From Albert Mohler's Blog
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The “Sunday Styles” section of The New York Times is often a useful barometer of the culture. On October 17, that section featured a front-page spread entitled, “From Boys to Men,” and the article is a sign of something larger than mere fashion and advertising.
Reporter Guy Trebay explains that advertisers have shifted their images of male identity from the “skinny skate-rat” of recent years to real and recognizable men. Trebay credits Hedi Slimane of Dior men’s wear for inventing the boy image so prevalent in recent culture. Images of skinny youths with slightly (or more than slightly) androgynous appearances have dominated. Trebay describes this pattern as “designer subversions of age and gender expectations.”
But now, a far more masculine and traditional model of manhood is showing up in advertisements and media images. Joe Levy, editor in chief of Maxim, a magazine that skirts the edge between the traditional men’s magazine and pornography, attributes the shift to economic factors. In other words, when unemployment threatens, skinny skate-rat images bring no comfort. Instead, men who look like they might actually hold a job are back in style.
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You will love how Trebay describes the trajectory of the new man-in-demand: “You lose the T-shirt and the skateboard. You buy an interview suit and a package of Gillette Mach 3 blades. You grow up, in other words.”
That is a classic statement that deserves great prominence. The crisis of delayed manhood for so many boys and young men is now well documented, and the larger culture reflects this phenomenon. Advertising does not rule the world, but it is a powerful indicator of the cultural direction. Advertisers make it their business to know where the culture is headed. This new trend can only be seen as good news, even if it does not yet represent any profound recovery of sanity in the society.
One important aspect of this report ties directly to a vital aspect of biblical masculinity — the reality and value of a man’s work. These advertisers are not shifting merely to older and more rugged males, but to men who look like they just might be able to hold a job and do it well.
That is a healthy and promising dimension of this new development. One statement from this article deserves to be imprinted on the male brain: “You grow up, in other words.”
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Time Out
I have taken a extended "time out" from blogging. I find it to be very difficult to maintain. I don't know about you, but when I begin to feel like I'm overwhelmed, I find it easy to shut down....at least certain things. Bloggin has been one of those for me. Hopefully, I will attempt to blog more in the coming weeks. I know that the 3 people that read this blog will be jumping for joy. LOL!
The ministry that the Lord has entrusted me with is doing well from the standpoint of having opportunity to serve. I am preaching more than ever, we have more people going on the mission field with us than in years past, and I am full of excitement about the opportunities I have been given.
The adoption is getting closer and we are preparing our home to have another child. You can keep up witht he adoption at my wife's blog: www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com
Please continue to pray for my family and the ministry that I have. I want to use it for the glory of God and give Him my best!!
The ministry that the Lord has entrusted me with is doing well from the standpoint of having opportunity to serve. I am preaching more than ever, we have more people going on the mission field with us than in years past, and I am full of excitement about the opportunities I have been given.
The adoption is getting closer and we are preparing our home to have another child. You can keep up witht he adoption at my wife's blog: www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com
Please continue to pray for my family and the ministry that I have. I want to use it for the glory of God and give Him my best!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Give your Best!
Thanks for the prayers and concern for my one year old son. Most of you know we spent the night with him getting a major gash in his nose fixed. He did great and will be fine. What you don't know is this.
My one year old received a major ncut to his nose while playing with a few friends. He was in the wrong place and a large toy hit him in the face that was accidentally dropped by a child while he was trying to take it up stairs. We had some great friends over and they stayed with my older children till my mom could come over and stay. We were at the local hospital within 20 minutes of his injury. The local Dr. quickly referred us to Children's as they were not able to do what they felt needed to be done. Time was of the essence.
My wife and I wisk him away to Birmingham. Not even out of the county, our van overheats and I am forced to pull over and wait on help to arrive. Never before had the van overheated. Could've had something to do with my foot stuck through the floor board as I had been self appointed ambulance driver for my son. Regardless, we are stuck there, feeling helpless. We prayed and gave our best to remain calm and think this through. Called Cliff Cook, my fellow Pastor at NCBC. Without hesititation, he came and gave me his car to use while he sat stranded and waited on my Dad who also came without question or hesitationt to the rescue. They gave their best. We got our son to the ER and they soon took us back in and started working on him.
The specialist came in and immediately referenced his dependance upon Christ. We then prayed together. This brother and I have close connected friends we soon found out, and he is possibly going to Nicaragua with us now on our medical mission trip in October of 2011. He allowed us to stay in the room as they gave my son anesthesia and started the delicate process of repairing his little nose. Once again we were helpless and could only pray. Going under anesthesia is a scary thing for anyone and for parents who have to make that call. Christ was our only hope. We prayed like parents who love their son.
The Dr. took great concern and detail in all that he was doing. His focus was on giving his best. It was very delicate fine tuned work. The Dr. gave his best. Last night that was everyone's focus. From our friends and children who without being asked began to comfort one another and gather little brothers comfort items like his pacifer and blanket. They knew he would need these things and rushed them to the van before we left. They are great brothers and sisters! They gave their best to help.
Last night, we were reminded that we are not in control. We like to think we are but when you slow down, you realize you are not. We do have responsibility but ultimately, we rely on the love of God for us to see us through this light affliction. Little brother happily relied on his Momma and Daddy and the nurses and Dr.'s to help him. It was not easy or painless, but he made it through just fine. He gave his best.
Even though things are difficult and days are not certain. I urge you to give your best to the Lord and eveything you do. You never know when you will be required to react and your best will be needed. If you are accustomed to giving your best, you will be ready for what you must face. Laziness, apathy, and average is not what we are called to give for our Lord. He is not impressed with the scraps...He deserves and wants the best! Thank you friends for praying your best and giving your best to the Lord Jesus Christ!
My one year old received a major ncut to his nose while playing with a few friends. He was in the wrong place and a large toy hit him in the face that was accidentally dropped by a child while he was trying to take it up stairs. We had some great friends over and they stayed with my older children till my mom could come over and stay. We were at the local hospital within 20 minutes of his injury. The local Dr. quickly referred us to Children's as they were not able to do what they felt needed to be done. Time was of the essence.
My wife and I wisk him away to Birmingham. Not even out of the county, our van overheats and I am forced to pull over and wait on help to arrive. Never before had the van overheated. Could've had something to do with my foot stuck through the floor board as I had been self appointed ambulance driver for my son. Regardless, we are stuck there, feeling helpless. We prayed and gave our best to remain calm and think this through. Called Cliff Cook, my fellow Pastor at NCBC. Without hesititation, he came and gave me his car to use while he sat stranded and waited on my Dad who also came without question or hesitationt to the rescue. They gave their best. We got our son to the ER and they soon took us back in and started working on him.
The specialist came in and immediately referenced his dependance upon Christ. We then prayed together. This brother and I have close connected friends we soon found out, and he is possibly going to Nicaragua with us now on our medical mission trip in October of 2011. He allowed us to stay in the room as they gave my son anesthesia and started the delicate process of repairing his little nose. Once again we were helpless and could only pray. Going under anesthesia is a scary thing for anyone and for parents who have to make that call. Christ was our only hope. We prayed like parents who love their son.
The Dr. took great concern and detail in all that he was doing. His focus was on giving his best. It was very delicate fine tuned work. The Dr. gave his best. Last night that was everyone's focus. From our friends and children who without being asked began to comfort one another and gather little brothers comfort items like his pacifer and blanket. They knew he would need these things and rushed them to the van before we left. They are great brothers and sisters! They gave their best to help.
Last night, we were reminded that we are not in control. We like to think we are but when you slow down, you realize you are not. We do have responsibility but ultimately, we rely on the love of God for us to see us through this light affliction. Little brother happily relied on his Momma and Daddy and the nurses and Dr.'s to help him. It was not easy or painless, but he made it through just fine. He gave his best.
Even though things are difficult and days are not certain. I urge you to give your best to the Lord and eveything you do. You never know when you will be required to react and your best will be needed. If you are accustomed to giving your best, you will be ready for what you must face. Laziness, apathy, and average is not what we are called to give for our Lord. He is not impressed with the scraps...He deserves and wants the best! Thank you friends for praying your best and giving your best to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Christ's Sympathy to Weary Pilgrims
By Octavious Winslow, 1870
HOW EMPTYING, HUMBLING, AND ABASING!
Cultivate frequent and devout contemplations of the glory of Christ. Immense will be the benefit accruing to your soul. The mind thus preoccupied, filled, and expanded, will be enabled to present a stronger resistance to the ever advancing and insidious encroachments of the world. No place will be found for vain thoughts, and no desire or time for carnal enjoyments. Oh, how crucifying and sanctifying are clear views of the glory of Emmanuel! How emptying, humbling, and abasing! With the patriarch, we then exclaim, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." And with the prophet, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." And with the apostle, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Oh, then, aim to get your mind filled with enlarged and yet expanding views of the glory of the Redeemer. Let it, in all the discoveries it affords of the Divine mind and majesty, be the one subject of your thoughts—the one theme of your conversation. Place no limit to your knowledge of Christ. Ever consider that you have but read the preface to the volume; you have but touched the fringe of the sea. Stretching far away beyond you, are undiscovered beauties, and precious views, and sparkling glories, each encouraging your advance, inviting your research, and asking the homage of your faith, the tribute of your love, and the dedication of your life.
Go forward, then! The glories that yet must be revealed to you in a growing knowledge of Jesus, what imagination can conceive, what pen can describe them? Jesus stands ready to unveil all the beauties of His person; and to admit you into the very pavilion of His love. There is not a chamber of His heart that He will not throw open to you—not a blessing that He will not bestow upon you—not a glory that He will not show to you.
You shall see greater things than you have yet seen—greater depths of sin in your fallen nature shall be revealed—deeper sense of the cleansing efficacy of the atoning blood shall be felt—clearer views of your acceptance in the Beloved—greater discoveries of God's love—and greater depths of grace and glory in Jesus shall be enjoyed. Your communion with God shall be closer, and more the fruit of adopting love in your heart. Your feet shall be as hinds' feet, and you shall walk on high places. Your peace shall flow as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea. Sorrow shall wound you less deeply—affliction shall press you less heavily—tribulation shall affect you less keenly—all this, and infinitely more, will result from your deeper knowledge of Jesus.
HOW EMPTYING, HUMBLING, AND ABASING!
Cultivate frequent and devout contemplations of the glory of Christ. Immense will be the benefit accruing to your soul. The mind thus preoccupied, filled, and expanded, will be enabled to present a stronger resistance to the ever advancing and insidious encroachments of the world. No place will be found for vain thoughts, and no desire or time for carnal enjoyments. Oh, how crucifying and sanctifying are clear views of the glory of Emmanuel! How emptying, humbling, and abasing! With the patriarch, we then exclaim, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." And with the prophet, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." And with the apostle, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
Oh, then, aim to get your mind filled with enlarged and yet expanding views of the glory of the Redeemer. Let it, in all the discoveries it affords of the Divine mind and majesty, be the one subject of your thoughts—the one theme of your conversation. Place no limit to your knowledge of Christ. Ever consider that you have but read the preface to the volume; you have but touched the fringe of the sea. Stretching far away beyond you, are undiscovered beauties, and precious views, and sparkling glories, each encouraging your advance, inviting your research, and asking the homage of your faith, the tribute of your love, and the dedication of your life.
Go forward, then! The glories that yet must be revealed to you in a growing knowledge of Jesus, what imagination can conceive, what pen can describe them? Jesus stands ready to unveil all the beauties of His person; and to admit you into the very pavilion of His love. There is not a chamber of His heart that He will not throw open to you—not a blessing that He will not bestow upon you—not a glory that He will not show to you.
You shall see greater things than you have yet seen—greater depths of sin in your fallen nature shall be revealed—deeper sense of the cleansing efficacy of the atoning blood shall be felt—clearer views of your acceptance in the Beloved—greater discoveries of God's love—and greater depths of grace and glory in Jesus shall be enjoyed. Your communion with God shall be closer, and more the fruit of adopting love in your heart. Your feet shall be as hinds' feet, and you shall walk on high places. Your peace shall flow as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea. Sorrow shall wound you less deeply—affliction shall press you less heavily—tribulation shall affect you less keenly—all this, and infinitely more, will result from your deeper knowledge of Jesus.
Back to Blogging
Note from Eric
Sorry I've been away for some time. I have been so ultra busy that blogging just hasn't seemed to be the best use of my time. Also, my laptop crashed! No viruses, just wore it out. The motherboard went bad and I'm hoping to get it back soon. Blogging from my iPhone is just to time consuming.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy the following post and I'll try to be back blogging by next week regularly again. God bless!!
Sorry I've been away for some time. I have been so ultra busy that blogging just hasn't seemed to be the best use of my time. Also, my laptop crashed! No viruses, just wore it out. The motherboard went bad and I'm hoping to get it back soon. Blogging from my iPhone is just to time consuming.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy the following post and I'll try to be back blogging by next week regularly again. God bless!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
God's Man
Being a preacher is more than correctly handling the Scripture. It is a life of prayer and spiritual discipline. I do not want to come to the end of my life and say, "I wish I'd prayed more." God's man is not a hireling to be at the beck and call of man, we are serving God. I'm not on man's errand, I'm on God's errand. I go to men from God. I'm not my own. Pray I'll not get distracted by "good" things and neglect the BEST thing. Being His!
There are times when I just want to be with God. I'm not always looking for a deep truth. I yearn to just be with the King of the universe. The more I know Him, the more I want to be with Him. That is why I burst out with passion when I preach. I will not apologize for this passion or try to stifle it. I need prayer more than ever. I yearn to know so much more about God and His character. Please pray less of me and more of God!
I cannot imagine a day without God's grace.
There are times when I just want to be with God. I'm not always looking for a deep truth. I yearn to just be with the King of the universe. The more I know Him, the more I want to be with Him. That is why I burst out with passion when I preach. I will not apologize for this passion or try to stifle it. I need prayer more than ever. I yearn to know so much more about God and His character. Please pray less of me and more of God!
I cannot imagine a day without God's grace.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
What Are We Apart From Christ?
by: Justin Taylor
From Justin Taylor's Blog
We sometimes think of the second half of the first chapter of Romans as a discourse about atheists. (And indeed, according to Romans 1 the answer to the question “Does God believe in atheists?” is “no.”)
But in reality, it’s a universal text that applies to all of us apart from Christ—what we are, what we do, and what we would do apart from God’s restraining and redeeming grace, with graphic examples to illustrate our truth-suppression and idolatrous identity.
Here’s an attempt to start to think through this sobering section of Romans.
What do all of us know?
(1) We know God himself.
(2) We know God’s decree.
(3) We know God’s judgment—that those who practice sinful things deserve death.
What is our responsibility?
We are without excuse.
How clear is the evidence for God’s knowability?
What can be known about God is plain.
Who showed us the evidence for God?
God himself has shown us what can be known about him.
What is it about God that every one of us knows?
We have clearly perceived God’s invisible attributes (= his eternal power and divine nature).
Where do we see God’s invisible attributes?
In the things that God has made.
What do we fail to do in response?
(1) We fail to honor God as God.
(2) We fail to give thanks to God.
(2) We fail to acknowledge God.
What do we do instead of honoring and thanking God?
We suppress the truth.
How?
By our unrighteousness.
What do we claim about our thinking?
We claim to be wise.
What are we in reality?
We are fools.
What happened to our minds?
We became futile in our thinking.
What happened to our hearts?
Our foolish hearts were darkened.
What is the result?
We exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling
•mortal man
•birds
•animals
•creeping things
We exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
What did we do with created things?
(1) We worshiped the creature rather than the Creator.
(2) We served the creature rather than the Creator.
What is the result of this idolatry?
God gave us up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.
What kind of impurity?
The dishonoring of our bodies among ourselves.
How did we become entangled in dishonorable passions?
God gave us up to dishonorable passions.
Which dishonorable passions did women commit?
Women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.
Which dishonorable passions did men commit?
The men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
What does God do to us for failing to acknowledge him?
God gave us up to a debased mind.
To do what?
To do what ought not to be done.
What are we filled with?
All manner of
•unrighteousness
•evil
•covetousness
•malice
We are full of
•envy
•murder
•strife
•deceit
•maliciousness
What are we?
We are
•gossips
•slanderers
•haters of God
•insolent
•haughty
•boastful
•inventors of evil
•disobedient to parents
•foolish
•faithless
•heartless
•ruthless
What do we know?
God’s decree.
What is God’s decree?
Those who practice such sinful things deserve to die.
What do we do?
(1) We do these sinful things.
(2) We give approval to those who practice these sinful things.
What does God do in response?
God reveals his wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
Is there any hope?
The gospel.
What is the gospel?
The power of God for salvation.
For who?
To everyone who believes—to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
What is revealed in the gospel?
The righteousness of God, from faith to faith.
As Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Romans 1:16-32
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Addendum
For those who struggle to see why Paul would use homosexuality as his prime example of idolatry, I’d recommend this sermon from John Piper. Piper’s most profound insight here is that Paul sees a “dramatization” of Christ and the Church in Christ-centered heterosexual marriage, and that he also sees a dramatization of idolatry in same-sex sexual behavior, as men and women unite with images of themselves.
The reason Paul focuses on homosexuality in these verses is because it is the most vivid dramatization in life of the profoundest connection between the disordering of heart-worship and the disordering of our sexual lives. I’ll try to say it simply, though it is weighty beyond words.
We learn from Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32 that, from the beginning, manhood and womanhood existed to represent or dramatize God’s relation to his people and then Christ’s relation to his bride, the church. In this drama, the man represents God or Christ and is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. The woman represents God’s people or the church. And sexual union in the covenant of marriage represents pure, undefiled, intense heart-worship. That is, God means for the beauty of worship to be dramatized in the right ordering of our sexual lives.
But instead, we have exchanged the glory of God for images, especially of ourselves. The beauty of heart-worship has been destroyed. Therefore, in judgment, God decrees that this disordering of our relation to him be dramatized in the disordering of our sexual relations with each other. And since the right ordering of our relationship to God in heart-worship was dramatized by heterosexual union in the covenant of marriage, the disordering of our relationship to God is dramatized by the breakdown of that heterosexual union.
Homosexuality is the most vivid form of that breakdown. God and man in covenant worship are represented by male and female in covenant sexual union. Therefore, when man turns from God to images of himself, God hands us over to what we have chosen and dramatizes it by male and female turning to images of themselves for sexual union, namely their own sex. Homosexuality is the judgment of God dramatizing the exchange of the glory of God for images of ourselves. (See the parallel uses of “exchange” in verses 25 and 26.)
Piper’s entire sermon is worth reading or listening to, especially as he gives counsel to those struggling with same-sex desire, as well as advice to parents.
From Justin Taylor's Blog
We sometimes think of the second half of the first chapter of Romans as a discourse about atheists. (And indeed, according to Romans 1 the answer to the question “Does God believe in atheists?” is “no.”)
But in reality, it’s a universal text that applies to all of us apart from Christ—what we are, what we do, and what we would do apart from God’s restraining and redeeming grace, with graphic examples to illustrate our truth-suppression and idolatrous identity.
Here’s an attempt to start to think through this sobering section of Romans.
What do all of us know?
(1) We know God himself.
(2) We know God’s decree.
(3) We know God’s judgment—that those who practice sinful things deserve death.
What is our responsibility?
We are without excuse.
How clear is the evidence for God’s knowability?
What can be known about God is plain.
Who showed us the evidence for God?
God himself has shown us what can be known about him.
What is it about God that every one of us knows?
We have clearly perceived God’s invisible attributes (= his eternal power and divine nature).
Where do we see God’s invisible attributes?
In the things that God has made.
What do we fail to do in response?
(1) We fail to honor God as God.
(2) We fail to give thanks to God.
(2) We fail to acknowledge God.
What do we do instead of honoring and thanking God?
We suppress the truth.
How?
By our unrighteousness.
What do we claim about our thinking?
We claim to be wise.
What are we in reality?
We are fools.
What happened to our minds?
We became futile in our thinking.
What happened to our hearts?
Our foolish hearts were darkened.
What is the result?
We exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling
•mortal man
•birds
•animals
•creeping things
We exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
What did we do with created things?
(1) We worshiped the creature rather than the Creator.
(2) We served the creature rather than the Creator.
What is the result of this idolatry?
God gave us up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.
What kind of impurity?
The dishonoring of our bodies among ourselves.
How did we become entangled in dishonorable passions?
God gave us up to dishonorable passions.
Which dishonorable passions did women commit?
Women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.
Which dishonorable passions did men commit?
The men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
What does God do to us for failing to acknowledge him?
God gave us up to a debased mind.
To do what?
To do what ought not to be done.
What are we filled with?
All manner of
•unrighteousness
•evil
•covetousness
•malice
We are full of
•envy
•murder
•strife
•deceit
•maliciousness
What are we?
We are
•gossips
•slanderers
•haters of God
•insolent
•haughty
•boastful
•inventors of evil
•disobedient to parents
•foolish
•faithless
•heartless
•ruthless
What do we know?
God’s decree.
What is God’s decree?
Those who practice such sinful things deserve to die.
What do we do?
(1) We do these sinful things.
(2) We give approval to those who practice these sinful things.
What does God do in response?
God reveals his wrath from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
Is there any hope?
The gospel.
What is the gospel?
The power of God for salvation.
For who?
To everyone who believes—to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
What is revealed in the gospel?
The righteousness of God, from faith to faith.
As Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Romans 1:16-32
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
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Addendum
For those who struggle to see why Paul would use homosexuality as his prime example of idolatry, I’d recommend this sermon from John Piper. Piper’s most profound insight here is that Paul sees a “dramatization” of Christ and the Church in Christ-centered heterosexual marriage, and that he also sees a dramatization of idolatry in same-sex sexual behavior, as men and women unite with images of themselves.
The reason Paul focuses on homosexuality in these verses is because it is the most vivid dramatization in life of the profoundest connection between the disordering of heart-worship and the disordering of our sexual lives. I’ll try to say it simply, though it is weighty beyond words.
We learn from Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32 that, from the beginning, manhood and womanhood existed to represent or dramatize God’s relation to his people and then Christ’s relation to his bride, the church. In this drama, the man represents God or Christ and is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. The woman represents God’s people or the church. And sexual union in the covenant of marriage represents pure, undefiled, intense heart-worship. That is, God means for the beauty of worship to be dramatized in the right ordering of our sexual lives.
But instead, we have exchanged the glory of God for images, especially of ourselves. The beauty of heart-worship has been destroyed. Therefore, in judgment, God decrees that this disordering of our relation to him be dramatized in the disordering of our sexual relations with each other. And since the right ordering of our relationship to God in heart-worship was dramatized by heterosexual union in the covenant of marriage, the disordering of our relationship to God is dramatized by the breakdown of that heterosexual union.
Homosexuality is the most vivid form of that breakdown. God and man in covenant worship are represented by male and female in covenant sexual union. Therefore, when man turns from God to images of himself, God hands us over to what we have chosen and dramatizes it by male and female turning to images of themselves for sexual union, namely their own sex. Homosexuality is the judgment of God dramatizing the exchange of the glory of God for images of ourselves. (See the parallel uses of “exchange” in verses 25 and 26.)
Piper’s entire sermon is worth reading or listening to, especially as he gives counsel to those struggling with same-sex desire, as well as advice to parents.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Nicaragua, Evangelism, and Repentance
by; Drew Dixon
(Drew is Family Pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church Albertville. He is married to Jennifer.)
Nicaragua, Evangelism, and Repentance
There are many stories I could tell you about Nicaragua that would encourage you—stories that may even impress you—stories of how our team members got to share the gospel with hundreds of children in the local schools and stories of the many difficult questions that I was asked at the Pastor’s Conference or stories from our door-to-door evangelism and how the Lord was working to convict people of their sin. However, perhaps the most memorable experience I had while in Nicaragua happened at a small Baptist Church in the rural area of Los Cedros—it was an invaluable lesson learned from Pastor Adonis.
When we went out into the communities of the churches we were serving at in Nicaragua, the pastors of the churches went with us and even brought members of their churches along so that they might learn to do evangelism and so that he might be used of the Lord to disciple them. Pastor Adonis has a passion for evangelism and for discipleship. He understands that the only hope the lost people in his community have is Christ and he understands that the members of his church must be the ones that tell their lost neighbors about Jesus. There can be no evangelism without discipleship—if people are not trained to reap the harvest, they will not go out into it. There can be no discipleship without evangelism first preceding it. You cannot disciple the lost, you must share the gospel with them first, then the process of teaching them everything that Christ commanded can begin (Matt. 28:18-20). Pastor Adonis was doing both—teaching the members of his church to do evangelism and doing evangelism himself, going out into the community and delivering the good news to the lost.
While I was greatly encouraged to see a pastor leading by example and seeking to disciple men in his church, this is not what stuck out to me most about Pastor Adonis. What stuck out most was what Pastor Adonis said to the members of his church who were not doing evangelism. Thursday night was the last night that we would spend at Los Cedros Baptist Church and Eric Hixon preached a revival there that night. At the end of the service, Pastor Adonis opened up the altar for people to come and pray and he challenged those in his church who were not doing evangelism in the community to come to the altar and repent for their sin. About 15-20 adult members of the church came forward and knelt at the altar in prayer.
If evangelism is a command, then it follows that neglect of evangelism is sin. This really convicted me because far too often I fall to the temptation to think of evangelism as an optional practice. I felt like I should be at the altar praying—I wasn’t invited though, Pastor Adonis only invited the members of his church as they were the ones who had covenanted together as a body to hold each other accountable to seek the Lord. Perhaps Pastor Adonis’ encouragement to his people to repent for not evangelizing seems harsh and perhaps it was, but it was sweet moment for me. It did not feel bitter, it felt redemptive and loving—I got the feeling that Pastor Adonis was calling his flock to repentance because he loved them. I hope that is the case—I am praying that God would develop such relationships in our body at NCBC—ones were we can lovingly call each other to account and ones in which we take the gospel and evangelism seriously.
Despite the fact that I got to spend three days teaching Pastor Adonis and several other Nicaraguan pastors, it goes without saying that I feel I gained much more from Pastor Adonis’ example and care for his flock.
(Drew is Family Pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church Albertville. He is married to Jennifer.)
Nicaragua, Evangelism, and Repentance
There are many stories I could tell you about Nicaragua that would encourage you—stories that may even impress you—stories of how our team members got to share the gospel with hundreds of children in the local schools and stories of the many difficult questions that I was asked at the Pastor’s Conference or stories from our door-to-door evangelism and how the Lord was working to convict people of their sin. However, perhaps the most memorable experience I had while in Nicaragua happened at a small Baptist Church in the rural area of Los Cedros—it was an invaluable lesson learned from Pastor Adonis.
When we went out into the communities of the churches we were serving at in Nicaragua, the pastors of the churches went with us and even brought members of their churches along so that they might learn to do evangelism and so that he might be used of the Lord to disciple them. Pastor Adonis has a passion for evangelism and for discipleship. He understands that the only hope the lost people in his community have is Christ and he understands that the members of his church must be the ones that tell their lost neighbors about Jesus. There can be no evangelism without discipleship—if people are not trained to reap the harvest, they will not go out into it. There can be no discipleship without evangelism first preceding it. You cannot disciple the lost, you must share the gospel with them first, then the process of teaching them everything that Christ commanded can begin (Matt. 28:18-20). Pastor Adonis was doing both—teaching the members of his church to do evangelism and doing evangelism himself, going out into the community and delivering the good news to the lost.
While I was greatly encouraged to see a pastor leading by example and seeking to disciple men in his church, this is not what stuck out to me most about Pastor Adonis. What stuck out most was what Pastor Adonis said to the members of his church who were not doing evangelism. Thursday night was the last night that we would spend at Los Cedros Baptist Church and Eric Hixon preached a revival there that night. At the end of the service, Pastor Adonis opened up the altar for people to come and pray and he challenged those in his church who were not doing evangelism in the community to come to the altar and repent for their sin. About 15-20 adult members of the church came forward and knelt at the altar in prayer.
If evangelism is a command, then it follows that neglect of evangelism is sin. This really convicted me because far too often I fall to the temptation to think of evangelism as an optional practice. I felt like I should be at the altar praying—I wasn’t invited though, Pastor Adonis only invited the members of his church as they were the ones who had covenanted together as a body to hold each other accountable to seek the Lord. Perhaps Pastor Adonis’ encouragement to his people to repent for not evangelizing seems harsh and perhaps it was, but it was sweet moment for me. It did not feel bitter, it felt redemptive and loving—I got the feeling that Pastor Adonis was calling his flock to repentance because he loved them. I hope that is the case—I am praying that God would develop such relationships in our body at NCBC—ones were we can lovingly call each other to account and ones in which we take the gospel and evangelism seriously.
Despite the fact that I got to spend three days teaching Pastor Adonis and several other Nicaraguan pastors, it goes without saying that I feel I gained much more from Pastor Adonis’ example and care for his flock.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Journey to Josiah
by: Rebekah Hixon
Our adoption journey is moving along, and we are coming closer each day to bringing Josiah home. We recently received an update from his orphanage along with several new pictures. They were helpful to answer several questions we had about our new son concerning his dear little personality and also about how his day typically looked and about the schedule his foster parents keep. We learned he is “fairly extroverted” and “talkative and lively.” Sounds like a Hixon!
We expect to travel this winter; however, we understand how unpredictable adoption processes can be, so we are daily submitting to the Lord’s timetable. We are keeping ourselves busy with normal life: ministry opportunities, church ministry, homeschooling, and the day to day activities of a family. In addition, we are fundraising for Josiah. We have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in an online adoption t-shirt fundraiser. You can check it out on my blog: www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com. We are also planning for 2 different bake sales in September. This will not only give us an opportunity to fundraise, it will be a wonderful opportunity for our children to contribute in a tangible way and, hopefully, always remember the journey is not necessarily easy but so very worth it!
I know many understand the eternal aspect of adoption and see it as ministry to the orphan, an extension of the Great Commission, and a beautiful picture of the Gospel, not to mention a truly wonderful way to welcome someone to your forever family. To you, I plead that you would commit our family to your prayers. We are asking the Lord to prepare our family for Josiah and that He would please prepare his little heart for such a huge upcoming change. We are also praying that the Lord would provide the remaining resources for the fees. Finally, we are prayerfully asking the Lord to make the paperwork path before us smooth to allow Josiah to come home as soon as possible. We would so appreciate your prayers, knowing you loved Josiah before you even met him! If you desire to contribute to our fundraising efforts, you are able to do so in a “tax-deductible way” by giving through M.U.D. Ministries and marking it “Suggested Use: Adoption.”
So many of you have inquired about Josiah and this journey, and we are grateful to know we have such sweet support from family and friends. Thank you!
Our adoption journey is moving along, and we are coming closer each day to bringing Josiah home. We recently received an update from his orphanage along with several new pictures. They were helpful to answer several questions we had about our new son concerning his dear little personality and also about how his day typically looked and about the schedule his foster parents keep. We learned he is “fairly extroverted” and “talkative and lively.” Sounds like a Hixon!
We expect to travel this winter; however, we understand how unpredictable adoption processes can be, so we are daily submitting to the Lord’s timetable. We are keeping ourselves busy with normal life: ministry opportunities, church ministry, homeschooling, and the day to day activities of a family. In addition, we are fundraising for Josiah. We have been blessed with the opportunity to participate in an online adoption t-shirt fundraiser. You can check it out on my blog: www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com. We are also planning for 2 different bake sales in September. This will not only give us an opportunity to fundraise, it will be a wonderful opportunity for our children to contribute in a tangible way and, hopefully, always remember the journey is not necessarily easy but so very worth it!
I know many understand the eternal aspect of adoption and see it as ministry to the orphan, an extension of the Great Commission, and a beautiful picture of the Gospel, not to mention a truly wonderful way to welcome someone to your forever family. To you, I plead that you would commit our family to your prayers. We are asking the Lord to prepare our family for Josiah and that He would please prepare his little heart for such a huge upcoming change. We are also praying that the Lord would provide the remaining resources for the fees. Finally, we are prayerfully asking the Lord to make the paperwork path before us smooth to allow Josiah to come home as soon as possible. We would so appreciate your prayers, knowing you loved Josiah before you even met him! If you desire to contribute to our fundraising efforts, you are able to do so in a “tax-deductible way” by giving through M.U.D. Ministries and marking it “Suggested Use: Adoption.”
So many of you have inquired about Josiah and this journey, and we are grateful to know we have such sweet support from family and friends. Thank you!
Monday, August 30, 2010
From Eric
There is nothing to be bragged upon except the Lord Jesus Christ! He is all that we can boast in because we know that every good thing, every good deed, every act of obedience is a work of His grace. I praise the Lord for His mercy and love for me and my family every day. There is nothing that I find more encouraging than the Word of God! My strength comes from Christ and my very best is nothing apart from His wonderful amazing grace!
The Lord has been very good to M.U.D. Ministries and the Hixon Family. We do not deserve any good thing to come upon us, and it is all for His glory that we have been allowed to serve in a full-time manner for the past 7 years. God laid it upon our hearts to serve Him and to live by faith, and we are very grateful to the Lord for His blessings. When I had the very first meeting with some prayer warriors concerning M.U.D. Ministries, I knew that the Lord was impressing upon me to never turn down an opportunity to serve the Lord based on a church’s financial ability or size. Many modern evangelist have been convinced that they are “worth” a certain amount or deserve a certain size crowd to hear them. I cannot see that as the example of Jesus or Paul. They did talk to the crowds when the opportunity arose, but Jesus also talked to the woman at the well and many other smaller groups as well. Our confidence has never been in our ability or our worth. The confidence I have is in the Gospel.
The fact is that people let us down. There is nothing we have apart from Christ, and I promise you, friend, we can count on Him! The fact is that God doesn’t need M.U.D. Ministries or Eric Hixon. There are no great ministries or great men of God—only wicked sinful men that God has redeemed for a work that will bring Him glory! I have found that the church in America can be very man-centered, and we are paying the price for such a focus. Let us repent of any man-centered attitude or self confidence, and let God’s people be committed to doing God’s Work, God’s Way, for God’s Glory!
I am asking you to please pray for God to raise up people that have a heart for Biblical Evangelism. If God chooses to sustain us, it is totally undeserved and a work of grace. We have not places our confidence in man, but in Christ! Please know that we appreciate all your prayers!!
The Lord has been very good to M.U.D. Ministries and the Hixon Family. We do not deserve any good thing to come upon us, and it is all for His glory that we have been allowed to serve in a full-time manner for the past 7 years. God laid it upon our hearts to serve Him and to live by faith, and we are very grateful to the Lord for His blessings. When I had the very first meeting with some prayer warriors concerning M.U.D. Ministries, I knew that the Lord was impressing upon me to never turn down an opportunity to serve the Lord based on a church’s financial ability or size. Many modern evangelist have been convinced that they are “worth” a certain amount or deserve a certain size crowd to hear them. I cannot see that as the example of Jesus or Paul. They did talk to the crowds when the opportunity arose, but Jesus also talked to the woman at the well and many other smaller groups as well. Our confidence has never been in our ability or our worth. The confidence I have is in the Gospel.
The fact is that people let us down. There is nothing we have apart from Christ, and I promise you, friend, we can count on Him! The fact is that God doesn’t need M.U.D. Ministries or Eric Hixon. There are no great ministries or great men of God—only wicked sinful men that God has redeemed for a work that will bring Him glory! I have found that the church in America can be very man-centered, and we are paying the price for such a focus. Let us repent of any man-centered attitude or self confidence, and let God’s people be committed to doing God’s Work, God’s Way, for God’s Glory!
I am asking you to please pray for God to raise up people that have a heart for Biblical Evangelism. If God chooses to sustain us, it is totally undeserved and a work of grace. We have not places our confidence in man, but in Christ! Please know that we appreciate all your prayers!!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Hello Managua and South Carolina!!
Just wanted to say hello to all those who have been recently enjoying our blog! Especially those who have suddenly became so interested in what M.U.D. Ministries is doing.
Our ministry prays for each person that visits our blog as we get updates on those that visit us. Please feel free to shoot us an email or call the ministry to let us know how we can pray for you! We are praying for those from Managua today and South Carolina! God bless and we hope you keep visiting our blog!!
Integrity is vital!
Our ministry prays for each person that visits our blog as we get updates on those that visit us. Please feel free to shoot us an email or call the ministry to let us know how we can pray for you! We are praying for those from Managua today and South Carolina! God bless and we hope you keep visiting our blog!!
Integrity is vital!
International Mission Trip Opportunities for 2011
M.U.D. Ministries has been hosting mission trips to the country of Nicaragua for the past five years. In 2010, over 100 people from dozens of churches throughout the U.S. participated. These trips have included: city-wide crusades, door to door evangelism, revival services, pastor's conferences, marriage conferences, women's conferences, VBS for children, construction projects, and ministering to orphans. The primary focus for all M.U.D. Mission Trips is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ biblically and effectively. M.U.D. is also committed to equipping international churches to reach their communities.
In 2011, M.U.D. will be hosting five trips to Nicaragua. M.U.D. will also be hosting an international trip to a brand new location— JAMAICA. This trip will take place in a Deaf Community. Below is a brief description of each international trip for 2011. For questions, reservations, or more information, please call the M.U.D. office at 256.620.1788.
NICARAGUA WEEK #1
Date: February 5-12, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, Women's Conference, Pastor's Conference, and Children's Ministry.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due October 1, 2010; $500 payment due 12/1/ 2010; and $395 final payment due 1/ 1/11.
NICARAGUA WEEK #2
Date: March 12-19, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring High School Students or for College Students because it falls within many Spring Breaks. This is a trip for everyone!
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due November 1, 2010
NICARAGUA WEEK #3
Date: July 23-30, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry. Plans are also underway for a possible BASEBALL CAMP and Evangelistic Baseball Games against Nicaraguan Teams.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due March 1, 2011
* Participants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or chaperone. Student Groups must have one adult chaperone per four students of the same gender.
** Cost includes: administration, meals, lodging, ground fees, and airfare from Atlanta, GA. Cost is subject to change if airfare increases or your group needs to fly out of a different city. Deposits are NON-Refundable and used to purchase airfare for participants. Call the M.U.D. Office (256.620.1788) today for questions, reservations, or more information.
In 2011, M.U.D. will be hosting five trips to Nicaragua. M.U.D. will also be hosting an international trip to a brand new location— JAMAICA. This trip will take place in a Deaf Community. Below is a brief description of each international trip for 2011. For questions, reservations, or more information, please call the M.U.D. office at 256.620.1788.
NICARAGUA WEEK #1
Date: February 5-12, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, Women's Conference, Pastor's Conference, and Children's Ministry.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due October 1, 2010; $500 payment due 12/1/ 2010; and $395 final payment due 1/ 1/11.
NICARAGUA WEEK #2
Date: March 12-19, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring High School Students or for College Students because it falls within many Spring Breaks. This is a trip for everyone!
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due November 1, 2010
NICARAGUA WEEK #3
Date: July 23-30, 2011
Capacity: 30 participants *
Cost: $1,495 per person **
Description: Plans include Revival Services, Evangelism, and Children's Ministry. Plans are also underway for a possible BASEBALL CAMP and Evangelistic Baseball Games against Nicaraguan Teams.
Payment breakdown: $600 deposit due March 1, 2011
* Participants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or chaperone. Student Groups must have one adult chaperone per four students of the same gender.
** Cost includes: administration, meals, lodging, ground fees, and airfare from Atlanta, GA. Cost is subject to change if airfare increases or your group needs to fly out of a different city. Deposits are NON-Refundable and used to purchase airfare for participants. Call the M.U.D. Office (256.620.1788) today for questions, reservations, or more information.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Nicaragua Mission Team #4 Update
In the month of August, M.U.D. Ministries mobilized 14 people to go on international missions to Nicaragua. We went to a new area and worked with pastors and churches that have not had any missionaries working with them in recent years. This mission trip was probably the most spiritually healthy trip that we have led in many years; we were very impressed with the commitment and diligence of the local pastors and churches. These churches had resolved to do God’s Work, God’s Way many years ago and were established on a Biblical standard.
Berea Baptist Church was located in Managua and was only a few blocks away from the Jehovah Witness Headquarters of Central America. Pastor Jorge and his members were faithfully out witnessing with our team and very involved in the evangelism. The brothers and sisters were strong in evangelism and discipleship. The congregation was small and met in a rented house with an open courtyard. It was stirring to see some neighbor children looking over the wall and listening to the services. The pastor’s wife, Doris, found out the week we were there that she has a tumor, and she’s having it removed later in the month. They will determine then if it is cancerous. Please pray for this dear sister; she’s in her mid twenties, and she doesn’t look well. They have one small son and care for their twin nieces.
Los Cedros (The Cedars) Baptist Church was also a blessing to serve. Pastor Adonis has been there for 9 years, and he is only 30 years old. This congregation is in the center of a poor community, and several spiritually unhealthy groups have come in, and there is a lot of confusion about what salvation is. Pastor Adonis has a solid in-road to the local school and community. He has invited us to come back in October and preach at a large evangelistic outreach and do a women’s conference. This will be their first community-wide outreach and would impact several thousand people. We are renting out the local school’s facilities for the event. We are praying for souls!
The Pastors’ Conference and Women’s Conference were amazing to say the least! They both had a distinctively Biblically healthy approach and were very Bible-saturated. Rebekah taught the women of Berea Baptist and Los Cedros Baptist the book of Ruth, and two other pastors and I taught a Pastors’ Conference, emphasizing the Sufficiency of Scripture in Preaching and Biblical Church Discipline. It is so easy to follow tradition or what we think is best. We communicated very thoroughly that we are called to preach the Gospel and to restore those people who are in our churches to health God’s Way! This will allow us to not be found as a compromiser and idolater.
We are servants to our Savior, and we need your prayers and support as we prepare to return to Nicaragua in October to work with these local churches again. If you are interested in going with us or supporting our work there, please let us know! Pray for Nicaragua!
Berea Baptist Church was located in Managua and was only a few blocks away from the Jehovah Witness Headquarters of Central America. Pastor Jorge and his members were faithfully out witnessing with our team and very involved in the evangelism. The brothers and sisters were strong in evangelism and discipleship. The congregation was small and met in a rented house with an open courtyard. It was stirring to see some neighbor children looking over the wall and listening to the services. The pastor’s wife, Doris, found out the week we were there that she has a tumor, and she’s having it removed later in the month. They will determine then if it is cancerous. Please pray for this dear sister; she’s in her mid twenties, and she doesn’t look well. They have one small son and care for their twin nieces.
Los Cedros (The Cedars) Baptist Church was also a blessing to serve. Pastor Adonis has been there for 9 years, and he is only 30 years old. This congregation is in the center of a poor community, and several spiritually unhealthy groups have come in, and there is a lot of confusion about what salvation is. Pastor Adonis has a solid in-road to the local school and community. He has invited us to come back in October and preach at a large evangelistic outreach and do a women’s conference. This will be their first community-wide outreach and would impact several thousand people. We are renting out the local school’s facilities for the event. We are praying for souls!
The Pastors’ Conference and Women’s Conference were amazing to say the least! They both had a distinctively Biblically healthy approach and were very Bible-saturated. Rebekah taught the women of Berea Baptist and Los Cedros Baptist the book of Ruth, and two other pastors and I taught a Pastors’ Conference, emphasizing the Sufficiency of Scripture in Preaching and Biblical Church Discipline. It is so easy to follow tradition or what we think is best. We communicated very thoroughly that we are called to preach the Gospel and to restore those people who are in our churches to health God’s Way! This will allow us to not be found as a compromiser and idolater.
We are servants to our Savior, and we need your prayers and support as we prepare to return to Nicaragua in October to work with these local churches again. If you are interested in going with us or supporting our work there, please let us know! Pray for Nicaragua!
Friday, August 20, 2010
S.C.A.N. the Scriptures
From Justin Taylor's Blog
If you want a quick and easy way to memorize the traditional four attributes of Scripture, just put them in the order of S.C.A.N.:
•the Sufficiency of Scripture
•the Clarity of Scripture
•the Authority of Scripture, and
•the Necessity of Scripture
Below are some definitions and thoughts from Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) and Timothy Ward (Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God).
Sufficiency
Ward: “Because of the ways in which God has chosen to relate himself to Scripture, Scripture is sufficient as the means by which God continues to present himself to us such that we can know him, repeating through Scripture the covenant promise he has brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.” (p. 113)
Grudem: “The idea that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”
Clarity
Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it seeking God’s help and are willing to follow it” (p. 108).
Ward: “Scripture is the written word of the living Word, God’s communicative act, and the Spirit who authored it chooses to continue to speak most directly through it. Therefore we are right to trust that God in Scripture has spoken and continues to speak sufficiently clearly for us to base our saving knowledge of him and of ourselves, and our beliefs and our actions, on the content of Scripture alone, without ultimately validating our understanding of these things or our confidence in them by appeal to any individual or institution” (pp. 126-127).
Authority
Grudem: “The idea that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.”
“The phrase ‘the authority of Scripture’ must be understood to be shorthand for ‘the authority of God as he speaks through Scripture.’ . . . The authority of Scripture is a statement about what God did in authoring Scripture, and about how he continues to act in relation to Scripture” (p. 128).
Necessity
Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about his character and moral laws.”
Ward: “Necessity sits right at the heart of the ways in which sola scriptura is explicated and defended. If Scripture alone is claimed to be the supreme authority in Christian thinking and living, that is because both its content (the verbal revelation) and its form (the written Scriptures) are indispensable” (p. 102).
If you want a quick and easy way to memorize the traditional four attributes of Scripture, just put them in the order of S.C.A.N.:
•the Sufficiency of Scripture
•the Clarity of Scripture
•the Authority of Scripture, and
•the Necessity of Scripture
Below are some definitions and thoughts from Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) and Timothy Ward (Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God).
Sufficiency
Ward: “Because of the ways in which God has chosen to relate himself to Scripture, Scripture is sufficient as the means by which God continues to present himself to us such that we can know him, repeating through Scripture the covenant promise he has brought to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.” (p. 113)
Grudem: “The idea that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.”
Clarity
Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it seeking God’s help and are willing to follow it” (p. 108).
Ward: “Scripture is the written word of the living Word, God’s communicative act, and the Spirit who authored it chooses to continue to speak most directly through it. Therefore we are right to trust that God in Scripture has spoken and continues to speak sufficiently clearly for us to base our saving knowledge of him and of ourselves, and our beliefs and our actions, on the content of Scripture alone, without ultimately validating our understanding of these things or our confidence in them by appeal to any individual or institution” (pp. 126-127).
Authority
Grudem: “The idea that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.”
“The phrase ‘the authority of Scripture’ must be understood to be shorthand for ‘the authority of God as he speaks through Scripture.’ . . . The authority of Scripture is a statement about what God did in authoring Scripture, and about how he continues to act in relation to Scripture” (p. 128).
Necessity
Grudem: “The idea that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about his character and moral laws.”
Ward: “Necessity sits right at the heart of the ways in which sola scriptura is explicated and defended. If Scripture alone is claimed to be the supreme authority in Christian thinking and living, that is because both its content (the verbal revelation) and its form (the written Scriptures) are indispensable” (p. 102).
Thursday, August 19, 2010
To Serve is to Suffer
by: Ajith Fernando
(I know this is a long post but I think it is a must read for anyone in ministry. ~ Eric Hixon)
If the apostle Paul knew fatigue, anger, and anxiety in his ministry, what makes us think we can avoid them in ours?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
North American Christians have paid special attention to the suffering of Christians in the Global South ever since 1996, when a coalition of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish activists began raising awareness about the persecution of Christians outside the West. When Christians, especially in the West, have shown concern for the persecution of majority-world believers, they have often approached it through the lens of human rights. In this installment of the Global Conversation, Sri Lankan pastor and evangelist Ajith Fernando helps us focus on suffering as an essential part of Christian discipleship, but especially for those called to be church leaders.
I write this shortly after returning from a week of teaching pastors in the deep south of Sri Lanka. These pastors' experience shows that when people pioneer in unreached areas, they usually wait 10 to 15 years before seeing significant fruit and reduced hostility. In the early years, they are assaulted and accused falsely; stones are thrown onto their roofs; their children are given a hard time in school; and they see few genuine conversions. Many pioneers give up after a few years. But those who persevere bear much eternal fruit. I am humbled and ashamed of the way I complain about problems that are minute compared to theirs.
When I return from ministry in the West, my feelings are very different. I have been able to "use my gifts" and spend most of my time doing things I like. But when I resume being a leader in Sri Lanka's less-efficient culture, frustration hits me. The transition from being a speaker in the West to being a leader in Sri Lanka is difficult. As a leader, I am the bond-servant (doulos) of the people I lead (2 Cor. 4:5). This means that my schedule is shaped more by their needs than by mine.
Vocational fulfillment in the kingdom of God has a distinct character, different from vocational fulfillment in society. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34, ESV, used throughout). If we are doing God's will, we are happy and fulfilled. But for Jesus, and for us, doing God's will includes the Cross. The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.
Young Christian workers who come back to Sri Lanka after studying in the West struggle with this. They are highly qualified, but our poor nation cannot afford to give them the recognition they think their qualifications deserve. They cannot use their gifts to the fullest because we cannot afford pure specialists. They struggle with frustration. Some end up leaving the country after a few years. Some start their own organizations so as to fulfill their "vision." Others become consultants, giving expert training and advice in their specialized field. Others pay the price of identifying with our people and ultimately have a deep impact on the nation.
I try to tell these students that their frustration could be the means to developing penetrating insight. I explain that people like John Calvin and Martin Luther had a dizzying variety of responsibilities, so that they could only use their gifts in the fog of fatigue. Yet the fruits of their labor as leaders and writers still bless the church.
Frustration and Fulfillment
Paul's theology emphasized the need to endure frustration patiently as we live in a fallen world awaiting the redemption of creation. Paul said that we groan because of this frustration (Rom. 8:18-27). I believe we fail to include this frustration in our understanding of vocational fulfillment. A church that has a wrong understanding of fulfillment for its workers will certainly become sick. This may be one reason why the church contains so much shallowness. We have measured success by the standards of the world and fail to challenge the world with the radically different biblical way to fulfillment.
To Serve is to suffer The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.The contemporary emphasis on efficiency and measurable results makes frustration even harder to endure. In the past four centuries, industrial and technological development in the West made efficiency and productivity top values. With rapid economic development, things once considered luxuries became not only necessities but also rights in the minds even of Christians. In this environment, the Christian idea of commitment has taken a battering.
We call our churches and Christian organizations "families," but families are very inefficient organizations. In a healthy family, everything stops when a member has big needs. We are often not willing to extend this commitment to Christian body life.
Commitment and Community
The biblical model of community life is Jesus' command to love one another as he loved us—that is, for members to die for other members (John 15:12-13). The model of Christian leadership is that of the Good Shepherd dying for his sheep, not abandoning them when the situation gets dangerous (John 10:11-15). When God calls us to serve him, he calls us to come and die for the people we serve. We don't discard people when they have problems and cannot do their job properly. We serve them and help them come out of their problems. We don't tell people to find another place of service when they rebel against us. We labor with them until we either come to agreement or agree to disagree.
When people leave a church because they do not fit the program, it communicates a deadly message: that our commitment is to the work and not to the person, that our unity is primarily in the work and not in Christ and the gospel. The sad result is that Christians do not have the security of a community that will stay by them no matter what happens. They become shallow individuals, never having true fellowship and moving from group to group. Churches committed to programs can grow numerically, but they don't nurture biblical Christians who understand the implications of belonging to the body of Christ.
Sticking with people is frustrating. Taking hours to listen to an angry or hurt person seems inefficient. Why should we waste time on that when professionals could do it? So people have counselors to do what friends should be doing.
Ideally, counselors help diagnose and treat difficult cases, and friends give the time that is needed to bring healing through acceptance, comfort, and friendship. Hurt people usually hurt those who try to help them. Hurt and angry people to whom we are committed will hurt us too. Others they hurt could get angry with us because we are committed to them. But we endure the pain because Christ called us to die for our friends.
Several people have sympathized with me, saying it must be hard and frustrating to serve in a country wracked by war and hostile to evangelism. Indeed, we have suffered. A few months ago, one of our staff workers was brutally assaulted and killed. But I think the biggest pain I have experienced is the pain I have received from Youth for Christ, the organization for which I have worked for 34 years. I can also say that next to Jesus and my family, Youth for Christ has been the greatest source of joy in my life. Whether you live in the East or the West, you will suffer pain if you are committed to people. This is suffering that can be avoided. We can avoid pain by stopping the relationship or moving on to something more "fulfilling." But what do we lose?
Some years ago I was preparing a message on commitment while traveling in the West. Within the space of a few days, three people told me how they or someone close to them had left a group or a person because of problems. One had left an unhappy marriage; another, a church; another, an organization. Each person described his leaving as a merciful release from suffering. But I could not help asking myself whether, in each of these cases, the Christian thing to do would have been to stay and suffer.
Drivenness or Servanthood?
I have a large group of people to whom I write asking for prayer when I have a need. Sometimes my need is overcoming tiredness. When I write about this, many write back saying they are praying that God would strengthen me and guide me in my scheduling. However, there are differences in the way friends from the East and some from the West respond. I get the strong feeling that many in the West think struggling with tiredness from overwork is evidence of disobedience to God. My contention is that it is wrong if one gets sick from overwork through drivenness and insecurity. But we may have to endure tiredness when we, like Paul, are servants of people.
People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful after depriving themselves for the sake of the gospel.The New Testament is clear that those who work for Christ will suffer because of their work. Tiredness, stress, and strain may be the cross God calls us to. Paul often spoke about the physical hardships his ministry brought him, including emotional strain (Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 11:28), anger (2 Cor. 11:29), sleepless nights and hunger (2 Cor. 6:5), affliction and perplexity (2 Cor. 4:8), and toiling—working to the point of weariness (Col. 1:29). In statements radically countercultural in today's "body conscious" society, he said, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16); and, "For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:11-12). I fear that many Christians approach these texts only with an academic interest, not seriously asking how the verses should apply in their lives.
The West, having struggled with the tyrannical rule of time, has a lot to teach the East about the need for rest. The East has something to teach the West about embracing physical problems that come from commitment to people. If you think it is wrong to suffer physically because of ministry, then you suffer more from the problem than those who believe that suffering is an inevitable step on the path to fruitfulness and fulfillment. Since the Cross is a basic aspect of discipleship, the church must train Christian leaders to expect pain and hardship. When this perspective enters our minds, pain will not touch our joy and contentment in Christ. In 18 different New Testament passages, suffering and joy appear together. In fact, suffering is often the cause for joy (Rom. 5:3-5; Col. 1:24; James 1:2-3).
The Glory of the Gospel
In a world where physical health, appearance, and convenience have gained almost idolatrous prominence, God may be calling Christians to demonstrate the glory of the gospel by being joyful and content while enduring pain and hardship. People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful and content after depriving themselves for the gospel. This may be a new way to demonstrate the glory of the gospel to this hedonistic culture.
I have a great fear for the church. The West is fast becoming an unreached region. The Bible and history show that suffering is an essential ingredient in reaching unreached people. Will the loss of a theology of suffering lead the Western church to become ineffective in evangelism? The church in the East is growing, and because of that God's servants are suffering. Significant funding and education come to the East from the West. With funding and education comes influence. Could Westerners influence Eastern Christians to abandon the Cross by communicating that they must be doing something wrong if they suffer in this way? Christians in both the East and the West need to have a firm theology of suffering if they are to be healthy and bear fruit.
Ajith Fernando has been national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka since 1976. With his wife, Nelun, he also serves in a church in Colombo consisting mainly of poor, urban first-generation Christians. He is the author of The Call to Joy and Pain (Crossway) and An Authentic Servant (The Lausanne Movement).
Key Christian leaders respond to this article at ChristianityToday.com/go/conversation. Post your own comments to become part of the Global Conversation about important issues related to world evangelization in preparation for the Lausanne Movement's Cape Town 2010 conference.
(I know this is a long post but I think it is a must read for anyone in ministry. ~ Eric Hixon)
If the apostle Paul knew fatigue, anger, and anxiety in his ministry, what makes us think we can avoid them in ours?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
North American Christians have paid special attention to the suffering of Christians in the Global South ever since 1996, when a coalition of Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish activists began raising awareness about the persecution of Christians outside the West. When Christians, especially in the West, have shown concern for the persecution of majority-world believers, they have often approached it through the lens of human rights. In this installment of the Global Conversation, Sri Lankan pastor and evangelist Ajith Fernando helps us focus on suffering as an essential part of Christian discipleship, but especially for those called to be church leaders.
I write this shortly after returning from a week of teaching pastors in the deep south of Sri Lanka. These pastors' experience shows that when people pioneer in unreached areas, they usually wait 10 to 15 years before seeing significant fruit and reduced hostility. In the early years, they are assaulted and accused falsely; stones are thrown onto their roofs; their children are given a hard time in school; and they see few genuine conversions. Many pioneers give up after a few years. But those who persevere bear much eternal fruit. I am humbled and ashamed of the way I complain about problems that are minute compared to theirs.
When I return from ministry in the West, my feelings are very different. I have been able to "use my gifts" and spend most of my time doing things I like. But when I resume being a leader in Sri Lanka's less-efficient culture, frustration hits me. The transition from being a speaker in the West to being a leader in Sri Lanka is difficult. As a leader, I am the bond-servant (doulos) of the people I lead (2 Cor. 4:5). This means that my schedule is shaped more by their needs than by mine.
Vocational fulfillment in the kingdom of God has a distinct character, different from vocational fulfillment in society. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34, ESV, used throughout). If we are doing God's will, we are happy and fulfilled. But for Jesus, and for us, doing God's will includes the Cross. The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.
Young Christian workers who come back to Sri Lanka after studying in the West struggle with this. They are highly qualified, but our poor nation cannot afford to give them the recognition they think their qualifications deserve. They cannot use their gifts to the fullest because we cannot afford pure specialists. They struggle with frustration. Some end up leaving the country after a few years. Some start their own organizations so as to fulfill their "vision." Others become consultants, giving expert training and advice in their specialized field. Others pay the price of identifying with our people and ultimately have a deep impact on the nation.
I try to tell these students that their frustration could be the means to developing penetrating insight. I explain that people like John Calvin and Martin Luther had a dizzying variety of responsibilities, so that they could only use their gifts in the fog of fatigue. Yet the fruits of their labor as leaders and writers still bless the church.
Frustration and Fulfillment
Paul's theology emphasized the need to endure frustration patiently as we live in a fallen world awaiting the redemption of creation. Paul said that we groan because of this frustration (Rom. 8:18-27). I believe we fail to include this frustration in our understanding of vocational fulfillment. A church that has a wrong understanding of fulfillment for its workers will certainly become sick. This may be one reason why the church contains so much shallowness. We have measured success by the standards of the world and fail to challenge the world with the radically different biblical way to fulfillment.
To Serve is to suffer The Cross must be an essential element in our definition of vocational fulfillment.The contemporary emphasis on efficiency and measurable results makes frustration even harder to endure. In the past four centuries, industrial and technological development in the West made efficiency and productivity top values. With rapid economic development, things once considered luxuries became not only necessities but also rights in the minds even of Christians. In this environment, the Christian idea of commitment has taken a battering.
We call our churches and Christian organizations "families," but families are very inefficient organizations. In a healthy family, everything stops when a member has big needs. We are often not willing to extend this commitment to Christian body life.
Commitment and Community
The biblical model of community life is Jesus' command to love one another as he loved us—that is, for members to die for other members (John 15:12-13). The model of Christian leadership is that of the Good Shepherd dying for his sheep, not abandoning them when the situation gets dangerous (John 10:11-15). When God calls us to serve him, he calls us to come and die for the people we serve. We don't discard people when they have problems and cannot do their job properly. We serve them and help them come out of their problems. We don't tell people to find another place of service when they rebel against us. We labor with them until we either come to agreement or agree to disagree.
When people leave a church because they do not fit the program, it communicates a deadly message: that our commitment is to the work and not to the person, that our unity is primarily in the work and not in Christ and the gospel. The sad result is that Christians do not have the security of a community that will stay by them no matter what happens. They become shallow individuals, never having true fellowship and moving from group to group. Churches committed to programs can grow numerically, but they don't nurture biblical Christians who understand the implications of belonging to the body of Christ.
Sticking with people is frustrating. Taking hours to listen to an angry or hurt person seems inefficient. Why should we waste time on that when professionals could do it? So people have counselors to do what friends should be doing.
Ideally, counselors help diagnose and treat difficult cases, and friends give the time that is needed to bring healing through acceptance, comfort, and friendship. Hurt people usually hurt those who try to help them. Hurt and angry people to whom we are committed will hurt us too. Others they hurt could get angry with us because we are committed to them. But we endure the pain because Christ called us to die for our friends.
Several people have sympathized with me, saying it must be hard and frustrating to serve in a country wracked by war and hostile to evangelism. Indeed, we have suffered. A few months ago, one of our staff workers was brutally assaulted and killed. But I think the biggest pain I have experienced is the pain I have received from Youth for Christ, the organization for which I have worked for 34 years. I can also say that next to Jesus and my family, Youth for Christ has been the greatest source of joy in my life. Whether you live in the East or the West, you will suffer pain if you are committed to people. This is suffering that can be avoided. We can avoid pain by stopping the relationship or moving on to something more "fulfilling." But what do we lose?
Some years ago I was preparing a message on commitment while traveling in the West. Within the space of a few days, three people told me how they or someone close to them had left a group or a person because of problems. One had left an unhappy marriage; another, a church; another, an organization. Each person described his leaving as a merciful release from suffering. But I could not help asking myself whether, in each of these cases, the Christian thing to do would have been to stay and suffer.
Drivenness or Servanthood?
I have a large group of people to whom I write asking for prayer when I have a need. Sometimes my need is overcoming tiredness. When I write about this, many write back saying they are praying that God would strengthen me and guide me in my scheduling. However, there are differences in the way friends from the East and some from the West respond. I get the strong feeling that many in the West think struggling with tiredness from overwork is evidence of disobedience to God. My contention is that it is wrong if one gets sick from overwork through drivenness and insecurity. But we may have to endure tiredness when we, like Paul, are servants of people.
People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful after depriving themselves for the sake of the gospel.The New Testament is clear that those who work for Christ will suffer because of their work. Tiredness, stress, and strain may be the cross God calls us to. Paul often spoke about the physical hardships his ministry brought him, including emotional strain (Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 11:28), anger (2 Cor. 11:29), sleepless nights and hunger (2 Cor. 6:5), affliction and perplexity (2 Cor. 4:8), and toiling—working to the point of weariness (Col. 1:29). In statements radically countercultural in today's "body conscious" society, he said, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16); and, "For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:11-12). I fear that many Christians approach these texts only with an academic interest, not seriously asking how the verses should apply in their lives.
The West, having struggled with the tyrannical rule of time, has a lot to teach the East about the need for rest. The East has something to teach the West about embracing physical problems that come from commitment to people. If you think it is wrong to suffer physically because of ministry, then you suffer more from the problem than those who believe that suffering is an inevitable step on the path to fruitfulness and fulfillment. Since the Cross is a basic aspect of discipleship, the church must train Christian leaders to expect pain and hardship. When this perspective enters our minds, pain will not touch our joy and contentment in Christ. In 18 different New Testament passages, suffering and joy appear together. In fact, suffering is often the cause for joy (Rom. 5:3-5; Col. 1:24; James 1:2-3).
The Glory of the Gospel
In a world where physical health, appearance, and convenience have gained almost idolatrous prominence, God may be calling Christians to demonstrate the glory of the gospel by being joyful and content while enduring pain and hardship. People who are unfulfilled after pursuing things that do not satisfy may be astonished to see Christians who are joyful and content after depriving themselves for the gospel. This may be a new way to demonstrate the glory of the gospel to this hedonistic culture.
I have a great fear for the church. The West is fast becoming an unreached region. The Bible and history show that suffering is an essential ingredient in reaching unreached people. Will the loss of a theology of suffering lead the Western church to become ineffective in evangelism? The church in the East is growing, and because of that God's servants are suffering. Significant funding and education come to the East from the West. With funding and education comes influence. Could Westerners influence Eastern Christians to abandon the Cross by communicating that they must be doing something wrong if they suffer in this way? Christians in both the East and the West need to have a firm theology of suffering if they are to be healthy and bear fruit.
Ajith Fernando has been national director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka since 1976. With his wife, Nelun, he also serves in a church in Colombo consisting mainly of poor, urban first-generation Christians. He is the author of The Call to Joy and Pain (Crossway) and An Authentic Servant (The Lausanne Movement).
Key Christian leaders respond to this article at ChristianityToday.com/go/conversation. Post your own comments to become part of the Global Conversation about important issues related to world evangelization in preparation for the Lausanne Movement's Cape Town 2010 conference.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Two Tones of Biblical Faith
by: J.I. Packer
J.I. Packer:
Christian faith is shaped, and its nature determined, entirely by its object, just as the impression of a seal is shaped entirely by the die-stamp that is pressed down on the hot wax.
The object of the Christian faith, Packer writes, is threefold:
first, God the Three-in-One, the Creator-become-Redeemer, who throughout history has been, and still is, transforming sinners into a new humanity in Christ;
second, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate and Saviour, now absent from us in the flesh but personally and powerfully present with us through the Holy Spirit; and
third, the many invitations, promises, commands and assurances that the Father and the Son extend to all who will receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and become his disciples, living henceforth by his teaching in his fellowship under his authority.
Biblically, then, faith is a matter of knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),
welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and
receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).
Packer calls New Testament faith a “two-tone” reality:
Believing the biblically revealed facts and truths about God, and trusting the living Lord to whom these facts and truths lead us, are the two “tones,” the intellectual and relational aspects, of real faith, blending like a chord in music.
This is the understanding of faith that need to be re-established.
—J.I. Packer, Taking Faith Seriously (Anglican Essentials Canada, 2006), p. 5.
J.I. Packer:
Christian faith is shaped, and its nature determined, entirely by its object, just as the impression of a seal is shaped entirely by the die-stamp that is pressed down on the hot wax.
The object of the Christian faith, Packer writes, is threefold:
first, God the Three-in-One, the Creator-become-Redeemer, who throughout history has been, and still is, transforming sinners into a new humanity in Christ;
second, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate and Saviour, now absent from us in the flesh but personally and powerfully present with us through the Holy Spirit; and
third, the many invitations, promises, commands and assurances that the Father and the Son extend to all who will receive Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and become his disciples, living henceforth by his teaching in his fellowship under his authority.
Biblically, then, faith is a matter of knowing the facts of the gospel (the person, place and work of Jesus Christ),
welcoming the terms of the gospel (salvation from sin and a new life with God) and
receiving the Christ of the gospel (setting oneself to live as his follower, by self-denial, cross-bearing, and sacrificial service).
Packer calls New Testament faith a “two-tone” reality:
Believing the biblically revealed facts and truths about God, and trusting the living Lord to whom these facts and truths lead us, are the two “tones,” the intellectual and relational aspects, of real faith, blending like a chord in music.
This is the understanding of faith that need to be re-established.
—J.I. Packer, Taking Faith Seriously (Anglican Essentials Canada, 2006), p. 5.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Terminal Generation
by; Al Mohler
Is this evangelicalism’s terminal generation? Without doubt, we are facing an unprecedented set of challenges to evangelical identity. The rise of a postmodern culture has produced an intellectual context in which the very concept of truth is held under suspicion, and claims to revealed truth are simply ruled out of order.
Benjamin Franklin, caught on the street during a break in the Constitutional Convention, is said to have been asked by a passerby to describe the new order to be proposed. "A republic," he answered, "if you can keep it." By definition, evangelicals are to be a Gospel people, cherishing, teaching, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will remain evangelical only insofar as we maintain the integrity of our Gospel witness--if we can keep it. We are truly evangelical only if we keep our testimony to the Gospel without confusion or compromise.
We should be very concerned about certain trends in contemporary evangelicalism that threaten this integrity. The first is an ominous confusion about the Gospel itself. The heart of the Gospel is the objective truth that Christ died for sinners, and that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ--alone. The cardinal doctrine of justification by faith is, as Martin Luther warned, "the article by which the church stands or falls."
If so, the church is falling in many quarters. Much of what is presented in many pulpits--and marketed by flashy television preachers--bears little resemblance to this simple message. Instead, sinners are told to seek after riches, material blessings, vibrant health, and earthly rewards. Salvation is packaged as a product to be hawked on the airwaves and sold at a discount. The notion of salvation from sin and judgment is entirely missing from this scenario. Instead, salvation is presented as a gift of self-enhancement.
On the theological left, the Gospel had long ago been transformed into a social and political message of liberation from oppression. Now, among some who consider themselves evangelicals, the Gospel of Christ has been reduced to a form of self-expression or therapy. Salvation is promised as the answer to low self-esteem and emptiness. Gone is any notion of a holy God who offers salvation from sin and its eternal penalty.
The other pressing front in the current battle for the Gospel concerns the exclusivity of the work of Christ. The testimony of the Bible could not be more clear. Salvation comes to all who call upon the name of the Lord. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ--and through Jesus Christ alone.
In our culture of political correctness and intolerant tolerance, we are told that such a claim is simply unacceptable. There cannot be only one way of salvation. Who is to say that the religions of the world are wrong, and that Christianity alone is true?
Well, that is the non-negotiable criterion of evangelical faithfulness. Jesus identified Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life--and "no one comes to the Father, but through Me" [John 14:6]. Without this clear testimony, the Gospel is emptied of its integrity. The Bible allows no misunderstanding. Without conscious faith in Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.
Dean Kelley, a liberal Protestant, once noted that, "Even the most gentle, humble, and loving Christians must divide the world into those who confess Jesus as Lord and those who don't." Given the clarity of the Gospel, we have no other choice.
Even so, various forms of compromise erupt on this crucial front in the battle for the Gospel. Some advocate an open universalism, in which all persons are eventually saved. Others promote pluralism, promising that all roads will eventually lead to God, and that no faith has a privileged claim to truth. Closer to home, some have advocated a form of inclusivism in which other religions and faiths are seen to be included in the work of Christ. Still others advocate a form of "anonymous Christianity" or a post-mortem opportunity to confess Christ.
Against these various attempts to evade the simple clarity of the Gospel stands the Word of God. Our evangelical integrity stands or falls on this truth--salvation is found through faith in Christ alone. This is the logic of the missionary mandate and the sustaining conviction for all evangelism. Nevertheless, the worldview held by many individuals today--especially those among the educated classes--flatly rejects such claims as imperialistic and arrogant.
Sociologist James Davison Hunter has long warned that younger evangelicals tend to go soft on this doctrine. Educated in a culture of postmodern relativism and ideological pluralism, this generation has been taught to avoid making any exclusive claim to truth. Speak of your truth, if you must--but never claim to know the Truth.
Unless this course is reversed, there will be no evangelicals in the next generation.
Charles Spurgeon stated it plainly: "We have come to a turning-point in the road. If we turn to the right, mayhap our children and our children's children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word." Those words ring with prophetic urgency more than a century after they were written. Evangelicals must regain theological courage and conviction, or we must face the tragic reality that this may be evangelicalism's terminal generation.
Is this evangelicalism’s terminal generation? Without doubt, we are facing an unprecedented set of challenges to evangelical identity. The rise of a postmodern culture has produced an intellectual context in which the very concept of truth is held under suspicion, and claims to revealed truth are simply ruled out of order.
Benjamin Franklin, caught on the street during a break in the Constitutional Convention, is said to have been asked by a passerby to describe the new order to be proposed. "A republic," he answered, "if you can keep it." By definition, evangelicals are to be a Gospel people, cherishing, teaching, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will remain evangelical only insofar as we maintain the integrity of our Gospel witness--if we can keep it. We are truly evangelical only if we keep our testimony to the Gospel without confusion or compromise.
We should be very concerned about certain trends in contemporary evangelicalism that threaten this integrity. The first is an ominous confusion about the Gospel itself. The heart of the Gospel is the objective truth that Christ died for sinners, and that salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ--alone. The cardinal doctrine of justification by faith is, as Martin Luther warned, "the article by which the church stands or falls."
If so, the church is falling in many quarters. Much of what is presented in many pulpits--and marketed by flashy television preachers--bears little resemblance to this simple message. Instead, sinners are told to seek after riches, material blessings, vibrant health, and earthly rewards. Salvation is packaged as a product to be hawked on the airwaves and sold at a discount. The notion of salvation from sin and judgment is entirely missing from this scenario. Instead, salvation is presented as a gift of self-enhancement.
On the theological left, the Gospel had long ago been transformed into a social and political message of liberation from oppression. Now, among some who consider themselves evangelicals, the Gospel of Christ has been reduced to a form of self-expression or therapy. Salvation is promised as the answer to low self-esteem and emptiness. Gone is any notion of a holy God who offers salvation from sin and its eternal penalty.
The other pressing front in the current battle for the Gospel concerns the exclusivity of the work of Christ. The testimony of the Bible could not be more clear. Salvation comes to all who call upon the name of the Lord. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ--and through Jesus Christ alone.
In our culture of political correctness and intolerant tolerance, we are told that such a claim is simply unacceptable. There cannot be only one way of salvation. Who is to say that the religions of the world are wrong, and that Christianity alone is true?
Well, that is the non-negotiable criterion of evangelical faithfulness. Jesus identified Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life--and "no one comes to the Father, but through Me" [John 14:6]. Without this clear testimony, the Gospel is emptied of its integrity. The Bible allows no misunderstanding. Without conscious faith in Jesus Christ, there is no salvation.
Dean Kelley, a liberal Protestant, once noted that, "Even the most gentle, humble, and loving Christians must divide the world into those who confess Jesus as Lord and those who don't." Given the clarity of the Gospel, we have no other choice.
Even so, various forms of compromise erupt on this crucial front in the battle for the Gospel. Some advocate an open universalism, in which all persons are eventually saved. Others promote pluralism, promising that all roads will eventually lead to God, and that no faith has a privileged claim to truth. Closer to home, some have advocated a form of inclusivism in which other religions and faiths are seen to be included in the work of Christ. Still others advocate a form of "anonymous Christianity" or a post-mortem opportunity to confess Christ.
Against these various attempts to evade the simple clarity of the Gospel stands the Word of God. Our evangelical integrity stands or falls on this truth--salvation is found through faith in Christ alone. This is the logic of the missionary mandate and the sustaining conviction for all evangelism. Nevertheless, the worldview held by many individuals today--especially those among the educated classes--flatly rejects such claims as imperialistic and arrogant.
Sociologist James Davison Hunter has long warned that younger evangelicals tend to go soft on this doctrine. Educated in a culture of postmodern relativism and ideological pluralism, this generation has been taught to avoid making any exclusive claim to truth. Speak of your truth, if you must--but never claim to know the Truth.
Unless this course is reversed, there will be no evangelicals in the next generation.
Charles Spurgeon stated it plainly: "We have come to a turning-point in the road. If we turn to the right, mayhap our children and our children's children will go that way; but if we turn to the left, generations yet unborn will curse our names for having been unfaithful to God and to His Word." Those words ring with prophetic urgency more than a century after they were written. Evangelicals must regain theological courage and conviction, or we must face the tragic reality that this may be evangelicalism's terminal generation.
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Heart of True Ethics
by: John MacArthur
It is common in the evangelical church today for people to verbally acknowledge that the Bible, as God’s Word, is the final authority for both what they believe and how they live. Yet in reality, a clear connection between that public confession and personal conduct is rare.
Instead of looking to the Bible, many professing Christians look to psychology and sociology for supposed solutions to personal needs and social ills. The rise of postmodern thought has similarly skewed the church’s understanding of right and wrong—as an unbiblical tolerance (in the name of love) has weakened churches to the point where they are as soft on truth as they are on sin. Popular television shows, from Oprah to Leno to the average sitcom, have had a tangible effect (and not for the better) on how American Christians think through everyday issues. The political arena, too, has played a major role in shaping an evangelical understanding of morality, as words like “Republican” and “Democrat” or “liberal” and “conservative” have come to redefine the difference between what is good and what is evil.
The fact is that far too many professing Christians live their lives, day in and day out, on the basis of something other than the Bible. As a result, their priorities reflect the world’s priorities, not God’s priorities. Their patterns of behavior and their plans for the future differ only slightly from those of their unsaved friends and neighbors. Their expenditures reveal that their perspective is temporal, and that they are vainly pursuing the elusive American Dream. Their shortcomings, when they admit to them, receive the same fault-free labels that the world ascribes (“mistakes” or “diseases” or “addictions” rather than “sins”), as they search for answers in psychology, medication, or the self-help section of the bookstore. Though they adhere to an external form of traditional Christian moralism, there isn’t anything particularly biblical or Christ-centered about how they live.
Yet it is in the lives of sinners who have been transformed by the Gospel of grace, that a distinctly Christian ethic must be fleshed out. True Christianity is not defined on the basis of external moralism, religious traditionalism, or partisan politics; but on the basis of a personal love for Jesus Christ and a desire to follow Him no matter the cost (cf. John 14:15). It is only because believers have been transformed on the inside (through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit), that they are able to exhibit godliness in their behavior. And the world cannot help but take notice. As Jesus told His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12).
The heart of the Christian ethic, of course, is the Gospel. Only those who have been transformed from within (Titus 3:5–8), being indwelt by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:13–14), are able to exhibit genuine holiness (Gal. 5:22–23; 1 Pet. 1:16). Biblical Christianity is not primarily concerned with external behavior modification (cf. Matt. 5–7), but with a change of heart which subsequently manifests itself in a changed life (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
A true Christian ethic, then, is not possible without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Unless the inner man is washed first, external morality and religious observances are only a superficial façade. Jesus rebuked the hypocrites of His day with these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). Christ was not saying that behavior is unimportant. But rather that from God’s perspective, the heart is what matters most (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7; Mark 12:30–31).
Of course, a heart that has been truly transformed by God will respond in love to His Son, Jesus Christ (cf. John 8:42). And those who love Jesus Christ will eagerly desire to follow and obey His commands (cf. John 14:15), as found in His Word (cf. Col. 3:16). A truly Christian ethic, then, eagerly affirms and applies the moral instructions found in the Bible. But it does not do so in an attempt to legalistically earn salvation (Is. 64:6). Rather, having received salvation as the free gift of God through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8–9), it readily obeys out of a heart of love (Eph. 2:10).
If Christians are to live in keeping with who they are (as children of God), they must live according to the Word of God through the power of His Spirit. No other source of wisdom or moral insight will do. By definition, they are people of the Book—and not just on Sundays, but every day of the week (cf. Is. 66:2).
It is common in the evangelical church today for people to verbally acknowledge that the Bible, as God’s Word, is the final authority for both what they believe and how they live. Yet in reality, a clear connection between that public confession and personal conduct is rare.
Instead of looking to the Bible, many professing Christians look to psychology and sociology for supposed solutions to personal needs and social ills. The rise of postmodern thought has similarly skewed the church’s understanding of right and wrong—as an unbiblical tolerance (in the name of love) has weakened churches to the point where they are as soft on truth as they are on sin. Popular television shows, from Oprah to Leno to the average sitcom, have had a tangible effect (and not for the better) on how American Christians think through everyday issues. The political arena, too, has played a major role in shaping an evangelical understanding of morality, as words like “Republican” and “Democrat” or “liberal” and “conservative” have come to redefine the difference between what is good and what is evil.
The fact is that far too many professing Christians live their lives, day in and day out, on the basis of something other than the Bible. As a result, their priorities reflect the world’s priorities, not God’s priorities. Their patterns of behavior and their plans for the future differ only slightly from those of their unsaved friends and neighbors. Their expenditures reveal that their perspective is temporal, and that they are vainly pursuing the elusive American Dream. Their shortcomings, when they admit to them, receive the same fault-free labels that the world ascribes (“mistakes” or “diseases” or “addictions” rather than “sins”), as they search for answers in psychology, medication, or the self-help section of the bookstore. Though they adhere to an external form of traditional Christian moralism, there isn’t anything particularly biblical or Christ-centered about how they live.
Yet it is in the lives of sinners who have been transformed by the Gospel of grace, that a distinctly Christian ethic must be fleshed out. True Christianity is not defined on the basis of external moralism, religious traditionalism, or partisan politics; but on the basis of a personal love for Jesus Christ and a desire to follow Him no matter the cost (cf. John 14:15). It is only because believers have been transformed on the inside (through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit), that they are able to exhibit godliness in their behavior. And the world cannot help but take notice. As Jesus told His hearers in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16; cf. 1 Peter 2:12).
The heart of the Christian ethic, of course, is the Gospel. Only those who have been transformed from within (Titus 3:5–8), being indwelt by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:13–14), are able to exhibit genuine holiness (Gal. 5:22–23; 1 Pet. 1:16). Biblical Christianity is not primarily concerned with external behavior modification (cf. Matt. 5–7), but with a change of heart which subsequently manifests itself in a changed life (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
A true Christian ethic, then, is not possible without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Unless the inner man is washed first, external morality and religious observances are only a superficial façade. Jesus rebuked the hypocrites of His day with these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). Christ was not saying that behavior is unimportant. But rather that from God’s perspective, the heart is what matters most (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7; Mark 12:30–31).
Of course, a heart that has been truly transformed by God will respond in love to His Son, Jesus Christ (cf. John 8:42). And those who love Jesus Christ will eagerly desire to follow and obey His commands (cf. John 14:15), as found in His Word (cf. Col. 3:16). A truly Christian ethic, then, eagerly affirms and applies the moral instructions found in the Bible. But it does not do so in an attempt to legalistically earn salvation (Is. 64:6). Rather, having received salvation as the free gift of God through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8–9), it readily obeys out of a heart of love (Eph. 2:10).
If Christians are to live in keeping with who they are (as children of God), they must live according to the Word of God through the power of His Spirit. No other source of wisdom or moral insight will do. By definition, they are people of the Book—and not just on Sundays, but every day of the week (cf. Is. 66:2).
8/16/ - 8/20
I will be posting some borrowed articles over the next few days while I'm in Managua. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Don't forget to check out the blog for a possible Field Update. If I can get to an Internet Cafe I may be able to do a post.
For Christ Alone,
Eric
For Christ Alone,
Eric
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Nicaragua and God's Grace
by: Eric Hixon
I have been through many disappointments in life. I have lost many friends who have died or walked away from me because of my faith in Jesus Christ. Well, not just my faith, but because the old Eric died. He was made new and is still being changed by the grace of God.
One of the biggest blessings in my life has been my ministry in Nicaragua. I had spent most of my ministry in the United States and more specifically in the southeastern US. Then, several years ago, I was invited to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and I accepted. I did not plan on having a major life changing encounter with the Lord. It hit me out of nowhere when I was on the plane about to land. At first, I thought it was just the bumpy ride and the fact that I was farther away from my wife than I had ever been. I soon found out that it was God doing a work of grace in my life. It was a fear of God that made me well aware that He was with me. I was so convicted of my sins and spent much time confessing and repenting of my selfishness.
This was a work of grace because God would use this time to refine me and make me very uncomfortable. I would not have chosen this path...I assure you. I like the easy road. God, however, isn't all that concerned about what I want, He is concerned about what I need. I needed to spend some serious time getting my focus on Him. For that reason, most of my ministry has not been a path of ease...it has been difficult. That is what God allowed me to do through my first Nicaragua trip. I could give you all the details, and maybe someday the Lord will allow me that time; however, I just want you to know that I thank God for what He did in my life during that time.
I am now preparing to go back to Nicaragua again. I can't even tell you how many times this makes, but it has been a lot. I have been heartbroken in more ways than words can describe over the spiritual condition of Nicaragua. I've had people try to use me and take advantage of our tenderness toward these precious people. I've also made friends that are like family to me. God has used these people in each group to refine me and to make me into what He is wanting me to become.
In all honesty, I'm compelled to go back by in spite of the hard times and dissapointments. The Lord has allowed my heart to be touched by the children and the pastors of this country. Lord willing, M.U.D. Minsitries will soon be beginning a Bible Institute in Nicaragua with the vision of training pastors. Our desire is to help equip and train these men and show them how to do God's Work, God's Way, for God's Glory!
I assure you, it will be the grace of God if that is allowed to happen. There are those that say Central America is too overrun with missionaries. I would disagree. Yes, there are many who come down but few that teach sound doctrine. I've been told that I take the Scriptures too seriously, but I honestly don't think that is possible. Let God decide. These indigenous pastors need solid Biblical training! God will use them to do a work that only a Nicaraguan can do. The day may come when the doors to this country are shut to those like me. It is vital that these men get the Gospel and preach it. That door cannot be shut by any man.
For now, I ask you to pray for me and the 13 others that I have helped mobilize to join us on a mission to glorify God through serving others and making disciples as our King has commanded. If anything good comes from us, it will be a work of grace. I thank God for Nicaragua and God's grace!
I have been through many disappointments in life. I have lost many friends who have died or walked away from me because of my faith in Jesus Christ. Well, not just my faith, but because the old Eric died. He was made new and is still being changed by the grace of God.
One of the biggest blessings in my life has been my ministry in Nicaragua. I had spent most of my ministry in the United States and more specifically in the southeastern US. Then, several years ago, I was invited to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and I accepted. I did not plan on having a major life changing encounter with the Lord. It hit me out of nowhere when I was on the plane about to land. At first, I thought it was just the bumpy ride and the fact that I was farther away from my wife than I had ever been. I soon found out that it was God doing a work of grace in my life. It was a fear of God that made me well aware that He was with me. I was so convicted of my sins and spent much time confessing and repenting of my selfishness.
This was a work of grace because God would use this time to refine me and make me very uncomfortable. I would not have chosen this path...I assure you. I like the easy road. God, however, isn't all that concerned about what I want, He is concerned about what I need. I needed to spend some serious time getting my focus on Him. For that reason, most of my ministry has not been a path of ease...it has been difficult. That is what God allowed me to do through my first Nicaragua trip. I could give you all the details, and maybe someday the Lord will allow me that time; however, I just want you to know that I thank God for what He did in my life during that time.
I am now preparing to go back to Nicaragua again. I can't even tell you how many times this makes, but it has been a lot. I have been heartbroken in more ways than words can describe over the spiritual condition of Nicaragua. I've had people try to use me and take advantage of our tenderness toward these precious people. I've also made friends that are like family to me. God has used these people in each group to refine me and to make me into what He is wanting me to become.
In all honesty, I'm compelled to go back by in spite of the hard times and dissapointments. The Lord has allowed my heart to be touched by the children and the pastors of this country. Lord willing, M.U.D. Minsitries will soon be beginning a Bible Institute in Nicaragua with the vision of training pastors. Our desire is to help equip and train these men and show them how to do God's Work, God's Way, for God's Glory!
I assure you, it will be the grace of God if that is allowed to happen. There are those that say Central America is too overrun with missionaries. I would disagree. Yes, there are many who come down but few that teach sound doctrine. I've been told that I take the Scriptures too seriously, but I honestly don't think that is possible. Let God decide. These indigenous pastors need solid Biblical training! God will use them to do a work that only a Nicaraguan can do. The day may come when the doors to this country are shut to those like me. It is vital that these men get the Gospel and preach it. That door cannot be shut by any man.
For now, I ask you to pray for me and the 13 others that I have helped mobilize to join us on a mission to glorify God through serving others and making disciples as our King has commanded. If anything good comes from us, it will be a work of grace. I thank God for Nicaragua and God's grace!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
It Is Good To Have Zeal
This morning I am reminded that true zeal comes first from the heart of the individual and then can manifest itself in the life of the church as a whole. Ask yourself tough questions and deal with them. No one can ask you a better, more probing, deeper question than you.
Do you have a zeal for God today? Does your actions relay to God and others the condition of your heart?
Zeal is defined as enthusiastic devotion or care to or for a cause. In many instances, our zeal is for our job or our hobby, or other causes. It is easy to find oneself influencing others for these causes and not influencing others for Christ isn't it? I pray that God uses me to influence othes in their devotion and love for God. That God would use my feeble efforts to stir up love for other believers.
Our enthusiasm has the ability to stir others into action. (2 Corinthians 9:2)
I am constantly reminded that my zeal should not be born out of a selfish desire, but out of a love for Christ and others. This type of zeal will help you to develop a hatred for those things that oppose Christ, such as sin in my own life. I desire to be used by Christ for God's glory!
I need to be encouraged and I do this by encouraging those that read this post. It is good to be zealous for Christ and to see souls saved. Yes, it is only God who can save but it is God's will that we are used as the ones who bring the message of Christ! Today, go and witness to the world of the grace of God and give each person a personal warning, encouragement, and invitation to come to God through Christ and Christ alone!
Do you have a zeal for God today? Does your actions relay to God and others the condition of your heart?
Zeal is defined as enthusiastic devotion or care to or for a cause. In many instances, our zeal is for our job or our hobby, or other causes. It is easy to find oneself influencing others for these causes and not influencing others for Christ isn't it? I pray that God uses me to influence othes in their devotion and love for God. That God would use my feeble efforts to stir up love for other believers.
Our enthusiasm has the ability to stir others into action. (2 Corinthians 9:2)
I am constantly reminded that my zeal should not be born out of a selfish desire, but out of a love for Christ and others. This type of zeal will help you to develop a hatred for those things that oppose Christ, such as sin in my own life. I desire to be used by Christ for God's glory!
James 5:19-20, "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders fromt he truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings a sinner back from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
I need to be encouraged and I do this by encouraging those that read this post. It is good to be zealous for Christ and to see souls saved. Yes, it is only God who can save but it is God's will that we are used as the ones who bring the message of Christ! Today, go and witness to the world of the grace of God and give each person a personal warning, encouragement, and invitation to come to God through Christ and Christ alone!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Adoption Update
We are doing an adoption fundraiser that is really cool and you can even win a amazing book! To learn more go to www.intheheartofourhome.blogspot.com today!!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Confidence in the Gospel
I wanted to share something with you that didn't shock me the way it should have. I am getting less and less taken back when I hear of such things. Much of what I am sharing I learned from Brad Williams, Pastor of New Covenant Baptist in Albertville, AL. He is a dear brother to me.
From Brad Williams recent church wide newsletter:
We are hearing more and more about public prayer being banned and Christians being told they must "change" their beliefs in order to graduate. I am not a prophet but I do think this is just the beginning. I agree with Brad, she hould have shared the only hope these people have with them. I'm not being negative or a messenger of doom and gloom. I think if God allows persecution to happen it will only be used to strengthen the true church. Don't think because we live in America that we are exempt from persecution.
Persecution is allowed to strengthen God's people and drive them to do what they wouldn't do without persecution. I pray that you take the initiative to disciple your children and your wife. There are those who will challenge us and like unreasoning animals attack truth with lies. We must learn how that we are to respond and how that we are to survive in these times. If you have not, I encourage you to listen to the series on Jude that Bro. Cliff Cook and myself preached at New Covenant Baptist Oneonta recently. You can visit the churches website to listen to the series.
www.ncbconeonta.org
I pray that God will work in your heart so much that your confidence in God would surpass all your fears of man! There is a proper way to live this life for the glory of God. I pray that you and I will obey the Word of God
From Brad Williams recent church wide newsletter:
You may not have ever heard of Julea Ward, but I hope that you soon become familiar with what has happened to her. Julea was a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University in pursuit of her Master’s in school counseling. That is, until Julea was recently expelled. She was expelled, not because of her conduct but because of her conviction that homosexuality is morally wrong. She refused to counsel homosexual clients, doing so was a breach of school policy and of the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics.
Julea sued the university on the basis that she had been discriminated against due to her religious beliefs. The judge refused to hear the case. She never got her day in court. Here is Judge Steeh’s statement as to why:
The university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values…In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.
The only way that Ms. Ward would be re-admitted into the program was if she went into a remediation program in order to see the error of her ways and change her belief system about homosexuality. The remifications of this decision are dizzying, and the logic used to reach this decision is patently absurd.
In this decision, the University of Eastern Michigan has done precisely what they have warned Ms. Ward not to do: that is, they have imposed their beliefs onto her. They believe that homosexuality is morally fine. They believe that to counsel otherwise is a breach of ethics. Their “Bible”, if you will, is the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics. Ms. Ward’s code of ethics is the Bible itself, the University has declared that the ACA’s code is a higher and more correct authority than the Bible, and this deviation from their faith in the ACA is met with expulsion from the program. So much for academic freedom of thought.
Should Ms. Ward have refused to counsel homosexuals? The details are vague as to what is meant by that. If she outright refused to counsel them, I believe she erred. I believe she should definitely have given them counsel, but she should have pointed out that homosexual behavior is sin, and that abandoning the counsel of God’s Word in pursuit of illicit pleasure will always result in misery. That counsel would have gotten her expelled also, it seems, but it would have been a better way to get kicked out.
We are hearing more and more about public prayer being banned and Christians being told they must "change" their beliefs in order to graduate. I am not a prophet but I do think this is just the beginning. I agree with Brad, she hould have shared the only hope these people have with them. I'm not being negative or a messenger of doom and gloom. I think if God allows persecution to happen it will only be used to strengthen the true church. Don't think because we live in America that we are exempt from persecution.
Persecution is allowed to strengthen God's people and drive them to do what they wouldn't do without persecution. I pray that you take the initiative to disciple your children and your wife. There are those who will challenge us and like unreasoning animals attack truth with lies. We must learn how that we are to respond and how that we are to survive in these times. If you have not, I encourage you to listen to the series on Jude that Bro. Cliff Cook and myself preached at New Covenant Baptist Oneonta recently. You can visit the churches website to listen to the series.
www.ncbconeonta.org
I pray that God will work in your heart so much that your confidence in God would surpass all your fears of man! There is a proper way to live this life for the glory of God. I pray that you and I will obey the Word of God
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Pray for God to Awaken Your Church
Every true revival that God has blessed us with has begun after much prayer. I encourage you to pray that God would stir your church diligently. I find that Christians who pray for their church specifically have a much deeper, meaningful membership in that local body than those who do not pray regularly for their church. Pray that god would move in such a way that:
Pray that hundreds of people come to Christ
Old animosities would be removed
Marriages would be healed and renewed
Prodigal children would come home, both young and old children
Dominating sin would be crushed
Spritual dullness is replaced by spirit filled joy
Worship would not be routine but a true time of praise and prayer to God
Confidence in the flesh would dissappear and confidence in the Gospel would increase
Prayer would be fervent
Evangelism wouldn't be a program but a natural result of a desire to glorify God
Missions would be something people DO and SUPPORT
Pastors would PREACH the WORD
Fear of man would be replaced by a fear of God
Radical faith would seem, well...not radical, but normal
Pray that hundreds of people come to Christ
Old animosities would be removed
Marriages would be healed and renewed
Prodigal children would come home, both young and old children
Dominating sin would be crushed
Spritual dullness is replaced by spirit filled joy
Worship would not be routine but a true time of praise and prayer to God
Confidence in the flesh would dissappear and confidence in the Gospel would increase
Prayer would be fervent
Evangelism wouldn't be a program but a natural result of a desire to glorify God
Missions would be something people DO and SUPPORT
Pastors would PREACH the WORD
Fear of man would be replaced by a fear of God
Radical faith would seem, well...not radical, but normal
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Getty's on Modern Hymn Writing
Keith Getty led one of the workshops at the National Worship Leaders Conference on the topic, “Writing Today’s Modern Hymns.” David Neff, editor-in-chief for Christianity Today Media Group, edited and distilled ten notable ideas from the workshop:
1. The primary form we use is the story form. The gospel is primarily story. How do you take people who want 4-line worship songs and get them to sing 32 lines? By structuring the song as a story.
2. It is important to look at things that are harrowing and that don’t necessarily make us feel happy. The central core of the Christian faith is not something that makes us happy. We need to acknowledge our need for a redeemer. The reason we worship is that we meet God through the central story of the cross.
3. We need lament. But if you want to write lament, remember that a successful lament resolves. Not into a happily-ever-after ending, but like the psalms of lament, by ultimately acknowledging that God is God.
4. To write strong melodies remember that folk melody has to be passed on orally (aurally). I try to write songs that can be sung with no written music. I imitate Irish folk melody, with a great deal of contour, of rise and fall.
5. Use pastors and theologians as resources for your writing. But keep company with them. Don’t just ask them to fix your text here or there when you’re done with it.
6. Trinitarian worship safeguards us from so many problems our worship can get into: either an overly stern view of god or a casual view of god. Both can lead to problems in our lives.
7. Martin Luther is one of ten people from history I would want to have coffee with. I have looked at a lot of Luther’s hymns and emulated him. First, Luther had a high view of redemption. He also believed we live our lives in the midst of spiritual warfare. Thirdly, he had a high view of the church and a high vision of the church.
8. The congregation is the choir and it is merely the privilege of those of us who are musically gifted to help them sing.
9. Lyrics and great writing are the same thing. Lyricism is poetry. If your write lyrics, read as much poetry as you can. Lyricists are people who love words and do crossword puzzles.
10. Growing up, I never listened to pop music as a child. I was steeped in church music. That could be a blessing because everything I write can be sung by a congregation.
Keith and his wife Kristyn have several CDs that might be of interest to you:
In Christ Alone
Awaken the Dawn
Songs that Jesus Said (music for children)
1. The primary form we use is the story form. The gospel is primarily story. How do you take people who want 4-line worship songs and get them to sing 32 lines? By structuring the song as a story.
2. It is important to look at things that are harrowing and that don’t necessarily make us feel happy. The central core of the Christian faith is not something that makes us happy. We need to acknowledge our need for a redeemer. The reason we worship is that we meet God through the central story of the cross.
3. We need lament. But if you want to write lament, remember that a successful lament resolves. Not into a happily-ever-after ending, but like the psalms of lament, by ultimately acknowledging that God is God.
4. To write strong melodies remember that folk melody has to be passed on orally (aurally). I try to write songs that can be sung with no written music. I imitate Irish folk melody, with a great deal of contour, of rise and fall.
5. Use pastors and theologians as resources for your writing. But keep company with them. Don’t just ask them to fix your text here or there when you’re done with it.
6. Trinitarian worship safeguards us from so many problems our worship can get into: either an overly stern view of god or a casual view of god. Both can lead to problems in our lives.
7. Martin Luther is one of ten people from history I would want to have coffee with. I have looked at a lot of Luther’s hymns and emulated him. First, Luther had a high view of redemption. He also believed we live our lives in the midst of spiritual warfare. Thirdly, he had a high view of the church and a high vision of the church.
8. The congregation is the choir and it is merely the privilege of those of us who are musically gifted to help them sing.
9. Lyrics and great writing are the same thing. Lyricism is poetry. If your write lyrics, read as much poetry as you can. Lyricists are people who love words and do crossword puzzles.
10. Growing up, I never listened to pop music as a child. I was steeped in church music. That could be a blessing because everything I write can be sung by a congregation.
Keith and his wife Kristyn have several CDs that might be of interest to you:
In Christ Alone
Awaken the Dawn
Songs that Jesus Said (music for children)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Ready....set.......GO!!
This Sunday, August 1st, is our official launch day of New Covenant Baptist Church! We have been training our Core Group since May 23rd and now we are going to start taking members. We are a Southern Baptist Church and we are looking forward to planting other churches in the future and actively being on mission for the Lord!
You can go to the churches website for more details.
www.ncbconeonta.org
You can go to the churches website for more details.
www.ncbconeonta.org
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Final Day of State Side Impact Missions
Today missionaries went out for the last day to the streets of New Orleans to share the Gospel. Pray that others will come and water the seeds we have planted and that God would bring the increase. I am very thankful for all the churches that came along side our ministry to share the Gospel. It was hard work!
We do not share some cheap message of easy believism, we urge people to repent. Our goal was to give a personal warning to each person we could. This warning is because we have all broken God's law and justly deserve His wrath. Then we urged them to repent of their sins and trust Christ.
Many rejected Christ. Pray God will be merciful and give them another opportunity. Some received the message. Pray that it was good soil!
Pray for souls! Only God can save!!
We do not share some cheap message of easy believism, we urge people to repent. Our goal was to give a personal warning to each person we could. This warning is because we have all broken God's law and justly deserve His wrath. Then we urged them to repent of their sins and trust Christ.
Many rejected Christ. Pray God will be merciful and give them another opportunity. Some received the message. Pray that it was good soil!
Pray for souls! Only God can save!!
How to Love One Another: Affirm, Share, and Serve
From Justin Taylor's Blog
Most of us are familiar with the “one another” commands of the New Testament. In the study guide for
Affirm
1. Affirm one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts.
Romans 12:10: “Honor one another”
James 5:9: “Don’t grumble against each other”
Romans 12:3-8: Confirm the gifts of one another
2. Affirm one another’s equal importance in Christ.
Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you”
1 Corinthians 12:25: “Have equal concern for each other”
1 Peter 5:5: “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another”
James 2:1: “Don’t show favoritism”
3. Affirm one another through visible affection.
Romans 16:16: “Greet one another with a holy kiss”
James 1:19: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak”
Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another”
1 Thessalonians 3:12: “[May] your love increase and overflow for each other”
Share
4. Share one another’s space, goods, and time.
Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love”
1 Peter 4:9: “Offer hospitality to one another”
Galatians 6:10: “As we have opportunity, let us do good”
5. Share one another’s needs and problems.
Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens”
1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Encourage one another”
Hebrews 3:13: “Encourage one another daily”
6. Share one another’s beliefs, thinking, and spirituality.
Colossians 3:16: “Teach and admonish one another”
Ephesians 5:19: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”
Romans 12:16: “Live in harmony with one another”
1 Corinthians 1:10: “Agree with one another”
Serve
7. Serve one another through accountability.
James 5:16: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other”
Romans 15:14: “Instruct one another”
Ephesians 4:25: “Speak truthfully”
8. Serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation.
Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”
Colossians 3:13: “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another”
Galatians 5:25: Don’t provoke or envy one another
James 4:11: “Do not slander one another”
Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15: Reestablish broken relationships with one another
9. Serve one another’s interests rather than our own.
Hebrews 10:24: “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”
Romans 15:1-2: Don’t please yourself but please others
Galatians 5:13: “Serve one another”
Most of us are familiar with the “one another” commands of the New Testament. In the study guide for
Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, Tim Keller offers a helpful taxonomy under the categories of affirming one another, sharing with one another, and serving one another. These form, he says, “nine ‘community-building practices’—specific behaviors that build Christian community.” For a more detailed unpacking of each point, see pp. 58-71.
Affirm
1. Affirm one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts.
Romans 12:10: “Honor one another”
James 5:9: “Don’t grumble against each other”
Romans 12:3-8: Confirm the gifts of one another
2. Affirm one another’s equal importance in Christ.
Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you”
1 Corinthians 12:25: “Have equal concern for each other”
1 Peter 5:5: “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another”
James 2:1: “Don’t show favoritism”
3. Affirm one another through visible affection.
Romans 16:16: “Greet one another with a holy kiss”
James 1:19: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak”
Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another”
1 Thessalonians 3:12: “[May] your love increase and overflow for each other”
Share
4. Share one another’s space, goods, and time.
Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love”
1 Peter 4:9: “Offer hospitality to one another”
Galatians 6:10: “As we have opportunity, let us do good”
5. Share one another’s needs and problems.
Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens”
1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Encourage one another”
Hebrews 3:13: “Encourage one another daily”
6. Share one another’s beliefs, thinking, and spirituality.
Colossians 3:16: “Teach and admonish one another”
Ephesians 5:19: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”
Romans 12:16: “Live in harmony with one another”
1 Corinthians 1:10: “Agree with one another”
Serve
7. Serve one another through accountability.
James 5:16: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other”
Romans 15:14: “Instruct one another”
Ephesians 4:25: “Speak truthfully”
8. Serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation.
Ephesians 4:2: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”
Colossians 3:13: “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another”
Galatians 5:25: Don’t provoke or envy one another
James 4:11: “Do not slander one another”
Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15: Reestablish broken relationships with one another
9. Serve one another’s interests rather than our own.
Hebrews 10:24: “spur one another on toward love and good deeds”
Romans 15:1-2: Don’t please yourself but please others
Galatians 5:13: “Serve one another”
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 3 Week 2 Impact New Orleans
Mission teams are like children, they all have different personalities. This team is doing great, they really are out of their comfort zone. God is stretching them beyond anyplace they've ever been. God is working and honoring His Word. We've been able to do some ministry with families that are struggling. Some are single parent homes, some are out of work and on the verge of loosing their homes. In both cases, they are holding on to the hope they have in Christ. Local churches are reaching out to help and encourage those that are faithful.
We have this one afternoon and one morning project left. I'll preach tonight to the mission team at 7:30 PM. Pray for them to be broken for the lost. I know that until you realize the awful wrath of God and the finality of the judgement, you'll never have a true zeal to share the Gospel.
God is working and we are honored to serve Him. Pray that this last full day will be glorious! Not by man's standard but by God's. That we would glorify Him.
We have this one afternoon and one morning project left. I'll preach tonight to the mission team at 7:30 PM. Pray for them to be broken for the lost. I know that until you realize the awful wrath of God and the finality of the judgement, you'll never have a true zeal to share the Gospel.
God is working and we are honored to serve Him. Pray that this last full day will be glorious! Not by man's standard but by God's. That we would glorify Him.
Do you want to get well? Part 2
OUR EXCUSES DO NOT STOP JESUS FROM WORKING IN OUR LIVES
Jesus asked this man, “Do you want to get well?” I’m thinking “YES!! Get me out of this nasty place, and I’ll move on!” But he made an excuse, “I can’t…people keep breaking line.” Breaking line!! That is a 3rd grade excuse, but here we see a grown man making the excuse. I think, after a little while, I could inch over, and when the water stirred, I’d finally get in and be healed,. . . if I really believed it would work.
Some people reading this may be making excuses as to why you do not get well spiritually. You are too busy, you are to tired, you’ve already done that, you are to young, you are to old, you just can’t. Whatever the excuse, God doesn’t back up and say, “Oh yeah. That’s right. I forgot about your situation. Just hang around and when you get a chance, come to me.” No friend God is passionate that His children get well. He is able to present you blameless before the Father and He is going to sanctify you.
Regardless of where you are in your Christian journey, you need to get well. We all have areas of our lives that need to be fined tuned and tweaked. Some of you may be spiritually stressed because you know you are being a fake. You know that you should be more faithful, but you can’t get over yourself and your fears. It is stressful being a fake. We’ve all done that, and you can admit it if you are honest. You may realize that you are more than sick; you may realize that you are dead. You are spiritually paralyzed. You may realize your sinfulness and that you have never been a child of God. If that is your case, you should repent and believe the Gospel. Trust Christ, my friend, and He will make you well. He is the only one Who can present you to God and you be able to stand and not melt like wax in a blazing furnace. You need saving…you need to get well.
So how can we apply what we have learned to our lives? Here are a couple of things.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO ANSWER THE PRIMARY QUESTION FOR THE DAY…”DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?”
Jesus asked this question over 2000 years ago and He is asking it again to you today. “Do you want to get well?” You may like where you are and are not going to budge. You would rather worship in your tradition than to worship in Spirit and in truth. You would be happy to stay sick as long as you continue to get your way.
Regardless of where you are in your Christian life, you need to ask yourself this question. It doesn’t matter if you are closer to God than you have ever been, you still need to be healthier as a Christian. Build yourself up in the most Holy faith (Jude 20). I pray that you will ask the Lord to search your heart and see if there is any wicked way in you (Psalms 139:22). This will lead you to a deeper repentance and trust in the Lord to make you well by faith! I beg of you, please do not leave reading this article without honestly evaluating your spiritual condition. It may be your last opportunity to get well.
YOU MUST ALLOW JESUS TO BE A PART OF THE CHANGE PROCESS
If you keep going in the same direction, you will not get any better. We all need Divine intervention. Remember, nothing is too big or too small for God. The Lord desires to help His children be completely well. We must not rely on ourselves but upon Him to make us well. It is Christ who redeemed us and makes us well. He nurses us back to health with daily spiritual training. If we will submit our lives to the Lord we can become spiritually healthy. The biggest factor is allowing Christ to part of that process and not attempting this on our own. There is no need to put confidence in yourself; our confidence is in the Gospel and the power of Christ to transform us. It is a work of His grace!
Traveling as an itinerant preacher, I hear almost weekly from someone sharing with me about an area in their life where they desire prayer. Most of the time, it is a person trying to “do something” to make themselves better, and they haven’t fully submitted their lives unto the Lord. God seems to be allowing their spiritual sickness to occur so that they can learn that He is the only One on whom they can rely. He is the same Christ who made the lame man well at the pool of Bethesda who will make us well today. We need to cry out to the Lord and ask Him to heal us; He is the only One who can.
Jesus asked this man, “Do you want to get well?” I’m thinking “YES!! Get me out of this nasty place, and I’ll move on!” But he made an excuse, “I can’t…people keep breaking line.” Breaking line!! That is a 3rd grade excuse, but here we see a grown man making the excuse. I think, after a little while, I could inch over, and when the water stirred, I’d finally get in and be healed,. . . if I really believed it would work.
Some people reading this may be making excuses as to why you do not get well spiritually. You are too busy, you are to tired, you’ve already done that, you are to young, you are to old, you just can’t. Whatever the excuse, God doesn’t back up and say, “Oh yeah. That’s right. I forgot about your situation. Just hang around and when you get a chance, come to me.” No friend God is passionate that His children get well. He is able to present you blameless before the Father and He is going to sanctify you.
Regardless of where you are in your Christian journey, you need to get well. We all have areas of our lives that need to be fined tuned and tweaked. Some of you may be spiritually stressed because you know you are being a fake. You know that you should be more faithful, but you can’t get over yourself and your fears. It is stressful being a fake. We’ve all done that, and you can admit it if you are honest. You may realize that you are more than sick; you may realize that you are dead. You are spiritually paralyzed. You may realize your sinfulness and that you have never been a child of God. If that is your case, you should repent and believe the Gospel. Trust Christ, my friend, and He will make you well. He is the only one Who can present you to God and you be able to stand and not melt like wax in a blazing furnace. You need saving…you need to get well.
So how can we apply what we have learned to our lives? Here are a couple of things.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO ANSWER THE PRIMARY QUESTION FOR THE DAY…”DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?”
Jesus asked this question over 2000 years ago and He is asking it again to you today. “Do you want to get well?” You may like where you are and are not going to budge. You would rather worship in your tradition than to worship in Spirit and in truth. You would be happy to stay sick as long as you continue to get your way.
Regardless of where you are in your Christian life, you need to ask yourself this question. It doesn’t matter if you are closer to God than you have ever been, you still need to be healthier as a Christian. Build yourself up in the most Holy faith (Jude 20). I pray that you will ask the Lord to search your heart and see if there is any wicked way in you (Psalms 139:22). This will lead you to a deeper repentance and trust in the Lord to make you well by faith! I beg of you, please do not leave reading this article without honestly evaluating your spiritual condition. It may be your last opportunity to get well.
YOU MUST ALLOW JESUS TO BE A PART OF THE CHANGE PROCESS
If you keep going in the same direction, you will not get any better. We all need Divine intervention. Remember, nothing is too big or too small for God. The Lord desires to help His children be completely well. We must not rely on ourselves but upon Him to make us well. It is Christ who redeemed us and makes us well. He nurses us back to health with daily spiritual training. If we will submit our lives to the Lord we can become spiritually healthy. The biggest factor is allowing Christ to part of that process and not attempting this on our own. There is no need to put confidence in yourself; our confidence is in the Gospel and the power of Christ to transform us. It is a work of His grace!
Traveling as an itinerant preacher, I hear almost weekly from someone sharing with me about an area in their life where they desire prayer. Most of the time, it is a person trying to “do something” to make themselves better, and they haven’t fully submitted their lives unto the Lord. God seems to be allowing their spiritual sickness to occur so that they can learn that He is the only One on whom they can rely. He is the same Christ who made the lame man well at the pool of Bethesda who will make us well today. We need to cry out to the Lord and ask Him to heal us; He is the only One who can.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Do you want to get well? Part 1
by: Eric Hixon
I do not know if you have ever looked at the account of the miracle at the Pool of Bethesda. However, if you haven’t, I encourage you to read it now.
"2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."
John 5:2-9 (NKJV)
I have never been to the Holy Land but always wished I could. Maybe one day the Lord will allow that, but, until then, I can Google. When you see the pictures of this pool you can see its potential beauty with its 5 porches surrounding it. But then you realize this was a place of sickness. The unsanitary conditions alone make you cringe, and then you think of all the disease. It is enough to make you want to make me go bathe in hand sanitizer gel.
Why did the Lord give us this miracle? The Scriptures teach that if all the miracles that Jesus had done in His three years of public ministry were recorded that all the books in the world couldn’t contain them (John 21:25). I have thought about how this can apply to us today. Here are some things we can learn from this miracle.
OUR APPARENT COMFORT MAY KEEP US SICK
The Scriptures tell us this man had been in this condition a long time—38 years. More than likely, he had been at this pool for a long time as well. I think that this man had made himself as comfortable as possible. Even around all that sickness, he had himself a life and possibly even a daily routine. Perhaps he had made friends with others at the pool. The point is, he made himself comfortable around such a sick place.
Maybe you are pretty comfortable in your life. Perhaps where you are right now you are not exactly happy with the condition of the world, but you have found your place in it and are comfortable. Just like this man, unless some changes are made, you are headed toward a much greater sickness. We are not called to go with the flow and adjust to our cultural conditions. Maybe the guy at the pool was afraid of risking. If he became well, he would need to leave. Maybe all his friends were there. Maybe he did not have family to whom he could return, or perhaps he didn’t know where they were? I do not know what your fears are; however, you do, and God does. I do know this, you can get so comfortable that it keeps you sick.
Ask yourself some tough questions and evaluate whether you are spiritually comfortable? Are you satisfied with where you are in your spiritual growth? Do you know why you do what you do? Do you know for sure that you are doing God’s Work, God’s Way? How do you know? If it is not based on God’s Word, you may be a victim of a satanic delusion. Have you fallen into a trap of man’s tradition that has lead you to believe that what you are is doing is approved by God? Be very careful of getting comfortable. I do not know many soldiers that are in a battle that are comfortable.
I do not know if you have ever looked at the account of the miracle at the Pool of Bethesda. However, if you haven’t, I encourage you to read it now.
"2Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."
8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."
John 5:2-9 (NKJV)
I have never been to the Holy Land but always wished I could. Maybe one day the Lord will allow that, but, until then, I can Google. When you see the pictures of this pool you can see its potential beauty with its 5 porches surrounding it. But then you realize this was a place of sickness. The unsanitary conditions alone make you cringe, and then you think of all the disease. It is enough to make you want to make me go bathe in hand sanitizer gel.
Why did the Lord give us this miracle? The Scriptures teach that if all the miracles that Jesus had done in His three years of public ministry were recorded that all the books in the world couldn’t contain them (John 21:25). I have thought about how this can apply to us today. Here are some things we can learn from this miracle.
OUR APPARENT COMFORT MAY KEEP US SICK
The Scriptures tell us this man had been in this condition a long time—38 years. More than likely, he had been at this pool for a long time as well. I think that this man had made himself as comfortable as possible. Even around all that sickness, he had himself a life and possibly even a daily routine. Perhaps he had made friends with others at the pool. The point is, he made himself comfortable around such a sick place.
Maybe you are pretty comfortable in your life. Perhaps where you are right now you are not exactly happy with the condition of the world, but you have found your place in it and are comfortable. Just like this man, unless some changes are made, you are headed toward a much greater sickness. We are not called to go with the flow and adjust to our cultural conditions. Maybe the guy at the pool was afraid of risking. If he became well, he would need to leave. Maybe all his friends were there. Maybe he did not have family to whom he could return, or perhaps he didn’t know where they were? I do not know what your fears are; however, you do, and God does. I do know this, you can get so comfortable that it keeps you sick.
Ask yourself some tough questions and evaluate whether you are spiritually comfortable? Are you satisfied with where you are in your spiritual growth? Do you know why you do what you do? Do you know for sure that you are doing God’s Work, God’s Way? How do you know? If it is not based on God’s Word, you may be a victim of a satanic delusion. Have you fallen into a trap of man’s tradition that has lead you to believe that what you are is doing is approved by God? Be very careful of getting comfortable. I do not know many soldiers that are in a battle that are comfortable.
Day 2 Week 2 Impact New Orleans
We are rejoicing this morning in the Lord! Some of the families began the day with family worship times and prayer. It is wonderful to see fathers leading their families to serve together. Please pray for them as they serve the Lord today.
We are sending teams to 11 different mission sites around the city. From service projects to witnessing locations, we are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do today! Thanks for your prayers!!
This is a short post but the day is already started and I am looking forward to going on the mission field. More updates coming soon!
We are sending teams to 11 different mission sites around the city. From service projects to witnessing locations, we are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do today! Thanks for your prayers!!
This is a short post but the day is already started and I am looking forward to going on the mission field. More updates coming soon!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Day 1 Week Two Impact New Orleans
Just finished preaching at two churches and God's Word convicted some and there were a few that seemed to repent and truly trust Christ as Savior. Much brokenness and a great deal of encouragement to the church there. Pray for them as they literally minister to the world on their doorstep. Gang members, homeless, prostitutes, and drug dealers abound, but God is able to save the worst of sinners.
I preached the Word of God and God changed lives. Oh I pray that our churches would go to the streets and invite people in to hear the Gospel. I love ministering the Word to a non-religious group! They do not attempt to disguise themselves, they will openly tell you what they believe. They seem to be open to the truth and you can see God's Word effecting them. Pray for souls!!
140 Missionaries have arrived. I preach, equip, train, beginning tonight at 7:00 PM. Much grace is needed, the task is more than we can do on our own. We need to be fully submitted to the Lord. The battle is His!! Pray!!!
I preached the Word of God and God changed lives. Oh I pray that our churches would go to the streets and invite people in to hear the Gospel. I love ministering the Word to a non-religious group! They do not attempt to disguise themselves, they will openly tell you what they believe. They seem to be open to the truth and you can see God's Word effecting them. Pray for souls!!
140 Missionaries have arrived. I preach, equip, train, beginning tonight at 7:00 PM. Much grace is needed, the task is more than we can do on our own. We need to be fully submitted to the Lord. The battle is His!! Pray!!!
HOPE
Our prayer is that God would bring a lasting revival to our nation. The Churches in North America do a lot in the name of evangelism and worship; the question is, though, “Do people really want lasting revival?” Almost every time I will hear a resounding, “YES!” But how much are we willing to pay for it? I’m not talking about money, friend;...I’m talking about our lives. I honestly believe that anything less than giving our lives for service to our King will not do.
Where does our very best go? What do we do with our time, resources, our prayers? For many, Christianity is just part of their lives. When honestly evaluated, they find that it is more about morals than missions. What we must be reminded of constantly is the fact that we are not our own. God has created us for His glory, and we must take a close look at our lives to see if we are striving to give God our very best. If God answered all your prayers for the past 30 days, would it change the world. . . or just your world? This reveals our hearts, doesn’t it?
M.U.D. Ministries partners with hundreds of people that are members of local churches each year that come and give of their time and energy to serve others in the name of Jesus. We spend a lot of time preparing and praying because we are faced with the calling to “go and make disciples,” and it is becoming increasingly difficult in our culture to do that. There are some who literally act as if they have salvation coming to them. As if because we are Americans, we deserve it. God help us! Break our hearts Lord that we would repent of this kind of spiritual arrogance. If we do not repent and do God’s work, God’s way, we will reap what we sow. I pray you will glorify God by being obedient to His Word!
The only hope that our country has is Jesus! He is more than what we need; He is all we have. Many people look at the past as if it offers no relevant value. This is especially so in this generation of tolerance and technology. Even among many who say they are Christians, there is a subtle rejection of historic Christianity, at the expense of remaining relevant and following shallow, trendy fads. I assure you, God will never say He is pleased with that. What will please God? What will offer hope to this nation that is in utter disarray? I believe that we must repent and humbly turn our lives away from self and turn it to Christ. Obey God’s Word, and you will live. Reject His Word and settle for a wasted life. Jesus Christ is our only hope!
Right now, I ask you to pray and ask God how you can be involved in His work. Some are called to go, some are called to give, some are called to give and go. You do your best!
Where does our very best go? What do we do with our time, resources, our prayers? For many, Christianity is just part of their lives. When honestly evaluated, they find that it is more about morals than missions. What we must be reminded of constantly is the fact that we are not our own. God has created us for His glory, and we must take a close look at our lives to see if we are striving to give God our very best. If God answered all your prayers for the past 30 days, would it change the world. . . or just your world? This reveals our hearts, doesn’t it?
M.U.D. Ministries partners with hundreds of people that are members of local churches each year that come and give of their time and energy to serve others in the name of Jesus. We spend a lot of time preparing and praying because we are faced with the calling to “go and make disciples,” and it is becoming increasingly difficult in our culture to do that. There are some who literally act as if they have salvation coming to them. As if because we are Americans, we deserve it. God help us! Break our hearts Lord that we would repent of this kind of spiritual arrogance. If we do not repent and do God’s work, God’s way, we will reap what we sow. I pray you will glorify God by being obedient to His Word!
The only hope that our country has is Jesus! He is more than what we need; He is all we have. Many people look at the past as if it offers no relevant value. This is especially so in this generation of tolerance and technology. Even among many who say they are Christians, there is a subtle rejection of historic Christianity, at the expense of remaining relevant and following shallow, trendy fads. I assure you, God will never say He is pleased with that. What will please God? What will offer hope to this nation that is in utter disarray? I believe that we must repent and humbly turn our lives away from self and turn it to Christ. Obey God’s Word, and you will live. Reject His Word and settle for a wasted life. Jesus Christ is our only hope!
Right now, I ask you to pray and ask God how you can be involved in His work. Some are called to go, some are called to give, some are called to give and go. You do your best!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Missions 24/7
I was reminded today that missions are 24/7 for True Christians. I was sharing the Gospel with a few people outside the local Post Office today. It was a good opportunity and I love to talk about Christ and the hope we have in Him. I'm getting ready to head back to New Orleans. The missions are just as much in Oneonta, AL as they are in New Orleans.
I'm headed to the mission field everytime I wake up. Whether in my home or thousands of miles away, I'm on mission with God! Pray for those who say they love Jesus but never talk about Him outside the church building walls. Pray for their salvation.
Next stop, New Orleans!
I'm headed to the mission field everytime I wake up. Whether in my home or thousands of miles away, I'm on mission with God! Pray for those who say they love Jesus but never talk about Him outside the church building walls. Pray for their salvation.
Next stop, New Orleans!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 5 Impact New Orleans
This is the last day for this group of missionaries to serve the Lord in New Orleans through Impact. We have had a tremendous week and I think more people have shared the Gospel than ever before. We have had missionaries from Ohio, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee serving with us this week! I am proud of each individual and of the churches for preparing their people for missions. The teams will serve till 4 PM this afternoon and then have a celebration service at 7:30 PM. This will be a time when we get some actual idea of how many people actually were witnessed to over the week.
These individuals were not seeking numbers, they were seeking souls. the only way to win a soul is to share the Gospel. Some people do not want to hear this message but God has commanded us to share the Gospel. It was a aroma of life unto life for many and for some, death unto death. However, we were triumphant in our battle because we served for our King.
Impact Missions is a band of soldiers who are called by God to obey His every command. We are in a war! It is a war for truth and for souls. We are unique soldiers in that we are not called to war to kill....but to save. There is room for more soldiers, we are praying that God would stir you to serve in this battle. If not with us, with another Gon-honoring ministry. I do pray for workers for the fields, they are white for harvest!!
Sunday, another band of Soldiers will come in and go to battle along side us. Pray for them and keep checking for updates!!
These individuals were not seeking numbers, they were seeking souls. the only way to win a soul is to share the Gospel. Some people do not want to hear this message but God has commanded us to share the Gospel. It was a aroma of life unto life for many and for some, death unto death. However, we were triumphant in our battle because we served for our King.
Impact Missions is a band of soldiers who are called by God to obey His every command. We are in a war! It is a war for truth and for souls. We are unique soldiers in that we are not called to war to kill....but to save. There is room for more soldiers, we are praying that God would stir you to serve in this battle. If not with us, with another Gon-honoring ministry. I do pray for workers for the fields, they are white for harvest!!
Sunday, another band of Soldiers will come in and go to battle along side us. Pray for them and keep checking for updates!!
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