk it out, but does that make them Christians? I know people who can pray long and loud and do it with fervor and fire and passion. Does that make them Christians?

The funny thing is, if I were to ask these people if the things that they do make them Christians, every one of them would say “no” without hesitation. But their words and their actions don’t line up. These are the same people that I’ve seen do the things above that definitely don’t look like Christ. These are the same people that I’ve seen shake hands with someone and hug their neck and then just a few hours later turn around and talk bad about them. These are the same people that I’ve seen talk about purity and dress like harlots. These are the same people that I’ve seen smile and say “I love you” and then completely betray the people they supposedly love.

Is it really that hard to understand why many people don’t come to church with all this two faced stuff going on? When the church says that they are different from the world and they treat people just as bad (or worse) than the world does, what are the unsaved supposed to think?

There is a façade that the church has put on and it is about three feet thick. If you ever get past the façade, you’ll be surprised at what you see. It is like what Ezekiel saw in chapter 8 of his book. He was talking to the elders in his own house and had a vision from the Lord. In it, he was at the wall of the temple and saw a hole. He dug into the wall and found a door. When he entered the door, he saw a hidden room where the same elders that he was sitting with were worshipping idols, each with his own censer. Unfortunately, it seems that the church today suffers from the same thing. We have churches that see 50,000 people every Sunday, and yet the teaching is far from what Jesus taught. They teach about love and life and happiness and peace. They have singles groups and young married couples groups and seniors groups. They have “events” and “rallies”. But is Jesus in any of it? The first thing that Jesus preached after coming out of the desert was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. I am of the impression that the church needs to repent and do it quickly, especially in America. We have become a 10 second sound byte church. If the sermon isn’t done in thirty minutes and we are eating by exactly twelve noon, then we’ll go somewhere else. If the preaching doesn’t entertain and tickle our ears, making us feel good and giving us “life tips” but neglecting the truth about hell and judgment, then we’ll find another place to go.

In 1 Peter 4:17, God says that judgment starts at His house. In the chapters that follow Ezekiel 8, the vision continues and shows Ezekiel even worse things. He sees women weeping for another god. Then he enters the inner court and discovers the priests worshipping the sun. What an abomination! But is the church of today any different? We may not worship the sun, but we do worship money, power, fame, numbers and many other things instead of God. After God showed Ezekiel the priests in the inner courts, he went to the threshold of the temple and the glory of God was there and it called out to the destroyers. With them was a man with an inkhorn. The man with the inkhorn was commanded to go out and mark those who sigh and groan over the abominations being committed. These were men and women who knew what was going on and were burdened heavily with it. The six destroyers were told to follow the man and strike down anyone without the mark. They were not to have pity and were told to destroy all men, women, and children without the mark. Then God says something that is both saddening and frightening. He says, “and you shall start in My sanctuary”.

It is saddening and frightening that the body of Christ, the tabernacle of the God of the Ages, has been defiled and filled with abominations. And most people don’t even seem to recognize the things that are going on around them. I can’t even begin to tell you how much that bothers me.

I pray that those who profess Jesus will wake up and start living like they are supposed to. That they would not just give the Sunday school answers and go on their merry way, but that they would realize that they are mocking God Himself and storing up His wrath for their lives. I pray that the church would stop worshipping idols and start living the truth, regardless of what they lose, or how many people they have, or how different they look from the world.

Do you live up to the character of Christ? Do you talk like He does? Do you act like He acted? Do you think like He thought?

So, what is the character of a true Christian? I would love to hear what you think.

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