The amount of love God has for his children is immense. We go about our lives and we love many people, but not in God's sense of the word, in our sense of it. Our love does not last; we love someone one day and next they are on our nerves. We all have people in our lives that it seems our patience cannot handle. I can even think of specific people that I dread to see at school and in life in general. These feeling's don't please me, but they are there. That is undeniable.
There is something about Jesus that never ceases to amaze me: his patience. He is patient towards people who want to be healed, people who want salvation, and even people who persecute him, and eventually, nail him to the cross. He is patient as he gets lashed, as he is mocked, and as he dying on the cross. Could you pull that off? Could you sit there dying on the cross and not throw out a few curse words to the people who are doing it? Could you let the people lash at your back until you don't even look like a human anymore, in patience? One of my friends loves to ask a question to other Christians. She first asks "Would you die for Christ?" to which nearly every Christian says "yes". Then she asks "would you suffer ten years for Christ?" Yeah, they usually pause for a moment.
Jesus says this:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no on than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." -- John 15:12-13
First, Jesus says that we have to love others as he has loved us. Then he tells us how he loved us, by laying down his life for us. Does God really expect us to go around dying for our buddies? No, than every Christian would be dead. Could you imagine a world where if your buddy said "Go jump off a bridge", you headed off to kill yourself? Ridiculous. God doesn't expect that every Christian go out and search for opportunities to die for friends, but he expects you to be willing when, and if, that opportunity comes along. If there is a situation where you have the power to take a bullet from your friend, whether that be an insult, a persecution, a physical beating, or death, God expects you to take it.
Some of you might be saying to yourself that you have already decided that you would be willing to die for your friends and family, well I got news for you, you have to be willing to lay down your life for Christ firstly, enemies secondly, and friends thirdly. Christ deserves first because he should already have first in your life, if he doesn't, you should examine your faith. Because he is number one, if you were to die for someone, it should be him. You may be looking at the other two and thinking I got them backwards. Nope. Think about it, if a man runs up to you and aims a gun at your head, the chances are that that guy isn't a Christian. If you were to pull out your pistol and shoot him before he could get to you, you just ended that guys life, which means he is headed straight to hell for eternal punishment. But if you die, you head to eternal joy, so you are obviously the better option, perhaps this guy will learn something from your willingness to die and come to salvation in the end. God would definitely be proud. Your friends are last because they aren't necessarily even hard to die for because you like them anyways. That may simply be instinct.
Fortunately for you, the chances are pretty slim that you will be put in a situation where you have to sacrifice your physical body for Christ, enemies, or friends. However, you must sacrifice yourself to Christ on a daily basis. Every morning waking up, dropping to your knees, and praying for mercy upon the iniquities and depravity of your flesh. Jesus expects us to "lose our life that we may find it". He expects us to walk every day in the spirit and not in the flesh and ask for forgiveness for the times we haven't. We are to have a higher love for others and Christ than we have for ourselves. We must learn to love others and Christ as Christ loved us; that is his commandment. Worldly love doesn't include sacrifice, a love for God requires daily sacrifice.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
True Christianity
What if I told you that all Christians are going to heaven? What if I told you when someone becomes a Christian, their whole life changes? Not for a week or a year, but for a life-time. What If I told you that Christianity isn't just a belief, but a transformation done in man by God? What would you say? Would you deny it? Would you claim I'm lying? Check out these verses:
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." -- Romans 10:9
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." -- 2 Corinthians 3:18
There you have it. It is the truth. Every christian who has believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead, that person shall be saved. In being saved, God will transform them from who they are to who he wants them to be. It really is quite simple, but there is a problem.
Why is it sometime hard for me to tell who is a Christian and who isn't? In many situations, I don't notice a difference between the way of life of a believer and the way of life of a unbeliever. The Bible clearly says throughout that believers will bear fruit of their salvation. That means that believers will show evidence of their salvation in how they live, so what if there is no evidence? Don't just think about me though, can you tell who is and isn't a Christian if you had never talked to them before in your life? Even more importantly, can people who don't know you tell that you are a Christian? Do even your closest friends know your a Christian? Does anyone? Or are you the only one?
So where does the problem lie? The Bible is true, and that must be accepted by anyone who is a Christian anyways, so it can't be that. What about me, maybe I'm interpreting it poorly. In that case, have a look for yourself and feel free to form your own opinion. But if we assume that the Bible is correct and that I am not trying to lead astray but am speaking the truth, we have to conclude that many people who think they are Christian's really aren't. If you truly called upon God, if you seriously wanted to be changed, if you said "I'm all in", God will transform your life. If you didn't, he won't. It's that straight-forward. If you are saying to yourself "I did give my life to God! I said the prayer and I have given to charity but I haven't been changed. That must mean it's God's fault!" Jesus says "Ask and you shall receive". Therefore, if you didn't receive transformation from God, you didn't really ask with all of yourself. God is faithful to transform you if you truly call upon him. If your the only one who knows your a Christian, your not.
Fortunately, there is some good news for you who have been self-decieved about Christianity. That is, if your reading this, your not dead yet. If your not dead yet, you still have a chance to start over with Christ. Don't just sit there and continue to deceive yourself, you will regret it for eternity. First, pray passionately and humbly to our Father in heaven who will forgive you your sins and deception, and will transform you if your heart is in the right place. Then stand up, pick up your Bible and head out into the world with a Holy world-view, a salvation that no one can shake, and a love that no one can remove. It will not be a sudden transformation, but a life-long fight of getting closer and closer to God until finally you take your last breathe on this earth and experience paradise and perfection with your next breathe. It will be hard, but don't worry, we get to celebrate for the rest of eternity.
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." -- Romans 10:9
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." -- 2 Corinthians 3:18
There you have it. It is the truth. Every christian who has believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead, that person shall be saved. In being saved, God will transform them from who they are to who he wants them to be. It really is quite simple, but there is a problem.
Why is it sometime hard for me to tell who is a Christian and who isn't? In many situations, I don't notice a difference between the way of life of a believer and the way of life of a unbeliever. The Bible clearly says throughout that believers will bear fruit of their salvation. That means that believers will show evidence of their salvation in how they live, so what if there is no evidence? Don't just think about me though, can you tell who is and isn't a Christian if you had never talked to them before in your life? Even more importantly, can people who don't know you tell that you are a Christian? Do even your closest friends know your a Christian? Does anyone? Or are you the only one?
So where does the problem lie? The Bible is true, and that must be accepted by anyone who is a Christian anyways, so it can't be that. What about me, maybe I'm interpreting it poorly. In that case, have a look for yourself and feel free to form your own opinion. But if we assume that the Bible is correct and that I am not trying to lead astray but am speaking the truth, we have to conclude that many people who think they are Christian's really aren't. If you truly called upon God, if you seriously wanted to be changed, if you said "I'm all in", God will transform your life. If you didn't, he won't. It's that straight-forward. If you are saying to yourself "I did give my life to God! I said the prayer and I have given to charity but I haven't been changed. That must mean it's God's fault!" Jesus says "Ask and you shall receive". Therefore, if you didn't receive transformation from God, you didn't really ask with all of yourself. God is faithful to transform you if you truly call upon him. If your the only one who knows your a Christian, your not.
Fortunately, there is some good news for you who have been self-decieved about Christianity. That is, if your reading this, your not dead yet. If your not dead yet, you still have a chance to start over with Christ. Don't just sit there and continue to deceive yourself, you will regret it for eternity. First, pray passionately and humbly to our Father in heaven who will forgive you your sins and deception, and will transform you if your heart is in the right place. Then stand up, pick up your Bible and head out into the world with a Holy world-view, a salvation that no one can shake, and a love that no one can remove. It will not be a sudden transformation, but a life-long fight of getting closer and closer to God until finally you take your last breathe on this earth and experience paradise and perfection with your next breathe. It will be hard, but don't worry, we get to celebrate for the rest of eternity.
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Monday, May 28, 2012
Wide-Spread Consequences
I hate it when I make mistakes. I know it is inevitable in life that I'm going to, but I still can't seem to get used to it. Do you know what I'm talking about? When there is a sin in your life that your can't seem to kick out, or when you are doing everything right and you think you have everything under control, and then you slip up? Go ahead and think of a time this has happened for you. Maybe it is a sin that has haunted you for a long time, maybe it was a one-time sin that still haunts you. All of us have these sins though, and for one moment, dwell on that.
Now that you've dwelt on your own sins, I want to take you to a different setting. Imagine you are put in control of city. You are now king (or queen) and you make all the decisions. It's all up to you. Cool, right? You have a buddy who is very close to God and you are aware of his devotion to the Lord, because of your friendship with him, you have put him over all your other advisors. You have been friends with him for a while and you have seen beautiful things happen from the God he serves, you have even gone so far as to make a plan for setting him over the whole Kingdom when you are all done.
It's just a normal day, your making all your king-like decisions and sitting on your thrown, just doing your thing; staying busy, when one hundred and twenty two of your advisors come to you and say "Oh King, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions." This offer sounds pretty appealing to you. Why wouldn't you want people to worship you, right? You are the king after all, but there is a catch. Your advisors continue "Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." If you sign the document saying that for thirty days, no one can worship anyone but you or they are thrown into the lions den, you have to follow through. There is no going back. However, you can't think of any reason to not sign it, so you sign away and watch people bow down at your feet.
The next day, your advisors come back to you with some news. They tell you that your buddy who worships God refuses to bow down to you. You think to yourself "Oh no, I didn't see that one coming". You realize it was a plot by your advisors to get rid of who you planned to crown next as King but there is nothing you can do. You can't revoke it, that power is not in your hands. You do the only thing you can do. First, fight for him, when that doesn't work, you cry for him as he is being taken to the lion's den, when your crying ceases, you fast, pray, and hope that God will deliver him.
You wake up in the morning, and run to the lion's den, yelling "are you alive, has your God delivered you?" You here your friend cry back, "yes! He has shut the lion's mouths." You rejoice and are glad.
You may recognize this story. It is commonly called Daniel in the Lion's Den. The King made a poor choice that had consequences for his best friend, but none for him. We have the same potential in our lives. Our choices in life can hurt others, not just ourselves. So what do we do when we have made that choice that we cannot control but has hurt someone else? We cannot just ignore it. First, we fight for them, we do what we can to change the mistake we've made. If our fighting fails and reconciliation has still not been delivered, let us mourn with them, let us show them that we hurt with them. Let us not simply let them sit in sadness alone. Once all has failed, may we have the humility and faith to run to God screaming Help! I have hurt my brother in Christ! Do not let him suffer from my mistakes, but deliver him. I am sorry. When we come to God with this, he will turn to us and say "I will take the piercings of transgression upon myself, be forgiven and run to your brother who rests in my arms."
God is faithful to forgive us for when we hurt ourselves and others. These times are going to come in life. When we make a mistake and it seems the consequences outweigh what has been committed. When these times come, remember God. Remember his hands, remember the blood, the sacrifice, the death, the love, the grace, the mercy. The consequence of His choice is the forgiveness of ours.
Now that you've dwelt on your own sins, I want to take you to a different setting. Imagine you are put in control of city. You are now king (or queen) and you make all the decisions. It's all up to you. Cool, right? You have a buddy who is very close to God and you are aware of his devotion to the Lord, because of your friendship with him, you have put him over all your other advisors. You have been friends with him for a while and you have seen beautiful things happen from the God he serves, you have even gone so far as to make a plan for setting him over the whole Kingdom when you are all done.
It's just a normal day, your making all your king-like decisions and sitting on your thrown, just doing your thing; staying busy, when one hundred and twenty two of your advisors come to you and say "Oh King, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions." This offer sounds pretty appealing to you. Why wouldn't you want people to worship you, right? You are the king after all, but there is a catch. Your advisors continue "Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." If you sign the document saying that for thirty days, no one can worship anyone but you or they are thrown into the lions den, you have to follow through. There is no going back. However, you can't think of any reason to not sign it, so you sign away and watch people bow down at your feet.
The next day, your advisors come back to you with some news. They tell you that your buddy who worships God refuses to bow down to you. You think to yourself "Oh no, I didn't see that one coming". You realize it was a plot by your advisors to get rid of who you planned to crown next as King but there is nothing you can do. You can't revoke it, that power is not in your hands. You do the only thing you can do. First, fight for him, when that doesn't work, you cry for him as he is being taken to the lion's den, when your crying ceases, you fast, pray, and hope that God will deliver him.
You wake up in the morning, and run to the lion's den, yelling "are you alive, has your God delivered you?" You here your friend cry back, "yes! He has shut the lion's mouths." You rejoice and are glad.
You may recognize this story. It is commonly called Daniel in the Lion's Den. The King made a poor choice that had consequences for his best friend, but none for him. We have the same potential in our lives. Our choices in life can hurt others, not just ourselves. So what do we do when we have made that choice that we cannot control but has hurt someone else? We cannot just ignore it. First, we fight for them, we do what we can to change the mistake we've made. If our fighting fails and reconciliation has still not been delivered, let us mourn with them, let us show them that we hurt with them. Let us not simply let them sit in sadness alone. Once all has failed, may we have the humility and faith to run to God screaming Help! I have hurt my brother in Christ! Do not let him suffer from my mistakes, but deliver him. I am sorry. When we come to God with this, he will turn to us and say "I will take the piercings of transgression upon myself, be forgiven and run to your brother who rests in my arms."
God is faithful to forgive us for when we hurt ourselves and others. These times are going to come in life. When we make a mistake and it seems the consequences outweigh what has been committed. When these times come, remember God. Remember his hands, remember the blood, the sacrifice, the death, the love, the grace, the mercy. The consequence of His choice is the forgiveness of ours.
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
The Great Commission
I have a friend who works at RadioShack and the other night, me and some other friends went to visit him for some pizza and conversation. I ended up having to leave in the middle to grab something from home for one of my friends. Once I returned, I went into RadioShack and only my friend who was working was still there, so I asked him where everyone else had gone, and he said they had went to buy him a water from the store just next door. Me and Him talked for about fifteen minutes before I realized that the other friends were still gone.
Now before I continue my story, it's important to realize the kind of person I am. Firstly, I am a skeptic. I have trouble believing things that I don't have evidence for. Secondly, I was raised as a Baptist and therefore am not in the least Charismatic--that is, I don't heal or speak in tongues, that sort of stuff. I have always admitted that those kind of miracles are possible, I just never had seen or felt it done.
When I realized that the other friends were still gone, I asked my friend why he thought they were taking so long. I figured it would be a somewhat pointless question. How was he supposed to know anyways? He replied "They are praying for someone". I thought he was crazy, there was no possible way for him to know that they were praying for someone. Ridiculous. I said "what?" and he said "at this moment, they are praying for someone". Being able to see the skepticism in my eyes, he prompted me to "go look". What did I do? I looked. I felt this would be an opportunity to prove him wrong, not only that, but there was something inside me saying "prepare to be amazed" but I just kept ignoring it. That is why I went. There was no way that right at the moment I had asked him what was taking them so long, they had been praying for someone and my RadioShack friend had known. I ran over to the store to test what was happening. As I looked around, I looked down several different aisles, not being able to find them. I kept expecting to see them just browsing about the store and then I could say "hah! you were wrong!" As I looked down the next aisle though, my reality shattered. There were my friends talking to some woman that I didn't know. I walked up and before my friends could say anything, the lady, while pointing at my friends, said "hey, they just prayed for and healed me". My jaw dropped and I didn't think I would ever get words out. I felt speechless.
"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.'" -- Mark 16:15-18
The Bible says that the signs in this verse will accompany those who believe. Do you believe? Than you have the power to do these signs. It's right there in the Bible. Jesus said that he gave us the power to do them; those who believe. Not just the disciples, not just the people from back then. But believers in Christ today. Do we not serve the same God now that the disciples did than? Our faith is small, smaller than a mustard seed.
Not only are we called to preach, teach, and disciple, but we are called to heal and cast our demons. Not for our own sake, but for the sake of God's glory and Jesus' kingdom. Not so that we look cool, but so that people realize the power of God. People will see signs, and wonder how? They will see our love, and wonder why? They will see our faith, and say wow! They will feel God and proclaim YES!
Now before I continue my story, it's important to realize the kind of person I am. Firstly, I am a skeptic. I have trouble believing things that I don't have evidence for. Secondly, I was raised as a Baptist and therefore am not in the least Charismatic--that is, I don't heal or speak in tongues, that sort of stuff. I have always admitted that those kind of miracles are possible, I just never had seen or felt it done.
When I realized that the other friends were still gone, I asked my friend why he thought they were taking so long. I figured it would be a somewhat pointless question. How was he supposed to know anyways? He replied "They are praying for someone". I thought he was crazy, there was no possible way for him to know that they were praying for someone. Ridiculous. I said "what?" and he said "at this moment, they are praying for someone". Being able to see the skepticism in my eyes, he prompted me to "go look". What did I do? I looked. I felt this would be an opportunity to prove him wrong, not only that, but there was something inside me saying "prepare to be amazed" but I just kept ignoring it. That is why I went. There was no way that right at the moment I had asked him what was taking them so long, they had been praying for someone and my RadioShack friend had known. I ran over to the store to test what was happening. As I looked around, I looked down several different aisles, not being able to find them. I kept expecting to see them just browsing about the store and then I could say "hah! you were wrong!" As I looked down the next aisle though, my reality shattered. There were my friends talking to some woman that I didn't know. I walked up and before my friends could say anything, the lady, while pointing at my friends, said "hey, they just prayed for and healed me". My jaw dropped and I didn't think I would ever get words out. I felt speechless.
"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.'" -- Mark 16:15-18
The Bible says that the signs in this verse will accompany those who believe. Do you believe? Than you have the power to do these signs. It's right there in the Bible. Jesus said that he gave us the power to do them; those who believe. Not just the disciples, not just the people from back then. But believers in Christ today. Do we not serve the same God now that the disciples did than? Our faith is small, smaller than a mustard seed.
Not only are we called to preach, teach, and disciple, but we are called to heal and cast our demons. Not for our own sake, but for the sake of God's glory and Jesus' kingdom. Not so that we look cool, but so that people realize the power of God. People will see signs, and wonder how? They will see our love, and wonder why? They will see our faith, and say wow! They will feel God and proclaim YES!
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Saturday, May 26, 2012
Dying to Yourself
Looking at our past is not always a fun experience. However, it is often times a humbling one. I remember times in my life where I was lead astray, where I lead myself astray, and where I lead others astray. Such experiences are haunting to look back at; specifically, the experiences where I lead others astray. "I could have ministered to them" I say to myself, "I could have changed them but I missed my opportunity." Do you have these thoughts as well? The times when you look at your past and it makes you feel as though you don't deserve to be who you are today? Maybe you look at your past and ignore it. Maybe you look at your past and live it. Or maybe you look at your past and learn from it. We all have lessons to learn from our past, from our mistakes, from our short-comings. We are often shaped by God through our failures.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." -- Galatians 1:4
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." -- Romans 7:24-25
Many of us, before we came to Christ (or perhaps you haven't yet come to Christ) lead sinful lives. Whether those lives were sinful by drunkenness and sexual immorality, or whether they were sinful by cussing and not serving the will of God, it was still sinful because our eyes were not set on God. It is one thing to not be capable to serve God at a certain point in your life, and lead others away from him, but it is another thing to have your eyes set on God and openly lead others away from him. As I told my testimony to a group of friends today, I talked of the shame I carried for leading people away from Christ in my days of serving a lukewarm Christianity. One friend said in response to me "you can't be ashamed for not talking to them about Christ and not leading them towards Christ because at that point in your life, you were not capable of helping them in there relationship with Christ." I couldn't help them because I hadn't been helped. I first needed to get over my sickness before I could help someone else who was sick.
So how do we get over our sickness? How do we go from sin to Christ? How do we change from depravity to perfection? The answer is Jesus. By the blood of Christ, we are changed. Once we have been changed by the blood of our savior, then we can focus our energy on helping others to understand how we were saved from ourselves and how they can be as well. However, never do we save anyone, only the Holy Spirit does that by entering into their life. We are called to tell our story, we are not called to save people. God will take care of that through our words. Only once I'm a new creation, will I be able to adequately share Christ with others.
It took me a long time to realize that I am literally not the same person I was, the Bible says I am a "new creation" in Christ! That's right, that person who committed those sins, who lead those people astray in their insecurity, depravity, and sickness, is not me, that person no longer exists. They are dead, and I am joyous that they are. I have been reborn, I have changed, "the old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Once we have come to the point where we serve Christ whole-heartedly, we than have not only an obligation, but a desire and privilege, to tell others that we were saved by Jesus. If someone jumped in front of a bullet to save your life, would you tell their story? Would you proclaim it to the ends of the earth? Would you fulfill whatever that savior wanted from you? By the death of Jesus, we have been saved; by the blood of Jesus, we have been redeemed; by the grace of God, others will too.
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." -- Galatians 1:4
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." -- Romans 7:24-25
Many of us, before we came to Christ (or perhaps you haven't yet come to Christ) lead sinful lives. Whether those lives were sinful by drunkenness and sexual immorality, or whether they were sinful by cussing and not serving the will of God, it was still sinful because our eyes were not set on God. It is one thing to not be capable to serve God at a certain point in your life, and lead others away from him, but it is another thing to have your eyes set on God and openly lead others away from him. As I told my testimony to a group of friends today, I talked of the shame I carried for leading people away from Christ in my days of serving a lukewarm Christianity. One friend said in response to me "you can't be ashamed for not talking to them about Christ and not leading them towards Christ because at that point in your life, you were not capable of helping them in there relationship with Christ." I couldn't help them because I hadn't been helped. I first needed to get over my sickness before I could help someone else who was sick.
So how do we get over our sickness? How do we go from sin to Christ? How do we change from depravity to perfection? The answer is Jesus. By the blood of Christ, we are changed. Once we have been changed by the blood of our savior, then we can focus our energy on helping others to understand how we were saved from ourselves and how they can be as well. However, never do we save anyone, only the Holy Spirit does that by entering into their life. We are called to tell our story, we are not called to save people. God will take care of that through our words. Only once I'm a new creation, will I be able to adequately share Christ with others.
It took me a long time to realize that I am literally not the same person I was, the Bible says I am a "new creation" in Christ! That's right, that person who committed those sins, who lead those people astray in their insecurity, depravity, and sickness, is not me, that person no longer exists. They are dead, and I am joyous that they are. I have been reborn, I have changed, "the old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
Once we have come to the point where we serve Christ whole-heartedly, we than have not only an obligation, but a desire and privilege, to tell others that we were saved by Jesus. If someone jumped in front of a bullet to save your life, would you tell their story? Would you proclaim it to the ends of the earth? Would you fulfill whatever that savior wanted from you? By the death of Jesus, we have been saved; by the blood of Jesus, we have been redeemed; by the grace of God, others will too.
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Friday, May 25, 2012
Judging Others
It is not a rare occurrence that I find myself in the presence of those who curse, and I would venture to guess that this is the case for many of us. Perhaps there is a different situation which irritates your soul such as drinking, smoking, hateful words, laziness, violence, blaspheme, perversity, lust, irrationality, idolatry, adultery, or sexual immorality. I am sure that every devout Christian hears, see's, or feels others' sins. If you claim to be a Christian and do not notice other's obvious transgressions, you may seriously want to examine your faith, for that must mean that your soul is not in the moral position it should be (or you have isolated yourself from the world in which case a psychiatrist may need to be considered).
The fact is that this world is full of sin. On a daily basis, every human see's others pierce Christ's hands with what they do. All Christians have experienced that awkward and uncomfortable moment where someone blatantly sins in front of them and they are faced with a choice: say something or remain quiet. What are we to do? Doesn't the Bible say we shouldn't rebuke others while we are imperfect beings? We say to ourselves "so if I say something, I disobey the Bible, and if I don't say something, well, my conscience is heavy but it makes life easier" and we continue to rest in our ignorance. Once, I heard a Christian youth pastor say "I always think it's funny when I'm around my non-Christian friends and one of them curses. They always look at me and say 'Oh! Sorry man! I forgot your a Christian." to what the Christian replied "Oh, no, really, don't worry about it. Your not a Christian so you don't have to follow that."
Let's take a look at the passage where Jesus talks about judging another person.
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do you not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
-- Matthew 7:1-6
Jesus says that we should not judge (something non-Christians and Christians alike love to mention when a believer try's to correct someone's behavior). But there is a condition under which we should not judge. Jesus says "first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye". It's that simple, don't be hypocritical in your judgement. If you curse like a sailor, don't tell others to not curse. But if you have gained control of sin in your life by the grace and mercy of God, than you are in every position to rebuke and aid others in their difficulties. Not out of hate and mockery, for that is sin, but out of love and a desire to further their experience with Christ. Jesus even says in Luke 17:3 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sin's, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."However, there must be a balance in the Christian life between Judgment and forgiveness, we have a responsibility to aid those who are poor spiritually but also a responsibility to forgive those who have come to acknowledge their depravity.
Some may say we have a tough job. For we are called to rebuke and forgive those who's sins we witness. Let us not say to those who are non-Christian that it is okay for them to sin because they do not believe in Christ. Denying a belief does not make it false. I can say that the world is flat, should I therefore live as if it is? Never traveling across water, worried that I may fall off the edge? I surely will but others have the responsibility, in their greater wisdom, to tell me the truth, that I may understand life further. We Christians are in the same position, we must proclaim Christ when given any opportunity, whether it be someone cursing in front of us, or someone coming up and asking us plainly about Jesus. We are called to a life of purity, judgement, and constant fellowship.
The fact is that this world is full of sin. On a daily basis, every human see's others pierce Christ's hands with what they do. All Christians have experienced that awkward and uncomfortable moment where someone blatantly sins in front of them and they are faced with a choice: say something or remain quiet. What are we to do? Doesn't the Bible say we shouldn't rebuke others while we are imperfect beings? We say to ourselves "so if I say something, I disobey the Bible, and if I don't say something, well, my conscience is heavy but it makes life easier" and we continue to rest in our ignorance. Once, I heard a Christian youth pastor say "I always think it's funny when I'm around my non-Christian friends and one of them curses. They always look at me and say 'Oh! Sorry man! I forgot your a Christian." to what the Christian replied "Oh, no, really, don't worry about it. Your not a Christian so you don't have to follow that."
Let's take a look at the passage where Jesus talks about judging another person.
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do you not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you."
-- Matthew 7:1-6
Jesus says that we should not judge (something non-Christians and Christians alike love to mention when a believer try's to correct someone's behavior). But there is a condition under which we should not judge. Jesus says "first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye". It's that simple, don't be hypocritical in your judgement. If you curse like a sailor, don't tell others to not curse. But if you have gained control of sin in your life by the grace and mercy of God, than you are in every position to rebuke and aid others in their difficulties. Not out of hate and mockery, for that is sin, but out of love and a desire to further their experience with Christ. Jesus even says in Luke 17:3 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sin's, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."However, there must be a balance in the Christian life between Judgment and forgiveness, we have a responsibility to aid those who are poor spiritually but also a responsibility to forgive those who have come to acknowledge their depravity.
Some may say we have a tough job. For we are called to rebuke and forgive those who's sins we witness. Let us not say to those who are non-Christian that it is okay for them to sin because they do not believe in Christ. Denying a belief does not make it false. I can say that the world is flat, should I therefore live as if it is? Never traveling across water, worried that I may fall off the edge? I surely will but others have the responsibility, in their greater wisdom, to tell me the truth, that I may understand life further. We Christians are in the same position, we must proclaim Christ when given any opportunity, whether it be someone cursing in front of us, or someone coming up and asking us plainly about Jesus. We are called to a life of purity, judgement, and constant fellowship.
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Thursday, May 24, 2012
Our Jealous God
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." -- Philippians 1:21
To live is Christ and to die is gain? Does that fit with the way you view the world? Last I checked, dying wasn't the most pleasant thing. In fact it is quite horrible. Isn't it? Not to mention that I sure never thought of dying being a thing of "gain". Whatever that means.
For the one who has little faith, this verse can be difficult to understand. However, for the one who has an abundance of faith, this verse is close to heart. First, Paul meant that living is his most heartfelt way to express his connection with Christ to others who are lost, and that in this life, there are opportunities to be tested and therefore opportunities to further express one's love for Christ. Basically, in this life, Paul can understand the sufferings Jesus experienced because he suffers. Secondly, he meant that in death, he will experience closeness again to his savior and his Father and because of the effect of death, what seems to be loss is gain.
If it's true that we Christians are supposed to look at life as Paul did, think of life as an opportunity to live like Christ, and look at death as simply a passage to a greater ultimate reality with God, than maybe this whole "Christian" thing isn't what some of us thought it was. Many Christians assume everything is done for us. After all, God died for us, we live for us, I choose God, God hopes I choose him. It's a perverse logic so many of us have adopted. I will make this next statement as clear as possible. Everything that happens is made to happen by, for, and through God. Look at some of these verses supporting this premise.
"For I [God] knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel. For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." -- Isaiah 48:8-11
"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." -- Isaiah 43:25
"Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." -- Psalms 44:22
"We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, be we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things." -- 1 Corinthians 4:10-13
"But whatever gain I had, I counted for loss for the sake of Christ." -- Philippians 3:7
It is obvious that all of these verses point to things being done for the sake of Christ, not for ourselves (even though sometimes it seems it is being done for us). God blots out our transgressions and forgets our sins for his sake, not ours; God makes us suffer for his sake, not ours; God loves his children for his sake, not ours; God has mercy for his sake, not ours. Paul realized this in his letters, he realized that God didn't save him so that he could go do whatever he wanted, but so that God would be glorified through his salvation. He realized that he didn't suffer because God is an evil tyrant, but because God will be more glorified in the end through his suffering. The reality is that God does things for himself, sounds selfish? Get over it. We serve a God who does not "give up his glory" to anyone, a God who loves, but not because he feels bad for us, a powerful God who isn't selfish but glorifies himself because who else is God to glorify? Us? Absolutely not. Nothing created deserves glory, only that which did the creating deserves glory.
Does all of this make sense? I hope so. Sometimes it won't make sense why God made us suffer, but that is because we don't see the whole picture. Can you tell what the puzzle is going to be when you look at just one piece? No. In the same way, when we look at one instance of evil in our life, we don't understand because we can't see how this fits into a picture that is glorious, but we are only seeing one small piece of the puzzle.
How glorious is God? We have a God who knows the beginning from the end, is transcendent yet immanent, incomprehensible yet understanding, wrathful yet lovable, merciful yet just, pure yet exposed. He is a God who gives glory to himself because he is the only one worthy of such glory.
On occasion, we think we are worthy of God's glory, well in reality, those who think they are worthy are less worthy than those who think they aren't. God did not come to save the righteous, but sinners. Not the rich, but the poor. Not the strong, but the weak.
To live is Christ and to die is gain? Does that fit with the way you view the world? Last I checked, dying wasn't the most pleasant thing. In fact it is quite horrible. Isn't it? Not to mention that I sure never thought of dying being a thing of "gain". Whatever that means.
For the one who has little faith, this verse can be difficult to understand. However, for the one who has an abundance of faith, this verse is close to heart. First, Paul meant that living is his most heartfelt way to express his connection with Christ to others who are lost, and that in this life, there are opportunities to be tested and therefore opportunities to further express one's love for Christ. Basically, in this life, Paul can understand the sufferings Jesus experienced because he suffers. Secondly, he meant that in death, he will experience closeness again to his savior and his Father and because of the effect of death, what seems to be loss is gain.
If it's true that we Christians are supposed to look at life as Paul did, think of life as an opportunity to live like Christ, and look at death as simply a passage to a greater ultimate reality with God, than maybe this whole "Christian" thing isn't what some of us thought it was. Many Christians assume everything is done for us. After all, God died for us, we live for us, I choose God, God hopes I choose him. It's a perverse logic so many of us have adopted. I will make this next statement as clear as possible. Everything that happens is made to happen by, for, and through God. Look at some of these verses supporting this premise.
"For I [God] knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel. For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." -- Isaiah 48:8-11
"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." -- Isaiah 43:25
"Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." -- Psalms 44:22
"We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, be we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things." -- 1 Corinthians 4:10-13
"But whatever gain I had, I counted for loss for the sake of Christ." -- Philippians 3:7
It is obvious that all of these verses point to things being done for the sake of Christ, not for ourselves (even though sometimes it seems it is being done for us). God blots out our transgressions and forgets our sins for his sake, not ours; God makes us suffer for his sake, not ours; God loves his children for his sake, not ours; God has mercy for his sake, not ours. Paul realized this in his letters, he realized that God didn't save him so that he could go do whatever he wanted, but so that God would be glorified through his salvation. He realized that he didn't suffer because God is an evil tyrant, but because God will be more glorified in the end through his suffering. The reality is that God does things for himself, sounds selfish? Get over it. We serve a God who does not "give up his glory" to anyone, a God who loves, but not because he feels bad for us, a powerful God who isn't selfish but glorifies himself because who else is God to glorify? Us? Absolutely not. Nothing created deserves glory, only that which did the creating deserves glory.
Does all of this make sense? I hope so. Sometimes it won't make sense why God made us suffer, but that is because we don't see the whole picture. Can you tell what the puzzle is going to be when you look at just one piece? No. In the same way, when we look at one instance of evil in our life, we don't understand because we can't see how this fits into a picture that is glorious, but we are only seeing one small piece of the puzzle.
How glorious is God? We have a God who knows the beginning from the end, is transcendent yet immanent, incomprehensible yet understanding, wrathful yet lovable, merciful yet just, pure yet exposed. He is a God who gives glory to himself because he is the only one worthy of such glory.
On occasion, we think we are worthy of God's glory, well in reality, those who think they are worthy are less worthy than those who think they aren't. God did not come to save the righteous, but sinners. Not the rich, but the poor. Not the strong, but the weak.
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Blasphemy
What do you think of when I say the word blasphemy? Do you think of when someone exclaims "Oh my God"? Do you think of someone who refuses God? Do you think of cursing? Or calling upon evil spirits? Maybe you think of sin in general, or maybe you think of not doing the will of God. To have any one of these views is more cultural than it is biblical. And even if some of these views are accurate, the list is not exhaustive--it does not have all the situations in which God is blasphemed. Yes, it contains cursing, denial of the spirit, demonic practices, and sin, and though there is two more I wish to add to this list (which this post is about), the list will still not be complete, but it will be slightly more extensive (by two).
Now, read these Bible passages and think about blasphemy.
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." -- 2 Peter 2:1-3
"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." -- Mark 3:28-29
Many of us are familiar with the verse in Mark presented above talking about the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit being unable to redeem such a sin. But many of us have heard the more cultural (but less biblical) version of this verse, that is "Anyone who blasphemies God will not be forgiven". What does this mean? Does it mean that Jesus' death on the cross did not cover the sins including blaspheme against God? Such as saying "Oh my God" or saying "God doesn't exist"? There are those who teach this doctrine, but it is a fallacy. There is no denying that their is some sort of blaspheme that is unforgivable, and in this passage, it is referred to as the "blasphemes against the Holy Spirit". One more very important thing to notice in Mark is where it says "sins will be forgiven...whatever blasphemes they utter".
Now let's take a look at the passage in 2 Peter. The verse begins by talking about false prophets. What is a false prophet? It is someone who is persuasive, seems to have all the right answers, seems to have the truth, but is a liar. They are people who bring about heresies and sin, gossip and hate, false teaching and slander, idols and poor doctrine. When talking of these false prophets, the passage says they "even deny the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." So it seems that denying the Master (Jesus and his salvation) causes a path to destruction (hell). It goes on to say that many will follow these false prophets, and then it says "and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed."
Follow the line of logic here. We know that blaspheme against the Holy Spirit brings about an inability to be forgiven. We know that blasphemes that are uttered can be forgiven. We also know that the Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus inside each child of God. And we learn in 2 Peter that false prophets (or teachers) blaspheme the way of truth; and that blaspheme leads them to destruction. It must be then that blaspheme is not what so many people think it to be, for I know that I do not have a reservation in heaven if my sins have not been forgiven for my cursing and anger towards God on certain occasions. But as we know, things uttered are forgiven.
These verses are talking about the second most severe form of blaspheme: the blaspheme against saving grace. The blaspheme of when a person turns away from God in resentment, or ignorance because they are either too lazy or angry to follow God. The blaspheme of when people curse God whole-heartedly wishing him eternal damnation. The blaspheme that denies the saving grace God offers. For who can be saved without the gift of the holy spirit? No one. Not only this, but the first most severe form of blaspheme is also within these verses. Think of the false prophets for a moment. The worst form of blaspheme is a "lukewarm belief". By a "lukewarm belief", I'm talking about those people who claim to be a Christian, but their lives show otherwise, and because their lives show otherwise, others see and follow a false Jesus living within them. I'm talking about those people who go to church for the holidays and drink every weekend; or those who claim to hold the spirit within their soul, but rather than lead people to Christ, they take them from him. The people who are supposed to be a light in this world, but are a dark place to hide. The people who don't stand up for their faith, but rather duck down and dodge the bullets. They say "Lord, Lord" but they have never opened their Bible a day in their life. To these people, the kingdom of heaven does not belong. Because they have not received the Holy Spirit if the Holy Spirit is not seen in them through their actions. All you atheists who hate Christians and hate Jesus, do you truly want to blaspheme God? Become a Christian and live as if your not. If someone thinks they are safe, then that is right where Satan wants them, when you think you are healthy, you won't look for a cure. Little do you know, your dying.
Now, read these Bible passages and think about blasphemy.
"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." -- 2 Peter 2:1-3
"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." -- Mark 3:28-29
Many of us are familiar with the verse in Mark presented above talking about the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit being unable to redeem such a sin. But many of us have heard the more cultural (but less biblical) version of this verse, that is "Anyone who blasphemies God will not be forgiven". What does this mean? Does it mean that Jesus' death on the cross did not cover the sins including blaspheme against God? Such as saying "Oh my God" or saying "God doesn't exist"? There are those who teach this doctrine, but it is a fallacy. There is no denying that their is some sort of blaspheme that is unforgivable, and in this passage, it is referred to as the "blasphemes against the Holy Spirit". One more very important thing to notice in Mark is where it says "sins will be forgiven...whatever blasphemes they utter".
Now let's take a look at the passage in 2 Peter. The verse begins by talking about false prophets. What is a false prophet? It is someone who is persuasive, seems to have all the right answers, seems to have the truth, but is a liar. They are people who bring about heresies and sin, gossip and hate, false teaching and slander, idols and poor doctrine. When talking of these false prophets, the passage says they "even deny the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." So it seems that denying the Master (Jesus and his salvation) causes a path to destruction (hell). It goes on to say that many will follow these false prophets, and then it says "and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed."
Follow the line of logic here. We know that blaspheme against the Holy Spirit brings about an inability to be forgiven. We know that blasphemes that are uttered can be forgiven. We also know that the Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus inside each child of God. And we learn in 2 Peter that false prophets (or teachers) blaspheme the way of truth; and that blaspheme leads them to destruction. It must be then that blaspheme is not what so many people think it to be, for I know that I do not have a reservation in heaven if my sins have not been forgiven for my cursing and anger towards God on certain occasions. But as we know, things uttered are forgiven.
These verses are talking about the second most severe form of blaspheme: the blaspheme against saving grace. The blaspheme of when a person turns away from God in resentment, or ignorance because they are either too lazy or angry to follow God. The blaspheme of when people curse God whole-heartedly wishing him eternal damnation. The blaspheme that denies the saving grace God offers. For who can be saved without the gift of the holy spirit? No one. Not only this, but the first most severe form of blaspheme is also within these verses. Think of the false prophets for a moment. The worst form of blaspheme is a "lukewarm belief". By a "lukewarm belief", I'm talking about those people who claim to be a Christian, but their lives show otherwise, and because their lives show otherwise, others see and follow a false Jesus living within them. I'm talking about those people who go to church for the holidays and drink every weekend; or those who claim to hold the spirit within their soul, but rather than lead people to Christ, they take them from him. The people who are supposed to be a light in this world, but are a dark place to hide. The people who don't stand up for their faith, but rather duck down and dodge the bullets. They say "Lord, Lord" but they have never opened their Bible a day in their life. To these people, the kingdom of heaven does not belong. Because they have not received the Holy Spirit if the Holy Spirit is not seen in them through their actions. All you atheists who hate Christians and hate Jesus, do you truly want to blaspheme God? Become a Christian and live as if your not. If someone thinks they are safe, then that is right where Satan wants them, when you think you are healthy, you won't look for a cure. Little do you know, your dying.
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Friday, May 11, 2012
The Bible as a Movie
I recently finished the book of Matthew. I never realized the life-changing power that the Bible has until I read it and actually tried to comprehend what I was reading. Ya know, as opposed to that reading-but-not-hearing-what-your-reading method; a pretty common method (especially when it comes to God's word). Why is that? Why is it that the single most important book that anyone will ever read is so easily drowned out by other things around us? It seems that if God really wanted his people to write a book that was divinely influential, as the Bible is supposed to be, he would have made it entertaining. Maybe throw a few battle scenes in, have a clear antagonist and protagonist, and obviously the protagonist would have to win. Another essential to any good story is you have to fall in love with the protagonist and hate the antagonist (unless it's some bizarre psychological experiment). So what was God thinking? Doesn't it feel like we don't find any of these things in the Bible?
Actually, the reality is that we find every one of these in the Bible, the old testament in Judges and other books is filled with battle scenes; in Job, we see the battle between God and Satan and the sovereignty of God. There is even a very clear antagonist--satan--and protagonist--God. Here is the best part though, the protagonist even wins. It seems the Bible does contain all the essentials for a great story.
Ya know that part in every superhero movie where it seems the protagonist is going to lose and than he draws on his last bit of strength to end up conquering the day? Like when spider-man gets the crud beat out of him but ends up winning against unlikely odds? Or when Batman has a dilemma to solve and he ends up finding a loophole? Well, in the Bible we find the same thing once again. When Jesus was on the cross, he died!! How much more distress and lack of hope could you possibly have for a dead protagonist? Talk about a depressing ending to a film. The sad part is it isn't a film, it's reality.
Ya see, the key is to make people lose all their hope in the protagonist and they, against all odds it seems, make a come-back. It enhances the viewers faith and hope in the protagonist. I don't know how you could have anything make you lose more hope than death. That seems pretty final to me, but Jesus rises from the dead after three days. He had even predicted this to the disciples, but they had doubted it. Could you imagine the anticipation? He dies, you run because your next, and those next three days are probably the slowest of your life. The disciples were probably counting down the seconds to that third day wondering whether Jesus was the real Christ (savior). And then, against seemingly unspeakable odds, Jesus rises from the dead exactly when he said he would! He is victorious after all. Not only that, but he has conquered the most persistent enemy known to man: death. If you can overcome death, I don't think your gonna be having much trouble with anything else. Agreed?
It is a beautiful story, and if you think about it, one that man simply could not think up. The complexity, yet simplicity of the story is genuine, unimaginable, and not comprehendable. I don't know about you, but the last thing I would do if I was making up a religion that was fake would be to make it so complex, yet that is what we find. We find simplicity and complexity inside one concept. The complexity of pure theology and the simplicity of "Jesus died for you". Beautiful.
Actually, the reality is that we find every one of these in the Bible, the old testament in Judges and other books is filled with battle scenes; in Job, we see the battle between God and Satan and the sovereignty of God. There is even a very clear antagonist--satan--and protagonist--God. Here is the best part though, the protagonist even wins. It seems the Bible does contain all the essentials for a great story.
Ya know that part in every superhero movie where it seems the protagonist is going to lose and than he draws on his last bit of strength to end up conquering the day? Like when spider-man gets the crud beat out of him but ends up winning against unlikely odds? Or when Batman has a dilemma to solve and he ends up finding a loophole? Well, in the Bible we find the same thing once again. When Jesus was on the cross, he died!! How much more distress and lack of hope could you possibly have for a dead protagonist? Talk about a depressing ending to a film. The sad part is it isn't a film, it's reality.
Ya see, the key is to make people lose all their hope in the protagonist and they, against all odds it seems, make a come-back. It enhances the viewers faith and hope in the protagonist. I don't know how you could have anything make you lose more hope than death. That seems pretty final to me, but Jesus rises from the dead after three days. He had even predicted this to the disciples, but they had doubted it. Could you imagine the anticipation? He dies, you run because your next, and those next three days are probably the slowest of your life. The disciples were probably counting down the seconds to that third day wondering whether Jesus was the real Christ (savior). And then, against seemingly unspeakable odds, Jesus rises from the dead exactly when he said he would! He is victorious after all. Not only that, but he has conquered the most persistent enemy known to man: death. If you can overcome death, I don't think your gonna be having much trouble with anything else. Agreed?
It is a beautiful story, and if you think about it, one that man simply could not think up. The complexity, yet simplicity of the story is genuine, unimaginable, and not comprehendable. I don't know about you, but the last thing I would do if I was making up a religion that was fake would be to make it so complex, yet that is what we find. We find simplicity and complexity inside one concept. The complexity of pure theology and the simplicity of "Jesus died for you". Beautiful.
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Saturday, May 5, 2012
Jesus' Parable of the Wedding Feast
This parable in Matthew 22 is a controversial one amongst the Christian community because of its' blatant ending statement: "For many are called, but few are chosen." Some have read this last verse and concluded that some people are Christians today, but on the day of judgement--the time that we die and God judges our lives--they will be sent to hell. Others have taken the statement to refer to the "lukewarm" believers. In Revelations 3, John vividly describes the voice of Jesus in his vision in reference to the Church in Laodicea saying, "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth." Many believers think that the verse in Matthew, where Jesus talks of the people who are called but not chosen, refer to those that John talks of in Revelation--the lukewarm: the people who say they are Christians but do little for Christ; they have one foot in the world, and another in the Kingdom of Heaven.
These are a couple of the views that are widely accepted but are inadequately supported. Let's take a further look at the first view I described. The first view, in my opinion is terrifying. Keep in mind, this view is less accepted than the second, but it still has its place in our cultural Christianity. Think about the implications of believing that some are Christians but simply will not go to heaven. I am a Christian but is my spot in heaven guaranteed? This verse seems to say it isn't, but look at some other verses.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 10:13 "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
There are many more verses supporting the paradigm that "those who call upon the Lord shall be saved", but I will just share these few. Seeing as I am a Christian and there can be no contradictions within the Bible, it appears I have run into a problem. Matthew 22 seems to say that not everyone who calls upon God is chosen for his Kingdom, but these other verses in Romans and John seems to clearly state that anyone who calls upon God for salvation will be saved. See the problem?
Let's now look at the second, more common view. This view claims that those people are being called but not chosen are people who have asked God for salvation but have not done enough "works" or good deeds to gain true salvation into heaven (the lukewarm people). The problem with this view lies near the same place as the problem for the last one. Firstly, the verses in Romans and John again make this statement difficult to support because this view claims that you must do some works along with your faith in order to be saved, but the others say it is simply the faith that is essential for salvation (John and Romans). Here is another selection of verses that makes this view so difficult to hold:
Galatians 2:16 "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."
2 Timothy 1:9 "who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began."
So what view are we to hold? These two seem far too contradictory and unstable to maintain with confidence. If we look into the beginning of Jesus' parable, we find that these views are not what he intended and that with the correct view, there is no contradiction.
In this parable, Jesus compares a king throwing a wedding feast to the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, "Then [the king] said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' and he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
Notice, in this parable, that the king (God) tells his servants (Christians) to go out and tell everyone about the wedding feast (heaven and the gospel). This concept fits well with other verses:
Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
The problem is that people are interpreting the word "called" in the parable incorrectly. From the way the story is told, it should be interpreted in the sense that many are going to be "told" of the gospel by Christians, but few are going to accept it. However, it is being interpreted poorly as God will call many people, but only some of those people are actually chosen. The problem was in the words "many" will be called, and "few" will be chosen because this indicates a different number of people for each category, but with this new interpretation of the verse, this is no longer a problem. We know that it is our job to tell all about the gospel (few of us actually do so however) and we also know that not every person we tell is going to accept it. This was a straw of Jesus' message through this parable; tell others of him, but expect some not to listen.
These are a couple of the views that are widely accepted but are inadequately supported. Let's take a further look at the first view I described. The first view, in my opinion is terrifying. Keep in mind, this view is less accepted than the second, but it still has its place in our cultural Christianity. Think about the implications of believing that some are Christians but simply will not go to heaven. I am a Christian but is my spot in heaven guaranteed? This verse seems to say it isn't, but look at some other verses.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 10:13 "For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"
There are many more verses supporting the paradigm that "those who call upon the Lord shall be saved", but I will just share these few. Seeing as I am a Christian and there can be no contradictions within the Bible, it appears I have run into a problem. Matthew 22 seems to say that not everyone who calls upon God is chosen for his Kingdom, but these other verses in Romans and John seems to clearly state that anyone who calls upon God for salvation will be saved. See the problem?
Let's now look at the second, more common view. This view claims that those people are being called but not chosen are people who have asked God for salvation but have not done enough "works" or good deeds to gain true salvation into heaven (the lukewarm people). The problem with this view lies near the same place as the problem for the last one. Firstly, the verses in Romans and John again make this statement difficult to support because this view claims that you must do some works along with your faith in order to be saved, but the others say it is simply the faith that is essential for salvation (John and Romans). Here is another selection of verses that makes this view so difficult to hold:
Galatians 2:16 "yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."
2 Timothy 1:9 "who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began."
So what view are we to hold? These two seem far too contradictory and unstable to maintain with confidence. If we look into the beginning of Jesus' parable, we find that these views are not what he intended and that with the correct view, there is no contradiction.
In this parable, Jesus compares a king throwing a wedding feast to the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, "Then [the king] said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' and he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
Notice, in this parable, that the king (God) tells his servants (Christians) to go out and tell everyone about the wedding feast (heaven and the gospel). This concept fits well with other verses:
Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
The problem is that people are interpreting the word "called" in the parable incorrectly. From the way the story is told, it should be interpreted in the sense that many are going to be "told" of the gospel by Christians, but few are going to accept it. However, it is being interpreted poorly as God will call many people, but only some of those people are actually chosen. The problem was in the words "many" will be called, and "few" will be chosen because this indicates a different number of people for each category, but with this new interpretation of the verse, this is no longer a problem. We know that it is our job to tell all about the gospel (few of us actually do so however) and we also know that not every person we tell is going to accept it. This was a straw of Jesus' message through this parable; tell others of him, but expect some not to listen.
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012
expected ignorance
I believe I am speaking,
But the evidence proves me wrong.
I can feel my throat vibrations
And even hear my song.
Clouded eyes look past the song,
Into their own abyss,
As if the song I sing
Is completely being missed.
Is it no longer of importance?
Or did it start like this?
Did the clouded eyes of conversation
Simply lose interest?
I give up trying,
For they have been lost.
Perhaps tomorrow, one more go,
But will agony be the cost?
Walking away to go home and rest,But the evidence proves me wrong.
I can feel my throat vibrations
And even hear my song.
Clouded eyes look past the song,
Into their own abyss,
As if the song I sing
Is completely being missed.
Is it no longer of importance?
Or did it start like this?
Did the clouded eyes of conversation
Simply lose interest?
I give up trying,
For they have been lost.
Perhaps tomorrow, one more go,
But will agony be the cost?
Glancing into the streets;
A cursed vision bestowed
Upon these starlit pupils.
What vision did I see you ask?
One of glory perhaps?
Or maybe it was my beloved friend?
If it was, I wish not to comprehend.
The horror was too great,
Too full of hate,
Too full of shame,
Too full of a desire to be selfish with fame.
I saw children walking with parents,
The Children’s eyes starlit with prospect.
The parent’s eyes dark and lost,
A curse to the blessed elect.
The Children talked to their parents,
Unaffected by the world,
Listening for listening,
But finding only ignorance.
“Is this the way of the world?”
The children thought,
Ignorance beginning to take its’ toll.
“It must be okay, this is what our parents have wrought.”
The parents completely unaware
Of the way they used to be:
As their children are now,
Searching for hope and someone who can truly see.
But this is the way of the world,
We do not care what others speak,
We wait for what we say next,
We look but do not seek.
I will not try to sing again,
My voice is worn out,
In silence I will sit,
That others may be heard out.
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