for the past four days i've been wrestling in my mind over the decision to post what the Lord has been showing me in a passage of Scripture for the last 6 years. now, some would say,
just post it!
but it's not that simple. what if it's message is so radical, life-altering that it may prove to anger many of those who have been following christianity for more years than i?
good! that message is needed!
some may say. yes, it is needed, but my struggle isn't in the ideas to convey, but in the way in which i present it.
see, i'm a visual type person. and though the medium with which i communicate to you is in words, i look for the way to give you the best mental image i can. not that this is beyond the abilities the Holy Spirit has gifted me with, but that i must seek out the most proper means of speaking the truth in love.
but what if what i have to say doesn't come with a mental image? would it still be received? that's not for me to decide, i guess. it would be for me to decide whether or not to say what i hear the Holy Spirit saying.
uh oh! i think i just challenged myself to remember one of my own posts... Jesus did what He saw His Father do, and spoke what He heard the Spirit say...
i really honestly believe that if we lived our lives as if we actually believed everything that was in the bible, then we would be living radically different lives. there would be no grey areas between the world and christianity. people wouldn't be able to even come close to confusing what is a cult and what is christian discipleship.
so, i hope, over the next few posts, to walk you down this scriptural path that God has taken me down these last six years. and i hope it becomes a challenge to the established belief that the world is flat...
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
06 August 2005
02 August 2005
the choice to remain
sometimes we get the idea that we are supposed to attain holiness and purity before approaching God. dennae had a good point when she mentioned those come from the intense love affair between God and man. if we attempt to get there on our own, we will always fail.
the seperation between our lives and sin will make a marked difference in how the world treats us. unfortunately, those critical, cynical or jealous christians will upgrade their rhetoric and their cruel words. we are to be in the world, not of it. we are supposed to be bright beacons of holiness and love in the darkness of sin. the only way to accomplish this is to go outside the four walls of the church out where the lost are. because they believe that they have to "clean up" before they can come in.
paul wrote that he became all things to all people so that by all means, he might win some. that doesn't mean stooping to acts of sin in order to gain the attention of some. paul also wrote in romans that simply because God's grace is abundant it is foolishness to continue sinning in order to get more grace.
like dennae posted, holiness and purity are the overflow from the intense love affair between God and man. if those are not evident in our lives, it begs the question why not? it must be because we have let our passions cool. the once vivid flames are now embers. the fire is still there, it just needs to be stirred up and new wood must be added to rekindle the flames. the question is are we going to choose to remain?
the reasons for the flames going out are as numerous as the number of christians. we all have different backgrounds, different histories, different things affecting us that can put a strain on how we live our lives. even fear of man's opinions contributes to this. but there is a choice to be made. will we choose to remain?
at the first college i went to, i used to hang out with a large group of smokers. i have never lit up once, never wanted to. my grandfather died from lung cancer. after a month of just standing outside with them as the puffed away, they began to ask me why i stood out there and endured the elements while they smoked. so, i began to witness to them. a few actually were saved and quit smoking. others were simply impressed that i was a christian and i wasn't shunning them.
a few of my christian friends pulled me aside one day after a class and told me that if i continued to hang out with smokers then people would assume that i was a smoker too and that i was backsliding and that i could be a bad example- giving christianity a bad name.
after evaluating my motives and searching my heart, i gave them an answer the next day. i invited them to come hang out with me as i witnessed to the smoking community. suffice it to say that no one came, but i was not worried.
if we choose to remain in our passionate pursuit of God we risk be accused of living the same type of lives as the people we are among by the very people we should be supported by. even Jesus was called a drunk and a consorter because of His choice to be out among the outcasts. you don't have to do what they do in order to be labeled.
will we cast off man's opinions and choose to remain?
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
the seperation between our lives and sin will make a marked difference in how the world treats us. unfortunately, those critical, cynical or jealous christians will upgrade their rhetoric and their cruel words. we are to be in the world, not of it. we are supposed to be bright beacons of holiness and love in the darkness of sin. the only way to accomplish this is to go outside the four walls of the church out where the lost are. because they believe that they have to "clean up" before they can come in.
paul wrote that he became all things to all people so that by all means, he might win some. that doesn't mean stooping to acts of sin in order to gain the attention of some. paul also wrote in romans that simply because God's grace is abundant it is foolishness to continue sinning in order to get more grace.
like dennae posted, holiness and purity are the overflow from the intense love affair between God and man. if those are not evident in our lives, it begs the question why not? it must be because we have let our passions cool. the once vivid flames are now embers. the fire is still there, it just needs to be stirred up and new wood must be added to rekindle the flames. the question is are we going to choose to remain?
the reasons for the flames going out are as numerous as the number of christians. we all have different backgrounds, different histories, different things affecting us that can put a strain on how we live our lives. even fear of man's opinions contributes to this. but there is a choice to be made. will we choose to remain?
at the first college i went to, i used to hang out with a large group of smokers. i have never lit up once, never wanted to. my grandfather died from lung cancer. after a month of just standing outside with them as the puffed away, they began to ask me why i stood out there and endured the elements while they smoked. so, i began to witness to them. a few actually were saved and quit smoking. others were simply impressed that i was a christian and i wasn't shunning them.
a few of my christian friends pulled me aside one day after a class and told me that if i continued to hang out with smokers then people would assume that i was a smoker too and that i was backsliding and that i could be a bad example- giving christianity a bad name.
after evaluating my motives and searching my heart, i gave them an answer the next day. i invited them to come hang out with me as i witnessed to the smoking community. suffice it to say that no one came, but i was not worried.
if we choose to remain in our passionate pursuit of God we risk be accused of living the same type of lives as the people we are among by the very people we should be supported by. even Jesus was called a drunk and a consorter because of His choice to be out among the outcasts. you don't have to do what they do in order to be labeled.
will we cast off man's opinions and choose to remain?
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
01 August 2005
fundamentals
you can have controversy without revival, but you cannot have revival without controversy. someone, somewhere will always be critical, cynical or jealous. so if we decide we want to see our church revived, we have to be willing to sacrifice our pride, our ambitions, our agendas and our right to be offended. revival is the place where we must choose to give up self for the sake what God is doing in the community.
strange things occur in revivals. people get saved, they get set free- free from drugs, free from alcohol, free from smoking, free from pornography, free from religious spirits, etc. this revolution of souls is what grinds out the most controversy. when God comes, He changes what we see, what we say and what we do. revival is a complete experience- not just an intellectual one. many people will miss heaven and an eternity with Christ by a foot and a half. many christians will miss revival by the same distance- the distance between the head and the heart.
critics claim emotional sensationalism due to lighting, music and atmosphere of the venue is at the heart of modern revival. they claim, and often correctly, that many of the people at the altars are simply christians renewing their commitments. some of these have described it as "feeling as if [they] have just been saved again."
there are modern examples of revivals and outpourings, but God doesn't just want to alter the churchscape in one city, state or country, He wants the church unified in Him around the globe. He is looking for a clean bride who is not wounded, but whole. a bride who is not compromised but pure.
these are sometimes difficult pills to swallow. holiness and purity aren't always things we want to hear about. they can seem to be too elemental and fundamental not free and advanced. the power we have in Christ is more evident in a life of holiness than in a life of selfishness, self-servitude and self-preservation.
as a former athlete, i understand the need for fundamentals. they always caught you when you made a mistake, they were a place to return when you made an error. you can learn all the tricks and fancy plays you want, but without the fundamentals to build on, you're worthless to the team. you may be able to pull off a double cross-over behind your back but if you can't pass or shoot the ball, you won't play. you may be able to shake defenders and run precision routes, but if you can't catch the football, you'll never do anything. you might be able to catch the baseball in a spectacular fashion, but without the ability to hit the ball, you're worthless to the team. it's in the fundamentals that the foundations are laid for improvisation. to quote a movie, "the fun is in the fundamentals." the strength is in the struggle. when we uncover our weakness, we discover His perfect strength.
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
strange things occur in revivals. people get saved, they get set free- free from drugs, free from alcohol, free from smoking, free from pornography, free from religious spirits, etc. this revolution of souls is what grinds out the most controversy. when God comes, He changes what we see, what we say and what we do. revival is a complete experience- not just an intellectual one. many people will miss heaven and an eternity with Christ by a foot and a half. many christians will miss revival by the same distance- the distance between the head and the heart.
critics claim emotional sensationalism due to lighting, music and atmosphere of the venue is at the heart of modern revival. they claim, and often correctly, that many of the people at the altars are simply christians renewing their commitments. some of these have described it as "feeling as if [they] have just been saved again."
there are modern examples of revivals and outpourings, but God doesn't just want to alter the churchscape in one city, state or country, He wants the church unified in Him around the globe. He is looking for a clean bride who is not wounded, but whole. a bride who is not compromised but pure.
these are sometimes difficult pills to swallow. holiness and purity aren't always things we want to hear about. they can seem to be too elemental and fundamental not free and advanced. the power we have in Christ is more evident in a life of holiness than in a life of selfishness, self-servitude and self-preservation.
as a former athlete, i understand the need for fundamentals. they always caught you when you made a mistake, they were a place to return when you made an error. you can learn all the tricks and fancy plays you want, but without the fundamentals to build on, you're worthless to the team. you may be able to pull off a double cross-over behind your back but if you can't pass or shoot the ball, you won't play. you may be able to shake defenders and run precision routes, but if you can't catch the football, you'll never do anything. you might be able to catch the baseball in a spectacular fashion, but without the ability to hit the ball, you're worthless to the team. it's in the fundamentals that the foundations are laid for improvisation. to quote a movie, "the fun is in the fundamentals." the strength is in the struggle. when we uncover our weakness, we discover His perfect strength.
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
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