Why do we pursue the substitute when we can have the real thing?

Idolatry is still such a problem.  We provoke the Lord to jealousy when we go after idols.  They do nothing for us, yet we still go to them as though they have power to help us.  We act like they have power to overcome our lives for us.  We worship them as though they are going to reciprocate somehow.  We thank them as though they provided for us.  We serve them as though they were our masters.  But, all this does is lead us further and further away from the One who has the power to overcome our situations.  It takes worship from the One who will respond to that worship with loving kindness.  It takes our energy to serve from the One who first served us by dying for us and is are true Master.  The Corinthians were coming from a background of idolatry.  Paul was trying to show them the freedom they now had in Christ.  They did not have to go after worthless idols anymore.  They now served the Living God who is real and is powerful.  No longer did they need to go to the table of demons because they could go to the table of the Lord.  Why do we choose the garbage when we could have a feast?  Why do we take the substitute when we could have the real thing?  This is the human condition.  We are so prone to turning to the tangible because we think the tangible things of this world have power.  But, the only power they have is the power that we give them.  The power that God has was given to Him by no one.  He is all-powerful and always has been.  He is the One that can overcome our human condition and make us new.  He is the One that can deliver us from our tendency to turn to the idols of this world.  We were prone to wander, but He is prone to deliver.  We are prone to turn, but He is prone to pursue.  One of the greatest truths about God that is often overlooked is that He is a God who pursues us.  He does not leave us alone.  He pursues us with a passion because He wants to deliver us from a life of idolatry.  He wants to deliver us from the lives of substitutes.  He wants to give us the real thing; Himself.  This is true love.  This is a love that conquers all.  This is a love that never fails.  This is a love that we and the world desperately needs.

Just a prayer away?

Growing up Southern Baptist in Arkansas, I became accustomed to altar calls.  I grew up with them every Sunday that I was in church.  I grew up singing "Just As I Am" while people made their way down to the altar to commit their lives to Christ or rededicate their lives to Christ.  I would see the pastor and deacons pray with these people and then they would be ushered off into another room with one of the leaders of the church.  Then they would be brought out and everyone would be told what decision they had made.  Most of the time it was to join the church, but there were times when someone would make a decision for Christ and the whole church would clap.  But, then when the service was over, everyone would go get some lunch and go home.  End of story. 
As I have grown older, I have reflected a lot on this time of my life.  I have wondered to myself, "Is this how one follows Christ?  Is this what the Bible commands us to do?  Is this how Jesus did it?"  To be a Christian, is it really as simple as saying a "sinner's prayer" and then joining a church?  I almost feel like a heretic to even question this.  I have been to countless evangelism events and services and seen the speaker have everyone close their eyes, bow their heads, and raise their hands if they want to accept Jesus.  I have always wondered why it had to be private?  Aren't we taught in Scripture to not be ashamed of Christ or the Gospel?  Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector, to follow him while he was at his tax collector's booth in the middle of everyone.  I have led people in the sinner's prayer in order to be saved.  But, is this it?  Is this what the Gospel teaches us?  Is this the Gospel?
It seems anti-climactic.  It seems like a cheap way out.  It doesn't quite live up to the call of Jesus found in the Gospels.  Jesus called people to follow him.  Not one time does Jesus lead someone in a prayer.  I had a student ask me one time where the sinner's prayer was found in the Bible.  I had to tell him the truth: it's not.  The sinner's prayer is something we came up with to make it easy for someone to accept Jesus into their hearts.  I think we are missing something. 
For too long, we have been teaching a Gospel that is a little watered down.  The gift of grace through Jesus Christ is easy.  I don't want to make it seem like it's not.  However, it's not just about saying a prayer or even accepting Jesus into our hearts that makes us a Christian.  If you read the Gospels closely and even the letters of Paul, Peter, and John, there is never a time where any of them lead someone in a prayer or tell people to accept Jesus into their hearts.  The only statement that alludes to accepting Jesus into our hearts is found in Romans 10:9: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  I can see where maybe we got the idea of a sinner's prayer and accepting Jesus into our hearts from this verse.  However, Paul is not leading a prayer where someone accepts Jesus into their hearts.  Like Jesus, Paul did not preach a Gospel where one could simply say a prayer to be saved.  Paul preached a Gospel that was all about denying ourselves.  He preached a Gospel that was all about considering our old life rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ.  Jesus preached and taught of a better life for all who would believe.  When a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, he looked at those who brought her and said that if any of them that had not sinned could cast the first stone.  All of them left and Jesus looked at the woman without condemnation.  He told her to leave her life of sin.  He did not lead her into a prayer.  He did not demand she ask him for forgiveness.  He saved her because he knew she had faith in him. 
This is the Gospel that needs to be preached today.  This is the Gospel that is going to lead people from a life of darkness and destruction to a life of light and life.  This is the Gospel the world needs.  We don't need another prayer that will promise us the world.  We need a Gospel that gives us a Savior who wants to save us and give us a new life.  We need a Gospel that gives us a Lord who wants to be in control of our lives because, let's be honest, we make a train wreck of our lives.  We need the Jesus of the Gospels not the Jesus of the altar calls.  We need the King of Kings who is passionate about us.  We need the Love of our Souls who wants to rejoice over us with singing.  We need the Lion of Judah who will ferociously protect from and attack anything that is harmful to us, including our sin.  This is the Jesus I want to follow and this is the Jesus I want to preach.

Reflecting on a Tragedy

Words cannot even begin to express the heartbreak that is gripping our country right now.  As I read the news report today, I broke down.  I shed tears for the families who dropped their innocent children off at school like it was just another day and then had to scramble to the school in hopes that one of their kids was not one of the twenty who were shot.  I cannot even imagine the heartache those families are going through right now as I type this.  I'm sure their houses are decorated for Christmas and they have their presents bought for the children that will never receive them. 
I was at the gym this evening and the news coverage was on several of the televisions.  As I was working out, I watched the news report and read the words on the screen because the sound was off.  A man was being interviewed about his assessment of the shooter.  He talked about how the shooter had a learning disability and probably grew up very frustrated and eventually exploded on this day.  I can see where this is going.  So-called experts are going to try to spin this where the shooter was not totally at fault in all of this.  He had issues and because those issues may have never been properly addressed in his life, the volcano erupted. 
At times like this, we need to call a spade a spade.  The man was evil.  Period.  This is not judgmental or intolerant.  It is the truth.  But, if we are going to call him evil, we need to call ourselves evil as well because that is just what we are.  We are all evil from birth.  David says in Psalm 51:5, "Surely I was sinful from birth..."  We need to start realizing the problem with humanity, we are evil from birth.  There is a nature about us that wants to do what we want to do at the expense of everyone else.  We have a propensity for things like what happened today.  We can look at this man and say we would never do anything like that, but how do we know that?  How do we know that we would never lose it one day?  Left to our own devices, we don't know for certain that we would never do that. 
But, then there is grace.  At times like this, people want to blame God for this.  He is supposed to save us all from every tragedy that could be possible because He is all knowing and powerful.  Isn't that what the Bible says?  Jesus told his disciples that in this world we would have trouble.  Paul writes to the Romans in Romans 8:22, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."  We live in a fallen, broken world.  The only cure for it is Jesus.  The only cure for propensity for evil is Jesus.  The only cure for broken hearts in the midst of tragedy like this is Jesus.  There is no other cure.  We think that if we medicate the problem it will go away, but all that does is mask the problem.  It's like sticking a cork on an erupting volcano, eventually it's going to blow it's top.  We need a new life in Jesus.  Why do you think Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that we must be born again?  We have to leave behind our old life of doing things our way and embrace the life that Jesus offers.  Paul says in II Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come." 
So, this shooter gave in to his evil desires.  He chose to do things his way and conquer his world the way he wanted to.  He wanted to be the king of his universe.  I'm sure there were plenty of people in his life that tried to help him, but imperfect people trying to solve a problem perfectly is like the blind leading the blind.  This was a man in need of a Savior.  This was a man in need of a new life.  This was a man who needed to be changed in a drastic way with the radical love of Jesus and this is the only way our world will get better. 

What does he mean to you?

Recently I received an email update on what is going on within my denomination.  It focused mainly on our churches in Gautemala, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Columbia.  It showed statistics from this past year of the growth of these churches in these areas.  Every area showed growth!  This is was definitely a moment to praise God.  Then it showed the stats of the churches in America within this denomination.  It showed -2.5% growth.  If you did not catch what that means, it means that the American churches declined by two and a half percent. 
After I read these stats, I did not get depressed about it.  They got me thinking.  Why are these churches in these other countries growing and the churches in America are not?  After all, we were the birth mother of these other churches.  If it were not for the work of American missionaries, there would be no churches there.  I think the reason is that Jesus means so much more to them than he does to us.  Not to say that Jesus means nothing to us or our churches.  But, if Jesus meant as much as we think he does, wouldn't we be pouring everything we have into the work of the kingdom?  We always joke that 10% of the people in our churches do all of the work, but why is that?  Why is that a reality all across the board?  That is not what Scripture teaches us about the way the church should function.  Paul teaches us that every part is held together for the good of the whole.  The spiritual gifts that are given to us are used for the mutual building up of each other within the church so that we can be the most effective for the kingdom of God. 
The churches down in these countries are working together for the kingdom of God because the King means everything to them.  This is the same in other countries as well that do not have free access to Jesus.  They cherish one page of the Bible because that is all they have of it and they will read it over and over.  We get bored with books like Leviticus and Numbers, but imagine if that was the only book of the Bible that you had?  Would you still get bored with it? 
Christmas is upon us and we start going into panic mode trying to get our Christmas cards out, getting presents for everyone, and parties planned.  But, how much does the reason for Christmas mean to us?  If he meant more to us, then maybe our churches would not be seeing a decline.  I know these stats were only for my denomination, but I think other denominations have similar stats as well.  We need to reevaluate how much Jesus means to us.  We spend more time talking about things that don't matter and pouring energy into the latest program when we should be pouring ourselves out for our King and his kingdom. 
I challenge myself from this day forward to make much of Jesus everyday.  I have been getting distracted by life myself and not putting as much effort into knowing Jesus, but that needs to stop.  I want to follow the example of my brothers and sisters in Latin America.  I want Jesus to mean the most to me.

A poor reflection

There is no such thing as a fake reflection.  The reflections we see in the mirror are what we truly look like, whether we like it or not.  There are definitely good and bad reflections.  A good reflection would be when we are awake, showered, made-up, dressed, and ready for the day.  A bad reflection would be one that we see when we are sick or have just woken up.  As Christians, we are supposed to be reflecting Jesus on a daily basis.  We have good days and we have bad days.  We have days where we do a great job in reflecting Jesus and we have days where we fail miserably.  Thankfully there is grace to forgive us and help us face a new day. 
Yesterday was Chick Fil A appreciation day as declared by Mike Huckabee on facebook.  Thousands of people around the country came out to support the fast food restaurant amid a media storm over CEO Dan Cathy's comments about his support of traditional marriage.  It seemed like a great day for evangelical Christians to support what they believe in.  But, the mirror reflects a harsh reality. 
The Huffington Post published an article that showed another side to this controversial event (you can read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-controversy-employees-speak-out_n_1729968.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=080212&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeaturePhoto&utm_term=Daily+Brief&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=2540044,b=facebook).  The Huffington Post interviewed some workers of Chick Fil A who happen to be homosexual.  Obviously they did not agree with the CEO's comments, but that was not the bigger issue.  The bigger issue was what these employees had to listen to from the mouths of the supposed, passionate followers of Christ.  For example, one employee had to hear this: "I support your company because your company hates the gays."  It was not specified who said this quote to this particular employer, but I don't think that matters.  This was supposed to be a rallying cry for the evangelical right, so it is probably safe to assume that the person who said this goes to a church with his or her family and probably claims to be an evangelical Christian. 
Have we forgotten who Jesus was and what he did?  Have we gone so far away from the Biblical Jesus?  Whenever controversies like this one arise, we Christians pull out our swords like Peter in the garden and start cutting off every ear we can reach, defending our King (at least that's what we think we are doing).  We fight for our rights and we fight to be right.  We go to church on Sunday and read our Bibles, looking down on the Pharisees who just didn't get it.  My question is, "Are we looking in the mirror?" 
We look down on the Pharisees and religious leaders because we think that we are more righteous than they are and we know better.  However, we are acting just like them!  We are creating enemies out of our neighbors and Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors.  If Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan today, I would not be surprised if he used a homosexual in the place of the Samaritan.  If he did this, would we be shocked?  Would we label Jesus as a heretic?  if so, then we are showing our true reflection. 
i am not saying that I have changed my stance on homosexuality and am embracing the lifestyle.  I still hold to the Biblical view of marriage and I always will.  I still know that the Bible speaks against the homosexual lifestyle as a sin just like it does lying, cheating, stealing, drunkenness, idolatry, lust, adultery, etc.  What I am saying is that we need to understand who our enemies are, Satan and sin.  Those are our enemies not other human beings.  Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor, period!
I was planning on eating at Chick Fil A yesterday and I am thankful that I did not.  I want to lead people to Jesus not repel them.  I want to love people because they are people not because they are like me.  As Christians in this country we need to take a long hard look in the mirror because I think we will be surprised at what we see.  We may think we are reflecting Jesus, but in reality we might be reflecting the Pharisees that we like to look down upon. 
Jesus was passionate about people.  The Pharisees were passionate about their religion.  Jesus drew people near; the Pharisees burdened people.  Homosexuals are not the enemy.  They do not need our self-righteousness; they need Jesus.  They need the new life that is found only in Jesus.  They need to be loved and treated like human beings. 

I love chicken!

The biggest news of the week is obviously Chick-fil-A.  It is amazing the attention this business has received over the last few days.  They have had at least two cities vow to never have their restaurants in their town again.  Really?  Have these people never eaten the sweet goodness of Chick-fil-A chicken?  It's heavenly.
In all seriousness, many people have drawn battle lines over the comments of the CEO of this company.  Christians are flocking (pun intended) to the side of Chick-Fil-A as though it were the new headquarters of evangelical Christianity.  But, should we be surprised by this?  Didn't Jesus say that the world will hate us?  Didn't Paul tell Timothy that there will come a day when men will only hear what their itching ears want to hear?
As Christians, we have to be careful to not get caught up in the political battle that has arisen out these innocent comments (nowhere did he say in the interview that he was anti-gay).  This man was giving an opinion.  He holds to the Biblical view of marriage.  Our country is going down a dangerous path.  Morality is a thin piece of glass that is threatening to break at a given moment.  The values that we once held dear are being replaced by new values.  Values at one time were universal.  For the most part, the country valued the same things.  However, over the last few years, values have shifted from universal to individualistic.  The same values are no longer universally held by all.  The problems that will soon arise out of this will be vast and difficult to overcome.  So, what is the Christian response to this?
We respond just like Dan Cathy did when he was asked his opinion on marriage.  We respond with boldness, courage, and sincerity.  We need to know what we believe first and that is becoming more and more difficult even under the umbrella of Christianity.  We respond with the Gospel.  We respond with the truth of God's Word.  We look at the way the world is going and see it as a bad omen or a pit of despair.  But, have we thought that it may be exactly the way God wants it to go?
Think about it this way: if values become more and more subjective, meaning the individual person defines what their values are, then no one particular group can be prosecuted for their individual beliefs.  This can be dangerous, but it can present opportunities for the spread of the Gospel like never before.  Dan Cathy took advantage of an opportunity that was presented to him.  He and his company are facing a lot of heat for it, but the old saying is true, "There is no such thing as bad publicity."  The Gospel is becoming national news.  Everyone knows that Chick-Fil-A is a company that was founded by a Christian.  The more this story goes to press, the more exposure the Gospel gets, directly or indirectly. 
So, instead of getting upset and drawing the battle lines, let us pray for opportunities that God may give us through this story.  You may read this and think this is overly optimistic and you would be right.  The reason I am overly optimistic is because I believe in a big God who is bigger than this.  I believe in a big God who is bigger than the marriage debate.  I believe in a big God who knows exactly what he is doing and His plan will not be stopped by anything or anyone.  So, while we wait for His plan to fully unfold, let us speak the Gospel boldly and courageously.  Let us pray for and take advantage of opportunities God may give us.  Let us express how much we love Chick-Fil-A chicken and see where the conversation goes. 

Global thinking versus local focus

Last night I watched the 20/20 special on heaven.  It was interesting to see the many different perspectives on the afterlife.  But, that is not the focus of this blog.  The last few specials like this I have watched have always included Joel Osteen as the face of evangelical Christianity today.  Barbara Walters talked to him about heaven and he did a pretty good job of laying out what the Scriptures say about getting to heaven and that it is only through Jesus Christ.  However, one of the things he said that I had a problem with is that God wants us to experience heaven on this earth now.  That is the whole basis of his teaching and preaching.  He teaches that God wants the best for us and that he is on our side.  He avoids the topics of sin, suffering, sacrifice, etc.  I wonder what he would say to Pastor Nadarkhani who has been in prison for over 1,000 days and faces the death penalty for having faith in and preaching Christ.  Would he still have the same message to Christians in Africa who have their churches burned?  Would he still teach that message to Christians in India who are attacked by Hindu extremists?  Now, I am not trying to bad mouth Joel Osteen.  He is obviously having an effect on a lot of people's lives around this world.  But, his message is a reflection of American Christianity's view.  We have a tendency to think that God is on our side and He wants the best for us.  He wants to give us so many things.  There are people who go to church every Sunday expecting things from God.  Our focus needs to change.  We need to start thinking more globally with our message rather than having just a local focus. 
We live in a bubble.  Our country has so many great things about it, one of those being freedom.  We have so many freedoms.  We have the freedom to go to our local church every Sunday, worship God through Jesus Christ, and leave to go back to our homes without the threat of being arrested or killed.  Sure, our church buildings may get vandalized every now and then, but rarely are they burned to the ground.  Sure, we may have someone playing a tambourine too wildly, but rarely do we have extremists walk in with machine guns, opening fire on the congregation.  We need to start rethinking the message we preach and teach because we are only a small part of the Church.  We are not the end-all-be-all of Christianity in this world.  Our brothers and sisters around this world face death for following Christ.  So, to say that God wants us to experience heaven on this earth is really not that accurate and is not an accurate picture of the Church today.  If that were true, then I would not want to go to heaven because heaven would include shootings, church burnings, persecution, death, etc. 
In our adult Sunday School this past year, we did a study by Ray Vanderlan.  In this study he was talking about the Church and Paul's view of it.  Paul had a global view of the Church, just like all the apostles did.  Ray was teaching about suffering and he said that when Paul said that when a part suffered, the whole body suffered.  In America, I think we read this verse with our local congregation in mind and that's it.  We need to expand our horizons and perspectives.  Ray viewed Paul's teaching globally.  He taught that when a brother or sister in Christ suffered in Africa, we should be suffering with him or her.  We should feel it because he or she is part of the Body of Christ. 
We need to move away from the feel-good Christianity that is being taught too much.  Not to say that God does not want to bless and will not bless us; the Bible clearly teaches that He does and will.  However, we need to think about the message we are proclaiming.  Jesus said that we would have trouble in this world.  This is not our home; we are just passing through.  As we are passing through, we will go through hardships and pain.  We are called to sacrifice and even to suffer for the sake of Jesus (II Timothy 2:3; 3:12). 
Our message needs to keep in mind our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.  To teach that we have our best life now is forgetting those who suffer for the sake of the Gospel.  Jesus came to give us life and life to the full, but not to experience heaven on earth.  We have brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering for the name of Jesus; let us not forget their sacrifice by thinking locally.