Abide

John 15:7: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (KJV)

This verse hold several simple, yet powerful truths for the church is these times, when Christians in America are bewildered about the direction of this country (mainly downhill). First, we need to let God's Word, the Bible, “abide” in us. This is not just head knowledge: “Abide in you—Not only are remembered, but are suffered to remain in you as a living principle, to regulate your affections and life.” (Barnes)

This is rooted in the first part of the verse, about abiding in Jesus. Obviously, we abide in Jesus when we ask Him into our heart as our Lord and Savior. When we love anyone, their voice, their words have a life in us that no one else could ever have. How much more should this be with our Lord Jesus and His Words in the Holy Bible!

When we are abiding in faith in Jesus, and let His words direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6), then we can be confident that whatever we ask, it will be done for us. It's easy to believe for this in regard to personal needs—but do we believe this for our neighbors, and for that matter, for our nation? Yes, we must put hands and feet under our prayers in standing up for biblical truth and opposing Satan's plans to tear down out society—but we must first and foremost have the total faith in Jesus in our prayers to do this.

When our faith in not firmly rooted in God's Word, any enthusiasm we have in our efforts to turn people back to biblical truth will wilt away, especially in the face of trials and opposition (Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21). So our first steps in shining our light into the darkness, in seeing true revival come to the American church, is not dreaming up more complicated man-made methods for this, but by the church returning to basics of the faith, to get afire with the love of Jesus in our hearts and letting that love shine through our words and actions.

Here is a video link to a chorus written about this truth, that I hope will bless you as you allow Jesus' words to abide in you.

 

Dressing down the sheep: some thoughts on the ranting pastor

At last count, there are almost 300,000 hits on the YouTube video starring that Oklahoma pastor who dresses down his congregation during Sunday service. The video gem of his latest homiletic outburst features the pastor criticizing an engaged couple he was supposed to marry. That couple left the church shortly after his “corrective” message, where he was down in the aisle, pretty much in the man's face, saying “You're one of the sorriest church members I have. You're not worth 15 cents.”

I write this as someone who is apprehensive about criticizing any ministry, even if that ministry does things that may seem unusual. But this video cries for some biblical perspective. For that, I turn to a passage that at first seems to have nothing to do with our interesting pastor and his preaching method:

“If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” (1 Corinthians 14:23-25, ESV)

Let's put aside the issue about whether you believe spiritual gifts such as tongues and prophecy are for today; there are dedicated believers on both sides of that issue. Paul is expressing a concern here for what an OUTSIDER would think should they come into the meeting. Of course, this is not calling for churches to “water down” their worship or message so as not to “drive away” unbelievers. Nonetheless, Paul is concerned with what an unbeliever will take away from a church meeting. You see, EVERYTHING a church does tells people something about God; the message is not limited to any inspired speaking or even singing.

So when a pastor uses his pulpit to berate members of his church, what is THIS telling people, especially those outside the church, about God? Look at the pastor's words again, when he tells that young man, “You're not worth 15 cents.” Tell me if you honestly think THAT reflects the heart of Jesus; do you REALLY believe JESUS would say that? To be sure, Jesus had harsh words for hypocrites; put His finger directly on the sin of the woman at the well and the rich young ruler; and even rebuked his beloved disciple Peter with the words, “Get behind me Satan” (see Matthew 16:21-23).

But for that pastor to tell that man, a member of his church, he was “not worth 15 cents” is reprehensible, for this is a soul Jesus died for. Or has that pastor forgotten about John 3:16? Picture yourself being in the shoes of a young Christian couple looking for a church, who could well have been visiting that church that day. Or maybe the visitors are a couple living in sin, wanting to get right with God and enter into marriage—and you get an earful of THIS message. Like that poor couple the pastor “confronted,” you'll walk out the door of that church and not look back—and if you're unchurched, probably forget looking for ANY church again.

I don't know that pastor personally, so I can't speak to whether he is living up to those apparently lofty standards he was laying down for that “worthless” man and his fiancee. I certainly hope so, for his sake. But maybe he needs to start praying about whether his “method” really glorifies God, or simply discourages believers and gives unbelievers all the more reason to not follow Jesus—certainly not the Jesus that pastor is presenting.
 

Link of the week: What do non-Christians REALLY think of Christians?

The title of this article at ChurchLeaders.com may make some Christians wince a little--but after reading it, they will find in very encouraging, especially in their stepping out in faith to share about Jesus. Thom Rainer, the article's author, notes one particular fact that stood out to me: "In one study we conducted, we found only 5 percent of non-Christians are antagonistic toward Christians. It’s time to stop believing the lies we have been told."

Give the article a read and see what you think. I believe the insights can really equip us in bringing the Good News of Jesus to those around us.

Jesus wants fans!

Mark 12:30: … so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy. (The Message)

A popular Christian cliché that’s been making the rounds lately goes like this: “Jesus wants followers, not fans.” Like lots of Christianese sayings I’ve heard over the years, it may have started out with an important truth—but it has since largely degenerated into a quaint little empty saying to demonstrate the “spirituality” of the person spouting it out. I recently even read it at the end of a diatribe from a “believer” who tagged it to the end of her correspondence—in which, by the way, she used foul language to address my wife and myself.

This got me to thinking that maybe it’s the reverse: Jesus needs fans, not followers. Now why would I think something like THAT? After all, fans are just a bunch of yelling, screaming people sitting in the stands (Jesus wants PARTICIPANTS!!!), who don’t really know what it means to FOLLOW Him, right?

I got to thinking about two important truths:

1                1) Fan is rooted in the word fanatic. Now, that word has taken some hits due to being used to describe, say, Islamic or political fanatics who want to advance an off-the-charts agenda on the rest of us. But the basic dictionary definition of a fan is either “an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a spectator” or “an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit).” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) Those pining for others to be followers instead of fans ignore several good qualities of fans here: enthusiasm and devotion. A lot of Jesus’ “followers” can use a good dose of both of those qualities.

                  2) I’m sure those wistfully proclaiming that “Jesus wants followers not fans” mean “dedicated followers.” The truth is, not all of Jesus’ “followers” in the New Testament stuck with him. For example, Jesus had LOTS of “followers” through the first five chapters of John’s gospel, outside of the 12 apostles. But when He laid down a VERY hard saying in the sixth chapter about total acceptance of Him, John tells us in verse 66: “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” (KJV, emphasis mine) Look, we all DO need to FOLLOW Jesus. But those employing this newest empty Christian cliché miss some important lessons we can learn from fans. And what better place to turn to for these lessons than to America’s real pastime: the NFL.

What can THESE fans teach us about being JESUS’ fans?

Well, for one thing, they stick to their team through thick and thin, win or lose (since I’m a Jets fan, I’m very used to the “lose” part over the years. In baseball, Cub fans could probably relate). Don’t we need LOTS of Christians who stick with their churches the same way, instead of jumping around between churches looking for an elusive “fulfillment” (which can only be found by drawing closer to Jesus anyway)? Don’t we need “fans” who won’t jump ship at the first sign of rough waters to find the “perfect” church (which doesn’t really exist, since it involves human beings)?

And talk about fellowship: you should see these fans with their tailgate parties at the stadiums, or huddled around their TVs each Sunday afternoon—enjoying each other’s company. I wish the land were overflowing with Christians who could do the same—just having time to enjoy each others’ company, sharing about what’s going on with each other. When pro football promotes more camaraderie among followers than the church (which should be the prime example of Psalm 133:1), something’s wrong.

Then there’s the way they dress—and I’m even not talking about the Jets’ Fireman Ed or the barrel guy in Denver. Fans wear their team’s jerseys and hats even in hostile territory—there was even a pretty loud contingent of Cleveland Browns fans in CINCINNATI at a recent game. Fans don’t “adapt” their dress to the opponents’ standards, and they aren’t secretive about their devotion—and isn’t that what CHRISTIANS are supposed to do? (Romans 12:2) These fans, in wearing weird costumes, doing the wave or screaming at the top of their lungs, aren’t afraid to be foolish for their team … while the Apostle Paul says we should never be ashamed of being “fools for Christ” (1 Corinthians 4:10).

Maybe in the end we need followers who are also fans—if by fans, you mean those who are enthusiastic about Jesus and whose devotion continues to burn for Him regardless of what others think or say. The late singer-songwriter Keith Green, after exposing the fallacy that Christians are what they do (e.g., “a Christian is someone who prays” … while lots of religions practice prayer) gave his definition of a Christian: “Someone who is bananas for Jesus!” (see Mark 12:29-31) And if we were even half as bananas for Jesus as NFL fans are for their teams, we would see a revival that would turn this country upside down and inside out!

“OMG” and the Third Commandment

I ran across this excellent article at the Acculturated website about a common text acronym especially popular among youth, “OMG,” which means “Oh My God.”

 We are endlessly bombarded with reports about groups being offended by statements made by famous people or other groups—one recent example is the attack on Chik-fil-A and its CEO for an “anti-gay” comment during an interview (in context, his comment was related to fatherlessness in the US, not to homosexuality—but pro-gay groups and their mainstream media allies are never ones to let the facts get in the way of a good slander). Even when some personalities DO make idiotic statements about certain groups and are quick to offer a  very public apology, it’s simply not enough—they are hounded out of the public arena because of those “hateful” words. So much for “Stick and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

 Isn’t it interesting, though, that blaspheming of God’s Name through the cute OMG texting, even by some Christians, is totally acceptable. It’s become a-okay to mindlessly daily offend and demean the Creator of All Things in our culture, and not worry about HIS feelings, as if the Third Commandment—“You shall not use the Lord’s Name in vain”—along with the other nine, somehow went out with Charlton Heston.

 Anyway, check out the article and let me know what you think. How we use words—especially with regard to God—DO matter. The renowned journalist Edward R. Murrow once said of Winston Churchill’s World War II speeches, when Britain was in danger of being overrun by Nazi Germany, “He armed the English language and sent it into battle.” How far has our public discourse fallen since those times. As the article says, “Words–‘the most powerful drug used by mankind,’ according to Kipling–can change minds and alter behavior. OMG invokes Omnipotence in the realm of the trivial and the banal. The informality and brevity of electronic communication guarantees that even God himself is not immune from such casual disregard.”

"Touching up" Jesus' image

 

You have to see it believe it: an elderly lady in Spain became concerned about how a 19^th century painting of Jesus in her church was becoming more and more worn out, with paint peeling away in places. Her solution? Take a brush and pallet in hand and fix it up herself. You can see the “results.” It’s uncertain whether the art can ultimately be repaired from the attempted repair. The irony: according to news reports, the granddaughter of the artist had already given money to the church for a professional restoration; the would-be Rembrandt was unaware of it.

There’s spiritual lesson here. How many times have we worried about how to present Jesus to others, through our words or lives—or conversely, given it no thought at all—and wound up “touching up” His image to others? We like to think that only cults are good at giving people “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4; cf. Galatians 1:9). But when we “touch up” Jesus’ image with manmade rules and traditions, or focus only on one aspect of our Lord Jesus that gives an imbalanced view, we could well be giving others around us a very distorted image of Him that tops even the botched painting “restoration.”

One key to avoiding this: have Paul’s hunger of wanting to know Jesus more each day: “…that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death… (Philippians 3:10, ESV). By spending time with Jesus each day in the Word and prayer—however we practice this—we will be sure to give others around us an untainted image that will draw them to Him.

Discussion link of the week: “5 Things God Never Said”

Just wanted to get some of your feedback on this article at ChurchLeaders.com, “5 Things God Never Said.” I found the article thought-provoking. You may not agree with everything R. Larry Moyer says in the article, but it should prompt us to examine whether popularly held beliefs in our churches are biblically based, or are merely traditions or misconceptions we only thought were in the Bible. Give the article a read and let me know what you think.

More on Obama's true religious beliefs

Alexander LaBrecque at American Thinker has added two more articles on Obama's true religious beliefs. The link here will take you to a page that has the links to all three of his articles on this all-important topic.

In a recent interview about his mindless diatribe of a movie, Religulous, Bill Maher was asked about his support for Obama--especially since Obama has proclaimed his "Christian" faith, and Maher believes those "deluded" by religious belief should not hold public office. "I can only hope he's lying," was Maher's answer. Well, Bill, you may be closer to getting your wish than you realize (oops, or would that be a little too "delusional" for you?).

Obama's true religious beliefs

A note to the Matthew 25 Network and its faithful followers such as "James" (who complained on this blog site that Sarah Palin's "mean" speech against Obama at the Republican convention hurt Christians' ability to witness to unbelievers): you may want to check this article link--then examine whether you are being duped by Obama in order to get power. That is, if you have the courage to find out the truth.

Slanted history

On my library shelf I have a book called The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael Hart. I dive into it once in a while for historical research or even anecdotes for sermons (for example, Alexander the Great, unlike nearly all other generals, led his forces into battles instead of staying in the back. While he did suffer many wounds, he was demonstrating to his troops that he would not ask them to do something he was not willing to do himself—a good principle of leadership).

The reason I’m discussing this book here is because it demonstrates how modern historians tend to whitewash the history of Islam, while giving no quarter to the Bible as a historical record (let alone as being the inspired Word of God).

Many Christians won’t like this book for the mere fact that, in terms of influence on world history, Hart places Muhammad at No. 1 on the list, with Jesus only at No. 3 (Sir Isaac Newton, by the way, was No. 2). Hart argues that Muhammad was influential in both religious and political realms; plus, Hart splits the credit for Christianity’s spread between Jesus and the Apostle Paul (No. 6 on the list).

Hart’s entitled to his (wrong) opinion I guess, and anyway, I always felt deep down that Jesus shouldn’t be on the list in any event—Jesus is the God of the universe with the Father and Holy Spirit, so how could one put our Lord and Creator on a list to compare Him with mere mortals anyway?

Still, Hart’s observations about Jesus and Muhammad (made in 1978, by the way) are instructive, so far as they prove my above point. Hart’s comments on Muhammad’s rise to power and the violent spread of Islam seem like they are in a tone of wonderment: “…in a scant century of fighting, these Bedouin tribesmen, inspired by the Word of the Prophet, had carved out an empire stretching from the borders of India to the Atlantic Ocean—the largest empire the world has yet seen. And everywhere the armies conquered, large-scale conversion to the new faith eventually followed” (p. 35). Nothing here in Hart’s narrative speaks of these being FORCED conversions—you and your family converted, unless you chose death, slavery or permanent, oppressed second-class status.

Hart also makes completely ignorant claims on p. 39 while discussing the Koran: “Most of (Muhammad’s) utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad’s lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his death. The Koran, therefore, closely represents Muhammad’s ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived” (emphasis mine). Has Hart not heard of the Gospel accounts? Well, he has: “Unfortunately, the Gospels contradict each other on various points. For example, Matthew and Luke give completely different versions of Jesus’ last words …” (p. 49). There’s no consideration that the “contradictory” statements could have BOTH been made by Jesus, or that the varying perspectives given be each gospel writing (far from being “contradictory”) actually show the gospel accounts to be VERY historically reliable. No one seems to question eyewitness accounts by Muhammad’s followers, or those of Socrates for that matter. Only the Bible (including the Gospels) is God’s inspired Word, making it a prime target of “downgrading” by “scholars.” Let’s put it this way: don’t expect a “Muhammad Seminar” questioning the authenticity of the Koran anytime soon.

Hart also takes a swipe at Paul for allegedly being oppressive toward women (taking verses in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy out of context) on p. 64, while ignoring Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 (“there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”), and his work with the husband and wife apostolic team of Priscilla and Aquila in the Book of Acts. For that matter, Hart doesn’t DARE touch the Koran’s oppressive view of women: a women’s testimony is half of that of a man (Koran 2:282); is entitled to half an inheritance that a man would receive (4:11); compares women to fields to be tilled by men (2:223); and orders men to beat disobedient wives (4:34). But surely, these verses are not taken seriously in today’s Muslim world, right? “The Pakistani Institute of Medical Science has determined that over 90 percent of Pakistani wives have been struck, beaten or abused sexually—for offenses on the order of cooking an unsatisfactory meal. Others were punished for failing to give birth to a male child” (from Amnesty International, April 17, 2002 news briefing, cited in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) by Robert Spencer, p. 70).

Again, Hart’s book in general is very good for concise history and good anecdotes—but it isn’t hard to see the “scholarly” slant towards Islam and against Christianity in his book—a slant that has sadly permeated much of modern American scholarship and the media.

War of the Worlds

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: ABC TV was devoting an entire broadcast to what they called was the greatest threat to civilization—global warming. Complete with live action shots from around the globe, they featured melting ice caps, freaky weather aberrations, the works. I was overwhelmed with shock—not at the “shocking reports,” but at the amount of wasted airtime.

It also reminded me of another “shocking newscast” from the days when radio ruled: the famed 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast. The Mercury Theater (featuring Orson Welles) did a dramatization of H.G. Well’s classic novel, with newscast-like acting that made it sound like an invading army from Mars was REALLY landing in New Jersey to take over planet Earth. A mass hysteria occurred during the broadcast, with listeners arming themselves, evacuating their homes and a few even trying to kill themselves. The irony of the whole incident, as Welles noted later in a TV show recounting the incident, is that Americans jumped at believing the phony Mars invasion news reports (why didn’t they just turn the radio dial? It was only broadcast on CBS radio), while turning a deaf ear to a REAL threat that was looming in Europe (you might have read about it: something having to do with Hitler and Nazis trying to take over the world, triggering a REAL war, namely World War II).

It looks like that’s what is happening now with the country jumping to the sound of global warming alarms—while ignoring the steady Islamification of Europe, with remnants of the continent’s Christian heritage on the verge of being wiped out (a phenomenon that is making its way to our shores, slowly but surely). We hardly blink an eye when Islamic terrorists come to within a hair of blowing up a dozen places in Britain, or plot to blow up Kennedy Airport in NY and surrounding places—but we shudder when a chunk of ice breaks off in Antarctica. Is it maybe because we realize, deep down inside, that global warming really IS an illusion, that warming cycles are part of nature? Maybe it’s far easier to watch Al Gore pine about his “inconvenient truths” (then again, staying awake for that COULD be a chore in itself) or watch some innocuous worldwide concert, so we can pat ourselves on the back about doing OUR part to stop tidal waves from coming to New York or multiple hurricanes hitting Florida.

Of course, should we ever come to live in the Islamic Republic of America, you can be sure than global warming will take a back seat to other “big” issues (which would be something to truly shudder about).