I hope the title got your attention. It is the title of a book I recently read that is very enlightening and challenging. It is by Larry Osborne and worth the time to read. Here are the ten dumb things that smart Christians believe:
1. Faith can fix anything.
Faith is not a skill we master. It’s not an impenetrable shield that protects us from life’s hardships and trials. It’s not a magic potion that removes every mess. It’s a map we follow. (17)
2. Forgiving means forgetting
Forgiveness is a decision lived out as a lengthy process. The expectation that those we’ve wronged should simply forget about it is not only unreasonable; it’s emotionally unhealthy. People who can’t remember what happened to them or who bury their pain are not spiritually mature; they’re mentally or emotionally handicapped. (25)
3. A godly home guarantees godly kids
The myth that a godly home guarantees godly kids (and godly adults) is not just untrue. It’s not just wishful thinking. It’s spiritually dangerous. If we buy into it, we become especially vulnerable to two things that are never part of God’s plan: unwarranted guilt and foolish pride. (44)
4. God has a blueprint for my life
The fact is, God doesn’t have a blueprint for our life. Never has. Never will. He does, however, have a game plan for our life. And the difference is important.
(57)
God doesn’t care where we work so much as how we work, where we live somuch as how we live, and even whom we marry (as long as it’s within the faith)so much as how we do marriage. (60)
5. Christians shouldn’t judge
The idea that Jesus forbade his followers to judge is a myth. Refusing to make judgments or call sin, sin, is not what Jesus asks us to do. . . Refusing to do so leads to costly spiritual consequences, not only in the lives of those of us who refuse to judge but also in the lives of those who never have their sins pointed out. (72)
Underlying the idea that we have no right to judge the beliefs and moral standards of others is another widely held belief. It’s the dogma that truth and morality are relative – the conviction that there are no universal spiritual truths and no universal moral standards. In other words, in the spiritual and moral realms, two diametrically opposing viewpoints or standards can both be true at the same time. (74)
6. Everything happens for a reason
Those who assume that everything that happens has God’s fingerprints all over it fail to distinguish between what God allows and what God causes – what God permits and what God prefers. The Bible makes it clear that there are a number of scenarios where the dark trials of our lives have nothing to do with God’s wonderful plans for our lives. (93)
7. Let your conscience be your guide
The idea that our conscience is a trustworthy moral guide is a myth. (108)
It’s a spiritual thermostat. We set it to the standards we choose. We determine when it kicks in and when it stays idle. Our conscience doesn’t tell us if we’re violating God’s standards. It tells us when we’re violating our standards. (110)
8. God brings good luck
As for Jesus, he certainly never promised his followers a long run of good luck or earthly success. He promised forgiveness. He promised eternity. But winning lottery numbers, job promotions, good health, and riches? Not exactly. (124)
9. A valley means a wrong turn
I’m not talking here about the kinds of valleys and trials that are completely out of our control – the medical issues, tragedies, and injustices that we can do nothing about except suck it up, trust God and endure. I’m talking about the kinds of valleys we can avoid or wiggle out of if we so choose. (139)
. . . the idea that every long-term valley is a mistake and should automatically be wiggled out of is a fallacy. It’s based on a spiritual urban legend . . . the belief that God only leads us to the mountaintop and that long-term valleys always mean a wrong turn. It ignores the long history of God’s dealings with his people and the clear teaching of Scripture. (140)
10. Dead people go to a better place
Jesus and the Bible are quite clear – the wicked don’t go to a better place. There’s a real hell. It’s not the devil’s playground. It’s not a perpetual wild party. It’s Satan’s worst nightmare. (156)
The widespread denial of any sort of actual judgment or a place called hell is nowhere more evident than when we deal with death. It’s here that it becomes obvious that funeral assurances are much more than a social custom. For many if not most folks, they’re a deeply held, core belief. (157)
The cross and salvation are central to the gospel. Once we lose any real concept of hell, the natural consequence is more than just putting us at odds with Scripture; it eventually devalues the cross, redefines salvation, and turns obedience into an extra-credit spiritual add-on. (163)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Counterfeit Gods - Timothy Keller
After a brief hiatus from reading, I’m back to the books. I recently read one I found very helpful and think you will, too. It is called Counterfeit Gods and it’s by Timothy Keller. I strongly recommend this book. Here are some excerpts:
The very things upon which (people) were building their happiness turned to dust in their hands because they had built all their happiness upon them. In each case, a good thing among many was turned into a supreme thing, so that its demands overrode all competing values. But counterfeit gods always disappoint, and often destructively so. (xvii)
What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. (xvii)
An idol is whatever you look at and say, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship. (xviii)
The Bible uses three basic metaphors to describe how people relate to the idols of their hearts. They love idols, trust idols, and obey idols.
Idols capture our imagination, and we can locate them by looking at our daydreams. What do we enjoy imagining? What are our fondest dreams? We look to our idols to love us, provide us with value and a sense of beauty, significance, and worth.
Idols give us a sense of being in control, and we can locate them by looking at our nightmares. What do we fear the most? What, if we lost it, would make life not worth living? . . . We look to our idols to provide us with a sense of confidence and safety.
. . . we can locate idols by looking at our most unyielding emotions. What makes us uncontrollably angry, anxious, or despondent? What racks us with a guilt we can’t shake? Idols control us, since we feel we must have them or life is meaningless. (xviii-xxii)
Why is getting your heart’s deepest desire so often a disaster? In the book of Romans, Saint Paul wrote that one of the worst things God can do to someone is to “give them over to the desires of their hearts” (Romans 1:24). Why would the greatest punishment imaginable be to allow someone to achieve their fondest dream? It is because our hearts fashion these desires into idols. In that same chapter, Paul summarized the history of the human race in one sentence: “They worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). Every human being must live for something. Something must capture our imaginations, our heart’s most fundamental allegiance and hope. But, the Bible tells us, without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, that object will never be God himself. (3)
As many have learned and later taught, you don’t realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.
Many, if not most, of these counterfeit gods can remain in our lives once we have “demoted” them below God. Then they won’t control us and bedevil us with anxiety, pride, anger, and drivenness. Nevertheless, we must not make the mistake of thinking that this story (Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac) means all we have to do is be willing to part with our idols rather than actually leave them behind. If Abraham had gone up the mountain thinking, “All I’ll have to do is put Isaac on the altar, not really give him up” – he would have failed the test! Something is safe for us to maintain in our lives only if it has really stopped being an idol. That can happen only when we are truly willing to live without it, when we truly say from the heart: “Because I have God, I can live without you.”
(20)
We learn that through all of life there runs a ground note of cosmic disappointment. You are never going to lead a wise life until you understand that. (37)
No person, not even the best one, can give your soul all it needs. . . .This cosmic disappointment and disillusionment is there in all of life, be we especially feel it in the things upon which we most set our hopes.
When you finally realize this, there are four things you can do. You can blame the things that are disappointing you and try to move on to better ones. That’s the way of continued idolatry and spiritual addiction. The second thing you can do is blame yourself and beat yourself up and say, “I have somehow been a failure. I see everybody else is happy. I don’t know why I am not happy. There is something wrong with me.” That’s the way of self-loathing and shame. Third, you can blame the world. You can say, “Curses on the entire opposite sex,” in which case you make yourself hard, cynical, and empty. Lastly, you can, as C.S. Lewis says at the end of his great chapter on hope, reorient the entire focus of your life toward God. He concludes, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world [something supernatural and eternal].” (39)
Some years ago I was doing a seven-part series of talks on the Seven Deadly Sins at a men’s breakfast. My wife, Kathy, told me, “I’ll bet that the week you deal with greed you will have your lowest attendance. She was right. People packed it out for “Lust” and “Wrath” and even for “Pride.” But nobody thinks they are greedy. As a pastor I’ve had people come to me to confess that they struggle with almost every kind of sin. Almost. I cannot recall anyone ever coming to me and saying, “I spend too much money on myself. I think my greedy lust for money is harming my family, my soul, and people around me.” Greed hides itself from the victim. The money god’s modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart.
Why can’t anyone in the grip of greed see it? The counterfeit god of money uses a powerful sociological and psychological dynamics. Everyone tends to live in a particular socioeconomic bracket. Once you are able to afford to live in a particular neighborhood, send your children to its schools, and participate in its social life, you will find yourself surrounded by quite a number of people who have more money than you. You don’t compare yourself with the rest of the world, you compare yourself to those in your bracket. The human heart always wants to justify itself and this is one of the easiest ways. You say, “I don’t live as well as him or her or them. My means are modest compared to theirs.” You can reason and think like that no matter how lavishly you are living. As a result, most Americans think of themselves as middle class, and only 2 percent call themselves “upper class.” But the rest of the world is not fooled. When people visit here from other parts of the globe, they are staggered to see the level of materialistic comfort that the majority of Americans have come to view as a necessity.
Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it. Therefore we should all begin with a working hypothesis that “this could easily be a problem for me.” If greed hides itself so deeply, no one should be confident it is not a problem for them. (52-53)
The very things upon which (people) were building their happiness turned to dust in their hands because they had built all their happiness upon them. In each case, a good thing among many was turned into a supreme thing, so that its demands overrode all competing values. But counterfeit gods always disappoint, and often destructively so. (xvii)
What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. (xvii)
An idol is whatever you look at and say, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship. (xviii)
The Bible uses three basic metaphors to describe how people relate to the idols of their hearts. They love idols, trust idols, and obey idols.
Idols capture our imagination, and we can locate them by looking at our daydreams. What do we enjoy imagining? What are our fondest dreams? We look to our idols to love us, provide us with value and a sense of beauty, significance, and worth.
Idols give us a sense of being in control, and we can locate them by looking at our nightmares. What do we fear the most? What, if we lost it, would make life not worth living? . . . We look to our idols to provide us with a sense of confidence and safety.
. . . we can locate idols by looking at our most unyielding emotions. What makes us uncontrollably angry, anxious, or despondent? What racks us with a guilt we can’t shake? Idols control us, since we feel we must have them or life is meaningless. (xviii-xxii)
Why is getting your heart’s deepest desire so often a disaster? In the book of Romans, Saint Paul wrote that one of the worst things God can do to someone is to “give them over to the desires of their hearts” (Romans 1:24). Why would the greatest punishment imaginable be to allow someone to achieve their fondest dream? It is because our hearts fashion these desires into idols. In that same chapter, Paul summarized the history of the human race in one sentence: “They worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). Every human being must live for something. Something must capture our imaginations, our heart’s most fundamental allegiance and hope. But, the Bible tells us, without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, that object will never be God himself. (3)
As many have learned and later taught, you don’t realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.
Many, if not most, of these counterfeit gods can remain in our lives once we have “demoted” them below God. Then they won’t control us and bedevil us with anxiety, pride, anger, and drivenness. Nevertheless, we must not make the mistake of thinking that this story (Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac) means all we have to do is be willing to part with our idols rather than actually leave them behind. If Abraham had gone up the mountain thinking, “All I’ll have to do is put Isaac on the altar, not really give him up” – he would have failed the test! Something is safe for us to maintain in our lives only if it has really stopped being an idol. That can happen only when we are truly willing to live without it, when we truly say from the heart: “Because I have God, I can live without you.”
(20)
We learn that through all of life there runs a ground note of cosmic disappointment. You are never going to lead a wise life until you understand that. (37)
No person, not even the best one, can give your soul all it needs. . . .This cosmic disappointment and disillusionment is there in all of life, be we especially feel it in the things upon which we most set our hopes.
When you finally realize this, there are four things you can do. You can blame the things that are disappointing you and try to move on to better ones. That’s the way of continued idolatry and spiritual addiction. The second thing you can do is blame yourself and beat yourself up and say, “I have somehow been a failure. I see everybody else is happy. I don’t know why I am not happy. There is something wrong with me.” That’s the way of self-loathing and shame. Third, you can blame the world. You can say, “Curses on the entire opposite sex,” in which case you make yourself hard, cynical, and empty. Lastly, you can, as C.S. Lewis says at the end of his great chapter on hope, reorient the entire focus of your life toward God. He concludes, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world [something supernatural and eternal].” (39)
Some years ago I was doing a seven-part series of talks on the Seven Deadly Sins at a men’s breakfast. My wife, Kathy, told me, “I’ll bet that the week you deal with greed you will have your lowest attendance. She was right. People packed it out for “Lust” and “Wrath” and even for “Pride.” But nobody thinks they are greedy. As a pastor I’ve had people come to me to confess that they struggle with almost every kind of sin. Almost. I cannot recall anyone ever coming to me and saying, “I spend too much money on myself. I think my greedy lust for money is harming my family, my soul, and people around me.” Greed hides itself from the victim. The money god’s modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart.
Why can’t anyone in the grip of greed see it? The counterfeit god of money uses a powerful sociological and psychological dynamics. Everyone tends to live in a particular socioeconomic bracket. Once you are able to afford to live in a particular neighborhood, send your children to its schools, and participate in its social life, you will find yourself surrounded by quite a number of people who have more money than you. You don’t compare yourself with the rest of the world, you compare yourself to those in your bracket. The human heart always wants to justify itself and this is one of the easiest ways. You say, “I don’t live as well as him or her or them. My means are modest compared to theirs.” You can reason and think like that no matter how lavishly you are living. As a result, most Americans think of themselves as middle class, and only 2 percent call themselves “upper class.” But the rest of the world is not fooled. When people visit here from other parts of the globe, they are staggered to see the level of materialistic comfort that the majority of Americans have come to view as a necessity.
Jesus warns people far more often about greed than about sex, yet almost no one thinks they are guilty of it. Therefore we should all begin with a working hypothesis that “this could easily be a problem for me.” If greed hides itself so deeply, no one should be confident it is not a problem for them. (52-53)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Hold Onto the Ball
I’m sorry for all the football illustrations, but I am who I am.
The news media in Minnesota is all over Adrian Peterson (the Viking star running back) because he’s leading the NFL in fumbles. It is interesting to hear all the opinions and advice for Adrian about how he can better hold onto the ball, most of which come from people who have never carried a football competitively in their lives.
One of my pet peeves in watching a football game often takes place when someone scores a touchdown by running into the end zone. Often the person immediately lets go of the ball as soon as they cross the goal line. They do this because they can. The football simply has to “break the plane” of the goal line and it counts as a touchdown, so the player really doesn’t need the ball anymore. This is the crux of this article. We quickly let go of the ball which is the only way we can score a touchdown. Without the ball, you can run across this goal line over and over again, but it holds no meaning. But if you have the ball in your hands, it becomes a touchdown, worthy of celebrating.
Sometimes people view the Christian life in much the same way. We need Jesus to be saved, but once we are “saved”, we drop Him. We’ve received our ticket to heaven (or so we think), so we don’t need to carry him around any longer. We have what we wanted; what do we need him for?
One of the more challenging aspects of studying Scripture has to do with the numerous conditional clauses that you find throughout Scripture. Conditional clauses are the “If . . . then . . .” statements you see throughout.
One of the most familiar and a difficult one to truly understand is Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Often this is interpreted to mean that I just need to pray this prayer, admit my sin, and believe Jesus really is who the Bible says, then I’m all set. My place in heaven is guaranteed. No matter what I do from this point on, I am saved because at one point in my life I confessed and believed.
But you can’t interpret one verse without looking at the rest of Scripture. So add these to your consideration as you ponder what Romans 10:9 means.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
Matthew 7:21-23
“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 10:32-33
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
“. . . he (Jesus) has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him – provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” Colossians 1:22-23
“Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” I John 2:3-6
We can’t let go of the ball. It would be like building a new house on a solid foundation and then, once the house is done, pulling the foundation out from under the house. The house will not stand and neither will we unless we cling to the One who brought us into His salvation.
God calls us to a life of faithfulness not simply a moment. He doesn’t just ask for everything at the moment of salvation and then gives it all back. He keeps asking. He wants everything. And when we say, “I give you my life,” Jesus expects that we do just that every moment of every day of our lives.
As Heidelberg Catechism answer 1 says, “That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ . . . because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”
My marriage is a great example. I haven’t given my love to Alisa, which is past tense. I am giving my love to her. It is an ongoing commitment I’ve made as her husband.
Are you giving yourself to Jesus each day? That is what He desires, even expects from those who call themselves His followers.
The news media in Minnesota is all over Adrian Peterson (the Viking star running back) because he’s leading the NFL in fumbles. It is interesting to hear all the opinions and advice for Adrian about how he can better hold onto the ball, most of which come from people who have never carried a football competitively in their lives.
One of my pet peeves in watching a football game often takes place when someone scores a touchdown by running into the end zone. Often the person immediately lets go of the ball as soon as they cross the goal line. They do this because they can. The football simply has to “break the plane” of the goal line and it counts as a touchdown, so the player really doesn’t need the ball anymore. This is the crux of this article. We quickly let go of the ball which is the only way we can score a touchdown. Without the ball, you can run across this goal line over and over again, but it holds no meaning. But if you have the ball in your hands, it becomes a touchdown, worthy of celebrating.
Sometimes people view the Christian life in much the same way. We need Jesus to be saved, but once we are “saved”, we drop Him. We’ve received our ticket to heaven (or so we think), so we don’t need to carry him around any longer. We have what we wanted; what do we need him for?
One of the more challenging aspects of studying Scripture has to do with the numerous conditional clauses that you find throughout Scripture. Conditional clauses are the “If . . . then . . .” statements you see throughout.
One of the most familiar and a difficult one to truly understand is Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Often this is interpreted to mean that I just need to pray this prayer, admit my sin, and believe Jesus really is who the Bible says, then I’m all set. My place in heaven is guaranteed. No matter what I do from this point on, I am saved because at one point in my life I confessed and believed.
But you can’t interpret one verse without looking at the rest of Scripture. So add these to your consideration as you ponder what Romans 10:9 means.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
Matthew 7:21-23
“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 10:32-33
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3
“. . . he (Jesus) has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him – provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.” Colossians 1:22-23
“Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, “I abide in him,” ought to walk just as he walked.” I John 2:3-6
We can’t let go of the ball. It would be like building a new house on a solid foundation and then, once the house is done, pulling the foundation out from under the house. The house will not stand and neither will we unless we cling to the One who brought us into His salvation.
God calls us to a life of faithfulness not simply a moment. He doesn’t just ask for everything at the moment of salvation and then gives it all back. He keeps asking. He wants everything. And when we say, “I give you my life,” Jesus expects that we do just that every moment of every day of our lives.
As Heidelberg Catechism answer 1 says, “That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ . . . because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.”
My marriage is a great example. I haven’t given my love to Alisa, which is past tense. I am giving my love to her. It is an ongoing commitment I’ve made as her husband.
Are you giving yourself to Jesus each day? That is what He desires, even expects from those who call themselves His followers.
One Man's Faith continued . . .
Here is the follow-up email I received - an answer to prayer:
Dear friend,
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evill For Thou art with me!! God saved us from an extremely Dangerous mission that we could have been with the Lord by now ! But He kept us for the work ahead!!! We are safe and sound!!!! We look forward to more fruitful services.
The Muslim leader is in my house right now!! the first attempt was very successful!!! Thanks for praying and fasting, The detailed explanation will come later. we are busy searching the scriptures day and night in my sitting room and will let him go on monday in the next 48hours to return later. This is a miracle!!!!
I cannot thank you enough! Be blessed and will call you later.
Your brother
David
Dear friend,
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evill For Thou art with me!! God saved us from an extremely Dangerous mission that we could have been with the Lord by now ! But He kept us for the work ahead!!! We are safe and sound!!!! We look forward to more fruitful services.
The Muslim leader is in my house right now!! the first attempt was very successful!!! Thanks for praying and fasting, The detailed explanation will come later. we are busy searching the scriptures day and night in my sitting room and will let him go on monday in the next 48hours to return later. This is a miracle!!!!
I cannot thank you enough! Be blessed and will call you later.
Your brother
David
Thursday, December 3, 2009
One Man's Faith
This is an email I received this week from a man who has and continues to risk his life to try and help others (especially Muslims) come to faith in Jesus Christ. Names have been changed to protect those involved.
Dear friend,
Because we have the Holy Spirit it is never difficult to take risks for the sake of Christ and the Gospel! After all, he has commission us to be His witnesses and ambassadors. Hence our Gospel does not simply go with words, but with power, and with the Holy Spirit and DEEP Conviction. For it is God who works in us both to will and to act according to His good purpose.
A Muslim official has asked me to come in person to pick him up to come into our Discipleship Center. He wants to visit for some few days and then go back to prepare to come permanently for discipleship. This is a miraculous good news! Praise The Lord! However it is also very, very dangerous, because this leader is under 24 hour surveillance. I believe if it is God who is calling me, He is able to protect, but it will be a miracle if I am able to go and come out with him. It would be a disservice to him and to the Kingdom to not go, and it would be unfair for me to send someone else because the risk is extremely high, so I am going in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!
I am going because God is not interested in my ability to do it right, but in my sincere availability to go in obedience! Being available to God is being willing to obey Him no matter what the cost is. I am going in obedience to the glory of God! And it is about Him alone! May the Name of the Lord be Glorified!
I am planning two evacuation attempts. The first attempt will be this Friday after Mosque, and if we are unsuccessful and are still alive we shall attempt the second time Monday or Wednesday next week. Please pray as the Lord leads you and, if it is possible, I would be glad if you would fast for a day as well. Pray for safety in danger, strength in fear and worry, calmness regardless of the consequences. Pray that I will love Christ above family concerns! Pray that my actions will inspire our team to emulate daily dedication of trust and commitment to the generations that the Lord is raising as army to go into the Muslim world with boldness in obedience and holy calling!
Please do not worry, but please pray! "But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires!" Romans 8;5
Hey friend, do I sound scared? Yes, you know I am not that brave! It is just mere faith, availability and obedience!
I will keep you posted.
Thanks for your prayers.
Your brother
(David)
Dear friend,
Because we have the Holy Spirit it is never difficult to take risks for the sake of Christ and the Gospel! After all, he has commission us to be His witnesses and ambassadors. Hence our Gospel does not simply go with words, but with power, and with the Holy Spirit and DEEP Conviction. For it is God who works in us both to will and to act according to His good purpose.
A Muslim official has asked me to come in person to pick him up to come into our Discipleship Center. He wants to visit for some few days and then go back to prepare to come permanently for discipleship. This is a miraculous good news! Praise The Lord! However it is also very, very dangerous, because this leader is under 24 hour surveillance. I believe if it is God who is calling me, He is able to protect, but it will be a miracle if I am able to go and come out with him. It would be a disservice to him and to the Kingdom to not go, and it would be unfair for me to send someone else because the risk is extremely high, so I am going in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!
I am going because God is not interested in my ability to do it right, but in my sincere availability to go in obedience! Being available to God is being willing to obey Him no matter what the cost is. I am going in obedience to the glory of God! And it is about Him alone! May the Name of the Lord be Glorified!
I am planning two evacuation attempts. The first attempt will be this Friday after Mosque, and if we are unsuccessful and are still alive we shall attempt the second time Monday or Wednesday next week. Please pray as the Lord leads you and, if it is possible, I would be glad if you would fast for a day as well. Pray for safety in danger, strength in fear and worry, calmness regardless of the consequences. Pray that I will love Christ above family concerns! Pray that my actions will inspire our team to emulate daily dedication of trust and commitment to the generations that the Lord is raising as army to go into the Muslim world with boldness in obedience and holy calling!
Please do not worry, but please pray! "But those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires!" Romans 8;5
Hey friend, do I sound scared? Yes, you know I am not that brave! It is just mere faith, availability and obedience!
I will keep you posted.
Thanks for your prayers.
Your brother
(David)
Not a Fan
I am a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. It’s been a good year so far, and I’m very hesitant to make any claims or exhibit any arrogance. I’ve been a fan of the Minnesota Vikings ever since I started being a fan of anything. I was raised in Minnesota, so it was natural that I follow Minnesota sports. For me, being a fan means I follow their progress. I get frustrated when they play poorly and I rejoice when they do well. There is an emotional attachment that I’m sure has some unhealthiness within it. I like talking Minnesota football. I collect Minnesota football cards. I read the Minnesota sports page on line, and I even frequently visit a few Minnesota football blogs.
Do I personally know any of the players? No. Have I ever been to a game? Nope. Do I know what it’s like to be at a practice or in the locker room? No. Would I be welcome at their practice or in the locker room? Nope. Do I receive any compensation from the Minnesota Vikings organization for the role I play? Not a cent.
I’m just a fan.
I watch them play. I don’t play. I criticize or brag about their performance depending upon how they do. Do they care about what I think? No. Do they consult me on any of their decisions? Nope. Will I receive a ring if they win the Super Bowl? No, I won’t.
I’m just a fan.
The other day I received a cd set of sermons from a friend in the church. The title of the sermon series is “not a fan: completely, committed, follower.” I have not yet listened to the sermons, but the title itself got me thinking.
There is a huge difference between being a follower of Jesus Christ and a fan of Jesus Christ.
The fan observes from a distance. The fan watches but does not participate. The fan eats and drinks but sure doesn’t get dirty or bruised. The fan goes home after the game and does nothing to help prepare the team for next week. The fan has little if any responsibility for the team. The fan is passive. If the fan doesn’t like what he or she sees, the channel is changed or the stadium is left. Fans come and go.
The follower has a much different and greater role. The follower is in the game. The follower gets dirty and bruised. The follower is part of the team. The follower doesn’t just get to play, the follower practices, listens, learns, grows, and seeks to encourage other team members. The follower is always part of the team whether it is good or bad.
A fan may know a lot about the quarterback. They may be able to share all sorts of details about their life and the statistics of their performance. They can remember moments when the quarterback shined and moments when the quarterback seemed to let them down. But the fan only knows the quarterback from a distance. There is no relationship.
A follower knows the quarterback. The follower can not only share details about the quarterback, he or she can do so based on personal experience. The follower has spend quality and quantity time with the quarterback. He or she can remember moments when the quarterback helped, encouraged, challenged them personally. They can talk about the impact the quarterback has had on their life, and how important it is to them to do what the quarterback says, because they know the quarterback knows what is best for the team.
The church can be filled with fans. People who come and watch and don’t participate in the “GAME OF LIFE.” They watch, criticize, and hope that others will carry the ball down the field. They hope the teams does well, but they are there to watch and see.
The Church is made up of followers. These are people who give their lives to follow the quarterback and He leads them through the “GAME OF LIFE.” Their hands are dirty, their bodies tired, but they are experiencing the thrill of the game. They hope the team does well, too, but they know that they must be in the game. They are needed, and even more than that, they know how much they need the quarterback to lead them as they participate in a game that is filled with so much joy and excitement, they can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Are you a fan or a follower?
Do I personally know any of the players? No. Have I ever been to a game? Nope. Do I know what it’s like to be at a practice or in the locker room? No. Would I be welcome at their practice or in the locker room? Nope. Do I receive any compensation from the Minnesota Vikings organization for the role I play? Not a cent.
I’m just a fan.
I watch them play. I don’t play. I criticize or brag about their performance depending upon how they do. Do they care about what I think? No. Do they consult me on any of their decisions? Nope. Will I receive a ring if they win the Super Bowl? No, I won’t.
I’m just a fan.
The other day I received a cd set of sermons from a friend in the church. The title of the sermon series is “not a fan: completely, committed, follower.” I have not yet listened to the sermons, but the title itself got me thinking.
There is a huge difference between being a follower of Jesus Christ and a fan of Jesus Christ.
The fan observes from a distance. The fan watches but does not participate. The fan eats and drinks but sure doesn’t get dirty or bruised. The fan goes home after the game and does nothing to help prepare the team for next week. The fan has little if any responsibility for the team. The fan is passive. If the fan doesn’t like what he or she sees, the channel is changed or the stadium is left. Fans come and go.
The follower has a much different and greater role. The follower is in the game. The follower gets dirty and bruised. The follower is part of the team. The follower doesn’t just get to play, the follower practices, listens, learns, grows, and seeks to encourage other team members. The follower is always part of the team whether it is good or bad.
A fan may know a lot about the quarterback. They may be able to share all sorts of details about their life and the statistics of their performance. They can remember moments when the quarterback shined and moments when the quarterback seemed to let them down. But the fan only knows the quarterback from a distance. There is no relationship.
A follower knows the quarterback. The follower can not only share details about the quarterback, he or she can do so based on personal experience. The follower has spend quality and quantity time with the quarterback. He or she can remember moments when the quarterback helped, encouraged, challenged them personally. They can talk about the impact the quarterback has had on their life, and how important it is to them to do what the quarterback says, because they know the quarterback knows what is best for the team.
The church can be filled with fans. People who come and watch and don’t participate in the “GAME OF LIFE.” They watch, criticize, and hope that others will carry the ball down the field. They hope the teams does well, but they are there to watch and see.
The Church is made up of followers. These are people who give their lives to follow the quarterback and He leads them through the “GAME OF LIFE.” Their hands are dirty, their bodies tired, but they are experiencing the thrill of the game. They hope the team does well, too, but they know that they must be in the game. They are needed, and even more than that, they know how much they need the quarterback to lead them as they participate in a game that is filled with so much joy and excitement, they can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Are you a fan or a follower?
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