Does my Guardian Angel Think I’m Special?

In Matthew 18:10 we find a passage that may bring question about the role of angels. Although the Bible does not teach a doctrine of “Guardian angels” many people believe that they have one assigned to them and would point to this verse as proof.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10 NASB

The context of our discussion is not to unpack the biblical teaching on angels. In fact regardless of where you come down on the specific ministry and work of angels, they are not the topic of this passage; believers are. The subject of this verse has to do with being careful to not despise the “little ones.” It teaches the dignity and significance of the believer in God’s eyes irrespective of any hierarchy established among believers. A new believer is as important in the Kingdom of God as the most influential ministry leader.

One of the ministries of angels, and that is what they do –ministry, or you might say “carry out the Word of God”- is to minister to believers. (“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14 NASB) That work of ministering spirits is of supreme value as they are dispatched by God to assist God’s children for whom His Son gave His life. We might think of them as caretakers assigned to help raise and tutor the children of our great King. These individuals hold a very high place and have, “a degree of familiarity which even the highest state ministers dare not assume.” (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary on Matthew 18:10) Therefore, they are continually before the Father to receive His instructions concerning their special charge.

The point is not the esteem of the minister but the high regard of the charge. So do the angels think you are special? I think they do, but far more importantly God does.

A Great Intention

Intentions are undoubtedly the worst materials with which a man may build his life. An intention is so counterproductive because it has a way of satisfying the soul that something has been accomplished. That meaningful action has actually been taken, that the dreamer is somehow a little further down the road from where he started. The mind delights to consider the possibilities of what could be.

With abounding enchantment he ponders what he will do, step by step. He receives great satisfaction to see his plans take root and begin to materialize: a book written, a building built, a project completed, a deed done. The glory is overwhelming, the joy is exhilarating, and the longing to have one’s purpose realized is contented.

Yet, all of it takes place only in the mind. It is nothing more than vapor, an illusion, only an intention.

The Page of the Bible I Wish Wasn’t There

 

Aside from Christ Himself, the Bible is God’s most wonderful gift that He has given to humanity. In the US, where copies of the Bible are so prevalent, many take it for granted, however, the significance of the blessing to our lives cannot be overstated. Without it we would not have the instruction necessary to obtain salvation, we wouldn’t have the obligatory counsel for life and godliness, nor would we even have a hint of what God has planned for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I love God’s Word for these reasons and many more and yet, there is one page that I wish was not in the Bible.

The page I am referring to is the one that is inserted between Malachi 4:6 and Matthew 1:1 that says, “The New Testament.” Of course be that I am not talking about the last 27 Books of the Bible but only the page that separates them from the rest of the Bible. Perhaps you have seen that as a rather innocuous little page inserted only for reference, however, I would submit that it has created a great void in the spiritual development for many. I say that because it has been my experience that many see the first 39 Books of the Bible as virtually irrelevant. Stories of a time and a people far removed from modernity and therefore quite inconsequential to our lives. Nothing could be further from the truth and that is why I feel this division is not only immaterial but stifling to spiritual growth as it obscures the main reason God gave us His Word, to reveal Himself.

Perhaps reconsidering our understanding of the books of the Bible would be helpful in clearing up the misunderstanding. It has been my experience that many Christians view the books similar to this: The first eleven chapters of Genesis explain how we got here and into the mess that we’re in and Matthew- Acts teach us how our opportunity for salvation came into existence and how to receive it along with some teaching on how to live as a Christ follower. Romans- Jude also explain in-depth how to live as a Christian, Revelation tells us what is to come, and the rest are some stories, laws, and prophecy that pertain to the Jews. While this is clearly a generalization, I believe that this would be the consensus of understanding.

Rather than this grouping, I would propose that we might look at God’s revelation of Himself as just that, His revelation of Himself. Therefore we might think of each book as being a furthering of that revelation. We might even go so far as to say that we could think of each book as if it were a room in God’s heart or adding brushstrokes to the canvas of our understanding of who He is. It is because of this that when we neglect books or even sections of Scripture we miss so much of what God wants us to know about Him. I would like to provide an example to illustrate.

Take the book of Esther, how is this relevant to a Christian in the 21^st Century, after all it doesn’t even mention God or prayer in the whole book. This was actually so egregious to some that you will actually find versions of the Bible where the text of Esther has been increased by about one-third adding statements about God and prayer (Of course these aren't actually Scripture, it is just man's way of dealing with an uncomfortable reality). How then could this story about a Jewish girl who denied her faith and ended up the queen of a pagan nation be worth more than its entertainment value as an engaging story? What does it reveal about God?

There is no portion of Scripture that so clearly reveals to us where God is when He is forgotten about, when He is ignored, when He is defied, when He is not even mentioned in a society, when He seems to be nowhere to be found. The Jews, including Esther and Mordechai were in this pagan land by choice because Cyrus had told the people they could return more than 50 years before she became queen (See Ezra 1:1-4). They chose to stay and not only that but they were clearly integrated into the culture to the point that Esther (Not actually her name but the name she took when she went to the King’s harem.) took a name that sounds very much like the name of one of the pagan goddesses worshiped in that land. God was simply not in the forefront of anyone’s mind. Can you identify with that? I certainly can. We’re living in a culture where the evil is increasing almost by the moment to a degree that it is difficult to believe that some of the things that are taking place actually are. It can leave even the faithful wondering where God is at times.

He is in the same place He was almost 2,500 years ago when all of this was taking place, on His throne and working out His plan even when the world seems like it could care less that there is a God and even worse, they actively work to dismiss His existence. You see something about the sovereignty of All-Mighty God and His unstoppable insistence to work out His plans regardless of the consensus of the world toward Him. We also see one of the clearest illustrations of that great Scriptural tension between the sovereignty of God and man’s efforts, both are unquestionable.

If we miss this book we miss the truths it reveals about God and the same holds for the other 38 books that make up what we call the Old Testament. Remember Paul’s counsel to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” I would encourage you to meditate on that truth the next time you come to a passage that you may feel holds no relevance to you. I would also hasten to add that not only is there significance in Paul’s counsel but also note the context of the chapter. Your Bible may contain a heading to the effect that, “Difficult times will come.” Most certainly they are here and now more than ever do we need to look to God for wisdom and understanding in the whole Counsel of God.

BOOK REVIEW: The Messiah; Revealed, Rejected, Received

Here's a review of a great book I recently read:

How do you respond when life does not go as you may have expected? Depending on the situation, it has the potential to completely destroy your life as you fight to cling to the last vestiges of the dream you once held dear as if somehow those fleeting memories will by some means manifest themselves into what you hoped for. The greatest gift ever given was directly tied to the greatest need of the recipients and in “The Messiah; Revealed, Rejected, Received” Dr. William Varner writes about this gift that was promised centuries before it came to pass. He takes the reader on a journey through Scripture illuminating along the way the need, the promise, the expectation, and finally the gift. This is a book that applies to the life of every person who has ever lived as it addresses our greatest need.   

Brief Summary

The greatest promise ever made is that of the Savior that God Himself would send into the world to offer all of humanity the opportunity to be forgiven. Dr. Varner has written, “The Messiah” in an effort, “to investigate how the Promise of the Messiah was revealed, then how Israel as a whole rejected Him, but also how multitudes both from Israel and from the Gentiles have received Him by faith.”[1] This investigation takes place within three corresponding sections in which the author submits evidence in support of this study.

            In the first section of the book Dr. Varner offers Scriptural as well as extra-biblical corroboration for the promise of a Messiah along with a detailed explanation of the nature and extent of the promise. This includes defining the threefold role of the Promised Messiah. The One who was to come would be a prophet which is to say that He would speak for God to the people. He would also fill the role of priest by going before God on behalf of the people acting as an intercessor. Finally the Messiah who was to come would reign as King over all the earth as well as in the hearts of His people.

            The second section offers a contrast to the promises that God made concerning the Messiah by offering the expectation of the people as to who and what the Messiah would be. These ideas hung on two main desires for a Messiah that had little to do with any of the promises that God made. The people wanted someone sent by God who would deliver them from any and all real or imagined oppression regardless of why it existed. They also wanted someone who would come and ratify their ideas, going along with the carefully constructed religious system that the leaders built.

            With a very clear tension established between that which God promised and what the people actually wanted Dr. Varner settles the issue by showing who the Messiah that God actually sent was. The response was varied because of the conflicting ideas that existed at the time, however, given the differences between what was promised and what was expected those clashes seem unavoidable. Therefore, as the subtitle indicates the Messiah was rejected by many and yet even in this God has left for Himself a remnant as some were willing to receive the gift recognizing it as such.

The Book Review

            Although Adam enjoyed a wonderful fellowship with God in the garden for a time, sin severed the communion such that the ear of man became deafened to the Word of God. Therefore, it is only fitting that the Promised Messiah would be a prophet as man needs desperately to hear from the Lord. These truths are drawn out as the reader is referred to Scripture that begins with Moses declaration that, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me.”[2]  He then strengthens that point by offering an exposition of Deuteronomy 18:15-20 listing the seven characteristics of the Prophet whom God has promised to send as outlined in the passage. The argument that this promise was fulfilled in Jesus is solidified as corresponding testimony from the New Testament is offered to address each of the characteristics laid out in Deuteronomy pointing to Him as the fulfillment.

            The people needed to hear from God and yet at the same time they also needed someone who would go before them to the throne of their Creator. This is the role of the priest and it is one of the offices that the coming Messiah was to fill. “The Messiah’s priestly function is seen both in his work as the sacrificer, who officiates at the alter, and also as actually becoming in His own person the sacrifice…”[3] The coming Messiah would be in the priestly line of Melchizedek, unique and at the same time better as He offered Himself once and for all, a sacrifice to pay for sin. These important points are laid alongside the Promised Messiah’s ongoing work of interceding for those who have received Him as Savior.

            The role of king is the final major characteristic that the Messiah will hold and it is spoken of in terms of a present as well as a future work. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.”[4] As the Apostle John states in the first chapter of his gospel the Lord Jesus, “The Messiah,” is the Creator of all that is and He granted His authority of dominion to Adam who in turn surrendered it to Satan during the fall. This, as with all the wrong that has been done in the ensuing centuries of rebellion will be undone by Messiah the King. This takes place first in the hearts of who put their faith in the Messiah, making Him the Lord of their lives, and then as He promised both personally and through the Old Testament prophets that He will come again. It is at this second coming that the Messiah will visibly rule all that is. These are the major promises that close out the first section of the book as the promise of God has been illuminated.

            The argument of the first section of the book is based almost entirely on Scripture leaving the reader to first answer the question as to whether they believe what is written or not. Is the Old Testament trustworthy? If the passages are to be taken as authoritative and from God then, perhaps, the reader is only left to ask whether the author’s exposition and conclusions are in keeping with the text? According to those sections of Scripture the Promised Messiah is to be one person who is Prophet, Priest, and King.

            The reader’s attention is directed toward who and what the expectation of the coming Messiah would be. Logic would dictate that given the explicit detail offered by God as to the answer to this question that there should be little deviation between the promise and the expectation. However, fallen human nature will not allow for things to be so simple and although, “There was no uniform idea about what the Messiah would be like”[5] there does seem to be a general consensus which falls into two main ideas. The first being that the Messiah would be someone who would come to deliver the people from all those that they believed oppressed them in any way. Specifically, at the time of the coming of the Jesus that would have been directed toward the Romans, but a brief scan of the Old Testament reveals that this was in no way the end of the list. The Israelites as a whole did not see their greatest problem as being that of sin and the need for deliverance from it. Rather, they saw themselves as God’s chosen people, the people of the dynasty of King David and the most prolific struggle they faced was being denied the opportunity to enjoy their rightful place.

            The second category of ideas about the Messiah would fit under would be the heading of, a Messiah who ratifies their accepted wisdom. Although there was no one philosophy to which everyone held to it is safe to say that all of the various sects of Judaism wanted God to send a Messiah that would step in and commend them for exactly what they were doing. This is why there was so much tension that existed between the religious leaders and Jesus because He wouldn’t go along with the system that they had so carefully assembled. The Jews did not know exactly who the Messiah would be but it is safe to say that whoever He was He would love their brand of religion.

            This has set up an impasse because, as demonstrated by Dr. Varner, you have two parties with very divergent views on what is to happen and with that, when the Messiah is actually revealed, somebody will not get what they anticipated. In the third section of the book the Promised Messiah is shown through several New Testament passages. Jesus is exactly who God promised Him to be and He came to do exactly what God said that He would do. He did this first by working to expose and correct several misunderstandings related to the character and nature of God’s Law as well as God Himself. In addition to this He also showed the people their own sinful condition and repeatedly pointed to it as their greatest problem. He taught and ministered to those who would accept and then He submitted Himself for the main purpose of His coming, to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the people. Not just the Jews, but even in this, Christ revealed a long forgotten secret. God, in calling Abraham and his family to be His chosen people wanted to draw all men into a relationship with their Creator. Therefore, when Christ gave His life as a ransom it was that all men may receive the gift of eternal life.

            As I read this book and have sat under Dr. Varner’s teaching I have sensed that this is a man who has a deep love for God’s chosen people and I believe that his goal in writing this book was to offer a clear and inoffensive Scriptural presentation of the greatest problem that all men have and the Messiah that God actually promised. Dr. Varner sought to clear up and reveal some unflattering elements of Jewish history that may be neglected in Jewish teaching which is helpful in gaining insight as to why some Jews in the first century would not have accepted Jesus as the Messiah. With this the reader is now faced only with the question and that has to do with whether the New Testament is a reliable source of information as the author plainly demonstrates an accurate picture of Jesus as offered in the New Testament in the third section of the book.

            The most obvious use of this book is in ministering to a Jewish person to help them understand what God said about the Promised Messiah which opens the door to a conversation about the New Testament claims of Christ being that Messiah. The pattern that Dr. Varner establishes would be very effective in sharing the gospel because it seeks to answer the questions that would probably come in this conversation. This book would also be very helpful in tracing the main theme of the Bible which is Christ as it systematically walks through the Old Testament teaching on this subject. I felt that Dr. Varner clearly laid out the biblical teaching and it was done in a manner that was easy to follow along with and share with others.

            This book shows that from the fall of man God has taken an active role in offering the only solution which is found in the Promised Messiah. I feel that Dr. Varner presented the information clearly and in an interesting manner that was easy for most anyone to follow. He was careful to not embellish or add to God’s Word but simply exposed what is there and he did so in such a way that the reader must decide whether they believe the Bible or not because the text in clear. This book has helped to strengthen my faith as I see the promises that God made concerning the Messiah and how God literally fulfilled each of those. This has given me great encouragement as I consider other promises that God has made which apply to my daily life and I am reminded that just like His fulfillment of the promises concerning the Messiah I can know that He will keep His promises that relate to me.

          I also received from this book a better understanding about why the Jewish leaders responded to Jesus the way they did. Their problems centered on taking the promises that God had given and beginning over time to forget, neglect, and alter those promises. Therefore, when the Messiah was finally revealed they had a very hard time accepting Him. With this I also see application in my own life as I walk with the Lord because it is very easy to see how we can slip into this thinking. This is the only question that I am left with from this book, Where have I allowed by understanding of Scripture come into conflict with Scripture and my belief of who God is? I think that is a lifelong question we all must wrestle with.

---

[1] William Varner, The Messiah: Revealed, Rejected, Received (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2004), xii.

[2] Deut. 18:15 (NASB)

[3] William Varner, The Messiah: Revealed, Rejected, Received (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2004), 12.

[4] Ps 24:1 (NASB)

[5] William Varner, The Messiah: Revealed, Rejected, Received (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2004), 123.

Don't Just Stand There

I have been thinking a lot about the 12 Apostles that Jesus called and the significance of the contribution they made to the world. I cannot help but wonder if they could begin to grasp the magnitude of what God was doing through their obedience. Not one of these men, by the standards that this world would use to measure, was either successful or even noteworthy. However, it was through their witness that you and I have heard the gospel proclamation and this because of their willingness to simply obey the Lord’s command to “Go.” They did nothing more than take what God had entrusted to them and use it to glorify Jesus Christ and untold millions have been saved because of their witness.


In Matthew 25:27 we can see the absolute opposite example in the parable of the talents as the Lord Jesus rebukes the “wicked and lazy slave” for squandering the opportunity that had been entrusted to him. There are at least three important lessons that all Christians should learn from this parable about our responsibility to “Be about our Father’s business.”

1. The decision to entrust the talent to the slave was made by the Master, not the slave.
As you read through the Matthew 25:14-30 passage you note that each one was given a different amount or variety of talents according to the way in which each slave had been created. In this is a reality of life that we must come to terms with; God is working out His plan, not mine. I am who I am with the skill, abilities and even shortcomings that I have because that was God’s choice in making me. Perhaps that does not sound like as sexy an explanation as we might care for but it is a fact. God made you who you are for His purposes and who am I to argue about that? In Romans 9:20 Paul writes, “… Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the Molder, ‘Why did You make me like this?’”

I suppose that from time to time each of us wrestles with who we are and even wishes things were different, but what standard are we using to compare this observation to? How much of your life do you waste considering and even working to manipulate the circumstances in your life that are actually unalterable? What would your life be like if you would just accept you for who you are? By that I am not insinuating that you come to terms with your inner kleptomania (or whatever your “stuff” is) and merrily engage in shoplifting at every opportunity. No, the “Old man” is being taken off, keep going with that! I am talking about those things that you relentlessly beat yourself up over because you have manufactured an ideal of who you should have been rather than being who God made you. May I share with you that the very fact of your conception is God’s testimony to your worth? Therefore, it makes no difference what anyone may say, God has said in creating you that you are the object of His affection.

He has created you with certain skills, abilities, and even circumstances and these have been entrusted to you as if they were talents, what are you doing with them?

2. The decision to make use of the opportunity was made by the slave.

The reasons why people fail to act are endless. The Old Testament book of Proverbs speaks often about laziness, selfishness, greed, and foolishness being contributing factors but I cannot help but imagine that the overarching rationale has much more to do with failing to understand the significance of making the most of the talents that have been entrusted to you. Does anyone really go through life not caring that their moment of time spent here be of some value? Of course many of us neglect fanning the flame that God has put in each of us that seeks to be part and help “the cause” and at some point the fire dies out and the embers grow cold but none of us starts out that way.

The Master entrusted these three slaves with talents and He intended for them to use them not hide them away but to use them as they were intended. In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul encourages us that, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” It really makes no difference what the talents that you have been given are, you were not called to evaluate either the talent or the plan which God is working out but to take that which you have been made steward over and seek to glorify Jesus with it.

I wonder if we might not sometimes forget that the talents always belonged to the Master just as the very person of the slave also belonged to Him. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 7:23, “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” The Master’s slaves had no right to neglect the gainful use of the talents to further the estate of the Master; however, they had been made stewards and as such were given the choice as to what they would do with the talents.

You have a decision to make as to what you will do with what has been entrusted.

3. There are consequences for failing to act.

In Colossians 3:25 Paul punctuates his remarks on the slaves responsibility by warning, “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.” Unquestionable, God controls all; Scripture is very clear about that. Yet simultaneously, our actions have real and lasting consequences. To disregard this truth is to abuse God’s Revelation of Himself.

You will suffer personal consequences for failing to act as we see illustrated in James 4:2b, “…You do not have because you do not ask.” Specifically James is referring to prayer but the principle is universal, God has decided that oxygen is a requirement for life, and it will take 365 days for the earth to go around the sun, and He has also decided that your actions or lack thereof will produce results and consequences. If you fail to pray, you will find no eternal success in your efforts regardless of how well conceived your plans may be. If you choose to eat too much it is probably going to have negative effects on your health. Your failing to use your talents is going to bring about personal consequences both now and in the world not yet seen.

You, however, will not be the only one who suffers for the hiding away of your talents. In Acts 27 we find Paul onboard a ship making its way toward Italy, where he was to stand before Cesar and contrary to his wise council to stay in Fair Havens the ship’s captain sailed right into a devastating storm that would ultimately destroy the ship. In the midst of that storm all onboard began to despair and Paul encouraged them that they would live through this ordeal. However, as the ship neared Malta some of the sailors tried to flee in a lifeboat and Paul said to the centurion in verse 31, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” The actions, and by implication inaction, of these men and all of us for that matter have consequences.

The consequences of the men leaving the ship would have been death to the others, and the consequences of the lazy slave hiding the talent was a dishonoring of the Master and actually the illumination of what he really was; a lost sinner. There are also consequences for you choosing to hide the talent God has entrusted to you. Today, you can live out your faith by taking what God has entrusted to your care and using it to the fullest and in so doing, glorify your Master and benefit our world. This is what the disciples did and that is why you have heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, what might God do with your service?

Christmas Growth Spurt

It’s that time of year again when I am going through my annual growth spurt. My wife is a great cook and loves to bake sweeties and being the good husband that I am I refuse to insult her by allowing those treats to just sit there. The result is my annual Christmas growth spurt followed by eleven months of working to beat back those rogue pounds that seem to track me down each year like clockwork. Sometimes, growth just isn’t what you are looking for, however, in 2 Peter 1:10 we see that the “Christmas growth spurt” is just what we need.

Peter began in verse 4 talking about the fact that it has been granted to believers to actually be partakers of the divine nature which is to say that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. Therefore, he continues in verse 5 by telling us that we should be diligent in seeking spiritual development and after listing out several qualities in a progressive order he essentially says in verse 9 that it is foolish for a believer not to seek this spiritual development. How important is this to you that you mature spiritually as God intends for you to? What would you point to over the last seven days that would serve as evidence of this? I would submit that within our culture here in the US there is an epidemic of anemic Christians going from one defeat to the next due almost exclusively to their neglect of their spiritual growth as they live in defiance of God’s clear commands that this be a priority.

By the time we get to verse 10 the commitment to spiritual growth is actually assumed by the Apostle as he encourages believers to be “diligent” in their pursuit of spiritual growth. In Proverbs 10:4 we learn that, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” No matter whether you are talking about business dealings or spiritual development the same holds true; without a commitment to your development you will remain spiritually or physically poor.

Peter goes on to say that the thing that we are to be diligent about is that we are to “make certain” about our calling. Not to say that we cannot be sure of our salvation, no, making certain carries with it the idea of checking on or attending to spiritual issues. The Apostle Peter very matter-of-factly assumes that anyone who has come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ will have a hunger for the deeper things of God and as such the spiritual dimensions of the life of the believer will occupy a large segment of their thoughts and activity. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Paul talks about the fact that by the “worlds” standard, most who are called are of little prominence and that, so God may be glorified. However, this does not mean that we should allow ourselves to stay that way. We need to attend to developing spiritual muscle and as we do this our steps are made even surer. You see as you occupy your mind and time with the development of spirituality you close the door to the attacks of Satan as he is less and less able to gain a foothold in your life.

So what is it that you will do to be diligent about your spiritual growth? God bless and be sure that you go and live out your faith today.

The Beast Will Soon be Revealed

Undoubtedly, this title draws the mind to the images of Bible prophecy contained in the book of Revelation, but that is not my specialty; it’s just not where God has called me. I am a minister to children and much to my dismay this title does accurately convey the reality of the release of a hideous monster that I can see on the horizon. An attack on the boys and girls the likes of which the world has never known and it is actually coming from the hands of parents.
I suppose that few would argue the merits of pornography and I cannot imagine any sane parent responding to this vile cancer with anything but disgust at the thought of their child being exposed to it. You will need to do little research to discover that exposure to pornography is worse than putting a bag of cocaine in your son or daughter’s Christmas stocking with a note that cheerfully reads, “We hope you enjoy this, Love Dad and Mom.” Literally, the scourge of pornography is more toxic to the brain of a child, chemically, emotionally, and psychologically than physically using drugs. It physically alters the mind in ways that, in large measure are irreversible and leaves boys and girls lifelong victims of its carnage.

In 1 Corinthians 6:18 God tells us to “Flee” from sexual sins. That is to say that we are not to question, or discusses, or come up with a strategy for dealing with it; no, we are to FLEE! Get away and don’t look back. Why? Because there is something overpowering about the misappropriation of the gift of sexual intimacy that God has given to us. Certainly as adults we are well aware of this and are responsibly taking steps personally to stay away but what about our children?

What I am about to say is not going to be popular but quite frankly, I don’t care. I am not a purveyor of man’s wisdom, or a trader in physiological “secrets,” nor am I interested in following the ideas of this world. I am a minister of the gospel and am convinced that we, as followers of Christ should conduct ourselves in a way that is consistent with His Word and I cannot see any wisdom whatsoever in allowing children access to pornography through cellular phones. As I look around church on Sunday morning before the service starts there is a sea of young people engrossed in the cyber-world while completely disengaged in the real world. Within the scope of this post I will not treat that subject in its entirety as my goal in today’s writing is to ask parents to consider what they are doing in allowing children such free access to this hideous monster.

Our culture has certainly changed and in this regard it is not for the better. Studies show that with the almost unrestricted access to this plague their minds are being daily influenced to believe that pornography is a normal and natural part of life. So much so that in a recent conversation with a youth pastor, he shared that many of today’s youth have been so prejudiced by the deviant offerings of pornography that they no longer would consider sending sexually explicit pictures of themselves to friends as being pornography.

This is not a minor issue! Please consider this as I am convinced that just on the horizon we have a generation of children who are growing up believing that this is an ordinary part of the human existence, and they will soon be adults free of any parental restraint and the horrific results of our mistake will be apparent, overwhelming, and irreversible. I know that the culture will tell you that your children need these gadgets and devices but I implore you to stop and ask, why? Consider Paul’s words concerning sexually immorality and your responsibility as a parent. You may rest assured that should you chose to protect your children you will be in the minority and your kids won’t like it but God has entrusted those precious little ones to you; won’t you lead them rather than letting the enemy of their soul do so?

Has Jesus Become a Cult Leader?

I have stood by and said nothing as long as I am willing. God has graciously given to each of us an amount of time over which we may steward and do as best as we know how and I will not stand idly by and say nothing while my brothers and sisters in Christ take part in reducing the glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to little more than a cult leader. I am compelled to speak and fully recognize that many will vehemently disagree.
Our country is in a mess, worse than at any time in history. In fact I am convinced that we have never even been near the trouble that we are in and there is no area that is not touched; politically, economically, socially, legally, and the list goes on. I know that none of us live in a vacuum and as such I am certain that you are well aware of everything that is going on and as such I will not take the time to detail the problems. In this time of crises many believers and perhaps even unbelievers are calling out to God and seeking help and to varying degrees I am sure that each of us understands the ramifications of the direction that we are heading and the gravity of the consequences for not turning back. My fear in this time of great upheaval is that we as the body of Christ are paying lip-service to God as our deliver yet at the same time we have actually given up on Him intervening in any meaningful way and have resolved that we must walk through these evil days alone and chart our own course.

Specifically, I am referring to the open and blatant willingness of Christians to promote a cult member as the leader of the United States of America. Considering God’s number one goal is to glorify Jesus Christ do you really think that He has sent a man that believes our Savior is the brother of Satan, nothing more than a man, and that while Jesus is perhaps some sort of god He is only one of many and if you behave yourself you can be a god as well with your own universe to manage. Sort of like your very own Chick-fil-A just bigger. Has God totally lost control and this just happens to be the best He can do?

I have a question; where along the way did we begin to think that our job was to just pick the lesser of two evils? It is not just in this presidential campaign, we do it everywhere; in movies, music, books, elected officials, and really every area of life. No longer do we measure by God’s standard but we have completely bought into this world’s ideas in every aspect of life. May I share with you that God has not given to any of us the responsibility to elect a president as each of us only gets one vote. Your job is simply to seek to honor God with that vote and there is no way endorsing, campaigning, supporting, or voting for the member of a cult does that?
I am well aware that many will see this and argue, “What about, protecting the unborn, what about stopping gay marriage, what about our economy, what about keeping the United States from becoming a socialist (or worse) nation?” I can assure you that if you will study your Bible you will find that God does not care nearly as much about those things as you do. Right now I am sure you are recovering from shock but it is a reality. I am not saying that God does not care about those things; what I am saying is that He cares first about glorifying Jesus Christ and as terrible as those things are, they are side issues when compared to this. Our goal should be to do what God would want done and that means looking for a presidential candidate that glorifies Him.

I am also aware that many are quick to add in their defense of this sort of action that, “We are looking for a president not a pastor.” May I with all due respect say that for a Christian, that is one of the most ridiculous statements you could make and it is again yet another illustration of just how biblically illiterate we are as a nation. In the body of Christ, a pastor is not the guy who is getting it right and living like God would desire while the rest of us run amuck. I do realize that this is the reality in many churches; however, this is not the intention God had in mind. In fact I would submit that anyone that is chosen for any leadership position regardless of whether it is in the church, a business, or government should be a committed follower of Christ first and foremost. I did not cook that up on my own either as you can look at many of the original State Constitutions and see this requirement.
Throughout our nation on every conceivable source of media, “Christian leaders” have surrendered their responsibility and bought into this demonic idea that “All we need is a little more time and we can win the lost.” I hate to point out the obvious but we (Christians as a whole not Jesus) are losing and most of it has to do with our unwillingness to just live by the Word of God. Read through 1 and 2 Kings and you will see that Israel was in exactly the same place we are in and they did the same thing we are doing, looking for human answers rather than just turning to God. “How do I live out my faith practically?” you may ask. Here’s how; trust God, look for a candidate that seeks to glorify God and vote for him, then forget about the results and get back out there and tell people about Jesus.
I am no profit and do not claim “A word from the Lord,” however, if we do not turn from this course I believe that Mitt Romney will be our next President. I also believe that everything he says he will do will be done as he is a good business man and I am sure he knows how to fix many of the problems. However, in doing so Mormonism will be normalized and in many ways assimilated into “Christianity” in the minds of most and it would take a miracle to weed it back out and ultimately that will doom people to hell as the masses will put their faith in a lie that does not have the power to save. They will hold to a form of godliness and it will ensure their destruction. I fear what another four years of Barrack Obama would mean to this nation as I do not believe this man is a Christian and I think his ideas will destroy the United States but at the same time I cannot in good conscience stand by and for the sake of my own benefit choose a temporary fix that will seal the fate of so many. If I have to decide between earthly persecution and temporary “happiness” I must take the former.

How to Find the "Right Church"

“Dad is looking for a church that he likes.” That was the comment made during a recent family devotional time that cut me to the core. Immediately, I began to work to correct the misunderstanding but the depth and gravity of the conversation that took place in which this comment was made was far too important for a “Shoot from the hip” answer. Therefore, I needed time to carefully consider my answer and the following is the result of that.

Recently, my family and I moved to Mississippi to accept a new position with the organization that I serve with and this was to say the least the biggest change in our family’s life, ever. Having lived in Florida for almost 20 years most of my life was there and it’s all my children have know, therefore, the change was major. My wife and I knew that this would be the case and did what we could to prepare to smooth out some of the rough waters that we were certain would soon come. One of the major things that we worked on was trying to learn as much as we could about the churches in the area prior to coming as finding a new church home would be a first order of business. However, having never done something like this before, looking for a church home in an area we know nothing about, I found that despite my efforts I was ill prepared and I made a bad decision. This coupled with the ensuing conversation prompted me to more carefully think through the question of finding the “Right Church.”
My I preface the following comments by saying that anyone who is looking for the perfect church will search in vain as it does not exist here on earth. People make up the local body of believers and while “The Church” is made up only of true followers of Jesus Christ and as such saved we have not yet been made perfect and that fact will soon make its grand entrance. May I also gently also suggest that many of the problems you will encounter have far more to do with you than others as we are all flawed. That fact is usually forgotten and easily ignored as the “warts” on your nose are far more obvious to me than the ones on my nose given the fact that I chose to spend the bulk of my time focusing on your problems while dismissing mine as “Beauty marks.” Therefore, with that in mind I would submit the for criteria for finding the “Right Church;” It honors God, They faithfully and unreservedly teach the Word of God, They are mission-minded, and You are able to connect with others. Before briefly addressing those points I will point out that any attempt to follow any process before bringing it to the Lord in prayer is destined to fail. Only the Holy Spirit can guide and protect and you must begin by seeking God to find the Church family that He will work through to help you grow.
The purpose of creation is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ! That fact must be firmly understood as it runs so very contrary to the contemporary mind, even within the Body of Christ. Any church that does not seek to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus is far outside the boundaries and purposes of the local church. In fact I would go so far as to submit that this is the root of all other points that I will make. Much to my dismay I find an ever-increasing number of people that pay lip-service to this idea but are wholly unwilling to put it into practice. A willingness to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus must be the earnest desire of any church that you would associate with. This means that in all matters that body and most specifically the leadership must hold firm to conducting the business of the church and dealing with situations that come before the church in a manner keeping with the revealed character of God. This means that often that church will find themselves in the increasingly frequent position of being at odds with not only the world but those within the family who have chosen the coward’s way rather than faithfully following the Lord.

What the church teaches about God and having a relationship with Him is found in one place only and that is the Bible. While we may learn a broad-spectrum of things about the fact of the existence of God through “General Revelation,” or that which may be commonly seen in nature all that we know of the offense of the sin-sickness and rebellion of man, the destiny of the lost, and the person and work of Christ we learn only from the inspired and inerrant Word of God. God’s Word is not a complete history of the world and it was not intended to answer every question that may occur to man. As much as men may be unwilling to admit it, there are things we simply do not understand about it as we do not have the requisite knowledge to comprehend all of its truths. For example, there are those that chose to disparage the Word by allowing that it may contain errors pointing to something such as a battlefield account of the number of troops engaged in the conflict in one passage that gives a certain number and in another passage there is a different number. Thus the case is made that there must be an error. These men are to timid to stand faithfully on the truth that the Word is correct and we obviously do not have all the information. Any “church” that backs away from the Word in any way should be avoided like the plague as this is what this type of flawed thinking is on our society in addition to the fact that it seeks to besmirch the very name of God.

Only cannibals are consumed by themselves and any church that is not mission-minded cannibalizes itself. The charge by our Lord is to make disciples, not see how large and extravagant we can make our physical plant. Of course we need a building to meet in and I am not in the crowd that advocates the need to meet outside under a tent as the singular way to honor the Lord. However, our purpose needs to be reaching our beyond our walls to the community, state, nation, and world and the “Right Church” is the one that has a strong desire to reach out beyond its borders to a lost and dying world and the willingness to put that into practice. Therefore you will find that the “Right Church” uses a substantial portion of its resources to reach the lost.
I have intentionally chosen to place the fourth point that, you are able to connect with others, in the last position. There is no doubt that this is important and there are good churches that for whatever reason one particular family just does not seem to fit in. It should not be that way but again I am talking about reality and if, even though you try, you cannot seem to connect with others then you may want to keep looking. However, depending on your personality and efforts and the personality of the people in the church this may take time and certainly should not be the driving factor but it is important as you need those relationships.

This, I would submit as being a good set of guidelines to follow in looking for the “Right Church.” It is not and is not intended to be a perfect system; it is only a guide to help you as you seek the “Right Church.”

Is He Worthy?

Leviticus 2:1-2 pictures the sacrifice willingly brought by the people as worship or rightly declaring the “worth-ship” of Him alone who is worthy. The job of the priests as it relates to the handling of these sacrifices was at least two-fold. First to intercede on behalf of the people before a holy God through the offering of sacrifices for sin which all culminated in the annual Sacrifice of Atonement made once a year and only by the High Priest. The second purpose was the presentation of offerings of worship and praise to the Lord. Certainly the crown jewel of creation, humanity, created in the very image of the eternal God could not resist the opportunity to declare the “worth-ship” of its explanation for existence. Therefore, God again in His mercy provided such a means so as to allow for the offering to be received. It is not that worship is necessarily an indispensable article of the Christian life so much as it is its foundation. To not worship brings to mind the contemptuous rebellion of the devil himself for at the heart of his intention was a refusal to declare truth in his refusing to venerate. Therefore, any that would repudiate worship be it through neglect, or dereliction, or self-centeredness are akin to the father of insurrection himself and no other excuse may be reasonably offered for committing so dastardly a crime so as to embezzle the very treasury of heaven by withholding worship. So great is the preeminence of worship that the inspired writer of Hebrews declares in 9:11 that, “Christ appeared as a high priest.” What is it that the priests lived to do but first to offer the sacrifice of atonement which Christ Himself did, setting aside the glories of heaven and taking upon Himself the form of a servant, offering His own body and even more laying His very life down upon the alter that He might once and for all make available the appeasement of the wrath of God and provide for the atonement of sin, Why; that we might live and not die the death eternal and that we might be rescued from the everlasting torment of hell. How is it then that we, the most blessed recipients of this wondrous gift not respond with frequent ejaculations of praise and worship to the great and merciful God? This brings us to the second purpose of the continual ministry of our Lord, that of being the High Priest at the great heavenly temple receiving the offerings of praise and worship which would undoubtedly be expected to be brought by the adoring beneficiaries of this grace. Certainly, only the busy hands of the Lord Himself could work quickly enough to receive the overabundance of worship. Perhaps even at times crying out as Moses did, “Enough, bring no more!” However, this is not the case is it? May I invite you to consider your own offering of praise and worship? I suppose each of us is equally guilty of boldly trotting into the pristine courts of heaven in boots muddied by the decadent soil of this world. Strolling past the Great High Priest as if He were little more than some sort of heavenly “doorman” to whom we may call upon as we might see fit; flip Him a coin or two of our version of “worship” and then brazenly charge the throne of the Almighty with only the objective of saddling Him once again with our mortal minded “To-Do” list. As if the Creator of all that is were reduced to nothing more than our yardman who lives not that He may be rightly glorified but simply to check-off our list of chores as quickly and might I add quietly as possible that we might go back to our leisure. How dare we! What evil poison has so afflicted me that I would so much as consider such a thing let alone commit the act? I am ashamed to even consider the offense that this is to God so may I merely entertain the thought of the horror that this must be to God’s holy angels. Oh how disgusted and embarrassed they must be to see this collection of dust and clay in whom the spirit of life has been breathed most lovingly by the Master Himself, and in His very image no less, deny their Lord His due. These whom we shall judge must gasp in disbelief at such an offense committed again and again. What, may I ask does this say about God when we fail to come into His presence with praise and thanksgiving? By this I do not mean what does this express or represent of His being for that has nothing to do with us. No, what I refer to is what does this say of my declaration of Him? Who do I say that He is when I do this? Have you nothing to bring? Are your hands so empty so as to come with naught? Are your mirrors free of inspiration for which you would offer praise? Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” He alone is worthy, what will you give Him today?

Am I a Mormon?

Other than a great sadness that I feel when I hear his name because of how effective he has been at leading thousands astray, I generally couldn’t care less about anything Joel Osteen has to say. However, today I read an article written after he was interviewed about Mormonism and was struck as I considered the larger implications of what he was saying as essentially he said the Mormons are Christian and then of course implicit in that is that Christians must be Mormons. Due to the abject spiritual poverty that has befallen this nation many if not most are routinely taken in by the hellish doctrines espoused by charlatans given a platform by which they may more effectively disseminate their perversion. In light of this may I say in no uncertain terms, Mormonism is not Christianity nor does it have any semblance of our Lord’s holy calling. Although the LDS organization talks about Jesus, they do not bow before the promised Messiah but have only pilfered His sacred name in violation of the third commandment and attached it to their pagan sex god that supposedly bandies about the universes making “children.” This abomination dares to sully the holiness of the Creator of the universe by saying that He is nothing more than a well behaved alien that has worked His way up the “celestial corporate ladder” such that He is CEO of this universe in which He wiles away the days engaging in sex as it fancies Him for the purpose of producing “spirit children.” The first of these is purported to have been Jesus with Lucifer not far behind and all of the rest of us soon followed. This is the same repackaged chicanery offered up by every cult that acknowledges Jesus; reduce Him down to our level so we can get at Him. I would submit that we (collectively) had our chance with Him as He in His great mercy came to take on Himself that which was not His that we might have the opportunity the receive His mercy. Therefore when you hear Mitt Romney talk about Jesus you can distinguish that it is not the Jesus that you may know. There is no other antidote for what has befallen our world but for you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, than to know the Word of God for yourself. By this I do not mean knowing about it, oh there is plenty of talk about the Word but ignorance of it is rampant. If you are to stand for the truth then you must know it. May I encourage you to get you Bible and study to show yourself approved and be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies in you? If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior or are unsure of whether you will go to heaven when it is your turn, I will encourage you to read on. In the Bible we learn that …”all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Sin is anything you think, say or do that breaks God’s laws. Things like lying or stealing or even having bad thoughts about someone are all sin and everyone has sinned. God has also said that there is a punishment for sin, “For the wages (or punishment) of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That means that some day when it’s your turn you will not be able to go to heaven with God but will be separated from God forever in a place of suffering called hell. God doesn’t want you to be punished for sin because He loves you so very much. The Bible says that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). That means that He loves you and because of that love He did something very special for you. God sent His perfect Son Jesus to be born into this world. He lived here on earth and never once sinned. One day some men put nails in His hands and feet and hung Him on a cross to die. Jesus did this to take your punishment for sin and you can have your sins forgiven because the Bible says that without the giving of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22) The Bible says, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12 This means that you can have your sins forgiven. You need to admit to God that you have sinned and want to turn away from those sins. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died for your sins and rose again. Choose to receive Him as the Lord of your life. Right now you can simply talk to God and tell Him that this is your desire and you will be saved.

Are People Saved Who Never Heard the Gospel?

Recently I read an article by a man in a leadership position in a particular Christian organization in which he attempted to answer this question. Tragically, his response took what has become all too familiar as an alarmingly increasing number of supposed defenders of the faith have chosen to lay down arms and take what they feel is a, kinder and gentler approach. I suppose that like many in our world today uncomfortable with the forthrightness of God’s Word they seek to chip away and ignore the parts they find distasteful in a misguided and vain attempt to “Win people to Christ” without their knowing it. The effects of this strategy, which is actually antithetical to God’s clearly stated plan, are evident by the lukewarm “Churchianity” that has substituted the truth of God for a lie. In light of this pervasive slide toward anything goes, may I share God’s perspective from His Word?

God is a God of wrath and judgment!
I recognize that this does not sit well with those convinced that the contemporary American Churches biggest problem lies in better “marketing,” but if we would humbly allow God to be God and quit trying to dress Him up so He will be “respectable” that we might take Him around our friends we would actually see sinners humble themselves before Him and know that He is also merciful. Here are a few examples:
1. You do not even get three chapters into the Bible before you see the judgment of God fall upon Adam that resulted in literally billions of deaths. Every person who has ever and will ever die testifies to the fact that God judges sin!
2. Only three chapters later and we see every person on the planet killed with the exception of eight and realistically according to 2 Peter 2:5 and Hebrews 11:7 the others got to go along because of Noah’s righteousness. So one guy got saved and seven people get to ride his coattails, everyone else dies.
3. In 1 Samuel 15:3 God said through the prophet Samuel, “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."(NASB) God was so serious about judging the Alalekites that when Saul failed to kill everything he lost the kingdom and it was given to David.

This could go on and on; however, I trust that most people are familiar with this from the Old Testament. On the heels of this argument typically comes the rebuttal that those passages are from the Old Testament and we now have the New Testament and Jesus only taught love and forgiveness. To that I would submit that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, in addition to the fact that God doesn’t change Mal 3:6 “"For I, the LORD, do not change”(NASB); His Word doesn’t change Ps 119:89 “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”(NASB); God never changes His standards of right and wrong Ps 119:138-144 “You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And exceeding faithfulness. My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words. Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it. I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever”(NASB).

Furthermore, I would add that in the first book of the New Testament alone Jesus Himself no less than 17 times talks about the wrath and judgment of God. (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 7:22-23; 8:12; 10:15, 28; 12:36, 41-42; 13:40-42, 49-50; 16:26; 18:34; 22:7, 13; 23:33-36; 24:50-51). We are all familiar with the theme of Revelation as being the judgments of God poured out on the world. Is there any place in that book that we find that those who were never evangelized escape judgment? The New Testament is bookended with this idea of the wrath of God and as you look through the pages you clearly see that the subject is dealt with over and over as none of the writers seek to “soften” the reality. The wrath of God is a fearful thing and they work hard to get the point across because anyone who doesn’t specifically and individually put their trust in Christ alone will fall under this judgment.

The only way out is through Christ.

I will not belabor this point as I am directing my comments toward the Church and my hope is that there would be no question about this. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”JN 14:6 (NASB) There is no other way that Jesus taught and there is no other way that the Apostles taught. For example, in Acts 16:31 when asked by the Philippian jailer what he needed to do to be saved Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (NASB) There is no other way and any insinuation that a person could be saved outside faith in Jesus Christ alone prior to death (“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” Heb 9:27 NSAB) is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture.


What is it that God says?
Although there are others, I would like to submit one passage that unquestionable answers this issue and that is found in Romans 1. The theme of Romans could be summarized as being about the righteousness that comes from God through Jesus Christ. Paul opens the letter with a greeting in the first 17 verses and then in verse 18 he answers everyone’s question about what happens to anyone who has not trusted Christ as Savior when he writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” I really don’t know what more God could have said to make this any clearer. “wrath of God is revealed from heaven,” this is very clear as to what is coming, “wrath” and who it is from, “God.” That wrath is directed at “all” and Webster’s says of all: 1a : the whole amount, quantity, or extent of. b : as much as possible. 2: every member or individual component of. 3: the whole number or sum of. Then there’s the “ungodliness and unrighteousness,” that would be all who are not saved by “believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul then goes on for the rest of the chapter to address the issues that will undoubtedly be brought up by people. In verse 19 we see what we already know, everyone already knows all about God because “God has shown it to them.” He has shown everyone “His invisible attributes” which are “His eternal power and divine nature” as we see explained in verse 20 meaning that there is no person who has their mental faculties that doesn’t know that there is a God and that He is all powerful. Why did He do this? Paul goes on in 20 to say He did it so that everyone is “without excuse.” So those people that are in question, the ones who have never heard, they already know and if they would respond to the light that God has given to everyone He would have made sure that they got more; just as He did with Lydia, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Candice the Queen of the Ethiopians because, “For there is no partiality with God.”(Rom 2:11NASB) However, you can know that all those people we’re talking about are no different than the ones who have heard the good news and reject it because in verse 21 we see that “although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give Him thanks.” They disregard and disrespect Him no differently than anyone else and they will be judged just like everyone else who isn’t in Christ.

We may not like it, we may not agree with it but it is a clear fact that cannot be reasonably denied. This is why it is incumbent upon us as the Body of Christ to take seriously the command to go and tell people. This is why we are here, what will you do about it?

A Call to Dogmatism

“Words mean something.” I think the first time I began to cogently reflect on the need for dogmatism was the day I heard Kirby Anderson, host of the radio show Point of View, say those words. I do not remember the exact context of that occasion, perhaps it was during a discussion on the Bible or maybe the Constitution but whatever it was those words jumped out and caught my attention like the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign at Krispy Kreme. It is not that I had not at least obliquely thought about this from time to time but it was one of those moments when a conglomeration of stray thoughts were suddenly rounded up into one corral. Yes, words do mean something.

I am fascinated at studying cultural shifts that have taken place throughout history and how those changes have opened the door to radically different thinking. For example, there is no doubt that the life and work of Christ is unquestionably the most significant event in history to bring about a paradigm shift in human understanding. When Jesus walked out of that borrowed grave about 2,000 years ago, everything we collectively though was turned upside down and inside out and the way that we look at everything has changed because of it. There are, however, other things, all be they substantially less important, yet necessary to bring us to the point we are now. For example Alexander’s conquering of the known world, the bubonic plague, the invention of the printing press, and the list could go on. With each of these things people saw the world very differently after the experience and in some cases it was for the better and in others perhaps not so much. Another of those shifts in thinking that was certainly momentous at its time but has also grown in its impact through the years is Darwin’s fable of evolution. For so many this tale became a watershed moment when random hopes of there not being a Creator to whom they will answer were collectively brought together in one, albeit silly argument, but an argument nonetheless. Of course Charlie was not the first to postulate such fantasy, but he has become the poster-boy and his words mean something.

Tragically, what his words have meant to mankind continue to be devastating as his story about a mythical world that just magically appeared with mountains and oceans and 401k plans for all the monkeys to enjoy for a small number of days until they again disappear, has created an avalanche that is eroding the very fabric of humanity at an increasingly alarming rate. In this grinding down of civilization one of the casualties has been dogmatism and I believe we would do well to vigorously push back against those who would have us cast aside all axioms into a sea of relativity. Most recently I have noticed a trend toward ambiguity, in that many are careful to state their positions in such a way that perhaps a close friend to the speaker may know exactly what they are saying but to the casual observer there is tremendous latitude for interpretation. Why are we doing that? Why are we continually choosing through our words and actions to pretend that there is so much “middle ground”, so much “gray area?” With this I am most concerned with the Churches willingness to even embrace this wicked ideology of wishy-washiness that is the offspring of Darwin’s misguided notions.

We, as those entrusted to be the stewards of this time must in the name of Christ push back against this tide of the comparative. All roads do not lead to God and He is abundantly clear in His Word and we should be as well. We do no one any favors when we sheepishly refuse to say what we know to be correct. There is a way that seems right to a man but the end leads to death and to fail to be dogmatic is akin to a fireman unwilling to go into a burning building to get people out in the middle of the night for fear that they are sleeping and he does not want to wake them up. In the end it would be better for a Christian without the courage of his convictions to attempt to conceal his belief so as to not water down the gospel through his silence.

Is This a Promotion?

If all goes as planned and the Lord continues to bless, in less than one week our family will be moving to Mississippi as I assume my responsibilities as the leader of the state-wide ministry efforts. This is an exciting as well as a sad time for our family as I have been in Florida for almost twenty years and have developed some deep friendships that will never be the same once we move. As we have went through the process of announcing this assignment to our family and friends I have been at times a little perplexed by the response of some and it has caused me to spend a considerable amount of time reflecting on it.
I love the United States of America with all my heart and know that this country is the greatest ever in the history of the world. There are so many things that we do that have made the world what it is today and I have a deep sense of pride to be counted an American. However, there are aspects of our culture that we have allowed to infiltrate the church which have no place what-so-ever and this has been clearly evidenced by the remarks that have become all too common over the last several weeks. This has me wondering who came up with the idea of attempting to quantify every aspect of ministry as if the church were a soul saving factory and our success was simply determined by the numbers we place on the “board” (There is no actual board but we all act as if we have a scorecard that is being kept somewhere to which our worth as a Christian is determined.) and there is no place where this is more evident than in ministry leadership.
May I ask is the pastor of a church that has 35 on a good Sunday less effective than the pastor who speaks to thousands? Is a State Director of ministry doing a more important job than a Good News Club teacher? Do we really believe that we are to climb the “ladder of success” no differently than our CEO counterparts? Is our usefulness determined by the “nickels and noses” that come through the door each week? I’m sure that all of us would collectively recoil at the thought but the reality is that is exactly what we believe.
After being asked to consider applying for the position of State Director for CEF of Mississippi my wife and I never looked at it as a promotion, it is simply a different job that is no less or more important than any other job in this vital work. I believe that this idea that one job is somehow more important than any other has contributed greatly to the lethargy that is far too pervasive within American Christianity as many feel that their part is of no real importance and as such little effort is often exerted in the carrying out the duties assigned to each of us. May I suggest that in the “Organizational Structure” of the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ is the guy on top and everyone else is on the same level beneath Him and any position of supposed prominence is there simply for administrative purposes in the advancement of the kingdom of God and not the exaltation of the individual in question.
What is your job? Where has God called you to serve? May I encourage you to do it heartily as unto the Lord and forget what the other guy is doing?

What is a Christian School?

Recently, I had a conversation with a school official who purported to lead a “Christian School” and during our discussion this person shared with me the philosophy and strategy they used in educating the children who attend and I must say that I walked away from our talk very confused by this school’s definition of a “Christian School.” First, I learned that the curriculum they chose to use is a secular program of study and the question that immediately came to my mind is, “What is the purpose of a Christian school?” Are we simply isolating our children from the boys and girls whose parents do not attend church? It certainly seems that this is the case.
May I be so bold as to ask, what do we hope to accomplish through this? As the courses were outline that this school uses I was told that the science classes that the students were subjected to taught them evolution. Perhaps, I am the only one who believe this but evolution is not a theory, it is chapter and verse from hell. Why do we dismiss and minimize this fact? Is it that we are simply unwilling to even fight anymore? Evolution taught in a Christian school is an oxymoron as the two are diametrically opposed and can find absolutely no common ground on which to fellowship. It is logically impossible for this world to have been created by God and at the same time have evolved from nothing. Are we so afraid of being ridiculed by the likes of people such as Richard Dawkins and the supposed scientists in Ivy League Institutions that we fain belief that their propaganda is anything other than that?
As hard as it was for me to believe the things I was hearing I thought that surely this would be offset to some degree by their commitment to solid biblical exposition and teaching. You may image my utter disbelief to learn that while this “Christian School” does teach evolution, they do not teach the Bible. In fairness I must share that they do have a “devotional time” where the homeroom teacher offers an encouraging and inspirational thought that as best as I can discern is loosely and perhaps obliquely based on some sort of Bible type thing. In fact the response I received when I pressed to gain a clearer understanding as to what sort of Bible teaching took place was, “If you are asking if we do something like systematically go through the Bible, the answer is no.”
So the only thing that will matter for eternity, this “Christian School” has elected to forego, yet the one thing that will most readily secure the hellish destiny of those children i.e. the teaching of evolution they have embraced. The thing that our children need is not more “Christinanish” looking schools but followers of Jesus Christ to take seriously their responsibility to educate boys and girls for eternity. In fact I would submit that it would be better for a child to attend school in the most secular environment imaginable rather than being inoculated in this type of setting. At least there they could more clearly see the contrast.

Am I the only one who is sick of this?

It goes without saying that we have come to a place in our world in which it is increasingly difficult to trust the information available and as such I like to check a variety of sources for news. Today I read an article entitled, “Alabama immigration fight recalls civil rights era” and no matter who may agree or disagree I am going to take a side on this. I have become disgusted with every lawbreaker and deviant group in our country wrapping themselves in the struggles of the civil rights era and likening their problem to that of darker skinned Americans more than 40 years ago.
First I will preface my remarks by saying that I despise racism! It is not only the most ridiculous idea ever created, it also just shows the abject laziness of people in general to not like someone based on the color of their skin. Really; is this the best you can come up with to dislike someone based on the melanin content in a person’s skin? I do not want to be unkind but it really does not take a lot of effort to come up with a far more defensible reason to dislike someone than something a silly as that. To pick this as the position you will take is very slothful; certainly you could make better use of your God given cognitive faculties than that. The period in our nation’s history in which people were discriminated against is so antithetical to the foundation of our nation that the only way the concept can even be grasped is in the context of satanic influence. I praise God that this abomination has been stripped from our culture thanks to Him working through the efforts of several brave and honorable men and women who stood up against it. Their work should always remain a source of great pride to all Americans.
Sadly, however, the significance of their work is greatly diminished when we allow ne’er-do-wells to commandeer their sacrifice appropriating it in the name of any one of a variety of abhorrent causes. The one in question is this idea of illegal immigration. May I be so bold as to redirect your attention to the operative word, illegal? Immigration is wonderful when it is done legally; however, coming into this country illegally is a crime and is one of the pieces to the puzzle that make up the picture identifying why we are in the state we are in at this point. Alabama, along with a host of other states are attempting to, as part of a broad strategy to get our country back on track, address an important issue and I commend them for it.
Here again, however, we see the effects of the dumbing down of our country when we base our opinions on how we feel rather than any sort of well reasoned set of ideas. Public opinion is based solely on the outcomes of an effective marketing strategy and not due to truth or reality. Rather than dealing with the facts we are bombarded with heart-wrenching stories offered for no other reason than to elicit an emotional response irrespective of the fact that behind this tender story is a person or group that broke the law to get where they are. Then in an effort to not only punctuate the validity of their claim and to draw attention away from the facts it is wrapped up in the civil rights struggle almost as if to dare anyone to speak out against it.
I for one will not be shackled by this type of chicanery, illegal immigration has nothing to do with any sort of civil rights struggle and a mockery should be made of anyone attempting to join together these two diametrically opposed ideas.

Before Its Too Late

The work with the children here in east central Florida is flourishing and each day more and more children are being reached with the good news as we’re seeing God do some amazing things in the Good News Clubs. Just yesterday we started a club at Coronado Beach Elementary in New Smyrna and I was staggered by the event. Typically we average about 7% of the student population attending the Good News Club. Coronado Beach has about 300 students so we were eagerly expecting about 20 – 25 children, you can imagine my amazement when 47 boys and girls showed up the first day! May I ask you to stop for a moment and reflect on that number? That means that 12% of the student population showed up the first day to a club they never heard of. As I stood in that room watching the team interact with the children my attention was drawn to one particular volunteer, Shirley Howell. Shirley has been teaching for 25 years and we were actually in her classroom for Good News Club and the expression on her face as she watched the club unfold was incredible. It was clear to see that she was lost in the moment, overwhelmed with what was taking place. Right there in her classroom, boys and girls that she has given her life to educate were being taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. At the front of the room where day after day she has stood to teach math, science, reading, and more, in that very spot the Bible was open and the eternal truths of God’s Word were flowing into the ears of that children. After the club we spoke about it and with tears in her eyes she gave us a glimpse into the depth of her feelings about what was going on.
I have given my life to seeing that the children are reached with the gospel and many Sunday’s my family and I are unable to attend our church as we travel to other churches and I share God’s heart concerning the ministry to the children and the unprecedented opportunity that exists through the After school Good News Club. Please don’t misunderstand, there is great joy in the sacrifice, however, the powers of Hell are threatening the children and I MUST speak. Today I received and email from our CEF Vice President of USA ministries and I would like to share it with you. I would like to ask you to read this before I comment further, there are two links to other brief articles, please follow the link and read that as well.
“In June, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the New York City Board of Education has a legal right to block churches from using public school buildings for worship services. The ruling by this federal appeals court overturned a previous decision by a federal district court which upheld the right of churches to use the public schools on the same basis as any other community group. This decision affects about 60 churches in New York City, but clearly has broader implications for the entire nation since it was a decision made by a federal court.

Christianity Today published an online article about this recent ruling, which you can read here.

The federal district court which ruled in favor of churches using the public school buildings relied on the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court Good News Club® case for its decision. The appeals court, which overturned this decision, claimed that the Good News Club case did not apply because there is a difference between worship and religious speech. While teaching Bible lessons, singing, and memorizing verses (and other activities of a Good News Club) are all forms of allowed religious expression, a church worship service is religious activity which is not protected by the U.S Constitution, the court said.

This decision is expected to be appealed and could end up with the U.S. Supreme Court.

How should we respond to this situation?

First, we need to pray. Please pray with me that this decision will be overturned. Please pray that this case will not be used to infringe upon the equal access that we have to hold Good News Clubs in public schools in all 50 states.

Second, we need to continue the focus we have on after-school Good News Clubs. We have enjoyed full freedom to hold clubs in public schools throughout the U.S. for the past 10 years. This court case is a reminder that we should not take this freedom for granted. We need to do all we can, in God's strength, to reach into as many schools and reach as many children as possible while the door is still open.

I also want to make you aware of a book that is scheduled to be released this coming January. It is called The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children. Here is an excerpt from the book's description on Amazon.com:
In 2009, the Good News Club came to the public elementary school where journalist Katherine Stewart sent her children. The Club, which is sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, bills itself as an after-school program of "Bible study." But Stewart soon discovered that the Club's real mission is to convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their "unchurched" peers, all the while promoting the natural but false impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school.


You can read the full product description on Amazon.com here.

Please pray with me that God will use this book, written by someone who opposes our work, for good. Pray that the book will make Christians across America aware of the great freedom we have to hold Good News Clubs in public schools and that many clubs will be started as a result. Please also pray for the author of this book, Katherine Stewart, that God will draw her to Himself.”
I realize that some would read this and while they don’t like what’s happening they will do nothing about it. May I humbly share with you that the reason that our country is in the shape that it is in is because most Christians are content to stay on the sidelines and do little or nothing while Satan destroys the lives of most people and helps to ensure their place in Hell. Little by little our enemy has been chipping away at the foundations of this country and over and over Christians have been all too happy to turn over control of God honoring institutions and opportunities to demonic influence. Please Allow me to illustrate this:

“Most of the colleges in the United States that started over 300 years ago were Bible-proclaiming schools originally. Harvard and Yale (originally Puritan) and Princeton (originally Presbyterian) once had rich Christian histories. Harvard was named after a Christian minister. Yale was started by clergymen, and Princeton’s first year of class was taught by Reverend Jonathan Dickinson. Princeton’s crest still says “Dei sub numine viget,” which is Latin for “Under God she flourishes.””

With all due respect to the alumni of these schools, I have specifically told my children that I would weep if they ever tried to attend one of these schools and I would do all that is within my power to stop them because as the first president of Princeton once declared, “"cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ" And what they now teach is most assuredly cursed. These schools have went from institutions founded to glorify God as is stated in Harvard University’s rules for students in 1636, “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."

So how did these schools go from this wonderful beginning to little more than humanistic training grounds that damn to hell the souls of thousands? As the CEF song says, “Little by Little.” The slow steady erosion of biblical principles coupled with the dereliction of duty on the part of those charged with their care. Little by little the shift occurred because people simply did nothing!
Certainly this isn’t the only example, may I share one more? This one as it relates to our government”
“Like virtually all the state constitutions, the Delaware constitution of 1776 established a Christian State by requiring: Art. 22. Every person who shall be chosen a member of either house, or appointed to any office or place of trust . . . shall . . . make and subscribe the following declaration, to wit: "I ________, do profess faith in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost, one God, Blessed for evermore; and I do acknowledge the holy scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divine inspiration."[1]
Imagine if every one of the members of congress and the senate at both the state and local lever were held to this standard, what would our country look like right now? That was the case when our country was founded, however, again Little by little this too was eroded away until we are in the mess that we are in.
Right now we have an open door to go into the public elementary schools and teach these children what they need to know so that they can make a decision to receive Christ and get off the road to Hell and the only thing stopping us is the need for people. What will it take? Will this window of opportunity in the public elementary schools close and we will be left to do nothing but sit in Starbucks and reminisce over a $5 cup of coffee about the time that we could have gone into the schools to reach the children and instead we had other things to do? I beg you in the name of Jesus, please help children are going to hell and please don’t comfort yourself with the thought that God’s will is going to be done and the gates of hell will not overcome it. God’s will is for us to not be just hearers of the Word we Must do something.
1. Please pray for the children and pray that God will forbid this court decision from impacting our work with the children.
2. No matter how busy your life is please chose to be involved, the children need you.
3. Tell others. Realize that some may think you are strange for sounding the alarm but it is only because they like to stay where it’s comfortable.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.